28 Isinama ni Jesus
sina Pedro, Juan at Jaime at umahon sa bundok para manalangin. 29 At habang siya’y nananalangin,
nagbago ang anyo ng kanyang mukha at puting-puting nagningning ang kanyang
damit. 30 May dalawang lalaki
ring nakikipag-usap sa kanya, sina Moises at Elias.
31 Napakita sila sa
kaluwalhatian at pinag-uusapan nila ang paglisan ni Jesus na malapit nang
maganap sa Jerusalem. 32 Antok
na antok naman si Pedro at ang kanyang mga kasama pero pagkagising nila, nakita
nila ang kanyang kaluwalhatian at ang dalawang lalaking nakatayong kasama
niya.
33 Nang papalayo na
ang mga iyon kay Jesus, sinabi ni Pedro sa kanya: “Guro, mabuti at narito tayo;
gagawa kami ng tatlong kubol, isa sa iyo, isa kay Moises at isa kay Elias.”
Hindi niya alam ang kanyang sinasabi. 34 Nagsasalita
pa siya nang may ulap na lumilim sa kanila; at natakot sila pagpasok nila sa
ulap. 35 At narinig mula sa
ulap ang salitang ito: “Ito ang aking Anak, ang Hinirang; pakinggan ninyo
siya.”
36 Pagkasalita ng
tinig, nag-iisang nakita si Jesus. Nang mga araw na iyon, sinarili nila ito at
walang sinabi kaninuman tungkol sa nakita nila.
Jesus said to
his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor
and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes
his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and
the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just
as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What is the
supreme act of love? It’s the willingness to die for the one that you love.
What is the next supreme act of love? It’s to love even those who are not
lovable to your eyes. It’s to continuously keep the flame of love alive for a
person who does nothing but hurt you.
But are you
capable of following this radical love commandment of Jesus? It’s very hard to
love the person who hates you. Take for example a spouse who does nothing but
hurt you. How can you love him/her? If you only gaze your sight on this world
it’s really difficult to love in such a situation.
But we are
not only made for this world, God created us not only for this world alone. He
created you to become a permanent dweller of heaven eventually. Therefore, we
have to love even those who do not love us. We have to pray as well for those
who do nothing but hurt us.
What will
happen to your spouse if you continue to love him/her even if he/she doesn’t
express his/her love for you? What would happen if you never give up and
continue to pray for his/her conversion? He/she will eventually see the light
of Jesus and be enlightened by it. For this is the miracle that Jesus gives to
those who continue to have faith in Him.
This is what
awaits those who never give up on love and the power of prayer. And this is the
miracle that Jesus gives for those who never waiver on praying to Him.
Do you easily
give up on love? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said to
his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the
scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.
“You have
heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills
will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be
answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to
fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall
that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your
gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise
your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over
to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will
not be released until you have paid the last penny.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What is the
antidote to sin or what could defeat sin or hatred? Its humility, forgiveness
and love. For example, if you sin against your spouse the cure for this sin is
to humble yourself before your spouse. You do this by saying, I’m sorry
for hurting you or I’m sorry for betraying your trust.
If your
spouse loves you dearly you can expect forgiveness, the mitigating factor here
is your humility to admit your offense or sin. But not everyone is
willing to say, I’m sorry for to admit ones mistake or to say I’m sorry is
one of the hardest words to say. But if there’s humility in us we would
not think twice to apologize for this will once again heal the relationship.
But the
paradox is, we are quick to sin yet we are not quick to apologize or some
are not even willing to apologize. And this lack of humility on our part
creates bigger trouble/s in our married relationship or any other kind of
relationship for that matter.
In our gospel
Jesus is teaching us about humility and to have the courage to admit our own
mistakes or shortcomings (Matthew 5:23-25). Why? Because if we are willing to
humble ourselves and if we have the courage to admit our own sinfulness. We
therefore save ourselves from further trouble. But if we continue to be
dominating and arrogant then trouble/s would always be with us.
Would you be
willing to humbly apologize to somebody whom you have offended? To reach out or
to apologize is hard to do but it’s also a redemptive experience for it will
set you free from the bondage of guilt. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said to
his disciples: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock
and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the
one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which
one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a
snake when he asked for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give
good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good
things to those who ask him.
“Do to others
whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.”
+ + + +
+ + +
Reflection:
Do you
sometimes feel helpless and burdened by so many problems? All of us
go through these life episodes, some of us are able to survive and some are
not.
In our gospel
for today, Jesus gives us a recipe so that we would be able to survive whatever
trials and problems that we will be going through in our lives. Jesus tells us:
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and
the door will be opened to you. These are comforting and healing words for all
of us if only we believe and take these words of Jesus into our hearts.
Let us
therefore have a permanent daily time with Jesus. Since it’s only through this
daily time for Him that we could automatically go to Him to ask for His healing
and comfort. The moment we start to incorporate Jesus in our daily lives we
then could be assured that we will now be able to survive our problems and worries.
Let us
endeavor to get closer to Jesus in everyday of our lives. Let us ask Him for
help and for guidance. Let us detach ourselves from our many worldly
attachments for the reason that this is what hinders us to get closer to Jesus.
And last but certainly not the least, let us all exert an effort to leave
behind our relationship with sin. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
While still
more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an
evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign
of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man
be to this generation. At the judgment the queen of the south will rise
with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came
from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is
something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will
arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah
they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do you ask
for signs before you decide on something? For example, if you’re a female,
would you ask for a sign if the man courting you is the right one for you? And
based on that sign you now would decide to say yes or no to that man.
Jesus is much
bigger than the signs that we ask for from God. If we have Him in our hearts we
need not ask anymore for signs. But do we allow Jesus to have a special place
in our hearts? Jesus has a simple request for all of us for Him to dwell in our
hearts. The simple request is our repentance from all of our sins. This is His
simple request for all of us, so that He could dwell in our hearts.
During the
time of Jonah, the people of Nineveh listened to Jonah’s call of repentance.
Otherwise there would be destruction upon them. So they listened, they’ve put
on sackcloth to show God that they are sorry for the many sins that they’ve
committed and they are ready to walk away from it.
Why do we
continue to embrace sin when it will not do us any good? Why do we continue to
embrace sin when we know for a fact that sin is evil and it eventually will
destroy us? It’s very hard to comprehend why many of us continue to sin. We
continue to sin because the devil gives us generous incentives to commit it.
But as proven time and again, we will be destroyed eventually because we decided
to embrace the devil.
If we will
love this world more than we love God we certainly will continue to sin.
However, God is always there for us no matter how sinful we are, ever ready
to embrace us with His infinite love and forgiveness.
Prayer:
I am sinful
creature of this world O Lord and I am tired of sinning for it has not brought
anything good into my life. I seek your forgiveness O Lord and I seek your
love, this I pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said to
his disciples, “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they
will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father
knows what you need before you ask him.
“This is how
you are to pray: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy
Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day
our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil.’
“If you
forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But
if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your
transgressions.”
+ + +
+ + +
Reflection:
How important
is prayer to your life? If you have five things to do everyday, is prayer
included in that five?
When we pray
with all our heart, we allow the good Lord to nourish our parched spirits.
Through our prayers we also invite the good Lord to come into our lives. And
it’s also through our humble prayers that we slowly but surely develop our
intimacy with Jesus.
In our gospel
Jesus teaches us how to pray: It’s simple, short and direct and it does not
beat around the bush. We must be frank, persevering and honest to Jesus for He
knows what we need beforehand. We must also be sincere and always humble in
prayer before our God.
For example,
do we close our eyes when we pray the Our Father? Does this prayer make us
sometimes cry when we pray it? Do we still kneel when we pray this prayer?
These are all acts of faith that would help us have a more personal connection
with Jesus.
Jesus is also
reminding us to re-examine our life of prayer. For we may be just praying for
the sake of praying thus it’s without spirit and fire.
How do you
pray the Lord’s prayer? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
(Jesus said
to his disciples) "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? And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you
did for one of the 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. And these will go off to eternal
punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
+ + + +
+ + +
Reflection:
Do you want
to attract God’s blessing upon you? You have to do what Jesus commands you in
the gospel. Jesus tells you to give food to the hungry, give drink to the
thirsty, welcome the stranger, give clothes to the naked, take care of the sick
and visit the imprisoned.
Jesus is
teaching us to discard the me first mindset for so many of us have this me first
mindset. What would you feel if you do away with the me first mindset? You
would be free from the bondage of greed and selfishness which by the way is an
instrument of the devil.
Life in this
world is temporary we therefore have to make worthy decisions and actions that
would impact the lives of our fellowmen. Let us never be concerned of our own life
and needs for God will take care of it for us.
The gospel
tells us that there shall be judgment and separation amongst those who followed
and did not follow the will of God. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned
from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be
tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over
he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this
stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, One does not live
on bread alone.” Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of
the world in a single instant. The devil said to him, “I shall give to you all this
power and glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give
it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me.” Jesus said
to him in reply, “It is written: You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him
alone shall you serve.” Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the
parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw
yourself down from here, for it is written: He will command his angels
concerning you, to guard you, and: With their hands they will support you, lest
you dash your foot against a stone.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” When the devil had finished
every temptation, he departed from him for a time.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
A man gave in to the temptation of an adulterous
affair, he was always being advised by his sister to cut-off the immoral
relationship. But he did not listen, he reasoned that his wife would never
catch him. Indeed, he was not caught but when he died his soul was immediately
brought by the devil to hell.
Today is the first Sunday of Lent and we read
that Jesus was tempted by the devil three times. The first one is to transform
the stone to become bread, second is to worship the devil in exchange for power
and glory and the third is to jump from the parapet. Filled with the Holy
Spirit Jesus rejected these three temptations after which He walked away from
the devil.
Why do we succumb to temptations? Why can’t we
refuse or simply walk away from the devil? The answer is very simple. We take control of our lives instead of God. Instead
of following the authority of God, we follow our own sinful rules which is
actually fed into our minds by the devil.
We will get nothing but hell if we follow the
rule of the devil. We will get nothing but misery if we sell our souls to the
devil. What happened to Judas when he succumb to the temptation of the devil to
betray Jesus (Matthew 27:3-5)? Did Judas profit anything from betraying Jesus?
We will also not profit anything good if we succumb to the devil’s many
temptations.
Let us make this lent a time to deeply strengthen
our relationship with Jesus. So that we would be able to ward off whatever
temptations that the devil will dangle before us.
What are the things that you’re doing to
deeply strengthen your relationship with Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
1 Umalis mula sa
Jordan si Jesus na puspos ng Espiritu Santo at naglibot sa disyerto na akay ng
Espiritu 2 sa loob ng apatnapung araw; at sinubok siya roon ng diyablo. Hindi
siya kumain ng anuman sa loob ng mga araw na iyon at sa katapusa’y nagutom
siya. 3 Sinabi sa kanya ng diyablo: “Kung ikaw ang anak ng Diyos, iutos mo sa
batong ito na maging tinapay.” 4 Ngunit sumagot sa kanya si Jesus: “Sinasabi ng
Kasulatan: Hindi sa tinapay lamang nabu-buhay ang tao.”
5 Pagkatapos ay
itinaas niya si Jesus at ipinakita sa kanya sa isang kisap-mata ang lahat ng
kaharian sa mundo. 6 Sinabi ng diyablo sa kanya: “Sa iyo ko ibibigay ang
kapangyarihan sa lahat ng ito at ang kaluwalhatiang kalakip nito dahil sa akin
ito ipinagkatiwala at maibibigay ko ito sa maibigan ko. 7 Kaya mapapasaiyo
itong lahat kung magpapatirapa ka sa harap ko.” 8 Ngunit sumagot sa kanya si
Jesus: “Sinasabi ng Kasulatan: Ang Panginoon mong Diyos ang iyong sasambahin at
siya lamang ang iyong paglilingkuran.”
9 Pagkatapos ay
dinala siya ng diyablo sa Jerusalem at itinayo siya sa nakausling pader ng
Templo at sinabi sa kanya: “Kung ikaw ang Anak ng Diyos, tumalon ka mula rito
paibaba 10 sapagkat sinasabi ng Kasulatan: Iniutos niya sa kanyang mga anghel
na pangalagaan ka at 11 bubuhatin ka nila para hindi matisod ang iyong paa sa
bato.” 12 Ngunit sumagot si Jesus sa kanya: “Nasasaad: Huwag mong hamunin ang
Panginoon mong Diyos.” 13 Kaya matapos siyang subukin ng diyablo sa lahat ng
paraan, nilisan siya nito hanggang sa takdang panahon.
Ang Mabuting Balita ng Panginoon
+ + + + + + +
Repleksyon:
May isang lalaki na nag patukso sa isang bawal na
pag-ibig. Siya ay palaging pinapayuhan ng kanyang kapatid na putulin na nya ang
kanyang bawal na relasyon. Pero hindi siya nakinig at ang sabi pa niya ay siya
ay hindi naman mahuhuli ng kanyang asawa. Hindi nga siya nahuli ng kanyang
asawa. Pero ng siya ay namatay na ang kanyang kaluluwa ay agad na dinala ng
demonyo sa impeyerno.
Ngayon po ay unang linggo ng kuwaresma at mababasa
natin na si Jesus ay sinubok ang demonyo ng tatlong beses. Ang una ay gawing
tinapay ang isang bato. Ang ikalawa ay bibigyan siya ng kapangyarihankung mag papatirapa siya sa kanyang harapan.
At ang ikatlo ay ang tumalon siya sa nakausling pader ng templo pero ito ay
hindi ginawa ni Jesus.
Bakit ba ang tao nag papatukso sa dimonyo? Bakit ba
hindi nalang natin ito tanggihan? Simple lang ang sagot diyan at ito ay sa
dahilan na mas gusto natin na tayo ang masusunod at hindi ang Diyos. Imbes na
sundin ang kapangyarihan ng Diyos ay mas sinusunod natin ang ating gustona hindi maganda na palaging iminumungkahi sa
atin ng demonyo.
Wala tayong makukuha kundi ang imperyerno kung
susunod tayo sa gusto ng demonyo. Wala tayong makukuha kundi ang kapighatian
kung ibebenta natin ang ating kaluluwa sa demonyo. Ano po ba ang nangyari kay
Judas ng siya ay nagpatukso sa demonyo na ipagkanulo si Jesus (Mateo 27:3-5)?
May nakuha bang mabuti si Judas ng ipinagkanuloniya si Jesus? Wala rin po tayong makukuhang anumang mabuti pag tayo ay
nag patukso sa mga pagsubok ni satanas.
Gawin po natin ang kuwaresmang ito para mas
mapatatag pa ang ating relasyon kay Jesus. Para maiwasan natin ang anumang
pagsubok at tukso na gagawin sa atin ng demonyo.
Ano bang mga bagay ang ginagawa mo para mas
mapalakas pa ang iyong relasyon kay Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus saw a
tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow
me.” And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave
a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and
others were at table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to
his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and
sinners?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a
physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance
but sinners.”
+ + + + + +
Reflection:
Who are the
modern day sinners that Jesus wants to call to repentance? It’s no other than
us, we are sinners; we sin through our thoughts, actions and words. Like the
tax collector Levi, Jesus calls us to follow Him, to leave behind us our
sinfulness.
Why does
Jesus calls us to follow Him? He wants to build a deeper friendship with us.
And this would only happen if we would choose to respond to His call. Rather
than respond to the call of the devil who always calls us to sin.
When we
respond to the call of Jesus we ensure ourselves of a meaningful life. This
doesn’t mean that the moment to we say yes to Jesus we would be free from
worries and trials. We would still have our own share of trials and worries.
Yet in the midst of our worries and trials we will feel the abiding presence of
Jesus in our lives.
If we decide
to follow Jesus there would be people who will despise and perhaps belittle us.
But we have nothing to worry with those who will despise us. What is most
important is we chose to leave behind our sinfulness in favor of Jesus’ call.
To leave
behind our sinfulness is not easy to do because the devil will not easily let
us go. Nevertheless, nothing is impossible for Jesus all He asks us is our yes
and our firm desire to leave behind our sinfulness.
Lest we
forget, a sinful life is a life in union with the devil and a sinful life is a problem filled life. Let us therefore
respond to this call of Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
The disciples
of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but
your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom
is taken away from them and then they will fast.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What does
fasting do to us? It cleanses our bodies, when we fast we dictate on our bodies
rather than our bodies dictating on us. For example, when we see delicious food, our bodies would normally
dictate upon us to eat that delicious food. This is always the scenario: Our
bodies dictate upon us and we succumb to it.
However, when
we fast, it’s the other way around we don’t succumb to this dictate we
contradict it, for what reason? For the observance of certain customs and
tradition in this case we can cite our fasting during Ash Wednesday and Good
Friday.
In our
gospel, Jesus was questioned by the Pharisees why His disciples were not
fasting. Jesus answered them this: They are not fasting for the reason that the
bridegroom (Referring to Himself) is still with them. Therefore their tricky
question was properly answered by Jesus.
Literal
fasting when done for a good reason is valid but when it’s done for people to
see or to get praise from people. It becomes invalid or useless it’s much
better not to fast when we do it for show.
But there’s a
much meaningful and permanent fasting that God wants us to do. We permanently
fast from oppressing others, we permanent fast from our arrogance and high
sense of ourselves and we permanently fast from our greed and indifference.
Are you
capable of doing these forms of fasting? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said to his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”
Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”
+ + + + + +
Reflection:
What would you do after hearing Jesus say this: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
What will register in your mind for sure is Jesus statement about His suffering and death. What will register in your mind is His statement that those who would want to follow Him must learn how to deny himself and carry his cross daily.
This is for the reason that we are normally unenthusiastic with suffering, death and sacrifice. Who would want to suffer, who would want to die at a young age and who would want sacrifice in his life? We don’t want all of these because this entails hardship and more.
But this is real life with Jesus, if we really want to feel His abiding presence in our lives. Then, we must be prepared to suffer, for what reason would we suffer for? We will suffer in our discipleship with Jesus because Jesus Himself suffered. Even if He has the power He did not exempt Himself from suffering.
What would you gain after suffering for Jesus sake? You will be with Jesus in heaven someday. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said to
his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people
may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in
the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to
you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your
left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you
pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the
synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to
you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in
secret will repay you.
“When you
fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so
that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have
received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
+ + + + + +
Reflection:
What is the relevance of Ash Wednesday to your
life?
Today is Ash
Wednesday; this is the start of our forty days journey of self-examination and self-reflection of our journey with the Lord and and our journey in this fleeting world.
We examine ourselves if we were able to shun the many sins and temptations of
this world in favor for our love for God.
We also
examine our attitude when we give Alms, when we Pray and when we Fast. Do we do
these acts of piety to serve our own intentions or the intentions of God? Many
of us do these acts of piety to show to the whole world our own intentions.
As we go to
the priest or to the ministers of the church for them to impose ash with the
sign of the cross on our foreheads. We are reminded that someday we shall
become ash and our mortal bodies will forever be part of this world.
We will leave
behind whatever temporal achievements, learning and riches that we have
acquired. And after that be forgotten and permanently fade away from the memory of this world. But God will not forget us if only we would learn to repent and permanently
walk away from anything that makes us sin. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Peter began
to say to Jesus, “We have given up everything and followed you.” Jesus said,
“Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or
sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake
of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present
age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with
persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. But many that are first will
be last, and the last will be first.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
A worldly man
had a dream in that dream he saw Jesus calling him to leave behind his life of
sin and follow Him. The morning after the man seriously thought about this
dream and he was in a dilemma as to how he will survive once he decides to follow
Jesus. Night time came and he had a dream once again and he heard Jesus told
him not to worry for He will provide for Him.
With these
encounters with Jesus, he decided to leave behind his sinful life and he
decided to follow Jesus. After which he was never in want of anything he was
very well provided by Jesus.
It is hard
for many of us to decide to follow Jesus for the reason that it is not
financially rewarding to follow Him. But life is not about storing-up treasures
in this world there’s more to life than accumulation of earthly wealth. Life is
also about following the footsteps of Jesus and about making a positive impact
in the lives of others.
Never would
we find the real meaning of life by following the dictates of this world. It's
only in following Jesus that we would discover life and its true meaning.
Why not
slowly shift the orientation of your life from a life of worldliness to a life
in the company of Jesus? If you do so you will also begin to live a more
meaningful life. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
