Mark 8:14-21B, Tuesday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time Don’t you find it interesting that into that ark Yahweh asked Noah to build, walked opposites. Not just opposite genders, mind you, but also opposites in purity and impurity. “Of every clean animal, take seven pairs; and of the unclean animals, one pair. Likewise, every clean…
Category: Season: Ordinary Time
Passport – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 5:17-37, Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:20) If heaven were a country, entering it will take more than just fulfilling all visa requirements. Apparently, the scribes and Pharisees did not get this…
All About Freedom – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 5:17:37, Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Imagine a former slave of Pharaoh saying: “We’ve recently been freed from eight generations of slave life, thanks to Moses and his awesome God! Before them, we had no idea what freedom felt like. Well, now we’re free! No more slave drivers, whips, or clubs. We have a…
Off-Center – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 4:12-23, Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Jesus begins his ministry off-center. Not in his hometown Nazareth nor in the center of religion, Jerusalem. His proclamation of the good news is preceded by bad news. John’s arrest prompts him to move northward to Galilee, “west of the Jordan, the District of the Gentiles”, to a…
Emmaüs- Jett Villarin, SJ
14th January 2023 I was looking for Emmaus on the modern map. There is Abu Gosh, there is Latrun. We don’t know where Emmaus is but it seems to be west of Jerusalem. Our story opens on Sunday, after the heavy events of Good Friday. The two disciples are sad. They are leaving Jerusalem, walking…
Mystery – Harvey Mateo, SJ
13 January 2023 Having spent a few years working in hospitals, I have experienced dealing with death in various ways: making sense of it when it came unexpectedly, withholding heroic measures when it was imminent, and being frustrated and angry when it could have been avoided, as in the case of those without access to…
Fixer and Feeder – Arnel Aquino, SJ
12th January 2023 For a long time, like many religious men, most of my own difficulties in my personal life sprang from my hunger for fatherly love. Many religious men have “lost father syndrome.” Our fathers were either physically or emotionally distant. My dad was a strange combination. He was mostly emotionally distant. But when…
Thankful – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 17:11-19; 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time What we consider leprosy or Hansen’s disease today might not exactly be the same disease the Bible calls “leprosy.” In Scriptures, “leprosy” was really a catch-all term for disease that made skin dry, crusty, scaly, and well, unsightly. Back then, water was scarce and unfiltered from dirty wells….
Found – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 15:1-32, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time There are three fractions in the Gospel today. One out of 99 sheep is lost (one percent); one out of ten coins is missing (ten percent); and one of two sons goes rogue (50%). How much lost, how much found are you? I think no one here in…
Sorry, not Sorry – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 15:1-32, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time When we think of mercy, awa, we often think of the object of mercy as being the poor, the oppressed, the helpless, the api. Which is okay because they do need mercy. But strangely enough, notice that the parables of mercy are not about the poor or the…
Lest We Forget – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 6:27-38, 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time With dear Fr Bill Kreutz as our guardian, I was on formerly Santolan Road, now C-5, with a bunch of Ateneans, in what would be known the world over as the People Power Revolution. But I was there by mistake. Mom and dad were okay that I joined…
Blessings – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 6:17, 20-26; 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time It is not only gasoline that is expensive these days. One of the most expensive things is trust. It is expensive because it is in such short supply. This is the age of mistrust. It does not help that one of the cheapest things these days are…
One Lost Sheep 