Noong
panahong iyon, sinabi ni Hesus sa kanyang mga apostol, "Humayo kayo at
ipangaral ninyo na malapit nang maghari ang Diyos. Pagalingin ninyo ang mga may
sakit at buhayin ang mga patay. Pagalingin ninyo ang mga ketongin at palayasin
ang mga demonyo. Yamang tumanggap kayo nang walang bayad, magbigay naman kayo
nang walang bayad.
Huwag kayong
magdala ng salapi -- maging ginto, pilak, o tanso -- sa inyong mga lukbutan.
Huwag din kayong magdala ng supot sa inyong paglalakbay, ni bihisan, pampalit
na panyapak, o tungkod; sapagkat ang manggagawa ay may karapatan sa kanyang
ikabubuhay.
"At
saanmang bayan o nayon kayo dumating, humanap kayo ng taong karapat-dapat
pakituluyan, at manatili kayo roon habang kayo'y nasa lugar na iyon. Pagpasok
ninyo sa bahay, sabihin ninyo, 'Maghari nawa ang kapayapaan sa bahay na ito!'
Kung karapat-dapat ang mga tao sa bahay na iyon, panatilihin ninyo sa kanila
ang inyong bati.
Ngunit kung
hindi, bawiin ninyo ito. At kung ayaw kayong tanggapin o pakinggan sa isang
tahanan o bayan, umalis kayo roon at ipagpag ang alikabok ng inyong mga paa.
Sinasabi ko sa inyo na sa Araw ng Paghuhukom ay higit na mabigat ang ipaparusa
sa mga tao sa bayang yaon kaysa dinanas ng mga taga-Sodoma at
taga-Gomorra."
Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and
gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every
disease and every illness. The names of the Twelve Apostles are these: first,
Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his
brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean, and Judas
Iscariot who betrayed Jesus.
Jesus sent out these Twelve after
instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan
town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this
proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
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Reflection:
The story is told about an old man that
died, when he was about to enter the pearly gates it was Jesus who was at the
gate and not St. Peter. So Jesus asked the old man, have you done anything to
propagate the faith? The man wasn’t able to reply for he did not do anything to
evangelize anyone.
Perhaps when it will be our time to go through
that very same pearly gates who knows this question might be asked of us as
well: Have you done anything to spread the faith? How would we answer the Good
Lord then?
When Jesus called the twelve apostles HE
told them to evangelize not to the far-flung areas yet. But rather to
evangelize those within their sphere of influence first. Perhaps this thought
was playing in the mind of Jesus; before you go far ensure first that all those
near you have been evangelized first.
This is the call for all of us today:
before we evangelize our neighbors. We must see to it first that those within
our family circle have been evangelized already. Parents therefore must see to
it that everyone inside their house has already been evangelized.
For example, it’s so powerful to see the
whole family going to Holy Mass every Sunday. When the neighborhood would see it,
it sends a powerful message that they too must go to Holy Mass as a family.
But we are on a selfie mindset today
brought about by facebook, social media and the modernity of our time. We have
now this culture of I will mind myself, my own worship and my own faith! Which
if not corrected would eventually lead us to indifference and selfishness.
Let us therefore reverse this selfie mindset
by gently sharing our faith through our words and actions within our family
first. Have you already shared your
faith to your family? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong
panahong iyon, tinipon ni Jesus ang labindalawang alagad at binigyan ng
kapangyarihang magpapalayas ng masasamang espiritu at magpagaling ng mga may
karamdaman.
Ito ang
pangalan ng labindalawang apostol: si Simon na tinatawag na Pedro at si Andres
na kanyang kapatid; sina Santiago at Juan na mga anak ni Zebedeo; sina Felipe
at Bartolome; si Tomas, at si Mateo na publikano; si Santiago na anak ni Alfeo,
at si Tadeo; si Simong Makabayan at si Judas Iscariote, ang nagkanulo kay
Jesus.
Ang
labindalawang ito'y sinugo ni Jesus at kanyang pinagbilinan: "Huwag kayong
pupunta sa lugar ng mga Hentil, o alinmang bayan ng mga Samaritano. Sa halip ay
hanapin ninyo ang mga nawawalang tupa ng sambahayan ng Israel. Humayo kayo at
ipangaral ninyo na malapit nang maghari ang Diyos."
A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.”
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
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Reflection:
What are you going to do if the good that you do is not appreciated or complimented? For example, you did good to a neighbor but instead of saying, “Thank you” the neighbor accused you of having a hidden agenda for doing good.
For driving out the demoniac from the mute man Jesus was suspected to be a demon Himself. What an irony of life! But such is life and our fellowmen they sometimes do not appreciate the good that we do for them. It happened to Jesus and it surely will happen to us also: we sometimes will not be appreciated for the good that we do for them.
Jesus in the gospel gives us an idea on what to do when we are not appreciated. Simply continue on doing good for we do not do it to gain personal honor. We humbly do good for the greater glory of God and not for our own glory.
When we do good for God even if we are not appreciated let us not worry for the good Lord sees us. And HE surely knows everything about us including the core of our hearts and minds. The reward is for HIM to give us and not for our fellowmen to give it to us.
Let us therefore not tire of doing good. If we don’t see our reward right now someday we will see it. It may not be in this lifetime but in a different life where there’s no end, worries nor sadness. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong
panahong iyon, dinala kay Jesus ang isang piping inaalihan ng demonyo.
Pinalayas ni Jesus ang demonyo at nakapagsalita ang pipi. Namangha ang mga tao,
at sinabi nila, "Kailanma'y walang nakitang katulad nito sa Israel!"
Datapwat sinabi ng mga Pariseo, "Ang prinsipe ng mga demonyo ang nagbigay
sa kanya ng kapangyarihang magpalayas ng mga demonyo."
Nilibot ni
Jesus ang mga bayan at nayon at nagturo sa mga sinagoga. Ipinangaral niya ang
Mabuting Balita tungkol sa paghahari ng Diyos, at pinagaling ang mga maysakit,
anuman ang kanilang karamdaman. Nang makita niya ang napakaraming tao, nahabag
siya sa kanila sapagkat sila'y lito at lupaypay, parang mga tupang walang
pastol.
Kaya't sinabi
niya sa kanyang mga alagad, "Sagana ang aanihin, ngunit kakaunti ang
mag-aani. Idalangin ninyo sa may-ari ng anihin na magpadala siya ng mga
manggagawa sa kanyang aanihin."
While Jesus was speaking, an official came
forward, knelt down before him, and said, “My daughter has just died. But come,
lay your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus rose and followed him, and so
did his disciples.
A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve
years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to
herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” Jesus turned around
and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from
that hour the woman was cured.
When Jesus arrived at the official’s house
and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, he said,
“Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they ridiculed him. When the
crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose.
And news of this spread throughout all that land.
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Reflection:
Do you worry that your prayer before the Lord will not be heard?
Let us not worry for as long as we have
faith our prayer will be realized. Why is it that we don’t usually get what we
wish for from Jesus? Because we doubt, and we don’t work for what we want
from HIM.
Some of us would pray but there’s no
conviction in our prayers we just pray for the sake of praying. The most
powerful prayer is when we pray with conviction and we pray without any sign of
doubt in our hearts. And the moment we pray without any doubts we could expect
something in return from Jesus for Jesus is a gracious and merciful God.
We have two stories of prayers with
actions and faith in our gospel. Both the man and the woman had prayer request
before Jesus and both of them were granted by Jesus for it was prayers with
faith and actions.
Let us therefore always go to Jesus, in
good times and in bad, even if we are not in need of HIM let us still go to
HIM. This is for the reason that the more we get in touch with Jesus the more
that our friendship and faith in HIM is strengthened.
How are we going to be friends with Jesus?
We regularly read HIS life story in the Bible, we ensure our regular presence
at Holy Mass and we regularly visit HIM in the Adoration chapel.
Are you taking action to deepen your
friendship with the Lord? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong
panahong iyon, samantalang nagsasalita si Jesus, may dumating na isang pinuno
ng mga Judio. Lumuhod sa harapan niya at ang sabi, "Kamamatay lang po ng
aking anak na babae; ngunit sumama lang kayo sa akin at ipatong ang inyong
kamay sa kanya ay mabubuhay siya." Tumindig si Jesus at sumama sa kanya,
gayon din ang kanyang mga alagad.
Sumunod din
ang isang babaing may labingdalawang taon nang dinudugo. Lumapit ito sa likuran
ni Jesus at hinipo ang laylayan ng kanyang damit. Sapagkat sinabi niya sa
sarili, "Mahipo ko lamang ang kanyang damit ay gagaling na ako."
Bumaling si Jesus at pagkakita sa kanya'y sinabi, "Anak, lakasan mo ang
iyong loob! Pinagaling ka ng iyong pananalig." Noon di'y gumaling ang
babae.
Nang dumating
si Jesus sa bahay ng pinuno, nakita niya ang mga manunugtog ng plauta at ang
maraming taong nagkakaingay. Sinabi niya, "Magsilabas kayo! Hindi patay
ang bata; natutulog lang!" At siya'y pinagtawanan nila. Ngunit nang
mapalabas na ang mga tao, pumasok siya, hinawakan sa kamay ang bata at ito'y
nagbangon. At ang balita tungkol sa pangyayaring ito ay kumalat sa buong
lupaing iyon.
At that time Jesus exclaimed: "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
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Reflection:
The story is told of two neighbors, one was rich, wise and learned and the other one was a simple and humble man. Naturally being poles apart they both have their own lifestyles. The rich one is fond of expensive things, he had good taste with the finer things in life and he lived a complicated lifestyle.
He trusted in his wealth: whenever he had problems he would always look for comfort on his wealth. On the other hand the simple man trusted on God he would always pray for his protection and guidance. And he would consistently attend Sunday Mass; God was always number one in his life.
To be rich is not a sin neither a curse in fact it’s a blessing from God that we must properly take care of. Riches or material possession becomes a curse in one’s life when we put our trust on it. When we regard ourselves so highly that we become domineering and arrogant.
So, what is the right attitude that we should always have especially if we are rich, learned and powerful? The proper behavior to have is to always be humble and simple. If we have almost everything in life the more that we become humble and simple. Jesus has everything yet He chose the less travelled path of simplicity and humility.
In the first reading the prophet Zechariah echoes the power of Jesus by saying that His dominion shall be from sea to sea. And from the river to the ends of the world; He is meek and rode on an ass.
A person will never go to Jesus if he is full of himself. But the moment that person chooses to become humble and simple, he begins to open his life to Jesus.
When we begin to live Jesus’ life of humility and simplicity we would also clearly begin to discern this invitation of Jesus: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light. (Matthew 11:28-30)” – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong panahong iyon, sinabi ni Jesus, "Pinasasalamatan kita, Ama, Panginoon ng langit at lupa, sapagkat inilihim mo ang mga bagay na ito sa marurunong at matatalino at inihayag sa mga may kaloobang tulad ng sa bata. Oo, Ama, sapagkat gayon ang ikinalulugod mo.
"Ibinigay sa akin ng aking Ama ang lahat ng bagay. Walang nakakikilala sa Anak kundi ang Ama, at walang nakakikilala sa Ama kundi ang Anak at yaong marapating pagpahayagan ng Anak.
"Lumapit kayo sa akin, kayong lahat na napapagal at; nabibigatan sa inyong pasanin, at kayo'y pagpapahingahin ko. Pasanin ninyo ang aking pamatok, at mag-aral kayo sa akin; ako'y maamo at mababang-loob, at makasusumpong kayo ng kapahingahan para sa inyong kaluluwa. Sapagkat maginhawang dalhin ang aking pamatok, at magaan ang pasaning ibibigay ko sa inyo."
The disciples of John approached Jesus and
said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is
with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and
then they will fast.
No one patches an old cloak with a piece
of unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear
gets worse. People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins
burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new
wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
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Reflection:
Who can make us complete? Its Jesus he
only can complete us, the things and power of this world no matter how enormous
will never complete us. Our treasures and power will never complete us and if
these are not handled properly this may even destroy us. It will
never fill our longing for God because our love for the things of this world
only brings us farther from God.
John’s disciples asked Jesus: "Why do
we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus
meaningfully answered them: "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the
bridegroom is with them? The wedding guests are the followers of Jesus and the
bridegroom is no other than Jesus himself.
Just like in a wedding banquet wherein the
guests are forever joyous the same also with us. We become renewed, happy and
complete for we are already with Jesus. We permanently leave behind every
aspect of our old sinful selves and everything that made us sin.
We also throw our fears of what tomorrow
may bring us for the simple reason that we are already with Jesus. With Jesus the fear of
the unknown is permanently banished from our system, what would remain is our
faith in our Lord and savior. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong
panahong iyon, lumapit kay Hesus ang mga alagad ni Juan Bautista at ang wika,
“Malimit kaming mag-ayuno, gayun din ang mga Pariseo. Bakit po hindi nag-aayuno
ang inyong mga alagad?” Sumagot siya, “Maaari bang magdalamhati ang mga panauhin
sa kasalan habang kasama nila ang lalaking ikinasal? Kapag wala na siya, saka
pa lamang sila mag-aayuno.
“Walang
nagtatagpi ng bagong kayo sa isang lumang kasuutan; sapagkat mababatak nito ang
tinagpian, at lalong lalaki ang punit. Wala ring nagsisilid ng bagong alak sa
lumang sisidlang-balat. Kapag gayon ang ginawa, puputok ang balat, matatapon
ang alak, at mawawasak ang sisidlan. Sa halip ay isinisilid ang bagong alak sa
bagong sisidlang-balat, at sa gayo’y kapwa nagtatagal.”
As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named
Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up
and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and
sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his
disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” He
heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick
do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did
not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
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Reflection:
Does Jesus have a soft spot for sinners?
Yes Jesus has a soft spot for all of us sinners. For example in our gospel HE
called a tax collector and a sinful man named Matthew. After calling Matthew
Jesus went to Matthew’s house to dine with tax collectors and
sinners.
All of us are sinners and Jesus is
continuously calling upon us to leave for good our sinful lives and follow HIM.
The gravity of our sins are not anymore important for Jesus what is important
for HIM is we respond to HIS call same as how Matthew in our gospel
responded.
Perhaps we may ask, why is Jesus calling
us to follow HIM? Among many other reasons Jesus wants us to be freed from the
bondage of sin; HE wants us to be enlightened by HIS grace. And Jesus wants to
save us from hell where Satan holds court. These are the reasons why Jesus is
calling us to follow HIM.
Your life will never be the same again
once you accept this call of Jesus. There will be healing in your family; you
will now become averse to commit any form of sin and you will be freed from its
bondage.
Would you respond to the Lord’s call? –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
