Reflection for July 16 Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 12:1-8

Gospel: Matthew 12:1-8

Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him “See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath. 

He said to the them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent? 

I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”

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Reflection:

What is in the heart of Jesus? It’s mercy and compassion for His people. Mercy and compassion that is ever ready to transgress sacred laws such as the Sabbath law. 

Being God the Son Jesus perfectly knew that what He was doing was right. But the Pharisees did not know the true identity of Jesus. So they questioned the decision of Jesus to allow His disciples to pick and eat the grains on a Sabbath day. 

Do you know Jesus deeply? Do you feel His presence in your life? If you don’t know Jesus deeply and if you don’t feel His presence in your life. You will also question some events or trial/s that occurs in your life. 

For instance when you go through severe trials such as financial difficulty, sickness and the like . You might also question the Lord Jesus and ask Him this question: Why am I going through this trial or why did you allow me to go through this episode in my life? 

But if you know Jesus and if you feel His presence in your life. You will never question Jesus thus you will simply bow to His will and trust Him. Why bow to His will? This is for the reason that you know that something greater is in store for you. That you don’t see and know yet now but you will certainly see and feel in your life in the future.   

Ask Jesus therefore to give you the gift of knowing Him deeply and the gift of His living presence in your life. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for July 15 Thursday Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (M): Matthew 11:28-30

Gospel: Matthew 11:28-30

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

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Reflection:

The story is told about a young man who was struggling to find his place in this world.  He was already at the point of surrender. He murmured to himself, “I am a total failure” in the abyss of his frustration he thought of ending his life.  

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

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

In our gospel for today, Jesus invites us all to go to Him. We who are so busy with this world, we who tend to forget the primacy of God over this world. When are we going to open our hearts to this invitation of Jesus? When we are already old and sickly? Let us not wait for that time to come. Let us build a relationship with Jesus now and let us respond to His invitation now. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for July 14 Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 11:25-27

Gospel: Matthew 11:25-27

At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, 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 the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

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Reflection:

What is the key to know Gods will for you? It’s humility.  a humble person is ever ready to listen to the voice and will of God. He/she doesn’t go against the will of God he/she rather allows God’s will to work in his/her life. In the process of allowing God’s will to rule his/her life he/she discovers more about God. 

When we are humble we open ourselves to the countless blessings that emanates from God. We may ask, how am I going to be humble before God? We have to follow the rules of the church which Jesus founded through St. Peter.   

For example the teaching of Sunday Holy Mass obligation, a humble person would always see to it that he/she is always present in this sacred celebration. Another example is our humble submission to the sacraments most especially the Sacrament of Reconciliation. A humble person would always find time to confess his/her sins to a priest who acts in the person of Jesus Christ. 

Jesus always looks kindly to those who are childlike and humble. Why? Because this is the nature of God: He loves those who are humble and He reveals Himself more to the childlike and humble.  

Do you want to know more about God? And do you want to have a deeper friendship with the Lord? – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for July 13 Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 11:20-24

Gospel: Matthew 11:20-24

Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. 

But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum: Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld. 

For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

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Reflection:

Do you get frustrated or even get angry every once in a while? It’s ok for as long as your frustration and anger is for a good reason. And for as long as your anger doesn’t stay for long in your heart.  For example, you advice a relative or a friend to mend his/her ways but she/he doesn’t listen to you.   

In his humanity Jesus also gets frustrated like us and it is shown in the gospel. When He reproached the towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida due to their refusal to repent. Jesus wanted the inhabitants of the two towns to change their wicked ways and accept His good news. 

Some of us are like the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida full of stubbornness. Yes, we believe that there’s a God but believing is very different from listening to God and letting Him live in our hearts. 

Sin in whatever shapes and forms is a clear and present danger in our lives. We must not only avoid sin let us also confront sin so that it will permanently banish from our system of existence. Sin is the devil in disguise and whomever embraces sin will eventually be destroyed by sin. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

1Reflection for July 12 Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 10:34-11:1

Gospel: Matthew 10:34-11:1

Jesus said to his Apostles: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's enemies will be those of his household. 

"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 

"Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple–amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward." 

When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.

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Reflection:

The story is told about a very generous man who was envied by his friend. Because he does not seem to run out of money even if he constantly give money and food to his poor neighbors. So the friend asked this very generous man: “What is your secret that you don’t seem to run out of money? The generous man said, no secret at all I just give because I want to give. 

Whatever that we generously give will come back to us a hundred fold if we don’t believe this let us try to be generous even for a week and see the reward that will be ploughed back to us. Reward that is not only limited with money, we may receive reward by way of good health, peace of mind, friendships in the neighborhood and the like. 

Jesus in our gospel mentions reward for those who do good no matter how small the act of goodness and generosity. Why? This is for the reason that it’s in giving that we would always receive and the more that we give the more that we would receive. -  Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for Sunday July 11, Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mark 6:7-13

Gospel: Mark 6:7-13

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick –no food, no sack, no money in their belts. 

They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them. 

So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

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Reflection:

The story is told about a newly ordained priest who was so idealistic that he wished to be assigned in the farthest and un-evangelized place. He got what he wished for. During the time that he was about to go there he brought nothing with him except for the clothes and his priestly things. 

He said to himself: “I will not bring anything with me because Jesus had said that in going to your mission do not bring anything with you (Mark 6:8). He believed that God would provide for his needs. He eventually reached his place of assignment and his parishioners were sensitive enough to notice his needs so they provided him with what he needed. 

In the gospel, Jesus demanded trust from the apostles. He wanted them to trust him as they go about their mission for He would provide for their needs. Jesus said to them: “Bring nothing with you except your walking stick and sandal (Mark 6:8-9). In saying this Jesus wanted them to depend on Him and not on themselves. 

Due to the modernity of our times trust or faith in God is a word that is somewhat lacking in our lives today. Because we tend to trust more on ourselves rather than God. We long for our smart phones more rather than long for God. We check on our smart phones first upon waking up in the moring rather than check on God by way of our prayers.  It seems that it’s very hard to live now without smart phones and other gadgets but so easy to live without God.

Sad that this is happening but this is the reality of our gadgets driven times. But there’s hope for as long as we don’t give up on our mission to evangelize. Let us not lose heart because the Lord is always there for us. He only asks us one thing and that is to never give up on our mission of evangelization and to continue to trust Him. – Marino J. Dasmarinas    

1Reflection for July 10 Saturday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 10:24-33

Gospel: Matthew 10:24-33

Jesus said to his Apostles: "No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. 

If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household! "Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 

And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. 

Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father."

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Reflection:

What does the modern world promote today? It promotes idolatry of the temporal things of this world. It promotes in many forms the idolatry of money, lust and power. It also promotes greed, hedonism and arrogance. 

It seems that there’s no more room for us to acknowledge, promote and live the teachings of Jesus. It’s very sad to think that Jesus’ teachings have no more room in many of our hearts. What are we going to do about this? Would we simply be on the sidelines and be silent witnesses to the moral degeneration of our society? 

Let us do something to espouse the teachings of Jesus. Let us not be afraid of the persecution and hardship for Jesus is with us. We must not forget that we are mere pilgrims in this world; our final destination is His heavenly kingdom. 

Let us aspire for a place in heaven by sharing the teachings of Jesus. If we are not comfortable with personal preaching let us find the courage to live His teachings. Let us use social media to propagate the teachings of the Lord and the faith that He gave us. 

Let us not forget that we are mere passersby in this temporal world and our ultimate destination hopefully is in heaven. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for July 9 Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 10:16-23

Gospel: Matthew 10:16-23

Jesus said to his Apostles: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans.  

When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.  

Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

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Reflection:

Are you ready to give your life for the mission of Jesus? This is a very hard question to answer but there are many already who dared to willingly give their lives for the mission of Jesus. What fuels them to give their lives when they have a choice not to give it?  

 It’s their burning desire to witness for Jesus. The same Jesus who strengthens them to endure and continue with their mission even at the cost of their lives. To be a real follower of Jesus is easier said than done. It’s easy to say I am a Christian but to live this Christian pronouncement is another story altogether. How about you? Are you willing to give your life for the mission of Jesus?    

When you give your life to Jesus you will face persecution as well. But what is consoling here is the midst of your trials and persecution you also will feel the abiding presence of Jesus in your life. For the reason that Jesus has never abandoned anyone who gave his/her life for His mission in this world.  

Be not afraid to give your life for the mission of Jesus. For when you decide to do so you will soon after find the real purpose of your life. – Marino J. Dasmarinas      

Reflection for July 8 Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 10:7-15

Gospel: Matthew 10:7-15

Jesus said to his Apostles: “As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. 

The laborer deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you. 

Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words— go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the Day of Judgment than for that town.

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Reflection:

Do we expect to receive something in return for the things that we do for God? We better not expect because when our expectations are not meet we would be disappointed. Let’s just do good and be content with the fact that we’ve done good to our fellowmen. 

Money rules they say, but for those who follow Jesus money does not rule and money doesn’t dictate. It’s Jesus who rules and dictates, when we allow Jesus to rule and dictate our life. We are free from worries that emanates from this world and we are not beholden to anybody in this world.    

When Jesus was sending off his twelve apostles to their mission. One of His specific declarations for them is this: not to let money or anything that is worldly rule over them. Jesus instead wanted His apostles to let Him rule their lives. 

When we let Jesus rule our lives we would not anymore care about worldly possessions. We instead will be satisfied with what we have no matter how meager the things that we have. This is for the reason that we already believe that the essence and fullness of life is not measured by material ownership. 

Let us therefore seek Jesus in our lives for when we have Jesus we have everything. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for July 7 Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 10:1-7

Gospel: Matthew 10:1-7

Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the Twelve Apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus. 

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

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Reflection:

Where does The Kingdom of Heaven lies? 

It lies within us and it has been with us since we’ve been baptized. But we may say, if the kingdom of heaven is within us, why is it that life is still full of challenges and problems? This is for the reason that we refuse to live our life according to God’s will for us. 

Thus, we live our life according to our own will and not according to God’s will. For example, there is a temptation to sin; instead of confronting that sin so that it would not temp us again we instead allow that temptation to capture us. 

So what happens when we live our life according to our own terms? We open our life to many problems, problems that we could actually avoid if we only live our life according to the will of God. 

It’s not difficult to know God’s will for us, by going to Holy Mass we will begin to discern God’s will for our life. By reading our bible we will discern the will of God for us. By our frequent interactions with Jesus through our prayers we will discern the will of God. And we would have a deeper friendship with the Lord.   

Many of us are lost in this world and we don’t have an awareness of the kingdom of heaven because we are not always in touch with Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for July 6 Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 9:32-38

Gospel: Matthew 9:32-38

A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.” 

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.”

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Reflection:

How does the gospel speaks to us today? Does it tell us that we need to do something for the kingdom of God? Jesus tells the disciples in our gospel and He tells this to us too! “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few (Matthew 9:37)”.

Indeed, the harvest is abundant yet those who venture to volunteer their time for God’s kingdom are still few. We don’t know the reason behind but perhaps we could guess that it’s our worldly preoccupations. So we forget that there is a much greater purpose and glory beyond this world that awaits us and that is the kingdom of God.  

When we are near death already the labors that we have given to this world will not matter anymore. We will not think about how big our bank accounts. We will not think about our many worldly achievements. What we will be thinking about is the status of our soul and where it would be after we die. 

This is what confronts a dying person: The status of his/her soul after it departs from his/her body. Therefore to avoid this dilemma let us do something for the advancement of the kingdom of God in this world. 

Any effort that we do today for God no matter how small for so long as we sincerely do it for His greater glory. Will be permanently remembered by God and will become our passport to heaven when our departure time comes. 

We therefore have to do something no matter how insignificant it may seem to help the Lord advance the faith. Let us not worry for the Good Lord will be with us and we would richly be rewarded someday. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for July 5 Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 9:18-26

Gospel: Matthew 9:18-26

While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward, knelt down before him, and said, “My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. 

A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured. 

When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping. And they ridiculed him. When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. And news of this spread throughout all that land.

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Reflection:

Do you believe that Jesus can cure you of whatever sickness that you have? The woman who had been bleeding for twelve years believed that she would be healed by Jesus. She believed that the moment she touched even the tassel of Jesus cloak she would be healed. What a display of deep faith!  

Sometimes we don’t get what we wish from the Lord because we doubt. We allow the devil to disturb our faith thus we don’t get what we want. We see in the gospel a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages she obviously has deep faith. Faith that is willing to overcome whatever obstacles that are put in front of her.  Do you have the same deep faith as this woman in the gospel?  

When Jesus noticed this woman of faith, He told her, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you (Matthew 9:22).” And the result was immediate healing for the woman. 

Are we suffering from any form sickness right now? Let us pray to the Lord and let us ask Him to heal us! Let us beseech the Lord to give us the same healing that He gave the woman in the gospel. Jesus will surely heal us for He will not refuse anyone who approaches Him with deep faith and humility. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Sunday July 4, Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mark 6:1-6

 

Gospel: Mark 6:1-6

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? 

What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.  

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

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Reflection:

What is the feeling of a person who will be going back to the place where he devoted almost thirty years of his life? Of course it’s a mix feeling of excitement and anticipation. This must have been the feeling of Jesus while He was on His way to Nazareth: His native place.  

Unfortunately He got a rude welcome from His town mates, He was mocked, some even took offense at Him. Perhaps they were envious of Jesus sudden fame with the masses; perhaps they cannot accept that Jesus had become an eloquent and charismatic speaker and healer.  

As a consequence of their unbelieving attitude Jesus did not make any spectacular healings there for He was amazed at their lack of faith. Lack of faith in God could cost us a lot too. For example because our faith in God is lacking we would trust more on ourselves more than we trust God.  

And when we encounter trials many of us would question God rather than continue to trust and have faith. His townsfolk lack of faith invites us also to examine our own faith in Jesus. Is it still strong? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for July 3 Saturday Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle: John 20:24-29

Gospel: John 20:24-29

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But Thomas said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."  

Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe."

Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

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Reflection:

Do you need to see an explicit evidence before you believe in Jesus?  

Thomas did not believe that Jesus had appeared to the other disciples unless he see and experience it for himself. His wish was granted by Jesus when He appeared to them for the second time. During His second appearance Jesus invited Thomas to put his fingers into his side and to see His wounded hands. Having that experience Thomas finally believed.  

Many of us are like Thomas, full of unbelief and doubts that Jesus will make a difference in our lives unless we see and experience His miracles. Jesus is challenging us to always walk by our faith and not by our sight. That’s why at the end of the gospel reading Jesus said: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.  

Doubting Thomas is how we normally call the apostle Thomas who doubted unless he sees the risen Jesus in the flesh. But did he really doubt or Thomas simply wants to have a confirmation about the news that Jesus had risen?  

There’s absolutely no wrong when we simply want to confirm what we believe. For the reason that when we want to confirm what we believe it simply means that we are thirsting for something that will further reinforce our faith and belief. - Marino J. Dasmarinas