SOMEONE asked me what my views are regarding the gender issue. I must admit that I have been quiet about this matter since I know it is a very delicate issue that can easily provoke unnecessary controversy and noise. As priest, I get to talk to...
THIS was a point strongly and repeatedly pounded on me and my batch during our pre-ordination seminar many years ago. Only Christ should shine out in our ministry. We have to learn to pass unnoticed, avoiding grabbing the focus of public attention from the real...
WE have to be most wary of this particular predicament that, sad to say, is becoming more common these days. This is not about the usual and normal aging and deterioration we can expect as we grow old after a life of very active work....
THAT’S right. The cross, given our human condition, is absolutely necessary in our life here on earth. We cannot even be human, much less, Christian, without the cross. Without the cross, we think that we can be absolutely on our own. Without the cross, the only...
WE have to remind everyone that when we suffer, we should see to it that we avoid suffering by our own lonesome. That would make our suffering, whatever may be its cause, whether it is self-inflicted or caused by others, a useless and purely negative...
THERE’S no doubt about it. We are meant to assume the identity of Christ, because he is the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity. We can only be as we ought to be when we assume Christ’s identity. That is...
THAT’S how priests, and others in similar position, should be. They, we—me included—have to be tough and strong because aside from bearing our own personal burdens, from contending with our own personal demons, we also have to bear the burdens of the others. It is...
THAT’S the title of some pop songs, the most notable of which was the one written by Dennis Lambert and performed by the 5th Dimension in 1973. It was a top hit with a catchy tune, though the lyrics definitely are not mainly religious in...
IT’S love, of course. But the real one, not the fake ones that are proliferating around these days. It’s the love that comes from God, is a participation of God’s love for all of us, irrespective of who and how we are. It’s a love...
TO be realistic about the concrete conditions of our life here on earth, we need to know how to be tolerant of certain unavoidable evils without condoning them. The distinction may be difficult to make, but we simply have to learn it if we want...
