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…
Category: Author: Francis Alvarez, SJ
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…
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…
What Is Glory? – Francis Alvarez SJ
When Judas had left them, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him” (John 13:31). Judas had taken his leave to betray Jesus, and Jesus knew this. Why then did Jesus say, “Now is the Son of Man glorified”? Why did Jesus not say, “This is treachery! Woe…
What is Easter? – Francis Alvarez SJ
How did you wake up today, Easter Sunday? With great joy and hope overflowing from the Easter vigil you attended the night before? With relief that finally Lent is over and you can eat meat again on Fridays? With dread that the short vacation Holy Week afforded is over and you have to return to…
Have A Defiant Christmas – Francis Alvarez, SJ
“Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14). One December morning in 1863, at home on Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts – not very far from where we are tonight – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow heard the church bells ringing, and he wrote: I…
Christmas is an Apple – Francis Alvarez, SJ
A pamasko of P126.00 in two 20-peso bills, four 10-peso coins, and the rest in a jingling collection of loose change can be worth more than its weight in gold. Spaghetti served with banana ketchup sauce and diced Vienna sausages (because hotdogs are more expensive) can be the best Christmas dinner you will ever have….
One Lost Sheep 