On bringing the light of Jesus to all people
“ Share your bread with the hungry; shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own. Then your light…
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When poor people become our strength
I SPENT three weeks after Christmas traveling to the Philippines and China. In the Philippines, I joined my high school seminary classmates in the celebration of our 40th year anniversary…
A New Year’s Day message
Another year has gone by and another year is before us. As we get older we feel the rapidness of life and its brevity. We become more contemplative about life’s…
A Christmas message
A BLESSED and Merry Christmas and New Year to all of you! For my column this Christmas, I’d like to quote Bishop Robert Baron in one of his Advent reflections….
Simbang Gabi masses: Our testimony of faith
THERE were a lot of people at the LA Cathedral on Thursday, December 15. The rain did not stop them, mostly our kababayans, from coming to the opening Mass of…
To be prophets of hope
“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…
Our longing for peace
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…
A profound look at gifts and blessings
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…
Proclaiming the kingship of Jesus Christ
“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…”…
Praying for the nation
“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…
Take courage!
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…
God’s heart revealed
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…
The prayer of the humble
“ 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…
The treasure of persistent faith
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…
The power of full engagement
“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…
The world in dire need of douloi — servant-leaders
“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…
Giving is good for the soul
“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…
On being faithful stewards of our dreams
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…
Mercy instead of hate, life instead of death
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…
Celebrating the sainthood of Mother Teresa
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…
The healing and liberating power of forgiveness
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…
We belong to Him
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,…
To bloom where we are planted
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…
Devotion to the Black Nazarene now in Baldwin Park, CA
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…
As we grow older
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…
The excessiveness of God’s mercy
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…
On choosing the better part
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…
The nearness and concreteness of love
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…
When God pursues
“ 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…
The radical way of Jesus
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…