Reflection for Thursday July 21, Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 13:10-17

Gospel: Matthew 13:10-17

The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?” He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:

You shall indeed hear but not understand,  you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted and I heal them.

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

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Reflection:

A young man wanted to serve as a sacristan on their parish church but he also had second thoughts. For the reason that he was told by his father to reconsider his desire because there are intrigues and other issues in the church.

It’s true that problems such as: backstabbing, rumor mongers, egocentric and control freak personalities exist in the church. But these characters are not even a tiny fraction of the whole church.

To have that felling of serving in the church is like to discern a parable it is only given to those who are called. However, not all who are called are chosen by God and not all who are chosen stay forever to serve. Why? For the simple reason that God has given us also the freewill to choose. It is therefore upon us to digest this offer of Jesus.

The gift of understanding that there’s more to life than money, power and material things are also like discerning a parable by God. Many of us think that if we have money and power we would automatically be happy. But it doesn’t work that way, money  and power will never make us happy and it will never give us contentment.

Therefore, consider yourself fortunate when you’re able to discern the parables of Jesus and pursue it.  You’re also spiritually privileged if you’re able to discern that a well lived life is to be with Jesus and not with the temporal things of this world. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Wednesday July 20, Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 13:1-9

Gospel: Matthew 13:1-9

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

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Reflection:

Do you reflect on the parables of Jesus?

Jesus often gives parables to His disciples for them to have something to reflect and think about. These parables are also for us to reflect and discover the lesson that it tries to convey to us.

The sower is actually God, the seeds that He sowed were His teachings and the environments which the seed fell are us. Obviously the first three environments on which the seeds fell were not ideal because the seeds did not grew up as it should be.

We become the first three environments when we intentionally turn a deaf ear to God’s teachings. No matter how much God wants us to know more about Him if we are not willing to listen He cannot do anything about it. He will not be able to take root and grow in our hearts.

The last environment: the good soil is also us. This happens when we open our whole being to God’s teachings. We listen to it, we imbibed it and we live it. It grows within us and in that process we bear fruit. In bearing fruit God uses us to touch lives thus we become an instrument of His blessings for others.

The desire of God is for us to always become the good soil wherein we touch lives and make a positive difference in the lives of our fellowmen. -  Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Tuesday July 19, Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 12:46-50

Gospel: Matthew 12:46-50

While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.” But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

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Reflection:

How could we become relatives of Jesus?

Jesus Himself reveals the secret to us: “For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother." And what is the will of the heavenly Father for us? It’s for us to do good always and to be collaborator of Jesus in spreading the good news and to follow Jesus.

Jesus also cited the disciples as His mother and brothers for they were all faithful follower. We do not know the personal background of each disciple perhaps some of them were sinners like us. But notwithstanding their sins they still chose to follow Jesus and completely left behind their sinful past. Thus, Jesus called them His mother and brothers.

Therefore, when we choose to follow Jesus we already are called His relative. What does to follow Jesus mean? It’s to follow Jesus by immersing our feet in the river of sacrifice, love, forgiveness, mercy, compassion and so forth.  

How about you? Have you already immersed your feet in the river of sacrifice, love, forgiveness, compassion and so forth?   Have you already decided to follow Jesus and leave behind your sinful past?

Remember that Jesus yearns for you to become his relative also. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Monday July 18, Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 12:38-42

Gospel: Matthew 12:38-42

Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” He said to them in reply, “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here. At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.”

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Reflection:

A woman who was in her early forties was getting desperate already for she was getting old  yet she couldn’t find the right man for her. So while at church she said to the Lord, Lord give me a sign so that I’ll have the man for my lifetime.

Then she said to the Lord the first man who wears a red tee shirt is the one for me Lord. Lo and behold a well built and handsome man wearing a red tee shirt suddenly entered the church. But to her dismay the handsome man was with his wife and children. The desperately seeking woman said to the Lord, this is not my day Lord, until next time.

Many of us ask for signs and wonders from the Jesus, isn’t our faith more than enough to carry us through with our journey with Jesus? If our faith in Jesus is rock solid we would never ask for any sign whatsoever for signs is of no use if we have faith in Jesus?

Our faith is more than enough to carry us through our journey with Jesus in this world. Our faith is more than enough to conquer all our fears and problems in this world. We will be able to survive whatever may come to us because we have faith. And we believe that our faith will carry us through than any dreadful signs from this world.

Let us not be like the scribes and Pharisees in our gospel who asked Jesus for a sign. Let us rather continue to hold-on to our faith in Jesus. Let us continue to strengthen this faith in Jesus by our consistent prayer life. By our frequent presence at Holy Mass, by our frequent visitation at the Adoration Chapel and by daily reading the bible most specially the life of Jesus. If we do these acts of faith we would never anymore ask for a sign.

Instead of asking for a sign why don’t we ask Jesus to strengthen our faith? – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for Sunday July 17, Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time; Luke 10:38-42

Gospel: Luke 10:38-42

Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.

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Reflection:

What makes us anxious and what influence our worries? It’s our detachment from Jesus. When a person is detached from listening to Jesus he/she is easily overtaken by anxiousness and worries.

This doesn’t mean that if we always have our regular listening time with Jesus we would already be immune from anxiousness and worries. We would still have our own share of worries because it’s part of life. However, we will always be able to handle and manage these pressures and anxiousness of daily life for the reason that we are connected with Jesus.

Jesus obviously favored Mary’s act of listening to Him. Why? Because it's more important to listen first to Jesus than do other chores. The same is true with our relationship with Him. If we will spend more time in prayer to Jesus we will learn more from Him. And we will receive more blessings and enlightenment from Him.

If we have our regular listening and prayer time with Jesus we are always connected to the source of eternal power. Thus we will always become His useful and productive followers for the reason that we have within us the source of eternal  power none other than Jesus Himself.

Just imagine a light bulb not connected to the source of electric power? It will never be useful or it will never radiate light no matter how big the wattage. This is the same with a journey in this world bereft of connection from Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas     

Reflection for July 16, Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in OT; Matthew 12:14-21

Gospel: Matthew 12:14-21

The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many people followed him, and he cured them all, but he warned them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope.

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Reflection:

Are we peace loving people? Or we are lovers of conflict and chaos? If we follow Jesus it is a must for us to be peace loving.  Jesus was a peaceful man He abhorred any form of violence for He knew that no one wins with violence.

When the Pharisees were looking for Jesus to arrest Him and put Him to death He peacefully withdrew out of their sight. Not because He was afraid of them but because Jesus was a peaceful man and besides, it was not yet time for Him to face them.

Withdrawal from a conflict is not always a sign of cowardice in fact it is a sign of bravery. We are brave enough to withdraw from a conflict because we know that we have a much higher purpose in life than those who wants to engage us with violence.  

What will happen if we face violence with violence? We all become losers for nobody wins with violence. Mahatma Gandhi once said: “An eye for an eye makes everyone blind."

Let us always take the high road when there are provokers of anger by not stooping down to their level. Instead of confronting anger with anger why not offer peace and love? Why not   humbly walk away? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for July 15, Friday Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church; Matthew 12:1-8

Gospel: Matthew 12:1-8

Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.” He said to the them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent? I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”

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Reflection:

A strict father suddenly realized that his strictness with his children was slowly creating a wall between him and his children. He carefully thought on how he could banish the wall that he himself created. So he said from now on I will not be strict anymore I would be more compassionate, approachable and merciful.

After a week the wall that created a gap between the father and his children has completely banished. The children were more open to their father and it created an ideal father and children relationship.

Mercy, understanding and openness are always higher than rigidity and strictness. Rigidity and strictness tears people apart it create walls of communication and it foment strangeness and separation. On the other hand mercy, understanding and openness brings us closer, it breaks walls and it heals wounds.

Let go therefore of your hatred, let go therefore of your pent-up emotions, let go and let the mercy of Jesus rule your heart. Let us always desire to be merciful because Jesus himself is merciful. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for July 14, Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in OT; Matthew 11:28-30

Gospel: Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

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Reflection:

A young man who was trying very hard to find his place in this world was at the point of surrender. He murmured to himself, “I am a total failure, in the abyss of his frustration he thought of ending his life.

Until he was advised by a friends to seek God and surrender every burdens that he have in his heart. So he went to Mass regularly and he read his bible, after a few weeks he developed a personal intimacy with Jesus and he surrendered his everything to Him.

Many of us have this tendency to allow ourselves to be eaten up  by the frenetic pace and materialism of this world. We get too busy in fact very busy because we want to satisfy our many temporal wants. But come to think of it, why are we punishing ourselves too much just to satisfy our worldly desires? Why are many of us favoring this world when what we earn from this world can actually be taken from us anytime?

In our gospel for today, Jesus invites us all to go to Him. We who are so busy with this world, we who tend to forget the primacy of God more than this world. When are we going to open our hearts to this invitation of Jesus? When we are already sick? Let us not wait for that unfortunate time to come.

Let us build a relationship with Jesus now and let us respond to His invitation now. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for July 13, Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in OT; Matthew 11:25-27

Gospel: Matthew 11:25-27

At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

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Reflection:

What is the life of Jesus? It’s a life of simplicity, prayer and humility.

Simplicity is synonymous with humility and this is the life of Jesus, this ought to be our life too. Jesus even if He was equal with God always found time also to pray regularly to  the Father to communicate with Him, unburden to Him and praise Him. This we ought to do also.

To grow in wisdom, we need to be simple and humble. God doesn’t want self-righteous, self-centered and ego tripper personalities. Unknown to us, if we are simple and humble we are also creating a fertile environment for God to come and dwell in our hearts. Unknown to us our simplicity and humility radiates through our persona and this is felt by those whom we encounter.

As what Jesus did, it is very important that we reserve time for God to talk to Him and feel His presence in the stillness of our hearts and minds. This will strengthen our bond with God. A good point to start is to have a prayer time every morning upon waking-up.

It’s here where our minds are still fresh and not yet cluttered by the daily worries of life. The same thing at night when we are about to sleep, let us also pray and talk to God. We thank HIM for the day that HE gave us and we humbly ask HIM to be with us as we take our temporary rest at night.

If we think we don’t have yet the virtue of humility let us be patient and continue to ask the good Lord to bless us with the grace of humility. For it’s only through our humility that we will know God and HIS great plan for us.

Do you live humility and do you always find time for Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for July 12, Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in OT; Matthew 11:20-24

Gospel: Matthew 11:20-24

Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum:

Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the nether world. For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

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Reflection:

Why do we sin?

We sin because we allow the devil to take control of our lives. Once the devil is in control already sinning becomes an ordinary routine. We don’t anymore have guilt of conscience, we become numb already from the criticism. We even have the temerity to be angry with those who are criticizing us.

So we enjoy sin since it brings us endless earthly gratification. Until we get caught and so we receive our due punishment. But why keep on sinning and why wait until we get caught? Why don’t we stop sinning, permanently walk away from it and embrace the unconditional love of Jesus?

In our gospel reading for today we notice Jesus reproaching the towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida. For they refused to hear God’s call for them to permanently walk away from their sinfulness.

Every now and then God will gently nudge us to remind us that there’s no good with sin. That sinning will bring us nothing but problems and misfortunes. We may enjoy the fruits of our sinfulness but this kind of enjoyment is short lived. Eventually we will be caught and be punished.

Why not walk away from sin and embrace the forgiveness, mercy and love of God? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for July 11, Monday Saint Benedict, Abbot; Matthew 10:34-11:1

Gospel: Matthew 10:34-11:1

Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household.

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.

Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple–amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”

When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.

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Reflection:

What is this sword that Jesus speaks about in the gospel?

It’s the sword of righteousness! Jesus came into this world to bring the sword of righteousness and this sword of righteousness pierces anyone who stands in the way.

Man against his father? Daughter against her mother? Indeed, if anyone stands in the way even if they are our relatives we should not be afraid to speak in the name of righteousness we should not be afraid to gently voice out what we think is right no matter who gets hurt.

In the same manner that we should not be afraid to voice out our sentiments even if the person whom we are going to address has the money and power.

Sometimes we have second thoughts if we are going to speak our minds in the name of Jesus. We ought not to think twice we must have the courage to say what’s in our mind in the name of the sword of Jesus’ righteousness.

The church always speaks out its mind whenever there are issues or policies that hurt the populace. It’s not afraid to verbally rebuke anyone in power even if it creates enmity and wedge between them. Why? For the simple reason that this is the mission of the Church which Jesus founded through St. Peter. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday July 10: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time; Luke 10:25-37

Gospel: Luke 10:25-37

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" He said in reply, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." He replied to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live."

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, 'Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.' Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers' victim?" He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

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Reflection:

How can we best share the love, compassion and mercy of Jesus? It’s when we go out of our way to help someone in need. It’s when we forgive someone who’ve done us wrong. And it’s when we go out on a limb to convey that God is alive within us.

The Samaritan in our gospel even if he was an enemy  of the Jews did the unexpected when he helped the man who was robbed and in near death. He could have simply walked by just what the priest and Levite did and completely ignore that man in the throes of death.

But the Samaritan did not only stop to help the dying man he brought the dying man to a house to ensure that he would regain his wellbeing.  In other words the Samaritan showed mercy, love and compassion to the dying man who was deviously victimized robbers.

Who is this Samaritan who mirrored the qualities and character of Jesus? We don’t know. But perhaps it’s safe to conclude that this Samaritan is a true follower of Jesus. The samaritan was not a follower in name only but a follower in words and in deeds.

If we call ourselves follower of Jesus, this story of the good Samaritan should also be our own life story : we should  also be merciful, loving and compassionate. Even to those whom we think do not anymore deserve our Mercy, Love and Compassion.  

Otherwise we are just like the priest and the Levite who were both servants in the temple of God: servants in name only. -  Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for July 9, Saturday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 10:24-33

Gospel: Matthew 10:24-33

Jesus said to his Apostles: “No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household!

“Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

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Reflection:

A young man whose time was solely devoted to his career suddenly met an accident and he died. While on his way to heaven St. Peter suddenly stopped him, he asked the young man: what have you done for Jesus when you were still alive? The young man wasn’t able to answer for he was solely devoted to his many earthly concerns when he was still alive.

Someday in the foreseeable future our life shall come to an end and perhaps God will ask us: what have you done for me? Have you acknowledge me before others? Have you lived and shared my teachings? How would we answer God by that time?

While we are still in our life’s journey let us not forget the importance of acknowledging Jesus and the importance of sharing and living our faith in Him. If so far we have been solely concerned with the things of this world we are therefore being gently reminded that this world is temporary and passing.

Only God is everlasting, we will not be able to escape our appointment with God someday. And when that day comes our fervent hope is we would be allowed entry by Saint Peter into the pearly gates because we’ve done something for Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for July 8, Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 10:16-23

Gospel: Matthew 10:16-23

Jesus said to his Apostles: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

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Reflection:

There was a very corrupt high ranking government official who had a stirring turnabout in his life. From being corrupt he became saintly and from thereon he never engaged in any form of corruption. His saintly lifestyle eventually became his cross because he was maliciously persecuted by his former cohorts in his corruption activities.

Does it pay to leave our sinfulness for the sake of Jesus? Does it pay to leave behind friends who bring us nothing but sinfulness? Of course it pays! It may not be easy, we may be persecuted, scorned and even be harmed. However all of these dangers and earthly imbalances in our lives are nothing compared to what Jesus will bring into our lives.

We must always expect persecution the moment we decide to faithfully follow Jesus. We should expect to be looked down, expect insulting comments. Nonetheless; let these persecutions strengthen us further in the name of Christ Jesus.

Almost all of the apostles were severely persecuted for faithfully following Jesus. They were persecuted by this world yet God exalted them for their faithfulness to Jesus.

How about you which would you prefer the immoral and corrupt enticements of this world or the initially difficult path towards Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas