Homily: November 20, 2024, wednesday of the thirty-first week in Ordinary time (Open door)

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 “I, John, had a vision of an open door to heaven.”

Do you know what is the difference between a dream and a vision? 

Dreams happen usually when we are asleep. On average we would dream four to six times in one night. Do you remember any of your dreams when you wake up?

Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t, right?

Dreams are often influenced by our deeper emotions, subconscious thoughts, or unresolved issues. Recently I’ve been talking to a friend about my home country India, just before going to bed. So, most of my dreams have been about India or the people I know there.

A vision, on the other hand, happens when we are awake. It is vivid, intense, and feels as though it’s truly happening. It does not fade from memory, is never forgotten. A divine vision is sent by God and carries a clear message.

For example, before St. Paul became a Christ believer, when he was persecuting the Christian communities, he had a vision of a bright light and heard the voice of Jesus calling out to him. That was not a dream, because after the vision, Paul knew he had met Jesus, it was such a powerful experience that he converted and became a firm disciple of Jesus. Many saints throughout history have had divine visions too, with messages about future events or deep truths they are to proclaim to the world.

All of us have dreams, though not everyone can recall them. But few people have divine visions, they are rare and typically granted to saintly and holy persons.

In today’s first reading, St. John the Apostle had a beautiful vision of heaven. What was the first thing he saw? 

Yes, an open door to heaven. Then he saw the beauty of heaven, adorned with precious stones and filled with angels. It was simply beautiful.

When you see an open door, it means you are most welcome to enter. You can even walk in without knocking. 

St. John’s vision tell us that God is expecting and welcoming us to enter heaven. It is an open door!

When Adam and Eve sinned, the door to heaven was shut. But Jesus reopened that door for all of us, and He is making sure it is kept open. We just need to walk towards it till we enter heaven through it.

Jesus is at the door waiting and calling out to us. Say yes to Jesus’ invitation, go in His direction, don’t get distracted, don’t turn away, just keep walking towards Him.

We will all get there one day, and Jesus will embrace us with joy! Amen.


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Today’s first reading from the Prophet Micah reminds us that God hears the cry of the poor. Micah begins his prophecy with a fierce rebuke of rulers, corrupt priests, and false prophets who exploited the poor, seized land by violence, and accepted bribes. God is never indifferent when justice is denied to his people. In the Gospel, we hear these words about Jesus: “I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.” One of the missions of Jesus was to establish justice—not merely according to human laws, but according to the heart of God. Justice means giving to each person what is due to them: their dignity, their rights, their worth as children of God. When Jesus came, the poor and marginalized were already suffering under oppression. Sadly, many of the religious and social leaders who should have consoled them only made their burdens heavier. Jesus came to restore their dignity, to heal, to welcome, and to proclaim God's love for them. Even today, th...
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“Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.” What a perfect example for us to follow! Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, prayed. He who is God the Son, prayed to God the Father. He spent the whole night in prayer before choosing His disciples. In His divinity, Jesus already knew the Father’s will. Yet in His humanity, He is just like us. He needed to spend time with His Father, to pray and to discern to be aligned with God’s will. Jesus shows us a powerful example: we too must pray before making important decisions, to ask God what His will is for us. Sometimes, when we act without consulting Him, we may find ourselves going against His will or going a wrong long way before reaching which lead us through unnecessary suffering or other unbearable consequences. So bring your plans to Jesus, tell Him your hopes, your preferences, your wishes, and He will bless you with the wisdom to choose wise and right. But what if we prayed, heard, followed a...
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How do we know if a prophecy is true? If the prophet is sent by God? From the first reading we heard, “But the prophet who prophesies peace is recognized as truly sent by the LORD only when his prophetic prediction is fulfilled”. Many prophets do not live long enough to see their prophesies being fulfilled, but they would gladly die to make sure their message was proclaimed as the Lord required. When I was younger, we would pass by a kingdom hall of Jehovah’s Witness on our way to church. That was probably in the years 1995 to 1997. They would distribute flyers preaching about the end of the world. I remember one year, they predicted that the world would end on December 6. They invited people to join their congregation in order to be saved. They convinced them that they will be counted among the 144,000 holy people mentioned in the book of Revelation. Some of my friends believed their prediction and hurried to do their reconciliation to get ready for the end date. My papa was calm, he ...
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 “Such is my Gospel, for which I am suffering, even to the point of chains, like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.” What a powerful statement from St. Paul. He may be chained, imprisoned, and treated like a criminal, yet he continued to preach the Gospel, because the Word of God can never be imprisoned, it is free forever. From the very beginning, God created the whole universe by speaking forth His word. He said, “Let there be light,” and light came into being. By His word, all creation came into existence. The same word that spoke to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and the prophets continues to speak to us today, guiding, challenging, and inspiring us. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us: “Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). The Word of God is not merely ancient text; it is alive...
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