REFLECTIONS TODAY Some beginners in prayer life are afraid to start because they do not know what to say. They do not know what to speak to God or how to approach him. A simple mnemonic device is often taught to the incipient: ACTS, which stands for Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Who does not recognize Martha and Mary as the personifications of the active and the contemplative life, respectively? In saying that “Mary has chosen the better part” (v 42), the Lord does not mean to trivialize the importance of working for the Kingdom of God. He only wishes...
REFLECTIONS TODAY I was doing a walking pilgrimage when I met an elderly lady. We had the same goal and destination, since she was also doing the same pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. When she learned that I am a priest, she poured out her difficulty in living the faith. She narrated how she...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Apostles’ experience of the new power they possess after being commissioned by Jesus definitely must have filled them with amazement. The powers described are simply beyond the ordinary: treading on serpents and scorpions, vanquishing demons or unclean spirits. It is all too...
REFLECTIONS TODAY There are many places in the world, especially where Catholics are the majority, where the clergy and the religious are held in high esteem. People treat Church people with extraordinary kindness. This comes with our association with Jesus. Nevertheless, there is also always...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Whenever we profess the Nicene Creed and say, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible…” we are reminded that God created not only the material world, but also the spiritual world, that is, the invisible, the...
Photo from Pixabay In preparation for the rollout of the “First 1000 Days” (F1KD) conditional cash grant in 2025, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is calling on Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) household-beneficiaries with pregnant members or children up to two...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Spiritual masters often repeat that humility is the mother of all virtues. It is only when we recognize our true diminutive stature before God that we realize our dependence on him. When we perceive ourselves as we are, as human beings made out of dust, we come to terms of our own...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Ambition is a “master” that stunts the growth and maturity of his “slaves.” Jesus, the real Master, does not lose his patience and shows his disciples the “antidote” to the venom of ambition. He takes a “paradigmatic” personage to bring home the point: He calls a...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In the Gospel pericope, we are presented with a cluster of teachings of Jesus addressed to his disciples and the believing community at large. The sayings are all consistent with the mandate given by Jesus earlier, that his followers become the “last of all and the servant of...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The second prediction of the passion starts with a seeming moment of triumph: all are amazed at Jesus’ every action, especially at his power to expel demons and bring health and well-being. But Jesus, as if pouring cold water upon the enthusiasm of his disciples, takes this...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Luke takes pains to recount that the important moments in Jesus’ life are preceded by prayer. In this episode, before he sets his face towards Jerusalem (9:51), Jesus talks to his Father in earnest, after which he makes some kind of evaluation of his ministry and asks his...
