Reflection for December 20, Thursday; Third Week of Advent: Luke 1:26-38

Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever and of his Kingdom there will be no end.

But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man? And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative has also conceived a son in her old age and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren for nothing will be impossible for God.”

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. Then the angel departed from her.

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Reflection:

Do you bow in humility to the will of the Lord? For example, you want to focus on something that you want to become your lifelong career. Yet in your heart you also feel that the Holy Spirit is leading you to something which is for the Lord. Do you listen to this leading of the Holy Spirit in your life or you listen only to what you want for yourself?

Mary listened to the voice of the Lord God, Mary listened to the Holy Spirit who spoke to her heart. Mary had her own plan yet she subordinated her plan for God’s plan for her which is to become the mother of Jesus.

When you obey the voice of God who is continuously speaking to you, your life will change for the better. You may not gain the material wealth that this world will offer you but once you say yes to the voice of God. You will gain peace in your life; peace that you have never experienced before and peace that no material wealth could give you.

The Blessed Mother did this, she listened to the voice of God thru the angel Gabriel and she listened to the voice of the Holy Spirit which was already speaking to her heart. Thus, she gained peace and serenity in her life.

Listen to the voice of God and listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit. It may be telling you to reconcile with someone close to you. It may be telling you to reach out in humility to a friend or it may be telling you to forgive and forget an offense done against you. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for December 19, Wednesday; Third Week of Advent: Luke 1:5-25

Gospel: Luke 1:5-25

In the days of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years.

Once when he was serving as priest in his division’s turn before God, according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”

Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.” Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute.

Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home. After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying, “So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others.”

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Reflection:

How profound is your faith in the Lord? Does your faith create awareness in you that nothing is impossible with the Lord?

We have in our gospel Zechariah a priest who is in the twilight of his life. For the reason of his advance age Zechariah thought that he would never have a child. Until the Lord through an angel intervened and granted what he long for but Zechariah still did not believe.      

Nothing is impossible with God for those who believe; unfortunately, Zechariah was deficient in this aspect. The possible for God was impossible for him. Considering that he is a Priest his faith seems to be shallow. But we can’t blame Zechariah for he was just being realistic; he and his wife Elizabeth were both old already. So, how could his wife be pregnant?

Once in a while we also pass through this episode of unbelief and lack of faith. Amidst this episode, let us not lose focus on the fact that nothing is impossible with the Lord for those who believe and have faith.  

We may have dreams or aspirations in life that may seem impossible for us to achieve and we naturally doubt. But let us not doubt let us continue to silently work for that seemingly impossible dream. Then let us leave everything to the Lord’s providence let us ask Him to bless and guide us as we aspire for this impossible dream.

Do you believe that the Lord will give you what you’ve been praying for? If you believe and you have strong faith you will have it. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for December 18, Tuesday; Third Week of Advent: Matthew 1:18-25

Gospel: Matthew 1:18-25

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.  When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son and he named him Jesus.

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Reflection:
Do you always follow the will of the Lord?

Upon learning that Mary was already pregnant Joseph decided to quietly divorce her. But an Angel of the Lord appeared through his dream. And intervened and told him not to divorce Mary for the reason that the child in her womb was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

After waking up Joseph obeyed what the angel told him. He stayed with Mary, He protected her and saw to it that she would receive the best love and care that she could ever have.

Such is Saint Joseph, righteous, humble, docile and obedient to the will of the Lord. In this time wherein, the Sacrament of Matrimony is not given much worth anymore. And is treated as a simple paper contract.

We have Saint Joseph reminding us about the sacredness of the Sacrament of Marriage. We have Saint Joseph reminding us that we must not stray and we must not betray it no matter the temptation. We have Saint Joseph reminding us that Marriage is not only a paper contract. It is in fact a covenant between the couple and Jesus.

Let us examine ourselves on how we put value on the Sacrament of Marriage. And let us follow the example of Saint Joseph on how he deeply loved the Blessed Mother. And how he subordinated his own will for the will of God. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

1Reflection for December 17, Monday; Third Week of Advent: Matthew 1:1-17

Gospel: Matthew 1:1-17

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,  whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David the king.

David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.

After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of  Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Christ, fourteen generations.

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Reflection:

Do you know your own genealogy?

Our gospel for today traces the genealogy of Jesus. From Abraham to David to Solomon just to name a few. As we look at the bloodline of Jesus, we would find out that some of them are sinners. But God in His infinite wisdom chose them to become the ancestors of Jesus.

We may think that this is bizarre or strange, some of the members of Jesus family tree are sinners?   Isn’t this inappropriate for the Son of God to originate from their bloodlines? But this is how God works, very mysterious and very unexpected.

All of us are sinners also, let us not think that because of our being sinful we are already beyond redemption and beyond the reach of the love of God. Everything is possible with our God. If we judge others or if we think of others and ourselves as incorrigible sinners. God doesn’t think that way, God can change sinners to become saints.

If others have already judged you as a sinner and beyond redemption already, remember that God is not judgmental towards you. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday December 16, Third Sunday of Advent: Luke 3:10-18

Gospel: Luke 3:10-18

The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”

Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people.

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Reflection:

If you will try to ask kids as to what is Christmas for them. Perhaps, majority of them would say that Christmas is about Santa Clause and the gifts that he would bring them. Even if they are wrong. This is is understandable being kids their minds are being bombarded to focus on the material side of Christmas. However, we must point out to them the real essence of Christmas and that is the coming birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

In our gospel for this third Sunday of advent John gives us another angle about Christmas that we must seriously look into. When John was asked by the crowd; “What should we do”? John told them share your cloaks and your food. Then he told the taxmen stop collecting more than what is prescribed. Afterwards, he told the soldiers stop being extortionists and be satisfied with your wages.

Through his actions and words John is telling us that Christmas is not all about the material things of this world. That Christmas is about giving and sharing, especially to those who are poor which cannot repay our generosity. Christmas is also about repentance and changing our ways for the better. That’s why he said to the taxmen and the soldiers: “Stop your extortions and be satisfied with your wages.”

This consumer and gadget driven world are slowly taking from us the true essence of Christmas we must not allow it to succeed. We must continue to focus our attention on the coming birth of Jesus. Because this is the true spirit and essence of Christmas that the gospel wants us all to live and imbibe.

Let us not focus on the material things for it gives us superficial joy and happiness. Let us rather fix our sight on something that gives us real joy and happiness. Joy and happiness that nobody can take away from us. Joy and happiness that is much deeper and profound and this is the birth of Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for December 15, Saturday; Second Week of Advent: Matthew 17:9a, 10-13

Matthew 17:9a, 10-13

As they were coming down from the mountain the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

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Reflection:

Do you have the courage to advice a person to repent?

The call of Jesus for repentance continuous until this very hour, he speaks to us through people around us and through our conscience. We should not ignore it, we should listen to it because to listen and repent is the right course of action that we must take.

Like John who prepared the way for Jesus, we too should become the modern day John. Thus we should also gently call for repentance to those within our sphere of environment. This is for the reason that this is a call of duty for us Catholics.

Lest we forget that by virtue of our Baptism we also become a modern-day John. Therefore, we have to call for repentance and conversion as well. For this call to be effective we have to do this with gentleness, with mercy and compassion.

It is obvious that Jesus is pertaining to John as the second coming of the prophet Elijah. But majority of the people then did not listen to John’s call because they were busy with the things of this world. They have no time to listen to the messenger of God.

You have nothing to lose if you tread the way of John. Yes, it will not be a walk in the park and there will be challenges as well. But if Christ is with you who will be against you? Nobody for you have Jesus at our back silently supporting you. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for December 14, Friday; Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church: Matthew 11:16-19

Gospel: Matthew 11:16-19

(Jesus said to the crowds) 16 "But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates, 17 `We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.' 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, `He has a demon'; 19 the Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, `Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds."

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Reflection:

Are you quick to judge based on what you see? The people during Jesus and John’s time most especially the Pharisees and scribes were like that as well. They judge both John and Jesus; John they judged as having a demon and Jesus as a glutton and a drunkard. They based their judgment on the external actuations that they saw on both of them.

However, their judgment is misplaced and farthest from the truth. Those who judged Jesus and John should have first tried to know them first by becoming their followers but they never cared to follow, they instead quickly judged. Thus, they missed the opportunity of a lifetime to know John and Jesus.

Those who are quick to judge allow themselves to be controlled by their biased emotions. Those who judge usually end up missing something worthy and beautiful from the person that they judge.     

There are times that I see married couples the husband is handsome but the wife is not beautiful and vise-versa. I usually tell myself, how come they ended up together? The reason behind is simple, they never cared to judge based on what they saw on their future spouse. They instead delve deeper, thus they discovered how beautiful the character of the person they chose to be with for the rest of their lives.  

Are you quick to judge? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for December 13, Thursday; Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr: Matthew 11:11-15

Gospel: Matthew 11:11-15

(Jesus said to the crowds) Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force. All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. Whoever has ears ought to hear.

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Reflection:

What does John the Baptist brings to us? John brings to us his faithful witness for Jesus and His teachings. Like the Prophets before him, John gave his life so that evil would not triumph over good. In essence it was the devil against God. John chose God over the devil, John chose righteousness over evil and immorality.

For these reasons Jesus hailed John as the greatest amongst the prophets, yet Jesus tells us also that the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. Who is greater than John the Baptist? It’s Jesus Himself! Jesus came into this world not with power and might. Like John, Jesus was born into this world bereft of worldly opulence.

Somehow the gospel communicates to us that for us to become great in the eyes of Jesus we have to emulate John. His humble witness for Jesus, his uncompromising stand against evil and so forth. We must not forget also that Jesus is challenging us also to become the least in the eyes of the people of this world.

 It means that we must not crave for money, power or anything that this fleeting world will offer us. Nevertheless, even without these worldly things we will strive to continue to make a positive difference in the lives of our fellowmen. For this is the life of Jesus when He walked on this earth.

Can we emulate the life of John? Are we capable of shunning the trappings of this world and still make a positive difference in the lives of our fellowmen just what Jesus did? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for December 12, Wednesday; Our Lady of Guadalupe Patroness of the Philippines: Matthew 11:28-30

Gospel: Matthew 11:28-30

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

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Reflection:

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

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

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

In our gospel for today, Jesus invites us all to go to Him. We who are so busy with this world, we who tend to forget the primacy of God over this world. When are we going to open our hearts to this invitation of Jesus? When we are already old and sick? Let us not wait for that time to come because it’s too late already.

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

Reflection for December 11, Tuesday; Second Week of Advent: Matthew 18:12-14

Gospel: Matthew 18:12-14

Jesus said to his disciples: “What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.

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Reflection:

Can we compare the love of Jesus with how we exercise our love for our fellowmen? No, we cannot compare because majority if not all of us love with preconditions and conditions. We love with limitations and we love only those who give us love. Jesus loves us without any preconditions, limitations and He loves us even if we don’t love Him in return.

We all know that Jesus is alluding about His infinite love for us when He told this story of the lost sheep.  By way of this story He is also telling us that His love for us is always there no matter how sinful we are and no matter who we are.

As we follow Jesus, we must also ask Him to deepen our faith and to erase our preconditions and conditions when we love. For example, if before we could only love those who give us love, now that we have become mature followers of Jesus. We will love even those who do not give us love and those people who do not love us anymore.

To love even those who do not love us and those who hurt us is very hard to do. But if we really are sincere in following Jesus, we would be able to love them. And we would search for them until we find them and forgive them without any precondition.

Let us look for those who went astray, let us forgive and give them the unconditional love of Jesus. -  Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for December 10, Monday; Second Week of Advent: Luke 5:17-26

Luke 5:17-26

One day as Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there, and the power of the Lord was with him for healing. And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence. But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.”

Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply, “What are you thinking in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”– he said to the one who was paralyzed, “I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”

He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We have seen incredible things today.”

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Reflection:

How far are you willing to go to help a person in need? We have in our gospel a paralytic who was brought to Jesus by selfless men. Men who did not think of their own safety so that they could help. Men who did everything so that they could bring somebody to Jesus.

What if there were no selfless men who dared to help the paralytic? The paralytic would have remained paralytic for the rest of his life. But he was very blessed that he encountered these men who help him go near Jesus.

When you help someone in need you are opening yourself to enormous blessings from God. This is what happened to the men who brought the paralytic to Jesus. They were blessed by Jesus and was forgiven of their many sins (Luke 5:20).

As you continue your journey in this world you will continue to encounter those who are in need. Never let go of the opportunity to help be it material or spiritual help. If it would require you to momentarily forget your own self so that you could extend a helping hand, help by all means.

Every effort that you do for others is always rewarded by Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday December 9, Second Sunday of Advent: Luke 3:1-6

Gospel: Luke 3:1-6

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

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Reflection:

A sinful woman decided that she would walk away from her sinful life. Because she finally realized that it gave her nothing except problems. Many of us look the other way or turn a blind eye when it comes to sinning. Why? Because sin was created by Satan for us to enjoy it until it completely capture and destroy us.  

For example, the sin of adultery, is it not enjoyable for the immoral couple who are doing it?  Yes, it is, they enjoy it until it’s too late for them to realize that it brought them nothing but misery and tons and tons of problem.  Sin in general will do us no good and if we will not repent or completely walk away from it could bring us death.

In the gospel for this second Sunday of advent we hear and read about the love of God. Who through John calls us to walk away and repent from our sinfulness. By way of John the Lord is offering us a new life free from sin.

Would you hear this call of John to renew your life by repenting from your sinfulness? Or would you still choose to embrace sin until the end? The choice is yours to take, just remember that sin will do nothing but destroy you.

Through John and the prophet Isaiah’s call of repentance the good Lord is offering you His unconditional love, His mercy and His compassion. Take and accept it and begin to live a new life free from sin.

Will you accept this offering of the Lord? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for December 8, Saturday; Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Luke 1:26-38

                                                  Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

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Reflection:

Do you accept the will of the Lord for your life or you contradict it, thus you follow your own selfish and sinful will? For example, the will of the Lord for a pregnant woman is to carry and nurse the child in her womb. However, many are contradicting this will of the Lord by killing the child in the womb thru abortion.

The Gospel tells us that God thru the Angel Gabriel had chosen the Blessed Mother to be the Mother of Jesus, of all women why the Blessed Mother? We don’t know the answer but the Blessed Mother’s humility, docility and abandonment to the will of God speaks volumes about her.

The Blessed Mother humbly followed God’s desire and will when she said: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word (Luke 1:38)."

Like the Blessed Mother, are you willing to humble yourself before the Lord? Are you willing to abandon your life to the will of God? And do you always follow the intervention of God the Holy Spirit in your life? – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for December 7, Friday; Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church: Matthew 9:27-31

Gospel: Matthew 9:27-31

As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out, “Son of David, have pity on us!” When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.

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Reflection:

How strong is your faith in the Lord? Is it as strong like the two blind men in the gospel? The two blind men were healed by Jesus because their faith in Him was rock solid. Our strong faith in Jesus will bring us healing it will bring us inner peace that this world will not be able to give us.

What does this temporal world give us? It will give us wealth but not faith, it will give us power but not faith and it will give us popularity but not faith. This world will practically give us anything that we need to survive in this world.

But we were not created for this world, this world only serves as our temporal dwelling because eventually we will die. After we die we leave behind whatever we have in this world. So, where would we go if we have no faith in the Lord?  

It is only through Jesus that we can have faith, the same faith that the two blind men had. This is the reason why their eyes were opened and healed courtesy of their deep faith in Jesus.

How is your faith in the Lord? – Marino J. Dasmarinas