Homily: November 16, 2024 Saturday of the Thirty Second week in Ordinary time (Find Faith)

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 But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” 

Just a few days ago on Monday, we saw the disciples pleading with Jesus, and ourselves too praying for the same, “Lord, increase our faith.”

So, has your faith increased since then?

Because today our Lord is checking in with us, when He comes again, will He find faith on earth, will He find faith in us?

I am sure we are able to answer ‘yes’! I see many of you coming regularly for daily Mass, serving passionately in the ministries, and doing your best to live a holy life.

Very often, I would look back and am so thankful that I have faith in God. I think you would understand and agree too, because we know we would not have come this far in life if we didn’t know God, if we didn’t know prayer.

But of course, there is still much to do in terms of spreading the good news. Just within Des Moines, I guess there are still thousands of people who live without faith. I really wonder how they will manage life, especially in its darkest and lowest moments without God. When we see the violence, abuses and depressive conditions, those are signs that people do not have faith to guide them, they do not know God personally to seek help from Him. It is a pitiful situation.

Will our Lord find faith on earth when He comes again?

Yes - if we do something now, to share the faith we have found, to help others redirect their lives to God and find clarity in the purpose of living.

Let us pray for an increase in faith and let us be God’s instrument in realizing it, at least in our families, in our society, in Des Moines. Amen.


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Homily: February 21, 2026, Saturday After Ash Wednesday (Graceful Souls)

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Homily: January 16, 2023 Monday of the second week in Ordinary time

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Holy Family School Mass:  Then they asked him, "Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?" Signs are very helpful in our everyday life. When I first came to this church, I had a hard time finding the confessional. There were no signs. I thought it might be somewhere in the vestibule and after going down the stairs, I ended up at the restrooms. Directional signs tell us where to go, spiritual signs tell us what to do. When Jesus spoke about the destruction of the temple, He was also warning the disciples about fake news and scammers. So simply looking for signs may not help, because there are misleading and false signs that will only lead to more confusion and wrong turns. The only reliable signs in life are the Holy Word of God and the teachings and traditions of the church passed down from the Apostles. Our Christian faith guides and provides, it shows the right path to the right place. I have preached before that ...
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"It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you”.  Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Matthias, who was not at first one of the twelve nor part of the inner circle of Jesus. He was chosen later into the college of apostles, to take the place of Judas. In the first reading, we saw how the apostles prayed and asked the Lord to show them whom He had chosen, someone who had accompanied them ‘the whole time’. They then cast their lots and God’s choice was revealed. Did God choose Matthias only at that point when the apostles had to replace Judas? Or did God already planned and prepared Matthias ‘the whole time’ when he was following Jesus throughout His ministry, and remained in the community even after the crucifixion? St. Paul says, “He chose us in him, before the foundation of the world…” Can you imagine, right up to this point in your life and mine, you and I are present right now in this holy place not by chance, but by choice. Through our own decisions nevertheless, but not w...
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