Matthew 18:15-20, Homily for the Sacred Heart School – Ateneo de Cebu Missioning Mass Have you ever been in a room that’s completely dark, as in pitch black? You and I know that our eyes are actually very good in the sense that they adjust to the dark easily after some time. For instance, when…
Category: Author: Joel Liwanag, SJ
Divide and Conquer – Joel Liwanag, SJ
Mark 3:20-35, Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Niccolò Machiavelli, in Book VI of The Art of War, presents one of the most effective strategies in warfare. His advice: divide and conquer. If you are a military leader who wants to attack your enemy, then begin by sowing division. Find a way for your opponents to…
Not All Pain is Gain – Joel Liwanag, SJ
Good Friday In English, there is a famous mantra that goes, “No pain, no gain.” If you want to succeed, you have to work hard. If you’re a student and you want to graduate with flying colors, you have to study well. If you’re an athlete and you want to win in competitions, you have…
Power – Joel Liwanag, SJ
Matthew 22:15-21, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Have you ever been asked a trick question? Have you ever been pushed into a difficult situation wherein, as they say, you were damned if you do, damned if you don’t? How did you manage to escape from such trap? In today’s Gospel, Jesus is pushed into such…
Coming Home – Joel Liwanag, SJ
John 14:1-12, Fifth Sunday of Easter Among the many emotional needs of human beings, one of the most fundamental is the need to belong. As persons, we inherently desire to be part of something larger than ourselves. We first experience this in the womb of our mothers, our home for nine months. There we have…
A Messy Christmas – Joel Liwanag, SJ
John 1:1-18, Solemnity of the Birth of our Lord As a way of preparing myself for Christmas, I once tried to contemplate the nativity scene following the prayer method proposed by St. Ignatius of Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises. Using the power of my imagination, I began by trying to feel the cool gentle breeze…
One Lost Sheep 