Homily: December 31,2024, The Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas (Truth)

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 "Because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

Once recently, I was with a group of Catholic friends, having a casual conversation and one topic that came up was about modern behavioral trends and attitudes, particularly referring to LGBTQ trends and gender identity.

One friend among us spoke up strongly supporting the ideology of LGBTQ and questioning the natural law of God. Since it was a group setting, I was simply listening to the exchanges, but as the conversation progressed, I finally felt the need to speak up.

Firmly, I said, “If you believe this, then you are saying the Holy Bible is wrong.” My friend kept quiet after that.

I believe everything in the Bible is true and inspired by the Holy Spirit. I believe in God’s law. Thus, I do not agree with anything that opposes the Bible or compromises God’s law.

A true believer in Jesus Christ accepts His teachings entirely. We cannot be half-baked believers or be selective in what we want to accept or reject, for personal preference or convenience. To accept Christ is to accept His words, His teachings, and the truth He proclaimed, completely.

If we do not fully accept Jesus’ truth, or twist His truth to suit our ideology, or worst, if we distort the truth and mislead others, we become the antichrists mentioned by St. John in the first reading. Antichrists oppose God and belong to the devil.

As followers of Christ, we are called to stand firm in the truth, no matter how unpopular or inconvenient it may be. Be very careful what we oppose and propose.

Let us pray fervently for conversions - those who have strayed from the truth to return to Christ and for those of us who believe, to live in the fullness of His truth. May we proclaim it boldly, without compromise, twist or distortion, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

Amen.


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Homily: June 29, 2025, Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul

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 From the first reading, Peter said: “Now I know for certain that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting.” From the second reading, Paul said: “The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom.” Peter and Paul. Distinct characters but one heart and mind. Different persons but together in mission. Two apostles but one Lord and Master. Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, the two pillars of the Catholic Church, together they make up the foundation of our Catholic teaching. Among the many disciples of the Lord, we know more about Peter and Paul, thanks to St. Luke, who recorded their stories and events in the Acts of the Apostles. The first half of the book was focused on Peter, the other half on Paul. When we look closely at them, we immediately see many differences, but why does the Church celebrate them together on the same feast ...
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Homily: June 18, 2025, Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time (Not to be seen)

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 “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them.” We live in a world of performance, we work to be seen and heard, to be recognized and applauded. With the explosive growth and popularity of social media, modesty has nearly disappeared. Many have taken to exposing every aspect of their personal lives, it is now so convenient and easy to share, like, and repost every little thing for the world to see. It is not a bad thing to share openly and freely with friends, especially the good moments, the joyful events, the memorable occasions. And within the Church, it is helpful to keep the community connected and informed, to broadcast and share all the good that is done, so that we can together praise and thank God for His blessings. Ahhh, here is the problem... Do we do good so that we can praise God, or do we do good so that others can praise us? Do we sometimes work hard to show that we are the most active, generous, or popular church in town? Are we offend...
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Homily: March 27, 2026, Saturday of the Fifth Week in Lent (Hardness of Heart)

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 “So from that day on they planned to kill him.” These are very strong and shocking words from today’s Gospel. During this season of Lent, we have been praying often in the responsorial psalm: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Every morning, priests and religious pray this line in the Divine Office. It is like a daily reminder, a warning—to keep our hearts open to God. But in today’s Gospel, we see the opposite. The Pharisees and the chief priests witnessed so many miracles of Jesus. And the final one—the raising of Lazarus after four days in the tomb—is something truly extraordinary. That one miracle alone should have led anyone to faith. But instead of believing, they decide to kill Him. Why? Because their hearts had become hard. They chose not to see. They chose not to listen. They chose not to believe. They closed their eyes to the truth and shut their ears to God’s voice. And this is where today’s Gospel speaks to us. Hardness of heart does not happen in o...
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Homily: May 18, 2026, Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter (Holy Spirit )

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 “And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.” I have always wished to experience similar impact and intensity of the Holy Spirit. But I wonder if I wish because I need the gift of tongues in my ministry? Or I wish because I am interested in being part of the excitement? Being inflamed by the Holy Spirit does not always end up with these dramatic outward results. Yet it seems to be happening rather often in the conversion experiences of the early Christians and hardly in these later times. Perhaps we do not have the same deep hunger the early Christians had for the sacraments. In the face of persecution and uncertainty, knowing their lives were always on the line, their desire for the grace of God was thus very intense and strong. They also lived in a world with possibly less distractions, so the Gospel of Jesus could enter more deeply into their hearts. In contrast, we live now in a society where life has become c...
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Homily: May 20, 2026 Holy Family School Graduation Mass

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 We just heard the first reading from Isaiah: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.” Today is a wonderful milestone in your life. You must be so eager to go out and soar on wings like eagles!! But note what is the condition before this line: “Those who hope in the Lord…” Do you remember how it was when you first came to Holy Family School? Some of you came when you were tiny kids. Some of you could not even speak English. Many of you must have been anxious because everything was new to you, teachers and classmates, rules and environment… But over time, days, months and years passed, this school has become your second home. These hallways hold many memories for every one of you: laughter, friendships, victories, even tears, fears and disappointments. There might have been times when you thought you would never make it through. But you did, you got through, you are here now, celebrating the fact that you did not give up, you kept ...
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Homily: May 11, 2026 Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter

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 “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.” There is an often-used phrase in the Alpha program: “Alpha is designed to fail if the Holy Spirit does not show up.” This implies that since Alpha has not failed despite itself and continues to grow from 1977, the Holy Spirit is at work in the program. I think that is true not only for Alpha but for the Church and the whole Christian life. Church would have been totally destroyed, and the Christian life would have been completely crushed with so much internal struggle and trouble, external persecution and attacks, if we are without the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, the Church would not survive, life would have ended, humanity would no longer exist. Yesterday, here in our parish, 25 young people received the sacrament of Confirmation. They confirmed their faith and received the fullness of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The first reading ...
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Homily: May 16, 2016 Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter (Ask)

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“Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.” What do you ask God for? When I was little, I asked God for many small things. One of them was the snacks from a tea shop on the way to school. Once in a while, my parents  would buy them for me, and I loved them. I even wished sometimes that I had been born as the tea shop owner’s son, so I could eat those snacks every day. Years later, one of my friends whose father owned a tea shop told me that he was tired of those snacks because he had them every day. He wished he had grown up on a farm like me, with fresh food and fruits. Very often, we ask for small and temporary things, thinking they will make us happy. Even now, as adults, many of our prayers are like that. We ask for things that are passing, things that do not truly satisfy the heart. But Jesus says: “Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.” Not temporary happiness—but complete joy. So maybe today we should ask for something greater: A joyfu...
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Homily: May 4, 2026 Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter (Love-Commandments)

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 “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” Jesus is saying that if we love Him, then His Father and Him will come and make their home in us. And we know that if the Father and the Son come, the Holy Spirit will come too! When God comes, He does not just pay us a visit. He does not stay at a distance. He desires to live with us. He in us, and we in Him. Fully united. If God truly dwells in us, what more do we need? His presence is enough. His love is enough. His power is enough. If God is with us, we have nothing to be afraid of. But Jesus also gives us a condition: “Whoever loves me will keep my word.” We are called to love Him in action, by obeying His commandments, doing His will, keeping His teachings. Now, this is where many people struggle. For some people, God’s commandments feel like a burden, they think His will dampens their desires and His teachings restrict their freedom. But for those who h...
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Homily: May 17, 2026 The Ascension Sunday (Not alone)

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 “This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” The disciples were just standing there, staring into the sky, even when Jesus was already out of sight. What were they thinking and feeling? The Ascension of the Lord always evokes a strange feeling in my heart. Jesus is going away. I wonder how would I be thinking and feeling if I were there too? I have a sister who lives in Florida, she has three children. The youngest son enjoys my presence whenever I vacation at their house, he would spend every minute of his waking moments with me.  And every time at the end of my vacation, as I drove off away from their house, my young nephew would run behind my car all the way to the end of their street. He would keep waving to me until he could not see me anymore. I imagine he may have stood there for some time, looking into the distance, even when I was no longer in sight. Possibly hoping I might suddenly appear...
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Homily: March 6, 2026, Friday of the second monday in Lent (Cruelty- Salvation )

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 “They then sat down to their meal.” This scene from today’s first reading really hit me. Joseph’s brothers had just stripped him of his robe, thrown him into an empty cistern, and abandoned him, knowing well that would kill him. And what did they do after that cruel deed? Scripture says: they sat down to eat their meal. It is shocking. Their brother is suffering nearby, crying for help, yet they felt nothing, they calmly continued their day, with a meal, like nothing unusual happened. That behavior made an already cruel act more evil. When I read this passage, it reminded me of a scene from the movie ‘The Passion of the Christ’. In that film, Jesus spent the night in a dungeon in the house of the high priest. He was captured, trapped, waiting for death. The detail of this scene is not found in the Bible, but was vividly described by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich from her mystical visions. And truly, there is a dungeon behind what is believed to be Caiaphas’s house in Jerusalem, ...
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