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…
Category: Evangelist: John
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…
Stay Close – Lester Maramara, SJ
John 20:1-2, 11-18; Feast of St. Mary Magdalene Today, as we celebrate today the feast of St. Mary Magdalene, I would like to talk not just about the moment she recognized the Lord, nor about the title we’ve given her—“apostle to the apostles”. I would like us to consider the deeper story of how her…
What is Love but Our Mother Persevering? – Noel Bava, SJ
John 15:9-17, Sixth Sunday of Easter Have you ever heard of people who, months, even years after the death of their loved ones, have not been able to resume with their normal lives and regular routines? They leave the rooms of their dearly departed unchanged, put a space on the dining table complete with the…
Moving – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 24:23-29, Sixth Sunday of Easter Nothing in this world is ever still. Everything is moving all the time. When something moves, we say it is alive. When it is motionless, we say it is lifeless. Motion is life. Life is motion. Even things that seem dead to us are not without motion. The…
Default – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 10:27-30, 4th Sunday of Easter “No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.” Last time I checked, that’s not been changed, sisters and brothers. I don’t think anyone can change…
One Lost Sheep 