One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked
him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied,
"The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all
your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your
neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these."
The scribe said to him, "Well said,
teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And
to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your
strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt
offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered with
understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of
God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Long time ago in a certain neighborhood
there was a family who would always go to church to worship God. They never
miss to attend Sunday Mass and they regularly give to their church. Thus, they
were greatly admired by their church community.
But upon going home they belittle and
berate their maids when they commit mistakes. They also look down on their poor
neighbors because they are too rich and educated.
What is the best expression of our love
for God? It’s to love our fellowmen no matter who they are, no matter if they
are rich or poor and no matter if they've done us good or not. This
is the best expression of our love for God: To love our fellowmen without any
discrimination.
How can the love of God be with us and how
can we say that we love God if we look down on the poor and downtrodden?
If we only love those who are lovable to our eyes?
The Sun shines in the morning for everyone
of us, it doesn’t discriminate, poor, rich, educated, not educated bad or good.
Hence, our love for our neighbor must also be. Why? Because we profess to love
God. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus was driving out a demon that was
mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were
amazed. Some of them 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.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Is the devil real?
The devil is real and he's a pervading
influence in our society and in our political system as well. This is the reason why every now and then
we get to hear stories of killings, corruption and abuse of authority of
political leaders not only in the Philippines but also in other countries.
In the same vein, the devil is also an
insidious presence inside the family. This is the reason why there are
separation and infidelity inside the marriage covenant. Who can defeat the
influence of the devil in our society’s political system and in our respective
families? It’s Jesus and our practice of our faith in Jesus.
Many of us profess to be believers in
Jesus and many of our politicians are graduates of catholic schools. Yet there are
plunderers and killers in government nowadays, yet there are many broken
families. Why is this so? This is for the reason that many of us are believers
in name only. Many of us attend Holy Mass but we don’t live the grace of Holy
Mass.
If only we would allow our faith in Jesus
to take root deep into our bones, our country would be progressive. If only we would allow our
faith in Jesus to take center stage in our respective families there would also
be less broken marriages.
Let us think about how many times we have
betrayed our faith in Jesus. In exchange for the salivating offers of Satan
which sooner or later will only destroy us. We therefore have to immediately
reject Satan the moment it manifest itself upon us. – 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.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What is life without Jesus? It’s barren,
chaotic and without peace. What is life without following the laws of God? It’s
the same as well. Jesus comes into our lives to make it meaningful,
peaceful and productive. Not meaningful, peaceful and productive in the eyes of
our fellowmen but meaningful and productive in His eyes.
When we break the laws of God we also
distance ourselves from the love of Jesus. For example, if a politician shows in
his public image that he is a follower of Jesus. He will not break the law by
stealing money from the coffers of the government, etc.
He will not break the law of God by
siding with those who are espousing anti life/poor laws such as legalization of
abortion, death penalty and the like. Otherwise, he is only using Jesus to serve
his own hidden agenda. Same goes for a priest/man of God who professes to
follow Jesus. He/she should not break the law by engaging in sexual or homosexual
relationships.
There’s always a reward that awaits those
who follow the laws of God. And there’s always a reward that awaits those who
follow Jesus and His commandments. It may not be the reward that we expect it
to be but there would certainly be a reward.
How about those who violate the law/s? Of course, the wrath of God will be due them sooner or later. Why? Because that is
the unwritten law of the universe. - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as
seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven
times. That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided
to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting, a debtor was
brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it
back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and
all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did
him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that
servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he
found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized
him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ Falling to
his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay
you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back
the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had
happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the
whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you
begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had
pity on you?’ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until
he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless
each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
The story is told about an unforgiving man
who would always harbor resentment towards those who have hurt him. Be
unforgiving was always his attitude towards those who did him wrong until he
had a heart attack. After he recovered from his sickness, he decided not to keep
any resentment anymore and he subsequently felt like a bird freed from a
cage.
Is it normal for us to harbor
resentment/anger? Yes of course for we are humans with emotions. But we must
not let our anger/resentment control us by allowing it safe harbor in our
hearts for so long. Therefore, after that moment wherein we let our feeling of
resentment control us let us quickly allow Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness to
take over our selfish and destructive feelings.
In the gospel Peter asked Jesus,
"Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as
seven times?" Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times
but seventy-seven times (Matthew 18:21-22).
This is a very simple yet very effective
teaching about forgiveness for us from Jesus. In other words the Lord is saying
to us that we should always be forgiving. It’s normal for us to be hurt but let
us not allow these hurtful feelings to control and to wound us permanently.
Hence, we can only be freed from the vicious control of anger which by the way
comes from the devil, if we forgive those who have hurt us.
What if we don’t forgive? We are only
hurting ourselves if we don’t forgive and we only put ourselves in an invisible
prison cell called unforgiveness. And then this unforgiveness will sooner or
later bring us down until we self-destruct.
What if we follow Jesus’ teaching on
forgiveness, how would we feel? We feel light and free and we have no
burden in our hearts. Don’t we all want to feel light, to feel free and without
any burdens and hurtful feelings in our hearts?
There are two options before us: To follow
Jesus’ teaching on infinite forgiveness or we continue to punish and burden
ourselves by unforgiveness. The wisdom filled choice is to follow Jesus’
teaching. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong
panahong iyon, lumapit si Pedro at nagtanong kay Hesus, “Panginoon, makailan
kong patatawarin ang aking kapatid na paulit-ulit na nagkakasala sa akin?
Makapito po ba?” Sinagot siya ni Hesus, “Hindi ko sinasabing makapito, kundi
pitumpung ulit pa nito.
Sapagkat ang
paghahari ng Diyos ay katulad nito: ipinasiya ng isang hari na pagbayarin ang
kanyang mga lingkod na may utang sa kanya. Unang dinala sa kanya ang isang may
utang na sampung milyung piso. Dahil sa siya’y walang ibayad, iniutos ng hari
na ipagbili siya, ang kanyang asawa, mga anak, at lahat ng ari-arian, upang
makabayad.
Nanikluhod
ang taong ito sa harapan ng hari at nagmakaawa: ‘Bigyan pa ninyo ako ng
panahon, at babayaran ko sa inyo ang lahat.’ Naawa sa kanya ang hari kaya
ipinatawad ang kanyang mga utang at pinayaon siya. “Ngunit pagkaalis niya roon
ay nakatagpo niya ang isa sa kanyang kapwa lingkod na may utang na limandaang
piso sa kanya.
Sinunggaban
niya ito at sinakal, sabay wika: ‘Magbayad ka ng utang mo!’ Naglumuhod iyon at
nagmakaawa sa kanya: ‘Bigyan mo pa ako ng panahon at babayaran kita.’ Ngunit
hindi siya pumayag; sa halip ipinabilanggo niya ang kanyang kapwa lingkod
hanggang sa ito’y makabayad. Nang makita ng kanyang mga kapwa lingkod ang
nangyari, sila’y labis na nagdamdam; pumunta sila sa hari at isinumbong ang
nangyari.
Kaya’t
ipinatawag siya ng hari. ‘Ikaw – napakasama mo!’ Sabi niya. ‘Pinatawad kita sa
utang mo sapagkat nagmakaawa ka sa akin. Nahabag ako sa iyo; hindi ba dapat ka
ring mahabag sa kapwa mo?’ At sa galit ng hari, siya’y ipinabilanggo hanggang
sa mabayaran niya ang kanyang utang. Gayun din ang gagawin sa inyo ng aking
Amang nasa langit kung hindi ninyo patatawarin ang inyong kapatid.
Jesus said to the people in the synagogue
at Nazareth: “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native
place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of
Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine
spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was
sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were
many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of
them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.
When the people in the synagogue heard
this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built to hurl
him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do we expect Jesus to bless us abundantly
because we always pray and do good? How would we feel if our expectation is not
meet by Jesus? Would we now be indifferent to Jesus?
We cannot fathom the mind of God, there
are times that His decisions will not fit our own comprehension. We
nevertheless should continue to be faithful to Him even if His will is often
times not attuned to our own will. In His own time God would eventually give us
what we want, we simply have to be patient.
In our gospel the people of Nazareth is
angry with Jesus for the simple reason that what Jesus said did not fit their
expectation. Their minds were already conditioned to believe their own
expectations. But we cannot read the mind of Jesus and we cannot put Jesus in a
box because His decisions and His answers to our prayers are often times out of
the box.
We simply have to believe and hold on to
our faith in Jesus no matter what happens. Even if sometimes or even often
times His decisions doesn’t fit our own selfish expectations. Who knows one of
these days when we least expect it Jesus will suddenly give us what we want.
Let us continue to have faith in Jesus
even if He is not meeting our expectations for He knows what is best for us. –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon.
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” —For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—
Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink, ‘ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
The woman said to him, “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.
“I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ; when he comes, he will tell us everything.”
Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking with you.”
Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him. When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. Many more began to believe in him because of his word, and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do you want to have an encounter with Jesus?
The gospel is so pregnant with the encounter narrative at Jacob’s well between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Jesus went to the well to rest and the woman went to the well to get water. Was it purely coincidence that the woman met Jesus at Jacob’s well?
I don’t think so, Jesus went to the well because he was expecting the woman to go there. So they met and a conversation ensued, during their conversation the woman felt something that she never felt before in her entire life. Why? Because the woman found out that Jesus knew everything about her life and Jesus spoke to her in a personal and enlightening manner.
At the end of the gospel, the woman was converted simply because of that up close and personal encounter at Jacobs well.
Do you know that the Lord is also wishing for an up close and personal encounter with you this lent? The Lord wants to have a conversation with you also, the Lord wants to know more about you: Your life, your problems, your fears and even your darkest secrets.
But you first have to find your own Jacob’s well or your own quite place where you can be alone with the Lord. And when you find that quite place go there and once there already close your eyes and begin a silent conversation with the Lord. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong panahong iyon: Dumating si Hesus sa isang bayan sa Samaria, na tinatawag na Sicar, malapit sa bukid na ibinigay ni Jacob sa kanyang anak na si Jose. Dito matatagpuan ang balon ni Jacob. Umupo si Hesus sa tabi nito, sapagkat siya’y napagod sa paglalakbay. Halos katanghaliang-tapat na noon.
May isang Samaritanang dumating upang umigib. SInabi ni Hesus sa kanya, “Maari bang makiinom?” Wala noon ang kanyang mga alagad sapagkat bumili ng pagkain sa bayan. Sinabi sa kanya ng Samaritana, “Kayo’y Judio at Samaritana ako! Bakit kayo humihingi sa akin ng inumin?” Sapagkat, ‘hindi nakikitungo ang mga Judio sa mga Samaritano. Sumagot si Hesus, “Kung alam lamang ninyo kung ano ang ipinagkakaloob ng Diyos, at kung sino itong humihingi sa inyo ng inumin, marahil ay kayo ang hihingi sa kanya, at kayo nama’y bibigyan niya ng tubig na nagbibigay-buhay.”
“Ginoo,” wika ng babae, “malalim ang balong ito at wala man lamang kayong panalok. Saan kayo kukuha ng tubig na nagbibigay-buhay? Higit pa ba kayo kaysa aming ninunong si Jacob, na nagbigay sa amin ng balong ito? Uminom siya rito, pati ang kanyang mga anak, at ang kanyang mga hayop.” Sumagot si Hesus, “Ang uminom ng tubig na ito’y muling mauuhaw. Ito’y magiging isang bukal sa loob niya, babalong, at magbibigay sa kanya ng buhay na walang hanggan.”
Sinabi ng babae, “Ginoo, kung gayun po’y bigyan ninyo ako ng tubig na sinasabi ninyo, Nang hindi na ako mauhaw, ni pumarito pa upang sumalok. Ginoo, sa wari ko’y propeta kayo. Dito sa bundok na ito sumamba sa Diyos ang aming mga magulang, ngunit sinasabi ninyong mga Judio, na sa Jerusalem lamang dapat sambahin ang Diyos.” Tinugon siya ni Hesus, “Maniwala ka sa akin, Ginang, dumarating na ang panahon na sasambahin ninyo ang Ama, hindi lamang sa bundok na ito o sa Jerusalem.
Hindi ninyo nakikilala ang inyong sinasamba, ngunit nakikilala namin ang aming sinasamba, sapagkat ang kaligtasan ay galing sa mga Judio. Ngunit dumarating na ang panahon – ngayon na nga – na ang mga tunay na sumasamba sa Ama ay sasamba sa kanya sa espiritu at sa katotohanan. Sapagkat ito ang hinahanap ng Ama sa mga sumasamba sa kanya. Ang Diyos ay Espiritu kaya dapat siyang sambahin sa espiritu at sa katotohanan.”
Sinabi ng babae, “Nalalaman ko pong paririto ang Mesiyas, ang tinatawag na Kristo. Pagparito niya, siya ang magpapahayag sa atin ng lahat ng bagay.” “Akong nagsasalita sa iyo ang tinutukoy roon,” sabi ni Hesus. Maraming Samaritano sa bayang yaon ang sumampalataya kay Hesus. Kaya’t paglapit ng mga Samaritano kay Hesus, hiniling nila na tumigil muna siya roon; at nanatili siya roon nang dalawang araw.
At marami pang sumampalataya nang mapakinggan siya. Sinabi nila sa babae, “Nananampalataya kami ngayon, hindi na dahil sa sinabi mo kundi dahil sa narinig namin sa kanya. Nakilala naming siya nga ang Tagapagligtas ng sanlibutan.”
Tax collectors and sinners were all
drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to
complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them
Jesus addressed this parable: “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to
his father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’
So the father divided the property between them.
After a few days, the younger son
collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he
squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent
everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire
need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his
farm to tend the swine.
And he longed to eat his fill of the pods
on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he
thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to
eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I
shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no
longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your
hired workers.”
’So he got up and went back to his father.
While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was
filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son
said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer
deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly
bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals
on his feet.
Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.
Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has
come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration
began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he
neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing.
He called one of the servants and asked
what this might mean. The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and
your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and
sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father
came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these
years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never
gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.
But when your son returns who swallowed up
your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He
said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.
But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has
come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Can we measure the love of God?
The infinite love of God is showcased in
our gospel today. The loving and infinitely forgiving father is no other than
God. And the repentant younger son who squandered all of his inheritance
through debauchery and sinful living could be anyone of us.
We may think that because of our many sins
we are already beyond reach by God’s love, mercy and forgiveness. No, the Lord
can still reach us no matter how far we have strayed. Why? For the
reason that God’s love is pervading and infinite. It’s like the sun which is
available to all of us no matter the sins that we have committed and no matter
who we are.
But for us to be reached by this infinite
and pervading love of God. We must first be willing to repent from all of our
sins. And we must be willing to humble ourselves before God. We have to humbly
admit and realize that we are all sinners. Thus, just like the younger
son we too are in need of God’s mercy, love and forgiveness.
It’s about time that we return back to our
forgiving, merciful and loving God. It’s about time that we repent and leave
behind us our sinful lives and those people who influence us to commit sin. –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said to the chief priests and the
elders of the people: “Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted
a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew
near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the
tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third
they stoned.
Again he sent other servants, more numerous
than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent
his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw
the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and
acquire his inheritance.’ They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and
killed him.
What will the owner of the vineyard do to
those tenants when he comes?” They answered him, “He will put those wretched men
to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him
the produce at the proper times.” Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the
Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by
the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?
Therefore, I say to you, the Kingdom of
God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its
fruit.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew
that he was speaking about them. And although they were attempting to arrest
him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
One of the gifts that God gave us is our
Catholic faith, Jesus gave this to us through our baptism. Does this gift of
faith end with our baptism? No, Jesus is also expecting us to share this gift
of our baptism by living and sharing our faith.
We read in our gospel this Friday that
there was a landowner who leased his vineyard to some tenants. After a period
of time the landowner was now demanding his share of their produce. But they
did not give him his share. The tenants were ruled by greed that they kept to
themselves the fruits of the vineyard.
The same is true with the gift of faith
that Jesus gave us, Jesus expects us to share the fruits of our faith. Let us
not be content with the status quo or inaction let us move and do something so
that we could share our faith for this is what Jesus demands from us.
For example, why don’t we share our faith
with the members of our family by inviting them to go to Holy Mass? Why don’t
we share our catholic faith with them by having a regular time for family
reflection about the words of Jesus in the bible? Or perhaps by praying
the Holy Rosary which can certainly strengthen the unity of the family.
What have you done so far with this gift
of faith that Jesus gave you through the Sacrament of Baptism? Have you shared
it already? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
