Nowadays, it is even more necessary and urgent (than before) for our family to be vigilant about the Catholic Faith amidst a highly secular world. It is not enough that we merely listen to Bible scholars, priests, bishops, cardinals or even our Pope and simply believe and obey whatever they say. Not all representatives of […]
Hymn to the Smile
The Danger of False Halloween
When I was a kid, my cousins and I came up with a tradition of celebrating Halloween every October 31st. We would create our own costumes from old clothes or whatever we could find, make or improvise masks or wigs and put on scary make up. We would prepare some snacks, hold the party in […]
The Lord is All We Have
Thank God for today. We are in the middle of crisis at this point in our lives – not just in one country but all over the world. Weeks ago, we lived from day to day thinking we could simply go on living the next day and the day after that..and the day after that. […]
Why We Get Bored at Mass
We hear these comments from people who have stopped hearing Mass and even from those who still do: I don’t understand any of it. I can’t concentrate when I’m there so what’s the use? It doesn’t have any effect on me. It is boring or The priest’s homily bores me to death. And so on… […]
Blessed Among Women
To think of our Lady is always a breath of fresh air, a deep sigh of content, an infinite source of warmth and comfort in any kind of misery yet a pillar of strength against and above the most powerful forces of evil. A woman of sorrow, joy, purity and simplicity who, among all human […]
The Lord’s Buffet
For the first time last year, on the night of December 25, we did not spend the entire Christmas day together. Instead, my daughter lay on the hospital bed in the emergency room, about to be confined due to low platelet count. As I was staring blankly on the wall, it finally dawned on me […]
Permanent Address
When we first planned for our house, we dreamed of a garden, perfectly landscaped, with everything inside our house, complete and new. There was more to that but you get the picture. That was the dream. This was the reality. When we first moved in, the construction of the house left us with debts left […]
In the Name of Fun
Why do we do the things that we do? People do a lot of things for fun. People gossip and say things for fun. People sing songs or dance to the tune of offensive or sensual music. There are people who steal, kill, harm others or have sex with anyone. Some enjoy reading books or […]
The Encourager Who Never Gets Discouraged
How do we encourage others when we ourselves are discouraged? How do we pray when we feel too sad or weak to pray? How in the world is it to boast of one’s weaknesses as St. Paul said in his second letter to the Corinthians? Every once in a while, a friend with a problem […]