Posts by Fr. Archie Tacay
Wealth
A story is told about a rich woman who unexpectedly died without leaving behind a last will and testament. Her children were bickering since each one of them wanted to have the biggest share of the wealth. Therefore, the once strong and loving sibling relationship became divided and distant and the reason behind it was…
Read MoreFeast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Oh María, Madre mía (Oh Mary, my mother) oh consuelo del mortal: (oh consoler of mortals) amparadme y guiadme (Protect me and guide me) a la patria celestial. (To the heavenly homeland.) Song of Mary This is always the song that we sing after the daily mass when I was serving at St Patrick in…
Read MoreWitnesses
George Orwell’s 1984 dictum “Big Brother is watching you” has now become a reality. I remember when my younger brother, twin brother, and myself went to visit Singapore. It is one of the cleanest and modern cities I have visited. One person in the subway train commented, “Here no one steals, someone sees you here!”…
Read MoreHealers
The Gospel today tells of the healing of a man from Gerasene territory. Naturally, the man once possessed by Legion joyfully proclaimed what great things Jesus had done for him. All were amazed but sadly only a few followed Him. And then the unimaginable happened. Near the end of the Gospel passage, we read that…
Read MoreJesus the Word, Life, and Light
The celebration of New Year’s Eve is filled with tradition. My family and friends have lots of these last hooray traditions. I recall many of us would wear polka dots, serve 12 kinds of round fruits on our tables and light firecrackers to usher in prosperity and drive evil spirits away. The traditions have a…
Read MoreLove: At the Heart of Our Perfection
Reading through the Gospel, we are not used to seeing Jesus commend the scribes and Pharisees. However, today we hear Jesus say to a Scribe that he is not far from the kingdom of God. The scribes and Pharisees debated much as to which is the most important of the commandments. It is but human…
Read MoreAuthority and Power
In today’s world, very few people would say “No” to the offer of power. If a person has power, he can use that power to obtain most other things in life. The question for us in today’s Gospel is, “Is this the sort of power that Jesus has,? Or is it something different?” Power to…
Read MoreDancing Feet
Some people are born with dancing feet. I am not. I can sing a tune, but I am not good at swaying to a rhythm. When I sang fast songs in a karaoke gathering with friends, they were like punishments for me. My friends call me the “Singing Priest,” but no one ever dared to…
Read MoreFeast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
During the months of quarantine because of the COVID-19, millions of us were connected to the world wide web of social media. We were physically apart from our workstations, church ministries, relatives and friends. Yet, after a while, we realized that virtual connection cannot suffice or replace the physical connectivity. We are starting to look…
Read MoreBetrayal
Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” – Matthew 26:22 Have you ever been betrayed? Do you still remember how you felt? You can still feel the hurt and the tears like it was just yesterday, right? It’s an awful feeling we never…
Read More