Homily: June 20, 2025, Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time (Sacrifice)

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“And apart from these things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches.”

Did you follow closely today’s first reading?

Could you empathize with the hardships St. Paul had endured in his ministry?

He lamented: “Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked.”

And that’s not even half the list!

But here’s something more amazing: Despite the many troubles Paul suffered, he never gave up. He didn’t quit. He kept preaching the Gospel, he continued converting people and building the Church. He was faithful till the end, till he was beheaded in Rome.

Why did he have to suffer so much hardship?

Why didn’t God intervene and block off all those troubles?

Wouldn’t the mission be more efficient and reap greater results if his mission was smooth sailing and trouble-free?

Maybe, maybe not.

The fact is, the church did grow exponentially during those times when there were extreme persecutions, when the apostles were tortured and killed, when the saints and martyrs died for their faith.

Now looking at the comfortable pace and almost persecution-free environment our ministers are preaching in, the church is growing much slower.

I remember one particularly difficult day I had when everything I did was challenging and nothing was going right. It was frustrating and I felt like giving up. Then a friend encouraged me that maybe there was grace coming through all those troubles I faced.

Living for Christ is not a bed of roses. Since Christ is the head of the Church, and we are His Body, if the Head suffers, so will the Body. Those who follow Christ will share not only in His resurrection, but also in His suffering. And like Christ, we carry our crosses, not only for our own salvation, but for the salvation of others.

Jesus suffered on the cross to redeem the world.

Paul suffered in his mission to grow the church. So, if more Christians are willing to suffer for the sake of the faith, imagine how far the church can go in evangelizing the world.

Grace flows through wounds, sacrifice speeds up conversion. Let us not give up. Let us carry our crosses, and offer everything, our joys, our pains, our burdens, for the growth and strength of the Church, starting right here in our own parish. Amen.


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Homily: July 20, 2025, Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary time.

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Homily: March 2, 2022, Ash Wednesday

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Homilía: Julio 17, 2022, XVI Domingo Ordinario

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Homilía: Marzo 24, 2022, Jueves de la III semana de Cuaresma.

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Homily: March 20, 2023 Monday, Solemnity of Saint Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

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 From the first reading, “I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.” From the second reading, “I have made you father of many nations.” And from the Gospel, “Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.” Today we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, not ‘St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus’. Yet today’s readings seem to focus on fatherhood, having descendants and heirs, being the head of many nations etc. Little is mentioned about being a husband, a spouse. So why does the church celebrate St. Joseph’s role as the Spouse of Mary with readings about fatherhood? We know for a fact that it is not possible for a man to have biological children without the woman, so no heir without the wife, no kingdom without the queen. From conception to birth, the woman bears the burden and delivers the joy. The man supports. There was a couple with two little kids, who went to the clinic one day. The wife was not feeling well. When the do...
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Homily: January 18, 2022, Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time.

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 Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011822.cfm “Take no notice of his appearance or his height for I have rejected him; God does not see as man sees; man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.” These words of God are so assuring. If God were to choose based on appearances and height, I would never have made it to priesthood. But the world chooses differently. When I was doing my seminary studies in Rome, I used to go to Germany for summer jobs. I was poor and my home diocese could not afford to give seminarians who studied overseas any allowances, so I worked during the vacation to earn pocket money for my daily expenses. During my first vacation stint, I got a job with a car factory in Munich which produced the BMW cars. Our job was to do summer cleaning of the factory. On the first day of work, they lined up all student workers according to our heights and weights. I was so skinny at that time, so I was almost last in line. Then the work was assi...
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Homily: August 21, 2023, Monday of the twentieth week in Ordinary Time.

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Homily: December 27, 2022, Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist

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