READ: Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan issues guidance on Vatican declaration ‘Fiducia Supplicans’
Father Soc Blog
by Father Soc
3M ago
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ASTONISHED
Father Soc Blog
by Father Soc
3M ago
In one short paragraph, Jesus astonished the people around Him for two significant reasons. Firstly, they were astounded by His preaching. Secondly, they were astounded by His healing. Why were they astonished by His preaching? Because He spoke only the truth. Truth possesses its own power. It requires no sugar coating. It needs no techniques. When truth is conveyed as truth, it invariably carries a liberating power. When our words fail to astound others, could it be because we speak from fear or seek favors? Truth is fearless and does not pursue favors. Truth is truth, and that is its inheren ..read more
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GOD DOES NOT LIKE MIRACLES
Father Soc Blog
by Father Soc
3M ago
By nature, we like miracles. When we hear about a miracle or read about it, we rush to the miracle site because we want to experience the supernatural through those miracles. Human beings probably like miracles a lot, but God does not like miracles. That is why miracles happen very rarely. God does not like them. God does not like miracles to be an everyday reality in our lives. What God wants is not miracles but faith. God enjoys receiving faith from us. It is not that God is stingy with miracles. It is this—for people who have no faith, they will be able to explain it and say it is not a mir ..read more
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INSPIRATION!
Father Soc Blog
by Father Soc
3M ago
Once in a while, we come across children who have plenty of toys and children’s books, and yet go to their parents and say, “I am bored.” We see college students shifting from one course to another, not knowing what career path to take, and then they say life is boring. This attitude translates even to relationships, to marriage, and even friendships. We are at a party and deep in our hearts we want to say, “I am lonely.” What causes this feeling? What causes this feeling of boredom, this feeling of loneliness, this feeling of doing many things and yet not doing anything? We can relate to how ..read more
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BLINDNESS
Father Soc Blog
by Father Soc
4M ago
The blind man could not see. That is a fact. Yet, he warns to me that even if he could sense or see with his being, he could not see with his eyes, but he could sense with his heart. That is why he immediately felt the disgust of the crowd. That is why he immediately felt the accepting attitude of Jesus. When God takes away our physical sight, experience teaches us that our other senses are sharpened. Such was the case of the blind man. He could not see with his eyes, but he could sense and see with the heart. On the other hand, the crowd around Jesus, the Apostles following the Lord, could se ..read more
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BE GRACIOUS
Father Soc Blog
by Father Soc
4M ago
In Grade 3, I learned a poem about good manners: Hearts, like doors, will open with ease With very, very little keys. But don’t forget that two of these Are thank you, sir, and if you please. People who are grateful, people who know how to say thanks sincerely, win the hearts of people easily. There were ten lepers. They were told to do something. They were healed along the way. The nine chose to be dutiful. They were obedient. What’s wrong with that? The Lord told them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” They have not yet reached the priests and they got well. So they just said, “But th ..read more
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WHY DO YOU GIVE?
Father Soc Blog
by Father Soc
4M ago
Why do people give? Why do people do good things for other people? Unfortunately, our motivations are not always clear and good. Unfortunately also, we are not always aware of the impurity of our motives. Why do people give and why do people do good things for other people? The first motivation, unexpressed but very often unadmitted, is self-interest. We want to give because we want to get something in return. Investment, so to speak. We give something because we know that we will get something even more in return. It can come in business. Sometimes, it can also come in Church, in prayer. We s ..read more
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WORK AND MIRACLE
Father Soc Blog
by Father Soc
4M ago
Let me clarify a point very carefully before I go on. When the Lord said, “You are going to catch a fish and you will see a coin inside the mouth of the fish. Therefore, at that point, pay the tax.” That does not refer to any miraculous catch. It is not a miracle. What it actually means is this. You have a debt to pay, you have a loan to pay, you have a tax to pay. If you have an obligation, go to the sea and fish for the whole day, you will have enough money to pay your loan, to pay your debts, to pay your tax. In other words, this Gospel is not about a miraculous catch of a fish with a coin ..read more
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CLAY AND POTTER
Father Soc Blog
by Father Soc
4M ago
Most of us are familiar with the Serenity Prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” The prayer has been adapted by many rehabilitation programs for dependents on drugs, alcohol, gambling, and even for sex addicts and foodaholics, or those who cannot resist food. It speaks of the power to transform and the power to be transformed. The power and the beauty to be transformed and to transform others is what the Prophet Jeremiah speaks about in the First Reading, “the clay and the potter ..read more
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RESPECTFUL GOD
Father Soc Blog
by Father Soc
4M ago
Children are expected to respect their parents. Younger people are expected to respect their elders. The laity are expected to respect priests. The priests are expected to respect their bishops. And the principle is—the higher, the more experienced, the older, the more deserving of respect. If we follow the same principle, then God is not expected to respect anybody because He is the highest. He is perfect. He is the oldest, so to speak, although He is beyond time. Following that principle, God owes no respect to anybody because He is the highest, He is the most that can ever be. And yet here ..read more
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