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…
Category: Season: Ordinary Time
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….
Accept and Choose – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 9:51-62, 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time There’s one priest from the probinsya who, whenever he arrives in Manila, he takes the airport shuttle to LRT 1, gets off at UN Avenue, and walks to Pius XII Center. Many diocesan priests from outside Manila usually get a room there when they visit. I don’t think…
Meal – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 9:11b-17, Solemnity of Corpus Christi Let’s call them, “Tita Em” and “Fr. Sea.” Tita Em was the mom of Fr. Sea. She was very well loved and remembered not just by her own family, but also by her extended family—that is, Fr. Sea’s brothers in his religious community. When Tita Em was still alive,…
Judgment – Fr Harold Parilla
Luke 6:39-45; 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time It is not possible to live in this world without making judgments. Judging is a function of the intellect as it determines whether or not an idea is compatible with another. Whenever we choose, we judge. A mother, for instance, leaves the house, goes to the grocery store,…
”Love” thy Enemy – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 6:27-38, Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time In the time of Jesus, the slap most commonly done was a backhanded slap. A backhanded slap was what masters gave slaves, or commanders gave soldiers, or centurions gave Jews. A backhanded slap, therefore, was not only a punishment, but also a reminder of status: “I am master, you’re…
Zero = Love – Fr Harold Parilla
Luke 6:27-38, Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time One morning I was driving back to the seminary in Cagayan de Oro from an early morning parish mass. In one intersection, I made the mistake of stopping at the rightmost lane while waiting for the green light to turn on. The driver of the taxi right behind…
When Is It Enough? – Francis Alvarez, SJ
There are many ways to read the Word of God. A dangerous way would be to read Scripture literally. “From the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic,” Jesus says in our Gospel today. Tell that to someone being robbed. A more responsible way to read God’s word would be to…
Language of Love – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Mark 8:22-26, Wednesday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time Jesus knew the law very well. He knew it since he was 12. So, he was well aware that he was committing a triple whammy of impurities that day. Whammy #1: he talked to a blind man, whom the law considered unclean. Then, he touched him…
One Lost Sheep 