Matthew 23:13-22, Monday of 21st Week in Ordinary Time (Queenship of Mary) We, human beings, are a superlative-seeking species. At home, we heard our elders say, “my favorite son”, “my brightest daughter”, “my naughtiest”. At school, superlatives were rewarded, too: valedictorian, first honor. They even spread the awards around so that differently-abled kids could also…
Author: thekatzpajamas
Hail Mary – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 1:39-56, Solemnity of the Assumption The feast of the Immaculate Conception and the feast of the Assumption are like book-end celebrations of our Blessed Mother’s life. Mary was born without original sin, the first bookend, and she remained sinless until death, so she was assumed straightaway into heaven, the second bookend, which is today’s feast….
Vigilant – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 12:35-40, 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time I have a theory that Filipino drivers are one of the most alert drivers in the world (with the Italians coming at a close second maybe). That’s because they never know what’s coming at them. The unpredictability sharpens their senses. When I was learning to drive, my father…
What do you dare ask from God? – Francis Alvarez, SJ
Luke 11:1-13, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time At Mass, right before we pray the Our Father, the presider encourages us with the words, “At the Savior’s command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say….” And indeed, the Our Father is a daring prayer. That we dare to address God implies that we dare…
God’s Love, First – Arnel Aquino SJ
Luke 10:38-42, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time My elder brother and I did very well in the Ateneo de Davao while we were growing up. We tried to land in the honor roll every quarter, and join elocution & spelling contests where we thought we excelled. As each school-year came to a close, kuya and I, in…
The Most Important Thing – Noel Y. Bava SJ
Luke 10:38-42 16th Sunday of the Ordinary Time Every time I read or hear this particular Gospel passage, I cringe in protest. There seems to be a monumental injustice happening and Jesus decides to side with the cause of the oppression rather than with the oppressed. Here we hear him chiding Martha who is obviously…
Harvest – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 10:1-9, 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Sometimes I wonder what that means. I look at our own nation, and I say, indeed, the harvest is great, and yet the potential of…
Why is God so demanding? – Francis Alvarez, SJ
Luke 9:18-24, 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time On Sundays, the First Reading is chosen carefully to mirror certain themes in the Gospel. A tip if you want to go deeper into the Sunday readings: Before the Mass, read the Gospel, then go through the First Reading looking for connections (a good website is: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings). After…
Love: The Antidote of Sin – Jojo Magadia, SJ
Luke 7:36 – 8:3 (11th Sunday in Ordinary Time) A sinful woman enters the house where Jesus is, bathes his feet with her tears, wipes them with her hair, kisses them, and anoints them with the ointment. In response, Jesus makes two statements which are related, yet different. The Lord points out that because of…
So what if God is Trinity? – Francis Alvarez, SJ
John 16:12-15 (Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity) Catholics and members of most other Christian denominations believe that there is only one God, and God is Father, Son, and Spirit. St. Augustine expressed this conviction in another way: The one God is Lover, Beloved, and the Love between them. So what? Revealed in these terms…
Default – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 14:23-29, Sixth Sunday of Easter I once had lunch with a dear friend sometime ago. As we got settled in our seats, I asked her straightaway, “O, how’s name-of-husband doing?” See, a few weeks before that, I received a text from her that said, “Arnel, please pray naman for name-of-husband. He’s becoming really cranky….
Learning – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 14:23-29, Sixth Sunday of Easter We see things fall to the ground and we matter-of-factly say gravity. Think about it. What is it about the mass of an object anyway that attracts another object with mass, the way we were taught in elementary physics? What happens with “massless” and speedy stuff like light, which…
One Lost Sheep 