REFLECTIONS TODAY “Hate” in the biblical sense often means preference. Thus, “I loved Jacob but hated Esau” (Rom 9:13) means that the Lord, in his sovereign prerogative, chooses the younger Jacob over Esau. So, in the Gospel, Jesus is telling the crowd to prefer another person or group to...
REFLECTIONS TODAY St. John of the Cross says that in the evening of our life we will be judged on love. And love is expressed in the service we do to our brothers and sisters—the least, the last, and the lost; in other words, the needy. Why this particular group? This is because Jesus has taken...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The paradoxical power of the Beatitudes comes from Jesus who suffered and died but has been exalted in glory. The satisfaction or happiness coming from the conventional standards of the world are “paltry” compared to the boundless joy that God prepares for those who live the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In the cultural world of Jesus, it was customary that invitation to feasts should be reciprocated: “I give you, you give me back.” God does not expect the same kind of attitude. God is the superabundant, generous being who is compassionate to all. Besides, how can human...
PAGBABAGO (Part I) Dr. Florangel Rosario-Braid Let me share highlights of the recent “conversation” via Zoom on the above topic, where Dr. Crispin Maslog, professor of journalism, author of some 30 or more books on communication and related issues on public affairs, and I were invited to...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today A Latin axiom states: Ubi maior, minor cessat—“Where the greater is, the lesser ceases.” In Jesus’ rhetoric, man is of greater importance than the ox. Also, in the presence of a more important person, the less important one gives way. Jesus’ authority...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today Luke notes that Jesus chooses the Twelve (Apostles) after spending a night in prayer to God. Pope Benedict XVI comments that the calling of the disciples is a prayer event; it is as if they were begotten in prayer, in intimacy with the Father. The calling of the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY At a certain point in life, one asks this question: “Will I be saved?” This is not just in reference to life’s dangers, problems, temptations, or even the possibility of losing one’s very own life, but to the fact—or dread—of perpetual extinction. For as Vatican...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today The simile of mustard seed and yeast shows that the Kingdom of God starts small and quiet. Nonetheless, it has creative power that propels growth and renews all of life. Jesus’ ministry was contained in the small region of Palestine, among men and women of no...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The synagogue leader is designated by the community to gather the people for prayer, for the reading of the Torah and the Prophets, and for tackling community concerns. As keeper of the sacred scrolls, he is a prominent person who is familiar with the Law’s rules and precepts,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY MARK 10:46-52 As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” And many...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today In this digital world, it is so easy to share reports of disasters, complete with photos. Life can seem so cheap in case of killings, and so precarious in case of accidents. In the Gospel, some people tell Jesus that Pilate had some Galilean pilgrims massacred...
