Luke 7: 1-10 There is a saying that if you wish to find out the true character of a person, give that person three things: First, give him/her money Second, let him/her hit rock bottom Third, give him/her power Throughout history we know of people who started very simple, then rose up to the very…
Category: Humility & Selflessness
Wise and Learned
Matthew 4: 18-22 Last year I listened to an economic briefing and it was said that despite all the economic problems of the country, we are doing okay because of the OFW money which doubles every three years. In 1950, we were the second strongest economy in Asia. By the 70s though, Filipinos started to…
Pearl of Great Price
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…
Forgiveness
John 20:19-23 One of the most difficult things to live with is when you know you have wronged or hurt someone. The worst scenario is when the person you have hurt passes away. I was once at a funeral wake and before the start of the Mass, a sibling of the deceased came in and…
Competition
As a priest, one reality of the ministry is that we are always compared to others. Fr. A sings better, Fr. B is very good in Filipino, Fr. C is always present and so easy to invite, Fr D gives good homilies, etc. Intentionally or unintentionally, this causes intrigue and competition. In a reading from…
Invitation
Just after All Saints and All Souls’ Day, Christmas is truly just around the corner. Yes, there will be parties, homecomings, weddings, and baptismal invitations. However for many reasons, we are not able to attend all simply because that traffic is bad, there are so many invitations, time is limited, and yes, health due to…
Taking Advantage
John 2:13-22 Whenever we read the Gospel, we realize that Jesus, who is 100 percent God and 100 percent human, has a soft spot for the poor and the sinner. While society would judge these people, Jesus would not. In fact, he even mingled with them. Yet, there were things that made even Jesus angry….
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…
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 