Homilies (Page 22)

Memorial or Anniversary Sunday Deuteronomy 6:2-6; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 12:28b-34 Just pause and ask yourself, why celebrate birthdays, wedding anniversaries, death remembrances, Thanksgiving Day, War memorials, Independence Day, name it? Although these memorial/anniversary celebrations have become so common place, two reasons, at least, motivate them: they celebrate our past and chart the way for our future. In each one of us is the junction or meeting point between the past and the future—to either savor the good past in the present or transform the bad past into good present and better future. More often than not, it is a good foundation laid in the pastRead More →

Family Sunday Jeremiah 31:7-9; Hebrews 5:1-6; Mark 10:46-52 It is a web, stronger than that of a spider, because no one could survive without it; it is a bond, because no one could exist outside of it: it is called FAMILY. Before we start making distinctions among ourselves, our families define us. After coming of age and making our own decisions, our families nurture the values we bear and cherish. In our own adult lives, we begin our own families; we  nurture and provide values we want for them. There is only one FAMILY, the family of God.  This Sunday is “Family Sunday”, the factRead More →

 Life Saving Sunday Isaiah 53:10-11, Hebrews 4:14-16, Mk 10:35-45  “Life” has become intentionally ambiguous in its meaning, whether it is human or non-human. While some people protect human life from conception to natural death, others protect it when it is convenient to do so. For sure, whatever we consider as “life”, we generally try to protect it. These days, our society takes seriously ecological life, in its diverse forms, because the survival of human beings on earth needs it. What is obvious is the appreciation of life and the conscious steps many take to protect and save it from destruction, even if that requires sacrifices inRead More →

Spirit-of-God Sunday Wisdom 7:7-11, Hebrews 4:12-13, Mark 10:17-30 I don’t know about you, but it surprises me how a simple machine, GPS (Global Positioning System), could lead me to places effortlessly! I can choose the voice I want, male or female; I could indicate my language preference, English,  French, etc; all I need do is purchase a GPS, remain obedient to its instructions, and my destination is most of the times guaranteed. Lest we forget, the directions provided by a GPS have been computed into it by a human agency! For Christians, the Spirit of God is our GPS provided by God for the asking.Read More →

Humanity Sunday  Genesis 2:18-24; Hebrews 2:9-11; Mark 10:2-16 We may choose to blame St. Augustine for “inventing” the term “Original Sin”, arguing that he gave creation a bad press, by harping on sin; what remains irrefutable prior to and since St. Augustine is that every generation of human beings perfects on the sins of previous generations. It is not just the case of Original Sin, it is the evidence of Progressive Sin, because sin remains with us even today! The option some of us have chosen is to insist on “Original Bless”, because God blessed all he created. We look at all the good thatRead More →

No Escape or No Outsider Sunday Numbers 11:25-29; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48 When things go wrong, accusing fingers shoot out! Habitually, others are always responsible for what failed and  is failing; we refuse any personalresponsibility and contributions. Everyone easily identifies with success, without ascribing to the hard work of success. In our days, people migrate joyfully to countries with economic success, abandoning economic disaster zones. Countries ravaged by wars and extremisms empty their potentials for reconstruction to other stable nations. The commercialization of religion registers more recruitment than the church and assembly of prophets. The spirit of martyrdom and sacrifice to change a desertRead More →

Spiritual Combat Sunday Wisdom 2:12, 17-20; James 3:16-4:3; Mark 9:30-37 Maybe I am old-fashioned, but my best classic is entitled “The Spiritual Combat”. I am drawn to it because it teaches one to attack, as the best means of self-defense. I want to propose the same approach to you today – Spiritual Combat: the enemy is inside each one of us, not outside; and we need to attack it; when the enemy steps outside, then we have the problem of our first reading, it becomes a deadly virus; curtailing it becomes herculean, and it is only conquerable with the assistance of God! But for are theRead More →

Suffering Sunday: Exercising my Right to Suffer Isaiah 50:5-9a; James 2:14-18; Mark 8:27-35 I have the right to suffer, because my God suffered for and suffers with me! This is a controversial statement because in places where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, has taken hold on people, we talk of “my rights” and how to protect them. The said Declaration has no place for suffering or should we say torture, and that is a good thing — to oppose anyone else from making another to suffer or feel pains is a Christian imperative. But when I choose to suffer, it is my rightRead More →

Sunday of Hope and Self-importance Isaiah 35:4-7a; James 2:1-5; Mark 7:31-37 When I hear of all kinds of cancers today, it is so frightening that I wonder why human beings must suffer thus! Maybe for adults, one could understand illnesses (even though that too is inexplicable), but children suffering from cancer keeps one on the verge of revolt and rebellion against God – why the suffering of the innocent and the weak? Issues of needless poverty and injustices of preposterous proportions stare us in the face on daily basis. Situations like these make me dream of a sickness-free world; a world where people are everRead More →