Homily: January 26, 2026, Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops (Stir into Flame)

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 “For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.”

This phrase was chosen by the universal church as the theme for the Year of the Priest (2009–2010). At that time, I was still a seminarian. And to see the phrase repeatedly throughout that year, it stayed with me. It has sunk so deep that it will never leave my heart and mind.

These words also take me back to my childhood.

When I was young, often during harvesting season for coffee and black pepper, my father would send me to the next village bringing sickles, axes, and tools that needed sharpening. There was a blacksmith in that village, who worked under a simple tent. He had a heap of charcoal with a wheel he turned with a foot pedal. As he pressed and released the pedal, air would rush to blow into the charcoal. Within minutes, the fire came alive. The charcoal glowed, and soon the sickles too turned a fiery red.

That glowing red signaled the readiness of the tools to be sharpened. The moment the blacksmith stopped pumping the pedal, the fire began to fade. The glow disappeared. The tools cooled. The metal was set. End of sharpening.

St. Paul’s words to Timothy paralleled the same situation. Timothy was already a bishop. He had already received the gift through the laying on of hands. And yet, Paul urges him: “Stir it into flame.” Keep the heat up. Do not let it cool. Do not let it fade. Do not allow the fire to die down.

Similarly, for us.

At our baptism and confirmation, we were anointed and sealed with the Holy Spirit. The fire of God was placed within us, to fuel us for mission. But that fire needs to be kept alive and burning. If we neglect it, it cools and becomes dormant, not gone, but inactive.

Faith must be stirred up.

Prayers, the sacraments, Scripture reading, and daily commitment are like the pedal that pumps air to stir up the flames.

If we stop, the fire cools.

Today, St. Paul gently reminds us: do not let the gift within you grow cold. Stir it into flame again. Return to prayer. Return to the sacraments. Return to stir up the passion for mission.

Amen.


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Homily: June 16, 2026, Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time (Mercy)

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 “Since he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his time.” Yesterday we heard the disturbing story of Naboth and the terrible injustice committed against him by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. Their actions were cruel, wrong and sinful. They deserved judgement and punishment, especially Jezebel, who orchestrated the whole scheme. Yet today we see something remarkable. When Ahab humbled himself, fasted, and repented, God relented. He delayed the punishment that had been announced. What does this show us about God? It shows us that God’s mercy is greater than our sins. For thirteen years, Pope Francis reminded the Church of this beautiful truth: God's very name is mercy. God is just, but He is also infinitely merciful. He never ceases to seek out the sinner and offer the way back to Him. We see this throughout the events in Sacred Scripture. When Adam and Eve sinned, God pronounced the consequences of their sin. Yet immediately afterward, we read that “the LORD Go...
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Homily: June 15, 2026 Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time (Resistance)

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 But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.  Why did Jesus say this? Shouldn’t we resist and fight evil, so that we can keep ourselves holy? I remember years ago, I was traveling in a non-Christian country, and I had in my hand-carry bag, a zip-lock pouch of unconsecrated hosts for celebrating Mass during my trip. At customs, the officer checked my bag, took out the zip-lock pouch containing the hosts, then with one hand, crushed them all into pieces, and put them back into my bag. I felt great anger, and I felt deep sadness. I did not say a word. I knew saying anything about it would not make any difference, it would only complicate my travels. Utter disrespect! Such evil! In my heart I wanted to curse them. In today’s first reading, we see another example. King Ahab was wealthy, powerful, he had everything he needed and more, but he was not satisfied. He was greedy. He desired Naboth’s vineyard. So, his queen, Jezebel, made false accusations against Naboth, ha...
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Homily: May 14, Feast of St. Mathias (Chosen)

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"It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you”.  Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Matthias, who was not at first one of the twelve nor part of the inner circle of Jesus. He was chosen later into the college of apostles, to take the place of Judas. In the first reading, we saw how the apostles prayed and asked the Lord to show them whom He had chosen, someone who had accompanied them ‘the whole time’. They then cast their lots and God’s choice was revealed. Did God choose Matthias only at that point when the apostles had to replace Judas? Or did God already planned and prepared Matthias ‘the whole time’ when he was following Jesus throughout His ministry, and remained in the community even after the crucifixion? St. Paul says, “He chose us in him, before the foundation of the world…” Can you imagine, right up to this point in your life and mine, you and I are present right now in this holy place not by chance, but by choice. Through our own decisions nevertheless, but not w...
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 “But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly.” Has this ever happened to you before? When everything went wrong. There are days when I made good plans, I did my best, but my plans were overturned, my efforts came out wrong, then problems and troubles arose one after another. Those days were really frustrating, I even question Him why He didn’t come to help me and where He was when I was suffering. In those moments, my prayers became complaints. Now looking back, those may have been the very moments when God was allowing me to unite my small suffering with Jesus on the cross. I should be rejoicing, instead of complaining, for having the privilege to share in the sufferings of Christ. But that is not easy. Naturally, no one welcomes suffering. Yet no one can avoid suffering. And as Christians, every little pain, hardship, difficulty or failure, can be the pebble forming our path to holiness ...
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 “… you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people… You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” What beautiful assurance from our God, stated so clearly in our first reading today. Imagine the Almighty Creator of the universe saying to us mere human beings that we are His special possession, that we are so dear to Him. He, Who is all powerful, declaring His endearing love for us, who are nothing. We are truly blessed. Deep in every person’s heart, there is a longing to be special to somebody, to belong, to be loved and valued. I have a friend from childhood. His name is Dijol. I have known him since kindergarten. We are somewhat different in a lot of ways. His parents were teachers, and from a young age he did well in his studies, he would always top the class for tests and exams. He had dreams and ambitions. He always knew he wanted something bigger in life. My parents were farm people. From young, I helped my parents milk the cows, feed goats ...
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Homily: September 7, 2024, Saturday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time (Suffering).

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 “To this very hour, we go hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clad and roughly treated, we wander about homeless, and we toil, working with our own hands.” The Apostle Paul described the life of him and his companions as they do their mission of proclaiming Christ. It was quite a life of hardship and suffering. And it seemed that many, if not all, of the missionaries who went out to proclaim the Gospel suffered similarly – other than persecution from anti-Christianity haters, it was simply hardships in daily living conditions. Is it true that living for Christ and proclaiming the Gospel means living a harsh life of suffering? St. Ignatius Loyola said, “If God sends you many sufferings, it is a sign that He has great plans for you and certainly wants to make you a saint.” So, it is true that to be a saint does mean going through suffering. Doesn’t this sound irrational and sadistic? Why can’t we be faithful to Christ and not have to suffer? Does such suffering come with pain and angu...
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Homilía: 23 de Octubre 2022, XXX Domingo ordinario (ES)

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 En la primera lectura escuchamos: “El Señor es un juez que no se deja impresionar por apariencias. No menosprecia a nadie por ser pobre”. Siempre pensé que Dios tiene un amor especial por aquellos que son pobres, débiles y vulnerables. Sin embargo, de las lecturas de hoy está claro que todas las personas son iguales, nadie es favorecido, Dios nos ama a todos por igual. Rico o pobre, fuerte o débil, pecador o santo. Cuando nos presentamos ante Dios, todos somos iguales para Él, apreciados y amados. Igual de amados y valorados. Toda persona humana está creada a imagen y semejanza de Dios, esta es la divinidad que todos compartimos, nuestra identidad, nuestra dignidad. Todos los años, por este tiempo, cuando cambian las estaciones, a menudo noto que los animales también están ocupados preparándose para el invierno. En mi jardín vive una ardilla de tierra que está más ocupada en este tiempo del año. La veo corriendo para arreglar su nido para la hibernación y almacenar comida para el ...
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Homily: May 23, 2024, Holy Family school Graduation Mass.

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First, congratulations to all of you for successfully completing middle school! Are you happy that you are graduating? I graduated from middle school in 1999. That was twenty-five years ago! We did not have a graduation ceremony like this because my school provided pre-K to grade 12 classes all on the same campus. So, we did not leave school, we just moved up to another grade, another class, but thankfully, our teachers organized something simple for us to celebrate that milestone. I remember during my school days, the hours in class seemed to pass very slowly, but now I look back, time seems to fly by with rocket speed! It will be the same for you, so enjoy being a student now, these could be the best times of your life! Here, you are the seniors of the school, soon, you will be freshmen in high school, you will be the juniors. You will again look up to the seniors and learn from them. In middle school, your teachers gave you a lot of attention and took care of you. When you go to hig...
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Homily: Ocotber 8, 2024, Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time (Purpose)

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"But when He, who from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son to me, so that I might proclaim Him to the Gentiles." St. Paul’s conversion always gives us hope. A persecutor who became a preacher. His transformation was a miracle. Yes, nothing is impossible for God. Paul went around to preach and proclaim what he previously persecuted and sought to prevent its spread. What struck me deeply is Paul’s belief that “from my mother’s womb, He had set me apart and called me.” That means that the very purpose of his existence was not to persecute the Christians, but to preach the Good News to the Gentiles. St. Paul was born for this, to be an apostle to the Gentiles and an author for nearly 25% of the New Testament books. When he realized his true calling, he embraced it fully and excelled in it. That is why he said, “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel.” His life would have been meaningless and purposeless if he did not f...
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Homily:January 17, 2023, Tuesday of the second week in Ordinary time

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 “We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfilment of hope until the end.” When I read this phrase in the first reading, another phrase in the gospels came to mind: ‘The one who perseveres to the end will be saved’.  It is very easy to lose hope in this world which is so result oriented and often unforgiving of failures. There were many times in my life when I thought I will be a total failure, when I missed the mark.  In schools and workplaces, we see students and workers being labelled as losers or failures in life if they could not meet certain expectations or tasks. Nobody wants to invest their time and money on these people. Nobody cares that they are valuable in God’s eyes. Is this how it will be in the Kingdom of God? If we apply the same practical logic and rationalise with the same lens of this world, the life of Jesus and His public ministry would look like a miserable failure. As Mother Angelica commented, “Even after healing...
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