There is a saying in tagalog, ,“Ang bungang hinog ay binabato.” (A stone is thrown to a ripe fruit). Then you have the crab mentality which Filipinos are known for: When someone is rising, the tendency is to pull others down. Why this reality? Because hatred and jealousy are two very damaging emotions. Even Jesus…
Abuse of Power
There is a movie quote from the film Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility”. This is a saying that is very true because if your look at the world today, people abuse the use of power. Some displays of power in everyday life: During the times of Jesus, the Jews and the Samaritans were…
Living Forever
Matthew 25: 31-46 Two very good friends made a promise to each other that if one goes ahead, the other would send a sign that she is okay in the next life. Many years later one of the two friends passed away. Many days after the burial, the one who was left was thinking of…
Faithfulness
When I was a newly ordained priest, my parish priest told me to give priority to couples celebrating their 25th and 50th anniversaries. Further, he explained why. We live in a world that is so consumeristic – when a new item comes along, we dump the old one. Sadly, it influences our relationships. Hence, with…
Eternal Life
We live in a world wherein there is the seen and the unseen, the good and evil, the wheat and the weeds, the spiritual and the material. There is life on earth and eternal life. We live in a world wherein it is not one or the other. We live in both worlds. In the…
Being Wise
Recently there are two people who were part of my formation that passed away. One was a priest and the other was a friend and a teacher. Both were younger than me. With this reality, again, I am reminded that life is short and uncertain and that at any time, God can call you. The…
Seating Position
What is in a seat? A lot. At a party, there is a difference when you are seated beside the owner of the house compared to just being seated at one of those tables in the garden. In a concert, there is a difference when you are in the front row compared to when you…
Courage
Who would ever think that we would see the day that: Even calling out an inappropriate relationship brands one as judgmental and intolerant. Despite all of these, right is still right, even if no one is for it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it. Further, we remember the saying, “All it…
The Greatest
There is a story of a school winning a basketball competition. Out of Jubilation, the students shouted and cheered, “We are number one.” After some time, the cheering and shouting died down. From the bleachers came a booming voice from one of the other school’s professors – “What is the problem of being number two”?…
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 