Easter Newness – Jett Villarin SJ

Easter Vigil 1999 Loyola House of Studies A parishioner once commented that their priest’s homily was like the peace and mercy and of God. Like the peace of God, it surpasses understanding. Like the mercy of God, it endures forever. J If this evening’s Easter homily endures beyond your endurance, please be merciful. * *…

Because of Easter – Jett Villarin, SJ

 Luke 24:1-12, Easter Vigil 2010 One-dimensional. That was how Mayweather described Pacquiao’s fighting style. I guess it means a limited repertoire of moves, predictable, monotonous. Easter can be understood in a one-dimensional sense too. We can for instance reduce Easter to the afterlife (“pie in the sky when you die”). However, we do not really…

Live – Jett Villarin, SJ

Luke 24:1-12 (Easter Vigil 2016) Are we live? That was my question to the Arvisu pre-novices when I was giving a talk to them sometime ago. Yes, father, we are live. They were kidding of course even if the usual phone camera was trained on me. Those three monosyllables are a good way to start our…

What is Easter? – Francis Alvarez SJ

How did you wake up today, Easter Sunday? With great joy and hope overflowing from the Easter vigil you attended the night before? With relief that finally Lent is over and you can eat meat again on Fridays? With dread that the short vacation Holy Week afforded is over and you have to return to…

This Easter Side of Eden: Our Story – Jett Villarin SJ

Easter Vigil 2007 Once upon a time, there was a garden, a beautiful garden. God was in the garden. A man and a woman were in the garden with God. They spent most of their days working the earth, tending the garden. There were days the ants would get the peanuts they had planted and…

Unlocked – Arnel Aquino, SJ

 Mark 16:1-7, Easter Vigil   May binili ako sa Riverbanks nung isang araw. Nung palabas na ako kasama ng medyo makapal na mga tao, napansin ko na naman na isang glass door lang yung nakabukas. Yung kaparis niya, nakasara. Matagal ko na yun gustong itanong sa may-ari. Kung bakit ba magpapalagay ng dalawang swinging glass…

Virtual Stations Of The Cross

Here’s an online version of the Stations Of The Cross, an activity for Good Friday. For those of you who want to participate but don’t know where to go, here’s an online alternative. Virtual Stations Of The Cross

Goodness – Jett Villarin SJ

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion Lectionary: 40 Good Friday 2015 Somehow, somewhere there is goodness to be found in the ruins of today.   In searching for that goodness, let us be honest. It is not easy to find goodness in the terrible things of today. It is not easy to draw clarity from…

Egypt – Jett Villarin SJ

Holy Thursday, 24 March 2016 Cenacle Retreat House It must have been a strange and solemn sight for the apostles. Here they were about to do what they had done countless times before: break bread, eat bitter herbs, drink wine, and partake of the lamb in a meal that declared their deliverance from a place…

Pins Of Light Online Retreat

For those of you who are looking for an alternative retreat this Holy Week, Pins Of Light, the blog by Fr. Johnny Go SJ is offering an online retreat. He’s been offering these online retreats (both for Advent and Lent) since 2008. “This year’s online Holy Week retreat has been designed especially in observance of…

Transform – Arnel Aquino SJ

 Luke 22:14-23:56, Palm Sunday I’m one of 10 Jesuits assigned to San Jose Seminary. This is the time of the year when we evaluate applicants from all over the country. In every batch of young men we evaluate, at least three or four have fathers who are drug addicts. Now I’m used to hearing young…

Returning Home – Willy Samson, SJ

6 December 2015 Luke 3:1-6 (Second Sunday of Advent) Durian! Love it or hate it! Durian fruit is well known for its obtrusive odour but heavenly taste. The smell of durian brings out different reactions ranging from deep appreciation to intense disgust. People who dislike durian describe its smell as “a combination of pig-shit, turpentine…