“THE Lord gives sight to the blind; the Lord raises up those who were bowed down. The Lord loves the just; the Lord protects strangers.” – Psalm 146:8-9 Archbishop Gomez bore some good news to us in the seminary at the end of our fall semester during the Mass of the Solemnity of Immaculate Conception. …
THERE are many things happening in the world and in our lives today that trouble us. They are the constant killings of innocent people in many countries, the never-ending violence in cities, the unstoppable corruption in governments, and the division and differences among people in politics and religion. They are the verbal attacks and anger…
I WILL always remember Fr. Anthony Lee’s homily last week in the seminary when our community celebrated a Thanksgiving Mass. To start his homily he shared a “culture shock” he had during his first years of immigrating to America from Korea. It was about opening gifts on Christmas Day. He was stunned to see how…
“HE is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in Him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible…” (Colossians 1:15-16) I tell my students in homiletics class that preaching is about proclaiming Jesus Christ, the King of our lives. I tell them to…
“BUT for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its rays of healing.” — (Malachi 3:19-20) Many of us are deeply concerned about the things that are going on in the world today. Our generation has seen enormous violence, war, and poverty and destructions of societies. Our generation has not…
ON February 15, 2015, ISIS shocked the whole Christian world by releasing a video of the execution of 21 Coptic Christian migrant workers. Men in black uniform stood behind the 21 men in orange jumpsuits kneeling on a beach in Libya. Without mercy, they gruesomely beheaded each one of them. A subtitle of the video…
HOW marvelous are the words of the Book of Wisdom for this Sunday’s Liturgy: “For you love all things that are and loath nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned. And how could a thing remain unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called…
“ In our personal practices of prayer, do we show a spirit of humility? Do we come to Mass having an attitude that we’re in church not only to ask for favors from God, but, first and foremost, to show our gratitude to him that everything that we have comes from him and everything that…
A PRIEST flew thousands of miles to spend a month with the community of Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India. He was in a stage of discernment for God’s further purpose in his priestly life. On the first morning that he met Mother Teresa, the pious nun asked him, “What do you want me to pray…
“AS they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan.” — (Luke 17:16) I tell my students to examine the way they preach. Is it a result of…
“WE are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.” — (Luke 7:10) I heard the above words from someone, not word for word, but in a similar sense. I was at a dinner sitting with a priest-friend from college seminary, who was then the secretary of a cardinal, when the host…
“ONCE our wealth reaches a certain point we need to begin to give some of it away—not because others need it but because our own health and happiness will begin to deteriorate if we hoard all of those possessions to ourselves.” — Fr. Ron Rolheiser, In Exile, Center for Liturgy, St. Louis University This quote from…
ONE night my brother Randy, my brother-in-law Ed, and I were sitting around the dining table at our family’s home, talking about work, travels, and other personal plans. Our discussion took a deep turn when I recounted a conversation I had a few years ago with a friend. Here’s how that conversation went: “Rodel,” my…
BUT Moses implored the Lord, his God saying, “Why, O Lord, should your wrath blaze against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with so strong a hand? Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,…
I REMEMBER standing next to her at the Luneta Park in Manila when Pope John Paul II beatified Lorenzo Ruiz of Manila and his companions. I was a young college student then at San Carlos Seminary, contemplating becoming a priest. She was a diminutive nun wearing a sari and sandals, exuding holiness, kindness, compassion, and…
IN these turbulent times when the world is replete with hatred, violence, and killings, Paramount Pictures and MGM’s remake of the classic film, “Ben-Hur,” makes a relevant point: forgiveness heals and liberates. A fictional movie, it’s a story about a Jewish nobleman, Judah Ben-Hur, and his adopted Roman brother, Messala, whose happy family life ends…
MY favorite time of the day is the early morning after I arise from bed and take a shower. I would quietly sit by the window of my living room, take some deep breaths, and feel God’s presence. I would do this exercise for 20 to 30 minutes and then proceed to the prayer hall…
IN my 8th year of priesthood, I was asked to be part of a dating game. Not the dating game that we see today on television like The Bachelor or the dating service called Christian Singles, but the dating game we used to have with several pastors who were looking for associates. Back then, that was the way to get another parishassignment: date some…
I ASKED a Filipino man who was participating in a ‘Traslacion’ procession of the Black Nazarene in the streets of Manila during my last trip to the Philippines why he has a deep devotion to the image. He responded, “Jesus Nazareno heard my prayers, Father.” “What were your prayers to him?” I queried on. “I…
Summer is a time of reunions with families, friends, and former classmates. In these gatherings, the conversations are not just about memories of years long past but also about the present and the future. “So how many kids do you have? Are they all done with college? How’s your business? How’s your practice? “When and…
I’M still savoring the outpouring of love and support that my family and friends showed me when I celebrated my silver jubilee as a priest last July 9. I felt so special that day as I saw the huge number of people that came to the event— about 600 people including the 17 fellow priests…
MY sister and I sat in my family house’s backyard porch last night to enjoy a home-cooked meal and a nice cool evening breeze. As we ate, we chatted about my recent 25th Anniversary celebration, the relatives and friends and other guests that came to the affair, and the family reunions that followed. After dinner,…
Twenty-five years of service in the priesthood! It’s a significant number of years in ministry. How fast the years went by! It seemed like yesterday when I was just a young seminarian at St. Martha’s Church directing a summer camp. They were not only 25 years of service to God and his people in the…
“ We need more priests in this critical time when we need to imbue the world with the values of the Gospel.” “THE harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” — Luke 10: 2 It was a busy month for us…
TWO young brothers in their 20s joined me during one of my pilgrimages to the Holy Land at the encouragement of their parents. Being young, they had many questions about their Catholic faith. And so, after supper during that pilgrimage, we would still spend long hours together engaging in deep thoughts about life and faith….
“THUS says the Lord: I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and petition…” Zechariah 12:10 Have you ever prayed hard to God, asking him to listen to your petition? Have you asked people to pray for you? I’m sure that you made these…
NO one is ever late for God’s mercy and forgiveness. This contention is what Pope Francis has always reflected on in all his actions and words, especially in promulgating 2016 as a Year of Mercy. This Sunday’s Gospel powerfully illustrates God’s mercy in the story of a woman who came to wipe Jesus’ feet with…
“WE worry a great deal about the problem of church and state. Now, what about church and God? Sometimes there seems to be a greater separation between the church and God than between church and state.” — Abraham Joshua Heschel A lot of arguments have risen in the Philippines regarding the separation of church and…
JESUS, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me…This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For…
“WHY do we hear all this stuff about the Trinity?” The question burst from a man in the audience of a talk of mine. “Why can’t we just be good to each other and go to church? I answered, “Because.” “Because the Triune God is not some kind of brainy speculation by scholars. It is…
