Welcome to Pins of Light!

Welcome and feel at home!

For almost two decades now, this Catholic blog has been an online portal for homilies and retreats, reflections and prayers. In the process, we have also built a virtual faith community from around the world.

Join us and feel free to explore the numerous resources on this site. Use the menu on top of this page—or go through the rest of this page to learn more about Pins of Light.

May you find what you are looking for!

ONE-MINUTE HOMILIES

Every Sunday and on special feast days, a One-Minute Homily is produced with a Filipino version called Sangminutong Sermon.

Sundays in Ordinary Time
Feasts and Solemnities
Advent & Christmas
Lent
Easter

Click HERE for a complete index of the One-Minute Homilies in English and Filipino.

ONLINE RETREATS & RECOLLECTIONS

Pins of Light has been offering a three-day Lenten retreat every single year since 2008. During Holy Week, believers and seekers from around the world gather virtually to reflect on the mysteries of Lent and to share about their lives with this online faith community, as well as to pray for one another.

The visits to the web site peak every year during Holy Week because of these self-paced, self-scheduled online opportunities for prayer and reflection. Probably due to the lockdown, the 2020 online retreat—”PRAYING BETWEEN THE LINES”—broke all previous records, registering over 300,000 hits during Holy Week.

In addition to the Lenten retreats, Pins of Light has also conducted online Advent recollections.

PODCASTS

“SUNDAY FOR SEEKERS: A DEEPER DIVE INTO FAITH” aired during the pandemic from May to October of 2021, hosted by Fr. J and Jude Liao. Its twelve episodes tackled the most basic questions about our Catholic faith. You can find them wherever podcasts are available, or here.

HOMILIES

Every Sunday for over twelve years now, we have been posting a Gospel reflection or a homily for our readers. Here are the most recent homilies.

NAMING BABIES
Luke 1:57-66

BELIEVING THE UNBELIEVABLE
Luke 1:39-45

TEMPTING THE BAPTIST
John 1:6-8, 19-28

WHAT THE MESSENGER DIDN’T KNOW
Mark 1:1-8

LET’S SKIP THESE TWO DAYS OF THE WEEK
Matthew 13:33-37

HIS CROWN
Matthew 25:31-46

ZOOMING IN ON OUR DREAMS
Matthew 25:14-30

DON’T RUN OUT OF PATIENCE AND HOPE
Matthew 25:1-13

REMEMBER THE MATRIX?
Matthew 5:1-12A

TWO IMPOSSIBLE COMMANDMENTS
Matthew 22:34-40

YOUR LIFE IN BOXES
Matthew 22:15-21

IMPLAUSIBLE PARABLE
Matthew 22:1-14

REJECTION
Matthew 21:33-43

OUR DYING THOUGHTS
Matthew 21:28-32

THE PARABLE THAT ALMOST GOT ME AN F
Matthew 20:1-16

LOVING/HATING FORGIVENESS
Matthew 18:21-35

WHERE TWO OR THREE GATHER TO ACT IN HIS NAME
Matthew 18:15-29

For older entries, please refer to the archives below.

SONGS etc. FOR PRAYER

In the course of offering his online retreats and recollections, Fr J has drawn from various sources in pop culture, like songs, films, and poetry. The subversive combinations and use of these different media were aimed at providing a novel and refreshing take on the faith. Click HERE to check out the compilations.

Here is a song written by Fr J and Fr. Manoling Francisco SJ years ago and performed by a virtual choir assembled by GP Eleria.

ABOUT THE SITE

PINS OF LIGHT was launched in time for Advent 2007 through the MULTIPLY social media site. This bible blog began as a series of daily reflections on scriptural readings until Easter of 2008. 

Learn more by reading a brief history.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fr J is a digital minister by accident. A part-time educator and a full-time Jesuit priest, Fr J has published several award-winning books in spirituality and education. He has also collaborated with different musicians on a number of religious and inspirational songs, including an upcoming musical called “CHOSEN“ which won the 2019 Catholic Mass Media Award (CMMA) for Best Inspirational Album.

To listen to other songs with Fr J as the lyricist, check out his Spotify playlist called “MY OWN PRAYERS WRAPPED IN SONG.”