Aug 9, 2025
Vigilance (19th Sunday Ordinary C)
Aug 2, 2025
Of Vanities and Foolishness (18th Sunday Ordinary C)
Jul 26, 2025
Teach Us to Pray (17th Sunday Ordinary C)

Many people today do not pray. The commonest reason perhaps is this: “I’m too busy.” There are just too many concerns and demands from work and too little time. Another reason is from the restless young people: “Prayer is boring. We want adventure.” Perhaps those who used to pray but have experienced some unanswered prayer would say: “I’m tired of praying. Prayer doesn’t work.” Those who believe in the Omniscience of God assume that God knows their needs. So there’s no need to pray; God provides anyway. And those who have an “I-did-it-my-way” complex assert their independence and self-sufficiency. For them, to bend one’s knees in prayer is a sign of weakness. Still others do not pray simply because they don’t know how.
Whatever our reasons for not praying are, we need to realize, as the gospel reading today (Lk 11:1-13) reminds us, that Jesus Himself, the Son of God, the Anointed One, the Savior of the world, always found time to be alone in prayer. Jesus believed in the power of prayer and saw its utmost importance as an integral part of his life and mission. Hence, he taught his disciples how to pray.
In Jesus’ teachings on prayer in the gospel reading today and in Abraham’s persistent haggling with God in the first reading, we can discern some forms of prayer and some essential inner dispositions that we ought to consider for the growth of our prayer life.
Praise and Worship. The “Lord’s Prayer” may be seen as having two parts. The first part consists of praising and worshiping God as our Father whose name we glorify and whose reign we desire in our lives. As our Father, He is acknowledged as the source of what we have and are. We accept his sovereignty in heaven and on earth. Jesus himself had always submitted to the will of the Father. His life was a constant praise and worship of the Father.
Don’t we have our own reasons for praising and worshipping God, our Father? When we honestly take account of our blessings in life, it would be but a natural overflow of joy, gratitude and awe that we praise and worship the Lord. I’ve seen and joined some faithful who dance and sing with gusto their praises to the Almighty and All-loving God. It has always been an exhilarating experience, far from being boring.
Petition. The second half of the prayer of Jesus is focused on our needs. We call them petitions. We ask for our present needs, our daily bread. We ask for forgiveness of our past--our debts, trespasses, and forms of sinfulness as we commit to be forgiving to others too. And we ask to ensure our future with God by our deliverance from the evil one. In this prayer, we acknowledge that our present, past, and future depend on the graciousness and mercy of God.
Intercession. When our petitions go beyond our own needs and express the needs of others, we are offering intercessory prayers. We pray on behalf of others. We find ourselves doing this because we care for others. We are a community. We are one family. We have a common Father in heaven. The first reading (Gen 18:20-32), for instance, recounts how Abraham interceded for the people of Sodom. He persistently haggled with God, trying to save the sinful people from the impending destruction. The story shows that God actively listens to Abraham’s intercession.
A good model of petition and intercession is Pope Francis’ simple method of prayer using one's fingers:
"The thumb is the closest finger to you. So start praying for those who are closest to you. They are the persons easiest to remember. To pray for our dear ones is a “sweet obligation.”
“The next finger is the index. Pray for those who teach you, instruct you and heal you. They need the support and wisdom to show direction to others. Always keep them in your prayers.”
“The following finger is the tallest. It reminds us of our leaders, the governors and those who have authority. They need God’s guidance.”
“The fourth finger is the ring finger. Even that it may surprise you, it is our weakest finger. It should remind us to pray for the weakest, the sick or those plagued by problems. They need your prayers.”
“And finally we have our smallest finger, the smallest of all. Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. When you are done praying for the other four groups, you will be able to see your own needs but in the proper perspective, and also you will be able to pray for your own needs in a better way."
Persistent Disposition. The parable of the importunate friend in today’s gospel highlights an important disposition in prayer: Persistence. Not that God requires to be badgered before He listens to our cries, but that our perseverance reveals the true desire of our hearts. We desire many things and many of which are not essential. Only that which is truly essential keeps us motivated and persevering. As we persevere in prayer, we realize that it is God himself, not just his blessings, that our heart yearns. This yearning cannot be turned down by a God who has yearned for us first and foremost.
Trust in God. Another essential disposition in prayer is trust in the goodness and wisdom of God. God is our Father; He is all-good and all-wise. If a sinful earthly father can still be trusted to provide good things to his children, how much more is the heavenly Father worthy of our total trust? When we pray then, we are entrusting our heart’s desire to the care of our loving and wise Father. I think this disposition of trust is what made Mother Teresa assert: “Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God…”
If still we don’t find ourselves drawn to prayer, let us make just one humble petition: Lord, teach us to pray.
Jul 19, 2025
The Better Part (16th Sunday Ordinary C)
Today’s Gospel (Luke 10:38–42) brings us into the warm and familiar home of two sisters: Martha and Mary. Jesus, their beloved friend, comes to visit, and like any of us welcoming a guest—especially someone as special as the Lord!—there’s excitement, preparation, and, yes, a bit of stress. We can picture Martha bustling about: checking the bread, stirring the pot, setting the table. And Mary? She’s doing something unexpected… she's just sitting there—at Jesus’ feet—listening.
And suddenly, we find ourselves
drawn into this quiet tension between action and stillness, between doing and
being. Between Martha and Mary.
Listening to Jesus is our
first call. The Gospel tells us that Mary “sat at the Lord’s feet and
listened to what he was saying” (v. 39). This wasn't laziness or avoidance. In
fact, in the culture of the time, sitting at the feet of a rabbi meant
something very specific—it meant being a disciple.
Mary wasn’t simply relaxing; she
was learning, absorbing, contemplating. She was fully present to Jesus. And
what’s so beautiful is that Jesus welcomes this. He defends her choice. That
was radical in His time—and it still is.
So here’s the question for us:
Are we listening to Jesus? Or are we so busy—even with good things—that we miss
His voice?
In our world of constant noise,
notifications, and to-do lists, this Gospel is a gentle call back to what
matters most. Maybe the most loving thing we can do today is turn off our
phones, open the Scriptures, sit in silence, and just be with Him.
Even good work can distract.
Now, let’s be clear: Martha wasn’t doing anything wrong. She was serving! She
was being responsible! But notice what Jesus says:
“Martha, Martha, you are worried
and distracted by many things” (v. 41).
He doesn’t scold her for
working—He lovingly points out that her worry is distracting her from what
matters most. The original Greek word for “distracted” literally means “to be
pulled apart.” Can anyone relate?
Sometimes we are so busy doing
things for Jesus, we forget to spend time with Him. This is especially true for
those in ministry, those caring for family, those working multiple jobs to make
ends meet. Like Martha, we may be faithful—but also stressed out.
Jesus isn’t telling us to stop
working—He’s inviting us to work from a place of peace, not panic. From
communion, not compulsion.
So, choose the better part.
Jesus concludes, “Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away
from her” (v. 42).
What Mary chose wasn’t the only
good thing, but it was the better thing. And what is that better part? It’s
being with Jesus. It’s the eternal treasure of knowing and loving God. All our
work will one day pass—but the relationship we build with Christ will last
forever.
This “better part” is not about
doing less—it’s about living from the center. From the heart of Christ.
We are all both Martha and Mary.
And the challenge is to find the balance: to serve like Martha, yes—but to
listen like Mary. To be active in the world, but rooted in prayer. To move
through life not frantic and fragmented, but focused on the One Thing Necessary.
Jul 12, 2025
Go and Do Likewise (15th Sunday Ordinary C)
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(Picture from twitter # Sendong) |
Jul 5, 2025
The Joy in Mission (14th Sunday Ordinary C)

Jun 28, 2025
"Pilgrims of Hope: In the Footsteps of Peter and Paul"
Jun 21, 2025
Sharing Even the Last Bread (Corpus Christi C)
Jun 14, 2025
A Trying-Hard God (Trinity Sunday C)
Jun 7, 2025
The Miracle of Pentecost (Pentecost Sunday C)

When God closes a door, He opens up another. Just as the ascension of our Lord practically put a closure to the mission of the historical Jesus, the Pentecost event opened up a new era—the era of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, of course, has always been active in the life and work of Jesus; but the powerful event of Pentecost announces quite dramatically and distinctively the unique and empowering role of the Holy Spirit in elevating to a new level the same mission of Jesus Christ, this time, through the ministry of the Church.
May 31, 2025
On this Day of Victory (Ascension Sunday C)

Probably an 18th Century composition, the following hymn on the Solemnity of the Ascension captures not only the meaning of the mystery but also the joy and exultation proper to the celebration of the ultimate victory of Christ on his ascension. If you don’t know the music, enjoy the poetry:
Let the earth rejoice and sing, alleluia!
At the triumph of our King, alleluia!
He ascends from mortal sight, alleluia!
Reigns now at our Father’s right, alleluia!
He who died upon a tree, alleluia!
Now shall reign eternally, alleluia!
He who saved our fallen race, alleluia!
Takes in heav’n his rightful place, alleluia!
Jesus, Lord, all hail to thee, alleluia!
On this day of victory, alleluia!
Thou didst shatter Satan’s might, alleluia!
Rising glorious from the fight, alleluia!
Jesus, Victor, hear our prayer, alleluia!
In thy triumph let us share, alleluia!
Lift our minds and hearts above, alleluia!
Strengthen all men in thy love, alleluia!
While in heaven thou dost gaze, alleluia!
On thy Church who sings thy praise, alleluia!
Fasten all our hope in thee, alleluia!
Till thy face unveiled we see, alleluia!
May 24, 2025
God’s Two Hands (6th Sunday Easter C)
The Father works with his two hands: the Word and the Spirit. It was Irenaeus of Lyons, one of the early Fathers of the Church, who expressed this Trinitarian understanding of God’s activity in salvation history. This Trinitarian outlook can help us approach the gospel reading today (Jn 14:23-29) with a keen awareness of the complimentary roles of Jesus, the Word of God, and of the Spirit, the Advocate, in making God present in our Christian living.
God is made present in our lives through the Word and the Spirit. Today’s gospel stresses this truth: God lives in us when we keep his Word and as we allow the Holy Spirit to empower us in our Christian witnessing. Let us have a word for each of these two agents of God’s indwelling in us.
Keeping the Word of God. Jesus is the Word of the Father. We can only come to know God through his Word, his self-revelation. No wonder, Jesus stresses, as part of his leave-taking discourse, the principle of the concurrence of the indwelling of God with the observance of his word. As we have it in the gospel today: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (v. 23).
To Keep the Word of God means getting to know Jesus, listening to him, and obeying his commandments. It means living out in our daily lives everything he has taught us. When we do this, God lives in us. Negatively expressed, today’s gospel reminds us of the incompatibility between living in God and disregarding his Word. No one can honestly claim loving God and living in him when one does not observe God’s will.
All too often, our Christian living suffers this incompatibility. We easily claim God being with us but we fail to show it in actual witnessing. How, for instance, can we claim to be followers of Jesus and at the same time be comfortably part of a culture of corruption that gnaws at every fibre of our social life like a silent cancer?
Today’s gospel then allows us to see the indispensability of knowing Jesus, the Word, and living by his precepts in order to enjoy the peace of God’s abiding presence. Without the Word becoming incarnate in our own lives, how then can we have God dwell in us?
Invoking the Holy Spirit. The Spirit works hand in hand with the Word. The Spirit, the Advocate, teaches and reminds us of everything Jesus, the Word, has told us (v. 26). The Spirit helps us understand God’s Word, shedding light on the salvific meaning of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It is the Spirit that emboldens us to become fearless witnesses of Jesus. The Spirit empowers us to keep the word of God, hence, the Spirit ensures God’s abiding presence in us.
As a Christian, am I aware of this crucial role of the Spirit in my everyday witnessing? Do I invoke his empowering presence especially in moments when courage and conviction are called for in order to keep God’s word amidst a culture that jeers at the very core of the gospel values?
Left on our own devices, we always end up insecure and fearful about what we can do in terms of witnessing to the Word of God. My own feeling is that a great number of Christians have remained insecure as they honesty doubt their human capacity to keep the word of Jesus. They have forgotten to allow the Spirit to work through them, to embolden them, to assure them that, no matter what, it is God who is always in charge.
In the final analysis, God works with his two hands—the Word and the Spirit—in order to make sure that his love is effectively communicated and his Word kept that we may live in him and God may live in us now and forever.
We have just done our national and local elections, let us continue to invoke the power of the Holy Spirit to guide our nation into the path that God wills for us his people. We dream of a better nation, then let us listen to the Word in our consciences and allow the Spirit of God, the God who acts in history, to work through each of us and collectively, in our effort for nation-building. God does not leave us in the inadequacies of our own device. After all, He is the God of history; He acts in history, gently, mightily, with his two hands.
May 10, 2025
The Good Shepherd (4th Sunday Easter C)
May 3, 2025
Do You Love Me? (3rd Sunday Easter C)

Apr 26, 2025
Mercy Unlocks Hope (Divine Mercy)
Happy Divine Mercy Sunday! What a gift it is to be gathered today, especially in this Jubilee Year of Hope. We are celebrating a feast that flows straight from the heart of Jesus—a feast that tells us there’s no sin too big, no failure too deep, no heart too far gone for the mercy of God.
In the Gospel today, the disciples are in the upper room—hiding, afraid, unsure of what the future holds. That room might feel familiar to some of us. We all have our “upper room” moments: times of fear, doubt, or failure. But what happens in that room is incredible—Jesus walks in. Doors locked, hearts anxious—and still, He comes. He says, “Peace be with you.”The disciples are behind locked doors. Fear has paralyzed them. Guilt has silenced them. But Jesus doesn’t knock—He walks straight in. That’s mercy. It doesn’t wait until we have it all figured out. Mercy moves first. It enters our fear, sits with us in our mess, and speaks peace into our storm.
But Jesus comes anyway. He meets us right there—in the fear, in the doubt, in the shame—and He says, “Peace be with you.”
This is where the Jubilee Year of Hope comes alive. The world is aching for mercy—for kindness, for compassion, for people who carry peace into broken places. That’s us. We’re the ones sent. As St. Faustina wrote: “Proclaim that mercy is the greatest attribute of God. All the works of My hands are crowned with mercy.” (Diary 301).
We’re called to be living signs of that mercy. In our families, at work, with friends, even online—every encounter is an opportunity to offer what we’ve received.
That’s mercy too. Mercy meets us even when our faith is shaky. When we’re confused, hurt, or distant. Jesus doesn’t avoid our wounds—He reveals His own. And His wounds are not erased. They’re still visible—but they are now sources of healing.
“My Heart overflows with great mercy for souls... If only they could understand that I am the best of Fathers to them.” (Diary 367). So if you’ve been carrying doubts or questions—you're not alone. Thomas was a disciple too. And he ended up declaring the greatest act of faith in the Gospel: “My Lord and my God.” That’s what mercy can do.
As we look at the image of Divine Mercy today, those five simple words speak louder than anything: Jesus, I trust in You. That’s what today is all about. Mercy received. Hope restored. Trust renewed. And in this Jubilee Year of Hope, we remember what St. Faustina shared from the Lord:
“Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy” (Diary 300).
So today, whatever is behind the locked door of your heart—fear, guilt, doubt—let Jesus walk in. Let mercy meet you there. And then, be ready. Because He will send you out to carry that same mercy to others.
Because mercy… always unlocks hope.