Homily: August 29, 2025, Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist (Head of Baptist)

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 “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”

What a tragic and evil request. Salome could have asked for half of Herod’s kingdom, wealth, or anything of significant material value. Instead, she asked for the lifeless head of John the Baptist, under the command of her vengeful mother, Herodias.

And what did both women gain from it? What worth is there in the head of a holy prophet? Herodias might think that she had removed an obstacle in her life, but in truth, she gained nothing but blood on her hands and the weight of murder for the rest of her life.

We, too, have seen people who make poor decisions in life, based on anger, arrogance, jealousy, greed, lust, vengeance. All these deadly sins blind us from reality. They not only make us deepen our sinfulness, but they also lead us to self-condemnation. Every mortal sin is the same. When we commit these sins, we trade eternal joy for a passing, temporary pleasure.

Herodias must have felt momentary satisfaction in silencing her opponent, but for the rest of her life she carried the spiritual burden of sin, guilty of evil murder. Tradition says that both Herod and Herodias were banished to Gaul (modern-day France) by the emperor Caligula, where they died in exile. 

Early Christian writers recount that Salome herself died a tragic death, falling through ice and being decapitated in a way that mirrored the fate which she chose for John the Baptist.

The last prophet of God, John the Baptist, was killed at the malicious request of a vengeful woman, it was outright murder. God is the Author and Lord of life. No one has the right to take an innocent life.

Today we pray especially for our world to respect the gift of life from God, given with love, created through His very own breath. Every life, from the moment of conception right through unto death, is God’s gift.

We want to pray together for an end to abortion - both surgical and chemical. The blood of the innocent cries out to God for justice and mercy.

May we always choose life. May we reject sin and poor decisions that seek to hide the sin, which ultimately lead to spiritual destruction.

Let us embrace the Gospel, respect life and appreciate the gift and the Giver, may these wise decisions lead us to true happiness, real freedom and eternal joy.

Amen.


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Homily: October 26, 2025, Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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 “The one who serves God willingly is heard; his petition reaches the heavens. The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal.” Last week’s readings touched on the theme of prayer, this theme continues in our readings this Sunday. Throughout the week, I often see people coming quietly into our church to pray during different times of the day. Some light candles, some kneel before the statue of Our Lady of the World, and some just sit before the tabernacle in silence. A few come from nearby offices during their break from work to spend a few minutes with Jesus or with Mary. There are also those who are homeless, some are patients or their visitors from the hospitals. Different states of life, different prayer intentions, yet all come with faith in God. This is truly a house of prayer. All are welcome. As proclaimed in the first reading, God has no favorites. Rich or poor, young or old, well or sick, strong or weak, God welcomes all and hears al...
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 Brothers and sisters: You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones.” Our true and permanent home is heaven. We are destined to be citizens of heaven. For now, we are just sojourners on earth, pilgrims making our way towards home. I enjoy reading and hearing stories of people who have had near-death experiences. One common thing they report is that heaven is beautiful, and it is familiar. They usually describe it as the feeling of returning home, surrounded by people they know, being totally at ease and at peace. This image of heaven is pure joy. Those who live a virtuous life on earth, who keep their hearts united with God, are already preparing to live in that home. Heaven is not a foreign place for the faithful; it’s the fulfillment of what we yearn for deep inside of us. If we follow Jesus closely, we are already learning to live the heavenly life, experiencing and sharing the love and mercy of God and being in communion with God al...
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Homily: November 2, 2024, The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls); Pleanary Indulgnce.

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 “The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.” This beautiful passage from today’s first reading is one we often hear at funeral Masses. It comforts and consoles us deeply, assuring us of God’s merciful love and protection for those who have passed from this life. Today, as we commemorate All Souls’ Day, we remember the souls of all the faithful departed, those in purgatory awaiting the fullness of union with God. Their souls are in the hands of God, and while we need not worry for them, we can still assist them with our prayers. During the first week of November, the Church offers us the special grace of a plenary indulgence for our deceased loved ones. But what exactly is a plenary indulgence? It is a special grace that removes the temporal punishments due to sin. While the Sacrament of Reconciliation forgives sins and removes the eternal punishment of hell, temporal punishments may remain. Temporal punishments are the natural consequences arisi...
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Homily: October 24. 2025, Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time (Sin)

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 “For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want.” Honestly, this is me. And this is many people too. It captures so perfectly the weakness of our human condition. Deep in our hearts, we want to do good, to be good, to please God. We want to live according to His will.  We want to stay close to Him and live holy lives. Yet, the sin that entered the world through Adam and Eve still acts up within us. Our human nature is wounded, and even when our soul longs to do good, our worldly desires and habits pull us in the opposite direction. It is interesting to note that it is St. Paul who wrote this line. Paul was one of the greatest apostles and missionaries in history, it is hard to imagine that even the great St. Paul had struggled to do good and fight evil, what more could be expected of us? This is comforting. It reminds us that we are not alone in our struggles. Even the saints, the apostles, the holiest men and women, had wrestled with sin and temptation. Spi...
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Homily: February 11,2023, Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Leprosy Touch).

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 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” Leprosy is a terrible disease. Physically, it does not just affect the skin, but also the nerves, the respiratory tract and the eyes. When full blown, lepers look frightening to others. It is also infectious; thus people avoid any contact with lepers. In Jesus’ time, there was little knowledge about leprosy, so it was considered a curse and lepers were considered unclean and untouchable. Socially, lepers become displaced from family, community and normal life. In today’s first reading, Moses prescribes the rule for managing someone with leprosy. It keeps the leper away from others so that the condition can be contained and not spread to everyone in the community. The cry of the leper, “unclean, unclean” is a socially responsible action on the part of the leper, but is there mercy and compassion for the leper? Yes, there is. In today’s Gospel, Jesus does something unthinkable an...
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Homily: October 7, 2024, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Weapon)

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"And coming to her, he said, 'Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.'" I have seen this many times – one of our catechists holding up a rosary in her hand and asking the kids, “What is this?” When they respond, “It’s a rosary,” she would add, “This is a weapon to fight against the evil one.” How true! But have you ever wondered how does a rosary become a weapon against Satan? When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He used the Word of God to counter the temptations presented by the evil one. Satan is afraid of the Word of God. And when we pray the rosary, we are repeating the Word of God, bead after bead, don’t we? Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you. The “Hail Mary” is a prayer woven beautifully with the words of Scripture, and the “Our Father” is the prayer that Jesus Himself taught us, straight from the Bible. These are prayers recited repeatedly in the rosary. The rosary is thus a deeply biblical prayer which anyone can pray, and anytime we can recall ...
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Homily: December 24, 2023, Fourth Sunday of Advent (It was i).

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 “It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be commander of my people Israel.”  In the first reading, we see David, now a powerful king, wanting to build a grand dwelling place for the Lord. It may seem like King David is being pious, but God doesn’t seem impressed. Why? David was once a shepherd boy caring for sheep in the pastures, and now he is king commanding a great and expanding nation. How did he do it? Was it his strength? Was it his courage? No. It was the Lord’s doing. The Lord says, “It was I…” It was God who gave David all the successes, the victories, the palace. Would God need a grand temple to be His dwelling place? No. The temple of God which David did build was finally destroyed. But the ‘house’ and ‘kingdom’ of David blessed by God will never fall because He promised David “your throne shall stand firm forever.” Nothing built by man, no matter how grand, will last forever. Nothing brought up by God, no matter how humble, will ev...
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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: March 25, 2025, Solemnity of the Annunciation ()

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 "Therefore, the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means 'God is with us!'"  One book I read during my school days was titled: ‘The God of Small Things’. The book has nothing to do with God or religion, but I like the title because it reminds me that our God is also a God of small things. He appreciates and takes pleasure even when we offer Him the littlest effort or prayer or joy of our day. And He too often shows Himself in simple, silent humble signs. In today’s first reading, King Ahaz was given the opportunity to ask for a great sign from God, but he rejected, claiming to not want to test the Lord. Still, God chose to give him a sign anyway - not in a big way, but something simple yet powerful: "A virgin shall conceive and bear a son." This sign is simple yet powerful because while it is normal for a woman to bear a child, it is impossible for a virgin to do so. Only ...
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