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DEAR JESUS OUR KING, THANK YOU FOR GIVING US THIS BRIGHT, HAPPY, HOLY MAN AS THE NEWEST FILIPINO CARDINAL! MABUHAY KA YOUR EMINENCE, CARDINAL LUIS ANTONIO “CHITO” TAGLE, DD METROPOLITAN ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA

THE KING OF GLORY IN SIMPLICITY How do you know that an important person is arriving?   Easy, he comes in a flashy, bulletproof car, with police escorts clearing the traffic for him, with bodyguards to protect and shield him.   And he doesn’t shake hands with anybody outside of his guest list. But not all famous people arrive at an appointment like this.   Pres. Cory Aquino used to stop at all the red traffic lights, walk relax in the middle of a crowd and stand in line at a supermarket cashier to pay for her groceries.   Of course, it took some time for people to notice who she was! In our first reading (Daniel 7), the prophet beholds a heavenly spectacle.   The Son of Man comes in glory and majesty.   Without mentioning the word king, all the details reveal how exalted this figure is.   Thus, it is not difficult to take notice and to stand at attention at his arrival. In the gospel (Jn 18), the same Son of Man, to whom the first...

THE END AS WE KNOW IT Are you already preparing for Christmas? Many Filipinos surely are! But some people are “prepping” for something else – the end of the world!   Whoever managed to direct our attention to December 21, 2012 (12-21-12) surely got the whole world on a year-long suspense mode.   There is much talk, speculation and discussion about the end of this world or of something else we have yet to know! A new program on television shows people preparing for the “end” by stocking piles of food and supplies, burrowing tunnels, practicing shooting skills and defense tactics against human, natural or robotic intruders.   A woman stacked up spaghetti enough to feed two thousand people in case groceries run out! The first reading from the Book of Daniel (Ch. 12) is a prophecy of the end.   In the midst of distress, the great archangel Michael will appear.   Some people will be ushered to life eternal while others consigned to...

YOUR JAR WILL NEVER GO EMPTY 32nd Sunday Foremost in people’s mind today is security.   We want ourselves to be safe, our money to grow, our businesses to flourish, our studies to be smooth, our lives to be prosperous. To be secure, we resort to accumulation, hoarding, investing, piling up supplies and keeping to ourselves valued necessities.     In every election period, people screen candidates according to their capacity to deliver a more stable life for all. The readings today address our quest for security.   In the heart of God and of His Son, what is the secret to living peacefully, plentifully and abundantly?   We are in for a big surprise:   it is not supplying my needs, but giving to those in need.   The first reading (1 Kings 17) shows us a poor widow preparing her last meal for herself and her son, after which they will surely die because of their poverty.   The prophet Elijah surprisingly challenges her to ...

THE WORLD’S GREATEST CHALLENGE 31st Sunday It is very tricky to mention love these days.   People pose as experts of love.   and why not, when kids have “puppy love”, adolescents have “first love”, adults have “true love” and the elderly claim “endless love.” But love can turn to tragedy.   What starts out as love can end up as a mere affair. I noticed that so many of our entertainment materials these days are fascinations about affairs:   A Beautiful Affair, A Secret Affair, My Neighbor’s Wife.   We may be experts in talking about love but we are also experts in escaping from the real demands of love. The Gospel speaks of love as the greatest commandment.   The Lord Jesus is absolutely right in combining into one the two facets of love – love of God and love of neighbor.   This is in fact, the greatest commandment of all time and to us certainly, the greatest challenge of all. In combining the two loves into on...

PRAYERS FOR OUR USA BROTHERS AND SISTERS AFTER HURRICANE SANDY prayers for and with our brothers and sisters in the usa. you are remembered by a people who are often visited by natural calamities and who overcome them with prayer, smiles and selflessness... "Conscious of the devastation caused by the hurricane which recently struck the East Coast of the United States of America, I offer my prayers for the victims and express my solidarity with all those engaged in the work of rebuilding.” - pope benedict XVI

PURGATORY, EXCERPT FROM SPE SALVI A BIBLICAL APPROACH POPE BENEDICT XVI Saint Paul, in his  First Letter to the Corinthians , gives us an idea of the differing impact of God's judgement according to each person's particular circumstances. He does this using images which in some way try to express the invisible, without it being possible for us to conceptualize these images—simply because we can neither see into the world beyond death nor do we have any experience of it. Paul begins by saying that Christian life is built upon a common foundation: Jesus Christ. This foundation endures. If we have stood firm on this foundation and built our life upon it, we know that it cannot be taken away from us even in death. Then Paul continues: “Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each man's work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort...

GESTURES OF HOPE 30th Sunday What is the point in being a Christian, in following Jesus as Lord?   Today many people turn their backs on the faith of their younger years.   They question, rebel, and abandon their faith for another set of beliefs.   There are many also who look for answers to their religious longings by discovering other voices they belief will lead to enlightenment and fulfillment. Today’s gospel (Mark 10) illustrates for us the value of a relationship with Jesus the Lord, of following Him and all throughout our lives.   This is a time in history when it is not fashionable for Catholics to stand up for the teachings and the values of Jesus, so it is great to look at Jesus through the eyes of one who experienced His power to save, the blind Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus had multiple handicaps.   He was blind and so was physically poor.   He was a beggar and so was socially an outcast.   He was truly a man of no importan...

AFTER ST. PEDRO CALUNGSOD, ANOTHER FILIPINO PRIDE, ANOTHER GIFT FROM GOD! THE NEW CARDINAL-ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA HIS EMINENCE CARDINAL LUIS ANTONIO G. TAGLE, DD

TRUE GREATNESS IN THE EYES OF A SAINT 29th Sunday What is the measure of true greatness? In the world today, there are numerous, varied responses:   Money! Control!   Skill!   Attitude!   Fame! Achievements!   Depending on who you ask and what his heart suggests, you will have an answer. In the gospel (Mark 10), the Lord Jesus instructs his disciples to expect that the world will value greatness mainly on the basis of “who’s at the top of things”.   He is great who triumphed over the others, who beat the others, who showed the others his might. Then He tells them to pursue another kind of greatness, one that will make people scratch their heads, shake their heads in unbelief, blow their minds off.   To be great, says Jesus, is to be the servant of all.   To be first is to be the last of all. What better way to understand the Lord than to merely rejoice with the entire Filipino nation as we welcome our latest addit...