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…
Category: Season: Easter
Miracles – Peter Pojol, SJ
John 14:21-26, Monday of the 5th Week of Eastertide Our readings today invite us to reflect on God’s miracles, and to clarify certain misconceptions about them. Miracles require faith; they do not “produce” or compel faith. Sometimes, we wait for miracles to convince us to believe, to strengthen our weak faith in the goodness of…
Three Places – Salty de la Rama, SJ
John 14:1-6, Friday of the 4th Week of Eastertide The first readings on this fourth week of Easter describe the missionary movement of the Apostles towards the gentiles, as well as towards places outside Jerusalem. It seems to fit into the pattern in the public life of Jesus who was constantly on the move –…
Allow – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 13:16-20, Thursday of the 4th week of Eastertide According to neuro-psychiatrists, we produce at least 50,000 thoughts a day. 70-80% of those are negative. So, we’re all negative thinkers by default. But behavioral psychologists say it’s our mind’s way of constantly alerting us to danger, so we can self-protect. We’re not often conscious of…
A New Normal – Jun Viray, SJ
John 6:60-69, Saturday of the 3rd Week of Eastertide Nagsimula na tayo sa Extended Community Quarantine (ECQ) dito sa NCR at sa iba pang lugar hanggang May 15. Marami na ang naghahangad na matapos na ang ECQ at makabalik sa ‘normal.’ However, people are coming to terms with the reality that there NO return to…
Gate – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 10:1-10; 4th Sunday of Easter These days of quarantine, we find ourselves fenced in. Fences are supposed to protect us. We are accustomed to fences. Some fences are topped with barbed wire or broken glass, some even electrified. Long before COVID19, we were already gating our communities, insulating and quarantining ourselves from the grime…
The Voice – Fr Harold Parilla
John 10:1-10, 4th Sunday of Easter The word “voice” is constantly repeated in the Gospel Reading for today. The sheep hear the voice of the shepherd; they know his voice, but the voice of strangers they do not recognize. When I think of the word “voice”, I am reminded of one of the features of…
Were Not Our Hearts Burning Within Us? – Nemy Que, SJ
Luke 24:13-35, 3rd Sunday of Easter Today’s Gospel reading belongs to the Easter stories that abound soon after the resurrection of Jesus. That same day Jesus rose from the dead, two disciples were making their way to a village named Emmaus. They were talking about the events that took place during the past days. Like…
Emmaus and the Church in Distress – Fr Harold Parilla
Luke 24:13-35, 3rd Sunday of Easter It is now the third Sunday of Easter but the atmosphere is strangely quiet. The streets are not as crowded and the malls are closed. It feels like the Holy Week of my childhood except that the churches too are inaccessible. Donagh O’Shea said that the Emmaus story featured…
The Gift of Emmaus – Johnny Go, SJ
Luke 24:13-35, 3rd Sunday of Easter “We had hoped….” We can hear the disappointment in the two disciples’ voices as they spoke to the stranger on the road. “We had hoped…” In other words, they no longer did. What’s striking, however, is that these two had already heard of the empty tomb found not only by the…
How Do We Return To Jerusalem Changed? – Francis Alvarez, SJ
Our Gospel today, Luke 24:13-35, begins with two disciples of Jesus journeying to Emmaus. They must have been dejected. Wasn’t Jesus supposed to redeem Israel? How could one then make sense of his gruesome death on the cross? They might have been distraught. If they had left everything to follow Jesus, what was going to…
Our Emmaus:Walks, Meals and Runs – Pat Nogoy, SJ
Luke 24:13-35, 3rd Sunday of Easter Some walks can be hard and long. Especially for those whose hopes and lives have been shattered to pieces. Robbed of life’s coherence, two disciples can only return and make their way home. Home is a familiar and comfortable place where they can somehow piece some fragments together into…
One Lost Sheep 