Soul Search S.Y. 2005-2006
Section Updated Wed, 14-Jun-2006 12:31 PM

The Yuppie in Us

I’m going to show you two caricatures that symbolize two kinds of people. This is the first caricature, a group of people known for their slogan: “Make love, not war!” This person is called a hippie, very common in the 60’s and the early 70’s. Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

The Christ We Choose: On The Gospel of Judas

I’d like to begin by showing you a picture. This is a fragment of papyrus that is 1,700 years old dating back to 300 A.D. Discovered in the desert of Egypt, this fragment is the last page of a leather-bound papyrus manuscript. If we can read Coptic, a language formerly spoken in Egypt, we will see that the last words read “The Gospel of Judas.”  Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

Grade School S.Y. 05-06 Graduation Homily

Ten years ago, in the year 1996, a total of 550 four year olds found themselves in the administration lobby of Xavier School. Some of them were wide eyed with eagerness and anticipation; others were in tears, even kicking and screaming as they were dragged with great embarrassment by their parents. Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

High School S.Y. 05-06 Graduation Homily

Fourteen years ago, in the year 1992, an all-time record of 697 four year olds found themselves in the administration lobby of Xavier School. The occasion? Your application to our Nursery. Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

Ash Wednesday

Today we start the season of Lent. Today we also celebrate this last high school community mass for the school year as a send off for our seniors. And today, Ash Wednesday, we also receive the mark of the ashes burnt from the blessed palm fronds from last year’s Palm Sunday on our forehead. Fr. Guy Guibelondo, S.J.

Good Luck, Bad Luck Homily in Chinese

Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

Good Luck, Bad Luck

This morning I’d like to tell you a Chinese story about an old farmer. This farmer owned a horse which he used to till his fields. He really loved his horse and took good care of it. Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

Unanswered Questions

Many of us were shocked to learn about yesterday’s game show stampede at the Ultra that has killed—as of the last count—74 people and injured about 500 others. Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

Unlikely Prophets

After one particularly long, exhausting, and stressful day, I decided to treat myself and do something therapeutic: I decided to watch a horror movie. So I went to the Jesuit TV room to look for any DVD lying around, and I was happy to find “The Exorcism of Emily Rose.” Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night"

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, on the waning days of the Christmas season, when the work of Christmas begins. Fr. Guy Guibelondo, S.J., Campus Minister

John the Baptist for Christmas

Let me begin with a confession: John the Baptist isn't exactly my favorite character for Christmas. I think you'll all agree that he's not exactly quite appropriate for the season. Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

XU GUANGQI: OUR ANCESTOR IN FAITH

Maybe some of you have noticed it, but there is a new garden here in school. And that garden has a sculpture—a bust—of a still-unnamed man. A Grade 1 boy actually thought it was Professor Dumbledore, but I'm sure some of you may have guessed that the man is Xu Guangqi. Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

Homily for the Send-Off Mass

We hear Jesus choosing his apostles: James and John and Philip and Matthew and Simon and sending them off with a mission to preach the Gospel, to tell the world what they have known about the Good News. Fr. Guy Guibelondo, S.J.

TWO YEARS LATER

I learned many things about Fr. Cortina after his death. Because he died so suddenly, people felt the need to tell their stories about him. I was amazed at a wide variety of memories that people had about him. Just the Xavier School alumni alone had so many stories to tell since Fr. Cortina spent many years working in the school. Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

Defying the Fear Factor

In recent times, people have earned big bucks from exploiting fear. In fact, we even have reality shows like Fear Factor . People earn money if fear is not a factor for them: if they face alligators and spiders, jump from speeding vehicles, endure a casket of worms, and eat sheep's eyes and whatnot. Fr. Guy Guibelondo, S.J., Campus Minister

PLAYING THE PROPHET

I found an international survey in 1998 where, for once—just for once—the Philippines landed right on top. I'll show you the top ten in their ranking, and then I'll ask you to take a guess at what the survey is all about. Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

KAPATID SA DI-INAASAHANG LUGAR

Ang akala ng iba, kapag pumasok ka sa seminaryo, nakakulong ka lang sa loob at walang kang gagawin araw-gabi kundi ang magdasal. Iyan din ang akala ko nang pumasok ako sa seminaryo. `Yun pala, may tinatawag palang “trials” na bahagi ng formation program ng mga Heswita.  Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

St. Ignatius's Shared Heroism

Last month, I traveled by bus from Davao to Cagayan de Oro City. On the way, the film "Spiderman II" was shown. Fr. Cesar Marin, S. J., Parish Priest, Mary the Queen Parish

STORM JAR

My friend Lydia makes pottery as a hobby, and one Christmas she gave me something that she herself had made. At first I couldn't tell what it was: To me it looked initially like a bell, but it turned out to be some kind of jar.

Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

BECOMING CONTEMPLATIVES-IN-ACTION

Let me tell you a little story. Once upon a time, God was feeling tired. He was feeling tired because of all the people who were always asking him for things. So he decided to go on leave to get some rest --just for three days. Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

DESIRE, GENEROSITY, AND FREEDOM

The best thing about today's parable is that it comes complete with an explanation, which, in the longer version, immediately follows the telling of the parable. Thanks to the explanation our Lord gives to his disciples, the meaning of the parable is no great mystery.  Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

Whoever, Whatever

In today's Gospel, the Lord repeats one word many times. That word is "whoever." I counted the number of times it occurs in the passage: Ten times. That's a lot especially if you realize that if we're going to be very grammatically strict about it, the entire gospel reading today is really just made up of five complete sentences. Ten out of five: That's twice in every sentence. I wonder if we can learn something significant then about the word "whoever."  Fr. Johnny Go, SJ

Lessons on Earthquakes and Tsunamis

During this long weekend I came across a couple of fascinating articles about the tsunami that struck several countries in Asia last December. We know that the tsunami of December 2004 devastated villages and towns along the coast of the Indian Ocean , destroying over 200,000 lives.

Fr. Johnny Go, SJ

Solemnity of the Blessed Trinity
This doctrine of the Blessed Trinity can be a major source of headache for those of us who have to preach about it. I'm sure we've all memorized the correct formula: "There are three Persons in one God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Fr. Johnny Go, SJ

What Mercy Really Is
That's a strange scene that the Gospel paints for us today: Our Lord showing off his wounds. Fr. Johnny Go, SJ

Discovering Your Passion
Let me tell you a story I read somewhere that I think is equivalent to the ultimate "Fear Factor" and "Survivor." Fr. Johnny Go, SJ

To See Is Not To Believe
If I had to summarize the gospel story in one sentence, I think it would be: "To see is not to believe." Now that's a pretty ironic thing to say considering that today's gospel is about the miraculous healing of a man born blind. But let's see what it means by paying attention to the different things happening in the story.   Fr. Johnny Go, SJ

Fishing in the Wrong Sea
Let me tell you a funny story that happened to me about twenty years ago. This was before I joined the Jesuits, a time when I was involved in brand management. I was working in a food manufacturing company, and was assigned to marketing the ready-to-drink juices, those that came in bottles and tetra briks.   Fr. Johnny Go, SJ

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