During the exams we would always hear the words of our professor, “Finished or not finished, pass your prayers.” If we did well, we were happy, but if we feel we did not do well, those words were such a dread. Perhaps these words too are the words of Jesus about our journey on earth,…
Category: Humility & Selflessness
What Shall We Do
In a retreat that we attended, the retreat master gave us two hours to reflect on the question: “If you had twenty-four hours left to live, what would you do?” After two hours, we shared our reflections and it all boiled down to one thing: Despite differences in the stories and experiences of all the…
Wrong Turn
Every once in a while, I join pilgrimages as a tour escort. One of the duties is to make sure that no one gets lost in the tour. Hence, I always tell the pilgrims: A memorable tour was when a first-time pilgrim got lost in Spain. She did not speak Spanish, she had little command…
Having the Best
Typical of parents is that they will always want what is best for their children. Hence, one of the biggest frustrations is when the children do not do what is supposed to be good for them. The biggest frustration is when children do not listen to their parents and they go astray. Somewhat similar to…
Discipleship
During his time on earth, many people travelled with Jesus. Most likely they wanted to hear something, they wanted to ask for something, they wanted material blessings, or they were curious or amazed by his fame, and power to heal and do miracles and blessings. True to form and in a very straightforward way, Jesus…
Eulogy
Once we were asked by our professor to write our own Eulogy. Initially, it brought laughter to the students. It was an uneasy laughter. Eventually, it died down, for when we started working on the details it became a moment of deep reflection – “Who do I say that I am when I pass away from…
Hypocrisy
A survey was once made and the one thing that people hated the most when it came to public servants was hypocrisy. If there is one thing people hate, it is definitely hypocrisy. Further, if there is one thing Jesus hates, it is also hypocrisy. He always lambasted the Scribes, the Pharisees, and the Elders…
Suffering
As human beings, we all want to avoid suffering. We do not want to see our loved ones suffer. In fact, there is this story of a person who entered into counseling with the illusion of alleviating the suffering of people. Eventually, she realized that whether we want it or not, whether we are reading…
Warfare
According to The Economic Times, the five countries that spend the most when it comes to building their military are: With all the chaos in the world, it is very important to them to have strong militaries. In fact, many observers are saying that World War III has already begun. St. Paul, on the other…
Seed
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.” In other words, everything starts small. When you wonder why people are so forgiving and generous, they all…