There is a story of a mother who wanted to teach her child how to give. During the Mass, she gave her a 100-peso bill and a 20-peso bill. She told her to make the decision which bill is for the Church and which one is for her candy. After the Mass, the mother asked…
Category: Social Awareness
Thanking God for People
Matthew 5:13-16 Every single time it is quiet and there is a time to reflect, one of the things that I do is to thank God for various people in my life. There are people who are not here in this world anymore, yet I remember their kindness; There are people who I have not…
Service in Difficult Times
John 13:16-20 There is a quote, “Be kind. Everyone is fighting a battle.” Part of our ministry as priests is that people share with us what they are going through. Everyone has their crosses. I remember an article came out once on the effect of Facebook on people. You see your friends eating in this…
Coming of the Kingdom of God
Matthew 13: 47-53 In the summer of 2016, a sad event in the history in the Church happened in France. An 85-year-old priest was killed while celebrating Mass. As to the events that followed, we can only pray. On social media, one of the hottest topics is the end times. When things become unbearable and…
Public Opinion
John 7: 40-53 One of the favorite pastimes of people is talking about other people’s lives. Even Jesus was not exempted. They were talking about him. “Is He a prophet?”, “Is He the Christ?”, “Is He from the family of David?”. Yet Jesus had only one thing in mind, to do the will of the…
Go to All the Ends of the Earth
Mark 16: 15-20 In the 50s, it was said that the Philippines was the 2nd strongest economy in Asia. In fact, the first airline in Asia is in the Philippines; the first stock exchange in Asia is in the Philippines; the first steel church in the world, San Sebastian Church, in the Philippines; the first…
The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church
Matthew 16: 13-19 When we studied Church History as seminarians, our professor told us that when you look at the history of the Church, twenty-one centuries of it, you will realize that it is a very human organization. It is composed of 99 percent lay people and less than one percent ordained ministers. It has…
The Secret of True Wealth
Matthew 25: 14-30 Deng Xiaoping once said, “To get rich is glorious.” Indeed it is for many people. Hence, the desire to get rich. In fact, some want even to fast track their way to material wealth. Indeed the lure of houses, money, cars, and properties are so enticing. Why is money so alluring? Because…
Feeling Good
As human beings, we want to feel good, we want to be happy. Often, our mistake is that we compare ourselves with others. We think that this would make us feel good. On the contrary, the opposite happens. When we see that our neighbor has this new car, we become envious. When our friend gets…
Holier Than Thou
Matthew 13: 24-30 How often have we heard comments such as: “Why go to Mass when the people there are no different from the people who do not go to Mass?” “Look at her she prays so fervently but look how she mistreats her household help.” “I heard that even within the different organizations and…
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 