John 13:16-20 There is a quote, “Be kind. Everyone is fighting a battle.” Part of our ministry as priests is that people share with us what they are going through. Everyone has their crosses. I remember an article that came out once on the effect of Facebook on people. You see your friends eating in…
Category: Love & Kindness
Coming of the Kingdom of God
Matthew 13: 47-53 In the summer of 2016, a sad event in the history of the Church happened in France. An 85-year-old priest was killed while celebrating Mass. As to the events that followed, we can only pray. On social media, one of the current topics is the end times. When things become unbearable and…
Public Opinion
John 7: 40-53 One of the favorite pastimes of people is talking about other people’s lives. Even Jesus was not exempted. They were always talking about him. “Is He a prophet?”, “Is He the Christ?”, “Is He from the family of David?”. Yet Jesus had only one thing in mind, which was to do the…
Go to All the Ends of the Earth
Mark 16: 15-20 In the fifties, it was said that the Philippines was the 2nd strongest economy in Asia. In fact, the first airline in Asia is in the Philippines, the first stock exchange in Asia is in the Philippines, the first steel church in the world, San Sebastian Church, is in the Philippines, the…
Power of Words
Matthew 8:5-13 There is a saying that “A pen is mightier that a sword.” Throughout history, words have influenced people and not violence. A person who grew up with affirmation, is confident. Compare this to a person who grew up with criticism, as often criticism also comes out of the mouth. In St. Matthew’s Gospel,…
Father’s Day
When Jesus was asked by his disciples, “Teach us how to pray” He started the prayer with the words, “Abba, Father.” The Jews were surprised because all the while they thought that God was an angry God. Hence, they had all these burnt offerings, animal offerings, and crop offerings simply to appease whom they thought…
Thanking God for People
Matthew 5:13-16 Every single time it is quiet and there is a time to reflect, one of the things that I do is to thank God for various people in my life. There are people who are not here in this world anymore, yet I remember their kindness. There are people who I have not…
Holier Than Thou
Matthew 13: 24-30 How often have we heard comments such as: “Why go to Mass when the people there are no different from the people who do not go to Mass?” “Look at her…she prays so fervently but look how she mistreats her household help.” “I heard that even within the different organizations and ministries,…
Mothers and Goodbyes
Editor’s Note: This homily was from a 40th-day Mass last year. As it pertains to the importance of mothers in our lives, we are sharing it as part of a Mother’s Day reflection. — This weekend will be Mother’s day and on social media, there are already so many tributes to mothers. Two things I…
Death and Life
Matthew 5: 27-32 I once came across an article praising God and creation. It talked about the human body and how complicated it is – 12 organs, 5 of which are vital: brain, lungs, liver, kidney, and heart. Of the five, the heart is the most important. If the heart is not working anymore, then…
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 