John 8:1-11; 5th Sunday of Lent I have always been intrigued by the lyrics and melody of the song by Def Leppard and how it easily lends itself to our deeper understanding of God’s mercy and compassion. It begins with this line: “You could have a change of heart, if you would only change your…
Category: Evangelist: John
Smitten – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 1:1-18; Christmas Eve To grasp the very gift and meaning of Christmas, I often turn to this story that is really a parable by Soren Kierkegaard. Once upon a time there lived in a great castle a king so powerful and wealthy he was adored and feared by all in his kingdom. Alas, in…
Pick and Choose – Joel Liwanag, SJ
John 6: 60-69, 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Have you ever come across the term “cafeteria Catholic?” Patterned after the analogy of being in a cafeteria, where you get to pick and choose the food that you want to eat, cafeteria Catholics are those who simply pick and choose the Church teachings they want to…
What’s your Index? – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 6:41-51; 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time In the first reading, we see a despondent Elijah. His mission to King Ahab and his equally weird wife, Jezebel, backfired. There was a killing spree afoot against prophets. So, Elijah ran for his life as his life ran out of fuel. Feeling like a failure, he just…
Bounty – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 6:1-15; 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Is it not wondrous that from one seed alone you can get more seeds later? Is it not a miracle that this one seed can grow to become a plant which flowers into fruit that bears even more seeds? We can sort of explain away this biological miracle…
Irrepressible – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 20:19-23, Pentecost Sunday The New Testament Greek word for soul or spirit is pneuma. But that’s only the translation of the Old Testament Hebrew, ruah, breath or air or wind. Hence, when used of God, ruah & pneuma and mean breath of life, or an atmosphere or ethos of sacredness, or the unstoppable force…
Air – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 20:19-23; Pentecost Sunday The Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins once compared the Blessed Virgin to the air we breathe. Today, Pentecost, in celebration of the Holy Spirit coming into our lives, we will compare the Holy Spirit to the air that surrounds and sustains us. Like the atmosphere, the Holy Spirit helps us listen,…
Vine – Jett Villarin SJ
John 15:1-8, 5th Sunday of Easter I’ve always wondered about seedless grapes or seedless watermelons. I mean, they’re convenient and nice, but how do you keep them going? It must be by some biological magic that they keep showing up on our tables. I would think that seedless fruit are like celibates. They’re a dead…
Reason for Living – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 10:11-18; 4th Sunday of Easter If mom and dad initiated me into Sunday mass, it was my Uncle Will who initiated me into spirituality. He was the kind of Catholic who constantly pursued deeper knowledge and wisdom in faith, prayer, and church life. So, he read inspirational books and saw spiritual directors like Frs…
The Jesus We Come to See – Nemy Que, SJ
John 12:20-33; 5th Sunday of Lent “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” The Greeks, who made this request in our Gospel reading, were surely not expecting amessiah. But they had heard about this man, Jesus, and wanted to see him forthemselves. They had no doubt heard about how he had healed the sick, raisedLazarus from…
What Needs to Die – Karel San Juan, SJ
John 12:20-33, Fifth Sunday of Lent “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” Jesus compares us to a grain of wheat. If it falls to the ground and dies, it…
A Whole New World – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 3: 14-21, 4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday) When I was formator in San Jose Seminary, we had seminarians from a college seminary in the province, run by very traditional priests. The priests themselves were trained in Europe by a group of clerics we Pinoys would call katoliko-sarado-de-candado; Roman Catholics of the strict persuasion….
One Lost Sheep 