Eric Santillan spirituality

Happy

Beautiful homily for the Easter Vigil. I'm reprinting it because it is a great reminder for what it really means to be happy.. by Fr. Jet Villarin, SJ My dear friends, tonight, let us be happy. Let us beg for the grace of happiness in our lives. I can think of three qualities to the … Continue reading Happy

Eric Santillan spirituality

Novenas

Originally written in TACKED THOUGHTS for The Freeman by Nancy Unchuan Toledo I love praying novenas. One of my favorites is the one to St. Therese of the Child Jesus. According to Catholic tradition, if within the course of this particular novena, the devotee gets a rose, then it is the saint’s way of saying … Continue reading Novenas

Eric Santillan spirituality

Pray Away

Originally posted in BobbyQuitain.Com. by Bobby Quitain Sometimes, when my children would ask from me outrageously expensive stuff, I often shrug it off with a smile thinking, “You might as well ask me for the moon…” (I don’t say it aloud, though, fearful that they just might.) While I don’t buy them just about anything … Continue reading Pray Away

Eric Santillan spirituality

Love and Freedom: Making Choices and Taking Chances (Final Part)

Originally written on June 20, 2008. All the excerpts used by this essay for reflection were taken from The Journals of Kierkegaard translated, selected and with an introduction by Alexander Dru, Harper and Brothers: New York, 1958. by Pat Nogoy SJ This is Part 3 of 3 Part 1: Love and Freedom: Making Choices and … Continue reading Love and Freedom: Making Choices and Taking Chances (Final Part)

Eric Santillan spirituality

Victory is Won!

As we look at a world in which violence and suffering seem to increase daily, the words of Scripture that promise 'victory' may feel hard to believe. Japan still suffers from the terrible effects of the great earthquake and tsunami, and the risk of nuclear catastrophe has not disappeared. Bigotry and bloodshed have claimed the lives of Christians in many countries, not least in the tragic assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti in Pakistan, and in the continuing 'cleansing' of Christian populations from Iraq. Unrest in North Africa bears heavily on the lives of ordinary people and their families, while oppressive rulers cling to their power. And elsewhere in Africa, civil wars and pandemic disease destroy the lives and security of millions, especially children.