Terra Sancta Philippines

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The Commissariat of the Holy Land in the Philippines is an entity of the Franciscan Order (OFM) aimed at collaborating in the mission of the Custody of the Holy Land, whose duty is to preserve the Christian character of the Holy Land (Israel).

27/08/2026

Friday of the 21st week in ordinary time and Memorial of St. Augustine: St Augustine once said after hearing a story of conversion...“The unlearned rise and storm heaven, and we, with all our learning, for lack of heart lie wallowing here.” Maybe, we should reflect on this for we might be on similar situation. But if, we return to the fold of the Lord and allow Christ to be at the center of our life then we will be filled with the spirit of wisdom and understanding that can change our life. Here are three areas or points we can reflect upon:
1. The meaning, message, invitation and challenge of the cross of Jesus Christ... to the unbelievers is foolishness but to us who have faith is the instrument of our salvation. It was the will of God that what looks as foolishness to the world like the cross is the power that can save us. For it is the power and wisdom of pure love.
2. Goodness, justice and truth... is the kindness of the Lord and our way of concretizing love in our interactions and relationships with one another as believers of the cross of salvation. Let us pray that we may have the strength to embrace the meaning and challenge of the cross.
3. Preparedness and readiness… is a requirement to enter into the joy of salvation in the kingdom. We need to do this for we don’t know the hour or the day of reckoning. We need to develop inner wisdom and prudence that the wise virgins have shown in the Gospel.

We could not enter the kingdom of God by merely relying on the others around us... we need to do our part. St Augustine did not enter the joys of the kingdom merely on the prayers, goodness and holiness of his mother, he did his part! He made a decision to change the direction of his life. Let us do the same and recognize that Jesus’s ways are uprightness and trustworthiness and so, let us put our trust in Him. All the best!

26/08/2026

Thursday of the 21st week in ordinary time and the memorial of St. Monica: St Monica is truly a holy and wise mother who built up her family in her love and faith in the Lord that leads to the conversion of her son St Augustine... may, we too find inner strength to be truly converted and receive the fullness of The Father’s grace of mercy. Let us reflect on how to cooperate on realizing the plan of God that sanctified us in Jesus Christ. Yes, we are called to be holy, to live in goodness:
1. In Christ, our life is enriched... the fullness of the development of our twofold nature: human and divine can be achieved. With Christ, we will be equipped not lacking in any spiritual gifts. He can keep us strong in our journey to the fulfillment of our fellowship with the Lord in His kingdom.
2. We have to prepare and stay awake... be constantly aware and vigilant and patiently wait for the day of the Lord.
3. We have to grow in faithfulness and sense of prudence... this is seen and achieved in the way we perform the task entrusted to us. This was what St. Monica had shown us. Faithfulness and prudence that influence her son Augustine to also live a holy way of life and to exclaim that his heart is restless until it rest in Christ.

Indeed, our parents are the foundation and guide… we need them to be wise and walked on the right path always. This is my personal experience, we may not in control of our life, of the time and of situations along the way but with their love and guidance we would always be on right path. This is the reason why in our family, two are religious sisters (Dominican and Poor Clare nun), two priests (diocesan and Franciscan), plus our eldest nephew also a Franciscan priest. May, we always be grateful to God and our elders, and proclaim and witness the splendor of His mercy and wondrous works. All the best!

25/08/2026

Wednesday of the 21st week in ordinary time: our sense of responsibility will lead us to act in an orderly manner and achieve oneness... focus on a single purpose of building up the kingdom. Let us think about how to go about it:
1. To love what God desires for us and to live out the purpose of our life... we must imitate Jesus who completely obeyed the will of the Father.
2. We must have the willingness to do the task entrusted to us... so that the grace would multiply and would be felt by everyone.
3. God’s only desire is to save us and He will never condemn us... but due to His gift of freedom to us, it is not automatic that we enjoy the benefit of salvation. We have to make a decision. It is only our own acts that can bear witness to our desire to be save and if we don’t change our ways we may end up bearing witness against ourselves.

With the grace and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, let us make our acts save us. Yes, the patterns our deeds and the fruits of our handiworks can either gain for us salvation or damnation. And so, let us start to remove every evil doing from our system like: hypocrisy, selfishness and egoism. Let us walk in Christ’s ways! God bless. All the best.

24/08/2026

Tuesday of the 21st week in ordinary time: we must know our priorities in life... yes, the challenge for us today is to develop our sense of priority. May we turn our ears and heart to the Lord that we may grow in love and trust to our Heavenly Father. In this way, we can unite in a noble purpose of allowing God to reign in our community and country. Let us reflect on this more deeply:
1. Amidst problems, insecurities and hardships of our life... we have to recognize the promise and love of God that offers us salvation and gaze on the reality of the kingdom where we can experience perfect joy and real gladness of our life can be found.
2. God, the Father desires that we must possess the Lord Jesus our brother… and live up to the counsels of the Gospel. May we stand strong in faith, find courage and hope that all these result into good deeds and encouraging words.
3. Our sense of values, principles and priorities are the foundations that allow us to do greater things in life... this means acts of mercy and compassion walking on the path of faithfulness. Let us start living, therefore in accordance with the Gospel precepts and remove our hypocritical ways in our hearts.

We need to be concerned more of the state of our heart than our external appearances... let us cleanse our life. Let us inculcate in our consciousness the plan and the will of God so that we can hold firm to to the Christian way of life. All the best!

23/08/2026

Reflections on the daily readings for the 21st week in ordinary time: throughout the week, we focus on the invitation for us to find personal and deeper implications in living our Christian life as an empowered person entrusted with authority and responsibility to grow in kindness, compassion and mercy in the midst of sufferings and problems around us. Remember, everything good comes from God and His love is eternal. We should never give in to our human tendencies or caprices so that our lives can be more pleasing to God. Yes, we are challenged to look at our willingness to sacrifice for God, to obey His commands and fulfill the mission He entrusted to us.

August 24, the feast of St. Bartholomew the apostle: we have received the pledge of eternal salvation... it can transform us that our names be engraved in the book of life! Like St. Bartholomew, let us humbly submit ourselves to the forming hands of Jesus Christ; a hand whose touch is gentle, loving and healing! Let us reflect on the challenges of the readings:
1. Let us start on the foundation of becoming worthy children of our Heavenly Father... this means putting to heart that God is love, compassionate and just in all His ways. “The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.”
2. Then, let us remove duplicity in our heart and our judgmental ways in our mind... yes, let us develop a caring heart and openness of mind as Philip in the Gospel have shown us - “come and see.”
3. Finally, a wholehearted proclamation of faith and trust... “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

Heavenly and loving Father strengthen our faith that we may hold on wholeheartedly to your promise of salvation. May we look up to Jesus as our master that we may truly become your images and worthy children. Amen. God bless us and all the best may come your way!

22/08/2026

Reflection time: this 21st Sunday in ordinary time, the readings invites us to look at the reality of our sense of empowerment... that God is the source and not men. The 1st reading (Is 22:19-23) tells us that God will place a great responsibilities in our shoulders as He has done to Eliakim: “I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim’s shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut when he shuts, no one shall open. I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family.” The Res. Ps. (138:1-2, 2-3, 6,8 reminds us of God’s love that can strengthen and sustain us: “Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.” The 2nd reading (Rom 11:33-36) tells us that God is the source of everything: “For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” The Gospel (Mt 16:13-20) reminds us that we are chosen - given a name, like Peter to do the task entrusted to us: “I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Truly, the invitation is to find deeper implications in living our life as empowered persons entrusted with authority and responsibility… to be understanding and forgiving. This means, growing in kindness, compassion and mercy for everything comes from God and His love is eternal. But, we must answer the question of Christ - who do you say that I am? And not be contented merely with what others say! If, our response to this personal question is the response of faith then, we should reflect on these three realities of our faith life:
1. God is the one who gives us life, empowerment and a sense of responsibility... hence, we should not be concerned with selfish or vested interest and work as if self-satisfaction and our plans are the only ones that counts in this world. The invitation is to be grateful and humble.
2. God’s love can’t be measured… for it is unconditional - without limitations; and the depth of His riches, wisdom and knowledge are unfathomable. What He wants should be our priority for His ways are not our ways and His plans and ways can lead us to brighter future and fullness of life. We need to glorify the greatness and holiness of His name and live in His love.
3. Our sense of responsibility... especially of forgiving others beyond, “the running out of our patience”. This can only happen if we truly know and become obedient to Christ who shows us the way and follow the example He has given us - His acceptance of the cross that gives us new life and dignity.

Our empowerment, the entrusting of authority and responsibility can only be visible and credible in our behavior; shown in relationships with one another and endeavors. If, we live out the invitations of this Sunday… the result is a new way of life; new expression of authority – real prophetic leadership. May we start developing ourselves in accordance with these invitations and challenges and start living the beauty of our Christian life. Let us be instruments of reconciliation. God bless!

21/08/2026

Saturday of the 20th week in ordinary time and the queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary: “O God, who made the Mother of your Son to be our Mother and our Queen, graciously grant that, sustained by her intercession, we may attain in the heavenly Kingdom the glory promised to your children. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son...” this is the opening prayer of our celebration. But this is not only about the queenship of Mary but the glory of God and our future in His kingdom. Let us think about this and the challenges that accompany in our journey of transformation that leads us to the kingdom as the readings pointed out:
1. Living in Kindness and upholding the Truth... must became part of our system for Mary our mother and queen is the epitome of these qualities.
2. We must be discerning as we look at our situations, dealings and interactions... we have to look at behaviors and listen to the words of the others around us. And always do what is right as Jesus encourage us. Yes, we have to follow the good things they say but not their bad actions.
3. Congruency of our words and action is the essence of right living... this means having principles and ideals as we journey in life aspiring for the achievement of our vision of the fullness in the kingdom.

Indeed, we have to allow the greatness and the glory of God to dwell in our heart and mind. We can start by recognizing and absorbing in our deeper consciousness the teaching of Jesus in the Gospel “as for you... do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” All the best!

20/08/2026

Friday of the 20th week in ordinary time memorial St Pius X Pope: we may feel lost and our resources are dried up... but God is offering us hope in today’s readings. He promised that He will be with us. Let us reflect on this and put our trust in His promise. We should know from the history of salvation and maybe from our own experiences of His grace that His words can be trusted:
1. He gives us His Spirit to settle in our hearts... that we may learn to truly live and not merely exist. Living means having a vision and doing everything to achieve that vision of the fullness of life in His kingdom. Existing means seeing only the short term satisfaction and gratification of of our worldly desires.
2. Allowing God to show us the path to eternal life and submitting ourselves to His guiding hands and words of truth. In Him our spirit can find satisfaction and we can be filled up with good things of life eternal.
3. We must be discerning enough to know that the essence and the fulfillment of the commandments is love... a love that we must concretize in its two faces or perspectives: our love for God; and our love for persons, our brothers and sisters and the others around us.

Truly, in our interactions, we need to recognize that if we live with the kingdom as our vision... then all our acts with one another must have love as the foundation. This means that the standard that we must use is: do to others what you want the others to do to you. Yes, we have to love others as we love ourselves. Our acts must be for the good of the others and our growth to holiness. All the best!

19/08/2026

Thursday of the 20th week in ordinary time and the memorial St Bernard Clairvaux: the challenge of today’s celebration is that through us the holiness of God may shine brightly and that the world may be on fire by the Spirit of God and humanity may walk as children of light. Let us reflect on the invitations of the readings:
1. God is inviting us to a banquet but we must prepare ourselves to be worthy of the celebration... “My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?” God has invited us and prepared everything for us, so let us do our part and strive to be worthy!
2. God is calling us to mend our ways and undergo the process of conversion... so, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” That we may become His holy people. He is not asking must from us, so let us make a decision and start to act now.
3. God will remold and recreate us that we may have dignity... “I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees.”

How wonderful you are oh God for you don’t only invite us but you also prepare us to be worthy for the celebration... so that we can enjoy fully your love and the good things which you offer us. Fill our hearts, therefore with the warmth of your love, so that, in loving you above all things, we may attain your promises, which surpass our every human desire. Amen.

18/08/2026

“Wednesday of the 20th week in ordinary time: the focus in today’s celebration is the caring ways of God that gives and nourishes life. He is our good shepherd. And He shares with us the task of shepherding... if you are willing to accept it, you need to develop certain qualities in you. Let’s reflect on these qualities. Let me focus on three of these qualities:
1. Dedication to the task at hand... meaning to say sense of responsibility. The shepherd should not focus on enriching the self but on enriching the lives of the sheep, those under his care.
2. Caring and compassionate... starts with understanding. This means bringing back to the fold of God the lost and the stray.
3. Generous and fair... real generosity looks at the needs of each persons not on seeming equalities and fairness. Generosity is a response of love!

A real shepherd offers hope and gives chances to better the life of those under his care...and so, Lord, our loving Father help us to be faithful to the task you have entrusted to us. Give us the wisdom so that we will direct our negative energies and anger not towards persons but to weaknesses, sins and especially towards fighting evil influences in our life and in the world. Encourage us to embrace one another in love and humility. Clothe us therefore, dear Lord with the light of your grace that we can be united under the one banner of love and that we may receive our eternal reward in your heavenly kingdom. Amen.

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San Pedro Bautista Street
Quezon City
1104

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