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: September 27, 2025, Saturday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary time (SVDP)

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Homilía: Julio 17, 2022, XVI Domingo Ordinario

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 "Marta, Marta, muchas cosas te preocupan y te inquietan, siendo así que una sola es necesaria. María escogió la mejor parte". ¿Qué es esa única cosa que se necesita? Este consejo de Jesús es muy importante para cada uno de nosotros. Reflexionemos sobre las lecturas de hoy para entenderlo mejor. En la primera lectura, Abraham vio a tres hombres que estaban cerca de su tienda; inmediatamente se ofreció a servirles y les dio una buena cena, antes de que siguieran su camino. En la lectura del Evangelio, cuando Jesús entró en el pueblo, Marta y María lo recibieron. Marta se ocupó de preparar una buena cena para Jesús. Mientras que María, se sentó a sus pies a escucharle hablar. Marta se sentía agobiada y ansiosa. Necesitaba la ayuda de María para dar una buena comida a su invitado. Entonces Jesús dijo: "una sola es necesaria. María escogió la mejor parte...". Efectivamente, María eligió algo maravilloso. Sentarse con Jesús y escucharle hablar. Eso es lo que nos gustaría...
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Homily: August 21, 2023, Monday of the twentieth week in Ordinary Time.

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Homily: September 24, 2025, Wednesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Prayer)

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 “At the time of the evening sacrifice, I, Ezra, rose in my wretchedness, and with cloak and mantle torn I fell on my knees, stretching out my hands to the LORD, my God.” How do you pray? Today’s first reading gives us a beautiful description of how priest Ezra prayed. He considered himself ‘wretched’, totally unworthy of God and His mercy. This expressed his deep reverence for the vast greatness and graciousness of God. He fell on his knees with outstretched arms. This expressed his total surrender, obedience and submission to the ultimate good and perfect will of God. Ezra’s humble prayer disposition is beautiful. He prayed with a deep, sincere, and remorseful heart, laid bare before God, bearing the guilt of his people, yet completely appreciative and grateful for God’s forgiveness. He offered this prayer after the completion and dedication of the rebuilt Temple. The broken temple now rebuilt signified a reconciled relationship with God. Now the Israelites can worship in God’s h...
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Homily: March 7, 2022, Monday of the First Week of Lent.

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  “Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am Holy”. Both the first and Gospel readings today presented a ‘to-do’ and ‘not-to-do’ list. Some are really tough tasks. Can we ever accomplish them? Is it possible for us to be holy? We all know that at the sacrament of reconciliation, it is Jesus Himself who is sitting at the confessional, listening to the confessions. And the sacred privilege for me as a priest, is that I get to see as God sees and hear as God hears. And what does God see and hear? He doesn’t see our failures. He sees our brokenness. He doesn’t hear our sins. He hears our desire to be good. And God wants to help us. He reaches out to us, pouring out His graces. We desire to be holy and God desires the same. In that moment of reconciliation, in that meeting of desires, we become holy. And I, the priest who witnesses that sacred moment, also become holy. The very first step to becoming holy is to desire holiness. To desire becoming what God wants us to be, to be like Him, to...
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Homily : January 10, 2022, Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time,

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Homily: February 23, 2025 Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Love enemies)

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 “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:27-28) Love and hate are two very powerful human emotions that can heal or kill. Love can heal deep wounds and great divisions, while hatred can drive one to destroy lives and shatter peace. With love we can forgive, through hate we create fear. In the first reading, we see David and Abishai entering the camp of Saul’s 3,000 strong army, crept into where the king was sleeping soundly. David had good reason to hate Saul and the perfect opportunity to kill him, but he chose not to. David chose to love and honor God who anointed Saul.  26 years ago, Graham Staines, an Australian Christian missionary who took care of lepers in North India, was burnt alive by extremists, along with his two young sons. The attackers were fueled by hatred. Yet, just days after the deadly attack, Graham’s widow, Gladys Staines, publicly forgave the murderers, ...
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