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…
Category: Social Awareness
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…
Forgiveness
John 18: 33B-37 As a priest, two of the most urgent sacrament are Confession and Anointing of the Sick. Why? Because these two Sacraments have the capacity to forgive sins. In Confession, the priest forgives in the name of the Church, “I absolve you of all your sins, “In the Name of the Father, of…
Fear of Death
Mention the word, “Death” and many people are not comfortable. Someone offers a “memorial plan” or an insurance in case we pass away, we are uncomfortable. One family member mentions about fixing the estate, we are uncomfortable. Once, as seminarians, we were asked to write our own Eulogy. Initially, it drew uneasy laughter. It is…
The Last Request
Mark 16: 9-15 All of us have experiences of someone passing away. How we wish to be by the bedside to say goodbye. Of course, there is also the last wishes or the “huling bilin.” For a person about to transition to the next life, the last wishes are the ones he or she feels…
Auditing Time
It is said that one of the most stressful moments in corporate life is when it is the season for Auditing. A team of auditors comes to the office and reviews the documents. That, of course, is followed by the questions, explanations and clarifications portion. What a relief if all is okay and all is…
Money and Happiness
Luke 19: 1-10 After anointing a sick person, she shared to me briefly her life story. She grew up with simple means. She studied hard in school and also at her job. Eventually, came the promotions and the increase in spending power. She had everything money can buy. Then she found herself lying sick in…
Who is My Neighbor?
Luke 10: 25-37 I once celebrated Mass in a subdivision clubhouse. After the Mass, during the fellowship, I was talking to two couples. Eventually, I introduced each to each other. Couple 1 asked Couple 2, “What is your street?” It turns out that both lived on the same street. Not only that, it turns out…
Open My Eyes
John 9: 1-41 According to the World Health Organization in 2014, 285 million people are estimated to be visually impaired worldwide: that is, 39 million are blind and 246 million have low vision. About 90% of the world’s visually impaired live in low-income settings. 82% of people living with blindness are aged 50 and above. Because of this, we…
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 