Luke 14: 1-14, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Humble people are teachable, which means they know how to listen. They believe there’s always something to still learn from the wisdom and experiences of others. The proud, however, listen mainly to themselves and to people who agree with them. That’s why proud people in authority rarely…
Category: Season: Ordinary Time
Distance – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 14:2, 7-14, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Inverse-distance-squared. This pretty much describes the interaction between two objects in our physical world. This holds for gravity, electricity, and can even be extended to romantic intimacy. The strength of the interaction between objects depends on the reciprocal of the square of the distance between them. In…
Going Through – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 13:22-30; 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time In our theology classes in Loyola School of Theology, some of my brightest students are those doing their MA while also teaching theology at Ateneo. I really admire them and their work. I can only imagine how difficult it is to teach theology to college people these days,…
Scapegoat – Ron Rolheiser, OMI
Luke 12:49-53, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time GK Chesterton wrote the following words almost seventy years ago. One of the things that, for him, gave the church credibility is the fact that, invariably, it is surrounded by a halo of hatred! And there shone on them in that dark hour a light that has never…
Life’s Key Question – Ron Rolheiser, OMI
Luke 12:32-48, 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Several years ago, at retreat, an elderly monk shared with me about the ups and downs of 50 years of monastic life. At the end of this he said to me: “Give me some hints on how I should prepare to die! What should I do to make…
Ready – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 12:32-48; 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Two dear friends of mine were recently diagnosed with cancer. So, I went to Quiapo Church last Monday. One of three reasons I attend mass there is to bring before God desperate petitions people ask me to help them pray for, like this one. I certainly could’ve just…
The Poor Rich Fool – Vids Gornez, SJ
Luke 12:13-21, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time In our Gospel reading, we are presented with a parable and in it the picture of a man consumed not by heavenly treasures but worldly ones. This man busies himself gathering treasures and harvests in his barn more than enough to meet his present needs and he is…
Rich – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 12:13-21, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time In the eyes of the world, one becomes rich by getting. In the eyes of God, one gets rich by giving. The question then of our life’s richness depends on whose eye matters to us more: the world’s or God’s? If God does not matter to us, we…
Invest in Things that Last – Rev Fr Harold Parilla
Luke 12:13-21, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time If you are a pessimist, you will find the First Reading quite affirming. It says, “Vanity of vanities, all things are vanity”. Vanity here does not mean preoccupation for external glamour. It refers to the fleeting quality of everything under the sun. It is to say there is…
Dare You Ask For The Spirit? – Francis Alvarez, SJ
“Ask and you will receive,” Jesus promises us in our Gospel today. But let’s be real and go deeper: How many times have you prayed for a particular favor only to be disappointed? What do you do when you ask but do not receive? The way I used to make sense of the times when…
Love Language – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 10:38-42, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time If you haven’t read Gary Chapman’s book, I’m sure you’ve nonetheless heard of his “5 love languages.” Chapman is an 81-year-old pastor and spiritual director. After long years of shepherding his flock and counselling married couples, he concluded that from the many ways we express love, we could distill five chief ways of what he calls, “languages,” of loving,namely: (1) giving gifts, (2) spending quality time, (3) saying words of…
Peace – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 10:1-9; 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Boomerang is supposed to be a crazy pose of you that loops your motion on camera. It’s meant to be a fun alternative to the usual static photographs we post on social media. Boomerang is also what happens, Jesus tells us today, when you offer peace to an unpeaceable person….
One Lost Sheep 