Reflection for Sunday November 27, First Sunday of Advent; Matthew 24:37-44

Gospel: Matthew 24:37-44

Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

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Reflection: 

What does it mean to stay awake? It means to always be ready for anything that may come to us. Does this mean that when we are ready we would be able to handle whatever that may come to us?

For example a tragedy in the family, would we be able to handle it? Yes and no. Yes we would be able to handle it if we always have a connection with Jesus. No, we may not be able to handle it if we are not connected with Jesus.  

Today is the first Sunday of advent, advent means arrival or coming of somebody who is important and this is none other than Jesus. We therefore have to be prepared for His coming by intensifying our relationship with Him. We have to steer away from anything that would make us sin, we have to listen more to Jesus than to this world. 

If this world dictates us that we have to be materially prepared for the coming birth of Jesus.  Jesus is asking us to be more spiritually prepared by repenting from all forms of sinfulness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, by reconciling ourselves with those whom we have offended and so forth. For what good it will do us if we are materially prepared yet we are spiritually unprepared?

When we go to the malls we would see the heightened worldly preparation for the coming birth of the Lord. New gadgets are on sale, other material things are also there to entice us to buy it. The best Christmas lights and decoration will also be present to capture our attention.

 However, Jesus is telling us that we have to stay awake by not allowing ourselves to be deceived by the commercialization of HIS season. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Saturday November 26, Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 21:34-36

Luke 21:34-36

Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.

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Reflection:
Do you easily yield to temptations?

We are always vulnerable to the many temptations of this world. The temptation of the flesh, the temptation of money and many more secular temptations that will take us away little by little from God’s loving embrace.

What is the cure to these many temptations? We must always be connected with God by having an active relationship with Him. Active relationship means that we attend the Celebration of the Holy Mass, we read the scriptures and we translate this to a faith that is lived daily. This is the only way for us to avoid the many temptations of this secular world.

But majority of us do not take this seriously for we love the trappings of this world more than the intimacy that God constantly offers us.  Thus, we often times give-up the faith based values that was taught to us by the church.

After our life on this world comes to a close we will stand before God and He will ask us if we’ve been faithful to Him. Many of us will not be able to speak before God for we’ve failed Him. Let us not wait for the fearful day to happen. While there is still time let us mend our ways and tread the correct path that God is offering us.

Let us always bear in mind that there will be a day of reckoning which will happen anytime. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Friday November 25, Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 21:29-33

Luke 21:29-33

Jesus told his disciples a parable. “Consider the fig tree and all the other trees. When their buds burst open, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near; in the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the Kingdom of God is near. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

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Reflection:

Are we aware that God is always manifesting Himself to us?

God uses creative ways for us to be aware of His presence: sometimes He comes to us through a friend who will share His words to us. He comes to us through events or even accidents in our lives. And there are many more ingenious manifestations of God in our lives for this is His desire: to introduce Himself to us. 

 But how do we react with these manifestations of God? Oftentimes this is ignored by us for the reason that we are so enamoured with what the world offers us such as: Wealth, Power, Treasures and the like. We therefore fail to discern that it was God because we have already been enslaved by this world.   

Then we get seriously sick that we are a few steps from death’s doorway and here we are cramming to know God. Here we are making amends with those whom we’ve hurt. And here we are trying our best to straighten our way of life.

Why wait for that time? Why not listen and get closer NOW with GOD while we are in the pink of health? Why not get close with God now? Why not reach-out and humble ourselves with those whom we have offended? Why not leave behind any form of sinfulness right now? – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for Thursday November 24, Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs; Luke 21:20-28

Luke 21:20-28

Jesus said to his disciples: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is at hand. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Let those within the city escape from it, and let those in the countryside not enter the city, for these days are the time of punishment when all the Scriptures are fulfilled. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.

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Reflection:

What makes you afraid? Are you afraid of problems and trials that may come your way?

Jesus talks about a very frightening scenario in the gospel. But at the same time at the end He also tells us that there shall be redemption. We also have our own share of frightening scenarios in our lives. Problems, trials, persecution and so forth and these will test also our faithfulness to God.

Let us continue to steadfastly hold-on, let us not let go of God no matter how hard our trials may be. For at the end there shall be redemption for us also. If we have God nobody could bring us down not even the severest problem and persecution.

However, there are times that we give-up but what many of us don’t know is problems and trials are part and parcel of our daily life. All of us have problems and trials that we go through and we don’t encounter these difficulties to defeat us. We encounter these trials/problems so that it could strengthen us and if we handle it properly we will come-out of it a much better and stronger person.

Let us not allow our trials and problems to weaken us. For the simple reason that there is always hope for as long as we continue to have faith in Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Wednesday November 23, Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 21:12-19

Luke 21:12-19

Jesus said to the crowd: “They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.

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Reflection:

Are you ready to be persecuted for Jesus?

We will undoubtedly be persecuted if we decide to faithfully follow Jesus; we will be losing friends. But we need not worry about persecution or losing friends for the sake of Jesus.

Therefore it is very important that we don’t make the mistake of betraying Jesus for the sake of this world. We must not make the mistake of betraying Jesus for the sake of vested friendships and interest. We must be faithful until the very end no matter the persecutions and sacrifices.

What would it benefit us if we gain the whole world yet we lose Jesus in our lives? We gain nothing except fleeting happiness; we gain nothing except temporal power and riches that may fly away from us anytime.

What would we gain if we have powerful friends if these friends bring us nothing but sinfulness which we often times enjoy? Nothing except disturbance in our lives! Should we allow ourselves to be deceived by these false friends who only bring us further away from the love of Jesus?  

But the moment we decide to be faithful to Jesus no matter the temptations and persecutions. We’ll have peace that He only can give us. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Tuesday November 22, Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr; Luke 21:5-11

Luke 21:5-11

While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus said, “All that you see here–the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”

Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” He answered, “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.

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Reflection:

Are you afraid of the end times?

Jesus mentions destruction of all the beautiful structures that we see. Everything including beautiful places of worship will be destroyed. This scenario is somewhat like the end times already. But He also tells us do not be terrified (Luke 21:9), so what would we do? Should we allow the signs of the end times to terrify us? Or we hold on to Jesus who tells us, “Do not be terrified.” Of course we hold-on to what Jesus tells us.

Earthquakes and calamities with massive proportion are happening wars in different parts of the world are also raging. But let us take this calmly for this is bound to happen and let us not attribute these disastrous events to God as some would do. God doesn’t want this to happen to us otherwise if he wanted us destroyed God would have not sent Jesus to walk on this earth and die for us on the cross.

There are wars in different parts of the world because we humans create it. This is brought about by our greed for power and resources. The same is happening with our abuse of our environment.

There are very destructive typhoons/hurricanes because of human’s unrelenting abuse of its environment also. And what are the results? Massive destruction of lives and properties which is actually preventable if we have compassion for our environment.

In the midst of these bleak signs of the times let us not forget to always call on Jesus for He alone can give us peace of mind. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Monday November 21, The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Luke 21:1-4

Luke 21:1-4

When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth,  she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.

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Reflection:

Do we give from the heart?

Jesus in our gospel favored the generosity of the poor widow for the simple reason that it came from her heart. There is no string attached in her giving, it did not camo from her excess money, she gave whatever little amount she had.

This gospel invites us also to examine ourselves not only when we give to our church. It invites us also to reflect our motive of giving when we give to the poor or to anyone who is in need for that matter.

The ideal giving is to give from the heart. The amount of what we give is immaterial what is important is it originates from our heart and not from our head. In the gospel, it was not only the poor widow who gave some wealthy people also gave. However, Jesus is more pleased with the giving of the poor widow because her giving is pure and untainted by any form of ulterior motive.    

Whatever we give from the heart comes back to us a hundredfold. On Luke chapter six verse thirty eight (6:38) Jesus tells us this: “Give and it will be given to you, and you will receive in your sack good measure, pressed down, full and running over. For the measure you give will be the measure you receive back. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Sunday November 20, Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe; Luke 23:35-43

Gospel: Luke 23:35-43

The rulers sneered at Jesus and said, “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.” Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine they called out, “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” Above him there was an inscription that read, “This is the King of the Jews.”

Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us.”The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.

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Reflection:

Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us. This was one of the pointed words of one of the two criminals hanging on the cross beside Jesus who was Himself dying on the cross. Christ means messiah or savior, how could it be that Jesus the supposedly savior of the Jewish people was dying on the cross?

Isn’t Jesus powerful? He made the lame walk, He opened the eyes of the blind, He cured the sick, He spoke with mesmerizing authority, He feed thousands with two fish and five loaves and there are many more miracles attributed to the power of Jesus. Yet, He is now on the cross powerless and dying.

Come to think of it, why did this powerful man became powerless and helpless on the cross? He could have easily bolted out of the cross and reduced to nothing everyone who made life difficult for Him. Why did He restrain Himself?

It was His infinite love for us that Jesus restrained Himself from taking revenge from His persecutors. Jesus went through the agony of death because He wanted to save us and He wanted to tell us how much He loved us. It was all because of His infinite love for us that Jesus stripped Himself of His kingship.      

What have we done so far to reciprocate this infinite love of Jesus? Have we feed the hungry? Have we sheltered the homeless? Have we clothed the naked? Have we visited the sick and imprisoned? Have we helped bury the dead? Have we given alms to the poor?  – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Saturday November 19, Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 20:27-40

Luke 20:27-40

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. Then the second and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her.” Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise. That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive. Some of the scribes said in reply, “Teacher, you have answered well. And they no longer dared to ask him anything.

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Reflection:

Do you believe in the afterlife?

The afterlife/everlasting life is very different from this present life where we are in. Our life here has an eventual ending. The life everlasting has no ending there shall be no more suffering for us there.

It will be a heavenly experience for all of us there. But the sad reality is this: Not all of us will have that divine experience. Some will go to the other side where it will endlessly be hot; where there exist eternal suffering.

In the gospel, Jesus was asked by the Sadducees (who did not believe in the resurrection) regarding a woman who married seven brothers in different time period. They said: “In the afterlife whose wife will that woman be?”

Jesus gave them a glimpse of what it is in the resurrection when He said: “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.

We should strive to be in that place by doing good and by following the way of Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Friday November 18, Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 19:45-48

Luke 19:45-48

Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things, saying to them, “It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” And every day he was teaching in the temple area. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death, but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.

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Reflection:

After cleaning the temple of impurities Jesus taught there daily, Jesus is still teaching us up to this very minute. Teaching us how to properly live our lives, teaching us that life is not so much of material and intellectual accumulation. For Jesus life is service, life is humility, life is sacrifice, life is about simplicity and the like. 

What was Jesus everyday teaching topic during that time?  We could only guess that it was about behavior when inside the temple. And perhaps He was also teaching them about life and how to properly live it. Is there a template on how to properly live our life? Of course there is and it’s no other than the life of Jesus himself. To live according to His life is the perfect life template, but would we dare to live the life of Jesus?

Let us be teachers also like Jesus, let us teach our children about Jesus, let us teach them how to behave at church. Let us teach the life of Jesus by our way of life, if we say the life of Jesus we might be tempted to say that His way of life is not anymore relevant in today’s technology driven times.    

But the life of Jesus is more relevant today more than ever. Think of the corruption of our value system, think of how we devalue life itself by killing it while inside a mother’s womb. Jesus is a man for all season and for all times. He is always relevant regardless of time and space. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Thursday November 17, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious; Luke 19:41-44

Luke 19:41-44

As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace–but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.

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Reflection:

What will happen to us if we will not listen to meaningful advice?

For example, Carlo who is a drug pusher and addict was counselled by his wife to stop. But Carlo ignored his wife’s advice after a few months Carlo was caught by the police and was imprisoned for life.

When we ignore meaningful advice something that we don’t like will come upon us. We will not know when will it come to us but it will certainly come to us. So what are we going to do if someone is giving us meaningful advice? We have to listen and reform so that nothing untoward would happen to us.

Why did Jesus weep over the people Jerusalem? This is for the reason that they did not listen to the messengers of God and to Jesus who wanted nothing but their welfare. They shut their eyes and ears to God as if God did not exist.

As we continue with our journey in this world there would be people who will give us meaningful advice. People who will tell us to disengage from a friend or people who will tell us to stop doing wrong.

We have to listen to them not because they know better than us. We have to listen for the reason that God sent them to us so that we could straighten our crooked lives. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for Wednesday November 16, Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 19:11-28

Luke 19:11-28

While people were listening to Jesus speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the Kingdom of God would appear there immediately. So he said, “A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return. He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’ His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, ‘We do not want this man to be our king.’ But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, ‘Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones. He replied, ‘Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.’ Then the second came and reported, ‘Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.’ And to this servant too he said, ‘You, take charge of five cities.’ Then the other servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.’ He said to him, ‘With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding man, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant; why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.’ And to those standing by he said, ‘Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.’ But they said to him, ‘Sir, he has ten gold coins.’ He replied, ‘I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.

After he had said this, he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.

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Reflection:

What is our mission in this world? Our mission is to become productive followers of the Lord and how could we become productive followers? If we spread the faith we become productive followers if we don’t do anything we become unproductive follower.

The good Lord would always want us to share our faith so that we could grow for this is the only way for us to bear fruit.  But many of us are afraid to share and our excuse is we don’t know anything about Jesus and about our Catholic faith.

How would we know if we don’t strive to know more about Jesus? Therefore the secret to know more about Jesus is to discover more about Him. And the more that we discover the more that we would have the tools to become His productive followers.

We therefore have to know more about Jesus so that we could mature in faith and in the process we would be able to share what we know about Him. Jesus has already equipped us with the needed grace through our Baptism and Confirmation.

The responsibility is in our hands already. – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for Tuesday November 15, Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 19:1-10

Luke 19:1-10

At that time Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy.  When they saw this, they began to grumble, saying,  “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.”  But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.

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Reflection:

Who is Zacchaeus? He is a chief tax collector, a bigtime extortionist and a bigtime sinner too! It would seem that this sinful man would drown in his sinfulness and be sinful for the rest of his life. But Jesus intervened in the life of this sinful man so from being sinful he repented and became a renewed man.  

God works in mysterious ways in our lives, He always calls us sinners to become His faithful followers.  Zacchaeus is such kind of a man, a sinner like you and me. His call to conversion may seem like his own initiative but no it was not his own. It was Jesus who called him, it was Jesus who spoke to his heart to tell him to return the money that he stole and leave behind his sinful life.

Jesus always calls us to conversion He uses many avenues to do it for us. There are times that He bothers our conscience. There are times that He uses other people for us to follow Him, let us be sensitive to this intervention of Jesus in our lives.

Life is never the same when we live it without Jesus, we may temporarily enjoy what this world would offer us. But at the end of the day everything that this world offers us is passing and temporary. Let us carefully discern this, let us wake-up with our love affair with sin and materialism while we still have time to walk away from it. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Monday November 14, Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 18:35-43

Luke 18:35-43

As Jesus approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging, and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me!” Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied, “Lord, please let me see.” Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.” He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.

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Reflection:

Does it pay to be persistent and to have faith in Jesus?

It always pays to be persistent in any endeavor that we are in; because eventually our persistence will bear fruit. How many success stories were anchored on the word persistence? Perhaps thousands even millions already, they toil in silence persistently working hard and never giving up until they achieve success.

The blind man in the gospel was also very persistent he never gave up shouting: “Son of David”.  even if he was being censured by those around him. He still persisted amid the censure; eventually his persistence bore fruit for he eventually got Jesus' attention. However, it was not only persistence that brought the blind man to Jesus. He also has powerful faith in Jesus.

Afterwards, Jesus asked him: “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied, “Lord, please let me see.” Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.” What if the blind man was not persistent and his faith wanting? What if he listened to the rebukes of the people around him? He would not have been healed by Jesus.

Let us always be persistent and let us always have this powerful faith in Jesus in any good that we ambition to do. We may not see any ray of hope now but Jesus will certainly respond to us in His own perfect time.

Are you always persistent when you want something from Jesus? Do you have powerful faith in Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas