Reflection for June 22, Saturday: Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 6:24-34

Gospel: Matthew 6:24-34

Jesus said to his disciples: “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

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Reflection:

Mr. A is a worrisome person he always loses sleep about the little things in life. For example, if he sees a black cat he would worry about it because it’s a sign of bad omen for him.

Mr. B is a man of deep faith he never worry about anything in life because he learned to trust everything to the Lord. Although both of them are of the same age Mr. B looks a lot younger than Mr. A and Mr. B’s personality is more vibrant than Mr. A the worrisome guy.

Indeed, why worry about this life?  We have to learn to live a worry free life and we have to learn to trust God more than we trust ourselves or more than we trust anyone in this world. What would we gain if we worry a lot? Nothing except more worries!

In the gospel, Jesus is telling us not to worry about anything in this world for he will provide it for us. This seems hard to believe but this is true. If we would only learn to trust the Lord and let Him take full control of our lives. We would discover that God always provides and always takes care of everything including our worries. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for June 21, Friday: Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious; Matthew 6:19-23

Gospel: Matthew 6:19-23

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

“The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.”

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Reflection:

What is the advantage of not keeping earthly treasures?

We have less worry to think about imagine for example if we have many earthly treasures we would always be thinking on how to further grow it or how to keep it safe. These are just the few disadvantages of having earthly treasures; the more we have riches and material things the more that we think and worry about it.

What if we decide to give up our material riches for the sake of the kingdom of God? What will we gain from it? We certainly will have peace of mind. We will have no more worries to think about and we will be free as a bird always ready to fly towards heaven anytime. Why? Because we have no attachment with material things.  

The Lord always calls us to store treasures up in heaven where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. What are these heavenly treasures? These are our faith, our good deeds towards our fellowmen and our acts of love and humility. These are pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for June 20, Thursday: Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 6:7-15

Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15

(Jesus said to his disciples) “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “This is how you are to pray:

‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’

“If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”

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Reflection:

How do you pray? 

Do you pray with a set of structured prayer such as the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be and many other prayers? Nothing is wrong with these prayers for it brings you closer to God. What is important is, when you pray you dive inside your prayer this means that your whole being is in communion with your prayer.

There is no wrong either with our spontaneous/personal prayers for these are prayers that originate deep in our hearts.  Our whole beings are with our prayer, and by doing so we establish our connection with the Good Lord.

So we know how to pray and that is very good! But let us think about the many others who do not know how to pray (There are many of them). Perhaps we can make it our mission in life to teach them how to pray and in the process introduce them to Jesus.

Let us do something about this and let us also share this prayer that was taught by Jesus to His disciples. We become productive followers of Jesus when we pay forward whatever we know about Jesus most especially this prayer that HE taught us to pray.

Have you shared the Our Father prayer? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for June 19, Wednesday: Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Jesus said to his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

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Reflection:

In the gospel Jesus gives us three commands:

1. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others (Matthew 6:2).

2.  When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them (Matthew 6:5).

3. When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting (Matthew 6:16).

Jesus reminds us to have an interior self-examination about our lives.  How are we living it right now? Do we live our lives so that others may notice us? For example, in doing good deeds, why is it that some if not many of us post it on social media? Is it for others to know that we are doing good?  Are we only using God so that we will gain the admiration of our fellowmen?

Jesus advocates humility and secrecy in doing things for Him. We should not boast of the things that we do for God and for our fellowmen. Otherwise it’s all useless and chasing the wind. Jesus knows everything about us; our motives and the real reason why we do things for Him. He knows if we are only using Him to advance our own self-serving agendas.   

Let us re-direct our motives and from now on let us do things for the Lord in secrecy. Without posting it on facebook and other social media platforms. No one will know except you and the Lord.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for June 18, Tuesday: Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 5:43-48

Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48

Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers and sisters only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

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Reflection:

Are you capable of loving your enemies?

In the gospel Jesus calls us to a deeper form of love: “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44).

It’s not easy to give love to someone who betrayed your trust. But that’s what Jesus is telling us: to love unconditionally. Regardless of the hurts and betrayal done to us we still need to love and pray for those who’ve hurt us.

There’s no winner when we respond betrayal with betrayal, anger with anger. In spite of the injury done to us, why not try to still be meek and forgiving and leave everything in the hands of the Lord? God doesn’t love us selectively; He doesn’t love us because we follow His commands. He still loves us even if we’ve betrayed Him so many times.    

God loves us without any preconditions; He lets the sun rise and the rain to fall on all of us sinners. Therefore we have to love even our enemies and one of the ways to do this is not to wish them harm. Notwithstanding  the hurt that they’ve inflicted upon us. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for June 17, Monday: Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 5:38-42

Gospel: Matthew 5:38-42

Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.”

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Reflection:

What will happen if we would become kind to our enemies, if we will not respond to their mocking? The enemy will simply go away or they might even become our friend. There is so much hatred in this world because we respond to hatred. We perpetuate the cycle of anger by anger.

When we respond to hatred and violence we allow the evil one to take hold of us. And when the evil one takes control of us it will do nothing but destroy us. And bring us closer to his kingdom where everyone has hatred in his/her heart. 

In our gospel Jesus convincingly destroys the evil of hatred by love and humility.  Jesus tells us this: “I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well (Matthew 5:39).

Are we capable of loving those who despise us and are we willing to humble ourselves before them? Should we confront them or we simply ignore their insults and anger? Many regrettable acts of anger would have been avoided if only we have love and humility in our hearts.

Prayer: O dear Lord we pray that you give us the virtue of Humility, Forgiveness and Love. Sow in our hearts everything that is good. Sow in our heart gentleness, forgiveness and compassion. Amen. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday June 16, Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity: John 16:12-15

Gospel: John 16:12-15

Jesus said to his disciples: "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."

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Reflection:

A responsible husband suddenly died without any sign of sickness. The bereaved wife and her children were asking God, why it happened? There really are events in our life that are very hard to explain.

However we have to accept these mysterious events that are very hard to comprehend and accept. We have to believe that somewhere or somehow there shall be enlightenment and acceptance for so long as we never lose our faith in God.

Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the three Gods that became one or the three persons in one God. How can it be that God the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit who are all distinct and separate from each other could become one?

The secret of the oneness and unity of the Blessed Trinity is love. What make God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit one is love and what binds them together is love. Love at its purest and love without envy and deceit. Come to think of it what unifies a family, what makes friendship true and forever? It’s also love the same love that is always present in the Holy Trinity.

For many of us this is very hard to explain let alone believe. However there are teachings of the church that we have to embrace without a single doubt. And the Dogma about the Holy Trinity is one of these teachings.

But, how can we embrace this dogma/teaching about the Holy Trinity if we seldom go to church for Holy Mass? If the bible is only gathering dust in the lonely corner in our respective homes?  If we seldom reserve daily time for God and if we do not put essence to our faith by living it? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for June 15, Saturday: Tenth Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 5:33-37

Gospel: Matthew 5:33-37

Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the Evil One."

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Reflection:

What is the secret to a successful marriage? Simple and that is not to break the vows of marriage that goes: I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life." This is basically one of the secret to a successful marriage.

Nowadays the vows of marriage are violated with impunity this is the reason why many marriages are being torn apart. But we have nothing to blame except ourselves for many of us don’t value it anymore.

In our gospel for this Saturday Jesus tells us to make good to the Lord all that we have vowed and this surely include our marriage vows. Which we stated before the Lord in the person of the priest who acts on behalf of Jesus.

Jesus also tells us not to swear or promise. Why? For the simple reason that swears and promises are made to be broken. Instead of swearing or promising let us simply do what we have to do in doing so we gain the respect and admiration of our fellowmen. In hindsight isn’t true that our actions speak louder than our words?

In married life or in any instance of life, actions of love are always more powerful than words of love.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

1Reflection for June 14, Friday: Tenth Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 5:27-32

Gospel: Matthew 5:27-32

(Jesus said to his disciples) 27 "You have heard that it was said, `You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than your whole body  be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole  body go into hell.  31 "It was also said, `Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

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Reflection:

Why is there adultery? This is for the reason that we don’t value the sanctity of the Sacrament of Matrimony anymore. We treat marriage as a contract that we can violate anytime we want to violate it.  Why do many of us are not afraid to violate our marriage covenant? This is for the reason that we don’t love God anymore.

The root cause of adultery is our lack of proper instillation of the values of God. And who is the culprit about our lack of values about God?  No other than the parents! Many of today’s parents pamper their children with the material things of this world. Such as money, material possessions and so forth, yet when it comes to the values about God they seldom care to teach them. Parents such as these rear children that are not anymore afraid of God and children that have no values about God yet they know God. 

What must we do therefore? We must teach our children about the values of God and as parents we must also see to it that we are committed until the end to our marriage. Parents are the best role models for their children. If they observe their parent committed to their married life. They too would grow up to become committed to their own marriage.

In our gospel for today we see how Jesus abhors adultery. For the simple reason that the mission and reason of marriage for both husband and wife is loyalty until the end. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for June 13, Thursday: Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church; Mathew 5:20-26

Gospel: Matthew 5:20-26

Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

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Reflection:

A man who was full of anger in his heart suddenly died. When he was about to enter the pearly gates saint Peter suddenly appeared and refused him entry.  When the man asked, why? Saint Peter told Him that when he was still alive his heart was full of anger and arrogance.

Death is uncertain it may come to us anytime.  What if we suddenly die with our hearts full of anger and arrogance?  Many had been brought to perdition by anger and arrogance yet many of us still don’t learn our lesson. Anger and arrogance are emotional disease that originates from our egos, high sense of ourselves and our lack of humility.   

In our gospel we find Jesus giving us lessons on humility. He tells us: if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him (Matthew 5:23-25).

It’s not easy to imbibe humility but if we only know that humility makes us closer to Jesus. If we only know that humility would save us a lot of trouble even grievous ones. We would not think twice to imbibe humility we may even run after it and cling to it. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for June 12, Wednesday: Tenth Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 5:17-19

Gospel: Matthew 5:17-19

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

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Reflection:

What will happen to us if we would always observe the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-1) and the two greatest commandments that Jesus gave us (Matthew 22:36-40)? We surely would move closer to Jesus, we would grow in faith and there would be peace in our life.

This is the price that awaits those who would observe the laws of God. Without close observance of God’s commandments there would also be no close relationship with God. Observe those who don’t follow the commandments of God or observe your very own self when you don’t follow God’s commandments. What kind of life would you have? Isn’t a life of chaos, disturbance and endless problems?

Therefore the key to intimacy with God is our faithful observance of His commandments. But human as we are we are subject to our own frailties. We fall and sin every once in a while and thus we are temporarily separated from the love of God.

However Jesus also instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Confession so that whenever we sin we have a recourse out of sin. But even if we have a recourse let us not abuse it by saying that, we will sin because there is the Sacrament of Confession anyway.

Let us always be conscious that sin separates us from the love of God. We therefore have to endeavor to always remain within the ambit of the love of God, therefore we always have to follow the commandments of the Lord.     – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

1Reflection for June 11, Tuesday: Saint Barnabas, Apostle; Matthew 5:13-16

Gospel: Matthew 5:13-16

Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

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Reflection:

A young doctor who topped the board exam was offered by a multinational pharmaceutical company to work for them. She was presented with a big signing bonus, offered a huge salary and to top it all was also offered further studies abroad. Yet she refused the very attractive financial windfall and benefits.

When asked why? Her simple but very meaningful reply was this: I intend to go back to my home province and make a big positive difference in the lives of my poor province mates where I also belong once upon a time.

Jesus in our gospel tells us: You are the salt of the earth and you are the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-14). What does it mean to become salt and light of this world? Salt gives taste to a tasteless food and light brings brightness and hope to a dark environment. 

We need to become that salt and light that Jesus mentions in the gospel. This simply means that we have to live a meaningful life in this world! A life that is not lived for oneself alone but a life to be lived for others most especially the poor.

Often times we get to fixated on ourselves. We have this me first mentality everything that we do is for ourselves first. Then when the time comes that we are able to achieve our objectives and goals. We think now of giving back to our community, church and the poor.

When Jesus said that you are the salt and light of this world. He did not say fulfill first your dreams to be successful and rich. After which you think now of giving back to your community, church and the poor.

We need to become salt and light for others not tomorrow and certainly not in the future. We need to become salt and light in the lives others today, right now during this very moment. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for June 10, Monday: Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church; Matthew 5:1-12

Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

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Reflection:

A mentally challenged boy was always made fun of by his friends and relatives. Because he finds it hard to follow simple instructions and he finds it hard to read and write. His relatives told him not to study anymore because it was just a waste of time and money. Thus, he was forced to stop and he wasn’t able to finish his elementary studies.

At that tender age he knew that he was being looked down by those around him; so meekly took their insults. What they didn’t know was the boy had enormous faith in Jesus. Every night he would always be on his knees praying and asking the Lord to guide and strengthen him for he had nothing except Him.

After a few years this boy perseveringly continued his studies again and was able to finish college and he lived a modest life.

In today’s gospel Jesus gives us the Beatitudes and one of the Beatitude is: Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the land (Matthew 5:5). That blessing is for this mentally challenged boy who was blessed by the Lord. And it’s also for those who are meek who silently, humbly and perseveringly take the insults hurled towards them. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday June 9, Pentecost Sunday: John 20:19-23

Gospel: John 20:19-23

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

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Reflection:

There is story about a man who was walking with the Lord on the seashore. When things were OK he noticed two sets of footprints one was his and the other was the Lord. However, when he encountered problems he noticed that it was only his footprints present on the seashore.

So, he asked the Lord: Why is it when I was in dire need of you, you were not there for me? The Lord said to him I was there all along with you through the Holy Spirit. I never left you. When you saw a single set of footprints on the seashore you were actually being carried by the Holy Spirit.

Awareness of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our life is something personal that God gives us. It’s actually a gift that God has given us when we were Baptized and Confirmed. And since then its with us walking with us side by side. But sometimes we don’t feel His abiding presence; the reason behind is our sinfulness, inconsistent prayer life and lack of faith.

When we sin we obstruct the Holy Spirit’s presence within us, when we are not prayerful we close ourselves to the Holy Spirit’s many gifts. And when we are lacking in faith we disallow the Holy Spirit to make a positive impact in our life. Thus, it’s actually us who disallow the Holy Spirit to move within us.

  

In the gospel passage for this Sunday, the apostles were in the upper room. The doors were locked because they were praying and at the same time hiding from the Jews who were running after them. Then suddenly out of nowhere Jesus appeared to them and said: “Peace be with you (John 20:21).” Jesus said this twice and after a while he said these very profound words to them, Receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).”

This is the same Holy Spirit that Jesus wants you to receive today.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas