Matthew 13:45-46 There is this story that a certain General Yamashita during World War II brought most of the gold from the Southeast Asian countries that they controlled to the Philippines with the intention of eventually bringing it back to Japan. Whether this is true or not is debatable, but even today there are many…
Category: Hope
Doubting Jesus
Since time immemorial, people have always doubted Jesus whether he is indeed the Son of God. Thomas doubted God and was told to reach out and put his hand into his side. Even disciples doubted when Jesus said that he was the bread that came down from heaven. When he was nailed on the cross,…
Faith in God
Rol Rolheiser, OMI, says that Christians speak of love, peace, and unity, but based on the daily news and our own experiences of life, how can this be a reality? The world is so polarized, the gap between the rich and the poor is ever wider, there is so much hatred (just go to Facebook),…
God is Not a Genie
There is a story of two men who were trapped on a deserted island for a long time. One day, as they were walking along the shore, they saw a bottle floating. They got the bottle, opened it, and out came a genie. The genie thanked his two masters for setting him free and told…
Meaningful Death
Once I attended a wake. While the relatives were very sad that their mother passed away, their greatest consolation was that she was prepared. She picked the dressed that she would wear in the coffin. She had a list of priests who would celebrate Mass for her for the three days of viewing. She picked…
Holistic Healing
One day, I anointed two elderly women. The first one, the son said, “please keep open your evening schedule for mommy’s masses. The doctor says she can go anytime. It has been a month already and she is still alive. No respiratory, no dialysis, no extraordinary measures”. The second one just came from a stent…
Gain and Loss
Although we came into this world with nothing and we are leaving this world with nothing, part of our humanity is that we experience grief when we experience loss. While material loss is difficult, more painful is a loss of a loved one. For those who are about 50 years old and above, going to…
Blessed
We Filipinos are very fond of having things blessed: from houses to cars, from offices to store. Once I was asked to bless a pencil. When I queried, “What for?”, the response was, “I will be taking the board exams.” When we request a blessing, typically the desire is for good fortune. Hence if the…
Laborers and Harvest
It is said that in the Archdiocese of Manila which is composed of Manila, Pasay, Mandaluyong, San Juan, and Makati City, there about 200 priests. 80 priests are 60 years old or above. Only 40 priests are 30 years old and below. The average age of the priest is 54 years old. Surely we need…
Praising God in Difficult Times
I came across a story of a wife who prayed for a baby for more than two years. One day she received the good news from her doctor and in her excitement, she texted family and friends and all were happy for her. Four days later though, she knew something was wrong with the baby….
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 