Healing

One of the most difficult of human experiences is being sick. One realizes that we are not in control after all. In the Gospel, Jesus often reminds us of another “sickness” in need of healing – the reality of devils and evils spirit. Three reflections on the healing of evil spirits: Hence, we always pray…

Sin and Healing

When Jesus was on earth, he was most sought after because of his healing. Yes, especially during those times, if one were sick that would almost be like a death sentence or long-term suffering. Hence, people would really search for Jesus for healing.  Remember that we are both body and soul. If the body is…

Care of Child

There is a saying that the youth is the future of any country. Hence, a country like the Philippines is in a so-called “sweet spot” because the average age is 25.7 against the global average of 30.7. We also know this: it is not just the quantity but the quality. What kind of children are…

Baptismal Promises

Every Easter Vigil or every time we stand as a godparent for a baptism, we renew our baptismal vows.  Do you reject Satan? Do you reject all his works? Do you reject all his empty promises? Why is this very important and significant? It is because most of us were baptized when we were infants….

Death is Not the End

Ed. Note: This was a mass homily at Cavalry (Golgotha) itself, during one of Fr Mon’s trips to the Holy Land. Especially these last few years, we have said goodbye to so many people. It has made us realize that life is short and swift.  Further, when it comes to goodbyes, there is a saying,…

Light of the World

If you are sixty years old and up, one thing very noticeable is that the world has changed a lot in terms of the values of people and the way people live.  Mahatma Gandhi defined the seven deadly sins as the following: That is why the Gospel is always an urgent call for us to…

Time for the Lord

Ed. Note: This entry was originally for a birthday mass for a friend of Fr. Mon. We have included it as a post here, as the words are significant reflections for all of us during this Lenten season. When the Lord gave Moses the ten commandments, one of which was: Remember the Sabbath and keep…

Family

Once Peter asked Jesus, “We have left family, land, and houses for the sake of the kingdom. What is in it for us?” The response of Christ is, “He will receive much more family, land, and houses in this life and in the life to come.” In my 18 years of priesthood, one of the…

Come Follow Me

As human beings, we follow and idolize people we are interested in. There is something in them or in their lives that attract us, or there also could be something in them that we want or are envious of. For example, on Twitter, some of the most followed people include Barrack Obama with 133M followers,…

Calling from the Lord

Since time immemorial, people have always asked these questions: “Why are we here?”, “What is life all about?”, or “What is the purpose of existence?” In fact in the bible, Qoheleth, a king of Israel, once said, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity”. This is a Jewish expression of a life of routine, a life of…