Category: Friendship

On the Nightstand: Barking to the Choir

At a recent lunch with some friends, the conversation turned to what we were reading. One friend, who happens to be a priest, recommended Barking to the Choir by Father Gregory Boyle, the founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, a gang intervention program. Some of you may remember his Tattoos on the Heart: The Power… Continue reading On the Nightstand: Barking to the Choir

Simbang Gabi 2017: And So It Ends… and Begins

What to say about 2017 Simbang Gabi at the neighborhood parish? That we may have had the biggest crowds ever? Yes. That we had nine days of thoughtful, soul-stirring homilies? Yes. That we had nine days of great food, traditional Filipino and otherwise coordinated by the gentle, always organized Rachel? Yes. That we sang a… Continue reading Simbang Gabi 2017: And So It Ends… and Begins

Simbang Gabi 2017: Of Generations… and Mercy

My friend Litong started today’s Simbang Gabi Mass with a look back. At the parish’s first Simbang Gabi Mass twenty-one years ago, he said, some women were pregnant. Today, those babies are in college, married, and in some cases like today, lectoring. I smiled; one of the day’s sponsors’ children weren’t even ten when I… Continue reading Simbang Gabi 2017: Of Generations… and Mercy