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 unconditionally. None of us deserves His mercy, yet He never tires of forgiving us.

Isaiah did not remain in his sinfulness. The Lord sent one of the seraphim to touch his lips with a burning ember and said, "Your wickedness is removed, your sin is purged." God did not call Isaiah because he was perfect; He first purified him and then sent him on his mission.

The same is true for us. Every time we come to God with humble and repentant hearts, He cleanses us. Every sincere prayer, every honest confession of our sins, every act of humility opens us to His grace. God never rejects a humble heart.

May we never be afraid to come before the Lord as we are. Like Isaiah, may we acknowledge our need for Him, trust in His mercy, and allow Him to cleanse us each day, so that we may go forth to do His will.

Amen.


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Homily: July 19, 2026 Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Holy Spirit -Praying for us.)

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 "The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings." Today's readings remind us of two truths: first, that we are weak and do not even know how to pray for ourselves, and second, that God comes to help us in our weakness, interceding for us. These truths are so comforting and assuring, we really have nothing to worry. Even St. Paul - the great apostle and missionary - admitted that he did not always know how to pray. If St. Paul could say that, I can certainly say it about myself: I am weak, and I do not always know how to pray. Are you also the same? We are all different, and are brought up differently, and so we pray too in different ways. Growing up in a household of eleven family members, I saw that clearly. My grandfather loved reading the Bible. He had a Bible that was published in 1939, and he spent many hours reading it daily. My grandmother was blind during the l...
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 “She had a sister named Mary, who sat beside the Lord at His feet, listening to Him speak.”  We heard this same Gospel text just two weeks ago at Sunday Mass. Many of us can relate easily to Martha, the busy, action-oriented person, with a clear vision of tasks and responsibilities to accomplish, goals and objectives to achieve. There is work to be done, so we just get on with it. We end the day satisfied with the checklist all ticked. But we often realize there is something more important we have missed, only when we reach the end of our life. Through my growing years and ministry as a priest, I have accompanied many people at the end of their lives: my grandparents, my parents, many elderly parishioners, and some close friends. Consistently, during those final moments, people do not ask for anything else but the presence of their loved ones.  Elderly people often long to see their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Parents wish to be visited by their children. Thei...
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 In today's Gospel, Jesus says, "But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold." Every human life is created by God with great love, and He has given each of us a purpose to accomplish in this life. The fruits we produce through our lives are not accidental; they are part of God's loving plan for us. We fulfill our purpose when we are aligned to God's will. His plan for us may not seem significant in the eyes of the world, but every life is precious for God. Since each of us is unique, the purpose God has entrusted to each of us is also unique. The saints are those who listened to God, lived according to His will, and bore beautiful fruits through their faithfulness. Today, the Church celebrates the feast of a wonderful saint who is still relatively unknown in the West—St. Charbel Makhlouf. St. Charbel lived in nineteenth-century Lebanon during a difficult time un...
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Homily: 50th Wedding Anniversary: Renato and Imelda March 18-2026.

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 “In a time of favor I answer you, on the day of salvation I help you; and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people.” Dear Renato and Imelda, It is truly a joy and an honor for me to celebrate this Mass with you today as you mark 50 years of marriage. What a beautiful milestone fifty years of love, sacrifice, faith, and perseverance. As you know, during the season of Lent, the Church does not allow special readings for occasions like this. We keep the readings of the day. But I truly believe that today’s reading from the prophet Isaiah is perfectly chosen by God for you. God says: “I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people.” Renato and Imelda, God has given both of you as a covenant—not only to each other, but to your family, your children, your grandchildren, your relatives, and your friends. Your marriage has been a visible sign of God’s faithfulness. Through your life together, God has blessed many: • the life of your children, • the love tha...
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Homily: July 26, 2026, Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary time (God Speaks)

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 The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. And God said to him, “Ask something of me, and I will give it to you.” How many of you had dreams last night? I often have vivid dreams. Sometimes they are good and pleasant dreams; sometimes they are bad dreams or nightmares. Usually, when I wake up, I remember them for a few hours, and then they disappear. In fact, I know I dreamed last night, but this morning I cannot remember what the dream was about! One recurring dream I have is that I am late for Mass or some important event. I am stuck in traffic, trying desperately to get there, while the entire church is waiting for me! I don't know what that recurring dream means, but I can assure you it is not prophetic—and I certainly hope it never comes true! Once I shared this with a priest friend. He told me that he has a recurring dream too. In his dream, he is celebrating Mass, but he cannot find the prayer in the Roman Missal. He keeps flipping through the pages while everyone is...
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Homily: December 8, 2025, Solemnity of Immaculate Conception

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 “He chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.” These powerful words from St. Paul to the Ephesians remind us of a truth that should fill our hearts with great joy: we are chosen. We choose or nominate someone because we see great value in the person. It is an honor to be chosen, especially for something great. But today, St. Paul tells us something far greater: You and I have been chosen by God Himself the Creator of the vast universe, the Lord of galaxies and stars, the One who holds everything in existence. And God chose us, long before the world began, long before our birth, before we could do anything to earn His love. Why? Because God has a divine purpose for all of us. The blessed virgin Mary was chosen too, in an extraordinary way. God chose her and granted her a unique grace: conception without original sin. Mary’s soul was untouched by any stain of sin from the very first moment of her existence. God has a plan of salv...
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Homily: May 16, 2016 Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter (Ask)

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“Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.” What do you ask God for? When I was little, I asked God for many small things. One of them was the snacks from a tea shop on the way to school. Once in a while, my parents  would buy them for me, and I loved them. I even wished sometimes that I had been born as the tea shop owner’s son, so I could eat those snacks every day. Years later, one of my friends whose father owned a tea shop told me that he was tired of those snacks because he had them every day. He wished he had grown up on a farm like me, with fresh food and fruits. Very often, we ask for small and temporary things, thinking they will make us happy. Even now, as adults, many of our prayers are like that. We ask for things that are passing, things that do not truly satisfy the heart. But Jesus says: “Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.” Not temporary happiness—but complete joy. So maybe today we should ask for something greater: A joyfu...
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Homily: July 29, 2024, Feast of Martha, Mary and Lazarus.

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 “Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother Lazarus, who had died.” Martha, Mary and Lazarus — loving brother and sisters to each other, and close friends of Jesus during His earthly life. We do not know how He became friends with them, nor what happened to Lazarus after he was raised from death. Common tradition holds that he and his sisters moved out of Bethany after Jesus’s ascension to go out and preach the Gospel. Lazarus was said to have become a bishop and thereafter, died again either from natural causes or from martyrdom. No one knows for sure what exactly happened to Lazarus, Mary and Martha after that, but we know enough to be certain that Jesus loved them and taught them about eternal life and the kingdom of God. They too loved Jesus and were faithful to His teachings. Each of the three of them were different, in personality and preferences, strengths and weaknesses. The levels of their spirituality were also different, yet Jesus l...
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Homily: March 20-2026, Friday of the Fourth Week in Lent (God is closer)

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 “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.” Have you been brokenhearted before? Did you know that the Lord was close to you? You might not have felt it nor realize it, but today’s responsorial psalm affirms it. Psalm 34, reminds that God is not distant from our pain. He is close to it. This is a beautiful and comforting truth. Always remember it in your heart. Brokenness is part of the human experience. When Jesus took on our human nature, he experienced this also. When we look at the crucified Christ, what do we see? We see Jesus who was broken for us. We see His wounded body. We see His pierced side. We see His suffering, His sadness, His loneliness. He has experienced it all, and so, there is no pain in our lives which He does not understand. He knows what it is to suffer. He knows what it is to be rejected. He knows what it is to be abandoned. So when we feel these pains, we are not alone. In a mysterious way, our Lord is very close to us, and we are very close to Him. St. Mothe...
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Homily: March 27, 2026, Saturday of the Fifth Week in Lent (Hardness of Heart)

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 “So from that day on they planned to kill him.” These are very strong and shocking words from today’s Gospel. During this season of Lent, we have been praying often in the responsorial psalm: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Every morning, priests and religious pray this line in the Divine Office. It is like a daily reminder, a warning—to keep our hearts open to God. But in today’s Gospel, we see the opposite. The Pharisees and the chief priests witnessed so many miracles of Jesus. And the final one—the raising of Lazarus after four days in the tomb—is something truly extraordinary. That one miracle alone should have led anyone to faith. But instead of believing, they decide to kill Him. Why? Because their hearts had become hard. They chose not to see. They chose not to listen. They chose not to believe. They closed their eyes to the truth and shut their ears to God’s voice. And this is where today’s Gospel speaks to us. Hardness of heart does not happen in o...
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