Reflection for May 6, Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter; John 16:20-23

Gospel: John 16:20-23

Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.”

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Reflection:

A good man was wondering about how difficult his life was. He was in debt and his house was possessed by a bank due to unpaid loans. He was now questioning the Lord about his very difficult life. After a few days he won in a lottery and he was able to pay everything and he had more to spare and save.

Jesus was telling the disciples that they would go through difficult moments in their lives while others are rejoicing. Nonetheless, Jesus was also assuring His disciples that for as long as you stay with me you all will be able to pull through all of your difficulties.

We must always remember that the life that we have chosen with Jesus will not always be a walk in the park. There shall be drought and loneliness we may even feel alone but we will be able to pull through all of these emotional and other difficulties because we continue to hold and rest our destiny upon Christ Jesus.

Let us never hold-on to this world for it will never help us solve our problems/difficulties in life. Let us rather hold-on to Jesus for HE has the words of eternal life (John 6:68).  – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for May 5, Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter; John 16:16-20

Gospel: John 16:16-20

Jesus said to his disciples: “A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What does this mean that he is saying to us, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ of which he speaks? We do not know what he means.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing with one another what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”

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Reflection:

Do you believe that after sorrow and pain comes redemption?

When Jesus said to his disciples: “You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices; you will grieve but your grief will become joy (John 16:20).” Jesus was already alluding about his forthcoming passion and death that he has to go through and to his subsequent resurrection.

 Jesus even compared it with a woman who is in labor pains yet after she has given birth she will forget that painful experience altogether because of the great joy that the newly born child gave her (John 16:21).

Married life is not always blissful, the husband and wife will go through humps and bumps that would test the strength of their fidelity before Jesus. But if they persevere and decide to stay in their union amidst their trials there would be joy in their hearts at the end.    

Same with our walk with Jesus, it will not always be a bed of roses, there would be trials, and sometimes we will be persecuted because of what we do for God.

In spite of these all let us continue to follow Jesus, for at the end there will be redemption for those who are faithful to Him. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for May 4, Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter; 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:

There’s a story of a prayerful wife who would always make the first move to reconcile with her husband whenever they had problems. In their ten years of marriage it was always her who initiates the reconciliation. And she was always successful with her peace initiative towards her husband.

Who impels her to reconcile? It’s the Holy Spirit, it guides her; it speaks to her mind and it tells her to be humble enough to make the first move to reconcile. Why does she listen? She discerns and pays attention to the voice of the Holy Spirit because she is prayerful.

God the Holy Spirit is our guide, our advocate that has been with us since our Baptism. Its presence within us was further strengthened during our Confirmation. But not all of us are aware of its presence in our life.

 Not all of us are aware that it's always there ready and willing to guide us. Why? Because we are not prayerful!  Our prayerful life lays the groundwork for us to discern the presence of the Holy Spirit within us.

Are you always prayerful? Are you aware of the Sacred presence of the Holy Spirit in your life? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for May 3, Tuesday, Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles; John 14:6-14

Gospel: John 14:6-14

Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.”

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Reflection:

Do you want to know God? You first have to know Jesus for it’s only through Jesus that you will know God. But how will you know Jesus? You have to pray and you have to ask Jesus to give you the grace of knowing Him deeper and the grace of having a personal relationship with Him.

How else will you have a personal encounter with Jesus? You have to read His life in the bible you have to attend Holy Mass most especially during Sunday. And then whatever you learn about Jesus you have to live in your life.

It’s always through Jesus that you will have an awareness of the presence of God the Father in your life. For Jesus is the gateway to knowing more about God and through Jesus our eyes will be opened to the many truths about our faith.  

Do you want to know the way, do you want to know the many real truths about life and do you want to find the real meaning of your life? You have to ask Jesus and you have to ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you more about Jesus.

To have Jesus is to have life, to have Jesus is to find the real way that leads to peace and contentment. To have Jesus is to discover the real meaning of life a life that is very much different from the life that this world is forcing us to accept.  

In our gospel, Jesus tells Thomas and us too, , “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him (John 14:6-7).” – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for May 2, Monday, Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor; John 15:26-16:4a

Gospel: John 15:26—16:4a

Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.

“I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God. They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me. I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you.”

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Reflection:

Why do others kill for their religion? For example, those who blow themselves in the midst of people so that they could kill as many as possible. They do this because they do not know Jesus. Yes they have a God but what their God is teaching is not what Jesus is teaching us.

Jesus preaches compassion, love, sacrifice and humility this is always what Jesus is teaching us. Jesus never taught us to spread violence and to blow ourselves into kingdom come so that we could inflict damage and fear.

What are we going to do to them? Should we face violence with violence of course not for the simple reason that violence is not in the resume and teachings of Jesus. We should rather pray for them so that they can be converted and enlightened.   

Nothing is impossible for our God, we therefore should continue to pray for the conversion of those who continue to inflict hatred upon us. They may be members of our family, they may be our former friends or anybody whose objective is to create catastrophic damage and fear upon humanity.

Let us therefore pray for their enlightenment and conversion for nothing is impossible for our God. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for Sunday May 1, Sixth Sunday of Easter; John 14:23-29

Gospel: John 14:23-29

Jesus said to his disciples: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.

“I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.”

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Reflection:

A husband and wife went shopping while shopping the wife noticed that it was only her which was buying things. Her husband was not buying anything for himself. So she asked her husband, honey why are you not buying anything for yourself? The husband replied, darling your needs are more important than my needs, nevermind what I need it’s nothing compared to what you need.

How do you love Jesus? Do you love Jesus by sacrificing your own needs for the sake of the propagation of the teachings of Jesus? Do you love Jesus by allowing Him to take the center stage and you content to be at the backstage? Do you love Jesus by doing things for His glory and not for your own earthly glorification?

If you truly love Jesus you would be willing to forgo whatever this world demands from you for the sake of Jesus. The truest form of love for Jesus and for God is when you have learned to follow His demand and desire for you instead of you following your own desire and your own demand for yourself.    

There’s always a struggle for supremacy within you, should it be your own supremacy or the supremacy of Jesus. The wisdom filled choice is to allow Jesus to reign supreme in your life. By doing so you tell and show Jesus the depth of your love for Him.

How deep is your love for Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for April 29, Friday, Saint Catherine of Siena; Virgin and Doctor of the Church, John 15:12-17

Gospel: John 15:12-17

Jesus said to his disciples: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.”

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Reflection:

What if we follow this commandment of Jesus about love?

There would be no more hatred and separation amongst married couples but only love. But the sad reality is we choose to turn a deaf ear to this love commandment of Jesus. For the simple reason that we love ourselves more than we love Jesus and our fellowmen.

There’s a saying that before we could give love we must love ourself first. For how could we know how to give love if we have not experienced loving ourselves first? However this statement does not jibe on how Jesus interprets love or on how Jesus gives the truest meaning of love.

For Jesus to love is not to love oneself first, to love is to lay down ones life for the beloved, for Jesus to love is to forgive the many hurts that has been hurled at you by your beloved. For at the end of the day if we love the way Jesus loves us what would remain in us is love no hatred but only love.

But how do we love? We love selectively and we love with measure, we calibrate the love that we give by the love that we receive. And we oftentimes do not love our fellowmen when they do not fulfil our selfish expectation for them.

Let us love without condition and let us love without expecting love in return.  -  Marino J. Dasmarinas     

Reflection for April 28 Thursday of Fifth Week of Easter, John 15:9-11

Gospel: John 15:9-11

Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

“I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.”

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Reflection:

What makes marriage last forever? It’s love! Not love according to the meaning of this world but love according to the love of Jesus.  Unfortunately many of us express our love according to this world. Not the kind of love that Jesus mentions to us in the gospel. 

Otherwise if the love that binds a couple together in the sacrament of marriage is like the love of Jesus. There would be no divorce or separation amongst couples.

The word love has been devalued by the people of this modern world. Who is the culprit? No other than us! We have lowered to the gutter the word love because we’ve not been faithful to Jesus this is also the reason why we don’t feel the love of Jesus.

Let us go back and revisit the meaning of love as Jesus meant it to be in the sacrament of Marriage.

Here goes: For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for April 27 Wednesday of Fifth Week of Easter, John 15:1-8

Gospel: John 15:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

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Reflection:

There’s a story of two neighbors: one has a bright and positive disposition in life the other one was always gloomy and negative in whatever aspects of life that he deals with. Delving deeper into their lifestyles, the positive one always makes it a point to go to Mass and he has a daily prayer life. The other one is an atheist or a non believer.

Jesus says in the gospel that he is the true vine and God is his vine grower, he tells us to remain in him so that he will remain in us and we will bear much fruit if we will always be with him (John:4).

If we will observe the lives of our fellowmen we will obviously notice that those who have incorporated a lifestyle that is always attuned and connected with God regardless of his religious affiliations and social standing are those that live serene lives. Those who refuse to get connected with God because of their hubris are those that lead complicated and problematic lives.

As we traverse this temporary life it is a must that that we are always with our true vine that is Jesus. Of course there will be problems, disappointments, even sufferings for all of these are part and parcel of our life. Amidst all of these Jesus is always there to help us, to strengthen us and to make our burdens light us.

Do you always see to it that you are always connected with Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for April 26 Tuesday of Fifth Week of Easter John 14:27-31a

Gospel: John 14:27-31a

Jesus said to his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me.”

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Reflection:

Do you allow the peace of Jesus to reign in your heart?

There are cynical people whose thoughts are always on the negative side of life. They always have their own negative interpretations for every incident that happens. For us believers regardless of what unfolds we will be calm and always at peace because we have Jesus. There may be incidents that will temporarily jolt us but after a while we will be back to our normal peaceful selves.

In the gospel Jesus told his disciples: “I leave with you; my peace I give to you not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid (John 14:27).

 In this gospel episode Jesus is telling his disciples that whatever things that may happen to him in the unfolding days. They need to be calm and peaceful because he is still with them. The invincible presence of Jesus within them gives them calmness and peace. Calmness and peace that this world could not give them.  

The peace that Jesus gives is something that you will also experience. If you’re always connected with Jesus by means of frequent attendance at Mass, frequent reception of the Body of Christ,  frequent and humble submission to the Sacrament of Confession and through your regular prayer life.

Do you have peace in your life? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

1Reflection for Sunday April 24, Fifth Sunday of Easter; John 13:31-33a, 34-35

Gospel: John 13:31-33a, 34-35

When Judas had left them, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and God will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

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Reflection:

A Wife was distraught upon discovering that her husband had fathered a child outside of their marriage. She confronted him, the husband admitted his sin and asked for forgiveness but she never forgave him for what he did.

There’s an absence of true love in this story otherwise the wife could have forgiven the  betrayal of her husband. And they could have started afresh as if nothing happened. But such is our attitude we oftentimes harbor in our hearts hatred instead of love and forgiveness.

When Jesus told the apostles to love one another He meant that their love for each other must be like His love for them. And what is the love of Jesus? It’s a love that forgives, a love that is not dependent on the love that it receives. A love that doesn’t count the cost of loving and a love that is very much willing sacrifice. 

Perhaps, what Jesus wants to convey to us is we should try our very best to love as He loves. To love without counting the cost of loving and to love by being ready to suffer for the person that we love.

But some of us may say that this kind of love doesn’t fit anymore our modern times where love and sex is not anymore regarded with sacredness. Where forgiveness and martyrdom for the person that we love is not anymore part of the vocabulary of the many young people of today.  

When you love as Jesus loves you would also be willing to forgive no matter how deep the wound that it caused you. You would be willing to bury the past and let bygones be bygones. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for April 23, Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter; John 14:7-14

Gospel: John 14:7-14

Jesus said to his disciples: “If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to Jesus, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.”

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Reflection:

One of my fondest memories about my father (Victor O. Dasmarinas Sr.) was when I was around seven to ten years old. He would bring me to church especially during holy week and I would hear him acting as the narrator during Palm Sunday, Good Friday and sometimes during the station of the cross he would also act as one of the readers and sometimes apostle. He had a booming voice which I have inherited.

 Whenever I go for a vacation in our province whenever my friends and relatives would see me they would always say that they are reminded of my father because of how I look. I would always reply with a thank you and with a smile in return.

In the gospel Philip said to Jesus, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father (John 14:9).” The two personalities or the Trinity is revealed by Jesus him and God the Father and they are acting as one person. Jesus further told them whoever believes in me will do the works that I do (John 14:12).

There is a great responsibility on us when we say that we are followers of Christ because Jesus tells us that if we are a believer we must do the works that he did in other words we must emulate him if we profess to be His followers.

If we are true followers of Jesus we have no other choice but to do His works in the process we will be closer to Him. And whenever others would see us they will be reminded of Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for April 22, Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter; John 14:1-6

Gospel: John 14:1-6

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.” Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

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Reflection:

There were two old individuals who were near death one was a believer the other was not. The non believer was deeply troubled on what will happen to his soul when he dies. The believer was very calm and was even looking forward already to see God.

In the gospel Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places (John 14:1-2).”

There are those who dread the mere mention of death as if it’s a plague that needs to be avoided. But no matter how hard we avoid death we cannot escape it because it’s a certain fact of life. It’s a passage to the next life.

If our faith is in Jesus we need not be troubled by death anymore because we have our own dwelling place specially reserved for us in heaven. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for April 21, Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter; John 13:16-20

Gospel: John 13:16-20

When Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet, he said to them: “Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it. I am not speaking of all of you. I know those whom I have chosen. But so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me. From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe that I AM. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

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Reflection:

Are you afraid of sufferings and betrayal? In His humanity Jesus was also afraid of sufferings and betrayal. But His fears did not prevent Him from achieving His salvific mission. It even further strengthened His resolve to move-on amidst the difficulty of His mission. Jesus never gave-up no matter how hard the odds against Him for He knew that He had a mission to achieve.

Marriage starts like a rose garden it seems that everything is rosy and sweet. But after a period of time problems will crop-up, there shall be sufferings and betrayal of vows. So what must we do? Should we simply walk-away with our heads bowed in defeat? Or we stay, bear the sufferings/betrayal and fight for the sanctity of the marriage covenant.

We must stay and fight for the sanctity of the marriage covenant. Let us remember that Jesus remained with His mission notwithstanding the sufferings and betrayals. What if Jesus simply gave-up and walked-away from His mission of salvation? Anyway He’s God and powerful but He remained for His love for God and for all of us.

Many married couples nowadays choose the easy way out when testing comes to their marriage. They choose to betray and eventually walk-away from their marriage covenant. They simply walk-away notwithstanding their sacred vows and the welfare of their children.

Jesus never walked-away from His responsibilities, sufferings and betrayals, He faced it all and triumphed over it! – Marino J. Dasmarinas