A Christmas carol says that this is “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, but for those who have attended the Simbang Gabi Masses, the many Gospels tell us that the lives of people who were related to Jesus were affected and disturbed. Their lives have been altered to the point of a crisis. There…
Category: The Commandments
Our Lady of Guadalupe
The Archdiocese of Manila is the oldest diocese in the Philippines, created in 1579 as a diocese and elevated as a metropolitan archdiocese in 1595. Manila was established as a suffragan diocese of Mexico in 1579 by Pope Gregory XIII. Hence many of the Mexican devotions were brought here to the Philippines. One of the…
Can the Lord Do That?
On a personal note, one thing that has helped me in the priesthood is the ministry of exorcism. That is why the three messages of this Gospel are: When it comes to healing, we will do everything and anything. Yet, let us be very careful as typically we will go to any healer. When comes…
Civil Authority
When Jesus founded the Church, he gave it authority. “Peter you are the rock and on this rock I will build my Church… whatever binds on earth is bound in heaven, and whatever is loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:18-19) In this world, there is only one authority and that is…
Money
In a eulogy that I witnessed, a son was giving tribute to his father. He said when he was growing up, they would wonder why they were not as rich as the office mates of his father. His father would always say three things: In the Gospel, Jesus reminds us: “What profit would there be…
Seeing God’s Hand
How many times have I been asked this question, “Why does God allow evil in this world?” That indeed is a very valid question. Just look at the current state of the world. My typical response which I learned from spiritual writers is that, “If you take away God, some other spirit takes over.” Hence,…
Ghost
On a personal note, one thing that has helped me in the priesthood is the ministry of exorcism. Why? In the Gospel, the disciples were filled with fear. First they thought their boat was going to capsize. Then they thought they would drown. Then to make things even more difficult, they saw Jesus walking on…
Come Follow Me
In the music industry, there is what is called “Fandom”. They are passionate and devoted fans who are deeply engaged with their favorite artists, groups, or bands. They attend concerts, buy merchandise, boost streaming momentum, and participate in fan communities. In other words, they will follow their favorite artists anywhere they are and all that…
Social Sins
Ed. Note: This was a homily for a school mass. Student or not though, we can all relate to the lessons. In 1925, Mahatma Gandhi published in his newspaper Young India, a list of social sins. Almost 100 years later, now more than ever, these have become very relevant: For those of us in our…
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 