Opinion

Corpus ChristiSometime last year, a pastor came to inquire how he could join the Catholic Church. When I asked him the reason why he wanted to become a Catholic, his answer was - the Eucharist.A Baptist pastor for 37 years, he said that every time he read the discourse on the Bread of Life in chapter 6 of John, he became more and more convinced that Jesus truly meant his words, “I am the Bread of life… the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world… unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” (Our Protestant brethren maintain that Jesus did not mean these words literally but only symbolically.)The pastor’s conviction eventually turned into a deep desire and hunger for the Eucharist. He would secretly sneak ...

A missionary priest was once commissioned by the bishop to prepare a catechism book for an indigenous tribe. After the priest submitted his work for approval, the bishop found out that there was no mention of the Holy Trinity in the book at all. When confronted about the gross omission, the author replied that he had left out the doctrine of the Trinity because he thought it was too abstract and complicated for the local people to understand. Besides, he believed it had no practical bearing on their lives.What a gross omission indeed, and an even more gross misunderstanding! The Holy Trinity is not only the fundamental truth of our Christian faith. It constitutes the core dynamic of our Christian life. More than a dogma to believe in, the Trinity is a mystery to be lived.In my homi...

Saying goodbye is always hard and painful. Yet we know that some goodbyes are necessary if we are to gain something greater than what we leave behind. No pain, no gain. We see this in the goodbyes of children who leave home to pursue higher education, or of parents who go abroad to find a better work and provide a better future for their family.I remember the deep sadness of my father when he grudgingly allowed me to enter the seminary. He had other plans for me, being the eldest of his children. He was somehow “forced” to accede to my request after a priest-friend of our family succeeded in persuading him to allow me to pursue my vocation.Fast forward. Fifteen years later, my father came for my priestly ordination and assisted me in putting on the chasuble during the Mass. My moth...

As Jesus was about to leave this world, he bade farewell to his apostles gathered at the upper room. His parting words to them were, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.”Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead and visited his apostles gathered in the same room and greeted them, “Peace be with you!”Peace was Jesus’ parting word to his apostles before his death and his first word to them after his resurrection.Two weeks ago, people gathered at St. Peter’s Square and eagerly waited to see the new Pope. When he finally emerged from the loggia, he greeted the Church and the world with the same greetings of the risen Lord.“Peace be with you all! These are the first words spoken by the risen Christ. I would like this greet...

Today’s short gospel marks the beginning of Jesus’ long farewell discourse given at the last supper. He tells his apostles, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.”Why does Jesus call it a new commandment? Is it not essentially the same as the “old” commandment written in Leviticus 19:18, which speaks of loving one’s neighbor as oneself? In substance, they are the same: love your neighbor. What is new is the standard of love. Jesus asks his disciples to love one another, not just as they love themselves, but as he loves them.On that evening, Jesus demonstrates his love by kneeling in front of his disciples and washing their feet. The following day, he shows the extent of his love by giving up his life for them. The ...

“Dominus est.” (It is the Lord) These are the words uttered by the apostle John when he sees the resurrected Christ standing on the shore of Lake Tiberias. He and the other six disciples have spent the whole night fishing at sea without catching anything. At early dawn they return to shore and Jesus appears to them. But they do not realize it is Jesus. Why is it that only John recognizes the Lord? I can only think of two possible reasons: John’s simplicity of heart and love for Jesus.Jesus proclaims the pure of heart blessed because they shall see God. (Mt 5:8) John is the youngest of the apostles, and hence the more innocent and perhaps the least corrupted? He is often referred to as the virgin apostle. But more than bodily continence, purity of heart here refers to the honesty of a p...

Yesterday, we had the rare honor and privilege to concelebrate at the funeral Mass of our beloved Pope Francis. A few days ago, I came to Rome together with some of our priests and lay faithful to attend the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis. Instead, as divine providence would have it, we found ourselves participating instead at the solemn Eucharistic celebration and final commendation of Pope Francis.Much has been written and said about the extraordinary legacy of the great Pope Francis: his special love for the poor and the marginalized, his humility and simplicity that became the hallmark of his ministry, his advocacy for our common home, his insistent appeal for peace and care for migrants, among many others. Indeed, he was a great leader not only of the Church but of the world...

Today, we begin the solemn celebration of Holy Week, as we recall the last days of Jesus on earth. It was during these days when he fully accomplished the Father’s mission for him to save humankind through his passion, death and resurrection (the paschal mystery). And because of the pre-eminent fruit of the paschal mystery, which is our salvation, the Church has always kept these days as the most important and sacred in her liturgical calendar. Thus, the name: Holy Week.Let us endeavor to keep these days truly holy by spending time in prayer and reflection (instead of having fun in beaches and mountains). Let us accompany Jesus as he goes through his suffering and death. His final days were days of deep darkness and utter rejection. The extreme pain he suffered was not only physical, b...

In today’s gospel, Jesus arrives in the temple area to teach, when some Pharisees and scribes bring in a woman caught in adultery. They make her stand in the middle and ask Jesus’ verdict on her. They remind him at the same time that the law of Moses prescribes nothing less than death by stoning. The gospel notes that their motive is “to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him.” As in previous attempts, their question is meant to put Jesus in an air-tight dilemma of self-condemnation. To pardon the woman (and be consistent with his message of mercy) would be to go against the law of Moses, while to send her to death would be to violate the Roman law which forbids killing by private citizens.The insensitivity of the religious leaders in dragging the unfortunat...

Today’s gospel further develops last Sunday’s message wherein Jesus warns: Repent or perish. To repent means to return to God and failure to do so means to perish. Biblical scholars have an interesting way of explaining this with today’s gospel. When the prodigal son received his inheritance, he set off to “a distant country” (cora macra), which in Greek means “the great emptiness.” That is precisely what awaits us when we leave the Father’s house – the great emptiness and total loss. When we turn away from God, we turn away from life. For God is life and the source of all life.Whenever we hear the parable of the prodigal son, we often focus our attention on the younger son who squanders all his property until he hits rock bottom. In his abject misery, he realizes his gross mistake and...