Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21, Third Sunday in Ordinary Time As far as inaugural speeches go, how I wish (wish ko lang, sana all) that every leader would take after Jesus and begin their term of service by making their own the mission of our Lord, the program of action he sets about to do in our…
Category: Author: Jett Villarin, SJ
Smitten – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 1:1-18; Christmas Eve To grasp the very gift and meaning of Christmas, I often turn to this story that is really a parable by Soren Kierkegaard. Once upon a time there lived in a great castle a king so powerful and wealthy he was adored and feared by all in his kingdom. Alas, in…
Gracious – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 1:57-66; Last night of Simbanggabi “Goodness gracious, great balls of fire” is a song sung by rock and roll singer Jerry Lee Lewis in 1957. “Great balls of fire” is an old American southern exclamation of surprise (or dismay). The modern equivalent is OMG. Or SMY (SusMarYosep). I don’t know how the expression “great…
Visita – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 1:39-45; Fourth Sunday of Advent About these two women in our Gospel today, you will notice how one was barely on the threshold of womanhood, the other, easily past menopause. The Visitation however was more than just a meeting of miraculously pregnant ladies. The second joyful mystery is about two women being pulled together…
Arrival – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 21:25-28, 34-36; First Sunday of Advent An airline passenger was clearly stressed because of his fear of flying. To calm him down, his seatmate assured him, “Huwag kang mag-alala, hindi mo pa panahon.” The passenger however would not be consoled. He said, “E paano kung panahon na ng piloto?” Advent, which literally means coming…
Seen – Jett Villarin, SJ
Mark 10:36-52; 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time “As far as the eye can see” is an expression of long and wide distances. And yet it also suggests limits of our vision. Pondering the future, Karen Dinesen (Baroness Blixen) in her memoir, “Out of Africa”, writes, “Perhaps he knew, as I did not, that the Earth…
Pure – Jett Villarin, SJ
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time I do not know what pure virgin coconut oil or olive oil is but just the sound of it makes me want to choose it over the non-virgin one. We do not want things adulterated with other so-called lesser ingredients. We prefer pure breeds to mongrels….
Bounty – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 6:1-15; 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Is it not wondrous that from one seed alone you can get more seeds later? Is it not a miracle that this one seed can grow to become a plant which flowers into fruit that bears even more seeds? We can sort of explain away this biological miracle…
Trinity – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 28:16-20, Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity We commonly think of an object as either here or there. It cannot be here and there and everywhere at the same time. In the quantum world of the very small however, things get weird. Surprisingly, a single particle (such as an electron) can bi-locate. It can…
Air – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 20:19-23; Pentecost Sunday The Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins once compared the Blessed Virgin to the air we breathe. Today, Pentecost, in celebration of the Holy Spirit coming into our lives, we will compare the Holy Spirit to the air that surrounds and sustains us. Like the atmosphere, the Holy Spirit helps us listen,…
Vine – Jett Villarin SJ
John 15:1-8, 5th Sunday of Easter I’ve always wondered about seedless grapes or seedless watermelons. I mean, they’re convenient and nice, but how do you keep them going? It must be by some biological magic that they keep showing up on our tables. I would think that seedless fruit are like celibates. They’re a dead…
Palms – Jett Villarin, SJ
Mark 14:1-39, Palm Sunday It was a head-turner. This scene of Jesus entering Jerusalem. The people were there for the big feast and they had heard that Jesus was coming. They had heard about Lazarus. They wanted to see Jesus. Even the Greeks who had come for the feast went to Philip, asking him, “Sir,…
One Lost Sheep 