John 9:1-41, 4th Sunday of Lent The healing stories in the Gospel take on new meaning in times like this! Our Lord’s healing of the blind man in today’s Gospel story offers us a much-needed message. This healing miracle, unlike others, did not happen instantaneously. While the other healings of our Lord were achieved with…
Social Distancing – Ernald Andal SJ
John 4:5-42, 3rd Sunday of Lent Today’s homily is “live”. Please click on the link to access: JESUS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING (Sundays for Skeptics)
Fù bùguò sāndài (富不过三代) – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 17:1-9, 2nd Sunday of Lent A few years ago, two friends of mine took the whole family to a series of workshops about family businesses. That was new to me: families going on workshops about running the business. “It’s very important these days, Fr Arnel,” my friend said. “Because only twelve percent of family…
I Want Some More – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 4:1-11; 1st Sunday of Lent If we still think that the story of Adam and Eve literally and historically happened, then we run into many problems. First, if the whole human race came from only two parents, do we presume that their children and their grandchildren had physical relations with each other to eventually…
How Can You Be Complete? – Francis Alvarez, SJ
“Be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). In theory, this can be affirming to perfectionists. It can validate their desire to get everything right – Jesus himself commanded this, and so we must pursue it, right? But in practice, nothing can be more frustrating than seeing your efforts always falling short….
Up Close and Personal – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 5:13-16, 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time Kuya and I were painfuly, frustratingly shy when we were young. We couldn’t be asked to go to a store to buy something, or to ride a jeep and sit with strangers, or to help out at mom’s botica because we’d have to talk to customers. One Sunday,…
Kapangyarihan – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Mark 6:7-13, Thursday in the 4th Week of Ordinary Time A few years ago, a good friend of mine — let’s call him Mang Manny — he told me a disturbing story. At his workplace, he witnessed a priest shouting at a co-employee, really skinning him alive. I don’t remember the reason why the priest…
Faith Heals – Nemy Que, SJ
Mark 5:21-43, Tuesday in the 4th Week of Ordinary Time The stories of Gospel reading for today are miracle stories. They are also faith stories. Jairus, a synagogue official, asks Jesus to lay his hands on her daughter, who was at the point of death, so that she may get well and live. On their…
Family Priest – Mark Lopez, SJ
Luke 2:22-40, Feast of the Lord’s Presentation Today’s feast reconnects us to our Jewish ancestors in the faith, through their tradition of offering their first-born son to be the priest of the family. How beautiful that would be for us today – a priest in every family. No, not necessarily the ordained kind. But the…
Being Senior – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 2:22-40, The Presentation of Our Lord A very dear uncle in the US emailed me the other day. He asked if I had some reflections about the Feast of the Presentation. He wanted to share it with his church group. Alas, I told him, I myself always had difficulty writing a homily on the Presentation. Because other than what we just read from Luke this evening, the Gospels make no…
How Do We Read Scripture – Francis Alvarez, SJ
Pope Francis invites us to dedicate the third Sunday in Ordinary Time to the Word of God. Accompanied by today’s Gospel, let us try to see how we can study Scripture in a way that also leads us to pray about it and celebrate it. How do we read Scripture? We dive in and look…
And Yet – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 4:12-23; 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time When we were younger Jesuits, we were often asked what it felt to be “called” by God. I turned 54 this month and have been a Jesuit for 30 years; the question has barely come up. Were I ever to be asked again what it feels to be…
One Lost Sheep 