wisps of prayer

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE GOD’S BELOVED?

Here’s our one-minute Gospel reflection on the Baptism of the Lord (Luke 3:15-16; 21-22)…

Feel free to share your thoughts, questions, and prayers below.

LONG-LOST FRIENDS (PART ONE)

2018 was the year I lost two friends from high school, virtually one after the other. As in the case of most high school friends, we’ve lost touch over the years for different reasons—one because he moved to California many years ago, the other because he switched religion and maybe decided to keep away.

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NEW PINS OF LIGHT

http://pinsoflight.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/pins-makeover-2-1.mp4

This year 2019, PINS OF LIGHT will undergo some sort of makeover. After over a decade, this bible blog, which was started in late 2007, has been sharing Sunday homilies and Gospel reflections, apart from online recollections for Advent and especially Lent.

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LONG-LOST FRIENDS PART ONE

2018 was the year I lost two friends from high school almost one after the other. As in the case of most high school friends, we’ve lost touch over the years for different reasons—one because he moved to California many years ago, the other because he switched religion and decided to keep away. (more…)

AN INTRUSION OF ANGELS: AN ONLINE ADVENT RECOLLECTION

What better way to prepare for Christmas than an online Advent recollection?

Take some time out before Christmas this year and join us for: AN INTRUSION OF ANGELS.

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CHOOSING THE GREATER GOOD

This homily is based on Mark 10:17-30.

One may come away reading today’s Gospel with the sinking feeling that the Lord makes too many demands. Here we meet a rich young man who desires to be good. He runs up to Jesus and asks eagerly: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

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This homily is based onMark 8:27-35.

I found myself laughing out loud this Sunday morning over someone’s tweet. It was a short video clip of a girl named Arlene, who, I guess, was applying for membership to a church group.

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THE BECKONING OF BENCHES

This homily is based on Mark 7:1-23.

I took an early morning stroll today in a city I don’t know, one I’ve never set foot in before. Learning that I had only one day in the city, a friendly Afghanistan immigrant in a 24-hour convenience store pointed the way to a famous park nearby.

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HUNGER IN A TIME OF ABUNDANCE

This homily is based on John 6:24-35.

Our Gospel today is literally good news. Our Lord makes us an important promise: “Whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Jesus is not talking about physical hunger or physical thirst, obviously. Rather, he is referring to an existentialhunger and thirst, that profound need that we occasionally sense in ourselves,…

In Memory of Tita Bobing

This homily was delivered on the eve of the 40th day for Immaculada “Bobing” de Leon Garcia.

I heard of Tita Bobing long before I met her. When we were kids, Gary used to regale his friends with all sorts of stories about his mom, like the time she made him sing in front of our school principal and how she never forgave him because he had opted to sing a Nora Aunor song. But there were many…

This homily is based on John 6:1-15.

What a nightmare scenario:  Five loaves, two fish–and five thousand hungry people!  But trust the Lord to turn every event organizer’s worst nightmare into an unforgettable affair!

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This homily is based on Mark 6:30-34.

Sometimes I feel like a scattered flock of sheep. Blame it on the workload, on endless deadlines and numerous responsibilities, on a lifestyle that does not create enough room for prayer and meditation, perhaps even on social media.

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This homily is based on Mark 6:7-13.

In our Gospel today, the Lord sends out his chosen Twelve on their mission. He gives them very specific instructions, which, if read closely, can be quite instructive for us today.

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CRAMPING THE LORD’S STYLE

This homily is based on Mark 6:1-6.

Do we ever cramp the Lord’s style?

I suspect that’s what happens in the scene we have in the Gospel today.  Jesus goes back to his hometown and preaches at the village synagogue.  Not an easy thing to do since he’s surrounded by people he’s grown up with, people who’ve known him, people who think they can see right through him. (more…)

Today’s homily is based on Mark 5:21-43.

Today we are treated not to one, but to two miracles of Jesus!  And they also aren’t just your typical Jesus miracles , where the Lord lays his hand on the sick or the possessed, and they are healed. There’s something quite unique about these two miracles, and they offer us some interesting and valuable lessons. (more…)

This homily was delivered at the wedding of Micah and Mindy at St. Joseph’s Parish, Seattle on 23 June 2018.

At first glance, our couple today couldn’t be more different from each other. She is a Catholic girl born in Manila, and he a Jewish boy born in Nevada and raised in Missouri, Texas, among others.. She’s of Chinese descent; he comes from a Polish background. He’s a great cook who can serve…

DO YOU FEEL ALONE AND MISUNDERSTOOD?

This homily, based on Mark 3:20-35, was delivered at St. Agnes Church. There’s a lot going on in the Gospel reading today. No other passage shows how alone and misunderstood our Lord can be—even in a crowd. In the Gospel account, our Lord is confronted on every front—not only by those scribes most opposed to him, but even by those most devoted to him.

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