Reflection for Wednesday September 10, Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 6:20-26

Gospel: Luke 6:20-26

Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

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Reflection:

Are we willing to be poor to be hungry, to weep and to be insulted for our steadfast faith in Jesus? This question will drive us to think hard because it’s not easy to be poor to be insulted, to weep and be hungry for the sake of our steadfast discipleship with Jesus.

But if this is the means for us to gain intimacy with Jesus we have no other way but to embrace these hard choices. But how many of us are willing to embrace this kind of life for Jesus? Come to think of it, are these choices really hard? Is it really hard to be poor, hungry, to weep and to be insulted?

It is hard if Jesus is not with us but if Jesus is with us and if He walks with us. To be poor, hungry, to weep and be persecuted for Christ now becomes a blessing for us. For the simple reason that this assures us of a life with Jesus in heaven after our life in this world is over and done with already.

What will it benefit us if we are rich, powerful and if everyone is praising us to high heavens if Jesus is not in our lives or if Jesus is just a particle in our lives? The best choice is to have a life with Jesus even if it would entail sacrifices and hardship.  

What is your choice? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Tuesday September 9, Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 6:12-19

Gospel: Luke 6:12-19

Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people  from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.

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Reflection:

Is prayer part of your life that it seems that your day is not complete without prayer? Before making the very important decision of choosing His apostles Jesus went first to a mountain to pray. There, He spent the night in prayer to God.   

Prayer is our hotline to God this is our means to connect with Him. Through our prayer we invite God to come into our lives. With our regular habit of prayer the God that is distant now becomes the God that is with us and the God that walks with us.

What does prayer brings us? Through our prayer we connect with God, thru prayer God calms us, God comforts us, God guides us and He gives us wisdom to make the right decisions in life, to name a few.

Who amongst us wouldn’t want God to be with us and walk with us? Of course we all want the presence of God in our lives this is the reason why we must always have time for God through our prayer. Our prayer life must not take a backseat over our worldly undertakings; it must be prayer first before our many worldly activities.

 What would our worldly riches mean to us if we don’t pray?  What is the use of wealth and power if God is just a superficial entity in our lives or if we are without God? Someday we will die and everything that we have accumulated in this world will not anymore matter to us. What will only matter during that time is our relationship with God built through our active and fervent prayer life.   

Do you always give first priority to your prayer life? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday September 7, Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time; Matthew 18:15-20

Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20

(Jesus said to his disciples) “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. 

Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

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Reflection:

What would happen if Jesus is at the center of marriage? There’s love, humility and forgiveness inside the hearts of husbands and wives. There would be peace and harmony in the family. Their children will grow up to become Christ centered and not centered upon the material things of this world.

But reality check first, is Jesus at the center of all marriages? No, often times what is at the center of marriage are ego, sinfulness and greed for money, to name a few. This is the reason why there are betrayals in marriage and if left unresolved may eventually result to broken marriages.   

Jesus in our gospel is teaching us not only how to administer fraternal correction. He is also teaching us how to administer spousal correction. If a husband/wife sins against his/her spouse; they should talk about it among themselves first.

No shouting, no air of dominance whatsoever rather bring into that meeting the love, forgiveness and humility of Jesus. The moment this is done the spouse who committed the transgression would have the humility to ask for forgiveness and to walk away from the environment that made her/him sin.

Nothing is impossible when we commit to follow the teachings of the Lord and when we decide to walk away from anything that make us sin. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Thursday September 4, Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 5:1-11

Gospel: Luke 5:1-11

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.

They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

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Reflection:

From ordinary fishermen to extra-ordinary fishers of men, this we can best describe the lives of Simon Peter, James and John. Who transformed them to become fisher’s of men? Jesus! Why were they transformed by Jesus? Because they obeyed, they simply followed the command of Jesus.

When we obey Jesus, extra-ordinary things also happen to us; but how could we hear the voice of Jesus? How would we know that Jesus is talking to us when we don’t see and feel His physical presence? Jesus speaks to us through the readings at Holy Mass, Jesus speaks to us through a priest who properly prepared for his homily. Jesus speaks to us also when we read His words in the bible and through the words and commentaries of well meaning people.

Through these we hear Jesus calling us to conversion and to truthfully follow Him. Nothing is impossible for as long as we follow and for as long as we put our faith and trust in Jesus.

Simon Peter, James, John and the other fishermen who were with them during that early morning obeyed the impossible command of Jesus. To once again put their nets (A short distance from them) into the sea because they would be catching the greatest number of fish. and true enough they caught the biggest number of fish that their nets were tearing already. - Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Tuesday September 2, Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 4:31-37

Gospel: Luke 4:31-37

Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out in a loud voice, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm. They were all amazed and said to one another, “What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.

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Reflection:

During 1982, I was in high school then; late afternoon after school while walking to our house. I saw a group of people and I also heard a very loud but unrecognizable voice. Out of curiosity I walked going to them to simply see what they were looking at and to find out where that big voice was coming from.

There I saw a man with devilish eyes being held-on by a number of men, when the man was asked who was he answered with a frightening voice that he was the devil. Afterwards somebody came (I don’t know if it was priest of a pastor) who said prayers and sprinkled holy water on him while invoking the name of Jesus. While this was being administered to him the man was violently resisting and shouting until he calmed down and he passed-out soon after.

In our gospel we read about Jesus exorcising a demon from a possessed man. After Jesus exorcised the possessed man the crowd said, What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out (Luke 4:36).”

The crowd did not know Jesus that’s why they marvelled about the power and authority of His word. Unlike the crowd in the gospel who did not know, we know Jesus; we know where His power and authority is coming from. Let us therefore take advantage of our knowledge of Jesus. Let us dive deeper into it by regularly reflecting upon His powerful words in the bible and by our regular presence at Holy Mass.

By doing these acts of faith we permanently immunize ourselves from the possession of the devil. Which is still very active and pervading (in many disguises) up to this very moment.  

The devil is very real! When you sense that he (devil) is near you (Through the many kinds of temptations and so forth) never fail to invoke the mighty and powerful name of Jesus! - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Monday September 1, Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 4:16-30

Gospel: Luke 4:16-30

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?” He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’” And he said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land.

It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

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Reflection:

Homecoming is always an event that we look forward to because of the warmth of the reception that we receive from our relatives and friends. Take for example if you’ve not been to your childhood place for a number of years. Just imagine the warm welcome that you’ll receive from your relatives and childhood friends. But not all homecoming are filled with warmth and welcoming people there are sad homecomings also.

Jesus was initially admired and was warmly received by His town mates for He spoke with brilliance. But when He spoke of something that His town mates did not like to hear the admiration turned to derision and the warm reception became cold as ice.  This led His town mates to drive Him away with dangerous intentions going to a hill. What a sad ending of His coming home, Jesus certainly did not expect this kind of sad homecoming.

But this is the reality of life, people will like us for as long as they like what we say even if what we say is already false for as long as its music to their ears. But when we talk about the truth they will not like us anymore. They will also drive us away as if we are carrying a contagious disease.  And the worst part is they may attempt to harm us.  

Nevertheless we must not be cowed from speaking the truth even if it will hurt those who will hear it. This is for the reason that by speaking the truth we correct what is wrong. And by speaking the truth we create awareness that good will always triumph over evil. - Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Cardinal Tagle Leads Lectio Divina at St Patrick's Cathedral Melbourne August 2014

1Reflection for Sunday August 31, Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time; Matthew 16:21-27

Gospel: Matthew 16:21-27

Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.  You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?

Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay all according to his conduct.”

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Reflection:

When do we have a true encounter with Jesus? It’s when we are burdened by the worries and suffering/s of this world this is where we have a personal encounter with Jesus. Never would we have a personal encounter with Jesus if we are enjoying the fruits of this world. It’s always through our worries and suffering that we have a true discernment of the presence of Jesus in our lives.

When Jesus told the disciples that he will go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed. Peter was adamant with his protestation, Peter even told Jesus, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” Why did Peter oppose this suffering statement of Jesus? Was he concerned of the welfare of Jesus? Or Peter was afraid that if Jesus would suffer and eventually die, they too would experience suffering/s because Jesus will not be with them anymore to protect them.   

Nonetheless, Jesus told them that if they really want to follow Him they must be ready to suffer and embrace suffering as well! For its only through suffering that they would be able to develop deep intimacy with Jesus. We would never develop a personal encounter with our Lord if we are averse with suffering and if we are enjoying life’s hedonism.

But reality bites! We would rather enjoy life than suffer or face hardship and we would rather enjoy life than truthfully follow Jesus. There are even some rich and even famous celebrities who chose to commit suicide than face their suffering/s.

It’s only through our suffering/s and trial/s that Jesus comes to our lives. It’s through our moments of defeat and persecution that the abiding presence of Jesus is clearer to us.  It’s when we carry our own cross that we feel that Jesus is walking with us and helping us to carry it. Let us never be afraid to face our sufferings and to carry our cross no matter how heavy and difficult. For we will be able to hurdle all of these trials if we invite Jesus to help us.

Are you going through some difficult moments in your life right now? Invite Jesus to come into your life and ask Jesus to heal you. He will never refuse you. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Repleksyon para sa Agosto 31, Ika-22 na Linggo sa Karaniwang Panahon; Mateo 16:21-27

Mabuting Balita: Mateo 16:21-27

Mula noon ay ipinaalam na ni Jesus sa kanyang mga alagad ang mangyayari sa kanya. Sinabi niya, "Dapat akong magtungo sa Jerusalem at magdanas ng maraming hirap sa kamay ng mga pinuno ng bayan, mga punong pari at mga tagapagturo ng Kautusan. Ako'y papatayin, ngunit sa ikatlong araw ako'y muling mabubuhay."

Dinala siya ni Pedro sa isang tabi at sinimulang pagalitan, "Panginoon, huwag nawang itulot ng Diyos! Kailanma'y hindi iyan mangyayari sa inyo." Ngunit hinarap siya ni Jesus at sinabihan, "Umalis ka sa harapan ko, Satanas! Hadlang ka sa aking landas. Ang iniisip mo'y hindi sa Diyos kundi sa tao." Sinabi ni Jesus sa kanyang mga alagad, "Ang sinumang nagnanais sumunod sa akin ay kinakailangang itakwil niya ang kanyang sarili, pasanin ang kanyang krus, at sumunod sa akin. Ang naghahangad na magligtas ng kanyang buhay ay mawawalan nito; ngunit ang mawalan ng kanyang buhay alang-alang sa akin ay magkakamit nito. Sapagkat ano ba ang mapapala ng isang tao makamtan man niya ang buong daigdig, ngunit mapapahamak naman ang kanyang sarili? Ano ba ang maibabayad ng isang tao para mabawi niya ang kanyang buhay? Sapagkat darating ang Anak ng Tao na kasama ang kanyang mga anghel, at taglay ang dakilang kapangyarihan ng kanyang Ama. Sa panahong iyo'y gagantimpalaan niya ang bawat tao ayon sa ginawa nito.

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Repleksyon:

Kailan po ba tayo nag kakaroon ng totoong ugnayan kay Jesus? Ito ay pag tayo ay pinahihirapan ng ating mga problema at pasakit sa buhay. Dito tayo nag kakaroon ng personal at mas malalim na ugnayan kay Jesus.  Hindi tayo mag kakaroon ng malalim na ugnayan kay Jesus pag tayo ay nag e enjoy sa mga kasaganahan ng mundo. Palaging sa pamamagitan ng ating mga problema at pasakit lamang mas lilinaw ang presenya ni Jesus sa ating mga buhay.    

Nang sinabi ni Jesus na siya ay magtutungo sa Jerusalem at magdadanas ng maraming hirap. Sa kamay ng mga pinuno ng bayan, mga punong pari mga tagapagturo ng Kautusan at papatayin. Ay nagalit sa kanya si Pedro at sinabi pa ni Pedro kay Jesus "Panginoon, huwag nawang itulot ng Diyos! Kailanma'y hindi iyan mangyayari sa inyo." Bakit nga ba ayaw ni Pedro sa mga pananalitang ito ni Jesus? Siya ba ay nag aalala sa kaligtasan ni Jesus? O baka naman nag aalala si Pedro na pag pinahirapan si Jesus at pinatay sila rin ay makakaranas ng pag hihirap?

Pero ganun paman ay sinabi ni Jesus sa kanila na kung talagang gusto nilang sumunod sa kanya.  Kailagan handa rin silang kalimutan ang kanilang mga sarili at mag pasan ng kanilang sariling krus. Dahil sa pamamagitan lamang nito sila makakasumpong ng malalim na ugnayan kay Jesus. Hindi tayo magkakaroon ng malalim na ugnayan kay Jesus kung ayaw nating yumakap sa ating mga pagsubok sa buhay at panay lang tayo sa pag papasarap dito sa mundo.

Pero mahirap layuan ang katotohanan na mas gusto pa natin na mag enjoy tayo sa mundong ito kaysa mag pasan ng ating krus at harapin ang ating mga pagsubok at sumunod kay Jesus. Meroon pa nga diyan na mga mayayaman at kilalang mga personalidad na dahil sa ayaw nilang mag pasan ng kanilang krus at harapin ang kanilang mga pagsubok sa buhay ay mas ginusto pa nila na tapusin nalang ang kanilang buhay sa pamamagitan ng pag su suicide.   

Sa pamamagitan lamang po ng ating pagdaan at pagharap sa ating mga pagsubok mas makikilala natin si Jesus. Sa pamamagitan lamang po nito mas magiging malinaw sa atin na kasama pala natin si Jesus sa pag pasan ng ating krus at hindi niya pala tayo iniiwan.

Huwag tayong matakot na harapin ang ating mga pagsubok at mag pasan ng ating krus gaano man ito kahirap at kabigat. Sa dahilan na malalampasan din natin ito pag humingi tayo ng tulong kay Jesus.   

Ikaw ba ay dumadaan sa mabigat na pag subok ngayon? Manalagin ka kay Jesus at hingin mo sa kanya ang kanyang tulong dahil  hindi ka niya pababayaan. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Saturday August 30, Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 25:14-30

Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30

(Jesus told his disciples this parable) “A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one–to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’”

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Reflection:

The shortcoming of the third servant in our gospel is he kept to himself what was given to him by his Lord. He could have invested it, he could have done something to make it grow but he never did because of his fear for his Lord. If we allow our fears to conquer us it will eventually paralyze us and it will prevent us from becoming fruitful children of God.

Each and everyone of us was given by the Good Lord talents according to our abilities. Let us make the most of this talent/s that He has given us by using it for His greater glory. Let us not be discouraged by our limitations and struggles for God is always there to guide and help us.   

What is the talent that the Good Lord entrusted you? Use it not only for your own advancement, use it also to advance His kingdom in this world. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Thursday August 28, Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church; Matthew 24:42-51

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Gospel: Matthew 24:42-51

(Jesus said to his disciples) “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

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Reflection:

What are we going to do if we’re assigned a responsibility? We will do whatever it takes to properly accomplish the responsibility immediately.  There will be no dilly dally we will immediately do what we have to do because this is the responsibility given to us.

In our gospel for today Jesus tells the disciples: Be prepared for the son of man will come at an hour you do not expect. What kind of preparation did Jesus wants from His disciples? Of course it is to live their lives the way Jesus lived His life, this they could achieve through their humility, their concern for the poor and by living their lives in the service of others.

How should we prepare for the coming of Jesus? Should we prepare by making ourselves busy on how to increase our material wealth? Of course not! The preparation that Jesus speaks about is the same preparation that He required from His disciples. So that when He knocks we would be able to let Him enter our lives.

Therefore, we must not always busy ourselves on how to increase our wealth. For material wealth is not the be all and end all of life.  The best preparation for the coming of Jesus into our lives is to create time for Him no matter how busy we are for this is the only way we could prepare for His coming.    

How are we preparing for the coming of Jesus? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Tuesday August 26, Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 23:23-26

Gospel: Matthew 23:23-26

Jesus said: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. But these you should have done, without neglecting the others. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.”

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Reflection:

Why do we follow Jesus? Do we follow Him because we are obliged by our faith or we follow Him because of our deep love for Him? When we follow Jesus because we see it as our obligation; it does not create a deep transformation within us. We simply follow for the reason that it creates a positive self-image for us and it ends with the positive self-image: No interior cleansing and transformation.

When we follow Jesus because we love Him, we allow the love of Jesus to deeply transform us. For example if we follow Jesus because we love Him, we will be forgiving, we will not store hatred in our hearts. And we will abhor anything that is bad and evil because we give Jesus the freehand to transform us.

Our discipleship with Jesus must always be rooted in our love for Him and not because this is dictated by our faith. For this is what true discipleship is all about, a discipleship that creates a very deep transformation within our being.

Let us therefore examine ourselves and reflect for we may be only following Jesus because we are obliged by our faith or even by our position in the church and community. If this is so it’s about time that we allow Jesus to interiorly renew us. 

This would only commence when we forgive those who’ve hurt us. When we are willing to build bridges than walls and when we humble ourselves before those whom we've hurt by asking for their forgiveness. - Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for Sunday August 24, Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time; Matthew 16:13-20

Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and 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.” Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

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Reflection:

Do we boast about the things that we do and own? For example we post on facebook the things that we own or the beautiful places that we’ve been through with the motive of letting others know about who we are. Do we boast about how intelligent we are and how profound our knowledge about Jesus and the catholic faith?

The intellect that we have and everything that we have we did not earn by your own effort alone. The Good Lord has a hand on what we know and what we have today. Even our personal success we did not earn it by our own effort, the Good Lord has His hand on it also.

In our gospel today, Peter hit the jackpot when he correctly answered this question of Jesus, “Who do you say that I am?” But Jesus immediately told Peter that it was not through his own intellect that he know Jesus for it was God who enlightened him to know the real identity of Jesus.

We can perhaps relate with this statement of Jesus to Peter. Because there may be times that we boast also about who we are and what we know and have. Jesus reminds us that everything is a gift and grace from the good Lord. Who we are today or how successful we are today is God’s gift to us. That’s why we must not allow ourselves to be carried away by our success no matter how big. 

The Catholic church that we have today was founded by Jesus through Peter. Jesus did not do it because Peter was the favored one or because Peter was always in the thick of things in the life of Jesus. Peter was chosen for the simple reason that it was the will of God and not Peter’s will.

We must therefore stay humble and we must continue to firmly plant our feet on the ground. No matter how successful we are for everything is a gift from God and everything emanates from God’s good will. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Saturday August 23, Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 23:1-12

Gospel: Matthew 23:1-12

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

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Reflection:

Should we aspire for greatness in our service for Jesus and our fellowmen? No, because the moment we aspire for greatness we are not anymore serving Jesus and our fellowmen. We are rather feeding our own egos and personal agendas, whatever our personal agendas are.

Many of us including church people as well as politicians fail in this aspect of true servanthood. For the reason that instead of giving true service we accompany it with our own selfish motives. Why are we offering our free service to the church? Is it purely to serve, or we may have hidden motives in serving the church. Same with politicians during campaign they would always offer themselves as servants, but after they’ve won we could hardly see them anymore.

Jesus is teaching us that if we truly want to serve we must be ready to forget ourselves or forget who we are. We walk our talk without complaining whatsoever. We silently do what we have to do not minding if we would be rewarded for what we do for this is what servanthood is all about.

Let us not worry if we are not cited for whatever noble undertaking that we do. God is not sleeping He sees everything and knows everything. - Marino J. Dasmarinas