Luke 23:35-43, Christ the King When the Jews heard Jesus of Nazareth preach, “the Kingdom of God this, the Kingdom of God that, the Kingdom of God the other” they thought­ they knew what he was talking about. Jews were familiar with “kingdoms,” two, in fact: the kingdom of Rome, an autocracy, and, the kingdom…

Luke 21:5-19, 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time If you go to Wikipedia and search “list of dates predicted for apocalyptic events,” you’ll see that the specific dates of the world’s end has been predicted at least 190 times by many, many individuals from the 1st millennium until today. The forecasters range from cult leaders to Christian mystics, from Catholic bishops and saints (like Hilary of Poitiers, Martin of Tours, Irenaeus) to Protestants (Martin Luther, John…

Luke 20:27-38, 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time What if NASA scientists spotted an asteroid 10km wide, hurtling towards Earth, at 30km/second, the average asteroid speed? And what if the scientists said it would hit us in two months, no way to slow it down or missile-blast it to smaller pieces? And what if the asteroid…

Luke 15:1-10, Thursday of Week 31 in Ordinary Time I think I’m quite lucky to be living in an international community over at Arrupe House. The differences between our cultures are fascinating. Like there was one supper when we just went around the table, asking each other what sound animals made in our own language….

Luke 19:1-10, 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time Whenever I take a plane, I make sure that my carry-on fits under the seat in front of me. Oh, I could bring a larger carry-on and toss it into the overhead stowage bin. But the few times I did that, my bag sat a little too deep…

Luke 11:47-54, Thursday of Week 28 in Ordinary Time Bernice Fitz-Gibbon was an American advertiser in the sixties. She is honored in her field as one of the most influential women of the twentieth century. I was reading an old copy of Reader’s Digest and I came across a quotation from her. “A good ad,”…

Luke 17:11-19b, 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time I love taking the electric jeep in school. The ride is always breezy and quiet, no exhaust fumes, and I get to meet friends along the way. But the best thing about the ride is hearing Ateneans say “thank you” to the driver as they get off. “Salamat…

Luke 17:5-10b, 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Fr. John Iacono is a 78-year-old Italian missionary I met in Cebu when I was assigned there for three years. He doubled up as my spiritual director and confessor. For many years before retirement, Fr. John ran a day-care center for Cebu’s poorest of the poor living in…

Luke 16:19-31, 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Noong nakaraang Martes po, sumakay ako ng jeep papuntang LRT station para magpa-renew ng passport sa Cubao. Siksikan na sa jeep, pasado alas-nwebe ng umaga. “Bayad po,” I called out, stretching my arm as far as it could go, since I was seated 6 people away from the driver. Now, sitting 2 people away from the driver was this young teenage guy, Generation Z, senior-high? He was wearing a high school uniform,and. these huge, baby-blue,…

Luke 7:30-33; Thursday of Week 24 in Ordinary Time Here she was, the public sinner, the prostitute, the harlot who worked nights because only darkness was her friend. But here she came, this time in broad daylight, barging into a very civilized home at a very civilized time when civilized people gathered for a meal….

Luke 14:25-33, 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time I remember many years ago, a group of OFWs in Saudi Arabia sent us a letter at Jesuit Communications. They asked if we sold any videotape of any Mass. They said they didn’t care if the recording was clear or not. “Basta,” they said, they just wanted a…

Luke 14: 1-14, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Humble people are teachable, which means they know how to listen. They believe there’s always something to still learn from the wisdom and experiences of others. The proud, however, listen mainly to themselves and to people who agree with them. That’s why proud people in authority rarely…