The Underpinning

By Fr. Roy Cimagala We have to be realistic in this life. There are unavoidable evils in this world and we should just learn how to deal with them properly without compromising what is essential in our Christian morality. We are reminded of this fact of life in that gospel parable where Christ told his …

By Fr. Roy Cimagala It’s definitely no joke to be a disciple of Christ. It demands of us everything. This is how Christ himself described what to be his disciple requires: “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot …

By Fr. Roy Cimagala It’s an idiomatic expression that means “to not understand or appreciate a larger situation, problem, etc., because one is considering only a few parts of it.” It’s an expression that aptly describes what was dramatized in that gospel episode where Christ was accused by a Pharisee who invited him for dinner …

By Fr. Roy Cimagala That’s a question that immediately comes to mind when we read in the gospel the following words of Christ: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! … Do you think I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell …

By Fr. Roy Cimagala That’s what Christ is telling us in that gospel episode where he reproached the crowds of his time for knowing how to read the appearance of the earth and the sky, and yet fail to interpret the temper and the ethos of the time then. (cfr. Luke 12:54-59) It’s a reproach …

By Fr. Roy Cimagala If we are guided by our Christian faith, we know that our life here on earth is not our definitive life. We are meant to pursue our ultimate definitive life with God in heaven. Thus, our life here on earth can only be marked by the indispensable virtue of hope which …

By Fr. Roy Cimagala Temptations will always be around. And we just have to be prepared to deal with them properly. The secret is to learn how to be like Christ precisely at the moment when he himself was tempted three times by the devil. (cfr. Matthew 4:1-11) It’s important that in dealing with this fact …

By Fr. Roy Cimagala Like those who went to Christ for healing, (cfr. Luke 4:38-44) we too should immediately go to our Lord especially when we find ourselves in some form of suffering, be it a matter of sickness or some difficulty in the different aspects of our life, financial, professional, social, etc. We should …

By Fr. Roy Cimagala That is the message of the gospel reading for Ash Wednesday. (cfr. Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18) “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them,” Christ said, “Otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.” Then he continued by describing how we should give alms …

By Fr. Roy Cimagala In the gospel, many instances are recorded where some leading Jews would make many rash judgments on Christ and his disciples. One such instance was when Christ cured a man with a withered hand. (cfr. Luke 6:6-11) These leading Jews were quick to observe if Christ would heal that man on …