WORD ALIVE In the gospel of today, the people say “Your mother and brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you.” Did he have brothers and sisters? According to Jewish language, brothers and sisters also mean cousins. But what the Lord means is those who do the will of God. It was...
WORD ALIVE Some of you might have seen the movie “Survive,” based on a book entitled “Last Survivors of the Andes Mountains.” The true story which happened on Oct. 13, 1972 relates about how 16 out of 45 total passengers, mostly rugby players from Uruguay,...
WORD ALIVE A pious woman was bringing a bunch of novena-booklets to church and met the parish priest. Surprised, the pastor said, “You have so many prayer books. Who is your favorite saint?” The lady replied, “Of course, I like the Blessed Virgin Mary best! But I also like her sister.”...
WORD ALIVE Once an archbishop was discussing Christianity with a learned Japanese journalist. The writer told the archbishop, "I can understand God the Father and God the Son, but I can never understand the significance of the ‘Honorable Bird’ (Holy Spirit)." * * * ...
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 There’s a poignant story told when a destructive earthquake hit Turkey some years ago. After the temblor, rescue teams worked frantically, hoping that some people buried under the rubbles might still be alive. Eight days after the killer quake, miraculously a woman was found alive. So...
WORD ALIVE Once a student of a Catholic college was being initiated into a Catholic organization. He was asked: “What are the most important requirements of our Christian faith?” Without batting an eyelash, he replied, “Going to mass on Sunday and receiving Holy Communion.” Well, these are,...
WORD ALIVE Tomorrow is Good Shepherd Sunday. It is a day in the Catholic Church worldwide to focus attention on the religious vocations of priests, nuns and lay brothers, and to pray for more vocations. The need for priests and religious cannot be stressed enough. We need spiritual shepherds...
WORD ALIVE In today’s gospel, we read about the third appearance of the Risen Lord to two disciples at Emmaus. The manifestations served to confirm and bolster the sagging faith of his close followers. They had doubts and misgivings if he was really the expected Messiah. “Did he really rise...
WORD ALIVE An SVD missionary in one of the Pacific Islands related how surprised he was one day to be visited in his parish by a woman carrying a handful of sand. “Do you know what this is?” she asked. “It looks like sand,” replied the missionary. “What does this all mean?” “Well,...
WORD ALIVE In the vigil service of Holy Saturday tonight, Christians await the Lord as He comes forth from the tomb. The paschal candle symbolizes the Risen Christ dispelling the darkness of sin and death. This is dramatically enacted as the church, with all the lights switched off, is enveloped in...
WORD ALIVE There is a true story about a Russian general, the governor of a province in one of the former Soviet Republics. Concerned with the outbreak of a rash of petty crimes, he issued an edict that anyone caught and convicted would receive one hundred lashes. As fate would have it, the first...
