Homily: July 19, 2025, Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

-

“The children of Israel set out from Rameses for Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, not counting the little ones.” 

Can you imagine the scenario?

About 600,000 men, not even counting the children, and not counting the women also. If we include everyone, we’re talking about at least over 1.5 million people leaving Egypt all at once. That’s not a small caravan. That’s an entire nation on the move!

And leading them was just one man, Moses.

What is even more remarkable is that Moses had a speech impediment. We can better understand now why he was reluctant at first, he was not confident, he did not think he had the ability, the qualities to be a leader, to represent God to save the whole Hebrew nation. And yet, God chose him, and he obeyed. And yet, all 1.5 million people or more, trusted him and followed him.

God’s hand was working through an unqualified but obedient servant.

Today, with advanced communication tools and highly efficient technology, leading a traditional huge organization with billions of members like the Catholic Church, should be easier you think?

Think again. Leadership, whether in ancient times or modern times, with or without tools, is never easy. Moving mountains could be easier than leading humans.

Moses did it. Because it was God who led the people, through him.

Throughout the Bible, we see story after story of people who listened to God's voice and followed His call: Abraham, Samuel, David, Daniel, the apostles. There were challenges and struggles, persecutions and troubles, but they allowed God to direct them through humanly impossible situations.

And God did not stop with the apostles. He continues His marvelous work through simple, humble, unworthy, some highly intelligent, sometimes even the unlikeliest sinful men and women.

The moment they decided to submit to God, overcame their limitations, sins, and fears and gave their whole heart and mind to God’s will, cooperating fully with God’s plan, they were transformed. They are the saints we know of.

They are saints, not by their own merits, but by grace. As St. Paul said: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

You and I, sinful and unworthy, are called to be saints too. Will we allow God to work through us and transform us?


Comments

Post a Comment

Read

Homily: October 17, 2026, Saturday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time (Holy Spirit speaking)

-
 “For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.” These are the beautiful and comforting words of Jesus in today’s Gospel. Jesus has given us so many wonderful gifts: the Eucharist, the sacraments, the Church, and above all, the gift of the Holy Spirit. And today, Jesus assures us that the Holy Spirit will guide us, especially when we do not know what to say or what to do. There have been many moments in my own life when I have struggled to find the right words. Sometimes I have been afraid to speak. Sometimes I have wondered whether I was making the right decision. I am sure many of you have experienced the same thing. But Jesus makes us a beautiful promise: The Holy Spirit will teach us what to say. However, I believe there are two important things we must do to experience this promise in our lives. First, we must ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. Before making an important decision, before having a difficult conversation, before taking a major step in lif...
Read more

Homily: October 18, 2026, Sunday of the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (All to God )

-
 “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” Three weeks before the election, we hear these words of Jesus in today's Gospel. you may wonder whether the Church intentionally chose this Gospel because of the upcoming election. The answer is no. It is simply a coincidence. The readings we hear at Mass are proclaimed throughout the world, not just here in the United States. They are not chosen according to political events. And I am not here to speak about the election. That is not the purpose of a Sunday homily. Rather, I want to reflect on the spiritual message Jesus gives us today. “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.” Caesar was the Roman emperor. Jesus reminds us that, as citizens, we have certain responsibilities and duties toward our country and society. We have a responsibility to contribute to the common good, to respect others, and through our good deeds, to make our country and our world a better place. In another Gospel passage, we eve...
Read more

Homily: October 13, 2026, Tuesday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time (Love)

-
 “For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” This is a beautiful statement from St. Paul in today's first reading. What truly matters to God is not simply our religious practices or how faithfully we observe the rules, but how our faith is expressed through love. Both Jesus and his disciples had to deal with religious leaders who were obsessed with laws and regulations. They observed these laws meticulously and expected everyone else to do the same. But sometimes, in their concern for the law, they forgot the most important thing: love. How did Jesus deal with such people? Interestingly, he dealt with them with love. In today's Gospel, a Pharisee invites Jesus to dine at his house. Jesus does not refuse the invitation. He accepts it and sits at the table with him, even though he knows that the Pharisees constantly criticize and oppose him. Jesus did not agree with everything the Pharisees taught or pra...
Read more

Homily: July 27, 2023, Thursday of the sixteeth week in Ordinary time (See and Hear)

-
 "You shall indeed hear but not understand; you shall indeed look but never see." Have you ever experienced this before? Well, I have. When I was in school, I heard everything the teachers taught, but understood nothing. I always looked at what the teachers wrote on the chalk board, but my mind saw nothing it could comprehend. Math, English, Chemistry were subjects that brought me out of this world, into the great outer space. You can easily imagine how frustrated my teachers were with me those days. Anyway, I didn’t like them either. In today’s Gospel, Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah to explain why He spoke in parables to the crowd. He understands why they could not understand, he sees how they could not see. Such blindness and hardness of heart are not new, from the time of Moses, it has been thus. In today's first reading, the Israelites witnessed the powerful forms of God’s presence – thunder, lightning, clouds, smoke, blasting trumpets all taking place in supernatura...
Read more

Homily: October 16, 2016, Friday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time (our purpose)

-
  “In Christ we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will.” Last night, when I read these words of St. Paul, they deeply touched my heart, especially the words, “chosen” and “destined according to God's purpose.” Just before reading this passage, I had watched the livestream of the funeral of the priest who baptized me. He was the pastor of our parish in India from 1988 to 1991. Interestingly, I never had the opportunity to meet him personally. After serving in our parish, he left India to become a missionary in Peru, South America. He spent the next thirty years of his priesthood serving the poor and bringing the sacraments to people in remote communities. At one point, he returned to India, but he decided to go back to Peru. He said, “India has so many priests, but in Peru, people are thirsting for the sacraments.” As I watched his funeral and saw him lying in the casket, I thought to myself...
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: May 11, 2026 Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter

-
 “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.” There is an often-used phrase in the Alpha program: “Alpha is designed to fail if the Holy Spirit does not show up.” This implies that since Alpha has not failed despite itself and continues to grow from 1977, the Holy Spirit is at work in the program. I think that is true not only for Alpha but for the Church and the whole Christian life. Church would have been totally destroyed, and the Christian life would have been completely crushed with so much internal struggle and trouble, external persecution and attacks, if we are without the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, the Church would not survive, life would have ended, humanity would no longer exist. Yesterday, here in our parish, 25 young people received the sacrament of Confirmation. They confirmed their faith and received the fullness of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The first reading ...
Read more

Homily: July 26, 2022, Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

-
 Grandma warned little John, “Be a good boy. At the end of the world, all disobedient and bad people will be cast into fiery hell where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” John listened intently and asked with a worried look, “Grandma, you always quarrel with others, and you don’t have any teeth, how will you grind your teeth when you go to hell?” Grandma was annoyed and said “Teeth will be provided in hell!” In today’s Gospel, we heard that “(Jesus’) disciples approached him and said; explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field”. His disciples asked and so He explained. It is so clearly explained that I don’t have to preach about it. What I want to focus on is the inquisitive and learning attitude of the disciples. This is what we should do daily. To read the word of God and whenever we fail to understand, we should approach Jesus and ask Him to explain it to us. He will not just give us answers but He will show us how to understand the world and its problems. He...
Read more

Homily: September 2, 2026 Wednesday of the Twenty Second Week in Ordinary Time (Belong to Jesus)

-
Holy Family School Mass Homily   Whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely men? How many of you are fans of Ronaldo? Any Messi fans here? What about Neymar? We all have people we admire. Maybe it is a great soccer player, a singer, or someone else we look up to. Maybe some of you even have a favorite teacher here at school! It is good to admire good people. It is good to have people we can look up to and learn from. But we also have to remember that no human person is perfect. In today’s reading, St. Paul had some “fans” too. Paul had preached to the people first, and later another great preacher named Apollos came. Soon people started choosing sides. Some were saying, “I belong to Paul,” while others were saying, “I belong to Apollos.” But Paul basically tells them, “Don’t make this about me!” Why? Because Paul did not want people simply to be his fans. He wanted them to be followers of Jesus Christ. And that is true for...
Read more

Homily: October 12, 2026 Monday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time (True Freedom)

-
 “For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” Life in Christ is a life of freedom.  We have heard many beautiful stories of conversion, especially of people who struggled with addictions to drugs, alcohol, or other destructive habits. When they encountered Christ and experienced his love, their lives changed completely. They discovered a freedom they had never experienced before. Jesus came into this world to liberate us. He came to free us from the bondage of sin, from everything that controls us, and from everything that prevents us from living as children of God. But today, we need to ask ourselves a very personal question: Am I truly free? What are the things that make me live like a slave? It could be an addiction, the excessive use of social media, an unhealthy attachment, anger, resentment, or even certain ideologies that control the way we think and act. Interestingly, even our religious practices can sometimes become ...
Read more