Homilies

Homilies

12TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

Theme: Fear God, Not Man Jer 20:10-13; Ps 68(69):8-10,14,17,33-35; Rom 5:12-15; Matt 10:26-33 The gospel reading of today forms part of the “Mission of the Disciples” which runs from Matt 9:35 to 10:42. At the beginning of his earthly mission, Jesus chose some people who were to stay with him and who became his apostles (Matt 4:18 -22).  From that moment, these disciples kept […]

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13TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

2 Kgs 4:8-11,13-16; Ps 88(89):2-3,16-19; Rom 6:3-4,8-11; Matt 10:37-42 THEME: Consolation in the Midst of Rejection Do Not Be Afraid to always Choose God Last Sunday, Jesus is seen warning his newly recruited ‘men-of the-Goodnews’ against possible rejection of men and persecution which they would encounter in their effort to preach and live by the gospel message of Christ. The disciples would have to face persecution

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16TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

Theme: Getting Rid of the Weed for The Good Wheat to Blossom Every farmer has an experience of the battle between the planted crop and the unwanted weed. For every planted crop, there are tens of weeds that emerge around it, struggling over the land’s space and nutrients with the crop. This weed-challenge affects the growth of the crop. But once the farmer clears off

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14TH SUNAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

Zech 9:9-10; Ps 144(145):1-2,8-11,13b-14; Rom 8:9,11-13; Matt 11:25-30 THEME: VICTORY WITHOUT A SWORD In the first reading, Zion and Jerusalem are presented with their king, who comes victorious and triumphant, yet riding, not on a chariot, but on a donkey. He is presented, not as a fierce warrior coming back with his battle-chariot, but as a humble king riding on a donkey, on

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19TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

1 Kgs 19:9,11-13; Ps 84(85):9-14; Rom 9:1-5; Matt 14:22-23 Theme: Be Calm, the Still Voice Comes after the Storm On our way to encounter the Lord The first reading and the gospel present us with two figures who were on their way to meet with the Lord. Elijah was asked by God to come and meet him at Mt. Horeb while Peter was asked by Jesus to walk through the water to

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20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

THEME: “NOT WHO YOU ARE, BUT WHAT YOU DO” ISA 56:1,6-7; ROM 11:13-15, 29-32; MATT 15:21-28 WHO AMONG THE TWO IS MY TRUE SON? The readings of today remind me of the story my friend shared with him, regarding his experience with his son and his son’s friend. This my friend had just a son before his wife died. Because his wife died when his son was still very

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21ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME OF YEAR A

Isa 22:19-23; Psa 137(138):1-3,6,8; Rom 11:33-36; Matt 16:13-20 THEME: WHAT THEY SAY VERSUS WHAT I SAY WHO DO PEOPLE SAY THAT THE SON OF MAN IS? Often, we hear such things like: “Do not give attention to what people say about you”, “It does not matter what people think I am”, etc. By asking his disciples such a question, Jesus shows that he expected his disciples to know what other

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23RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

Eze 33:7-9; Ps 94(95):1-2,6-9; Rom 13:8-10; Matt 18:15-20 Theme: En Route to Peace-Making Steps to Peace-Making Chapter 18 of Matthew’s gospel, from which our gospel reading today is taken, is a continuation of the community life teaching which Jesus already started in Matt 13:54. In these passages, we see Jesus preparing his disciples on how to live in a community which he

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2ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B

Readings: 1 Sam 3:3-10,19; Ps 39:2,4,7-10; 1 Cor 6:13-15,17-20; Jn 1:35-42 Theme: COMING TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD Dearest friends, after the events of Christmas we now begin the Ordinary Time of the Year. The readings of today calls for three things: importance of proper direction; necessity of personal experience of Jesus; and the ability to lead others to Christ. These three points are joined

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3RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B

Theme: The Former and the Later Life of Children of the Kingdom. In what is known as Syro-Ephramite war, king Ahaz of Judah recoursed to the Assyrian king, Tiglath-pileser III, to rescue him from the attack of king Rezin of Aram and king Pekah of Israel because he refused to join their coalition against Assyrian government. Tiglath Pileser III came to the rescue of Ahaz, and defeated king Rezin and king Pekah. At this time, Israel and Judah had

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24TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

Eccl 27:30-28:9; Psa 102(103):1-4, 9-12; Rom 14:7-9; Matt 18:21-35 Theme: FORGIVENESS WITHOUT COUNTS Last Sunday, Jesus gave us a detailed teaching on the importance of making every effort to make peace with one another. The three processes presented by Jesus aim at Forgiveness and Reconciliation. Our Gospel reading today continues the discussion on forgiveness. After the disciples had listened

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26TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

Ezek 18:25-28; Ps 24(25):4-9; Phil 2:1-11; Matt 21:28-32 Theme: Faith without Commitment A Man Has Two Children… In the gospel, Jesus tells a parable with which he confronts the attitude of the chief priests and the scribes who present themselves as the real children of God, but in fact, they are far from it. “A man has two children”, so begins the parable. At

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27TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

Isa 5:1-7; Psa 80:9,12-16,19-20; Phil 4:6-9; Matt 21:33-43 Theme: What God Orders Versus What He Gets The first reading and the gospel of today speak of ‘vineyard’ of the Lord. In the first reading, Israel and Judah are themselves the vineyard of the Lord, the vineyard God planted, nurtured and protected, looking forward for the wonderful grapes it would bear. But in the gospel, Israel and Judah are

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28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

Isa 25:6-10; Psa 23; Phil 4:12-14,19-20; Matt 22:1-14 THEME: THE FEAST IS FREE BUT THE GARMENT IS NOT Dearest friends, the readings of today, especially the first and the third readings, present to us, the theme of an invitation to a wedding feast, organized and prepared by the Lord himself. In the first reading, from the Prophet Isaiah, the Lord makes a promise of this

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29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

Isa 45:1,4-6; Psa 96:1,3-5,7-10; 1 Thess 1:1-5; Matt 22:15-21 Theme: You’ve Got to Choose Dearest friends, today the gospel reading presents us with one of the most abused, misinterpreted and misused passages in the gospel. It is the so-called “Give to Ceasar what belongs to Ceasar, and to God what belongs to God”. In our world today, so many people have based

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30TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

Ex 22:20-26; Psa 18:2-4,47,51; 1 Thess 1:5-10; Matt 22:34-40 Theme: LOVE AND DO WHATEVER YOU WANT Dearest friends, today’s readings invite us to reflect on the theme of LOVE. In the Gospel, Jesus summarizes all the commandments into one: LOVE. In the first reading, we see God explaining to the people of Israel how this love of the neighbor must be extended even to

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32ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

Wis 6:12-16; Psa 62:2-8; 1 Thess 4:13-18; Matt 25:1-13 Theme: Even when You sleep, Keep Your Oil Ready Beloved in Christ, we are still in the month of November, the month in which we not only pray in a special way for the dead, but also remind ourselves of the importance of being always ready for our own death. Today, we reflect on the following

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2ND SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR A

Acts 2:42-47; Ps 117(118):2-4,13-15,22-24; 1 Pet 1:3-9; Jn 20:19-31 Theme: Being an Instrument of God’s Mercy: A Sharing in Christ’s Mission. Today’s feast of the Divine Mercy celebrates the coming in contact of God himself, God who is mercy, to the human’s misery. The Divine mercy is not just a celebration about God forgiving us,

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3RD SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR A

Acts 2:14,22-33; Psa 15(16):1-2,5,7-11; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Lk 24:13-35 What do you do when you find yourself in a difficult and incomprehensible situation? When things become too confusing, when all of a sudden, the joy and hope of a good life vanishes like a smoke, what do you do? When the things you so much

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4TH SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR A

(GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY) Acts 2:14,36-41; Psa 22(23); 1 Pet 2:20-25; Jn 10:1-10 Theme: The Voice of the Shepherd and the Ears of the Sheep The picture Jesus creates in the gospel reading of today shows the culture of the Palestinian world of his time which is still obtainable in some parts of the world. At

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5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR A

Acts 6:1-7; Psa 32(33):1-2,4-5,18-19; 1 Pet 2:4-9; Jn 14:1-12 Theme: Discrimination and Favoritism Among the ‘Saints’ The first reading presents us with the first recorded problem in the early Christian community. The problem of discrimination and favoritism. How can we understand the apparent contradiction between the descriptions of the life within the early Christian community

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