The Greatest

There is a story of a school winning a basketball competition. Out of Jubilation, the students shouted and cheered, “We are number one.” After some time, the cheering and shouting died down. From the bleachers came a booming voice from one of the other school’s professors – “What is the problem of being number two”?…

Everlasting Life

Due to Covid, many people have been thinking about the meaning of life. Some of the realizations: In the Gospel, Jesus was asked if many will be saved. The response was of Christ, “It is how we live our life”. Hence, three things we can do to prepare ourselves: The three teachings of Christ when…

Talents

In the parish, when the pandemic hit us hard in 2020, so many people lost their jobs, so many people were displaced, and many people experienced fear, anxiety, worry, and depression due to the changes that we happening. The top priority then was helping out people with gift checks, thanks to Caritas Manila, and food….

Priests in Crisis

One of the sad realities in the Church is that there are priests who are not faithful to their promises when they were ordained: celibacy, simplicity, and obedience. These three are meant to counteract the three realities of today’s world. The actual reality is, these three are interrelated. When one is compromised, the other two…

Creation

One time I was riding a cab and the moment we got inside the complex the driver expressed surprise. He said he never thought that there would be a forest in the middle of the city.  I call San Carlos Pastoral Formation Complex the lung center of Makati. Nowhere else in Makati will you find…

Bearing Fruit

Bearing Fruit As human beings, we are prone in comparing our life to others. Typically, we count their blessings and forget to be grateful for our own blessings. When these happens, typically, three things happen: The Gospel reminds us that our lives are meant to bear fruit. The time, talent and treasure that goes with…

Love of God and Love of Neighbor

Mark 12: 28-31 Once I had the opportunity to join a procession. We went around town praying the rosary and singing religious songs. It was solemn and beautiful. Upon reaching the Church, to signify the end of the procession, the priest blessed the Carozas. Suddenly, there was a commotion – people started receiving the flowers….

Possessions and Eternal Life

Matthew 16: 13-19 When we see someone who is rich, we feel that the person is blessed. He has found favor with God and that is why all the blessings occur. Further, he always connotes material blessings with happiness.  That too was the thinking of the Jews during the time of Jesus: material possessions equal…

Reap What You Sow

I am sure that we have heard people lament, “What is the point of doing good and what is right? Just look at the people who do otherwise. They have nicer houses, nicer cars, nicer clothes, and more properties.” Indeed these people may have a point. But there is one thing that they always forget…

The Secret to Eternal Life

Often people who have had a relative or a loved one who passed away will query about their experience with their deceased loved one before passing away. “Kausap niya ang aming lolo or lola na pumanaw na rin naman.”  While science and medicine would have an explanation for what we usually call “Pagsusundo,”  it still…