Mark 12:38-44; 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time According to research, life expectancy in first-century Israel, in the time of Jesus, was 30-35 years old. Don’t you find that fascinating? Not everybody died by 35, of course. Still, this was the average period most people lived back then. Jesus left home for ministry at around age…
Category: Evangelist: Mark
Seen – Jett Villarin, SJ
Mark 10:36-52; 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time “As far as the eye can see” is an expression of long and wide distances. And yet it also suggests limits of our vision. Pondering the future, Karen Dinesen (Baroness Blixen) in her memoir, “Out of Africa”, writes, “Perhaps he knew, as I did not, that the Earth…
Ministry or Exploit – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Mark 10:35-45; 29th Sunday in Ordindary Time When our good friends are on their way to the top, we often say, “Huwag mo kaming kalimutan ha?” (“Don’t forget us, ok?”) We do that in jest and affection. “Huwag mo kaming kalimutan” is really our way of saying, “Congratulations! Happy for you! Good luck!” James and…
Follow Me – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Mark 10:17-27; 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time The rich man presumed that inheriting eternal life could be totally in his control, like it was all up to him. He must have been familiar with being in control. First, he claimed he had complied with all the commandments from his youth. I presume not just the…
Gift and Responsibility – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Mark 9:30-37; 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time I vibered kuya the other day and asked, “Kuyz, as family court judge, what are the top three reasons why families fight over inheritance?” “One,” he replied, “the sense of entitlement where heirs claim to need or deserve more because the others are already well-off on their own….
Feedback – Arnel Aquino SJ
Mark 8:27-35; 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Don’t you find it interesting, sisters and brothers, that even Jesus asked for feedback? Many of us secretly dread asking that question.“Who do people say that I am?” The snap survey got positive results, fortunately: “John the Baptist; others Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.” But Jesus…
Pure – Jett Villarin, SJ
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time I do not know what pure virgin coconut oil or olive oil is but just the sound of it makes me want to choose it over the non-virgin one. We do not want things adulterated with other so-called lesser ingredients. We prefer pure breeds to mongrels….
Gone But Not Absent – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Mark 16:15-20, Feast of the Ascencion of the Lord Mom’s parents didn’t want her to move out when she and dad got married. Their house was large enough to fit us all, especially since mom’s siblings were migrating soon. And dad’s family was poor. I grew up in a very emotionally complex house, especially because…
Palms – Jett Villarin, SJ
Mark 14:1-39, Palm Sunday It was a head-turner. This scene of Jesus entering Jerusalem. The people were there for the big feast and they had heard that Jesus was coming. They had heard about Lazarus. They wanted to see Jesus. Even the Greeks who had come for the feast went to Philip, asking him, “Sir,…
Sun – Jett Villarin, SJ
Mark 9:2-10, 2nd Sunday of Lent Eclipses used to be a dreadful thing. Ancient cultures saw omens in them, portending evil and tragedy. Imagining some dark monster eating the sun, they took fright. Now we know an eclipse is just the same moon we see at night, making its way during the day and crossing…
Approaching Lent – Kenzlee Ybanez, SJ
Mark 1:12-15, First Sunday of Lent As modern society faces migration, artificial intelligence, ideological-political fundamentalism, and climate change, can we still say that Lent is still relevant in a “post-truth era?” As humanity is challenged by the breakdown of relationships, social injustice, and poverty, can we still consider sacrifice and repentance as applicable, or are…
Sanitize – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Mark 1:40-45; 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time If Jesus was a devout Jew, an dhe was—why did he obey some rules but violated others? He observed feasts and fasts. He attended synagogue and taught there every day. He prayed a whole lot. And in today’s Gospel, he even told the leper to go to the…
One Lost Sheep 