Light of the World
How does one reconcile a passage like Jesus saying "I am the light of the world" (Jn. 8:12) and "Ye are the light of the world" (Mt. 5:14)?. Augustine in his De doctrina christiana III, mentions a rule...
View ArticleMeditation
Some people sit in a lotus position and chant "OM." Others go up a mountain top and allow themselves to be absorbed into nature's harmony. Athletes preparing for a game would close their eyes and...
View ArticleIf Today You Hear His Voice…
The passage is an invitation to obedience. "Obedience" etymologically means a listening that is ready to response (Latin: ob+audire). It is an intent listening, like that of the servant who stands at...
View ArticleThe Way of the Poor Christ and the Gospel of Well-Being
The day’s gospel reading from Mark is about Jesus' question "Who do you say that I am?" (Mk. 8:27–33) Peter seemed to understand when he gave the answer "You are the Anointed One". His subsequent...
View ArticleThat Strange Friar
"So how come he is not ordained?" asked one parishioner pointing to a friar whom I introduced as a class mate. "Why did he enter the religious life if he wouldn't want to be ordained a priest?" That in...
View ArticleMinistry to Fathers
I have completed two sessions with some of the fathers in a subdivision that is covered by our parish. We started last week with a session on "What does being male mean today?" This afternoon, I had...
View ArticleDiscerning One’s Vocation
You probably have read Rick Warren's "The Purpose-Driven Life." From a Catholic point of view, what he did in and with that book is not new. The Catholic equivalent of his "Purpose-Driven Life"...
View ArticleThe Journey of the Mind to God
Bonaventure's Journey of the Mind to God concludes with the chapter on the rest of the mind. Such a "rest" is not the rest that results from the mind's reaching a conclusion. The rest involved is the...
View ArticleMatthew 18:15 and Fraternal Correction
The first line of this selection, Matthew 18:15 is associated in Catholic minds to "fraternal correction". Seen in context, however, the verse does not speak about correcting a brother in sin but about...
View ArticlePREX and Other Things
Last Sunday we saw fourteen new graduates from our Parish Renewal Experience. Together with this new group, four others who finished our first BEC Ministry Training Program also received their...
View ArticlePutting Our Lives in God’s Hands
If we read James 4:13-17 out of context, it would seem as if he is rebuking some businessmen simply because they would like to earn some profit for themselves. But if we see the passage within its...
View ArticleEncountering the Lord in the Midst of Life’s Upheavals II
"Encountering the Lord in the Midst of Life's Upheavals" is the one of the most read articles in the Mystical Geek. It is actually John Chrysostom's commentary on Matthew 14:22-33, which is the account...
View ArticleAugustine and Prayer
This morning I gave a lecture on Augustine's idea of prayer at the CSA-Biñan as part of the school's program in understanding Augustinian core values. During the course of the preparation for the talk,...
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