Luke 9:57-62 My brief vocation story is that before entering the seminary, I worked for PLDT. One reason for the difficulty in discernment is that back then, there was nothing to compare my life in PLDT to the life of a seminarian. Had it been transferring from one company to another, the decision-making would have…
God’s Ways
As human beings, one of the things we naturally resist is being told what to do. This usually happens when we outgrow our childhood. As teenagers, we thought we knew it all. We thought we figured out life. Life though, has ways of humbling us. It is only when we grow old and have children…
In Pursuit of Material Things
How often have I been asked to bless a house, store or office and noticed that there is an Altar at one end of the room, but on the other end, there is that “lucky cat” statue with the hands that goes up and down. On the other side yet, there is the frog with…
Power Over the Unseen
Matthew 8:28-34 Whenever people talk about the devil, I always recommend the film, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, which is based on a true story. There was a scene in the film wherein Emily Rose was speaking to Mama Mary. She asked why the exorcism was not successful. Mama Mary said that the demons will…
Responsibility and Blessings
Luke 10:13-16 Whenever my former officemates and I have a reunion and recall the good old days, we unanimously agree that the happiest days were when we were working as newly hired employees. During those days as rank and file staff, we had very little responsibilities. As the years went by though, we were promoted…
What is Your Story?
Matthew 13:10-17 If there is one thing that attracted people to Jesus, it’s that he told stories. Not only was he a very good story teller, but his stories were simple, relevant, deep, and profound. These are the stories we call parables. The Gospel of Luke has 24 parables; the Gospel of Matthew has 23…
Taking Care of God’s House
Matthew 17:24-27 It is said the Philippines and East Timor are only the two predominantly Catholic countries in Asia. The Philippines has the 3rd biggest number of Catholics and is the most present all over the world. Due to about 500 years of the Christianity, it is no surprise that the country has so many…
Doing Everything When Sick
One of the most difficult of all human experiences is to be sick. Some sicknesses are temporary, some can last a lifetime, and some, in the worst cases, can be terminal. In the many Anointing of the Sick experiences, I noticed that when it is the children that are sick, the parents suffer even more….
Baptismal Promises
Every Easter Vigil or every time we stand as god parent 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….
Do You Love Me?
When it comes to numbers, the Jews are one of the best as they are and as they were. Hence, in the bible, all the numbers cited have a meaning. One example is that there are a lot of threes in the bible: God has three persons: God the Father, God the Son, God the…
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 