Homilies (Page 52)

Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12 The searchlight is on us: Christians, this is our time to shine! 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 of God, and God’s command to us, in Genesis 1, to be guardians and custodians of creation, are the catalysts for our progress so far. Where there is freedom, there is creativity, and there are dreams to realize. Creativity and dreams underlie the human progressRead More →

1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28; 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24; Luke 2:41-52 Not Human Will, but God’s: Vocation to Family Life 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 →

Isaiah 52:7-10; Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-18 Rise up and Proclaim Peace and Joy: You are God’s messenger, who counts his blessings! 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 aRead More →

Isaiah 9:1-6; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14 “A Son is given to us . . . Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6) At last, the day has come; another Christmas is here! We who hoped and prepared for Christmas this Advent; the arrival of Christmas manifests the fulfilment of hope: “a Son is given.” For those who hoped for Christmas 2015, and who have gone to the Father’s house, their hope is fulfilled because they are in the Father’s house, where they see Immanuel face to face. “A Son is given to us” is unlike any other child: he is God among us – Immanuel! The distanceRead More →

Micah 5:2-5a; Hebrews 5:5-10; Luke 1:39-45 When God visits, there is salvation, there is Happiness There was a family of five, mother, father, two sons and a daughter. This family does its best to remain a loving and caring family. Every Christmas, everybody returns home for a family celebration. As time went on, all three children went to college far away from home, but Christmas remains a home-coming event for them. One Christmas vacation, however, each of the children called their Dad to announce that they were not coming home for Christmas. You can imagine the sadness of their parents. So, a week before Christmas,Read More →

Zephaniah 3:14-18a; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:10-18 Rejoice! Why? because there is a solution to human Unhappiness – Jesus Christ!   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 out first parents. MoreRead More →

Baruch 5:1-9; Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11; Luke 3:1-6 Original Blessing: God’s Mission to Create the Hope of Salvation needs You and Me There was a Catholic couple who were married for ten years but could not have kids. They sought medical help, still their barrenness continued. One day, it was announced at Mass that their pastor was going to Rome for studies. So, they came to request of him to light a candle for them when he gets to Rome, so that they may have kids. The priest promised to do that, and true to his promise, he lighted a candle at the intention of theRead More →

Jeremiah 33:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2; Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 Creative Fidelity for a Season of Hope (Advent): Our God is Faithful to his Promises, What about Us? What is certain about the prophecy of Jeremiah is the message of hope he preaches in an apparently hopeless situation – the perennial nature of Israel’s infidelity to God. Israel makes covenants with God only to break them. What was predictable of Israel was its fidelity to infidelity to God. This track record is all invasive and pervasive in Jewish history: from the disobedience of Adam and Eve to the deluge as corrective for sin and infidelity; the worshipRead More →

Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 1:5-8; John 18:33b-37 Our God Reigns: Let us Reign with Him in Truth! One Christ the King Sunday, a priest preached a sermon on the need for every Christian to join the regular army of the Lord, so that the kingdom of the Lord may expand upon earth. At the end of Mass, the priest was greeting and shake hands with parishioners, when he noticed a man whom he doesn’t see regularly at Mass; so he said to him: you need to join the Lord’s regular army. The man responded, I am already in the Lord’s army, Father. The priest protested: IRead More →