Matthew 9:9-13, Feast of St Matthew the Apostle Did you ever notice this detail—that soon after Jesus calls tax collector Matthew from where he sat at work, Jesus eats at his house. Whenever I reread Matthew’s vocation story, I miss this detail because I race towards Matthew being the tax collector that he was, and…
Author: ninangdeb
Instant – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 16:1-13, 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Let me read to you a text I received recently from a dear friend. He says, “Arnel, can you remember in your prayers my son who is frustrated in his job? Very talented boy, as you know, but gets frustrated easily. He already quit two jobs, same reason….
The Lost Sons – RB Hizon, SJ
Luke 15:1-32, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time My first assignment as priest was as a prison chaplain at the national penitentiary in Bilibid, Muntinlupa. It was had work. There were days when I said as many as six masses, heard confessions for hours and just listened to many painful and horrible stories of violence, loss…
The One that Got Away – Johnny Go, SJ
Luke 15:1-32, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Today’s Gospel is about the one that got away. We all have such a person in our life: Somebody we used to care for deeply, someone somehow entrusted once to our care, someone who inhabited our universe once upon a time and–for just that brief fairy tale moment–made…
Closer to God – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 14:25-33, 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time A few years ago, my younger brother and his family flew over for a visit. They came to San Jose Seminary where I live. So I gave them a tour, which culminated in showing them my room. They entered, and looked up, down, and around in unusual silence. It…
Humble – Mark Lopez, SJ
Luke 14:7-14, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time For today, just a few stories of humility. I remember today the late Jesuit Bishop whose name was Cisco Claver. He was one of the most respected Filipino Bishops of our time for many reasons. To name a few, he didn’t fear to speak up for victims of…
Not by Pride – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 14:7-14, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time I’m one of 10 Jesuit formators assigned to San Jose Seminary. Every year, San Jose holds an alumni homecoming, and it’s always well attended by graduates who are now priests and bishops and cardinals. Even alumni who have since left religious life still attend. So it’s a three-day…
Deliver Us from Evil – Willy Samson, SJ
Matthew 20:1-16, Wednesday of 20th Week in Ordinary Time One Jesuit priest told us, “If you want to be sad, start comparing.” I agree. For when we start comparing ourselves with others, we discover that others are always better than us. It is here where envy breeds. When envy finds a home in us, we…
Called to Speak God’s Word – Errol Fernandes, SJ
Luke 12:49-53b, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time To stand up for the truth and justice necessarily entails that one must be willing to undergo every kind of trial and tribulation. This is made amply evident in the first reading and gospel text of today. In the first reading of today, Jeremiah who even if in…
Baptism by Fire – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 12:49-53b, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time We have a bunch of superstitious beliefs our elders have passed on to us regarding baptism, don’t we? “Kumare, pabinyag n’yo agad ang bata para hindi pasukan ng masamang espiritu. Sige ka, magkakasakit ‘yan parati.” “Kumare, pabinyag n’yo agad ang bata. Sige kayo, pag namatay ‘yang walang binyag,…
Margin of Error – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 12:35-40, 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time When Michael Siaron’s remains were being entombed in a poor man’s cemetery last week, his mother screamed and sobbed. Over 2 weeks ago, we saw on the newspaper a picture reminiscent of the Pietà. In the middle of the street, an awfully young woman cradled a dead 29-yr-old…
Of Pokémon, Hashtags and the Lost Art of Self-Abnegation – Noel Bava, SJ
Matthew 16:24-26, Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time The launch of the highly anticipated augmented reality game Pokémon Go has taken the world by storm. Since its release in July, it has been downloaded 100 M times and surpassed Twitter and Snapchat with its 21 M active daily users in the US alone. Gamers have been…
