St. Nicholas, also known as “Nikolaos of Myra,” was a fourth century saint and Greek bishop of Myra. Nicholas was born in Asia Minor in the Roman Empire as an only child to Christian parents. Nicholas would take nourishment only once on Wednesdays and Fridays, and that in the evening according to the canons. “He was exceedingly well brought up by his parents and trod piously in their footsteps. The child, watched over by the church, enlightened his mind and encouraged his thirst for sincere and true religion.” Both of his parents tragically died during an epidemic when he was a young man, leaving him well off, but to be raised by his uncle – the Bishop of Patara. Nicholas was determined to devote his inheritance to works of charity, and his uncle mentored him as a reader and later ordained him as a presbyter (priest).
Rev. Fr. Jerico Habunal
Wednesday, October 14, 2026 11:53 am
7,499 total reads
Gospel Reading for October 14, 2026 – Luke 11: 42-46
BLIND GUIDES
The Lord said: “Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others. Woe to you Pharisees! You love the seat of honor in synagogues band greetings in marketplaces. Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.” Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply, “Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.” And he said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law! You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.”
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During Jesus’ time, touching a grave would make a person ritually unclean for seven days, preventing them from entering the temple to worship God. Hence, people avoided graves, and the Jews often painted tombs white so they would be easy to spot and avoid.
Therefore, when Jesus compared the Pharisees to unseen graves, he meant that people who listened to and accepted their teachings unknowingly became unclean.
It is no wonder that Jesus seemed to have lost patience with the Pharisees. Who would not? As Jesus described in Matthew 23:16–19, they were BLIND GUIDES who led people astray through their hypocrisy.
This was a serious matter for Jesus, who came to be the Saviour, because how could people be saved if they listened to the Pharisees? How could the Pharisees themselves be saved when they did not even understand what salvation meant?
When we examine the way we live our lives, are we leading people to Jesus, or are we leading them astray?
Lord Jesus, may we be truly Christians in word and in deed. Amen.
Rev. Fr. Nicanor Lalog II
Wednesday, October 14, 2026 7:46 am
8,236 total reads
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 14 October 2026
Memorial of St. Callistus, Pope and Martyr
Galatians 5:18-25 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 11:42-46
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, March 2024.
Be my everything,
Jesus: it is not enough
I follow you because along
the way, I can still stop and roam
around, following my many desires,
the restless longings of my heart
for selfish interests;
teach how to imitate St. Paul
in "crucifying my flesh with its
passions and desires" (Galatians 5:24).
But,
what is to crucify my flesh
with its passions and desires?
Simply let me focus on you alone,
Jesus, making you the measure of
everything I shall do,
to search for you in everyone I meet,
to bring you out with everyone I meet;
to see more the bigger picture
of life by resisting the works
of the flesh like "immorarilty,
impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,
dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,
drinking bouts, orgies, and the like"
(Galatians 5:19-21).
Keep me aware,
Jesus,
that as my desires for comfort and ease
are bottomless,
I shall never be satisfied within
if I see more the things than the persons,
or give much emphasis on my self
than others like the sick and suffering;
let me search for the bigger pictures
of life's many realities like your
plans for eternity so that I may strive more
to crucify my flesh with its passions
and desires by forgetting my little self
I always inflate to look larger than others;
may I give the chance for the Holy Spirit
to win me over, bearing fruits of
“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23).Amen.
Photo by author, Chapel of Our Lady of Ephesus, Bella Rosa Gardens, Silang, Cavite, 07 October 2026.
Rev. Fr. Anton CT Pascual
Wednesday, October 14, 2026 7:00 am
73,403 total reads
Mga Kapanalig, just energy transition now!
Ito ang panawagan ng Diyosesis ng San Jose de Antique kung saan nakapaloob ang isla ng Semirara. Sa pastoral appeal na inilabas ni Bishop Marvyn Maceda, nanawagan ang diyosesis para sa maayos at makatarungang paghinto ng mining operations sa Semirara.
Sa pangunguna ng Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (o SMPC), isinasagawa sa isla ang pinakamalaking coalmining operations sa Pilipinas. (Ang coal ay batong uling na sinusunog para makalikha ng kuryente.) Halos limang dekada na ang SMPC doon sa ilalim ng kontratang nag-umpisa pa noong 1977 at mag-e-expire na sa susunod na taon. Rejected ang bid ng SMPC para i-extend ang kanilang kontrata. Binuksan ang bidding nitong Pebrero pero na-postpone noong Abril dahil sa pagsasaayos ng terms of reference ng Department of Energy (o DOE). Hindi pa malinaw kung ano ang mangyayari sa mining operations sa isla kaya hindi rin malinaw kung ano ang kahihinatnan ng libu-libong nagtatrabaho sa minahan.
Ayon kay Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, presidente ng Caritas Philippines, dating tahanan ang Semirara ng halos lahat ng kilalang species ng mangroves. Ang mga komunidad ay nabubuhay sa pamamagitan ng pangingisda at seaweed farming, salamat sa mayabong na ecosystem ng isla. Pero binago ito ng limang dekadang pagmimina roon. Ang lupa, dagat, at kabuhayan ng mga tao ay isinakripisyo para sa kita. Dagdag pa ni Bishop Alminaza, ginawa ang mga desisyon tungkol sa sinasabing kaunlaran ng mga tao sa mga board rooms, malayo sa isla at mga komunidad. Kinukondena niya hindi ang mga manggagawa o ang mga taga-Semirara na nagtatrabaho sa minahan kundi ang sistemang itinulak silang pumili sa pagitan ng trabaho o pagsira sa kapaligiran. Ngayon sila rin ang mga taong agrabyado sa napipintong pagsasara ng SMPC sa isla.
Walang patid ang Simbahan sa pagtuturo na hindi hiwalay ang pangangalaga sa kalikasan at sa tao. Sa Catholic social teaching na Laudato Si’, binigyang-diin ni Pope Francis na kailangang palitan ang fossil fuels, kabilang ang coal na hinuhukay sa Semirara, na sumisira sa ating kalikasan. Mahalaga ang agarang paglipat sa renewable energy sources habang itinataguyod din ang kapakanan ng mga trabahador na mawawalan ng trabaho dahil sa pagsasara ng mga coal mining projects. Ito ang tinatawag na just energy transition. Sa Laudate Deum naman na akda rin ni Pope Francis, sinasabing kailangang maging malikhain ang mga lider sa pagbuo ng mga tulong sa mga sektor na maaapektuhan ng paglipat sa mas malilinis na pinagkukunan ng enerhiya.
Balikan natin ang pastoral appeal ng Diyosesis ng San Jose de Antique. Ilan sa mga mungkahi nito ay ang mga sumusunod.
Una, tutukan ang pag-develop ng renewable energy sources sa isla. Kaugnay nito, dapat palawakin din ang lokal na ekonomiya nang hindi na umasa sa pagmimina ang mga taga-Semirara.
Pangalawa, i-retrain at ihanda ang mga maaapektuhang trabahador ng minahan. Siguruhing may sapat silang social protection sa pagkawala ng inaasahan nilang trabaho.
Panghuli, bilisan ang rehabilitasyon ng lupa at katubigang sinira ng pagmimina.
Ang lahat ng ito ay maaaring ipaloob sa isang just transition roadmap o sa mga kondisyong itatakda sakaling matuloy ang bidding para sa susunod na kontraktor ng minahan.
Mga Kapanalig, malinaw ang ugnayan ng kalikasan at buhay ng tao. Katulad nga ng paalala sa Mga Awit 104:24, ang buong mundo ay punô ng nilikha ng Diyos. Nilikha Niya ang lahat ng ito—ang tao at kalikasan—ayon sa Kanyang karunungan. Ang pangangalaga at pagtataguyod sa dignidad ng tao at kalikasan ay magkasabay, hindi kailanman magkasalungat. Kapwa silang dapat piliin. Huwad ang kaunlarang isinasantabi o iniiwan ang alinman sa dalawa.
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