Soul Food & Homilies

I remember applying to the Society of Jesus about 27 years ago and in one of the interviews, I was asked, so why are you applying? And clumsily, I sputtered out some platitudes but one statement...

There’s this story about a young lector, a beginner, who was reading in church to a big crowd for the first time. He was super nervous and had a difficult time getting through the first reading...

            What did scribes do? They were ancient Israel’s human word processors & Xerox machines. With almost maniacal accuracy, they hand-copied biblical texts word for word on parchment. But...

The readings for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time bring us face to face with a powerful message about humility, service, and what true greatness is. In the Gospel of Mark that we just proclaimed...

            Have you seen wedding videos of arranged marriages? There was one I saw where a young Indian groom sat alone, unsmiling & uncomfortable. His heavily veiled wife was led in to be seated...

To Pray on and Ponder: John 12, 24-26 “Hinay-hinay, basta kanunay” is a favorite Visayan-language quotation which I always liken to God’s grace. The dynamic movement is that of a slow, gentle drop of...

            I had the chance to work with the deaf for 3 years. They were religion teachers who taught in 3 public schools where there were special classes for deaf children. First, they taught me...

We encounter in our readings today Paul’s struggle with his own weaknesses and the rejection of Jesus in His hometown. These passages invite us to reflect on our call as modern-day prophets in...

There are only three instances in the Gospels where Jesus raised the dead back to life. Our Gospel today is one among the three – the raising of the daughter of Jairus, a synagogue official. This...