Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me
but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me.
I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not
remain in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I
do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the
world. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge
him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, because I did
not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and
speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So what I say, I
say as the Father told me.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do you know somebody who is sinful? Don’t give up on that sinful person
continue to stretch your patience and pray for his/her conversion.
There are countless stories of conversion in the scripture/bible and
foremost of these is the conversion story of Saul. Saul or Saint Paul was
formerly the number one persecutor of the church. He in fact had a hand in the
killing of many followers of Jesus yet Jesus did not judge Saul. In His
infinite wisdom and mercy Jesus converted Saul/Paul to become the number one
propagator of the Christian faith to the gentiles.
What is the message of these conversion stories for us? The message is,
there is hope for all of us no matter how sinful we are. And no matter how
grave the sins that we have committed there is still hope for us! Jesus even
said: for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world (John
12:47).
Jesus is not interested on the sins that we have committed He is rather
very much interested in our conversion so that we can become His follower. He
is interested to bring us to the light so that we can become His light for
others.
This is our mission in this world to become bearers of Jesus’ light.
Do we open ourselves to this desire of Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter.
And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. So the
Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in
suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told
you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me.
But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my
voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they
shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has
given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the
Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
How can we have an encounter with Jesus? We have to abide with what Jesus
tells us in the scripture/bible. If He tells us that He and the Father are one
we have to believe it without any doubt. For the simple reason that all of
Jesus pronouncements are not empty, it is solidly supported by other passages
in the bible.
What separates those who believe and those who don’t? Those who believe
receive the full graces of the power that emanates from Jesus. For example,
their lives are changed, their faiths are strengthened. And they themselves
become an agent of positive change in their own respective environments.
Those who do not believe or who take Jesus nonchalantly are left-out in
terms of spiritual graces, their individual faith life is not strengthened.
They are more vulnerable to the many forces of evil and they don’t have the
spiritual strength that believers have.
What is the secret for us to believe? We have to humble ourselves before
Jesus. We have to accept with faith every word that He tells us in the scripture/bible.
And the moment we do, this would be the beginning of our renewed life with Jesus.
– Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life
for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his
own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf
catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern
for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just
as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for
the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I
must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one
shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order
to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I
have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have
received from my Father.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Who is shepherding us in the midst of this covid-19 pandemic is it our
fear of the unknown or Jesus? If the Lord is shepherding us right now we are in
good hands. We will survive this pandemic because Jesus is protecting us. A good shepherd is someone who desires nothing
but the good of his sheep. A good shepherd is also someone who would be willing
to sacrifice his own life for the sake of his sheep.
In modern times right now a shepherd could also be an object of our
attention or even obsession. That seeks to control and dictate upon us.
For example, greed for money could be our shepherd if we allow it to
control us. But if we allow money to be our shepherd it will not only control
us it may even possess us. It may even destroy not only us even our family as
well.
Our Job could also be our shepherd, in what manner could this be? This
could happen the moment we allow our job to enslave us. For instance, we focus
more on our jobs rather than our family that we hardly have time for our
family. So what would happen to the family? It may be destroyed and eventually
disintegrate. Our ambition to be wealthy could also be our false shepherd
and there are many more false shepherd wannabes.
In the midst of all these false shepherd wannabes. Jesus wants to offer
Himself to us for He is the good shepherd. He tells us in the gospel: I am the
good shepherd (John 10:11) and I will lay down my life for you (John 10:15).
Why don’t we consider this offer of Jesus and allow Him to shepherd our
lives?
Perhaps we could start by reading the life story and the life changing
words of Jesus in the bible. We can also begin to take seriously the
celebration of the Holy Mass by paying more attention to this sacred
celebration.
We might have already allowed money and other worldly ambitions to
shepherd or control us. But did it give us what we want? Did it give us
peace and contentment? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold
through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever
enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it
for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and
leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and
the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not
follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize
the voice of strangers.” Although Jesus used this figure of speech, they did
not realize what he was trying to tell them.
So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the
sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not
listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and
will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and
slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more
abundantly.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
The story is told about a poor family. The husband had an ordinary low
paying job and the wife was a housewife they had six (6) children. Because of
the meager salary of the husband they could barely survive and they always
borrow money from their relatives.
Despite of their poor financial standing this family was faithful to
Jesus and the church; they would always observe their Sunday obligation. The
parents introduced their children to Jesus and they educated their children the
values of the faith. The mother would always lead in the prayer of the Holy
Rosary and the father would always be there to join them.
Eventually all of their children became very successful in their
respective field of endeavors. Hence, they’ve given back the love and guidance
that their parents gave them. Obviously the parents were Good shepherds for
they introduced their children to the gate of life that is Jesus.
Jesus in the gospel tells the crowd that He is the good shepherd that
desires only the best for them. Jesus also tells them that He is the gate of
life but they did not believe Him.
It is said that: “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” Thus,
we know for a fact that Jesus is really our Good Shepherd. We believe and feel
in our hearts this declaration of Jesus. He desires nothing for us but our
wellbeing this is the reason why Jesus wants us to follow Him and make Him our
Good Shepherd. We also know that He is our only gateway to the many truths
about our faith. He too is our gateway towards life beyond this world and
without Him in our lives there would be no life beyond this world.
There are still many who do not know about Jesus as the Good Shepherd. There
are still many who do not know that Jesus is the gateway to the many truths of
our faith. There are still many who do not know that Jesus is the gateway to a life
beyond this world. Why? Because they do not allow Jesus to be their Good Shepherd.
They instead allow worldliness and the many lies of Satan to shepherd them thus
they are enslaved by money, power and sin.
Is Jesus your good shepherd? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Many of Jesus' disciples who were listening said, "This saying is
hard; who can accept it?" Since Jesus knew that his disciples were
murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you? What if you
were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit
that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you
are Spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe." Jesus
knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would
betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can
come to me unless it is granted him by my Father."
As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way
of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do
you also want to leave?" Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom
shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and
are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What should be our guiding principle if we decide to follow Jesus? It
must always be forever! We will not only follow Jesus in good times we must
also learn to follow Jesus in our most trying times. We will stay with
Jesus even if it’s hard to believe that He is comforting us in the midst of our
sufferings and tribulations like with what we are going through with the
Covid-19 pandemic.
The very large crowd (More than five thousand of them) who were with
Jesus when He multiplied the loaves and fish suddenly became very few. Only the
twelve apostles remained many of those who followed Him returned to their
former way of life. Why? Because they couldn’t accept Jesus’ continuous
insistence that He is the true bread of life that whoever believes in Him will
never hunger and thirst (John 6:35).
They rapidly had amnesia because they all of a sudden forgot that it was
Jesus who feed them when they were all hungry. It was Jesus who healed them
when they were sick and it was Jesus who gave them hope when they were
hopeless.
Such is the behavior of many of us, we quickly question or even leave
Jesus when we go through trials. We never remember or perhaps we purposely
forget the many blessings that He had given us in the past. Let us never leave Jesus no matter how difficult our present
circumstances are right now. Let us always choose to be with Him in sickness
and in health, in our good times as well as in our difficult times.
What are we going to do if we leave Jesus? We embrace Satan and his
worldly teachings? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
The Jews quarrelled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give
us his Flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have
life within you. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day. For my Flesh is true food, and my Blood
is true drink.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so
also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread
that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever." These things he said while
teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What is the difference between a person who is a regular Communicant and
the person who doesn’t partake of the Body of Christ at Holy Communion? The
person who devoutly goes to Holy Mass and who lets himself be nourished by the
Body of Christ is slowly but surely being transformed by the Body of Christ to
become Christ like.
What do this mean to us? It means that the very moment we allow the Body
of Christ to enter our body. We also open ourselves to be an alter ego of
Jesus. In other words it simply means that we become an ambassador of Jesus
when we receive Him.
But do we really allow this to happen to us? Do we really allow the Body
of Christ to spiritually nourish and transform us? Many of us go to Holy
Communion regularly but we never change. There’s no positive behavioral and
spiritual transformation that occurs within us. This is for the reason that we
don’t allow the Body of Christ to transform us.
One sure sign that the Body of Jesus Christ is transforming us already is
when we are able to share and live His teachings. When we are able to forgive
those who’ve hurt us, when we are able to overcome our own sinfulness and our
own arrogance and pride.
Have we already shared and lived Jesus? Have we already asked Jesus to
help us overpower our own sinfulness, arrogance and pride? - Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Jesus said to the crowds: “No one can come to me unless the Father who
sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the
prophets: They shall all be taught by God.
Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not
that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the
Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the
bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this
is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I
am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will
live forever; and the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the
world.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Are we afraid to die?
There are many reasons why many are afraid to die; foremost amongst
these reasons is we are not prepared yet. We still have our own worldly
preoccupation that we must take care of first. But we all know that at a time
that we don’t expect, we have to go and leave this world permanently.
In today’s gospel Jesus gives us an iron clad protection against our fear
of death. He enjoins us to regularly partake of the living bread that is
available to us during Holy Communion no other than Himself. This is the same
bread that is given to those who are sick and not anymore able to go to church
for Holy Mass.
Why don’t we try to regularly partake of His Body during Holy Communion?
And see how it will form, change and make us fearless of mortal death. We will
not die anymore if we are with Jesus and we will not fear death anymore if we
reverently partake of Him at Holy Mass during Holy Communion.
Our marching order therefore is to bring others to Holy Mass. So that
they will also be blessed, nourished and enlightened by the enormous blessing
of the Body of Jesus Christ.
Have we been able to bring someone to church for Holy Mass so that they
too could partake of the Body of Christ during Holy Communion? – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Jesus said to the crowds, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me
will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. But I told you
that although you have seen me, you do not believe. Everything that the Father
gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because
I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent
me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose
anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For
this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in
him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What benefit would we be entitled to if we worship and become friends
with Jesus? We will have countless entitlements. For example Jesus mentions to
us in our gospel for today that if we go to Him and believe in Him we will
never hunger and thirst anymore. How could this happen? We will not know until
we try, we will not know until we develop that especial relationship with
Jesus.
Many of us don’t feel the big impact that Jesus does in our lives because
we don’t dare take Him seriously. We oftentimes leave Him in favor of this
world yet there are times also that we go to Him on bended knees because we are
in need of Him. But after the storms in our lives we again start to distance
ourselves from Jesus and we begin again to embrace the world. How would we know
the big impact that Jesus is capable of making in our lives if we don’t take
Him seriously? If we treat Him like a thing which we only get when we are in
need?
We will really not thirst and hunger anymore if only we would create a
home for Jesus in our hearts. This is the key: To create a home for Jesus in
our hearts so that we will personally feel that what He is saying is true.
Have you already opened your heart to Jesus? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
The crowd said to Jesus: “What sign can you do, that we may see and
believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it
is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” So Jesus said to them, “Amen,
amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father
gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes
down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
So they said to Jesus, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to
them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and
whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Would we be willing to give our very life for Jesus?
In our first reading Stephen was killed because of his unending
profession of faith in Jesus. He could have saved his life if he did not
proclaim his love for Jesus but he chose to boldly say it, thus he was stoned
to death.
What a price to pay for professing his faith and love for the Lord. But
this is the reality with our discipleship for Jesus. If we really are true and
faithful followers we would not hesitate to give a certain part of our life or
even our own life for our love for Jesus.
Every now and then there would be instances wherein the steadfastness of
our faith in Jesus would be tested. It may not cost our life anymore; perhaps
the test of our commitment to Jesus may come through many forms of temptations
and trials. Would we still be faithful to Jesus amidst our temptations and
trials?
It’s really not easy to follow Jesus, some of us may have already given
up on Jesus and we instead chose to follow the many temptations of this world.
But if we would not follow Jesus and if we will not sacrifice a part of
ourselves for the advancement of the kingdom of God. Who are we going to
follow? We follow the evil one and master manipulator which is no other than
Satan? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
22 On the next day the people who remained on the other side of the sea
saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the
boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23
However, boats from Tiber'i-as came near the place where they ate the bread
after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the people saw that Jesus was not
there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to
Caper'na-um, seeking Jesus.
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him,
"Rabbi, when did you come here?" 26 Jesus answered them, "Truly,
truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you
ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but
for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to
you; for on him has God the Father set his seal." 28 Then they said to
him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" 29 Jesus
answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he
has sent."
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do we still have time to reflect about the present state of our spiritual
life? We do this just to meditate if we are still living a life of purpose.
Many of us today don’t have time anymore to reflect about the present state of
our life with Jesus. Instead what we have time for is to think on how we could
earn more to assure our future in this world.
But what will happen to us if all we think about is how to ensure our
future in this world? We will become people of this world that is completely
alien to the significant role of Jesus in our lives.
As we exist in this world we must not also forget to think about our
relationship with Jesus. If we are able to feed our bodies with food to make us
strong and healthy. Then, it is also incumbent upon us that we nourish our
hungry spirits as often as we nourish our mortal bodies with its worldly needs.
Why do we desire to follow Jesus? Is it because we want to have material
prosperity? So that we can feed ourselves with the best food that this world
can offer? And so that we can buy whatever we want from this world? Or we
follow Jesus for the reason that we want to feed our thirsty spirits?
In our gospel for today the crowd was chasing Jesus not because they want
to feed their hungry spirits. They simply want to feed their hungry stomachs. –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were
going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were
conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while
they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with
them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped,
looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you
the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken
place there in these days?” And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They
said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet
mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests
and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him.
But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides
all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our
group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning
and did not find his Body; they came back and reported that they had indeed
seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those
with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but
him they did not see.”
And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to
believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ
should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with
Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all
the Scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, he
gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay
with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with
them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to
them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he
vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts
burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to
us?”
So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found
gathered together the Eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has
truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had
taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the
bread.
+ + + + + +
Reflection:
Do we sometimes feel down, hopeless and discourage for the reason of the
many life challenges that we’re going through right now? For example, this
covid-19 pandemic that is creating so much havoc in our world right now. Does
it make us feel down, hopeless and discouraged? We must not allow this covid-19
pandemic to bring us down. We must continue to remain hopeful for there is no
hopeless situation for as long as we have faith in God.
The two followers who were going to Emmaus were obviously discouraged
they were feeling down and somewhat hopeless. They were in such mood because
their Lord and Master had a violent death on the cross. They thought that Jesus
was their powerful savior but they were disappointed. For Jesus died on the
cross badly bruised and beaten.
Their expectations of a powerful Jesus were suddenly replaced by feeling
of loneliness, defeat and hopelessness. Until the Risen Christ walked
with them, conversed with them and eventually went to their house to break
bread with them.
After breaking bread with them, Cleopas and his companion recognized that
it was Jesus who walked, conversed and broke bread with them. Upon discovering
the identity of Jesus their loneliness and hopelessness were immediately
replaced by happiness, their discouragement was overpowered by encouragement.
Their hopeless spirits were suddenly aflame and glowing.
What do we do when we feel hopeless, sad and discouraged? Do we just sulk
in one corner as if we are the most hopeless and miserable person in this
world? Or we always call on Jesus to give us hope and strength?
When we are at our lowest we always have to remember that Jesus is always
there for us and walking with us ever ready to listen to us. He wants to give
us hope, He wants to inspire us and tell us this: Be hopeful for I have already
risen. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized
will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will
accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will
speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they
drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick,
and they will recover.”
Then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and
took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached
everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through
accompanying signs.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Have we done something to share the good news about Jesus?
One of our foremost mission as follower of Jesus is to share Him. If we
have no idea on how we would share Him we can even simply live His life.
Evangelization is not only confined to sharing with our vocal words for we can
also evangelize by the way we live.
When the disciples were sent by Jesus through their mission one of the
unwritten commands of Jesus for them was to live His way of life. For they
wouldn’t be successful missioners for Jesus without immersing their very lives
on Jesus way of life.
The challenge for us therefore is to share Jesus like how the disciples
shared Him. We also have to live the way of life of Jesus. For without living
the life of Jesus we will not become His true follower and evangelizer.
Many in the church or outside of the church profess to follow Jesus but
they do not live His life. Thus their evangelization is superficial it doesn’t
take root in the hearts of those who listen to them. Therefore, an effective
evangelizer is one who shares and lives the life of the Lord.
Have we shared Jesus and have we lived Jesus' life of humility and
simplicity? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him because
they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the
mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of
Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was
coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to
eat?” He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to
do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be
enough for each of them to have a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, the
brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley
loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” Jesus said, “Have
the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the
men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave
thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of
the fish as they wanted. When they had their fill, he said to his disciples,
“Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they
collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five
barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the
sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come
into the world.” Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him
off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
The story is told about a married couple who always find it hard to
sustain their family's basic financial needs. A relative advised them to always
be present in the Holy Mass celebration in their village’s chapel. The married
couple asked their relative, “Why is there a need for us to always be present
during Holy Mass?” Their relative told them that they need to be present because
this is where they meet, interact and be one with the Bread of Life which is
Jesus Himself.
The big crowd in the gospel was running after Jesus, primarily because of
His miracles, healings and life changing sermons. The crowd was more than five
thousand and Jesus was naturally concerned for their welfare. He
therefore wanted to feed them but there was no enough bread and fish. So what
Jesus did was he asked for whatever bread and fish that they have.
Upon getting hold of the bread and fish, He looked up in thanksgiving to
God. Thereafter Jesus gave the bread and fish to the crowd and He was able to feed
them all. They also had plenty to spare: twelve wicker baskets and some
fragments. It was not only the crowd’s physical hunger that was satisfied by
Jesus, He also satisfied their spiritual thirst.
When we attend Holy Mass, we are also feed by Jesus with the same bread
which He gave the crowd. It happens the moment we partake of His Body and Blood
during Holy Communion. During Holy Communion we are also nourished physically
and spiritually by the Bread of Life, Jesus Himself!
This is what occurs when we attend Holy Mass. We are always being
nourished by Jesus Himself! The same Jesus that fed the crowd who were
following Him in the gospel. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is
earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is
above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his
testimony. Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.
For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his
gift of the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to
him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son
will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Why can’t we convince others to go to church for Holy Mass and why can’t
we share Jesus with them? This is for the reason that many of us don’t live the
teachings of Jesus. We are not humble we don’t live our faith in other words.
What must we do if we are in this kind of predicament? Should we
easily give up or should we change our ways. It’s no brainer that the wise
choice is to change our ways and not give up. Because if we would give up, who
will evangelize them? We leave them to be evangelized by those from other
faiths?
We must teach our faith but we must do it with humility, patience and
love. We have to employ humility, patience and love so that we could open their
hearts to the teachings of Jesus and our faith. For example our gospel for
today tells us about the love of God for His Son. How would they know about
this if we will not teach them?
We have to teach them using humility, patience and love. We will always
become effective evangelizers of our faith if we are humble, patient and loving.
For these are the qualities of Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
