Gayon din naman, maging handa kayong lagi, sapagkat hindi ninyo alam kung kailan darating ang puno ng sambahayan - maaaring sa pagdilim, sa hatinggabi, sa madaling-araw, o kaya'y sa umaga -- baka sa kanyang biglang pagdating ay maratnan kayong natutulog. Ang sinasabi ko sa inyo'y sinasabi ko sa lahat: Maging handa kayo!"
Short, Simple and Personal reflections on the daily Holy Mass Gospel. I provide talks.
Monday, November 27, 2023
Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Linggo Disyembre 3, Unang Linggo sa Panahon ng Pagdating ng Panginoon: Marcos 13:33-37
Reflection for December 2, Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 21:34-36
For that day will assault everyone
who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you
have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand
before the Son of Man.”
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Reflection:
What would make us succumb to disorderly behavior, drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life? We would succumb to these unhealthy behaviors/lifestyles the moment we close our hearts to the love of Jesus. Lest we forget, the devil is always present in our environment and always trying to look for the right opportunity to snatch us away from the love of God.
Some of us may not believe that the devil is present in our environment but he is. This is the reason why there are evil people and evil things around us. If there’s no active presence of the devil in our environment there would be no crimes and other evil things but the devil is real and present.
In the gospel for this Saturday, Jesus tells us this: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap (Luke 21:34).
The cure for this warning of Jesus is none other than Himself! If we have a close and personal relationship with Jesus we would be able to ward off any kind of temptation that the evil one would deviously throw at us.
If the devil is always around waiting for the right timing to temp us. Jesus is always there also always knocking at our hearts so that he could enter our lives. And when we already have Jesus the devil will naturally flee and run for his life. Therefore, we must always open our hearts to Jesus.
Would you open your life to Jesus? -
Marino J. Dasmarinas
Reflection for December 1, Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 21:29-33
Amen, I say to you, this generation will
not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will
pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
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Reflection:
A man was asked, what is your greatest fear? The man replied, I fear death for I don’t know what would happen to me when I die.
We all have our own set of fears, we fear losing somebody we love, and we fear losing our job. And the worst fear perhaps is the same as with the man who was asked about his greatest fear. However why fear when Jesus is always there to soothe and take away our fear?
Many of us have so many fears for the reason that we don’t have Jesus in our life and we don’t have a personal relationship with Him. This is basically the reason why we have so many fears. But, why don’t we try to discover more about Jesus through our faithful presence at Holy Mass? Why don’t we try to discover more about Jesus by reading about His life in the bible? Surely, all our fear will disappear if we do so.
Jesus in our gospel tells us that heaven and earth will pass away but His words will not pass away (Luke 21:33). Indeed, everything will pass away or we may pass away first before everything pass away. Nevertheless whatever happens and whomever passes away first we have nothing to fear for as long as we have Jesus in our life.
Do you already have Jesus in your life? -
Marino J. Dasmarinas
Reflection for Thursday November 30, Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle: Matthew 4:18-22
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with
their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they
left their boat and their father and followed him.
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Reflection:
Why did Jesus
call Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John? Jesus wanted these four fishermen to
share in His mission. There was no promise of riches, prosperity and power yet
they responded. Their motivation to respond to Jesus call was very simple: they
want to serve as Jesus served. No frills no publicity, as much as possible
Jesus wanted it under the radar so that no one would know.
So, these four selfless men followed Jesus they left
everything even their livelihood so that they could respond to the call of the
Lord. In these four men we get a valuable lesson on how to become true servants
and followers of the Lord: Follow with full trust and confidence in the
Lord!
When you
decide to follow Jesus you must be ready to leave everything for the sake of
the Lord. No looking back and full steam ahead for the Lord will take
care of everything for you. Take care of everything not in the sense that you will
financially and materially prosper as what many prosperity gospel preachers
promote. Take care of you for He will make you rich spiritually so that you
would be able to withstand the trials and rigors of your life and His mission.
You too are being called by the Lord to follow and trust Him. Follow where?
Follow in His mission of evangelization; don’t worry about anything for He will
take care of everything. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Reflection for November 29, Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 21:12-19
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense
beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your
adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You will even be handed over
by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to
death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head
will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
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Reflection:
Have you
already suffered for faithfully following Jesus and do you think that all of
these sufferings are all worth it? Every suffering that we go through for Jesus
is all worth it. The people of this world will surely not agree and
understand but it’s all worth it!
If we suffer poverty for Jesus’ sake, if we are
persecuted for following Jesus. And if the events in our lives are not turning
out well based on worldly standards because we choose to follow Jesus. Let us
not worry for someday in the great beyond we will surely receive our
reward.
Are all the worldly appendages that we blindly chase
and have worth it? No it’s not because it can slip out of our hands anytime.
So, why are so many of us are so blinded by these worldly things? We covet it
as if our life hinges on it.
At the end of our lives only one will matter and
that’s none other than our faithfulness to Jesus. Let us therefore strive to
get closer to Jesus than obsessively striving to possess the fragile and
passing offerings of this world. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Reflection for November 28, Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 21:5-11
Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen?
And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” He
answered, “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying,
‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come. Do not follow them!
When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be
terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be
the end.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from
place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.
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Reflection:
Do you have
fear of the end times? Many of us are fearful of the end times. But why fear?
Jesus is telling us in our gospel today not to fear!
But in hindsight we are human beings and as such it’s
natural for us to have fears in our hearts. most especially when we
see calamitous storms, outbreak of viruses and wars. But Jesus words are more
powerful than any wars, viruses and storms combined!
In the gospel for this Tuesday Jesus mentions about
destructions and wars. Jesus mentioned these words in the gospel hundreds of
years ago. And what He mentioned then is actually happening right now. There
are many ongoing wars and destructions in many parts of the world like the wars
in Ukraine and Israel. Are we going to tremble in fear? Of course not!
For the reason that we know deep in our hearts that there’s hope! And
this hope is given to us by Jesus.
Jesus tells us not to be terrified for He is far more
powerful than any wars and destructions. Therefore, what we must do is to have
hope and faith in Jesus for when we have Jesus in our hearts we have nothing to
fear. Even the most destructive wars and calamities we will not fear!
Do you have fear/s in your heart right now? Surrender
and give it all to Jesus for He will take care of it for you. - Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Friday, November 24, 2023
Reflection for November 27, Monday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 21:1-4
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Reflection:
Do you know that the more you give that more that you would receive? Many generous people including the poor widow in the gospel who gave her whole livelihood knows all about this. Perhaps this is not the first time that the widow offered her whole livelihood to the church’s treasury.
Maybe she had been doing this act of extreme generosity for so many times already. And time and again this poor yet generous woman had proven that whatever she gave out of her poverty comes back to her a hundredfold times.
You may ask, if what the poor woman gave comes back to
her many times over. Then why is she still poor? Yes she is still poor based on
our own materialistic eyes, but she is actually very rich in terms of her faith
and spirituality this is the reason why she could give everything including her
earnings from her livelihood.
To be materially poor is OK for as long as you are
rich in faith and spirituality. For what is the essence of material wealth when
it can easily fly away from our hands anytime?
Are you generous like the poor woman in our gospel? -
Marino J. Dasmarinas
Monday, November 20, 2023
Reflection for Sunday November 26, The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe: Matthew 25:31-46
Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46
Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.
Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you? And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.
Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs? He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me. And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
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Reflection:
In 1925, by virtue of his encyclical letter Quas Primas, Pope Pius XI mandated that every last Sunday of October be dedicated as the Feast of Christ the King. This decision was a response to the growing secularism of that time. In 1969, Pope Paul VI assigned the celebration a new date, and henceforth, it has been observed every last Sunday of the liturgical year. This modification emphasized Jesus Christ's supreme authority and reign over all creation as the liturgical year concluded and a new one began with the Advent season.
Do we want to attract God’s blessing upon us? We have to do what Jesus commands us in the gospel. Jesus tells us to give food to the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, give clothes to the naked, take care of the sick, and visit the imprisoned.
Jesus is teaching us to discard the 'me first' mindset, for so many of us have this 'me first' mindset. What would we feel if we do away with the 'me first' mindset? We would be free from the bondage of greed and selfishness, which, by the way, is an instrument of Satan.
Life in this world is temporary; therefore, we have to make worthy decisions and take actions that would impact the lives of others. Let us never be concerned about our own life and needs, for God will take care of them as long as we continue to be faithful to Him. Has God ever abandoned anyone who has been faithful to Him?
The gospel tells us that, at the end, there shall be judgment and separation among those who followed and did not follow the will of God. Where would you end up during that judgment and separation? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Reflection for November 25, Saturday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 20:27-40
Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. Then the second and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her.”
Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.
That the dead will rise even Moses made
known in the passage about the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of
the living, for to him all are alive.” Some of the scribes said in reply,
“Teacher, you have answered well.” And they no longer dared to ask him
anything.
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Reflection:
What will happen to us after we die? Would we still know each other’s name if we see each other in heaven? Would we still feel the same if we see each other in heaven? We don’t know because we haven’t died yet.
But one thing is sure there will come a time that we will have a physical death. Would it be the end? No, we who follow Jesus believe that our physical death is only the beginning of eternal life with Jesus in heaven.
The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. That’s why they asked Jesus the question about the seven brothers who married the same woman. So they asked Jesus, to whom will she belong during resurrection?
Jesus gave them this meaningful answer, “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage (Luke 20:34-35).
Many of us may have the same concern with the Sadducees, what will happen to us after we die? Are we not stretching our minds too far by having this thought? Instead of being concerned with the afterlife or the resurrection. Why don’t we focus our attention to our present life? Do we live it according to the will of Jesus? If we live our present life according to the will of Jesus, we need not worry about the afterlife for the simple reason that Jesus will take care of it all.
Let us not worry about the afterlife because when we die there will be no more worries only happiness. When we die there will be no more conflicts only love. And when we die there will be no more distinction as to who we are for we shall all be equal in God’s eyes. Life in the afterlife is glorious beyond what we can imagine.
The afterlife in the kingdom of God is the
perfect life for us, let us aim for it while we are still in this worldly
journey. Let us start by living our lives according to what God wants us to
live it.– Marino J. Dasmarinas
Reflection for Friday November 24, Memorial of Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs: Luke 19:45-48
And every day he was teaching in the temple area. The
chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were
seeking to put him to death, but they could find no way to accomplish their
purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.
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Reflection:
A few years ago I read an article about the confession of a young man who
had a sex change. From male he became female, after a few months of going
through the procedure this young man was already full of regrets.
According to him, he was being deeply bothered by his
conscience and he felt that something is wrong with the function of his body. I
can’t remember if he died but he got sick a few months after going through that
procedure.
Are we aware that our body is the temple of the Holy
Spirit? Are we aware that Jesus is deeply saddened when we try to alter the
physical composition of our body? Today with the help of science we can make
ourselves appear younger. We can even make our bodies a walking expression of
who we are.
Is this right? Of course not for God created our
bodies to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. This is the reason why it does not
deserve to be altered by any form of medical procedure and by our own wild
imagination disguised as self-expression.
In the gospel, Jesus got angry with those who were defiling the temple. Why? Because they were using the temple not for worship anymore but to advance their own self-interest. - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Reflection for November 23, Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 19:41-44
For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.
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Reflection:
What will happen to us if we refuse to hear the wise counsel of our elders? For example, if we are advised to stop doing what is not good or to stop doing something which is immoral or wrong? If we continue to refuse to hear their wise counsel. Eventually these wrongdoings that we continue to do will take us down through sickness, embarrassment and so forth.
In the gospel for today, Jesus wept over Jerusalem and its people for they refused to hear His call of repentance and to reform their lives. Not only that they refused to listen to Jesus they also refused to listen to the prophets who were sent before Jesus. They instead mired themselves in sin similar to a beast miring itself in a cesspool.
When we refuse to let Jesus come into our life and when we continue to refuse to hear His call of repentance. There would surely be no peace within us no matter how rich we are and how powerful we are. For as long as we refuse to hear the Lord’s call we will have no peace we would still be living complicated lives that may eventually destroy us.
Jerusalem did not find peace and were destroyed by the Romans during the first revolt in A.D 70, because they refused Jesus, they did not recognized Him as the ultimate peace bearer. They instead continued to stray far from Him.
Jesus is always knocking at our hearts, always waiting for us to open our life to Him. For the reason that he will not only bring us peace He would also bring us contentment, serenity and other things that this world cannot give us.
Would you listen to the voice of the Lord, who always speaks to you through the many events in your life? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Reflection for Wednesday November 22, Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr: Luke 19:11-28
He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold
coins and told them, 'Engage in trade with these until I return.' His fellow
citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce,
'We do not want this man to be our king.' But when he returned after obtaining
the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to
learn what they had gained by trading.
The first came forward and said, 'Sir, your gold coin
has earned ten additional ones.' He replied, 'Well done, good servant! You have
been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.' Then the
second came and reported, 'Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.' And to
this servant too he said, 'You, take charge of five cities.' Then the other
servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a
handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you
take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not
plant.'
He said to him, 'With your own words I shall condemn
you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding man, taking up what I did
not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant; why did you not put my money
in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.'
And to those standing by he said, 'Take the gold coin
from him and give it to the servant who has ten.' But they said to him, 'Sir,
he has ten gold coins.' He replied, 'I tell you, to everyone who has, more will
be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them
here and slay them before me.'" After he had said this, he proceeded
on his journey up to Jerusalem.
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Then God said that’s very good! But have you done
something for my kingdom? The man was not able to answer for he did nothing to
help grow the kingdom of God. Subsequently, God commanded the angel to bring
him to the other side of the fence where the environment was very hot and humid
for he did nothing to advance the kingdom of God.
What is your present preoccupation right now? Are you
very busy with the things of this world? Like how to expand your business and
how to grow your money in the bank and the like? Many of us are perhaps very
earthly and always very busy with earthly things. But if we are all busy with
the affairs of this world where would we be after our journey in this world is
already over and done? Where would we end up if we do nothing for the kingdom
of God in this world?
In the gospel a nobleman gave his servants gold coins
so that they could do something to make it grow. Two of them were able to
increase its value but there was one who simply kept in a handkerchief what was
entrusted to him. He did nothing to grow the money entrusted to him by his
master.
In our faith life doing nothing is never an option or
faith in Jesus that is kept to oneself is never an alternative. We must share
this faith that Jesus has entrusted to us in whatever manner possible so that
it could grow and have life.
When you share your faith you also enrich your
spiritual life and you become a productive servant of the Lord. - Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Reflection for Tuesday November 21, Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Luke 19:1-10
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order
to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus
looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at
your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they saw
this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a
sinner.”
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
“Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have
extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said
to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a
descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was
lost.”
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Reflection:
Was it only
Zacchaeus who was seeking an encounter with Jesus? Was Jesus not also seeking
an encounter with Zacchaeus? Yes, Jesus was also seeking an encounter
with Zacchaeus! Why? Because Zacchaeus was a sinner like all of us and truth be
told Jesus always wants to have an encounter with sinners so that He could
convert them. And what made it more interesting for Jesus to seek out Zacchaeus
was Zacchaeus’ desire to see Jesus as well.
Before Jesus arrived in Jericho He already had in mind
Zacchaeus He knew that this chief tax collector was looking for Him and ready
to change his sinful ways. With this factor present the encounter of Jesus and
Zacchaeus occurred. After their meeting Jesus subsequently went to the house of
Zacchaeus to purify his house. As well as to liberate Zacchaeus from any form
of sinfulness and right then and there his conversion and liberation from any
form of sinfulness happened.
How could we relate this gospel episode with our
personal lives? Like Zacchaeus we too are sinful and Jesus is knocking at our
hearts so that he could also have a personal encounter with us.
If we say that we are not yet ready to have an
encounter with the Lord, then when? Next month or next year? It may be
too late already, nothing is certain in this world anything can happen the next
seconds or minutes.
Therefore, we must also be like Zacchaeus who
responded to the desire of Jesus to meet him. Let us not delay anymore let us
rush to meet Jesus now for tomorrow may be late already.
Would you want to have a personal encounter with Jesus today? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Friday, November 17, 2023
Reflection for November 20, Monday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 18:35-43
Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to
him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for
you?” He replied, “Lord, please let me see.” Jesus told him, “Have sight; your
faith has saved you.” He immediately received his sight and followed him,
giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.
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Reflection:
Who is Jesus
to you? Is Jesus the hope and salvation of your life? The blind man in our
gospel had his hope and salvation anchored on Jesus. When he heard that Jesus
is passing by he shouted with all his might, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on
me!” His shout comprised his prayer with faith in Jesus.
From a hopeless situation the blind man suddenly found
hope and salvation because Jesus passed by him. And Jesus did not disappoint
the blind man because He asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Then
the blind man said in reply, please let me see my Lord and immediately he
receive his sight and he became a follower of Jesus from thereupon.
What separates the blind man from many of us? It’s his
persistent and persevering faith, it’s faith that can move mountains. This is
what separates this blind man from many us, what if we are in the shoes of the
blind man? Would we simply give up and be silent because we were rebuked and
sternly told to be silent?
But this blind man, when he was rebuked and told to be
silent the more that he persisted and the more that he cried loudly to Jesus
for help. And because of his persevering and persistent faith he was
heard and given the gift of sight by the Lord.
What is it that you want from the Lord? Don’t give up,
be persistent and have faith for the Lord will soon hear you. - Marino J.
Dasmarinas











