Homily: October 10, 2026, Saturday of the twenty Seventh Week in Ordinary Time (You are a blessing)

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“And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise.”

These beautiful words are from today’s first reading, from St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians.

What were the promises God made to Abraham? There were several. 

One of the promises that always comes to my mind is this: “I will bless you… so that you will be a blessing.”

Abraham is known as the father of faith. He became a blessing to the world because of his faith and obedience to God.

Think about his life. He followed a God he was only beginning to know, to a land he had never seen. He did not know where God was leading him or what his future would look like. Even when God asked him to do the most difficult things, Abraham remained faithful and obedient.

And because of his faithfulness, he became a blessing, not only to his own family but to generations after him.

St. Paul reminds us today that through our baptism, we too have become descendants of Abraham and heirs to God's promises.

That means each one of us is also called to be a blessing.

Sometimes we may not think of ourselves that way. But God reminds us today that you are called to be a blessing. A blessing to your family, to the people around you, to your parish community, and to the world.

And how do we become that blessing?

Jesus gives us the answer in today's Gospel:

“Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

We do not have to do extraordinary things to become a blessing. Sometimes a kind word, a small act of generosity, or simply being present to someone in need can make a great difference.

Abraham became a blessing through his faith and obedience. May we, too, become a blessing by listening to God's word and putting it into practice.

Amen.


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Homily: October 4, 2026, Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (No Anxiety)

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Homily: September 21, 2026, Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist (Follow me)

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 “Follow me.” On this feast of St. Matthew, we hear Matthew’s own account of his calling. Jesus saw him sitting at the customs post and said just two words: “Follow me.” And Matthew gets up and follows him. No second thought. No long discernment. No plan for the future. Maybe Matthew had been waiting for a moment like this—a chance to begin again. Matthew was a tax collector, considered a sinner and hated by his own people because he worked for the occupying power. Yet Jesus looked at this man whom others rejected and saw an apostle. That should give every one of us hope. God can change people. God does not wait until we are perfect before he calls us. Jesus says in today’s Gospel, “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” We are all sinners. We all have weaknesses, habits, failures, and things in our lives that need to change. And there may be people around us struggling with addictions or trapped in sinful situations. Sometimes we may even wonder whether a person can ev...
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Homily: April 2, 2024, Tuesday in the Octave of Easter (Mary at the Tomb).

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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: February 12-2024, Monday of the sixth week in Ordinary time (Preserverenace)

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“Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” A good friend of mine battled with addiction to drugs and alcohol for many years. Finally, he was able to give up his destructive habits and began walking with the Lord. Was it all smooth and easy? No. He faced many other struggles in his new life. Often, he was tempted to go back to his old ways, with thoughts that his life with drugs and alcohol was more carefree. He knew it was a lie. He then began to involve himself in various ministries in his parish church to serve the Lord. Was it all smooth and easy then? No. He experienced many disagreements and arguments within the ministries. Why is it that serving God seemed to make life more difficult? Shouldn’t we be rewarded with a good and easy life? If we look at Abraham, we see that he had to go through many trials and challenges in obeying God’s call. He did not have it easy. The apostl...
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Homily: October 9, 2026 Friday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time ( Real vs Fake)

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 “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” What a terrible accusation against the Son of God! Jesus, who came to destroy the power of evil, is accused of working for the devil himself. What could be a greater insult than accusing Jesus of being on the side of his greatest enemy? But why did people think this way? May be because, even before Jesus, there had been false prophets and people claiming to be the Messiah. Some attracted followers through extraordinary signs or impressive claims. Naturally, people were confused. How could they distinguish the true Messiah from false prophets? I think we can understand this confusion very well in today's world. We live in a time when we cannot always believe what we see or hear. With artificial intelligence, we can create images, videos, and even voices that look and sound completely real. Sometimes we struggle to distinguish what is real from what is artificial. The same is true in matters of faith. Even toda...
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