John 6:41-51, 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time My maternal grandfather was an inveterate sabungero. Unlike our lola who went to mass daily, he went to church only on Christmas. The rest of the Sundays, “nagsisimba siya sa sabungan,” his own children joked. Kung sa bagay. In every sabungan (cockfight) was a man called “Kristo.” He…
Category: Evangelist
The Itch We Cannot Scratch…
John 6:24-35, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time My dear friends, have you ever had an itch that you just can’t seem to scratch? Do you know what it feels like? It can be quite frustrating. No matter how hard or how often I may drag my fingernails across that spot on my body, where I…
Hunger in a Time of Abundance – Johnny Go, SJ
John 6:24-35, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time Our Gospel today is literally good news. Our Lord makes us an important promise: “Whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” Jesus is not talking about physical hunger or physical thirst, obviously. Rather, he is referring to an existential hunger…
Signs – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 6:24-35, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time I saw something pleasantly strange in the first reading. “The Lord said to Moses,” the reading said, “’I will now rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion. In that way, I will test the Israelites…
Hunger – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 6:24-35, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time “Sir, give us this bread always.” That’s what anyone would ask when told that another sort of manna, come down from heaven, would satisfy our hunger for good. For good. For always. For good sounds too good to be true. What is for always, what never goes away…
The Call – John Foley, SJ
John 6:1-15, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time If today has been “one of those days” for you, meaning stressful and tiring, maybe you could let the readings for Sunday bring you home for a while. Look especially at the Second Reading, taken from the letter to the Ephesians. It calls us to • live with…
Gather the Crumbs – Johnny Go, SJ
John 6:1-15, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time What a nightmare scenario: Five loaves, two fish–and five thousand hungry people! But trust the Lord to turn every event organizer’s worst nightmare into an unforgettable affair! What struck me most this time around, however, was not what happens during the miracle, but after it: As the people sit on the…
Dying – Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP
Mark 6:30-34, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” I am currently having my clinical pastoral education at one of the hospitals in Metro Manila. It has been one month since I started my pastoral visits. Since then, I have encountered…
Good Shepherds and Bad – John Foley, SJ
Mark 6:30-34, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time A Jesuit friend of mine was an actual shepherd in his youth. He had spent plenty of time out in the fields, so I asked him what taking care of sheep was like. My motive was about our readings today, all of which have references to shepherds. He…
Thanks – John Foley, SJ
Mark 6:7-13, 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time I was out for a drive in the beautiful weather. The city had its usual non-country and somewhat ruined appearance, and I was merely doing shopping chores. Suddenly, unexpectedly, simple gratitude came upon me. Not earth-shaking, not the result of complicated reasoning, just a modest, gentle joy. I…
Shake the Dust off your Feet – Br Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP
Mark 6:7-13, 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them. (Mk. 6:11) Our Gospel today speaks of the mission of the Twelve. They are sent to perform the threefold task: to exorcise the evil spirits,…
Cramping the Lord’s Style – Johnny Go, SJ
Mark 6:1-6, 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Do we ever cramp the Lord’s style? I suspect that’s what happens in the scene we have in the Gospel today. Jesus goes back to his hometown and preaches at the village synagogue. Not an easy thing to do since he’s surrounded by people he’s grown up with,…
One Lost Sheep 