Homily: December 2, 2025, Tuesday of the First Week of Advent (Knowledge)

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“There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea.”

How beautiful this promise is, the entire earth filled with the knowledge of the Lord as water covers the sea. Imagine a world where every heart, every home, every nation is filled with the knowledge of God. What a different world that would be.

Knowledge is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. But this knowledge does not simply mean information it means truly knowing God: knowing His heart, His will, His love, His commandments.

This is the very purpose of human life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1721 teaches: God placed us in the world to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him, and so to come to Paradise.

And notice the order: Know> Love> Serve. We cannot love someone we do not know, and we cannot serve someone we do not love.

So how do we know God? The Psalm tells us: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). To know God, we need stillness a peaceful and quiet heart.

In the noise of the world, with distractions from every corner, we may hear many voices but not the voice of God.

We must choose moments of silence, prayer, and reflection.

It is only in that stillness that the Holy Spirit can fill our minds with the knowledge of God.

When people truly know God, they begin to love Him. And when they love Him, they begin to serve Him. And then the world becomes a better place.

The first reading gives us a picture of such a world, where even creation is transformed: no hatred, no violence, no fear between animals or between humans and animals. Harmony. Peace. Unity. This is what the world looks like when the knowledge of the Lord fills it.

Let us pray that every heart knows God and come to the full knowledge of him. 




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Homily: December 2, 2024 Monday of the First Week in Advent (Banquet)

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“The kingdom of God will be taken away from you  and given to a people that will produce its fruit.” We are now in harvesting season. Many months before this, we were planting and pruning, now we see the results, the fruits, the produce. Our two readings today are also about producing and harvesting fruits. In the first reading the vineyard produced wild grapes instead of good grapes. What went wrong? If the vineyard owner had done everything right, and yet the vineyard brought forth wild grapes, then the problem must have been the soil? Yet it was a land set on the fertile hillside. There is nothing the vineyard owner could do than to let it waste and be cursed. In the Gospel, the story is not about the soil which could not produce, but the tenants who refused to give the produce back to the vineyard owner. What went wrong? The produce must have been good, and the tenants might have become greedy, and wanted to keep all the harvest to themselves and even planned to kill to take ov...
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"Behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves."  Thousands of years before Jesus’ time, sheep became domesticated. While there still exists very few species in the wild, most sheep will never be able to survive on their own. Their lambs are even more vulnerable. If ever they fall prey to wolves, they will not be able to fight them. They need a shepherd to protect them, to keep them alive. Then why is Jesus sending his disciples out among wolves? Why send them into danger?  If we recall Jesus has told His disciples, “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” (Matthew 10, 28) Did His disciples understand their vulnerability? Should they fear being among wolves which can only destroy their bodies, while they are there preaching to save their souls? Today's first reading shows us how much danger discipleship faces. St. Paul was often beaten, persecuted, stoned, and...
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“In the blood of calves, lambs, and goats, I find no pleasure.” Why does God find no pleasure in such blood sacrifices? What would please God? In the past, one of the parishes in my home diocese in India used to practice animal sacrifices in church. I do not know how it all started but I know how it all ended. In 1924, exactly one hundred years ago, the bishop at that time banned all animal sacrifices in our parishes. It was a huge decision and he faced strong opposition. Why? The parish church was dedicated to St. Anthony attracted many visitors from other states. People would go and offer animal sacrifices, in the hope of getting their petitions granted. The church would sell chickens outside the church, and when a devotee wanted to offer a sacrifice, they would cut the necks of the chickens, and sell it to the devotees for their sacrificial offertory. The parishioners who sold the chickens to the church made a lot of money and the church profited from the offertory as well. You can ...
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