Reflection for June 19, Wednesday: Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Jesus said to his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

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Reflection:

In the gospel Jesus gives us three commands:

1. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others (Matthew 6:2).

2.  When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them (Matthew 6:5).

3. When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting (Matthew 6:16).

Jesus reminds us to have an interior self-examination about our lives.  How are we living it right now? Do we live our lives so that others may notice us? For example, in doing good deeds, why is it that some if not many of us post it on social media? Is it for others to know that we are doing good?  Are we only using God so that we will gain the admiration of our fellowmen?

Jesus advocates humility and secrecy in doing things for Him. We should not boast of the things that we do for God and for our fellowmen. Otherwise it’s all useless and chasing the wind. Jesus knows everything about us; our motives and the real reason why we do things for Him. He knows if we are only using Him to advance our own self-serving agendas.   

Let us re-direct our motives and from now on let us do things for the Lord in secrecy. Without posting it on facebook and other social media platforms. No one will know except you and the Lord.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for June 18, Tuesday: Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 5:43-48

Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48

Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers and sisters only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

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Reflection:

Are you capable of loving your enemies?

In the gospel Jesus calls us to a deeper form of love: “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44).

It’s not easy to give love to someone who betrayed your trust. But that’s what Jesus is telling us: to love unconditionally. Regardless of the hurts and betrayal done to us we still need to love and pray for those who’ve hurt us.

There’s no winner when we respond betrayal with betrayal, anger with anger. In spite of the injury done to us, why not try to still be meek and forgiving and leave everything in the hands of the Lord? God doesn’t love us selectively; He doesn’t love us because we follow His commands. He still loves us even if we’ve betrayed Him so many times.    

God loves us without any preconditions; He lets the sun rise and the rain to fall on all of us sinners. Therefore we have to love even our enemies and one of the ways to do this is not to wish them harm. Notwithstanding  the hurt that they’ve inflicted upon us. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for June 17, Monday: Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 5:38-42

Gospel: Matthew 5:38-42

Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.”

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Reflection:

What will happen if we would become kind to our enemies, if we will not respond to their mocking? The enemy will simply go away or they might even become our friend. There is so much hatred in this world because we respond to hatred. We perpetuate the cycle of anger by anger.

When we respond to hatred and violence we allow the evil one to take hold of us. And when the evil one takes control of us it will do nothing but destroy us. And bring us closer to his kingdom where everyone has hatred in his/her heart. 

In our gospel Jesus convincingly destroys the evil of hatred by love and humility.  Jesus tells us this: “I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well (Matthew 5:39).

Are we capable of loving those who despise us and are we willing to humble ourselves before them? Should we confront them or we simply ignore their insults and anger? Many regrettable acts of anger would have been avoided if only we have love and humility in our hearts.

Prayer: O dear Lord we pray that you give us the virtue of Humility, Forgiveness and Love. Sow in our hearts everything that is good. Sow in our heart gentleness, forgiveness and compassion. Amen. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday June 16, Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity: John 16:12-15

Gospel: John 16:12-15

Jesus said to his disciples: "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."

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Reflection:

A responsible husband suddenly died without any sign of sickness. The bereaved wife and her children were asking God, why it happened? There really are events in our life that are very hard to explain.

However we have to accept these mysterious events that are very hard to comprehend and accept. We have to believe that somewhere or somehow there shall be enlightenment and acceptance for so long as we never lose our faith in God.

Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the three Gods that became one or the three persons in one God. How can it be that God the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit who are all distinct and separate from each other could become one?

The secret of the oneness and unity of the Blessed Trinity is love. What make God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit one is love and what binds them together is love. Love at its purest and love without envy and deceit. Come to think of it what unifies a family, what makes friendship true and forever? It’s also love the same love that is always present in the Holy Trinity.

For many of us this is very hard to explain let alone believe. However there are teachings of the church that we have to embrace without a single doubt. And the Dogma about the Holy Trinity is one of these teachings.

But, how can we embrace this dogma/teaching about the Holy Trinity if we seldom go to church for Holy Mass? If the bible is only gathering dust in the lonely corner in our respective homes?  If we seldom reserve daily time for God and if we do not put essence to our faith by living it? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

1Reflection for June 15, Saturday: Tenth Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 5:33-37

Gospel: Matthew 5:33-37

Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the Evil One."

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Reflection:

What is the secret to a successful marriage? Simple and that is not to break the vows of marriage that goes: I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life." This is basically one of the secret to a successful marriage.

Nowadays the vows of marriage are violated with impunity this is the reason why many marriages are being torn apart. But we have nothing to blame except ourselves for many of us don’t value it anymore.

In our gospel for this Saturday Jesus tells us to make good to the Lord all that we have vowed and this surely include our marriage vows. Which we stated before the Lord in the person of the priest who acts on behalf of Jesus.

Jesus also tells us not to swear or promise. Why? For the simple reason that swears and promises are made to be broken. Instead of swearing or promising let us simply do what we have to do in doing so we gain the respect and admiration of our fellowmen. In hindsight isn’t true that our actions speak louder than our words?

In married life or in any instance of life, actions of love are always more powerful than words of love.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for June 14, Friday: Tenth Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 5:27-32

Gospel: Matthew 5:27-32

(Jesus said to his disciples) 27 "You have heard that it was said, `You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than your whole body  be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole  body go into hell.  31 "It was also said, `Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

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Reflection:

Why is there adultery? This is for the reason that we don’t value the sanctity of the Sacrament of Matrimony anymore. We treat marriage as a contract that we can violate anytime we want to violate it.  Why do many of us are not afraid to violate our marriage covenant? This is for the reason that we don’t love God anymore.

The root cause of adultery is our lack of proper instillation of the values of God. And who is the culprit about our lack of values about God?  No other than the parents! Many of today’s parents pamper their children with the material things of this world. Such as money, material possessions and so forth, yet when it comes to the values about God they seldom care to teach them. Parents such as these rear children that are not anymore afraid of God and children that have no values about God yet they know God. 

What must we do therefore? We must teach our children about the values of God and as parents we must also see to it that we are committed until the end to our marriage. Parents are the best role models for their children. If they observe their parent committed to their married life. They too would grow up to become committed to their own marriage.

In our gospel for today we see how Jesus abhors adultery. For the simple reason that the mission and reason of marriage for both husband and wife is loyalty until the end. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for June 13, Thursday: Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church; Mathew 5:20-26

Gospel: Matthew 5:20-26

Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

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Reflection:

A man who was full of anger in his heart suddenly died. When he was about to enter the pearly gates saint Peter suddenly appeared and refused him entry.  When the man asked, why? Saint Peter told Him that when he was still alive his heart was full of anger and arrogance.

Death is uncertain it may come to us anytime.  What if we suddenly die with our hearts full of anger and arrogance?  Many had been brought to perdition by anger and arrogance yet many of us still don’t learn our lesson. Anger and arrogance are emotional disease that originates from our egos, high sense of ourselves and our lack of humility.   

In our gospel we find Jesus giving us lessons on humility. He tells us: if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him (Matthew 5:23-25).

It’s not easy to imbibe humility but if we only know that humility makes us closer to Jesus. If we only know that humility would save us a lot of trouble even grievous ones. We would not think twice to imbibe humility we may even run after it and cling to it. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for June 12, Wednesday: Tenth Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 5:17-19

Gospel: Matthew 5:17-19

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

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Reflection:

What will happen to us if we would always observe the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-1) and the two greatest commandments that Jesus gave us (Matthew 22:36-40)? We surely would move closer to Jesus, we would grow in faith and there would be peace in our life.

This is the price that awaits those who would observe the laws of God. Without close observance of God’s commandments there would also be no close relationship with God. Observe those who don’t follow the commandments of God or observe your very own self when you don’t follow God’s commandments. What kind of life would you have? Isn’t a life of chaos, disturbance and endless problems?

Therefore the key to intimacy with God is our faithful observance of His commandments. But human as we are we are subject to our own frailties. We fall and sin every once in a while and thus we are temporarily separated from the love of God.

However Jesus also instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Confession so that whenever we sin we have a recourse out of sin. But even if we have a recourse let us not abuse it by saying that, we will sin because there is the Sacrament of Confession anyway.

Let us always be conscious that sin separates us from the love of God. We therefore have to endeavor to always remain within the ambit of the love of God, therefore we always have to follow the commandments of the Lord.     – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for June 11, Tuesday: Saint Barnabas, Apostle; Matthew 5:13-16

Gospel: Matthew 5:13-16

Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

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Reflection:

A young doctor who topped the board exam was offered by a multinational pharmaceutical company to work for them. She was presented with a big signing bonus, offered a huge salary and to top it all was also offered further studies abroad. Yet she refused the very attractive financial windfall and benefits.

When asked why? Her simple but very meaningful reply was this: I intend to go back to my home province and make a big positive difference in the lives of my poor province mates where I also belong once upon a time.

Jesus in our gospel tells us: You are the salt of the earth and you are the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-14). What does it mean to become salt and light of this world? Salt gives taste to a tasteless food and light brings brightness and hope to a dark environment. 

We need to become that salt and light that Jesus mentions in the gospel. This simply means that we have to live a meaningful life in this world! A life that is not lived for oneself alone but a life to be lived for others most especially the poor.

Often times we get to fixated on ourselves. We have this me first mentality everything that we do is for ourselves first. Then when the time comes that we are able to achieve our objectives and goals. We think now of giving back to our community, church and the poor.

When Jesus said that you are the salt and light of this world. He did not say fulfill first your dreams to be successful and rich. After which you think now of giving back to your community, church and the poor.

We need to become salt and light for others not tomorrow and certainly not in the future. We need to become salt and light in the lives others today, right now during this very moment. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for June 10, Monday: Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church; Matthew 5:1-12

Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

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Reflection:

A mentally challenged boy was always made fun of by his friends and relatives. Because he finds it hard to follow simple instructions and he finds it hard to read and write. His relatives told him not to study anymore because it was just a waste of time and money. Thus, he was forced to stop and he wasn’t able to finish his elementary studies.

At that tender age he knew that he was being looked down by those around him; so meekly took their insults. What they didn’t know was the boy had enormous faith in Jesus. Every night he would always be on his knees praying and asking the Lord to guide and strengthen him for he had nothing except Him.

After a few years this boy perseveringly continued his studies again and was able to finish college and he lived a modest life.

In today’s gospel Jesus gives us the Beatitudes and one of the Beatitude is: Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the land (Matthew 5:5). That blessing is for this mentally challenged boy who was blessed by the Lord. And it’s also for those who are meek who silently, humbly and perseveringly take the insults hurled towards them. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday June 9, Pentecost Sunday: John 20:19-23

Gospel: John 20:19-23

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

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Reflection:

There is story about a man who was walking with the Lord on the seashore. When things were OK he noticed two sets of footprints one was his and the other was the Lord. However, when he encountered problems he noticed that it was only his footprints present on the seashore.

So, he asked the Lord: Why is it when I was in dire need of you, you were not there for me? The Lord said to him I was there all along with you through the Holy Spirit. I never left you. When you saw a single set of footprints on the seashore you were actually being carried by the Holy Spirit.

Awareness of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our life is something personal that God gives us. It’s actually a gift that God has given us when we were Baptized and Confirmed. And since then its with us walking with us side by side. But sometimes we don’t feel His abiding presence; the reason behind is our sinfulness, inconsistent prayer life and lack of faith.

When we sin we obstruct the Holy Spirit’s presence within us, when we are not prayerful we close ourselves to the Holy Spirit’s many gifts. And when we are lacking in faith we disallow the Holy Spirit to make a positive impact in our life. Thus, it’s actually us who disallow the Holy Spirit to move within us.

  

In the gospel passage for this Sunday, the apostles were in the upper room. The doors were locked because they were praying and at the same time hiding from the Jews who were running after them. Then suddenly out of nowhere Jesus appeared to them and said: “Peace be with you (John 20:21).” Jesus said this twice and after a while he said these very profound words to them, Receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).”

This is the same Holy Spirit that Jesus wants you to receive today.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for June 8, Saturday: Seventh Week of Easter; John 21:20-25

Gospel: John 21:20-25

Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you? When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him? Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me. So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die. But Jesus had not told him that he would not die just “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours?

It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that Jesus did but if these were to be described individually I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.

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Reflection:

Are you sometimes too inquisitive about the things that does not even concern you? Peter in our gospel is like that, too curious about things that do not even concern him. Why did Peter ask about the beloved disciple?

We don’t know what was going on in peter’s mind when he asked about  John the beloved disciple of Jesus. But one thing was sure during that time: Peter was not paying attention to the instruction of Jesus to follow Him.

If we decide to follow Jesus, let us not be nosy about the lives of others in the parish. Or even the lives of our neighbors; let us rather focus on our very own life or family. Many troubles start from our being meddlesome with the lives of others. Misunderstanding and quarrels may start from it.

Therefore, let us focus solely on our own lives. Let others live their own lives in peace without us meddling or gossiping. Instead of wasting our time meddling or talking about the lives of others which bring us no good. Let us use our time and energy on thinking of how we could further improve our  personal lives. On thinking of ways on how we could focus more on our desire to silently follow Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas       

Reflection for June 7, Friday: Seventh Week of Easter; John 21:15-19

Gospel: John 21:15-19

After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, he said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs. He then said to Simon Peter a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep. He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time “Do you love me?” and he said to him “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, Follow me.

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Reflection:

Do you love me? Jesus asked Simon Peter three times this question. How deep is your love for the Lord? Would you be willing to handle the responsibility that He will be giving you? Love is not love unless you’re willing to sacrifice something, unless you’re willing to handle a responsibility to prove that love.

Simon Peter failed in His test of love for Jesus when he denied Jesus three times. He could have stood for Jesus but Peter was afraid to lose his life, Peter was afraid to sacrifice his very life for Jesus. That’s why he denied Jesus three times. At that moment when Simon Peter denied Jesus Peter gave more importance to his own survival than his love for his Lord and Master.

However, even if Peter denied Jesus three times. Jesus still profoundly loved him. Jesus knew of the human frailties of Peter, Jesus knew that when the going gets tough Peter would deny Him. Yet He still loved Peter, Peter's denial of Jesus did not diminish Jesus love for him. This is the reason why at the end of the gospel Jesus called Peter to follow Him.

We too should remember that Jesus loves us very much notwithstanding our sinfulness. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for June 6, Thursday: Seventh Week of Easter; John 17:20-26

Gospel: John 17:20-26

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one that the world may know that you sent me and that you loved them even as you loved me. Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you but I know you, and they know that you sent me I made known to them your name and I will make it known that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.

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Reflection:

A woman engaged herself to caring for the poor in her community. She did this out of her concern for them, funds were hard to come by at times. Yet she was able to feed and nourish them because she believed that Jesus would always be there for her.

We can always lean on Jesus all the time. He is always there ever ready to help us. Jesus loves us so much that He gave His very life for us on the cross. By doing so Jesus completed the mission that was given to Him by God. For our sake God gave the life of His only begotten son.

God is never absent in our lives no matter who we are, no matter what we are going through and no matter the sins that we have done. He is always there ever ready to listen to us. God manifested Himself to us through Jesus so that we can reach out to Him anytime.

Yet, there is also a responsibility that rest on our shoulders. And this responsibility is to pay forward this infinite love of God. For the reason that our faith in God is never complete and it will never grow and mature unless we learn to share it.

Share your faith and see how it grows within you, do you share your faith? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for June 5, Wednesday: Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr; John 17:11b-19

Gospel: John 17:11b-19

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him. Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.”

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Reflection:

A man would always pray to God and his prayer would always be for himself alone. Through the grace of God the man would always receive what he prayed for. When he died he was ushered by an angel to a room full with the things that he prayed for.

 The man thanked the angel for giving him the things that he wanted, then he noticed that he was alone. So he asked the angel: “Why am I alone? The angel told him, you’re alone for the simple reason that you would always pray for yourself when you were still alive. You never bothered to pray for others, your prayers was always for yourself.

As Jesus was set to leave HIS apostles he prayed for their welfare, that they would always be in God’s protection and care.  How about us when we pray? Is it always us starring in our prayers? Or we never bother to pray for ourselves for the reason that we believe that God knows everything about us including our needs.  

God is an all knowing God, He knows everything about us including our needs and prayers for Him. Therefore, it would be better if instead of praying for ourselves we instead pray for others. This does not mean that we will not anymore have our own personal prayers and petitions before God.

We will still have our prayers before God but we put forward first the interest and needs of others before our own. For God doesn’t want us to become a person for ourselves only; HE always wants us to become a person for others. – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for June 4, Tuesday: Seventh Week of Easter; John 17:1-11a

Gospel: John 17:1-11a

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him. Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.

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Reflection:

What is the usual method of your prayers? Is it spontaneous prayer or you follow a certain pattern when you pray? Whichever it is, what is important is you put your heart in your prayers before God. For a prayer that connects with God is a prayer that originates from your heart.

We read in our gospel for this Tuesday that Jesus is praying before God. It is a personal prayer for Himself and at the same time a prayer also for His disciples and the people that He dearly loved.

If Jesus prayed to God, we too ought to pray also to God. We pray for our personal petitions before Him. For example prayers for strength to face our daily challenges. Prayers for enlightenment, prayers for us not to store any form of hatred in our hearts and so forth.

We also become one with God when we pray. We also allow God to heal us from our sickness most especially emotional and spiritual sickness. This is for the reason that through our prayers we allow God to dwell and move within us. Notice that after you pray you feel light and you feel better.

Let us beseech God to heal us of anything that ails us. And let us beseech God to give us the grace of connection with Him whenever we pray. Why? Because life without God in this world is pure emptiness. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for June 3, Monday: St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs; John 16:29-33

Gospel: John 16:29-33

The disciples said to Jesus, “Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now? Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”

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Reflection:

Do you want to have peace in your life?

If this world gives us nothing but trouble and sickness Jesus is always there to counter this troublesome world with His promise of peace. Many of us think that the things of this world would give us peace, but it will not.

The more that we tie our search for peace in this world the more that we would not find it. Why? Because this world will never give us peace what this world gives us is disturbance and chaos. So, where can we find real peace of mind? We can only find this real peace of mind in Jesus nobody would give this to us except Jesus alone.

But how many of us have experienced this peace of Jesus? Not many perhaps and the obvious reason is we only remember Jesus when we are in dire need of Him. Or yes we remember HIM but when temptation comes we easily betray Him for the pleasures of this world.

Why not change this cycle? Why not make Jesus our first priority so that we could finally feel His peaceful presence in our lives? And once we feel the peaceful presence of Jesus in our life we already are complete and we lack nothing. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Sunday June 2, The Ascension of the Lord: Luke 24:46-53

Gospel: Luke 24:46-53

Jesus said to his disciples: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God.

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Reflection:

There is a story about a father who was about to leave for work in a faraway place. Before leaving he reminded his eleven children not to forget to do their responsibilities that he assigned to them. He also told them that if there would be any problem. They should communicate with him immediately using facebook or skype. And he would be there for them.    

After forty days upon His resurrection and after many appearances to His disciples. It is now mission accomplished for Jesus. He will leave his apostles to ascend into heaven to be with God.

What does the ascension signify to the apostles? This signifies that the responsibility to spread the gospel lies now in their hands. So, they should not sit idly for in their hands lies the great responsibility of propagating the faith.  Did the apostles succeed in spreading the faith? Yes they were all successful. But it was not a walk in the park for them. They had to go through difficulties yet amidst the difficulties they did their mission with aplomb.

The Ascension of Jesus reminds us as well about our sacred responsibilities to spread the faith for we now are the modern-day disciples. In our broad shoulders now rest this great responsibility. Are we up to this responsibility?  

Sometimes we are afraid to embrace this responsibility because of our limitations. For example, we may say, “How can I evangelize when I am not a good speaker?” How can I evangelize when I have no talent and resource for this kind of endeavor? But evangelization is not solely limited through speaking, talent and resources.

We can also evangelize through our acts of love, humility and kindness. Lest we forget, our actions speak more than our words. We can now even evangelize using the internet by writing our thoughts about Jesus and His gospels. Or simply by sharing the words of God and this is also a good form of evangelization.

We think we can’t help Jesus spread the good news because we are imprisoned by our limitations. Or perhaps we fear being ostracized. The feeling of fear has no place in the environment of evangelization, we have to be courageous. Why? Because God the Holy Spirit is always there for us.

As Jesus ascends into heaven we are now given the task to evangelize and spread the faith. Can you measure up to this task? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for June 1, Saturday: Memorial of Saint Justin, Martyr; John 16:23b-28

Gospel: John 16:23b-28

Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

“I have told you this in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but I will tell you clearly about the Father. On that day you will ask in my name, and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you. For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

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Reflection:

A  woman asked Jesus to make her rich, so she prayed for it. After three months of asking and praying the woman never received his prayer petition. She was deeply puzzled why she had not received what she wanted.

 Until she had a dream wherein Jesus told her this, “You did not receive what you prayed for because you just relaxed in your house. You never exerted effort to realize what you want. So the next day the  woman prayed once again and she coupled her prayer with action and after a period of time she was able to achieve what she was asking from the Lord.

Our petitions for Jesus must not end with our vocal prayers only. We must see to it that we follow it up with actions. For example, we desire something, of course we have to pray and it must not end with our prayers. We must work very hard to realize what we are praying for.

Jesus will generously help us achieve what we want to happen in our lives for as long as we will exert every ounce of effort to have it. In other words it must always be prayers with actions and not prayers alone. – Marino J. Dasmarinas