Homilies

Be Ordinary: The Meaning of “Ordinary Time” of the Church  Isaiah 62:1-5; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; John 2:1-11 The partying and festivities are over, it’s time to start working again, no wonder it is called the “Ordinary Time”: it will take a while before (Extra-Ordinary Time or Festive Time) Easter and Christmas come around again and, then, we can party and celebrate. Even at that, my favorite part of partying and celebration is not the clean-up after the party, like the shoveling of snow, after a white-Christmas, not to talk of dealing with slush, after winter days. I would rather live in condominium than own aRead More →

You are the Star! Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12 In a rare occurrence, a galactic force, a star, points to Jesus, and we celebrate its importance as the universal manifestation of God! Rather than the star that led the Magi to Jesus, we are celebrating the responsibility of Christianity  and Christians as stars that lead people to God through Jesus Christ. The searchlight is on us, fellow Christians. This is the time to make a difference in the world! Why? Look at the Christian legacies of our times – advancements in education, science, and technology. The freedom of the sons and daughters ofRead More →

When Change becomes a Blessing! Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21 Philosophers pride themselves in discovering that “change is the only thing permanent or constant,” but theologians mock their ignorance because they fail to know that God does not change. Scientists celebrate every discovery and innovation, Christians wait patiently for education to catch up with the knowledge of God. Universities keep multiplying, but common sense is as rare as ever. Wealth and money increase by the day, but poverty kills more people today than ever before. More Nobel prizes are won today, but violence and strive show no signs of abating, making Mr. Nobel’s peaceRead More →

Not Human Will, but God’s: Vocation to Family Life 1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28; 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24; Luke 2:41-52 The celebration of Christmas, the birth of baby Jesus, serves as a prelude to today’s celebration – Holy Family: Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Ideally, a family is incomplete without, at least, these three of its members (male-father [Joseph], female mother [Mary] and a child [Jesus]), if the Holy Family be our model, and not a legal family – family defined by human law. An added element to the composition of the Holy Family is divine will or role: a family that is founded by and onRead More →

 We were born beautiful, all daughters and sons! Isaiah 52:7-10; Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-18 One day, a man was sitting between two ladies in a taxi. The lady to his right was very beautiful, the one to his left very ugly. Each time the taxi driver negotiates a bend and this man tilts towards the beautiful lady to his right, he yells out: oh Lord, do not lead us into temptation; but when the taxi tilts him towards the ugly lady, he cries: oh Lord, deliver us from evil! Christmas brings a good tiding – everybody is a child of God, therefore, everybody is beautifulRead More →

Blessings NOT Gossips: Taking Jesus to others at Christmas Luke 1:39-45 Far away from our usual gossip – radio without battery – today’s Gospel invites us into a beautiful moment of encounter—Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. It is not merely a family reunion, as some of us make Christmas out to be; rather, it is a profound spiritual event filled with faith, joy, and the power of Jesus’ presence. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth teaches us how to bring Christ to others and how to live as channels of God’s blessings as a renewal of the Christmas message today. Our gospel reading begins with a triple faithRead More →

Happiness Sunday: Opt for the Joy of the Lord! Zephaniah 3:14-18a; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:10-18 A young girl went to her mother to ask her about the origin of human beings. Her mother said to her, “My daughter, we are all descended from Adam and Eve: they were our first parents.” Not very satisfied with the response she got, she went over to her father to ask him the same question: Dad, where did human beings originate from, she said. Her father responded: “we are a production of evolution, we evolved from apes and monkeys, they were our  first parents”. More confused than ever, theRead More →

Immaculate Conception is Possible, When Grace meets Gabriel! Genesis 3:9-15, 20; Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12; Luke 1:26-38 For those of us who have experienced failure, those threatened by the reality of sin and weaknesses of all sorts, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception turns the meaning of failure into second and third chances. Every failure becomes a hope for a better tomorrow, a catalyst to get up everyday, dust oneself off, and get going. When life is seen as a chain of opportunities that present themselves as multiple seconds, minutes and days, then, we just don’t celebrate Mary’s Immaculate Conception alone, we also celebrate our ownRead More →

Cooperation Sunday: We’re Architects of Peace Baruch 5:1-9; Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11; Luke 3:1-6 On every side we look at, all we see is cooperation. In our first reading, Baruch cooperates with Jeremiah as his secretary (Jeremiah 36:4, 32); in our gospel, Luke serves as the chronicler of Jesus’ life and John-the-Baptist prepares the way for the Savior; in the second reading, Paul cooperates with the Philippians in the work of salvation. The fact that there are many of us on earth, instead of one person, makes it clear that God wants all people to cooperate with one another; otherwise, God would have created just oneRead More →