The Word of God | Lector Training (7/18/2026)

1. Opening Prayer

Father, as I share in the work of the Holy Spirit, Who opens our hearts to God’s holy Word, bless me in my task of telling the story of salvation. Give me grace to proclaim the true and saving word of God. As a messenger of God’s love for us all.

Oh Holy Spirit, open my heart to that which I proclaim. Be with me as I study the Scripture and prepare the Word which is yours to speak. Grant me your gift of understanding so that the passage may dwell deep within me.

Let me approach the Ambo, the Table of the Lord’s Word, with reverence and awe. Let me handle the book of the Lord’s Word with great care knowing it is a Tabernacle of the Lord’s presence. Let my eyes fall often on the faces of the Assembly knowing they are the body of the Lord whose Word I proclaim. Let the Lord’s peace settle in my heart that my voice may be clear and steady. Let my voice echo the sound of the Word with conviction, gentleness, strength and wonder.

As I proclaim the words of Holy Scripture which challenges, confronts, and captures our hearts; which heals, comforts and consoles; which feeds the hungers and the longing of our hearts for truth; let me offer the story of the great things the Lord has done for us that we might turn to the table of Holy Eucharist with good cause to give thanks and praise.

In awesome reverence of the Word I proclaim, as one judged and saved by the Word, I offer this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen. [Source]

2. Introduction

1. Briefly share experience as lector during Diaconal Formation.

1. Tips that I received from Irene Alcaron:

1. Project so that the person sitting in the back pews can hear.

2. Speak slowly and enunciate the words.

2. Excited to proclaim the words that the Lord said himself (“Thus says the Lord” or “Jesus taught them, saying”) or the prophets or the apostles.

3. Michael P.’s comments: “storytelling” “listening to a story being told”

2. Instituted Lector during Diaconal Formation.

1. In this rite, candidates are formally instituted as Lectors and Acolytes in the Church. Lectors are entrusted with proclaiming the Word of God during the liturgy, except for the Gospel. Acolytes are instituted to serve at the altar and assist priests and deacons during Mass. They may distribute Holy Communion, bring the Eucharist to the sick, and assist with the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for adoration. Acolytes may also help train others who serve in liturgical ministries (Diocese of Buffalo, citing from GIRM, no. 99).

2. In the absence of an instituted lector, other lay people may be deputed to proclaim the readings from Sacred Scripture, people who are truly suited to carrying out this function and carefully prepared, so that by their hearing the readings from the sacred texts the faithful may conceive in their hearts a sweet and living affection for Sacred Scripture. (GIRM, no. 101)

3. Proclaiming (not reading) the Gospel as a Deacon.

3. Themes of Talk

1. Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist 

2. Lectors as messengers of God’s love for us all

3. Lectors whose hearts are opened to God’s holy Word 

4. Lectors with the grace to proclaim the true and saving word of God

4. Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist

1. “The Mass consists in some sense of two parts, namely the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, these being so closely interconnected that they form but one single act of worship. For in the Mass is spread the table both of God’s Word and of the Body of Christ, and from it the faithful are to be instructed and refreshed” (GIRM, 28, also cf. SC 56, 48, 51).

2. Pope Saint John Paul II: “We are well aware that from the earliest times the celebration of the Eucharist has been linked not only with prayer but also with the reading of Sacred Scripture. . . As a result, it has long been possible to apply to the Mass the comparison, made by the Fathers, with the two tables, at which the Church prepares for her children the word of God and the Eucharist, that is, the bread of the Lord” (Dominicae Cenae, 10).

3. Pope Benedict XVI: “There is an intrinsic bond between the word of God and the Eucharist. From listening to the word of God, faith is born or strengthened (cf. Rom 10:17); in the Eucharist the Word made flesh gives himself to us as our spiritual food. Thus, ‘from the two tables of the word of God and the Body of Christ, the Church receives and gives the faithful the bread of life.’ Consequently it must constantly be kept in mind that the word of God, read and proclaimed by the Church in the liturgy, leads to the Eucharist as to its own connatural end” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 44).”

4. Fr. Luke Spannagel: “[They] both strengthen us in understanding our faith and living it out in the world, and they both draw us deeper into true unity with Christ. . . [Through] the Scriptures we come to know God as he reveals himself to us; we learn who we are as his people; and we learn how to live our lives in him and with one another. . . in the Eucharist we are nourished in a unique way through the true presence of Jesus and his dwelling with us through Holy Communion. Our Lord nourishes us in two wonderful ways!”

5. Lectors as messengers of God’s love for us all

1. John 1:1, 14: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.

2. Jesus the lector at a synagogue in Nazareth (at start of his public ministry)

1. Luke 4:16-17: He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”

2. Luke 24:27: Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures.

3. Isaiah 55:10-11: Yet just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down And do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, Giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me empty, but shall do what pleases me, achieving the end for which I sent it.

6. Lectors whose hearts are opened to God’s holy Word

1. Lay Ministers & Ordained Ministers of the Word of God (Priest, prophet, and king through Baptism)

1. Romans 10:14-15: But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring [the] good news!”

2. The purpose is the same: “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”

2. Cultivate your hearts to allow the Word of God to dwell in you

1. Romans 10:17: Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.

2. Hebrews 4:12: Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

3. Joshua 1:8: Do not let this book of the law depart from your lips. Recite it by day and by night, that you may carefully observe all that is written in it; then you will attain your goal; then you will succeed.

7. Lectors with the grace to proclaim the true and saving word of God

1. The lector is not just reading text, but proclaiming the living Word of God.

1. Tips from Irene A. come from the GIRM:

In texts that are to be pronounced in a loud and clear voice, whether by the Priest or the Deacon, or by a reader, or by everyone, the voice should correspond to the genre of the text itself, that is, depending upon whether it is a reading, a prayer, an explanatory comment, an acclamation, or a sung text; it should also be suited to the form of celebration and to the solemnity of the gathering. Consideration should also be given to the characteristics of different languages and of the culture of different peoples. (no. 38)

2. Nehemiah 8:8: Ezra read clearly from the book of the law of God, interpreting it so that all could understand what was read.

3. 2 Timothy 2:15: Be eager to present yourself as acceptable to God, a workman who causes no disgrace, imparting the word of truth without deviation.

4. 1 Timothy 4:12-14: set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. Until I arrive, attend to the reading, exhortation, and teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have.

8. For Reflection (time permitting)

1. How do you experience the Liturgy of the Word as nourishment? Pray with Ezekiel 3:1-3, in which the Lord instructs Ezekiel to eat a scroll. Meditate on the image of “tables” set for a feast as a way to awaken your “appetite” for worship as you prepare for Mass.

2. PREPARATION - Ezekiel 3:1-3: He said to me: Son of man, eat what you find here: eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. a Son of man, he said to me, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving you. I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.

MISSION - Ezekiel 3:4: Then he said to me, Son of man, go now to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them.

9. Closing Prayer & Blessing

Dear Jesus, thank You for calling me to be a lector at Your Eucharistic celebrations. Let me take this role seriously and diligently prepare myself for it by studying the sacred texts before mass, and by striving to be a better Catholic Christian.

By my physical action of reading, I am the instrument through whom You become present to the assembly in Your word and through whom You impart Your teachings. Let nothing in my manner disturb Your people or close their hearts to the action of Your spirit. Cleanse my heart and my mind and open my lips that I may worthily proclaim Your word. Amen. [Source]

Homily for the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene (Year A - 7/22/2026)

Today’s Gospel takes us back to the morning of the Resurrection of the Lord. As we reflect on Saint John’s account of Mary Magdalene discovering the empty tomb, we can feel her desperation as she frantically searched for Jesus.

The two angels in white said to her: "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken my Lord, and I don't know where they laid him." Even Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" She thought it was the gardener and said to him, "Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him." Her reaction tugs on our hearts because it is one of a lover losing her beloved, as we heard in today’s first reading: “Have you seen him whom my heart loves?”

How maddening it must be for us when we think we have lost a loved one, which is why we keep them close to us, especially children in places with large crowds. Oh, how our hearts ache with the passing of our loved ones. How hopeless it must be for us when we have fallen deep into sin and temptation. Jesus does not want this for us. Christ does not want us to be sad and lose hope, to be imprisoned in our own darkness. So he calls out to us by name, like he did to Mary Magdalene, saying: "Mary! Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” In other words, Jesus tells us to stop clinging onto the things of this world but look to him who is the light of the world.

And when Jesus has pulled us out from darkness into his marvelous light, he calls us to spread that light in the world, just as he told Mary Magdalene, saying: “. . .go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" And, like Mary Magdalene, we go forth with faith, hope, and courage to announce to those we encounter in our lives: "I have seen the Lord!” Jesus does not let Mary stay in the darkness of her pain and sorrows. Rather he tells her to live in the light of his glorious Resurrection. Our Lord does the same for us when we open our hearts to him, especially during challenging times in our lives, and turn to him saying: “Have you seen him whom my heart loves?” When we do, Jesus will call us by name and pulls us from darkness into his marvelous light.

Mary Magdalene was the first witness who saw the Risen Lord and the first messenger who proclaimed the resurrection of the Lord to the apostles. She is an example of an evangelizer who proclaims the joyful Easter message. Saint Gregory reminds us that she was the first testis divinae misericordiae (witness to divine mercy). . . Jesus had mercy on her, allowing her to recognize him as “Rabbouni”, thus transforming her tears into Easter joy. Saint Thomas Aquinas calls her the apostle to the apostles. . . because she announced to the apostles what they, in their turn, would proclaim throughout the entire world. Christ had a special consideration and mercy for this woman who showed such great love toward Him that she sought him anxiously in the garden with such suffering, with “humble tears” as Saint Anselm called them. More than that, “just as it was a woman [Eve] who was the first to announce the words of death, so it was a woman who would be the first to announce the words of life.”

According to Pope Francis, this is the lesson that we can learn from Mary Magdalene: [Jesus] says to stop “looking into the darkness of the past, into the emptiness of the tomb,” but look toward Christ. . . . There is a place for you, for me, for everyone. No one can take it, because it has always been meant for us. … Everyone can say: I have a place, I have a mission! Even a woman with a past like Mary, the one ‘from whom [Jesus] had cast out seven demons.’” Mary Magdalene gives us hope that despite our past failings, we are never far from the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ our Redeemer.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072226.cfm

Homily for Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Year A - 7/20/2026)

In today’s Gospel, the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus for a “sign.” Jesus responds, saying: “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it.” Are we not sometimes like the scribes and Pharisees, demanding that God prove Himself to us - that He is real, that He exists, that He is truly present in our lives? What proof is there that God exists? We know God is real in the existence of the universe, in the beauty of God’s created world in which we live, and in the complexity of our own human body? However, while “the evidence. . . provides good and strong reasons to believe that God exists. . . it can’t prove beyond any doubt that God exists. Science is incapable of reaching that high bar” (Reese, 8/1/2024). When we do this, when we ask these questions, I can imagine hearing what the Lord God said to the Prophet Micah, in the first reading: “O my people, what have I done to you, or how have I wearied you? Answer me!”

There is nothing wrong with questioning our faith because it is our way of finding the truth of God and, in turn, the purpose and meaning in our lives. But as we heard Jesus say in today’s Gospel: “. . .no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights. . .” What did Jonah do while he was in the belly of the whale, when all hope was seeming lost in his life those three days and three nights? Jonah prayed this prayer, which I now paraphrase: “Out of my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me; From the womb of Sheol I cried for help, and you heard my voice. . . you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD, my God. . . When I became faint, I remembered the LORD; My prayer came to you in your holy temple. . . Those who worship worthless idols abandon their hope for mercy. But I, with thankful voice, will sacrifice to you; What I have vowed I will pay: deliverance is from the LORD.” In this prayer of Jonah, we learn to remain faithful to God and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Moreover, the Prophet Micah gives us a better way to be faithful, saying: “You have been told. . . what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.” “Walk humbly with God” is the episcopal motto of Bishop Garcia, as you can see right over there at the chair of the See of Austin. And so, how do we do this? How do we “walk humbly with God.” Let us listen and take to heart these words of the first pope, Saint Peter, who encourages us: “[All] of you, be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another, compassionate, humble. Do not return evil for evil, or insult for insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing, because to this you were called, that you might inherit a blessing. . . For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears turned to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against evildoers. Now who is going to harm you if you are enthusiastic for what is good? But even if you should suffer because of righteousness, blessed are you. Do not be afraid or terrified with fear of them, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear. . .” (1 Peter 3:8-9, 12-16).

These words of Saint Peter remind us that there is no more powerful sign, or reason for our faith, hope, and love, than the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072026.cfm

Homily for Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Year A - 7/13/2026)

In today’s Gospel, Jesus talks about the cost to come and follow him, particularly when it comes to our families. Our Lord had this to say: “For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household.” As I reflected on this passage, I was reminded of my own conversion to Catholicism. I recall not telling my parents about my journey in O.C.I.A. to become a Catholic for fear of how they might react. I recall not telling my mom I was at the Rite of Election. I recall getting baptized and received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil without my parents or brothers present. However, to encounter our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is to love him more than anyone and anything else in this world; and that was precisely what happened to me. I love Jesus more than my own mother and father and brothers. This is the cost of discipleship, I believe.

I recently read these remarks from His Excellency, Samuel J. Aquila, Archbishop of Denver, who had this to say about “cheap grace” and the “cost of discipleship”. He wrote: “What is ‘cheap grace?’ It’s ‘preaching forgiveness without repentance … grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without the living, incarnate Jesus Christ.’ In other words, it’s living as if one’s actions don’t matter; since one has already been forgiven – no conversion of life is required.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Protestant theologian, wrote that “[cheap] grace is the mortal enemy of our church. Our struggle today is for costly grace.” Archbishop Aquila continued, saying: “We have a lot to learn from the suffering Church when it comes to costly grace and its value. There is no avoiding the cross in life. . . Every human being suffers as a result of the Fall. What our faith does is give meaning to our suffering. Through faith, suffering can become something that we embrace as an act of love. A willing offering of love for God, for a friend or even an enemy.”

The Archbishop then spoke of “spiritual martyrdom.” Asking ourselves: “How God is calling each of us not to settle for “cheap grace”? How is [God] calling you to embrace the more difficult but eternally rewarding path of costly grace that accompanies the life of a true disciple? We are called instead to embrace the cross so that the very image of God, the form of Christ, takes shape within us. . . We are called to preach the truth in love, seeking out the lost and forsaken as Christ did. Becoming confirmed to the image of Christ means loving those who don’t understand us, who hate us and who ridicule us, as Jesus was during his Passion. It means remaining at the foot of the Cross with the suffering, who may not even think they are suffering.” He went on to suggest “that today we must cultivate the virtues of courage, wisdom and perseverance. These virtues mark the lives of every martyr – whether spiritual or physical – and they lie at the heart of witnessing to the faith in a hostile culture.”

How do we go about doing this in our own lives? Well, I believe that the Prophet Isaiah tells us how in today’s first reading. Here is that the Prophet Isaiah had to say: “Hear the word of the LORD. . . Listen to the instruction of our God. . . Bring no more worthless offerings (such as “cheap grace”). . . Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.” We should not settle for “cheap grace” but to embrace “costly grace” as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. This is how we can live our lives in a way that is worthy of the sacrifice of the Crucified One for our salvation out of his love for us.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071326.cfm

Homily for Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Year A - 7/6/2026)

Today’s Gospel gives us hope that we are never far from God’s love and mercy. In the story of the daughter of the official, even in death, we are not separated from the love of God. Like our first parents, Adam & Eve, for whom Jesus, after he died on the cross, hallowed hell to bring them from darkness of death into his marvelous light, Jesus restored life to the daughter of the official. For us, our death is a death to sin, through the waters of Baptism and the Sacraments of the Church, especially through the frequent reception of the Eucharist and Reconciliation, because, as Saint Paul teaches us: “[if] the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you” (Romans 8:9, 11-13). For our part, we must strive to live lives of holiness because, “if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (id.).

Moreover, in the story of the “woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years,” Jesus said to her: “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” Her faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ moved her to believe with all her heart, mind, and soul that if she touched his cloak, she shall be cured. Jesus cured her and so her faith restored her into communion with her fellow believers. Sin separates us from the Body of Christ, the Catholic Church, and, more importantly, sin separates us from our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the head. However, when we turn away from temptation and sin, through the power and help of the Holy Spirit, we return into communion with the faithful people of God and reconcile ourselves to God. We are the prodigal children who return to the loving embrace of our Father in heaven. This is the call to a life of holiness and faith, which not only Saint Maria Goretti lived throughout her life, as short as it was, but in the life of her killer, Alessandro Serenelli, who found redemption in the love and mercy of God.

From Franciscan Media, Saint Maria Goretti was “the daughter of a poor Italian tenant farmer, had no chance to go to school, never learned to read or write. .  [She] made her First Communion not long before her death. . . On a hot afternoon in July, Maria Goretti was sitting at the top of the stairs of her house, mending a shirt. She was not quite 12 years old, but physically mature. A cart stopped outside, and a neighbor, 18-year-old Alessandro, ran up the stairs. He seized her and pulled her into a bedroom. She struggled and tried to call for help. ‘No, God does not wish it,’ she cried out. ‘It is a sin. You would go to hell for it.’ Alessandro began striking at her blindly with a long dagger. . . Maria Goretti was taken to a hospital. Her last hours were marked by the usual simple compassion of the good—concern about where her mother would sleep, forgiveness of her murderer (she had been in fear of him, but did not say anything lest she cause trouble to his family), and her devout welcoming of Viaticum, her last Holy Communion. She died about 24 hours after the attack.” 

“Alessandro was sentenced to 30 years in prison. For a long time he was unrepentant and surly. One night he had a dream or vision of Maria Goretti gathering flowers and offering them to him. His life changed. When he was released after 27 years (three years early due to his good behavior), his first act was to beg the forgiveness of Maria’s mother” (Franciscan Media). On Christmas Eve, Maria’s mother replied to him, saying: "’If Maria forgives you, and God forgives you, how can I not also forgive you?’" The two went together to Midnight Mass and received Holy Communion kneeling side by side.  Alessandro also publicly confessed his sin before the congregation and asked for their pardon as well. Assunta then adopted Alessandro as her own son.” At her canonization, “a 66-year-old Alessandro Serenelli knelt among the quarter-million people and cried tears of joy.” The stories of Alessandro, the woman with hemorrhages, and the daughter of the official gives us hope that we are never far from God’s love and mercy.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070626.cfm

The Fall of Prime Minister Min Jeong-woo ("Perfect Crown") (UPDATED 7/21/2026)

Growing up, I enjoyed watching phim bộ (or T.V. series). Some of the series I enjoyed included The Legend of the Condor Heroes (Anh hùng xạ điêu), The Return of the Condor Heroes (Thần điêu đại hiệp), and General Father, and General Son (Tiết Đinh San và Phàn Lê Huê) to name a few.

Within the past few years, you all might have noticed that there has been an "invasion" of Korean drama (or K-drama) on live-streaming services like Netflix, PrimeVideo, and even Hulu/Disney+. I have enjoyed watching series like "The K2" and "The Story of Yanxi Palace" (currently streaming on Prime Video); "A Rational Life", "Autumn's Concerto", and "The Glory" (currently available on Netflix), and "Perfect Crown" (on Hulu/Disney+). I am sure I have seen others but these series stand out because on the compelling stories and character development, and to an extended, the soundtrack.

As a side note, the way to watch these series is to pace yourself and be disciplined. For example, watch 1 or 2 episodes a day. However, there will be times when an episode ends with a cliff-hanger and you cannot help but watch another, especially as the series reaches its climax toward a conclusion to the storyline. Now that we have gotten a bit of background out of the way, here is the purpose of this blog, which I have titled, "The Downfall of Prime Minister Min Jeong-woo (K-Drama "Perfect Crown")"

In "Perfect Crown", there is a love triangle amongst the three main characters - Grand Prince I-AN, heiress Soeng Hee-joo, and Prime Minister Min Jeong-woo (pictured below). I will not delve into this storyline, except to say that Prime Minister Min Jeong-woo is the odd man out in the end, but not for the lack of trying. However, throughout the show, the prime minister never did anything to compromise his morals as a Catholic-Christian and the integrity of the office that he holds. There was an episode where we see the Prime Minister attending Mass. He also wears a Rosary around his wrist at all times.

However, in Episode 9, we see Prime Minister Min Jeong-woo visiting his father's gravesite as he contemplates his next moves. The Queen Dowarger was also present (see picture below) to pressure him to take certain actions. Right before he leaves, he removes that Rosary around his wrist and puts in on his father's grave. Right then, I knew that he was prepared to set aside his morals, honor, and integrity to do whatever it takes to ensure that he gets what he wants. Soeng Hee-joo even notices and points out to him that he is no longer has his Rosary and asks if he still goes to Mass and prays the Rosary. In the end, the Prime Minister loses everything - the trust of his friend, the Grand Prince, the respect of his friend, Soeng Hee-joo, his honor, his position / title, and, more importantly, his sense of who he is as a beloved son of the Father. He even blamed the Grand Prince for turning him into the villain. Unfortunately, Prime Minister Min Jeong-woo's story ends abruptly with his downfall and disgrace. I would have liked to see him given a chance for repentance for his actions and reconciliation with the two most important people in his life - Grand Prince and Soeng Hee-joo, his close friends.

The Prime Minister's simple, yet profound, action of removing his Rosary reminded me of the atheistic phrase: "If God is dead, everything is permitted." Moreover, I am reminded of this quote from the horror movie, "Don't Breathe", in which the "Blind Man" said, "There is nothing a man cannot do once he accepts the fact that there is no God." I think this is one of the reasons why Catholics have holy images in their homes, cars, and person because these sacramentals remind us to strive for holiness and saintliness in our lives at all time. Of course, we will stumble and fall, but we are never too far from the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For me personally, I wear a ring on my right ring finger to remind me of our commitment to God, to Christ and his Church, and to live a life of humble obedience. I am also glad that the Knights of Columbus give all men who become a member of the Order a Rosary and ask that they carry it with them at all times and pray the Rosary as often as possible.

Let us, therefore, always stay close to our Lord Jesus Christ. He will guide us in life and give us the strength to live lives of holiness, to walk the straight and narrow path that leads to salvation and eternal life with our Father in heaven. Jesus: "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few" (Matthew 7:13-14).

Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A - 6/28/2026) (UPDATED 7/1/2026)

Towards the end of Paul’s life, as he sat in prison, he wrote to Timothy, saying: “I am already being poured out like a libation. . . I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:6). A libation is a sacrifice, a singular act of giving something over to God, for His glory and praise (Nowlin, June 26, 2019). Saint Paul was “being poured out like a libation,” because he opened his heart to God and lived his life as a complete and sacrificial offering for Jesus. It is the life that he encouraged all Christians to live, urging us “by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. . . that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2).

As I reflect on this, I remember fondly my Ordination to the Sacred Order of the Diaconate. I recall kneeling before Bishop Vasquez who handed me the Book of the Gospels and said to me: “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.” Although I made a promise to live a life of obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Church, and the Bishop, before the assembly of the people of God, at my Ordination, it was not the first time that I opened my heart to God and made such promises.

In fact, all of us opened our hearts to God and these promises at our Baptism, when we were “buried with Christ Jesus into death so that. . . we might live in newness of life. . . [we are] dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.” We recall these words from the Order of Baptism:

“Almighty ever-living God. . . make [this child] the temple of your glory, and to grant that your Holy Spirit may dwell in him.”

“This is our faith. This is the faith of the Church. We are proud to profess it in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

“Almighty God. . . now anoints you with the Chrism of salvation, so that you may remain members of Christ, Priest, Prophet and King, unto eternal life.”

“Receive the light of Christ. . . this light is entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly, so that your child, enlightened by Christ, may walk always as a child of the light. . .”

“May the Lord Jesus. . . grant that you may soon receive his word with your ears and profess the faith with your lips, to the glory and praise of God the Father.”

Pope Saint Paul VI once said: “Not to preach the Gospel would be my undoing, for Christ himself sent me as his apostle and witness. The more remote, the more difficult the assignment, the more my love of God spurs me on. I am bound to proclaim that Jesus is Christ, the Son of the living God. Because of him we come to know the God we cannot see. He is the firstborn of all creation; in him all things find their being. Man’s teacher and redeemer, he was born for us, died for us, and for us he rose from the dead” (Homily, November 29, 1970).

This is the life that we are called to live as Christians, as followers of Jesus Christ the Redeemer who extends his saving hands to us and says to us: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” (Matthew 16:24-26). Jesus commands us to “love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38). The love of God must be first and foremost in our hearts, even if, for instance, it means following the will of God and embracing the vocation that He has called us to in life rather than the careers or vocations that we may want for ourselves or our children.

These are the conditions of discipleship, of being faithful followers of Christ. And, like with all of his teachings, Jesus does not back down on these conditions but double-downs on them. Jesus knows how essential it is for us to understand this for our salvation, so much so that, despite the importance of family in human relationships, Christ still says to us: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Make no mistake about it, though. Jesus is in no way telling us not to love our families. After all, the central mystery of the Incarnation is that “when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman” (Galatians 4:4). However, even as a child, Jesus knew that his first priority was to do the will of his Father in heaven while being obedient to his parents. Recall the time when Mary and Joseph lost Jesus for three days and when they found him in the temple, Jesus’ response to their anxiety was to ask them: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49).

In the event of the finding of the child Jesus in the temple, we learn that when our hearts abide in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, God teaches us how to love our families as He loves them. As much as Mary and Joseph “did not understand what he said to them. . . [and Mary] kept all these things in her heart,” they loved and supported Jesus in the vocation that God the Father had laid out for their beloved Son (2:50-51). Jesus “advanced [in] wisdom and age and favor before God and man” precisely because of their love and support (2:52). Mary and Joseph understood then what Jesus would later teach about encouraging and nurturing the vocations of loved ones: “whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is a disciple - amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.” It is as Jesus says: “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

Today’s readings invite us to open our hearts and homes to God for “when he comes to us he can stay here,” because “we believe that we shall also live with him.” The readings invite us to reflect on our response to Jesus’ call to discipleship as baptized Catholics, to lose our lives for his sake so that we may find eternal life with our Lord and our God in heaven because we “are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation; announce the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” Only then can we look on our lives, as Saint Paul did, and say: “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me. . .” (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062826.cfm

Listen on St. Albert's Podcast: https://saintalbert.podbean.com/e/deacon-phuc-phan-1000-am-sunday-mass-homily-english-1782917837/

Listen on my Podcast: https://phucphan.podbean.com/e/hhomily-for-the-thirteenth-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-a-6282026/