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

Homilies

Homily for the Feast of the Transfiguration, August 6, 2023

The Catholic Church might be the only Church who makes a big deal out of the Transfiguration; such a big deal that she celebrates this feast twice each year: on the second Sunday of Lent and on August 6th. For the Catholic Church it is a big deal because of the intimate union of Jesus with all of us in his Mystical Body. The destiny of Jesus Christ, the Head of the Body, is the destiny of his Body as well. Jesus’ Transfiguration is continuing in the Transfiguration of the members of his Body across the centuries. Thus, every time this template of God’s Word is d

Homilies

Homily for the 17th Sunday in Ordinal Time, July 30, 2023

And Jesus replied, "Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old." Matthew 13:52 This is an obscure yet intriguing sentence with which Jesus concludes his teachings about the Kingdom of Heaven by means of parables during the last several Sundays. It reveals a most reassuring fact about this Kingdom applicable to each one of us: from the beginning of time, God the Father has thought of me both as an individual and as a future member of his divine family. Fr

Homilies

Homily for the 16th Sunday in Ordinal Time, July 23, 2023

Since the words “The Kingdom of God” might sound vague to some, to make Jesus’ teaching clearer, we could replace the words Kingdom of God with the following words: “God’s presence and action in the world.” We are familiar with the three parables found in today’s gospel as they reveal to us three crucial aspects of God’s Kingdom, of God’s presence and action in the world. (Matthew 13: 24-43) The first parable deals with the ability Jesus gives us to discern what comes from the Kingdom from what is attempted sabotage of his rule over us. The second parable reveals

Homilies

Homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinal Time, July 16, 2023

Today, we find out from Jesus that, as Sower, the Father is one of the worst farmers around. His wasteful clumsiness is due to his infinite love for all his children; he scatters his seed even in the most improbable, unsuited spots such as on a busy trail, rocky ground, and thorn bushes. Nobody can ever accuse God of being less than insanely generous in his sowing! Since Jesus has the same heart of the Father in heaven, we learn that he desires ardently to keep us in the number of his disciples and away from deadly obduracy and hardening of the heart. To this en