Matthew 10:26-33 When I was growing up, when games and playing were real and not virtual, there was a game we played called, “Truth or Consequence” A bottle was spun and the person to whom the bottle pointed to had the option of whether to tell the truth or suffer the consequence. What then, is…
Category: Peace
Being Put Down
One of the most common human experiences is to be put down. For my generation, how familiar are the words, “You are nothing but a second rate…trying hard…copycat.” We have been put down for so many reasons. The color of our skin, our accent, our religion, because of the mistakes we have done, because people…
In the Beginning
Once I was talking to an HR personnel of a multinational corporation and he was saying that in his company there was a move for gender classifications, identity, or expressions. Now they are talking about: Bigender – someone’s identity encompasses man and woman Agender – someone’s identity is either man or woman, or any other…
In the Eyes of Eternity
There is a car bumper sticker that says, “He who dies with the most toys, wins!” At first, this may sound funny, but on deeper reflection, one may think, “Is the purpose of life all about accumulating material things?” In the Gospel, Jesus was asked a question by the Sadducees about money and heaven. A…
Birth and Death
Just the other day, I had a very surreal experience. I celebrated Mass for a family in their mausoleum to remember and pray for their loved ones who moved on to the next life. During the final hymn, the choir sang “Happy Birthday.” Although it would be my birthday the next day, I said to…
Life is Given
Matthew 10: 17-22 Last Friday, we just celebrated Christmas day. Very interestingly, in our Church calendar, we celebrated the feast of the first martyr – St. Stephen. Three reflections on these two celebrations: Christmas is about the birth of our Savior – God was brought to man. “Because God so loved the world that he…
Christian Unity
There is a story of St. Peter touring a new soul who just entered heaven. He first showed the soul the room of the United Church of Christ. They were feasting and praising. Then they visited the room of the Reformed Church. They too were feasting and praising. Then they went to the room of…
Eternal Life
In an article at the Philippine Daily Inquirer written in 2012, it stated that the Philippines leads the world in believing in God – 94 percent. This is followed by Chile at 88 percent and then the U. S. with 81 percent. Belief was lowest in former East Germany (13 percent) and in the Czech…
John of the Cross
If one would study the history of the Church, one would realize that there were moments in her long history that the Church went astray. God in his goodness and in his love for the Church would send reformers to renew the Church. Today we celebrate the memorial of one of them – John of…
Power and Character
Luke 7: 1-10 There is a saying that if you wish to find out the true character of a person, give that person three things: First, give him/her money Second, let him/her hit rock bottom Third, give him/her power Throughout history we know of people who started very simple, then rose up to the very…
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 