WORD ALIVE There’s a story about a Jewish rabbi (teacher) who was in prison. The rabbi used his small daily ration of water not for drinking, but for religious ritual of hand washing before eating. Because of his determination to obey the rules of ritual cleanliness, the poor rabbi almost died of...
WORD ALIVE These past Sundays, we continue to reflect on Jesus’ teaching of his Body and Blood as spiritual food and drink. The Jews had been very much impressed by Jesus’ words and actions. They had gone to great lengths to seek him out wherever he went as related in today’s 21st...
WORD ALIVE An elderly woman, accompanied by a young doctor, was being wheeled into a room in preparation for surgery. Visibly nervous, she blurted out, “Doctor, please be gentle with me. This is my first time to be operated on.” The youthful surgeon glanced at her and said, “Don’t worry,...
WORD ALIVE A lawyer- friend once related to me that their father inherited the weak heart of their grandfather. The three doctors he consulted warned him that when he would reach 50, his children had better prepare for his early demise. Father and mother went regularly to pray to the Holy Family...
WORD ALIVE “I am the bread of life,” Jesus tells us in this 18th Sunday gospel. The Lord was concerned for our basic needs. He showed this when he miraculously multiplied the meager bread and fishes for the hungry crowd (Gospel of last Sunday). But he also...
WORD ALIVE This Sunday we read about Jesus' miracle of the multiplication of bread and fish. Someone quipped that the miracle happened because the Jews, known for being frugal like the Ilocanos and Boholanos, could bring out their hidden "baons" (food provisions). Because of the little...
WORD ALIVE Miss Melissa Ramos is an ambitious, go-getting woman whose main preoccupation is academic achievement. She has two undergraduate degrees, two MA degrees and a Ph.D. As she pursues her second Ph.D., the stress and...
WORD ALIVE Some time ago I celebrated the culminating mass of a two-day Life in the Spirit Seminar (LSS) of the Loved Flock charismatic community at the DPWH chapel, Port Area in Manila. What I considered remarkable was that the organizers were lay people and professionals who took time out to...
WORD ALIVE There’s a saying that goes, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” In today’s gospel, this saying applies to Jesus when he returned to his hometown and taught in the synagogue. His town mates could not accept him because he was too familiar to them. “How can he claim to be a...
WORD ALIVE Once heavy rains pounded and flooded a town. As the water kept rising, inundating the houses, a man known for his piety climbed up to the second floor of his house. A rescuer on a banca (row boat) came near and yelled, “Come, I came to save you.” But the man said, “Don’t worry, I...
WORD ALIVE A woman was seated next to a priest in an airplane during a storm. The plane was bouncing up and down. The terrified woman said to the man of the cloth: “Can’t you do something about this awful storm?” The priest looked at her and said: “Lady, I’m in sales, not...
WORD ALIVE A young man who was known for his impatience once prayed, “Lord, give me patience...and I want it now!” His impatience must really be that bad. * * * Seeing so much evil around, the slow progress in economic recovery, problems about money, conflicts at home or in offices, we...
