John 14:1-12; Fifth Sunday of Easter Ever heard the word, “cathoholic”? I chuckled the first time I heard it a few years ago. I kinda suspected what it meant before I looked it up. Cathoholic: a Catholic who’s drunk with Roman-Catholic beliefs, traditions, rituals, morals, but misses out on the Christic values, like option and…
Category: Season: Easter
Scars – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 20:19-31, Divine Mercy Sunday On my left wrist is a scar shaped like a J, what’s left of four stitches from when I was in third grade. I was carving soap for a project when I mindlessly slammed my arm down a carving tool. It cut my wrist open, bad enough for dad to…
Agapasme – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 21:1-19; 3rd Sunday of Easter You’ve probably heard this interpretation of John’s Gospel before. But it’s just so rich that it bears repetition. John’s Gospel was written in Greek, and with Greek sensibilities. The Greeks had four words for love: eros, storge, philia, & agápe, two of which appear in today’s Gospel. Eros is…
True Transfiguration – Ben Nebres, SJ
John 3:31-36, Thursday in the 2nd Week if Eastertide These months the concern and attention of many of us have been on the coming national elections and the candidacy of Ferdinand Marcos, Jr brings back memories of the 14 years of martial law. I was deeply involved in the events of those years, as Dean…
Field – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 15:26-27; 16:12-15, Pentecost Sunday He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit…” Action-at-a-distance is a mysterious thing. In science, we explain how objects act on each other at a distance by postulating a medium that contains and connects them, a field which undulates and carries the action of one on…
Our True Vine – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 15:1-8; 5th Sunday of Easter Sisters & brothers, how do we know if we, the branches, are still connected to Jesus, the true vine? Can we tell by some sign that we remain in him and he in us? John’s Gospel is bursting with metaphors of Jesus. Jesus has seven “I am” sayings in…
Signed – Jett Villarin, SJ
Acts 5:34-42; John 6:1-15, Friday in the 2nd Week of Eastertide Our faith begins with a sign. It is a sign of pain and sorrow, a sign of suffering. But it is also a sign of God inside that pain, a sign of love present in our suffering. It is the sign of the cross….
Haunted – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 24:35-48, 3rd Sunday of Easter You know what, sisters and brothers, there still are times I wonder if, once in a while, dad and mom ever felt that I abandoned them when I left home for religious life. Especially those times when my family surely needed an extra pair of hands; like when my…
Labyrinth – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 5:1-6, Divine Mercy Sunday When you go through the garden labyrinth at the Mirador Jesuit Villa in Baguio, you will eventually end in the center. However, while walking and winding your way on this path, you will find yourself sometimes moving farther away from the center. You will not worry; you won’t even think…
Follow Me – Bien Cruz, SJ
John 21:15-19, Friday of the 7th Week of Eastertide Today’s Gospel reading is one of the most well-loved accounts of Jesus and Peter. This is the encounter where Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?,” three times. Many homilies and commentaries have already shared with us how Jesus’ repeated questioning reflected Peter’s inability to confidently…
There is Hope – Karel San Juan, SJ
John 14:15-21, 6th Sunday of Easter Two months have passed since our lockdown in Zamboanga and other places in the country. And starting yesterday, we shifted to modified community quarantines. Many of us are very relieved. Still, we are asked to be very cautious, very careful, otherwise we will be forced again to go on…
Joy, Kindness and Love – Fr Harold Parilla
John 17:1-11a, 6th Sunday of Easter In a sense, the readings for this Sunday anticipate the approaching Feast of Pentecost. The readings alert us to the presence of the Holy Spirit among us and to the signs of that presence. Is the Spirit of God truly with us? What are the manifestations of the presence…
One Lost Sheep 