To the One Who Has More

Luke 8: 16-18 It is said that one of the biggest problems of the world is the unequal distribution of the wealth. According to Fortune Magazine, the top 5 countries which had the greatest unequal distribution of wealth in 2014 were as follows: 5. Austria, 4. Indonesia, 3. U.K, 2. Sweden, and 1. USA. In…

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…

Love of God, Love of Neighbor

When it comes to the Philippines, many tourists who have been here say that it is still the world’s best kept secret. Tourists often go to Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, and China. Very seldom is the Philippines at the top of the travel list. The impression is that it is full of…

The Harvest is Great, the Laborers Few

Matthew 9:32-38 When one goes through the daily news, I guess one cannot refrain from the question, “What are all these things going on in the world today?”  When earthquakes are just around the corner… When violence is on a scale that is unthinkable… When world leaders act like dictators… When morality is based on…

The Greatest

One of the beauties of traveling is that we learn a lot. As the saying goes, if we don’t learn from History, we are bound to repeat it. When it comes to travel and history, one important lesson is that nothing lasts forever. What was once the greatest city is now all ruins; what was…

Who Owns Who

A blog had a survey, “What is one thing that you cannot live without?” Of course, the answers varied, but there were some very interesting ones: Gummy Bears, Pistachio Ice Cream, Vicks Vapor Rub, Vinyl Record Collection. The most mentioned items were money, family, and cellphones. In the Gospel, a rich man runs up to…

Desert Experience

On a trip to the Holy Land, we ventured one day in the desert of Egypt. For hours there was nothing to see except sand, stones and cactus. The mountains were barren and there were a few trees. Our tour guide explained that at night it gets very cold and during the daytime, it is…

To Be Right or To Be Good

Each day in our lives we are confronted with decisions. In making the decisions, there are things to be considered:  Is it good or is it bad?  Is it about me or is it about my neighbor?  Will I benefit from this or will I have to make a sacrifice? Will there be a benefit…

Service

Whenever it’s campaign time, politicians are always promising to make the Philippines great again. I remember the stories from the older generation that in the 1950s, when they would be mistaken for Japanese in Europe, they would say, “We are not Japanese, we are Filipinos!” Indeed, the Philippines was once a rich nation. It had…

Persevere

A common mentality these days is to get rich without working hard. People want to get rich quick. Never mind how, never mind if it is illegal or immoral, as long as one does not get caught it is fine with them. One of the fastest ways, for a few lucky individuals, is through the…