One of the very first lessons of human beings is to be grateful. When we were given a candy bar or a gift as children, we were asked, “What do you say?” When our teacher would leave at the end of the class, in unison we would all stand up and say to our teacher,…
Category: Humility & Selflessness
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…
Relationships
Matthew 18: 15-20 When is a relationship worth saving? This is the question we ask ourselves when a relationship has gone astray. We all know this: people change, we change, circumstances change. We get hurt intentionally or unintentionally. When do we know it is time to say goodbye or give our all to save a…
Anger
Often people confess Anger as a sin. It is explained that Anger, per se, is an emotion. When parents get angry at their children because they are not studying, it is not a sin; When a boss gets angry at an employee because she has not performed well, that is not a sin. When citizens…
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 