PAN DE LA SEMANA

17 th Sunday in Ordinary Time(A) July 24, 2011 Last week, I gave free rein to the hope that is in me despite the so many problems that beset the Church, the country, on account of the saints and sinners (including me) that make up the Church, almost brought down to her knees by a barrage of media-instigated, PR machinery guided demolition job that started with two letters of request from a Bishop addressed to the former President. A “lapse of judgment” on his part, along with the well-meaning requests born of real needs from far-flung mountainous and remote dioceses both in the north and the south, became cannon fodder for a PR firm intent and bent on humiliating the institutional Church. The 7 bishops responded to the humiliating half-truths that were, as usual, worse than whole lies, by resorting to the Christian way – by humbling themselves even more, even as they spoke out the truth in charity. They begged for apologies to the people of God, both to those who remained loyal bel...

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A July 10, 2011 There is something in the readings today that sit very close to nature, or at least, to the natural world as we knew it way back then. Let us face it … nature is fast disappearing. In the Philippines, only about 3 million hectares of rice lands are left, and they are fast becoming cathedrals of commerce – shopping malls, and SM, in particular! Our prime forest lands are also dwindling precipitously low, thus depriving countless species of flora and fauna, a home where they can thrive unhampered and untrammeled by so-called development. But even then, the Biblical readings ought to speak to us. They ought to offer us a view of reality from God’s perspective. And they ought to teach us valuable lessons about life … here and now, and thereafter. What are some of these timely lessons that we can glean from today’s readings? Before I proceed to answer that, let me tell you what I have recently been through … Two weeks ago,...

Fifth Sunday of Easter(A) May 22, 2011 For one who comes from a culture that is at home with the idea of “stones” that are referred to in our language as “living,” I find it curious, interesting, and insightful that Peter, called the Rock by no less than his Master and Lord, now speaks to us of the “Living Stone.” I feel competent to write about the matter at hand. I know. My native language being Tagalog (not the “Taglish” that Manilenos and all current day media babies blabber!), I know whereof I speak – “batong buhay!” – or literally translated, “living stone.” In my culture, a stone is “living” for many reasons. For one, the most obvious, it is living because it is solid, sturdy, and strong. “Batong buhay” is distinct from “buga” which is soft, brittle, and can easily be shaped to one’s specifications. A living stone is solid rock that stands steadfast with the passing of time, with the passing of the seasons – and there are only two equally powerful seasons back home: h...