PAN DE LA SEMANA

Catholic Homily/Sunday Liturgical Reflections 1st Sunday of Advent - Year B November 30, 2008 Readings: Is 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7 / 1Cor 1:3-9 / Mk 13:33-37 Waiting is not one of the virtues of postmodern women and men of our times. Perhaps quickness of response to communication is, but not waiting. We want instant results. We want instant information. At the press of a SEND button, through the wonders of WAP, we have instant access to info about entertainment, about the weather, and a whole lot more. That may well be one of the reasons why the telenovela, the teleserie, the protracted soap operas of our times attract so many viewers. They have taken the place of the more difficult discipline of reading full-blown novels. Reading is no longer one of the more popular pastimes among our people. Sitting it out on a prolonged basis, allowing the mind to be taken up and transported to a different world, is something we would rather not do. We want to do multi-tasking. We want to watch and s...

Catholic Homily/Sunday Reflection Solemnity of Christ the King (Year A) November 23, 2008 We all have had the experience of something we so dearly cared for which we lost or misplaced at some time or other in our lives. It may be an object to which we have attached a deep sentimental value. The more we cared for it, the more we missed it and looked for it. This is all the more true for persons who are important to us for one reason or another. The depth and intensity of caring, the love and solicitude for persons – these are what distinguish a genuine leader from a role or bit player. The depth of concern a leader has, the readiness he or she shows for selfless service – these are what make a King, more than just a king, but a servant leader, a figure worth emulating and looking up to for total support, not just someone to fill up our need for someone to rule over us. Our experience of loss, along with the confusion that such entails, especially in most painful personal losses like to ...

Catholic Homily/Sunday Gospel Reflection 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A November 16, 2008 It always takes two to tango, as they say. There are always two parties in an agreement, two people at least in a partnership, and two sides of the same coin. Traffic, unless declared otherwise, is always a two-way affair, and in this world of “come and go,” there has to be some form of investment from one AND the other party – trust on the part of one, and responsibility on the part of the other. The ancient Romans had a concrete axiom that epitomizes this need for mutual cooperation. MANUS MANUM LAVAT! Literally, it means “one hand washes the other hand.” Try washing only one hand. It is really impossible. You have to use both hands, for the two really wash each other…a perfect image of what cooperation is all about. We Filipinos have an equivalent image to convey a similar concept – a riddle (bugtong in Tagalog). “Takot ako sa iisa; matapang ako sa dalawa.” (I am afraid of only one, but I...

Catholic Homily/Sunday Reflection FEAST OF THE DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA November 9, 2008 People value water everywhere. All over the world, the availability of precious life-giving water is among the top in the list of items that would spell the birth or demise of new or old communities. Some say wars in the future will be waged on account of water, now fast becoming a scarce commodity in many places. Still, water is seen to stand for so much more than life itself. Water is taken to symbolize peace, purity, cleanness, to name just a few. No wonder that in almost every country in the world, small, fancy, table-top gurgling fountains have become a regular feature in homes, offices, restaurants and bedrooms. Water features are an integral part of commercial buildings, parks, schools and malls, both indoors and outdoors. Ezekiel today paints a picture of the temple from whose altar flows water … “water trickling from the southern side.” The trickle, we are told, does wonders, fo...