Sinabi ni Jesus
sa kanyang mga alagad: 21 Ang tumutupad sa tinanggap niyang mga kautusan
ko, siya ang nagmamahal sa akin. Mamahalin ng aking Ama ang nagmamahal sa
akin, at mamahalin ko rin siya at ipamamalas ko sa kanya ang aking sarili.”
22 Sinabi
sa kanya ni Judas, hindi ang Iskariote: “Panginoon, paano mangyayaring sa
amin mo ipamamalas ang iyong sarili at hindi sa mundo?” 23 Sumagot si
Jesus at sinabi sa kanya: “Kung may nagmamahal sa akin, isasakatuparan niya
ang aking salita at mamahalin siya ng aking Ama at pupuntahan namin siya at sa
kanya kami gagawa ng silid para sa aming sarili. 24 Hindi naman isinasakatuparan
ng hindi nagmamahal sa akin ang aking mga salita. At hindi sa akin ang salitang
naririnig n’yo kundi sa Amang nagpadala sa akin.
25 Sinabi
ko sa inyo ang mga ito habang namamalagi pa akong kasama ninyo. 26 Ituturo
naman sa inyo ng Tagapagtanggol ang lahat – ang Espiritu Santong ipadadala ng
ama sa ngalan ko – at ipaaalaala niya sa inyo ang lahat ng sinabi ko sa inyo.
Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are
many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going
to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way."
Thomas said to him, "Master, we do not know where you are going; how
can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then
you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen
him." Philip said to him, "Master, show us the Father, and that will
be enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so
long a time and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the
Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells
in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is
in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to
you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater
ones than these, because I am going to the Father."
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
To whom do we put
our destiny in this world? Do we put it in the hands of the government or we
put it in the hands of God. In this era of covid-19 pandemic the government has
put our destiny in their own hands. So, what we do is we don’t go out and we
keep ourselves quarantined in our respective homes. We are even prevented from
going out to practice our faith obligations such as to attend Holy Mass during
Sundays.
But where would this
culture of my destiny is in my hands or my destiny rest in the government hands
bring us? This will eventually bring us to an existence in this world with a
nominal God. A God that hardly matters anymore and when God becomes a nonessential
for our existence we become creatures of this world rather than creation of
God.
In the gospel Jesus
tells us that we must believe more in Him more than we believe in ourselves.
Believe more in Him more than we believe in the orders of the government to
quarantine ourselves so that we can avoid getting sick of Covid-19.Hence, we
defy government and we go out as if there is no danger of getting sick of
Covid-19?
No we don’t defy the
government neither we go out as if there is no danger of getting sick of
covid-19. We simply put our destiny in the hands of God more than in the hands
of the government and our own hands. We simply let go of our worries and let
our almighty God take care of it. We therefore have to pray very hard to the
Lord to help us banish this Covid-19 from the face of the earth. Because only
in the hands of God lies the solution to this Covid-19 pandemic.
We cannot do
anything without the intervention of the Lord, we are simply helpless without
God. For only in God’s hands we would have life beyond this word.
To whom do we trust our destiny in this world? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Sinabi ni Jesus sa kanyang mga alagad, 1 Huwag
mabagabag ang inyong mga puso. Manalig kayo sa Diyos, at manalig din kayo sa
akin. 2 Maraming silid sa bahay ng aking Ama. Kung hindi’y hindi ko sana
sinabi sa inyong: “Pupunta ako upang ipaghanda kayo ng lugar.” 3 At pag
pumunta na ako at naipaghanda kayo ng lugar, muli akong darating at dadalhin
ko kayo sa akin upang kung saan ako naroon, gayon din naman kayo.
4 At alam n’yo ang daan sa pupuntahan
ko.” 5 Sinabi sa kanya ni Tomas: “Panginoon, hindi namin alam kung saan
ka pupunta. Paano namin malalaman ang daan?” 6 Sinabi sa kanya ni Jesus:
“Ako siyang daan, ang katotohanan, at ang buhay. Walang nakalalapit sa Ama
kundi sa pamamagitan ko. 7 Kung kilala ninyo ako, makikilala rin ninyo ang
aking Ama. Ngunit ngayon, kilala n’yo na siya at nakita ninyo siya.”
8 Sinabi sa kanya ni Felipe:
“Panginoon, ipakita mo na sa amin ang Ama at sapat na sa amin.” 9 Sinabi
sa kanya si Jesus: “Ang tagal na panahon n’yo akong kasama at hindi mo pa ako
kilala, Felipe? Sa pagkakita sa akin ninuman, ang Ama ang nakikita niya.
Paano mong masasabi: ‘Ituro mo sa amin ang Ama’?
10 Hindi ka ba naniniwalang nasa
Ama ako at nasa akin ang Ama? Hindi mula sa sarili ko sinasabi angmga salitang binibigkas ko. Sa akin nanunuluyan
ang Ama, at siya ang gumagawa ng kanyang mga gawa. 11 Maniwala kayo sa
akin na nasa Ama ako at nasa akin ang Ama. Kung hindi dahil sa akin, maniwala
kayo dahil man lamang sa mga gawa.
12 Talagang-talagang sinasabi ko
sa inyo, magagawa rin ng nananalig sa akin ang gawang ginawa ko; at mas dakila
pa kaysa mga ito ang gagawin niya. Sapagkat sa Ama ako papunta.
Jesus said to his disciples: “If you know me, then you will also know my
Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to Jesus,
“Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to
him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me,
Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the
Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells
in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is
in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to
you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater
ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my
name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask
anything of me in my name, I will do it.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
How well do we know God the Father? How well do we know Jesus? No one of
us can say that by our own effort we know God the Father and Jesus very well.
Because the gift of deeply knowing God the Father and Jesus is something that
we cannot achieve by our own effort for it’s a gift by the Holy Spirit.
In this gospel episode Jesus tells the disciples and us too about His
oneness with God. Yet Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father and that would
be enough for them (John 14:8). What was going on in Philip’s mind? Perhaps
Philip was simply following Jesus for the sake of His miracles and mission.
There was no deeper conversion within Philip that’s why He wasn’t able to
decipher the oneness of Jesus and the Father.
When we decide to follow Jesus, let us not only follow Him because of His
miracles and the desire to share in His mission. Let us decide to follow Jesus
also because of our love for Him. Thus, we would yearn for our own spiritual
growth with Him.
If we only follow Jesus for His miracles and mission sooner or later this
desire for discipleship will decrease. Until we decide to lie low and
eventually detach ourselves from following Jesus. Let us therefore pray and be
open for the gift of deeper faith and deeper conversion within ourselves. –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
Sinabi ni Jesus
sa kanyang mga alagad l7 Kung kilala ninyo ako, makikilala rin ninyo ang
aking Ama. Ngunit ngayon, kilala n’yo na siya at nakita ninyo siya.” 8 Sinabi
sa kanya ni Felipe: “Panginoon, ipakita mo na sa amin ang Ama at sapat na sa
amin.” 9 Sinabi sa kanya si Jesus: “Ang tagal na panahon n’yo akong kasama
at hindi mo pa ako kilala, Felipe? Sa pagkakita sa akin ninuman, ang Ama ang
nakikita niya. Paano mong masasabi: ‘Ituro mo sa amin ang Ama’?
10 Hindi
ka ba naniniwalang nasa Ama ako at nasa akin ang Ama? Hindi mula sa sarili ko
sinasabi ang mga salitang binibigkas
ko. Sa akin nanunuluyan ang Ama, at siya ang gumagawa ng kanyang mga gawa. 11 Maniwala
kayo sa akin na nasa Ama ako at nasa akin ang Ama. Kung hindi dahil sa akin,
maniwala kayo dahil man lamang sa mga gawa.
12 Talagang-talagang
sinasabi ko sa inyo, magagawa rin ng nananalig sa akin ang gawang ginawa ko; at
mas dakila pa kaysa mga ito ang gagawin niya. Sapagkat sa Ama ako papunta. 13 Anumang
hingin n’yo sa Pangalan ko’y gagawin ko upang luwalhatiin ang Ama sa Anak. 14 At
kung may hingin kayo sa akin sa Pangalan ko, gagawin ko.
Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are
many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going
to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way." Thomas said to him, "Master, we
do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" Jesus said to
him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me."
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Are we afraid of this covid-19 pandemic that is creating massive deaths
in the world? In this era of covid-19 life is so fragile, we really don’t know
what tomorrow might bring us.
Where are we going therefore after our life in this world is over? We
don’t know only God knows. But Jesus in our gospel is giving us a hint as to
where would we be eventually. Jesus tells us: “I am the way and the truth and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The secret therefore to know where we would eventually end up is to
follow Jesus. Why follow Jesus? Because He is the truth and the life and we
cannot reach the Father in heaven except through Him.
We will often hear in stories of conversion testimonies about troubled
lives, lives lived without peace and contentment. Until they’ve known Jesus
after which their lives were never the same again. From troublesome or
worrisome lives it became peaceful and serene courtesy of Jesus.
Jesus is the only way and He is the only one that can give us peace that
transcends this world. Jesus will give us a glimpse of this peaceful feeling
the moment we immediately choose to rest our lives in Him.
We all know that life in this world is uncertain it may end very abruptly
anytime. Let us therefore invest more on Jesus rather than on this world. We
can do this by learning more about Him, by helping the poor and by living Jesus’
life of simplicity.
If we do this we can perhaps have our reserved dwelling place with the
Lord in heaven someday. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
When Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet, he said to them: “Amen, amen,
I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater
than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do
it. I am not speaking of all of you. I know those whom I have chosen. But so
that the Scripture might be fulfilled, The one who ate my food has raised his
heel against me. From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when
it happens you may believe that I AM. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever
receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one
who sent me.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Are you afraid of suffering and betrayal? In His humanity Jesus was also
afraid of sufferings and betrayal. But His fears did not prevent Him from
achieving His salvific mission. It even further strengthened His resolve to
continue amidst the difficulty of His mission. Jesus never gave up no matter
how hard the odds were against Him for He knew that He has a mission to achieve.
Marriage starts like a rose garden and it seems that everything is rosy,
beautiful and sweet. But after a period of time problems would crop up, there
shall be sufferings and sometimes betrayal of vows. So what must we do? Should
we simply walk away with our heads bowed in defeat? Or we stay, bear the brunt
of the sufferings/betrayal and fight for the sanctity of the marriage covenant.
We must stay and fight for the sanctity of the marriage covenant. Let us
remember that Jesus remained with His mission notwithstanding the sufferings
and betrayals. What if Jesus simply gave up and walked away from His mission of
salvation? Anyway He’s God and powerful but He remained for His love for God
and for all of us.
Many married couples nowadays choose the easy way out when testing comes
to their marriage. They choose to betray and eventually walk away from their
marriage covenant. They simply walk away notwithstanding their sacred vows and
the welfare of their children.
Jesus never walked away from His responsibilities towards humanity
notwithstanding the sufferings and betrayals. He faced it all and triumphed
over it! – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Sinabi ni Jesus
16 Talagang-talagang sinasabi ko sa inyo, walang aliping mas dakila sa
kanyang panginoon, ni walang sinugong mas dakila sa nagpadala sa kanya. 17 Kung
alam ninyo ito, mapalad kayo kung isinasagawa n’yo ang mga ito.
18 Hindi
kayong lahat ang tinutukoy ko. Kilala ko ang mga hinirang ko. Ngunit kailangang
maganap ang Kasulatan: Ang nakikisalo sa aking pagkai’y tumalapid sa akin.” 19 Sinasabi
ko ito ngayon sa inyo bago pa mangyari upang maniwala kayong Ako Nga kapag
nangyari ito. 20 Talagang-talagang sinasabi ko sa inyo: ako ang
tinatanggap ng tumatanggap sa ipinadadala ko, at ang nagpadala sa akin ang
tinatanggap ng tumatanggap sa akin.”
Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me
but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me.
I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not
remain in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I
do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the
world. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge
him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, because I did
not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and
speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So what I say, I
say as the Father told me.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do you know somebody who is sinful? Don’t give up on that sinful person
continue to stretch your patience and pray for his/her conversion.
There are countless stories of conversion in the scripture/bible and
foremost of these is the conversion story of Saul. Saul or Saint Paul was
formerly the number one persecutor of the church. He in fact had a hand in the
killing of many followers of Jesus yet Jesus did not judge Saul. In His
infinite wisdom and mercy Jesus converted Saul/Paul to become the number one
propagator of the Christian faith to the gentiles.
What is the message of these conversion stories for us? The message is,
there is hope for all of us no matter how sinful we are. And no matter how
grave the sins that we have committed there is still hope for us! Jesus even
said: for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world (John
12:47).
Jesus is not interested on the sins that we have committed He is rather
very much interested in our conversion so that we can become His follower. He
is interested to bring us to the light so that we can become His light for
others.
This is our mission in this world to become bearers of Jesus’ light.
Do we open ourselves to this desire of Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
44 Malakas
namang sinabi ni Jesus: “Ang nananalig sa aki’y hindi sa akin kundi sa
nagpadala sa akin. 45 Ang pumapansin sa aki’y pumapansin sa nagpadala sa
akin. 46 Dumating ako na liwanag sa mundo upang hindi mamalagi sa dilim
ang bawat nananalig sa akin. 47 Kung may nakakarinig sa aking mga salita
at hindi ito iniingatan, hindi ako ang humahatol sa kanya sapagkat dumadating
ako hindi para hatulan ang mundo kundi para iligtas ang mundo.
48 May
humahatol sa bumabale-wala sa akin at di tumatanggap sa mga pananalita ko. Ang
salitang ipinangusap ko ang siyang hahatol sa kanya sa huling araw. 49 Sapagkat
hindi ako nangusap sa ganang sarili ko; ang nagpadala sa akin – ang Ama – siya
mismo ang nag-utos sa akin kung ano ang sasabihin ko at ipangungusap. 50 Alam
kong buhay magpakailanman ang kanyang utos. Kaya ang ipinangungusap ko’y
ipinangungusap ko gaya ng sinabi sa akin ng Ama.
The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter.
And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. So the
Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in
suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told
you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me.
But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my
voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they
shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has
given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the
Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
How can we have an encounter with Jesus? We have to abide with what Jesus
tells us in the scripture/bible. If He tells us that He and the Father are one
we have to believe it without any doubt. For the simple reason that all of
Jesus pronouncements are not empty, it is solidly supported by other passages
in the bible.
What separates those who believe and those who don’t? Those who believe
receive the full graces of the power that emanates from Jesus. For example,
their lives are changed, their faiths are strengthened. And they themselves
become an agent of positive change in their own respective environments.
Those who do not believe or who take Jesus nonchalantly are left-out in
terms of spiritual graces, their individual faith life is not strengthened.
They are more vulnerable to the many forces of evil and they don’t have the
spiritual strength that believers have.
What is the secret for us to believe? We have to humble ourselves before
Jesus. We have to accept with faith every word that He tells us in the scripture/bible.
And the moment we do, this would be the beginning of our renewed life with Jesus.
– Marino J. Dasmarinas
22 Piyesta
ng Pagtatalaga sa Jerusalem, taglamig noon. 23 Palakad-lakad si Jesus sa
Templo sa patyo ni Solomon, 24 at pinaligiran siya ng mga Judio at sinabi
sa kanya: “Hanggang kailan mo ba kami ibibitin? Kung ikaw ang Kristo, sabihin
mo sa amin nang lantaran.” 25 Sinagot sila ni Jesus: “Sinabi ko na sa inyo
pero hindi kayo naniniwala. Nagpapatunay tungkol sa akin ang mga gawang
tinatrabaho ko sa ngalan ng aking Ama. 26 Ngunit hindi kayo naniniwala
sapagkat hindi kayo kabilang sa aking mga tupa.
27 Dinidinig
ng aking mga tupa ang aking tinig at kilala ko sila, at sumusunod sila sa
akin. 28 Buhay magpakailanman ang ibinibigay ko sa kanila at hinding-hindi
sila kailanman mapapahamak ni walang aagaw sa kanila mula sa kamay ko. 29 Mas
dakila sa anuman ang ibinigay sa akin ng aking Ama, at walang makaaagaw mula
sa kamay ng Ama. 30 Iisa kami: ako at ang Ama.”
Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life
for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his
own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf
catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern
for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just
as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for
the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I
must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one
shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order
to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I
have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have
received from my Father.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Who is shepherding us in the midst of this covid-19 pandemic is it our
fear of the unknown or Jesus? If the Lord is shepherding us right now we are in
good hands. We will survive this pandemic because Jesus is protecting us. A good shepherd is someone who desires nothing
but the good of his sheep. A good shepherd is also someone who would be willing
to sacrifice his own life for the sake of his sheep.
In modern times right now a shepherd could also be an object of our
attention or even obsession. That seeks to control and dictate upon us.
For example, greed for money could be our shepherd if we allow it to
control us. But if we allow money to be our shepherd it will not only control
us it may even possess us. It may even destroy not only us even our family as
well.
Our Job could also be our shepherd, in what manner could this be? This
could happen the moment we allow our job to enslave us. For instance, we focus
more on our jobs rather than our family that we hardly have time for our
family. So what would happen to the family? It may be destroyed and eventually
disintegrate. Our ambition to be wealthy could also be our false shepherd
and there are many more false shepherd wannabes.
In the midst of all these false shepherd wannabes. Jesus wants to offer
Himself to us for He is the good shepherd. He tells us in the gospel: I am the
good shepherd (John 10:11) and I will lay down my life for you (John 10:15).
Why don’t we consider this offer of Jesus and allow Him to shepherd our
lives?
Perhaps we could start by reading the life story and the life changing
words of Jesus in the bible. We can also begin to take seriously the
celebration of the Holy Mass by paying more attention to this sacred
celebration.
We might have already allowed money and other worldly ambitions to
shepherd or control us. But did it give us what we want? Did it give us
peace and contentment? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Sinabi ni Jesus
11 Ako siyang mabuting pastol. Nag-aalay ng kanyang buhay alang-alang sa
mga tupa ang mabuting pastol. 12 Ang upahan at hindi pastol, na hindi
naman kanya ang mga tupa, pag napansin niyang dumarating ang asong-gubat, iniiwan
niya ang mga tupa at tumatakas. Kayat inaagaw ng asong-gubat ang mga ito at
pinangangalat. 13 Sapagkat upahan siya at wala siyang pakialam sa mga
tupa. 14 Ako siyang mabuting pastol. Kilala ko ang mga akin at kilala ako
ng mga akin, 15 kung paanong kilala ako ng Ama at kilala ko ang Ama. At
itinayo ko ang aking buhay para sa mga tupa.”
16 May iba
akong mga tupa na di mula sa kulungang ito. Maging sila ay kailangan kong
akayin palabas, at makikinig sila sa tinig ko at magkakaroon ng iisang kawan,
iisang pastol. 17 Kaya mahal ako ng Ama dahil itinataya ko ang aking
buhay, at saka muli ko itong kukunin. 18 Walang nag-aalis nito sa akin,
kundi ako ang kusang nagtataya nito. May kapangyarihan akong itayo ito, at
may kapangyarihan akong kunin itong muli. Ito ang utos na tinanggap ko mula
sa aking Ama.”
Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold
through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever
enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it
for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and
leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and
the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not
follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize
the voice of strangers.” Although Jesus used this figure of speech, they did
not realize what he was trying to tell them.
So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the
sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not
listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and
will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and
slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more
abundantly.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
The story is told about a poor family. The husband had an ordinary low
paying job and the wife was a housewife they had six (6) children. Because of
the meager salary of the husband they could barely survive and they always
borrow money from their relatives.
Despite of their poor financial standing this family was faithful to
Jesus and the church; they would always observe their Sunday obligation. The
parents introduced their children to Jesus and they educated their children the
values of the faith. The mother would always lead in the prayer of the Holy
Rosary and the father would always be there to join them.
Eventually all of their children became very successful in their
respective field of endeavors. Hence, they’ve given back the love and guidance
that their parents gave them. Obviously the parents were Good shepherds for
they introduced their children to the gate of life that is Jesus.
Jesus in the gospel tells the crowd that He is the good shepherd that
desires only the best for them. Jesus also tells them that He is the gate of
life but they did not believe Him.
It is said that: “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” Thus,
we know for a fact that Jesus is really our Good Shepherd. We believe and feel
in our hearts this declaration of Jesus. He desires nothing for us but our
wellbeing this is the reason why Jesus wants us to follow Him and make Him our
Good Shepherd. We also know that He is our only gateway to the many truths
about our faith. He too is our gateway towards life beyond this world and
without Him in our lives there would be no life beyond this world.
There are still many who do not know about Jesus as the Good Shepherd. There
are still many who do not know that Jesus is the gateway to the many truths of
our faith. There are still many who do not know that Jesus is the gateway to a life
beyond this world. Why? Because they do not allow Jesus to be their Good Shepherd.
They instead allow worldliness and the many lies of Satan to shepherd them thus
they are enslaved by money, power and sin.
Is Jesus your good shepherd? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Sinabi ni Jesus 1 “Talagang-talagang
sinasabi ko sa inyo, magnanakaw at tulisan ang hindi dumaraan sa pintuan
pagpasok sa kulungan ng mga tupa kundi lumukso sa ibang dako. 2 Ang pastol
ng mga tupa ang pumapasok sa pintuan.
3 Pinagbubuksan siya ng
bantay-pinto, at nakikinig ang mga tupa sa kanyang tinig. At tinatawag niya
sa pangalan ang sarili niyang mga tupa at inaakay palabas. 4 Kapag
napalabas na niya ang tanang kanya, sa harap nila siya naglalakad at sa kanya
sumusunod ang mga tupa, pagkat kilala nila ang kanyang tinig.
5 Hinding-hindi sila susunod sa
dayuhan kundi lalayuan nila ito sapagkat hindi nila kilala ang tinig ng mga
dayuhan.” 6 Ito ang talinhagang sinabi ni Jesus sa kanila. Ngunit hindi
nila naintindihan ang gusto niyang sabihin sa kanila. 7 Kaya sinabi uli ni
Jesus: “Talagang-talagang sinasabi ko sa inyo: Ako siyang pintuan ng mga tupa.
8 Magnanakaw at tulisan ang lahat ng nauna sa akin.
Ngunit hindi sila pinakinggan ng mga
tupa. 9 Ako siyang pintuan; kung may pumapasok sa pamamagitan ko, maliligtas
siya, at papasok at lalabas, at makakatagpo ng pastulan. 10 Hindi dumarating
ang magnanakaw kundi para lamang magnakaw, pumaslang at magpahamak. Dumating
naman ako upang magkaroon sila ng buhay at lubos na magkaroon nito.
Many of Jesus' disciples who were listening said, "This saying is
hard; who can accept it?" Since Jesus knew that his disciples were
murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you? What if you
were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit
that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you
are Spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe." Jesus
knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would
betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can
come to me unless it is granted him by my Father."
As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way
of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do
you also want to leave?" Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom
shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and
are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What should be our guiding principle if we decide to follow Jesus? It
must always be forever! We will not only follow Jesus in good times we must
also learn to follow Jesus in our most trying times. We will stay with
Jesus even if it’s hard to believe that He is comforting us in the midst of our
sufferings and tribulations like with what we are going through with the
Covid-19 pandemic.
The very large crowd (More than five thousand of them) who were with
Jesus when He multiplied the loaves and fish suddenly became very few. Only the
twelve apostles remained many of those who followed Him returned to their
former way of life. Why? Because they couldn’t accept Jesus’ continuous
insistence that He is the true bread of life that whoever believes in Him will
never hunger and thirst (John 6:35).
They rapidly had amnesia because they all of a sudden forgot that it was
Jesus who feed them when they were all hungry. It was Jesus who healed them
when they were sick and it was Jesus who gave them hope when they were
hopeless.
Such is the behavior of many of us, we quickly question or even leave
Jesus when we go through trials. We never remember or perhaps we purposely
forget the many blessings that He had given us in the past. Let us never leave Jesus no matter how difficult our present
circumstances are right now. Let us always choose to be with Him in sickness
and in health, in our good times as well as in our difficult times.
What are we going to do if we leave Jesus? We embrace Satan and his
worldly teachings? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
The Jews quarrelled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give
us his Flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have
life within you. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day. For my Flesh is true food, and my Blood
is true drink.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so
also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread
that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever." These things he said while
teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What is the difference between a person who is a regular Communicant and
the person who doesn’t partake of the Body of Christ at Holy Communion? The
person who devoutly goes to Holy Mass and who lets himself be nourished by the
Body of Christ is slowly but surely being transformed by the Body of Christ to
become Christ like.
What do this mean to us? It means that the very moment we allow the Body
of Christ to enter our body. We also open ourselves to be an alter ego of
Jesus. In other words it simply means that we become an ambassador of Jesus
when we receive Him.
But do we really allow this to happen to us? Do we really allow the Body
of Christ to spiritually nourish and transform us? Many of us go to Holy
Communion regularly but we never change. There’s no positive behavioral and
spiritual transformation that occurs within us. This is for the reason that we
don’t allow the Body of Christ to transform us.
One sure sign that the Body of Jesus Christ is transforming us already is
when we are able to share and live His teachings. When we are able to forgive
those who’ve hurt us, when we are able to overcome our own sinfulness and our
own arrogance and pride.
Have we already shared and lived Jesus? Have we already asked Jesus to
help us overpower our own sinfulness, arrogance and pride? - Marino J.
Dasmarinas
52 Kaya
nagtalu-talo ang mga Judio at nagsalita: “Paano tayo mabibigyan ng taong ito
ng laman para kainin?” 53 Sinabi naman ni Jesus sa kanila:
“Talagang-talagang sinasabi ko sa inyo, kung hindi n’yo kakanin ang laman ng
Anak ng Tao at iinumin ang kanyang dugo, wala kayong buhay sa inyong sarili. 54 May
buhay magpakailanman ang ngumunguya ng aking laman at umiinom ng aking dugo,
at itatayo ko siya sa huling araw.
55 Sapagkat
totoong pagkain ang aking laman at totoong inumin ang aking dugo. 56 Ang
ngumunguya ng aking laman at umiinom ng aking dugo ay namamalagi sa akin at ako
naman sa kanya. 57 Sinugo nga ako ng Amang buhay at buhay ako dahil sa
Ama, gayundin naman dahil sa akin mabubuhay ang ngumunguya sa akin.
58 Ito ang
tinapay na pumanaog mula sa Langit, hindi gaya sa inyong mga ninuno na kumain
at nangamatay pa rin. Mabubuhay naman magpakailanman ang ngumunguya ng
tinapay na ito.” 59 Sinabi
niya ang mga bagay na ito sa sinagoga habang nangangaral siya sa Capernaum.
