During the time of Jesus, he had a preferential option for the disadvantaged: the poor, women, the widow, the sinner, the prostitute, and yes, the children. Children during the time of Jesus were treated as second class citizens. Hence, they were closest to the heart of Jesus. That is why he scolded his apostles for…
Category: Love & Kindness
Fault Finder
Once, there was an experiment made. A white sheet of paper with a small block dot in the center. When people were asked “What do they see?” the most popular answer was the “black dot.” Not the white sheet of paper, but the small black dot. We human beings are not perfect. We have all…
Holistic Healing
One day, I anointed two elderly women. The first one, the son said, “please keep open your evening schedule for mommy’s masses. The doctor says she can go anytime. It has been a month already and she is still alive. No respiratory, no dialysis, no extraordinary measures”. The second one just came from a stent…
Being Prepared
Some time ago I visited three wakes. The first was a 14-year old girl who died of leukemia. She finally rested after two years of in and out of the hospital. The second wake was an unexpected death of a 55-year old man who had a heart attack. Everyone thought he was fit and athletic,…
Laborers and Harvest
It is said that in the Archdiocese of Manila which is composed of Manila, Pasay, Mandaluyong, San Juan, and Makati City, there about 200 priests. 80 priests are 60 years old or above. Only 40 priests are 30 years old and below. The average age of the priest is 54 years old. Surely we need…
Divine Mercy
When people hurt us, we have the tendency to confront and give them a litany of the things that we have done for the person. “I did this… I did that…. I gave you this… I gave you that… I helped you with this… I helped you with that…. how can you be so ungrateful?”…
Praising God in Difficult Times
I came across a story of a wife who prayed for a baby for more than two years. One day she received the good news from her doctor and in her excitement, she texted family and friends and all were happy for her. Four days later though, she knew something was wrong with the baby….
Saying Goodbye
Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross has journeyed with so many people who were about to die, that her famed model, The Five Stages of Denial, has become the accepted standard of examining terminally-ill emotions. They are classified as: Denial – “No, I am not going to die” Anger – “Why me? There are so many other people…
Wealth and Compassion
Perhaps it is the desire of most people to be rich. Most people think that either it will solve many of their problems, or they will simply be happier with more money. The lure indeed of that beautiful house, beautiful car, and the nicest things in life. In fact, someone once said, “I have been…
Insensitive People
Who among us does not have family or friends or officemates that are insensitive? Here you are trying to find comfort and consolation because of a big problem, yet your friend talks about her vacation Here you are dealing with death and your sibling talks about the division of properties Here you are dealing with…