Homilies (Page 34)

“God is with Us”: Seeing with and Acting from the eyes of Faith Isaiah 7:10-14; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24 We hear it said at every liturgical celebration, especially at Mass, “The Lord be with you”. This wish/subjunctive and realistic statement precedes every sacerdotal/priestly blessing. The presence of God is the source of every benediction. This Sunday, “Emmanuel Sunday,” when we remind ourselves of the presence of God among us – “God is with us” – it is difficult not to remember Gideon. The first biblical recording of “the Lord is with you” goes back to an angel’s visit to Gideon (Judges 6:12). I am veryRead More →

“Blessed is he who is not scandalized by me”: The Key to Happiness Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11 “Happiness” is not the absence of problems, but what we make of problems and troubles that surround us daily. You see, the power of problems and troubles come from our imagination of the negatives, that we have been abandoned, unloved and uncared for. “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10) was the statement of Nehemiah to those weeping in sorrow over the ruins of Jerusalem and its temple. They forgot about the joy that animated them from the good news “each oneRead 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 →

“The kingdom of God is near” – Your Character Matters! Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12 The kingdoms we’ve heard about and read about are composed of human beings, among whom are the members of the royal family, royal army, royal navy and royal subjects. We have boundaries of kingdoms, their cities, towns and villages. Many privileges accrue to kings, queens, princes and princesses. Subjects are nobodies except decided otherwise by the royal household. The lives of royal subjects too are very much dependent on the decisions of the royal family. When today’s gospel talks about “the kingdom of God is near,” the kingdom inRead More →

“Arrived” or “Arrival”: Preparation is the Essence of Advent Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44 “Arrived” and “arrival,” two moments in human conception of time – past and future – are the ways today’s gospel talks to us about God: the days of Noah (past) and what will happen on the last day (future). But the lesson is neither in the future nor in the past – the lesson is now, it is contained in this statement of our gospel: “Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:42). It is about what you and I areRead More →

Let Bygone be Bygone, In Order to Win the Kingdom of God Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28; Luke 21:12-19 History teaches us that kingdoms of the earth rise and fall: from the ruins of the Egyptian kingdom, the Assyrian kingdom arose; from the decay of the Assyrian kingdom, the Babylonian kingdom came to be, and so on and so forth. However, what history teachers do not remember to teach us, but which God is teaching us through the readings of today, is the fact that God intervenes at the point of collapse of every kingdom to save his own. Unfortunately, it is almost always theRead More →

There is “A Good Thief” Too – Less we Forget the Impact of Leadership from the Cross 2 Samuel 5:1–3; Colossians 1:12–20; Luke 23:35–43 Today, Christ-the-King Sunday, with our processions, dancing, singing and showing to the world that Jesus Christ is universal King, and not just the King of the Jews, we proclaim that Jesus is in-charge of all governments, rulers, and leaders of the world – “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16). We also proclaim it loudRead More →

Not the Temple, But You and I – That we May NOT be Destroyed! Malachi 3:19-20a; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19 A close look at the gospel of today shows a narrative divided into two, beginning with the Temple in Jerusalem and ending with the ordeals of Christians. In retrospect, we know that the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., and the world didn’t come to an end. Up until today, that Temple remains destroyed. But the second part of today’s gospel, on the one hand, it talks about you and I, and every Christian around the world, our agoniesRead More →

What are You Doing or Ready to do for the Salvation of your Soul? 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5; Lk 20:27-38 “An unexamined life is not worth living,” says Socrates. Roman Catholic liturgical circle takes seriously this saying of Socrates, so she devotes time to the examination or thinking about human life, not just terrestrial life, which is the subject of examination by Socrates, the Catholic Church explores what will happen to human life after its departure from this mundane world; she does this to prepare for life beyond this material world. De novissimis – the last things – instead of a literalRead More →