John 12:24 -26 Nathan Scott once said, “It is the oldest story in the world. One day you’re seventeen and planning for someday. And then quietly, without you ever noticing, that someday is today. And the someday becomes yesterday. And this is our life.” The Gospel reminds us that life is short, swift, and uncertain….
Category: Mercy & Forgiveness
Good and Bad
Matthew 13:24-30 I am sure we all have asked the question, “If God is good, why is there evil”? Or perhaps even, “Why are there evil people in the Church”? Just look at the scandals every now and then. Or, “Why bother being good?”, when the lifestyles of evil people include nice cars, huge houses,…
Saying Goodbye
There are some famous songs from Broadway musicals: Don’t Rain on My Parade from Funny Girl Fly, Fly Away from Catch Me If You Can the Musical Don’t Cry for Me Argentina from Evita Goodbye Love from Rent And I am Telling You from Dream Girls What do they have in common? These songs talk…
Dying to Oneself
Let me share with you a personal story. In the priesthood, one will never starve. Whether in joy or in pain, people will feed the priest. From birth to death, people will feed the priest. When there is a new restaurant, people are just so excited to feed the priest. Hence, it is not surprise…
Being Looked Down At
Regardless of who we are, we have all experienced being “looked down at.” A friend shared his experience when he was growing up. Every Christmas season his family would go to their cousin’s place in a very upscale community. He and his siblings had this feeling that even if they were related, they were not…
Doing Anything and Everything
Luke 16:1-18 One sad reality of today’s generation is the reality of greed. If the weather patterns have changed (Climate Change), one could ask oneself, “How can people carelessly cut so many trees and not even plant new trees in return?” If there is a huge disparity of wealth, one could ask oneself, “How come…
Prayers
A child once asked his grandfather, “How did you grow up without the internet, without cellular phones, without technology, without video games, and without tablets?” The grandfather answered the question with another question to the grandson: “How is this generation growing up without God, without prayer, without values, without morals, without family and friends?” The…
Testimony for God
One fact of life is that we often get to know a person more when he or she has passed on from this life. How many wakes have we gone to only to hear the many stories of the deceased person from family, relatives, friends, officemates, and even kasambahays? Sadly, in that regard, we get…
Comparing Oneself to Others
There was once a social experiment where people were made to choose from two scenarios. In the first scenario, you would be given $200 and five of your friends will be given $500. The second scenario would have you receiving $50 and five of your friends will be given just $20. The result of the…
God’s Mysterious Ways
Matthew 13:31-35 It all started when Saints Ignatius, Francis Xavier, and Peter Faber started a group originally known as Friends of the Lord. Eventually it became the Society of Jesus, otherwise known as the Jesuits, in 1539. They were received by Pope Paul III in 1540. As of 2016 data, the Jesuits are the biggest…