Homily: May 29, 2026 Friday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

-

 “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 - when we unite it with the sufferings of Jesus on the cross. Then every step on this path will not be heavy, but light with joy.

That was how the saints and martyrs did it. Their suffering was not meaningless; it purified them and drew them closer to God. Their hardship was not without joy, they looked forward to it with anticipation and it united them to Christ.

Jesus did not avoid suffering; He embraced it out of love. He knew the purpose of His suffering, the mission of His crucifixion. Through His suffering and death came the glory of the Resurrection.

Perhaps the challenge for us today is this: Can we begin to see our suffering as walking beside Jesus in His pain? 

We do not walk alone in our suffering. We do not even need to carry our cross with our own strength. Every cross carried with faith and the grace of God, brings us one step closer to His glory.

Today, let us rejoice in our suffering, because we are sharing the sufferings of Christ, and we will one day rise with Him. Amen.


Comments

Post a Comment

Read

Homily: September 5, 2026, Saturday of the Twenty Second week in Ordinary Time (Be a saint)

-
“When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond gently.” In today’s first reading, St. Paul tells us about the hardships and patient endurance that marked his ministry. Before his conversion, Paul had what the world might consider a better and more comfortable life. He was well educated, a zealous Pharisee, respected among his own people, and a man with authority. But after encountering Jesus, everything changed. He gave up his former way of life to follow Christ. And what did he receive in return? Persecution, rejection, suffering, imprisonment, and many hardships.  Today the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Teresa of Calcutta. In some ways, her story reminds us of St. Paul. She came to India as a young religious sister with the Loreto Sisters. She became a teacher and eventually the headmistress of a school. She loved her religious life and her work. But then something changed. While traveling by train from Calcutta to Darjeeling, she experi...
Read more

Homily: September 4, 2026, Friday of the Twenty second Week in Ordinary Time (Do not Judge)

-
 “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 ...
Read more

Homily: August 15, 2026, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Sin-death)

-
 “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...
Read more

Homily: September 2, 2026 Wednesday of the Twenty Second Week in Ordinary Time (Belong to Jesus)

-
Holy Family School Mass Homily   Whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely men? How many of you are fans of Ronaldo? Any Messi fans here? What about Neymar? We all have people we admire. Maybe it is a great soccer player, a singer, or someone else we look up to. Maybe some of you even have a favorite teacher here at school! It is good to admire good people. It is good to have people we can look up to and learn from. But we also have to remember that no human person is perfect. In today’s reading, St. Paul had some “fans” too. Paul had preached to the people first, and later another great preacher named Apollos came. Soon people started choosing sides. Some were saying, “I belong to Paul,” while others were saying, “I belong to Apollos.” But Paul basically tells them, “Don’t make this about me!” Why? Because Paul did not want people simply to be his fans. He wanted them to be followers of Jesus Christ. And that is true for...
Read more

Homily: June 1, 2026 Monday of the Nineth Week in Ordinary Time (Grow in Virtues)

-
 “Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue.” Many of us, including myself, would be happy if we could just live every day without committing any serious sin. And to be able to just live out the basic life of a faithful – pray daily and receive the sacraments regularly – that should be enough and would be good with God. But St. Peter is challenging us to grow, go beyond the minimum, he says: “Supplement your faith with virtue.”  Faith, like health, cannot be stagnant. The basic daily meals may not be enough to keep us healthy and strong enough to meet growing needs, we may need supplements to add nourishment and nutrients. Faith too needs to grow and bear fruit, so supplement it with virtue. What are the virtues to add on? Cardinal virtues are prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude. Theological virtues are faith, hope, and charity. Just avoiding sin is not enough, we need to pack in virtues to be strong. We must bear fruit with our faith. The Christian life ...
Read more

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

-
 “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...
Read more

Homily: May 11, 2026 Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter

-
 “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.” There is an often-used phrase in the Alpha program: “Alpha is designed to fail if the Holy Spirit does not show up.” This implies that since Alpha has not failed despite itself and continues to grow from 1977, the Holy Spirit is at work in the program. I think that is true not only for Alpha but for the Church and the whole Christian life. Church would have been totally destroyed, and the Christian life would have been completely crushed with so much internal struggle and trouble, external persecution and attacks, if we are without the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, the Church would not survive, life would have ended, humanity would no longer exist. Yesterday, here in our parish, 25 young people received the sacrament of Confirmation. They confirmed their faith and received the fullness of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The first reading ...
Read more

Homily: March 15, 2025, Saturday of the First Sunday in Lent (Perfect Love)

-
 "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."  I was very privileged to have done my seminary studies and formation at Santa Croce University (Holy Cross), in Rome which is run by the Opus Dei order. Their founder, St. Josemaría Escrivá, was a visionary and a great saint. One of the core principles of living and spirituality he laid down for Opus Dei members was this: “strive for excellence in everything”. Because of this, the university was marked by excellence in every way - excellent professors, an outstanding library, state-of-the-art classrooms, and advanced technology. To be a student at such an institution meant that they, too, were expected to strive for excellence in attitude and effort. To maintain this high standard, there were many strict rules for the students to follow. By following conscientiously, students would grow and develop to their full potential with remarkable outcomes, all through into the future. In the first reading, Moses tells the Isr...
Read more

Homily: August 31, 2026, Monday of the Twenty Second Week in Ordinary Time ()

-
“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Occasionally we hear the saying, “Who you know can be more important than what you know.” Our own knowledge is limited, and sometimes the people around us can help us in ways that our own knowledge cannot. I experienced this recently with my immigration situation. I am especially grateful for someone who helped me find a way to renew my driver’s license even with documents that were about to expire. It reminded me that in difficult moments, it is a blessing to know people who are willing and able to help us. Perhaps that can help us understand what St. Paul is saying today, but on a much deeper level. Paul himself was a highly educated man, trained as a Pharisee. Yet he tells the Corinthians, “I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom.” Instead, he says, “I resolved to know nothing…except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Paul had discovered that, in the end, the most important thing...
Read more

Homily: August 23, 2025, Saturday of the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Imperfect Generations)

-
 “They called him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.”  Today’s first reading is fascinating account of how Ruth and Boaz came together and became the great grandparents of King David, the powerful king of Israel who established Jerusalem as the holy city and wrote many of the psalms we still pray today. Ruth is one of the Five women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. The other three are Rahab, Tamar and Bethsheba, and Mary, the Mother of God. Interestingly, Ruth who was a Moabite woman, a foreigner, has her life recorded in scripture as an important part of salvation history, even though her story is not one of perfection. The circumstances which led her to Boaz were not ideal, yet God turned everything into good. Ruth showed courage and a respectable character when she left her homeland and went with her mother-in-law to her people. That act of faithfulness must have pleased the God of Israel. Thousands of years later, we continue to read her story and p...
Read more