THROUGH UNTRUE Fr. Rolando V. dela Rosa, O.P. One of the first prayers I learned as a child was the Prayer to the Guardian Angel. For a long time, I thought that I had my own angel who kept me away from temptations, sickness, and accidents. In moments when fear and anxieties overwhelmed me, I found...
THROUGH UNTRUE Fr. Rolando Dela Rosa “If your hand causes you to sin, cut if off... And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off... And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out” (Mark 9:43-48). If you think these passages are about self-mutilation, you are mistaken. It is Jesus's way of...
THROUGH UNTRUE Fr. Rolando Dela Rosa The apostles must have been shocked when Jesus told them that if they wanted to enter heaven or become great, they had to become like children (Mark 9:30-37). Most of us today might also find that difficult to understand. Children can be very demanding, greedy,...
THROUGH UNTRUE Fr Rolando Dela Rosa In today's Gospel reading, Jesus asks the apostles: "Who do you say that I am?" Peter replies: "You are the Christ" (Mark 8:29-30). He gives the right answer, but does not understand what it means. Peter thinks that the Christ will come in majesty and glory,...
THROUGH UNTRUE Fr. Rolando V. dela Rosa, O.P. Recently, there have been a spate of televised exposés and senate hearings regarding the misuse of Philhealth and COVID-19 funds. Media journalists add fuel to these exposés, through tidbits of information that steer us in certain directions...
THROUGH UNTRUE Fr. Rolando V. dela Rosa, O.P. We are creatures of desire. From the moment we wake up until we sleep, we are consumed with desire. Desire fuels our enthusiasm to live, dream, and achieve. Sadly, the flipside of desire is disappointment because we don't always get what we want. To...
THROUGH UNTRUE Fr. Rolando V. dela Rosa, O.P. Â Starting today, the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly will be celebrated every fourth Sunday of July. Pope Francis initiated this celebration for us to treasure and appreciate "the spiritual and human wealth" which our elders have handed...
Through Untrue Fr. Rolando V. dela Rosa, O.P. Contemporary society puts a very high premium on work, not rest. For countless people in offices, factories, assembly lines, and construction projects, work has become their sole purpose for living. But it is a too-narrow purpose. It locks us into a...
THROUGH UNTRUE Fr. Rolando V. dela Rosa, O.P. We see many signs that say: "Jesus Saves!" In a way, Jesus never saved. He did not save money or wealth, nor did he keep a pile of souvenirs that will remind people of Him. Jesus did not even have a place He could call His own. He told those who wanted...
THROUGH UNTRUE Fr. Rolando V. dela Rosa, O.P. George Burns once remarked that happiness is having a large, caring, close-knit family, residing far away from him. One wife said something similar when asked how she and her husband stayed married for 50 years: "We seldom see each other." Like them,...
THROUGH UNTRUE Fr. Rolando V. dela Rosa, O.P. Pope Francis once said that we are destroying the world with our “throwaway mentality." This is the kind of thinking that considers everything as disposable. We discard anything that has outlived its usefulness, and replace it with something bigger,...
THROUGH UNTRUE Fr. Rolando V. dela Rosa, O.P. In our Gospel reading today, Jesus likens himself to the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep (John 10:11-18). We cannot question Jesus's valuation of Himself as a self-sacrificing shepherd. That is indeed who He is. But should we view...
