Inspirations at your Fingertips!

Wednesday of week 6 in Ordinary Time Mark 8:22-26  The readings reflect a state of restoration from corruption to newness of life.  After the destruction of the world through the flood, the Lord God restored his creation and blessed Noah and his family to start life anew. In the gospel, Jesus restored the sight of the blind man.  Though not immediately, eventually the man recovered his sight and gave glory to God. Today, in the Diocese of Pasig, we are privileged to be visited by the incorrupt heart relic of St. Camillus, patron of the sick and of nurses.  His life too is a testimony of a movement to corruptibility to incorruptibility. Camillus was a compulsive gambler and mercenary.  Following his father, his compulsion for gambling and materialism reached its peak that he was left in the streets to wander aimlessly.  Had it not been for a kind nobleman who offered him a job, his life would end up in the gutters. But God had other plans ...

PASIG CITY - The heart relic of St. Camillus de Lellis, patron of the sick, arrived in the Immaculate Conception Cathedral of the Diocese of Pasig.  The Camillian congregation took charge to make his relic available for public veneration in this pilgrimage to the Philippines. His life St. Camillus de Lellis was born at Bocchianico, Italy. He fought for the Venetians against the Turks, was addicted to gambling, and by 1574 was penniless in Naples. He became a Capuchin novice, but was unable to be professed because of a diseased leg he contracted while fighting the Turks. He devoted himself to caring for the sick, and became director of St. Giacomo Hospital in Rome. He received permission from his confessor (St. Philip Neri) to be ordained and decided, with two companions, to found his own congregation, the Ministers of the Sick (the Camellians), dedicated to the care of the sick. They ministered to the sick of Holy Ghost Hospital in Rome, enlarged their facilities in 1585, found...

Tuesday of week 6 in Ordinary Time Mark 8:14-21 We turn our attention to the story of Noah and his family and the flooding of the earth, killing its inhabitants, both human beings and animals.  The Lord regretted creating humankind as a consequence of the fall.  But that's not the end of the story.  He commissioned Noah to construct the ark that would save a couple of every specie on earth as well as his family.  Then a new beginning would happen on the earth. In the gospel, Jesus mentioned about being wary of the leaven of the pharisees in contrast with his own leaven which resulted in the multiplication of the loaves.  We should also distinguish what kind of leaven we are producing in this life. The leaven of the Lord brings about fruitfulness in this world; a situation where many are fed and nourished.  In the leaven of selfishness and greed, no one survives; everyone perishes.  Most of all, God is the author of the leaven of life; Jesus...

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time Luke 4:21-30 The gospel is a continuation of last Sunday's reading, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor." Jesus delivered none other than the Good News.  But in today's gospel, an angry mob wants to throw him off the cliff.  That's not good news at all. We need to clarify in ourselves whether we are propagators of the Good News or not.  But we have to distinguish good from bad news.  The gauge for determining the heart of the Good News is in the second reading - love.  Love, at the very heart of the Good News seeks to be reconciled with ones enemies and gives life to others.  Bad news seeks to destroy the other and save oneself.  Second, listen to the response to the psalm: "My lips will tell of your help" or translated as, "No matter what happens my lips will always tell of your help." That is commitment to spreading the Good News.  I shall stay fait...