John 13:16-20, Thursday of the 4th week of Eastertide According to neuro-psychiatrists, we produce at least 50,000 thoughts a day. 70-80% of those are negative. So, we’re all negative thinkers by default. But behavioral psychologists say it’s our mind’s way of constantly alerting us to danger, so we can self-protect. We’re not often conscious of…
Category: Evangelist: John
A New Normal – Jun Viray, SJ
John 6:60-69, Saturday of the 3rd Week of Eastertide Nagsimula na tayo sa Extended Community Quarantine (ECQ) dito sa NCR at sa iba pang lugar hanggang May 15. Marami na ang naghahangad na matapos na ang ECQ at makabalik sa ‘normal.’ However, people are coming to terms with the reality that there NO return to…
Gate – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 10:1-10; 4th Sunday of Easter These days of quarantine, we find ourselves fenced in. Fences are supposed to protect us. We are accustomed to fences. Some fences are topped with barbed wire or broken glass, some even electrified. Long before COVID19, we were already gating our communities, insulating and quarantining ourselves from the grime…
The Good Shepherd in Us – Fr Noel Elorde
John 10:1-10, 4th Sunday of Easter A usual afternoon after a private mass in the sacristy is spent watching the neighborhood from the third floor of the parish rectory. The parallel streets display a sprawl of rusty corrugated sheets in haphazard and unintelligible configuration, the scampered power lines loosely stretched from post to post resembling…
The Voice – Fr Harold Parilla
John 10:1-10, 4th Sunday of Easter The word “voice” is constantly repeated in the Gospel Reading for today. The sheep hear the voice of the shepherd; they know his voice, but the voice of strangers they do not recognize. When I think of the word “voice”, I am reminded of one of the features of…
Keeping Easter Alive – Pedro Walpole, SJ
John 20:19-31 How has the week gone for you? Last Sunday, for a time, we emerged from the Gospel passion narrative, from the suffering in life around us into deep desires and hopes, sharing in the resurrection, the loving mercy of God. Yet the world in the last week has not changed. How am I…
God Hopes in Us – Junjun Borres, SJ
John 20:19-31, Divine Mercy Sunday The Gospel reading today reminds me of an incident that took place some 23 years ago. One morning, I got a call from my sister who used to work at a school about half an hour drive from New Bilibid Prison, where I served as a volunteer chaplain. She said…
The Anatomy of Healing – Pat Nogoy, SJ
John 20:19-31, Divine Mercy Sunday Today’s readings and Gospel are about peace. Peace is not easy to come by nowadays. I am thinking of families that are suffering from hard misunderstanding, deep feuds, or have, in time, drifted far apart from each other. In my mind are couples who had relied on a relatively stable…
Despite Closed Hearts – Ro Atilano, SJ
John 20:19-31, Divine Mercy Sunday How is your heart doing? Each of us is called by God to have a heart that is always open and available for others, a heart that is magnanimous enough to love God’s people. However, there are times when the door of this heart is closed. And there could be…
To Serve, Love and Count not the Cost – Nemy Que, SJ
John 13:1-15, Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper In normal times, the celebration of Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) would have churches all over the country decorating the sanctuary of the church as early as the night before, arranging flowers and assembling an altar of repose, where the blessed sacrament will be placed for a night…
How can we abandon our Companion – Madz Tumbali, SJ
John 11:1-45, 5th Sunday of Lent As days and weeks progress, an experience of “resurrection” seems to be getting more elusive. From our first case of COVID 19 reported on January 30, 2020, we are now at 1,075 in the Philippines. At a global level, from the first report on November 17 last year in…
Coming Back from our Graves – Ro Atilano, SJ
John 11:1-45, 5th Sunday of Lent The world is becoming lonelier than ever. And we feel this more in the urban areas where people are more preoccupied with work and nerve-wracking “busy-ness.” Technology, social media in particular, has connected us to more people but, paradoxically, disconnected us from people near us, the ones who really…
One Lost Sheep 