Homily Blog

The Solemnity of the Epiphany celebrates revelation. God reveals His Son—not only to Israel, but to the nations, to the Gentiles, to strangers. Saint Paul calls this moment “the stewardship of God’s grace”: the mystery once hidden is now made visible in human flesh. Simeon had already sung it in the Temple: “a light to enlighten the Gentiles and give glory to your people Israel” (Lk 2:32). Today, that light appears again—not over palaces or centers of power, but over a child, in humility,...

On this first day of the year, the Church places before us Mary, the Holy Mother of God, and invites us to begin the year by learning from her gentle, humble, and contemplative heart. The title Mother of God — Theotokos , meaning “God-bearer”—is the Church’s oldest and most solemn title for Mary. It proclaims a profound truth: Jesus is one divine Person, fully God and fully man, and Mary is truly His Mother. This truth was solemnly affirmed in 431 AD at the Council of Ephesus , which declared...

“What do we do with a movie that’s going nowhere? What do we do with a book that has no plot? We put the book down. We turn off the movie. When we sense there’s no meaning, no purpose to the story, it seems pointless to go on. The same is true with life.”  — Edward Sri Edward Sri’s words apply powerfully to family life. No one desires a family with no purpose or direction—a family that feels like a story going nowhere. That is why, on this feast, the Church places before us the Family of...

Merry Christmas “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” On Christmas Day, the Church leads us beyond the manger and into mystery. John’s Gospel begins with eternity. God comes to earth to transform us. Before time, before creation, before history—the Word existed. And that Word is not an idea or a principle. The Word is a Person: Jesus Christ. John reveals something breathtaking in this gospel: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  This tells...

Merry Christmas! Taking a DNA test can be surprising. You discover connections to places you never imagined, and suddenly you realize your story is bigger than you thought. You belong to something wider and deeper. Christmas asks a similar question: What would a spiritual DNA test reveal? The answer is simple: Emmanuel—God is with us. Many of us struggle with Matthew chapter 1. It feels like a long list of names. Yet this genealogy tells us something extraordinary: God chose to enter our...

The readings of this final Sunday of Advent place before us powerful scenes of decision, trust, and divine intervention—moments when human plans collide with God’s saving purpose. In the First Reading, we encounter King Ahaz, a ruler under intense political pressure. Jerusalem is threatened, and Ahaz considers forming an alliance with Assyria to secure his throne. Through the prophet Isaiah, God invites him to ask for a sign—an opportunity to listen and trust. Ahaz refuses, cloaking his fear...

The Advent Voice That Calls Us Higher Advent reminds us that we are made for more: more than comfort, more than mediocrity, more than the temptations that diminish our dignity, more than any struggle with addiction, in fact, more than the things that bring sadness in our lives. It reminds us of the meaning and purpose of our existence. Catholic speaker and former model Leah Darrow once told a gathering at Steubenville: “Some choices offered to us don’t always lead to the path of...

What Difference Does Advent Make? Here comes another Advent! But what difference does it make? For some, it may feel like “just another year,” another cycle of Christmas lights, cooking, buying gifts, and decorating the house. These little details can be good and attractive, but they can easily weigh us down and make us lose the true meaning of Advent. For instance, some people do not cherish Christmas because of the burden of having to fix so many things for their family. Imagine the demands...

Each year on this feast of Christ the King, I recall the story of a six-year-old boy who once sat determined to draw a picture of God. His mother said, “But no one really knows what God looks like.” The boy replied, “Once I finish this drawing, they will know.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our lives were that kind of picture—if people could look at us and finally see what it means to proclaim Jesus as King? The feast of Christ the King is more than an annual event. It is the celebration of...

Personal Witness: Encountering the Lateran Basilica Earlier this year, I was in Rome for the funeral rites of Pope Francis, and one of the profound moments during that pilgrimage was visiting the Lateran Basilica —the Mother and Head of all churches in the world. I was struck by its beauty, its history, and its sacred atmosphere. Today’s feast is a reminder that the Church is not just a building—it’s us . The Lateran Basilica is the Mother Church because it symbolizes the unity and sanctity...

Today, we gather in prayerful remembrance of all the faithful departed. The Church, in her maternal wisdom, pauses to intercede for souls who have gone before us, trusting in the boundless mercy of God. It can be asked whether All Souls’ Day is a day of despair, of mourning, or of grief for those who have died. Rather, it is a day of hope — a hope anchored in Christ’s victory over death and His promise of eternal life. My personal feeling is that All Souls offers me some hope of being...

Self-Worth, Not Self-Worship: Understanding Narcissism The word “narcissism” has become popular in modern society—typically in a negative sense. It originates from the Greek myth when Narcissus falls in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Narcissism is an exaggerated obsession with self, often at the expense of others. In today’s gospel, Jesus uses the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector to expose this kind of spiritual narcissism. The Pharisee exalts himself while...