Ngunit may patotoo tungkol sa akin na higit sa patotoo ni Juan: ang mga gawang ipinagagawa sa akin ng Ama, at siya ko namang ginaganap – iyan ang nagpapatotoo na ako’y sinugo niya.”
Short, Simple and Personal reflections on the daily Holy Mass Gospel. I provide talks.
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Thursday, December 14, 2023
Ang Mabuting Balita Sabado Disyembre 16, Simula ng Misa de Gallo (Sa Pilipinas): Juan 5:33-36
Reflection for December 15, Friday of the Second Week of Advent: Matthew 11:16-19
For John came neither eating nor drinking,
and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating
and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of
tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”
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Reflection:
Whenever biographies of famous personalities are to be written. Publishers would try to make the exterior of the book as attractive as possible so that it would create an immediate exterior attraction to the buying public. Especially to those who have superficial knowledge of the personality involve.
Jesus was called names such as glutton, drunkard, friend of tax collectors and sinners by the Pharisees and scribes. Because that’s what they saw: Jesus talking and mingling with them, they based their unfair judgements on what they saw from Jesus. If only they knew that the real motive of Jesus was the conversion of tax collectors and sinners they would not have unfairly judged Him.
The same is true with John he was
labelled as someone who was possessed by a demon. Perhaps the reason behind
such unfair name calling was based on the physical appearance of John. And
John’s preference to live in the desert before coming out to prepare the way
for Jesus.
Oftentimes we are like the Pharisees and the scribes for we judge also based on what we see and hear about others. We base our judgment on the exterior and the superficial. But is this right? Of course not!
It’s not correct to throw judgment based on what we see or observe for what we see is a scant representation of the whole person. Let us know first the person before judging. And if there’s an opportunity to talk to him/her so that we could have a clearer picture of the person’s personality let us do so.
Are you sometimes quick
to judge? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Ang Mabuting Balita Disyembre 15, Biyernes sa Ikalawang Linggo sa Panahon ng Pagdating ng Panginoon: Mateo 11:16-19
Sapagkat
naparito si Juan na nag-aayuno at di uminom ng alak, at sinabi nila, 'Inaalihan
siya ng demonyo!' Naparito rin ang Anak ng Tao, na kumakain at umiinom, at sinasabi
naman nila, 'Masdan ninyo ang taong ito! Matakaw at maglalasing, kaibigan ng
mga publikano at mga makasalanan!' Gayunman, ang karunungan ng Diyos ay
napatutunayang tama sa pamamagitan ng kanyang mga gawa."
Reflection for Thursday December 14, Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church: Matthew 11:11-15
From the days of John the Baptist until
now, the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by
force. All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. And if
you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. Whoever has
ears ought to hear.
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Reflection:
What does John the Baptist brings to us? John brings to us his faithful witness for Jesus and His teachings. Like the Prophets before him, John gave his life so that evil would not triumph over good. In essence it was the devil against God. John choose God over the devil, John choose righteousness over evil and immorality.
For these reasons Jesus hailed John as the greatest amongst the prophets, yet Jesus tells us also that the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. Who is greater than John the Baptist? It’s Jesus Himself! Jesus came into this world not with power and might. Like John, Jesus was born into this world bereft of worldly opulence.
Somehow the gospel communicates to us that for us to become great in the eyes of Jesus we have to emulate John. His humble witness for Jesus, his uncompromising stand against evil and so forth. We must not forget also that Jesus is challenging us also to become the least in the eyes of the people of this world.
It means that we must not crave for money, power or anything that this fleeting world will offer us. Nevertheless, even without these worldly things we will strive to continue to make a positive difference in the lives of others. For this is the life of Jesus when He walked on this earth.
Can we emulate the life of John? Are we
capable of shunning the trappings of this world and still make a positive
difference in the lives of our fellowmen just what Jesus did? - Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Ang Mabuting Balita Huwebes Disyembre 14, San Juan de la Cruz, pari at pantas ng Simbahan (Paggunita): Mateo 11:11-15
Mula nang mangaral si Juan Bautista hanggang ngayon, ang kaharian ng Diyos ay nagdaranas ng karahasan at inaagaw ng mararahas. Sapagkat ang mga propeta at Kautusan ay nagpahayag tungkol sa paghahari ng Diyos hanggang sa dumating si Juan. Kung maniniwala kayo, siya ang Elias na darating. Ang may pandinig ay makinig!”
Tuesday, December 12, 2023
Reflection for Wednesday December 13, Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr: Matthew 11:28-30
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Reflection:
The story is told about a very rich man who was
burdened by his problems. He tried many ways to solve them; he thought his
money would help him, but to no avail. He went to his friends, indulging in
drinking sessions and vices, yet it did not solve his problems either.
He was living like a ship without a rudder aimlessly
drifting to nowhere, he didn’t know it but he was slowly wasting his life.
Until he meet a relative who was an active member of their church. He opened up
to him and the relative listened.
At the end the relative had only one advice: “Go and
spend time with Jesus in the adoration chapel. Then, don’t miss Sunday Mass and
when you are at Mass be attentive and listen to every word being spoken for
many of it will speak to you. You also read your bible for Jesus will also
speak to you there. To cut short a long story, he made a devotion to the
adoration chapel, went to Holy Mass as often as he could. And regularly read
his bible.
After a few weeks he already had a normal life. Yes,
from time to time there were still problems that need to be sorted out. But he
knew now where to go. Not to his vices, not to his money not even to his
friends. But to Jesus in the adoration chapel, to Jesus in the Holy Mass and to
Jesus in the Holy bible.
In the gospel Jesus said: “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.
Why does Jesus invites us to go to him? We who are
sinful and we who are beset by our many burdens. This is for the reason that
Jesus loves us dearly, Jesus doesn’t want us to waste our life by finding
earthy solutions to our burdens.
Take this offer of Jesus by surrendering your life to
Him. And see for yourself the miracle that He will create in your life. -
Marino J. Dasmarinas
Ang Mabuting Balita Miyerkules Disyembre 13, Santa Lucia, dalaga at martir (Paggunita): Mateo 11:28-30
Monday, December 11, 2023
Reflection for Tuesday December 12, Our Lady of Guadalupe Patroness of the Philippines (M): Luke 1:26-38
She was
deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could
mean, but the angel said to her, 'Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's
favor. Look! You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name
him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord
God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House
of Jacob forever and his reign will have no end.
Mary said
to the angel, 'But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?'
The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the
Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and
will be called Son of God. And I tell you this too: your cousin Elizabeth also,
in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now
in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.'
Mary said,
'You see before you the Lord's servant, let it happen to me as you have said.'
And the angel left her.
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The Our Lady
of Guadalupe appeared on the hill of Tepeyac in Mexico in December 1531, to an
indigenous peasant, named Juan Diego. After she had identified herself to him,
The Virgin Mary asked that Juan build her a shrine in that same spot, in order
for her to show and share her love and compassion with all believers.
So, Juan
Diego visited Juan de Zumárraga, who was Archbishop of what is now Mexico City.
Zumárraga dismissed him in disbelief and asked that Juan Diego provide proof of
his story and proof of the Lady’s identity. Juan Diego returned to the hill and
encountered the Virgin Mary again. The Virgin Mary told him to climb to the top
of the hill and pick some flowers to present to Archbishop Juan de Zumárraga.
Even though
it was winter and nothing should have been in bloom, Juan Diego found an
abundance of flowers of a type he had never seen before. The Virgin Mary
bundled the flowers into Juan's cloak, known as tilma. When Juan Diego
presented the tilma of exotic flowers to Archbishop Juan de Zumárraga, the
flowers fell out and he recognised them as Castilian roses, which are not found
in Mexico.
What was even
more astonishing was the tilma had been miraculously imprinted with a colorful
image of the Virgin Mary. This tilma, showing the familiar image of the Virgin
Mary with her head bowed and hands together in prayer, represents the Virgin of
Guadalupe.
In 1990, Pope
Saint John Paul II visited Mexico and beatified Juan Diego. 10 years later, in
the year 2000, he was declared a Saint.
Do you always submit
to the wisdom God?
Sometimes there are
situations in our lives that would disturb our peace, for example a sudden
diagnoses of sickness. This kind of life event will surely bother us. But in
the midst of this life disturbances let us not forget that the good Lord is
always there for us. To heal us, to give us hope and to assure us that He will
always be there for us.
When the angel Gabriel
appeared and greeted Mary she was naturally concerned about it. Perhaps the
Blessed Mother asked herself, why did this angel appear to me? What would this
angel bring me; a trial that is hard for me to bear?
But the angel told the
Blessed Mother that she would bear a son and His name is Jesus. The angel additionally
said that she has nothing to worry because the Lord will take care of her.
Thus, the Blessed Mother humbly accepted her destiny and entrusted herself to
God.
Whatever we are going
through right now or we might go through in the future. Be it sickness or severe
trial that may test our fidelity to Jesus, let us hold on to our deep faith in
Jesus. For as long as we have faith there would be hope and deliverance from
all of life’s challenges.
As the Blessed Mother
entrusted her fate to the good Lord we too must learn to submit to God’s will
for ourselves. Let us never worry for God is always there for us and never will
He abandon us. - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Friday, December 08, 2023
Reflection for December 11, Monday of the Second Week of Advent: Luke 5:17-26
But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.”
Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask
themselves, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who but God alone can
forgive sins?” Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply, “What are
you thinking in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has
authority on earth to forgive sins”–he said to the one who was paralyzed, “I
say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he
had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. Then astonishment seized them
all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We have seen
incredible things today.
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Reflection:
Do you always
ask Jesus to increase your faith?
We all have our own set of sickness: physical and
emotional sickness. Whatever sickness that we may have Jesus can cure it, all
He ask from us is to have faith. The same faith as the four men who
brought the paralyzed man to Jesus and the paralyzed man himself.
Nothing is impossible for Jesus. He can make all
things possible including the impossible! What He only asks from us is to have
faith, faith that endures and faith that is willing to wait.
The four men and the paralyzed man had that enduring
faith. They braved the crowd and the difficulties before them so that they
could go through Jesus. How many of us have that kind of faith and perseverance?
We therefore must not forget to always ask the Good
Lord to increase our faith for the simple reason that we are feeble and weak.
In this difficult and tortuous jungle called life there are times that we tend
to be overtaken by our own set of life challenges. Nevertheless, we have to
have faith, move on, think and hope that everything will be well
soon.
Prayer:
O God, we ask
you to increase our faith, we are weak and susceptible to the challenges of
life. We know that you are always there for us ever ready to help us conquer those
challenges. Give us the same faith of the four men who brought the paralytic to
you. Give us the same, faith, patience and endurance of the paralytic as
well.
We ask this in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus. Amen. - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Ang Mabuting Balita Disyembre 11, Lunes sa Ikalawang Linggo sa Panahon ng Pagdating ng Panginoon: Lucas 5:17-26
Nagpipilit silang makapasok sa bahay upang mailagay sa harapan ni
Hesus ang maysakit, subalit wala silang maraanan dahil sa dami ng tao. Kaya’t
umakyat sila sa bubungan at binutas iyon, saka inihugos sa harapan ni Hesus ang
paralitikong nasa higaan. Nang makita ni hesus kung gaano kalaki ang kanilang
pananalig, sinabi niya sa paralitiko, “Kaibigan, pinatatawad ka na sa iyong mga
kasalanan.”
Sa loob-loob ng mga eskriba’t Pariseo: “Sino itong nagsasalita ng
kalapastanganan sa Diyos? Hindi ba’t Diyos lamang ang makapagpapatawad ng mga
kasalanan?” Ngunit batid ni Hesus ang kanilang iniisip, kaya’t sinagot niya
sila, “Bakit kayo nag-iisip ng ganyan? Alin ba ang lalong madali: ang sabihin
sa paralitiko ‘Pinatatawad ka na sa iyong mga kasalanan’ o ang sabihing
‘Tumindig ka at lumakad’? Patutunayan ko sa inyo ang Anak ng Tao ay may
kapangyarihan dito sa lupa na magpatawad ng mga kasalanan.”
At sinabi niya sa paralitiko, “Iniuutos ko: tumindig ka, dalhin mo ang iyong higaan at umuwi ka!” Pagdaka’y tumindig ang tao sa harapan ng lahat, binuhat ang kanyang higaan at umuwing nagpupuri sa Diyos. Nanggilalas sila at tigib ng takot na nagpuri sa Diyos. “Nakakita kami ngayon ng mga kahanga-hangang bagay!” wika nila.
Monday, December 04, 2023
Reflection for Sunday December 10, Second Sunday of Advent: Mark 1:1-8
Gospel: Mark 1:1-8
People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. John was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey. And this is what he proclaimed: "One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
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Reflection:
The story is told about a humble man who went on a mission to a place where no Christian missionary had been before. There, he catechized or taught the people about the faith and he built a church also.
When the church was complete, this good man visited the community's parish church. And he inquired to the parish priest if he could visit and celebrate Mass there even for once a month only. The priest agreed and everyone was converted to the faith. Thus, in his own little way the humble man prepared the way for them so that they could be with the Lord thru the Holy Mass.
On this second Sunday of Advent, we reflect on how John the Baptist humbly fulfilled the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah. John preached repentance and forgiveness of sins, preparing the way for Jesus with humility when he declared, 'One mightier than I am is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit' (Mark 1:7-8). John perfectly understood that his role was to be a herald for the coming of our Savior, Jesus.
As Catholic Christians, this is also our role; to be heralds for Jesus with humility. To help spread the good news to preach also about repentance, forgiveness and love.
We should not keep to ourselves this timely call for repentance we must echo this call to our friends and most specially our family members. However, this is easier said than done, simply because encouraging others to humbly submit themselves to the Sacrament of Reconciliation is not easy. Yet, if we emulate John, who embraced his discipleship with humility, we can be effective heralds of Jesus as well.
On this second Sunday of Advent, the gospel challenges us to help prepare the way of the Lord and respond to John's call for repentance.
Have you taken steps to prepare the way of the Lord, and are you ready to respond to John's call for repentance? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Linggo Disyembre 10, Ikalawang Linggo sa Panahon ng Pagdating ng Panginoon: Marcos 1:1-8
Reflection for December 9, Saturday of the First Week of Advent: Matthew 9:35-10:1, 5a, 6-8
Then he summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them
authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and
every illness.
Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them
thus, “Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this
proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the
dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without
cost you are to give.
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Reflection:
What is your fulfilment
in life?
To amass wealth and to have power is already a
fulfillment for many of us. Some even make it their life’s mission but this is
not our fulfilment neither this is our life’s mission. True fulfillment and
true mission in life is when we make a positive difference in the lives of others.
We become this when we are able to share and introduce Jesus to
them.
When Jesus summoned His twelve disciples He did not
instruct them to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and make money out
of them. He rather told them: “Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As
you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the
sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and drive out demons (Matthew 10:7-8).”
In other words make a positive difference in their lives without expecting
anything in return.
Material things come and go but the help that we do
creates a lasting impact that they will forever remember. However, some of us
will say: “Life is hard right now, how can I help when I have barely enough for
me and when I also need help?” We can still give help if we would
desire it and if would discard the me, myself and I first mentality.
We should also not restrict the word help with money
only or anything that is material. For the reason that we can give help even
without using money. For example, we can share Jesus, we can listen to
emotional burdens and we can always share the gentleness and love of
God.
When was the last time, you extended help?– Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Ang Mabuting Balita Disyembre 9, Sabado sa Unang Linggo sa Panahon ng Pagdating ng Panginoon: Mateo 9:35-10:1, 5a, 6-8
Kaya’t sinabi niya sa kanyang mga alagad, “Sagana ang anihin, ngunit kakaunti ang mag-aani. Idalangin ninyo sa may-ari ng anihin na magpadala siya ng mga manggagawa sa kanyang anihin.” Tinipon ni Hesus ang labindalawang alagad at binigyan ng kapangyarihang magpalayas ng masasamang espiritu at magpagaling ng mga may karamdaman.
Sila’y pinagbilinan ni Hesus: “Hanapin ninyo ang mga nawawalang tupa ng sambahayan ng Israel. Humayo kayo at ipangaral ninyo na malapit nang maghari ang Diyos. Pagalingin ninyo ang mga maysakit 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.”