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HOMILIES

THE CRAZY STRANGER WITH THE CRAZY PLAN

67047_10151270308972026_1097482084_nThis homily was delivered at the XS Days with the Lord Grand Mass on 06 March 2013.

I caught the film, “Argo,” on the plane. As you may know, this film, starring and directed by Ben Affleck, bagged the Best Picture at the Oscars this year. In it Affleck plays a CIA agent named Tony Mendez, and he goes on a mission to Iran to save six American citizens.

On November 4, 1979, militants captured the US Embassy in Tehran and held more than 50 of its personnel hostage. Unknown to them, six escaped from the US Embassy raid. In the film, they are hiding in the house of the Canadian ambassador, their future uncertain, but at least safe for the moment–that is, until the Iranian intelligence learns about their whereabouts.

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HOMILIES Xavier School

WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?

This homily was delivered at the Spring Festival Mass in Xavier School last 08 February 2013.

In the Gospel, our Lord tells us not to worry, not to be afraid. So this morning, let me ask you: What are you most afraid of?  你 最 怕 什么?Here are pictures of some of the deadliest animals. I’m sure you recognize them.

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HOMILIES

IN DEEP

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Note: This homily was delivered at the First Saturday Mass in Xavier School on 12 January 2013.

I’d like to begin by telling you a funny and embarrassing story which–unfortunately–is also a true story. In fact, it happened to me. A few years ago I had just attended a board meeting of one of the universities in Metro Manila, and after the meeting, we decided to go off for dinner. As we were walking out into the patio, a board member insisted on giving me his cell phone number. And that was it: The last thing I remember was keying in the information onto my phone, and before I knew it, I heard a loud splash, and when I looked around me, I couldn’t. I had to look up to see everyone else looking down at me with absolute shock on their faces.

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HOMILIES Xavier School

CHRISTMAS HATERS AND LOVERS

This homily was delivered on the 24th of December 2012 at the Midnight Mass in the Grade School Quadrangle in Xavier School.

I suspect we all harbor some secret questions about Christmas–questions we’ve always wanted to ask about this special season, but for some reason, never got around to asking anyone. When you think about it, there are, after all, some unsolved mysteries and unanswered questions about Christmas–mysteries and questions that only the grimmest Grinch and the most persistent party-pooper among us dare to ask .

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HOMILIES Xavier School

NAUGHTY OR NICE

This homily was delivered on the fourth Novena Mass in Xavier School 2012.

And so, we have just about 7 days to go before Christmas Day. But even more immediate than that, if we are to believe the Internet, we have only 3 days to go before the end of the world as we know it. By now, you may have heard of the so-called “2012 Phenomenon” where the world is predicted to end cataclysmically on December 21, 2012–that’s this year, that’s this month, that’s three days from now! You see, December 21, 2012 happens to be the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle used in the ancient Mayan calendar. Even if numerous Mayan scholars have repeatedly insisted that this has nothing to do with doomsday predictions, this date from the Mayan calendar has, typical of the internet, generated both mass hysteria and all sorts of wild hypotheses of how exactly the end of the world will transpire.

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