AS we come together this Sunday, June 2 to commemorate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, we affirm our unwavering belief in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist, distinguishing us from other Christian faith traditions and religions. The bread and wine, once part of the Eucharistic celebration, undergo a profound…
ONE out of three adults worldwide (more than 2 billion of the 6.02 billion adults out of a total global population of 8.05 billion) have high blood pressure and about 10 million of them die each year from complications of hypertension, like heart attack and stroke, or ruptured aneurysm. In the United States, at least…
It has been three years since our parish council, staff members, and I collaborated to craft our parish’s vision and mission statements. The process of formulating them was deliberate, requiring prayerful consideration, discernment guided by the Holy Spirit, and in-depth discussions on our parish’s history, demographics, values, needs, and priorities. I am confident that we…
IT is easy to understand how people in general, being more health conscious today, could mistake distilled water as the “cleanest and healthiest” water for drinking. After all, it is nothing but pure H2O. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Distilled water (neutral, pH 7) could come from distillation (tap water boiled into vapor and…
ON Pentecost Sunday, we commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, empowering them with bold faith and igniting them with passion, eagerness, courage, and determination to spread the message of Jesus Christ, who resurrected and ascended to sit at the right hand of His Father in heaven. This significant event is recognized…
THE famous search for the elusive fountain of youth, which Spanish explorer and conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon undertook in 1513, started during the first European expedition (and others before him), shows that man has always been fascinated with the idea of slowing down aging, or, at least, looking (and feeling) younger than his natural…
…dealing with bra-fat, love-handles, banana rolls, armpit-fat and those fat around the knees? Ugh! so frustrating, right?… But I know just the best solution for melting those stubborn fats away.” So you finally decided on making sure you fit right into that shapely, va-va-voom swimsuit for that long-awaited summer get away. Good for you. I…
Thanks to those vulnerable unvaccinated, COVID-19 is still with us. Had everyone been vaccinated against COVID-19 from the first day vaccines were available, we should have had herd immunity, and COVID-19 would have left us. Between April 21 to April 27, 2024, there were still 5,098 patients hospitalized for COVID-19. While the death rate was…
It’s all about love! This is what we hear in today’s Scripture Readings, particularly in the Second Reading (1 John 4:7-10) and the Gospel (John 15: 9-17). “Love is of God,” and hence, “God is love.” As Jesus told us in last Sunday’s (April 28) Gospel and in this Sunday’s Gospel, we must “remain in…
Understanding Acne Scars Acne scars are very common. Some 80% of people between ages 11 and 30 will get acne, and one out of five of those will develop scars. This scar develops when a deep pimple or acne breakout clears. Although keep in mind that not every acne breakout causes a scar. However, even…
THE food we eat is metabolized and automatically turned into various chemical substances (amino acids, minerals, hormones, etc.) that our body needs for our organs to work properly, and the waste products excreted. Chocolates and other “pleasure food items” (beans, eggs, low-fat meats, nuts, desserts) induce our brain to release happy (pleasure) hormones like endorphins,…
“… The good we have in common has been a commitment to respecting the rule of law, including its intent and spirit; to protecting our democratic institutions; to discovering and spreading the truth; to being open to change and tolerant of our differences; to ensuring equal political rights and equal opportunity; to participating in our…
Trust is important in any relationship, whether with God or with human beings, as it serves as the foundation and key to a healthy and harmonious connection. This principle holds true across various human endeavors, including business, politics, the church, or any organization. While individuals may collaborate towards a shared objective, without trust in each…
I AM writing this week’s column aboard the Icon of the Seas of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, the largest cruise ship, where food is massively abundant, and where the temptation to eat almost every two hours is great. Genuine medical information about food is sometimes lost and fake news and other mis- and disinformation abound…
THE rate of throat cancer in the United States has not declined, compared to most head and neck malignancies. I suspect that the statistics could also be true when extrapolated for other countries like the Philippines since most Filipinos are westernized in their lifestyle, habits, and behaviors, etc. The most logical explanation why cancer of…
SINCE new strains of COVID-19, XBB.1.5, and the variant before it, JN.1, are the dominant strains infecting people, the CDC recommends that people ages 12 and older get the latest mRNA vaccines for COVID-19: Pfizer COMIRNATY bivalent, Moderna’s SPIKEVAX, or NOVAVAX. The older vaccines, including the bivalent boosters last year have been discarded, and no…
“We belong to God and to one another.” This has been Pope Francis’ message to the world, as Austen Ivereigh conveys in his new book, “First Belong to God, On Retreat with Pope Francis.” It is a message that captures the essence of our celebration of Easter: Christ rose from the dead, offering the promise…
VARIOUS clinical studies around the world regarding the COVID-19 pandemic reveal the following, among others: (1) “Even for people in the highest-risk demographic for mRNA COVID-19 vaccine-associated myocarditis, receiving the primary series of the COVID-19 vaccines was safer than getting COVID-19 without having been vaccinated”; (2) In spite of some (now obviously false) claims, “there…
Friends, we’ve journeyed through Lent, and now we are approaching Holy Week. I hope that your Lenten journey has uplifted and inspired you to draw closer to God and that it has strengthened and nourished your faith. I pray that your response to His love, mercy, and presence in your life will lead to greater…
…AND wisest thing to do with the present scary global and domestic outbreaks of measles is to be vaccinated soonest, if your vaccine is not current. Measles could lead to blindness, encephalitis, pneumonia (common among children under 5 and adults over 20) and could be deadly (with a mortality rate as high as 15 percent)….
“I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:33-34) What messages has Jesus placed in your heart this Lent? How is He affirming, challenging, inspiring, and encouraging you through the Scriptures and the homilies, and how are you responding…
TODAY, more than ever, people are more health conscious, and since food greatly impacts our health, we are interested to know if the food we eat is healthy and how many calories are in the food we eat. In general, the average calorie requirement per day ranges between 1500 to 2000, but those who are…
The reading from St. Paul to the Ephesians, 2:4-10, presents to us a beautiful verse: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is a gift of God.” This verse echoes Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in our Gospel Reading for Cycle A,…
FRIDAY, February 25 saw a packed hotspot at The Noypitz in Downtown Los Angeles for Party Party People’s 2nd Anniversary. Longtime DJ Jerome Sto. Domingo with special guest DJ Garth Santayana from Manila thrilled partygoers and dance music connoisseurs alike with their selection of popular music from ‘70s through ‘90s reminiscing the heydays of the…
Imagine a world without laws or rules governing behavior and moral conduct; it would descend into chaos. In a world where everyone acts solely in their own interests, we would all face severe consequences. Laws exist not to restrict us but to liberate us from various societal ills such as conflicts, violence, disunity, abuse, corruption,…
WSDM Productions staged its first-ever concert topbilled by local Filipino American gospel singer Jane Magan Chang, also known as Jane Rockstar, at The Noypitz in Cerritos last Sunday, February 25. In her first major concert dubbed as “Jane Rockstar, Destined,” Jane conquered the stage and left her audience speechless in a night of inspiring worship…
WOULDN’T it be wonderful if there was a way to predict a heart attack before it actually happens to provide physicians an opportunity to exercise pre-emptive measures? Luckily for the world, blood tests that could help predict the likelihood of a heart attack is available, thanks to advances in medical science and technology. The authors…
TO prepare our local community for any emergency, we would hear an alarming sound from the radio, television, and our phones. Oftentimes, nothing disastrous has happened; it is only a test. “This is a test,” an official would inform us. It is good to be tested because it allows us to see if we are…
MY wife, Farida, and I have just been on a river cruise on the Vikings to historic Rouen, Omaha Beach, Normandy, Amsterdam, Belgium, and Paris, where the Faculty of Medicine at the University in Paris-Cite conducted valuable research on the effects on the brain of snoring with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) (prolonged breath-holding while asleep),…
MY wife, Farida, and I have just been on a river cruise on the Vikings to historic Rouen, Omaha Beach, Normandy, Amsterdam, Belgium, and Paris, where the Faculty of Medicine at the University in Paris-Cite conducted valuable research on the effects on the brain of snoring with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) (prolonged breath-holding while asleep),…
