Homily: October 19, 2024, Saturday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time (call and hope)

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 “That you may know what is the hope that belongs to His call.”

What is His call?

God called us into life, but not just a life of mere breathing and living. St. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, reminds us that “(God) chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before Him.”

To be holy and blameless before God, this is His call for us.

Then what is our hope?

Every one of us has hopes for much in life. We hope for betterment, fulfillment and achievement in various aspects of our living. 

In the last three years here, I have learned a lot about hope. Hearing stories of our refugee communities, about their journey from one end of the world to the other, how they survived in refugee camps, their perseverance through wars and injustices, and despite all these challenges, they never lost hope that life would get better, days will be brighter. And in many ways, their prayers have been answered now that they have settled here. They did not hope in vain.

Yet, I also hear people, who have lived in this land through the generations, often express dissatisfaction with their lives here, to the point of despair and hopelessness.

So I learnt, that hope is not about the circumstances outside of us, but it is about the inspiration in us.

If we are inspired to live on, no matter the conditions or situations around us, we will hope.

If we are not inspired in life, even in the most comfortable and peaceful environment, we will be hopeless.

Being inspired to live on, comes from the life force gifted to us by God. When we recognize this gift to live better, yearning to live fully, we tap into this life force to keep us going.

Deep in our souls, every one of us, even if we are not fully aware of it, we yearn for a life of fullness and eternity. Many are still searching for the way to reach this, but as Christians, we already know how, it is life with the Lord, life in the spirit.

To share in the divinity and eternity of God, this is our hope.

Let us all who know the way, walk faithfully this way and confidently towards this hope, living out fully God’s call for us. Amen.

 


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Homily: November 3, 2024, Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (Memento Mori)

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 In the 2,000-year history of the Church, monastic orders like the Cistercians and Trappists have existed, and the monks dedicate themselves to a life of deep contemplation and penance. Some of these monks take a vow of perpetual silence, speaking only in an emergency. When they pass each other in the monastery, their silent greeting is "memento mori" - "remember death." They remind each other daily to consider the reality of death and to always be prepared for it. Today, November 2, we commemorate All Souls' Day, remembering all the departed souls in purgatory who long to see God face-to-face. Like the consecrated monks, this commemoration invites us to pause and reflect on our own mortality. Memento mori. Remember death. We probably have said goodbye to many people in our lives: family, friends, relatives, famous people and people who have done great deeds that impacted society. Some of their names may have already faded from our memories. Perhaps we’ve even s
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Homily: November 1, 2024, All saints day (Holy family School Mass )

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 Did you hear this question in the first reading? "Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?" St. John the Apostle had a vision of heaven and asked the angel regarding the many people he saw who were praising and worshipping God. I think you might know some of those people. Let’s see. Do you know who this is? Yes, Saint Teresa of Calcutta, we affectionately call her Mother Teresa.  Do you know where she was born in? She was born in Skopje, where it is now Albania. And where did she spend most of her life? She spent her life in India, taking care of the very poor, sick and dying. Who’s this man? Yes, he is Saint Joseph. Where was he born? In Nazareth. What was his job? He was a carpenter. And he was chosen by God to be the foster father of Jesus. St. Joseph cared for and protected Jesus and Mary as a family, serving God in his own humble way. Who is this woman? That’s right, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha. Do you know where she was born? She was born in New Yor
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Homily: November 2, 2024, The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls); Pleanary Indulgnce.

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 “The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.” This beautiful passage from today’s first reading is one we often hear at funeral Masses. It comforts and consoles us deeply, assuring us of God’s merciful love and protection for those who have passed from this life. Today, as we commemorate All Souls’ Day, we remember the souls of all the faithful departed, those in purgatory awaiting the fullness of union with God. Their souls are in the hands of God, and while we need not worry for them, we can still assist them with our prayers. During the first week of November, the Church offers us the special grace of a plenary indulgence for our deceased loved ones. But what exactly is a plenary indulgence? It is a special grace that removes the temporal punishments due to sin. While the Sacrament of Reconciliation forgives sins and removes the eternal punishment of hell, temporal punishments may remain. Temporal punishments are the natural consequences arising f
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Homily: Ocotber 29, Tuesaday of the Thirtieth week in ordinary time (Subordination)

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 "Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord." I chose this phrase to preach, knowing it might meet with some resistance, even rejection from some of you. When this same passage appears in Sunday readings, there’s even an option to use a shorter form that would avoid these verses. Why? Because the teaching of subordination is hard to accept, and the preaching of it is even harder. Being obedient or subordinate to someone is challenging, even if under authority. And to expect a woman, especially a modern, independent and self-assured American woman, to be subordinate to her husband, is like declaring war. This resistance is not just in spousal relationships. Sometimes, it seems like the only “person” who obeys my commands perfectly is my phone – Google Assistant. ‘She’ is most obedient, ever ready to satisfy and please, always responds politely and would do whatever I ask, and without delay. Google As
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Homilía: Marzo 24, 2022, Jueves de la III semana de Cuaresma.

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 “El que no está conmigo, está contra mí; y el que no recoge conmigo, desparrama”.”. El mensaje de Jesús es muy claro. No podemos seguir a Jesús parcialmente. Si no lo estamos siguiendo de todo corazón, no somos sus seguidores. Hoy es el vigésimo día de Cuaresma, sin contar los domingos. Estamos a la mitad. ¿Recuerdas lo que decidiste hacer especial para estos 40 días de Cuaresma? ¿Lo estás cumpliendo? Mientras nos esforzamos por fortalecernos espiritualmente, los demonios se esfuerzan más para mantenernos deprimidos. Me pregunto quién está a la cabeza en esta mitad de camino. En mis años de infancia, solo los niños ricos de mi pueblo podían tener bicicletas. Cuando estaba en quinto grado, mi hermano mayor y yo decidimos recolectar flores silvestres de nuez moscada del bosque cercano para venderlas y poder comprar una bicicleta. Nos despertábamos muy temprano en la mañana y corríamos al bosque para buscar y recolectar tantas como fuera posible. Muchos niños de otros pueblos estaban hac
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Homily, June 1, 2022, Memorial of Saint Justin, Martyr

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 “And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated”. This is Jesus’ prayer for His disciples, and His prayer for us who believe in Him. What does it mean to be consecrated? It means to be set aside for holiness, to be anointed for God’s purpose, to be devoted totally to God. Jesus consecrated Himself for the disciples and for us. And by that, we too may be consecrated to God, to be set aside for God’s purpose of salvation, mercy and love. In the book of Genesis chapter 28, Jacob anointed a stone with oil, dedicated that place to God and named it Bethel. Thus, Bethel became part of salvation history. Samuel anointed David and the little shepherd boy became the king of Israel. Jesus consecrated His disciples, anointed them with the Holy Spirit and these simple fishermen became powerful fishers of men. Consecration empowers and transforms. It gives new purpose, new identity, new mission to the consecrated. Once, I attended a Cistercian ordination rite. The newly orda
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Homily: February 17, 2022, Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time.

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For Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021722.cfm St. James advised the Christian community, “My brothers and sisters, show no partiality”, with a stern warning, “if you show partiality, you commit sin…” Is it really possible to treat everyone without partiality? My grandfather had more than 50 grandchildren and he loved all as fairly as he could. But he had a favorite - me. He loved me very specially because we had a common interest – gardening. He often praised me for my green thumb as I am quite gifted in this area, and he valued it very much. To him, it is a great talent. He favored me so much that when he was dying, he called me to his bedside to give me his final blessing. He called no one else. In this world, money is highly valued. And St. James was warning about the biased treatment of favoring the rich ones in the community while despising those who were poor. Being rich or poor should not differentiate the disciples from one another. Neither should it different
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Homilía: 23 de Octubre 2022, XXX Domingo ordinario (ES)

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 En la primera lectura escuchamos: “El Señor es un juez que no se deja impresionar por apariencias. No menosprecia a nadie por ser pobre”. Siempre pensé que Dios tiene un amor especial por aquellos que son pobres, débiles y vulnerables. Sin embargo, de las lecturas de hoy está claro que todas las personas son iguales, nadie es favorecido, Dios nos ama a todos por igual. Rico o pobre, fuerte o débil, pecador o santo. Cuando nos presentamos ante Dios, todos somos iguales para Él, apreciados y amados. Igual de amados y valorados. Toda persona humana está creada a imagen y semejanza de Dios, esta es la divinidad que todos compartimos, nuestra identidad, nuestra dignidad. Todos los años, por este tiempo, cuando cambian las estaciones, a menudo noto que los animales también están ocupados preparándose para el invierno. En mi jardín vive una ardilla de tierra que está más ocupada en este tiempo del año. La veo corriendo para arreglar su nido para la hibernación y almacenar comida para el invi
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Homily: May 28, 2024, Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time (Holy Family School Mass)

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Today we are celebrating a very, very special and joyous occasion, do you know what that is? Yes! Our second graders received their First Holy Communion! So a school famliy we celebrate their joy. Now why is this so special and so joyous? Because receiving Holy Communion is really receiving Jesus Himself, to be united with Him heart in heart, body in body, totally and fully. Can you imagine the powerful King of the Universe, who loves you very, very much, so much that He is willing to become so small so that He can enter into your heart and stay with you? That is so wonderful! Something hard for us to fully understand but yet it is true! Jesus wants so much to be with us always, forever and ever. He wants to bless us and give us everything that we need for our souls to be saved. Do you think Jesus would give us everything we ask for?  Like what we heard in the gospel passage today, James and John went to Jesus and boldly asked Him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of
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Homily: July 1, 2024, Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time (The poor)

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 "For three crimes of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke my word; because they sell the just man for silver, and the poor man for a pair of sandals. They trample the heads of the weak into the dust of the earth and force the lowly out of the way." This was how our first reading began today. Prophet Amos was prophesying against the northern kingdom of Israel. They had become rich and established themselves as a superpower among the nations, but they had completely forgotten how God was the one who guided and protected them all through the years when life was uncertain, and they were poor. Instead of being thankful to God, they disobeyed His commandments and abused the poor among them, the rich became richer while the poor became poorer. Thus, Amos warned how God will ‘crush (them) into the ground’ if they persisted in their sinfulness. Is being poor a sin? In this country, many people choose to be poor and homeless. In my home country, no one wants to be poor, because in
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