Matthew 28:1-10, Easter Sunday I have always wondered how we would be if Jesus had not risen from the dead. I imagine that the disciples of our Lord would have gone back to their old way of life. All the excitement would have faded after a few days. They would have continued waiting for the…
Emptiness – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 28 1:10, Easter Vigil Emptiness is often not a good word for us, is it, sisters and brothers? Emptiness is not exactly where we want to stay for too long, if at all. Emptiness is scary. It evokes loneliness, separation, loss. When I came here for college, my mom in Davao couldn’t enter my…
Train – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 11, Fifth Sunday of Lent The artist David Medalla once asked me, “Father, why do we go on living if we know we’re going to die.” I don’t remember what my answer was, except to suggest that life is like riding a train. We don’t just get off the train even if we could,…
Beyond Black and White – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38, Laetare Sunday Imagine how the blind man must’ve felt when he was able to see for the very first time. You and I, born with normal eyes, we were eased into the sights of the world. The older we grew, themore we saw. But this man who had never seen…
Power that Redeems – Chester Yacub, SJ
Matthew 20:17-28; Wednesday in the second week of Lent Let me begin this homily with something I have been teaching at the Ateneo college. And no, it is not theology or philosophy. Since the first semester, I have been teaching Global Politics. This semester, I am teaching International Political Economy. Our classes examine how power…
Insane – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 4:5-42; Third Sunday of Lent I don’t know if you also did this back when you were a kid. But I remember, I would go and repeatedly open the refrigerator three, four times in one afternoon, on the off chance that there was something new in there I could eat, even when I knew…
Harmony, Wholeness, Integrity – Bros Flores, SJ
Matthew 23:1-12, Tuesday of the 2nd week of Lent We have friends who are almost invisible in gatherings. When asked for an opinion, they would smile politely and say very little. Even when gently nudged, they shrug and pass. They are softspoken, non-confrontational, and harmless. But online? They are entirely different persons. Their posts trigger…
Gardens – Mark Aloysius, SJ
Matthew 4:1-11; First Sunday of Lent Much of Manila has changed since I left more than a decade ago. Along Katipunan there are far more high rise buildings. The site where a former school used to stand is now a sosyal (fancy) shopping mall. We also have the second largest parking lot in Manila, otherwise…
Magnets – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 4:1-11, First Sunday of Lent Magnets are fascinating objects. The natural ones (like magnetite) have electrons spinning about all in the same direction, giving rise to force fields that either attract or repel other objects. We even give labels such as “poles” (north or south) to explain that like poles repel while opposite poles…
Breaking the Rules – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 5:20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37; Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Imagine that we’re the bunch of slaves God has rescued from Egypt. After 430 years of slavery, we’re free! From our great-grandparents down to our apos, we knew no other life except the life of a slave. The Egyptians cursed and swore at us with…
The Real Influencers – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 5:13-16, Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time “You are the salt of the earth…you are the light of the world.” When Jesus said thesewords, I imagine, he must’ve been gazing at his friends for a while and felt very proud of them.Like the way, you parents, sometimes find yourselves just looking at your kids and…
Blessed – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 5:1-12a, Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time To be alive is to be fed at varying frequencies. Take breathing. We need to bring in fresh air every few seconds or so. We cannot skip breathing for longer than several minutes. After an hour or so, we need to drink water. After a quarter of a…
One Lost Sheep 