Responsibility and Blessings

Luke 10:13-16 Whenever my former officemates and I have a reunion and recall the good old days, we unanimously agree that the happiest days were when we were working as newly hired employees. During those days as rank and file staff, we had very little responsibilities. As the years went by though, we were promoted…

What is Your Story?

Matthew 13:10-17 If there is one thing that attracted people to Jesus, it’s that he told stories. Not only was he a very good story teller, but his stories were simple, relevant, deep, and profound. These are the stories we call parables. The Gospel of Luke has 24 parables; the Gospel of Matthew has 23…

Taking Care of God’s House

Matthew 17:24-27 It is said the Philippines and East Timor are only the two predominantly Catholic countries in Asia. The Philippines has the 3rd biggest number of Catholics and is the most present all over the world. Due to about 500 years of the Christianity, it is no surprise that the country has so many…

Doing Everything When Sick

One of the most difficult of all human experiences is to be sick. Some sicknesses are temporary, some can last a lifetime, and some, in the worst cases, can be terminal. In the many Anointing of the Sick experiences, I noticed that when it is the children that are sick, the parents suffer even more….

Baptismal Promises

Every Easter Vigil or every time we stand as god parent for a baptism, we renew our baptismal vows.  Do you reject Satan? Do you reject all his works? Do you reject all his empty promises? Why is this very important and significant? It is because most of us were baptized when we were infants….

Do You Love Me?

When it comes to numbers, the Jews are one of the best as they are and as they were. Hence, in the bible, all the numbers cited have a meaning. One example is that there are a lot of threes in the bible: God has three persons: God the Father, God the Son, God the…

Money and Relationships

Once I blessed a new and beautiful office. Before the blessing started the owners related to me the story behind the office. There was a time that they, the couple, separated because they were always fighting. What was the reason of their fighting? They had a good friend and business partner whom they trusted. Eventually…

Desert Experience

On a trip to the Holy Land, we ventured one day in the desert of Egypt. For hours there was nothing to see except sand, stones and cactus. The mountains were barren and there were a few trees. Our tour guide explained that at night it gets very cold and during the daytime, it is…

Love or Ritual

In the Jewish tradition, there are 613 laws known as mitzvot, all of which are meant to show their love for God. Humanly speaking, this can be very hard and very confusing. How does one show love for God with all these laws? Perhaps, the question of the scribe is the most practical, “Which is…

Annunciation

When Adam and Eve sinned, the very first promise of the Lord was a Messiah. Certainly, God knew that the Messiah would be born through a Woman. Certainly, God knew that the woman would be Mama Mary. However there was one thing that God did not know – if Mama Mary would say yes or…