Homily: April 27, 2026, Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter.

-

 “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me… and I will lay down my life for the sheep.”

This is the truth. And it is beautiful.

We have a God who knows us by name. To Him, we are not just a member in a big church community, not just as a number in a big group - but we are a specific person to Him. He knows us personally, intimately and fully.

There is a quote: Satan knows your name but calls you by your sin. God knows your sin but calls you by your name.

And not only does He know us, He loves us so much, He lays down His life for us so that we can live.

It is the truth. It is also a mystery of love.

As St. Paul says: “May you have the strength to comprehend… the breadth and length and height and depth… and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.”

It is a love beyond understanding.

Recently, I watched a short video about the vastness of the universe. To travel to the nearest galaxy from our Milky Way, at the speed of light, it would take about 2.5 million years. With our fastest spacecraft, it could take 70 billion years.

Just imagine that. The universe is so vast… so immense… beyond our imagination. 

And yet, the God who created all of this greatness, knows each and every one of us personally and calls us each by name.

When I think about that, it gives me goosebumps to realize that this all-powerful Creator of the universe cares about tiny-helpless me personally. What a privilege to be His children, His sheep.

The more science studies and discovers the greatness of the universe, the more I am amazed - not just by the amazing wonders of creation, but am moved by the deep love of the Creator.

Today, Jesus the Good Shepherd is inviting us, not just to know about Him, but have a personal relationship with Him. To hear His voice especially. To trust Him. To walk with Him.

So now, just for a moment, close your eyes. Be still. And remember: He knows you. He calls you by name. He loves you.

Amen.


Comments

Post a Comment

Read

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

-
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...
Read more

Homily: June 18, 2023, Sunday of the Eleventh Sunday in ordinary time (God's Love)

-
 "At the sight of the crowds, Jesus' heart was moved with pity because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd." I especially admire Pope Benedict XVI. I can relate to his personality in many ways. He was an introvert and shy, so am I. And he liked bier, so do I. He was one of the greatest theologians of our time. Through the encyclicals, which are papal letters to all the bishops of the church, Popes share their wisdom and insights on world issues and the faith to guide the church forward. When Pope Benedict was installed, many theologians and the world waited eagerly for his first encyclical, wondering which global issue of the time he would address. Instead, his first encyclical dwelt on a very basic yet profound topic, "Deus Caritas est", that means "God is love". It was what the church needed, to go back to who God really is and focus on the very basis and essence of our existence. No world issue can be resolved without kno...
Read more

Homily April 29, Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

-
 “And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus”. Even after being flogged, all day long, the disciples continued teaching and preaching everywhere… Amazing, isn’t it?  These past few days, we have been reading from Acts of the Apostles. We see how the Jewish leaders and high priest tried to stop the apostles from preaching in the name of Jesus. But they failed. The Pharisee Gamaliel rightly said, “if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” How true. The church is from God. The disciples did not stop teaching and proclaiming. They even rejoiced at being flogged for what they were doing. They were on fire for Jesus. They were so eager and excited to tell everyone about Jesus. What about us? If there is a new restaurant serving delicious food or a store is having a great end-of-summer sale, we would hear many people talking about it. Some w...
Read more

Homily: April 20, 2026, Monday of the Third week of Easter (Friendship with Jesus)

-
 “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” I have many personal friends whom I do not contact regularly anymore, mostly because of our busy schedules, time zone difference, and simply how quickly time passes. But when I need something from there, when I need their help, I would not hesitate to call them. And they would oblige and not reject me. They too, would reach out to me only when they need my help, and I would not deny them my assistance either. I do feel guilty quite often, however. I do think I should have called them more often, to check in with them and show concern, not just when I needed help. My friends are guilty of the same. In today’s Gospel, people were looking for Jesus, and He knew their motivation, because they knew He could provide for their needs, He could feed them and satisfy their hunger for food. Sadly, they did not know He could give them much more than mere food, they simp...
Read more

Homily: April 25, 2026, Saturday of the Third Week of Easter (Suffering)

-
 “The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ Jesus will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little.” We all experience some suffering in life. We don’t have to go looking for it. It will come looking for us. And as Christians, suffering is part of our discipleship. Jesus said very clearly: “If you want to follow me, take up your cross daily and follow me.” That means every day in the life of a Christian, we each have a cross and we are called not to despise or deny it, but to carry it with grace. Throughout the history of the Church, followers have carried their crosses in various ways. The Desert Fathers believed in severe fasting and a very austere life. In the Middle Ages, some monks practiced harsh penances - even self-inflicting physical suffering. Today, we hardly see such extreme practices. Life itself has enough hardship to offer. Simply by being faithful to our Christian vocation – as a married coup...
Read more

Homily: April 26, 2026, Fourth Sunday of Easter (Life in Abundance)

-
 “A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” These words of Jesus are very clear. There are two types of people you can allow into your life. One will give you fullness, peace, and joy in life. The other will come in then leave you with emptiness, sorrow, and destruction. Who will you invite? Jesus says: I came to give you life - life in abundance. What is life in abundance? The world offers abundance too. It promotes and promises happiness through prosperity of material wealth and possessions, great power and control through high position and status. Thus many people keep working hard, they compete and fight, some even try to outsmart the system. Over time, more often than not, all these things will pass, deplete, fail and leave us empty, not one bit happier than when we were innocent children with nothing to our name. The worldly culture promises freedom, but it actually leads to slavery and sadness. So...
Read more

Homily: September 25, 2024, Wednesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Modesty):

-
Holy family school Mass  “Put falsehood and lying far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; provide me only with the food I need.” This is what we heard in today’s first reading taken from the book of Proverbs in the Bible. It is a prayer request of a holy person. He asked to be kept away from falsehood and lying, that means he prayed that he will not be a scammer or a liar. And he didn’t care much for being rich but he didn’t want to be poor either. All he asked for was to have food to eat and survive. That is a very simple prayer, isn’t it? When you pray, do you ask God for many things? What do you ask for? How many of you want to be rich, more than you are now? When I was your age, I wanted to become rich. I was from a poor farming family. I had to help out at the family farm every day. I enjoyed the work. So I would always think about working hard on the farm to make a lot of money, then I would be rich, I would buy a nice new car, and travel far away to see the world, e...
Read more

Homily: March 24, 2026, Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Lent (Old-New )

-
 “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert…? We are disgusted with this wretched food!” When you read the story of Exodus to this point, do you feel frustrated with the Israelites? Don’t you think they should be deeply grateful to God? For years, they have been praying and crying to God to save them from slavery. Then God sent Moses and they saw with their own eyes the many miracles and wonders God performed to bring them all out of Egypt safely. The ten plagues, the passover, the parting of the Red Sea as they walked on dry ground to freedom. They experienced God’s power firsthand and saw what generations before and after them have not seen. They know God is real. Now they did not have to be flogged and beaten, they did not have to work in harsh conditions, they did not have to live in fear, they didn’t even have to grow their own food. God provided every day. And yet, they complained, they blamed God and Moses, they even called manna, the food God gave them fro...
Read more

Homily: May 24, 2025,Saturday of the Fifth week of Easter (Persecution)

-
 “No slave is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” There is no doubt: every Christian who follows Jesus truly and live fully obedient to His commandments will face some form of persecution. The stories of the saints and martyrs throughout history confirm this reality. If we genuinely live according to the values of the Gospel, persecution is inevitable. Why? Because the world lives in opposition to the Gospel values. We all love Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She is now a canonized saint of the church but before she even died, she was already recognized as a living saint. She responded to the call of Jesus with extraordinary faith, humility and full obedience. She lived the Gospel in a powerful and real way, she showed mercy, compassion and solidarity with the poorest of the poor, living with them in the poorest of conditions, feeding them from the poverty she embraced but embracing them with the fullness of Christ’s love through the congregati...
Read more

Homily: November 29, 2023, Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Joy, Fun)

-
Holy Family School Mass:  Then they asked him, "Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?" Signs are very helpful in our everyday life. When I first came to this church, I had a hard time finding the confessional. There were no signs. I thought it might be somewhere in the vestibule and after going down the stairs, I ended up at the restrooms. Directional signs tell us where to go, spiritual signs tell us what to do. When Jesus spoke about the destruction of the temple, He was also warning the disciples about fake news and scammers. So simply looking for signs may not help, because there are misleading and false signs that will only lead to more confusion and wrong turns. The only reliable signs in life are the Holy Word of God and the teachings and traditions of the church passed down from the Apostles. Our Christian faith guides and provides, it shows the right path to the right place. I have preached before that ...
Read more