PAN DE LA SEMANA

Second Sunday of Easter (A) April 27, 2014 HONEST THOMAS Times there are when people want and seek our honest opinions about something. More often than not, given our Filipino culture that almost makes it mandatory for us to please the other party, we think of answers that are less than sincere, less than honest. When some person of stature asks for our opinions, we end up giving him or her the answer that we think he or she expects to hear. Thomas has received some kind of a bad rap in the past for being sort of skeptical. “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Indeed, on account of this, he has come down in history as the “doubting Thomas.” He was a skeptic alright. He doubted. He did not give outright credence to what he heard. But Thomas, beyond being skeptical, was really honest about what he thought. And he told it like it is, wi...

Second Sunday of Easter Year C April 7, 2013 THAT HIS SHADOW MIGHT FALL ON US! The night of March 13, I chose not to sleep. I decided to stay up and wait for the white smoke, as I had the hunch things would accelerate that night. Being seven hours ahead of Rome, it was time for bed. The white smoke came at more or less 2 AM. But when the shadow of the new Pope’s image fell on the whole world, brought by the miracle of mass communications and the internet in my case, going back to bed was out of the question. I was energized. I was excited. And I got a big boost to my faith as I saw the throngs at St. Peter’s square, show a groundswell of support for the new Bishop of Rome. Today, the readings all show this same energy, the same excitement, a similar jolt that comes from the Risen Lord. “Signs and wonders” were what the apostles did, and “a large number of people” also gathered to experience the same. For his part, John, who witnessed the Ri...

2 nd Sunday of Easter (B) April 15, 2012 I write from Seoul, South Korea, while awaiting the ordination rites of a fellow Salesian, a former student at our theologate in Paranaque, and who worked for a few years in various settings in Manila and Guam. Being here, and having the possibility to break bread and do Eucharist, together with Korean confreres and others from various nationalities, all belonging to the same family of Don Bosco – the Salesians – is a very good starting point for a reflection for this second Sunday or the Octave of Easter. The resurrection of the Lord, whilst it is one of the foundations of our Christian faith, goes beyond remembrance of an event. It is THE   event, on which a train of other events and realities are intertwined. Let the three readings speak for themselves, as ought to be, definitely, the case, each Sunday. The first reading would have us understand what it means to be a follower of the Risen Lord. In plain and simple language, ...

Catholic Homily / Sunday Reflections / Sunday Worship Guide 2 nd Sunday of Easter(B) April 19, 2009 Today is called Easter octave, the “eighth day” after Easter Sunday of the Lord’s Resurrection. When the Church celebrates, she does so with passion and panache. And so the two greatest solemnities of the Church calendar, Easter and Christmas, both have “octaves,” which means both Easter and Christmas really last for a whole week and a day. Let’s put it thus simply … every day from Easter Sunday to today, was and is, Easter day! We have come full circle today. But even then, we have not completed the cycle. We do not put a “finis” to what we do in Church, for what we remember, is what we also celebrate, and what we remember and celebrate is what we believe in. And what we believe in, is still the object of our strivings, the focus of our longings, and the eventual fulfillment of our hope. But there are two interlocking aspects of the hope that is in u...