Opinion

We visited Boracay Island over the weekend to check out venues where we will hold our training for incoming presidents and assistant governors for Rotary International District 3850 this coming month.Since our district is spread apart, covering 12 provinces, including Negros Occidental, the whole of Panay and Western Mindanao, we usually hold training dates a day or two before our annual District Convention, which will be in Boracay for this year.The obligatory pose in front of the Boracay signage at the island’s port - Lito Sion, Ja Villaluz and me (l-r).*Along with my Incoming District Secretary, Juan “Ja” Villaluz and Past President Lito Sion, we left Bacolod very early so we could make some headway in negotiating for the best possible venue for our training.Taking the R...

Instead of an organized homily, allow me just to share some scattered thoughts on today’s gospel. Jesus tells his disciples to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. He uses these richly evocative images of salt and light to reveal the identity and mission of the disciple.We use salt to preserve food from getting spoiled. The disciple is called to preserve the purity of the world/community. Notice how some people can easily bring out the best in us? In their presence, we dare not say an offensive word or behave rudely. These are the salt of the earth that keep society from moral decadence. We experience this with our parents, teachers, leaders who are credible, or any person of integrity.We also use salt to give taste and flavor to our food so we can enjoy it. The dis...

We ask for blessing for ourselves, our homes, our vehicles, our religious articles and practically for everything. We ask it from our priests and parents. We train our children to kiss the hand of their elders in a gesture of asking for blessing. (Thank God, the restrictive protocol of Covid-19 did not succeed in eradicating this godly and typically Filipino custom.)Today’s gospel tells us that as Jesus went up the mountain, he “saw the crowds” in a way that others did not. He saw the poor, the mournful, the meek, the persecuted… as blessed. Great must have been the astonishment of the listeners when they heard Jesus proclaiming blessed those whom the world consider more cursed than blessed. Jesus’ blessing makes all people the same, for all are blessed by God. The truth is that if we ...

I am sorry to have missed the biggest gathering of who’s who in town for the 89th birthday of the Yanson matriarch, Tita Love, but the photos taken by good friend, Ronnie Baldonado, made up for the splendor of what I failed to enjoy in person.It is not my fault but that of Philippine Airlines that cancelled our flight from Los Angeles to Manila last January 20. I got rebooked to fly out two days later and missed the festivities here, not to mention, bonding with former theater colleagues who came to perform for Tita Love’s birthday bash.Dinner at Gina’s Seafood restaurant with National Artist Ryan Cayabyab, wife Emy and the RCS singers and production assistants.*Nevertheless, it wasn’t all bad as my flight cancellation allowed me to attend my sister’s surprise wedding in LA and...

Once again, I have invited Fr. Marvin Labasan to share his thoughts on this Sunday’s readings, and I thank him for graciously accepting my invitation. Here is his homily.Many of us started the New Year with resolutions. After a few weeks, it is good to look back and ask ourselves how we fare with our resolutions. Do we still keep them? How consistent are we with our resolve?We may have varied resolutions, but our hope in making them is true for all: to become a better version of ourselves. Unfortunately, no matter how good our resolutions are, we soon realize we fall and move away from them. We find ourselves returning to our old habits. Often we begin the year with strong determination, but never get to finish what we started. Our enthusiasm quickly fizzles out like “ningas kugon....

The feast of the Epiphany is associated with gift giving for the obvious reason that it recalls to us the story of the wise men who came from the east to pay homage and present their gifts to the newborn king in Bethlehem. More than the gifts of the magi, however, it is the greater gift of God which we celebrate – the gift of his own Son to us. Through Jesus, we come to know and experience God. In Jesus, we see the invisible God and touch the Transcendent Being. Jesus is the Epiphany (manifestation) of God. He is the face of God.In my homily at our Requiem Mass for Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI, I exhorted our faithful not only to pray for the eternal repose of the saintly pope, but also to thank God for Benedict XVI, his great gift to the Church and to the world. Among other things, he w...

It was a good thing that my sisters and I decided to spend Christmas in the United States instead of an earlier plan to fly straight to Canada where two of our kids are stationed.Mary Anne and Nenen left for the US mid-December but since I could not fly out until December 22 because of work commitments, we decided to spend Christmas Eve with our aunt, Yoly Llavore, in San Diego along with our niece, Misha, who is living just an hour away from our relatives.With sisters, Nenen and Mary Anne before the statue of playwright George Bernard Shaw in the middle of downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake.*And we were fortunate to delay our plans because just days before Christmas, the deadly winter storm that left over 60 people dead in the East Coast also left thousands of people stranded in air...

Mary, Mother of GodA story is told about a small group of children who roamed around the streets of Jaro to carol. Passing by the cathedral, they stopped to enter and visit the Belen inside. They were filled with such delight and excitement as they identified and pointed at the different characters in the nativity scene. They left the cathedral with faces radiating pure joy. Outside, they found a Christian church just across the street. They also went in to visit the Belen. There the scene was different for they found the child Jesus alone, without Mary, Joseph, the angels, the shepherds or the Magi. The atmosphere was somber, and the mood changed. They could not tell why they felt a sudden sadness in their hearts, until one of them pointed to the Baby and said, “Looy ila bata, waay il...

“Today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”The sign given by the angel of the newborn Savior is a child, small and defenseless. A child so poor that it is wrapped in swaddling clothes and lies not in a cradle but in a manger, the feeding trough for animals. What kind of a sign is this?In one of his Christmas homilies, Benedict XVI tells us that “God’s sign, the sign given to the shepherds and to us, is not an astonishing miracle. God’s sign is his humility. God’s sign is that he makes himself small; he becomes a child; he lets us touch him and he asks for our love.” In the baby Jesus, the infinite God makes himself tiny so we can hold ...

CBCP file photoAfter two years of being apart from one another due to COVID19 restrictions, it is quite tempting to be more lavish and extravagant this Christmas. For many of us, this will be our first Christmas back home, and our first Christmas back with our families. True to our Filipino culture, we want to make the most of our celebrations, and what else could be more worthy of our celebration than the day our Savior is born?But while there may be a number of reasons for us to go all out in our celebrations this year, many families in our country and in our communities are still struggling because of the effects of the pandemic and the state of the economy.As many of us already know, this year saw a drastic increase in basic commodities. The price of rice, garlic, onions, f...