Noong panahong iyon, samantalang
nagsasalita pa si Hesus, dumating ang kanyang ina at mga kapatid. Naghihintay
sila sa labas at ibig siyang makausap. May nagsabi sa kanya, “Nasa labas po ang
inyong ina at mga kapatid, at ibig kayong makausap.”
Ngunit
sinabi ni Hesus, “Sino ang aking ina, at sinu-sino ang aking mga kapatid? Itinuro
niya ang kanyang mga alagad at sinabi, “Ito ang aking ina at mga kapatid!
Sapagkat ang sinumang sumusunod sa kalooban ng aking Amang nasa langit ang siya
kong ina at mga kapatid.”
On the first day of the week, Mary
Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and
saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to
the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord
from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”
Mary stayed
outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw
two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where
the Body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid
him.”
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did
not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are
you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you
carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.”
Jesus said to
her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew,“Rabbouni,” which means
Teacher. Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended
to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and
your Father, to my God and your God.’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the
disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and then reported what he told her.
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Reflection:
Do you search
for Jesus?
If you search
for Jesus you will find Him. If you attend Holy Mass Jesus is there, if you
open your bible and read the first four gospels of the New Testament you will
find Jesus there and if you pray the Rosary Jesus is there as well.
Mary
Magdalene intensely searched for Jesus, she went to the tomb while it was still
dark and was so distressed when she did not find the body of the Lord. However
she did not stop looking for HIM she went on with her search until Jesus
appeared to her.
The sole
secret to find Jesus and to develop closeness with Him is to continuously
thirst for HIM like we thirst for water. As water quenches our thirst and
invigorates our bodies the Lord also does this to us and more. HE will quench
our thirst and HE will invigorate our weary bodies.
HE will do
many more incredible things for us provided we continuously search and thirst
for HIM. After finding Jesus we will now have to share Him so that our
fellowmen will be blessed as we’ve been blessed by Jesus. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
The apostles gathered together with Jesus and
reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by
yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”People were coming and going
in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat.
So they went off in the boat by themselves to a
deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They
hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before
them.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his
heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a
shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
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Reflection:
A woman went to her neighbor to seek advice for
her many problems. The neighbor asked the troubled woman this question: “Is
Jesus an integral part of your life? For example, do you always pray to the
Lord? Do you always attend Holy Mass?” The woman said no, and then the neighbor
advised her to make time for Jesus.
In the Gospel, a
vast crowd was running after Jesus (Mark 6:34) because they knew that Jesus
would straighten out their lives. They were not only after Jesus because they
wanted to be cured and fed. Some perhaps were pursuing Jesus because they
wanted to simply see Him and that would be enough for them to heal their body
and soul.
The vast crowd who was following Jesus wherever
he goes saw in Jesus a good shepherd who will not only feed and heal them. They
also saw in Jesus someone who will give them precious advice and guidance.
What does this mean to you?
This means that whenever you have issues and
concerns in life that seem difficult to resolve, you have to go to Jesus in
prayer. You need to bend your knees before Him and ask for His help and
guidance. Because Jesus is always there for you ever ready to guide and help
you as you encounter the many challenges of your life.
Do you always pray to the Lord? – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
The Pharisees went out and took counsel
against Jesus to put him to death. When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from
that place. Many people followed him, and he cured them all, but he warned them
not to make him known.
This was to fulfill what had been spoken
through Isaiah the prophet: Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved
in whom I delight; I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim
justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear
his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering
wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. And in his name
the Gentiles will hope.
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Reflection:
What are you going to do if you know that
powerful people are after your life? Of course you would do what Jesus did: You
will also withdraw to a place where you will be safe. But unlike Jesus who
continued to do HIS acts of mercy even if HIS life was already in danger. You
may not do anything except hide and protect your life, this is what separate
Jesus from all of us.
For Jesus the greater good is not to
protect HIS life but to continue to serve the people that HE dearly loved. This
love for HIS people eventually culminated in HIS death on the cross.
But not all of us are afraid to give our
very life for the sake of our fellowmen. There are others who selflessly gave
their lives so that others may live and be free. This is best exemplified by
our heroes who selflessly gave their lives for our sake.
Let us therefore be like Jesus, let us not
be afraid to give our time, treasure and even our life for His mission. Because
someday we will be able to harvest our reward from the Good Lord. We may not
receive it in our lifetime.
But will certainly receive it eventually
when our journey in this world is over and that is already in heaven.
- Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus was going through a field of grain
on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain
and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him “See, your
disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.
He said to
the them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were
hungry, how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which
neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? Or have
you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests serving in the temple
violate the Sabbath and are innocent?
I say to you,
something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I
desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”
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Reflection:
What is in
the heart of Jesus? It’s mercy and compassion for His people. Mercy and
compassion that is ever ready to transgress sacred laws such as the Sabbath
law.
Being God the
Son Jesus perfectly knew that what He was doing was right. But the Pharisees
did not know the true identity of Jesus. So they questioned the decision of
Jesus to allow His disciples to pick and eat the grains on a Sabbath day.
Do you know
Jesus deeply? Do you feel His presence in your life? If you don’t know Jesus
deeply and if you don’t feel His presence in your life. You will also question
some events or trial/s that occurs in your life.
For instance
when you go through severe trials such as financial difficulty, sickness and
the like . You might also question the Lord Jesus and ask Him this question:
Why am I going through this trial or why did you allow me to go through this
episode in my life?
But if you
know Jesus and if you feel His presence in your life. You will never
question Jesus thus you will simply bow to His will and trust Him. Why bow to
His will? This is for the reason that you know that something greater is in
store for you. That you don’t see and know yet now but you will certainly see
and feel in your life in the future.
Ask Jesus
therefore to give you the gift of knowing Him deeply and the gift of His living
presence in your life. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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.”
+ + + +
+ + +
Reflection:
The story is
told about a young man who was struggling to find his place in this
world. He was already at the point of surrender. He murmured to
himself, “I am a total failure” in the abyss of his frustration he thought of
ending his life.
Until he was
advised by a friend to seek God and surrender every burdens that he has in his
heart. So, he went to Holy Mass regularly and he read his bible, after a few
weeks he developed a deep friendship with Jesus and he surrendered his
everything to Him.
Many of us
have this tendency to allow ourselves to be eaten up by the frenetic pace
and materialism of this world. We get too busy in fact very busy because we
want to satisfy our many temporal wants. But come to think of it, why are we
punishing ourselves too much just to satisfy our worldly desires? Why are many
of us favoring this world over God when what we earn from this world can
actually be taken from us anytime? When we can go out of this world
anytime?
In our gospel
for today, Jesus invites us all to go to Him. We who are so busy with this
world, we who tend to forget the primacy of God over this world. When are we
going to open our hearts to this invitation of Jesus? When we are already old
and sickly? Let us not wait for that time to come. Let us build a relationship
with Jesus now and let us respond to His invitation now. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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 the
childlike.
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.”
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Reflection:
What is the
key to know Gods will for you? It’s humility, a humble person is ever
ready to listen to the voice and will of God. He/she doesn’t go against the
will of God he/she rather allows God’s will to work in his/her life. In the
process of allowing God’s will to rule his/her life he/she discovers more about
God.
When you are
humble you open yourself to the countless blessings that emanates from God. You
may ask, how am I going to be humble in front of God? You have to follow the
rules of Jesus and of the church which Jesus founded through St.
Peter.
For example
the teaching of Sunday Holy Mass obligation, a humble person would always see
to it that he/she is always present in this sacred celebration. Another example
is our humble submission to the sacraments most especially the Sacrament of
Reconciliation. A humble person would always find time to confess his/her sins
to a priest who acts in the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus always
looks kindly to those who are childlike and humble. Why? Because this is the
nature of God: He loves those who are humble and He reveals Himself more to the
childlike and humble.
Do you want
to know more about God? And do you want to have a deeper friendship with the
Lord? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus began to reproach the towns where
most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to
you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your
midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in
sackcloth and ashes.
But I tell
you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than
for you. And as for you, Capernaum: Will you be exalted to heaven? You
will go down to the netherworld.
For if the
mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained
until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom
on the day of judgment than for you.”
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Reflection:
Do you get
frustrated or even get angry every once in a while? It’s ok for as long as your
frustration and anger is for a good reason. And for as long as your anger
doesn’t stay for long in your heart. For example, you advice a relative
or a friend to mend his/her ways but she/he doesn’t listen to
you.
In his
humanity Jesus also gets frustrated like us and it is shown in the gospel. When
He reproached the towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida due to their refusal to repent.
Jesus wanted the inhabitants of the two towns to change their wicked ways and
accept His good news.
Some of us
are like the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida full of stubbornness, so; we
continue to sin. Yes, we believe that there’s a God but believing is very
different from listening to God and letting Him live in our hearts.
Sin in
whatever shapes and forms is a clear and present danger in our lives. We must
not only avoid sin let us also confront sin so that it will permanently banish
from our system of existence. Sin is the devil in disguise and whomever
embraces sin will eventually be destroyed by sin. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think
that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace
but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter
against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s
enemies will be those of his household.
“Whoever loves father or mother more than
me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not
worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not
worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life
for my sake will find it.
“Whoever receives you receives me, and
whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a
prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever
gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he
is a disciple–amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”
When Jesus finished giving these commands
to his Twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in
their towns.
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Reflection:
What is this sword that Jesus speaks about
in the gospel?
It’s the sword of truth and righteousness!
Jesus came into this world to bring the sword of truth and righteousness and
this sword of truth and righteousness pierces anyone who stands in the way.
Man against his father? Daughter against
her mother? Indeed, if anyone stands in the way even if they are our relatives
we should not be afraid to speak in the name of truth and righteousness. We
should not be afraid to voice out what we think is right no matter who gets
hurt. In the same manner that we should not be afraid to voice out our
sentiments even if the person whom we are going to address has the money,
influence and power.
Sometimes we have second thoughts if we
are going to speak our mind in the name of Jesus. We ought not to think twice
we must have the courage to say what’s in our minds in the name of the sword of
Jesus’ truth and righteousness.
The church always speaks out its mind
whenever there are issues or policies that hurt the people of God. The church
is not afraid to contradict anyone in power even if it creates temporary
enmity. Why? For the simple reason that the mission of the church is to speak
for God and to speak the truth no matter who gets hurt. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them
out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them
to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick –no food, no sack, no money
in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house,
stay there until you leave from there. Whatever place does not welcome you or
listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony
against them.” So, they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out
many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
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Reflection:
What were the apostles thinking when they were sent to their mission by Jesus without bringing any provisions? Perhaps they were worried, so questions arose like, "What are we going to eat?" and "Would we be able to survive this difficult mission?" But eventually their questioning minds were overwhelmed by their faith and trust in Jesus. And so, they move ahead and became successful missioners of Jesus.
Sometimes it’s hard to imagine how God will sustain us or how we can survive the difficulties of life, until we learn to hold on to our faith and give our full trust and confidence to the almighty hand of Jesus. Many of us fail in our endeavors because we lack faith and trust in the Lord. Instead of trusting the Lord, we rely on ourselves. So we fail, and the main culprit is our feeble faith.
Trust and faith were the two main ingredients that made the twelve apostles successful in their mission. Trust and faith in Jesus must also be our guiding light as we move on to do our mission for Christ, or as we move on to live our life for Jesus.
Let us not allow ourselves to be intimidated by the challenges that may confront us, no matter how difficult. Why? Because the Lord will always be with us to help us as we help Him advance His teachings.
In hindsight, has God forsaken anyone who helped Him spread His teachings? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said to his Apostles: “No disciple
is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple
that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master.
If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of
his household!
“Therefore do not be afraid of them.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be
known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear
whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the
body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small
coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth
more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will
acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before
others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.”
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Reflection:
The story is told about a man who suddenly
died in an accident. While on his way to heaven St. Peter suddenly stopped him,
he asked the man: “What have you done for Jesus when you were still alive?” The
man wasn’t able to answer because he was solely devoted to his many earthly
concerns.
Someday in the foreseeable future, our
lives shall come to an end as well, and perhaps God will ask us, "What
have you done for me? Have you acknowledged me before others? Have you lived
and shared my teachings?" How would you answer God during that time?
While we are still in our life’s journey
let us not forget the importance of acknowledging Jesus and the importance of
sharing and living our faith in Him. If so far we have been solely concerned
with the things of this world we are therefore being gently reminded that this
world is temporary and passing.
Only God is everlasting. We will not be
able to escape our appointment with death someday. And when that day comes, our
fervent hope is that we will be allowed entry by Saint Peter into the pearly
gates because we’ve done something for Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said to his Apostles: “Behold, I am
sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and
simple as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and
scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and
kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans.
When they
hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you
who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will
hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up
against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of
my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you
in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns
of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”
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Reflection:
Are you ready
to give your life for the mission of Jesus? This is a very hard question to
answer but there are many already who dared to willingly give their lives for
the mission of Jesus. What fuels them to give their lives when they have a
choice not to give it?
It’s
their burning desire to witness for Jesus. The same Jesus who strengthens them
to endure and continue with their mission even at the cost of their lives. To
be a real follower of Jesus is easier said than done. It’s easy to say I am a
Christian but to live this Christian pronouncement is another story altogether.
How about you? Are you willing to give your life for the mission of
Jesus?
When you give
your life to Jesus you will face persecution as well. But what is consoling
here is the midst of your trials and persecution you also will feel the abiding
presence of Jesus in your life. For the reason that Jesus has never abandoned
anyone who gave their lives for His
mission in this world.
Be not afraid
to give your life for the mission of Jesus. For when you decide to do so you
will soon after find the real purpose of your life. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Jesus said to his Apostles: “As you go,
make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have
received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper
for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or
walking stick.
The laborer
deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person
in it, and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. If
the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return
to you.
Whoever will
not receive you or listen to your words— go outside that house or town and
shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the Day of Judgment than for that town.
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Reflection:
Do we expect
to receive something in return for the things that we do for God? We better not
expect because when our expectations are not meet we would be disappointed.
Let’s just do good and be content with the fact that we’ve done good to our
fellowmen.
Money rules
they say, but for those who follow Jesus money does not rule and money doesn’t
dictate. It’s Jesus who rules and dictates, when we allow Jesus to rule and
dictate our life. We are free from worries that emanates from this world and we
are not beholden to anybody in this world.
When Jesus
was sending off his twelve apostles to their mission, one of His specific
declarations for them was this: not to let money or anything worldly rule over
them. Jesus instead wanted His apostles to let Him rule their lives.
When we let
Jesus rule our lives, we no longer care about worldly possessions. Instead, we
will be satisfied with what we have, no matter how meager the things that we have.
This is because we believe that the essence and fullness of life is not
measured by material ownership.
Let us
therefore seek Jesus in our lives for when we have Jesus we have everything. –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
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:
Where does
the Kingdom of Heaven lie?
It lies within
us and has been with us since we were baptized. But we may ask, if the Kingdom
of Heaven is within us, why is life still full of challenges and problems? This
is because we refuse to live our lives according to God’s will for us.
Thus, we live
our life according to our own will and not according to God’s will. For
example, there is a temptation to sin; instead of confronting that sin so that
it would not temp us again we instead allow that temptation to capture
us.
So what
happens when we live our life according to our own terms? We open our life to
many problems, problems that we could actually avoid if we only live our life
according to the will of God.
It’s not
difficult to know God’s will for us, by going to Holy Mass we will begin to
discern God’s will for our life. By reading our bible we will discern the will
of God for us. By our frequent interactions with Jesus through our prayers we
will discern the will of God. And we would have a deeper friendship with
the Lord.
Many of
us are lost in this world and lack an awareness of the Kingdom of Heaven
because we are not always in touch with Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
