Homily: February 18, 2026 Ash Wednesday (Return to God)

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 “Return to the LORD, your God. For gracious and merciful is He, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.”

If you were to choose someone to be your BFF – Best Friend Forever - what qualities would you be looking for?

For me, one of the first qualities I would look for is kindness. I do not want someone who will be cruel and rough with me, or someone who would bully me or always get angry with me.

I am sure you would agree that it is easy to be long-time friends with someone who is patient, slow to anger, gracious, and merciful. We are drawn to people who forgive quickly, who do not keep scores, who love generously.

And today the prophet Joel tells us: that is exactly who God is: Gracious. Merciful. Slow to anger. Rich in kindness.

Yes, we are sinful people, we have done and might continue to do many things which are not pleasing to God. But the good news is God is not waiting to punish us. In fact, He is waiting for our friendship.

Many of us feel ashamed of ourselves when we do something wrong in a relationship, and then we walk out, we go away. We do that so often with God.

Lent is about returning. Come back. Reconcile. God, who truly loves us, does not hold our wrongs against us, is waiting for us to come back to Him.

The whole of our life is a journey towards God, but the Church puts Lent in the calendar to help us put aside this season to focus on coming home to God.

St. Paul tells us today: “Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

Not tomorrow. Not when life is less busy. Not when you feel more worthy.

Now.

Today, from the depth of our heart, let us say: “Jesus, I want You. I want Your friendship. I want to come back to You.”

And the Father who sees what is hidden in your heart, who sees your quiet desire, your silent struggle, your sincere longing, He will open His arms to receive You.

Ash Wednesday is our response to God’s constant invitation, the ashes imposed on us, is a sign of our repentance, to turn back, to return to Him. He is already waiting.

Amen.


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Homily: September 21, 2026, Mass of Healing and Remembrance for those who died by Suicide

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 “I desire mercy.” As I was going through the readings for today, on this Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, these words of Jesus stood out to me: “I desire mercy.” Those words seem especially appropriate as we gather today to remember and pray for those who have died by suicide, and to pray for their families and friends who continue to carry their absence. Two years ago, on a cold January day, I received a call telling me that a young woman I knew had taken her own life. She was only 21 years old, a young mother with a seven-month-old baby, and she had been struggling with postpartum depression. Her death shocked everyone, her family, her friends, and our community. I still remember the funeral. It was a bitterly cold day, and I remember seeing her little baby wrapped warmly and held in the grandmother’s arms. Looking at that child and realizing that the mother was gone was heartbreaking. After the funeral, the family did not want to keep all the plants that had been s...
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In those days: God delivered all these commandments: “I, the LORD, am your God…” In today's first reading, Moses passed on the Ten Commandments to the Israelites as he had received from God. Most emphasis is given to the first commandment because God wants His chosen people to focus on it seriously. It is the foundation on which all the other commandments rest. Whenever Israel failed in the first commandment, they would get into serious consequences. I am not an exorcist, but I have assisted exorcists as a translator on numerous occasions. Demonic possessions take place when people allow it through intentional offences against God. The exorcists would often ask questions to identify which commandment was violated, and commonly, it is the first commandment that was broken, such as playing Ouija board, practicing black magic or white magic, engaging in witchcraft, and so on. Violating the first commandment is denying God as our Lord, and that is the easiest way for Satan to possess a...
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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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 “They are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.” We hear this parable during the harvest season, so the image of seed and harvest is very familiar to us. Once, a farmer friend gave me a ride in his combine during harvest. He showed me the GPS system they use for both planting and harvesting. It was fascinating. The system could tell him what kind of seed had been planted in a particular area and how many bushels of corn were harvested from each acre. All that information would help him decide what seed to plant and where to plant it the following year in order to get a better yield. Seed is expensive. So naturally, farmers want to make sure that good seed is planted in good soil where it can produce a good harvest. But the farmer in today’s Gospel seems almost wasteful! He throws the seed everywhere—on the path, on rocky ground, among thorns, and finally on good soil. He knows that some of the s...
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 “Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes.” It is very difficult to live without judging others. Knowingly or unknowingly, we often judge people based on what we see, especially those who are different from us. But we are all different. Our life situations are different, our ideas are different, and the ways we were raised are different. There is a beautiful saying often attributed to Philo of Alexandria: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.” How true that is. We often do not know what another person is carrying in his or her heart. Jesus also tells us, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged.” So how do we overcome a judgmental attitude? One way is by becoming more empathetic. Instead of immediately judging someone, we can try to know the person, listen to their story, and understand why they may think or act differently from us. St. Paul reminds us today that the final judgment belongs to God. God knows what is ...
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Homily: April 2, 2024, Tuesday in the Octave of Easter (Mary at the Tomb).

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Homily: September 25, 2026, Friday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (A time for everything)

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 “There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for everything under the heavens.” Yesterday I watched the movie The Lovely Bones. The movie has many flashback scenes—moments from the past suddenly coming back to life. Later in the day, when I read today’s first reading, I found myself doing the same thing: going back through different moments and seasons of my own life. Whenever I hear this passage from Ecclesiastes, especially at a funeral Mass, memories come to mind—good times and difficult times, moments of joy and moments of sadness. Growing up, some of these images were very real to me: the season for planting and the season for harvesting. There really is a time for everything. And it is not only the different seasons of our whole life. Even a single day can contain so many different emotions. Those who regularly make an examination of conscience know this very well. At the end of the day, we look back: there was a moment when I was happy; a moment when I was frustra...
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 “Thus says the Lord: You say, ‘The Lord’s way is not fair!’” I chose this phrase from our first reading for our reflection today because it sounds very similar to what we heard last Sunday in the first reading.  “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.” I think most of us, at some point in our lives, have said something similar to God. I know I have. “Lord, this is not fair.” “Why do I have to go through this?” “Why didn’t you answer this prayer?” “Why did you allow this to happen?” “I am trying to follow you. Could you not treat me a little better?” We may not say those words aloud, but sometimes they are deep within our hearts. So what exactly is God’s way? The second reading gives us an answer.  For centuries humanity wondered what God was like. Then Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of the Father, came among us and revealed the face of God. And St. Paul describes Jesus with these extraordinary words: “He did not regard equality with God something to...
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Homily: February 22-2026, First Sunday of Lent (Angles)

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