By Fr. Roy Cimagala The story of the vocation of the prophet Samuel is very interesting in the sense that he at first did not realize God was calling him. God had to call him three times, before he realized it was not his earthly master, Eli, who called him, but God himself. Of course, …
The Underpinning
What true love involves
By Fr. Roy Cimagala It’s in the First Letter of St. John, where we are given some ideas about what true love involves. (cfr. 1 John 3:11-21) This love, if genuine, will always be a participation of the love God has for us. And how is this love expressed? “We know the love of God …
The mysterious ways of God
By Fr. Roy Cimagala The story of how St. Andrew discovered his vocation as one of the apostles gives us an interesting insight into the mysterious ways of God. (cfr. John 1:35-42) As narrated in the gospel, he was just curious about where Christ was staying, and not only did he end up becoming an …
Always purify our intentions
By Fr. Roy Cimagala Purifying or rectifying our intentions should be a constant concern of ours. That’s simply because our intentions play a crucial part in the moral quality of our actions and of our whole life in general. Our intentions determine whether we are with God, as we should, or we prefer to be …
On anger management
By Fr. Roy Cimagala That gospel episode about Christ getting angry at those who turned the temple into market place (cfr. Luke 19:45-48) reminds us that anger is indeed a human emotion that has its rightful place in our life. We just have to manage it well so it does not go overboard. In the …
The contemplative lifestyle
By Fr. Roy Cimagala Everyone should learn to be contemplative. We are actually meant for it. Equipped and wired for it, we reach our ideal situation when we manage to become contemplatives even in the middle of the world. We have to start with ourselves before we can dare to teach others, especially the young …
This business of wrapping up
By Fr. Roy Cimagala We have to learn how to wrap up our daily activities so that at the end of the day we can present to God what we have done in obedience to his command for us to be fruitful and productive in this life. We are reminded of this aspect of our …
An example to follow
By Fr. Roy Cimagala Especially when we enjoy a lot of blessings and privileges in our life, and yet also carry with us our share of shameful weaknesses, failures and sins, the example of Zaccheus, the rich chief tax collector who had great love for Christ, (cfr. Luke 19:1-10) should inspire us. As we read …
Finally, the Easter Triduum!
By Fr. Roy Cimagala This is the highest point, the climax, of the redemptive work of Christ. With the Easter Triduum, which starts in the evening of Holy Thursday with the celebration of the Mass of the Last Supper, we are made to understand that Christ, whose idea of human redemption is not only for …
The Judas in us
By Fr. Roy Cimagala This is a “caveat emptor” that will always be relevant in our whole life. We may already consider ourselves as good Christians because we pray, attend Mass, do some good works, etc. But if our relationship with Christ is really not strong, deep and abiding, and always in the process of …