Homily: September 13, 2025, Satuday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time (Foundation)

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“That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.”

I love the song “Christ is my firm foundation.” Not only the music, but also the words are so powerful. Christian life is nothing less than a life rooted in Christ. We are not simply following a set of principles or moral laws. We are following a person, the living Christ who died for us, who rose for us, and who calls us to walk in His footsteps.

A life rooted in Christ means we live as He lived, and we die as He died, for love. We imitate His sacrificial love by carrying our own crosses every day. And when our life is built on this solid foundation, nothing can shake us. No temptation, no worldly lies, no passing ideology promising an “easier” way of peace can destroy us.

We live in a world full of confusion. Sadly, even some Christians today follow worldly ideologies and then try to teach them as if they were part of the Gospel. 

If you look around at many Christian communities, you see teachings and practices that Jesus Himself opposed, both in word and in deed. This is what happens when people build on sand instead of on the Rock.

We need so much grace to stand firm in today’s world. Satan is subtle, crawling into every area of life, our homes, our schools, our culture, even sometimes into our churches. The only way to remain strong is to stay close to Jesus:

• Go often to the sacrament of Reconciliation. Let Christ wash away the cracks in your foundation.

• Receive the Holy Eucharist frequently, Our nourishment and strength.

• Spend time before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, where we are reminded again and again that He alone is our Rock.

If Christ is truly our foundation, then when the floods of life come, when the storms rage, our house will not fall. It will stand, because it is built on Him.

Amen.


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

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

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

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 “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...
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Homily: August 15, 2026, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Sin-death)

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

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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...
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Homily: July 21, 2026, Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Forgiveness)

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 In today's Gospel, Jesus says, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”  These words invite us to ask an important question: What is the will of our heavenly Father for us? Jesus gives the answer in other passages of the Gospel. He says, “Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect,” and “Be holy, for your heavenly Father is holy.” God's will is not simply that we avoid sin, but more that we become holy. The Christian life is not merely about avoiding evil; it is really about growing in virtue and becoming more like our heavenly Father each day, in what we think, say and do. Today's readings point us to one of the most difficult yet most beautiful virtues of Christian discipleship - forgiveness. In the first reading we heard, “Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin... who does not persist in anger forever.” In the Responsorial Psalm we prayed, “You have for...
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 "You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD."  Yesterday, one of our youths gave an inspiring testimony at all our Sunday Masses, sharing her experience from the Youth 2000 retreat. She shared that she has been comfortable in her relationship with Jesus and that gave her the impression that her faith in the Lord was good enough. But from the retreat, she realized something profound: That if you are in a comfort zone in your love for God, then your relationship with Him is not growing. God is infinite love, the supreme good. He can never be outdone in generosity; He can never be outdone in love. That means, the more we love Him, the more we will receive His love, and the more we will be transformed. Her sharing made me reflect deeper. So, how then should my love for God be? I do believe that I can do more for God, we can never love Him enough, there is always room for better, stronger, greater, deeper love for this great big God of ours. And one of the most beaut...
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