Luke 9:22-25, Thursday after Ash Wednesday When I was on graduate studies abroad, my turn came to be community grocer. I made sure we had bread, milk, eggs, cheese, and cereals. One afternoon, an American scholastic, heavyset and hairy, waddled into the TV room where I was watching the news. Without excusing himself, he asked:…
Category: Evangelist: Luke
Thankful – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 17:11-19; 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time What we consider leprosy or Hansen’s disease today might not exactly be the same disease the Bible calls “leprosy.” In Scriptures, “leprosy” was really a catch-all term for disease that made skin dry, crusty, scaly, and well, unsightly. Back then, water was scarce and unfiltered from dirty wells….
Found – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 15:1-32, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time There are three fractions in the Gospel today. One out of 99 sheep is lost (one percent); one out of ten coins is missing (ten percent); and one of two sons goes rogue (50%). How much lost, how much found are you? I think no one here in…
Sorry, not Sorry – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 15:1-32, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time When we think of mercy, awa, we often think of the object of mercy as being the poor, the oppressed, the helpless, the api. Which is okay because they do need mercy. But strangely enough, notice that the parables of mercy are not about the poor or the…
Real Wealth – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 15:1-32; 4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday) To us, Pinoys, it’s inconceivably brazen to ask our parents for our mana while they still live and breathe. Puwede tayong humingi ng puhunan. Puwede ring sabihin, “Dad, pautang muna po.” But never, “Ma, Pa, kunin ko na mana ko ngayon.” Subtext?“Why wait till you’re dead?” Bastos…
Lest We Forget – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 6:27-38, 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time With dear Fr Bill Kreutz as our guardian, I was on formerly Santolan Road, now C-5, with a bunch of Ateneans, in what would be known the world over as the People Power Revolution. But I was there by mistake. Mom and dad were okay that I joined…
Blessings – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 6:17, 20-26; 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time It is not only gasoline that is expensive these days. One of the most expensive things is trust. It is expensive because it is in such short supply. This is the age of mistrust. It does not help that one of the cheapest things these days are…
Prophecy Come True – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 1:1-21, 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time If you Google, “life expectancy in first century,” you’ll get 30-35 years, average. Ang ikli ng buhay nila, ‘no? But before paracetamol, penicillin, vaccines, plus back-breaking work before modern engineering, the first-century human body really took a beating. So, if scholars are right in saying that Jesus died…
Who Has the Power – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 21:25-36B, 1st Sunday of Advent Imagine, just imagine, a foreign government finally rigging nuclear missile launchers into our reefs. Then, they aim them at us. Into their computers, they plot the coordinates of our arsenals, military camps, airports, down to the square meter. Anytime, at their leader’s pleasure, a work-from-home soldier can click on…
Haunted – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 24:35-48, 3rd Sunday of Easter You know what, sisters and brothers, there still are times I wonder if, once in a while, dad and mom ever felt that I abandoned them when I left home for religious life. Especially those times when my family surely needed an extra pair of hands; like when my…
Homeward – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 1:67-69, 9th day of Misa de Gallo (24th December 2020) We saw the “Christmas star” three nights ago. This sighting was not easy. The “star”, the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter, was quite elusive for most of the time we were there at the rooftop of the Jesuit Residence. The sky was overcast. And…
Closeness to Mary – Jomari Manzano, SJ
Luke 1:26-38, Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary A majority of art representations we have of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) is of the vulnerable and frail stereotype of a woman taking care of the child Jesus. But let us not forget that she can also be viewed as a woman of incredible strength and…
One Lost Sheep 