Homily: March 25, 2025, Solemnity of the Annunciation ()

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 "Therefore, the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means 'God is with us!'" 

One book I read during my school days was titled: ‘The God of Small Things’. The book has nothing to do with God or religion, but I like the title because it reminds me that our God is also a God of small things.

He appreciates and takes pleasure even when we offer Him the littlest effort or prayer or joy of our day. And He too often shows Himself in simple, silent humble signs.

In today’s first reading, King Ahaz was given the opportunity to ask for a great sign from God, but he rejected, claiming to not want to test the Lord. Still, God chose to give him a sign anyway - not in a big way, but something simple yet powerful: "A virgin shall conceive and bear a son."

This sign is simple yet powerful because while it is normal for a woman to bear a child, it is impossible for a virgin to do so. Only through God’s intervention can this miracle happen.

And if we look closely at the Annunciation, something humble yet profound did happen.

In the Gospel, we see Mary receiving the annunciation from an angel of the Lord. Something great is going to happen, an event long awaited for by the whole Jewish nation, but it will happen in a simple and silent way – with a private announcement to a humble virgin lady.

Mary is troubled at first, but she agrees and submits to God’s will, trusting in Him totally, offering her wonderful ‘Fiat’ which brought God’s plan for the whole world to fruition. Mary’s humble ‘yes’ has always been celebrated on this Solemnity but what is profound to me and should be celebrated on this feast as well, is the fact that our great almighty God is humbler yet, that He left it open to Mary’s own willingness and decision to accept, or reject, His will, He did not demand obedience from her.

He is God, surely, He has the power and the authority to proceed without the need for human agreement or cooperation. But our God is a God of small things, He appreciates and takes pleasure in our participation, our willingness, our ‘yes’. No matter how small or insignificant in our opinion, it is valuable in His eyes.

Today’s solemnity invites us to embrace this great generous God of small things. He is a big lover of small people. Our simple ‘yes’ in the ordinary moments of daily life, our childlike faith and gratitude for everything He has given and done for us. All these are enough for Him.

And is God’s plan good enough for us?

Like Mary, we say “yes, may it be done to me according to your word.” With this, a virgin shall be with child. Miracles will happen, as God wills. Amen.


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Homily: April 5, 2025, Saturday of the Fourth week in Lent (The crowd and Pharisees)

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 “But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.”  Poor Pharisees. They held onto an unrealistic dream that all Israelites would know the law as well as they did. But the reality was that most people were living in poverty, under oppression, and with fear. They didn’t have the same access to education or religious instruction. Sometimes, I feel something similar in my own life. People often talk to me about TV shows, baseball, or football, assuming I’m familiar with what they enjoy. But the truth is, I don’t even know the basics of those games, I don’t follow any American TV shows except The Chosen.  I live in America, and many assume I share the same interests. But just like the Pharisees in Jesus’ time, it’s easy to forget that not everyone fits into the same mold. In today’s Gospel, the people including the guards were amazed by Jesus’ words. They praised Him for His miracles. But the Pharisees? They weren’t interested. They were so focused on studying the L...
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Homily:August 18, 2024, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Wisdom)

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 “Let whoever is simple turn in here; To the one who lacks understanding, she says, Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed!” This generous invitation in today’s first reading is from Lady Wisdom. This reading is taken from Chapter 9 of the Book of Proverbs which portrays two women: Lady Wisdom and Dame Folly. Our first reading presents only the invitation of Lady Wisdom. She invites us, ‘whoever is simple’, to her home to enjoy the real good life, one of understanding and food good for our body and soul, while Dame Folly attracts people to destruction. Many people seek wisdom, sometimes for unwise reasons, often in the wrong places, and in the wrong ways. Wisdom is unlike knowledge and intellect, it is not something we can gain through studying or hard work, it does not come automatically with age or experience; it is ultimately a gift from the Holy Spirit. In Proverbs 2:6, it says ‘For the Lord gives wisdom…” I am very blessed to have met many wise people who in ...
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 "Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him."  Bartholomew the Apostle is Nathanael. Today’s Gospel account is a moving encounter between Jesus and Nathanael. Nathanael encountered the true Son of God and Jesus encountered the true child of Israel, which also meant a true child of God. Jesus highlighted the quality that makes Nathanael stand out as being true and real - having no duplicity. Initially, I thought duplicity meant hypocrisy, a description Jesus often used on the Pharisees. Later I understood the difference. Hypocrisy is outwardly pretending to agree while inwardly opposing, or outwardly expressing to believe while inwardly is totally in disbelief. A hypocrite would criticize others openly for behavior which they themselves would engage in privately. A hypocrite is the biggest liar, pretending to be good when in truth, he is actually evil.  Duplicity is having two faces, two sides, often with the intent to deceive or simply hiding the truth....
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"And coming to her, he said, 'Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.'" I have seen this many times – one of our catechists holding up a rosary in her hand and asking the kids, “What is this?” When they respond, “It’s a rosary,” she would add, “This is a weapon to fight against the evil one.” How true! But have you ever wondered how does a rosary become a weapon against Satan? When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He used the Word of God to counter the temptations presented by the evil one. Satan is afraid of the Word of God. And when we pray the rosary, we are repeating the Word of God, bead after bead, don’t we? Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you. The “Hail Mary” is a prayer woven beautifully with the words of Scripture, and the “Our Father” is the prayer that Jesus Himself taught us, straight from the Bible. These are prayers recited repeatedly in the rosary. The rosary is thus a deeply biblical prayer which anyone can pray, and anytime we can recall ...
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Homily: March 23,2025, Third Sunday of Lent (First Scrutiny of the elect)

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 "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14) On the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays of Lent, we celebrate the Rites of Scrutiny with our elects - those preparing to receive the Sacraments of Initiation, to enter the Catholic Church, as part of the period of ‘Purification and Enlightenment. The purification process is God's way of helping to remove the stain and dirt from the souls of the Elect, so to see the true good and beauty of each soul. God does not scrutinize to find the wrongs but to celebrate the real identity of each child of His, revealing the value within each of us and rejoicing in the light of Christ reflecting from us. Each of these Sundays has a powerful theme: Water, Light and Life. These themes are presented through the Gospel texts of various encounters with Jesus Christ: the wom...
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Homily: October 12, 2024, Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Bible)

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 “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.” Is the word of God living and effective in your life? This is my personal Bible. It is in Malayalam, my native language. My papa bought it for me on June 7, 2003, two days before I turned 15 years old. It has been with me ever since. It accompanied me through all my seminary years even when in Rome. I’ve read it many, many times. If you receive a beautiful letter from someone you love, wouldn’t you read it over and over, many times? I’ve used my Bible to pray, to praise God, to seek His advice, and to learn more about Him. When I was younger, I had the habit of memorizing a verse from the Bible every day. Over that time, I have memorized hundreds of passages. In our family, everyone, as well as my parents, had their own personal Bible. My family still keeps my grandpa’s Bible, wh...
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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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Homily: December 21, 2022, Wednesday of the forth week in Advent

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 Today’s first reading is from Song of Songs. This book in the Bible is also known as the Song of Solomon, or the Canticle of Canticles. It is a romantic poetry expressing the intense and intimate love of a young couple entering marital union. Why would the Bible include such a romantic book? There is not even a mention of ‘God’. Anyone who has fallen in love before would be able to appreciate the celebration of romance in this book. But it may feel odd to imagine God’s love for His people is as romantic as a couple’s love, yet it is true. God yearns to be with His people more intensely than a loving couple for each other. God’s love for us is very special, emotional and romantic. God loves deep and intense. He yearns to be close to us, so much so that He literally came into our world to live among us and at His death, continue to give of Himself, His body and blood, to dwell in our hearts. Day and night He looks at us, reaches out to us and waits for us to invite Him into our live...
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Homily: April 1, 2025, Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Lent ()

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 “When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be well?’” I have to be honest, I really didn’t like the man who was healed, when I first read the event in today’s Gospel text. Jesus asked him a simple and direct question: “Do you want to be well?” All he needed to do was to answer yes or no. I would expect him to be enthusiastic and respond yes! But he didn’t answer the question directly. Instead, he complained. He blamed it on the fact that there was no one to help him get to the pool, and that someone else would always get in before he did. Again, after he was healed, when the authorities told him off for carrying his own mat on a sabbath, he blamed it on Jesus, for telling him to pick up his mat, and caused Jesus to be persecuted. Wasn’t he grateful for being healed? Did he want to be healed at all? It seems to me that he was a complainer, someone who doesn’t own up and puts the blame on others. But I paused and re...
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