Luke 2:22-40; Feast of the Holy Family The first 20 years of our life is the time of foundations and roots. We do not lay those foundations ourselves. We learn to eat and walk and talk from others. We are trained for toilet and manners and autonomy by someone else. This is the time we…
Category: Author: Jett Villarin, SJ
Power – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 25:31-46, Solemnity of Christ the King In electricity, power is energy per unit time. It is usually measured in watts. A two horsepower air conditioner, for example, is about 1500 watts or 1.5 kilowatts (kw). The electricity we pay for however does not depend on power. It depends on energy, which is power multiplied…
God’s – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 22:15-21, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time A musical instrument such as a violin makes its unique sound from waves of air that ripple from the action of the bow on its strings and the echoes from its wooden body. Another instrument, the flute, pipes its sound by creating a different set of waves from…
Naysayers – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 21:28-32, 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time The first son said no, he won’t go to the vineyard. But he changes his mind and goes instead. The second said yes, but backs out on his word. Our Lord asks, which one did the will of his father? The Gospel today is not about being true…
Timeless – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 20:1-16a; 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Did you know that clocks here in Manila run more slowly than in Baguio or in the mountains? That’s because massive bodies warp space and time. And so GPS satellites that keep time and location have to be tweaked every so often because the time up there is…
Great – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 15:21-28; 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time At first glance, Jesus is somewhat testy and heartless in the Gospel story today. You can see it right there in the exchange between him and the Canaanite woman, an outsider. When the woman calls out to him, he first gives her the silent treatment. When she continues…
Starts with P – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 4:1-11; First Sunday of Lent In physics, we explain attraction by assigning certain qualities to objects that make them move toward each other. Usually these properties are binary or polar in nature. Thus in electricity, plus attracts minus, and vice versa. In magnetism, north and south. In the nucleus of an atom, protons that…
Passport – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 5:17-37, Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:20) If heaven were a country, entering it will take more than just fulfilling all visa requirements. Apparently, the scribes and Pharisees did not get this…
Off-Center – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 4:12-23, Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Jesus begins his ministry off-center. Not in his hometown Nazareth nor in the center of religion, Jerusalem. His proclamation of the good news is preceded by bad news. John’s arrest prompts him to move northward to Galilee, “west of the Jordan, the District of the Gentiles”, to a…
Emmaüs- Jett Villarin, SJ
14th January 2023 I was looking for Emmaus on the modern map. There is Abu Gosh, there is Latrun. We don’t know where Emmaus is but it seems to be west of Jerusalem. Our story opens on Sunday, after the heavy events of Good Friday. The two disciples are sad. They are leaving Jerusalem, walking…
Awake – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 24:37-44, First Sunday of Advent “Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”…
Found – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 15:1-32, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time There are three fractions in the Gospel today. One out of 99 sheep is lost (one percent); one out of ten coins is missing (ten percent); and one of two sons goes rogue (50%). How much lost, how much found are you? I think no one here in…
One Lost Sheep 