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

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Holy Family School Mass  

"The grass withers, and the flower fades, but the word of our God remains forever."

What comes to your mind when you hear the term “the Word of our God”?

If you are thinking it is the Bible, then you are right. The Word of God is the Bible.

The Bible is also known as the Book of books, because the Bible is a collection of many books. Do you know how many books are in the Bible?

If you think there are about 10 books, put up your hands.

What about 20 books? Put up your hands.

Who thinks there are more than 50 books?

And you are right! There are 73 books in the Holy Bible!

Do you know how long it took to write the Bible?

Who says 100 years?

500 years?

More than 1000 years?

Oh yes, the 73 books of the Bible were written over 1,500 years. Around 40 different authors contributed to it. It has been translated into hundreds of different languages and read by billions of people around the world, over hundreds and hundreds of years.

The world has changed over these hundreds and hundreds of years, but the Bible has not and will never change. 

God is eternal, and His Word endures forever.

One hundred years from now, none of us will likely be here, unless some of us live to be very old! Even this school building may not be here, everything around us will change, but one thing will never change: the Word of God.

Yet it will continue to change the lives of people who read it and reflect on it carefully.

There is no other book in the world like the Bible. Every book of the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is unique, it tells the Truth, it is the Word of God.

If you have not read the Bible or are not in the habit of reading it daily, start today. Ask your parents, your teachers or your catechists to guide you. Read a few verses every day. Or follow closely the readings of daily Mass.

Through the Bible, God speaks to us. The more we read it, the more we learn to recognize God's voice in our lives.

So I want to leave you with a simple challenge: Read the Bible every day with your heart, a little each day. Pray the Holy Spirit to help you. And never get tired of reading it.

The grass withers, and the flower fades, but the word of our God remains forever. Amen.


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Homily: May 20, 2026 Holy Family School Graduation Mass

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 “There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.” Once I walked into our youth Bible study, and they were discussing the Book of Enoch, an ancient Jewish apocalyptic text traditionally connected to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. They asked me questions about it. I had read it myself when I was their age, mostly out of curiosity, but honestly, I do not remember much of its content. There are also several other apocryphal writings, like the Gospel of James, the Gospel of Thomas, and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. But the Church never considered them inspired Scripture, because many of them were written decades after the death of the last Apostle, St. John. Public Revelation ended with the death of the last Apostle. Sometimes I also wish the Bible had more details about Jesus’ infancy and His hidden life. But St. John reminds us today that the world its...
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 “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” There is a famous English comedian, Rowan Atkinson, who is well known for his act as Mr. Bean. He once shared that sometimes people went up to him to comment that he looked like Mr. Bean. To which he would respond, “I am Mr. Bean.” But they would insist, “No, no, you just look like him!” It sounds funny but this is exactly what is happening in today’s Gospel. The people asked Jesus, “Tell us plainly, are you the Christ?” They had seen His works and heard His profound teaching. There had never been anyone like Him. No one had performed the miracles He performed. No one had fulfilled the prophecies from old, only He did. Everything pointed to Him as the long-awaited Messiah. Those who knew the Scriptures should have recognized Him easily. Then why were they still asking? Simple answer. They were in denial. They knew, but they refused to acknowledge it. They probably thought they were too intelli...
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Homily: May 23, 2024, Holy Family school Graduation Mass.

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First, congratulations to all of you for successfully completing middle school! Are you happy that you are graduating? I graduated from middle school in 1999. That was twenty-five years ago! We did not have a graduation ceremony like this because my school provided pre-K to grade 12 classes all on the same campus. So, we did not leave school, we just moved up to another grade, another class, but thankfully, our teachers organized something simple for us to celebrate that milestone. I remember during my school days, the hours in class seemed to pass very slowly, but now I look back, time seems to fly by with rocket speed! It will be the same for you, so enjoy being a student now, these could be the best times of your life! Here, you are the seniors of the school, soon, you will be freshmen in high school, you will be the juniors. You will again look up to the seniors and learn from them. In middle school, your teachers gave you a lot of attention and took care of you. When you go to hig...
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Homily: January 11, 2026, Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Beloved)

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 “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” These words were spoken by God was not meant to be a private revelation. It was heard by everyone present on that day, all who witnessed Jesus being baptized by John.  These words were blessings from God, springing forth from His heart. Before Jesus preached a single sermon, before He healed anyone, before He suffered persecution and death, His Father in heaven proclaimed the Truth over Him: This is my beloved Son. Jesus lived His entire life grounded in that truth. He never struggled with His identity. He never doubted His mission on Earth. He knows who He is and why He has come. His purpose is to do the will of the Father, to reveal to the whole world who God is, to show to all generations how God loves and thus save all of humanity. Let us look again at where Jesus was baptized, the River Jordan. Its waters flows from near Mount Hermon, in between Lebanon and Syria, runs through fertile land, carrying nourishment for t...
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Homily: March 7, Saturday of the Second Week In Lent (Endless Love)

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 “Quickly, bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.” When I read this Gospel, sometimes I ask myself honestly: If I were that father, how would I respond? Of course, I would be happy that my son returned home. But I don’t think I would be this happy. First I might want to hear his apology. I might remind him of the mistakes he made. And since there is another son at home who is angry, I would probably try to be careful not to appear too generous. But this father does something completely different. He does not wait for explanations. He does not ask questions. He does not punish. He runs toward his son, embraces him, and restores him with dignity. To understand how radical this is, we have to remember the culture of that time. In Jewish tradition, children received their inheritance only after the father’s death. For this younger son to demand his share early was like saying: “Father, I wish y...
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Homily: April 19, 2026, Third Sunday of Easter (God Walk with us )

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