Homily: May 3, 2025, Feast of Apostles Philip and James (Message through the Earth)

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 “Their message goes out through all the earth.”

This is what we repeated in today’s Responsorial Psalm, and it aptly describes the missionary coverage of the apostles and disciples. They truly brought the message of Jesus’ Resurrection, the Good News of God’s redemptive love everywhere, to all corners, through all the earth.

All the way to India, St. Thomas brought the Gospel, that’s how many of my ancestors became Catholic, and the faith has been handed down to the generations thereafter.

Peter and Paul went to Rome. Luke went to Egypt. Matthew stayed and preached in Judea. Asia, Africa, even China received the Gospel.

Today we celebrate the feast of the apostles James and Philip. James, the son of Alphaeus, also known as James the Lesser, is hardly mentioned in Bible, only when the twelve chosen apostles were listed. James wrote an epistle to his name.

But Philip appears more often. When some Greeks came looking for Jesus, it was Philip who informed Jesus about it. At the multiplication of loaves, Jesus turned to Philip to ask where they could buy bread for all the people in the crowd. Philip was also mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, stating that he preached the Gospel to the charioteer of the Queen of Ethiopia.

Even if James was less known, and Philip a little more visible, both of them went about to preach Jesus Christ and gave their lives for Jesus. They lived and died to build the church for Christ, totally and willingly.

This is our call too.

As a priest, I follow the footsteps of the Apostles, my call is to preach the Word of God to faithful followers of Christ. But you, in your daily life, at home, at work, at play and even at rest, you too can share the message of the Resurrection, the Good News of God’s redemptive love as you know it. 

You too can preach Jesus to others by showing how you live differently from the rest of the world, how the light of Christ shines through in your daily choices and decisions, how the teachings of Church and values of Christian living directs your life.

You too can be an effective and powerful witness for Jesus, by being loving and forgiving in your relationships.

Let us spread the Gospel, not just with words, but with concrete living. That way, the message of Jesus will continue to go out through all the earth, and continue through the generations.

Amen.


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

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Homily: September 18, 2023, Monday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Men should pray)

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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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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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