John 20:19-31, Divine Mercy Sunday The Gospel reading today reminds me of an incident that took place some 23 years ago. One morning, I got a call from my sister who used to work at a school about half an hour drive from New Bilibid Prison, where I served as a volunteer chaplain. She said…
Category: Season
The Anatomy of Healing – Pat Nogoy, SJ
John 20:19-31, Divine Mercy Sunday Today’s readings and Gospel are about peace. Peace is not easy to come by nowadays. I am thinking of families that are suffering from hard misunderstanding, deep feuds, or have, in time, drifted far apart from each other. In my mind are couples who had relied on a relatively stable…
Despite Closed Hearts – Ro Atilano, SJ
John 20:19-31, Divine Mercy Sunday How is your heart doing? Each of us is called by God to have a heart that is always open and available for others, a heart that is magnanimous enough to love God’s people. However, there are times when the door of this heart is closed. And there could be…
The Truth of Easter – Mon Bautista, SJ
Easter Sunday 2020 My dear friends – in the world of art (particularly, in the world of paintings), art experts would tell us that there are a lot of forgeries – a lot of imitations, mere copies of original, priceless masterpieces. Thus, in the international art market today, we can find so many fake masterpieces…
Our Best Prayers – Pat Nogoy, SJ
Easter Sunday 2020 The first Easter morning is the least consoling. It is welcomed with loss—those who woke up early in the morning to anoint their beloved dead with honest tears and deep grief. This loss was made worse by sudden fear—the dead is no longer there, the tomb empty. Loss and fear were compounded…
Bearers of Light and Hope – Nemy Que, SJ
Easter Sunday 2020 __________ The sun shines on everyone! It shines on both the good and the bad, on the rich and the poor, on the happy and the desolate. It shines even on those who try to hide from its light. And it shines most brightly on those who reflect its light. The sun…
Should We Celebrate Easter? – Madz Tumbali, SJ
Easter Sunday 2020 I remember a story by then Jesuit Conference for East Asia and Oceania President Fr Adolfo Nicolas about his home province, Japan, told when I was a novice. Hiroshima, 8:15 in the morning of 6 August 1945, an American B-29 Bomber dropped “Little Boy” on the city. The bombing immediately wiped out…
Christ’s Consolation & Challenge at a Time of COVID – Robbie Paraan, SJ
Easter Vigil 2020, Loyola House of Studies Matthew in our Gospel tonight seems to suggest a sort of Ignatian repetition. He communicates the same message first through the angel of the Lord, and then through the person of the Risen Christ. Like a good son of Ignatius, I chose to focus on this repetitio and…
Stories and Dreams – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 28:1-10, Easter Vigil 2020 A toxic wind has been blowing into our world for several months now. This poison has kept us shuttered in our homes and hospitals. Death is in the air. We are afraid. We are anxious about the uncertainty of it all. We can only keep vigil and wait for this…
Truth Speaks to Power – Nemy Que, SJ
John 18:1-19;42, Good Friday 2020 Darkness. Silence. Growing up in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Good Friday meant you wouldn’t hear blaring radios, people talking rowdily, and since this was in the seventies, no booming, muffler-less motorbikes. You could, however, if you tried hard enough, hear light footsteps that led you to the only place that mattered…
Our Cross – Willy Samson, SJ
Good Friday 2020 “Sorrow can lead us into one of four lands. The barren land in which we try to escape from it. The broken land in which we sink under it. The bitter land in which we resent it. Or the better land in which we bear it and become a blessing to others.”…
To Serve, Love and Count not the Cost – Nemy Que, SJ
John 13:1-15, Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper In normal times, the celebration of Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) would have churches all over the country decorating the sanctuary of the church as early as the night before, arranging flowers and assembling an altar of repose, where the blessed sacrament will be placed for a night…
One Lost Sheep 