Homily: September 11, 2026, Friday of the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Slave to all)

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 “No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.”

These words of Jesus give us a beautiful description of Christian discipleship. The word Christian means someone who belongs to Christ, someone who follows Christ. And the goal of discipleship is not simply to know more about Jesus, but gradually to become like Jesus.

The Twelve walked with Jesus, listened to him, watched him, and learned from him. And eventually, their lives began to resemble the life of their Master. Jesus himself told them, “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.”

Perhaps humility was one of the hardest lessons for the disciples to learn—and it remains one of the hardest lessons for us.

In today’s first reading, St. Paul says something remarkable: “Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible.”

Paul was free, but he willingly surrendered his freedom. He put aside his pride, his preferences, and even his own comfort for the sake of the Gospel. Why? Because he wanted to win others for Christ.

And Paul learned this from his Teacher.

In his Letter to the Philippians, Paul writes about Jesus: “He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave.” This is how Christ saved the world—not through power, pride, or self-importance, but by emptying himself. He humbled himself. He served. He gave himself completely, even to death on the Cross.

And so the question for us today is very simple: How much am I willing to empty myself?

Can I let go of my ego? Can I let go of my need to be right, to be recognized, to have things my way? Can I sacrifice my comfort and preferences for the sake of another person and for the sake of the Gospel?

If we want to bring people to Christ, there is no other way. We cannot bring people to the humble Christ through pride. We cannot preach the servant Christ while refusing to serve. Amen 


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Homily: October 17, 2026, Saturday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time (Holy Spirit speaking)

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

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 “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...
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Homily: July 26, 2022, Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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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...
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Homily: October 12, 2026 Monday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time (True Freedom)

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 “For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” Life in Christ is a life of freedom.  We have heard many beautiful stories of conversion, especially of people who struggled with addictions to drugs, alcohol, or other destructive habits. When they encountered Christ and experienced his love, their lives changed completely. They discovered a freedom they had never experienced before. Jesus came into this world to liberate us. He came to free us from the bondage of sin, from everything that controls us, and from everything that prevents us from living as children of God. But today, we need to ask ourselves a very personal question: Am I truly free? What are the things that make me live like a slave? It could be an addiction, the excessive use of social media, an unhealthy attachment, anger, resentment, or even certain ideologies that control the way we think and act. Interestingly, even our religious practices can sometimes become ...
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