REFLECTIONS TODAY There is this biblical idea that the Word of God is so powerful that whenever it is uttered, it creates and transforms. Isaiah declares that God’s Word will not return to himself empty-handed (Is 55:11). It has to do something after it has been issued from the Lord’s mouth....
MEDIUM RARE As the 2025 elections loom, and it was time for our group to meet again, a group proudly apolitical, we sat down in a Chinese restaurant for lunch. As it turned out, out of the six present, two will be actively involved in the elections, in different degrees and for different reasons....
REFLECTIONS TODAY To divide and conquer was the motto of the Roman Empire when it came to expanding their territories. They would sow discord among the inhabitants of the land they were eyeing to subjugate in order to weaken their strength and capabilities. When people are united, they do not...
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...
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...
