AS WE celebrate Palm Sunday this year, to commemorate the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem before his Passion, Death, and Resurrection, I invite you to reflect on the words of…

IT would be dishonest for us to say that we wouldn’t want an easy life. Who wants to be poor? Who wants to struggle all the time? Who does not…

EVERYONE’S life will always be beset by some trials and difficulties, however prosperous, successful and pleasurable it is. We cannot run away from the Cross; it will always be a…

BEING blind is absolutely a terrible fate that one can have. Imagine one’s self not being able to see the world – its life and colors. Imagine not being able…

“TRUST is the foundation of marriage,” my dear friend Prosy said during a dinner engagement. “Certainly, it is the basis for any other relationships, whether it is friendship, business, or…

I’VE BEEN preaching about Jesus’ popularity lately. The Gospel of Mark relates how people sought him anywhere he went to listen to his preaching, to witness and to experience his…

THE best things in life are the unexpected ones! This was true during the grand centennial celebration of my parish last Sunday. I didn’t expect the three thousand people that…

MANY times in the middle of the night I wonder how I’m able to fulfill my responsibilities as pastor of an inner-city and multicultural church that has a great deal…

MUCH has been said about Bishop Gabino Zavala’s fall from grace, his resignation as auxiliary bishop of the San Gabriel Region after admitting that he fathered two children, now in…

TAKE small steps at a time. This has been a recurrent advice that we hear from people and read from magazines as we make our New Year’s resolutions. We can’t…

THE holidays are over and now we’re back to our normal routines. Like many of you, I think of the activities and the events that will unfold before me as…

MY best Christmas gift this year was not another gadget or a nice polo shirt or a sweater. It was not a gift card or a ticket to a concert….

NO MATTER how good our intentions are in helping others, we will often find ourselves misunderstood, mistreated or misjudged by some people. I have found this true in my twenty…

THE Good News is within us – within our minds and hearts. It’s the change that is happening within our lives, in the way we think about or perceive our…

MERRY Christmas and Happy New Year! Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon! Throughout the Simbang Gabi Masses in my parish, I never got tired of reading and listening to the stories…

“THINK BIG”, I shared the other day in a meeting with a group volunteers. Big: not in the sense of property or material wealth, but “big” in the sense of…

IT’S A beautiful and solemn season. As a nation we pause and gather as families and friends on Thanksgiving Day to express our gratitude to God. This weekend, we start…

“TRANSFORMING the Church involves partnership and participation.” I shared this reflection with some priest-delegates of the First National Assembly of Filipino Priests serving the Roman Catholic Church in the United…

I’VE been talking to many people these days about the importance of having prudence in managing one’s life. It’s an attitude that calls for cautiousness and intelligence, not in theories…

“SO WHAT did you talk about?” I asked a Catholic School teacher who came from a whole day of Religious Education seminar. “We talked about unity,” she answered. “Unity? What’s…

I LIKE how a fellow-priest in­terpreted the Parable of the Wed­ding Banquet of this Sunday’s Gospel. Initially, he didn’t find anything worst about the people who refused the king’s invitation…