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

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 “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 is about love in action, and true love does not return empty.  Consider the list of Christian virtues, and pray to be patient, generous, forgiving, courageous, loving and more.

Ask yourself, or your family and friends to help you reflect: What virtues do you need to develop or strengthen so you can become a better Catholic Christian? 

May the Lord help us not only to avoid sin but also to grow in holiness and virtue, so that our lives may bear abundant fruit for His glorious Kingdom.

Amen.


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Homily: July 6, 2026, Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Crowd)

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 "When Jesus arrived at the official's house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion..." That detail in the Gospel about ‘the crowd’ caught my attention.  There were many people in that house that day. They were not people who lived in that household, they were there because someone died. Some could be relatives, some neighbors, some were professional mourners, some were there because they were curious or idle. I grew up in India, the most populated country in the world. The cities are always crowded. Buses are full, trains are full, bus stations and markets are full of people. Everywhere you look there is a crowd. But just because there is a crowd does not mean something meaningful is happening. Sometimes people gather simply because they have nowhere else to go. It was similar in Jesus' time. People gathered at weddings, funerals, and wherever something was happening. Many people followed Jesus not because they believed in Him but because...
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Homily: October 18, 2025, Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist (Right - Companion)

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“Behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.” This line from today’s Gospel captures the mission Jesus gave to His seventy-two disciples. He sent them out two by two, trusting completely in divine providence. Tradition tells us that St. Luke, whose feast we celebrate today, was among these seventy-two. Jesus’ instruction was clear: they were to depend entirely on God. No extra money, no supplies, no comfort just faith and obedience. It sounds difficult, but throughout history, we’ve seen countless saints who lived this way: St. Francis of Assisi, St. Mother Teresa, and many others who relied fully on God’s providence and never lacked what they truly needed. In the first reading, St. Paul writes to Timothy and mentions St. Luke. He laments that many of his companions abandoned him, but says with great affection, “Only Luke is with me.” Luke stayed faithful to Paul even when others walked away. Luke was not on...
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 Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb, weeping. Today’s gospel begins by describing the emotional state of Mary. We can all visualize and identify with this scene. Mary Magdalene is very sad, to the point of experiencing deep emotional pain which triggers tears. This is love.  I recall when my papa died within a week of discovering his illness. It was unexpected, we were all unprepared. All my sisters wept on the day he died, and into the days after his burial. They cried again, very emotionally, when we visited his tomb thereafter and I recited the Office for the Dead. I, too, cried a lot at papa’s death. Love is a powerful emotion. It stirs our heart to feel the pain of loss, which works up our brain to trigger the release of tears, to help reduce the emotional pain. God gave us tears to help us manage our pain.  Jesus wept at the death of Lazarus, and before He entered Jerusalem, and at the garden of Gethsemane. His love for humanity stirred up deep emotional pain, s...
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Homily: July 7, 2026, Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Shepherd)

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In today's first reading, the Lord says through the prophet Hosea: "They made kings in Israel, but not by my authority; they established princes, but without my approval." I wonder what would go through Pope Leo’s mind when he reads this passage today. Just last week, the Holy See excommunicated six bishops from the SSPX (Society of St. Pius X), four of whom were newly consecrated without the approval of the Vatican. Sadly, this is not the first time in the history of the Church. Throughout the centuries, there have been similar situations where certain individuals or groups have outright opposed the authority established by Christ and acted against the unity of His Church. Today’s Gospel is so apt. Jesus looks upon the crowds and sees sheep without a shepherd. He is not simply talking about people who have no leaders, but rather lacking leaders after the heart of God. There is no true shepherd. "I will give you shepherds after my own heart" (Jeremiah 3:15). Jes...
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Homily: July 11, 2026, Saturday of the Fourteeth Week in Ordinary Time (Sinfulness)

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"Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" When the prophet Isaiah had this profound vision of heaven and stood before the Lord, these were the first words that came from his lips. He became deeply aware of his own unworthiness in the presence of God's holiness. I once heard a beautiful definition of prayer: "When we stand before the Creator as creatures with humility, that becomes prayer." I have never forgotten those words. A few years ago, during a retreat, the retreat director said that the first thing we should do when we come before God in prayer is to acknowledge our sinfulness. That awareness reminds us of who we are and who God is. We are limited, weak, and sinful; God is holy, loving, and merciful. Our prayers become more effective when they are offered with humility. None of us is worthy of God's love, yet He continues to love us unconditionall...
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Homily: July 10, 2026 Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Promise of Healing)

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 "I will heal their defection, says the LORD, I will love them freely; for my wrath is turned away from them. I will be like the dew for Israel: he shall blossom like the lily."  God expresses His promises to His chosen people on various occasions and many ways in Sacred Scripture. What we have just read in today's first reading from prophet Hosea is beautiful and very assuring. It is beautiful because God is expressing His love so affectionately, it is assuring because it was addressed to a people whom He should be angry with, yet He was still showering love. The Book of Hosea was written just before the Assyrian exile of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The people had turned away from God. They worshipped idols, had forgotten the covenant and lived unfaithfully to the Lord. As a result, they began to experience the painful consequences of their sins. Eventually, the Assyrians conquered them, they were exiled from their homeland, the Promised Land, and never returned. Yet...
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Homily: May 18, 2026, Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter (Holy Spirit )

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 “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 c...
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Homily: JUne 6, 2026, Solemnity of the most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus.

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 "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him." Every year to prepare the children to receive their first holy communion, they would attend a retreat, during which we would re-enact the last supper. The children would bake unleavened bread and use it for the re-enactment. At the 2024 retreat, the re-enactment was going well as we all took our roles seriously and followed the script. Unsurprisingly, I played the role of Jesus. At the climax of the re-enactment, I held up a cup of cranberry juice and said, “This is my blood.” Then I handed the cup to the little girl next to me. She looked at me with horror and shouted, “I don't drink blood!” For a moment, I was stunned too, then I assured her, “This is not really my blood.” But she immediately replied, “But you just said so!” We all laughed. She was not wrong, but to keep the play moving, I suggested she pass the cup to the next person. Thankfully, she did and we could finish the play. Afterward, I ...
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Homily: June 30, 2026, Tuesday of the Thirteenth week in Oridnary Time (God's Favorite)

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"You alone have I favored, more than all the families of the earth." Through Amos, God is reaffirming His covenantal relationship with Israel as His chosen nation, as promised to Abraham. It is an affectionate expression of God's faithful love. The rest of this reading is about Amos warning Israel the consequences of turning away from God, intending to bring them back to faithfulness. Despite all the disobedience and unfaithfulness, God loves Israel and continues to favor them specially. He has chosen them and will not back out of His choice. This is truly how God loves. Faithful, unwavering, unchanging. I heard that when someone spoke with Mother Teresa, she would ignore everything else around her and give her full attention to that one person. She remained fully present for as long as that person needed her. St. John Paul II was also well known for giving people that same kind of attention. They did that well because they were really giving God their undivided attention...
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