There is a saying, “laugh and the whole world laughs at you. Cry and you cry alone”. In talking about crying, why is it when life brings us crisis, challenges, sickness, pain and suffering, we feel alone? When we deal with fear, anxiety, worry, restlessness, depression and suicidal thoughts, we feel all alone. In the…
Category: Patience
God is with Us
If not for COVID-19, this is usually a travel month for many family and friends. Certainly, a good amount of time and effort is put in planning travels: Where to stay? How to get there? What places to visit? Where to eat? What to buy? Any seasoned traveler will always say to expect changes when…
He is Risen
Last year on April 15, 2019, at about 6:50 pm, a fire broke out beneath the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral. After about six hours the fire was put out. One of the earliest pictures of the state of Cathedral that came out was a picture of the altar with all the burned wood and…
Anxiety
These days are difficult times. People have so much anxiety, worry, and fear. The economy is not doing well; there is so much chaos in the world; the Church too is chaotic; For those who are working, times are hard. Then there are concerns when it comes to the family. In a survey, people most…
Hope in Hopelessness
What do you do when your worst fear happens? For a parent, the chronic sickness of a child; For lovers, betrayal of one party; For business partners, one party takes the money and runs away; For friends, one party tells your deepest secrets to other people; On our personal life, we put our time, treasure…
Neighbor
I once celebrated Mass in an upscale subdivision. After the Mass, I was speaking to two couples. Since I realized that they did not know each other, I introduced them to each other. Couple A asked Couple B, “What street do you reside on?”. They realized they lived in the same street. Couple B asked…
Service
Many years ago there was tension between the Philippines and Hong Kong because of the killing of the Hong Kong tourists in Luneta. When emotions were high, there was a Hong Kong journalist who wrote an article about our country being a “Nation of Servants.” Certainly, he was not only referring to the Filipina servants…
In Need of Healing
As a priest, we get many requests for prayers. By and far, the most popular are prayers for healing. Nowadays, there are just so many people dealing with sickness. While our bodies will someday fade away – from ashes we came and from ashes we will return – it doesn’t help that our lifestyle is…
Patience: A Wedding Homily
There is a saying that “This is the best of times, the worst of times.” If you look at our generation, we can say that because of Technology, these are the best of times: Once upon a time, if one needed information, the person would have to go to different libraries and research. Now just…
It Is Not Over
John 18: 1-19, 42 Once I came across a friend who I had not seen in a long time. After asking how he was doing, I got surprised by his response. His wife just finished 6 sessions of Chemotherapy and because of this, they were deep into debt. Then just when they thought they could…