OUR PARISH PRIEST

Whats wrong about pride? 30th Sunday Is it wrong to be happy about your good qualities? You are really beautiful or handsome or intelligent. Is it improper to boast of your achievements? Your hard work truly earned you success, riches and fame. What is wrong in having a sense of fulfillment in the good things that happen in your life or in the rewards due to your honest labor? Does God not appreciate all these things? And does he want to suppress your instinct to enjoy the good and beautiful things? The gospel today depicts two people praying – a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Lord Jesus is repulsed by the Pharisee while he praises the tax collector. Why is this so? The Pharisee prays approaches God in a spirit of pride. The publican prayed with total humility and dependence on the Lord. What is wrong with pride? First, it is not improper to be satisfied with our achievements. There is cause to celebrate each time we sense that we have co

FAITH EMPOWERS PRAYER 29th Sunday One of the most encouraging images to come out of television in a long time was the successful rescue of the Chilean miners buried under the ground for 70 days, history’s longest surviving victims of a mining disaster. The media, their president and families and friends cheered the men on as they emerged in the daylight they have not seen for a long time. What was the key to their survival? Under ground, the miners were united, even rationing the scant food available and encouraging one another. Above ground, the families and friends of these men camped out and kept vigil until help finally came from the government and from abroad. Most importantly, the trapped men kept their faith in God, praying ardently, invoking St. Lawrence, the patron of miners and even building an altar in their bunk to inspire them. Their relatives too, built shrines and asked for Masses to be celebrated for the safety of the men. Chile reported an increase in M

BE THANKFUL 28th Sunday Some of you woke up this morning feeling sad. Some of you lived through the week depressed. Others, surely, trekked to the church today full or regrets. Why is it that many people have a difficult time fashioning a great day for themselves? Or a great week? Or a great life? I think one of the main reasons is that we have forgotten the secrets of a joyful life. Today’s gospel shows us Jesus giving to his disciples the key to a life of peace, fulfillment and joy. It is quite simple and easy: be thankful! After healing 10 lepers, the Lord saw how the 9 lepers each went home filled with wonder at their new-found freedom from the scourge of their former situation. While they walked away, one of them, a Samaritan, returned to Jesus to give thanks. And Jesus praised the man and blessed him more. Today many of us are unhappy and lifeless because we are a people trained to complain, to begrudge, focus on the ugly and the bad.

FAITH…BIG or small 27th Sunday It is delightful to see that game shows in our country reveal the faith of the contestants, and even of the hosts. I remember a man in ‘Deal or No Deal’ who refused to yield briefcase number 2, maintaining that in prayer it was disclosed to him that it contained the P2 million. Indeed, he went home 2 million pesos richer. Another guy admitted that the night before the program, he hardly slept. And in the early morning visited and prayed at his favorite church for guidance. He went home with a brand-new Toyota Innova car. In the gospel, the disciples approach Jesus for an increase of faith. And Jesus assures them that even if faith is as small as a mustard seed, it can indeed perform miracles for people. A mustard seed is certainly small, as tiny as a crumb of bread. Yet Jesus says that the size of faith is not the primary factor in life. It is the strength and sincerity of faith that truly matter in the end. Some peop