Matthew 10:37-42 One thing on my bucket list is the Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela or the Camino de Santiago. I have stories of people doing at least 100 km of walking for days. In the many stories that I have heard, I realize that each person has his or her own pace when walking….
Category: Love & Kindness
Following the Law
Once I celebrated Mass in a condominium complex. In front of where the Mass was being held were two condominium buildings. One was very nice, very clean, and very orderly. The other building was very dirty, chaotic and a place you would not be excited to go home. After the Mass, I asked a resident…
Jerusalem
A city with a very colorful history is Jerusalem. It is the holiest city for the Jews because of the TEMPLE; it is the holiest city for Christians because of The Christ Crucifixion; it is the third holiest city for the Muslims because of the Dome of the Rock. Yet, it has a very bloody…
Apathy
Some people have this misconception that if one is poor, that person will go to heaven and if the person is rich, that person will go to hell. The Gospel reading of Lazarus and the rich man reinforces this misconception. Hence, the questions are: Why then, did the rich man go to hell? Was he…
Haters
Do you sometimes get this feeling that there are people watching your every move, trying to find fault, and then broadcasting it to other people? In other words, there are people who would just want to pull you down. Even Jesus was not exempted. His every move was being watched; his every word was being…
Sickness
When one is chronically sick, the instinct to survive goes on overdrive: he seeks the opinion of other doctors; he listens to the advice of other people; he does research on the internet; he even goes to faith healers, not aware that the spirit doing the healing is not from God. In the Gospel, there…
Power of Words
Matthew 8: 5-13 Pearl Strachan Hurd once said: “Handle words carefully for words have more power than atom bombs.” How many of us are even affected by words of strangers? We are in the marketplace, someone curses us. We curse back and our day is affected. On the other hand, someone compliments us, we feel…
Planting the Seeds
These two sayings have the same message: “The greatest Oaks have been little Acorns.” “Large streams from little fountains flow.” It is a reminder that in life, often, things start small. I understand what we know now as SM, the biggest mall operator in Southeast Asia, was once a small store in Carriedo and eventually…
The Heart Sees What is Essential
Mark 7: 14-23 When my mother was still alive, I used to accompany her to the doctor. I became curious why the blood pressure is always taken. When I eventually queried, the nurse explained it quite simply. “It is the heart that is the most important organ. It is the heart that determines whether there…
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 