Our Lady of Guadalupe

The Archdiocese of Manila is the oldest diocese in the Philippines, created in 1579 as a diocese and elevated as a metropolitan archdiocese in 1595. Manila was established as a suffragan diocese of Mexico in 1579 by Pope Gregory XIII. Hence many of the Mexican devotions were brought here to the Philippines. One of the…

Immaculate Conception

It is the desire of God that we human beings share his happiness. However, in paradise man and woman ate the forbidden tree, and original sin entered into our lives thus sending man and woman out of paradise.  Yet, it is the desire of God that we human beings share his happiness and that is…

Watch

When one crosses the age of fifty, watching has become a part of life. We watch our weight, we watch the food we eat, we watch the people we deal with, we watch our finances, we watch our plans more intently, we even watch our steps. Some the things we watch because at this point…

Come Follow Me

In the music industry, there is what is called “Fandom”. They are passionate and devoted fans who are deeply engaged with their favorite artists, groups, or bands. They attend concerts, buy merchandise, boost streaming momentum, and participate in fan communities. In other words, they will follow their favorite artists anywhere they are and all that…

Social Sins

Ed. Note: This was a homily for a school mass. Student or not though, we can all relate to the lessons. In 1925, Mahatma Gandhi published in his newspaper Young India, a list of social sins. Almost 100 years later, now more than ever, these have become very relevant: For those of us in our…

Repentance

None of us are perfect, none of us live perfect lives. We all make mistakes, we all sin, we all hurt God, our neighbor, and ourselves. However, there are two realities in life. There are people who refuse to change: When we hear this, we know that these people will never change. On the other hand,…

Assumption

When Adam and Eve sinned, the very first promise was made – to send the Messiah and save mankind. However this Messiah, to be able to come here on earth, was to be born of a virgin. That virgin that will bear the Son of God has to be pure – and therefore she was…

The Storms of Life

Ed. Note: This was a homily from a memorial mass for the Laurel family last year. As is always the case with Fr. Mon, we are including it here because his words of wisdom apply to all of us and our daily lives. Someone once said, “Life is like the weather: there are sunny days…

St. Benedict

In the ministry of deliverance and exorcism, the use of sacramentals is very important in fighting evil. Last Thursday, July 11, was the Feast of St. Benedict of Nursia. Attributed to him is one sacramental that is also very efficacious – St. Benedict’s Medallion. It is not only associated with many miracles but is also…

More Than the Usual

When Adam and Eve sinned, the very first promise of God was the Messiah. Although it took 42 generations from Abraham to Jesus, God never forgot his promise. In fact, Simeon was so happy to see the Messiah to the point that he said, “Lord let your servant go in peace. For I have seen…