The disciples approached Jesus and
said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over,
placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and
become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles
himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever
receives one child such as this in my name receives me. “See that you do not
despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Why did the disciples ask Jesus: “Who
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” Were they expecting that Jesus would
tell them that they’re the greatest in the kingdom of heaven because they are
His disciples?
Instead, Jesus called a child and
said: “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will
not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the
greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3-4)
The key that can unlock for us the
kingdom of heaven is the humility of a child that we must always emulate. The
key that can invite the grace of the Holy Spirit upon us is the same childlike
humility.
It’s no brainer to ask why a
child and not an adult? Unlike adults, children have the simplest and
purest minds. Children are not tainted by any form of sin and they are docile
humble and obedient. Adults like us are sinful we defy God’s commandments to
satisfy our whims and caprices.
Life nowadays is not easy as well
many of our children today are also more exposed to poverty than before. We
just need to open our eyes wide and we would see it. What intervention can we
do to help these children? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold,
the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I
said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before
me.’
I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water
was that he might be made known to Israel. John testified further, saying, “I
saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him.
I did
not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On
whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will
baptize with the Holy Spirit. Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son
of God.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Would we be willing to give our life so that others may live?
Jesus did that for us, He gave His very life on the cross so that we may live
and have life. What have we given Jesus in return? Have we thought of silently
helping the poor and unwanted which Jesus always represent?
We often have this me and myself mentality; me first, myself first
before the wellbeing of others. But Jesus did not think of Himself first, it
was us first and never Himself otherwise He would not have freely given His
life on the cross.
Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world as
John the Baptist referred Him to be in our gospel. Let us not simply forget
this ultimate sacrifice of Jesus by doing nothing, by not helping the poor and
unwanted. We have to do something good for them no matter how small or
insignificant for this is our responsibility.
Just imagine the good that we will be doing if we would help the
poor and unwanted. What we do to the poor and unwanted we do to Jesus. We help
the poor we help Jesus, we give water and food to the poor and unwanted we give
it to Jesus. Let us never worry for whatever help that we silently give to the
poor Jesus will give back to us in manifold ways.
Have you silently given help to the poor? - Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Jesus went out along the sea. All the
crowd came to him and he taught them. As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of
Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. Jesus said to him, “Follow me. And he
got up and followed Jesus. While he was at table in his house, many tax
collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many
who followed him.
Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that
Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his
disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners? Jesus heard
this and said to them “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick
do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Are we sometimes quick to judge those who
sin? For example, we judge somebody as sinner because of his/her sinful
lifestyle.
However, the moment we judge we also begin
to distance ourselves from the person that we judge. And in doing so we deprive
ourselves of the opportunity to convert this person.
Those who sin are not permanent sinners
there comes a certain point in their lives that they want to change. This
change is facilitated when they are not judged for the things that they’ve
done. Instead, they are listened, forgiven and given the freedom to live a new life.
Jesus in our gospel reading did not judge
Levi a tax collector and labeled as a sinner by those who know him. What did
Jesus do? Instead of judging or even condemning Levi; He went to Levi talked to
him and told Levi to come and follow Him. And immediately Levi left whatever
that he was doing and followed Jesus.
What if Jesus judged Levi as sinner and
told Levi that that he deserves to be roasted in hell? There would have been no
conversion and healing on the part of Levi. These acts of mercy, compassion and
forgiveness of Jesus should serve as a lesson for all of us.
If we want conversion from sinners, we
should not judge them. Because who are we to judge when we are also sinners
like them? We should instead help them live a new life permanently away from
their former sinful lives. - Marino J. Dasmarinas
When Jesus returned to Capernaum after
some days, it became known that he was at home. Many gathered together so that
there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he
preached the word to them. They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by
four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the
roof above him.
After they had broken through, they let
down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he
said to him, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were
sitting there asking themselves, “Why does this man speak that way? He is
blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus immediately knew in his
mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, “Why are you thinking
such things in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic,
‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’? But
that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth”
–he said to the paralytic, “I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.”
He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone.
They were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything
like this.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What would you do if a sick person who is
poor will ask you for help? Will you bring him to a hospital or would you
simply ignore and move on with your life?
The gospel for today gives us direction on
what to do whenever somebody asks us for help regardless of who this somebody
is. We must help in whatever way the person in need this was the deed that was
done by the four men who went to the roof of the house where Jesus was staying.
The four men brought the paralytic to
Jesus. They did not care if they have to open the roof of the house so that
they could bring the paralytic in front of Jesus. What was important for them
was to extend help to the paralytic in whatever forms and ways.
What happened to the four men after the
paralytic was healed and forgiven of his sins by Jesus? They simply fade away
into the sunset; they did not receive any words of appreciation from the crowd
and from the man that they’ve helped.
But certainly, as they walked away and
mingled with the crowd. They carried in their hearts this unexplainable
happiness. Happiness that no human could give them, happiness that no amount of
money could satisfy them and happiness that only Jesus can give them.
This unexplainable happiness was given to them by Jesus for a job well done.
And for getting out of their own comfort zones so that they could give comfort
and help to someone in need.
How about us, what would we do if a sick
person who is poor would ask us for help? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
A leper came to him and kneeling down
begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he
stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, “I do will it. Be
made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. Then,
warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, “See that you tell no
one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing
what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” The man went away and
began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was
impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted
places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What moves you to go to Jesus?
The leper went to Jesus knelled down and
begged Jesus by saying, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” And immediately
the leper was healed by Jesus. You may ask, what moved the leper to ask Jesus
to heal him?
Was it his grave sickness? No, his leprosy
was not the driving force that moved him to seek the help of Jesus. It was
something far bigger than his sickness and it was the leper’s deep reservoir of
faith in Jesus! Otherwise if he did not have faith he wouldn’t have gone to
Jesus. And what drove Jesus to heal the leper? Was it His leprosy? No it
was not his leprosy that moved Jesus to heal him. It was the leper’s great
faith in Him!
What brings us to Jesus and why do we pray
to Jesus? Do we pray to Jesus because of our problems? Are we doing this
because of our sickness? Our sickness and our problems must not be the primary
reason why we go in prayer to Jesus. It must always be our deep faith in Him!
Let us always see to it that our faith is
always the main driving force why we want to commune with Jesus. For the reason
that the more that we are driven by faith to go to Jesus. The bigger our chance
of being heard by Him.
What moves you to pray to Jesus? – Marino
J. Dasmarinas
On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the
house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick
with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her
hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them. When
it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed
by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick
with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to
speak because they knew him.
Rising very early before dawn, he left and
went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. Simon and those who were with
him pursued him and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.” He told
them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For
this purpose have I come.” So he went into their synagogues, preaching
and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
The story is told about a family who had a
bedridden mother. Being in such situation her husband and children confined her
to a room within their house. The mother was wondering, why they isolated her
when she doesn’t have a contagious sickness? Deep in her heart she was wishing
for a daily small talk with her family or even a quick peek from her husband
and children. But they rarely did she eventually died not from her sickness but
from her loneliness.
When Jesus was told that Simon’s
mother-in-law was sick with a fever, He immediately approached her and grasp
her hand. As if to say that I’m here for you and I’m concerned with your
wellbeing. Then she was healed by Jesus before they left her.
What is Jesus telling us in this gospel?
Jesus is telling us that we have to visit the sick. We have to talk to them and
we have to let them know that we are here for them. Many of us don’t visit the
sick because we are so busy with our daily undertakings. Or we don’t visit the
sick because we have no money to help them.
But there’s more to life than our daily
undertakings and there’s certainly more to life than having money. Life is all
about touching lives! It’s making a person feel special more so if she/he is
sick. Just imagine if a sick person would see us, it certainly would brighten
the face and boost the sagging morale of
the sick person.
Nevermind, if we cannot give financial
help since our mere presence is more than enough to help her get well. Our mere
presence is like saying, I’m here for you, you can count on me and I love you
more than words can say.
We must never underestimate the power of a
visit or even a quick visit to a sick relative or friend. It could do wonders
for their wellness of course we are not Jesus thus we would not be able to cure
them physically, but who knows? Nonetheless, it still can do wonders for them
on the level of their emotions and morale.
Jesus is showing us the way on what to do
when somebody is sick we therefore have to follow the way of Jesus. - Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Jesus came to Capernaum with his
followers, and on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. The people
were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and
not as the scribes. In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he
cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to
destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come
out of him!” The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of
him. All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with
authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him. His fame
spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
The story is told about a married man who
succumb to an adulterous relationship with his equally married officemate. The man would always attend Holy Mass with
his wife every Sunday. Yet, he still surrendered to the enticement of the devil
acting through his married officemate by jumping with reckless abandon into
that adulterous relationship.
Why was he overpowered by the woman who
was doing it on behalf of the devil? This is for the simple reason that he had
superficial faith, he did not allow Jesus to take control of his life. He
instead allowed the devil through the woman who was ostensibly nice and
accommodating to her to seduce, control and manipulate him.
When Jesus went to the synagogue He
encountered a man with an unclean spirit or a man possessed by a demon. Then
after conversing with the unclean spirit Jesus drove it away from the man.
Everyone, of us is susceptible to be
possessed by a demon that is if our faith in Jesus is weak and if we don’t live
our faith. Therefore, we are easily tempted by the devil to commit sin no
matter how severe without guilt of conscience. This is what the evil one does
to us he uses people to probe our faith. And if it’s weak and shallow it would
never stop until it capture, ravage and destroy us.
Unclean spirit and evil spirit are very
real it hides deep in our being it only comes out when the environment is
conducive for it to come out. For example, when there’s temptation for us to do
something immoral, adulterous and sinful. When the opportunity presents itself
the demon that hides within us would now suddenly take control of us until it
accomplishes its evil will for us.
Why does the presence of the evil one hide
within us? It hides for the reason that we give it space, in other words it
hides within us because we consent to it. Most especially when the situation to
sin and do evil is favorable.
However, if we really desire to completely
extricate ourselves from any form of evil possession and unclean spirit. We
actually can with the help of Jesus, how would we do it? We must get closer to
Jesus we must always ask Jesus to weed out and to completely overpower, defeat
and eliminate the evil that resides within us.
And of course we also have to do our part.
We have to confront, permanently avoid and distance ourselves from the human
representative of the devil which ostensibly appear to be nice and
accommodating to us. - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Sa lungsod ng
Capernaum sa Araw ng Pamamahinga si Jesus ay pumasok sa sinagoga at nagturo.
Namangha ang mga tao sapagkat nagturo siya sa kanila na parang isang may
kapangyarihan, at hindi tulad ng mga eskriba. Bigla namang pumasok sa sinagoga
ang isang inaalihan ng masamang espiritu, at sumigaw: "Ano ang pakialam mo
sa amin, Jesus na taga-Nazaret?
Kilala kita:
Ikaw ang Banal na mula sa Diyos!" Ngunit iniutos ni Jesus sa masamang
espiritu , "Tumahimik ka! Lumabas ka sa kanya!" Pinapangisay ng
masamang espiritu ang tao, at sumisigaw na lumabas. Nanggilalas ang lahat,
kaya't sila'y nagtanungan. "Ano ito? Bagong aral? Nauutusan niya pati ang
masasamang espiritu. At sinunod naman siya!" At mabilis na kumalat sa
buong Galilea ang balita tungkol kay Jesus.
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the
Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be
baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” Jesus said to him in reply,
“Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
Then he allowed him.
After Jesus was baptized, he came up from
the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of
God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the
heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Why was there a need for Jesus to be baptized
considering that he is God the Son? Jesus went through his own baptism as an
act of solidarity with us sinful humanity.
Jesus’ Baptism is an expression of the
Lord’s great desire to be one with us. The Lord could have avoided baptism but
he went through it also as an expression of his immense love for us. Love that
culminated in the Lord’s death on the cross at Calvary.
Having been baptized too and being of age
already we partake of Jesus’ mission to spread the good news of the faith,
that’s why we have to live our faith. We have to bring people to God, we have
to do acts of mercy and compassion and we have to follow and live the life of
the Lord. The Lord’s life of self-sacrifice, life of love and forgiveness and
the like.
By celebrating the Baptism of Jesus today
we don’t only recall and remember Jesus baptism. We are also reminded that we
have our very own baptismal mission which we have to live and fulfill.
Are we able to live and fulfill our own
Baptismal mission? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King
Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the
newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him
homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem
with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, He
inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In
Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: And you,
Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the
time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and
search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I
too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the
star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped
over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and
on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened
their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And
having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their
country by another way.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
The story is told about an old woman who was living alone in her
house. A neighbor noticed her and she asked the old woman, “Why are you alone?
Don’t you have children? The old woman replied, “I have children however
they have their respective family already but they still visit me every once in
a while.”
She further said: I used to be lonely but I’m okay now because a
relative introduced me to Jesus: Jesus is in my life now. I go to Mass
everyday, I read my bible and I’m all
right: I submit my life to Jesus because Jesus cured my loneliness, depression
and emptiness.
The Magi were in search for Jesus to give Him homage and to offer
Jesus their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But come to think of it, was
it the sole purpose why they were in desperate search of the baby Jesus?
There might have been loneliness and emptiness also in their hearts. That is
why they were searching for Jesus for they knew that it was only Jesus who
would cure their hidden loneliness and emptiness.
In our fast moving and technology driven world today wherein
social media connects and drives everyone of us. Many of us are still lonely,
depressed and empty deep inside us. Up to this time we are longing for that something that would inwardly cure our
loneliness and emptiness. This something that we are longing for is none other
than Jesus. We also have to diligently search for Jesus as the Magi diligently
searched for the baby Jesus.
Do you search for the Lord?
- Marino J. Dasmarinas
There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee,
and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to
the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They
have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me?
My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servers, “Do
whatever he tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish
ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told them,
“Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them,
“Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it.
And when the headwaiter tasted the water
that had become wine, without knowing where it came from — although the servers
who had drawn the water knew —, the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said
to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk
freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.” Jesus did
this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee and so revealed his
glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
How influential is your mother to you? Do
you always listen to her whenever she speaks to you? Influence is
something that Mary has over her son Jesus not only that she exercised
influence over Jesus. She also has the listening ear of Jesus.
The backdrop of Jesus’ first miracle is
the wedding at Cana that run out of wine. The wedding feast could have already
been over in that instance but Mary was there to save the day. She went to
Jesus for the reason that she knows that she exercised influence over her son.
Mary also knows that she has the listening ear of Jesus.
What does Mary teach us? She teaches us
that we always have to go to Jesus when we have issues in our life. We have to
let Jesus take over the driver seat not us taking over it, we have to be
patient and not be demanding toward Jesus.
This simply means that we have to let
Jesus answer our prayers on His own time and terms. Not us dictating the time
and terms of our prayers before our Lord. Mary is also silently teaching us
about humility, patience and acceptance of the will of God for our life. –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
This is what John the Baptist proclaimed:
“One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen
the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit.”
It happened in those days that Jesus came
from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up
out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a
dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my
beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What does baptism signify? It signifies
the beginning of our faith life journey with Jesus. It also signifies our
humility and our willingness to become member of the church that Jesus founded
through Peter.
When we were brought to church by our
parents for Baptism our parents did this from their own freewill. Nobody told
them to bring that newly born child to church so that it could be baptized.
They did this because they want their child to become a member of the church
and a certified follower of Jesus.
Unfortunately to many parents this desire
for their child to become a member of the church and a follower of Jesus begins
and ends with the child’s baptism. They fail to recognize that after their
child’s baptism comes the responsibility to bring the child to church for Holy
Mass every Sunday.
When the child is at the right age already
it is also the responsibility of the parents to teach the growing child about
the teachings of the catholic faith. And it is also the responsibility of the
parents to open their bible to the growing child so that the child could be
familiar with the teachings of God.
So what happens to the child? He/she grows
without any awareness about his/her responsibilities as a baptized catholic.
He/she becomes a follower of this world than a follower of Jesus and the church
that He founded. Would you want your child to become a follower of this world
than become a follower of Jesus? Of course not!
The Baptism of the Lord is a timely
reminder for all parents that their faith obligation to their child doesn’t end
with his/her baptism. Baptism is only the beginning after baptism the parents
are tasked to form this child about the importance of God, Jesus, the Holy
Spirit and the church in their faith life. So that this child would
eventually become a good son or a good daughter and a productive citizen of
this world and fruitful follower of Jesus.
How are you raising your child after
his/her baptism or how did your raise your children after they were baptized? -
Marino J. Dasmarinas
