As a priest, I always give priority to the Anointing of the Sick and Confession for those who are chronically ill. The confession typically takes at least one hour. It is not only a confession but also a flashback of life. Typically, the three things talked about: first, the hurts in life, most especially broken…
Category: Love & Kindness
Foundation
It is said that no matter how beautiful a house is, no matter how expensive a house is, and no matter how tall a house is, if the foundation of the house is weak, it will be destroyed by a strong typhoon. I am reminded of the houses in America. They are very pretty, with many…
Look the Other Way
There are occasions in our lives when we rather look at the other side: In one of the most popular Gospel readings, we hear of two persons, two good persons, who saw a man lying on the road half dead, but they would rather look the other way and pass by. Why? The priest, if…
Gratitude
There is a saying that you will only know the value of a thing or a person when you lose it. In the meantime, either you take it for granted or you become entitled, or even both. Take for example when we visit first-world countries. We are so fascinated with how things work, how abundant…
What Shall We Do
In a retreat that we attended, the retreat master gave us two hours to reflect on the question: “If you had twenty-four hours left to live, what would you do?” After two hours, we shared our reflections and it all boiled down to one thing: Despite differences in the stories and experiences of all the…
Having the Best
Typical of parents is that they will always want what is best for their children. Hence, one of the biggest frustrations is when the children do not do what is supposed to be good for them. The biggest frustration is when children do not listen to their parents and they go astray. Somewhat similar to…
Truly Rich
Many times we have this misconception that our religion does not want us to be rich. We have the misconception that it is better to be poor. On one hand, Jesus tells us to go sell all our possessions, give them to the poor and follow him. On the other hand, he told Peter, anyone…
Seed
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.” In other words, everything starts small. When you wonder why people are so forgiving and generous, they all…
Hate
There is a saying in tagalog, ,“Ang bungang hinog ay binabato.” (A stone is thrown to a ripe fruit). Then you have the crab mentality which Filipinos are known for: When someone is rising, the tendency is to pull others down. Why this reality? Because hatred and jealousy are two very damaging emotions. Even Jesus…
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 