Matthew 24:37-44, First Sunday of Advent I. Have you ever heard the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by the Russian composer Rachmaninov? This rhapsody begins with a tune that I am sure all of you have heard, Caprice 24 by Paganini. In this first part of the rhapsody, we hear such a vibrant…
Author: ninangdeb
Watchful – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 24:37-44, First Sunday of Advent I grew up in Davao with my mom and lola constantly referring to the end of the world. After an earthquake, or news of a typhoon in Manila, or a big fire, they’d sermonize, “Ayan, malapit na ang end of the world. Galit na ang Diyos sa mga kasalanan ng…
Finding Noah’s Ark – Johnny Go, SJ
Matthew 24:37-44, First Sunday of Advent For many of us these days, despair is a real temptation. Some of us have actually sworn to keep away from our newsfeed and just get ourselves inebriated in premature Christmas carols. Can the news in the country, in the US, and in the world get any worse? And…
Another Advent – Rudolf Horst, SVD
Matthew 24:37-44, First Sunday of Advent We have entered another Advent Season. Why? Why does the Church lead us along the same path every year, repeating the same seasons, even the same readings? Is it for lack of creativity and imagination? No, the Church is always young, and never runs out of creativity. In every…
Breathe – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 21:5-19a, 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time This past week was a tough riddle for many of us, Jesuits. The other night, some brothers and I got together. We all wondered: “Are we the ones missing something here? Have we been standing for the wrong principles all this time?” Because no sooner did the Supreme…
Birthday Note
76 countries. 18,649 views. 102 followers. 116 homilies. Those are stats from our homily blog onelostsheep.net which turned a year old today. One year ago when Kat Limcaoco-Alcuaz and I succumbed to the urgings of Chary Mercado to start a blog with “good” homilies. We had been toying with the idea for some time already…
Imagining Resurrections – Mark Lopez, SJ
Luke 20:27-38, 32nd Sunday In Ordinary Time A lot of prayers and thoughts these days go out to our dearly departed, having just celebrated All Saints’ and All Souls’. And since we’re also nearing the end of the liturgical year (Yes, only two Sundays left, before Advent helps us to begin again!) a lot of…
Endless Love – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 20:27-38, 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Nanay Cianang & Mamay Aquin were a grand-aunt & uncle whose family is still the happiest bunch of relatives I have. They’re an interesting family. Lola Cianang was once married and had children by her first husband. Mamay Aquin was the same way, had a first wife and children….
Eternal – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 20:27-38, 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Play God for a moment and imagine you are pondering whether or not to bestow immortality on the crowning achievement of your creation, the human person. You consider the upsides and downsides of your move to grant eternity to humanity, and weigh these against each other. A lifespan…
Resurrection – Rudolf Horst, SVD
Luke 20:27-38, 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Usually we hear in the Gospel about the Pharisees who were the religious leaders in Palestine at the time of Christ. They were the popular experts in theology and morality. And one of the doctrines they believed in and taught was the resurrection of the dead, just as…
What’s your Sycamore Tree? – Johnny Go, SJ
Luke 19:1-10, 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time He’s someone some people would–even in this endangered age of political correctness–call “vertically challenged.” There are, of course, every sort of psychological theories that claims how his type tends to over-compensate. But for Zacchaeus, it really was all just a job. Corruption and extortion were an occupational hazard;…
Climb – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 19:1-10, 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time Ah, Zacchaeus, one of my favorites. I wonder why (!) You should hear the Gospel in Tagalog. “Pumasok si Jesus sa Jerico…May isang tao roong ang pangalan ay Zaqueo, pinuno ng mga maniningil ng buwis at napakayaman. Sinisikap niyang makita si Jesus, ngunit sa dami ng tao, hindi…
One Lost Sheep 