Reflection for December 10, 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 you measure God’s love for you? No for God’s love is not bound by any kind of measurement or limited by time and space. God will continue to love you even if you are the most sinful person in this world.

The Parable of the lost sheep in our gospel is a showcase of this infinite love of God. Who is the man who looked for the lost sheep? He is our loving and merciful God! Who is the lost sheep that went astray?  It’s us we who are sinful and we who sometimes love sin more than God. 

Nevertheless, even if we love to sin and even if we run away from the love of God. He is always there looking for us. Ever ready to forgive and forget all the sins that we have committed. Let us all be cognizant of this infinite love of God and let us also not be quick to judge our brothers and sisters who sin.

Instead of judging those who sin let us rather emulate God who looked for and reached out to the lost sheep. Instead of judging let us help them get up on their feet so that they could free themselves from the bondage of sin. There are sinners because no one is willing to reach out to them, no one is willing to pay forward the infinite love of God.

Are you quick to judge those who sin? Would you care to reach out to them so that they could feel the infinite love of God? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for December 9, Monday; 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 always humble yourself before God?

There is something in the Blessed Mother that many of us don’t have. We may ask, what is it which the Blessed Mother have that we often don’t usually have?  It’s the humility and docility to follow the will of God.

 After the angel Gabriel told her everything about the Lord’s plan for her. The blessed Mother simply said: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

In so many ways God speaks to us as well, He even uses people and events in our lives to  convey His message for us. But we often chose to purposely ignore it and go on with what we want in our lives. What if the Blessed Mother chose to ignore the angel and move on with her life and have no part with the plan of God?

But she chose to listen to the voice of God. Listening to the voice of God is something that is often lacking in our lives. Yes we pray, yes we go to church for Holy Mass. But at the end of the day it’s still our selfish will for ourselves that we follow.

This is primarily the reason why we always sin and why we have enormous problems. Because we often ignore the voice of God and we often don’t pay attention to the teachings of the church which always tells us to only do what is good and right.

The Blessed Mother did not resist God’s will she simply believed and humbly submitted herself to God’s will. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for Sunday December 8, Second Sunday of Advent: Matthew 3:1-12

Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12

John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.  John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

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Reflection:

A sinful man promised God that he would repent and walk away from anything that make him sin. He was able to walk away from his sinfulness for a period of time until he sinned again and again and again.

It’s very easy to say that we would not sin again but when the temptation to sin beckons many of us are helpless against it. So, we sin again until sinning becomes a part of our lifestyle until these many sins become our ticket to wretchedness.   

Why do we sin or why do many of us fall to sin? Because sin is attractive and salivating. This is the reason why we fall for it until we are eventually destroyed by it if we would not repent and completely walk away from it.

When John appeared from the wilderness he preached repentance and many listened to him. They went to John to repent and be baptized including the Pharisees and Sadducees. Were the Pharisees and Sadducees sincere in their desire for repentance?

No, they were not; it was a superficial repentance this was primarily the reason why John rebuked them.  John wanted the Pharisees and Sadducees to produce concrete evidence of their repentance. John wanted an interior, genuine and deep repentance from them.

This is also the call for us in this second Sunday of advent: To have an interior, genuine and deep repentance from within. Thus, we have to completely walk away from anything that make us sin. – Marino J. Dasmarinas    

Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Linggo December 8, Ikalawang Linggo ng Adbiyento: Mateo 3:1-12

Mabuting Balita: Mateo 3:1-12

1 Nang panahon ding iyon, duma­ting sa disyerto ng Judea si Juan Bautista at nagsimulang mag­pahayag: 2 “Magbagong-buhay kayo, lumapit na ang paghahari ng Langit!” 3 Siya ang tinutukoy ni Propeta Isaias nang sabihin niyang: “Naririnig ang sigaw sa disyerto: Ihanda ang daan para sa Panginoon, ituwid ang kanyang landas.”

4 Balahibo ng kamelyo ang suot ni Juan; at may sinturong katad sa baywang, at balang at pulot-pukyutang-gubat ang kinakain. 5 May mga taga-Jerusalem, taga-Judea at mula sa buong rehiyon ng Jordan na pumunta sa kan­ya. 6 Inaamin nila ang kanilang mga kasala­nan at binibinyagan sila ni Juan sa Ilog Jordan.

7 Nang makita niya na lumalapit sa kanya ang ilang Pariseo at Sadduseo para magpa­binyag, sinabi niya: “Lahi ng mga ulupong! Sino ang nagsabi sa inyong matatakasan ninyo ang darating na pag­hatol? 8 Patunayan ninyo ang inyong pagbabagong-buhay, 9 at huwag ipagyabang na ‘si Abraham ang ama namin.’ Sinasabi ko sa inyo na kahit sa mga batong ito’y makaga­gawa ng mga anak ang Diyos para kay Abraham! 10 Naka­amba na ang pala­kol sa tabi ng ugat ng mga puno – para sibakin ang ­alinmang punong hindi namumunga ng mabuti, at itatapon ito sa apoy.

11 Sa tubig ko kayo binibinyagan para sa pagbabagong-buhay pero kasunod kong dara­ting ang isang makapangya­rihan pa sa akin. Hindi nga ako karapat-dapat magdala sa kanyang sandalyas. Bibinyagan niya kayo sa Espiritu Santo at sa apoy. 12 Siya ang nakahandang mag­tahip sa lahat ng butil ng trigo. Lipu­nin niya ang lahat ng butil sa kanyang ka­malig ngunit susunugin ang mga ipa sa apoy na walang hanggan.”

Ang Mabuting Balita ng Panginoon.

Reflection for December 7, Saturday; Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church: Matthew 9:35–10:1, 5A, 6-8

Gospel: Matthew  9:35–10:1, 5A, 6-8

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, “Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”

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Reflection:

Have you done something to bring others to the Lord? For example, you asked a friend to go with you to the church to attend Holy Mass. Or you counseled a friend to read the Bible so that he/she could know Jesus deeply.  

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few (Matthew 9:37).” These words of Jesus rings loudly to our ears today than ever before. Indeed this is very true and very relevant for our times. We just need to look around our environment and we would see the sad reality that there’s are many more who don’t know Jesus.

Our labor for God must not be limited to our service in the church as Extra-Ordinary Ministers of the the Holy Communion, as Catechist, as Lectors/commentators and as members of other church ministries. We must put more flesh in our involvement in our church by going out to those who are hungry, who are physically/emotionally sick. We need to bring Jesus out to the poor of our society for they too need Jesus they need Jesus to guide them.

Even if we are ordinary parishioners by virtue of our baptism we too are called to share Jesus. A faith that grows is a faith that is shared. Beginning this Advent season and onwards let us allow Jesus to use us as His instrument of healing by helping the poor and the deprived.

But there are those who follow Jesus based on their own terms and standards. They impose their own rule and not the rule of Jesus they follow Christ based on their own self-rule.  Thus, instead of embracing humility they choose to embrace arrogance. Instead of winning converts and followers they become the main reason why others walk away from the faith.

A good follower has rock solid faith, is neither self seeking nor arrogant. He/She is rather humble and content to silently do his mission for the greater glory of God.

Are you this kind of follower? – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for December 6, Friday; First Week of Advent: 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:

What are you willing to do to receive healing from God? Are you willing to humble yourself and kneel before God and ask Him to give you the gift of healing? Healing is a gift that Jesus freely gives to those who have faith. Even if you will not ask for it Jesus will give it to you for as long as you humble yourself and have faith in front of Him.

In the gospel for this Friday we have two humble blind men with rock-solid faith who cried to Jesus for healing.  Why did they cry when they could have shouted at Jesus to get His attention? They cried because they saw hope, mercy and healing from Jesus. For the two blind men Jesus was their only hope to have the gift of sight.

Let us also ask Jesus to give us the gift of Healing for nothing is impossible for those who humble themselves before God. Even the impossible is very much possible for as long as we have faith.   

Whatever that you’re going through right now, believe that Jesus will heal you. And believe that He will answer your prayers for nothing is impossible for Jesus. This is best exemplified by the two incredible blind men of deep faith in our gospel.

How’s your faith in Jesus? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for December 5, Thursday; First Week of Advent: Matthew 7:21, 24-27

Gospel: Matthew 7:21, 24-27

Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

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Reflection:

There is a story about an old man who was always at church, he attends Mass, and he was always present during novena prayers. However, he also had a domineering attitude, he thinks highly of himself and he treats everyone in the church as someone who is not within his level.

After a few years he died, therefore, he was expecting a smooth passage to heaven but Saint Peter did not allow him to enter the pearly gates. So he asked: “Why are you not allowing me to gain entry to heaven, I was always at church leading the novena prayers, I was always at Mass!” Saint Peter replied: “Yes you were always in the church but you did not change your ways, it was all for show.”

Like the old man, there are many who are active in the church but they refuse to let go of their boorish behavior. They think highly of themselves simply because they are active in the church rich and educated. Then they carry these domineering behaviors into their homes and workplace.

Could they gain entry into heaven with this behavior? Can they be compared to the wise man in the gospel who built his house upon a sturdy rock? Not certainly, to be like the wise man who built his house on a solid rock they need to walk their talk, they need to be humble and they need to live what they preach.

In the gospel, Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven (Matthew 7:21).” – Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for December 4, Wednesday; First Week of Advent: Matthew 15:29-37

Gospel: Matthew 15:29-37  

At that time: Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them. The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.

Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.” The disciples said to him, “Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?” Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.” He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full.

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Reflection:

The story is told about a woman who was sick of cancer. Before going to her doctor she would first never forget to pray to the Lord for her healing. It was always like that for many years until she got cured of her cancer.

What do you do when you are sick? Of course you go to the doctor, but have you thought of going to Jesus first? To ask Him to cure you with His mighty healing power. Many of us perhaps have forgotten already that Jesus is the greatest healer who ever walked on this earth. That’s why we sometimes forget to go to Him first in deep prayer before we go to the doctor. 

  

In our gospel, great crowds went to Jesus, with them were the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many more sick people. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them all. The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.

Whenever we are sick: Whatever it may be and no matter how grave it may be. Let us not forget to remember to go to Jesus first in deep prayer and let us ask Him to heal us. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for December 3, Tuesday; Saint Francis Xavier, Priest: Luke 10:21-24

Gospel: Luke 10:21-24

Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

Turning to the disciples in private he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

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Reflection:

What do we need to do to fully grasp the grace of the Holy Spirit in our life? We need to be humble, we need to be childlike for such is the life of Jesus: full of humility and full of childlike trust.

The Holy Spirit would reveal itself to us once we become humble and childlike. Thus, the Holy Spirit will give us something that others don’t have and that is the enlightenment to discern the workings of God in our life.

Notice the childlike excitement of those who volunteer their time for church to be present at Mass. Observe their intense longing to submit themselves to the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Confession. Yet, not everyone has this gift of feeling the profound presence of God in their lives. This is given free without any cost by the Holy Spirit to those who strive to dive deeper into our Catholic faith.

We impede the grace of the Holy Spirit into our lives when we trust more on our wealth instead of God. When we are self-righteous, when we are corrupt, when we curse, when we say profanities and swearwords. When we seek pornography and other forms of sinful actions. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for December 2, Monday; First Week of Advent: Matthew 8:5-11

Gospel: Matthew 8:5-11

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.

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Reflection:

How deep is your faith in Jesus?

Aside from learning about the centurion’s deep faith in God what else do we learn from our gospel today? We learn how to deeply care and be concerned for our fellowmen no matter who they may be and regardless of their standing in our society.

The centurion is not an ordinary soldier. He is an officer but he was very concerned of his servant that he went to Jesus with faith and asked for His healing. Considering his stature the centurion could have simply sent some of his underlings to Jesus. But he went personally to Jesus, his action speaks volumes of his goodness.

How many of us are caring enough for those who are lowly and poor; they are both neglected people of our society. How many of us truly care for our servants? Would we still care for our servant even if they cannot serve us anymore?  

On this Advent season perhaps Jesus is inviting our attention thru this gospel reading. To take a closer look on the plight of the less fortunate: the poor, the hungry and those neglected by our society. They’re everywhere and they badly need our help.

Would you help them as well like the centurion? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Sunday December 1, First Sunday of Advent: Matthew 24:37-44

Gospel: Matthew 24:37-44

Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

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Reflection: 

What would you do if there is an occasion in your house and you are expecting visitors? What you do is you thoroughly clean your house for it to be worthy in the eyes of your coming visitors.

The first Sunday of Advent ushers a new year in the in the church’s Liturgical calendar. Advent means Coming and this is the time wherein we prepare for the Birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The gospel talks about the preparation for the Lord’s coming. On the first part of the Gospel the people during Noah’s time failed to prepare. They were so busy with sin and other worldly things until God’s judgment came and they were wiped out on the face of the earth. (Genesis 7:22) Only Noah and his companions survived because they were the select few who were prepared.

The Lord calls us to “Stay awake” to be prepared so that if the Son of Man will come we are ready. How are we preparing for the coming birth of Jesus? Is it centered towards materials things such as buying of gifts, decorating of the house and the like?

Nothing is wrong with these kinds of preparation. However, The Lord wants us also to undergo a much deeper and meaningful preparation for his forthcoming birth. And what is this? It is a preparation centered within ourselves.

Such as repentance from our many sins thus we worthily prepare ourselves for the coming of our Lord and Savior. Repentance from our many sins means that we allow the Sacrament of Confession to clean us from the dirt of sin.

When was your last Confession? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Linggo, Unang Linggo ng Adbiyento: Mateo 24:37-44

Mabuting Balita: Mateo  24:37-44

Noong panahong iyon sinabi ni Jesus sa kanyang mga alagad 37 Katulad ng nangyari sa panahon ni Noe, gayundin sa pagdating ng Anak ng Tao. 38 Noong mga araw na iyon bago dumating ang Baha, kuma­kain at umi­inom ang mga tao at nag-aasawa, hang­gang sa araw na puma­sok si Noe sa da­ong.

39 Ngunit wala silang alam hanggang dumating ang baha at tina­ngay silang lahat. Ganoon din sa pag­dating ng Anak ng Tao. 40 Sa dalawang lalaking nasa bukid, kukunin ang isa at iiwan ang isa. 41 Sa dalawang babaeng gumigiling ng trigo, kukunin ang isa at iiwan ang isa.

42 Kaya magbantay kayo sapagkat hindi ninyo alam ang araw ng pag­dating ng inyong Panginoon. 43 Isipin ninyo ito: kung alam ng may-ari ng bahay kung anong oras ng gabi dara­ting ang magnanakaw, magbabantay siya at hindi niya pababayaang pasu­kin ang bahay. 44 Kaya maging handa kayo sapagkat sa oras na hindi ninyo inaasahan darating ang Anak ng Tao.

Ang Mabuting Balita ng Panginoon.

Reflection for November 30, Saturday; Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle: Matthew 4:18-22

Gospel: Matthew 4:18-22

As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.

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Reflection:

Are you ready to respond to Jesus’ call?

Jesus called ordinary fishermen to help Him advance the gospel, ordinary folks just like you and me. What is striking  in the gospel reading is their immediate response to the call of Jesus. When Jesus called Peter and Andrew they immediately left their nets (their livelihood) and they both became a follower of Jesus.

The same occurrence happened when Jesus called the brothers Zebedee and John. Upon hearing the call of Jesus they left their boat and their father to immediately become a follower. 

Let us take a closer look at the gospel for today because this is for us also. The four of them were ordinary fishermen, they were expert with their craft but they have no formal education about the faith. 

What does this mean to us? This simply means that a formal education about the faith is not a requirement to become an effective follower. What is important is the desire and willingness to respond to Jesus. For as long as we are ready to respond we all can have a humble role in the mission of Jesus. 

Let us not worry if we have no formal education about our faith because this is not the requirement of Jesus. What Jesus wants from us first is for us to respond to His call, this is perhaps the first requirement responsiveness to His call. 

Jesus is always calling us to follow Him every second, every minute and hour that pass by. Let us respond to this call of Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for November 29, Friday; Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 21:29-33

Gospel: Luke 21:29-33

Jesus told his disciples a parable. “Consider the fig tree and all the other trees. When their buds burst open, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near; in the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the Kingdom of God is near. 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.”

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Reflection:

A man was asked, what is your greatest fear? The man replied, I fear death for I don’t know what would happen to me when I die.

We all have our own set of fears, we fear losing somebody we love, and we fear losing our job. And the worst fear perhaps is the same as with the man who was asked about his greatest fear.  However why fear when Jesus is always there to soothe and take away our fear?

Many of us have so many fears for the reason that we don’t have Jesus in our life and we don’t have a personal relationship with Him.  This is basically the reason why we have so many fears. But, why don’t we try to discover more about Jesus through our faithful presence at Holy Mass? Why don’t we try to discover more about Jesus by reading about His life in the bible? Surely, all our fears will disappear if we do so.

Jesus in our gospel tells us that heaven and earth will pass away but His words will not pass away (Luke 21:33). Indeed, everything will pass away or we may pass away first before everything pass away. Nevertheless whatever happens and whomever passes away first we have nothing to fear for as long as we have Jesus in our lives.

Do you already have Jesus in your life? - Marino J. Dasmarinas