Matthew 16:21-27, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time A few years ago, I watched a film called “The Exorcism of Emily Rose.” I expected a full-blown horror movie in the tradition of other Exorcist movies, complete with all the scary special effects like 360-degree head turns, shaking beds, and lots of vomiting. Instead, to my disappointment,…
Month: August 2020
Martyr – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 16:21-27, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time An Australian scholastic lived with us many years ago. When he noticed that I took my studies very seriously, he said: “Hey, Arnel, back in Australia, Jesuits have a saying: ‘You’re no good to us, dead.’” I didn’t get it then. So, he explained. “It means that the…
Discernment – Bobby Yap, SJ
Matthew 19:16-22, Monday in the 20th Week of Ordinary Time The Gospel we have just proclaimed is the Gospel assigned for Monday of the 20th Week of the Year. We did not choose a special gospel for our ORSEM mass but simply used the Gospel assigned for today. As it turns out, today’s gospel reading…
Choose Love – Eric Velandria, SJ
Matthew 15:21-28, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time On our fifth month of community quarantine, are we not alarmed that our Covid-19 infection cases have already breached 100,000, surpassing the number of cases in more populous Indonesia? Recently, SWS reported that two out of ten families experience hunger daily. And 1.7 out of ten Filipinos are…
Never Give Up on Praying – Ro Atilano, SJ
Matthew 15:21-28, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time What have been your prayers lately? Have you ever prayed for something that was seemingly impossible and you felt you like needed to move mountains? Have you prayed for something over and over again and God was seemingly quiet? Have you experienced almost giving up, even giving up…
Kata-holos – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 15:21-28, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time First, let’s explain the most troublesome spot in the Gospel where Jesus seemed to have referred to the Canaanite woman as a “dog.” According to some scholars, Matthew’s community back in the day had two voices, like two schools of thought: the particularist and the universalist. Christians with…
Original Blessedness – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 1:39-56, The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary When you and I were children, oh, 500 years ago, our elders taught us that Mary was “taken up to heaven, body and soul.” Why was that special? Well, “when ordinary people like us die,” our elders said, “our souls go to heaven, leaving our bodies…
Role Model – Freddie Balinong, SJ
Luke 1:39-56, The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Assumption — long since a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the church calendar: in fact, a celebration of God’s merciful power underlying all the mysteries of our faith. God alone could exempt—as He did exempt—the Blessed Virgin Mary from the imperious law of…
Forgive from the Heart -Munching de Guzman, SJ
Matthew 18:21 – 19:1, Thursday of Week 19 in Ordinary Time There is a great story about two Tibetian monks who belonged to a group which does not allow them to have any interaction with women. Once, both of them were on a journey and they came to an overflowing river. They noticed a young…
You are the Light of the World – Joel Liwanag, SJ
Matthew 18:15-20, Homily for the Sacred Heart School – Ateneo de Cebu Missioning Mass Have you ever been in a room that’s completely dark, as in pitch black? You and I know that our eyes are actually very good in the sense that they adjust to the dark easily after some time. For instance, when…
Finding God in the Gentle and Ordinary – Fr Harold Parilla
Matthew 14:22-33, 1 Kings 19:9, 11-13, 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time One can define life as a journey of constant, restless seeking. As children, we spent our days looking for food, games and playmates. As we grew older, we shifted our search to friends, grades and achievement. As young adults, we looked for appropriate careers…
Of Mustard Seeds and Mountain Walls – Pat Falguera, SJ
Matthew 17:14-20, Feast of St Dominic If there is one edge-of-your seat documentary I would both encourage but still dissuade you from watching, it would be the one produced by National Geographic entitled ‘Free Solo’. It is a riveting and compelling narrative of Alex Honnold, the first man to climb – free solo – Yosemite…
One Lost Sheep 