Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Linggo Abril 5, Linggo ng Palaspas sa Pagpapakasakit ng Panginoon: Mateo 27: 11-54

Mabuting Balita: Mateo 27: 11-54

11Si Jesus nga ay nakatayo sa harap ng gobernador: at tinanong siya ng gobernador, na nagsasabi, Ikaw baga ang Hari ng mga Judio? At sinabi sa kaniya ni Jesus, Ikaw ang nagsasabi. 12At nang siya'y isakdal ng mga pangulong saserdote at ng matatanda, ay hindi siya sumagot ng anoman. 13Nang magkagayo'y sinabi sa kaniya ni Pilato, Hindi mo baga naririnig kung gaano karaming bagay ang kanilang sinasaksihang laban sa iyo? 14At hindi siya sinagot niya, ng kahit isang salita man lamang: ano pa't nanggilalas na mainam ang gobernador.

15Sa kapistahan nga ay pinagkaugalian ng gobernador na pawalan sa karamihan ang isang bilanggo, na sinoman ang kanilang ibigin. 16At noo'y sila'y may isang bilanggong bantog, na tinatawag na Barrabas. 17Nang sila'y mangagkatipon nga, ay sinabi sa kanila ni Pilato, Sino ang ibig ninyong sa inyo'y aking pawalan? si Barrabas, o si Jesus na tinatawag na Cristo? 18Sapagka't natatalastas niya na dahil sa kapanaghilian ay ibinigay siya nila sa kaniya.

19At samantalang nakaupo siya sa luklukan ng pagkahukom, ay nagsugo sa kaniya ang kaniyang asawa, na nagsasabi, Huwag kang makialam sa matuwid na taong iyan; sapagka't ngayong araw na ito'y naghirap ako ng maraming bagay sa panaginip dahil sa kaniya. 20Inudyukan ng mga pangulong saserdote at ng matatanda ang mga karamihan na hingin nila si Barrabas, at puksain si Jesus. 21Datapuwa't sumagot ang gobernador at sa kanila'y sinabi, Alin sa dalawa ang ibig ninyong sa inyo'y aking pawalan? At sinabi nila, Si Barrabas. 22Sinabi sa kanila ni Pilato, Ano ang gagawin kay Jesus na tinatawag na Cristo? Sinabi nilang lahat, Mapako siya sa krus. 23At sinabi niya, Bakit, anong kasamaan ang kaniyang ginawa? Datapuwa't sila'y lalong nangagsigawan, na nangagsasabi, Mapako siya sa krus.

24Kaya't nang makita ni Pilato na wala siyang magawa, kundi bagkus pa ngang lumalala ang kaguluhan, siya'y kumuha ng tubig, at naghugas ng kaniyang mga kamay sa harap ng karamihan, na sinasabi, Wala akong kasalanan sa dugo nitong matuwid na tao; kayo ang bahala niyan. 25At sumagot ang buong bayan at nagsabi, Mapasa amin ang kaniyang dugo, at sa aming mga anak. 26Nang magkagayo'y pinawalan niya sa kanila si Barrabas; nguni't si Jesus ay hinampas at ibinigay upang ipako sa krus.

27Nang magkagayo'y dinala si Jesus ng mga kawal ng gobernador sa Pretorio, at nagkatipon sa kaniya ang buong pulutong. 28At siya'y kanilang hinubdan, at dinamtan siya ng isang balabal na kulay-ube. 29At sila'y nangagkamakama ng isang putong na tinik, at ipinutong sa kaniyang ulo, at inilagay sa kanang kamay niya ang isang tambo; at sila'y nagsiluhod sa harap niya at siya'y kanilang nilibak, na nagsisipagsabi, Magalak, Hari ng mga Judio! 30At siya'y kanilang niluluraan, at kinuha nila ang tambo at sinaktan siya sa ulo. 31At nang siya'y kanilang malibak, ay hinubdan nila siya ng balabal, at isinuot sa kaniya ang kaniyang mga damit, at kanilang inilabas siya upang ipako sa krus.

32At paglabas nila'y kanilang nasalubong ang isang taong taga Cirene, na ang pangala'y Simon: ito'y kanilang pinilit na sumama sa kanila, upang pasanin niya ang kaniyang krus. 33At nang sila'y magsirating sa isang dakong tinatawag na Golgota, sa makatuwid baga'y, Ang dako ng bungo, 34Ay pinainom nila siya ng alak na may kahalong apdo: at nang kaniyang matikman, ay ayaw niyang inumin.

35At nang siya'y kanilang maipako sa krus ay kanilang binahagi ang kaniyang mga damit, na kanilang pinagsapalaran; 36At sila'y nangagsiupo at binantayan siya roon. 37At inilagay nila sa kaniyang ulunan ang pamagat sa kaniya, na nasusulat: ITO'Y SI JESUS, ANG HARI NG MGA JUDIO. 38Nang magkagayo'y ipinakong kasama niya ang dalawang tulisan, isa sa kanan at isa sa kaliwa. 39At siya'y nililibak ng nangagdaraan, na iginagalaw ang kanilang mga ulo, 40At nangagsasabi, Ikaw na igigiba mo ang templo, at sa tatlong araw ay iyong itatayo, iyong iligtas ang sarili mo: kung ikaw ay Anak ng Dios, ay bumaba ka sa krus. 

41Gayon din naman ang paglibak sa kaniya ng mga pangulong saserdote, pati ng mga eskriba at ng matatanda, na nagsipagsabi, 42Nagligtas siya sa mga iba; sa kaniyang sarili ay hindi makapagligtas. Siya ang Hari ng Israel; bumaba siya ngayon sa krus, at tayo'y magsisisampalataya sa kaniya. 43Nananalig siya sa Dios; iligtas niya siya ngayon, kung siya'y iniibig: sapagka't sinabi niya, Ako'y Anak ng Dios. 44At minumura din naman siya ng mga tulisang kasama niyang nangapapako sa krus.

45Mula nga nang oras na ikaanim ay nagdilim sa ibabaw ng buong sangkalupaan hanggang sa oras na ikasiyam. 46At nang malapit na ang oras na ikasiyam ay sumigaw si Jesus ng malakas na tinig, na sinasabi: Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? sa makatuwid baga'y, Dios ko, Dios ko bakit mo ako pinabayaan? 47At nang marinig ito ng ilan sa nangakatayo roon, ay sinabi, Tinatawag ng taong ito si Elias. 48At pagkaraka'y tumakbo ang isa sa kanila, at kumuha ng isang espongha, at binasa ng suka, saka inilagay sa isang tambo, at ipinainom sa kaniya. 

49At sinabi ng mga iba, Pabayaan ninyo; tingnan natin kung paririto si Elias upang siya'y iligtas. 50At muling sumigaw si Jesus ng malakas na tinig, at nalagot ang kaniyang hininga. 51At narito, ang tabing ng templo'y nahapak na nagkadalawa buhat sa itaas hanggang sa ibaba; at nayanig ang lupa; at nangabaak ang mga bato; 52At nangabuksan ang mga libingan; at maraming katawan ng mga banal na nangakatulog ay nangagbangon; 53At paglabas sa mga libingan pagkatapos na siya'y mabuhay na maguli ay nagsipasok sila sa bayang banal at nangapakita sa marami. 54Ang senturion nga, at ang mga kasamahan niya sa pagbabantay kay Jesus, nang mangakita nila ang lindol, at ang mga bagay na nangyari, ay lubhang nangatakot, na nangagsasabi, Tunay na ito ang Anak ng Dios.

Ang Mabuting Balita ng Panginoon.

Reflection for Saturday April 4, Fifth Week of Lent: John 11:45-56

Gospel: John 11:45-56

Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to kill him.

So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples. Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves. They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?”

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Reflection:

Do you always make yourself available to the people? For example if you’re a politician are you always available to your constituents even if it’s not election time? Many politicians are only available when they campaign during election. But after the election has been won they are already hard to find.

If you’re a priest or a person of God do you always make yourself available to those who are in need of your time and advice? Many person of God discriminates; they are always available to those who are rich and powerful. But they are not always available to the poor and powerless. 

Aside from performing miraculous healings Jesus is also humble, approachable, and helpful. He always empathized with the poor and lowly. This is what made Jesus dear to the hearts of the people most especially the common people.

Through these virtues He galvanized into one the dispersed children of God. And it created a bandwagon effect that whoever saw or even heard about Him was captivated to follow Him. Thus, Jesus became a threat to the powers that be at that time.

We who follow Jesus must learn from these human qualities of Jesus. We may not have the gift to perform miraculous healings. But if we are humble, approachable and always available we could also be His representative to our fellowmen most especially to the poor and powerless. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Friday April 3, Fifth Week of Lent: John 10:31-42

Gospel: John 10:31-42

The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?" The Jews answered him, "We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God." Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, 'You are gods"'? If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and Scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? If I do not perform my Father's works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." Then they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power.

He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained. Many came to him and said, "John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true." And many there began to believe in him.

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Reflection:

Raffy was a popular figure in their parish church, he was being consulted every time there was problems and decisions to be made. Then a new figure in the parish came along a humble man whose wisdom was very profound. Suddenly the people in the parish gravitated to this humble and wisdom filled man. Therefore Raffy planned to bring down this humble man so that he could once again be the main man in their parish. 

The hatred of the Jews against Jesus was not only caused by His pronouncement that He and God are one and the same. Their hatred against Jesus was also caused by their envy with Jesus popularity with the people most especially with the ordinary people. The Jews were slowly losing grip of their authority because of Jesus. Therefore they must plot to kill Him at any cost.

There would also be people who will come along who are much better than us. Who are more humble than us (If at all we are humble!). Let us not envy them, let us not plot any untoward against them let us instead be happy for them. To rejoice with somebody who is taking the limelight from us is hard to do. But this is not impossible to do if we really are true followers of Jesus. 

The mistake of the Pharisees and scribes during the time of Jesus is they allowed envy and pride to control them. By doing so they in the process opened themselves up to the control of the devil. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Thursday April 2, Fifth Week of Lent: John 8:51-59

Gospel: John 8:51-59

Jesus said to the Jews: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” So the Jews said to him, “Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’

Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ You do not know him, but I know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar.

But I do know him and I keep his word.  Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.

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Reflection:

Are you always on the same page with Jesus?

It’s very obvious that Jesus and those who were listening to Him were not on the same page. Otherwise they would have understood each other. For example, Jesus told the Jews; whoever keeps my world will never see death and the Jews were mocking Jesus because they couldn’t believe this statement.

How about us? Do we believe this statement of Jesus that whoever keeps His word will never see death? For worldly people this is hard to believe they will even be mocking also those who would tell this to them. But come to think about it, how would those with deeper faith react to these pronouncements of Jesus?

Of course they will believe since they have deeper faith and they’ve already developed this personal and deep relationship with Jesus. This is what separates the believer from the unbeliever, the believer because of his deep and personal relationship with Jesus will always believe whatever Jesus tells him in the gospel.

The believer makes every pronouncement of Jesus in the scriptures as his guiding light. Jesus is not a historical figure to Him Jesus to him is an ever present guiding light that illuminates his life.

Invite Jesus to guide and illuminate your life too! -  Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Wednesday April 1, Fifth Week of Lent: John 8:31-42

Gospel: John 8:31-42

Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, 'You will become free'?" Jesus answered them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free. I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to kill me, because my word has no room among you. I tell you what I have seen in the Father's presence; then do what you have heard from the Father."

They answered and said to him, "Our father is Abraham." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God; Abraham did not do this. You are doing the works of your father!" So they said to him, "We were not born of fornication. We have one Father, God." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me."

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Reflection:

How can we become true followers of Jesus?

It is only through our adherence to Jesus teachings that we will become His true followers there is no other way. How about those who regularly give large sum of money to the church but they disobey Jesus’ teachings? Are they not true follower? They are not! No matter how big the amount that they regularly give to the church.

It’s not impossible to become faithful to Jesus for everyone of us can aspire to become one. But we often times choose not to be faithful because we allow ourselves to be seduced by the devil. The devil who is disguised in many worldly forms whose only mission is to take us farther from Jesus.  

Remember Judas Iscariot? He allowed himself to be seduced by the devil for he betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15).  What was the effect of that betrayal on Judas? Endless mental torture and guilt of conscience that eventually led him to end his life (Matthew 27:3-5). – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for Tuesday March 31, Fifth Week of Lent: John 8:21-30

Gospel: John 8:21-30

Jesus said to the Pharisees: “I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.” So the Jews said, “He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?” He said to them, “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world.” They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father. So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.

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Reflection:

What does sin do to us? It separates us from the infinite love of God, the more we sin the more that we widen the distance between us and God.  Why do we sin? We sin because we succumb to the devil’s temptation. But we are not beyond redemption for the reason that we have someone who is always there for us to save us from the bondage of sin and He’s no other than Jesus.

The moment we submit ourselves to the sacrament of Confession we allow Jesus to extricate us from the bondage of sin.  We allow Jesus to take out whatever evil particle that we have in our system.

As we get closer to the holiest of weeks we are slowly but surely being brought by the church closer to Jesus. For what reason is this? To make us realize about the great love and sacrifice that Jesus did on the cross. Jesus died for us on the cross, He need not die on the cross but He gave His life for His love for us.

At the end of the day it’s still upon us if we want to permanently separate ourselves from the love of Jesus. Or if we go to Jesus and accept His offer of salvation Jesus is always there waiting for us ever ready to forgive and love us once again.

We have everything to gain and nothing to lose if we surrender everything to Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Monday March 30, Fifth Week of Lent: John 8:1-11

Gospel: John 8:1-11

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say? They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? She replied, “No one, sir. Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.

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Reflection:

Are we sometimes quick to judge those whom we perceived to be sinners?  In the gospel the Pharisees and scribes were very quick to draw judgement from the woman caught committing adultery. They brought this woman to Jesus with the expectation that Jesus Himself would pronounce judgment upon her.

Yet Jesus never judged her for what she did, Jesus choose to highlight God’s mercy and compassion upon her. At the end of the gospel Jesus told her, “I do not condemn you, go and do not sin anymore (John 8:11). As if Jesus was telling her, go and start a new life forget the past for I have already forgiven you. This gospel episode is perhaps one of the best showcase of Jesus’ mercy and compassion.

Through this gospel Jesus is also inviting us to look at ourselves and have a self-reflection on how we relate with sinners. Do we also judge them quickly just like the Pharisees and scribes did? When we judge we also invite judgment on ourselves, when we judge we further push this person to commit more sins. And when we judge we only highlight the arrogance of the devil instead of the mercy and compassion of Jesus.

But who are we to condemn or judge when we are to be judge also? Who are we to judge when we are sinners also? Instead of judging let us always show the mercy and compassion of Jesus. In doing so we show the sinner that there’s a God who cares, a God who listens and surely a God who is always merciful and forgiving. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for Sunday March 29, Fifth Sunday of Lent: John 11:1-45

Gospel: John 11:1-45

Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill. So the sisters sent word to him saying, "Master, the one you love is ill." When Jesus heard this he said, "This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in a day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." He said this, and then told them, "Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him." So the disciples said to him, "Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved." But Jesus was talking about his death, while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep. So then Jesus said to them clearly, "Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him." So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go to die with him." When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise." Martha said to him, "I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world." When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, "The teacher is here and is asking for you." As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him. For Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still where Martha had met him. So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Sir, come and see." And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him." But some of them said, "Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?" So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him, "Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me." And when he had said this, He cried out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, "Untie him and let him go."

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.

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Reflection:

The story is told about a middle-aged woman who was afraid to die; the mere mention of death would make her tremble. Until one day he read about the gospel passage about the friendship of Jesus with the siblings Martha, Mary and Lazarus. So, he tried to discover more about Jesus by reading her bible most specially the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and by piously attending Sunday Holy Mass.

In our present time life is so uncertain caused by the pandemic called Covid-19 or Coronavirus. No matter how hard we try to be careful not to be infected by it there is still no assurance that we will get it. No one is exempt from catching this deadly virus even many of the rich, famous and powerful have been infected by it already. So we are naturally afraid of that deadly virus, who would not be?

In our gospel for this Sunday the display of deep and true friendship of Jesus and the siblings Martha, Mary and Lazarus is very obvious. When the sisters were in need of help because of the death of their brother Lazarus. Jesus went to them to reassure them that He would be with them to help them in whatever way possible.

When Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave, He showed us that there is life after death. There is hope and resurrection even if we die but to have this resurrection and hope we must be friends first with Jesus!. For it’s only through Him that we can have hope and resurrection.

Let us therefore develop our friendship with Jesus, let us discover more about Him. Through our faithful attendance at Holy Mass, through our daily reading of the scriptures and through our deep prayer life.

Just imagine if you’re a friend of Jesus, He will always be there for you even in your most difficult and darkness moments. He will always be there to give you that helping hand that no one else can give you.

Hence, in the midst of this very difficult and uncertain times that we are in caused by this pandemic called Covid-19 or Coronavirus. Let us not be afraid for our Lord Jesus Christ will always be there for us to give us hope, to protect us and to envelope us with His unfailing love. 

We have nothing to be afraid if we strongly believe in Jesus and if we have already developed a deep friendship with Him. In the Bible/Scripture it says: "Everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Do you strongly believe in Jesus and do you have a deep friendship with the Lord? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Saturday March 28, Fourth Week of Lent: John 7:40-53

Gospel: John 7:40-53

Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said, “This is truly the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But others said, “The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he? Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David’s family and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” So a division occurred in the crowd because of him. Some of them even wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?” The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.” So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.” Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them, “Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?” They answered and said to him, “You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” Then each went to his own house.

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Reflection:

What happens when we engage in useless self-centered debates or conversation? The protagonist would try very hard to upstage each other. And then it will turn ugly by trying to destroy each other’s reputation. No worthy outcome comes out of it, only mudslinging and character assassination.

The crowd were debating about Jesus’ origin that it created division within their ranks. They were trying to outdo each other in terms of their knowledge about the origin of Jesus. Thoughts were running in their minds, such as if Jesus was a prophet and the promised messiah. They were like little children in a contest of arguments as to who amongst them had the best idea about Jesus.    

This scenario still exists today, many of us argue about Jesus to prove that one has a superior knowledge about Him over the other. However, what would we get if we argue? If we try to show that we know more than anyone else? Nothing except a showcase of our arrogance, feeling of superiority and bloated egos which results to more division and alienation.

Instead of arguing let us show through our works the love, humility, mercy and compassion of Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Friday March 27, Fourth Week of Lent: John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

Gospel: John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

Jesus moved about within Galilee; he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him. But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near. But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret.

Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, “Is he not the one they are trying to kill? And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ? But we know where he is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.” So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said, “You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.” So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come.

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Reflection:

How courageous are we in our desire to spread our faith?

In the gospel for today, even if there was a threat to His life Jesus still secretly went to Judea to attend the Feast of the Tabernacle. He courageously spoke in the temple area at the risk of His life. Where does His courage comes from? It originates from His deep oneness with God.

Let us also aspire to have the same oneness with God. So that we would also have the courage to express what we want to say on how God has made a big difference in our life. So that we would be able to face and overcome whatever problems and trials that may come our way.  

A good way to start is to have a regular time for God through our daily readings of his words in the bible. Through our presence at Holy Mass and through our prayers.

If we do these acts of worship and piety we surely would develop a deep friendship with Jesus. And the result is we will have the courage to live His teachings, to share it and even preach it.

A faithful follower should live and preach the teachings of Jesus. If he/she can't preach it because not everyone has the gift of preaching he/she must live it. For this is one of the many marks of a faithful follower of Jesus. 

What kind of follower are we? Are we  followers in name only or follower in name and in deed? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Thursday March 26, Fourth Week of Lent: John 5:31-47

Gospel: John 5:31-47

Jesus said to the Jews: “If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true. But there is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. I do not accept human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But you do not want to come to me to have life.

“I do not accept human praise; moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

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Reflection:

How do we testify our life as a follower of Jesus? The best testimony of a follower is how he/she lives his own life. Does he live his life with forgiveness, humility, simplicity, sacrifice, unconditional love and the like?  Many of us call ourselves follower of Jesus but when it comes to forgiving those who’ve hurt us we cannot forgive.

If we cannot forgive those who’ve hurt us we then are followers in name only and sad to say many of us are like that: Followers in name only. On the aspect of humility; we can best testify that we are followers of Jesus when we don’t seek prominence and we silently do our work for the lord without any fanfare or publicity.

On the aspect of simplicity, Jesus is the supreme model of simplicity. He is content with whatever that He possess Jesus did not desire expensive things and other appendages. Many of us live complicated lives for the simple reason that we live the life of this world rather than live the life of Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for Wednesday March 25, Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord: 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:

Among many women why was Mary chosen to be the mother of Jesus? This is for the reason that Mary was humble and compliant to the will of God. Mary did not say I will not submit to the will of God because I have my own will for myself Mary humbly said yes.

The Lord always chooses and uses the humble and the compliant for the realization of His plans in this world. Simply put Mary humbly submitted her own humanity to the wisdom of our all-knowing God. Like Mary do we always submit to the wisdom of God? Or we only submit when it favor us when it doesn’t favor us, we decline God’s wisdom and submit to our own will.

God’s wisdom is always for our own betterment. We may initially see it as something that is very hard to follow because we would be pulled out from our own comfort zones or from our own sinful zones. But at the end we would realize that the plan of God is correct and it’s for our own good.

Today being Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. Let us reflect upon the Blessed Mother’s humility and compliance to the plan and will of God. That the plan of God is always designed for our own good. We may not understand it now but God’s plan is always for our own good. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Tuesday March 24, Fourth Week of Lent: John 5:1-16

Gospel: John 5:1-16

There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.

Now that day was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” He answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’“ They asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there. After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, “Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath.

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Reflection:

Imagine that Jesus is in front of you and He tells you this question:  “Do you want to be well?” How would you reply? Of course you will say, Yes I want to be well! After which Jesus will tell you, then go humble yourself before me in the Sacrament of Confession. Then you tell Jesus some other time Jesus I’m busy right now and with the passing of days you eventually forgot about the command of Jesus to go to the Sacrament of Confession.

Many of us want to get closer to Jesus and we want to be healed by Jesus. Yet we don’t bother to humbly submit ourselves to the healing Sacrament of Confession. In this sacrament we are healed from our spiritual sickness and we may not know it that through His infinite grace we are also healed from our many physical sickness.

When we humble ourselves through this sacrament we allow Jesus to wash away all our sins no matter how severe. We entrust ourselves to the healing mercy of Jesus. Saint John Paul II once said:  "Confession is an act of honesty and courage - an act of entrusting ourselves beyond sin, to the mercy of a loving and forgiving God." 

The disabled man in our gospel for today who had been sick for thirty eight long years was instantly healed by Jesus because he obeyed His command. The disabled man did not care if it was a Sabbath day, a day of rest for them. What was important for him was to obey the command of the Lord.

In the midst of the Wuhan Covid-19 virus which is currently savaging our country and the world. Would you submit yourself to the Sacrament of Confession after we have defeated this Wuhan Covid-19 virus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Monday March 23, Fourth Week of Lent: John 4:43-54

Gospel: John 4:43-54

At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his native place. When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to the feast.

Then he returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. While the man was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe. Now this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea.

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 Reflection:

A  woman was praying to have a boyfriend she however did not get what she wanted from the Lord. So she did not pray anymore and permanently distanced herself from God. For the simple reason that she did not get what she was praying for.  

For many of us miracles are very important anchor of our faith in Jesus. For example, the royal official’s son in our gospel who was cured by Jesus; he and his household believed immediately because his son was healed.

What if Jesus tested their faith? Would they still believe even if there was no occurrence of healing? Perhaps they will not, and then the father would have searched for someone else who could heal his son.

Our discipleship in Jesus or our faith in Jesus must not only be anchored on miracles alone. It must be based on our deep friendship with Him. Regardless if we’ve experienced miracles or not, immaterial if we gained material blessings or not we must continue to believe, follow and have faith in Him.

We have in Jesus a friend who will always be honest to us. There will be times that he will say no to us. Let us not be disheartened with these rejections from Him for He always knows what’s best for us. Let us remember that it’s not us who knows what is best for us it’s always Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas