John 2:13-22, Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica If the pope is the bishop of Rome, then, he must have an official cathedral, right? Well, he does. And it’s not St Peter’s Basilica, like I thought for a long time. It’s St John Lateran Basilica. It was the first-ever Christian basilica, so it’s…
Category: Evangelist
Appreciate the Appreciation – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 17:11-19; 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time The leper couldn’t have thanked Jesus the same day he was healed. Jesus asked the lepers to show themselves to the priest, remember? He wanted them to still follow due process. For ostracized lepers to be reintegrated into society, the clean bill of health had to be “official.”…
Chasm – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 16:19-31; 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time In today’s parable, the rich man has no name. Right there and then we sense from his namelessness that he might be someone less than a person, someone heartless, without remorse. He is not known to God. The poor man has a name, even while he was full…
Dishonest Wealth – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 16:10-13; 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time I often struggle with this parable especially because of the line, “make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth.” It sounds like we’re being encouraged to make ill-gotten wealth our “friends,” doesn’t it? These days, we have a perfect example of that in the contractors and so-called public servants,…
True Cross – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 3:13-17; Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross In the 4th century, Constantine built a basilica in Jerusalem. According to tradition, the church encompassed the location where Jesus was crucified and where he was buried. The day after the consecration, the relics of the “true cross” were shown and venerated. Helena was supposed…
Honorables – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 14:1, 7-14, 22nd Sunday In Ordinary Time Imagine, sisters and brothers, a papal mass where, in the 10 rows nearest the altar, sit the leading, most influential cardinals from all over the world. After the sign of the cross, the first thing the pope says is: “May I respectfully ask all the cardinals and…
Last – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 13:22-30, 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time The crisis over flood control is very much in our news these days. A flood happens when there is much coming in and very little going out. We will not dwell on why so little is going out except to say that the outlets are constricted because of…
Ready or Not – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 12:32-48, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time We, Christians, believe that all of us are blessed. All of us are entrusted with gifts: talents, material wealth/comfort, a kind heart, good health, opportunities, etc. We also believe, as Christians, however, that those gifts are not solely for our sake. They have a for-whom. For the youth…
Stay Close – Lester Maramara, SJ
John 20:1-2, 11-18; Feast of St. Mary Magdalene Today, as we celebrate today the feast of St. Mary Magdalene, I would like to talk not just about the moment she recognized the Lord, nor about the title we’ve given her—“apostle to the apostles”. I would like us to consider the deeper story of how her…
Kaek-ekan – Noel Bava, SJ
Luke 12:13-21, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time I’ve always been curious about the word “kaek-ekan.” You know—when someone says, “Puro ka na lang kaek-ekan!” It’s a term we often use for things that feel pointless, shallow, over-the-top, or just plain unnecessary. It could be someone being too dramatic, or someone who’s trying too hard to…
Simp, Cringe, Woke: The Underrated Heroism of St. Ignatius – Noel Bava, SJ
Luke 14:25-33, Solemnity of St Ignatius of Loyola The Homo Sapiens Superior Today, we are going to discuss six words that Gen Zers, Millennials and Gen Alpha share in the blogosphere. The first one is Sigma—the lone wolf. Someone who doesn’t need approval. He does what he wants and walks his own path. He is…
Maamo o Palaban – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 10:38-42, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time My happy barkada of four religious and three lay people had dinner two months ago. Over dessert, our host started naming friends he considered mabait. “Itong si x, mabait na tao, ano? Parang si y, ang bait din.” We all agreed wit his list. We even threw in…
One Lost Sheep 