Praising God in Difficult Times

I came across a story of a wife who prayed for a baby for more than two years. One day she received the good news from her doctor and in her excitement, she texted family and friends and all were happy for her. Four days later though, she knew something was wrong with the baby….

Elijah vs Prophets of Baal

In a popular reading, we hear of Ahab and Jezebel filling the land of Israel with a false god, and they kill the prophets of Jehovah. What did God do? He sent the prophet Elijah to give Ahab a message. Hence the competition to prove which God is true, with Elijah on one end and…

Christian Persecution

Is it said that two-thirds of the 2.3 billion Christians in the world today live in dangerous neighborhoods. They are often poor. They often belong to ethnic, linguistic, and cultural minorities. And they are often at risk. Hence, every month, we hear of a Christian being killed. Not too long ago, a priest, Fr. Mark…

Faith and Doubt in God

In any relationship, doubt sinks in every now and then: In a marriage, a partner might question their spouse’s faithfulness. In an employer-employee relationship, a boss might question one of his staff’s honesty. Likewise, the staff might also question if the boss keeps his promises. In any friendship, each side could ask if this person…

Saying Goodbye

Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross has journeyed with so many people who were about to die, that her famed model, The Five Stages of Denial, has become the accepted standard of examining terminally-ill emotions. They are classified as: Denial – “No, I am not going to die” Anger – “Why me? There are so many other people…

Cleanliness from the Inside

It is said that we Filipinos are a mystery. We value cleanliness, yet look at our surroundings: We will clean our own backyard but we will dump the garbage in public places. We take a bath at least two times a day, even when it is winter, but look at the litter all over the…

Shattered Dreams

All of us have had our shattered dreams in life. We have planned, we have invested in ourselves, we gave our time, we gave it our all. The results, unfortunately, did not turn out the way we planned it to be. Just think of all the emotions – shame, anger, frustration, and hopelessness.  In the…

Insensitive People

Who among us does not have family or friends or officemates that are insensitive?  Here you are trying to find comfort and consolation because of a big problem, yet your friend talks about her vacation Here you are dealing with death and your sibling talks about the division of properties Here you are dealing with…

Good Luck or Blessed

We Filipinos, when it comes to blessings, are very faithful. When we get a new house, we have it blessed; a new car, we have it blessed; a new office, we have it blessed. Typically, when one is asked why do the blessing, the response is for “Good Luck” and that “Money Flows In.” If…

Is the Devil Real?

Matthew 8:28-34 This is the 21st century, yet…do you still believe in the devil? This is the question some people ask. They think that the devil was an invention of the Church in the olden times. That might be the thinking because this is the age of computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. This is the…