Sunday, August 27, 2023
Monday, August 21, 2023
Reflection for Sunday August 27, 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time: Matthew 16:13-20
Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
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Reflection:
If Jesus were to ask us the same question that he asked his disciples—'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?'—of course, all of us would say that He is Jesus, the second person in the Trinity, and He is Jesus, the son of Joseph and Mary. These answers are what our minds would feed us.
But looking deeper into our hearts, 'Who is Jesus to us?' If we have a personal relationship with Jesus, our answer would be: He is Jesus, my God, Savior, and Friend who is always there for me.
To personally know Jesus, we need to read the Bible, especially the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Because it is in these four Gospels that we would gain an in depth knowledge of who Jesus really is. We also need to attend Holy Mass consistently because at Holy Mass Jesus is always present.
The Word of God is read in the Liturgy of the Word, and in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, Jesus is made present by the priest through Consecration. Upon consecration, the ordinary bread and wine are transubstantiated to become the body and blood of Jesus.
If only we would read the Bible; if only we would be attentive and observant during Holy Mass. Carefully listening to the words of God being read by the lectors and to the Gospel reading being proclaimed by the priest.
Being observant of his every movement and gesture —, if we would be like that, eventually, the grace of the Holy Spirit would be upon us. It would be the beginning of a much more profound relationship with Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
Among the disciples present, it was only Simon Peter who said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' Jesus said to him in reply, 'Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father' (Matthew 16:16-17).
It was pure grace from God that Simon Peter knew the true identity of Jesus. Among the disciples, why was Peter chosen? Maybe because Peter was always close to Jesus; he had the hunger to always be in the Lord's company.
For example, when Jesus went to the mountain to be transfigured, Peter was there (Matthew 17). When Jesus walked on water, Peter was also there, walking on water towards Jesus (Matthew 14:29). When Jesus was about to be arrested, it was Peter who defended Jesus by cutting off the ear of the soldier Malchus (John 18:10).
Peter is also the first apostle to enter the empty tomb of Jesus, (Luke 24:12). And Peter is the first apostle to whom Jesus appeared after His resurrection, (Luke 24:34). Of course Peter had his own shortcomings too because he denied Jesus but he was remorseful of his denials.
Jesus rewarded Peter by founding the Church through him: When he said 'And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it' (Matthew 16:18). This is still the same Catholic Church to which we belong right now. From Peter, who is our first Pope, to our present Pope, Pope Francis, who is the 266th successor of Peter.
After our lifetime, Jesus may ask us, 'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?' How would we answer Jesus during that time? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
1Reflection for August 26, Saturday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 23:1-12
Gospel: Matthew 23:1-12
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his
disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the
chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not
practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’
As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You
have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your
father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called ‘Master’; you have
but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be
exalted.”
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Reflection:
Should we aspire for greatness in our service for Jesus and our fellowmen? No, because the moment we aspire for greatness we are not anymore serving Jesus and our fellowmen. We are rather feeding our own egos and personal agendas.
Many of us including those who do volunteer work for the church as well as politicians fail in this aspect of true and humble servanthood. For the reason that instead of giving true service we accompany it with our own selfish motives.
Why are we offering our free time to the church? Is it purely to serve, or we have hidden motives? Same with politicians during campaign they would always offer themselves as servants, but after they’ve won we could hardly see them anymore.
Jesus is teaching us that if we truly want to serve we must be ready to forget ourselves or forget who we are. We walk our talk without complaining whatsoever. We silently do what we have to do not minding if we would be rewarded for what we do for this is what servanthood is all about.
Let us not worry if we are not cited for
whatever noble undertaking that we do. God is not sleeping He sees everything
and knows everything. - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Reflection for August 25, Friday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 22:34-40
Gospel: Matthew 22:34-40
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had
silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a
scholar of the law tested him by asking, "Teacher, which commandment in
the law is the greatest?"
He said to him, "You shall love the
Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your
mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend
on these two commandments."
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Reflection:
How deep is God’s love for us? We will
never know because God’s love for us is infinite. As a testament of God’s
infinite love He even gave His only begotten son for His love for us.
How deep is our love for God? This is something that we have to think about deeply. Is it enough to express our love for God by fulfilling our Sunday obligation by our presence at Holy Mass? Certainly not for God requires that our love for Him should translate to our love for our neighbor. Therefore if we say we love God we also should learn to love our neighbor no matter how unlovable this neighbor is.
Who is our neighbor? Our neighbor could be a relative, a friend, a literal neighbor or a complete stranger who needs our help. The big question here is what if this neighbor is unlovable or what if this neighbor is not good to us? Should we still give our love to this neighbor?
Yes of course for we cannot separate our love for God with our love for our neighbor. If we say that we love God yet we don’t love our neighbor because they are not good to us, then how could this love of God that we profess be true?
Therefore to love God is to
unconditionally love our neighbor no matter if this neighbor has deeply hurt
us. To love God is to forgive everyone who caused us pain. Do you love
God? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Reflection for Thursday August 24, Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle: John 1 45-51
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We
have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets,
Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth. But Nathanael said to him “Can anything
good come from Nazareth? Philip said to him, “Come and see.
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him. Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me? Jesus answered and said to him “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree. Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.
Jesus answered and said to him “Do you
believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see
greater things than this. And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you
will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the
Son of Man.
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Reflection:
Nathanael said to Jesus, “How do you know me?” Why did Nathanael ask this question? This is for the reason that he did not know Jesus that well. Otherwise if he knows Jesus he would have not asked, “How do you know me?”
Jesus knows everything about us: Our deepest even darkest secrets, our thoughts and plans. Jesus knows everything and we certainly can’t hide anything from Him. If Jesus knows everything including our darkest secrets, would this mean that He will not love us anymore? Of course not!
The more hidden sins we have the more that Jesus will love us and the more that He would seek us. Why? This is for the reason that Jesus walked on this world to save us: We who are sinners. We therefore have to walk away and repent from all of the sins that we have committed.
How are we going to repent? We have to
humbly submit ourselves to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In this healing
Sacrament we will surrender ourselves to our merciful Lord through the priest
who acts in the person of Jesus by telling Him our many sins. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Reflection for Wednesday August 23, St. Rose of Lima, virgin Secondary Patroness of the Philippines (M): Matthew 20:1-16
Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire
laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o’clock, he saw others
standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my
vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’
So they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o’clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’ When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’ He said to one of them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go. What if I wish
to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my
own money? Are you envious because I am generous?’ Thus, the last will be
first, and the first will be last.”
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Reflection:
How does the mind of God think? It definitely thinks not like our minds, it definitely decides not based on how we decide. There are times that God’s decisions are not according how we would like it to be. Nevertheless, we simply have to follow and obey no matter how much we disagree with God.
In the gospel, the workers who worked much earlier were complaining to the landowner (God) because they have the same wage as with those who worked late in the afternoon. Why did they complain to the landowner?
They complained because they thought that there seem to be an injustice on how the landowner paid them. But there was no injustice because everyone of them agreed to receive the usual daily wage. Therefore there was no injustice, it so happen that God was generous to everyone of them.
There may be events in our lives that we may be tempted to question the wisdom of God and His decisions. But who are we to question the wisdom of God? Who are we to complain before God?
Instead of questioning, why not simply
obey? Why not always humble ourselves before God and continue to trust in His
infinite wisdom? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Reflection for Tuesday August 22, Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Luke 1:26-38
Gospel: Luke 1:26-38
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a
town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he
said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled
at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has
also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who
was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold,
I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
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Reflection:
Do you always humble yourself before God?
There is something in the Blessed Mother that many of us don’t have. We may ask, what is it which the Blessed Mother have that we often don’t usually have? It’s the humility and docility to follow the will of God.
After the angel Gabriel told her everything about the Lord’s plan for her. The blessed Mother simply said: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
God speaks to us as well in so many ways, He even uses people and events in our life to convey His message to us. But many of us chose to purposely ignore it and go on with what we want in our life. What if the Blessed Mother chose to ignore the angel and move on with her life?
But she chose to listen to the voice of God. Listening to the voice of God is something that is often lacking in our lives today more than ever. Yes we pray, yes we go to church for Holy Mass. But more often than not it’s still our will that we follow. This is primarily the reason why we sin and why we have enormous problems.
Because we often ignore the voice of God and we often don’t pay attention to the teachings of the church which always tells us to only do what is good and right. The Blessed Mother did not resist God’s will she simply believed and humbly submitted herself to the will of God.
But what is God’s will for us? It’s for us
to always do good and to confront the devil who is always there to make us sin.
Do you always submit to the will of God? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Sunday, August 20, 2023
Reflection for Monday August 21, Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope: Matthew 19:16-22
Gospel: Matthew 19:16-22
A young man approached Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” He answered him,
“Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish
to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The young man said to him, “All of these I
have observed. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be
perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this
statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
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Reflection:
The story is told about a man who was seeking peace within himself. Because he was wealthy he thought that his wealth would give him peace of mind but it did not. Until he saw an advertisement in his smart phone that said: “Follow Jesus if you want to find peace in your life.” So he disregarded his wealth and he followed Jesus. And true enough the man finally found peace of mind that he was longing for a long time.
Are your possessions in this world your sole obsession for living? The young man in our gospel was obsessed with his possessions for he couldn’t give it up in exchange for his discipleship with Jesus. He was seemingly a good man but how come he couldn’t give up his wealth? If this young man was all good, he would have given up his wealth for the Lord but he did not.
Does this young man represent many of us today? Yes! For there are many of us who are enslaved by wealth. Yes, many of us do good but sometimes the good that we do is for others to see. When nobody sees us anymore we once again allow ourselves to be possessed by wealth. We work hard for wealth some of us even sacrifice our honor for wealth as if it will give us peace, contentment and happiness.
Who can give us peace, happiness and contentment in this world? It’s only Jesus, He alone can give us peace and contentment. The rich young man in the gospel did not see it in Jesus that’s why he sacrificed his once in a lifetime opportunity in favor of his possessions/wealth.
How about you? Who would you choose the
glitters of material wealth and power or the life of peace and contentment with
Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Reflection for Sunday August 20, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Matthew 15:21-28
Gospel: Matthew 15: 21-28
At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”
He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.”
She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
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Reflection:
How strong is your faith in Jesus? Can it endure severe testing?
The great faith of the Canaanite woman, whose daughter was tormented by a devil, is very evident in the gospel. She was initially snubbed by Jesus, but she persisted. She heard the disciples tell Jesus, 'Send her away,' but she did not move a bit.
So, she faced Jesus, who told her, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.' Despite this, she persisted. Kneeling before Jesus, she said, 'Lord, help me.'
After a few more dialogues, Jesus saw how strong her faith was. He then said, 'O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.' And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.
We also have our own special petitions for Jesus, and we too might have been snubbed or ignored on numerous occasions. It might even seem that Jesus is turning a deaf ear to our pleadings.
Despite all of these, we must continue to have faith and remain persistent in following Him. God’s silence and rejections of our petitions are tests of our faith. God wants to see how far we are willing to stretch our patience. He wants to see if we are still willing to walk an extra mile in our pursuit of Him.
How strong is your faith in Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Linggo Agosto 20, Ika-20 na Linggo sa Karaniwang Panahon: Mateo 15:21-28
Mabuting Balita: Mateo 15:21-28
Umalis doon si Jesus at nagpunta sa lupaing
malapit sa Tiro at Sidon. Lumapit sa kanya ang isang Cananeang naninirahan doon
at malakas na sinabi, "Panginoon, Anak ni David, mahabag po kayo sa akin!
Ang anak kong babae ay inaalihan ng demonyo at masyadong
pinahihirapan.
Ngunit gaputok ma'y di tumugon si Jesus. at lumapit ang kanyang mga alagad at sinabi sa kanya. "Pagbigyan na nga po ninyo at nang umalis. Siya'y nag-iingay at susunod-sunod sa atin." Sumagot si Jesus, "Sa mga tupang naliligaw ng sambahayan ng Israel lamang ako sinugo." Ngunit lumapit sa kanya ang babae, lumuhod sa harapan at ang sabi, "Tulungan po ninyo ako, Panginoon."
Sumagot si Jesus, "Hindi dapat kunin ang pagkain ng mga anak upang ihagis sa mga tuta." "Tunay nga po, Panginoon," tugon ng babae, "ngunit ang mga tuta man ay nagsisikain ng mumong nalalaglag sa hapag ng kanilang panginoon." Kaya sinabi sa kanya ni Jesus, "Napakalaki ng iyong pananalig! Mangyayari ang hinihiling mo." At noon di'y gumaling ang kanyang anak.
Reflection for August 19, Saturday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 19:13-15
Gospel: Matthew 19:13-15
Children were brought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” After he placed his hands on them, he went away.
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Reflection:
What can you remember from your childhood?
Many of our present values and habits were acquired when we were children. For example the habit of going to church for Holy Mass. If our parents brought us up by bringing us to church for Mass, we surely would grow with this saintly habit until we grow old and die.
Another example is if our parents taught us good manners and values. We would also imbibe these manners and values. This is always the situation: We will grow with the values and habits that were taught to us when we were children.
What if we were not given the proper values by our parents? We may grow up without manners and proper conduct. We may have friends who are bad influence to us, friends who would introduce us to vices and other things that are not good.
Jesus said in the gospel, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them.” Why were the disciples preventing the children from going to Jesus? Perhaps they wanted Jesus to rest because He was tired.
What is the message of Jesus for us? Jesus wants us also to introduce our children to HIM by teaching them about HIS life and teachings written in the scriptures. Jesus wants us also to bring along our children to the celebration of the Holy Mass.
If we introduce our children to Jesus by way of educating them about His life in the bible. If we bring our children to Holy Mass we can sit back and relax for we are already assured of a safe, responsible and secure future for our child.
Have you consciously introduced your children to Jesus? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
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