Reflection for November 24, Saturday; Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs: Luke 20:27-40

Gospel: 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:

What will happen to us after we die? Would we still know each other’s name if we see each other in heaven? Would we still feel the same if we see each other in heaven? We don’t know because we haven’t died yet.

But one thing is sure there will come a time that we will have a physical death. Would it be the end? No, we who follow Jesus believe that our physical death is only the beginning of eternal life with Jesus in heaven.

The Sadducees do not believe in the resurrection. That’s why they asked Jesus the question about the seven brothers who married the same woman. So they asked Jesus, to whom will she belong during resurrection?

Jesus gave them this meaningful answer, “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 (Luke 20:34-35).

Many of us may have the same concern with the Sadducees, what will happen to us after we die? Are we not stretching our minds too far by having this thought? Instead of being concerned with the afterlife or the resurrection.

Why don’t we focus our attention to our present life? Do we live it according to the will of Jesus for us? If we live our present life according to the will of Jesus, we need not worry about the afterlife for the simple reason that Jesus will take care of us all.

Let us not worry about the afterlife because when we die there will be no more worries only happiness. When we die there will be no more conflict only loving friendships and when we die there will be no more distinction as to who we are for we shall all be equal in God’s eyes.

The afterlife in the kingdom of God is the perfect life for us, let us aim for it while we are still in this worldly journey. Let us start by living our lives according to what God wants us to live it. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 23, Friday; Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 19:45-48

Gospel: 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:

Do you cling to the words of Jesus as if your very life depends on it? Is your day not complete without reading or listening to His words? In the gospel the chief priest, the scribes and the leaders of the people wanted to kill Jesus. But they couldn’t execute it because they were afraid of the people most especially the ordinary people. For the reason that they treasure every word and pronouncement of Jesus.

The chief priest, the scribes and the leaders of the people are considered as intellectual or learned yet they did not believe Jesus. But the common folks, they believe Jesus and they hang to His every word.

Many of the people of today don’t anymore treasure the words of Jesus they instead value more this world than Jesus. They let the hedonistic language of this world dictate upon them. And the words of Jesus? It has no more use to them, no wonder many people most especially the young ones live misguided and misdirected lives.    

Let us revisit once again the words of Jesus which we can easily find in the bible and let us read it everyday. Let us allow it to direct our life instead of this world shaping our lives.

Someday when we are already old and sickly we will find out that the passion that we’ve devoted for this world amounts to nothing. For the simple reason that whatever we’ve earned in this world we will leave behind. The only treasure that we can bring with us onto the afterlife is our faith and love for Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for November 22, Thursday; Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr: Luke 19:41-44

Gospel: 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:

Why is it that some people are so peaceful even if they have their own share of life’s burdens? The reason behind is they’ve learned to surrender everything to Jesus. They listen to Jesus by way of their active prayer life and they’ve let Jesus take control of their lives and not them taking control.

When Jesus was nearing Jerusalem, He was very sad and He wept for its people because they did not listen to God’s call of repentance (Through the prophets). They purposely blinded themselves to the reality of repentance. Why? Because they love to sin and they liked what this sinful world offered them. They never cared to be concerned of the punishing outcome of their sinfulness.

Jesus loves us so dearly that He wants all of us to listen to Him. So that we could be spared of the dreadful punishment that is due to those who do not care to listen to Him. He also weeps for  us everytime we sin, everytime we don’t to listen to Him.

When everything is said and done and we are already suffering for the reason of our sinfulness we have nobody to blame but ourselves. However, why let this very harsh event called punishment come to us? When we could actually avoid it by means of opening our hearts to the love and mercy of Jesus. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 21, Wednesday; The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Luke 19:11-28

Gospel: 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 are you presently doing with the talent/s that the good Lord has given you? Are you using to further God’s kingdom in this world or you’re only using it to advance your own interest in this world?

We are taught by our faith that all blessings that come our way are God given. Thus, we have a responsibility to pay it forward specially to those who are in need. Whatever these blessings are, be it material blessings or intellectual blessings we have to share it. We should not keep it to ourselves only we have to share it. For its only in sharing what we have that we would receive more blessings from the Lord.  

The third servant was not productive like the first and second because he was fearful of the nobleman. Not only that he was fearful; I think he was also lazy and selfish that’s why he simply stored the gold coin in a handkerchief and left it there until it was taken back by the nobleman.

The feelings of fear, being lazy and selfish are the qualities that paralyze a person from becoming a more productive servant of the Lord. If we want to serve and share in the mission of Jesus we need to discard these negative traits. We also need to always have a positive outlook in life. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 20, Tuesday; Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 19:1-10

Gospel: 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:

Why did Zacchaeus exert so much effort to see Jesus? Because Zacchaeus was already tired of living a sinful life. He wanted to live a new life so to speak, a life free from sin and the guilt of sin!

So, when Zacchaeus a sinner and a wealthy tax collector heard that Jesus would be passing through their town. He immediately planned to see Him and consequently he immediately went to see Jesus. But because of the big crowd and because he was a short man there was no way for him to see Jesus personally.

Butt the desire to mend his ways was so strong that Zacchaeus even climb a sycamore tree so that he would see Jesus. Surely, Jesus knew that there’s this repentant sinner named Zacchaeus who badly wants to see HIM.

When Jesus was about to pass by the sycamore tree. Jesus looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house." And so he did and brought Jesus to his house and right there in his house Zacchaeus repented. And from his repentance Jesus gave him salvation.  

We all are sinner and being so we are all called to follow the action of Zacchaeus. We are called by Jesus to repent as well. Not tomorrow not next week and certainly not next month but today: This very hour that you’re reading this. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for November 19, Monday; Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 18:35-43

Gospel: 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:

What is the most important qualification for those who wants to be healed by Jesus? It’s faith! Our faith in Jesus can make the impossible possible.

The blind man in our gospel has this exceptional faith. It was his faith in Jesus that drove him to call upon Jesus to heal him. It was his deep faith in Jesus that moved him to continuously shout Son of David even if he was already being admonished to keep quite.

This man is blind yes, but his faith in Jesus is not blind and his faith is incredibly bigger than his blindness. For sure he knew Jesus beforehand somebody told him who Jesus was and without question he immediately believed.

And after believing he started thinking more about Jesus, perhaps Jesus was always in his mind. Perhaps the blind man was already imagining what he would do if Jesus would pass by him. Our faith in Jesus is always affirmed and strengthened when we always think of Him. And when we always ask Him to give us the gift of faith.

The gospel for today used the blind man to show us all what deep faith in Jesus can do for us. And that is nothing is impossible for those who believe and for those who always pray with faith. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

1Reflection for Sunday November 18, Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mark 13:24-32

Gospel: Mark 13:24-32

Jesus said to his disciples: "In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. "And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.

"Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates. 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. "But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

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Reflection:

Every now and then there are movies with end times' story lines such as extensive flooding, hunger, tsunami disasters, wars and the like. This is not only happening in movie themes, this is in fact already part of our life’s reality. Just watch the news and you will see many depressing situations. What if these frightening events that we see are really signs of the end times? Are we ready for it?

All of us perhaps are not yet ready for these end times scenarios and all of us are not yet ready for these end times pronouncement by Jesus in the gospel. He tells us this: "In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken(Mark 13:24-25)." This is unimaginable and horrifying, but what if it suddenly comes like a thief in the night? What will happen to us? Where would we end up?

We may not all be ready for these horrific events, we may lose sleep thinking about these dreadful scenarios. But for so long as we have God in our hearts and for so long as we live within the ambit of His teachings. We need not worry for God will give us faith to endure all of these tribulations. He will give us peace in the midst of the absence of peace in our hearts.

But often times we forget the power of God over everything that happens and exists in this world. We often times forget that God is above all these tribulations. Yes, all of these may happen at a time when we least expect it but if we have faith we have nothing to worry. If we love and believe in Jesus we have nothing to worry. 

Let us always learn to give all our worries to God, let us always learn to invite Him to dwell into our hearts. By doing so we will not dread anything even the horrific end times we will not fear.

Do you always pray to the Lord and ask Him to come in to your life? Do you always ask Him to make you strong in the midst of the tribulations and problems in your life? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 17, Saturday; Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious: Luke 18:1-8

Gospel: Luke 18:1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, “There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary. For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.’ The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

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Reflection:

Do You always pray with persistence? Meaning you pray and pray and never lose heart until you have what we’ve been praying for. Jesus in our gospel is teaching us that we must be persistent in prayer. Even if what we’ve been praying seems impossible we still have to persistently pray because the impossible becomes very much possible with God.

In our gospel there’s the presence of a heartless judge who feared and respected no one. Yet when he was pestered by the widow for a just decision he gave. Why? Because the widow did not give up.

If we are in the shoes of the widow and we know that this judge is impertinent would we still pursue our request for a decision? Or we simply give up and if possible request for another judge who would be more sympathetic to our plight?   

When we have a prayer request before God we must always have the motivation to humbly request God again and again to grant us what we want to have from Him. Never mind if it will take time before God answers what is important is we continue to pray and we never give up. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 16, Friday; Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 17:26-37

Gospel: Luke 17:26-37

Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, someone who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise one in the field must not return to what was left behind. Remember the wife of Lot. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it. I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left.” They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather.”

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Reflection:

Are you afraid of the end times? Of course, we all are, Jesus mentions frightening scenarios in our gospel reading for this Friday. He mentions similar destructive occurrence like in the days of Noah where everyone on the face of the earth were wiped out except for Noah and his group.

The same destruction happened in the place of Sodom and Gomorrah where the people there became very sinful. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah committed despicable sins such as sexual sins, thus earning the wrath of Yahweh.    

Our own respective end time will come to us; we cannot prevent this from happening for this is the nature of our life. But then again, we hold in our hands what kind of end time and life after our end time we would have. If it would be a hellish end time or a heavenly and peaceful  end time. What Jesus mentioned to the disciples is a fair reminder for all of us to straighten our lives.

Let us leave behind everything that makes and influence us to sin while we still have the luxury of time  . Let’s seriously reflect on this call of Jesus to repentance, sin has done nothing good to us. It made our lives miserable and if we would not leave it behind us it would further make our lives more miserable until it completely destroys us. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 15, Thursday; Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 17:20-25

Gospel: Luke 17:20-25

Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, “The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.”

Then he said to his disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. There will be those who will say to you, ‘Look, there he is,’ or ‘Look, here he is.’ Do not go off, do not run in pursuit. For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.”

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Reflection:

Could you say that you have the kingdom of God? You already have the kingdom of God in your heart if you have Jesus in your life. You already have the kingdom of God if you feel the love of Jesus in your heart. You already have the kingdom of God when you have peace and contentment in your heart.

Many of us including our politicians today seek the kingdom of this world. We amass wealth even corrupted wealth. We amass vast properties to serve as our earthly kingdoms. But this kind kingdom will not last forever. We will leave behind everything eventually, we have to remember that we came into this world with nothing and we will leave this world with nothing.  

At what price are we willing to pay just to have this earthly kingdom? Are we willing to sell our souls to the devil just to have possession of this earthly kingdom? Let us wake up before it’s too late otherwise our greed for earthly kingdom would become our passage to hell.  

In our gospel for this Thursday Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, “The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you (Luke 17:20-21).

Indeed, the kingdom of God is within our midst already yet it cannot be physically seen and measured nor could it be bought by any amount of money.  This kingdom of God is planted into our hearts by Jesus Himself.

Do you also want to have the kingdom of God? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 14, Wednesday; Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 17:11-19

Gospel: Luke 17:11-19

As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us! And when he saw them, he said, "Go show yourselves to the priests. As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God? Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."

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Reflection:

Do you always thank the Lord for the countless blessings that He showers upon you?

After healing the ten leapers only one returned (a Samaritan). That’s why Jesus said: Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? (Luke 17:17) Indeed, what happened to the other nine who were members of Jesus faith?

Jesus was looking for them perhaps being one in faith with Him Jesus was expecting them to also return back and signify also their gratitude to Him.  But the nine were missing in action, they were good only in soliciting favors from Jesus. After they got what they wanted they evaporated from His sight.

Such is the behavior of many of us, we earnestly pray when we need something from Jesus. Burt after getting what we want, Jesus is sometimes forgotten or Jesus is not given importance once again. Actually, it’s not only through Jesus that we show our ingratitude. Even to our family members or friends we are sometimes full of ingratitude.

Think of your spouse, children, parents and friends, have you acknowledge their goodness to you?   Have you said a word of gratitude to them, for the little and big favors that they’ve done for you? Or you haven’t done anything to acknowledge their goodness. Such is our behavior sometimes very forgetful or even ungrateful.

Let us think of Jesus, have we thanked Him for the many blessings that He has been giving us? The blessing of life, the blessing of sunlight every morning, have we thanked Him through our  prayers?

In everything let us be grateful to Jesus, for our life, for our health for the numerous healings. That we often times fail to recognize for the reason that we are always fixated on our problems. Thus, we miss out the goodness of Jesus to us. Even in the midst of our trials let us also be thankful because it purifies us and it makes us better individuals.

Do you always thank the Lord? -  Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for November 13, Tuesday; Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini: Luke 17:7-10

Gospel: Luke 17:7-10

(Jesus said to His disciples) “Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’

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Reflection:

What is the frequent failing of many who serve in the vineyard of the Lord Jesus Christ? It’s the feeling of being above everyone and the feeling that he/she is special because he/she is serving in the church.

Take for example a priest who has a high sense of himself and who gives orders to those who are at church as if they are his slaves. Sad to say but this is true: there are ill-mannered priest. It’s not only the priest who is guilty of this kind of failing we too are often guilty of this kind of ill-mannered behavior.

If we are like this then how could we bring others closer to Jesus and how could they see Jesus in us? Let us not forget that we who are followers of Jesus are His walking advertisement in this world. If we are arrogant and ill-mannered, how can we bring them closer to Jesus?

In our gospel Jesus reminds us that we are all servants before Him and our fellowmen. It doesn’t matter how high our position in the church, it doesn’t matter how educated/rich we are. If we are true followers of Jesus we must then become the servant of everyone.

For it’s in serving others and in our humility that we become real and authentic followers and servants of Jesus. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 12, Monday; Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr: Luke 17:1-6

Gospel: Luke 17:1-6

Jesus said to his disciples, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry, you should forgive him.”

And the Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

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Reflection:

Why do we sin? We sin because we allow sin to envelope us and we sin because our faith in Jesus is weak it is easily defeated by temptations. The devil is like a drone that always hovers above us it sees us and it detects if our faith in Jesus is weak. The moment that the devil finds out that our faith is weak he then quickly sends his slaves to entice us with sinfulness.

What is the antidote to sin? Very simple, yet we often neglect to harness this antidote called faith in Jesus. This is what defeats the devil and sin, the moment we ask Jesus to strengthen our faith He will surely oblige our request. But do we humbly and prayerfully ask Jesus to strengthen our faith? Are we faithful Holy Mass goers? Do we read our bible? Do we pray the Holy Rosary?

If we want to have an increase of faith we should not only ask Jesus we should also show Jesus that we are deserving of this faith. The moment we do so we would notice a significant improvement in our faith life and in our journey with Jesus in this world.

Faith is a gift but at the same time faith is also given by Jesus to those who ask for it. And one testament of a person who deserves the gift of faith is someone who strives to know more about Jesus. And someone who endeavors to share his/her faith about Jesus.

Do you want to have an increase of faith? Try to know more about the life of Jesus and don’t forget to share what you know about Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Sunday November 11, Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mark 12:38-44

Mark 12:38-44

In the course of his teaching Jesus said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation." He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood."

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Reflection:

There is a story of a poor woman who was always ready to give anything that she has for the sake of those who are in need. Because of her generosity there were instances that her children would gently remind her not to overly give and reserve something for them.

But the kindhearted woman would tell her children that it is always in giving that they would receive unfathomable blessings from God. True enough, there were no instance wherein they were in need of anything.

Even if they were poor, they always have something for themselves. Why? because God takes care of those who are generous. Very much like the poor widow in our first reading. She generously gave water and bread to the prophet Elijah. After which  the good Lord provided for her and her son. 

Many of us may not know this, but the poor are the most generous people in the world.  They give from the pureness of their hearts no matter how small.  They don’t give because they are not in need. They give for the simple reason that they are simply generous.

Compare this with many rich people who give from their excess. For example, the billionaires and millionaires who give millions to their favorite charities. Perhaps, most of them give because the money that they would give would never hurt their pockets anymore. They have already earmarked that money for charity.

True generosity is epitomized by the poor widow in the gospel. For she gave whatever little money that she has and she gave even if she herself needs it. She could have bought food with the two small coins to satisfy her hunger. But it never came to her thought, she simply gave from the goodness of her heart.

What is paramount for the poor widow is to give without any strings attached. Jesus consequently favored the poor widow because He saw the pureness of her intentions and the pureness of her generosity.

How do you give to your church? How do you give to the poor and to those who are need? Do you give generously as well like the poor widow in the gospel or you give because that is your excess already? – Marino J. Dasmarinas