I was surprised when the Prefect of the Papal household, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, instructed me to sit right next to the Holy Father, on his left. He was just an arm’s length away. The rest of us were seated in a circle around him. I did not see the logic of the sitting arrangement. No […]

This particular Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of Easter, which is also celebrated by the Catholic Church as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” It is on this day that we extol the kind of leadership exemplified by Jesus—a humble and compassionate leadership: not one that lords it over, but one that truly cares for the last, the […]

In 2021 we will be celebrating the 500th Year of Christianity in the Philippines. Understandably, the icon that will go with that celebration will be the Santo Nino de Cebu. It was the very first image of Christ ever to be introduced to the natives of these islands. We are told by historians that Magellan […]

This morning we blessed our 13th mission station at Sitio Kaunlaran in Caloocan city, with the Jesuits as our mission partners. The little chapel, which used to get flooded during heavy rains, had been elevated by about two feet just in time for the occasion. I immediately noticed the recycled floor tiles that had been […]

Dear friends in the Lord, fellow sharers in the gifts of priestly vocation and consecrated life, isang mapagpalang hapon sa inyong lahat. In Gal 6:17, Paul says in Greek ἐγὼ γὰρ τὰ στίγματα (stigmata) τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐν τῷ σώματί μου βαστάζω. In English: “…for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.” This passage […]

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning. Today you will be witnessing the ordination of our fifteen brother Jesuits into the first rank of the ordained ministries of the Church: the Order of Deacons. Aside from the diaconate, there are two other ranks in the ordained ministries of the Church: the Order of Presbyters […]