The Pharisees came forward and began to
argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed
from the depth of his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign?
Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Then he left
them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
The story is told about a woman wanted to
see a sign from her beloved so that she could finally say yes to him. So she
said: “If this man would bring me flowers and chocolates that would be the sign
that he loves me.” Lo and behold the man came knocking at their gate with
flowers and chocolates. To make a long story short she finally said yes to him
but after a few months they broke up.
Unlike the love of a suitor which is often
times fickle and bounded by time, Jesus love for us is always there it’s not
fickle or bounded by time. What are the signs of God’s love? The food on
the table, the new life in the morning and countless more! These are obvious
signs of Jesus infinite love for us.
But often times these are still not enough
for us, we still seek more signs to strengthen our faith in Him. When we seek
additional signs from Jesus it also shows how feeble our faith in Him.
Otherwise if we have full faith and confidence we would not anymore seek or ask
for whatever sign/s. Let us not anymore seek signs from the Lord let us instead
ask the Lord to deepen our faith in Him.
Do
you sometimes seek signs from the Lord? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong
panahong iyon, may dumating na mga Pariseo at nakipagtalo kay Hesus. Ibig
nilang masila siya kaya hiningi nila na magpakita si hesus ng isang tanda mula
sa langit.
Napabuntong-hininga
nang malalim si Hesus at ang wika, “Bakit naghahanap ng tanda ang lahing ito?
Sinasabi ko sa inyo: hindi sila pagpapakitaan ng anumang tanda.” Iniwan niya
sila, at pagkasakay sa bangka ay tumawid sa ibayo.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not
think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to
abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the
law, until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the
least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in
the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be
called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I tell you, unless your righteousness
surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of
heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to your
ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment;
and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin;
and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the
altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your
gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then
come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to
court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge
will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I
say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.
“You have heard that it was said, You
shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with
lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye
causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away It is better for you to lose
one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if
your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better
for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into
Gehenna.
“It was also said, whoever divorces his
wife must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you, whoever divorces his
wife - unless the marriage is unlawful - causes her to commit adultery, and
whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
“Again you have heard that it was said
to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that
you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s
throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is
the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a
single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,' and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’
Anything more is from the evil one.”
+ +
+ + + + +
Reflection:
Imagine a world without laws, there would be no order; there would
be chaos and anarchy. Imagine life without following the laws of your country.
And let us imagine ourselves not being faithful to the teachings of God. There
would also be disorder in our life; we will have no peace of mind.
In our first reading according to Sirach (Sirach 15:15-20) we are
given choices, life and death, good and evil. We are made to choose
whichever we like. If we like death and evil, it’s really up to us; if we like
good and life, it’s also upon our hands. God gave us the freedom but this
freedom is not absolute because God wants us to carefully discern
our choices. For example if we choose death disguised as fulfillment of the law
over life or evil desires over good where would these faulty choices bring us?
But what if we choose life and we choose to do good? Of course we
would have peace of mind we will not be bothered by our conscience for the
reason that we followed what God wants us to do. And this is absolutely what
God wants us to always do in our life!
For example in our gospel, Jesus gives us teaching about Anger
(Matthew 5:21-26), teaching about Adultery (Matthew 5:27-30) and teaching about
Divorce (Matthew 5:31-32). Just imagine if we would follow all of these teachings. There would be peace and
serenity in our life most specifically in our
married life. But are we following these
teachings or laws of Jesus?
These laws were given to us by Jesus to serve as our lighthouse as
we continue to sail in this world. We follow these commands not because we fear
it. We follow it because we love Jesus who is the spirit behind His laws. Therefore, if we follow we’ll have peace in our life and we would be much closer to Jesus in this world and beyond this
world.
Imagine a peaceful life and imagine a life very close to Jesus,
would you not want to have it? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong panahong iyon, sinabi ni Hesus sa kanyang mga alagad: “Huwag
ninyong akalaing naparito ako upang pawalang-bisa ang Kautusan at ang aral ng
mga propeta. Naparito ako, hindi upang pawalang-bisa kundi para ipaliwanag at
ganapin ang mga iyon. Tandaan ninyo ito: magwawakas ang langit at ang lupa,
ngunit ang kaliit-liitang bahagi ng Kautusan ay di mawawalan ng bisa hangga’t
hindi nagaganap ang lahat.
Kaya’t sinumang magpawalang-halaga
kahit sa kaliit-liitang bahagi nito, at magturo nang gayon sa mga tao, ay
ibibilang na pinakamababa sa kaharian ng Diyos. Ngunit ang gumaganap ng
Kautusan at nagtuturo na tuparin iyon ay ibibilang na dakila sa kaharian ng
Diyos.
Sinasabi ko sa inyo: kung ang
pagsunod ninyo sa kalooban ng Diyos ay tulad lamang ng pagsunod ng mga eskriba
at mga Pariseo, hindi kayo makapapasok sa kaharian ng Diyos.
“Narinig ninyo na noong una’y iniutos
sa mga tao, ‘Huwag kang papatay; ang sinumang makamatay ay mananagot sa
hukuman.’ Ngunit ngayo’y sinasabi ko sa inyo: ang mapoot sa kanyang kapatid ay
mananagot sa hukuman; ang humamak sa kanyang kapatid ay mananagot sa Sanedrin,
at sinumang magsabi sa kanyang kapatid ‘ulol ka!’ ay mapapasaapoy ng impiyerno.
Kaya’t kung naghahandog ka sa Diyos,
at maalaala mo na may sama ng loob sa iyo ang kapatid mo, iwan mo muna ang
iyong handog sa harap ng dambana at makipagkasundo ka sa kanya. Saka ka
magbalik at maghandog sa Diyos.
“Kung may magsakdal laban sa iyo sa
hukuman, makipag-ayos ka sa kanya habang may panahon, bago ka niya iharap sa
hukom. At kung hindi’y ibibigay ka niya sa hukom, na magbibigay naman sa
iyo sa tanod, at ikaw ay mabibilanggo. Sinasabi ko sa iyo: hindi ka
makalalabas doon hangga’t hindi mo nababayaran ang kahuli-hulihang kusing.”
“Narinig ninyo na noong una’y iniutos
sa mga tao, ‘Huwag kang makikiapid.’ Ngunit ngayo’y sinasabi ko sa inyo: ang
sinumang tumingin nang may mahalay na pagnanasa sa isang babae, sa isip niya’y
nakiapid na siya sa babaing iyon. Kung ang mata mo ang siyang nagiging sanhi ng
iyong pagkakasala, dukutin mo at itapon!
Sapagkat mabuti pang mawalan ka ng
isang bahagi ng katawan kaysa buo ang iyong katawang itapon sa impiyerno. Kung
ang iyong kamay ang siyang nagiging sanhi ng iyong pagkakasala, putulin mo at
itapon! Mabuti pang mawalan ka ng isang bahagi ng katawan kaysa buo ang iyong
katawang itapon sa impiyerno.
“Sinabi rin naman, ‘Kapag pinahiwalay
ng lalaki ang kanyang asawa, ito’y dapat niyang bigyan ng kasulatan ng
paghihiwalay.’ Ngunit ngayo’y sinasabi ko sa inyo: kapag pinahiwalay ng isang
lalaki ang kanyang asawa nang hindi naman ito nangangalunya, at ito’y
nag-asawang muli, ang lalaking iyo’y nagkasala – itinulak niya ang kanyang
asawa sa pangangalunya. At sinumang mag-asawa sa babaing hiniwalayan ay
nangangalunya.”
“Narinig pa ninyo na noong una’y
iniutos sa mga tao, ‘Huwag kang sisira sa iyong pinanumpaang pangako bagkus ay
tupdin mo ang iyong sinumpaan sa Panginoon.’ Ngunit ngayo’y sinasabi ko sa
inyo: huwag na kayong sumumpa kung nangangako kayo. Huwag ninyong sabihing,
‘Saksi ko ang langit,’ sapagkat ito’y trono ng Diyos; o kaya’y ‘Saksi ko ang
lupa,’ sapagkat ito’y tuntungan ng kanyang mga paa.
Huwag din ninyong sabihing, ‘Saksi ko
ang Jerusalem,’ sapagkat ito’y lungsod ng dakilang Hari. Ni huwag mong
sabihing, ‘Mamatay man ako,’ sapagkat ni isang buhok sa iyong ulo’y hindi mo
mapapuputi o mapaiitim. Sabihin mo na lang na ‘Oo’ kung oo at ‘Hindi’ kung
hindi; sapagkat buhat na sa masama ang anumang sumpang idaragdag dito.”
In those days when there again was a great
crowd without anything to eat, Jesus summoned the disciples and said, “My heart
is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three
days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they
will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance.
His disciples answered him, “Where can
anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?” Still he
asked them, “How many loaves do you have? They replied, “Seven.” He ordered the
crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks,
broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed
them to the crowd.
They also had a few fish. He said the blessing
over them and ordered them distributed also. They ate and were satisfied. They
picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets. There were about four thousand
people.
He dismissed the crowd and got into the
boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do you know how it feels to be hungry?
Having nothing to eat is an indescribable
feeling of being weak. We cannot do the things that we would normally want to
do. We may even limit our movement because the more we move the more that we
feel the pain of hunger.
In the gospel reading; Jesus speaks about
the crowd without anything to eat: “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat If I
send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some
of them have come a great distance (Mark 8:2-3)."
Then, He asked His disciples, "How
many loaves do you have (Mark 8:5)?" They replied, "Seven." He
ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Afterwards He gave thanks, broke
them and gave them to the disciples to give to the crowd. The same happened to
the few fish that they had; the four thousand people were able to eat and they
still had seven basketfuls of excess bread and fish.
What lesson does Jesus wants us to learn
from the miracle of the loaves and fish? Perhaps Jesus wants us to learn how to
give, why? For the simple reason that many are going hungry. Let us not worry
of the cost of giving that would bring us because the more we give the more
that we would receive. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong mga
araw na iyon, muling nagkatipon ang mga tao. Naubos nila ang kanilang pagkain,
kaya’t tinawag ni Hesus ang kanyang mga alagad, at sinabi sa kanila, “Nahahabag
ako sa mga taong ito, sapagkat tatlong araw na ngayong kasama ko sila at wala
na silang makain. Kung pauuwiin ko nang gutom, mahihilo sila sa daan – galing
pa naman sa malayo ang ilan sa kanila.”
“Saan po tayo
kukuha ng tinapay dito sa ilang para magkasya sa ganito karaming tao?” tugon ng
mga alagad. “Ilan ang tinapay ninyo riyan?” tanong ni Hesus. “Pito po,” sagot
nila. Ang mga tao’y pinaupo ni Hesus sa lupa. Kinuha niya ang pitong tinapay,
at nagpasalamat sa Diyos. Pinagpira-piraso niya ang mga iyon at ibinigay sa mga
alagad upang ipamahagi sa mga tao.
Gayun nga ang
ginawa ng mga alagad. Mayroon din silang ilang maliliit na isda. Muli siyang
nagpasalamat sa Diyos, at iniutos niyang ibigay din iyon sa mga tao. Kumain ang
lahat at nabusog; at nang tipunin nila ang mga pira-pirasong tinapay na
lumabis, nakapuno sila ng pitong bakol na malalaki. At may apat na libo ang
kumain. Pinayaon ni Hesus ang mga tao, saka siya sumakay sa bangka, at nagtungo
sa lupain ng Dalmanuta.
Again Jesus left the district of Tyre and
went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him
to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man’s ears and,
spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said
to him, “Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” — And immediately the man’s ears
were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone. But
the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. They were
exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes
the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
In the gospel we are presented with an
authentic healing presided by Jesus. A deaf man who had a speech impediment is
brought to Jesus for healing. To make a long story short Jesus healed the deaf
man: he was able to hear and talk again.
I’d like to zero in on the personal
healing actions of Jesus. They walked away from the madding crowd and once they
were both by themselves Jesus conducted the personal healing. He put his finger
into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to
heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” And
immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and
he spoke plainly.
This healing action of Jesus is very much
opposite to what we see nowadays. Healers now want it to be publicized they
want to be noticed they want to maximize their media exposure so to speak! I
can only speculate of their true motives.
Is it still possible for us to have this
personal and one on one healing with Jesus now? Yes, a pious presence at Holy
Mass or quite visit to our church’s Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel
would do it for us. Jesus is there personally waiting for us to heal us of our
sickness our personal hurts and pains.
If only we would discover the healing and
calming presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, if only we will learn to
allocate a portion of our time to give Him a visit there. We would also have an
Ephphatha experience.
Our hearts and minds would also be opened
to this personal and wondrous healing experience with Jesus in the Blessed
Sacrament and with Jesus at Holy Mass. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus went to the district of Tyre. He
entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but he could not escape
notice. Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him. She
came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth,
and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.
He said to her, “Let the children be fed
first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the
dogs.” She replied and said to him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat
the children’s scraps.” Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go. The
demon has gone out of your daughter.” When the woman went home, she found the
child lying in bed and the demon gone.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Are you persistent when you pray before
The Lord?
A Greek woman went to Jesus to ask Him to
drive out a demon from her daughter. What is very significant here is the woman
is an outsider, not a follower of Jesus not even a Jew. But with courage and
faith she went to Jesus for help, her mind was focused on reaching out to
Jesus.
When she finally was able to reach Jesus,
she told Him about her sick daughter. Jesus was reluctant at first to help. But
she persisted and she humbled herself before Jesus after which her daughter was
healed.
We all have our own problems that we carry
in our hearts and we surely have brought these problems to Jesus. Let us not
lose heart if we have not yet received a response from Jesus. Let us continue
to persist, continue to humble ourselves before Him and untiringly beseech His
guidance and help.
The woman never gave up until she got what
she wanted from Jesus. So we too must never give up we must continue to badger
Jesus with our humble and persistent prayers. Often times we don’t get what we
want from Jesus because we easily give up. Same as with our ambitions in life;
we don’t get what we want because we give up.
What if we don’t give up? What if we
continue to persist and humbly ask the Good Lord to grant us our prayer/s? –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong
panahong iyon, nagtungo si Hesus sa lupain ng Tiro at tumuloy sa isang bahay
doon. Ayaw sana niyang malaman ninuman na naroon siya, subalit hindi gayon ang
nangyari. Ang pagdating niya'y nabalitaan ng isang inang may maliit na anak na
babaing inaalihan ng masamang espiritu. Pumunta siya kay Jesus at nagpatirapa
sa kanyang harapan.
Ang
babaing ito'y Hentil -- tubo sa Sirofenicia. Ipinamanhik niya kay Hesus na
palayasin ang demonyo na nasa kanyang anak; ngunit sinabi ni Hesus,
"Kailangang busugin muna ang mga anak. Hindi dapat kunin ang pagkain ng
mga anak upang ihagis sa mga tuta."
"Tunay
nga po, Panginoon," tugon ng babae, "ngunit ang mga tuta mang nasa
ilalim ng hapag ay naninimot ng mga mumong nalalaglag ng mga anak." Kaya't
sinabi sa kanya ni Hesus, "Dahil sa sinabi mo, maaari ka nang umuwi. Iniwan
na ng demonyo ang iyong anak." Umuwi ang babae, at naratnan niya sa higaan
ang bata. Iniwan na nga ng demonyo.
Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to
them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from
outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are
what defile.”
When he got home away from the crowd his
disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them, “Are even you
likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes
into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters not the heart but the
stomach and passes out into the latrine?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
“But what comes out of the man, that is
what defiles him. From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts,
unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness,
envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they
defile.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do we discern the voice of the Lord when
it speaks to us?
When Jesus said, “Nothing that enters one
from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within
are what defile.” The disciples were asking Him about the meaning of His
statement. As if they were saying, Come again Lord, we do not understand what
you’ve said. And perhaps in exasperation Jesus said, “Are even you likewise
without understanding?
In our walk with the Lord there would be
times that we will not understand also the things that are happening in our
lives. For example, we might ask the Lord, Why is this happening to me Lord? I
don’t get your message; I don’t understand the reason of this event/s in my
life.
Why is it that we don’t understand?
Because we don’t listen carefully to Him or we may listen but our attention is
focused on something else. If only we would learn to carefully listen to the
Lord and if only we would try to live to the fullest His teaching.
But how are we going to listen to the
Lord? We have to consistently go to Holy Mass. We also have to consistently
read the bible which more often than not is not being read. We also have to be
humble for the reason that humility is the key for us to discern the voice of
the Lord.
Then, we would know and we would
understand that everything that happens in our life is for a good reason. We
would discern that Jesus has a purpose why we are going through this and that
trial. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong
panahong iyon, muling pinalapit ni Hesus ang mga tao at sinabi sa kanila,
"Makinig kayong lahat, at unawain ang aking sasabihin! Hindi ang pumapasok
sa bibig ng tao ang nakapagpaparumi sa kanya sa mata ng Diyos kundi ang
nagmumula sa kanya. Ang may pandinig ay makinig."
Iniwan ni
Jesus ang mga tao; at nang makapasok na sa bahay, siya'y tinanong ng kanyang
mga alagad tungkol sa talinghaga. "Kayo man ba'y wala ring
pang-unawa?" tugon ni Hesus. "Hindi ba ninyo alam na hindi
nakapagpaparumi sa tao ang kinakain niya, sapagkat hindi naman iyon pumapasok
sa kanyang puso, kundi sa tiyan, at pagkatapos ay idinudumi." Sa pagsasabi
nito'y para nang ipinahayag ni Hesus na maaaring kanin ang lahat ng pagkain.
Nagpatuloy
siya sa pagsasalita: "Ang lumalabas mula sa tao ang nagpaparumi sa kanya
sa mata ng Diyos. Sapagkat sa loob-- sa puso ng tao-- nagmumula ang masasamang
isipang nag-uudyok sa kanya na makiapid, magnakaw, pumatay, mangalunya,
mag-imbot, at gumawa ng lahat ng kabuktutan, tulad ng pagdaraya, kahalayan,
pagkainggit, paninirang puri, kapalaluan, at kahangalan, Ang lahat ng ito'y
nanggagaling sa puso ng tao, at siyang nagpaparumi sa kanya."
When the Pharisees with some scribes who
had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his
disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. (For the
Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their
hands, keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace they do
not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they
have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and
beds.) So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not
follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”
He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips, but
their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines
human precepts. You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”
He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order
to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said, Honor your father and your
mother, and Whoever curses father or mother shall die. Yet you say, ‘If someone
says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’
(meaning, dedicated to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or
mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have
handed on. And you do many such things.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Are we fond of insisting on a rule which we
do not actually follow?
Jesus criticized the Pharisees and scribes
hypocrisy because they were insisting on following the tradition of washing
their hands before eating. But Jesus knew them very well, He knew that they
were only good at pushing people to follow their traditions and manmade laws.
But the irony of it all is they themselves were not following the laws that
they had crafted.
What made Jesus an extraordinary leader?
He led by example there was no hypocrisy in His system, He practiced what He
preached. Are we not like the Pharisees and scribes sometimes or even
oftentimes?
We are good at telling people to do this
and that, but we are not doing what we want others to do. For example in a
family setting, many parents create rules and regulations for their children to
follow. But they themselves do not subscribe to the rules that they’ve created.
Many of us are not being respected because
we don’t stand for what we say or we don’t live what we preach. We say
something today and then we violate what we’ve said. We must always be like
Jesus who always put to living actions His words and teachings.
Thus, we would earn the respect that we
richly deserve. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
