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 …
The Underpinning
Total self-giving without being showy
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 …
Caring for our mental health
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 …
Why do we always have to forgive?
By Fr. Roy Cimagala Many reasons can come to mind to answer that question. One is that Christ himself said so. When asked by Peter how many times one should forgive, he stretched to practically infinite times the suggestion of Peter of seven times to 70 times seven. On another occasion, Christ also said that …
Faith always works wonders
By Fr. Roy Cimagala Indeed! That gospel episode where a centurion begged Christ to cure his dying slave (cfr. Luke 7:1-10) simply shows us that with a strong faith like that of the centurion, miracles can happen. “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof,” …
Incarnating the Beatitudes
By Fr. Roy Cimagala One of the most intriguing teachings of Christ are the Beatitudes. (cfr. Luke 6:20-26) They make us wonder why it is blessed to go through all kinds of suffering here on earth — to be poor, hungry, persecuted, etc. The answer, of course, is that the Beatitudes clearly tell us what to …
Always feel God’s love for us
By Fr. Roy Cimagala It’s amazing that despite the many good things Christ said and did that impressed many people, there were still some leading Jews who doubted him and were fond of asking somewhat are termed as “gotcha” questions. (cfr. Matthew 22:34-40) One of these questions was, “Which commandment in the law is the …
Beware of the secret bondage
By Fr. Roy Cimagala We have to be wary of this spiritual and moral anomaly that, sad to say, is a common affliction these days. It can easily take place when we fail to really give our whole selves to God and to the others, giving an opening for this most deceptive anomaly to enter …
How to know ourselves properly
By Fr. Roy Cimagala That question Christ asked his disciples about who did people say he, as the Son of Man, was should also be addressed to each one of us. And we should just try our best to give the right answer like what St. Peter did. (cfr. Matthew 16:13-20) And the simple reason …
The challenge of sanctifying our skills
By Fr. Roy Cimagala That series of “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites,” (cfr. Matthew 23:13-22) that Christ heaped on some of the leading Jews remind us of the sad and common phenomenon nowadays where we can be doing some good and yet miss the real and ultimate good meant for us. And …