REFLECTIONS TODAY Today’s Feast of the Lord’s Baptism is celebrated not because Jesus needed to be cleansed. Rather, Jesus allowed himself to be deemed sinful as an act of solidarity with sinful humanity. St. Paul is even more shocking when he says that for our sake God made Jesus who knew no...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Matthew 2:1-12 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Today’s Gospel records the first sign (Greek semeion) or miracle that Jesus performed in the Gospel of John. Jesus intervenes in a potential crisis by turning water into wine, thus saving the host from embarrassment. But this becomes an opportunity for Jesus’ glory to be...
REFLECTIONS TODAY What sort of preaching moves us or interests us, or bores us, or repels us? Normally, we are selective in what we want to hear. We only want pleasant, interesting, uplifting, and even flattering words. But there are times when we are caught listening to disturbing, irritating,...
What do you say to someone whom you knew was talking behind your back and saying something uncharitable about you? “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (v 46) says Nathanael when he is told by his companions that they have found the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. But this uncharitable comment...
REFLECTIONS TODAY One of the striking things about our Lord’s life is that he was always on the move, walking with people, accompanying them, visiting homes of the sick, and so on. Here, the first disciples who are following Jesus ask him where he is staying, and he invites them, “Come, and you...
REFLECTIONS TODAY What’s in a name? Today is the feast of the naming of Jesus. The name “Jesus” (Hebrew Yeshua) means “the Lord saves.” A name, therefore, that fully expresses who Jesus is or what he was born for. He was sent to a world full of sin, and evil, thus a world needing...
REFLECTIONS TODAY When Pope Francis visited the Philippines in 2015, we all did our share in preparing for his coming. For such a momentous occasion we needed to prepare ourselves for his visit—not just externally but also internally. And so it was that our hearts were aflame when he came as we...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Lk 2:16-21 The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds....
REFLECTIONS TODAY Today’s Gospel is commonly known as the Prologue of John. It is a semi-poetic piece of literature that tells the story of the coming of the Logos or the Word into the world. It contains the famous line, “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us,” which best...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus was known to be “Jesus of Nazareth” during the course of his public ministry. He grew up in Nazareth. After his family’s sojourn in Egypt, Joseph decided to settle down in this obscure village in Galilee. Matthew describes the event as the fulfillment of what the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In today’s Gospel, the character of Simeon is presented. Simeon’s prayer, known as the Nunc Dimittis (“Now you dismiss”), expresses his joy in seeing the Lord’s salvation in the infant Jesus. But as Jesus is a sign that will contradicted, people must make their choice,...
