(Last April 12, 2008, two Jesuits were ordained to the priesthood: Frs. Xavier Olin and Nono Alfonso. This is Fr. Nono’s thanksgiving speech.)
When I am asked about my vocation story – how I discerned or heard God’s call – my simple answer is that, I heard the pealing of the bells. I remember when I was still very young, in Naga City, the bells of the Cathedral that signaled the first mass of the day would wake me up early in the morning and most especially during special occasions …

Pope Benedict XVI is visiting the US. He arrived on his birthday, April 15. From April 15-17, he will be at Washington DC, and after that, until he leaves on the 20th, he will be in New York City. This is the first pastoral visit of Benedict to the States.
I wonder when he’s going to come visit the Philippines?
Whadaya know, there’s even a Wordpress blog on his visit! One of the interesting articles in that blog is the CARA (Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate) of Jesuit Georgetown University’s …

From www.jesuits.ph:

We are inviting you to do something different this Holy Week. Aside from the usual services, how about joining a 3-day online retreat? Called “MEETING PLACES,” the retreat is made up of three modules, one for each day starting Holy Thursday and ending on Black Saturday. You can go through the modules anytime on those days at your convenience and at your own pace. It would be best if you can set aside about 30 minutes for each module.
If you’re interested, check Jesuits.Ph on Wednesday for a prayer exercise …

I am reprinting Fr. James Reuter’s article on Philip Pestano. While a lot of things are happening to our country on the macro-level, there are little things like these which could just fall through the cracks and remain unnoticed unless talked about in the media.
PESTANO PHILIP A-Serial Number 93145 is Class 1993, Born Jan 1, 1972.
Let us pray for his family and pray that Justice will prevail.
WE HAVE NEWS THAT THE CASE WILL FINALLY BE RE-OPENED BY THE OMBUDSMAN.
PLEASE FWD TO EVERY FREEDOM LOVING PINOY IN YOUR LIST!
“Be who …

UPDATES BELOW The great news is that the Jesuits have elected a new Superior General to replace Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach (who is still very much alive, thank you!). Fr. Adolfo Nicolas, who was President of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania (JCEAO) (that means he stayed in the Philippines, because the JCEAO office is in the Ateneo de Manila Campus), is the new General of the 20,000 strong Society of Jesus.
Jesuit Generals are supposed to stay on for life, so a General cannot be replaced until he …

What gift will you give this Christmas? Something useful? Something long lasting?
How about something INSPIRING and MEANINGFUL, and something you can SPREAD and SHARE?
Let the Christmas Spirit of LIFE and HOPE stay with the most important people in your life as your gifts continue to inspire them for the entire 2008 and beyond.
The GIFT of Life
A stylish product line of bags (beach tote, yoga mat bag, wine holder, purse, etc.) that pleases the eyes and touches the heart. Empowered women of Payatas created these pieces of art through the talent …

My friends Mikki and Iris got married last Saturday. It was a beautiful wedding full of laughter and a lot of tears (most of it from Mikki). I had the privilege of giving the toast along with Iris’ sister. The original plan was for me to give the homily and years ago, in a retreat, I made the homily already. But things happened and that first wedding did not push through (THAT is a story that can be made into a soap opera) and I left the Society.
Two years later, …

I fell in love with this song the moment I heard it. And when we had lunch with Gary V several months ago and he mentioned that this was one of his favorite songs as well, I fell in love with it again. I don’t know if he got to do his own version in an album though.
The song is really about trust. And about a love that is so much greater than we could ever imagine.
When I look back at my own life, I realize that the …

This will be kinda long so brace yourself. The following essay is something I wrote several years ago when I still swore to the vow of chastity.
It’s not that when I left the Society I threw chastity out the window altogether, but it’s different if you PUBLICLY swore it. There is a real positive pressure to live up to it. Right now, the pressure’s no longer there. But it doesn’t mean I’ve become unchaste. [roll of eyes and evil laugh]
But see, if anything, this essay (which I wrote for the …

3) Beautiful Liturgies. Jesuit homilies are always well-prepared and insightful. And I took this for granted because I’d hear it almost everyday for seven years. But when I left the Society, it’s been downhill from there. hehe. After several months of trying out different churches/chapels, I really miss going to mass where I don’t zone out or have a negative comment about a priest’s homily. I talked to Rofel about this several months ago.
I know they’re busy and all, but I promise to give you an hour …