Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well.
Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow. “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
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Reflection:
Are we capable of not keeping hatred in our heart? For example, when somebody hurts us, are we capable of not taking revenge? When someone strikes us on the right cheek could we turn the other side as well? Are we capable of not refusing somebody who wants to borrow from us? Can we love our enemy and can we still pray for those who’ve been persecuting and hurting us?
Jesus in the gospel gives us teachings that are very difficult for many of us to follow. We may wonder, why these teachings are very hard for us to follow? This is so for the reason that we are humans and as such we respond because this is the normal human instinct to respond accordingly to what is done to us.
But if we respond to an evil act done to us we only permit the cycle of evil to continue until the same cycle of evil destroys us. However, if we don’t respond to an evil act we immediately kill the evil act and we eventually convert the person who did us evil.
We also normally compartmentalize our fellowmen. For example we label them as those we hate and those we do not hate. Those we love and those we do not love, those who are good to us and those who are not good to us. Therefore, we respond to them according to what they give us.
Jesus invites us today to discard our mindset of compartmentalization and retaliation. He invites us to treat everyone equally regardless if this and that person is good or not good to us. He invites us to throw away our mindset of revenge. And finally the Lord invites us all to be humble, to be loving and forgiving. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong panahong iyon, sinabi ni Hesus sa kanyang mga alagad: “Narinig ninyo na sinabi, ‘Mata sa mata at ngipin sa ngipin.’ Ngunit ngayo’y sinasabi ko sa inyo: huwag ninyong labanan ang masamang tao. Kung may sumampal sa iyo sa kanang pisngi, iharap mo pa sa kanya ang kabila.
Kung ipagsakdal ka ninuman upang makuha ang iyong baro, ibigay mo sa kanya pati ang iyong balabal. Kung sapilitang ipapasan sa iyo ng manlulupig ang kanyang dala nang isang kilometro, pasanin mo ito nang dalawang kilometro. Magbigay ka sa naghihingi sa iyo, at huwag mong pahindian ang nanghihiram sa iyo.
“Narinig na ninyong sinabi, ‘Ibigin mo ang iyong kaibigan at kapootan mo ang iyong kaaway.’ Ngunit ito naman sabi ko: ibigin ninyo ang mga umuusig sa inyo, upang kayo’y maging tunay na anak ng inyong Amang nasa langit. Sapagkat pinasisikat niya ang araw sa masasama at sa mabubuti, at pinapapatak niya ang ulan sa mga banal at sa mga makasalanan.
Kung ang mga umiibig sa inyo ang siya lamang ninyo iibigin, ano pang gantimpala ang inyong hihintayin? Hindi ba’t ginagawa rin ito ng mga publikano? At kung ang binabati lamang ninyo’y ang inyong mga kapatid, ano ang nagawa ninyong higit kaysa iba? Ginagawa rin iyon ng mga Hentil! Kaya, dapat kayong maging ganap, gaya ng inyong Amang nasa Langit.”
Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led
them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before
them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could
bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were
conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
"Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you,
one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He hardly knew what to say, they were
so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the
cloud came a voice, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."
Suddenly, looking around, the disciples no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone
with them.
As they were coming down from the
mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except
when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to
themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant. Then they asked him,
"Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" He told them,
"Elijah will indeed come first and restore all things, yet how is it
written regarding the Son of Man that he must suffer greatly and be treated
with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come and they did to him whatever
they pleased, as it is written of him."
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Reflection:
Do you want to be in heaven with the Lord
when your journey in this world is already over?
Jesus showed to the three apostles what
heaven was like; He gave them a fleeting taste of heaven. But then, He said not
yet; let us go down first and continue my mission of salvation. By doing so He
would go through severe hardship, pain and betrayal. But at the end of these
all Jesus rose up triumphantly to defeat the wickedness of evil.
Before we achieve success, we must toil in
the sun and sacrifice. Before we go to heaven, we have to do something for the
Lord and His church. And this will surely entail sacrifice even hardship.
Why? Because that’s how it is, there are
no shortcuts to triumph. We must go through the eye of the needle so to speak
to fully enjoy the sweetness of our victory and success. Free riders and
freeloaders have no place in the mission for Christ.
We have to sacrifice if we want to be with
the Lord in heaven someday. We have to sweat it out if we want to taste success
in this world. There are no shortcuts. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong
panahong iyon, umakyat si Hesus sa isang mataas na bundok. Wala siyang isinama
kundi sina Pedro, Santiago at Juan. Samantalang sila’y naroon, nakita nilang
nagbagong-anyo si Hesus, nagningning ang kanyang kasuutan na naging
puting-puti, anupat walang sinumang makapagpapaputi nang gayun.
At nakita ng
tatlong alagad si Moises at si Elias, na nakikipag-usap kay Hesus. Sinabi ni
Pedro kay Hesus, “Guro, mabuti pa’y dumito na tayo. Gagawa po kami ng tatlong
kubol: isa sa inyo, isa kay Moises at isa kay Elias.” Hindi nalalaman ni Pedro
ang kanyang sinasabi sapagkat masyado ang takot niya at ng kanyang mga kasama.
At nililiman
sila ng isang alapaap at mula rito’y may tinig na nagsabi, “Ito ang minamahal
kong Anak. Pakinggan ninyo siya!” Pagdaka, tumingin ang mga alagad sa paligid
nila at nakitang wala na silang kasama roon kundi si Hesus. Habang bumababa
sila sa bundok ay mahigpit na itinagubilin sa kanila ni Hesus: “Huwag ninyong
sasabihin kaninuman ang inyong nakita hangga’t hindi muling nabubuhay ang Anak
ng Tao.”
Sinunod nila
ang tagubiling ito, ngunit sila-sila’y nagtanungan kung ano ang kahulugan ng
sinabi niyang muling pagkabuhay. At tinanong nila si Hesus, “Bakit po sinasabi
ng mga eskriba na dapat munang pumarito si Elias?” Tumugon siya, “Paririto nga
si Elias upang ihanda ang lahat ng bagay.
Kung gayo’y
bakit sinasabi ng Kasulatan na ang Anak ng Tao’y hahamakin at magtitiis ng
maraming hirap? Sinasabi ko sa inyo na pumarito na si Elias, at ginawa sa kanya
ng mga tao ang gusto nila, ayon sa sinasabi ng Kasulatan tungkol sa kanya.”
Jesus summoned the crowd with his
disciples and said to them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the
whole world and forfeit his life? What could one give in exchange for his life?
Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this faithless and sinful
generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his Father’s
glory with the holy angels.”
He also said to them, “Amen, I say to you,
there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the
Kingdom of God has come in power.”
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Reflection:
The story is told about a middle aged man
who was newly retired from politics. When he was still active he amassed a lot
of dubious wealth. Having a feeling of financial security already, he said to
himself now I can enjoy all of my money.
However, in spite of his wealth he
didn’t have peace of mind he was always being hounded by the questionable deals
that he made while he was still in power. Then he had a heart attack and he
died immediately without enjoying his stolen wealth.
When he was about to enter the pearly
gates, Saint Peter refused him entry and told him that he’s not welcome because
of the things that he did when he was still alive.
What will it profit us if we gain the
riches of this world if we will not be able to gain entry in heaven? What will
it profit us if we will continue to steal dubious money if we will not have
peace of mind?
Unfortunately, this is the mentality of a
lot of us; we are so short-sighted that we focus on the here and now even if
it’s sinful. We continuously neglect to do good, we purposely shut God out of
our system to enjoy worldly life.
All of us are temporary travellers passing
through this world. In God’s time we will leave this world. Where would we be
by then? Would we be in heaven with Jesus or in the other side? – Marino
J. Dasmarinas
Jesus and his disciples set out for the
villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, “Who do
people say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that
I am?” Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Christ.” Then he warned them
not to tell anyone about him.
He began to teach them that the Son of Man
must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the
scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and,
looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You
are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
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Reflection:
Have you suffered for someone you love?
Suffering is part and parcel of loving,
there’s no real love without suffering for that love. For so long as you love
you should expect some big and little sufferings along the way. Why? Because
suffering perfects and purifies love, love without suffering is not love it’s
simply lust or a shallow object of attraction.
For example, a man and a woman decided to
marry. So, after their marriage they move to a place to be
together. After a few months the man found out that his partner is
sick of cancer so he decided to leave her. It was not real love that
attracted the man to the woman. It was simply lust for he was not willing to
suffer for his beloved.
Jesus in the gospel gives us the best
example of perfect love when He said that the Son of man must suffer greatly.
To whom did Jesus suffer? For us, He suffered out of His great love for us; He
could have avoided going thru intense suffering for He was God too. But He
chose to tread the road of suffering so that we can be redeemed from our
sinfulness.
Would you be willing to suffer for someone
you love? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
When Jesus and his disciples arrived at
Bethsaida, people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He
took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle
on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked, “Do you see anything?”
Looking up the man replied, “I see people
looking like trees and walking.” Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second
time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything
distinctly. Then he sent him home and said, “Do not even go into the village.”
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Reflection:
The story is told about a woman who was a
come and go Catholic who suddenly decided to leave the church in favor for
another Christian denomination. When she was asked why she decided to leave,
she said: “The protestant faith opened my eyes to the real Christian church.”
Perhaps we know of Catholics who are not
well versed about the basic teachings of the church. They are also vulnerable
to abandon the faith. What should we do? We must be the vehicle for their
enlightenment about the truths of the catholic faith.
Let us open their eyes and let them know
that we don’t worship the saints. Let us open their eyes and let them know that
the Catholic church was founded by Jesus through Peter. Let us open their eyes
and let them know that the Holy Bible is the book of the church that we must
always read.
There are many more truths about the
church that our fellow Catholics do not know yet. Let us allow ourselves to be
Jesus’ vehicle so that their eyes of faith will be opened. So that they will
not anymore be blinded to decide to leave the church which Jesus founded
through Peter. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
The disciples had forgotten to bring
bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Jesus enjoined them,
“Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.
They concluded among themselves that it was because they had no bread. When he
became aware of this he said to them, “Why do you conclude that it is because
you have no bread?
Do you not yet understand or comprehend?
Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do
you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many
wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up? They answered him, “Twelve.”
“When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many full baskets of
fragments did you pick up?” They answered him, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do
you still not understand?”
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Reflection:
How do you handle power?
Power corrupts people who don’t know how
to handle it. The Pharisees and King Herod were very powerful but they did not
use their power responsibly they in fact abused it. They used it to oppress and
manipulate people. Eventually they allowed the same power that they had to
corrupt them.
Opposed to the manipulative and arrogant
power of the Pharisees and Herod is the power of Jesus that emanates from God.
Power that is used to sincerely help and power that is used with humility and
purity. This power was shown to them by Jesus when He feed twice the thousands
of people.
Many of us handle power like how the
Pharisees and Herod handled it. We use it to manipulate, we use it to advance
our selfish agendas. Many politicians use their power to steal money from the
government in the guise of helping the poor. The power of the Pharisees and
King Herod is temporary it doesn’t last and this kind of power has a
retribution factor in the end.
Of course, we know the power of Jesus; it
forever leaves an imprint in our hearts. It’s power firmly rooted in humility
and power that will bring us safely to God’s kingdom someday.
Whose power do you embrace? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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.
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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
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.”
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Reflection:
Imagine a world without laws.
There would be no order—only chaos and anarchy. Now imagine living without following the laws of your country. Life would be filled with disorder. And what if we were not faithful to the teachings of God? Our lives would lack direction and peace. We would be restless and troubled, for without God’s guidance, our hearts cannot be at peace.
In our first reading from Sirach 15:15–20, we are reminded that God has given us the gift of free will. He places before us life and death, good and evil, and lovingly allows us to choose. If we choose death and evil, the consequences are ours to bear. But if we choose good and life, it is by God’s grace that we receive peace and fulfillment. God does not force us—He invites us. He calls us to discern carefully, to choose the path that leads to Him.
Sometimes, death and evil are disguised as attractive options. They may appear to offer quick satisfaction or worldly success. But in the end, they distance us from God. So we ask ourselves: Where will these choices take us? Will they bring us closer to God or further away from Him?
But what if we choose life? What if we decide to do what is good and pleasing to God? Surely, we will experience peace in our hearts. Our conscience will not trouble us because we are living according to God’s will. And this is what He desires for us—to live a life rooted in goodness, love, and obedience to Him.
In our Gospel reading (Matthew 5:21–32), Jesus teaches us about anger, adultery, and divorce. These are not just laws to follow out of obligation—they are teachings meant to lead us to a deeper, more loving way of life. Just imagine the peace and harmony in our relationships and families if we followed these teachings wholeheartedly. But we must ask: Are we truly living by the teachings of Jesus?
These commandments from the Lord are not burdens; they are light and truth. They are like a lighthouse guiding us through the storms of life. We follow His laws not because we fear punishment, but because we love Him. Jesus is not only the giver of the law—He is its very spirit and purpose.
When we follow His will, we find peace in our hearts and grow ever closer to Him—not just in this life, but in the life to come.
So today, imagine a life filled with peace. Imagine a life lived in deep friendship with Jesus. Would you not want to have that kind of life?—Marino J. Dasmarinas
