Matthew 5:1-12a, Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time To be alive is to be fed at varying frequencies. Take breathing. We need to bring in fresh air every few seconds or so. We cannot skip breathing for longer than several minutes. After an hour or so, we need to drink water. After a quarter of a…
Category: Evangelist: Matthew
Galilee – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 4:12-17, Third Sunday in Ordinary Time The first time I went to Disneyland, I was a young adult. This was in the mid-80s. There were the usual rides but the one that has been memorable is the refrain of the song, “It’s a small world after all”. It’s a world of laughter, a world…
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten – Munching de Guzman, SJ
Matthew 18:1-5,10; Feast of the Sto Niño “Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” What’s with Children that heaven is promised to them? Years ago, I read a book titled “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” by Robert Fulghum. It’s about a writer…
Nudge – Bros Flores, SJ
Matthew 2:1-12; Solemnity of the Epiphany Over the years, many of us have learned that New Year’s resolutions rarely last. Instead of making bigger promises, people of our age are turning to something simpler—a nudge word. Psychology helps explain why this works: a word can gently gather our attention, shape our choices, and orient how…
Family – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23; Solemnity of the Holy Family The Holy Family is Jesus, Mary, and Joseph and not just Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Holy does not mean flawless and so holy is for every family. Our parents are not perfect any more than we children are saints. And speaking of saints, in the words of…
Prepare – Jett Villarin SJ
Matthew 3:1-12, Second Sunday of Advent Let’s try not to short circuit Advent to get to Christmas. The four candles here are for the four weeks of Advent. We are now entering the second quarter of this time of preparation. Listening to John the Baptist is part of this preparation. He tells us today to…
Another Kind of Coming – Mamert Manus, SJ
Matthew 24:37-44, First Sunday of Advent The Church begins a new liturgical year today, on this First Sunday of Advent. So in a very real sense,Happy New Year! This period in our liturgical journey is called Advent, from the Latin adventus, whichmeans “coming.” Ang Adbiyento ay isang panahon ng pag-aantay para sa isang pagdating —…
See What Matters Most – Willy Samson, SJ
Matthew 10:7-15; Thursday in Week 14 of Ordinary Time Good morning. As everyone knows, I am on Sabbatical for a few months after ending my seven-year ministry in the Diocese of Kalookan and preparing for my new ministry as a chaplain in the Philippine General Hospital. One of my plans for my Sabbatical is to…
Binlod – Richard Sumera, SJ
Matthew 6:7-15; Thursday of Week 11 in Ordinary Time Let me start with a personal story. One that brings me back to my childhood. There were times in our family’s life when we had very little. Hindi biro ang kahirapan. And during those times, I remember going to our neighbor’s rice mill,vnot to buy rice,…
𝐈nfluencers Of 𝐀 𝐃ifferent 𝐊ind – Jordy Orbe, SJ
Matthew 5:13-16, Tuesday of Week 10 in Ordinary Time In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his followers: “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.” It is striking that He doesn’t say try to be light, or work on becoming salt. He simply says: you are. The question is: What…
Trinity – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 28:16-20, Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity We commonly think of an object as either here or there. It cannot be here and there and everywhere at the same time. In the quantum world of the very small however, things get weird. Surprisingly, a single particle (such as an electron) can bi-locate. It can…
Re-set – Tony Basilio, SJ
Matthew 18:21–35, Tuesday of the 3rd Week of Lent Yesterday, I came upon a quote that I have read so many times in the past but one that continues to move me – “It’s madness to hate all rosesbecause you got scratched with one thorn,to give up all dreamsbecause one of them didn’t come true,to…
One Lost Sheep 