Homilies

All Souls’ Day: Praying to God on Behalf of the Dead A woman lost her only son to the cold hands of death and she was unconsolable. On the day of the funeral, she wouldn’t allow the body of her dead child to be buried; she held tightly to it. Her only condition for the funeral to go ahead was for her to be buried with her child. Some men were appointed to restrain her while the body of the dead child was yanked from her and taken for burial. The corpse was lowered into a six-feet grave. The men restraining the woman inside theRead More →

“Justice” as Equal Right to Salvation Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14 Today, the book of Sirach addresses the question of favoritism: Does God love some people to the exclusion of other people? Why are some people rich and others poor? How come some persons keep God’s commandments and others do not: that is, some are virtuous and others immoral? Or, why did God fight on the side of Moses and Israel against the Amalekites last Sunday? These questions have plagued generations of believers and have divided Christendom and Christians on how to respond appropriately to them.  We now present a JewishRead More →

Faith: Curing the Human Appetite for War Exodus 17:8–13; 2 Timothy 3:14–4:2; Luke 18:1–8 How does one preach a homily on a reading where God seems to take sides in a war? Our first reading tells us God fought for Israel… and ordered the destruction of the Amalekites? What do we do with that? Because if we take that literally — if we stop right there — then the God of Exodus begins to look like the same God people invoke today to justify genocide, invasion, or massacre. Can God — the Creator of life — take pleasure in death? Can the God who savesRead More →

THE FORGOTTEN BATTLE: YOUR SOUL IS MORE IMPORTANT 2 Kings 5:14-17; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19 Samaria, the capital of Israel, came into international prominence with the Assyrian invasion and the exile of Israelites to Nineveh in 721 B.C. In those days, when a capital city and its king are captured, the battle is over. So, like most capitals of many nations, to conquer Israel, its capital Samaria had to fall. The difference, however, was that the destruction of Samaria, by the Assyrians, was more than a material destruction, the destruction was aimed at her soul and mind, the transplantation of a new mindset andRead More →

A Call to Fidelity: Be Part of the Solution, Not the Problem! Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Luke 17:5-10 There was a poor couple whose house was made of thatch and situated by the roadside. They did not have a bathroom and toilet inside the house, but a latrine and a bathroom behind the house. As good Christians, they were very hospitable to all strangers. As a matter of fact, many people had warned them against their hospitality to strangers because of the possible danger of taking in robbers and brigands. One day, a stranger arrived at their door at midnight, seeking shelterRead More →

Bring in Lazarus: Taking Care of the Sin of Omission Amos 6:1a, 4-7; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31 How do the readings of this Sunday talk to me, many may ask? I am neither rich nor poor. Even the rich and the poor of our reading, we are not told what their sins were: neither poverty nor riches is the reason for what happened to them. To make matters more complex, today, many poor people have dogs, and do not see any difficulty sharing a meal with a dog. The question may be asked: Would a rich man share his meal with me, invite me,Read More →

“United we stand, Divided we fall”: We are all God’s children! Amos 8:4-7; 1 Timothy 2: 1-8; Luke 16:1-13 or 16:10-13 The prophet Amos is popularly known as the prophet who promoted social justice, bringing to the fore the oppression and exploitation of the poor. Today’s first reading gives credence to this opinion, and Pope Leo XIV lends support to the crusade for workers’ rights and the rights of poor people. Amos argues that the rich reduced the worth of the poor to mere objects: “We will buy the lowly for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals”. This state of affairs isRead More →

Prodigality Sunday: Forgive as Forgiven Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-32 or Luke 15:1-10 Our television screens are inundated with scenes of violence and strife. Nations are at war against nations: Russia against Ukraine, the two Sudan against each other; intra-national wars in Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Colombia, Ecuador, etc; those nations not at war are preparing for war or aggression, like North Korea and Iran. To this list, one can add American gun-violence and racial tensions, global family disunities and divorces, genocides. We live in a world that needs healing and reconciliation with itself. But what happenedRead More →

The Cross: God’s Language of Wisdom! Wisdom 9:13-18; Philemon 9-10, 12-17; Luke 14:25-33 A Buddhist monk once offered this idea to a young person solicitous of making good progress in spirituality: “start out early, travel light, arrive safely”. In a more expatiated form, a person who desires something has to start out early in search of the desired object. In order for the search to be successful, unnecessary encumbrances have to be avoided; this is the meaning of “traveling light.” Having begun early and traveling light, the wayfarer will arrive safely. The advice given by the Buddhist monk shows that there is no culture andRead More →