WE should be very careful with our intentions. Since they are hidden, we can easily play around with them. We can appear good outside but bad inside. Our deeds may be considered as acts of generosity and compassion, but the intentions may be those of...
“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” (Mt 6,26) With...
(An excerpt from the Homily of Most Rev. Romulo G. Valles, D.D., Archbishop of Davao, June 13, 2021 during the live streamed mass of the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time in Archbishop’s Residence Chapel.) One day, primero gani to sa Zamboanga pa ko kay mura’g espesyal...
In last week's Shalom column I referred to government officials, doctors and nurses, and all medical/health workers as people who create new meanings for old symbols. No, I was not referring to them as poets, mystics, theologians or philosophers who are the real creators of...
Fidelity is often associated with human relationships. Oftentimes, it is spoken with such deliberateness and delicateness as it understood to be a test of a spouse’s ability to remain faithful and loyal to his or her partner. In this day and age where relationships are...
THAT’S what Christ told his disciples. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves.” (Mt 7,15) We have to be wary of these characters because the world is now awash with false prophets and demagogues. It even looks...
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.” (Mt 7,6) With these words, Christ is clearly telling us to take utmost care of the sacred things in our...
“Judge not that you may not be judged.” (Mt 7,1) We have to understand these words of Christ well. It does not mean that we should not judge at all. In fact, in the succeeding verse of the gospel passage, Christ said: “For with what...
IF we want to be truly Christian, we need to appreciate more deeply the role of St. John the Baptist in the whole economy of salvation. He was the one who prepared the people for the coming of Christ, the one who pointed Christ, the...
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also...