Reflection for March 4, Wednesday of the Second Week in Lent; Matthew 20:17-28

Gospel: Matthew 20:17-28

As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” He replied, “My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

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Reflection:

What makes us worthy in the eyes of Jesus? Obviously it’s not our title/s or any worldly appendages. What makes us worthy in the eyes of Jesus is our readiness to humbly serve without seeking any recognition in return. This is what makes us worthy in the eyes of Jesus.

Why do we follow Jesus in the first place? Is it for us to have an exalted position in our community or in our parish church? We love it so much to be looked-up because we advertise ourselves to be close to Jesus.

And when nobody is noticing us we seek attention for we serve Jesus. Do we make Jesus happy when we use Him for us to be exalted? Of course not! But this is where we always fall! We use Jesus as our springboard for us to be exalted and respected.

Can’t we simply fade away in silence after we’ve served our church or after we’ve done good to our fellowmen? Can’t we simply fade away and let our gentle and merciful God be in-front so that He could attract more believers?

Many of us are afraid to be humble because we perceive humility as weakness. But truth be told, our humility is powerful very powerful that it creates endless echoes in the hearts of those who see and feel it. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for March 2, Monday of the Second Week in Lent; Luke 6:36-38

Gospel: Luke 6:36-38

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

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Reflection:

What is the mother of mercy? Its love, you can’t be merciful if you do not know how to love. The moment you feel mercy in your heart you already have love that you can freely dispense anytime to any person or group of persons.

What kind of love is this that gives birth to mercy? Obviously this is not only romantic love for romantic love is a limited kind of love. The kind of love that gives birth to mercy is the perfect kind of love or the highest form of love.

Who gives us this highest form of love? Jesus Himself gives us this kind of love. We receive this from Jesus when we are always in close contact with Him. By way of our faithful presence at Holy Mass, through our frequent interaction with Jesus by means of the Sacraments of the Church. And by readings His life transforming and life giving words in the bible.

Come to think of it, what happens to us if we are not merciful, if we are quick to condemn and if we don’t forgive? We allow ourselves to be imprisoned by  toxic emotion/s that is brought to our feet by the devil.

When we are always in close contact with Jesus we are always merciful. We will never condemn or judge anyone. And we will always forgive no matter how deep the hurt that has been inflicted upon us. 

Find it in your heart to follow and seek Jesus now and be free from any form of hatred in your heart. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Sunday March 1, Second Sunday of Lent; Mark 9:2-10

Gospel: Mark 9:2-10

Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him. Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.

As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant.

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Reflection:

What if Peter, James and John refused to go with Jesus to the mountain of transfiguration? They would have missed the once in a lifetime experience of heaven. They would have missed seeing Jesus transfigured before their very eyes. They would have missed seeing Jesus conversing with Moses and Elijah. (The great prophets of the Old Testament). They would have missed the opportunity to hear the voice of God telling them: This is my beloved Son. Listen to him (Mark 9:7).    

But they did not refuse the invitation of Jesus they simply obeyed and went with Him to the mountain of transfiguration. Thus, they had that sudden experience of heaven. And they knew from thereon that if they would only be faithful to their discipleship for Jesus they already have their own dwelling in heaven.

In our first reading, when God told Abraham to bring his son Isaac to the mountain of moriah. So that Isaac could serve as his own sacrificial offering to God, Abraham obeyed without questioning the wisdom of God.

When Abraham was about to kill Isaac. A messenger of God intervened and told Abraham not to kill Isaac for God was just testing his faith. And what was the price for Abraham’s fidelity? He was blessed with so many descendants as many as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore (Genesis 22:17).

Perhaps, when Jesus told Peter, James and John to go with Him onto the mountain of transfiguration. Jesus was also testing the three of them.  He was testing  the strength of their faith and discipleship for Him. They passed their test of faith just like Abraham who passed his own test of faith also. 

Thus, Peter, James, John  and Abraham  were richly rewarded by God. The reward for the three disciples were the foretaste of heaven among others. And the reward for Abraham was the descendants that was as many as the stars in heaven and the sand on the seashores.

As long as we live in this world we will also have our own tests of faith. It will come to us in different forms and shapes. Let us remain faithful no matter how hard and difficult the tests. For there’s always a reward for those who would be faithful. 

Have we already passed our own test of faith from Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for February 28, Saturday of the First Week of Lent; 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:

What is genuine love? It’s a love that doesn’t discriminate a love that embraces everybody including those who are not lovable to our eyes. The beauty of loving even those who do not love us is we show them what true love is all about. True love that emanates from Jesus Himself.

When we love even those who are not lovable we don’t only give them our unconditional love. We also teach them to give love, never mind if they will not love us in return. What is important is we teach them the language of unconditional love so that they will learn from it and hopefully be converted by  it.

But is unconditional love still relevant today? For many of us today love is a two way street: You love me and I give you love in return if you will not love me I will not give you my love. But if this is our mentality the language of true love will not anymore have life. There would be no more true love and true sacrifice for the person that we love.

True love or genuine love therefore is to love without any condition/s and to love without expecting love in return. Hard to do, right? But if we truly love Jesus we would be able to freely give love, love which is not bound by the laws of reciprocity. – Marino  J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for February 27, Friday of the First Week of Lent; Matthew 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. 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:

What is the antidote to sin or what could defeat sin or hatred? Its humility, forgiveness and love. For example if you sin against your spouse the cure for this sin is to humble yourself before your spouse. You do this by  saying, I’m sorry for hurting you or  I’m sorry for betraying your trust.

If your spouse loves you dearly you can expect forgiveness, the mitigating factor here is  your humility to admit your offense or sin. But not everyone of us are willing to say, I’m sorry for to admit ones mistake or to say I’m sorry is one  of the hardest words to say. But if there’s humility in us we will not think twice to apologize for this will once again heal the relationship.

But the paradox is, we are quick to sin yet we are not quick to apologize  or some are not even willing to apologize. And this lack of humility on our part creates bigger trouble/s in our married relationship or any other kind of relationship for that matter. 

In our gospel Jesus is teaching us about humility and to have the courage to admit our own mistakes or shortcomings (Matthew 5:23-25). Why? Because if we are willing to humble ourselves and if we have the courage to admit our own sinfulness. We therefore save ourselves from further trouble/s but if we continue to be dominating and arrogant then trouble/s would always be with us.

Would we be willing to humbly apologize to somebody whom we have offended? To reach-out or to apologize is hard to do but it’s also a redemptive experience for it will set us free from the bondage of guilt and sin.  – Marino  J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for February 26, Thursday of the First Week of Lent; Matthew 7:7-12

Gospel: Matthew 7:7-12

Jesus said to his disciples: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.”

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Reflection:

What do you do when your child sincerely ask something from you? You try your very best to give what he/she is asking from you. Why? Because you love your child and you don’t want to disappoint him/her. What if your parents will sincerely ask something from you? For the same reason you will also try your very best to give what your parents are asking from you.

The love of Jesus is far greater than the love of a parent to his/her child or a child’s love for his/her parents. What does this mean? If we will do everything to grant the request of our loved ones, Jesus will surely grant also whatever we sincerely ask from Him.

Our sincerity counts when we ask something from Jesus. For example when Jesus said to His disciples: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7). It goes without saying that Jesus expects utmost sincerity from them.

This is also what Jesus expects from us when we ask Him for something. The pureness of our desire is a major factor for Jesus to grant us what we want from Him. If Jesus sees that there’s no purity and sincerity in our prayers or if our prayers are centered  to serve our selfish ends. Then we can be assured that nothing will come out from it for we do it for our own selfish objectives.

In hindsight, this is also an invitation for us to reflect on our prayers for Jesus. He may not have yet granted some of our prayers, perhaps we need to re-assess our objectives. Perhaps we need to be more sincere and selfless in our prayers.

Are you always sincere when you pray to Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for February 25, Wednesday of the First Week of Lent; Luke 11:29-32

Gospel: Luke 11:29-32

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here.  At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.”

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Reflection:

A sinful man had a conversion, when he was asked what moved him to be good and Godly. He replied this, I’m dying and I don’t want to be in hell when I depart this world. Hell is real as well as heaven and those who continue to sin and will continue to ignore God’s call to conversion will certainly end-up in hell someday.

Some of us may ask, is heaven and hell for real today? Yes it’s both real and it’s already here in our midst.  If we always do good our life would be like heaven on earth, yes there would be problems from time to time. But we will always overcome these problems because Jesus is always at our side to help. On the other hand if we continue to do bad we can expect our life to be in a hellish situation today. This is the practical reality of heaven and hell.

However, God loves us so much that He also wants us to repent and permanently walk away from our sinfulness. This is for the reason that the good lord wants us to experience heaven while we are still here in this world. And He also wants us to end-up in heaven after our passing in this world.  This is the great love of God for us, He always call us to repentance in everyday of our life.

Someday when we die some of us will say, if only I listened to Jonah and Jesus call of repentance. I would not be in this hellish environment right now but I did not. I instead continued to enjoy the many pleasures that were brought to me by the devil.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for February 24, Tuesday of the First Week of Lent 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 men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”

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Reflection:

What is the secret toward intimacy with God? Its prayers that comes from the depths of our beings. This is the foundation of our intimacy with God. From the fountain of our prayerful life will emanate the God given desire to know more about God. Do you always pray with your heart and mind on it? Or you only pray when you feel that you need to pray or when you have the time to pray?

The most effective method of prayer is to pray without any excess baggage in your heart. What does this mean? You pray without carrying any hatred in our heart. For example if someone has done you wrong and this person is asking for your forgiveness. What would you do? Will you forgive or not forgive? Of course you have to forgive. For how could God forgive you when you yourself is not willing to forgive? We have to live forgiveness if we want God to hear and forgive us.

We are mere passers by in this world, sooner or later the curtains of our life in this world will come to a close. How can we go to heaven if we carry the weight of unforgiveness in our hearts? And how can we go to heaven if we carry the weight of hatred in our hearts?

When Jesus was dying on the cross He said a short yet very meaningful prayer to God. While gasping for breath Jesus prayed this: Father forgive them for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34). If Jesus can forgive why can’t we forgive?        

Do you have hatred or any form of unforgiveness in your heart right now? Let go of it and if you still cannot let go humbly pray to Jesus and ask Him to heal you.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for Sunday February 22, First Sunday of Lent; Mark 1:12-15

Gospel: Mark 1:12-15

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.

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Reflection:

What is the purpose of temptation/s? It’s to test a person’s endurance against Satan and his accompanying offer of attractive sin/s. Many of us fall prey to this temptation because we are spiritually weak and this is primarily caused by our not being always wired with God. This is the only reason why we fall into temptation: Our missing or weak connection with God.

What made Jesus survive His forty days temptation in the wilderness by Satan? It was His close connection with God. Jesus achieved this connection with God through His prayerful life. This is the reason why Jesus survived His own test of temptation by the devil in the desert. Jesus was tempted by the devil three times and He subsequently rejected it also three times.

Gold is purified by severe fire to eliminate its impurities we humans are also purified through temptations to make us pure and worthy before God. We are made more worthy before the eyes of God once we are able to pass through and defeat temptations.

As we go through our own forty days journey this lent we will not obviously be brought by satan to the desert like what he did with Jesus.  But certainly satan will also be at our side every once in a while he would try to temp us to sin against God and our fellowmen.

Let us not give-in to satan’s temptation no matter how attractive for when we succumb to it we sin and we distance ourselves from the love of God. The devil is very creative and devious he will do everything to make us sin. The devil will sugarcoat sin so that we would bite upon it and if we succumb our very life would now be in trouble for we would be under the devil’s control already.

Some of us would say to avoid the temptation of the devil is to already defeat it. No, for when we avoid temptation we are only prolonging our own agony and connection with the devil. Let us stare the devil and his temptation in  the eye and when we are eyeball to eyeball already let us reject him by our rock solid faith in God.

How do you defeat your own temptation/s? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for February 21, Saturday after Ash Wednesday Luke 5:27-32

Gospel: Luke 5:27-32 

Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me. And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

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Reflection:

How do we treat sinners? Are we quick to condemn them for who they are? Or we are patient with them and even build bridges with them so that they would also feel the love and forgiveness of Jesus?

When we judge sinners we also immediately cut-off the chance for us to be an instrument of their healing and conversion. We are also pushing them deeper into the mud of sin. But why are we judgmental when we are sinners also? Why are we judgmental when we are not perfect, when we too are subject to judgment?    

There is a story of a sinner who finally decided to change his ways. So he gathered enough courage and presented himself to his parents to ask for forgiveness. But the parents did not forgive him they instead condemned him as good for nothing and useless.

In the days that followed they received a call that their son ended his life. If only they were not  judgmental they could have saved a life and became an instrument of conversion. But they choose not to forgive.  

When Jesus saw the tax collector named Levi who was labelled as sinners by those who knew him. Jesus never condemned the tax collector He instead asked Levi to follow Him and this sinner left everything to follow Jesus. We see the beautiful result when we don’t condemn.

In the heart of every sinner rest a sacred place that is reserved for someone who will not judge them. A sacred place exclusively for those who would be willing to forgive them and help them get-up and start a new life with Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for February 20, Friday after Ash Wednesday Matthew 9:14-15

Gospel: Matthew 9:14-15 

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them and then they will fast.”

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Reflection:

What does fasting do to us? It cleanses our bodies, when we fast we dictate on our bodies rather than our bodies dictating on us. For example when we see a delicious food, our bodies would normally dictate upon us to eat that delicious food. This is always the scenario: Our bodies dictate upon us and we succumb to it.

However, when we fast, it’s the other way around we don’t succumb to this dictate we contradict it, for what reason? For the observance of certain customs and tradition in this case we can cite our fasting during Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

In our gospel, Jesus was questioned by the Pharisees why His disciples were not fasting. Jesus answered them this: They are not fasting for the reason that the bridegroom (Referring to Himself) is still with them. Therefore their tricky question was properly answered by Jesus.

Literal fasting when done for a good reason is valid but when it’s done for people to see or to get praise from people. It becomes invalid or useless it’s much better not to fast when we do it for show.   

But there’s a much meaningful and permanent fasting that God wants us to do. We permanently fast from oppressing others, we permanent fast from our arrogance and high sense of ourselves and we permanently fast from our greed and indifference.

Are we capable of doing this kind of fasting? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for February 19, Thursday after Ash Wednesday Luke 9:22-25

Gospel: Luke 9:22-25

Jesus said to his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”

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Reflection:

A man of the world was on the verge of ending his life, he decided to go to a cliff to jump so that he could end everything.  On his way he saw a church that has an inscription of the words of Jesus that says: Come follow me. He gave it a serious thought and decided to go to the church and inquire about it.

 There he was informed that it was a call to vocation in the service of the Lord. He thereafter decided not to end his life he instead responded to the instant vocation call. And soon after he found God and he also discerned the true meaning of his life with Jesus.

Many of us spend our lifetime to pursue our earthly ambition such as to be rich and powerful. And then when we reach the pinnacle of our ambitions we also discover that something is still lacking or missing. We yearn for something that is meaningful and something that would satisfy our inner being.   

This something that is meaningful that we yearn is no other than God. No matter how rich and powerful some of us may become we will still not have peace of mind. For the simple reason that only God will gives peace of mind only God will give us inner calmness and healing.

But the big question is this: Are we willing to give away our life to God so that He could save it and make full use of it? – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for February 18, Ash Wednesday (Fasting and Abstinence) 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 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:

How does the season of lent affect you? Does this make you closer to God? There are three keys for you to have a meaningful observance of lent. The first is Almsgiving, the second is Prayer and the third is Fasting. In all of these three Jesus advocates silence and self-introspection and Jesus advocates contradiction to what this world would normally dictate you to do.

In Almsgiving, Prayer and Fasting Jesus advocates doing it in the privacy of your heart. Nobody will know except you and God alone not even your closest relative or friend.  Why? Because it is in silence and secrecy that you would also receive blessings from God (Most especially spiritual blessings).  For example, how could you have peace of mind? It’s through silence. How would you feel the presence of God in your life it’s in silence also.

God is not a loud or boastful God He is not like the many artificial Gods of this secular world that thrives in noise and publicity. Come to think of it, is it possible to have communion with Jesus through noise and publicity? Never. You will never have connection with Jesus through noise, publicity and other acts of self-promotion.    

As we begin our forty (40) days journey this lent let us try to look back about the loudness of our lives. Let us look at our facebooks and observe how we loudly promoted our lives there and let us ask ourselves this question: Has this self-promotion and sometimes hedonistic lifestyle led me in close communion with Jesus?

Lent is the time of year that the Good Lord gives us so that we could get closer and intimate with Him. It is His hope that through lent we could have a close encounter with Him and this we could best do in silence.

As the priest or lay minister put ash with the sign of the cross on your forehead. Close your eyes and silently pray this to the Lord: Lord Lead me back to you and bring me closer to you. – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for February 17, Tuesday Sixth Week in Ordinary Time; Mark 8:14-21

Gospel: Mark  8:14-21

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. They concluded among themselves that it was because they had no bread. When he became aware of this he said to them, “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up? They answered him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?” They answered him, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

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Reflection:

What do you do when you go through your life’s trials? Do you fully trust the Lord to make things better for you? Do you say, Lord I give to you all my worries and I trust the you will take care of it and you will give me help. 

If your mindset is to surrender everything to the Lord, it then speak volumes of you enormous faith in Jesus. Come what may you will trust Jesus more than trust yourself and anybody else. Is your faith in Jesus as strong as this that you trust Jesus more than anybody else?

In our gospel, when the disciples together with Jesus were already in the boat they found out that they had only one bread. And they were naturally worried, for how could this one bread fill all of their hungry stomachs?

In the midst of their worries Jesus reminded them about His miracle of the loaves where He feed the thousands. As if Jesus was telling them: Why are you worried that you will not be able to eat when I am with you!

The disciples failed their test of faith; they doubted if Jesus would be able to help them. Did they doubt or they simply forgot that Jesus was with them in that boat?

We all face our own set of test of faith. Perhaps many of us also fail this test of faith and we doubt if we will be able to achieve what we want in life. Or for the reason of our many worries we simply forget that we have a powerful friend and God in Jesus.

Let us doubt no more let us fully trust Jesus for He will never fail us. – Marino J. Dasmarinas