Noong panahong iyon, pumasok si Jesus
sa isang nayon. Malugod siyang tinanggap ng isang babaing nagngangalang Marta
sa tahanan nito. Ang babaing ito'y may isang kapatid na Maria ang pangalan.
Naupo ito sa paanan ng Panginoon at nakinig sa kanyang itinuturo.
Alalang-alala
si Marta sapagkat kulang ang kanyang katawan sa paghahanda, kaya't lumapit siya
kay Jesus at ang wika, "Panginoon, sabihin nga po ninyo sa kapatid kong
tulungan naman ako." Ngunit sinagot siya ng Panginoon, "Marta, Marta,
naliligalig ka at abalang-abala sa maraming bagay, ngunit isa lamang ang
talagang kailangan. Pinili ni Maria ang lalong mabuti, at ito'y hindi aalisin
sa kanya."
Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”
He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”
So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.
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Reflection:
How strong is your faith in Jesus? A person of faith would always say, everything is possible for Jesus but a person who has no faith would fail to see the infinite power of Jesus.
In the gospel Jesus saw the large crowd that was following Him. Jesus tested the faith of Philip by saying to him, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” Philip answered him, "Two hundred days?' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.'" With his negative reply Philip failed his own test of faith.
Soon after, Philip saw the miracle of the loaves and fish before his very eyes. With five barley loaves and two fish Jesus was able fed the almost five thousand hungry people. As if to say to Philip to begin to have faith because I make things possible for those who have faith.
Let us always walk by our faith and not by our sight in our discipleship with the Lord. If we desire something that is noble and worthy and we think that it’s very impossible for us to achieve it. Let us reflect on it and let us check our faith meter it may be very low already, if this is so; let us pray to Jesus for the gift of increase of faith.
Because whatever we want from the Lord we will have as long as we have faith. Let us not forget that Jesus fed the almost five thousand crowd with five barley loaves and two fish. Thus, Jesus makes all things possible for those who have faith.
How’s your faith in the Lord? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong panahong iyon, tumawid si Jesus sa ibayo ng Lawa ng Galilea, na tinatawag ding Lawa ng Tiberias. Sinundan siya ng napakaraming tao sapagkat nakita nila ang mga kababalaghang ginawa niya sa pagpapagaling sa mga maysakit. Umahon si Jesus sa burol kasama ang kanyang mga alagad at naupo roon. Malapit na noon ang Pista ng Paskua ng mga Judio.
Tumanaw si Jesus, at nakita niyang dumarating ang napakaraming tao. Tinanong niya si Felipe, "Saan tayo bibili ng tinapay upang makakain ang mga taong ito?" Sinabi niya ito upang subukin si Felipe, sapagkat alam ni Jesus ang kanyang gagawin. Sumagot si Felipe, "Kahit na po halagang dalawandaang denaryong tinapay ang bilhin ay di sasapat para makakain ng tigkakaunti ang mga tao."
Sinabi ng isa sa kanyang mga alagad, si Andres na kapatid ni Simon Pedro, "Mayroon po ditong isang batang lalaki na may dalang limang tinapay na sebada at dalawang isda. Ngunit gaano na ito sa ganyang karaming tao?" "Paupuin ninyo sila," wika ni Jesus. Madamo sa lugar na yaon. Umupo ang lahat -- humigit-kumulang sa limang libo ang mga lalaki.
Kinuha ni Jesus ang tinapay at matapos magpasalamat sa Diyos ay ipinamahagi sa mga tao; gayon din ang ginawa niya sa isda. Binigyan ang lahat hangga't gusto nila. at nang makakain na sila, sinabi niya sa mga alagad, "Tipunin ninyo ang mga lumabis para hindi masayang." Gayon nga ang ginawa nila, at nakapuno sila ng labindalawang bakol.
Nang makita ng mga tao ang kababalaghang ginawa ni Jesus, sinabi nila, "Tunay na ito ang propetang paririto sa sanlibutan!" Nahalata ni Jesus na lalapit ang mga tao at pilit siyang kukunin upang gawing hari, kaya muli siyang umalis na mag-isa patungo sa kaburulan.
Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his
field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the
wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the
weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come
from?
He answered, ‘An enemy has done
this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He
replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with
them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will
say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for
burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Reflection:
The story is told about a priest who exorcised
a devil from a lady possessed by it. After hours of struggle the priest was
able to cure the possessed lady and he drove away the devil from her.
Following a few days the priest manifested
signs of being possessed and it turned out that the devil whom he banished from
the lady silently crept into him. The priest went through the same exorcism
rite and was eventually freed from the possession of the
devil.
The devil is a reality; it is always
around us, waiting for the perfect moment to possess us, whoever we may be. It
may not be anymore like a diabolical possession and it may not anymore appear
like a Diablo. Oftentimes the devil stealthy hides beneath lustful and evil
intentions, the absence of humility, greed for money and power. It’s always
there hovering ever ready to temp us to commit sin.
The weeds mentioned by Jesus in the gospel
parable are the many temptations that the devil sows in our way. Many of us
succumb to these many temptations and we therefore sin. But even if we sin God
will not immediately condemn us to eternal damnation God will still be patient
with us. Because God is hoping that we would see light and completely walkaway
from darkness before it envelopes us.
We therefore have to hurry and discard
whatever sin that we are committing right now. Because our many sins will
eventually catch up with us and when it happens we have to be prepared for the
punishment that would befall us.
But why wait for that punishment when we
still have time to confront sin and soon after completely walk away from it? –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong panahong iyon, inilahad ni Hesus ang talinghagang ito sa mga
tao, “Ang paghahari ng Diyos ay katulad nito: may isang taong naghasik ng
mabuting binhi sa kanyang bukid. Isang gabi, samantalang natutulog ang mga tao,
dumating ang kanyang kaaway at naghasik ng masasamang damo sa triguhan.
Nang
tumubo ang trigo at magkauhay, lumitaw rin ang masasamang damo. Kaya’t lumapit
ang mga alipin sa puno ng sambahayan at sinabi rito, ‘Hindi po ba mabuting
binhi ang inihasik ninyo sa inyong bukid? Bakit po may damo ngayon?’ Sumagot
siya, ‘Isang kaaway ang may kagagawan nito.’
Tinanong siya ng mga utusan,
‘Bubunutin po ba namin ang mga iyon?’ ‘Huwag,’ sagot niya. ‘Baka mabunot pati
trigo. Hayaan na ninyong lumago kapwa hanggang sa anihan. Pag-aani’y sasabihin
ko sa mga tagapag-ani: Tipunin muna ninyo ang mga damo at inyong
pagbigkis-bigkisin upang sunugin, at ang trigo’y inyong tipunin sa aking
kamalig.’”
Jesus said to his disciples: "Hear
the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the
word of the Kingdom without understanding it, and the Evil One comes and steals
away what was sown in his heart.
The seed sown on rocky ground is the one
who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and
lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of
the word, he immediately falls away.
The seed sown among thorns is the one who
hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word
and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the
word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty
or thirtyfold."
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Reflection:
Would we allow Jesus to bear fruit in our
life so that we would become the seed sown on rich soil?
Four seeds were sown on four different
surfaces: the path, rocky ground, among thorns, and on rich soil. The seeds
represent the word of God, and the disciples represent the four environments.
Jesus wanted the disciples to be the rich
soil at all times (to hear the word, understand it, and live it). However, God
has also given them the freedom to choose which surface they would be.
The parable of the sower is a parable that
depicts our individual response to Jesus’ call for us to follow Him. Many
of us don’t give this call serious thought. Quite a few embrace this call;
thus, they let it grow in their hearts by means of sharing their faith through
their words and actions. Jesus obviously wants us all to become the rich soil
so that we could be fruitful and useful followers.
We all have the freedom of choice to
choose where we would be among the four environments. However, as far as Jesus
is concerned He always wants us to be the rich soil. We may ask for what
reason? Because God wants us to be at His bosom in heaven when our earthly
journey is over someday.
Let us begin to become fruitful by sharing
and living our faith and the words of Jesus. Let us take courage and not be
afraid of the obstacles. We simply follow Jesus’ desire for our lives, for He
will take care of everything. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong panahong iyon, sinabi ni Hesus
sa kanyang mga alagad, “Pakinggan nga ninyo ang kahulugan ng talinghaga tungkol
sa manghahasik. Ang mga nakikinig ng Salita tungkol sa paghahari ng Diyos
ngunit hindi nakauunawa nito ay katulad ng mga binhing nahasik sa tabi ng
daan.
Dumarating ang Masama at inaagaw ang nahasik sa kanilang puso.
Inilalarawan ng binhing nahasik sa kabatuhan ang nakikinig ng Salita at
masayang tumatanggap nito kaagad. Ngunit hindi ito tumitimo sa puso nila kaya’t
hindi sila nananatili. Pagdating ng mga kapighatian o pag-uusig dahil sa
Salita, agad silang nanlalamig.
Inilalarawan
naman ng naghasik sa dawagan ang nakikinig ng Salita, ngunit naging abala sa
mga bagay ukol sa mundong ito, at naging maibigin sa mga kayamanan anupat ang
Salita’y nawalan na ng puwang sa kanilang puso, kaya’t hindi makapamunga. At
inilalarawan ng naghasik sa matabang lupa ang mga nakikinig ng Salita at
nakauunawa nito. Sila’y namumunga: may tigsasandaan, may tig-aanimnapu, at may
tigtatatlumpu.”
The mother of the sons of Zebedee
approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for
something. He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that
these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in
your Kingdom.” Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can
you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.”
He replied, “My chalice you will indeed
drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is
for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones
make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you. Rather,
whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to
be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to
be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Reflection:
Who is an exemplary leader?
An exemplary leader leads by example. He
does not aspire to a position of leadership to be popular, to be seen, or to
give orders while enjoying the trappings of the position. He ascends to a
position of leadership because he wants to be a person for others and to serve,
even at the cost of his life.
In the gospel today we see a mother asking
a favor from Jesus (If her two sons could seat beside Jesus) but the mother had
no full comprehension of the destiny that awaits Jesus. If only she knew she
would not have asked Jesus that favor.
Why is it that many are attracted to serve
in the church? They want to serve because it’s an opportunity for them to
be seen, to be in the spotlight. However, after they are given their assigned
task they have a sudden realization that this is not what they wanted to do
because it involves sacrifice and humility. And for obvious reasons they don’t
last in their ministry.
To serve in the church alongside Jesus
always involves sacrifice and humility. We don’t serve because we want to be
influential, to be popular and powerful. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong panahong iyon, lumapit kay
Jesus ang asawa ni Zebedeo, kasama ang kanyang mga anak. May ibig siyang
hingin, kaya't lumuhod siya sa harapan ni Jesus. "ano ang ibig mo?"
tanong ni Jesus. Sumagot siya, "Sana'y ipagkaloob ninyo sa dalawa kong
anak na ito ang karapatang makaupong katabi ninyo sa inyong kaharian -- isa sa
kanan at isa sa kaliwa."
"Hindi ninyo nalalaman ang inyong hinihingi," sabi ni
Jesus sa kanila. "Mababata ba ninyo ang hirap na babatahin ko?"
"Opo," tugon nila. Sinabi ni Jesus, "Ang hirap na babatahin ko'y
babatahin nga ninyo. Ngunit wala sa akin ang pagpapasiya kung sino ang mauupo
sa aking kanan at sa aking kaliwa. Ang mga luklukang sinasabi ninyo'y para sa
pinaghandaan ng aking Ama."
Nang
marinig ito ng sampung mga alagad, nagalit sila sa magkapatid. Kaya't pinalapit
sila ni Jesus at sinabi sa kanila, "Alam ninyo na ang mga pinuno ng mga
Hentil ay naghahari sa kanila, at ang mga dinadakila ang siyang nasusunod.
Ngunit
hindi dapat ganyan ang umiral sa inyo. Sa halip, ang sinuman sa inyo na ibig
maging dakila ay dapat maging lingkod. At sinumang ibig maging pinuno ay dapat
maging alipin ninyo, tulad ng Anak ng Tao na naparito, hindi upang paglingkuran
kundi upang maglingkod at iaalay ang kanyang buhay upang matubos ang
marami.
On that day, Jesus went out of the house
and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into
a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke
to them at length in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. And as he
sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on
rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil
was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for
lack of roots.
Some seed
fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on
rich soil and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has
ears ought to hear."
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Reflection:
Do you listen
to Jesus when He speaks to you?
Jesus is
always sowing the seeds of the gospel to you. With the hope that His sown seeds
would eventually grow in our hearts and bear countless fruits
through our words and actions. Some of us don’t even care to listen or we
listen but after listening we completely forget it.
But there are
also those who listen, imbibe and let the seeds of the gospel bear fruit in
their lives by living and sharing it. In that process they allow themselves to
be God’s channel to bless other people’s
lives.
We all have
this liberty on how we would receive these seeds of the gospel that God
generously sows upon us. However let us not abuse this liberty by choosing to
ignore it. Let us listen to it, let us allow it to take root in our
hearts.
Let us allow
these very same words of God to transform us therefore we would become the seed
sown on rich soil. As such we will share it to as many people as possible
and we will also give life to the same words of God by living it.
Do you want a
new perspective in your life? A perspective that is free from worldliness,
sinfulness and other forms of worries brought about by this world? If yes, open
your bible, read and reflect on the words of Jesus and allow it to sink deep
into you. So that it would take root, grow and bear much fruit. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Noon ding araw na iyon, si Hesus ay
lumabas ng bahay at naupo sa tabi ng lawa. Pinagkalipumpunan siya ng makapal na
tao, kaya sumakay siya sa isang bangka at doon naupo. Nasa dalampasigan naman
ang mga tao. At nagturo siya ng maraming bagay sa pamamagitan ng mga
talinghaga.
“May isang magsasakang lumabas upang maghasik. Sa kanyang
paghahasik ay may binhing nalaglag sa tabi ng daan. Dumating ang mga ibon at
tinuka ang mga iyon. May binhi namang nalaglag sa kabatuhan. Sapagkat manipis
lang ang lupa roon, sumibol agad ang binhing iyon, ngunit nang mapabilad sa
matinding sikat ng araw ay natuyo, palibhasa’y walang gaanong ugat.
May
binhi namang nalaglag sa dawagan; lumago ang mga dawag at ininis ang mga iyon.
Ngunit ang binhing nalaglag sa mabuting lupa ay nag-uhay: may tigsasandaan, may
tig-aanimnapu, at may tigtatatlumpung butil ang bawat uhay. Ang may pandinig ay
makinig!”
While Jesus was speaking to the crowds,
his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him.
Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking
to speak with you.”
But he said in reply to the one who told
him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand
toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever
does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
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Reflection:
How can we become relatives of Jesus?
Jesus Himself reveals the secret to us:
“For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and
mother." And what is the will of the heavenly Father for us? It’s for us
to do good always and to be collaborator of Jesus in spreading the good news.
Jesus also cited the disciples as His
mother and brothers for they were all faithful followers. We do not know the
personal background of each disciple but surely some of them were sinners like
us. But notwithstanding their sins they still chose to follow Jesus and
completely left behind their sinful past. Thus, Jesus called them His mother
and brothers.
Therefore, the moment we choose to follow
Jesus we already are called His relatives. What does to follow Jesus mean? It’s
to follow Jesus by immersing our feet in the river of sacrifice, love,
forgiveness, mercy, compassion and so forth.
How about you? Have you already immersed your
feet in the river of sacrifice, love, forgiveness, compassion and the like?
Have you finally decided to follow Jesus and leave behind your
sinful past?
Jesus yearns for you to become his
relative too! – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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
