IN the gospel, many are the instances where Christ had to correct the leading Jews at that time for their too strict and too literal interpretation of their laws. (cfr. Lk 13,10-17) These Jews acted as if they had the exclusive possession of what is...
(Excerpts from the Homily of Most Reverend Romulo G. Valles, D.D., on the Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, Rite of Acceptance and Procession of the International Centennial Pilgrim Image of Fatima at San Pedro Cathedral, October 18, 2022.) Malipay ang atong Mahal nga Inahan, Our...
Today, the world’s population is about 8 billion. About 1 billion are Catholics and about 300 million are protestants. 500 years after, Magellan reached Limasawa Island, all other Asian nations (China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, etc.) have not been Christianized. Since the 1960’s many churches,...
THAT gospel episode where Christ talked about the difference between the prayer of the Pharisee and the publican (cfr. Lk 18,9-14) clearly shows us that for our prayer to be effective, we have to be humble, acknowledging our sinfulness, our defects and weaknesses. We should...
SINCE we are made to judge because we are gifted with intelligence and will, we should realize that we can only judge properly when we do it with God always. We should be wary of our tendency to judge simply on our own, relying only...
“I HAVE come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!” (Lk 12,49-50) Words of Christ that clearly show how...
CHRIST reminded us about this need of ours when he said: “Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared,...
THAT should be clear to us, considering what Christ told his 72 disciples. “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few,” he said. “So, ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am...
THAT’S what Christ told someone who asked him to settle the inheritance issue that person had with his brother. (cfr. Lk 12,13-21) A very common phenomenon these days, sad to say. Siblings can go into bitter quarrels and complicated litigations just because of the inheritance...
As Saint Paul said, "we are one body, and Christ is the head.” In the world we live in, many cultures, similar to the Catholic Culture express this unity. However, the beauty of the Catholic culture truly promotes the enrichment of relationships with God, others,...