In a eulogy that I witnessed, a son was giving tribute to his father. He said when he was growing up, they would wonder why they were not as rich as the office mates of his father. His father would always say three things: In the Gospel, Jesus reminds us: “What profit would there be…
Seeing God’s Hand
How many times have I been asked this question, “Why does God allow evil in this world?” That indeed is a very valid question. Just look at the current state of the world. My typical response which I learned from spiritual writers is that, “If you take away God, some other spirit takes over.” Hence,…
Ghost
On a personal note, one thing that has helped me in the priesthood is the ministry of exorcism. Why? In the Gospel, the disciples were filled with fear. First they thought their boat was going to capsize. Then they thought they would drown. Then to make things even more difficult, they saw Jesus walking on…
How Little We Have
Many times in our lives we are harassed by how little we have. How do you run a seminary with 98 seminarians with the prices ever increasing? How do you continue to send your children to school with prices ever increasing? How do you help out people while having your own needs? In the Gospel,…
Come Follow Me
In the music industry, there is what is called “Fandom”. They are passionate and devoted fans who are deeply engaged with their favorite artists, groups, or bands. They attend concerts, buy merchandise, boost streaming momentum, and participate in fan communities. In other words, they will follow their favorite artists anywhere they are and all that…
Social Sins
Ed. Note: This was a homily for a school mass. Student or not though, we can all relate to the lessons. In 1925, Mahatma Gandhi published in his newspaper Young India, a list of social sins. Almost 100 years later, now more than ever, these have become very relevant: For those of us in our…
Paradox of Life
It is said that life is a paradox. Five examples: In the Gospel, Jesus gives three paradoxes of life as well: Let us continue to live out a life that is full of paradoxes. One of the greatest paradoxes came from St. Mother Teresa: “That is you love until it hurts; there can be no…
Inclusive
One of the most popular word nowadays is Inclusive. It is defined as not excluding any person, party or group. The basis for this in the matters of faith, is that all are children of God, with the only difference being blessed differently because of each mission given by God. Sadly though, discrimination is very…
Repentance
None of us are perfect, none of us live perfect lives. We all make mistakes, we all sin, we all hurt God, our neighbor, and ourselves. However, there are two realities in life. There are people who refuse to change: When we hear this, we know that these people will never change. On the other hand,…
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 