Matthew 20:1-16, Wednesday of 20th Week in Ordinary Time One Jesuit priest told us, “If you want to be sad, start comparing.” I agree. For when we start comparing ourselves with others, we discover that others are always better than us. It is here where envy breeds. When envy finds a home in us, we…
Tag: homily
Hail Mary – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 1:39-56, Solemnity of the Assumption The feast of the Immaculate Conception and the feast of the Assumption are like book-end celebrations of our Blessed Mother’s life. Mary was born without original sin, the first bookend, and she remained sinless until death, so she was assumed straightaway into heaven, the second bookend, which is today’s feast….
Baptism by Fire – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 12:49-53b, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time We have a bunch of superstitious beliefs our elders have passed on to us regarding baptism, don’t we? “Kumare, pabinyag n’yo agad ang bata para hindi pasukan ng masamang espiritu. Sige ka, magkakasakit ‘yan parati.” “Kumare, pabinyag n’yo agad ang bata. Sige kayo, pag namatay ‘yang walang binyag,…
Margin of Error – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 12:35-40, 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time When Michael Siaron’s remains were being entombed in a poor man’s cemetery last week, his mother screamed and sobbed. Over 2 weeks ago, we saw on the newspaper a picture reminiscent of the Pietà. In the middle of the street, an awfully young woman cradled a dead 29-yr-old…
Vigilant – Jett Villarin, SJ
Luke 12:35-40, 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time I have a theory that Filipino drivers are one of the most alert drivers in the world (with the Italians coming at a close second maybe). That’s because they never know what’s coming at them. The unpredictability sharpens their senses. When I was learning to drive, my father…
The Problem of Suffering – Mark Lopez, SJ
Luke 11:1-13, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time When he was about 12 years old, one of my nephews told me that he found it problematic to believe in God. “Because if God did exist, then why is there so much suffering in the world?” he said. The question got me unsettled, of course, especially coming…
Lord, Teach Us to Pray – Weyms Sanchez, SJ
Luke 11:1-13, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time We all have had our share of struggles with prayer. Perhaps for many among us, we have often wondered if God really listens to us, if He actually responds to our prayers, or if anything really happens in prayer beyond the silence. Many who have attempted to take…
What do you dare ask from God? – Francis Alvarez, SJ
Luke 11:1-13, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time At Mass, right before we pray the Our Father, the presider encourages us with the words, “At the Savior’s command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say….” And indeed, the Our Father is a daring prayer. That we dare to address God implies that we dare…
God’s Love, First – Arnel Aquino SJ
Luke 10:38-42, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time My elder brother and I did very well in the Ateneo de Davao while we were growing up. We tried to land in the honor roll every quarter, and join elocution & spelling contests where we thought we excelled. As each school-year came to a close, kuya and I, in…
The Most Important Thing – Noel Y. Bava SJ
Luke 10:38-42 16th Sunday of the Ordinary Time Every time I read or hear this particular Gospel passage, I cringe in protest. There seems to be a monumental injustice happening and Jesus decides to side with the cause of the oppression rather than with the oppressed. Here we hear him chiding Martha who is obviously…
God’s Promise – Mark Lopez, SJ
Luke 10:1-9, 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Towards the end of World War II, my grandparents had to flee from Silay, their hometown on the island of Negros in the Philippines. During the first years of the occupation, Lolo Cardo (my grandfather) was among the few whom the Japanese trusted enough to allow him to…
Less Stuff, More People – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 10:1-9, 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Fr Hernando Maceda was one of the most cheerful Jesuits I’ve ever known. He was a small guy, not much taller than I, but he had the biggest smile that I felt went from his face down to his good heart and back! Fr Maceda was from a wealthy…
One Lost Sheep 