Father Weerackoon’s Homilies and Talks

Feast of the Holy Family

Fathers needs to lead their families in praying authentically and vulnerably each night by (1) giving thanks for the blessings of that day, (2) asking for forgiveness and forgiving family members, and (3) putting on heartfelt compassion by interceding for the needs of your family, because when you pray, you are heard.

The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) Mass during the Night

God appeared in a burning bush to a shepherd named Moses to draw Moses close to Him. But over 1000 years later, God came as a child so that shepherds could draw close to Him. And God continues to draw us close to Him because He wants you to see Him, and for you to know He’s with you so that we can each say: “I never have to be alone.”

Christmas Vigil

God is not afraid of our messy lives. The family tree Christ enters is broken and dysfunctional, but Jesus grafts us onto His family tree by wedding His divinity with our humanity and consummating that marriage on the tree of the cross to show us it’s not about the problems we face in life. It’s about who you are with.

4th Sunday of Advent

The great promise of Christmas is Emmanuel - God is with us. But are we willing to let God into our lives? The Old Testament began with the consequences of the sin of a husband and wife (Adam and Eve) because they listened to a fallen angel, while the New Testament begins with the grace that abounds because of a husband and wife (Mary and Joseph) who both heed the voice of an angel. So every time you say “no” to sin and “yes” to grace, it doesn’t just affect you – it has consequences on so many others. And if we allow God into our lives, then we will truly allow God to be with us.

3rd Sunday of Advent

It can be hard to wait. John the Baptist may even had doubts as he sat in his prison cell. But if we learn to deny ourselves in little ways and wait, we will be filled with joy, because greatness is always shown in the way we wait.

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

More impressive than when God looked and saw what He had made in Adam and Eve and found it very good because they were created without sin and more impressive than the beauty of the angels is the beauty of the new Eve who is conceived without original sin. If we look to the Queen of Angels each day to pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, then we can have great faith we will look and see Jesus and Mary face to face in heaven.

2nd Sunday of Advent

People responded to John the Baptist's call to repentance because he was real. So this Advent, do three things: (1) sleep well, meaning to encounter God in the silence and bring Him the places you've tried hiding from Him, (2) eat well, meaning receive the sacraments, and (3) practice well, meaning incorporate a spiritual practice.

1st Sunday in Advent

Both St. Paul and Jesus stress the importance of waking up from sleep and staying awake by putting on the life of Christ, because we’re meant to have Jesus wrapped all around us, not just for one hour a week, not just on Christmas Day when we celebrate His First Coming into the world, not just throughout this season of Advent when we prepare for His Second Coming, but every day of our lives as we await Him coming to us in the Eucharist and for the moment He comes to meet us at our death. 

Christ the King

All the kings in history sent people to die for them, but we know of only one King who died for His people. Because Jesus is the king who leads us in the battle. Jesus is the king who protects us His bride. Jesus is the king who comes to say: “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”

33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

The destruction of the Temple that Jesus foretells symbolizes an ultimate destruction of the whole universe at the end of the world. So if you want to prepare for the end of our lives and the end of the world, then examine how you end each day. If you thank the Father for the blessings of the day, ask the Son for forgiveness for any sins we committed, then you will live as temples of the Holy Spirit, and then by your perseverance, you will secure your lives.