Reflection for November 7, Wednesday; Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 14:25-33

Gospel: Luke 14:25-33

Great crowds were travelling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’ Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”

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Reflection:

Have you already watched a life testimony about Jesus? Majority of these testimonies deals with the many blessings that they’ve received from the good Lord. You would also  hear testimony about their sufferings and crosses and how Jesus helped them carry it.

In our gospel for today, Jesus speaks to us about the suffering and crosses that is incorporated with our discipleship. Jesus tells us: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” What do these profound words of Jesus convey?

This conveys that if we want to follow Jesus we should also open ourselves with the carrying of our own cross and enduring also our suffering. Because it is only through these two that we could have that true feeling of companionship with Jesus. If we say, that life is all bed of roses since we’ve followed Jesus. Then, we have not really felt the true companionship of Jesus in our lives.

True discipleship for Christ Jesus is felt only when we suffer for His sake, when we are willing to carry our cross for His sake. And when we are willing to give even our very lives so that others may live and have that encounter with Jesus. This is the real essence of authentic discipleship for Jesus.

In the silence of our hearts let us examine our own discipleship for Christ Jesus. Have we already suffered for Him? Have we already carried our cross for Him? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 6, Tuesday; Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 14:15-24

Gospel: Luke 14:15-24

One of those at table with Jesus said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.” He replied to him, “A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’ The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.’ The master then ordered the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’

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Reflection:

What occurs in a dinner? There’s breaking of the bread, there’s sharing, interaction, exchange of ideas and the like. We are not invited to a dinner to simply eat and go. We are invited because the host wants to know more about us. The host wants to bless us with the food that he prepared.  And he wants to exchange even for a brief moment small talk that could further enhance and strengthen the relationship between the invited guest and the host.

When we honor the Holy Mass with our presence we respond to the invitation of Jesus to be present at this Sacred and Holy celebration. We break bread with Jesus, we interact with Jesus and we open ourselves to the innumerable blessings that Jesus alone could bestow upon us.

But like in the gospel many of us would refuse to go to Holy Mass because we have our other preoccupations. We miss a lot when we decline to be present at Holy Mass foremost of this is we miss the great previledge to know Jesus deeply.

It’s sad to think that many Catholics leave the church for other Christian churches. Because as they would say: “They want to develop a personal relationship with Jesus through His written words in the bible.”

But if only they would take time to religiously be present at Holy Mass. Jesus Himself will give them the grace to know Him deeply. Jesus Himself would prod them to open their bibles so that He could reveal more about Himself to them.

The deepening of our friendship with Jesus emanates from our presence at His dinner banquet which is none other than the Holy Mass. Let us therefore go to this one hour sacred celebration and build a deeper relationship with Jesus.   

Do you always honor this invitation of Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for November 5, Monday; Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 14:12-14

Gospel: Luke 14:12-14

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

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Reflection:

Who do you normally invite when you have a banquet in your home?

The leading Pharisee who invited Jesus obviously was well known and powerful. Thus we could surmise that his circle of friends was naturally well known and powerful also. And Jesus knew about this that’s why Jesus gave the Pharisee something to think about or food for thought as far as inviting guest is concerned.

Jesus said to him; when you have a lunch or a dinner. Do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. Wow! This is very hard to do for the Pharisee and for us as well!

How could we invite them when they are not inside our circle of friends? How could we invite them when most of them live in an environment foreign to our environment? How could we invite them when they are not externally presentable and there are many more reasons not to invite them.

If we don’t invite them, we are judging them already based on what we see about them. And most of the time what we see on them is unpleasant and not worthy for our very judgmental eyes. But we don’t see the heart of the poor, the lame, the cripple, the lame and the blind. If only we could see what’s in their hearts, it’s none other than Jesus, Jesus dwells in their hearts.

Let us seriously take note of these teachings of Jesus because when we invite them we are actually inviting Jesus to come to our home. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for November 3, Saturday; Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 14:1, 7-11

Gospel: Luke 14:1, 7-11

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully.

He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place. Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

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Reflection:

Do you always love to be at the forefront so that others would notice you? Do you hunger for honor and accolades? Or you’re the type who prefers to do things quietly without any desire to be noticed with what you’re doing? 

In our gospel, Jesus talks about our need to always be humble and not to love the spotlight. However, it’s so tempting for many of us to love to be exalted, to love praise and honor.

 But come to think of it, when we love the spotlight; when we love honorific titles. We are actually giving more importance to this world more than we give importance to God. We love to become creatures of this world than love to become sons and daughters of God.

But what is prominence, what is honor? As time passes by prominence, honor and anything that is worldly and self-serving will fade away. Thus, anything that we do for the love of ourselves and of this world will be buried and will not be remembered anymore.

But our acts of humility and goodness? It will outlive us; it will permanently be etched in the heart of God and in the hearts of those who know us. Therefore, we have to be humble and good and Godly at all times. We have to permanently delete from our minds the selfish desire to be known and prominent.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for November 2, Friday; Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed: Matthew 25:31-46

Matthew 25:31-46

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne,  and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous* will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ i And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’  Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ l And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

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Reflection:

Imagine the last days of your life, would it be a happy last days or a lonely last days? We would ideally want a happy last days, this means that we did what we have to do in this world.  We followed the commandments, we feed and clothed the hungry and so forth.

If this is what we’re are doing right now we need not worry about where we would be after our last days are over. But we are still living and we are still on this temporal journey so we have to sustain the momentum by doing good most especially to the poor and unwanted.

We have to take sides and the side that we have to take is the side where we have to do good. Let us not get tired of doing good because whatever good that we do now we will harvest eventually. Let us not mind if we will not be given credit for the good that we do what is important is we continue to do good. God knows everything anyway.

  

In this day of the Souls we are reminded of our loved ones who’ve gone ahead of us. This is also a reminder that whether we like it or not we will also be one with them sooner or later. What should we do so that we will not be forgotten? We have to do good, as Jesus did good during His three years public ministry, we also have to do good.

Why do we have to do go? The answer is no brainer: We have to do good because this will be our ticket going to God’s kingdom someday.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for November 1, Thursday; Solemnity of All Saints: Matthew 5:1-12a

Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12a

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the land.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you

and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.

Rejoice and be glad,

for your reward will be great in heaven.”

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Reflection:

What is the objective of your life? Is it limited only for the enjoyment of the things of this world? There is a more meaningful life that lies beneath this superficial life. However, you wouldn’t be able to discover the essence of life unless you learn to detach yourself from this world and begin to embrace Jesus.

What does it mean to be poor in spirit and why is it a blessing to be poor in spirit? As the literal poor relies on the generosity of his fellowmen so that he could sustain himself. To be poor in spirit means that we always rely on Jesus in everything most especially for our spiritual nourishment.

This means that we humbly rely on the generosity of Jesus. We don’t rely on ourselves so that we could grow in faith. We continuously rely and hunger for God to fill our empty lives so that He could enrich us spirituality.

Today is all Souls Day, we solemnly remember the Saints. They who generously gave their very lives for the mission of Jesus. The saints are not actually spotless when it comes to sin. Just like us they also had their own battle with sin and they triumphed over it because of the help of Jesus.

The saints became saints for the simple reason that they recognized their spiritual poverty. They discerned that life is empty and meaningless without the guidance of Jesus. We too could become saints in our own little way.

If only we would recognize our own poverty of spirit. And if only we would invite Jesus to come into our lives and fill our empty and barren life. - Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for October 31, Wednesday; Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 13:22-30

Gospel: Luke 13:22-30

Through towns and villages Jesus went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem. Someone said to him, 'Sir, will there be only a few saved?' He said to them, 'Try your hardest to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed. 'Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself standing outside knocking on the door, saying, "Lord, open to us," but he will answer, "I do not know where you come from." Then you will start saying, "We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets," but he will reply, "I do not know where you come from; away from me, all evil doers!" 'Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrown out. people And from east and west, from north and south, will come and sit down at the feast in the kingdom of God. 'Look, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.'

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Reflection:

Mike and Joseph were best friends, Mike was from a poor family while Joseph was from a rich family. Being rich Joseph had everything that he could ask for and because of it he grew up a spoiled man thus he wasn’t able to finish his studies.  On the other hand Mike the financially disadvantaged boy had to become a working student so that he could finish his college studies.

Ten years had elapsed; there was now a reversal of roles. Mike was already a very successful man brought about by his hard work and determination. While Joseph the former rich and spoiled man became poor and miserable.

The ending statement of Jesus in our gospel is so meaningful, HE tells us: Behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Our discipleship with Jesus in this world is never easy and always laden with trials. It may seem that we are going through a narrow gate. But this is the reality of faithfully walking with Christ in this world. In fact, Jesus himself said that anyone who is truly willing to follow HIM must forget himself and be ready to carry his own cross (Matthew 16:24).

We have nothing to worry about if we continue to face a difficult life for the sake of Christ. If we feel that we are the least/lowly person in this world because of our hardship for Christ. So be it, this life is temporary anyway; someday we shall depart this world.  And by that time those who are last/least in this world shall now become first in the kingdom of God in heaven. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for October 30, Tuesday; Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 13:18-21

Gospel: Luke 13:18-21

Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”

Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”

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Reflection:

Where does the kingdom of God begin in your life?

The Kingdom of God starts small in your heart like a tiny mustard seed. If you would nurture it, it will have life until it grows big. Where others could benefit from it thus you become God’s instrument of blessing for others.

But others don’t allow God’s Kingdom to take root in their hearts. They prefer the things of this world than God. They choose the temporary over what is eternal, the worldly over Godly.  We must not commit the same mistake.

We should allow God to have His dwelling in our heart no matter how small, then we have to nurture it so that it could grow. Nurture it with prayers, reading the bible and other books that would help us grow in faith.

We should also strive to be present at Holy Mass whenever we could most especially during Sundays. And of course, we should live our faith. If we would do all of these the kingdom of God would surely be upon us and it would grow.

Will you allow the kingdom of God to have a permanent dwelling in your life so that God could bless others through you? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for October 29, Monday; Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 13:10-17

Gospel: Luke 13:10-17

Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect. When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, “Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.” He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath, said to the crowd in reply, “There are six days when work should be done. Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day.” The Lord said to him in reply, “Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it out for watering? This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?” When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated; and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.

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Reflection:

What made Jesus notice the woman crippled by a bad spirit considering that the woman did not even ask Jesus to heal her? Why did Jesus healed her on a Sabbath day when it was prohibited to do so?

The woman who never asked for healing from Jesus was in the synagogue to listen to Jesus. Yes, she did not ask favor from Jesus but her desire to listen to Jesus speaks volumes about her trust and faith in Jesus. Therefore, her trust and faith in Jesus was the channel for her to be noticed and healed by Jesus.

How can we listen to Jesus in this modern time? We listen to Jesus by reading His very words in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We listen to Jesus when we have an audio file of the same gospels in our hi-tech and touch screen cell phones. How many of us have an audio file or even a video file of these gospels in our cell phones?  

In the process of listening to Jesus we are healed already even if we don’t ask Him to heal us. Jesus is a proactive God, He knows everything about us and He knows every sickness or illness that we have long before we ask Him to heal us.

We need not ask Him anymore for healing or for anything for that matter for as long as we have this hunger and thirst to listen to Him. Because it’s in listening to Jesus that we are healed, it’s in listening to Jesus that we acquire wisdom that He only could give us. It’s in listening to Jesus that we are strengthened and motivated to face our daily trials no matter how difficult.   

Do you still have time to listen to Jesus? - Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Sunday October 28, Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mark 10:46-52

Gospel: Mark 10:46-52

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.  So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you. He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you? The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see. Jesus told him, ‘Go your way; your faith has saved you. Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

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Reflection:

What is persistence and faith? It’s the act of not giving up no matter the great odds against us. We will continue to pursue what we want because we believe deep in our hearts that God will be with us and God will help and hear us.

The blind and poor man Bartimaeus had this very mindset. All the odds were stacked against him in his desire to have an encounter with Jesus. He was blind and poor, had no power and influence yet when he heard that Jesus was passing by he mightily shouted, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me (Mark 10:48).”

 Bartimaeus was rebuked and told to keep silent but the more that he persisted on calling Jesus. What made bartimaeus persist? What made him believe that Jesus would hear him as He passed by? Bartimaeus has great faith in Jesus, he believed deep in his heart that Jesus would hear and heal him.    

Ironically, Bartimaeus was blind, therefore he did not see Jesus performing miracles. But Bartimaeus believed even if he did not see Jesus doing miracles! It was enough for Bartimaeus to hear the powerful name of Jesus to believe that he would be healed.

By his deep faith and persistence Bartimaeus gained the attention of Jesus. And during that very moment Bartimaeus was healed thus he regained his sight. This is what faith in Jesus can do for us.

For as long as we will not give up on Jesus no matter the difficulties and the odds against us miracles would happen to us. Perhaps its healing from our sickness, perhaps it’s the granting of our persistent and faith filled prayers and the like.   

How persistent are you in your desire to have an encounter with Jesus? How persistence are you in your desire to get closer and to be healed by Jesus?  Do you always pray? Do you always attend Holy Mass? Do you have daily time to read His words in the bible? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for October 27, Saturday; Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 13:1-9

Gospel: Luke 13:1-9

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus said to them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them— do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”

And he told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”

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Reflection:

Will you obey this call of Jesus for repentance in the gospel?

Repentance is something that we all need to do for we are all sinners. But why is it that many of us are not willing to obey this call of Jesus? The reason behind is we don’t have the virtue of humility. Many of us have mortgaged our life to the Devil to enjoy sinful earthly pleasure.  These are the reasons why we refuse God’s call for us to repent.

The moment we repent a huge burden would immediately be removed from our heart and conscience. We will feel light and peaceful and our seamless connection with Jesus will immediately be restored. But many of us refuse to repent we instead prefer to be burdened by sin. This is the paradox of our internet and social media driven times:  Many of us prefer to embrace the devil rather than God.  

Jesus in our gospel for today is calling for a wholesale repentance not selective repentance but wholesale repentance. This simply means that we would be willing to walk away from any sinful actions and thoughts. We would completely walk away from anyone who makes us sin and who influence us to sin. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for October 26, Friday; Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 12:54-59

Gospel: Luke 12:54-59

Jesus said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

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Reflection:

Do you seek fortunetellers to know what is in-store for you in the future?

Fortunetellers make a living by means of predicting the obvious things that will happen in our future. There are those who believe because what they foretold became a reality. So, they make a habit of consulting fortunetellers whenever there are major decisions to be made.

For some who cannot afford to pay their services. They make do by reading the daily horoscope available for free in some internet sites and other newspapers. And if what is written in their horoscopes are not favorable for them they would be bothered by it.  

If we have faith in Jesus, there’s no need to consult anyone regarding our future. We only have to get closer to Jesus through prayer, by listening to Him who directly speaks to us when we read the bible and through our pious attendance at Holy Mass.

Jesus is always an ever-present friend who is always there for us. He will not predict our future based on the obvious signs of the times. But He will always be an omnipresent companion as we walk from our present going to our future. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for October 25, Thursday; Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 12:49-53

Gospel: Luke 12:49-53

Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

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Reflection:

What does it mean to be on fire for Jesus? It simply means that we have allowed the Holy Spirit to work in our lives by sharing and living the teaching of Jesus. During Pentecost the Blessed Mother, some women and many of the apostles were in the upper room (Acts 1:12-14). While there the Holy Spirit appearing in tongues of fire descended upon each of them (Acts 2:1-3). And from thereon they have allowed themselves to be set on fire by the teachings of Jesus.

During our Baptism we too have received the same fire of the Holy Spirit and the same Holy Spirit was further strengthened within us during our Confirmation. After we have received the Holy Spirit through these two Sacraments, could we now say that we are on fire for Jesus?

Or we have never been on fire even if we have received already the presence of the Holy Spirit. We remain to be timid Roman Catholics for we never cared to share our faith in Jesus. We remain to be Roman Catholics in name only with our faith always hidden within us.

Why not try to reverse this culture of complacency by allowing the fire of the Holy Spirit to move us to share the gospel of Jesus? For example, why not try to schedule a weekly or even monthly reading and reflection of the words of Jesus in the bible amongst your family members or friends?

This may divide families and friends we may be even be labeled us neurotics for doing this but for as long as we do this with humility. We have nothing to worry about because we are simply living our faith. The division that we create for sharing the gospel will eventually heal and turn into cohesion and this is the miracle of Jesus.      

   

Are you on fire for Jesus? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for October 24, Wednesday; Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 12:39-48

Gospel: Luke 12:39-48

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

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Reflection:

Are you a faithful and prudent steward of the Lord?

We are all just stewards of everything that we have right now. It’s not ours everything that we have right now is only lent to us.  As such, we should properly manage what we have in our possession. We should all be worthy stewards; we should put to good use whatever talents that God has given us.

However, if we would not be up to the task that God has given us. We can rest assure that eventually everything that we have will be taken from us because we were not worthy of the blessings that God has bestowed on us.

The gospel today talks about the coming of the Son of Man.  The servants who were caught unaware were busy doing their own thing. These servants are like some of us; always very busy with the things of this world. We forget God or God becomes only our second or third priority.

We must put God forward first, before anything else it should be God first. How about the things of this world? It should be secondary. When we put God first and we abhor sin everything else would follow including our need for material things. - Marino J. Dasmarinas