OUR PARISH PRIEST

GRATITUDE TO THE LORD FOR MY NEW BOOK I'm happy to announce, on the occasion of my 13th year anniversary as an unworthy priest of the Lord Jesus Christ, July 31, 2009, that stpauls (makati, philippines), is due to release my third book of reflections on the gospels.  this latest one is for the cycle c - gospel of St. Luke, which will be read in our Sunday liturgies for December 2009 and the rest of 2010.  As family and friends supported my earlier 2 books - "sa yapak ni Hesus" and "proclaim on the housetops", i humbly invite you all to take a look at this one for your own weekly preparations for Sunday Mass and for possible gift ideas for your friends and loved ones.  Launching date given by stpauls is on September 18, 2009, Friday, 4:30pm, at the Mall of Asia, in time for the Manila Book Fair.  See you there!  God bless you all!

THE FOOD THAT REMAINS I have just finished watching the third season of the TV series, “The Tudors.”   The Tudors portray the life of King Henry VIII, the controversial monarch who fashioned his own church after the pope refused to grant him a divorce.   The series showed how many people who surrounded the king manipulated the king in their own desire for power.   By a stroke of luck, the king later learned of these machinations and one by one, those who tried to manipulate him were discovered, prosecuted and killed.   They have been influential on the king for a time, but they paid dearly for it in the end. “You should not work for perishable food.” How many times the world has turned a deaf ear to these words of biblical wisdom, the vey counsel of the Lord.   People through the ages have worked for food that will never last.   For some the food is money and they hoard money and wealth only to realize they cannot carry it to their grave.   For o...

SMALL OFFERINGS, BIG MIRACLES Filipino Catholics are very generous. They contribute a lot to society, to the Church and to so many institutions of learning, charity and other worthy causes.   I have witnessed first hand the overwhelming desire of the faithful to share what they have with others. In my last parish, we seldom resorted to fundraisers to solicit funds.   We just explained a project and issued an appeal before the end of the Mass.   Donations kept flowing and projects blossomed. While the rich gave hugely, those of moderate means and even the less privileged compete with them in generosity. While repairing the termite-infested church ceiling, our rich parishioners pledged substantial amounts. But while I was praying in the church one morning, a lady came from behind me and whispered in a low voice: “I am sorry Father, this is the only money I have, but I offer it for Jesus and the church.” She pressed into my hands a crumpled 200 peso bill and before I ...

POWERFUL PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF MT. CARMEL O most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel, Fruitful Vine, Splendour of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. O Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein you are my Mother.   O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart, to succour me in this necessity; there are none that can withstand your power. O show me herein you are my Mother.   O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. (3 times)   Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands. (3 times)

A TIME TO WORK, A TIME TO PRAY 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Everybody will agree that our times call for hard work, assiduous labor, double effort.   It should be the case in this period of financial crisis. Businesses are imperiled and even the most powerful countries declare alarm in their economies. As Filipinos we know the value of hard work.   We are no stranger to perspiring labor in the fields, in plying our jeepneys and buses, in the sales of the marketplace.   We are accustomed to problem solving in computer agencies, in schools, in the law firm.   The gospel shows both the Lord Jesus and his disciples immersed in serious work.   They labor hard for the Kingdom. They serve the people with eagerness and total commitment.   They are not driven merely by a motivation for success.   In fact, Jesus was moved with compassion for the crowds following Him like sheep without a shepherd.   He was a willing shepherd to the scattered flock.   The disciples too, shared in the burnin...

YOUR MISSION STARTS HERE, RIGHT NOW 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Before I became a priest, I had a friend named Dindo, who was also about to become a priest himself.   We were ordained priests in the same year and soon I found myself working in Manila while Dindo became a missionary and was sent to Togo, Africa.   We still see each other when he comes home for his vacation, once every five years. Filipino Catholics admire missionaries.   We are proud of the foreign missionaries who came to our shores and helped evangelize our people.   We are even prouder of our own Filipino missionaries bravely working abroad.   We imagine them crossing expansive rivers, hiking up mountains, living with tribal peoples in the jungles, eating exotic cuisine and dancing through the liturgy. And it is true that we must continue to love and support our missionaries because the world needs them today more than ever. The gospel speaks of that precious moment when after the disciples learned at the f...

Please Pray Daily for Priests Dear Lord,                   we pray that the Blessed Mother wrap her mantle around your priests and through her intercession strengthen them for their ministry. We pray that Mary will guide your priests to follow her own words, “Do whatever He tells you” (Jn 2:5). May your priests have the heart of St. Joseph, Mary’s most chaste spouse. May the Blessed Mother’s own pierced heart inspire them to embrace all who suffer at the foot of the cross. May your priests be holy, filled with the fire of your love seeking nothing but your greater glory and the salvation of souls. Amen. Saint John Vianney, pray for us.

A REJECTING PEOPLE AND A WELCOMING GOD 14 Sunday in Ordinary Time Growing up, we were surrounded by rich relatives while we we were a poor family among them. We were not included in their parties, reunions and affairs. Rich relatives would pass us by on the road in their cars and never give us a ride. But when I was ordained a priest, while walking down the street, every car that passed by wanted to take me where I was going. Jesus suffered the experience of rejection in His own life. Admiration and adulation marked his presence in other places. But in his hometown, He was shunned by his townmates. Was it something He did that led them to mistrust his capacity? No, it was rather, familiarity. They thought they knew him well enough – He was just a carpenter, a son or relative of ordinary people they knew. The result was amazing. The gospel admits that Jesus was limited by this cold reception he found at home. While He worked many wonders beyond His hometown, there He was not abl...