John 2:13-22, Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica If the pope is the bishop of Rome, then, he must have an official cathedral, right? Well, he does. And it’s not St Peter’s Basilica, like I thought for a long time. It’s St John Lateran Basilica. It was the first-ever Christian basilica, so it’s…
Category: Season: Special Occasions
True Cross – Arnel Aquino, SJ
John 3:13-17; Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross In the 4th century, Constantine built a basilica in Jerusalem. According to tradition, the church encompassed the location where Jesus was crucified and where he was buried. The day after the consecration, the relics of the “true cross” were shown and venerated. Helena was supposed…
Stay Close – Lester Maramara, SJ
John 20:1-2, 11-18; Feast of St. Mary Magdalene Today, as we celebrate today the feast of St. Mary Magdalene, I would like to talk not just about the moment she recognized the Lord, nor about the title we’ve given her—“apostle to the apostles”. I would like us to consider the deeper story of how her…
The True Food – Noel Bava, SJ
Luke 9:11-17, Solemnity of the Feast of Corpus Christi What’s the first thing that you reach out for when you wake up in the morning? How many times do you open your cellphones to check your messages or the latest on social media apps? How much longer do you stay in the rest room with…
Who is Ignatius? – Danny Huang, SJ
Feast of St Ignatius de Loyola, 31st July 2024 There is an interesting article on the website of the British Province, Thinking Faith, which is entitled “My own personal Ignatius.” Ten persons–Jesuits, lay people, religious women–share who St. Ignatius is for them, what it is about Ignatius that inspires or touches them most. A former…
Gone But Not Absent – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Mark 16:15-20, Feast of the Ascencion of the Lord Mom’s parents didn’t want her to move out when she and dad got married. Their house was large enough to fit us all, especially since mom’s siblings were migrating soon. And dad’s family was poor. I grew up in a very emotionally complex house, especially because…
Dependent – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Mark 10:-13-16; Feast of the Santo Niño As soon as dad turned 80, which was seven years ago, I’ve been flying home to Davao first thing every January to visit him and my family. Thank you, God, that dad is still with us. He’s relatively healthy. His blood chemistry is better than mine, kuya’s or…
Look to the Saints – Bert Boholst, SJ
Matthew 5:1-12, Solemnity of All Saints Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. We remember those who followed Christ, despite the trials that came in their lives. The Church declares them as Saints because of their full acceptance of God’s will despite their sufferings while living on earth. We look to them as examples…
Advocacy Calling – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 1:1-16; 18-23, The Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary “How are things in Myanmar?” I asked one of our Myanmarese scholastics over supper the other night. “Oh, Father, the military are still going from village to village, just destroying things.” He was looking at pictures on Facebook the other day, and a village looked…
Incarnate Forever – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Mark 1:7-11, Baptism of Our Lord One thing I love to do is to shock my students by reminding them of things about Jesus I’m sure they’ve forgotten. For example, a few days after I uploaded my lecture-video on the Resurrection, a student commented: “OMG! I’ve forgotten that Jesus resurrected as both soul and body.”…
Closeness to Mary – Jomari Manzano, SJ
Luke 1:26-38, Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary A majority of art representations we have of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) is of the vulnerable and frail stereotype of a woman taking care of the child Jesus. But let us not forget that she can also be viewed as a woman of incredible strength and…
Unfinished – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 13:54-58, Feast of St Ignatius Loyola Last day. So I’m down the wire, cramming again. There are still piles of diplomas and letters to sign. I had wanted to tie up loose ends and do a smooth turnover to Fr Bobby tomorrow. But they never really end, the loose ends and the handing over,…
One Lost Sheep 