Reflection for the Third Sunday of Easter by Fr. Earl Valdez

I’m always struck by the fact that every Palm Sunday, we get two gospel readings. Before the faithful process toward the church with their palms raised, we recall the entrance of the Lord in Jerusalem, in which people welcome him as the king, as if he is the VIP, the promised one that the prophets have foretold. We can imagine the joyful atmosphere, as if the crowd has found what the people of Israel have longed for. 

Last week, I had the time to watch “Eulogy,” one of the episodes of the most recent season of the British TV series Black Mirror.

How do we feel when someone stares at us? While we are curious about others and that we look at them on random instances, it sometimes feels uncomfortable when somebody stares back at us suddenly.

The encounter with the Samaritan woman with Christ may have been this same moment.

In our Gospel reading today, Our Lord recognized this concern that perhaps were nagging his disciples. Perhaps they were asking whether it was worth it, or what was the point of all this.

As we begin the season of Lent, maybe that’s something that we ought to remember, that we live with others, and that we are loved and guided until the end.

The late Fr. Roque Ferriols, SJ, in one of my first philosophy classes, goes back to two important figures when he talked about the use of philosophical reflection in relation to life.

This may sound like an ironic opinion considering that I publish my material on a Catholic website, but I look with a tinge of skepticism over the notion of a “Catholic influencer.”

Reflection by Fr. Earl Valdez for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Icon of the Sermon on the Mount | Photo from The Whole Counsel of God Part of our language and worldview as Filipino Catholics is our recognition of the many things that we receive in life as “blessings.” Whether it’s money, property, an opportunity, or mere luck, there is this innate recognition that we do not really deserve some things and yet we get to receive them in our lives. And in a way, there is an

Magbagong buhay ka na. We often hear this when other people, especially those whom we know, tell us to change our ways for our own good.

It seems that the Christmas season truly ends on the Feast of the Sto. Nino, which many churches and communities celebrate anytime between the second and the last Sunday of January (although there are some who still extend it to the presentation of the Lord, on the Feast of Candles or the Candelaria). 

If we look at the liturgical calendar for the Christmas season, we see a chronological succession. We first celebrate the Lord’s birth on Christmas Day, then remember that he belongs to a family in the following Sunday.

Today’s gospel is for me one of the most significant episodes in the nativity story, not just because I spent nine years in a seminary that is named after St. Joseph and my ordination anniversary is on the nineteenth of March.

The excitement of the Lord’s coming fills us with joy in this Third Sunday of Advent, which we come to know as Gaudete Sunday.

Reflection for the Second Sunday of Advent by Fr. Earl A.P. Valdez “Gets ko na!” (I get it!) We commonly say this when we come to understand something clearly, that we have gotten or grasped the idea or reason behind things that we do or things that happen to us. This is, after all, what it means to truly understand something, that unless we have a hold, whether fully or partially, of something that was previously incomprehensible for us, we cannot say that we have truly unde

Today, we begin the Advent season, which also marks a new liturgical year, highlighted by patiently waiting and at the same time preparing for the coming of the Lord.

In 1925, in that brief period of time that stands between two world wars, Pope Pius XI affirmed through his encyclical Quas Primas the true reign of Christ the King, who is more than any leader, political system, or worldly order. Let me quote section 33, which is a good reminder for us and what should begin our reflection today:

Truth be told, whenever I hear a prophecy or a speculation of when and how the world will end, I find myself amused over the lengths that people will do math and conjure images of how the Lord’s “second coming” will come.

Reflections on the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica by Fr Earl Valdez / Dominus Est