John 6:51-58, Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) Brothers and sisters, there is a man in Los Angeles named Mohamed Bzeek. He is a Libyan-born American, a Muslim, and a widower. But most importantly, he is a foster father to children no one else will take. Since 1989, Mohamed…
Category: Evangelist: John
Imagine – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 6:51-58, Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) Christ is here present as bread and wine, as something so ordinary yet essential as food. Of all the sacred signs and symbols, why this? Why not an exquisite jewel, a diamond? An ancient scroll of sacred words or a precious…
Intimior – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 20:19-23, Pentecost Sunday It is common practice in our Jesuit communities to sign out whenever we are out of the house for more than a day. When I was in Cagayan de Oro, Fr Terry Barcelon SJ of happy memory and I used to tease each other about who was out of the house…
The Language of the Heart – Noel Bava, SJ
John 20:19–23, Pentecost Sunday Have you been watching the news lately? If you have, doesn’t it feel like the Holy Spirit has left the country, especially if you look at the recent shouting matches, unexpected leadership shifts, the cringey crying games and overall chaos unfolding in our Philippine Senate. Everyone seems to be talking at…
The Sheep, the Shepherd, The Gate and The Thief – Noel Bava, SJ
John 10:1-10; Fourth Sunday of Easter Let me begin my homily by asking a pointed question: “What news is certain to unsettle us and make us forget, albeit momentarily, who we are in our relationship with God, the Good Shepherd?” The oil crisis? Maybe. The controversy surrounding our politicians? Could be. The latest chismis of…
Unstrange – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 10:1-10; Fourth Sunday of Easter The universe is about 93 billion lightyears wide. If the universe were as big as this wall behind me, our solar system would be smaller than an atom. That’s how small and insignificant we are, physically. Makes you wonder how we in our microscopic smallness could even grasp or…
Train – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 11, Fifth Sunday of Lent The artist David Medalla once asked me, “Father, why do we go on living if we know we’re going to die.” I don’t remember what my answer was, except to suggest that life is like riding a train. We don’t just get off the train even if we could,…
Beyond Black and White – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38, Laetare Sunday Imagine how the blind man must’ve felt when he was able to see for the very first time. You and I, born with normal eyes, we were eased into the sights of the world. The older we grew, themore we saw. But this man who had never seen…
Insane – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 4:5-42; Third Sunday of Lent I don’t know if you also did this back when you were a kid. But I remember, I would go and repeatedly open the refrigerator three, four times in one afternoon, on the off chance that there was something new in there I could eat, even when I knew…
Our Smallness – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 1:1-5; 9-14, Christmas Day Every Christmas Eve, for over 10 years, Fr Nemy Que SJ organized a small choir of scholastics to sing in Mrs Cory Aquino’s house, where he celebrated mass for the whole family. After the mass, we had supper. Mrs Aquino’s daughters, Pinky, Ballsy, and Viel always dutifully and cheerfully served…
We are Church – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 2:13-22, Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica If the pope is the bishop of Rome, then, he must have an official cathedral, right? Well, he does. And it’s not St Peter’s Basilica, like I thought for a long time. It’s St John Lateran Basilica. It was the first-ever Christian basilica, so it’s…
True Cross – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 3:13-17; Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross In the 4th century, Constantine built a basilica in Jerusalem. According to tradition, the church encompassed the location where Jesus was crucified and where he was buried. The day after the consecration, the relics of the “true cross” were shown and venerated. Helena was supposed…
One Lost Sheep 