“DO I want to be fully seen by Jesus? Do I want to be known by him?” Henry Nouwen asks in his book, Discernment. These questions are intriguing because they imply a great amount of vulnerability, nakedness, and humility on our part as human beings. Indeed, if we honestly look at ourselves, do we really…
ONE day I asked a friend, “Can you live an anonymous life?” He said, “Yes, I can.” A part of me did not believe him because I know that everyone is tainted with pride and self-glory. Most people want to be on the top, to be popular, and to be recognized. We live in a…
(For my article this week, I’m presenting a weekday homily I gave to our seminarians at St. John’s which can give you some insight on how we prepare seminarians to the priesthood. It’s based on the Gospel passage, “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.” Matthew…
AN elderly Mexican woman developed a deep devotion to St. Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila. She would pray before the statue of the Filipino saint every time that she visited her church to ask for his intercession, especially for the safety of her son. One day she learned that the police arrested her son and put…
“To give to each his own, to cite the classic definition of justice, means that no human individual or group can consider itself absolute, permitted to bypass the dignity and the rights of other individuals or their social groupings.” – Pope Francis LIKE millions of Catholics, I find myself glued to the television this week,…
THIS coming Tuesday, Sept. 22, Pope Francis will start his journey to the United States of America. He will be arriving in Washington DC from Cuba at 4pm and will be welcomed at the White House by President Barack Obama and his staff. His weeklong visit is packed with parades, processions, meetings, visits, Masses, and…
LAST Sunday after my Mass in a parish, a Nicaraguan woman spoke to me. She said, “Father, our new priest is wonderful. He is good. He says Mass with a great deal of reverence and proper pace; he transmits spirituality without any air of superiority or arrogance; he preaches and connects well with us. He…
THERE is a Catholic social service center in Pampanga, the province where I grew up in the Philippines, named Ephphatha, an Aramaic word that means “Be opened.” The word is found in this Sunday’s Gospel in the story of the deaf man that Jesus healed. I used to visit this center every time I would…
” Traditions and rituals are meant to transform our relationships, to make us relate with one another with humility, love, mercy, and compassion.” What is the heart of the matter? This is the question I have been reflecting on this past week. It came out of a conversation I had with a fellow priest regarding…
“Uncle, how do I give everything to God? How do I offer my life to Him so he can take over? I just don’t know exactly how to do that.” My sixteen year-old niece surprised me with these questions a few weeks ago. I looked at her tenderly and answered, “Prayer, keep praying, Ann Jillian.”…
It’s busy in the seminary these days as we, faculty and staff, prepare for the new academic year. It’s also an intense and exciting time because we have 30 new seminarians. This means that the seminary priests will take in more students for spiritual direction and formation advice besides teaching classes. Indeed, seminary formation is…
I SAW a beautiful French Christian film this past weekend entitled “The Apostle”. It’s a story about a young Muslim man named Akim who is being groomed to be an imam (a prayer leader of a mosque). His life turns upside down when he becomes a friend of a Catholic Christian man who helps him…
“I’VE got to keep a positive attitude,” I told a group of lay leaders during a meeting last week. As people continually struggle to keep their jobs and maintain their households while being asked to share their limited blessings with others and their Church, I am tempted to feel discouraged in my prophetic mission of…
LAST Sunday, my homily went into a different direction, which I believe was God’s revelation. Instead of focusing on people who are crying out for help to satisfy their physical and spiritual hunger, it led to talk about a big and fundamental part of us that is hungry for love, care and protection: our Mother…
I FOUND it easy to interpret the Gospel last Sunday and to see its connection to the First Reading from the Book of Amos. It speaks about true discipleship, a typical theme in the Gospel of Mark. Albeit it is easy to interpret, but the Gospel mandate on discipleship is hard to live by. First,…
GOD’S recent mighty works in my life have amazed me! He has now brought me to complete recovery after undergoing a medical procedure to cure an unruptured aneurysm in my brain. My friends and colleagues could not believe that I recovered so quickly. “It’s because of the mercy of God, the miracle of medicine, the…
“JESUS breathes the Holy Spirit into the disciples and by doing so he re-creates them. The life-giving breath poured forth at the dawn of creation is now the Spirit-breath, the very indwelling of God. Only because of this divine indwelling do we have the power to forgive and thus continue Jesus’ saving mission. We are…
HE was a shy, timid, introverted young man who wanted to be a missionary. But his superiors did not believe that he could make it. “Out in the missions you have to be outgoing, energetic, and filled with excitement,” his superiors told him. He insisted on saying that God is calling him to work in…
I HAD a wonderful time last weekend. My family gathered together to celebrate my nephew’s First Communion at St. Raymond Church in Danville, California. We also celebrated my oldest sister’s birthday. A strong family relationship has been a primary value for us. We like to enjoy one another’s company. We have a family mission statement…
MY siblings, nieces, nephews and I are all excited to gather together this weekend in Danville, California—not for Pacquio vs Mayweather boxing fight, but for something much more special and sacred for the family. We’re celebrating the First Communion of my little nephew, Gavin! It’s a special day for Gavin, his parents, sisters and the…
A GROUP of parishioners, several parish staff members and I were sitting at one table with an intern-seminarian to affirm his gifts and qualities and to recommend to him further areas of growth in his priestly formation. One of them immediately said, “He has tremendous love for all people. It shows in the way he…
THE acolyte summoned the priests to say a prayer before Mass. He implored, “Oh, Lord, our God, thank you for the beauty of this brand new day. Thank you for bringing us together this morning to celebrate the blessings of life. Let this Eucharist renew us to be your faithful and courageous disciples, through Christ,…
THE Easter Season is not over yet! We just started it last Sunday. We’re celebrating this Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter or, as Pope John Paul II promulgated in 2000, Divine Mercy Sunday. Pope John Paul II saw a deep connection between the Gospel this Second Sunday of Easter and the Feast of Divine…
IT’S Easter Sunday and according to the Gospel of John, this is the celebration of the triumph and the glory of Jesus on the cross because of his fulfillment of his Father’s mission to redeem humanity from sin. Jesus is now with God but his Spirit lives in the Church. And so, to find Jesus…
IT’S Palm Sunday this weekend, the beginning of Holy Week! We also call this Sunday, Passion Sunday, because we commemorate the entrance of Jesus to Jerusalem to be crucified, to die, and to rise again for the redemption of the whole world and mankind. As we read and listen to the narration of the Passion…
FR. Steve, my colleague in the seminary, told me as soon as he left my office after we chatted, “Fr. Rodel, God will never abandon you. And remember, just as a mother will not forget her child, God will not forget you.” Then, he jokingly remarked, “I may leave you but God will never leave…
IT’S Lent, a season of repentance, a longing to go to Confession to prepare for Easter. So, during this penitential season, a Facebook friend sent me a message to ask me what would it take to have a good Confession. I responded back by suggesting to him to make a good examination of conscience. I…
AT times, I’m amazed seeing the zeal of some of our seminarians in their vocation. Take for example, this 24-year-old first-year theology student who is disciplined in most areas of seminary formation: he wakes up early morning to go running, spends one hour of meditation every day, eats healthy food, prepares well for class, is…
Every Thursday evening the priests and parishioners of Sacred Heart Church in Rancho Cucamonga, California gather in their church to spend Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament. At least three hundred people of all ages and from different cultural and ministerial groups participate regularly in this event. It’s amazing to witness this hour of worship….
WE make promises: a promise to be faithful to one’s spouse; a promise to take care of a family member; a promise to be with a friend in times of need; a promise to fulfill a parent’s wish; a promise to take care of one’s health. Promises are expressions of hope to loved ones for…
