Opinion

(Pilgrims of Peace Lenten Statement)Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)Photo from Bishop Alminaza FBAs we prepare ourselves for this year's Lenten journey, the suffering of the poor weighs upon our hearts. Amidst soaring inflation, it seems impossible for most families to make ends meet. Hunger and deprivation are further exacerbated through extensive joblessness and underemployment in urban areas as well as landlessness for the rural poor. Perhaps, this year, our Lenten journey can help us better understand the hunger and thirst of the Filipino people.We long for righteousness: we look for how to build peace based on justice. This is so very important in our archipelago, where civil discontent and war pulses the...

All three readings today remind us of God’s call for everyone to be holy. “Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.” (first reading) “The temple of God, which you are, is holy.” (second reading) “So, be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." (gospel)Inspiring as it may be, the call to be holy and perfect like our heavenly Father is equally daunting. Is it really possible? How can we be holy and perfect like God? Yet this is what Jesus clearly tells us. So, what does he mean?The first reading tells us the reason why God calls us to be holy – because he is holy. He is our Father and we are his children. “Like father, like son,” we often say. A true child bears the features of his father.The gospel gives us an insight on what it means to be holy and perfect like Go...

I’ve heard of V&W pastries before from my sister in Manila who asked me to bring her some on one of my trips there.She was insisting it was from Bacolod as the friend who made her try it said it was gifted by someone from here. Of course, I never brought her any as I had no idea what she was talking about until last Thursday when my friend, Minnie Chua, invited us to have lunch there.Truth is, Minnie invited Anne Tiongco and Cathy de Mesa, VMC colleagues who are based in Manila but who were in town for the week. Anne then invited me, so in effect I was really a lunch crasher who had a good time with old friends, especially Cathy whom I had not seen since the pandemic lockdown.Victoria Zayco and William Espina of V&W.*We had a nice time playing catch-up to talk about...

We continue our reading of the Sermon on the Mount, which we started two Sundays ago. Once again, Jesus shocks his listeners when, this time, he speaks of the Torah (Law) of Moses and the teachings of the prophets and interprets them in a surprisingly unconventional way.The Torah is particularly sacred and dear to the people of Israel, not only because it contains the Ten Commandments of God, but also because it distinctively marks them as a special people. “For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? Or what great nation has statutes and ordinances that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today?” (Dt 4:7-8) The Law is Isreal’s greatest pride because no other people has received direct ins...

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...