Saturday, February 22, 2014

My Reflection for Saturday February 22, Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle; Mark 16:13-19

Gospel: Mark 16:13-19
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

 And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
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Reflection:
When Jesus asked the disciples, Who do the people say that the son of Man is? No one was able to correctly answer except Simon Peter, who told Jesus: “You are the Christ the son of the living God. But Jesus immediately told Peter, it’s not by your own intelligence that you know me; it’s through the grace of my heavenly Father that you know who I am.

Why did Jesus told Simon Peter that it was not through his effort that he knows Him? Perhaps Jesus wanted to temper the behavior of Peter. Perhaps Jesus doesn’t want Simon Peter to boast about what he knew about Him.

In our continuing journey with Jesus there may be times also that we might be tempted to brag or boast concerning what we know about Him. This we must not do because everything is a gift, everything is a grace. What we know about Him is from Him alone, not from us; not from our own effort.

How many times have we boasted about our knowledge regarding Jesus and our faith? How many times have we acted as if we knew everything about God? Have many times have we acted as if we are the masters of the universe?

Let us pause and reflect about this. …   

Saturday, November 23, 2013

My Reflection for November 24, Solemnity of Christ the King, Luke 23:35-43


http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/112413.cfm
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My Reflection:
Who among us would want to follow the kingship of Jesus?  He is an image of human weakness, He hangs on the cross blooded ang dying. The rulers sneered at Him even the soldiers taunted Him. Jesus on the cross was seemingly helpless and it seems that God has forsaken Him already.

If we were present during that time of His crucifixion we would not dare also touch Him with a ten foot pole. We would have also silently walked away like the others who were disappointed with Jesus show of human weakness.

What if Jesus projected the image of king David in our first reading (warrior, conqueror and leader) of course everyone would have flocked to His side. But Jesus did not show any warrior like demeanor, instead He showed a defeated behavior that His followers did not want to see from Him. That’s why in His most trying times everyone who followed Him eventually deserted Him.

 But during His moment of human weakness someone recognized His kingship. It was the criminal hanging on the cross beside Him. What made the criminal recognize His power and kingship? That he even asked Jesus to remember him when He is in His kingdom. It was the criminal’s humility and unwavering faith in Jesus. We may ask, is it possible for a criminal to be humble and is it possible for a criminal to have an unwavering faith in Jesus? Yes it is very possible!

How could this gospel help us to have a firmer grasp of the kingship of Jesus? We must always humble ourselves before Him. For example, we always go to Mass and we humbly submit ourselves to the Sacrament of Reconciliation as often as possible. We must not forget also to always ask Jesus to increase our faith.

But sad to say, many of us are situational followers of Jesus only. …