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…

Go to All the Ends of the Earth

Mark 16: 15-20 In the 50s, it was said that the Philippines was the 2nd strongest economy in Asia. In fact, the first airline in Asia is in the Philippines; the first stock exchange in Asia is in the Philippines; the first steel church in the world, San Sebastian Church, in the Philippines; the first…

Trusting God

John 4: 43-54 As a priest, when I do the anointing of the sick, there is one thing I noticed. When it is the son or daughter that is sick, the parents suffer more. “Lord, take the pain or the sickness away from my child and give it to me.” Hence, when a child is…

Praying for Guidance

Luke 6:12-16 For those who drive, there is an app that is very much appreciated – WAZE. Just put in your location and where you would want to go and it will guide you. It tells you when to turn right or left or make a round. Yes, it also tells you how to get…

Mothers and Their Immortal Words

John 14: 21 -26 The other day, I came across immortal words of mothers. These words were uttered when our mothers felt we were not growing up right, our values were warped, we made wrong decisions, and we were not growing up strong or a person with character. I chose seven of the seemingly more…