Homilies

Not neighborhood watch, but Brotherhood Watch Acts 6:1-7; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-13 Who is watching out for your brother? Who is watching out for your sister? In many parts of our world today, we hear of “Neighborhood Watch,” a system by which people keep an eye on their surroundings to ensure safety and prevent harm. Yet the Word of God this Sunday calls us to something deeper and far more demanding—not merely a neighborhood watch, but a Brotherhood Watch. Christianity is not simply about living side by side with others; it is about living with a profound sense of responsibility for one another. InRead More →

Good Shepherd Sunday: Let us “Hear” the World, But “Listen” to Jesus  Acts 2:14a, 36-41; 1 Peter 2:20b-25; John 10:1-10 Every human being, by default, has the sense of hearing, except for cases of deformity or hearing loss. Cases of deformity and hearing loss, sometimes, hearing-aids are very useful for such persons; otherwise, people of that category couldn’t be blamed for failing to hear what is said to them and around them. Interestingly, even persons with hearing deformity can listen – listening engages the other senses! “Hearing” is the ability to be aware of the noises around us. In fact, we now live in aRead More →

I am a Christian Gossip: When Gossiping turns into Salvation Story and Good News Acts 2:14, 22-33; 1 Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35 Do you know that “god-sibb” is the forefather of “gossip”? Just google the etymology of “gossip” or look up that word in old English dictionaries or dictionary of etymology. “God” is included in the word “gossip”. God-talk was gossip, and in the nations where freedom of religion is unacceptable, it remains a gossip. For us Christians, Easter fever has gone viral, and salvation virus has gone nuclear. The fever and virus in town is GOSSIPING! The trending gossip, you know, is the resurrectionRead More →

We are Missionaries of Mercy Acts 2:42-47; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-32 We know, as a matter not only of faith but of history, that Divine Mercy assumed a human face about two thousand years ago in Jesus Christ of Nazareth—who came among us, lived our life, and died for our salvation. The testimony of Scripture leaves no ambiguity: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son… not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16–17). In Christ, mercy is no longer an idea to be contemplated but a reality to be encountered. TheRead More →

Resurrection Day: Where are you? Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Colossians 3:1-4; John 20:1-9 Surely, the question “where are you” takes our minds back to the garden of Eden. It reminds us of the Fall of our First Parents and God’s journey to them with the question: “Where are you?” After creation, there was the need to redeem creation because of sin – Adam, where are you? This same question is pertinent today, Easter Sunday, for a number of reasons: 1) the disciples returned to their former job – fishing. The troubled road to the grave was too traumatizing for them; their beliefs about the Messiah squaredRead More →

Holy Thursday, Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Year A,  2026  Holy Thursday: Creating Unity through Eating the Body and Drinking the Blood of Christ Ex 12:1-8, 11-14; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-15 This night, we have come to eat; not just any kind of food, but flesh – meat and blood. We are here, not because we have no food and drinks in our individual homes, but because there is a party, Jesus’ banquet where there is food and drink for everyone who cares to stop by. It is a dinner, a supper with a difference – we will eat and become what we eat,Read More →

“Crucify Him”: What a God, and what a Humanity! Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Matthew 26:14—27:66 The drama that unfolds today, Passion Sunday, reveals the fragility of our human nature in the face of death, and reveals the power of grace in those who remain standing despite betrayals, denunciations, and death in cold blood. Indeed, “Crucify him” sums up the  betrayal that God turns to forgiveness of sins and salvation! God finds himself in the dock today, in the narration of our first reading, from Isaiah. The returnees from Babylon, the survivors of a long exile, take God to task for an explanation as regards whetherRead More →

This is “Hope”: God’s Grace is always Available! Ezekiel 37:12-14; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-42 Quite often, the knowledge of our faith does not help us to weather the storms of temptations and trials. For example, how often do we remember the meaning of “grace,” which we learnt in our Catechism classes – “Grace is the supernatural gift of God which makes us believe that God will do everything for our justification and salvation.” Because of the wars and genocides around us, many think that the end of the world is approaching or that “rapture” is fast approaching. Where is the power of God’s grace inRead More →

Not only David, You, too, are Anointed 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41 A few days ago, I received a video clip about a famous French fortune teller and seer. A French journalist went to interview him, and this is what transpired: Journalist: Sir, is it true that you can predict the things that will happen in the future? Seer: Yes, Sir, I can predict the future with 100% accuracy. Journalist: The journalist gave him a dirty slap and asked him: did you see this slap coming? Seer: writhing in pain, the seer did not respond. Quite often, it is difficult toRead More →