PAN DE LA SEMANA

30 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C October 27, 2013 Sirach today smacks of sincerity … on God’s part primarily, not his own. He speaks of a God who truly listens, who “judges justly and affirms the right.” This is what the psalmist also was convinced of. He was convinced enough for him – and us – to acclaim: “The Lord hears the cry of the poor.” I write this short reflection in between sessions, as I preach to group of teachers from Imus, Cavite. Serendipitously, we speak of pretty much the same stuff that today’s readings speak of – the need for everyone who wants to grow towards emotional, psychological and spiritual maturity, to become straightforward, not duplicitous and deceptive. Sadly, in our times, double-talk is all we get from leaders and pundits alike. In the Philippine context, the pork barrel has supposedly and officially been abolished. But it has been resurrected even before it was scrapped, through other fancy and very creative (an...

26 th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) September 26, 2011 Words are a dime a dozen. They come, not in mere jolting phrases, but in torrents in our days … via Facebook, Twitter, text, and broadcast. Columnists issue their daily columns, many of them full of venom; some full of honey, depending on who pays them more, or whose administration they want to build – or, in many cases – destroy! Ironically, I offer not much else as alternative. Preaching, evangelizing, teaching, passing on the Word of God, unfortunately, or fortunately, still all have to do with using the human word – the only way we humans know best to communicate, to connect, and to transform the world we are immersed in. Words flood our waking days, hours, and minutes. Most are empty words, vacuous threats, and spineless promises often meant to be broken. And this, for one simple reason … words are used, for the most part, only to communicate, to inform, but not to educate or to form. Words uttered and written no long...