Poison

John 11: 45-56 One of the surest ways to loneliness in life is to compare yourself with others. You observe the house, you observe the car. Where does the person work? You observe the friends that they hang out with. Then you look at the talent. In other words, a person counts the blessing of…

Typhoons of Life

Matthew 14: 22-33 Once we took a boat ride towards an island that was said to be very beautiful. In the middle of what was supposed to be a short thirty minute trip, suddenly the winds became strong. Hence, water was getting into the boat. So frightening was the experience, that I bargained with the…

Unhappy People

Luke 13: 10-17 In our many relationships, there are people that we encounter who are not happy with life. We call them “unhappy” people. The thing with unhappy people is that they, too, want people to be unhappy. Someone has a new house, what do they say, “Utang naman yan.” Someone gets promoted, “Sipsip kasi…

Prayer of Faith

Mark 9: 14-29 During my initial exposure with the ministry of deliverance, I noticed the priests that when they prayed, they prayed with so much conviction. I told myself, “As if they were talking the devil itself.” This comment eventually I shared with the main priest doing the deliverance. He confirmed what I said, “Indeed…

The Carabao and The Fly

Mark 9: 30-37 Whenever we encounter people who are so full of themselves, arrogant and in tagalog, “mayabang,” we often comment that the person is just a fly who is stepping on a carabao. Hence, the illusion of power and grandeur. This is what Jesus wanted to warn His disciples of – the illusion of…

Food for the Soul

John 6: 51-58 When a foreigner comes over to the Philippines, one thing he notices is that the Filipino loves to eat and drink. Filipino breakfast is already one of the heaviest meals in the world. Then it is followed by morning snacks, then lunch, then there are afternoon snacks and then dinner. Just before…

Answered Prayer

When I was a boy, I saw a board game that I asked my dad to buy. After searching the department stores, we went to Cartimar. During those times, Cartimar was the place to buy imported goods. After searching and searching, finally, there was a store that had the toy! My happiness was short lived…

Apathy and Indifference

A sociologist named, Tom Corley, studied the lifestyle of the rich and the poor. His study showed a lot of differences between the two: The rich love to read, not the poor. The poor love reality TV, not the rich The poor love junk food, not the rich The rich exercise at least 4 times…

Revenge

Matthew 5: 38-42 The Jews had this rule called Lex Talionis, otherwise known as the Law of Retaliation. This is also known as “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. This kind of thinking could be described as “practical” to say the least. But in the Gospel today, Jesus suggested another option…

Better than Sacrifices

Mark 12: 28-34 Every Holy Week, we come across people who would make the extreme sacrifice of going through the Passion and Death of Christ. Yes, they have themselves nailed on the cross. Year in, year out, the reasons are the same: “They want to show their love for God.” While this is truly noble,…