THE WAY OF LOVE

The Sermon on the Mount of Jesus (Matthew 5:17-37) is His vision of life in the Kingdom of Heaven. It includes His major teachings. It is the path of Christian perfection. Jesus said, “You must be perfect as your Father is perfect!” (Mt 5:48) The perfection of God is His love. Love is the fullness of the law. God is …

SALT OF THE EARTH

In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:13-16), Jesus calls His disciples to be the salt of the earth. It is a metaphor to describe the role and demands of Christian discipleship. Salt adds flavor to food. It also preserves, transforms and sustains life. There was no refrigeration during that time of Jesus. Hence salt was precious and expensive in …

BEATITUDES

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-12) is the inaugural address of Jesus laying down His vision of life in the Kingdom of heaven. It begins with the Beatitudes which come from the Greek word, makarios, which means blessed, to be happy. Only God can make us truly blessed and happy. The key to achieve authentic happiness is Jesus. He …

FISHERS OF MEN

Jesus fulfills the work of new creation and His work requires human collaboration. He is the perfect manifestation of God’s love, a sign par excellence of the invisible God. He is the fulfillment of the longing and yearning of the people of Israel and of the whole humanity. He comes to unite the whole world and to gather the lost …

TESTIMONY

The testimony of John the Baptist is to point Jesus to others and to reveal His ultimate purpose and mission which is to redeem the sinful humanity. He said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29-34) Jesus is the Lamb of God because the animals sacrificed in the temple of Jerusalem did …

Baptism of the Lord

The feast of the Baptism of the Lord marks the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of the Ordinary Time. It is a great epiphany which is a manifestation of Jesus to the world as the Beloved Son of God totally committed to serve the saving plan of the Father. Jesus is manifested as the Savior of all …

EPIPHANY

Epiphany comes from the Greek word, epiphainein, which means showing, appearance, manifestation. The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord reveals the divine nature of Jesus to the Gentiles and that is, to the whole world. It points to the universality of salvation because God wants all to be saved. It points also to the mission of the Church which …

PARTNERS OF GOD

During this Christmas season, the Incarnation of Jesus reveals that God became man so that man might become God. It is because man is created in the image and likeness of God. But that image is destroyed when man disobeyed God. Yet God did not give up on His people. He sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus, to restore our …

CHRISTIAN JOY

The Third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday which means rejoice. It is also called Joyful Sunday because the Lord is near. The third candle in the Advent Wreath is lighted which symbolizes the joy of salvation. Salvation comes from the Latin word salus which means health. We rejoice because the Lord comes to bring us healing, wholeness, fullness …

KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD

During this sacred season of Advent, we are given two great figures from the Sacred Scriptures. They are Isaiah and John the Baptist. They are prophets of Advent. Isaiah announces  the arrival of the Messianic King who brings transformation. His work is to restore order within the whole of creation. He presents a vision of peaceful cosmos: animals no longer …