Homilies

Homily for the 28th Sunday in Ordinal Time, October 15, 2023

The first thing that stands out about the wedding feast of the Lamb, the eternal Eucharist of Heaven, in today’s gospel passage (Matthew 22:1-14) is the fact that its choice foods do not spoil; last forever; and without need to be reheated, they are continually delicious. This is a mere human way of introducing us to the most unfamiliar concept of duration without the passing of time. This concept of duration without the passing of time is what we commonly refer to as “eternity,” which is equally impossible for us to understand because we are born in time, and we

Homilies

Homily for the 27th Sunday in Ordinal Time, October 8, 2023

Alas, I know of a few men and women who turned bitter, disenchanted, depressed and unable to trust another human being for the rest of their life because their love was not reciprocated. As we can clearly see from the first reading (Isaiah 5:1-7) and the gospel passage (Matthew 21: 33-43) that I just read to you, God himself laments this experience of unreciprocated love, of a broken heart, not once, not twice, but repeated times throughout history. The analogy of the vineyard fails to hide God’s sadness and frustration: “What more was there to do for my vineyard

Homilies

Homily for the 26th Sunday in Ordinal Time, October 1, 2023

Today’s parable stings. It is very brief, to the point and, ouch! It stings because it is aimed at most of us, “the insiders.” I mean, it is directed at those who have available all the tools, the means, and the information on how to act in a manner always pleasing to God. It was, originally, aimed at the chief priests and elders of the people.  Matthew 21:28 However, nowadays, who are the targets of Jesus’ warning? They are the insiders, those who, from bishops to priests, deacons, and pious, committed laity are with their hands so deep in things religiou

Homilies

Homily for the 25th Sunday in Ordinal Time, September 24, 2023

Here is a sobering fact: if God were to treat us with justice, we would all be wiped out, erased off the face of the earth in an instant. If you, Lord, mark iniquities, Lord who can stand? Ps. 130 Today we are all invited to rejoice that God is not just with us in a distributive sense but, rather, he is “just” in his divine way. Any of our sins, however small, is an offense against God who is infinite. Hence, it calls for infinite punishment. If God were to apply distributive justice, we would all be mercilessly condemned. Today’s gospel passage proves clearly t

Homilies

Homily for the 24th Sunday in Ordinal Time, September 17, 2023

The phrase that comes to my mind reflecting on the gospel passage from Matthew (18:21-35) is the one immortalized in the book and film The Godfather: “an offer that cannot be refused.” Yes, when it comes to forgiving or unwillingness to forgive, we face an offer made by God which we cannot refuse. We often hear that God’s love is unconditional. That sounds good and comforting but it is fluffy stuff, pure and simple. God’s love and forgiveness are conditional: they depend on our willingness to forgive from the bottom of our heart, our brothers and sisters who wron

Homilies

Homily for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinal Time, September 10, 2023

Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 18:18 What is quite intriguing is the fact that Jesus gives to each one of you, lay people, the authority which he had given to Peter and to the other 10 and, consequently, to bishops and priests ever since. (Matthew 16:19 and John 20:23) First, this means that, in Christ, heaven and earth are inseparably united; that humanity is given to God and divinity to human beings. Christ as Head of the Body is forever one entity with h

Homilies

Homily for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinal Time, September 3, 2023

I urge you, brothers, and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice. Romans 12:1 Hmmm. This is unusual. Why not our souls? Why not our hearts? First, we should try to divest ourselves of our Western mentality of conceiving body and soul as being the lone two components of a human being and somewhat in opposition to and in tension with each other. And, secondly, we should think of body the way the Bible sees it, i.e., as being our whole self, considered from the point of view of our interaction with this earth, i.e., our body as us

Homilies

Homily for the 21st Sunday in Ordinal Time, August 27, 2023

The first message we glean from today’s 1st reading and gospel passage is about solidity. It is conveyed by the image of a peg holding things together: “I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot.” Isaiah 22:23 And also by the new name given to Simon by Jesus: Rock, Kephas in the original Aramaic, petra in Greek and Latin, is rendered by its masculine form Petrus and the English form Peter. The concept of solidity becomes inescapable if we keep in mind that Jesus walked a long distance with his twelve disciples to reach Caesarea Philippi where the surroundings are

Homilies

Homily for the 20th Sunday in Ordinal Time, August 20, 2023

To make some sense of the troubling gospel passage we just heard (Matthew 15: 21-28), let me submit to you a probable scenario. It is necessary lest we certainly find Jesus’ conduct and words to that Canaanite woman totally shocking. Here is the scenario that I propose. Jesus is walking somewhere in Galilee and his twelve, full-blooded Israelite disciples are some abreast with him and the rest within earshot. As full-blooded Israelites, they are deeply aware of belonging to God’s chosen people. As such, they are most certain that the House of prayer mentioned i

Homilies

Homily for the 19th Sunday in Ordinal Time, August 13, 2023

Today’s readings should help us avoid crossing over from Christian self-confidence into narcissism and rampant self-importance. For a long time, Elijah had such a high degree of self-confidence that, empowered by God, he could singlehandedly hold his ground against Ahab, the King of Israel and his most influential wife, Queen Jezebel. Against all odds, Elijah had foiled their evil schemes and served Yahweh God most faithfully. But when Jezebel swore that she would not rest until she had slit his throat just as he had done to her 450 false prophets of Baal, Elijah