Reflection for Thursday January 25, the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle; Mark 16:15-18

Gospel: Mark 16:15-18

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

+ + + + +  + +

Reflection:

There is a story of a woman who would always share pictures of herself on social media. Her husband who was a pastor would always tell her to share instead bible quotations so that she could inspire others to know more about God and in the process share in the mission of Jesus as well.

Transmission of communication nowadays is very fast, for example if we post something on the internet. And if the content of what we post is good, we could be assured that it will go viral, it could reach the farthest corner of the world.

During the time of Jesus transmission of communication was on a word of mouth basis. No internet and other high-end form of communication. It was simple word of mouth only. And yet the gospel was able to spread until it reached us. The key element in the spread of the gospel were the committed apostles and Saint Paul whose conversion we celebrate today.

The desire of Jesus today is for us to become the modern day apostles and Saint Paul to whom he could entrust the mission of evangelization. He trusts us that we could also proclaim the gospel using the many forms of social media mode of communication today.  

There’s no more excuse for us not to help Jesus spread the gospel because we have in our fingertips the internet. Let us exploit the use of this technology to reach as many humans as possible.

For example, if you’ve been posting updates about yourself using facebook, twitter, instagram and other forms of internet vehicles. Why not post quotations from the bible instead? Why not post something that would inspire others to take seriously their faith?  By doing this you inspire others and you perpetuate the teachings of Jesus.  

What are you doing to spread Jesus and your faith using the internet? -  Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Wednesday January 24, Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church; Mark 4:1-20

Gospel: Mark 4:1-20

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, “Hear this! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed 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 and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.”

Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

+ + + + + + +

Reflection:

How can you become the seed that fell on rich soil? You have to attend Holy Mass as often as possible most especially on Sundays, you have to be prayerful, you have to ask the guidance of the Holy Spirit and you have to live your faith.

Many of us go off course and do not become the seed that fell on rich soil for the simple reason that we don’t take seriously our faith. We attend Holy Mass, we read the bible but we don’t practice what we read and hear. We simply let it inside our ears and let it pass on the other side of our ear.

What we have to do is to let what we hear go down to our hearts afterwards we let it go up to our brains. Thus, we would be able to live what we read and hear.

There is a story of a man who goes to Mass every Sunday and who profess to be faithful to his wife. However, his wife discovered that she was not the only woman in his life. Why did it happen that he was not true to his profession of fidelity towards his wife? This is for the reason that his faith is superficial and many of us are like this man: We have superficial faith.

How could we transform this superficial faith for it to become the seed which fell on rich soil and produced hundredfold of fruits?

We have to be docile to the desire of the Holy Spirit and that is to transform us to become a faithful follower of Jesus. And this is very possible for the simple reason that nothing is impossible to our God. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for January 23, Tuesday of the Third Week; Mark 3:31-35

Gospel: Mark 3:31-35 

The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house. Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him. A crowd seated around him told him, “Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you.” But he said to them in reply, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

+ + + + + + +

Reflection:

Would you want to be a relative of Jesus?

Jesus has a very simple requirement for us to become His brother, sister and mother and this is to do the will of God. What does this mean to us? We must feed the hungry, we must help those who need help, we must forgive and pray for those who’ve hurt us. And there are many more selfless actions that we can do, so that we can be called relatives of Jesus.

It seems simple by reading through it but to live what Jesus wants us to do is another story. Do we really feed the hungry? Are we really quick to forgive? Are we really selfless? The challenge for all of us is to live our faith to the hilt. This means that we must at all times be like Jesus: through our actions, words and through our way of life.

However, this is easier said than done, yet God in His infinite mercy gives us the opportunity everyday for us to become part of Him. He presents us life situations wherein we could always live what we have learned from Him if at all we are leaning from Him.

The reality of life is it’s hard to be a relative of Jesus because many of us don’t undress ourselves with everything that makes us creatures of this world. Such as self-centeredness, arrogance, greed and a lot more negative attitudes. Which makes us relatives of the evil one rather than a relative of Jesus.  

But all is not lost yet, if we want to be a relative of Jesus we must strive to be like Him: His humility, His acts of kindness and His countless selfless actions.  These are the challenges that we must ponder if we want be a relative of Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for January 22, Monday of the Third Week; Mark 3:22-30

Gospel: Mark 3:22-30

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.” Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

+ + + + +  + +

Reflection:

A young family would always go to church as a family and whenever there is a problem in their family. The father or mother would always see to it that they reconcile before the day is over. For to them God always wants a unified family. Indeed, God is an advocate of unity and for unity more so inside the family.

Yet the devil wants to destroy the unity of the family for the simple reason that the devil is for disunity, problem and conflict. For the simple reason that when there’s problem, disunity and conflict the evil one has the opportunity to come in and create more havoc.    

In the gospel, Jesus talks about the importance of unity. He tells us; If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

Unity indeed is very important and essential, for example in a family. What would happen If there’s no unity between the father and mother? Same as with friendship, how can friendship last if friends are not operating on the same wavelength?

The same is true if we are not united with Jesus in everyday of our lives. What would happen to us If we live our lives apart from Jesus? And if we stand by ourselves in this world? We end up with nothing but division, loneliness and evil. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

1Reflection for Sunday January 21, Feast of the Sto. Nino; Mark 10:13-16

Gospel: Mark 10:13-16

People were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child* will not enter it. Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

+ + + + + + +

Reflection:

A story is told about a man who wanted to know God on his own terms and intelligence. So, he read books that would help him know God but to no avail. He be friended people from his church’s parish yet there still was no development of his knowledge about God.

Finally, a wise man advised him to humbly abandon himself like a child before God. So he did and thereupon began pouring all the wisdom that he would need to know God deeply.

Today we celebrate the feast of Sto. Nino, this is one of the most well attended and most popular feasts of the church here in the Philippines. Many also are devotees of Sto. Nino in fact we see the image of Sto. Nino in almost all of the catholic families here in the Philippines.

There are also images of Sto. Nino in government/private offices; majority of politicians are devotees of the Sto. Nino. For the reason that the Sto. Nino is present everywhere it may seem that our country is morally upright. Better think again, the country is still mired in corruption, immorality, arrogance and killings.

Where is the influence of the Sto. Nino then? Do we allow our devotion to the Sto. Nino change us for the better? Certainly not and this is our big problem. We are fond of displaying images of our faith but the irony of it is this: Our faith remains on exterior display and it ends there.

There is no conversion and change of heart. If only we would learn to imbibe and internalize the virtues of the Sto. Nino who is a little child that is always humble and honest. Who doesn’t know how to cheat, kill and lie. Who doesn’t know how to compromise with wrong. Then, our devotion to the child Jesus or Sto. Nino is not in vain.

In the gospel, Jesus is angry with His disciples for they were preventing the children to go to Him. So Jesus told them: “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. (Mark 10:14)

Is Jesus speaking here of the literal children only? Of course not! Jesus is also speaking here of the adult ones which includes us. Adult ones who have childlike virtues such as: Humility, simplicity, forgiveness, honestly and the like. – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for Sunday, January 21, Third Sunday in Ordinary Time; Mark 1:14-20

Gospel Mark 1:14-20

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

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Then they left their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.

+ + + + +  + +

Reflection:

A father would always call his children to go home for lunch as they play in front of their house. The moment the children hears his voice they would immediately pack things up to respond to his call. Why? For the simple reason that she is their mother the one who takes care of them, who feeds them and who gives her time for them.

The four disciples knew something that we don’t know. That’s why they responded to Jesus’ call. Jesus did not promise them anything verbally but perhaps Jesus was silently talking to them in their hearts. That if they would respond they would have a new perspective about life and the afterlife.  And if they would respond He would take care of them for the rest of their lives.

What is it that keeps us from responding to the call of Jesus? Are we afraid to lose our financial security? Are we afraid to leave behind our family and friends? Are we afraid to leave behind our vices and sinfulness? We are on a temporary journey in this world, whatever worldly things that we presently have are temporary and passing.

Jesus is calling us to follow Him and leave whatever worldliness and sinfulness that we have for Him. For example, the call would go this way: Follow me and leave behind your sinful life, follow me and begin to live a fulfilled, peaceful and meaningful life.

Perhaps, Jesus is not asking us to leave our present environment and be with Him in another place. Perhaps Jesus is telling us this: Follow me where you are today by living behind whatever sinfulness that you are in right now. Never worry when you do so for I will take care of you and will never leave you alone. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for January 20, Saturday of the Second Week; Mark 3:20-21

Gospel: Mark 3:20-21

Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.

+ + + + + + +

Reflection:

What happens when we get to serious with our vocation for the Lord? They normally would label us as someone who is out of his/her mind. For example, when we prioritize God over money, when we shun friends even relatives from our environment friends/relatives who do not bring us any good. and instead we focus our time and energy for the glory of God. They would really label us as somebody who is out of his/her mind.

But come to think of it, who is out of his/her mind? Those who focus their time and energy for the greater glory of God or those who focus their time and energy to this world only? If you focus your attention to this world what would happen to you when you die? Where would you end up if you allow yourself to be possessed by this world? 

Jesus is labeled as out of His mind for the reason that He is very zealous in His mission for the Lord. He allowed Himself to be possessed by His mission for the Lord rather than embrace worldliness.

There really are people who will not understand us for the things that we do for the greater glory of God. We must move on nevertheless and continue doing our mission for Jesus. Let us just pray for the enlightenment of those who do not understand or refuse to understand what we do for the Lord.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for January 19, Friday of the Second Week; Mark 3:13-19

Gospel: Mark 3:13-19

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him. He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles, that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons: He appointed the Twelve: Simon, whom he named Peter; James, son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

+ + + + + + +

Reflection:

What is your responsibility as a follower of Jesus?

Your responsibility is to help Jesus spread the faith; to share it with humility through your words and actions.  This is what the twelve apostles did and we must follow it. Every now and then God constantly reminds us of this responsibility. That we need to do something in our lifetime to spread our faith for the simple reason that it’s not hard anymore to do this now.

We have the technology at our disposal to make a difference and reach out to those who are not properly schooled about our faith. We have our family (Our domestic church) to share our faith and we have our extended relatives and close friends to share it with.  

What have you done so far to be like the apostles who fearlessly shared the faith? Are you living the faith with humility? Have you invited your dormant catholic family and friends to reignite the fire of their faith by shepherding them to church for Mass?

You have to do something to spread the faith for you to live a meaningful life in this world. Enough of chasing the riches of this world for it will not give you contentment. Enough of living a worldly and sinful life for it will never ever give you peace. – Marino J. Dasmarinas    

Reflection for January 18, Thursday of the Second Week; Mark 3:7-12

Gospel: Mark 3:7-12

Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples. A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea. Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him. And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, "You are the Son of God." He warned them sternly not to make him known.

+ + + + + + +

Reflection:

Why do you follow Jesus? Many were pressing themselves towards Jesus because of His healing touch. Do you also follow Jesus for the reason of the miracles that you can get from Him? But it’s not all the time that Jesus would heal you. There would be times that you will still be sick no matter how hard you push yourself towards Jesus.

Let us not lose faith in Jesus even if He doesn’t heal us physically He has His own reasons. Perhaps it’s a test of our faith; perhaps Jesus wants us to journey with Him in His suffering towards Calvary. The more that healing seems elusive that more that we must intensely follow Jesus.

How about the miraculous healings of Jesus? Does Jesus wants His miraculous healings publicized? No! Jesus would never want publicity from His miracles and healings. The more that His actions are unknown the more the He likes it, the more that He is not given credit the more that He appreciates it.

This is attributed to Jesus’ Humility and Self-effacing behavior. Let us therefore forget about prestige and honor and let us not fret if we are not given honor for the things that we do. It’s already enough that we do silent acts of kindness with no one noticing it. 

Would you want to emulating the humility and self-effacing attitude of Jesus? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Wednesday January 17, Saint Anthony, Abbot; Mark 3:1-6

Gospel: Mark 3:1-6

Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. They watched Jesus closely to see if he would cure him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.” Then he said to the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.

+ + + + + + +

Reflection:

What would you do if you see a sick man?

Jesus had two choices when He saw a man with a withered hand in the synagogue. The first choice was to simply ignore the sick man because it was the Sabbath day. The other choice was to cure the man and in the process ignore the Sabbath day.

Jesus chose to heal the man and disregarded the Sabbath day. For Jesus it’s the welfare of the sick man first before the observance of the Sabbath law. In that instance Jesus chose to give priority to His ministry of healing rather than observe the Sabbath law.

Jesus is a healer and His healing power is not bounded by anything be it criticism by His perceived enemies. His healing power is not solely restricted with physical healing; He heals us more spiritually and emotionally.

But Jesus requires something from us also and that is our faith in Him. Just like the faith of David when he defeated Goliath. The same faith also of this man with a withered hand that was cured by Jesus on the Sabbath.

Let us therefore hold on to Jesus with faith no matter how hazy the horizon that is in front of us. - Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for January 16, Tuesday of the Second Week; Mark 2:23-28

Gospel: Mark 2:23-28

As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain. At this the Pharisees said to him “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath? He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry? How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest  and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions? Then he said to them “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

+ + + + + + +

Reflection:

Why was Jesus so popular with the common people of His time? This is for the reason that He violates some religious norms of the Pharisees for the greater good of the people that He loves so dearly.  For example, the picking of grain during Sabbath day, doing this was prohibited based on the Jewish religion. But Jesus dared to violate this law for the good of His disciples.

Laws or religious norms are good for the reason that it teaches us obedience and discipline. But there are times that we have to violate it so that it could serve a higher and nobler purpose. In the gospel the nobler or higher purpose why Jesus violated the Sabbath law was to feed the hungry stomachs of His disciples.

Jesus violated the Sabbath law for the reason that humans are more important that laws. We  can amend a law or extinguish the life of a law but are we willing to extinguish the life of a human being to serve the law?

In a deeper sense Jesus is teaching us that the important need of a person (In this case the need for food) is far more important than any law. For Jesus it’s always the good of His people than the observance of any kind of religious law/s.

This norm of Jesus stands until today we are His priority more than any other rule/law in this world. How about you? Is Jesus your priority more than any other undertaking in this world? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for January 15, Monday of the Second Week; Mark 2:18-22

Gospel: Mark 2:18-22

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast. People came to Jesus and objected, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast? Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them and then they will fast on that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”

+ + + + + + +

Reflection:

What is Jesus desire for you? It’s to transform you so that you could become fresh wineskin so that He could pour Himself into you. Jesus is the new wine and you are the old wineskin but Jesus doesn’t want you to become old wineskin which cannot accept His renewing presence. He wants you to be renewed or to be the fresh wineskin so that He could come into your life.

What makes us old wineskins or what makes us unworthy for the presence of Jesus? It’s our many sins, these many sins make us unworthy to Jesus. Nevertheless, Jesus is also offering Himself to us so that he could cleanse us and make us new once again

Will you let Jesus into your life so that He could make things new for you? Or you will continue to shut your heart to Jesus? The choice is yours, if you want to remain contained in the old wineskin of sin or you allow Jesus to renew you and liberate you from sin.

The correct choice is always to allow Jesus entry into your life and to allow Jesus to make things new in your life once again. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for Sunday, January 14, Second Sunday of Ordinary Time; John 1:35-42

Gospel: John 1:35-42

John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God." The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come, and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, "We have found the Messiah," which is translated Christ. Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas," which is translated Peter.

 + + + + + +

Reflection:

What are you looking for in this world? Are you looking for popularity and riches? Are you looking for power and influence? What are you looking for?

We look for so many things in this world to find our happiness and those things that would satisfy us. Only to find out later that it couldn’t satisfy us, so we look again and again. And it seems that the looking for mantra seems endless.

Why? For the simple reason that we are looking for the wrong things that will not satisfy us and give us contentment. For example, can money, power and other earthly things satisfy us? These worldly things will never satisfy us and it will never give us peace and contentment.

In this Sunday’s gospel, Andrew and Simon Peter were looking for something that would not only give them peace and contentment. They were looking for something that would complete both of them and they found it in Jesus.

Therefore, when Jesus saw the two of them, He said: "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come, and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day.  (John 1:38-39)

If you want to finally find that elusive peace and contentment and if you want someone who will protect you from all the worries of this world. You only need to look for Jesus you will certainly find Him if you will look for Him.

Are you looking for Jesus in your life right now? – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for January 13, Saturday of the First Week; Mark 2:13-17

Gospel: Mark 2:13-17

Jesus went out along the sea. All the crowd came to him and he taught them. As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed Jesus. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus heard this and said to them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

+ + + + +  + +

Reflection:

How could we convert sinners to become followers of Jesus? Of course we must approach them and be friends with them. Then as we become friends with them we also show the light of Jesus to them. With the hope that they would eventually be converted, thus; let us be patient with them. Let us show them our goodness and gentleness and then after doing what we have to do to change their lives. Let us pray and hope for their eventual conversion.

Jesus is a man of interactions He goes to sinners, interacts with them and even dines with them. Jesus always chose to interact with sinners for obvious reasons. How about us, do we interact with sinners? Do we mingle with them? And do we forgive them when they ask for forgiveness?

There are people who prefer to stay in their ivory towers. They look down and despise sinners as if they are not sinners also. They quickly judge them as good for nothing and dangerous. But if we avoid sinners how could we convert them?

If Jesus avoided Levi and the other tax collectors, He could not have converted them. They would have go on sinning until they die. But Jesus chose to interact with them for He knew that this was the only way to convert them. - Marino J. Dasmarinas