Reflection for Friday October 7, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary: Luke 11:15-26

Gospel: Luke 11:15-26

When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said: “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. 

And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. 

When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me,  and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 

“When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’ But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.”

+ + + + + + +

Reflection:

Does Jesus deserve the accusation that He is a demon? Has he done any demonic actions to earn the accusation? No Jesus doesn’t deserve the accusation and He surely has not done any actions contrary to His mission. None at all. 

The crowd’s accusation originates from the deceit and envy in their hearts. And who planted that deceit and envy? It’s Beelzebul the prince of demons himself! So it was actually the accusers who were in fact possessed by the demon. 

We must be careful not to allow deceitful/envious and other negative emotions to take root in our hearts. Because these are temptations that originate from the devil. We should instead fill our hearts and minds with thoughts that are Godly.  And of course we must choose to be with Jesus for this is always the correct choice.  If we are not for Jesus, then we are against Jesus there’s no middle ground. 

Why should we choose to be in the company of the devil when it will not do any good to our lives? The devil will bring us nothing but problems and perdition.  Though he often times disguises his diabolical intentions and himself through the many attractive things of this world.   

We should therefore be discerning because the devil may already be enticing  us without us knowing it. How would we able to discern if the devil is already laying his enticement upon us? We have to be close to Jesus and should not walk away from Jesus. For this is the only way that we could discern the presence of the devil.  The same devil who always seeks to destroy us by trying his very best to snatch us away from the love of Jesus. 

Let us therefore always align ourselves with Jesus. And let us never compromise with anything that is wrong and evil no matter how tempting it may appear. Why? Because sooner or later it will only bring us unfathomable trouble. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for October 6, Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 11:5-13

Gospel: Luke 11:5-13

Jesus said to his disciples: “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. 

I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence. “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 

For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

+ + + + + + +

Reflection:

Do you believe in the power of persistence? The power of persistence tells us that for as long as we don’t give up. And for as long as we continue to trust in Jesus we would be able to have what we want. Therefore persistence always pays off, but should we continue to persist when the horizon is dark? 

In the gospel, Jesus tells us that we have to persist even if it seems hopeless to persist for those who persist are always rewarded by God. Come to think of it, persistence gives us great rewards even in our worldly activities. Take for example an average student who persist in his studies he surely would be able to hurdle his studies because he is persistent. 

However, not all of us have persistent mindset; many of us are easily discouraged when we see no positive result with what we are doing. So we fail and fail to achieve what we want because we gave up without trying our very best and without persisting. 

Lest we forget, many or almost all of our life’s battles are won because we are persistent but why do we persist? We persist because we believe that God always rewards those who are persistent and those who couple their persistence with humble and expectant trust in God. -  Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for October 5, Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 11:1-4

Gospel: Luke 11:1-4

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” 

He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.”

+ + + + + + +

Reflection:

Do you often call upon the name of God? For example somebody is sick in the family, do you pray over that family member by invoking the very powerful name Jesus? The name of God is very powerful it can cure us of our many sickness if we would pray it with faith. 

When one of Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach him how to pray Jesus told the man that the name of God is holy. Being holy it’s therefore sacred and powerful and this we can always call upon whenever we want. 

What should we do so that we can always call upon our Holy and Powerful God? We should strive to live holy lives as well and we should strive to know more about God. The moment we try to live holy lives and the moment we strive to know more about Jesus. We surely could invoke His mighty name anytime. 

You therefore have to confront and then immediately walk away from anything that would make you sin for this is the beginning of holiness. You also have to strive to know more about God and Jesus by reading your bible and by making yourself available for Holy Mass. 

Try doing these two and you would see that you would be able to easily call upon the name of God anytime most especially during distressful times. -  Marino J. Dasmarinas      

Reflection for Tuesday October 4, Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi: Luke 10:38-42

Gospel: Luke 10:38-42

Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? 

Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.

+ + + + + + +

Reflection:

What makes us anxious and what influence our worries? It’s our detachment from Jesus. When a person is detached from listening to Jesus he/she is easily overtaken by anxiousness and worries. 

This doesn’t mean that if we always have our regular listening time with Jesus we would already be immune from anxiousness and worries. We would still have our own share of worries because it’s part of life. However, we will always be able to handle and manage these pressures and anxiousness of daily life for the reason that we are connected with Jesus. 

Jesus obviously favored Mary’s act of listening to Him. Why? Because it's more important to listen first to Jesus than do other chores. The same is true with our relationship with Him. If we will spend more time in prayer to Jesus we will learn more from Him. And we will receive more blessings and enlightenment from Him. 

If we have our regular listening and prayer time with Jesus we are always connected to the source of eternal power. Thus we will always become His useful and productive followers. For the reason that we have within us the source of eternal  power none other than Jesus Himself. 

Just imagine a light bulb not connected to the source of electric power? It will never be useful or it will never radiate light no matter how big the wattage. This is the same with a journey in this world bereft of connection from Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas     

Reflection for October 3, Monday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 10:25-37

Gospel: Luke 10:25-37

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” 

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight.

He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

+ + + + +  + +

Reflection:

Do you want to have eternal life? 

We all desire eternal life with Jesus and we are given by Him the keys toward it. The first key is to love Him and the second one is to love our fellowmen as how we love ourselves. But how can we manifest our love for God if we hardly have time for Him?  

To love Jesus is to give our time to Him. He doesn’t ask us all of our time He only ask us a little of our time. For example, how many hours do we have for the entire week? Jesus only ask us to give Him one hour of those many hours a week though our presence in the Holy Mass. Many of us are not able to fulfill this one-hour meeting with Jesus for the reason that we are very busy. 

To Love Jesus is to share Him with our fellowmen. How many of us are able to share Jesus through our words and actions? To love Jesus is to read the bible/scriptures even for only five minutes a day. How many of us are able to read the bible daily for even five minutes a day? 

Finally, to love our fellowmen is to love them without preconditions, to love them by not imposing our will upon them. And to love them no matter who they are and no matter how sinful they may seem for we are all sinful children of God. – Marino J. Dasmarinas    

Reflection for Sunday October 2, 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Luke 17:5-10

Gospel: Luke 17:5-10

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. 

“Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. 

You may eat and drink when I am finished’? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’”

+ + + + + + +

Reflection:

What is the character of a good and faithful servant? He submits to his master. And whatever lawful orders that his master tells him to do he does it even if it’s very difficult.  Therefore a servant is always obedient and faithful to his Lord and master. 

Who are we in this fleeting world? We are mere servants! Who do we serve? Many of us are serving this world, for example when we work and work and we sacrifice our faith and love for God in favor of our work and other worldly preoccupations this world becomes our lord and master. 

We become obedient and slaves to the dictates of this world. Whatever this world would tell us we obey it without question sacrificing even our faith and love for God.  However, the problem is, this world is not a good lord and master. In fact this world is the worst lord and master that we could ever have.

The moment we allow this world to be our Lord and master it will hold us by our necks and never let go of us until it brings us to a life devoid of purpose. 

Who then is the Lord and Master that we must follow? The same Lord and Master of the apostles whom they humbly asked to increase their faith, none other than Jesus. 

Who is your Lord and Master? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Linggo Oktubre 2, Ika - 27 na Linggo sa Karaniwang Panahon : Lucas 17:5-10

Mabuting Balita: Lucas 17:5-10

Sinabi ng mga apostol sa Panginoon, "Dagdagan po ninyo ang aming pananalig sa Diyos!" Tumugon ang Panginoon, "Kung maging sinlaki man lamang ng butil ng mustasa ang inyong pananalig sa Diyos, masasabi ninyo sa puno ng sikomorong ito, 'Mabunot ka, at matanim sa dagat!' at tatalima ito sa inyo."

"Ipalagay nating kayo'y mga aliping nag-aararo, o nagpapastol kaya ng tupa. Pagkagaling niya sa bukid, sasabihin ba ninyo sa kanya, 'Halika at nang makakain ka na'? Hindi! Sa halip ay ganito ang sinasabi ninyo: 'Ipaghanda mo ako ng hapunan, magbihis ka, at silbihan mo ako habang ako'y kumakain.

Kumain ka pagkakain ko.' Pinasasalamatan ba ang alipin dahil sa ginawa niya ang iniutos sa kanya? Gayon din naman kayo; kapag nagawa na ninyo ang lahat ng iniutos sa inyo, sabihin ninyo, 'Kami'y mga aliping walang kabuluhan; tumupad lamang kami sa aming tungkulin.

Reflection for Saturday October 1, Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church: Luke 10:17-24

Gospel: Luke 10:17-24

The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” 

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

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

+ + + + + + +

Reflection:

Long time ago there was a religion that had a penchant for arrogantly showing their influence. They would boast that they are the true religion and that nobody would go to heaven except their members. Instead of attracting others to join them they were instead shunned by those they thought could be their future members. Eventually this religion stopped growing until it died a natural death. 

What could attract people to join a religion? It’s certainly not arrogance but childlike humility. Arrogance is disliked by many as opposed to humility which is very much liked by the majority. Humility is like a magnet that attracts and gains the sympathy of people. 

For example, would you prefer to belong to a religion that arrogantly flaunts its misplaced influence? Of course not! Would you prefer to befriend an arrogant person or a humble person? Of course, you would prefer to befriend the humble one. 

In like manner, we could bring more people to our faith and we would become more effective fishers of men. If we live humility and if we become breathing example of Jesus’ humility. – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for Friday September 30, Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church: Luke 10:13-16

Gospel: Luke 10:13-16

Jesus said to them, “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, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.  

But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, ‘Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.’ Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

+ + + + +  + +

Reflection:

Why is Jesus angry with the people of Chozarin and Bethsaida? Because they did not hear His call of repentance, they refused His offer of love and renewal for them. 

It’s sometimes puzzling why we refuse to heed this call of Jesus when we have nothing to lose but everything to gain. For example, if we are living in sin right now and we decide to hear this call for renewal of Jesus. A big burden would immediately be taken off from our shoulders but so many of us still refuse to walk away from sin. Why? 

 What does sin offer us that we can’t walk away from it? Does sin offer us heaven? Does sin offer us a quiet and contentment filled life? Why do many of us cling to sin as if our lives hinges upon it when it doesn’t offer us anything good? Should we wait until something unfortunate happens to us before we listen?     

Let us all have a fresh start in our lives by refusing to commit any form of sin even for a few weeks or a month. And we compare our lives previously lived in sin and a life lived free from sin and with the guiding light of Jesus. We surely would love this new life with Jesus than the old life burdened by sin. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Ang Mabuting Balita para Biyernes Setyembre 30, San Geronimo, pari at pantas ng Iglesia (Paggunita): Lucas 10:13-16

Mabuting Balita: Lucas 10:13-16

Noong panahong iyon sinabi ni Hesus, “Kawawa ka, Corazin! Kawawa ka, Betsaida! Sapagkat kung sa Tiro at Sidon ginawa ang mga kababalaghang ginawa rito sa inyo, disin sana’y malaon na silang nagdaramit ng sako at nauupo sa abo upang ipakilalang sila’y nagsisisi. 

Sa Araw ng Paghuhukom, higit na mabigat ang kaparusahan ninyo kaysa kaparusahan ng mga taga-Tiro at taga-Sidon. At ikaw, Capernaum, Ibig mong mataas hanggang sa langit? Ibabagsak ka sa Hades! “Ang nakikinig sa inyo’y nakikinig sa akin, ang nagtatakwil sa inyo’y nagtatakwil sa akin, at ang nagtatakwil sa akin ay nagtatakwil sa nagsugo sa akin.”

Reflection for Thursday September 29, Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels (Feast): John 1:47-51

Gospel: John 1:47-51

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”  

Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

+ + + + +  + +

Reflection:

Do you believe in angels? In the bible/scriptures there are many passages that tell us of the reality of angels. For example Hebrews 1:13-14 tells us; 13 God never said to any of his angels: Sit here at my right side until I put your enemies as a footstool under your feet. 14 For all these spirits are only servants, and God sends them to help those who shall be saved. Psalm 91:11 tells us this as well; 11 For he will command his angels to guard you in all your ways. Angels are real and it’s not necessarily a winged messenger of God. An angel can be a friend, a relative or a complete stranger who will bring you closer to God. God sends them to you to direct your ways toward Him. But many of us refuse to listen to the voice of angels we instead listen to what this world dictates upon us. Notice for example the aggressive advertising being employed by companies to announce their new product/s. These advertisers dictate upon us to buy their new hi-tech gadget/s and so forth. But come to think about it, do we really need it? Often times we don’t actually need it we simply listen to the aggressive and enticing advertisement. We must be careful because this is the reality of our world right now. This world uses many devious methods for us to be enslaved by it. Let us not be discouraged nonetheless because God sends us His angels to point our ways to Him. And to let us know that the infinite love of God is always there for us. In hindsight, is it also possible for you to become an angel to somebody in need of spiritual direction? To somebody in need of encouragement, motivation or even material help? Yes it is very much possible that you could become God’s living and walking angel in this world today. Do you want to become an angel of God? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Ang Mabuting Balita para Huwebes Setyembre 29, San Miguel, San Gabriel at San Rafael, mga arkanghel (Kapistahan): Juan 1:47-51

Mabuting Balita: Juan 1:47-51

Noong panahong iyon, nang makita ni Jesus si Natanael, ay kanyang sinabi, "Masdan ninyo ang isang tunay na Israelita; siya'y hindi magdaraya!" Tinanong siya ni Natanael, "Paano ninyo ako nakilala?" Sumagot si Jesus, "Bago ka pa tawagin ni Felipe, nakita na kita nang ikaw ay nasa ilalim ng puno ng igos,"  

"Rabi, kayo po ang Anak ng Diyos! Kayo ang Hari ng Israel!" wika ni Natanael. Sinabi ni Jesus, "Nananampalataya ka ba dahil sa sinabi ko sa iyong nakita kita sa ilalim ng puno ng igos? Makakikita ka ng mga bagay na higit kaysa rito!" At sinabi niya sa lahat, "Tandaan ninyo: makikita ninyong bukas ang langit, at ang mga anghel ng Diyos ay manhik-manaog sa kinaroroonan ng Anak ng Tao!"

Reflection for Wednesday September 28, Memorial of St. Lorenzo Ruiz and Companions, martyrs: Luke 9:57-62

Gospel: Luke 9:57-62

As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” And to another he said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” 

But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.” And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” Jesus answered him, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”

+ + + + +  + +

Reflection:

What does it require to follow Jesus? It requires us to leave everything behind that could hamper our faithful and enduring discipleship. Is it not possible to follow Jesus and then remain attached to the things that we have? No, it’s never possible to follow and remain attached with what we have. 

Can we follow and at the same time continue to sin? Can we follow and at the same time be attached with material things? Can we follow yet still love the hedonistic lifestyle of this world? No we can’t, when we decide to follow Jesus this simply means that we are ready to leave everything behind us most especially our own sinfulness for the sake of our discipleship. 

To follow Jesus is initially difficult no question about it for it requires a radical change of our lifestyles! But fear not to follow because as we decide we would learn also to depend not on ourselves but on Jesus alone.  We will have the enlightenment to bring and trust our everything  including our very lives to Jesus. It’s like you have somebody who is always there for you when you decide to follow Him. 

What if we are very sinful? Would Jesus still call us to follow Him? Yes absolutely, the more sinful we are the more that Jesus calls us to follow Him. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Ang Mabuting Balita para Miyerkules Setyembre 28, San Lorenzo Ruiz at mga kasama, mga martir (Paggunita): Lucas 9:57-62

Mabuting Balita: Lucas 9:57-62

Noong panahong iyon, samantalang naglalakad sina Hesus at ang kanyang mga alagad, may taong nagsabi kay Hesus, “Susunod po ako sa inyo kahit saan.” Sumagot si Hesus, “May lungga ang asong-gubat at may pugad ang ibon, ngunit ang Anak ng Tao’y wala man lamang matulugan o mapagpahingahan.” Sinabi ni Hesus sa isa, “Sumunod ka sa akin.” Ngunit sumagot ang tao, “Panginoon, hayaan po muna ninyo akong umuwi upang ipalibing ang akin ama.” 

Sinabi ni Hesus sa kanya, “Ipaubaya mo na sa mga patay ang paglilibing ng kanilang mga patay. Ngunit ikaw, humayo ka at ipahayag mo ang tungkol sa paghahari ng Diyos.” Sinabi naman ng isa, “Susunod po ako sa inyo, Panginoon, ngunit magpapaalam muna ako sa aking mga kasambahay.” Sinabi sa kanya ni Hesus, “Ang sinumang nag-aararo at palaging lumilingon ay hindi karapat-dapat sa paghahari ng Diyos.”