Matthew 22:15-21, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time In today’s Gospel reading, our Lord utters his famous line: “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and repay to God what belongs to God.” At first glance, the Lord seems to be proposing a division between our usual lives and our so-called spiritual lives. Sort of like Sunday Christianity, when people act…
Category: Season
Which One? – John Foley, SJ
Matthew 22:15-21, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time There seem to be two realms, God’s and Caesar’s. Jesus says so in Sunday’s Gospel. “Give to God the things that are God’s and to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” But can’t we live in both worlds? We want to, don’t we? Jesus made his statement to…
Wider and Wider Circles – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 22:1-14, 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time When I was a novice, I was assigned to Culion island, in Palawan, for a month. I visited patients in the hospital everyday. And there was always one or two patients who would go down memory lane and tell me lovely stories about Jesuits who had been assigned…
The Big Feast – Willy Samson, SJ
Matthew 22:1-14, 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time The Gospel today describes God as generous, loving and caring. He is a laboring God who thinks not of himself, but of us. Then he even prepares a big banquet for us – to feed us with plenty and nourish us with his heavenly feast! When we think…
Feast or Fast – John Foley, SJ
Matthew 22:1-14, 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Do you remember the movie Babette’s Feast? Maybe you saw it or at least have heard of it. The Gospel parable reminds us of that movie. Babette, an impoverished cook, made her way into a small town where the religion of the area made people hard and cold…
Don’t Shoot the Messenger – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 21:33-43, 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time What I find very disturbing in today’s parable is that the landowner wasn’t even asking for his land back. He just wanted his share of the harvest from a vineyard that he himself planted and grew. So, the truth of the matter is, he didn’t have to be…
Expiry Date – Johnny Go, SJ
Matthew 21:33-43, 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time In his monologue at a Saturday Night Live (SNL) episode, comedian Aziz Ansari warns against stereotyping the people who had voted for Trump–except for that group of people who, as soon as Trump won, told themselves: “Hey, we don’t have to pretend like we’re not racist anymore! Whoo!” “If you’re one…
A Loving Presence – Mark Lopez, SJ
Saturday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time, Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary My Dad, for a very long time, did not believe in the role of Mary in our faith as Christians. Although he was a devout Catholic, a daily mass-goer, and a very dedicated minister of the Eucharist, he had questions….
One > 99 – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 21:28-32, 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time On my first week as a newly ordained priest, a man stopped by Sacred Heart School in Cebu where I was assigned, and asked if he could confess. So, I sat with this very earnest, very gentle man and listened. “Father,” he started, “there’s one thing in the…
Deeds – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 21:28-32, 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Pictures are cheap nowadays. You see this when photographers just click away with abandon. It is no longer enough to just have one photo; there has to be a “safety” one as well. This inflation is easily explained by the law of supply and demand. Lots of supply…
Do you sometimes feel that God is unfair? – Francis Alvarez, SJ
Matthew 10:1-16, 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time A landowner goes out at dawn and hires laborers to work in his vineyard. He does the same at 9:00 am, 12:00 noon, 3:00 pm, and 5:00 pm. That evening, those who started working at 5:00 pm are given a full day’s wage. Those who started working at…
Just Imagine – John Foley, SJ
Matthew 10:1-16, 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time I taught religion in grade school for a short semester when I was about 22. By accident I discovered a great trick of teaching—and I needed one very much. You see, the class was in complete chaos each time I arrived at mid-day. Chaos. If I started telling…
One Lost Sheep 