In my 7 years as a parish priest, the one thing I noticed about the goodness of the Lord: God will bless those who help his Church. People who shared their time, talent, and treasure, were blessed by God abundantly. In one of the Gospel stories, Jesus healed a slave of the centurion because of…
Category: Social Awareness
Privileged Class
Since time immemorial man has been separated by two realities: the haves and the have-nots; the upper class and the commoners; the rich and those who were not rich. In fact, we have ways of separating people and putting them in different groups. In the Gospel, the Jews thought that they were the Children of…
The Resurrection
The Resurrection is the most important celebration of the Church. Why? If Jesus did not rise, we would not be here. The original testimony that Christ had truly risen was the stone removed from the tomb (someone powerful had done it), the empty tomb (no body of Christ), and the folded cloth (which meant the…
A Mother’s Love
In one of the more popular Gospel stories about mothers, we hear of two who were both pregnant, and both undergoing difficulty. Elizabeth was old and was now with Child; Mary was not married yet was pregnant; both experienced the miracle of God. Elizabeth was old and barren. Mary conceived her Son through the Holy…
Light in Darkness
One day I was watching a video with a student who was defending transgenders. While inclusion is very important, while equality is very important, while discrimination is something we should fight for, we should also be very careful of the dangers of allowing and accepting philosophy and ideas that are not the truth. Then when…
The Good Shepherd
Many children grew up complaining about their parents. Then eventually, when they had a better grasp of life, they realized all the love, giving, and forgiving of their parents. Once they had children of their own, those who were once children, had the realization as parents – dad was right after all, mom was right…
Peace
Even before Covid, as priests, we already got a sense that many people are experiencing mental health issues – fear, worry, anxiety, depression, fear, and even suicidal thoughts. Then when Covid came, it even made things worse. That is why the words of Christ are very important – “Peace be with you.” Peace is not…
Hunger
It is said that while the world can produce enough food for 7.5 billion people, about ten percent go hungry each day. Some causes of hunger are poverty, unequal distribution of food, war and conflict, climate change, and poor nutrition. Yet as human beings, since we are body and soul, if the body hungers, so…
Eternal Life
It is said that Malcolm Forbes once said, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” While it may automatically bring a smile to your face, it will also make you think deeper – “Is life just about accumulating material things?” Then again, what is the point. “We came into this world with nothing, we…
Regret (Paghininayang)
Regret is one of the biggest and most common emotions a person can experience after losing someone. On top of the pain of the actual loss, the feelings of regret come rushing through, making even the strongest of us ask: In one of the more known Gospel stories, Martha’s regret after the loss of her…
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 