Saint Rita was born Margherita Lotti in Roccaporena, Italy in 1381. The day after her baptism, Rita was surrounded by a swarm of white bees, which went in and out of her infant mouth without hurting her. Rather than being alarmed, her family believed she was marked to be virtuous and devoted to God.
It is said that as she neared the end of her life, Rita was bedridden from tuberculosis. It was then that she asked a cousin who had come to visit for a rose from the garden in her old home. As it was January, her cousin did not expect to find any roses, but there was a single rose in bloom, which was brought back to Rita at the convent.
She passed away four months later, on May 22, 1457.
Following her death, she was buried at the basilica of Cascia, and was later discovered to be incorrupt. Her body can be found today in the Saint Rita shrine at Cascia.
Rev. Fr. Anton CT Pascual
Tuesday, August 18, 2026 7:00 am
293 total reads
Mga Kapanalig, hindi lang korapsyon sa mga flood control projects ang umaalingasaw tuwing tag-ulan. Nangangamoy din ang baho ng bigóng pagtugon natin sa krisis ng basura.
Noong nakaraang linggo, tone-toneladang basura ang bumará sa Redemptorist Water Channel sa Parañaque City matapos ang sunud-sunod na araw ng pag-ulan dala ng habagat. Umabot ng higit sa 200 trak ng basura ang nahakot mula sa naturang daluyan ng tubig malapit sa simbahan ng Baclaran. Ayon sa lokal na pamahalaan ng Parañaque, inagos ang basura mula sa mga nakapalibot na lugar sa Manila Bay. Sa ginawang clearing operations, buwis-buhay na lumusong sa dagat ng basura ang mga kawani ng LGU, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (o MMDA), at Department of Public Works and Highways (o DPWH) para hakutin ang basura gamit ang backhoe.
Sinabi ni DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon na kailangan na raw ng “drastic solutions” sa problema sa basura. Binanggit niyang halimbawa ang waste-to-energytechnologies na ibinida ni Pangulong Bongbong Marcos Jr sa kanyang SONA. Suportado rin ng kalihim pati ni MMDA General Manager Nicolas Torre ang mga panukalang magpataw ng mabigat na multa para sa maling pagtatapon ng basura. Pero para kay PBBM, hindi raw mabisang pagmultahin ang maling pagtatapon ng basura kung walang maayos na basurahan. Anong say ninyo, mga Kapanalig?
Lahat ng mga ibinibidang solusyon ng administrasyon ay nakatuon lang sa maayos na waste management system. Sang-ayon tayong mahalaga ito. Pero paano masosolusyunan ang krisis sa basura kung hindi natin puputulin ang ugat ng sobra-sobrang paglikha ng basura? Kumbaga, nagbibigay lang tayo ng bandaid solution kung saan nireremedyohan lang natin ang mga sintomas ng sakit pero hindi naman natin ginagamot ang pinagmumulan nito.
Ayon sagrupong Oceana, habang nakatuon ang administrasyon sa waste-to-energy at pagsisi sa publiko sa pagkakalát, hindi nabibigyang-pansin ang ugat ng krisis—ang plastic pollution at walang habas na paggamit ng single-use plastics na sinusuplay ng mga dambuhalang korporasyon. Dagdag ng grupo, mayroon na tayong Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 na nagsasabing dapat bawasan ang paglikha ng basura sa pinagmumulan nito at ipagbawal ang mga produktong nakapipinsala sa kapaligiran. Gaya ng maraming batas, hindi ito buong ipinatutupad ng gobyerno.
Sa Catholic social teaching na Laudato Si’, sinusuportahan ng Simbahan ang circular o paikot na modelo ng produksyon kung saan nililimitahan ang pagkuha ng mga nauubos na likas-yaman para mapakinabangan ito ng mga susunod na henerasyon. Sa nakasanayang linear o tuwid na sistema natin, kukunin ang likas-yaman, gagawing produkto, panandaliang gagamitin, at itatapon na. Sa circular na sistema, binibigyang-diin ang pag-reduce, reuse, repair, at recycle ng mga produkto. Idinidisenyo ang mga produkto para magamit nang matagal, madaling ayusin kapag nasira, at maaaring i-recycle para mabawasan ang pagkonsumo at paglikha ng basura.
Ilang trahedya sa basura na ang naibalita ngayong taon, kaya alam na dapat natin ito: hindi sapat ang disiplina ng publiko at maayos na waste management system. Nakaugat ang krisis na ito sa modelo ng ekonomiyang kumikita sa paglikha ng basura. Malalim, malawak, at nakabaón sa kultura at mga istruktura ng lipunan ang problemang ito. Pero maaari tayong magsimula sa pagpapatupad ng mga solusyon sa ating tahanan at komunidad, gaya ng pagsusulong at pagsasabuhay ng “sapat lifestyle”. Kasabay nito, ipanawagan natin sa gobyerno ang pagpapatupad ng mga patakarang tinutugunan ang labis na paglikha ng basura. Panagutin din dapat ang mga korporasyong patuloy na yumayaman habang ipinapasa sa publiko ang gastos at epekto ng polusyon.
Mga Kapanalig, tandaan natin ang wika sa Genesis 2:15: inilagay tayong mga tao sa halamanan ng Eden para pagyamanin at pangalagaan ito, hindi para gawin itong dagat ng basura.
Rev. Fr. Nicanor Lalog II
Monday, August 17, 2026 8:31 am
3,343 total reads
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 17 August 2026
Ezekiel 24:15-23 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Matthew 19:16-22
Photo by author, Malagos Garden Resort, Davao City, August 2018.
Your words today,
O Lord are so touching
that reaches deep down my
inmost being;
both readings speak
about losing: Ezekiel's wife
died while the young man
in the gospel asked
"what do I still lack?"
Both readings are
so timely for us these days
when we have so much of
every thing except of you,
O Lord; we rarely ask
"what do I still lack" in its
truest sense - of learning to let
go of what we have in order to have
the most essential.
Often,
we think of having what
we still lack in order to have
more of every thing;
but you teach us today,
Jesus, what we really lack
is you through others;
what we really lack are
the poor and the sick,
those who have less in life;
what we really lack still
is life eternal,
of having you O Lord
as basis and foundation
of our relationships.
In this time when rains
continue to pour
for the third straight week,
the more we are concerned
of what material things we still
lack and forget about the warmth
and smiles of others so disadvantaged
due to floods and lack of work;
teach us, Jesus,
to be like Ezekiel in the first
reading to see and realize
that the most painful loss
in this life is not losing a loved one
nor wealth and things
but in losing our souls to
sin and evil.
Amen.
Rev. Fr. Jerico Habunal
Monday, August 17, 2026 8:29 am
3,080 total reads
Gospel Reading for August 17, 2026 – Matthew 19: 16-22
LAW OF LOVE
A young man approached Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
————
In the Gospel of today, Jesus clearly states that it is not enough to follow the commandments that tell us what we should not do, or what are called sins of commission—the wrongful actions that we actively commit. The LAW OF LOVE for God and neighbor also requires us to do virtuous things, or the things that we ought to do. These are what we call sins of omission—the good that we fail to do.
Remember that at the beginning of the Mass, we acknowledge our sins in the Confiteor: “. . . in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do . . .”
Like the rich young man in today’s Gospel, sins of omission are among those that many of us commit because doing good requires us to give of ourselves to others, especially to those in need. It requires great sacrifice, courage, and commitment to God to speak up against injustice, violence, and corruption that cause poverty and suffering. It requires us to share our resources. It requires us to walk the extra mile and extend a helping hand.
Perhaps it is also time for us to include in our examination of sins of omission our neglect of the environment and of all other creatures created by God. Ecological balance is essential to the survival of our planet and, therefore, to our own survival.
Lord Jesus, help us understand your laws and give us the courage and strength to live them out. Amen.
294 total reads Mga Kapanalig, hindi lang korapsyon sa mga flood control projects ang umaalingasaw tuwing tag-ulan. Nangangamoy din ang baho ng bigóng pagtugon natin sa
25,184 total reads Mga Kapanalig, “people over profit” at “labor over capital” ang ilan sa mga prinsipyong itinataguyod ng mga panlipunang turo ng ating Simbahan kapag
105,838 total reads Kapanalig sa 15 ng impeachment trial ni Vice President Sara Duterte, hindi pa rin nabubutasan o napahina ng depensa ang prosecution theory at
207,564 total reads Mga Kapanalig, pamilyar ba kayo sa kuwento nina David at Goliat? Nang hamunin ng higanteng mandirigmang si Goliat ang hukbo ng Israel, walang
244,335 total reads Mga Kapanalig, paano kung ang batas na dapat nagtatanggol sa mga mamamayan ang mismong ginagamit para patahimikin sila? Noong Agosto 3, inaresto sa
