Matthew 10:37-42 One thing on my bucket list is the Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela or the Camino de Santiago. I have stories of people doing at least 100 km of walking for days. In the many stories that I have heard, I realize that each person has his or her own pace when walking….
Category: Social Awareness
Following the Law
Once I celebrated Mass in a condominium complex. In front of where the Mass was being held were two condominium buildings. One was very nice, very clean, and very orderly. The other building was very dirty, chaotic and a place you would not be excited to go home. After the Mass, I asked a resident…
Inheritance
After the blessing of a house, and on my way out, I noticed a 4-story building that was rundown near the property. I got surprised because the community was very progressive. I asked what happened to the building, “Why are the owners not taking care of it?” She gave a history of the building: A…
Apathy
Some people have this misconception that if one is poor, that person will go to heaven and if the person is rich, that person will go to hell. The Gospel reading of Lazarus and the rich man reinforces this misconception. Hence, the questions are: Why then, did the rich man go to hell? Was he…
Sickness
When one is chronically sick, the instinct to survive goes on overdrive: he seeks the opinion of other doctors; he listens to the advice of other people; he does research on the internet; he even goes to faith healers, not aware that the spirit doing the healing is not from God. In the Gospel, there…
Power of Words
Matthew 8: 5-13 Pearl Strachan Hurd once said: “Handle words carefully for words have more power than atom bombs.” How many of us are even affected by words of strangers? We are in the marketplace, someone curses us. We curse back and our day is affected. On the other hand, someone compliments us, we feel…
Life After Earthly Life
Mark 12: 18-27 There is a bumper sticker which says, “He who dies with the most number of toys, wins.” For a person without faith, this is very true. After all, happiness comes from the material things in this world. But for a person with faith, we all know that we came into the world…
Planting the Seeds
These two sayings have the same message: “The greatest Oaks have been little Acorns.” “Large streams from little fountains flow.” It is a reminder that in life, often, things start small. I understand what we know now as SM, the biggest mall operator in Southeast Asia, was once a small store in Carriedo and eventually…
The Heart Sees What is Essential
Mark 7: 14-23 When my mother was still alive, I used to accompany her to the doctor. I became curious why the blood pressure is always taken. When I eventually queried, the nurse explained it quite simply. “It is the heart that is the most important organ. It is the heart that determines whether there…
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….
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 