Inspirations at your Fingertips!

Modelo ng pananampalataya, pag-asa at pag-ibig Ni Padre Lito Jopson Ang puso ko'y nagpupuri sa Panginoon sa maraming mga pagkakataon na naging biyaya si Obispo Francisco San Diego sa aking buhay.  Nagsilbi siyang haligi ng aking buhay sa tatlong pamamaraan: Una, haligi siya sa pagkakatatag ng matibay na pananampalataya sa Diyosesis ng Pasig.   Kasama ako sa pagkakatatag ng Pasig noong Agosto 2003.  Nahiwalay man sa Maynila na may kasamang agam-agam, ngunit unti-unti itong naibsan sa pagpasok ng isang obispong nagsilbing unang ama ng bagong katatatag na simbahan. Tila ang buong diwa ng Diyosesis ng Pasig ay diwa ni Bishop Francisco - sa structura, sa building, sa mga opisina.  Ngunit di man natin alam, sa istruktura rin ng pananampalataya sa puso ng bawat nakatira rito at sa paglago nito.  Para sa akin, sa Bishop Francisco ang haligi ng matibay na pananampalataya sa Pasig. Pangalawa, haligi para sa akin si Bishop Francisco sa pag-asa ng isang maliwanag ...

Memorial of St. Monica Matthew 24:42-51 St. Paul commended the Thessalonians for being "blameless" as they grow in Christian maturity. Jesus, in the gospel, warns about "being prepared because you don't know when the thief is coming." Conversion in Christian life doesn't happen overnight.  We need to be prepared. Spiritual preparation marks us for our lifetime as well as every moment. Spiritual preparation include a clear destination and as well as daily growth in grace, always mindful that God is always at work in us. Such is the zeal of St. Monica that caused the conversion of two persons in her life - her husband and her son Augustine, who eventually became the great saint of Africa. Let us rue calling off spiritual preparations.  Let our lives reflect preparation on a day-to-day basis.

Can you see? John 1:45-51 From the book of Revelations: "The city walls stood on twelve foundation stones, each one of which bore the name of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." (Apocalypse 21:9-14) As we celebrate the feast of the Apostle St. Bartholomew or "Nathaniel", the theme for today's feast is about seeing.  Jesus saw the good in Nathaniel.  Nathaniel saw the Messiah in Jesus.  Jesus revealed the heavens open and the angels and the Son of Man descending to the earth. Let us see things in a different light, through the eyes of faith.  Don't be entangled by what is physical, for as quoted from the book "The Little Prince," what is essential is invisible to the eye. Listen also to the young.  In a poem created by young people, "Listen to what I'm not saying." Third, Jesus declares, "Whenever you do this to the least of my brothers and sisters you do it to me." Let's not lose sight of the kingdom o...

The redeemer's heart Matthew 23:1-12 Boaz redeemed Ruth and Naomi who were widows. The ultimate redeemer is Jesus Christ himself.  Through him we are made new creations.  He did it through his passion, death, and resurrection so that the forgiveness of sins might be proclaimed. Let us pray that we may appreciation the redemption of Jesus to all of us.  We are made new creations. Let us also learn from his redeeming ways, that we may share in the responsibility of redeeming our brothers and sisters. First, let us be concerned our with our interior transformation whether the qualities of redemption are integrated in our words and actions; Secondly, do we rely totally on Jesus as our way, truth, and life for our ultimate redemption? Third, are we willing to undergo servanthood?  To serve and not to be served?  To be an agent of salvation for many? Let us take Mary, queen of heaven and earth, as our model for redemption.  Her words and actions ...

Metanoia Matthew 22:34-40  What is a life of conversion?  Also known as "metanoia", it entails a commitment to change our life's paradigm to another one. In the case of our faith, it is a movement from self to God.  This is the core of today's gospel when Jesus explained the greatest commandment: to love God above all things and to love neighbor as oneself. A life of conversion is directly related to our faith in God because it is impossible to have a metanoia if we don't have God in our hearts. A shift to a life of faith means that we develop more time, attention, and passion to knowing the faith, loving the faith and living the faith. Secondly, it also entails "entrusting" our lives to Him whom we have faith. Thirdly, it also connotes "being faithful" all our lives to Him. We know that after our Lord, our lives will never be the same again.

Serve! Matthew 20:1-16 Jotham's parable speaks of the leader that the Israelites are asking for.    He has the capacity to burn the cedars of Lebanon for those who don't follow him. Jesus is the true leader who invites people in different times and lives to serve him in his vineyard. What time is it in our lives when we have made a firm decision to follow and serve the Lord? When we serve, do we desire also to be served?  Is that the reason why we are serving the Lord?  Serve unconditionally and the Lord will reward us in His time. Third, serve because God himself is a God who serves and not served.  This lesson in generous and unconditional service is the true key to Christian discipleship.

Trust God entirely Matthew 19:23-30 Gideon's story inspires us to trust in God and not ourselves.  Jesus too invites Peter and the apostles to trust him. We need to trust the Lord unconditionally because His plan is far better than ours. We need to entrust our whole lives to the care of the Lord. We need to be trusted servants of the Lord.

Working for transfiguration Mark 9:2-10 Today is the feast of the transfiguration.  There is a divine experience in the form of One who is as white as wool and also Jesus transfiguring into his divinity with Moses and Elijah. Let us reflect on our transfiguration if we can see it.  First, we are not simply meant to live and die in this world.  We are not just meant to eat, grow old, and die.  There is the divine presence in us who are created in the image and likeness of God.  We should see God in ourselves and in others. Second, we need to work for the transfiguration of the world through our sacrifices.  We are not meant to simply live and die in sin.  He wants us to be saved.  He wants the children of every generation to be saved.  Let us do so in this world. Finally, let our every action be a transformed action.  Let us not act simply to eat and grow rich, Let our every action lead us to see Jesus face to face.  This ...

Priests Day Matthew 14:22-36 It brings joy to my heart as a priest that in the Feast of St. John Marie Vianney, patron of parish priests, people would celebrate this day and call it "Parish Priests Day" and remember their priests through prayers and give tributes to them. But let us also remember that we all in a way priests, sharing in the priestly function of Jesus Christ. And this is the priestly spirituality of a laity, that through sacrifices, people might be consecrated to God and witness of the offerings of life. The three things that give joy to my life as a priest are the following: 1. Conversion - We priests are witness to metanoia or radical change from sin to grace.  St. John Marie Vianney stayed in the confessional everyday for more than 12 hours to witness the conversion of people. 2. Consecration - the joy of the priests is the overflow of consecrated people. made holy by God himself.  St. John Vianney restores holiness to people in the...