Reflection for December 11, Tuesday; Second Week of Advent: Matthew 18:12-14

Gospel: Matthew 18:12-14

Jesus said to his disciples: “What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? 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.

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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 will 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 look for those who went astray, let us forgive and give them the unconditional love of Jesus. -  Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for December 10, Monday; Second Week of Advent: Luke 5:17-26

Luke 5:17-26

One day as Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there, and the power of the Lord was with him for healing. And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence. But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.”

Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply, “What are you thinking in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”– he said to the one who was paralyzed, “I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”

He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We have seen incredible things today.”

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Reflection:

How far are you willing to go to help a person in need? We have in our gospel a paralytic who was brought to Jesus by selfless men. Men who did not think of their own safety so that they could help. Men who did everything so that they could bring somebody to Jesus.

What if there were no selfless men who dared to help the paralytic? The paralytic would have remained paralytic for the rest of his life. But he was very blessed that he encountered these men who help him go near Jesus.

When you help someone in need you are opening yourself to enormous blessings from God. This is what happened to the men who brought the paralytic to Jesus. They were blessed by Jesus and was forgiven of their many sins (Luke 5:20).

As you continue your journey in this world you will continue to encounter those who are in need. Never let go of the opportunity to help be it material or spiritual help. If it would require you to momentarily forget your own self so that you could extend a helping hand, help by all means.

Every effort that you do for others is always rewarded by Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday December 9, Second Sunday of Advent: Luke 3:1-6

Gospel: Luke 3:1-6

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. 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.”

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Reflection:

A sinful woman decided that she would walk away from her sinful life. Because she finally realized that it gave her nothing except problems. Many of us look the other way or turn a blind eye when it comes to sinning. Why? Because sin was created by Satan for us to enjoy it until it completely capture and destroy us.  

For example, the sin of adultery, is it not enjoyable for the immoral couple who are doing it?  Yes, it is, they enjoy it until it’s too late for them to realize that it brought them nothing but misery and tons and tons of problem.  Sin in general will do us no good and if we will not repent or completely walk away from it could bring us death.

In the gospel for this second Sunday of advent we hear and read about the love of God. Who through John calls us to walk away and repent from our sinfulness. By way of John the Lord is offering us a new life free from sin.

Would you hear this call of John to renew your life by repenting from your sinfulness? Or would you still choose to embrace sin until the end? The choice is yours to take, just remember that sin will do nothing but destroy you.

Through John and the prophet Isaiah’s call of repentance the good Lord is offering you His unconditional love, His mercy and His compassion. Take and accept it and begin to live a new life free from sin.

Will you accept this offering of the Lord? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for December 8, Saturday; Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Luke 1:26-38

                                                  Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 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.

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Reflection:

Do you accept the will of the Lord for your life or you contradict it, thus you follow your own selfish and sinful will? For example, the will of the Lord for a pregnant woman is to carry and nurse the child in her womb. However, many are contradicting this will of the Lord by killing the child in the womb thru abortion.

The Gospel tells us that God thru the Angel Gabriel had chosen the Blessed Mother to be the Mother of Jesus, of all women why the Blessed Mother? We don’t know the answer but the Blessed Mother’s humility, docility and abandonment to the will of God speaks volumes about her.

The Blessed Mother humbly followed God’s desire and will when she said: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word (Luke 1:38)."

Like the Blessed Mother, are you willing to humble yourself before the Lord? Are you willing to abandon your life to the will of God? And do you always follow the intervention of God the Holy Spirit in your life? – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for December 7, Friday; Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church: Matthew 9:27-31

Gospel: Matthew 9:27-31

As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out, “Son of David, have pity on us!” When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him. 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.

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Reflection:

How strong is your faith in the Lord? Is it as strong like the two blind men in the gospel? The two blind men were healed by Jesus because their faith in Him was rock solid. Our strong faith in Jesus will bring us healing it will bring us inner peace that this world will not be able to give us.

What does this temporal world give us? It will give us wealth but not faith, it will give us power but not faith and it will give us popularity but not faith. This world will practically give us anything that we need to survive in this world.

But we were not created for this world, this world only serves as our temporal dwelling because eventually we will die. After we die we leave behind whatever we have in this world. So, where would we go if we have no faith in the Lord?  

It is only through Jesus that we can have faith, the same faith that the two blind men had. This is the reason why their eyes were opened and healed courtesy of their deep faith in Jesus.

How is your faith in the Lord? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for December 6, Thursday; First Week of Advent: Matthew 7:21, 24-27

Gospel: Matthew 7:21, 24-27

(Jesus said to his disciples) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house.  But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

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Reflection:

What would happen to us if we always pray yet we don’t live our faith? For example we always pray the Holy Rosary every day or we go to Holy Mass every Sunday yet we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to change us? We would easily succumb to worldly temptations and we render useless our acts of worship for God.

The Philippines is a catholic country, in fact more than eighty percent (80%) of us are Catholics and the majority of our leaders are Catholics. yet corruption is deeply rooted in our government. Why is this so? This is for the reason that we are only good at worshipping God but we don’t allow our worship for God to transform us.

What does Jesus want from all of us? He wants us to worship Him and allow this same worship for Him to transform us. So that we could become His true and faithful followers, it’s very easy to pray so that others would see us. However, the real qualification for us to be called a follower of Jesus is when we allow our worship for Him to transform us.

What will happen to us if we let our prayers to transform us according to the will of the Father in heaven?  We would be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house.  But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock (Luke 7:24-25).

Do you allow your worship for God to transform you? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for December 5, Wednesday; First Week of Advent: Matthew 15:29-37

Gospel: Matthew 15:29-37

At that time: Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them. The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.

Jesus summoned his disciples and said, "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way." The disciples said to him, "Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?" Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" "Seven," they replied, "and a few fish." He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full.

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Reflection:

There is a true story of a man who was a manager in a government office. As such, there would always be people who would ask for employment favor from him. Being helpful, he would always help them find employment in his office. The manager eventually resigned from his government employment job but he ensured that those whom he had helped would have permanency in their job.

After ten years the former manager returned to his former office just to say hello to those whom he had helped. Upon arrival he got cold shoulder treatment from them. So, he left a bit sad because he wasn’t able to talk to them.

There are those who follow a person because of what he can do for them. Once that person has given what they wanted from him those who followed would be out of sight already.  It is very seldom that they will stick it out with that person come hell or high water.

There are really such kind of people who has very inclement behavioral patterns; who are ungrateful to what you’ve done for them. However, we must always extend our help not withstanding their ungratefulness.

Jesus did not choose those He would help; regardless if they were grateful or ungrateful, He still cured them all. He did not discriminate on them. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for December 4, Tuesday; First Week of Advent: Luke 10:21-24

Luke 10:21-24

Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, 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 who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

Turning to the disciples in private he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.

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Reflection:

Communication is an essential part to a successful marriage. The more communication time a married couple has the better that they would understand each other. Thus, communication facilitates smooth relationship and intimacy.

Jesus in our gospel for today communicates through His prayer with God our Father the creator. He gives praise to the Father, Jesus did not only communicate to the Father to give praise. He communicated because he longs for His Father and it’s through this longing that He builds deeper oneness with Him.  

We too must always have this longing or thirst for God in every moment of our lives. We must always communicate with Him for He is our lifeline in this world. What would happen to us if we would not have our regular prayer moments with God? We become empty shells that looks sturdy outside but deep inside is spiritually shallow. 

Let us always have our regular prayer moment with God in everyday of our lives. Let us give praise to Him let us thank Him for all of the blessings that He has been giving us. Let us not wait for the time to come wherein we will look for God because we are already in dire need of Him.

Do you have your regular moment of communication with Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for December 3, Monday; Saint Francis Xavier, Priest: Matthew 8:5-11

Gospel: Matthew 8:5-11

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it. When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.”

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Reflection:

Do you ask Jesus to give you the gift of faith?

What brought the centurion to Jesus? It was his great faith, when the centurion went to Jesus to ask for help for his servant he had nothing except his great faith. He firmly believed in Jesus power to heal and he used his great faith to convince Jesus to cure his servant.

Who is this centurion? He is a roman officer that has people under his command, he also is not a follower yet he has great faith in Jesus. Don’t we want this kind of faith as well? Of course, we all want our faith to be like the centurions. Therefore, we must prayerfully ask Jesus to give us the same faith. But do we ask Jesus to give us the gift of faith? Is the gift of faith always part of our prayer request to Jesus?

If Jesus could give that great faith to a non-follower like the centurion why can’t He give us the same faith considering that we are his followers? Faith is a gift that Jesus freely and generously gives to anyone who humbly ask for it.

What is our usual prayer to Jesus? Is it always to have the things of this world? Let us not forget that the things of this world are passing and temporary. While faith will not pass it will always be with us.

Faith will be with us until the end, it will accompany us in our journey beyond this world going to the eternal Kingdom of the King of Kings no other than Jesus Himself.

Give us your gift of faith O Lord Jesus. Most especially the person who is reading this reflection right now. Amen. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday December 2, First Sunday of Advent: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

Gospel: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

Jesus said to his disciples: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.

“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

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Reflection:

A story is told about a man who was diagnosed with cancer sensing that the end of his earthly journey is about come to an end. He went to a priest and asked him to be administered the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.  The man in the throes of death was able to properly prepare himself for the coming of his own end times experience in this world.

Today is the first Sunday of advent. What is the meaning of advent? In the Christian faith advent means coming, someone very important is about to come into our life. Of course, we all know who is this very important that is about to come, He is no other than Jesus our savior.  

Outside of the Christian faith advent could also means coming, coming of what? Coming of a turbulent episode in our lives which could be sickness as we have in our story. It could also means coming of a problem which we create for ourselves.

Nevertheless, let us not allow ourselves to get distracted by all of these tragic human events that could come to us. This is for the reason that the center of advent is about Jesus’ coming into our lives. The savior will come to save us from anything that troubles us. 

In the first part of the gospel Jesus tells us this: There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken (Luke 21:25-26).

Of course, we only have two choices on how we would meet this seemingly calamitous end. First is to be afraid; who would not be afraid when the earth is crumbling before us? The second one is to be calm, be hopeful and not to be afraid because there’s a God who is in charge of everything.

In the midst of life’s uncertainties let us still be full of hope and positivity because our savior will come to save us. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for December 1, Saturday; Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 21:34-36

Gospel: Luke 21:34-36

Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

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Reflection:

What would make us succumb to disorderly behavior, drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life? We would succumb to these unhealthy behaviors/lifestyles the moment we close our hearts to the love of Jesus. Lest we forget, the devil is always present in our environment and always trying to look for the right opportunity to snatch us away from the love of God.

Some of us may not believe that the devil is present in our environment but he is. This is the reason why there are evil people and evil things around us. If there’s no active presence of the devil in our environment there would be no crimes and other evil things but the devil is present.

In our gospel for this Saturday, Jesus tells us this: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap (Luke 21:34).

The cure for this warning of Jesus is none other than Himself! If we have a close and personal relationship with Jesus we would be able to ward off any kind of temptation that the evil one would deviously throw at us.

If the devil is always around waiting for the right timing to temp us. Jesus is always there also always knocking at our hearts so that he could enter our lives. And when we already have Jesus in our lives the devil will naturally flee and run for his life. Therefore, we must always open our hearts to Jesus for as long as we exist in this world.

Would you open your life to Jesus? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 30, Friday; Saint Andrew, Apostle: Matthew 4:18-22

Gospel: Matthew 4:18-22

As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.

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Reflection:

Have you had an experience of being called by your name?

Anyone who calls your name will surely get your attention. You will stretch your neck to look for that person who called you by your name. Why do you respond? You respond for the simple reason that you assume that the one who called you by your name knows you.

In the gospel today Jesus called Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John all of them ordinary fishermen. Did they know Jesus deeply beforehand? No, but Jesus certainly knew the four fishermen otherwise He would not have called them.

Jesus knew their sinfulness, their weaknesses and even their lack of education He knew yet He called them. What does this call of the apostles tell us? This tells us that notwithstanding our shortcomings whatever these shortcomings are the Lord is still calling us to follow Him.

Jesus knows about our failings and weaknesses, even our sinfulness He knows also; yet He still calls us to follow Him. And become His partner in His mission to advance the good news of our salvation.

Would you respond to His perpetual call? Or would you continue to sit idly and be slaves of this material and fleeting world?

The wisdom filled choice is to always respond and become a follower of Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for November 29, Thursday; Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 21:20-28

Gospel: Luke 21:20-28

Jesus said to his disciples: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is at hand. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Let those within the city escape from it, and let those in the countryside not enter the city, for these days are the time of punishment when all the Scriptures are fulfilled. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”

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Reflection:

There are two sets of human sufferings that comes to us. The first set of suffering is one that we create for ourselves. For example, a drunkard who has been told time and again by his relatives to stop for it would result to his getting sick. But the drunkard would not listen to their wise counsel. Eventually he got sick with cancer of the liver caused by his excessive addiction to liquor.

The second set of sufferings that comes to us are those sufferings that we don’t bring to ourselves. Example of this is sickness that comes with getting old or any kind of suffering that we don’t create for ourselves.

In our gospel for this Thursday Jesus speaks about the destruction of Jerusalem and its people. They could have easily avoided this kind of sufferings if they listened to the messengers of God (the prophets) who called on them to leave behind their sinful ways. But they did not, they continued to sin they killed the messengers that God sent them including His Son Jesus.

As we close the curtains of this liturgical year and as we enter the door of Advent. We are called by God to listen to His voice who calls upon us to humbly repent from our sinfulness. And the best response that we could ever do is to humbly submit ourselves to the Healing Sacrament of Confession.   

    

We have to remember that we are all sinful and we are all in need of Jesus’ Mercy, Forgiveness and Healing. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 28, Wednesday; Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 21:12-19

Gospel: Luke 21:12-19

Jesus said to the crowd: “They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

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Reflection:

What made you decide to follow Jesus? Is it because of a promise of a good life, a life free from problems and worries from this world?  Many of us have this mistaken notion that it is easy to become a follower. But it’s not easy for to follow Jesus involves great sacrifice.

 It involves deep humility, it involves giving up some of our family time. To follow Jesus even involves making unpopular stand on family and societal issues such as abortion, immorality and the like.

There is no free ride going to Jesus, we have to persevere, we have to sacrifice and carry our own cross. Yet everything that we do for Jesus is well worth it. This is for the reason that whatever we do for Jesus, He will give back to us a hundred times.

Perhaps it may not be during our lifetime in this world. But certainly someday, somehow; He will surely reward us very generously in the afterlife. Let us therefore always be faithful and courageous in our decision to follow Jesus whatever it may cost us. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 27, Tuesday; Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 21:5-11

Gospel: Luke 21:5-11

While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus said, “All that you see here–the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”

Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” He answered, “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.”

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Reflection:

When will the end times be? Many would say that the end time is here and now. Just look at the many wars being fought in many parts of the world. Just look at the many terroristic activities happening almost everywhere. Just look at the massive hunger in third world countries. Just look at the massive environmental catastrophes around the world.

Aren’t these all signs of the end times? These unfortunate events are not yet the end times for no one of us knows about it, only God knows when it would be. But it seems that the telltale signs are already in place.

However it’s not the end times yet. This is for the reason that these unfortunate events that are happening now all over the world are created by us and not by God. For example, human’s greed for power and natural resources creates wars in many parts of the world. Our abuse of the environment creates natural disasters.

Terroristic activities that are happening everywhere are due to human’s misguided and fanatical devotion to their creed. So, who is creating these end times scenarios? It’s not God but us, by our misguided adherence to this world we actually are hastening the world’s end times. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 26, Monday; Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 21:1-4

Gospel: Luke 21:1-4

When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”

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Reflection:

What is your motive when you give to your church or to your fellowmen? Do you give because you are expecting something in return or you give because you simply want to help?

The right form of giving is to give without strings attached and to give from the heart. We don’t give because we are forced to give or we give because we have surplus. The joy of generous giving comes when you give freely. Just observe that unexplainable joy that you feel after you’ve given something straight from your heart. 

We have countless motives when we give or when we help our fellowmen. Whatever our motives are we can rest assure that God knows our reasons. Because we cannot hide anything from God.

The two small coins given by the poor widow in the gospel seem to be insignificant compared to what were given by the wealthy people. However, Jesus was pleased with her act of generosity for she gave it all. She gave without conditions and she gave without expecting something in return.

How do you give? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Sunday November 25, The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe: John 18:33b-37

Gospel: John 18:33b-37

Pilate said to Jesus, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?" Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here." So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

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Reflection:

There is a story of a king who was very well loved by his people. He opened the gates of his kingdom to everyone especially to the poor. He would also regularly go out of his beautiful palace in disguise to regularly give help to his people.

In spite of his stature he was very humble and very down to earth, he mingled with everyone: The poor, the educated and the social outcast. He eventually became old and sickly then after a few months he died. There was an outpouring of support from his people and everyone mourned his passing. They had glowing tributes about his kindness, his humility and his selfless service to them.

Today is the solemnity of Christ the King. What is the kingship of Jesus Christ all about? It’s about humility and it’s about self-sacrifice. Jesus did not abuse His powerful Kingship, He never used it for himself, He never used it to oppress or to bully and foremost of all His kingship is always for our welfare and never for himself.

What is the implication of Christ Kingship for us? It loudly tells us that we must at all times follow the kingship of Jesus. It loudly tells us that we must be humble at all times, we must be ready to serve at all times and we must not manipulate people to serve our selfish objectives.

The world that we are in right now is in chaos because many of us most especially the political leaders and some religious leaders follow the kingship of this world. Many of us hunger to be acclaimed, served and honored. Many of us want to exercise power based on how this world would want us to use it.

Truth be told, many of us still choose to follow the temporal kingship of this world. Many of us allow it to capture us. This is the reason why we become arrogant, manipulative and abusive. And these are all caused by our greed for the temporal kingship of this world.

Let us discard the worldly kingship for the kingship of Christ. Why? For the reason that if not handled with humility and if we allow ourselves to be possessed by it. Then,  it could surely destroy us. Worldly kingship is temporary and fleeting, sooner or later it will end. However, the kingship of Jesus Christ will always be there for us the moment we decide to embrace and follow it.  

Which kingship will you embrace? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for November 24, Saturday; Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs: Luke 20:27-40

Gospel: Luke 20:27-40

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. Then the second and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her.” Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise. That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” Some of the scribes said in reply, “Teacher, you have answered well.” And they no longer dared to ask him anything.

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Reflection:

What will happen to us after we die? Would we still know each other’s name if we see each other in heaven? Would we still feel the same if we see each other in heaven? We don’t know because we haven’t died yet.

But one thing is sure there will come a time that we will have a physical death. Would it be the end? No, we who follow Jesus believe that our physical death is only the beginning of eternal life with Jesus in heaven.

The Sadducees do not believe in the resurrection. That’s why they asked Jesus the question about the seven brothers who married the same woman. So they asked Jesus, to whom will she belong during resurrection?

Jesus gave them this meaningful answer, “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage (Luke 20:34-35).

Many of us may have the same concern with the Sadducees, what will happen to us after we die? Are we not stretching our minds too far by having this thought? Instead of being concerned with the afterlife or the resurrection.

Why don’t we focus our attention to our present life? Do we live it according to the will of Jesus for us? If we live our present life according to the will of Jesus, we need not worry about the afterlife for the simple reason that Jesus will take care of us all.

Let us not worry about the afterlife because when we die there will be no more worries only happiness. When we die there will be no more conflict only loving friendships and when we die there will be no more distinction as to who we are for we shall all be equal in God’s eyes.

The afterlife in the kingdom of God is the perfect life for us, let us aim for it while we are still in this worldly journey. Let us start by living our lives according to what God wants us to live it. – Marino J. Dasmarinas