Luke 3:1-6 All the names mentioned in the Gospel – Pontius Pilate, Herod, Annas and Caiaphas- belong in the Passion of Christ. Ever wondered why do we hear them now before the Lord’s birth? This is to remind us the reason for our Lord’s birth: “Jesus Christ was born for our salvation through his obedience to our Father.” The winding [...]
Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night, unable to move? Your eyes are open but your limbs betray you. I started experiencing this as a teenager and thought it was because I was so darn tired after school. It did not just happen at night. It would happen when I was taking afternoon naps. It was [...]
Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 We are now in the new liturgical year and it begins with Advent. The new year begins with the admonition to ‘Stay awake'. It is apt for us to hear this as it is during this time that most of the world is preparing to celebrate Christmas with the usual gaiety. There will be much preparation for [...]
Something has changed within me Something is not the same I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game Too late for second-guessing Too late to go back to sleep It's time to trust my instincts Close my eyes and leap It's time to try defying gravity I think I'll try defying gravity And you can't pull me [...]
John 18:33-37 In John 18:33-37, we witness a profound dialogue between Pilate and Jesus, where Pilate questions Jesus about His kingship. Pilate asks, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus responds by clarifying that His kingdom is not of this world. If it were, His followers would have fought to prevent His arrest. Jesus declares, “My kingdom is not [...]
Theme – Christ the King – Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe Today is the final Sunday of our Church liturgical year, we celebrate the Solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Next Sunday is Advent, the beginning of new liturgical year. Today, we profess the profound truth that our Lord is King! He is the [...]
Two words I added to my vocabulary bank this year. Ennui (pronounced On-Wee) is a new emotion of the main character Riley in the movie “Inside Out 2” and Ennui appears in the film performing actions on her handphone from her couch, and exhibits a ‘whatever’ attitude toward life (oh, how I hate that word ‘whatever’). Ennui is the French [...]
Theme – The Eternal Perfection of All Whom Christ is Sanctifying In today’s Gospel reading on “The Coming of the Son of Man”, Jesus’ prophecy that “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.” - Mark [...]
Mark 13:24-32 In today’s readings, we are reminded of God’s love and protection for all of us in all circumstances. Hardships in life presents itself in many forms and often we lament and question why certain conditions or challenges are manifesting, and we find ourselves entrapped in a vicious cycle of sense making powered by human knowledge. We are prompted [...]
I have always loved fairy tales. One of them is a lesser-known tale called King Thrushbeard(1) ("Thrushbeard") by the Brothers Grimm. What attracts me is the interesting storyline. Unlike most fairy tales, the Princess in Thrushbeard starts out as a selfish, entitled snob. She insulted every nobleman who came to the castle to ask for her hand. The Princess cruelly dubbed the [...]