MY father wrote the valedictory address I delivered during my high school graduation more than 50 years ago. I still remember the opening lines, a play of words that continue to intrigue me even up to now. “Freedom is not free,” I said, trying to...
IF we truly love one another as Christ commanded us, that is, in the way he himself has loved us, (cfr. Jn 13,34) then we have to love everyone in such a way that we love and serve them more than what we think they...
THIS is something that we should always bear in mind, never daring to take it for granted. This is the basic reality about our life, about our human condition here in this world. It is what should shape the basic attitude we have toward ourselves,...
MANY times, we are given the impression that money and the Christian spirit of poverty are incompatible. To a certain extent, there is some truth to that view. Even St. Paul went to the extent of saying that, “the love of money is the root of...
THIS is one important matter to attend to if we want our Christian life to keep going. We need to acknowledge our sinfulness and everything related to it so that, at least, we can start asking for forgiveness and developing the corresponding proper attitudes and...
GIVEN our notorious tendency to fall into spiritual lukewarmness and complacency, if not coldness, we need to often exert conscious effort to burn with desire and to light up our fire to love God and everybody else. We cannot deny that we often are good...
THIS should be the attitude to have in our relation with God. He always takes the initiative to come to us, to knock at our heart’s door. We should be welcoming to him, and more than that, we should be appreciative of his love and...
Yes, with a little help from us the full wonder of God’s grace would be revealed to us. This was articulated by Christ himself when he compared the Kingdom of God to how a seed grows. (cfr. Mk 4,26-34) “It is as if a man were...
WE know that holiness is for everyone. That’s what God wants us to be, since we are his image and likeness, children of his. He wants us to be like him. “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” Christ told us very clearly. (Mt...
WE should never take the devil for granted. They are always around, ever scheming and plotting against us in many, many ways, and often in a manner that is so subtle that we may not even notice him. As St. Peter would put in his...
