Landowner

As it was then and as it is now, one of the biggest headaches and heartache of people is tenants. You lease a property and the next thing you know, tenants do not pay, they do not take care of the property, they will not leave and yes, they even harass you with a court…

Good Catholic, Good Citizen

One thing people observe about the Philippines is that it is truly a Catholic nation. Nowhere else in the world do you feel the complete traditions of Holy Week, as well as the full celebration of Christmas. Only in the Philippines! On the other hand, how can we be a Catholic country yet so corrupt?…

Healing Family

An article once said that if proof is needed of how broken the world is today, just look at the family. What is referred to as a “modern” family means either no mother or no father or a lack of both. As priests assigned in a seminary, we notice that the human development of a…

Changes

There is a saying that the only thing permanent in the world is change. All in this world is passing and fleeting, hence change is inevitable. Even if change is a reality though, people by nature do not want to change. Truly it is so hard to change: there is inconvenience, there is uncertainty, there…

Works of God

Every now and then, I get blessed with a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Of course, we come across different tour guides with different perspectives, specializations, and points of view. One of the things they would always talk about is the Six-Day War in Israel which happened during June 5 – 10, 1967. Although Israel…

Burden Free

Matthew 11:28-30 How many of us, from time to time, complain that we are tired of life already? Never-ending problems, always in debt, a sickness that won’t get healed, a loved one who has gone astray, a broken relationship, nothing is happening to a person we are helping, too many battles in life, or maybe…

Come Follow Me

Editor’s Note: This was a homily from last October 4, the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi. As the life of St. Francis has lessons we can all learn from, we are including this here today. In the music industry, there is what is called “Fandom”. They are passionate and devoted fans who are…

Trusting God

Once a parishioner came to me and asked me to help him pray for this big deal that he is working on. He said that if is a success, he will give a big amount to the Church. I told him it was best to look at his motivation. First, if you are not giving…

Call to Sainthood

Ed. Note: This is a homily from last night’s mass at San Carlos Seminary, celebrating Fr. Mon’s 60th Birthday. Happy Birthday Fr. Mon! Thank you always, for the gift of your words, which have touched so many of our lives. Just last week we attended a conference on seminary formation in Iloilo. The experience nationwide…

All Things Come to Pass

Once upon a time in New York there existed the World Trade Center. The Twin Towers of 110 floors were completed in 1973. In 2001, it was brought down by terrorists when two planes crashed on both towers. It was a strange feeling that the symbol of American capitalism was brought down just like that. …