John 4:5-42, Third Sunday of Lent In Jesus’ time, the village well wasn’t just a water source. It was the “singles’ bar” back in the day, if you will. Among many, shepherds, travelling merchants, and unmarried daughters stopped by the well to water their flock, get a drink, or fetch water for the house…and also,…
Category: Evangelist
More! – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 4:1-11, First Sunday of Lent If we still believe that Genesis 3 is a literal story of moment number one of sin number one, how do we account for the following difficulties, like – did snakes really talk in the beginning of time? Why was the snake malicious if God created everything good? If…
Starts with P – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 4:1-11; First Sunday of Lent In physics, we explain attraction by assigning certain qualities to objects that make them move toward each other. Usually these properties are binary or polar in nature. Thus in electricity, plus attracts minus, and vice versa. In magnetism, north and south. In the nucleus of an atom, protons that…
Soggy Cereal – Arnel Aquino, SJ
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:…
Opposites – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Mark 8:14-21B, Tuesday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time Don’t you find it interesting that into that ark Yahweh asked Noah to build, walked opposites. Not just opposite genders, mind you, but also opposites in purity and impurity. “Of every clean animal, take seven pairs; and of the unclean animals, one pair. Likewise, every clean…
Passport – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 5:17-37, Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:20) If heaven were a country, entering it will take more than just fulfilling all visa requirements. Apparently, the scribes and Pharisees did not get this…
All About Freedom – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 5:17:37, Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Imagine a former slave of Pharaoh saying: “We’ve recently been freed from eight generations of slave life, thanks to Moses and his awesome God! Before them, we had no idea what freedom felt like. Well, now we’re free! No more slave drivers, whips, or clubs. We have a…
Off-Center – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 4:12-23, Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Jesus begins his ministry off-center. Not in his hometown Nazareth nor in the center of religion, Jerusalem. His proclamation of the good news is preceded by bad news. John’s arrest prompts him to move northward to Galilee, “west of the Jordan, the District of the Gentiles”, to a…
John and Maria – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 3:1-12; Second Sunday of Advent The other night, I was astounded to see Maria Ressa appear on the Late Show with StephenColbert. Then, yesterday morning, she appeared on NPR news with veteran journalist JudyWoodruff. And last night, she was on MSNBC news! “How to Stand Up to a Dictator”, the bookshe had written, was…
Awake – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 24:37-44, First Sunday of Advent “Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”…
Look to the Saints – Bert Boholst, SJ
Matthew 5:1-12, Solemnity of All Saints Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. We remember those who followed Christ, despite the trials that came in their lives. The Church declares them as Saints because of their full acceptance of God’s will despite their sufferings while living on earth. We look to them as examples…
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….
One Lost Sheep 