REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today One of the epithets of St. Paul is Apostle to the Gentiles, owing to the fact that through his ministry and writings, he greatly contributed to the spread of Christianity in the whole Roman Empire. He was a missionary par excellence. The instruction of the Risen...
Editorial Jose Rizal was born with a head too large for his body that his mother, Teodora Alonso, could have died giving birth to him. In Rizal in Saga, a biography that has been reissued early this month just in time for Rizal Day, his biographer, National Artist Nick Joaquin, wrote of Doña...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today Matthew begins his infancy narratives with “the book of the genealogy” of Jesus Christ. Biblical genealogies serve to identify the tribe to which an Israelite belongs at a time when being a member of a tribe or clan is important to survival. Genealogies are...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today Today’s feast refers to another “temple”—a basilica. More than a beautiful building, the feast points to the significance of the Lateran Basilica as the cathedral of Rome and the seat of the Pope. It is here that the Holy Father presides as shepherd and...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today Revenge seems sweet when people reject or harm us. We feel we are entitled because we expect to be treated well but we are not. The disciples must have been really hurt and offended by the unwelcoming attitude of the Samaritans. It is not easy to be looked down...
REFLECTIONS TODAY 31453 The point of the metaphors in this Gospel passage is to avoid hypocrisy, to avoid pretending to help others when you yourself need help. As the first metaphor has it, to be a hypocrite is to be blind, to fail to see that “charity begins at home.” And many, if not, most...
REFLECTIONS TODAY 29837 Fishing is one of those types of livelihood where you really are at the mercy of God. For there are times when it seems the fish are just nowhere in sight. And so we imagine fishermen really praying as they go out into the sea that God bless them with a catch. The disciples...
I often refrain from joining the conversation when they’re ranting about social media. I mean it’s so, like, 2009, over 10 years ago. I must have first joined Facebook in the mid-2000s and, by 2010, I might have had enough time trying to decide exactly what I felt about Mark Zuckerberg’s...
REFLECTIONS TODAY REFLECT In the ancient world, salt was very important: the Greeks thought it contained something almost divine. The Romans even sometimes paid their soldiers with salt. Jesus reminds his audience how valuable they are in society. He calls his hearers to be like salt. They are to...
REFLECTIONS TODAY REFLECT The commandment to love one’s neighbor is from Lv 19:18. It is in keeping with the law and prophets, both of which emphasize right relationships with people as well as with God. Jesus calls us to balance these two great commandments. The person who loves God but does not...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Pharisees and Herodians are flattering and courteous but they mean to trap Jesus. They are not interested in the truth. If Jesus affirms Roman taxation, he risks criticism from his followers who regard the Romans as oppressors. If he rejects it, he will face charges of...
REFLECTIONS TODAY REFLECT Today’s Gospel has several scenes: the cursing of a fig tree by Jesus, the cleansing of the temple, and on the withering of the fig tree. Within the scene of the withered fig tree, Jesus explains the importance of praying with faith. Any prayer will be granted if one...
