Homily: Tuesday April 29, 2025, Tuesday of the second week of Easter (Sell Property).

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"There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles."

This sharing of personal property for the good of community and selling of possessions to fuel the mission of the church, willingly and joyfully, are so unimaginable in this day and age. But the early Christian community did it. And because of such practice, there was no needy person among them.

What could have made them go to that extent of sacrifice and self-denial for the good of others?

This reminds me of the rich young man who went to Jesus, wanting to gain eternal life. To which our Lord told him to sell all his property and possessions, give it to the poor and follow Him.

The early Christians must have been very motivated to gain eternal life, to enter heaven, to go where Jesus has gone.

The Church is a spiritual institution, it is also a social missionary. We are called to proclaim the Good News of God's love and salvation to every soul, we are also called to feed the poor and hungry, clothe and protect every person’s dignity. 

And we should start within our own community, to look out for someone in need, and if selling our property can help provide for the needs of another, we should model the early Christians to do it, willingly and joyfully.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Catherine of Siena, who reminds us: "God wanted, through His Son, to reveal to us His truth and His gentle will, that He seeks and desires only that we be made holy."

God desires our holiness. We should desire it too.

Material needs are real, and charity is essential, and often it is by feeding the stomach that gives us the opportunity to feed the soul. Jesus did provide fish and loaves to the thousands, while teaching them about the Eucharist. 

At the end of our lives, what we owned or achieved will not matter as much as to whom we have made Jesus known. So giving up our possessions to bring someone closer to Jesus, that would be a worthy achievement to aim for.

Let our property and possessions be our instruments for evangelization, for furthering the kingdom of God. May we use them wisely, share their value generously and dispose of them effectively. All for the good of others and for greater glory of God. Amen.


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

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 "It is my desire, then, that in every place, men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument." What a beautiful vision St. Paul had! Imagine if all people are prayerful and peaceful, no anger, no argument. The world would really be perfect. It is through prayerfulness that we learn to be deeply peaceful people, and I too desire to attain this. My papa and grandma were two great examples of prayerfulness for me.  Grandma was completely blind before I was born and she was living in my home. In my memory, she prayed the rosary all the time and she would spend hours reciting all the other prayers daily which she had memorized by heart. I have never seen her forgetting her prayers or skipping her rosary for even one day. My papa, too, had always kept a regular and consistent prayer routine. He read the Bible and devoted a good amount of time for prayer on a daily basis. I also do not recall seeing him miss a single day of his beautiful habit. I do regret though ...
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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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Homily: Tuesday of the Tenth week in Oridnary Time (Salt lose taste)

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 “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Would salt ever lose its taste? From what I understand, the answer is no, not in its pure form. Salt in its pure form, is sodium chloride, and it is very stable, it cannot lose its taste, not even for over a hundred years, it will still maintain its saltiness. So why did Jesus use this salt analogy? What did Jesus mean by “salt losing its taste”? I have come across many interpretations. Some say that salt in this example by Jesus, is referring to our faith, others say it is our love, or our zeal. They are all good perspectives to help us understand what Jesus meant. A Christian without faith, without love, without passion for God, is in a grave spiritual danger of losing his real essence, the purpose of his being and existence. Jesus was warning His disciples: if they lose the mission of their faith, they will lo...
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For readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010622.cfm “Beloved, we love God because he first loved us.” St. John’s epistle of love is so wonderful to help us begin the new year. Throughout this week, we have heard more than 50 times the word ‘Love’. In today’s first reading alone, we hear the word ‘Love’ 13 times. St. John was the only apostle who probably did not die a martyr’s death. Tradition says he lived almost 100 years. And at the end of his life, his repeated preaching during breaking of the bread with the early Christian community was simply, “Dear children, let us love one another.” His focus was clearly this: God is love, He loves us, we love others. What is real love? Psychologists have identified various types of love between humans, and the greatest of these is agape love – selfless, self-sacrificing, unconditional love. Who can love like that? God can. Jesus did. And so did His disciples. Parents do so very often. So can everyone of us. Traditionally, India...
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