Homily: July 1, 2025, Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Flee for your life!)

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 “Flee for your life! Don’t look back or stop anywhere on the plain.”

Sodom was about to be totally destroyed, and the angel of the Lord came to save Lot and his family. But Lot hesitated.

Why?

Because all his property, his possessions, his wealth, his pleasurable and comfortable life were left behind and would be destroyed. Lot was very attached to all those material things. They were his life.

We recall in the earlier chapters of Genesis, when Lot and Abraham divided the lands, Lot chose the best portion for himself, it was the fertile land near Sodom. He wanted to be wealthy and prosperous.

Now, everything he had built had to be abandoned; he had to detach and let go. Detachment is painful.

This reminds me of a real-life story I heard recently. A businessman who left India years ago and went to Kuwait. Through much hard work there, he finally built a profitable and successful crude oil company with many offices in major cities around the world. But when the Kuwait War broke out, he had to flee for his life. He escaped to Iraq and eventually returned to India. His business was gone, his wealth totally lost.

He was sharing how painful it was to let go of what he thought was his good fortune but how some others who were reluctant to leave, had died a tragic death.

Beware the false attachments of the world which draw us away from the true treasures of life.

Detaching from what gives us pleasure or satisfies our desires is never easy. Because, by nature we are self-serving. Often, addictions and sinful habits too can hook onto us so deeply that it becomes too painful and difficult to unhook, even when we realize they are destroying us.

Be careful the little vices that we engage in, which will creep deep into our being and soon grow too big for us to throw.

Are you attached to some things in life which is holding you back from the full life God wants for you?

Know that this earthly life is temporal, we are citizens of heaven, now pilgrims on a journey towards our eternal home. Nothing here belongs to us nor benefits us forever. 

So, let nothing pull us back from the glory of eternity. Keep our eyes fixed on Christ. Keep walking forward in faith. Detach from worldly engagements, live in true freedom.

“Flee for your life! Don’t look back or stop.”

Amen. 


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Homily: August 10, 2025, Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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Reflection: April 18, 2025 Bridge Churches stations of the cross on good Friday.

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"Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' He replied to him, 'Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.'"  The good thief asked only to be remembered, but Jesus, always faithful to His promises, responded with the gift of eternal life. Jesus was nailed to a cross, like a criminal, with two real criminals by His side. He had once been surrounded by thousands who needed His healing, followed by many who wanted to hear Him, and accompanied by friends who loved Him. But now at the final hour of His suffering and dying, they had all left Him. This is what many of us fear, to be forgotten and left alone at our dying moment. Let us look at the situation of the two thieves crucified beside Jesus. As thieves, they probably lived in poverty, anxiety and constantly hiding. They might not have family or friends since they work in darkness. Now caught and condemned, they too are in the last hour of their lives, about to die. Yet,...
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Homily: August 6, 2025, Feast of the Tranasfiguration of the Lord

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(Holy Family School Mass)   “While he was praying, his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.” Today we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus. Transfiguration means a complete change of appearance into a most beautiful, glorious, spiritual state. Jesus’ transfiguration shows us that although He has taken on human nature, He is also at the same time truly God. Do you remember who were the three disciples who went with Jesus up the mountain when He was transfigured?  That’s right. Peter, James, and John. And how do you think they felt when they saw Jesus shining with glory? Oh yes, they were afraid, because they had never seen anyone shining so brightly before, it does not happen to human people. But then later they felt great too! That’s why Peter said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here!” He even wanted to build three tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. In those days, people do live in tents, not for camping. So Peter thought they...
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 In the first reading, it was during the time of exile in Babylon, when Daniel pleaded with God, saying, “But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!” In the responsorial psalm, we prayed, “May your compassion quickly come to us.” And the gospel passage for today began with this verse: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Our God is merciful, compassionate and always forgiving! How do you feel about this? I feel totally blessed and thankful. Because if our God is not, I would be condemned forever for my sins! Pope Francis published a book in 2016 titled, “The Name of God is Mercy”, reminding us to trust and always turn to God even in our unworthiness. The world exists today because of our God is loving, compassionate and merciful. If we look around and examine within ourselves, sin is everywhere. In this country alone, legal abortions would have hit 30 million since the turn of the millennium, not counting the illegal ones. Humanity continues to commit s...
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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 multip...
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Homily: November 18, Monday of the Thirty-Third week in Ordinary Time (Love)

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“Yet I hold this against you: you have lost the love you had at first.” Love is the greatest Christian virtue. Without love, Christianity is meaningless. Without love, salvation is pointless. Without love, our life is aimless. We are created by a God who is love, saved by His Son out of love and called to imitate Him in love. He created us to accept His love, to love Him, and to love others. Therefore, a life without love is empty. The greatest love ever is Jesus giving his own life completely to us. Our response to this is to love Him back all our mind, heart and soul. In today’s first reading from the Book of Revelation, God’s angel rebukes the church in Ephesus for having lost the love for Jesus they had when they first embraced the faith. The Ephesians fell passionately in love with Jesus at the beginning. They surrendered totally to Him, obeying His teachings fully. They left all their old ways to follow Him. But now God’s  is warning and reminding them, because they have beco...
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Homily: February 11, 2025, Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Multiply)

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