Last Days

Luke 17:20-25 To get a feel of what people are thinking, one just has to go to the internet. One of the most talked-about topics is the question – Are These the Last Days? Why the question?  First, look at the natural disasters: earthquakes, storms, and droughts in one place and so much rain in…

Forgiveness

John 20:19-23 One of the most difficult things to live with is when you know you have wronged or hurt someone. The worst scenario is when the person you have hurt passes away. I was once at a funeral wake and before the start of the Mass, a sibling of the deceased came in and…

Envy

Is there anyone in our lives that we envy? Maybe he or she is richer than us? Maybe he or she is more confident and seems to have all the luck in the world? Maybe he or she is much better looking than us? Maybe he or she has more friends than us? Maybe he…

Competition

As a priest, one reality of the ministry is that we are always compared to others. Fr. A sings better, Fr. B is very good in Filipino, Fr. C is always present and so easy to invite, Fr D gives good homilies, etc. Intentionally or unintentionally, this causes intrigue and competition. In a reading from…

Invitation

Just after All Saints and All Souls’ Day, Christmas is truly just around the corner. Yes, there will be parties, homecomings, weddings, and baptismal invitations. However for many reasons, we are not able to attend all simply because that traffic is bad, there are so many invitations, time is limited, and yes, health due to…

Love One Another

How often does it happen to families that when the patriarch and matriarch are gone, the children go their separate ways? Even worse, they fight each other over property. We have all heard stories and can just shake our heads in disbelief about what a sibling can do to another sibling. Jesus was about to…

Relationships

Matthew 18: 15-20 When is a relationship worth saving? This is the question we ask ourselves when a relationship has gone astray. We all know this: people change, we change, circumstances change. We get hurt intentionally or unintentionally. When do we know it is time to say goodbye or give our all to save a…

Fault Finder

Once, there was an experiment made. A white sheet of paper with a small block dot in the center. When people were asked “What do they see?” the most popular answer was the “black dot.” Not the white sheet of paper, but the small black dot. We human beings are not perfect. We have all…

Laborers and Harvest

It is said that in the Archdiocese of Manila which is composed of Manila, Pasay, Mandaluyong, San Juan, and Makati City, there about 200 priests. 80 priests are 60 years old or above. Only 40 priests are 30 years old and below. The average age of the priest is 54 years old. Surely we need…

Saying Goodbye

Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross has journeyed with so many people who were about to die, that her famed model, The Five Stages of Denial, has become the accepted standard of examining terminally-ill emotions. They are classified as: Denial – “No, I am not going to die” Anger – “Why me? There are so many other people…