Luke 18:9-14a, 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time In our Gospel today, a Pharisee and a tax collector go to the temple to worship God. What do we need so that we can worship? It is the hollow in a cylindrical piece of wood that makes it a flute and enables it to produce music. In…
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Repentance – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 18:9-14a, 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time When priests hear confessions, once in a while there will be someone who would come in and say, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned, my last confession was this-and-that. These are my sins. Father, I was very angry with someone because…” and what follows would be a litany…
Persistence – Rogel Abais, SJ
Luke 18:1-8, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time …the just man justices; Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces; –As kingfishers catch fire Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ Hopkins in this beautiful poem reminds us of how a just man must act. It is God’s grace that he receives and which manifests itself in his everyday…
The Power of Prayer – Mark Lopez, SJ
Luke 18:1-8, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time There was once a young mother who came to a Jesuit priest for spiritual direction. In the beginning, the Jesuit asked her “What is your deepest desire ? What are you really praying for ?” (In short, why have you come for spiritual direction?) And so this young…
Silence is an Endangered Species – Johnny Go, SJ
Luke 18:1-8, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time There was a time in my life when prayer felt like second nature. Whenever I was stuck in traffic, I would simply shut the world out and quietly say my rosary. Not only did I get the chance to pray for people who asked for prayers, but I…
The Answer to our Prayers – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 18:1-8, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time I’ve been praying to God to work on my younger brother, to make him more responsible than he’s been all his life. Dad is 80 now, but he’s still “lawyering”. He says he loves working. But I know that he’s carrying Jonathan and his family on his shoulders…
Righteous – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 11:42-46, Wednesday of Week 28 in Ordinary Time I’m sure you’ve noticed in the Gospels that Jesus was much kinder to prostitutes and tax collectors than to Pharisees and teachers of the law. I don’t believe for one second that Jesus condoned prostitutes and tax collectors. He precisely tried to turn them around when he…
What do you do with difference? – Francis Alvarez, SJ
At that time, John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him…” (Mark 9:38). Why did John attempt to stop this other exorcist he chanced upon? John’s answer: “Because he does not follow us.” Because the other exorcist was not one of them. Because he…
Signs – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 11:29-32, Monday of 28th Week in Ordinary Time I have a few good friends who at some point in their lives prayed a particular novena. And while they did, they hoped to be given a sign at the end of nine days whether God’s answer to their petition was a “yes” or a “no”….
No Such Thing as Too Much Thanks – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 17:11-19, 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time In the time of Jesus, when a so-called leper claimed to have been healed, religious law required him to submit himself to the examination of a priest. The priest would start observing the person’s sores, note their size, shape, and color. Through many weeks, months sometimes, the patient made…
Our Father – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 11:1-4, Wednesday of 27th Week in Ordinary Time I hadn’t picked up the rosary for many, many years since I was ordained. Mom pretty much forced us to pray it with her every October and May; even as a child, I had already found it too repetitive for me to really mean what I…
When God seems Absent – Mark Aloysius, SJ
Luke 17 5:10, 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time I. Perhaps as we begin a new academic year after our summer holidays, we do well to spend some time reflecting on all the experiences we have had during our break. You might have had the grace of rest, the pleasure of being in the midst of…
One Lost Sheep 