Homily: August 23, 2025, Saturday of the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Imperfect Generations)

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 “They called him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” 

Today’s first reading is fascinating account of how Ruth and Boaz came together and became the great grandparents of King David, the powerful king of Israel who established Jerusalem as the holy city and wrote many of the psalms we still pray today.

Ruth is one of the Five women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. The other three are Rahab, Tamar and Bethsheba, and Mary, the Mother of God. Interestingly, Ruth who was a Moabite woman, a foreigner, has her life recorded in scripture as an important part of salvation history, even though her story is not one of perfection.

The circumstances which led her to Boaz were not ideal, yet God turned everything into good. Ruth showed courage and a respectable character when she left her homeland and went with her mother-in-law to her people. That act of faithfulness must have pleased the God of Israel.

Thousands of years later, we continue to read her story and praise God for His marvelous works through unassuming people and far-from-ideal situations.

From them, continued the generations that led to the birth of the Messiah. Would they have known?

As I read their story, I thought of my own vocation. My paternal grandparents never saw me become a priest, but they had seen me as a playful boy who could never sit still and always got into trouble. They died before I even had the thought of priesthood. I didn’t know then and they surely would never have known.

Looking my parishioners, I feel the same. Many of them were born in Eritrea, Burma and Sudan, they had their life there, far from here and very different from how they are living now. Did they know they would one day arrive in this land and do what they are doing now? Would their grandparents and parents have known?

No. In the same way, you do not yet know what God will accomplish through your children and grandchildren and great grandchildren.

The story of Ruth and Boaz inspires us to trust in the wonderful plan of God, despite how unlikely or how impossible the situation might look now. God has a way of turning everything into good for those who are faithful to Him, according to His bigger plan of things.

So, we pray: Heavenly Father, your plan for us and for our family is unknown to us, but we trust in You. The way you protected and guided our forefathers gives us confidence to surrender ourselves to Your providence, to Your will. Help us to be faithful till the end. Amen.


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

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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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“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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