Homily: April 18, 2026, Saturday of the Second Week of Easter (Be not Afraid )

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 “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

One of my nephews and I used to do WhatsApp video calls. You know how those apps have masks and funny filters. One day I put on a scary mask, he threw the phone aside, and ran away. He got frightened. Later I called him and said , “It’s your uncle. Don’t worry.” After that we made an agreement—no more masks/ filters during our calls.

Now he is fine!

In today’s Gospel, the disciples see Jesus walking on the water, but they do not recognize Him. They think they are seeing a ghost, and they are terrified.

Then Jesus speaks: “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

The moment they hear His voice, fear begins to leave them. His words help them recognize Him. His voice brings peace.

That is the power of the word of God. We see the opposite in Gethsemane. When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, they asked, “Are you Jesus the Nazorean?” Jesus answered: “I AM.”

And the Gospel says they drew back and fell to the ground. The same Lord. The same voice. The same divine power. To some, His presence brings peace. To others, it brings fear. What makes the difference?

Our openness. Our faith. Our disposition of heart.

If we love Him and trust Him, His voice calms our storms. If we resist Him, His truth unsettles us.

Many of us today are carrying fears—fear about health, family, future, finances, loneliness, or death itself. Into all those fears, Jesus still speaks:

“It is I. Do not be afraid.” When life feels dark, when the storm is strong, when you do not recognize what God is doing—listen for His voice.

Because one word from Jesus can give peace to the heart, strength to the weak, and courage to continue. So today, let us ask for faith to recognize Him in the storm, and peace to trust Him when He says:

“It is I. Do not be afraid.” Amen.


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Homily: April 14, 2026 Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter (Simple Faith)

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March 1, 2025: First Holy Communion Homily: St. Joseph's Catholic Church Seffner, Florida

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Did you listen attentively to the Gospel reading? Yes? Let me test you… What did Jesus say? Did He say, “Whoever eats my bread and drinks my wine?”  No! He said, “Whoever eats my FLESH and drinks my BLOOD remains in me and I in him.” Yes, when you receive Holy Communion, you are receiving the real flesh and blood of Jesus. I am sure Fr. Roy, your catechists, parents and the whole parish community have prepared you well for this day, so you know what you are receiving today. But what I want to focus on now is the last part where Jesus says, ‘remains in me and I in him’. 29 years ago in 1996, I received my First Holy Communion. I was eight years old, but I still remember that day vividly. I remember the preparations, my First Reconciliation, and the excitement I felt when I lined up to receive Jesus for the very first time. I remember seeing the priest dipping the Precious Body into the Precious Blood, and then that precious moment – Jesus’ body and blood rested on my tongue. So swee...
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Holy Family School Mass Homily:   “During the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison.” Did you hear that line in today’s first reading? The Sadducees put the apostles in jail. But during the night, an angel of the Lord came, opened the prison doors, and set them free. That is amazing, right? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have an angel like that? But here is the good news: You already do! Each one of you has a guardian angel. God has given every one of us an angel to protect us, guide us, and help us reach heaven. Some saints were very close to their guardian angels. St. Isidore, a farmer in Spain, loved God very much. There are stories that angels helped him with his work when he was busy praying. St. Padre Pio often spoke with his guardian angel and even asked his angel to help others. St. Gemma Galgani also experienced her guardian angel, who guided her and even corrected her when she did something wrong! Even in the life of Jesus, when He was praying in t...
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Homily: April 10, 2026, Friday in the Octave of Easter (Are you Hungry)

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Homily: April 17, 2026, Friday of the second week of Easter (Gamliel)

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 “Fellow children of Israel, be careful what you are about to do to these men.” These are the words of Gamaliel in today’s first reading. Gamaliel was a Pharisee, a highly respected teacher of the law. People listened to him because his words carried wisdom and authority. He was also the teacher of Saul who later became Paul the Apostle. In today’s reading, we see that his logic was simple but profound: “For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” And so too, his advice was simple but wise: Be careful. Think. Do not act in haste. I often wonder, “Where was Gamaliel when Jesus was being condemned?” If he was present at the Sanhedrin, could Jesus be spared the death sentence like the Apostles? In any case, from today’s reading, we can conclude that Gamaliel was indeed a man of justice, a man of prudence, a man of wisdom, and a man o...
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Homily: July 2, 2024, Tuesday of the Thirteenth week in Ordinary time (Meet God ).

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“Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.” This is the last verse from today’s first reading, and it reminds me of my school days. When I was in school, from Pre-K right up to high school, there were umpteen times when I was told, “Prepare to meet your principal.” And that meant trouble. Every principal that had led my school, has had the privilege of punishing me for being naughty or not doing my homework, and occasionally my parents too were called in to meet them. That was so embarrassing for them, and totally shameful for me. Yet it did not stop me from getting into trouble as I progressed through school. And so, whenever I go to Holy Family School here, and if I see students in the principal's office, it reminds me of my own experience in the past. I imagine that they too probably got into some trouble for not finishing their homework or misbehaving in class. And if I see a kid from SAC in the principal's office, I would just pretend that I did not look inside and did not see t...
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Homily: January 4, 2025, Feast of Elizabeth Ann Seton (Come and See)

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 “He said to them, 'Come, and you will see.' So they went and saw where he was staying.” “Come and See” is often an invitation to take an personal exploration and not just hear about something from others.  Many religious congregations use similar programs for those who are discerning a vocation to the priesthood or religious life, because often it is better to have an experience than simply reading or hearing about it before making a decision with regards the consecrated life. I participated in one such program before. At that time, I had absolutely no interest in joining the priesthood. I went because one of my best friends had asked me to accompany him to that three-day event. And guess what? Later that same year, I entered the seminary. The disciples in today’s Gospel wanted to know where Jesus was staying, instead of telling them, Jesus invited them to ‘Come and you will see.” Whatever it was that they saw, it was convincing enough for them to want to stay with Him, to fo...
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Homily: July 18, 2023, Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Be real )

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