Homily: June 8, 2026, Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time (Trust)

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“You shall drink of the stream, and I have commanded ravens to feed you there.”

Prophet Elijah’s experience and encounter with God seemed extraordinary. And God’s way of providing for his needs also seemed unusual.

Ravens bringing food for a human person? This sounds impossible because ravens, though intelligent, are not known for being friendly. Yet Elijah did not question God’s plan. He simply trusted and obeyed.

And true enough, he went to where God told him to go, he drank from the stream, and indeed the ravens brought him bread and meat to eat.

I wonder, if God had used a usual way to provide for Elijah, it probably would look too normal to be an act of God, wouldn’t it?

Last Saturday at the CAL gathering in Des Moines, the youth were asked, “What is faith?” One young person answered beautifully: “Following the Unknown who is there.”

Indeed, that is how faith looks like, to trust in the Lord, even when we do not fully understand His ways, or even when our His plans do not conform to our intellect and logic. God is hidden from our eyes, but he is always present, and He sees us clearly even when we do not feel Him close.

Today’s responsorial psalm reminds us: “The Lord is beside you at your right hand.”

When we are stuck in peculiar situations or lost in unfamiliar circumstances, and call upon the Lord’s help, would we have faith enough to trust a raven sent by God, or would we brush it off as illogical or senseless?

The God who provided for Elijah will also provide for us, maybe in odd, unusual or supernatural ways. He doesn’t just reach out to special people, He reaches out to all of us, especially to sinners who need Him more.

The difference is not in our worthiness, but in how we trust in Him and are willing to walk His way. Because Elijah trusted God and allowed Him to direct his life fully, thus God could work wonders through him and protect him through wonderful ways.

The same God is beside you at your right hand, will you let Him lead you? When we trust Him and surrender our lives to Him, we will receive His abundant graces and begin to see miracles everywhere and recognize His hands in everything. Amen.


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Homily: June 2, 2026, Tuesday of the Nineth Week in Ordinary time (Get ready)

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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...
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