Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
There is something interesting about the way today’s gospel reading describes the beginning of Jesus’s public ministry - the incredible geographical details. Five locations are mentioned – Nazareth, Capernaum, the Sea of Galilee, Zebulun and Naphtali. "At the news of John’s arrest, Jesus left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, a coastal town of the Sea of Galilee in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali" (Mt 4:12-13).
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Last Sunday we celebrated the feast of the Baptism of Jesus. Central to the story was the testimony of a voice from heaven that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased!” (Mt 3:16-17). In my homily last week, I had said, that because our baptism is a participation in the baptism of Jesus, our baptism becomes a spiritual adoption as son and daughters of God. I also remember saying that just as Jesus was good at being a Son, we must be good at being sons and daughters; that since it is baptism that makes us Christian, we must good at being Christians.
The Baptism of the Lord
What are you good at? I mean, what is it you really love doing or being… and you are good at it? I have someone who does housekeeping for me once a week. She has been with me for about five years. When she was new to my place, one of the things she told me was that she loves to clean. I did not believe her. But then, I could see it in her work. She did not just work at my place. She cleaned. She didn’t just clean. She cared for me and my space. She constantly watches videos on better ways to clean the oven, the stove, the floor, the carpet. I love the way she folds my laundry and puts them back, the way she makes the bed, the way to place smells when she is done. She even makes a flower out of the toilet paper. I feel happy coming back home when has cleaned. One day I said to her, “You don’t just clean, you care! Thank you!”
The Epiphany of the Lord
Epiphany is one of the oldest Christian feasts. It predates Christmas. Even though it makes sense chronologically, originally, Epiphany was not a post-Christmas celebration. In the early Church, Epiphany was the primary feast commemorating Jesus' birth, baptism, and the Magi's visit all on the same day. It was only in the 4th century when the Western Church adopted December 25th as Christmas that Epiphany became a distinct feast. It came to be celebrated as a "manifestation" feast – a celebration of God's revelation of Jesus as Messiah to the world.
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
I grew up in a very devout Catholic family. Perhaps, it was devout to a fault. We went to church all the time, my brother and I went to Catholic school, there was family prayer morning and evening, there were holy pictures in every room, and often at weekends a priest or nun was at the family dinner table. As my brother and I got older, some of this seemed a little too much. One day, my brother had had it. Truly upset about something, he said to my dad, “Coming back home from anywhere feels like I am going to church.” My brother meant is as a critique. My father took it as a compliment. After all, the home is called the “domestic church.” My family was not the perfect family. But then, which family is? Perhaps this the reason that a feast dedicated to the family is so appropriate.
The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
It is the greatest love story – the story of Christmas. There is a God. There is humanity. And there is a little child. As the gospel says, “For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord” (Lk 2:11).
Fourth Sunday of Advent
“The LORD spoke to Ahaz” (Is 7:10). This is an interesting beginning to today’s first reading from Isaiah. In that brief reading, the destiny of a kingdom, the fate of a divine Covenant, and the prophecy of a future Messiah (whose name is Emmanuel), is at stake. The scene is similar in the gospel reading. “The Angel of LORD spoke to Joseph” (Mt 1;20). Nothing less is at stake. At stake once again is a kingdom, a Covenant, and the fulfilment of a messianic prophecy. I don’t envy Ahaz or Joseph. Standing at a crossroad with having to make decision that have widespread implications is not an enviable position.
Third Sunday of Advent
I did not have Mass last Sunday evening. I decided to take my puppy out for a walk around the Church. It was almost half-way through Mass, and I saw a woman trying walking toward the Church. We have probably seen each other, but this was the first we had met to speak. Thirty seconds into the conversation, she said to me, “Father, I want you to pray for me!” Before I could even ask, she said, “My husband and I are in the midst of a divorce. I have experienced all kinds of abuse – emotional, physical, sexual. And now he trying to alienate our children from me!” She gave me a few more details and I sensed that she could have gone on. But I did not want her to miss Mass even if it was the later bit of it. I encouraged her to go into Church and pray and offered to meet with her if she would reach out.
Second Sunday of Advent
During Advent, the scripture readings pay much attention to John the Baptist, perhaps even more than Mary. His message seems to be terribly out of sync with the sentiments of contemporary Advent. It’s like we are having a baby shower for Jesus and then we come to Church and hear John’s words, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is hand!” (Mt 3:1). It gets even more stern: “Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” (Mt 3:10). It is almost as if there is a dissonance between our Advent and the John’s Advent.
First Sunday of Advent
I celebrate the Eucharist on most days and on somedays more than once. I have weekday Masses, weekend Masses, funeral Masses, wedding Masses, memorial Masses, healing Masses. I have been a priest now for a little more than 31 years. How many Masses do you think I have celebrated? I wish I had kept a count. I have to be careful, because something we do very often can become routine, a mere ritual, or another chore.
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
The Solemnity of Christ, the King of the Universe, is no ordinary celebration. Not only is it celebrated at the culmination of the liturgical year, but it also prepares the way for the new liturgical year. Even more significantly, it crowns Christ as the king of the universe. But the gospel reading for this feast is in stark contrast to the grandeur and solemnity that such a celebration calls for. It recalls one of the most vulnerable moments of Christ’s life – him lying helplessly on the cross while the rulers jeer him, the soldiers sneer at him, and even a condemned criminal reviles him. Surely the church could do better! What is in the Church’s mind as it proposes this scripture? How does the Church understand the kingship of Christ? Perhaps, in proposing the gospel reading she does, the Church is creating a model for her presence in the world.
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
“The rapture that did not happen.” It is a reference to the failed prediction that the rapture was going to happen September 23-24, 2025. It went viral on social media. The clock was ticking on TikTok. The prediction stemmed from a dream by a South African pastor named Joshua Mhlakela. Supposedly, Jesus appeared to him in a dream and gave him the dates. Millions of people fell for the prediction. Some quit their jobs, some emptied their bank accounts, others gathered in prayer halls, some even created survival havens. September 23-24 came and went. Then, “#TheRaptureThatDidNotHappen” went viral. But Pastor Joshua Mhlakela was unapologetic. He said he had made a mistake. He had based his prediction on the Gregorian calendar instead of the Julian calendar. His new date was October 13. The day came and went and here we are.
Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. It is one of those feast days, which, if it falls on a Sunday takes precedence over the regular Sunday readings. What does a basilica in Rome have anything to do with us? The Basilica of St. John Lateran is the cathedral of Rome. It was built in the time of Constantine and was consecrated by Pope Sylvester in 324. This is the church where popes were consecrated. Celebrating the dedication of this cathedral is symbolic of the unity of the Catholic Church. To everyone who loves the church, this is not merely the feast of a basilica. Rather, it is the feast the universal church, the people of God, the Body of Christ, united as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
Today is the commemoration of All Souls. Within the last year most of you have probably laid to rest someone you love very dearly – a parent, a spouse, a sibling, a child, a relative, a friend, or perhaps even a pet. For that matter, all of us have at some time laid to rest someone we love. And it hurts. Nothing hurts more than death. It is the sheer absence of the deceased and the sheer helplessness we experience in the face of death that is painful. Many of us would give anything to spend another moment with our beloved departed. But all the money in the world cannot buy that another moment. And that hurts.
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
In today’s gospel, we have yet another parable about prayer. The “Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector” is the second parable where Luke gives us the precise reason for the parable. Last Sunday, we had heard the “Parable of the Persistent Widow”, and Luke’s introduction to the parable was, “Jesus told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary” (Lk 18:1). In today’s gospel Luke says, “Jesus addressed this parable (the Pharisee and the tax-collector” to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else” (Lk 18:9). Both these parables are about prayer.
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Rarely do scripture readings give us the purpose of a parable in the way today’s gospel passage does. Luke says, “Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary” (Lk 18:1). The “Parable of the Persistent Widow” is about persistent intercession. But it is also about faith and how the two come together in our prayer.
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(This Homily was previously published in 2022).
There are two very powerful stories in today’s scripture readings. The first story is the healing of Naaman the Syrian (2 Kgs 5:14-17), and the other is Jesus healing the ten lepers (Lk 17:11-19). As powerful as these stories are in themselves, I would like to reflect on them from the perspective of a sentence from today’s second reading. Paul writes to Timothy, “But the word of God is not chained” (2 Tim 2:9).
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
There is something that I have preached about in passing which today I want to make the theme of my homily. “Don’t live a good and holy life because you want to be saved; live a good and holy life because you ARE saved!” The theme is inspired by today’s gospel reading where Jesus says, “When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do'" (Lk 17:10).
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I want to begin my homily with today’s Psalm response (Ps 146:7, 8-10). It reads:
“Blessed is he who keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.”
“The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
The LORD loves the just;
the LORD protects strangers.”
“The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations.”
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
On my visit to India in August, I witnessed something that disturbed me for days and does even today. I was driving my nephew to pre-school one morning. The school is nearby, and we take a little ride there on our scooter. There is only one way to describe traffic in India – organized chaos. To make it worse, I was in peak time traffic. Everybody was in a hurry, everybody was honking, and nobody cared even a little about anything. At a crossroad, among the pedestrians, was a blind man using his cane to navigate the cross. There were probably 20 people crossing the street with him. This man was crying something out loud so people can hear him and be careful. A car on my left side slowed down but did not stop, and almost hit the blind man. His cane came under the wheels. I was outraged. I caught up with the car and stared at the driver. Well, it happened be our next-door neighbor. He works as an executive in a company, lives in a luxury duplex, drives a car, but he could care less. What is more shocking is that the entrance to his house is lined with religious symbols. But for him, this poor blind man did not mean more than the pebbles on the street. I had decided to stop by his house in the evening and express my outrage. My niece stopped me, and for the sake neighborhood politics and peace, I let it go. She has to live there but I get to leave. I can’t tell you how disappointed I am with myself.