The Underpinning

By Fr. Roy Cimagala December 8 this year, usually marking the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, is also the Second Sunday of Advent, which takes precedence over the Marian solemnity. This happy coincidence, through the gospel reading of the day (cfr. Luke 3:1-6), somehow reminds us that through the merits of Christ’s redemptive …

By Fr. Roy Cimagala That’s the usual line many people use when they want to justify their reaction and even their attitude and behavior of anger, if not of hatred or despair, toward a certain person or event. They usually say that they were mistreated, misunderstood or prejudged, etc., and so they feel they are entitled …

By Fr. Roy Cimagala It’s the season of Advent again and with it, we make another beginning of the liturgical year. If we truly understand the significance of the liturgy in our life, we know that we really should prepare ourselves seriously for this new beginning, having it clear in our mind what the ultimate …

By Fr. Roy Cimagala This is, of course, a challenge for all of us. We have to learn how to remain childlike in spirit even as we age and mature, and gain a lot of experience in life. We have to remember that only when we have this spiritual childhood that we can expect God …

By Fr. Roy Cimagala Words of Christ in response to Pilate’s question, “Art thou the king of the Jews?” (John 18:33). That was when Christ clarified who he really was, and yet the poor Pilate and many of the Jews of that time could not get it. These words are part of the gospel reading …

By Fr. Roy Cimagala In the gospel, there is a part where Christ drove out the demons from a possessed man but was accused by some leading Jews of driving out demons by the prince of demons, an obviously self-contradicting reasoning. (cfr. Matthew 9:32-38) On this occasion, Christ did not waste time defending himself. He …

By Fr. Roy Cimagala Christ said it very clearly. “This is how all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another,” he said. (John 13:35) And in another instance, he described how this love for one another should be. “This is my commandment, that you love one another, even …

By Fr. Roy Cimagala It is said that when Christ saw a big crowd as he disembarked from boat, he was moved to pity and started to preach, cure the sick and even feed them with just a few loaves of bread and a few fish which he miraculously multiplied to the utter consternation of …

By Fr. Roy Cimagala We are reminded of this aspect of Christian life in that gospel episode where the mother of the apostles, James and John, requested Christ to have her sons sit beside him, one on his right and the other on his left, at the Kingdom. (cfr. Matthew 20:20-28) Of course, mothers will …

BY FR. ROY CIMAGALA It’s a virtue before it is an art. Detachment that is proper to us is a virtue that comes as a result of the spirit of Christ. And we can only have that spirit if we are open to God’s grace and faithfully follow the consequences and implications of such grace. …