Yoke – Fr Harold Parilla

Matthew, 11:25-30, 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time  The Gospel passage for today can be a great source of consolation for many people. Come to think of it, who among us do not experience getting burdened by the cares of the world? Who among us have not felt the weight of our responsibilities in the family…

In Exile – Ron Rolheiser, OMI

Matthew 11:25-30, 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time A comedian recently quipped that today’s information technologies have effectively rendered a number of things obsolete, most notably phone-books and human courtesy. That’s also true for human rest. Today’s information technologies (the internet, email, software programs like Facebook, mobile phones, IPhones, pocket computers, and the like) have made…

Try a Little Gentleness – Ben Sim, SJ

Matthew 11:25-30, 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, a Greek slave, by the name of Aesop,  compiled a collection of stories known today as Aesop’s Fables.  One of the fables deals with a dispute between the sun and the wind. The dispute was over which of the two was…

Space for God – Willy Samson, SJ

Matthew 11: 25-30, 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time The Gospel today brings us closer to the heart of Jesus, especially his desire for us to develop a deeper relationship with Him and with the Father through our prayers.  I remember preacher Bo Sanchez sharing his experience of sitting in a chair and watching his children…

The Enemies of Love – Willy Samson, SJ

Matthew 9:1-8, Thursday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time In our Gospel today, Jesus expressed his disappointment with the Pharisees after he attempted to forgive the sins of the paralyzed man and was branded doing a blasphemous act. He said, “Why do you have such wicked thoughts in your hearts?” Think about it. Like…

Worth It – Rudolf Horst, SVD

Matthew 10:37-42; 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time Let us be honest, it’s not easy to follow Jesus, but it’s worth it. That sums up the message Jesus is trying to communicate to us in today’s Gospel passage – and it’s a message that we constantly need to be reminded of, especially when age and illness…

Coming in Second – Fr Harold Parilla

Matthew 10:37-42, 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time If we read the Gospel more closely, we will certainly find it intriguing, if not outright disturbing. Jesus says that our parents and our children should only come second in our hierarchy of loves. They are secondary; God comes first. If parents and children come first, we become…

What if God were one of us – Mark Aloysius, SJ

Matthew 10:37-42, 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time I. There was once a monastery which was dying as it only had five monks left. Despairing over the eventual demise of his monastery, the Abbot went to see a wise Rabbi who lived nearby for advice. The Rabbi welcomed the Abbot in his little hut. The two…

Thaw – Arnel Aquino, SJ

Matthew 10:37-42, 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time You’ve heard of parents who would love for a son or daughter to enter the priesthood or to be a nun. My parents were like that. Funny how you remember some things like they happened only yesterday, but it was one rainy night when Dad and I sat…

Guest – Jett Villarin, SJ

Matthew 10:37-42, 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time God’s word to us today is simple and clear: we are to be hospitable to those God sends to our life. From the old French, the word “hospitable” itself means “to receive a guest”, to play host to someone who comes to us from outside. It is of…

Contradictions – John Foley, SJ

Matthew 10:37-42, 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time Had you ever noticed the number of flat-out contradictions that can be found in the New Testament? • The last shall be first. • Lose your life if you want to find it. • Take the lowest seat if you want to have the highest. • The Son…

Father – Rudolf Horst, SVD

Matthew 10:26-33, 12th Sunday In Ordinary Time Twice in today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of his “heavenly Father. Whenever we make the sign of the cross, we begin with “in the name of the Father,” so that we don’t find anything strange with calling God our Father. But the Fatherhood of God has come under fire…