Opinion

A Personal Reflection on DeathToday, All Souls Day, we honor our dear departed ones by visiting their tombs to offer flowers and light candles and above all to pray for their eternal repose.As we remember beloved family members and friends who were once with us and are now gone, we cannot help but be reminded of our own mortality. For like them, we too will one day pass from this world. How do we deal with our own death?Our common reaction is often one of fear. We naturally fear death because it is something we have never experienced. It is the fear of stepping into an uncharted territory, the fear of the unknown.I remember how as a child I had such a great fear of pain. I resisted sitting on the dentist’s chair or showing up for the doctor’s injection. I even suspect that ...

Today’s readings present two men who receive a favor (a miracle, no less) from God and return to give him thanks. In the first reading, Naaman finally heeds the words of the prophet Elisha and washes himself in the river Jordan. Finding himself cured of his leprosy, he returns to the prophet to offer him gifts of gratitude and to ask his permission “to have two mule-loads of earth, for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any other god except to the Lord." Gratitude is the recognition of the gift which in turn leads to the recognition of the giver. And since every gift comes from God, gratitude leads to God.Likewise, in the gospel, the Samaritan leper obeys Jesus and goes to show himself to the priests. On his way, he is cured of his disease. He immediately returns to Jesus...

“Lord, increase our faith.” The disciples make this plea after hearing Jesus’ teaching on discipleship. Following Jesus is indeed difficult and demanding. They have just heard him instructing that if a brother sins, they must be ready to rebuke him. And if he repents, they must be ready to forgive him, even “seven times a day.”In response, they could only say, “Lord, increase our faith.” But Jesus pursues further by saying that being a disciple is more than just having a great faith. For even with a faith as tiny as a mustard seed, one can command a mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea. The disciple is not asked to do extraordinary things but only the things that he needs to do, however small.This is the point of the Jesus’ ensuing parable. In discipleship what is im...

It’s amazing how our readings this Sunday perfectly synchronize with what is presently happening all over the country. Today, the people are marching on the streets in great numbers to manifest their collective anger over the flood-control projects scandal that plundered the nation’s coffers and caused untold sufferings to countless victims. The scandal is but the tip of an iceberg of a longstanding culture of greed and impunity in government, politics and in our life as a nation.In the first reading, the prophet Amos condemns the dishonest merchants who could not wait for the end of the Sabbath and religious festivities to exploit and cheat the people with their tampered measures and scales, overpriced merchandise and lucrative sale of rejects. In the words of the prophet, “they buy u...

The celebration of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross started in 335 when the true cross of Jesus was discovered through the effort of St. Helena and installed in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Mt. Calvary. Before Constantine, Christians were reluctant to venerate the cross which was looked upon as an instrument of torture and execution. After Constantine abolished crucifixion, the cross was no longer held as something shameful and repugnant but was venerated as a triumphant symbol of Christ’s victory over sin and death. Constantine himself was among the first to hold this new appreciation of the cross. He attributed his rise to the throne to the vision he had before the crucial battle on the Milvian bridge where he saw a cross blazing in the sky and the accompanying words ...

The Church dedicates this month of September to the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. This universal observance invites us to pray and reflect on our responsibility as stewards of God’s creation.The theme of this year’s Season of Creation is Peace with Creation. It is a timely reminder for us to make peace with Creation for we all have a share in the dismal state of our present ecology. Today the environment has become increasingly unpredictable and unbearable; extreme heat, deadly floods and super typhoons have become frequent and “normal.” While we readily condemn the greed of the superpowers and big industries which drives them to exploit and devastate the earth’s resources without scruple, we too contribute to the destruction of nature by our own neglect and wasteful li...

The common theme running through today’s readings is clearly that of humility. Once held in high esteem, the virtue of humility is unfortunately less and less valued by our present secularized society.In today’s highly competitive world that estimates self-assurance and audacity as pre-requisite to getting to the top, humility is considered a weakness and even a liability. Since the advent of Enlightenment, the world has increasingly lost its understanding and appreciation of humility. The Scottish philosopher, David Hume, sees humility not as a virtue, but as a vice because it prevents one from flourishing and accomplishing. And that is how the world thinks today. Ambition is in, modesty is out.Even in the area of spirituality, the understanding of humility has become somewhat vag...

Once again, Jesus is presented with an intriguing question which he does not answer but which he uses to impart an important teaching. "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" Jesus replies by saying, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.”Jesus does not tell how many will be saved but who will be saved. What is more important to know is not how many will be saved but how one can be saved.We are all called to salvation. This is the very reason why Jesus came on earth and became man. He came that all may have life, and have it abundantly. (cf Jn 10:10) And he came to save not only the people of Israel, but all peoples. Already in the Old Testament, the call to universal salvation was announced by the proph...

With what is happening in the senate and the supreme court today, one cannot help but feel frustrated with the present government and cynical about the future of our nation.The upper house, once an august and independent body of statesmen/women, is now infested with members coming from deeply entrenched dynasties, entertainers and populists who know nothing about law-making, and lawyers who are suspect and beholden to partisan agenda. The highest court meant to be the people’s last resort for justice is lost in non-committal legalese and fails to defend the people’s right to hold their elected leaders accountable.Once again, the question continues to haunt us: is there hope? Corruption is so endemic, it has become “normal.” The political machinery that fabricates fake news seems t...

I remember having read in college a story written by Leo Tolstoy, entitled “How Much Land Does a Man Need?”. It was a standard classic example of a short story (in 66 pages!) recommended for our reading.The story tells of a peasant who enters into an agreement with the owner of a vast track of land. He can have all the land he can cover from sunrise to sunset for 1,000 rubles. Early the next day, the peasant immediately starts his trek as soon as the sun rises. By midday, he covers a sizeable amount of land and is about to return when he notices that the land ahead is so much greener and more fertile. He proceeds to cover also that part of the land. By midafternoon, he knows he needed to return. Seeing that he has gone too far, he musters all his remaining strength and runs as fast as ...