Many years ago there was tension between the Philippines and Hong Kong because of the killing of the Hong Kong tourists in Luneta. When emotions were high, there was a Hong Kong journalist who wrote an article about our country being a “Nation of Servants.” Certainly, he was not only referring to the Filipina servants…
Judging by Appearance
A social experiment was made with a person made to dress in very ordinary street clothes and enter an expensive car dealership. At first, none of the salespeople were minding him. Then he was treated shabbily, and he was not even allowed to test drive a car or even just to sit and get a…
In Need of Healing
As a priest, we get many requests for prayers. By and far, the most popular are prayers for healing. Nowadays, there are just so many people dealing with sickness. While our bodies will someday fade away – from ashes we came and from ashes we will return – it doesn’t help that our lifestyle is…
Humility
There is a story of a businessman who made it not only big but very big. As the business grew, so did the ego, and he became very, very arrogant. Until one day, because of the changes in attitude, the business went down. Because of this, he could not show his face to his relatives,…
Change of Plans
One of the things we should do in life is to plan. Life is short and we have to make the most out of it. That is why when we were young one of the things our parents taught us – to plan. “What is your plan in life?” Planning is part of life. The…
Welcoming the New Year
We Filipinos can be very superstitious. When someone in the family is getting married, we have superstitious beliefs. When someone in the family passes away, we have superstitious beliefs. Yes, we will be welcoming the New Year, and we have so many superstitious beliefs. An article enumerated some of our superstitious beliefs at New Year…
Planting Kindness
Matthew 13:1-9 What do Apple, Amazon, Google, Harley Davidson, and Disney have in common? They are just five of several famous companies that started in a car garage. If you talk to the founders, none of them ever thought that from humble beginnings, their start-up would eventually become billion-dollar companies. Moral of the story: it…
Building Character
Matthew 7:6, 12-14 One of the trends now in Christianity is what they call the Gospel of Prosperity. It teaches us Christians that because God is rich, God cannot be outdone in generosity; God is good, if we pray right, we will grant our material needs. One preacher would tell his flock to open their…
Giving is Life
The person who is perhaps the most giving in the world is none other than our mothers. Mothers are always giving. In fact, we arrived in this world because of Mothers. Notice the term used is “giving birth.” Because of Giving, we have life. In the Gospel, someone gave seven loaves of bread and few…
Doing Good
One of the biggest challenges in our everyday lives is to make a decision. Not just any decision, but the right decision. That is why some of our Christian brothers and sisters would even go to the extent of consulting occult practitioners (tarot cards, psychics, horoscope, etc.) for answers. Notice the seduction of the occult:…