Homily: August 16, 2025, Saturday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time (Obedience)

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 “Then the people promised Joshua, ‘We will serve the LORD, our God, and obey his voice.’”

In today’s first reading, we heard many times how the Israelites promised solemnly to be obedient to God, to serve Him and Him alone. Yet we know the history, this chosen race of God ultimately failed to keep their promises. 

Have you heard of the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers? They were a militant group in Sri Lanka, all their members had to undergo five years of tough and intense physical and mental training, ending with an oath ceremony. Every one of them had to promise to be loyal and faithful, to upkeep their mission even with their life.

And you know what? They were indeed fiercely loyal to their leader, Prabhakaran, and totally dedicated to their mission. Many of them even took on the mission of suicide bombers without a beat of hesitation. Many of them died violently but the group continued to faithful to their oath.

What about us?

I recall some years ago when I was secretary to my bishop in India. I was working on the list of priests assigned for transfer positions. At one moment, my bishop lamented to me, comparing his priests and the Tamil Tigers.

He said, “After ten years of formation and training, and after taking the vow of obedience, many of my priests are still resisting the assignments I give. What is the secret of the Tamil Tiger leader such that he was able to command total obedience in just five years?”

I didn’t have an answer then. I still don’t have an answer now. I too wonder. I was studying alongside the son of a Tamil Tiger soldier during my seminary years, but he had never revealed any “secret” to me.

But I realized this: obedience, true obedience, is not just about following rules and commands. It has to come deep from a virtue of humility.

Priests and religious are not the only ones who struggle with obedience. Many common believers find it difficult to agree with the law of the Church or the rubrics of liturgy.

At the root of disobedience is pride, which bloats the ego and manifests in arrogance. Only a humble heart can be truly obedient.

The Blessed Virgin Mary, our heavenly Mother, is the perfect model of obedience because she is truly humble. 

Today, let us ask her intercession that we may have a share of her grace of obedience, to be totally willing to submit to God’s commandments, to follow the teachings of His Church, and to conform our will perfectly to His will. Let us believe that obedience to God always leads to abundant blessings.

Amen.


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Homily: February 12-2024, Monday of the sixth week in Ordinary time (Preserverenace)

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“Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” A good friend of mine battled with addiction to drugs and alcohol for many years. Finally, he was able to give up his destructive habits and began walking with the Lord. Was it all smooth and easy? No. He faced many other struggles in his new life. Often, he was tempted to go back to his old ways, with thoughts that his life with drugs and alcohol was more carefree. He knew it was a lie. He then began to involve himself in various ministries in his parish church to serve the Lord. Was it all smooth and easy then? No. He experienced many disagreements and arguments within the ministries. Why is it that serving God seemed to make life more difficult? Shouldn’t we be rewarded with a good and easy life? If we look at Abraham, we see that he had to go through many trials and challenges in obeying God’s call. He did not have it easy. The apostl...
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Holy Family School Mass Homily.   “At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him. He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.” In today’s Gospel, we hear about Jesus healing many people with different diseases. The passage begins with the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, who was very sick in bed with a very high fever. She was not merely resting, in fact her fever was so bad that she was unable to get out of bed. I am guessing it could be 103 or 104 degrees! Normally, if we get such a high fever, it would take us days to recover with strong medication. But when Jesus visited Peter’s mother-in-law, He simply stood over her, rebuked the fever, that means He scolded the fever, and it left her!  Instantly, she was well again and was able to get up and serve Jesus and His disciples. Wow! Jesus is the King of the Universe, He has power over everything in the world, if you would only believe in Him and trust Him. Even today, Jesus continues ...
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Homily: September 8, 2025, Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Geneology)

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 “Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.” And so on. The list of Jesus’ ancestors goes on. When I looked at today’s Gospel, I initially thought of skipping the genealogy of Jesus and use the shorter option. But I thought again, and I decided on the long version, proclaiming fully the genealogy of Jesus. Why? Back in March, one of my nieces turned 15. As an uncle, I would always ask my nieces and nephews what they would like for their birthdays, so I asked her. She replied, “Uncle, pay $125 for me to do an ancestry test. My dad’s family says his ancestors came from Persia, and I want to know if it’s true.” I agreed. That’s an interesting birthday gift. When the results came back, it showed she was about 3% Persian. A few weeks later, she asked me for another favor. “Uncle, I need you to do the test too, so I can see the picture of my family from mom’s side.” She was so serious about it and kept reminding me every da...
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“Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.” What a perfect example for us to follow! Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, prayed. He who is God the Son, prayed to God the Father. He spent the whole night in prayer before choosing His disciples. In His divinity, Jesus already knew the Father’s will. Yet in His humanity, He is just like us. He needed to spend time with His Father, to pray and to discern to be aligned with God’s will. Jesus shows us a powerful example: we too must pray before making important decisions, to ask God what His will is for us. Sometimes, when we act without consulting Him, we may find ourselves going against His will or going a wrong long way before reaching which lead us through unnecessary suffering or other unbearable consequences. So bring your plans to Jesus, tell Him your hopes, your preferences, your wishes, and He will bless you with the wisdom to choose wise and right. But what if we prayed, heard, followed a...
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Homily: Thursday, February 10, 2022, Memorial of Saint Scholastica

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 Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021022.cfm Yesterday’s first reading, we heard about King Solomon’s profound wisdom and great riches. Today, we read about his foolishness in turning away from God. It makes us wonder, how could someone so wise become so foolish? Today’s gospel story is very interesting. A Syrophoenician woman, who was non-Jew, had enough faith to asked Jesus for help. And when our Lord tested her with a sarcastic reply, her response showed not just faith, but wisdom. “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” This reminds me of the former president of India, KR Narayanan. In India, among the Hindus there is a caste system. Everyone is born into a caste and stays in it forever. Narayanan’s family was from the lowest caste, considered the ‘untouchables’. So, others despised them. When he was young, his parents had no money to pay the school fees. As penalty, the teachers would send him out of the classroom. But he was very ...
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March 1, 2025: First Holy Communion Homily: St. Joseph's Catholic Church Seffner, Florida

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Did you listen attentively to the Gospel reading? Yes? Let me test you… What did Jesus say? Did He say, “Whoever eats my bread and drinks my wine?”  No! He said, “Whoever eats my FLESH and drinks my BLOOD remains in me and I in him.” Yes, when you receive Holy Communion, you are receiving the real flesh and blood of Jesus. I am sure Fr. Roy, your catechists, parents and the whole parish community have prepared you well for this day, so you know what you are receiving today. But what I want to focus on now is the last part where Jesus says, ‘remains in me and I in him’. 29 years ago in 1996, I received my First Holy Communion. I was eight years old, but I still remember that day vividly. I remember the preparations, my First Reconciliation, and the excitement I felt when I lined up to receive Jesus for the very first time. I remember seeing the priest dipping the Precious Body into the Precious Blood, and then that precious moment – Jesus’ body and blood rested on my tongue. So swee...
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Homily: December 6, 2022, Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent.

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“Though the grass withers and the flower wilts, the word of our God stands forever." This was one of my favorite Bible phrases for some time in the past, and then it was forgotten. While preparing for this homily, it again touched and inspired me. Do you also have a favorite verse or phrase from the Bible? Is there a book of the Bible which you like to read over, and over again? Has any word or phrase in the Bible helped you in life and gave you hope? Did you memorize any verse from the Bible to deepen your faith? Do you feel God speaking to you through the Bible? My last question to you, do you even read the Bible? The Bible, the word of God, contains the truths of this life and the life eternal.  It is an interesting book, in a profound way. God’s word was written by more than 40 different authors, inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit, over a period of thirteen centuries.  From a secular point of view, the Bible is a massive compilation of historical, theological, philosop...
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Homily: March 3, 2024, Third sunday in Lent (Foolishness of God)

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 “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” Could God ever be foolish? Is God ever weak? Recently, I've been listening to a podcast by a man who converted from Hinduism to Christianity. Interestingly, he became interested in the Christian faith after reading Hindu sacred scriptures. The Rig Veda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda, are Hindu sacred writings in Sanskrit from around 3500 years ago. What he found in these ancient writings were consistent references to a divine savior who would come into the world and die on a cross. Convinced that those prophecies were pointing to Jesus, he began fervently preaching about Jesus the Savior of the world, in the context of Hindu scriptures, until his passing. Growing up in a predominantly Hindu country, I always enjoyed narratives of Hindu deities, especially epic stories from the history of Hinduism. I admired their invincible power, repeated victories in battles, ...
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Homily: September 10,2025, Wednesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time (Thoughts)

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 “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” We might have heard of this phrase: “What you think, that you become.” This quote has often been attributed to Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and I think there is a lot of truth in it. If you are constantly or regularly thinking about a certain thing, you will over time gravitate towards it, and bring it to reality, either in accomplishment or in imitation. There is a story about Napoleon Bonaparte. Once, he went to a palm reader and asked him to read the lines on his hand to foretell his life in the future. The palm reader told him the regular usual stuff, but Napoleon wanted to know something more important, he interrupted and asked: “Do you see any possibility that I could become a king?” The palm reader replied, “No. Every king has a special line on his palm, but you don’t have it.” Napoleon immediately took a knife, cut his palm, and drew out that special line in his palm for himself. The palm reader then said, “Yes, you wi...
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Homily: September 12, 2025, Friday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time(Ignorance)

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 “I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man, but I have been mercifully treated because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.” St. Paul, after his conversion, admitted that all the persecution and executions he carried out before he knew Christ, were done out of ignorance and unbelief. He thought Jesus Christ and His followers were a threat to the Jewish community, he thought Jesus was a fake, and so for the good of the Jewish people, he sought to eliminate them. Paul persecuted Christians because of he did not believe that Jesus was truly the Christ, the Messiah. Jesus Himself was unjustly accused, tortured, and killed although He was spreading His Father’s love to the world because the authorities misunderstood Him and saw Him as a threat to their society and community. Thousands of early Christians were martyred for similar reasons. They held on to their faith, they did not budge when told to deny the Lord, they did not water down the Lord’s teachings under...
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