Words to God, Words from God

Words are very powerful. Notice when one is down and a friend or a loved one utters kind and inspiring words, how it lifts us up, how it gives us strength, and how it gives us comfort. On the other hand, when people who we do not know say something nasty or unkind, we continue…

Turning Back the Clock

There was a survey done in the U.S. some time ago, for people 90 years old and above. The question that was asked of them: “If you had your youth to live by again, would there be anything in your life that you would change?” The top three answers were as follows: They should have…

Power and Character

Luke 7: 1-10 There is a saying that if you wish to find out the true character of a person, give that person three things: First, give him/her money Second, let him/her hit rock bottom Third, give him/her power Throughout history we know of people who started very simple, then rose up to the very…

Love of God

When tragedy strikes, one of the first who gets blamed is God.  Where was God when Tsunamis hit the Indian Ocean and Japan? Where was God when the earthquake shook Chile? Haiti? And the rest of the world? Where is God during war? A parent had to deal with the question of her teenage child…

Wise and Learned

Matthew 4: 18-22 Last year I listened to an economic briefing and it was said that despite all the economic problems of the country, we are doing okay because of the OFW money which doubles every three years. In 1950, we were the second strongest economy in Asia. By the 70s though, Filipinos started to…

The Will of the Lord

For those of us who are on social media like Twitter, Instagram, or FB, it can be amazing on how many “friends” we have. On FB, for example, we get happy when many friends like the things we post. However, on a deeper reflection, the real question is, “How many friends really know us inside…

Pearl of Great Price

Matthew 13:45-46 There is this story that a certain General Yamashita during World War II brought most of the gold from the Southeast Asian countries that they controlled to the Philippines with the intention of eventually bringing it back to Japan. Whether this is true or not is debatable, but even today there are many…

Narrow Gate

Last year there was a seminar at the University of Santo Tomas on Exorcism. This was participated by over 100 priests and over 100 lay people involved in the ministry. If you heard the talk, there are things that would have crossed your mind: The devil is real, hell is real and the devil will…

Last Days

Luke 17:20-25 To get a feel of what people are thinking, one just has to go to the internet. One of the most talked-about topics is the question – Are These the Last Days? Why the question?  First, look at the natural disasters: earthquakes, storms, and droughts in one place and so much rain in…

Gratitude

One of the very first lessons of human beings is to be grateful. When we were given a candy bar or a gift as children, we were asked, “What do you say?” When our teacher would leave at the end of the class, in unison we would all stand up and say to our teacher,…