Struggle, My Soul

November 26, 2017 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 23:1-6)  Second reading (1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28) Gospel (Matthew 25:31-46) We all want to be royals. Kings. Queens. Princes. Princesses. In our own lives, we want to be in control. We want to the best. But everyone who is best has an example, an adviser, a guide, an idol, an inspiration, a motivation. In our celebration of Jesus Christ as King of the Universe this Sunday, let us fix our gaze on Jesus in our mass readings for inspiration on how to be good kings and queens, princes and princesses. Our King is a caretaker. In our first reading (from the book of the prophet Ezekiel), we hear of the Lord God revealing himself as a shepherd that looks after His sheep. He looks after them. He finds the lost and nurses the sick back to health. As we strive to be kings and queens in our lives, when was the last time we looked after our brothers and si

November 19, 2017 33 rd Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 128:1-5) Second reading (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6) Gospel (Matthew 25:14-30) I remember when I first met one who came by the name of Joy. At first, I did not really notice the presence of this someone. But gradually, it became apparent. I found more meaning in my life through Joy. Joy made me realize how much blessed I am. What a God-given gift is Joy. As much as I’d like to keep Joy in my life and to myself, I cannot, especially since I’m a seminarian. To be clear, I’m not talking about a girl or any person named Joy, if that ever crossed your mind. A reflection on the gospel reading for this 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time may help me explain more about who Joy is. Jesus spoke of a parable wherein a master gave three servants talents (money): the first received five; the second, two; and the third, one. The first and second servants, took to wo

November 12, 2017 32 nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings: First reading (Wisdom 6:12-16) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 63:2-8) Second reading (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) Gospel (Matthew 25:1-13) While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came... During my semestral break,  I admit to not being very faithful to my formation. I was not able to attend and serve at mass every day and I contributed in making a mess out of our common bedroom at home. It was only after losing my wallet that I started cleaning up. Then it struck me: Why did I have to wait for my wallet to disappear, before deciding to finally clean up my mess at home. If that situation were to be blown up to my seminary formation, would I have waited for something drastically negative to happen before making a move, before finally deciding to take things more seriously? In the gospel reading for this Sunday (according to St. Matthew), Jesus tells the parable of the ten virgins who waited for the brid

October 29, 2017 30 th Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Exodus 22:20-26) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 18:2-4, 47, 51) Second reading (1 Thessalonians 1:5C-10) Gospel (Matthew 22:34-40) There was this cartoon from my childho od which had a dog for a hero . This dog, Courage is his name, lived with an elderly couple who took him in their home and adopted him. He would fend off and drive away evil entities that threatened his home . Muriel, the elderly woman, was a loving mother to Courage . Eustace, the elderly man, yelled at and kept away from Courage . Yet, the dog cared for both of them out of love, regardless of the difference in how they treated him. All he could say in the end is that these are "the things I do for love." In our time, we ask for attention, for affection, for love, but we find it difficult to give any . We even find it difficult to appreciate the little lovely things people do for us . Love becomes a concept . A fee

October 22, 2017 29 th Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Isaiah 45:1, 4-6) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 96: 1, 3-5, 7-10) Second reading (1 Thessalonians 1:1-5B) Gospel (Matthew 22:15-21) We give . That 's good . We give ourselves a treat for our sacrifices and effort . We give our friends and families our concern and time. We give God our sorrows and joys . We give and there's nothing wrong with that. Nothing much special in it either.  In our gospel for this Sunday (29th in Ordinary Time), we may see how we may make our GIVING more meaningful . We hear of the Pharisees testing Jesus on the lawfulness of paying taxes to Caesar. Giving  doesn't have to be extravagant or attention-seeking. Giving just needs to be SIMPLE .  Don't get me wrong though . Simplicity d oesn't mean "mediocrity". Simplicity in giving  doesn't mean giving a "pwede na" effort for someone or to a task .  When God calls he does so si

October 15, 2017 28 th Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Isaiah 25:6-10A) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 23:1-6) Second reading (Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20) Gospel (Matthew 22:1-14) What do you wear at different times of the day? When you sleep? When you go to the mall? When you go on a date? Who wears a tuxedo to the beach? Or swimwear to a formal meeting? We wear only according to our intention. We normally go to bed in our pyjamas or house clothes so that we can sleep comfortably; to school in our uniforms to distinguish ourselves as students; or to the pool with our swimwear to make swimming a more pleasant experience. Our gospel reading for this Sunday would tell us the same thing. In our gospel reading (according to St. Matthew), Jesus tells His disciples a parable about a wedding feast were people were invited. Many refused the invitation, which led the host to extend the invitation to everyone. The rich were invited. So were the poor. So were the healt

Do not let mistakes pull you or slow you down. Mistakes are a part of a normal human life. When you have committed a mistake in the past (such as hurting or lying to someone, or forgetting to  do something important or making the wrong decisions), move on from regrets. Regrets will only make you unproductive. You cannot build anything strong on regret.  Instead, learn from your mistakes. Make them lessons to learn from, inspirations to be better. You can build on lessons and inspirations. You build a forgiving heart and a loving mind, and a firm relationship with yourself and with those around you.  It may be difficult, but it is not impossible. Kung gusto may paraan, kung ayaw may dahilan.

What is your TRUE COLOR? Please don't answer with the complexion of the skin you have or you believe you have. I don't wanna know whether you are fair, dark or pale. I wanna know what kind of person you are. A person's TRUE COLOR refers to the kind of person he/she is inside of his/her heart and at the back of his/her mind. What is your TRUE COLOR? Why do I often hear negative things about people when people talk about one's true color? "Iyan, lumabas din ang tunay na kulay mo. Nagbabait-baitan ka pa, plastik ka lang pala." "Pakitang tao lang iyan, Lalabas din ang tunay na kulay niyan." "Grabe, iyan pala ang tunay na kulay mo. 'Yan pala ang tinatago mo." "And alas! Your true colors finally show. Your goodie-goodie acts were simply meant to impress." What is your TRUE COLOR? Does one's true color refer to one's negative personality? Are we naturally evil? Are we naturally bad? Were we made by God "bad"?

October 8, 2017 27 th Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Isaiah 5:1-7) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 80:9, 12-16, 19-20) Second reading (Philippians 4:6-9) Gospel (Matthew 21:33-43) Faith, time, love, education, family, friends, praises, talents and the list goes on. These are things we possess that we should hold dear and consider important, most especially because they are given to us by God as gifts. But there are times when we hold on to them too much, that instead of considering them important, what becomes important for us is ourselves. We hold on to them and say, "Mine! Mine!" Our gospel reading (according to St. Matthew) for this Sunday has taught me just that: the danger of holding onto things and giving in to our selfishness. Jesus gives his disciples a parable on the selfish tenants. A landowner prepares his land and leases it to tenants until harvest time. The tenants however wanted to take the land for themselves. Everytime the landowner