Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed
are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,
but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock
I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail
against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall
be loosed in heaven."
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do you pray to the Lord for the gift of faith?
Faith in God is a gift that Jesus freely gives us without any form of ransom. However, like we water and nurture a plant because we want it to grow and bear much fruit. It’s the same also with our faith we must also do something to care for it so that it may grow and bear much fruit.
Otherwise if we would not take care of it will not grow and with the passing of time it will eventually fly away from us. When Jesus said to the apostles: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" Amongst them it was only Simon Peter who answered correctly when he said: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
How did he discover the true identity of Jesus? God gave him that gift to discern the true identity of Jesus. Thus, Peter used that gift to the hilt by nurturing it in doing so he discovered the true nature of Jesus.
We may not know it but by virtue of our
Baptism God has given us gifts too and one of those is the gift of faith. This
gift of faith is within us, let us pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit so
that we would be able to share it. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
15 Sinabi niya sa kanila: “Ngunit sino ako para sa inyo?” 16 At sumagot si Simon Pedro: “Ikaw ang Mesiyas, ang Anak ng Diyos na Buhay.” 17 Sumagot naman si Jesus: “Mapalad ka, Simon Bar-Yona, hindi nga laman at dugo ang nagbunyag nito sa iyo kundi ang aking Amang nasa Langit.
18 At
ngayon sinasabi ko sa iyo: Ikaw si Pedro (o Bato) at sa batong ito ko itatayo
ang aking Iglesya; at hinding-hindi ito madadaig ng kapangyarihan ng kamatayan.
19 Ibibigay ko sa iyo ang mga susi ng kaharian ng Langit: ang itali mo
dito sa lupa ay itatali rin sa Langit, at ang kalagan mo dito sa lupa ay
kakalagan din sa Langit.”
Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit. Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.” He said to them in reply, “O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him to me.”
They brought the boy to him. And when he saw him, the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions. As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around and foam at the mouth. Then he questioned his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He replied, “Since childhood. It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.” Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”
Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly
gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I
command you: come out of him and never enter him again!” Shouting and throwing
the boy into convulsions, it came out. He became like a corpse, which caused
many to say, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he
stood up. When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, “Why
could we not drive the spirit out?” He said to them, “This kind can only come
out through prayer.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What is the root cause of unhealthy prayer life? It’s lack of faith!
The disciples asked Jesus: “Why could we not drive the spirit out?” Jesus told them: “This kind can only come out through prayer.” Just like some of us the disciples obviously do not have a very healthy prayer life that’s why they were not able to drive out the unclean spirit that possessed the boy.
When there’s an unhealthy prayer life there is also a fading faith. Perhaps the disciples were already getting used of seeing Jesus doing miracles here and there every day.
On the other hand the father in the gospel has a very strong faith. Even if the disciples failed to help him he persisted and asked Jesus to heal his son and he was not disappointed. Is it then safe to say that the father of the boy has a healthy prayer life? Surely the father has a healthy prayer life.
The gospel invites us to examine the
health of our prayer life maybe it’s unwell or fading like the disciples. How
about our faith? If our faith is fading we have to nurture it by our, vibrant
prayer life, pious presence at Holy Mass and by reading about the life of Jesus
in the scriptures. - Marino J. Dasmarinas
16 Itinanong naman niya sa kanila: “Bakit kayo nakikipagtalo sa mga ito?” 17 At sinagot siya ng isang lalaki mula sa mga tao: “Guro, dinala ko sa iyo ang aking anak na lalaki na inaalihan ng isang piping espiritu. 18 At kung hinahagip siya nito, inilulugmok siya sa lupa; nagbubula ang kanyang bibig, nagngangalit ang mga ngipin at naninigas. Hiningi ko sa iyong mga alagad na palayasin ito pero hindi nila kaya.”
19 Sumagot si Jesus: “Mga walang pananampalataya! Gaano pa katagal akong mananatili sa piling ninyo? Hanggang kailan ako magtitiis sa inyo? Dalhin siya rito sa akin.”
20 At pinalapit nila siya kay Jesus. Pagkakita sa kanya ng espiritu, pinangatog nito ang bata at inilugmok sa lupa kaya nagpagulung-gulong siya at bumubula ang bibig. 21 Tinanong naman ni Jesus ang ama: “Gaano na katagal na nangyayari ito sa kanya?” 22 At sumagot ang ama: “Mula pa sa pagkabata at madalas nga siyang inihahagis sa apoy o sa batis para patayin. Ngunit kung kaya mo, maawa ka sa amin at pakitulungan kami.”
23 Sinagot siya ni Jesus: “Ano itong ‘kung kaya mo’? Lahat ay posible sa sumasampalataya.” 24 At agad na sumigaw ang ama ng bata sa pagsasabing “Sumasampalataya ako pero tulungan mo ang maliit kong pananampalataya.”
25 Nakita ni Jesus na nagsisitakbo at lumalapit na ang mga tao kaya iniutos niya sa masamang espiritu: “Pipi at binging espiritu, inuutusan kitang lumabas sa kanya at huwag nang bumalik.”
26 Nagsisigaw ang espiritu at inilugmok ang bata sa lupa bago lumabas. At animo’y patay ang bata kaya marami ang nagsabing “Namatay.” 27 Ngunit pagkahawak ni Jesus sa kamay nito, pinabangon niya ito at pinatindig.
28 Pagkapasok
ni Jesus sa bahay, tinanong siya ng mga alagad nang sarilinan: “Bakit hindi
namin napalayas ang espiritu?” 29 Sinabi ni Jesus sa kanila: “Sa panalangin
lamang mapalalayas ang ganitong klaseng espiritu.”
Do to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount. But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.
“Stop judging and you will not
be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will
be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed
together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the
measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
The story is told about a man that died who was refused entry into the pearly gates. So he asked the angel manning the pearly gates for the reason and the angel told him that he was very judgmental when he was still alive. Therefore, the man walked away from the gates of heaven with a forlorn face.
Why do we easily or quickly judge? Because we lack love and forgiveness in our hearts. Otherwise if there’s plenty of love and forgiveness we would not dare judge anyone because we know that the moment we judge we also invite judgment upon us.
What would it take for us not to become judgmental to those who have wronged us? We have to love as the Lord loved us and this love is not an ordinary love because this kind of love is a radical love. Which means unconditional love, love which is unmotivated by the possibility of reciprocation or reward. Radical love is a love set afire by forgiveness, compassion, and understanding.
Because this would require us not to look at the faults and shortcomings of those people who did us wrong. This would instead lead us to remember their good side which they have aplenty but we refuse to think about it since we are enslaved by our hate.
Next time when there is a temptation for us to pull out the dangerous sword of judgment let us pause for a little while. And force our minds to recall the many good side of the person whom we are judging.
Are you quick to judge? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." Suddenly, looking around, the disciples no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.
As they were coming down from the
mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except
when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to
themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant. Then they asked him,
"Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" He told them,
"Elijah will indeed come first and restore all things, yet how is it
written regarding the Son of Man that he must suffer greatly and be treated
with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come and they did to him whatever
they pleased, as it is written of him."
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do you believe in the afterlife?
One of the reasons why Jesus was transfigured is for us to see that heaven and the afterlife is existing and real. This is what the apostles: Peter, James and John witnessed when they were brought along to the mountain of tabor by Jesus.
There’s life after our journey in this world is over, that’s why we must not leave Jesus for anything of this world. We must continue on doing what is good and righteous. We must not stray off the track of righteousness for this is the way for us to be with Jesus someday.
There is heaven, there is everlasting life and this is proven by the transfiguration of Jesus. So what should we do for us to go there? We must faithfully follow Jesus in His words and deeds no matter how difficult.
The reward for our faithfulness to Jesus is eternal life, don’t we all want this eternal life? Of course we do, thus we have to become faithful followers no matter the temptation to sin. Thus, we have to leave permanently behind our sinfulness. And we have to be steadfast in the midst of our trials and the trials that we still have to face.
Because there would be a reward for those who
would not leave the Lord for anything in this world. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
5 Kaya nagsalita si Pedro at kanyang sinabi: “Panginoon, mabuti at narito tayo. Gagawa kami ng tatlong kubol: isa para sa iyo, isa para kay Moises, at isa para kay Elias.” 6 Nasindak sila kaya hindi niya malaman kung ano ang sa-sabihin. 7 At may ulap na lumilim sa kanila. At narinig mula sa ulap ang salitang ito: “Ito ang aking Anak, ang Minamahal, pakinggan ninyo siya.” 8 At biglang-bigla, pagtingala nila, wala silang nakita liban kay Jesus na kasama nila.
9 At pagbaba nila mula sa bundok, inutusan niya sila na huwag sabihin kaninuman ang nakita nila hanggang makabangon ang Anak ng Tao mula sa mga patay. 10 Iningatan nila ang bagay na ito sa kanilang sarili pero nagtanungan sila kung ano ang pagbangon mula sa mga patay.
11 Tinanong
naman nila siya: “Bakit sinasabi ng mga guro ng Batas na dapat munang pumarito
si Elias?” 12 At sinabi niya: “Mauuna ngang dumating si Elias para ayusin ang
lahat ng bagay. Ngunit bakit naman
nasusulat tungkol sa Anak ng Tao na dapat siyang magtiis nang marami at lapastanganin?
13 Sinasabi ko sa inyo na dumating na si Elias at pinakitunguhan nila siya ayon
sa kanilang kagustuhan, tulad ng nasusulat.”
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? What could one give in exchange for his life? Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this faithless and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
He also said to them, “Amen, I say to you,
there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the
Kingdom of God has come in power.”
+ + + + +
+ +
Reflection:
A very rich and worldly man had a serious sickness which he thought would be his end already. He had a dream where he heard the voice of God who told him, if you want to regain your health you have to leave everything behind and follow me. And so he did and true enough after a few weeks he regained back his health and from then on he became a follower of Jesus.
There are times that we allow ourselves to be blinded by the glitters of this world. In the process we forget that the true essence of life is not to become the kings of this world but to become the soldiers of God in this world. But to become a soldier of God in this world entails great sacrifice and perseverance. So, many of us are averse to take up our cross and carry it for the sake Jesus.
To amass wealth is not the purpose of life. If there are people whose sole purpose in life is to have wealth then they are badly misguided. The true purpose of life is to follow the life of Jesus because it is only through Jesus where we can experience the fullness of life.
This is our mistake; we think that life is all about power, fame and fortune. This is why many of us tirelessly seek fame and fortune that we even sacrifice our health and dignity for it. Fame, power and fortune will even bring us colossal problems eventually.
What would happen to us if we become citizens of this world only? Yes we gain riches, yes we gain prominence, power and many more worldly trappings. However, all of these will eventually reach an end then we realize that we are nothing and we have achieved nothing.
It’s only in following Jesus that we would
be able to find the true meaning of our lives. And it’s only in following Jesus
that we’ll have peace and contentment in our lives. Never in this world will we
find peace and contentment. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
36 Ano ang pakinabang ng tao tubuin man niya ang buong daigdig kung sarili naman niya ang mawala? 37 At pagkatapos ay ano ang maibibigay niya para mabawi ang kanyang sarili? 38 Ang ikinahihiya ako at ang aking mga salita sa harap ng di-tapat at makasalanang lahing ito ay ikahihiya rin ng Anak ng Tao pagdating niyang taglay ang luwalhati ng kanyang Ama, kasama ng mga banal na anghel.”
9 1 At idinagdag ni Jesus: “Totoong sinasabi ko sa inyo na di daranas ng kamatayan ang ilan sa mga naririto hanggang hindi nila nakikita ang kaharian ng Diyos na dumarating na may kapangyarihan.”
He began to teach them that the Son of Man
must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the
scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and,
looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You
are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What is the meaning of the word Christ?
Christ means the chosen one or the savior and Peter got it right when he replied to Jesus: “You are the Christ (Mark 8:29).” Unlike the other disciples Peter knew the real identity of Jesus. But up to that point in the gospel his knowledge of the true identity if Jesus was still limited because when Jesus said that He will suffer greatly he didn’t believe.
Peter only knew of the powerful Christ not the Christ who would suffer and eventually die on the cross. Isn’t this our mindset as well? We know Jesus Christ as the powerful one who would save us from our troubles. Yet there is an important side of Jesus that we also have to know and that is the Christ who suffered and died on the cross at calvary.
It is said that: “To follow Christ is always right; but it is never easy.” Jesus was actually foreshadowing the path that Peter has to go thru when He said that He must suffer greatly and be rejected.
This is also Jesus’ own foreshadowing for us: We have to go through suffering as well for the sake of the teachings of Jesus. This may be hard to swallow for many but that this is really how it is: Suffering is part and parcel of our faithful discipleship!
If we really are true and faithful followers of Jesus Christ we must expect sufferings and rejections. We will suffer when we stand for what is right, we will be rejected when we push what is moral. Let us not worry when we suffer for the Lord because the Lord will be with us as we suffer for Him.
Are you ready to suffer for the Lord? –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
29 At tinanong niya sila: “Ngunit ano naman ang sinasabi ninyo kung sino ako?” At sumagot si Pedro: “Ikaw ang Mesiyas.” 30 At inutusan niya sila na huwag sabihin kaninuman ang tungkol sa kanya.
31 At
sinimulan niyang ituro sa kanila na kailangang magtiis ng marami ang Anak ng
Tao. Itatakwil nga siya ng mga Matatanda ng bayan, ng mga punong-pari at ng
mga guro ng Batas. Papatayin siya at muling babangon pagkatapos ng tatlong
araw. 32 At buong-tapang siyang nagsalita. Dinala naman siya ni Pedro sa
isang tabi at sinimulan siyang pagsabihan. 33 Ngunit pagtalikod ni Jesus,
nakita niya na naroon din ang kanyang mga alagad. Kaya pinagsabihan niya si
Pedro: “Sa likod ko, Satanas! Hindi sa Diyos galing ang iniisip mo kundi mula
sa tao.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Jesus asked the blind man: “Do you see anything?” Let us try to modify this question of Jesus in such a way that it is addressed to us who are often times blinded by the things of this world. It will be like this: Amidst the trappings of this world do you see anything worthy about me?
I certainly don’t know what would be our individual answers to this question but one thing is sure Jesus wants to penetrate our hearts. He wants to reside there so that we will not be blinded by the temporary things of this world.
If you will not have that instant feeling of Jesus in your heart just be patient, engage in prayer as often as you can. Pray for enlightenment and for discernment so that the hazy image of Jesus could become clearer in your mind until it becomes crystal clear.
The moment you surrender your life to
Jesus you will lose your appetite for the things of this world. You'll simply
be satisfied with simple things for your eyes, heart and mind are not anymore
blinded by the temporal things of this world. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
At saka niya ito tinanong: “May nakikita ka ba?” 24 Tumingin ang tao, at sinabi nito: “Parang mga punongkahoy ang nakikita ko pero lumalakad, tiyak na mga tao ito.” 25 Kaya agad na ipinatong ni Jesus ang kanyang mga kamay sa mga mata nito, at nakakilala siya at gumaling, at nakita nga niya nang malinaw ang lahat.
26 Pinauwi
ito ni Jesus sa pagsasa- bing: “Huwag kang pumasok kahit na sa nayon.”
Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes
and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five
loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you
picked up?” They answered him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven loaves for the
four thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?” They
answered him, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Why do we often times do not get the message that Jesus wants us to understand? Because we allow ourselves to be distracted by the things around us. We thus lose focus on the message that Jesus wants us to imbibe.
This is the situation in our gospel; Jesus wanted the disciples to be wary of the teachings and over zealousness of the Pharisees and Herod to externally fulfill their laws. But Jesus used the word leaven and since they have no bread they understood it as something that relates to their lack of bread.
This is what happens when we have shallow faith, when we allow ourselves to be distracted by our worldly preoccupations. We are not able to get what Jesus wants us to understand. So, we get lost in this worldly jungle that is dominated by materialism, deception, arrogance, greed, lust and the like.
Try focusing your attention on Jesus
alone, try being faithful to Him and disregard worldly temptations. This will
therefore result in your deeper friendship with Him and you surely will understand the
message that Jesus wants to convey to you. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
17 Alam ni Jesus ang mga ito kaya sinabi niya sa kanila: “Bakit ninyo pinag-uusapan ang tinapay na wala sa inyo? Hindi pa ba ninyo maisip at maunawaan? Mapurol ba ang inyong pag-iisip? 18 May mata kayong di nakakakita at may taingang di nakakarinig? Hindi na ba ninyo naaalala 19 nang pinira-piraso ko ang limang tinapay para sa limang libo, ilang basket na puno ng mga pira-piraso ang inyong naipon?”
At sumagot
sila: “Labindalawa.” 20 “At nang may pitong tinapay para sa apat na libo,
ilang bayong na puno ng mga pira-piraso ang inyong naipon?” At sumagot sila:
“Pito.” 21 At sinabi ni Jesus: “Hindi pa ba ninyo nauunawaan?”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What does it mean when we seek signs from Jesus? It means weakness of faith, it means that Jesus is not yet enough for us to hold on for our salvation for we still need signs, miracles and wonders from Jesus. A true believer and a person of faith will not anymore seek a sign from the Lord. He/She will trust the Lord Jesus regardless of if he/she will see or not see signs from Him.
If we truly love the Lord and if we have faith in the Lord we would not anymore ask for a sign from Him. Why? Because His name alone is more than enough to deliver us from all of our fears and doubts. This is for that reason that we always feel His abiding presence in our lives.
The Lord is with us the moment we reverently attend Holy Mass most especially when we partake of His Body and Blood during Holy Communion. The Lord speaks to us the moment we reverently read His words in the bible. Jesus is with us the moment we pray with reverence the Holy Rosary.
If only we would invest time to dive deeper into the life of Jesus and our catholic faith we would not anymore ask for any signs from Jesus. Because as we invest time for Him, we will also notice slowly but surely His abiding presence in our life.
Let us not ask for signs let us instead
develop deeper friendship with Jesus by our faithful and pious presence at Holy
Mass. By having a daily habit of reading our bible and by having a daily quite
time in prayer with Him. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Mabuting Balita: Lucas 6:17, 20-26
Noong panahong iyon 17 Pagkababa ni Jesus kasama ang labing dalawa
tumayo siya sa isang patag na lugar. Naroon ang maraming alagad niya, at
napakarami ring tao mula sa buong Judea at Jerusalem at mula sa baybaying dako
ng Tiro at Sidon.
20 Tumingala noon si Jesus sa kanyang
mga alagad at sinabi: “Mapapalad kayong mga dukha sapagkat sa inyo ang kaharian
ng Diyos. 21 Mapapalad kayong mga nagugutom ngayon sapagkat bubusugin kayo.
Mapapalad kayong mga umiiyak ngayon sapagkat tatawa kayo. 22 Mapapalad kayo kapag
kinapopootan kayo ng mga tao at itinatakwil at iniinsulto, at sinisiraang-puri
dahil sa akin. 23 Magsaya kayo at lubos na magalak sa araw na iyon sapagkat
malaki ang inyong gantimpalang nasa Diyos; gayundin ang ginawa ng kanilang mga
ninuno sa mga propeta.
24 Ngunit sawimpalad kayong mayayaman
sapagkat tinatamasa na ninyo ang inyong ginhawa! 25 Sawimpalad kayong mga busog
ngayon sapagkat magugutom kayo! Sawimpalad kayong humahalakhak ngayon sapagkat
magluluksa kayo’t iiyak!
26 Sawimpalad kayo kapag pinag-uusapan kayo nang mabuti ng lahat ng tao dahil ganoon din ang ginawa ng kanilang mga ninuno sa mga bulaang propeta.
His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?” Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have? They replied, “Seven.” He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd.
They also had a few fish. He said the blessing over them and ordered them distributed also. They ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets. There were about four thousand people.
He dismissed the crowd and got into the
boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What kind of God is Jesus? He is a God of compassion and mercy, Jesus feels our loneliness when we are lonely. Jesus cries with us when we cry. Jesus feels the heavy load that we carry when we are so burdened by it. Does this feeling of compassion and mercy stops with Jesus empathy? No, Jesus never stops of thinking of ways on how He can lighten the burdens that we carry.
We see this deep compassion and mercy of Jesus in our gospel today. When Jesus saw the crowd who had been following them for days He had deep compassion for them for they were already hungry and tired. And His mercy and compassion led Him to think on how He could feed them.
So Jesus asked His disciples for whatever food that they may have and out of seven loaves and few fish Jesus miraculously multiplied it to feed almost four thousand. This is how merciful and compassionate Jesus is to those who follow Him.
What does this gospel tell us? This tells us that we will never go hungry the moment we decide to faithfully follow Jesus! Jesus will never let us go hungry for He will take care of our food and He will take care of our needs. This may be hard to believe for others but this is very true! Jesus provides for those who faithfully follow Him.
Are you a faithful follower of Jesus? –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
