PAN DE LA SEMANA

[BREAKING THE BREAD OF GOD’S WORD] 5 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C February 7, 2016 UNDESERVING, BUT CALLED AND SENT! Isaiah was not just a great prophet. He, too, was a great man, if greatness begins with being honest – emotionally honest, first and foremost – and morally so, too. He had no lofty dreams for himself, no ambition. He just took things as they came … yes, including the experience of being privy to a divine manifestation of the “Lord, seated on a high and lofty throne.” Isaiah was gifted with the vision of God’s holiness, His transcendence, His stark otherness. But he was gifted, too, with an honest view of who he was: “a man of unclean lips.” But while greatness may begin with emotional and moral honesty, it is enriched and made complete with utter availability. Having heard God’s question: “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah responds forthwith: “Here I am. Send me.” Honesty, modesty (humility) and availability ...

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...

Catholic Homily / Sunday Reflection 22 nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (B) August 30, 2009 Words inundate our lives ever increasingly as days go by. We see a plethora of words in print, we hear words uttered around us everywhere we go, at home, at school, at the malls, at work, in and out of the radio wave lanes, whether in AM or FM, or in VHF or UHF channels. Words are not only uttered in “real time.” They can be recorded through a variety of electronic means, either “analog” or “digital,” which is the current mode in use. So many words written or uttered, transmitted by wire or “beamed” via satellite, using “wi-fi” technology, indeed, may well have contributed to the phenomenon of making words sound cheap, making them less powerful, and giving them less and less impact. The daily barrage of words may have lessened not only appreciation for them, but also, their innate power to symbolize the true inner state of the people who utter them or use them....