Ngunit ngayo’y hindi mo ito nakikita. 43 Sasapit sa iyo ang mga araw na magkakampo sa paligid mo ang iyong mga kaaway, kukubkubin ka at sisikilin sa lahat ng dako. 44 Iguguho ka nila sa iyong mga anak, at walang iiwang magkapatong na bato sa iyo. Sapagkat hindi mo nalaman ang panahon ni ang pagdalaw ng iyong Diyos.”
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Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Nobyembre 18 Huwebes sa Ika-33 na Linggo ng Taon: Lucas 19:41-44
Monday, November 15, 2021
Reflection for November 17, Wednesday Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (M): Luke 19:11-28
He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’ His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, ‘We do not want this man to be our king.’ But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading.
The first came forward and said, ‘Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.’ He replied, ‘Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.’ Then the second came and reported, ‘Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.’ And to this servant too he said, ‘You, take charge of five cities.’
Then the other servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.’ He said to him, ‘With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant.
You knew I was a demanding man, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant; why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.’ And to those standing by he said, ‘Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.’
But they said to him, ‘Sir, he has ten gold coins.’ He replied, ‘I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.’”
After he had said this, he proceeded on
his journey up to Jerusalem.
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Reflection:
We are taught by our faith that all blessings that come our way are God given. Thus, we have a responsibility to pay it forward specially to those who are in need. Whatever these blessings are, be it material blessings or intellectual blessings we have to share it. We should not keep it to ourselves only we have to share it. For its only in sharing what we have that we would receive more blessings from the Lord.
What are you presently doing with the talent/s that the good Lord has given you? Are you using to advance God’s kingdom in this world or you’re only using it to advance your own interest in this world?
The third servant was not productive like the first and second because he was fearful of the nobleman. Not only that he was fearful; He was also lazy and selfish that’s why he simply stored the gold coin in a handkerchief and left it there until it was taken back by the nobleman.
The feelings of fear, being lazy and
selfish are the qualities that paralyze a person from becoming a useful citizen
of this world and a more productive servant of the Lord. If we want to serve
and share in the mission of Jesus we need to discard these negative traits. We
also need to always have a connection with the Lord. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Nobyembre 17 Miyerkules Santa Isabel ng Hungria, relihiyosa (Paggunita): Lucas 19:11-28
14 Namumuhi sa kanya ang kanyang mga kababayan kaya nagsugo sila ng ilang kinatawan para sabihin: ‘Ayaw naming maghari sa amin ang taong ito.’ 15 Gayon pa ma’y bumalik siya pagkahirang bilang hari. Ipinatawag niya ang mga katulong na binigyan niya ng baryang ginto para malaman kung magkano ang tinubo ng bawat isa. 16 Humarap ang una at sinabi: ‘Panginoon, tumubo ng sampu pa ang barya mong ginto.’
17 Sumagot siya: ‘Magaling, mabuting utusan; dahil naging matapat ka sa maliit na bagay, mapamamahala kita sa sampung lunsod.’ 18 Dumating ang ikalawa at sinabi: ‘Panginoon, tumubo ng lima pa ang iyong baryang ginto.’ 19 Sinabi nito sa kanya: ‘Mamamahala ka sa limang lunsod.’
20 Dumating ang isa pa at sinabi: ‘Panginoon, narito ang iyong baryang ginto. Binalot ko ito sa isang panyo at itinago. 21 Natatakot ako sa iyo dahil mapaghanap kang tao, kinukuha mo ang di mo idineposito at inaani ang di mo inihasik.’
22 Sinabi sa kanya ng panginoon: ‘Masamang utusan, sa sarili mong mga salita kita hahatulan. Alam mo palang mapaghanap ako, na kinukuha ko ang di ko idineposito at inaani ang di ko inihasik, 23 bakit di mo idineposito sa bangko ang aking baryang ginto? At makukubra ko sana iyon pati na ang interes pagbabalik ko.’ 24 At sinabi niya sa mga naroon: ‘Kunin sa kanya ang baryang ginto at ibigay sa may sampu.’ 25 Sumagot sila: ‘E, Panginoon, may sampung baryang ginto na siya.’
26 ‘Sinasabi ko sa
inyo: bibigyan ang meron pero aalisan ang wala, kahit na ang meron siya ay
kukunin sa kanya. 27 Ngunit dalhin ninyo rito ang aking mga kaaway na ayaw
akong maghari sa kanila at patayin sa harap ko’.” 28 Pagkasabi nito,
umuna si Jesus sa kanila pa-Jerusalem.
Sunday, November 14, 2021
Reflection for November 16, Tuesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 19:1-10
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.”
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”
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Reflection:
Why did Zacchaeus exert so much effort to see Jesus? Because Zacchaeus was already tired of living a sinful life. He wanted to live a new life so to speak, a life free from sin and the guilt of sin!
So, when Zacchaeus a sinner and a wealthy tax collector heard that Jesus would be passing through their town. He immediately planned to see Him and consequently he immediately went to see Jesus. But because of the big crowd and because he was a small man there was no way for him to see Jesus personally.
But the desire to mend his ways was so strong that Zacchaeus even climb a sycamore tree so that he would see Jesus. Surely, Jesus knew that there’s this repentant sinner named Zacchaeus who badly wants to see HIM.
When Jesus was about to pass by the sycamore tree. Jesus looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house." And so he did and brought Jesus to his house and right there in his house Zacchaeus repented. And from his repentance Jesus gave him salvation.
We all are sinner and being so we are all called to follow the action of Zacchaeus. We are called by Jesus to repent as well. Not tomorrow not next week and certainly not next month but today.
This very minute that you’re reading this. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Nobyembre 16 Martes sa Ika-33 Linggo ng Taon: Lucas 19:1-10
6 Nagmamadali siyang bumaba at tuwang-tuwang tinanggap si Jesus. 7 Inireklamo naman sa isa’t isa ng lahat ng nakakita rito: “Sa bahay ng isang lalaking makasalanan siya nakituloy.” 8 Ngunit tumayo si Zakeo at sinabi sa Panginoon: “Panginoon, ibibigay ko sa mga dukha ang kalahati ng aking mga ari-arian; at kung may nadaya ako, apat na beses ko siyang babayaran.” 9 At sinabi sa kanya ni Jesus: “Dumating ngayon ang kaligtasan sa sambahayang ito dahil anak nga ni Abraham ang taong ito. 10 At dumating ang Anak ng Tao para hanapin at iligtas ang nawawala.”
Friday, November 12, 2021
Reflection for November 15, Monday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 18:35-43
Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be
brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to
do for you?” He replied, “Lord, please let me see.” Jesus told him, “Have
sight; your faith has saved you.” He immediately received his sight and
followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave
praise to God.
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Reflection:
What is the most important qualification for those who wants to be healed by Jesus? It’s faith! Our faith in Jesus can make the impossible possible.
The blind man in our gospel has this exceptional faith. It was his faith in Jesus that drove him to call upon Jesus to heal him. It was his deep faith in Jesus that moved him to continuously shout Son of David even if he was already being admonished to keep quite.
This man is blind yes, but his faith in Jesus is not blind and his faith is incredibly bigger than his blindness. For sure he knew Jesus beforehand somebody told him who Jesus was and without question he immediately believed.
And after believing he started thinking more about Jesus, perhaps Jesus was always in his mind. Perhaps the blind man was already imagining what he would do if Jesus would pass by him. Our faith in Jesus is always affirmed and strengthened when we always think of Him. And when we always ask Him to give us the gift of faith.
The gospel for today used the blind man to
show us all what deep faith in Jesus can do for us. The gospel tells us also
that nothing is impossible for those who believe and for those who always pray
with faith. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Tuesday, November 09, 2021
Reflection for Sunday November 14, Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mark 13:24-32
"And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.
"Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
"But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
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Reflection:
A rich man in dire straits was contemplating of ending his own life. Yes he had material wealth and could practically buy everything that he wants. But there was still a deep void within him and he was yearning for something that would give meaning to his life.
Have you been through this kind of experience wherein you yearn for something meaningful in your life? You yearn for meaning because you can’t find relevance in your present life in this world anymore? We all go through this period of emptiness in our lives as if this is already our own version of end times experience.
What should we do when we walk through this experience of spiritual barrenness? When everything before us seems dark and hopeless? We have to look up to the man on the cross for our salvation and deliverance. We have to ask Jesus to fill our barren and empty lives and we have to ask Him to give our lives substance and meaning.
Many of us think that the meaning of life can be found in the things of this world: Wealth, Power and all the pre-occupations that we have. We think that these are the be-all and end-all of life. But the things of this world are not the be-all and end-all of life these are all meaningless unless our lives are centered on God. Why? Because God is the true be-all and end-all of life.
If our lives are centered on God we have nothing to fear even the end times we would not fear. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Linggo Nobyembre 14 Ika-33 na Linggo sa Karaniwang Panahon: Marcos 13:24-32
“Unawain ninyo ang aral mula sa puno ng igos: kapag sumisipot na ang mga dahon sa sanga nito, alam ninyong malapit na ang tag-araw. Gayun din naman, kapag nakita ninyong nangyayari na ang mga bagay na ito, malalaman ninyong malapit na ang panahon ng pagparito niya – nagsisimula na. Tandaan ninyo: magaganap ang mga bagay na ito bago mamatay ang mga taong nabubuhay sa ngayon. Mawawala ang langit at ang lupa, ngunit ang mga salita ko’y hindi magkakabula.
“Ngunit walang nakaaalam ng araw o oras ng pagsapit niyon, kahit ang mga anghel sa langit o ang Anak man – ang Ama lamang ang nakakaalam nito.”
Reflection for November 13, Saturday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 18:1-8
The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
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Reflection:
Is prayer an essential part of your everyday life? What do you do after you pray? Do you just lie down and wait for the answers to your prayers to fall from heaven?
The gospel for today shows persistent prayers coupled with corresponding actions. In our gospel there is a parable told by Jesus about a persistent widow who ask again and again from a judge for a just decision she never gave up until she got what she wanted from the judge.
When we pray we humble ourselves before God, we humbly open ourselves to the unlimited blessings that God could shower us. When we regularly pray we get to know Jesus more deeply. We become not only friends with Jesus but very close friends with Him, thus Jesus becomes an essential part of our lives.
Make prayer a part of your daily life and you will feel that Jesus is always with you. You will also observe a deepening of your relationship with Him who is always just a prayer away from you. When you are prayerful you also are always assured of the presence of Jesus in your life. Don’t you want to be with Jesus all the time? You therefore have to be prayerful.
Are you prayerful? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Nobyembre 13 Sabado sa Ika-32 Linggo ng Taon: Lucas 18:1-8
3 May isa ring biyuda sa lunsod na iyon na madalas pumunta sa kanya at sinasabi: ‘Igawad mo sa akin ang katarungan laban sa aking kalaban.’ 4 Matagal siyang umayaw pero naisip niya pagkatapos: ‘Wala man akong takot sa Diyos at walang pakialam sa tao, 5 igagawad ko pa rin ang katarungan sa biyudang ito na bumubuwisit sa akin at baka masiraan pa ako ng ulo sa pag-punta-punta niya’.”
6 Kaya idinagdag ng Panginoon: “Pakinggan ninyo ang sinabi ng di-matuwid na hukom. 7 Di ba’t igagawad ng Diyos ang katarungan sa kanyang mga hinirang na araw-gabing tumatawag sa kanya? Pababayaan ba niya sila? 8 Sinasabi ko sa inyo, agad niyang igagawad sa kanila ang katarungan. Ngunit pag dating ng Anak ng Tao, makakakita kaya siya ng pananampalataya sa lupa?”
Reflection for November 12, Friday Saint Josaphat, bishop and martyr (M): Luke 17:26-37
So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, someone who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise one in the field must not return to what was left behind. Remember the wife of Lot.
Whoever seeks to preserve his life will
lose it, but whoever loses it will save it. I tell you, on that night there
will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. And there
will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other
left.” They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where
the body is, there also the vultures will gather.
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Reflection:
Why does the church perpetually call us to leave behind our sinfulness? For example, the church since time immemorial has been tirelessly advising us to live a life worthy in the eyes of the Lord. For what reason is this call of the church?
This is to prepare us for the coming judgment day which unfortunately we don’t know when it will be. Therefore, the sooner we respond to this call of repentance the better for it would save us from unspeakable punishment.
The people during the time of Noah and Lot were preoccupied with immoral and worldly things; perhaps this was the reason why without any warning came the catastrophe. Why did it happen? It happened because they were very much preoccupied with the things that would satisfy their lust, their greed and their love to commit sin.
We never learn from these incidents because up to this very moment some of us continue to crave to commit sin. Thus, we continue to harbor the devil in our midst we better stop these sinful actions while we still have time. Because sin will not do us any good for the reason that the more that we sin the more that our lives become problematic and less peaceful. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Nobyembre 12 Biyernes San Josafat, Obispo at martir (Paggunita): Lucas 17:26-37
31 Sa araw na iyon, huwag nang bumaba pa sa bahay ang nasa terasa para kunin ang kanyang mga gamit at huwag nang umuwi pa ang nasa bukid. 32 Alalahanin ninyo ang asawa ni Lot. 33 Ang sinumang magsikap na magligtas ng sarili ay mawawalan nito, at ang mawawalan naman ng sarili ang magsisilang nito sa buhay.
34 Sinasabi ko sa inyo: kung may dalawa sa isang higaan sa gabing iyon, dadalhin ang isa at iiwan ang isa pa; 35 kung may dalawang babaeng magkasamang gumigiling, dadalhin ang isa at iiwan ang isa pa.” 37 At itinanong naman nila: “Saan, Panginoon?” Sumagot siya. “Kung nasaan ang katawan, doon nagtitipon ang mga buwitre.”
Reflection for November 11, Thursday Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop (M): Luke 17:20-25
Then he said to his disciples, “The days
will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you
will not see it. There will be those who will say to you, ‘Look, there he is,’
or ‘Look, here he is.’ Do not go off, do not run in pursuit. For just as
lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the
Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by
this generation.
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Reflection:
Do you have an awareness of the kingdom of God in your life?
Everyone of us has different awareness of the kingdom of God; for some it’s already here and now. This is basically attributed to their rock solid faith and close intimacy with God. Their rock solid faith and intimacy with Jesus which is always feed by a healthy prayer life.
Others have no sensitivity of the kingdom of God in their lives and the sad part here is they think that life ends with death. In these others lies the challenge for us. What must we do so that these others would know that the kingdom of God is real?
Should we preach about it? Should we teach them about it? We must preach, we must teach and we must live the kingdom of God in our lives. Otherwise we will have no awareness of it and we would continue to live our lives without fear of sin.
The kingdom of God is within us already, we who know Jesus and we who have a relationship with Him. The challenge therefore is to share and live the teachings of Jesus so that others would have an awareness of His kingdom.
Do you live and share the teachings of the
Lord? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Nobyembre 11 Huwebes San Martin de Torres, obispo (Paggunita): Lucas 17:20-25
22 Sinabi ni Jesus
sa mga alagad: “Darating ang panahon na pananabikan ninyong makita ang isa sa
mga araw ng Anak ng Tao at di naman ninyo makikita. 23 At may magsasabi sa
inyo ‘Narito siya, naroon.’ Huwag kayong pupunta, huwag maghahanap.
24 Sumisiklab nga ang kidlat at nagniningning mula sa isang dako ng
langit hanggang sa kabila, gayundin naman ang Anak ng Tao sa araw ng kanyang
pagdating. 25 Subalit kailangan muna niyang magtiis ng marami at itakwil
ng mga tao sa kasalukuyan.
Reflection for November 10, Wednesday Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (M): Luke 17:11-19
As they were going they were cleansed. And
one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud
voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the
other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"
Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."
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Reflection:
What does God require from us to be healed from our physical and emotional sickness? God requires Faith, Humility and gratefulness.
In our gospel, while Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem His attention was caught from afar by ten men who were shouting with faith: Jesus master! Have pity on us! It was not their collective shouting that caught the Lord’s attention it was their strong faith that caught Jesus’ attention.
As a result, the ten of them were healed but not all of them were humble and grateful enough to appreciate the healing that they received from Jesus. Amongst them it was only the Samaritan (a foreigner) who went back to Jesus to express his appreciation.
Thus Jesus said to the Samaritan: "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Why did Jesus ask for the other nine? Was Jesus expecting them to say thanks to him because He wants to be honored? Of course not! Jesus was looking for the other nine because He wanted to see if they have the virtue of humility and gratefulness. Unfortunately, they did not have it for they did not return.
We have three important lessons that we can learn from the gospel today:
First: We must always have faith in Jesus, no matter what storms we encounter in our lives we must always have faith, we must not lose it!
Second: We must always humble ourselves before God by way of following His will for us and not our own will for ourselves which is always selfish.
Third: We must always be grateful to God for the countless blessings and miracles that He continuously bestows upon us. We may not notice it but everyday we receive little and big blessings from God. For example: the food on the table that He daily gives us, the health that we have, the new life that He gives us every morning. These to some are trivial but these are blessings from God that we forget to realize.
Therefore, let us always be cognizant of
the fact that we must always have faith no matter our life’s trials. We must
always be humble before Him and our fellowmen for the reason that humility is
the gateway for having more blessings from God. And lastly we must always be
thankful for the little and big miracles that He authors in our lives. – Marino
J. Dasmarinas
Monday, November 08, 2021
Reflection for November 9, Tuesday the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome (Feast): John 2:13-22
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, Zeal for your house will consume me. At this the Jews answered and said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?"
But he was speaking about the temple of his Body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.
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Reflection:
Do you still revere and respect the church as the temple of God?
Sometimes the church is not only used solely for worship and prayer. Some churches sometimes are used for rumor mongering, for business opportunities and sometimes sad to say it’s used as a trysting place.
And who are they? Some of them are the people who are directly involved in the church. They are not the ordinary Mass goers but those who spend time and do volunteer work for the church.
Another temple that Jesus wants to speak about is our very own bodies which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. What have we done to our bodies? What are the values that we feed and conjure in our minds? Those who could afford take medicines to change the color of their skin. They also go to the doctor to beautify some noticeable parts of their bodies for them to look attractive.
Jesus wants to remind us about the real purpose of the church. It's always a temple of worship and a safe refuge for the poor, for those who are lost and losing hope. We also have to accept our bodies and the color of our skin as God gave it to us.
Nevermind if you are not attractive outside what is important is you are beautiful and Godly inside. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Nobyembre 9 Martes Pagtatalaga ng Basilika ni San Juan de Letran (Kapistahan): Juan 2:13-22
16 At sinabi niya sa mga nagtitinda ng mga kalapati: “Alisin n’yo ang mga ito! Huwag n’yong gawing palengke ang Bahay ng aking Ama.” 17 Naalaala ng kanyang mga alagad na nasusulat: “Tinutupok ako ng malasakit sa iyong Bahay.”
18 Kaya sumagot ang mga Judio: “Anong tanda ang maipapakita mo sa amin at ginagawa mo ito?” 19 Sinagot sila ni Jesus: “Gibain n’yo ang templong ito, at ibabangon ko ito sa tatlong araw.”
20 Sinabi naman ng
mga Judio: “Apat-napu’t anim na taon nang itinatayo ang templong ito, at
ibabangon mo ito sa tatlong araw?” 21 Ngunit and templong katawan niya ang
kanyang tinutukoy. 22 Nang ibangon siya mula sa mga patay, naalaala ng kanyang
mga alagad ang sinabi niyang ito. Kaya naniwala sila sa Kasulatan at sa
salitang sinabi ni Jesus.
Sunday, November 07, 2021
Reflection for November 8, Monday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 17:1-6
Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, 'I am sorry,' you should forgive him."
And the Apostles said to the Lord,
"Increase our faith." The Lord replied, "If you have faith the
size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and
planted in the sea,' and it would obey you."
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Reflection:
The story is told about a woman who wants her faith to increase she practically did everything to have it. She went to church regularly, read the bible and she did a devotion to the blessed Mother. However, she noticed that her faith did not increase.
She even shouted, “Increase my faith O Lord” but there was no increase in her faith. In fact she noticed that her faith was actually diminishing because she was more trusting on herself than the Good Lord. Why? For the simple reason that she remained arrogant towards her relatives and friends. She always wants to have her way in everything that she does: in short there was no change in her egotistical behavior.
What must we do for us to have an increase in our faith? We must be humble at all times, before God and before our fellowmen. We must trust God more than we trust ourselves. We attract graces (including the grace of faith) if we are humble and if we bow our heads before God.
When we’re humble and more trusting in God it simply means that we’re opening ourselves for heavenly graces. That God pours to those who are always ready to accept it with humility. What happens if we’re arrogant and we trust more on ourselves? We’re shutting ourselves from God blessings, that’s how plain and simple it is.
We cannot anymore fill a glass full of
water, this is the arrogant and self-trusting person who is always full of
himself. But we can certainly pour more water to a half-empty glass, this is
the person who trusts and humbles himself before God. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Nobyembre 8 Lunes sa Ika-32 Linggo ng Taon: Lucas 17:1-6
3 Mag-ingat kayo. Kung magkasala ang kapatid mo, pagsabihan mo siya, at kung magsisi’y patawarin mo. 4 At kung pitong beses siyang magkasala sa iyo sa isang araw at pitong beses din siyang bumalik sa iyo na nagsisisi, patawarin mo siya.”
5 Sinabi ng mga
apostol sa Panginoon: “Dagdagan mo ang aming pananampalataya.” 6 Sumagot
ang Panginoon: “Kung may pananampalataya kayong sinlaki ng buto ng mustasa,
masasabi ninyo sa punong malaigos na iyan: ‘Mabunot ka at sa dagat ka
matanim,’ at susundin kayo nito.
Tuesday, November 02, 2021
Reflection for Sunday November 7, Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mark 12:38-44
Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Linggo Nobyembre 7 Ika-32 na Linggo sa Karaniwang Panahon: Marcos 12:38-44
41 Naupo si Jesus sa tapat ng kabang-yaman at tiningnan ang paghuhulog ng mga tao ng pera para sa Templo. Maraming mayamang nagbigay ng malalaking halaga. 42 At may dumating na isang pobreng biyuda na naghulog ng dalawang barya.
43 Kaya tinawag ni Jesus ang kanyang mga alagad at sinabi sa kanila: “Talagang sinasabi ko sa inyo na pinakamahalaga sa lahat ang inihulog ng biyudang ito sa kabang-yaman. 44 Naghulog nga ang lahat mula sa sobra nila, ngunit siya nama’y mula sa kanyang kasalatan. Inihulog nga niya ang lahat ng nasa kanya – ang mismong ikabubuhay niya.”
Reflection for November 6, Saturday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 16:9-15
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all
these things and sneered at him. And he said to them, “You justify yourselves
in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem
is an abomination in the sight of God.”
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Reflection:
Do you allow yourself to be influenced by the love of material things?
Advertisers continuously bombard us with ads that entice us to love material things for example, these smart phones. Manufacturers would always come up with new models to drive up their sales and profit. So what we do is we buy simply because we allow ourselves to be captured by the very enticing advertising even if there’s actually no need yet for us to buy it.
This is what we must watch out for because if we are not careful there’s that tendency to serve the God of this world which is mammon or money. Who is behind this advertisers that induces us to mindlessly spend so that we are always busy to earn more money until we eventually shun God in our lives?
The one behind is the Devil it deludes us to believe that mammon or materialism is the be all and end all of life. And if we are not careful we may believe it thus we may favor mammon over God. But we all know that mammon is an instrument of the devil to take us away from God.
We therefore have to choose God over the
God of this world which is mammon or materialism. If we choose God we would
have peaceful lives. We may not be able to ward off every problems that may
come our way. But we would be able to handle it no matter how difficult it may
be. Why? Because we’ve chosen to be with God and not allow ourselves to be
captured by this materialistic driven world. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Nobyembre 6, Sabado sa Ika-31 na Linggo ng Taon: Lucas 16:9-15
10 Ang mapagkakatiwalaan sa maliliit na bagay ay mapagkakatiwalaan din sa malalaki, at ang di mapagkakatiwalaan sa maliliit ay di rin mapagkakatiwalaan sa malalaki. 11 Kung hindi kayo mapagkatiwalaan sa di-matuwid na pera, sino ang magtitiwala sa inyo ng tunay na kayamanan?
12 Kung hindi kayo mapagkatiwalaan sa mga bagay na hindi talaga sa inyo, sino pa kaya ang magbibigay sa inyo ng talagang inyo? 13 Walang katulong na makapagsi-silbi sa dalawang amo; siguradong kamumuhian niya ang isa at mamahalin naman ang isa pa, o magiging matapat sa isa at mapababayaan ang ikalawa. Hindi kayo makapaglilingkod sa Diyos at sa pera.”
14 Naririnig ng mga
Pariseo ang lahat ng ito. Sakim sila kaya pinagtatawanan nila siya. 15 At
sinabi ni Jesus sa kanila: “Ginagawa ninyo ang lahat para magmukhang mabuti
sa paningin ng mga tao ngunit alam ng Diyos ang inyong mga puso. At
kasuklam-suklam sa paningin ng Diyos ang mataas sa mga tao.
Reflection for November 5, Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 16:1-8
I am not strong enough to dig and I am
ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the
stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ He called in his master’s
debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He
replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory
note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’ Then to another he said, ‘And
you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’ He said
to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’ And the master
commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. For the children of this
world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children
of light.
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This is the big danger that may come to the lives of those who are materially successful there’s that tendency to drown in their worldly success. And totally forget that they’re simply stewards of their material possession.
What is the secret to a successful and
fulfilling life? We must learn how to share not only to share a small portion
of what we earn. We must hugely share for we are merely stewards with the
things that we have. It’s not ours to own; we have what we have right now for
us to share it and not to keep it to ourselves. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Nobyembre 5 Biyernes sa Ika-31 na Linggo ng Taon: Lucas 16:1-8
3 At inisip ng katiwala: ‘Tatanggalin ako ngayon sa pangangasiwa ng aking panginoon. Ano ang gagawin ko? Kulang ako ng lakas para magbungkal ng lupa, nahihiya naman akong magpalimos. 4 Ah, alam ko na ang gagawin ko. At pagkatanggal sa akin sa pangangasiwa, may mga magpapatuloy sa akin sa kanilang mga bahay.’
5 Kaya tinawag niyang isa-isa ang mga may-utang sa kanyang panginoon. Tinanong niya ang una: “Magkano ang utang mo sa aking panginoon?’ 6 Sumagot ito: ‘Sandaang galon ng langis.’ Sinabi ng katiwala: ‘Narito ang resibo mo; maupo ka agad at isulat mo: Limampu.’ 7 Tinanong naman niya ang ikalawa: ‘At ikaw, magkano ang utang mo?’ Sumagot siya: ‘Sanlibong takal ng trigo.’ Sinabi ng katiwala: ‘Narito ang iyong resibo at isulat mo: Walundaan.”
8 Hinangaan ng panginoon ang mata¬linong paggawa ng di-matuwid na katiwala. Mas matalino nga ang mga taong makamundo sa pakikitungo sa mga gaya nila kaysa mga tao ng liwanag.
Reflection for November 4, Thursday Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop (M): Luke 15:1-10
And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.
“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp
and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? And when she
does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ In just the same
way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one
sinner who repents.”
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Reflection:
What is your attitude toward the so-called sinners of our society? For example, if you have a sibling and you perceive him to be a sinner, how would you treat him? Should you simply ignore him? Or you would build bridge to gently seek him out and let him know that the love of Jesus knows no bounds. That the love of Jesus upon him is not diminished by the sins that he has committed.
There are many of us who give up on the lost or sinners and we cannot blame ourselves for this because this is basic human nature. For example if you have a spouse who is a serial womanizer and you have forgiven him for so many times and yet he does not change his ways. What is your natural reaction to this kind of attitude? Isn’t that your natural reaction is to raise your hands in surrender and give up on that unrepentant spouse?
If we give up with sinners, Jesus doesn’t give up He will continuously seek out the lost or sinners until He finds them. And when Jesus finds them, He will do everything (without questions asked!) to let this sinner feel His infinite love, mercy and forgiveness.
The parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin is a showcase of the
infinite love of Jesus for us. We who are all sinners and we who continue to
struggle with sin. There’s hope after all for all of us sinners for as long as
we immediately walk away from anything that makes us sin. - Marino J.
Dasmarinas