Inspirations at your Fingertips!

Love the sinner Matthew 8:28-34 "Hate the sin but love the sinner." In the gospel, even though Jesus exorcised the demons out of the two men, still the people wanted him out of their village.  They were not able to distinguish between what is good and evil. The intention of God himself is to save people and put an end to sin which He did through the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  Let us share in this task by not judging or condemning people.  It is our duty to save others.  But let us also be resolved to put an end to the sin that lurks in people's hearts and find their way in communities and nations. This is what it means to "hate the sin but love the sinner."  We condemn the sin, but let us do everything to lead the sinner back to God.

Pasig City - The pilgrim symbol of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress slated to be held in Cebu on Jan. 24 - 31, 2016 arrived in the Diocese of the Pasig at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral Pasig City as part of the nationwide awareness efforts and to pray for the successful holding of the momentous event. There are three objectives of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress: 1. Promote awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the Church: The Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life.  The Church makes the Eucharist and the Eucharist makes the Church. 2. Help improve our understanding and celebration of the liturgy - Full, conscious, and active participation in the liturgy 3. Draw attention to the social dimension of the Eucharist - We become the Body of Christ. In 2021, as we celebrate 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines, let this be an opportunity for us to to renew our nation's commitment to be pat

Life of creation Matthew 8:23-27 From Genesis, we witnessed how God put an end to Sodom and Gomorrah.  This reflects the bitter end of the sinfulness of man. But in the Gospel, we witnessed the saving power of Jesus by calming the storm of the sea.  He also calmed the hearts of the apostles. Let us resolve to live the life of creation. We live the creative life when we join our Lord in bringing order to a world slowly being destroyed by sin and death. But let us also allow Jesus to re-create our hearts. St. Paul says, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (Gal. 4,4-5) Let us yearn that our hearts be like his "in the fullness of time."

God's will Matthew 8:1-4 Nothing is impossible with God.   But what is more important is whatever God's will is, it shall be done. Abraham laid out the impossibility.  He was ninety nine years old and Sarah was barren.  But God blessed them nevertheless. In the gospel, Jesus cured a leper. Perhaps it could give us a hint to be convinced that nothing is impossible with God.  The leper said, "If you want to, you can cure me."  And Jesus said, "Of course I want to!" This plea is a lot different from "Heal me!" or "I command you to heal me!"  The statement, "If you want to..." is a statement of utmost faith.  It implies submission to Jesus. Let us submit our lives to Jesus.  God's will will happen anyway.  Happy are we who live out God's will.

Firm foundation Matthew 7:21-29  The reading today is quite unique.  For as we know that our religion espouses monogamy, still Abraham who is the father of many nations bore a son through another woman.  The promise of the Lord is still there and that Ishmael's descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky.  It is the Lord who speaks. In the gospel, Jesus exhorts us to ground our faith on solid ground and not from the caprices of daily life. We are offered to live a life of firm foundations. Although Ishmael was a son outside of marriage, God's assurance is enough to ground Ishmael and the next descendants to Himself. We need to ground our lives in God, and offer our families, our courses, our day-to-day experiences - to God. Second, let us be conscious that simply calling God "Lord, Lord" will not get us into heaven unless we live out His will.

The process of life Matthew 7:6,12-14  "Enter through the narrow door," Jesus commanded his apostles. This gospel might be hard to accept because it is the usual tendency for us to accept what is comfortable and to flee from what is uncomfortable. But the gospel speaks more of the comfort that springs from God power to grant us life. What is a worthy life?  That which is directly ruled by God.  Secondly, let us treat life more as a process rather a result.  Through hard work, it is worth all efforts and sacrifices upon seeing the fruitfulness of it all.

What to boast about Matthew 6:19-23 St. Paul, even when he is away, continues to catechize the Christian Community at Corinth.  He exhorts them about boastfulness because of corruption creeping in among the Corinthians. The gospel also enlightens us on what to boast about.  Most often, we boast about what we have - money, power, or even loved ones and their accomplishments.  But Jesus reminds us that moths will eat them up. Do we treat our lives as matters for the moths to eat up?  Search for transcendence in this world.  A parent who foregoes becoming reach in order to teach his/ her child to give more attention to spiritual things is surely building up the Kingdom of Heaven in the very heart of the child.  We are teaching the child the real value of everlasting life and what we should really be doing on earth. Secondly, Jesus is teaching us not to be blinded by these things on earth.  Open up to the real joys of heaven. Finally, if there is anything to boast about, it is

To be an apostle Matthew 10:7-13 God sent Barnabas to accompany Saul in his missionary journey to the Gentiles. In the Gospel, Jesus orients his disciples to go to the towns and villages to proclaim the Good News. How do we become apostles in the modern times? First, there has to be a direct intention to serve God and please Him. Second, there has to be an intention to proclaim his love to others. Third, there has to be an intention to change the course of this world from sin to grace. Want to be an apostle?  Follow Jesus.

Yes! Matthew 5:13-16  Jesus always said yes to the Father.  In the gospel, Jesus reminds us of becoming salt of the earth and light of the world. I hope we can be fully convinced and finally give our unconditional "yes" to the Father. Let us remove all doubts as regards following the Lord.  His will is definitely better than our own.  He promises fruitfulness of graces for us and others.  Thirdly, the things of this world will reflect the grandeur and greatness of God if all people follow Him. Let us remember Jesus' words for those who say yes to God - they are the salt of the earth, filled with flavor. They are the light of the world where everything has color and can be seen. The Christian can give life to the lifeless, can give color, and of course, direction and meaning to life.

In the midst of angels Mark 12:38-44 Would it be nice if we could detect the presence of angels in our midst. But it would be nicer if our lives reflect the presence of angels or of the divine in our midst. Such is Raphael in the story of Tobiah.  In the gospel, Jesus commended the widow more than the pharisee in offering. our lives truly reflect this: God has not ceased to reach out to us; Jesus hasn't stopped offering to the Father and sending his Spirit.  What is our response? Everything boils down to our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.  Discern whether the Holy Spirit approves our actions. Secondly, have the courage to respond in faith.  Let our actions reflect God's direction in our lives.

God's love and order Mk. 12, 28 - 34 Tobiah stood up to marry Sarah.  But before they went to bed to consummate their marriage, Tobiah prayed to God to bless their married life. In the gospel Jesus was confronted with the question, which is the greatest of all commandments.  He said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. People might hold a different opinion that relationships can exist without the grace and blessing of God.  But come to think of it:  God created man and woman so that they might be fruitful and producing more human beings and thus, the world should continue to exist. Such occurrence has the fullest blessing from God - the continuation of the whole humanity. Jesus enunciated the most important law - loving God with all one's heart.  To love God is to bring order to the entire human existence.  It is also to continue the next generation. To love one's nei