John 6:51-58, Solemnity of Corpus Christi Last April 13, we celebrated Holy Thursday, that day and moment when Jesus transformed for the first time bread and wine into his body and blood. But since Holy Thursday is part of the Holy Week, we focused more on the Passion and death of the Lord. And…
Category: Season
Alone Together – Johnny Go, SJ
John 6:51-58, Solemnity of the most Holy Body and Blood of Christ/Corpus Christi Sunday Sherry Turkle has a book called “Alone Together” The title is telling enough, but if there’s any doubt about what it means, the subtitle says it all: “Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other.” We know what…
We Become What We Eat – Willy Samson, SJ
John 6:51-58, Solemnity of Corpus Christi Considering the increasing number of people acquiring diabetes, heart problem and arthritis, we can easily contribute these illnesses to the quality of food we eat. Thus, many people are now conscious of the food they eat. They want to live a longer life, but a healthy one. Their motto:…
For-Whom – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 6:51-58, Solemnity of Corpus Christi When I was in 2nd-year college here, I lived with 12 other guys who were thinking of entering the Jesuits, like I was. We stayed in Arvisu House along Katipunan, and Fr Jess Lucas was our director. One Saturday, at the end of a two-day silent recollection, we gathered…
I am Never Alone – Mark Aloysius, SJ
John 20:19-23, Pentecost How can we begin to talk about the invisible, intangible, impalpable Spirit of God? Perhaps we should begin with a very common expression we might have heard or even used ourselves: I still feel her spirit with me. We use those words to express that inexplicable but very real experience of feeling,…
Please Activate – Rudolf Horst, SVD
John 20:19-23 As a teenager, I thought Christmas was the climax of all feasts we celebrate. Easter? Okay, Easter-egg hunt gave it a special flavor. But Pentecost? It came and went without anything special to make it exciting. I guess that I was not alone with this feeling. Somehow many, like me, missed the…
Surprise! – Ben Sim, SJ
John 20:19-23, Pentecost In a small town near a South American border, there once lived a young man by the name of Angelo. One day he crossed the border and came back with a donkey carrying sacks of sand. And when the custom inspector asked what he was smuggling in the sand, Angelo quickly replied, “Nothing.” So all the sand was poured…
Patronus – Mark Lopez, SJ
John 20:19-23, Pentecost Today’s recommended reading in relation to Pentecost will not be your usual Church encyclical, or Bible verse, or a quote from a famous Pope or theologian. Today’s recommended reading is none other than the book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (book three of JK Rowling’s seven-part literary phenomenon.) For the…
Spirited – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 20:19-23, Pentecost Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth. Lord, send your Spirit now more than ever, during this time when the earth stands to be disfigured by our indifference, by our willful disregard for the ancient rhythms of replenishment and renewal of our land. Renew the earth that…
Between Two Miracles – Mark Aloysius, SJ
Luke 1:39-56, Feast of the Visitation Among all the Marian feasts, today is the most ordinary, the least miraculous. There are no angels intruding into quiet spaces; no bodies ascending from earth to heaven. What we see is just two women coming to meet, to talk, to share their joy. Yet, the church chooses to…
Communion – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 28:16-20, Solemnity of the Ascension When I was in graduate studies, I lived with an American Jesuit who was a former US Navy soldier. He had been deployed to missions in Syria and Afghanistan, and was even briefly missioned in Subic. While fixing some lunch one day, he asked, “So, Arnel, how’s the interfaith dialogue with…
Can Worship be Mixed with Doubt? – Francis Alvarez, SJ
Matthew 28:16-20, Solemnity of the Ascension In our Gospel today, the eleven disciples climb a mountain to meet the risen Jesus, and we read, “When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted” (Matthew 28:17). There was Jesus, flesh and blood proof of the resurrection, showing them that his promises had been fulfilled and that…
One Lost Sheep 