It’s painful to learn that even now, despite the progress we have in the area of culture, knowledge and technology, we still can witness massive cases of primitive misunderstanding and barbaric brutality in some parts of the world.

One good and positive aspect of any crisis we may be having, like what we have these days with this COVID pandemic, is that it is actually a good occasion to see how we are as a person, a child of God, a citizen, a leader, etc.

I remember TV commercial sometime ago that had this punchline: “Kanino ka ba babangon?” (For whom do you get up in the morning?) I imagine it was supposed to highlight the motivation one has in getting up so early in the morning, do some tasks and other sacrifices to serve a loved one. It obviously resonated with many of the audience, me included.

Everyone should have a healthy self-esteem. If we don’t have it yet, then let’s develop it and help everyone else to have it. A healthy self-esteem is important since only then can we have a good understanding of things and work properly as well.

If we truly are in love, we would like to know how much love we are giving and whether the love we have is true love or is just an appearance of it. We know very well that we are fond of saying we love God and others, and yet on closer scrutiny, it’s really not love that we are giving.

Christ warned the apostles about false doctrine. That’s when he told them, “Be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” (Mt 16,6)

We should never forget this fact of life. As long as we live in this planet, we are actually being tested to see if we love God or our own selves, if we choose to do good or to opt for the pleasurable or convenient evil, if we truly give ourselves to God and others or we are simply indulging ourselves.

That gospel episode of the two sisters, Martha and Mary, when visited by Christ (cfr.Lk 10,38-42) teaches us a clear lesson that no matter how important, legitimate or most welcome our human activities may be, prayer always has priority over all of them.

We have to convince ourselves that the best way to resolve our unavoidable differences and conflicts in the area of politics, social life, and other

To be sure, truth is not only a matter of citing facts, data and statistics, no matter how scientifically or empirically verified they are. Truth is not simply what we can see and touch or what we can understand and prove with some arguments and pieces of evidence.