Homily: January 28, 2025, Tuesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time (Do your will)

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 “Then I said, As is written of me in the scroll, Behold, I come to do your will, O God.”

When I was little and growing up on the farm, I didn’t know much about the world beyond my village and parish. I had imaginations about my future, but my dreams were simple and centered around my little village. I wanted to be a farmer, a successful one, to earn lots of money from my bountiful crops, I will buy more land, build a nice house, own a car, get married and live happily ever after.

Yes, it was a fairy tale dream. It made me happy and hopeful every time I imagined this perfect life of my future.

But one day, all my dreams were broken. God has another plan for me, He called, and I said yes. So no land, no farm, no house, no married life. But I believe this vocation will lead me to a happily-ever-after life after all.

My vocation has taken me far away from the village and country where I thought I would live for the whole of my life. I’ve worked in and visited over 23 countries, taken on roles and responsibilities far beyond what I thought I was capable of, and been stretched in ways beyond what I thought was possible for me. My life has been so much beyond what I could have imagined. It is not the simple life I had planned, but it is a full life.

I do still wonder and think about the simple farmer’s life I used to dream about so often.

I once read in Fulton Sheen’s book ‘Treasure in Clay’, he wrote:

"Each priest is crucified on the vertical beam of the God-given vocation and on the horizontal beam of the simple longing of the flesh and a world that so often beckons to conformity with it.”

This resonates deeply within me, but it’s true not just for priests - I think it is applicable to all of us.

We all have our own plans for our lives. But God also has plans for us and often, His plans are very different from our own. However, I believe His plans are perfect for us because unlike our own plans which are focused only on the current life, His plans are always focused on leading us to eternal life.

“Not my will, but Thy will be done.”

Let these words from today’s reading be our daily spiritual mantra: "Behold, I come to do your will, O God.”

Amen.


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"Where is your brother Abel?" We are now in the fourth chapter of Genesis. Before this, we read about the first sin of mankind – disobedience - when Adam and Eve did what they were told not to do. They lived in a perfect world and had dominance over everything, but they were discontented and were tempted by greed. Sin did not stop there; it was passed on to the next generation. In this chapter, we see Cain committing a grave sin - he killed his brother Abel. He was discontented with God’s favor on Abel and was tempted by pride. As we continue through Genesis, we see sin perpetuating and spreading through humanity. The Lord had warned Cain that “sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master.” Eve, Adam, Cain and every one of us are tempted by sin, yet we can be its master. The moment we let it enter our heart, and leave it unchecked, it will deepen its hold on us and enslave us. Jesus says, “Everyone who sins is a slave of sin.” (John 8:...
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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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