Homily: December 9, 2024, Solemnity of immaculate conception of Blessed Virgin Mary (Holy Family School Mass)

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 “As he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him."

We heard this phrase in today’s second reading. It is such a wonderful affirmation for us! God planned for us to belong to Him even before the world began. Imagine that!

Billions of years before today, God already had you in mind, your existence was in His plan. You did not exist by chance, you were not an accident and definitely not a mistake. You are God’s dream, God’s desire, God’s wish, God’s plan. Isn’t that amazing?

Today, we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Just as God knew us before the foundation of the world, He also knew the Blessed Virgin Mary before she was born. He chose her for a special mission, to be the mother of His Son from the very beginning. This is truly wonderful!

But what does "Immaculate Conception" mean?

‘Conception’ refers to the moment when a new life is conceived in the womb, the moment a human life begins and keeps growing in the womb until ready to be born. 

‘Immaculate’ means spotless, clean, pure. For example, if a shirt is immaculate, it means it is perfect, without any stain or wrinkle. When we use this term on people, it means they are holy, pure, and without sin.

God chose Mary before the foundation of the world to be holy and without sin. To prepare her for her unique mission — to be the mother of Jesus, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. So from the very beginning of her life, God poured out special graces onto her soul, thus she is ‘full of grace’, as how Angel Gabriel addressed her.

From the moment of her conception, Mary was preserved from all the effects of original sin. She was born immaculate so that she could bear in her womb the Most Holy Son of God.

Today, when we praise Mary, our Blessed Mother, we are praising God. As we love and honor her, we are thanking God for His wonderful plan for to save our souls, through Mary’s grace-filled life and mission. She brought Jesus to the world, and leads us back to Jesus.

No one loves Mother Mary better than Jesus does. So let us turn to our Mother always, confident that she will hear us, help us and intercede for us. Every day, let us pray with love and trust:

“Mary, conceived without original sin, pray for us who have recourse to you. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”


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March 1, 2025: First Holy Communion Homily: St. Joseph's Catholic Church Seffner, Florida

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Did you listen attentively to the Gospel reading? Yes? Let me test you… What did Jesus say? Did He say, “Whoever eats my bread and drinks my wine?”  No! He said, “Whoever eats my FLESH and drinks my BLOOD remains in me and I in him.” Yes, when you receive Holy Communion, you are receiving the real flesh and blood of Jesus. I am sure Fr. Roy, your catechists, parents and the whole parish community have prepared you well for this day, so you know what you are receiving today. But what I want to focus on now is the last part where Jesus says, ‘remains in me and I in him’. 29 years ago in 1996, I received my First Holy Communion. I was eight years old, but I still remember that day vividly. I remember the preparations, my First Reconciliation, and the excitement I felt when I lined up to receive Jesus for the very first time. I remember seeing the priest dipping the Precious Body into the Precious Blood, and then that precious moment – Jesus’ body and blood rested on my tongue. So swee...
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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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 “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” There is a famous English comedian, Rowan Atkinson, who is well known for his act as Mr. Bean. He once shared that sometimes people went up to him to comment that he looked like Mr. Bean. To which he would respond, “I am Mr. Bean.” But they would insist, “No, no, you just look like him!” It sounds funny but this is exactly what is happening in today’s Gospel. The people asked Jesus, “Tell us plainly, are you the Christ?” They had seen His works and heard His profound teaching. There had never been anyone like Him. No one had performed the miracles He performed. No one had fulfilled the prophecies from old, only He did. Everything pointed to Him as the long-awaited Messiah. Those who knew the Scriptures should have recognized Him easily. Then why were they still asking? Simple answer. They were in denial. They knew, but they refused to acknowledge it. They probably thought they were too intelli...
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Homily: September 15, 2025, Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows (Entrustment)

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 “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” This arrangement, spoken from the Cross, may look like a simple and practical arrangement for the care of His surviving mother, but truly, it carries a deeper and profound truth. It is one of the ‘seven last words of Jesus’. Quite naturally and obviously, He entrusted the care of His beloved Mother to someone reliable and obedient. He gave her to John. And at the same time, He also entrusted the continued nurturing of John, His beloved disciple, to His Mother. Jesus had no earthly possessions which will wither and end to leave behind. What He left, as a lasting forever legacy to His disciples and as a gift of eternity to all believers to come, was the institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper. Now from the Cross, He is giving to the whole of humanity something personal: His own Mother,  whom He took His human flesh and blood from when she carried Him in her womb. Why John the beloved ap...
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Homily: June 21, 2025, Saturday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time (Sufficient Grace)

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 “Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you.’” This sentence in today’s first reading is one of the most well-known and quoted lines in the New Testament. There are many interpretations about what could be the “thorn in the flesh” which St. Paul referred to and asked for the Lord to remove for him. No one knows for sure, and no one needs to know exactly. What we do know is that it was something Paul believed the “angel of Satan” was sent to torment him. It was so bad for him that he wished and prayed for the Lord to take away from him. But Jesus did no, and told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you.” Jesus is telling us the same: “My grace is sufficient for you.” Are you struggling terribly? Do you feel greatly tormented? Are you facing huge troubles? Do you feel like there is no way out? If you are crying out to the Lord like St. Paul, know that you are not alone. God’s silence is not absence. He is with y...
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Homily: May 2-2026 Memorial of St.Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church.

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 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.” Jesus is one with the Father. Jesus is not just a teacher or a prophet. He is the eternal Son of God— fully divine and fully human. He took on our human nature to save us, to redeem us, to bring us back to the Father. Today, the Church celebrates Athanasius of Alexandria, one of the great defenders of this truth. He lived in the 4th century and served as the bishop of Alexandria. At that time, a serious error began to spread in the Church. A priest named Arius taught that Jesus was not truly God— that He was only a creature, that He was created, and not equal to the Father. This teaching was very popular. Many people followed it.  St. Athanasius stood firm. Even as a young deacon, he defended the true faith. In the year 325, the Church gathered at the Council of Nicaea. There, the bishops proclaimed clearly: I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only...
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Homily: May 1, 2026: Memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker

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 “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter’s son?” In today’s Gospel, Jesus is identified by His work. He was known as the ‘carpenter’s son’. St. Joseph was a carpenter. Most likely, he was well known in Nazareth. His work defined him in the eyes of the people. And Jesus, in His hidden life, shared that identity. We do not know much about Jesus’ life in the years of His infancy till His public ministry. But we can imagine it could be very simple and humble. Jesus would have spent those years close to Joseph, watching him work, learning from him, assisting him and finally, possibly taking over the trade when Joseph passed on. In His humanity, Jesus learned how to work, to be an industrious member of society, following the example of His earthly father, Joseph. In the beginning, the first Adam was placed in a garden of the world to labor and care for it. Now, the new Adam, Jesus, was also placed in the carpentry of the world to labor and build for ...
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Homily: June 15, 2025 Soemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

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Today’s second reading ends with this powerful phrase: “Because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Today we celebrate two beautiful events: the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity and Father’s Day. So, happy Father’s Day to all our fathers, grandfathers, fathers-to-be and godfathers! My siblings and I are incredibly blessed to have had a good Christian father who fulfilled his duties both as a father and as a Catholic. My papa was a very quiet, resilient, yet very gentle person. He loved and protected all his seven children, physically, emotionally, mentally and especially spiritually. He taught us the faith and was a great model of the traditions. He made sure we never missed Sunday Mass and took us regularly to Confession. I was very much a “dad’s boy”, working with him daily on the farm, taking care of the animals together with him. He didn’t worry much about school grades, but he was very firm and strict with us re...
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