Homily: June 3, 2025, Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter (The Hour)

-

“Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, 'Father, the hour has come.'"

Fourteen years ago, before I was ordained a priest, my mommy was in the hospital for some time, and I stayed by her side every day. She was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment for final-stage metastatic cancer. Suddenly one day, she asked me to get her a priest so she could do her confession and receive the anointing of the sick.

I was a little shaken by her request. Was she going to die?

Secretly, I called my siblings and informed them about her request for the sacraments, and they too wondered if she was getting ready to die.

That night, again I sat by her bedside, with a big worry on my face. My mommy noticed it and just before going to sleep, she gently but calmly assured me, “I’m not going to die tonight. You sleep well, and tell your siblings too.”

I never knew my facial expression could betray all my thoughts, worries, and what I did!

Mommy was right, she didn’t die that night. But a few months later, her time came, her final hour arrived, and she went home to the Lord peacefully.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus knows that His hour has come. As the Lord of life, He knows everything: His own death, His resurrection and every hour of His every life event.

But we do not know the hour of our life and death, not in advance. And thus, Jesus reminds us to always be ready, “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Mt 25:13)

Jesus was ready when His hour came, He had accomplished the mission His Father gave Him. He declared to His Father, “I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.”

Our life is short, very short in comparison to the length of human history, and even shorter in the light of eternity. But short as it may be, each of us has a purpose and mission in life. A purpose significant enough for God to have planned it and given it value in the building of His Kingdom.

The crucial question for us is: If we were to die today, would we be able to say to God with confidence, “I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work you gave me to do”?

If yes, I am sure we would have peace. If no, would we then be ready to meet God face to face?

Therefore, stay awake, be ready, accomplish your mission, glorify God with your life, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Amen.


Comments

Post a Comment

Read

Homily: September 5, 2026, Saturday of the Twenty Second week in Ordinary Time (Be a saint)

-
“When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond gently.” In today’s first reading, St. Paul tells us about the hardships and patient endurance that marked his ministry. Before his conversion, Paul had what the world might consider a better and more comfortable life. He was well educated, a zealous Pharisee, respected among his own people, and a man with authority. But after encountering Jesus, everything changed. He gave up his former way of life to follow Christ. And what did he receive in return? Persecution, rejection, suffering, imprisonment, and many hardships.  Today the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Teresa of Calcutta. In some ways, her story reminds us of St. Paul. She came to India as a young religious sister with the Loreto Sisters. She became a teacher and eventually the headmistress of a school. She loved her religious life and her work. But then something changed. While traveling by train from Calcutta to Darjeeling, she experi...
Read more

Homily: August 15, 2026, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Sin-death)

-
 “For since death came through man, the resurrection of the dead came also through man.” Sin and death are connected, but Christ has come to break that connection and give us life. In his Letter to the Romans, St. Paul says, “The wages of sin is death.” Sin separates us from God, and God is the source of life.  God created Adam and Eve for life and friendship with him. But through their disobedience, sin entered the world, and with sin came death.  But when God prepared the world for the coming of his Son, he gave Mary a unique grace. From the first moment of her conception, she was preserved from original sin.  We can see Mary as the new Eve. Eve was created without sin, but she disobeyed God. Mary, by God's grace, responded differently. When the angel came to her, she said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Eve's disobedience was connected with humanity's fall. Mary's obedience opened the door for Christ, the Savi...
Read more

Homily: September 4, 2026, Friday of the Twenty second Week in Ordinary Time (Do not Judge)

-
 “Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes.” It is very difficult to live without judging others. Knowingly or unknowingly, we often judge people based on what we see, especially those who are different from us. But we are all different. Our life situations are different, our ideas are different, and the ways we were raised are different. There is a beautiful saying often attributed to Philo of Alexandria: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.” How true that is. We often do not know what another person is carrying in his or her heart. Jesus also tells us, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged.” So how do we overcome a judgmental attitude? One way is by becoming more empathetic. Instead of immediately judging someone, we can try to know the person, listen to their story, and understand why they may think or act differently from us. St. Paul reminds us today that the final judgment belongs to God. God knows what is ...
Read more

Homily: September 10, 2026, Thursday of the Twenty-Third week in Ordinary Time (Ordination Anniversary)

-
“Truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb.” We prayed these beautiful words in today’s Responsorial Psalm. Psalm 139 has always been one of my favorite psalms, especially these words: “You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb.” They remind us that our life is not an accident. Every human life is a precious gift from God. Each one of us is known, loved, and wonderfully formed by God even before we are born. These words have a very personal meaning for me today as I prepare to celebrate the tenth anniversary of my priestly ordination tomorrow. My parents waited seven years after their marriage before they were blessed with a child. During those years, they experienced the pain of four miscarriages. Eventually, God blessed them with seven children, and I am number five. I remember my parents at every Holy Mass I celebrate because, through them, God gave me the gift of life. They allowed God to “knit me” in my mother’s womb, and then, throug...
Read more

Homily: September 12, 2026, Saturday of the Twenty Third week in Ordinary Time.

-
 “That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock. When the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.” When we speak about the Church, these words give us great hope. Throughout her history, the Church has faced persecutions, divisions, scandals, wars, and many other difficulties. Yet she remains. For two thousand years, the Church has endured because her true foundation is not any human person; her foundation is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The world around us changes. Cultures change, opinions change, and people change, but Christ remains the same. And the Church continues to place her faith in him. In today’s Gospel, Jesus is asking each one of us to build our lives in the same way: to dig deeply and build our lives on the solid rock of faith in him. I have known many people who had that kind of strong and simple faith.  All of us nee...
Read more

Homily: May 23, 2026, Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter (Scripture is enough)

-
 “There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.” Once I walked into our youth Bible study, and they were discussing the Book of Enoch, an ancient Jewish apocalyptic text traditionally connected to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. They asked me questions about it. I had read it myself when I was their age, mostly out of curiosity, but honestly, I do not remember much of its content. There are also several other apocryphal writings, like the Gospel of James, the Gospel of Thomas, and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. But the Church never considered them inspired Scripture, because many of them were written decades after the death of the last Apostle, St. John. Public Revelation ended with the death of the last Apostle. Sometimes I also wish the Bible had more details about Jesus’ infancy and His hidden life. But St. John reminds us today that the world its...
Read more

Homily: March 17, 2025, Second Monday in Lent (Measure).

-
"For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you." This is one of the more practical teachings of Jesus, and from our own life experiences, we know it to be true. When we show love, people often respond with love. When we are compassionate, we usually receive compassion in return. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” God’s mercy is constant, consistent, unconditional. We deserve death and punishment, but God waives it off, taking on our death and punishment on Himself. That is mercy. And He tells us to do the same, not on our own strength, but we can imitate, reflect and emulate how God does it. God is merciful, because He loves truly and is generous. Love and generosity are painful virtues. Often, love may not be accepted, it can be rejected. Often generosity may not be appreciated, it can be taken for granted. That is how the world has treated God’s love and generosity, but He remains faithful and co...
Read more

Homily: September 11, 2026, Friday of the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Slave to all)

-
 “No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.” These words of Jesus give us a beautiful description of Christian discipleship. The word Christian means someone who belongs to Christ, someone who follows Christ. And the goal of discipleship is not simply to know more about Jesus, but gradually to become like Jesus. The Twelve walked with Jesus, listened to him, watched him, and learned from him. And eventually, their lives began to resemble the life of their Master. Jesus himself told them, “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” Perhaps humility was one of the hardest lessons for the disciples to learn—and it remains one of the hardest lessons for us. In today’s first reading, St. Paul says something remarkable: “Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible.” Paul was free, but he willingly surrendered his freedom. He put aside his pride, his pref...
Read more

Homily: July 18, 2026, Tuesday of the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Remember death)

-
 “It is I who deal death and give life.” These words from our Responsorial Psalm today are actually not taken from the Book of Psalms. They come from the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 32. They remind us of a fundamental truth of our faith: God is the author of life. Our life comes from God, belongs to God, and ultimately returns to God. This phrase beautifully connects our first reading and the Gospel today. In the first reading, the prophet Ezekiel speaks against the prince of Tyre, a man who had become proud because of his success, wealth, wisdom, and accomplishments. And so the prophet reminds him of one simple reality: you are only a man, and you will die. There are certain realities in life that quickly reveal our limitations. An illness can make a powerful and independent person suddenly dependent on others. None of us can say, “I am too important to die,” or “I have accomplished enough that death cannot touch me.” Sirach 7:36 says  “In whatever you do, remember your last...
Read more

Homily: October 18, 2022. Tuesday of the twenty-ninth week in Ordinary time (Feast of St. Luke)

-
“Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you.” This sounds fine to me because I am not fussy with food and am happy to eat anything offered. I can’t think of any food that I will not eat. And it helps a lot in my ministry, especially in this parish since I get invited to homes of various cultures and different cuisine. So far, I do enjoy Eritrean, Burmese, Laotian, Sudanese, Mexican and of course, American food. Yes, it is easy to feed me but very difficult to slim me down. But why did Jesus give such a specific instruction to His disciples regarding eating and drinking? It may look simple for us, but it was challenging to His disciples. They were Jews and the Jewish law laid out very strict food practices and prohibitions. And now they were being sent out to Gentile villages to preach to them. They were to live in Gentile homes and eat as they eat, drink as they drink. The disciples probably had never done anything like that before. Can you imagine the cultural sho...
Read more