At
kanilang ginawa sa kanya ang gusto nila. Gayon din naman, pahihirapan nila ang
Anak ng Tao." At naunawaan ng mga alagad na si Juan Bautista ang tinutukoy
niya.
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.
+ + + + + + +
The word repentance is perhaps the most ignored word.
For example we would often call on people close to us to repent and
change their ways for the better. More often than not, this call is ignored,
and they reason that they have nothing to repent for.
We often don’t see our sinfulness until a person close
to us tells us about it and we don’t normally like to be told about our sins.
But the reality of it all is we are sinners we sin by our words, thoughts and
actions.
John the Baptist called for repentance, asceticism or
simplicity was his way of life he wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a
leather belt on his waist and his food was locust and wild honey. He prepared
the way for Jesus by calling the sinners of his time to repent.
Jesus’ approach was different, He mingled with
sinners, He healed the sick, He performed miracles and conducted life changing
sermons in that process He called them all to repentance.
This season of Advent the call to repentance intensifies
to a crescendo for us to be more worthy of the coming birth of our savior. But
only few of us give it an ear, we chose to ignore it. Why not listen to this
call? Why not change our ways for the better? Why not humbly submit ourselves
to the healing Sacrament of Reconciliation?
If today you hear His voice harden not your hearts. (Hebrew 3:15) – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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."
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and
bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called
Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his
father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom
there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I
have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy
Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold,
Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is
the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible
for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to
me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Today is the memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe.
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 recognized 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 humble yourself before God?
There is something in the Blessed Mother that many of
us don’t have. We may ask, what is it which the Blessed Mother have that we
often don’t usually have? It’s the humility and docility to follow the
will of God.
After the angel Gabriel told Mary everything
about the Lord’s plan for her. The blessed Mother simply said: “Behold, I am
the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke
1:38)
God speaks to us as well in so many ways, He even uses
people and events in our life to convey His message to us. But many of us
chose to purposely ignore it and go on with what we want in our life. What if
the Blessed Mother chose to ignore the angel and move on with her
life? But she chose to listen to the voice of God.
Listening to the voice of God is something that is often lacking in many of us today. Yes we pray, yes we go to church for Holy Mass. But more often than not it’s still our will that we follow not the will of God.
This is primarily the reason why we sin and why we have enormous problems. Because we often ignore the voice of God and we often don’t pay attention to the teachings of the church which always tells us to only do what is good and right.
The Blessed Mother did not resist God’s will, she simply believed and humbly submitted herself to the will of God. But what is God’s will for you? It’s for you to always do what is right and confront and then avoid anyone who brings you nothing but sin. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
The story is told about a man who would always drink until he gets drunk whenever he had problems. When he is drunk already he would disturb the peace of his family, he would verbally abuse his wife and his children and blame them for all their miseries. Many fathers are like this! But what can they get from this temporal escape? They only further mire themselves with more problems until their problems takes control of them.
In our gospel for today Jesus gives us a foolproof invitation, HE tells us: “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 (Matthew 11:28-30).”
What are we going to do with this invitation? Of course we have to accept and open our life to Jesus. If we would not accept and continue to keep out Jesus in our life we would continue to be enslaved by this world. And when a person is a slave of this world he/she has no peace of mind and will be forever be burdened by the worries of this world.
Will you go to Jesus and allow Him to help you carry your life’s burdens? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Pasanin ninyo ang aking pamatok, at mag-aral kayo sa akin; ako'y maamo at mababang-loob, at makasusumpong kayo ng kapahingahan para sa inyong kaluluwa. Sapagkat maginhawang dalhin ang aking pamatok, at magaan ang pasaning ibibigay ko sa inyo."
And
if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the
ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of
your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Can we compare the love of Jesus with how we exercise
our love for our fellowmen?
No, we cannot compare because majority if not all of
us love with preconditions and conditions. We love with limitations and we love
only those who give us love. Jesus loves us without any preconditions,
limitations and He loves us even if we don’t love Him in return.
We all know that Jesus is alluding about His infinite
love for us when He told this story of the lost sheep. By way of this
story He is also telling us that His love for us is always there no matter how
sinful we are and no matter who we are.
As we follow Jesus, we must also ask Him to deepen our
faith and to erase our preconditions and conditions when we love. For example,
if before we could only love those who give us love, now that we have become
mature followers of Jesus. We would love even those who do not give us love and
those people who do not love us anymore.
To love even those who do not love us and those who
hurt us is very hard to do. But if we really are sincere in following Jesus, we
would be able to love them. And we would search for them until we find them and
forgive them without any precondition.
Let us find those who went astray, let us forgive them and give them the unconditional love of Jesus. - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Sinasabi ko sa inyo; kapag nasumpungan niya ito, higit niyang ikinagagalak ang isang ito kaysa siyamnapu't siyam na hindi naligaw. Gayon din naman, hindi kaloob ng inyong Amang nasa langit na mapahamak ang isa sa maliliit na ito."
Then the angel said to her “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever and of his Kingdom there will be no end.
But Mary said to the angel “How can this be since I
have no relations with a man? And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy
Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative has also conceived
a son in her old age and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren
for nothing will be impossible for God. Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid
of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. Then the angel
departed from her.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
We celebrate today the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This was approved in 1476 by Pope Sixtus IV and later extended to the universal Church by Pope Clement XI in 1708.
Recognizing the belief held for centuries by the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, Pope Pius IX solemnly proclaimed the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854.
This dogma affirms that “the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, was preserved free from all stain of original sin” (Ineffabilis Deus, 1854).
What would you do if you received a shocking announcement? Perhaps the first thing that would come to your mind is to pray and ask for guidance and strength from God.
When Mary received the Annunciation from the angel Gabriel—that she would be pregnant with the baby Jesus—she might have been in shock for a moment. Then, perhaps she prayed to God for guidance and strength. Afterward, she was at peace and, with faith, accepted the will of the Lord for her.
The pregnancy of the Blessed Virgin Mary conveys to us that nothing is impossible for God—that He can do miracles, just as He did with Mary. It reminds us that our God is a God of possibilities, blessings, and miracles. He can make things happen for us, as long as we have faith and maintain unwavering belief in Him.
Because of the many challenges you face, you may at times feel weary in your journey through this world. Do not lose heart. Continue to journey with God. Continue to pray for whatever you desire from Him.
Continue to work hard for the aspirations you hold in your heart. Continue to live a clean life, and continue to have faith and hope—for the Lord will never abandon those who continue to trust in Him. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled and every mountain
and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the
rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
A powerful and learned man saw a simple and humble man preaching about the teachings of Jesus. The powerful man became curious about what the simple and humble man was saying. Hence, he got out of his car and listened to the simple man's preaching.
The powerful man was so captivated by the preaching that he listened intently. After the preaching was over, he said to himself, “I wish God had also given me the same gift of preaching.”
In the Gospel for this Second Sunday of Advent, Saint Luke presents us with the names of powerful people, such as Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, and many other figures who ruled over their respective kingdoms.
However, Luke also mentions the name of John, a simple man chosen by God to be the herald for Jesus. God did not choose any of the powerful figures mentioned in the Gospel to prepare the way for Jesus. Despite their influence, God could have easily selected any of them. Instead, He chose John, the humble man from the desert, to be the precursor of Jesus.
What is the message for us in God’s anointing of John? It tells us that God comes to those who are simple and humble—those who do not allow themselves to be consumed by the trappings and influences of this world. Such as, riches, power, influence, social media and so on.
John is also preaching to us about repentance and abhorrence of our many sins. In addition, John is preaching to us that we need to lead and live simple lives. For it’s only in the simplicity of our lifestyle that we would be able to hear the voice of God. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Nang panahong iyon, nasa ilang si Juan na anak ni Zacarias. Dumating sa kanya ang salita ng Diyos, kaya’t nilibot niya ang mga lupain sa magkabilang panig ng Jordan at nangaral. “Pagsisihan ninyo’t talikdan ang inyong mga kasalanan at pabinyag kayo upang kayo’y patawarin ng Diyos,” wika niya. “Sa gayo’y natupad ang nasusulat sa aklat ni propeta Isaias”
“Ito ang sabi ng isang sumisigaw sa ilang: ‘ihanda ninyo ang daraanan ng Panginoon, tuwirin ninyo ang kanyang mga landas! Tatambakan ang bawat lambak, at titibagin ang bawat burol at bundok.Tutuwirin ang daang liku-liko, at papatagin ang daang baku-bako.
At makikita ng lahat ng tao ang pagliligtas na
gagawin ng Diyos.
Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest." 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."
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do we hear Jesus speaking to us through this gospel?
Jesus commands His disciples to spread His good news this command is for us
also. Have we already creatively shared the good news about the transforming
words of Jesus by how we live our lives?
Can we share Jesus without uttering a single word?
Yes! By our way of life we can share Jesus. This we can do through humility,
through serving others and by living our lives according to the life of
Jesus.
The most powerful method of witness for Jesus and for
our faith are not words the most powerful witness are our actions. Mother
Teresa of Calcutta is so revered by millions from different faiths because her
selfless actions toward the poor speak volumes about her faith. Let us
therefore be conscious about how we live our life and faith because through
these we can convert others to become followers of Jesus.
How do you live? Do you live your life according to the teachings of the Lord? Or you live your life according to the teachings of this world? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
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: “Hanapon 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.”
Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done
for you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them
sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread word
of him through all that land.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What compels you to go to church to attend Holy Mass?
It’s your faith! When you are sick and in need of healing, what moves you to
pray and ask Jesus to heal you? It is your deep faith! When you learn to ask
with faith, Jesus will certainly grant it to you!
Faith is the healing balm that we receive from God,
but not everyone has this faith yet. Therefore, those who have faith must do
something so that those who do not have faith will have it. And this we can do
best if we learn to share our faith in Jesus and the many miracles that He has
done in our life.
The two blind men in the gospel obviously had faith
for they shouted to Jesus, “Son of David have pity on us!” Who gave them faith?
It was somebody who shared to them Jesus and in sharing Jesus with them they
slowly but surely gained faith.
Let us also have the courage to share our faith and
friendship with Jesus. For it’s in sharing our faith that we grow in faith and
it’s in sharing our faith that we make a positive difference in the lives of others.
Have you already shared your faith? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
