Reflection
What is love? If we look at popular culture we will find different answers to that question. Movies, books and love songs have tried to paint a portrait of what it is. “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” They are the famous lines from the book The Love Story by Eric [...]
A hero is well loved by many. People adore heroes. We have a strong attraction for them, giving them our applause and adulation. I’m sure you have your own personal heroes in your lives. They may be popular personalities like actors, politicians or other celebrities. But I suspect for many of us, we just are [...]
Remember. Memory. Reminder. All these words suggest recalling something that has been forgotten. They are asking to bring to mind again something important. When we remember, we become aware of what has been forgotten. When we recall, we make present what is absent. Good memories we want to remember. Bad memories we want to forget. [...]
Reflection
If you’re new and you want to be accepted, they say you should seriously take the following advice. First, make a good first impression. Look rich, play the role of one who is successful and powerful. Second, never start in a place where people know you already. Being unknown and anonymous as you begin helps [...]
Reflection
The picture of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph is very familiar to many Filipino Catholic families. When we look at their stampitas or images, they seem to be so perfect and holy. Yet such depictions are far-off from how the gospel of St. Matthew pictures the birth of Jesus.
Joseph plays a central [...]
It is faithfulness to the spirit of Jesus who embraced everyone, sinners and saints alike, even the pagan centurion who, in the end, acknowledge that he is not worthy to received Jesus “but only say the word and I shall be healed.”
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reflection
Scarcity creates insecurity. Our own human experiences prove that point. Go back to the times you felt very little was left in your pocket or in your food cabinet. Did we not feel insecure and worried that nothing will be left for us? Did we not feel insecure about giving [...]
“Hosanna!” ang naging maluwalhating bungad ng ating paggunita ng Semana Santa. Bagama’t hindi opisyal na kasama sa Semana Santa, ang Visita Iglesia na isinagawa noong Marso 27, isang araw bago ang Linggo ng Palaspas, ay isang mahalagang paghahanda para sa pagdating nito. Ika-anim ng umaga ng araw na iyon nang umalis ang grupo mula sa [...]
I was in a bus when I saw in the street a 40 year old man in dirty rubber shoes, stomping his feet upon an empty plastic bottle. Next to him was a sack of what appeared to be 20 or so flattened empty plastic bottles. And on his other side is a pile of [...]
From January 25 to 29 of this year, about 5,000 diocesan and religious priests from all over the country gathered for the Second National Congress of the Clergy (NCC 2) which was held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. The Congress was conducted in observance of the proclamation by Pope Benedict XVI in [...]
Triduum, in Latin, refers to a period of three days. It is the holiest of days for us Catholics. If Semana Santa is holy, the three days within that period is deeply sacred. They are Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Three days filled with mystery, sacrifice and love.
We call the first of the [...]
The University of the Philippines has somehow gained the reputation of being a godless university because of the very liberal atmosphere it fosters. University life usually goes on without much mention of God or religion and it is saddening to hear stories about people who cease to pray and come to mass simply because, here [...]
Diet. This word for most of us has a negative connotation as it reminds us of suffering or self-denial. In the Philippines, if one says “I’m on a diet”, one is actually saying “I am denying myself the same amount of food I had been taking which caused me to appear this round”. I’m sure [...]
In Egypt, huge pyramids are built in order to store the body of the dead along with their most important possessions. This is due to the belief that they will be in need of it in their next life. Here in the Philippines and certainly in other parts of the globe, a different perspective is [...]
