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…
Category: Love & Kindness
What is Your Story?
Matthew 13:10-17 If there is one thing that attracted people to Jesus, it’s that he told stories. Not only was he a very good story teller, but his stories were simple, relevant, deep, and profound. These are the stories we call parables. The Gospel of Luke has 24 parables; the Gospel of Matthew has 23…
Taking Care of God’s House
Matthew 17:24-27 It is said the Philippines and East Timor are only the two predominantly Catholic countries in Asia. The Philippines has the 3rd biggest number of Catholics and is the most present all over the world. Due to about 500 years of the Christianity, it is no surprise that the country has so many…
Love or Ritual
In the Jewish tradition, there are 613 laws known as mitzvot, all of which are meant to show their love for God. Humanly speaking, this can be very hard and very confusing. How does one show love for God with all these laws? Perhaps, the question of the scribe is the most practical, “Which is…
To Be Right or To Be Good
Each day in our lives we are confronted with decisions. In making the decisions, there are things to be considered: Is it good or is it bad? Is it about me or is it about my neighbor? Will I benefit from this or will I have to make a sacrifice? Will there be a benefit…
Judging Others
It is said that the favorite pastime of the Filipino is either to have a free meal and or talk about other people’s lives. In fact, talking about other people’s lives is a human reality. The Irish have a saying, “the smaller the town, the deadlier the talk.” Another quote says, “It is easier to…
What Forgiveness Can Do
Matthew 10:16-23 The story of Joseph is perhaps one of the most popular Old Testament stories. In fact, it was made into a play named “Joseph the Dreamer” Joseph was the 11th child of Jacob. His stepbrothers were envious of him because he was the favorite of Jacob, and so they sold him as a…
How to Have Eternal Life
At the end of this journey called life, we all know that what matters is Life Eternal. How do we attain eternal life? Some of our brothers and sisters say that just proclaim with your lips that Jesus is Lord and you will be saved. Hence, no need to do good works. Others say, that…
What Matters In Life
As a priest, I always give priority to Anointing of the Sick and Confession for those who are chronically ill. The confession typically takes at least one hour. It is not only confession but also a flashback of life. Typically, the three things talked about: first, the hurts in life, most especially broken relationships; second,…
Being Put Down
One of the most common human experiences is to be put down. For my generation, how familiar are the words, “You are nothing but a second rate…trying hard…copycat.” We have been put down for so many reasons. The color of our skin, our accent, our religion, because of the mistakes we have done, because people…
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 