By Fr. Roy Cimagala This is very fundamental and indispensable for us to know. Otherwise, we would have a wrong idea of what our life is all about. God loves us first before we learn to love him and everybody and everything else in return. Thus, we need to know what that divine love involves …
The Underpinning
The mercies of God
By Fr. Roy Cimagala That lamentation of Christ because some people did not ask for forgiveness for their sins in spite of the many blessings given to them (cfr. Matthew 11:20-24) should strongly remind us that no matter how sinful and helplessly wretched we feel we are, God is always eager to forgive us if …
God and our mundane affairs
By Fr. Roy Cimagala With Christ telling his disciples not to give what is holy to dogs, or throw one’s pearls before swine, (cfr. Matthew 7:6) we are somehow reminded that in our worldly affairs, no matter how technical they are or physically straining and dirty, we should never forget that God is always there, …
False prophets galore!
By Fr. Roy Cimagala “Beware of false prophets!” (Matthew 7:15) That’s what Christ told his disciples. These days, this warning assumes a most urgent character, since we cannot deny that we are having many people who are presenting themselves as prophets and yet their messages can stir serious doubts in us. There is indeed a …
How to enter God’s kingdom
By Fr. Roy Cimagala Christ said it very clearly. “It is not anyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) Indeed, we always have to be open to God’s will and ways that oftentimes can be …
Never hesitate to beg for miracles
By Fr. Roy Cimagala Nothing is lost if we dare to ask God for some miracles or some special and extraordinary favors. If God sees that it would really be for own good, he will surely grant it. If not — and he can only be the one to know if what we are asking …
Faith should guide all our earthly affairs
By Fr. Roy Cimagala We need to be clear about this. Our Christian faith is not optional in our life. It is neither relevant only to some affairs and concerns in our life. It should be the main guide in all our affairs, be they in matters of the sciences and technologies, of politics and …
Spiritual healing more important than bodily healing
By Fr. Roy Cimagala That’s what we can gather from that gospel episode where Christ first forgave the sins of a paralytic man before curing him of his disability. (cfr. Matthew 9:1-8) And that’s simply because it is the spirit and not just our bodily or biological constitution that truly gives us the life and …
God’s grace and our effort
By Fr. Roy Cimagala Those two parables Christ told his disciples that compared the Kingdom of God to some seed that when planted on earth would just grow, become big and bear fruit (cfr. Mark 4:26-34) highlight the truth of our faith that God always provides for our needs but we also have to do …
Receptive and responsive to God’s grace
By Fr. Roy Cimagala Christ once told his disciples, and now us, that we should be the salt and light of the earth. (cfr. Matthew 5:13-16) In other words, we should give the proper flavor and provide the proper light so all of us can be led to our proper destination. This basic truth about …