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HOMILIES

POETRY, PENTECOST, AND THE PAINS OF THE PASSING YEARS

GMHThis reflection was made on the occasion of Pentecost Sunday, which this year falls on 08 June, the death anniversary of the English Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins.

I read my first Hopkins poem as a freshman in high school. The poem was “God’s Grandeur” contained in an anthology of poems carefully selected and compiled for us by our English teachers.

But between me and Hopkins, it wasn’t a case of love at first sight. An adolescent who had barely learned to appreciate any kind of poetry, I found his language and style too alien. And for some reason, the verses he wrote were much less accessible to me than the better known and more frequently quoted poems about roads less taken, tigers burning bright, and even that one creepy raven.

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HOMILIES

LAST FOOTPRINTS

This reflection on the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord is based on Matthew 28:16-20.

There is a special slab of stone found in the Chapel of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. That rock has been revered by Christians for centuries since it is believed to bear the right footprint of our Lord right before he ascended to heaven (the half bearing the left is housed in a mosque). Hence, its name: the Ascension Rock.

ascension rock

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HOMILIES

SANTACRUZAN

This homily was delivered on 25 May at the Santacruzan de Mayo in Wembley Park and based on John 14:15-21.

I will recite names of famous people and characters. Try to guess what they have in common: Batman and Robin. Spiderman. Wolverine. Tarzan. Clark Kent. Cinderella. Snow White. James Bond. Frodo Baggins. Luke Skywalker. Santa Claus. Harry Potter. Tom Riddle (aka Voldemort).

They all have one thing in common. Can you guess what it is?

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HOMILIES

THE ART OF CONSOLING

This homily is based on John 14:15-21.

I grew up in my father’s movie house, where I spent most of my childhood. It was there that I lost him: I was no more than 10, and when my father died, my childhood ended quite unceremoniously. I was already an adult when I lost my mother, but having been traumatized as a child by my father’s death, I had winced often enough at the prospect of being completely orphaned that when it finally happened, I was mostly numb.

lion

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HOMILIES

THE ARCHITECTURE OF GOD’S HEART

This Sunday reflection is based on John 14:1-12.

Today’s Gospel passage is a veritable treasure trove of quotable quotes. Our Lord speaks many unforgettably powerful words here. Among the many great lines in the passage, what I find most striking today is the architecture of God’s heart that our Lord Jesus describes. “In my Father’s house, there are many dwelling places,” Jesus assures his disciples.

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