Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God
like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and
planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the
birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”
Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of
God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures
of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Where does the kingdom of God begin in your
life?
The Kingdom of God starts small in your heart like a
tiny mustard seed. If you would nurture it, it will have life until it grows
big. Where others could benefit from it thus you become God’s instrument of blessing
for others.
But others don’t allow God’s Kingdom to take root in
their hearts. They prefer the things of this world than God. They choose the
temporary over what is eternal, the worldly over Godly. We must not
commit the same mistake.
We should allow God to have His dwelling in our heart
no matter how small, then we have to nurture it so that it could grow. Nurture
it with prayers, reading the bible and other books that would help us grow in
faith.
We should also strive to be present at Holy Mass whenever
we could, most especially during Sundays. And of course, we should live our
faith. If we would do all of these the kingdom of God would surely be upon us
and it would grow and benefit others.
Will you allow the kingdom of God to have a permanent
dwelling in your life so that God could bless others through you? – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Noong panahong iyon, sinabi ni Jesus,
"Ano ang katulad ng paghahari ng Diyos? Saan ko ihahambing ito? Katulad
ito ng isang butil ng mustasa na itinanim ng isang tao sa kanyang halamanan.
Ito'y lumaki hanggang sa maging punongkahoy at namugad ang mga ibon sa mga
sanga nito."
Sinabi
pa ni Jesus, "Saan ko itutulad ang paghahari ng Diyos? Katulad ito ng
lebadurang inihalo ng isang babae sa tatlong takal na harina, anupa't umalsa
ang buong masa."
Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and
he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to
himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon,
whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and
Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do you have the habit of prayer?
Before making the crucial decision to
appoint the twelve apostles Jesus prayed first for guidance from God. Perhaps
Jesus also asked the guidance of the Holy Spirit, this is how it should always
be for us also. Whenever we will make a crucial decision or any decision in our
life we must pray first and ask guidance from God.
After praying, Jesus went on to choose the
twelve apostles. They were ordinary people like us—some were fishermen who
became fishers of men, and they were sinners like us. What does this Gospel
tell us? It tells us that every one of us can be a partner of Jesus in His
mission of evangelization.
We are now in the era of social media thus
evangelization is not anymore limited to face to face evangelization. We can
evangelize using the cyberspace: write about Jesus, post on your social
media accounts anything about Jesus and your Christian faith.
We can
all now be cyber missionaries. The avenues for effective evangelization in
cyberspace are unlimited. Let us, therefore, take advantage of the technology
that is available in the palms of our hands.
Be not afraid to respond to this call of
Jesus. Because He will empower you, He will guide you and He will be there for
you. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.” He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What would happen if you don’t give up on something that you truly desire? Sooner or later you will have what you want. What would happen if you have strong faith? You will never lose hope no matter the difficulties and challenges that you face in your life.
In the gospel, we hear of a blind man named Bartimaeus. Due to his blindness, there was no way for him to go to Jesus to ask for His healing touch. Therefore, upon hearing that Jesus was passing by, he shouted his prayer to the Lord: 'Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.
He was told to keep quiet by those around him, but he did not obey them. Instead, he shouted even louder: 'Son of David, have pity on me.' His persistence immediately bore fruit, as Jesus heard him. The Lord subsequently called him, and after a brief conversation with Jesus, the blind man regained his sight and became His follower.
The healing of the blind man Bartimaeus shows us that there is hope even if we are in the darkest episodes of our lives there is hope. What is important is we do not give up no matter the difficulties so that we keep the fire of hope burning.
What if Bartimaeus had easily given up? He would not have been healed by the Lord, nor would he have become His follower. Our prayers can move mountains, as long as we never give up on our faith in the Lord.
Do you have a prayer before the Lord? Don’t give up, continue to be persistent and continue to have faith because the good Lord will soon hear you. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Some people told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. He said to
them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent, you
will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the
tower at Siloam fell on them— do you think they were more guilty than everyone
else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!”
And he told them this parable: “There once
was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in
search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years
now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut
it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave
it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize
it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Why is there a need for us to repent now?
The simple answer is because we are all sinners. We sin almost every day
through ours words, actions and thoughts.
What if we suddenly die and we are not
able to repent for the reason that we keep on delaying our repentance? We miss
the golden opportunity to be with Jesus in heaven and we have nobody to blame
but us.
Repentance frees us from the burden of sin
and guilt. It frees our souls and it opens the door of God’s blessings for us.
What if we refuse to repent and instead continue on sinning? We then have to be
prepared for the consequence/s of our stubbornness and sinfulness.
In the church complete repentance occurs
the moment we decide to humbly submit ourselves to the healing Sacrament of
Reconciliation. Here we humbly ask forgiveness from the Lord, here we allow God
to heal us from the wounds of sin.
When was your last Confession? – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Jesus said to the crowds, “When you see a
cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it
does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that
it is going to be hot–and so it is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret
the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret
the present time?
“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? If
you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle
the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge,
and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into
prison. I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last
penny.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do you consult fortunetellers to learn about your future?
Fortunetellers make a living by means of predicting
the obvious things that will happen in our future. There are those who believe because
what they foretold became a reality. So, they make a habit of consulting
fortunetellers whenever there are major decisions to be made.
For some who cannot afford to pay their services. They
make do by reading the daily horoscope available for free in some internet
sites and other newspapers. And if what is written in their horoscopes is not
favorable for them they would be bothered by it.
If we have faith in Jesus, there’s no need to consult
anyone regarding our future. We only have to get closer to Jesus through
prayer, by listening to Him who directly speaks to us when we read the bible
and through our pious attendance at Holy Mass.
Jesus is always an ever-present friend who is always
there for us. He will not predict our future based on the obvious signs of the
times. But He will always be an omnipresent companion as we walk from our
present going to our future. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come
to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a
baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is
accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
From now on a household of five will be
divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided
against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and
a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
The story is
told about a man who rebuked his wayward
sister for not living her life properly. While in the process of reprimand the
sister angrily walked out from his brother. She told him not to meddle in her
life and to mind his own life not hers.. By having the courage to correct a
wayward behavior the brother unexpectedly created enmity and an enemy for
himself.
This is the reality of a life with Jesus there would
be times that we would be hated and ostracized by our fellowmen for doing what
is right. But we must not be bothered by these temporal difficult circumstances
in our lives. We must always have the courage to speak out and correct a
wayward behavior no matter what the cost because this is part of our mission as
followers of Christ.
If we would not correct a wrong behavior and just go
with the flow even if it’s wrong. We are betraying Christ and sad to say, we
are not also a true follower of Christ. For the simple reason that we are
afraid to create an enemy for the sake of Jesus Christ.
We will always pay a worldly price that is sometimes
painful to accept for the sake of our passionate discipleship for Jesus. We may
even temporarily or even permanently create enemies or lose friends and even
relatives for HIS sake.
But let us not be afraid of having frayed
relationships for the sake of our faithful disciples for Jesus. Because we are
already complete if we have Jesus in our life. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said to his disciples: “Be sure of
this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at
an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
Then Peter
said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” And the Lord
replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will
put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper
time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say
to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says
to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the
menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that
servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will
punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant
who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with
his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his
master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten
only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and
still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Are you a
faithful and prudent steward of the Lord?
We are all
just stewards of everything that we have. It’s not ours everything that we have
right now is only lent to us by God. For example, the power that we have, the
intelligence, the material wealth and our spiritual gift and so forth. As
such, we should properly manage and use what we have in our possession.
We should all be worthy stewards; we should put to good use whatever talents
that God has given us.
However, if
we would not be up to the task that God has given us. We can rest assure that
eventually everything that we have will be taken from us because we were not
worthy of the blessings that God bestowed on us.
The gospel
today talks about the coming of the Son of Man. The servants who were
caught unaware were busy doing their own thing. These servants are like some of
us; always very busy with the things of this world. We forget God or God
becomes only our second or third priority.
We must put
God forward first, before anything else it should be God first. How about the
things of this world? It should be secondary. When we put God first and we
abhor sin everything else would follow including our needs for daily living. -
Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong panahong iyon, sinabi ni Hesus sa kanyang mga alagad, "Tandaan ninyo ito: kung alam lamang ng puno ng sambahayan kung anong oras darating ang magnanakaw, hindi niya pababayaang pasukin ang kanyang bahay. Kayo ma'y dapat humanda, sapagkat darating ang Anak ng Tao sa oras na hindi ninyo inaasahan."
Itinanong ni Pedro, "Panginoon, sinasabi po ba ninyo ang talinghagang ito para sa amin o para sa lahat?" Tumugon ang Panginoon, "Sino nga ang tapat at matalinong alipin? Hindi ba siya ang pamamahalain ng kanyang panginoon sa sambahayan nito, upang magbigay sa ibang mga alipin ng kanilang pagkain sa karampatang panahon? Mapalad ang aliping iyon, kapag dinatnan siyang gumagawa ng gayon pagbabalik ng kanyang panginoon.
Sinasabi ko sa inyo: pamamahalain siya ng kanyang panginoon sa lahat ng ari-arian nito. Ngunit kung sabihin sa sarili ng aliping iyon, 'Matatagalan pa bago magbalik ang aking ppanginoon,' at simulan niyang bugbugin ang ibang aliping lalaki at babae, at kumain, uminom, at maglasing, darating ang panginoon ng aliping yaon sa araw na hindi niya inaasahan at sa oras na hindi niya alam. Buong higpit na parurusahan siya ng panginoon, at isasama sa mga di-tapat.
"At ang aliping nakaaalam ng kalooban ng kanyang panginoon ngunit hindi naghanda ni sumunod sa kalooban nito ay tatanggap ng mabigat na parusa. Ngunit ang aliping hindi nakaaalam ng kalooban ng kanyang panginoon at gumawa ng mga bagay na nararapat niyang pagdusahan ay tatanggap ng magaang na parusa. Ang binigyan ng maraming bagay ay hahanapan ng maraming bagay; at ang pinagkatiwalaan ng lalong maraming bagay ay pananagutin sa lalong maraming bagay."
Jesus said to his disciples: “Gird your
loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return
from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are
those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in
the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those
servants.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Are you afraid to die?
The thought of death is something that we always
dread; we never want to speak about it. But death is one reality of life that
will come to each one of us. No one is exempted, rich or poor, educated or not
educated, whoever we are it will eventually come to us.
Jesus in our gospel is calling us to prepare for the
unannounced coming of the Lord in our lives. It’s sad that the coming of the
Lord comes to many of us through our death only. But do we need to be sad? For
example if we are given by our doctor a month to live, should we be sad with
this heart wrenching news? Of course we are entitled to be sad for this is part
of our being human.
But after a while the sadness should be replaced by
our confidence and faith in God. For the reason that we actually have nothing
to fear about death if we have strong faith in the Lord. For some, death is
even welcome news for them. How could this be?
Ahh, the reason is very simple; they have long
prepared for this by their obedience and closeness to Jesus. As such they are
not afraid to die and meet God who by the way is the author of our lives.
Therefore, it’s always imperative for us to take
seriously the advice of Jesus to the disciples. To always be prepared for the
coming of the Lord for we don’t know when it will be.
Are you already prepared for the Lord’s coming into
your life? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Then he said to the
crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s
life does not consist of possessions.”
Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose
land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do
not have space to store my harvest? And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I
shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my
grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so
many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!
But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life
will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they
belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is
not rich in what matters to God.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What will be
the scenario when we are a few inches away from the doorway of death? Would we
still be concerned about our wealth? No, not anymore what would be of prime
importance during that time are the relationships that we’ve built.
The first that will matter is the relationship that
we’ve built with God, the next is the relationship that we’ve built with our
relatives and friends. Our wealth no matter how enormous will not occupy a
space in our minds.
Why is this so? Because wealth will not count as our
ticket to heaven, what will count is the relationship that we have created with
God. What will count are the good deeds that we’ve done to those who are in
need.
But the paradox is so many of us today who are
alive and healthy are actively in pursuit of wealth and power. That we don’t
anymore care how many lives would we be stepping on just to have it. We don’t
anymore care if we will be called greedy or corrupt just to have it.
In our gospel for this Monday, Jesus is teaching us
not to live our lives for the accumulation of wealth, He teaches us to be
generous and not greedy. Jesus teaches us instead to build a relationship with
Him and to spread and share our blessings.
What occupies most of your time right now, is it still
the accumulation of wealth and other worldly things? – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to
Jesus and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask
of you." He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?" They
answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and
the other at your left."
Jesus said to them, "You do not know what
you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the
baptism with which I am baptized?" They said to him, "We can."
Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the
baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right
or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been
prepared."
When the ten heard this, they became indignant
at James and John. Jesus summoned them and said to them, "You know that
those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and
their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you. Rather,
whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be
first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be
served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
A young man aspired to become a priest. When he
was asked by the person in charge of screening the aspirants why he wanted to
become a priest, he said, "I want to serve the people, and I want to be
their servant.
However, this was not his true motivation.
The young man wanted to be a priest because he desired power. He wanted the
people of his community to look up to him, and he yearned for their respect and
adulation.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, we have the brothers
James and John, who asked to be seated beside Jesus in His kingdom. Why did
they ask for this undeserved honor? What were they thinking when they made such
a shameful request? Were they truly following Jesus to serve, or were they
simply seeking power and adulation?
We can see that the real intention of James and
John was to show the people that they were close to Jesus. In their minds,
sitting beside Him symbolized power and influence. They believed that, like
Jesus, they too would be revered and adored.
How many of us truly understand that following
Jesus means embracing humility and sacrifice? How many of us realize that being
close to Jesus requires letting go of power? How many of us know that being
close to Jesus is not about seeking adulation and respect?
We will never be close to Jesus if we seek power
and adulation. True closeness with Jesus requires us to reject these desires.
When we turn away from power and adulation, we begin to embrace servanthood and
humility, which Jesus embodies.
Noong panahong iyon, lumapit kay Hesus sina Santiago at Juan na
mga anak ni Zebedeo, at ang sabi, “Guro, may hihilingin po sana kami sa inyo.”
“Ano iyon?” tanong ni Hesus. Sumagot sila, “Sana’y makaupo kami katabi ninyo sa
inyong kaharian – isa sa kanan at isa sa kaliwa.”
“Hindi ninyo nalalaman ang inyong hinihingi,” sabi ni Hesus sa
kanila. “Mababata ba ninyo ang hirap na babatahin ko? Pabibinyag ba kayo sa
binyag na daranasin ko?” “Opo,” tugon nila. Sinabi ni Hesus, “Ang hirap na
babatahin ko’y babatahin nga ninyo, at kayo’y bibinyagan sa binyag na daranasin
ko. 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 mga pinaghandaan.”
Nang marinig ito ng sampung alagad, nagalit sila sa magkapatid.
Kaya’t pinalapit sila ni Hesus at sinabi, “Alam ninyo na ang mga itinuturing na
pinuno ng mga Hentil ay siyang pinapanginoon, at ang mga dinadakila ay siyang
nasusunod. Ngunit hindi ganyan ang dapat 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 ng lahat.
Sapagkat ang Anak ng Tao ay naparito, hindi upang paglingkuran kundi upang
maglingkod at ibigay ang kanyang buhay sa ikatutubos ng lahat.”
Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you,
everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge
before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied
before the angels of God.
“Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man
will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not
be forgiven. When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and
authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what
you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you
should say.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do you want
to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life?
One of the major requisites for us to have an
awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to first
acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Then, after that the gift of the
presence of the Holy Spirit and everything else about the faith and church
would follow.
The Holy Spirit will open our minds to the various
avenues about the majestic history of the church and the many truths about it.
We also would start to become more aware of the true purpose of our life in
this world.
As the Holy Spirit opens us to the many truths of the
church it simultaneously works in our lives by purifying us. It enlightens us
to the gifts of: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety
and Fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2-3).
Let us therefore seek out Jesus Christ first by
knowing more about Him. Let us be faithful to Him and we surely would feel the
outpouring gifts of the Holy Spirit. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
