By Fr. Roy Cimagala That gospel parable about the Kingdom of heaven likened to a landowner who hired laborers for his vineyard at different hours of the day (cfr. Matthew 20:1-16) strongly reminds us that we should be contented and thankful for whatever God gives us. We have to be wary of comparing ourselves with …
The Underpinning
‘Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye’
By Fr. Roy Cimagala Words of Mary to the servants at the wedding in Cana. (cfr. John 2:1-11) While the festive celebration was going on, the mother of Christ noticed that wine was running out. She approached him to inform him of the problem, but her request at first was denied. “Woman, what is that …
Careful with the world
By Fr. Roy Cimagala “You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world.” (John 8:23) Words of Christ addressed to those who did not believe him. With these words Christ is telling us that if we do not believe in him, we would be stuck in the world instead of heading …
Blending the different aspects of our life
By Fr. Roy Cimagala It’s a skill and art that we need to develop. We cannot deny that we have different aspects of our life that can be competing and conflicting, and we should just learn how to blend them as best that we could into some meaningful unity and consistency. Our life involves both …
Living our baptism into Christ
By Fr. Roy Cimagala If we wonder why Christ had to be baptized by St. John the Baptist, the quick answer is that Christ wanted to institute the Sacrament of Baptism, through which we would be recreated from our wounded human nature due to the sin of our first parents to a new man, a …
Let’s always be hopeful
By Fr. Roy Cimagala There are times when we have to wait, desist from acting at the moment, and hope for a better time that will surely come, although in ways that may not be according to our expectations. We are reminded of this act of prudence in that gospel parable about the good seed …
What Epiphany teaches us
By Fr. Roy Cimagala The Solemnity of the Lord’s Epiphany reminds us that Christ is meant for all of us, and not just a few, and like the Three Magi, we should make an effort to look for him, that is, to look for God, in everything in our lives — in the people we …
As we enter the New Year
By Fr. Roy Cimagala Every New Year reminds us, of course, of another opportunity to make a new beginning in our life. This is a law that governs us in this life. We have to begin and begin again because no matter how far we have reached and how much we have gained in terms …
The Holy Family
By Fr. Roy Cimagala With the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, celebrated this year on December 29, we are once again reminded of the crucial role the family plays in our life. The Holy Family is the standard and model of every human family. A family that strays from that …
The joy of Christmas
By Fr. Roy Cimagala The joy of Christmas springs from the fact that Jesus Christ, our savior, is born. “Puer natus est nobis,” says the entrance prayer in the Christmas Mass. A child is born for us, he is Christ the Lord, our Savior. This good news should give us unspeakable joy. Whatever we may …