Matthew 13:31-35 It all started when Saints Ignatius, Francis Xavier, and Peter Faber started a group originally known as Friends of the Lord. Eventually it became the Society of Jesus, otherwise known as the Jesuits, in 1539. They were received by Pope Paul III in 1540. As of 2016 data, the Jesuits are the biggest…
Category: Humility & Selflessness
Love of God, Love of Neighbor
When it comes to the Philippines, many tourists who have been here say that it is still the world’s best kept secret. Tourists often go to Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, and China. Very seldom is the Philippines at the top of the travel list. The impression is that it is full of…
The Harvest is Great, the Laborers Few
Matthew 9:32-38 When one goes through the daily news, I guess one cannot refrain from the question, “What are all these things going on in the world today?” When earthquakes are just around the corner… When violence is on a scale that is unthinkable… When world leaders act like dictators… When morality is based on…
What Profit Would It Be
Matthew 16:24-28 A lawyer friend once said, “fact is stranger than fiction.” He explained that you cannot imagine what parents will do to their children, children to their parents, one part of the family to the other, a person to the best friend, couples to each other, all because of money, properties, and inheritance. That…
The Greatest
One of the beauties of traveling is that we learn a lot. As the saying goes, if we don’t learn from History, we are bound to repeat it. When it comes to travel and history, one important lesson is that nothing lasts forever. What was once the greatest city is now all ruins; what was…
Who Owns Who
A blog had a survey, “What is one thing that you cannot live without?” Of course, the answers varied, but there were some very interesting ones: Gummy Bears, Pistachio Ice Cream, Vicks Vapor Rub, Vinyl Record Collection. The most mentioned items were money, family, and cellphones. In the Gospel, a rich man runs up to…
The Message and the Messenger
Luke 4:16-30 According to an article that came out not too long ago, the top 5 endorsers in the Philippines are:5. Sarah Geronimo, 4. Anne Curtis, 3. Angel Locsin, 2. Xian Lim, 1. Kim Chiu They are the top endorsers because people listen to them. When they say this product is good, people believe; when…
Cleanliness of the Heart
There is a saying that “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” Hence, who does not want a clean house, a clean car, a clean bedroom, a clean chapel, and a clean person. In discussing cleanliness, a friend of mine casually said that we Filipinos are one of the top users of bath soap. He explained the…
Does God Want Us Poor?
When we Christians read the bible, some of us get the impression that God wants us poor. How often has Jesus gotten mad at the rich? “Woe to you who are rich.” He also said that it would be more difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to…
Following Jesus
Luke 9:57-62 My brief vocation story is that before entering the seminary, I worked for PLDT. One reason for the difficulty in discernment is that back then, there was nothing to compare my life in PLDT to the life of a seminarian. Had it been transferring from one company to another, the decision-making would have…
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 