In Search of the Sensational

Luke 11: 29-32 As human beings, we are always searching for the sensational. I saw a video of the sun seemingly dancing at the Divine Mercy Hill in El Salvador City in Misamis Oriental. Indeed it is mind-boggling. When we hear of things like this, we are fascinated. For us, things like this are signs…

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…

Expect the Unexpected

Luke 1: 67-79 For the Chinese, the character for crisis is also the character for blessings. In other words, hidden in the challenges of life, are the blessings. However, because our view of life is limited, we find it difficult to see the blessings immediately when we are in crisis or undergoing difficulty.  In the…

Yes

Luke 1:26-38 When a couple is about to get married, one of the things that we as priests look into is the reason for the marriage. We try to find out if both parties are entering into the marriage not out of force, not out of fear, or not coerced, or for any other reason….

Mercy

Luke 6: 36-38 Now that my father and mother are not around anymore, every now and then I will look back and reminisce on our years of growing up. Our parents, despite limited financial resources, tried to give us the best in life. This was especially the case with education. Further, for a family of…

Pride and Humility

Luke 10:17-24 Once upon a time in the history of humanity, there was one being that was beautiful, strong, intelligent, and powerful. Eventually she “wanted to be like God.” On one hand, she was a creation who was simple and humble. Yet when she was asked whether she wanted to be the Mother of God,…

Becoming a Better Person

Luke 10:8-15 One of the typical complaints of people who refuse to become active in the Church is that they see the sins, they see the shortcomings, they see that going to Church is no different than not going. Yes, it seems the gossip, the fighting for position, the backbiting, the infighting, and the wrong…

Mother Mary’s Birthday

Ed. note: This was a mass homily given at LaSalle campus, hence the student-athlete references. — Luke 4:31-37 Many years ago, a book by the title of A Purpose Driven Life came out and became a bestseller. The message was simple yet very profound, especially in a world that puts value in money, fame, and…

Reading without Understanding

Luke 6:1-5 There is a saying that one may hear but not listen (naririnig pero hindi nakikinig), see but not look (nakakakita pero hindi tumitingin), and read but not understand (nagbabasa pero hindi binabasa).  All the many laws in the Jewish tradition were meant to show the love for God, but it does not stop…

Gratitude

Luke 7:11-19 In life, one of the first lessons we learn is to say “Thank you.” If we received a gift from our ninong and ninang, our parents reminded us, “What do you say?” Whenever our teacher in school would leave the classroom we all stood up and said, “Good bye and thank you teacher.”…