Like Father, Like Son

John 5: 17-30 How many of us think that God is a God who is angry? I go to Mass because otherwise, bad luck might be experienced in my personal life, in my family life or in my professional life. Or if I experience misfortune, it is only because of my sins in the past….

Service in Difficult Times

John 13:16-20 There is a quote, “Be kind. Everyone is fighting a battle.” Part of our ministry as priests is that people share with us what they are going through. Everyone has their crosses.  I remember an article came out once on the effect of Facebook on people. You see your friends eating in this…

The Lord is my Shepherd

John 10: 1-10 In the Middle East, one of the most visible people in the countryside is the Shepherd (Pastol). Being a shepherd is considered one of the oldest professions, about 5000 years old. Most shepherds were usually men and not married because they had to go to one place to the other.  When Jesus…

Persistence

Once there was this dog who fell into a deep well. The villagers suggested many ways on how to save the dog. Finally, the wise man of the town suggested to get shovels. Upon the return of the villagers with their shovels, they got surprised with the suggestion of the village wise man, “Shovel dirt…

Truly Alive

Luke 24: 35-48 When someone passes away, for some, they wish that they would be able to talk or see their loved one. “Magparamdam man lang,” would be the desire. But others, would say, “Huwag kang magparamdan, ipagdadasal kita.” Why is this so? Many of us have fear of ghosts. Certainly, for the Apostles, they…

Coming of the Kingdom of God

Matthew 13: 47-53 In the summer of 2016, a sad event in the history in the Church happened in France. An 85-year-old priest was killed while celebrating Mass. As to the events that followed, we can only pray. On social media, one of the hottest topics is the end times. When things become unbearable and…

Ups and Downs of Life

Luke 13: 10-17 How often have we heard people say, “You cannot tell life.” One day life is good, the next moment, all the challenges in life. Or one day life is difficult, then with an expected twist, suddenly life is good. In this Gospel, people were so amazed with how a demon was driven…

Doing My Father’s Will

Whenever I officiate a wedding, I always remind that newly wedded couple that when they have children of their own, two things will cross their minds: The many acts of kindness, generosity, sacrifices, and forgiveness of their parents Dad was right after all, mom was right after all. Their words, their advice, their teachings, their…

Public Opinion

John 7: 40-53 One of the favorite pastimes of people is talking about other people’s lives. Even Jesus was not exempted. They were talking about him. “Is He a prophet?”, “Is He the Christ?”, “Is He from the family of David?”. Yet Jesus had only one thing in mind, to do the will of the…

God Revealing Himself to Us

Mark 12: 35-37 In this reading, Jesus continues to introduce Himself to the people. In the Gospel, he is both Son and Lord based on Scriptures – Son of man by birth, and Lord and Savior by nature. While most of the people were happy and indeed rejoiced, the many opponents of Jesus were not…