WORD ALIVE Once a pious woman who was bringing a bunch of novena-booklets to church met the parish priest. He asked, “Who is your favorite saint?” “Of course, I like the Blessed Virgin Mary best! But I also like her sister!” “Her sister? Who is she?” “Of...
WORD ALIVE Christ’s rising from death is the Father’s seal of approval on his life and work. As St. Paul puts it, “If Christ has not risen, in vain is our preaching and your believing in it” (Read 1 Cor 15,13). In other words, faith in God, our prayers, our striving to do good would all be...
WORD ALIVE A parish priest happened to meet one of his parishioners in a mall and said, “Johnny, I haven't seen you in church for a long time. What happened?” “Father, I've stopped going to church. There are a lot of hypocrites there.” Whereupon, the priest smiled and said:...
WORD ALIVE In the Sunday gospel (Lk 6, 27-38), Jesus teaches about forgiveness which is very difficult to practice. He declares, “Love your enemies and pray for your persecutors.” How in the world can you “love” someone who has abused your daughter or injured your brother, or a husband...
WORD ALIVE A story is told about a Franciscan, a Jesuit, and an SVD who paid homage to the Christ Child in Bethlehem. The Franciscan was interested in the manger to serve as reminder of the poverty and simplicity their Order professed. The Jesuit was more interested to have Jesus enrolled at their...
WORD ALIVE We have reached the end of the Church calendar and commemorated All Souls Day. Today, we reflect on the end of the world. Many people have been asking, “Father, is the world about to end?” I replied. “It’s because of the plagues, the earthquakes, famines, global warming,...
WORD ALIVE Jesus Christ in the Sunday gospel praises the poor widow who drops two small copper coins, equivalent to a few centavos, in the temple treasury, unlike the others who “put in their surplus money” (Mk 12,43). Although very poor, she put “all she had to live on.” The first...
WORD ALIVE “How hard it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God” (Mk 10,25). The words of Jesus sounds shocking and threatening for the rich. What does the Lord mean? Does he mean...
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 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 This Sunday is the feast of Ascension. We commemorate the end of the Lord's public ministry in this world. It does not mean that he is no longer with us. The evangelist Matthew writes Jesus’ declaration: “I am with you always until the end of the world.” Jesus has gone up to...
WORD ALIVE One morning, a husband who had a quarrel with his wife went to church to attend Mass. When he came home, he looked for his wife and, finding her in the kitchen, embraced and lifted her up. Startled, the wife yelled, “Why did you do that? Did the priest tell you to be romantic?” The...
