Once when I was a seminarian, I had the opportunity to join Holy Week services in a town in the province. There was a procession that went around town. People were singing and praying the rosary. When the procession returned to the Church, the priest ended the activity with a prayer. Right after the prayer,…
Category: Peace
Desiring Eternal Life
Jesus was an excellent storyteller. He made use of imagery and contrast to make his point and to impart his teachings. In one Gospel passage, Jesus makes use of the imagery of a rich man, whose name is unknown, and a poor man whose name is Lazarus. Jesus shocks his audience because the rich man…
Christ the King
In this world, everything comes to an end. The most beautiful song has an end; the most beautiful movie has an end; the most meaningful relationships have an end; and all our lives will come to an end. Yes, this world will eventually come to an end. This Sunday we will celebrate the Solemnity of…
Civil Authority
When Jesus founded the Church, he gave it authority. “Peter you are the rock and on this rock I will build my Church… whatever binds on earth is bound in heaven, and whatever is loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:18-19) In this world, there is only one authority and that is…
Social Sins
Ed. Note: This was a homily for a school mass. Student or not though, we can all relate to the lessons. In 1925, Mahatma Gandhi published in his newspaper Young India, a list of social sins. Almost 100 years later, now more than ever, these have become very relevant: For those of us in our…
Paradox of Life
It is said that life is a paradox. Five examples: In the Gospel, Jesus gives three paradoxes of life as well: Let us continue to live out a life that is full of paradoxes. One of the greatest paradoxes came from St. Mother Teresa: “That is you love until it hurts; there can be no…
Inclusive
One of the most popular word nowadays is Inclusive. It is defined as not excluding any person, party or group. The basis for this in the matters of faith, is that all are children of God, with the only difference being blessed differently because of each mission given by God. Sadly though, discrimination is very…
Repentance
None of us are perfect, none of us live perfect lives. We all make mistakes, we all sin, we all hurt God, our neighbor, and ourselves. However, there are two realities in life. There are people who refuse to change: When we hear this, we know that these people will never change. On the other hand,…
Forgiveness
When it comes to relationships, the question always is, “Should I forgive this person who has hurt me?” To answer the question, another question is asked: Is the relationship worth saving? If yes, definitely forgive. If not, still definitely forgive. Why the same answer? Because forgiveness is not about the other person. It is for…
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 