Author: Fr. Francis Ongkingco

“Tap! Tap! Tap!” A child appeared behind the slightly tinted car window. The traffic is rather heavy, I lowered the window and began a lively conversation with the boy. “What’s your name, where do you study, how many siblings do you have, etc.” He answered my questions cheerfully...

“Father, the movie was sooo ugly!” Ethan squirmed in disgust. “What was the title,” I was curious what streaming video they just watched. “I don’t know…!!!” He shrugged his shoulders and dug into his spaghetti again. “Oh, okay, then what was it all about,” I asked Javi, who...

As the heat of summer becomes more grilling so are the billboards of summer tanned skin and shapely bodies more glaring. The summer heat becomes a common excuse to bare one’s abs, edges and curves for all to admire. But for one to showcase a...

There is a growing and serious concern among parents and educators about the widespread suicides or attempts at suicide among young children today. The culprit to this morbid trend can be traced to various factors, but perhaps we can focus on two important areas: technology...

Some minority groups have recently been clamoring to narrow the gap stemming from the discrimination of women from certain advantages (e.g. salary, professional positions, and competitions, etc.) Sadly, there are institutions and situations that ostracize women in various fields of work and talent. The mere fact...

“Father, why was it so easy for Jesus to forgive His disciples who left Him alone during His passion and death?” Ryan asked. “Because Jesus was bent on saving us. And He is not a vengeful God who only sees your sins and mine. He, more...

The experience of forgetting things is a mixture of amusement, frustration and irritation. It can be amusing when we resort to our ‘senior moments’ so as to mask the shame for forgetting trivial things. It can be frustrating when we lose track of important ordinary household...

Everyone loves a good surprise! The best and most memorable surprises come from the people we love most. This often happens on special occasions such as birthdays, wedding anniversaries and others drawn from each family’s unique tradition or customs. A surprise can be described as the...

An elegantly dressed man entered the funeral home. The room suddenly became quiet and someone’s whisper could be audibly heard, "This is the favourite son!" I smiled, trying to imagine what the other siblings were known for or called by their relatives and friends. Having familiar...

The other day, I asked Waze to plot out for me directions to an uncharted region of my driving history. It digitally led me to one dead end, through a narrow rough road where u-turning was almost next to impossible, and finally, on my return,...