IN the 4th Century, an erudite and holy bishop named Basil (canonized as St. Basil the Great) played a significant role in the formulation of orthodox theology while he interacted with the rich and influential men and women of his times.  In a sermon on charity, he said these direct and challenging words that still…

“YOU were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.” (Col 2:12) You might not remember the date of your baptism, but it is one of the most important days of your life. For on that day,…

I’M merely in my third week of serving as pastor of Incarnation Church, and I love it. The people are warm, and the neighborhood is serene. I know that as time goes by, I will be busy with many ministerial and administrative duties. But I like to take my time now, slowly getting into the…

“I Am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)  Jesus’ image of the intimate connection between the vine and the branches speaks of his earnest desire to be in union with us. It’s the same…

“We can see and feel the urgency of this call in this present time when many people have left the Church and do not feel the need to be affiliated to any religious institution.” I’M embarking on another new beginning in my life as a priest. This past week, I started my new assignment as…

THE rooms of the dormitories are now clean and empty, and the seminary is quiet, for the academic year has ended, and the seminarians have left for summer vacation. Some of them finished their long years of seminary formation—seven years for most of them. They are now newly ordained priests, excited in their first assignment….

AS David looked up into the skies and contemplated the vast and endless heavens, the beauty of the night captured his heart in worship and adoration to God, and so he shouted, “O Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.” Then he reflected on the seemingly insignificant value of a human being…

OFTEN I would remind people that we, Christians, worship a triune God. In essence, this means God is one, but eternally exists as three distinct persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  I would tell them that as much as it is difficult to grasp this dogma of our faith, it’s how God, according to…

FOURTEEN new priests graduated from St. John’s Seminary this past school year: six for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles; three for the Diocese of Monterey; three for the Diocese of Orange; and two for the Diocese of San Bernardino. They are ready and excited to serve the People of God after at least seven years…

“He’s Jesus, our Lord, who promised his disciples and all of us who would believe in him his abiding presence. And so, he gave us the most precious gift: his Spirit dwelling within us, which satisfies beyond all human expectations.” HAVE you recently received a gift? One that moved your heart in sincere gratitude to…

(Excerpt from my commencement speech to the graduates of St. John’s Seminary, Camarillo, CA on May 14, 2019) What words of advice should I leave you, my dear graduates and seminarians? First, believe!  Believe in yourself and all the gifts that God has given you. Don’t listen to the voices of negativity that tell you…

ANOTHER Filipino might become a canonized saint! His name is Richard “Richie” Fernando, a 26-year-old Jesuit brother who died saving the lives of his Cambodian students in 1996. According to Catholic News Agency, Father Antonio Moreno, head of the Jesuits of the Philippines, had received permission to begin the initial work of opening the cause…

MICAHEL Masteller, a seminarian who is doing an internship at Resurrection Church in East Los Angeles, wrote a reflection paper on his experience of visiting a parishioner, Maria, who had just arrived home from the hospital after surgery.  During this visit, Michael remembered that a few months back he also came to see Maria’s sick…

WE were all in shock at seeing on television and social media the historic Notre-Dame De Paris Cathedral engulfed in flames last Monday, April 15. How could this 850-year-old gothic style cathedral, Paris’ symbol of Catholicism, be gone before our eyes? Those of us who have visited and seen this magnificent work of art and…

WE just ended Lent, and we start Holy Week, the most sacred time of the year in our Christian life. We begin it by reenacting Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and contemplating his Passion according to the Gospel of Luke.  What is significant about these rituals? What do they mean to us? How would they affect…

SO much condemnation goes on in our society today, especially in social media, television, and digital world. People condemn each other for their different opinions on social, political, religious, and cultural issues. Because of this milieu, one either choose to be courageous, timid, or silent about presenting his or her thoughts and feelings. Of course,…

GOD never closes his heart to anyone of his children. His love and forgiveness are prodigious—immense like the ocean and the universe.  It’s no wonder that his Son, Jesus, showed this kind of love to us by dying on the cross with open arms. God’s love for us is prodigious that no matter how big…

GOD’S intimate and active involvement in the lives of His people and those he chose to lead has always amazed me. Take for example his dialogue with Moses in the story of The Burning Bush, which is our First Reading on this Third Sunday of Lent (Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15). God called Moses from the burning…

DO you trust the Lord, especially in times of crisis and uncertainty? Do you believe in His promises of healing, salvation, and new life? Can you take the risk of believing in God’s promises even when the present times in your life, the world and the church are not glorious? Any affirmative responses to these…

Many times we hear from fellow Christians of Evangelical denominations that if we accept Jesus as our Lord, we will be saved. Well, this conviction comes from Romans 10:8-13, the Second Reading on this Sunday of Lent. “…for, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God…

“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?” (Luke 6:39). No one wants to be blind. No one wants to be deprived of seeing the beauty of this world, the people around us, especially our loved ones.  No one cannot imagine himself or herself not being able to…

AT first glance, we may think that Jesus was speaking to a general audience when he was proclaiming the Beatitudes. But after reading this Gospel scene (Luke 6:17, 20-16) thoroughly, we would find out that Jesus was directly conveying its message to his disciples. For the Gospel states, “And raising his eyes toward his disciples,…

“POUR out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch,” the Lord told Simon while getting into the boat. “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets,” Simon responded. When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish,…

AS I write this article, I am in frigid Ashville, North Carolina, attending the 35th Biennial Consultation of the Association of Theological Field Education (ATFE). I thank God for the opportunity to be with other professionals in theological field education who prepare seminarians and lay students for ministry to the People of God.      The first…

SHOWING a deep concern for the newly married couple in Cana, Mary told Jesus, “They have no wine.” Jesus responded, “Woman, how does your concern affect me. My hour has not yet come.” Mary was confident that Jesus would do something about this lack. So she instructed the waiters, saying, “Do whatever he tells you.” Then Jesus…

NO matter how “worldly” we can become, there will moments when we feel the restlessness of wanting to relate with someone higher than us, someone bigger than life. Deep within is the longing to connect with the Divine. This is what differs us from other species of the animal kingdom. As human beings, we long…

IT was the second time this first week of the year that I joined my friend in his visit to his 86-year-old mother. Sick with bad flu, his mother could not come out of her room to talk to us. She was too weak to get out of bed.   But her two daughters, who much…

AS Christmas season passed by, we looked at the photos of families and friends we shared on Facebook and Instagram and expressed a profound sense of gratitude to God. Thank God that we were able to push through another Christmas gathering. Thank God for siblings, nieces, nephews, and other family members who drove or flew…

  THERE wouldn’t Christmas without Mary. There wouldn’t be Christmas without her fiat—her absolute “yes” to be the Mother of God so that Jesus, the Son of God, would be born to bring salvation to the whole humankind and the world.   It was in in God’s plan that His Son Jesus would be born…