By Fr. Roy Cimagala Given the social character of our life, we have to make sure that we are always contributing to the common good. Whatever we do, even if done alone, should have that motive always in mind. Even if we are not aware of the social character of our life, the truth is …
The Underpinning
‘Much will be required of the person entrusted with much’
By Fr. Roy Cimagala Christ clearly said this. In that gospel parable where he told his disciples to be always prepared for judgment, (cfr. Luke 12:39-48) Christ clearly admonished his disciples to be ready to face the Lord, able to account for all the things that have been entrusted to them. If they are given …
Effective vigilance only when we are with God
By Fr. Roy Cimagala That gospel parable about the 10 virgins (cfr. Matthew 25:1-13) obviously reminds us of our serious duty to be vigilant at all times because God can call us anytime and we should be ready for it. We should also be very vigilant because all kinds of evil can come and assault …
Dealing with the unavoidable evils in this world
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 …
The stiff price of discipleship
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 …
Missing the forest for the trees
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 …
Does Christ promote violence?
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 …
Making the right judgments in these changing times
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 …
Nourishing our hope
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 …
When we are tempted
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 …