Homily: May 18, 2026, Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter (Holy Spirit )

-

 “And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.”

I have always wished to experience similar impact and intensity of the Holy Spirit. But I wonder if I wish because I need the gift of tongues in my ministry? Or I wish because I am interested in being part of the excitement?

Being inflamed by the Holy Spirit does not always end up with these dramatic outward results. Yet it seems to be happening rather often in the conversion experiences of the early Christians and hardly in these later times.

Perhaps we do not have the same deep hunger the early Christians had for the sacraments. In the face of persecution and uncertainty, knowing their lives were always on the line, their desire for the grace of God was thus very intense and strong. They also lived in a world with possibly less distractions, so the Gospel of Jesus could enter more deeply into their hearts.

In contrast, we live now in a society where life has become compartmentalized and secularized. 

Our work, our faith, and even our family life is distinctly separated. Expressions of faith are downplayed in preference for acceptance from others. Life is generally more comfortable and we try not to rock the boat unnecessarily.

Essentially, the Holy Spirit comes to a person in the measure of that person’s openness. Receptivity is key in the life of faith. The more we long for God and His grace, the more deeply we will receive and experience the fruits of the sacraments.

So how can we change this?

Invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day. Spend more time with Jesus. Pray unceasingly for the gifts and charisms of the Holy Spirit, whether it comes in dramatic form or mild and gentle. Remember the words of Jesus: “Ask and you will receive.”

Amen.


Comments

Post a Comment

Read

Homily: October 25, 2026, Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time (Spiritually Crippled)

-
 “And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit.” Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus healing people who had suffered from illnesses for many years. We remember the woman who suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years, the man who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years, and today, a woman who had been crippled for eighteen years. For eighteen long years, this woman was bent over, unable to stand straight. She could not even look up. We have probably seen people suffering from similar conditions, especially in their old age. But imagine living like that for eighteen years, always looking down, unable to lift your head and enjoy the beauty of the world around you. But there is something deeper in today's Gospel. St. Luke tells us that she had been crippled by a spirit. Her suffering was not simply physical; there was also a spiritual bondage. And Jesus came not only to heal her body but also to set her free. We may not be physically crippled by an evi...
Read more

Homily: March 10, 2022, Thursday of the First Week in Lent

-
 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” When I was much younger, I wanted to become very rich, to have lots of money, a nice car, a big house etc.… It was a common village boy’s dream. I don’t think I actually prayed for it, but I surely dreamt about it often. What happened thereafter? Well, I am still dreaming about it. And I even pray for it now! Not for myself but for the parish. When I first moved to this parish, I was shocked by the financial situation, so I did wish and pray for this parish to be rich.  Money is indeed helpful in life but not the most important. Money solves a lot of problems only when it is used wisely. Being poor helps me learn to depend on God’s providence. So, my dream for the parish now is to be rich in God’s word, in community life, in prayerful spirit, in loving and caring for one another. I dream of hearing our prayers and singing rise-up strong and joyful to the heavens when we gather...
Read more

Homily: October 18, 2026, Sunday of the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (All to God )

-
 “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” Three weeks before the election, we hear these words of Jesus in today's Gospel. you may wonder whether the Church intentionally chose this Gospel because of the upcoming election. The answer is no. It is simply a coincidence. The readings we hear at Mass are proclaimed throughout the world, not just here in the United States. They are not chosen according to political events. And I am not here to speak about the election. That is not the purpose of a Sunday homily. Rather, I want to reflect on the spiritual message Jesus gives us today. “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.” Caesar was the Roman emperor. Jesus reminds us that, as citizens, we have certain responsibilities and duties toward our country and society. We have a responsibility to contribute to the common good, to respect others, and through our good deeds, to make our country and our world a better place. In another Gospel passage, we eve...
Read more

Homily: October27, 2026, Tuesday of the Thirtieth week in Ordinary Time (Kingdom of God)

-
 “It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.” “It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour.” In today's Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to two very small things: a mustard seed and yeast. Both teach us about how God's Kingdom grows. In both cases, the growth happens quietly, almost invisibly. We cannot see the growth from moment to moment, but eventually we see the results. When we look at the two-thousand-year history of the Church, we see this very clearly. The Church began with a small group of ordinary people. It faced centuries of persecution, suffering, and opposition. Yet, it not only survived but spread throughout the world. The tiny mustard seed became a great tree. Today, we seem to be very concerned about the growth of the Church. We conduct surveys, studies, and research. We count how many people attend Mass, how many are baptized, and how many are leaving the Church. And when the numbers go ...
Read more

Homily: October 25, 2025, Saturday of the Twenty-Nineth Week in Ordinary Time (Spirit -Alive)

-
 “But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is alive because of righteousness.” What a hopeful and assuring message. Even though our bodies are weakened by sin and subject to death, the Spirit of God within us is alive and active. But note the one condition: if Christ is in you! The Father and the Son have given us this precious gift, the Holy Spirit, the divine helper who will dwell in our hearts if we accept Jesus Christ into our lives. If we follow the timeline of our salvation story, all of us are now living in the era of the Holy Spirit. God the Father has revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and the prophets. Then in the fullness of time, God the Son came into the world and revealed to us the Father’s love. Before returning to heaven, Jesus promised to send us the Holy Spirit to be our companion, our guide, and our strength till the end of time. And from then, the Holy Spirit has been active in the world, in the church and in o...
Read more

Homily: November 18, Monday of the Thirty-Third week in Ordinary Time (Love)

-
“Yet I hold this against you: you have lost the love you had at first.” Love is the greatest Christian virtue. Without love, Christianity is meaningless. Without love, salvation is pointless. Without love, our life is aimless. We are created by a God who is love, saved by His Son out of love and called to imitate Him in love. He created us to accept His love, to love Him, and to love others. Therefore, a life without love is empty. The greatest love ever is Jesus giving his own life completely to us. Our response to this is to love Him back all our mind, heart and soul. In today’s first reading from the Book of Revelation, God’s angel rebukes the church in Ephesus for having lost the love for Jesus they had when they first embraced the faith. The Ephesians fell passionately in love with Jesus at the beginning. They surrendered totally to Him, obeying His teachings fully. They left all their old ways to follow Him. But now God’s  is warning and reminding them, because they have beco...
Read more

Homily: September 19, 2026, Saturday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Generous God)

-
 “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...
Read more

Homily: Monday of the first week in Lent (Love)

-
 "You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD."  Yesterday, one of our youths gave an inspiring testimony at all our Sunday Masses, sharing her experience from the Youth 2000 retreat. She shared that she has been comfortable in her relationship with Jesus and that gave her the impression that her faith in the Lord was good enough. But from the retreat, she realized something profound: That if you are in a comfort zone in your love for God, then your relationship with Him is not growing. God is infinite love, the supreme good. He can never be outdone in generosity; He can never be outdone in love. That means, the more we love Him, the more we will receive His love, and the more we will be transformed. Her sharing made me reflect deeper. So, how then should my love for God be? I do believe that I can do more for God, we can never love Him enough, there is always room for better, stronger, greater, deeper love for this great big God of ours. And one of the most beaut...
Read more

Homily: January 18, 2022, Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time.

-
 Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011822.cfm “Take no notice of his appearance or his height for I have rejected him; God does not see as man sees; man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.” These words of God are so assuring. If God were to choose based on appearances and height, I would never have made it to priesthood. But the world chooses differently. When I was doing my seminary studies in Rome, I used to go to Germany for summer jobs. I was poor and my home diocese could not afford to give seminarians who studied overseas any allowances, so I worked during the vacation to earn pocket money for my daily expenses. During my first vacation stint, I got a job with a car factory in Munich which produced the BMW cars. Our job was to do summer cleaning of the factory. On the first day of work, they lined up all student workers according to our heights and weights. I was so skinny at that time, so I was almost last in line. Then the work was assi...
Read more

Homily: December 24, 2023, Fourth Sunday of Advent (It was i).

-
 “It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be commander of my people Israel.”  In the first reading, we see David, now a powerful king, wanting to build a grand dwelling place for the Lord. It may seem like King David is being pious, but God doesn’t seem impressed. Why? David was once a shepherd boy caring for sheep in the pastures, and now he is king commanding a great and expanding nation. How did he do it? Was it his strength? Was it his courage? No. It was the Lord’s doing. The Lord says, “It was I…” It was God who gave David all the successes, the victories, the palace. Would God need a grand temple to be His dwelling place? No. The temple of God which David did build was finally destroyed. But the ‘house’ and ‘kingdom’ of David blessed by God will never fall because He promised David “your throne shall stand firm forever.” Nothing built by man, no matter how grand, will last forever. Nothing brought up by God, no matter how humble, will ev...
Read more