Pasanin
ninyo ang aking pamatok, at mag-aral kayo sa akin; ako'y maamo at
mababang-loob, at makasusumpong kayo ng kapahingahan para sa inyong kaluluwa.
Sapagkat maginhawang dalhin ang aking pamatok, at magaan ang pasaning ibibigay
ko sa inyo."
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he
rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the
same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little
ones be lost.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Can we measure God’s love for us? No for God’s love is not bound by any kind of measurement or limited by time and space. God will continue to love us even if we are the most sinful person in this world.
The Parable of the lost sheep in our gospel is a showcase of this infinite love of God. Who is the man who looked for the lost sheep? He is our loving and merciful God! Who is the lost sheep that went astray? It’s us we who are sinful and we who oftentimes love sin more than God.
Nevertheless, even if we love to sin and even if we run away from the love of God. He is always there looking for us. Ever ready to forgive and forget all the sins that we have committed. Let us all be cognizant of this infinite love of God and let us also not be quick to judge our brothers and sisters who sin.
Instead of judging those who sin let us rather emulate God who looked for and reached out to the lost sheep. Instead of judging let us help them get up on their feet so that they could free themselves from the bondage of sin. There are sinners because no one is willing to reach out to them, no one is willing to pay forward the infinite love of God.
Are you quick to judge those who sin?
Would you care to reach out to them so that they could feel the infinite love
of God? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Sinasabi
ko sa inyo; kapag nasumpungan niya ito, higit niyang ikinagagalak ang isang ito
kaysa siyamnapu't siyam na hindi naligaw. Gayon din naman, hindi kaloob ng
inyong Amang nasa langit na mapahamak ang isa sa maliliit na ito."
Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply, “What are you thinking in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”– he said to the one who was paralyzed, “I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
He stood up immediately before them,
picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. Then
astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they
said, “We have seen incredible things today.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
How far are you willing to go to help a person in need? We have in our gospel a paralytic who was brought to Jesus by selfless men. Men who did not think of their own safety so that they could help. Men who did everything so that they could bring somebody to Jesus.
What if there were no selfless men who dared to help the paralytic? The paralytic would have remained paralytic for the rest of his life. But he was very blessed that he encountered these men who help him go near Jesus.
When we help someone in need we are opening ourselves to enormous blessings from God. This is what happened to the men who brought the paralytic to Jesus. They were blessed by Jesus and was forgiven of their many sins (Luke 5:20).
As we continue our journey in this world we will continue to encounter those who are in need. Let us never let go of these opportunities to help be it material or spiritual help. If it would require us to momentarily forget our own selves so that we could extend a helping hand, let us help by all means.
Every effort that we do for others is
always rewarded by Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Nagpipilit silang makapasok sa bahay upang mailagay sa harapan ni Hesus ang maysakit, subalit wala silang maraanan dahil sa dami ng tao. Kaya’t umakyat sila sa bubungan at binutas iyon, saka inihugos sa harapan ni Hesus ang paralitikong nasa higaan. Nang makita ni hesus kung gaano kalaki ang kanilang pananalig, sinabi niya sa paralitiko, “Kaibigan, pinatatawad ka na sa iyong mga kasalanan.”
Sa loob-loob ng mga eskriba’t Pariseo: “Sino itong nagsasalita ng kalapastanganan sa Diyos? Hindi ba’t Diyos lamang ang makapagpapatawad ng mga kasalanan?” Ngunit batid ni Hesus ang kanilang iniisip, kaya’t sinagot niya sila, “Bakit kayo nag-iisip ng ganyan? Alin ba ang lalong madali: ang sabihin sa paralitiko ‘Pinatatawad ka na sa iyong mga kasalanan’ o ang sabihing ‘Tumindig ka at lumakad’? Patutunayan ko sa inyo ang Anak ng Tao ay may kapangyarihan dito sa lupa na magpatawad ng mga kasalanan.”
At
sinabi niya sa paralitiko, “Iniuutos ko: tumindig ka, dalhin mo ang iyong
higaan at umuwi ka!” Pagdaka’y tumindig ang tao sa harapan ng lahat, binuhat
ang kanyang higaan at umuwing nagpupuri sa Diyos. Nanggilalas sila at tigib ng
takot na nagpuri sa Diyos. “Nakakita kami ngayon ng mga kahanga-hangang bagay!”
wika nila.
At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees.
Therefore every
tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I
am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me
is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear
his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will
burn with unquenchable fire.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
The story is told about a mother who had a wayward son. The mother would always plead to her son to change his ways and repent. However, the son would always turn a deaf ear to her mother’s pleadings. The mother eventually died without seeing her son’s repentance. After a few years the son also died brought about by his living a life of sin.
During the time of John the Baptist he called also for repentance because the people of Judea were living in sin. John was a Prophet who lived his life in utter simplicity and humility. He wore clothing made of camel’s hair his food was locust and wild honey.
Many listened to his call because he was worthy of his advocacy, he showed the people of his time that he was walking his talk; he lived according to what he was preaching.
We can endlessly preach repentance to our fellowmen but if we do not live what we preach. And if we do not walk what we talk nobody would listen to us. That’s what separate’s John the Baptist from us, he was a worthy herald for Jesus simply because he walked his talk. He supported his call of repentance by living it and by shunning the trappings and comforts of his environment.
This second week
of Advent let us ask ourselves these two questions: have I called for
repentance to people who are within my circle of influence? And am I currently
living John the Baptist’s life of simplicity and humility? – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Hinabing balahibo ng kamelyo ang
damit ni Juan, at balat ang kanyang pamigkis. Ang kanya namang pagkai’y balang
at pulot-pukyutan. At pumunta sa kanya ang mga taga-Jerusalem, taga-Judea, at
mga naninirahan sa magkabilang panig ng Jordan. Ipinahayag nila ang kanilang
mga kasalanan, at sila’y bininyagan ni Juan sa Ilog Jordan.
Ngunit nang makita niyang marami sa
mga Pariseo at mga Saduseo ang lumalapit upang pabinyag, sinabi niya sa kanila,
“Kayong lahi ng mga ulupong! Sino ang nagbabala sa inyo upang tumakas sa
parusang darating? Ipakilala ninyo sa pamamagitan ng inyong pamumuhay na kayo’y
nagsisisi. At huwag ninyong ipangahas na kayo’y anak ni Abraham.
Sinasabi ko sa inyo: Ang Diyos ay
makalilikha ng mga tunay na anak ni Abraham mula sa mga batong ito. Ngayon pa’y
nakaamba na ang palakol sa ugat ng punungkahoy; ang bawat punungkahoy na hindi
mabuti ang bunga ay puputulin at ihahagis sa apoy. Binibinyagan ko kayo sa
tubig bilang tanda ng pagsisisi ninyo’t pagtalikod sa inyong mga kasalanan;
ngunit ang dumarating na kasunod ko ang magbibinyag sa inyo sa Espiritu Santo
at sa apoy.
Siya’y makapangyarihan kaysa akin,
hindi ako karapat-dapat kahit tagadala ng kanyang panyapak. Hawak niya ang
kanyang kalaykay upang alisin ang dayami. Titipunin niya sa kamalig ang trigo,
ngunit ang ipa’y susunugin sa apoy na di mamamatay kailanman.”
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.
Jesus sent out these Twelve after
instructing them thus, “Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go,
make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have
received; without cost you are to give.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Have you done something to bring others to the Lord? For example, you asked a friend to go with you to the church to attend Holy Mass. Or you counseled a friend to read the Bible so that he/she could know Jesus deeply.
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few (Matthew 9:37).” These words of Jesus rings loudly to our ears today than ever before. Indeed this is very true and very relevant for our times. We just need to look around our environment and we would see the sad reality that there’s are many more who don’t know Jesus.
Our labor for God must not be limited to our vocation in the church as Preist, Extra-Ordinary Ministers of the Holy Communion, as Catechist, as Lectors/commentators and as members of other church ministries. We must put more flesh in our involvement in our church by going out to those who are hungry, who are physically/emotionally sick. We need to bring Jesus out to the poor of our society for they too need Jesus and surely they need Jesus to guide them.
Even if we are ordinary parishioners by virtue of our baptism we too are called to share Jesus. A faith that grows is a faith that is shared. Beginning this Advent season and onwards let us allow Jesus to use us as His instrument of healing by helping the poor and the deprived.
But there are those who follow Jesus based on their own terms and standards. They impose their own rule and not the rule of Jesus they follow Christ based on their own self-rule. Thus, instead of embracing humility they choose to embrace arrogance. Instead of winning converts and followers they become the main reason why others walk away from the faith.
A good follower has rock solid faith, is neither self seeking nor arrogant. Always humble and content to silently do his mission for the greater glory of God. Are you this kind of follower? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Kaya’t sinabi niya sa kanyang mga alagad, “Sagana ang anihin, ngunit kakaunti ang mag-aani. Idalangin ninyo sa may-ari ng anihin na magpadala siya ng mga manggagawa sa kanyang anihin.” Tinipon ni Hesus ang labindalawang alagad at binigyan ng kapangyarihang magpalayas ng masasamang espiritu at magpagaling ng mga may karamdaman.
Sila’y
pinagbilinan ni Hesus: “Hanapon ninyo ang mga nawawalang tupa ng sambahayan ng
Israel. Humayo kayo at ipangaral ninyo na malapit nang maghari ang Diyos.
Pagalingin ninyo ang mga maysakit at buhayin ang mga patay. Pagalingin ninyo
ang mga ketongin at palayasin ang mga demonyo. Yamang tumanggap kayo nang
walang bayad, magbigay naman kayo nang walang bayad.”
Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let
it be done for you according to your faith. And their eyes were opened. Jesus
warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this. But they went out and
spread word of him through all that land.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What are you willing to do to receive healing from God? Are you willing to humble yourself and kneel before God and ask Him to give you the gift of healing? Healing is a gift that Jesus freely gives to those who have faith. Even if you will not ask for it Jesus will give it to you for as long as you humble yourself and have faith in front of Him.
In the gospel for this Friday we have two humble blind men with rock-solid faith who cried to the Lord for healing. Why did they cry when they could have shouted at Jesus to get His attention? They cried because they felt hope, mercy and healing from Jesus. For the two blind men Jesus was their only hope to have the gift of sight.
Let us also ask Jesus to give us the gift of Healing for nothing is impossible for those who believe and humble themselves before God. Even the impossible is very much possible for as long as we have faith.
Whatever that you’re going through right now, believe that Jesus will heal you. And believe that He will answer your prayers for nothing is impossible for Jesus. This is best exemplified by the two incredible blind men of deep faith in our gospel.
How’s your faith in the Lord? - Marino J.
Dasmarinas
At
hinipo niya ang kanilang mga mata, at sinabi, “Mangyari sa inyo ang ayon sa
inyong paniniwala.” At hinipo niya ang kanilang mga mata at sinabi, “Mangyari
sa inyo ang ayon sa inyong paniniwala.” At nakakita na sila. Mahigpit na
ipinagbilin sa kanila ni Hesus na huwag sasabihin ito kaninuman. Ngunit nang
sila’y makaalis, ibinalita nila sa buong lupaing yaon ang ginawa sa kanila ni
Hesus.
“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of
mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And
it collapsed and was completely ruined.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What would happen to us if we always pray yet we don’t live our faith? For example, we always pray the Holy Rosary every day or we go to Holy Mass every Sunday yet we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to change us? We would easily succumb to worldly temptations and we render useless our acts of worship for God.
The Philippines is a catholic country, in fact more than eighty percent (80%) of us are Catholics and the majority of our leaders in government are Catholics. However, corruption is still deeply rooted in our government. Why is this so? This is for the reason that we are only good at worshipping God but we don’t allow our worship for God to transform us.
What does Jesus want from all of us? He wants us to worship Him and allow this same worship for Him to transform us. So that we could become His true and faithful followers, it’s very easy to pray so that others would see us. However, the real qualification for us to be called a follower of Jesus is when we allow our worship for Him to transform us.
What will happen to us if we let our prayers to transform us according to the will of God? We would be like the wise man in the gospel who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock (Luke 7:24-25).
Do you allow your worship for God to
transform you? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
“Kaya’t ang bawat nakikinig at nagsasagawa ng mga salita kong ito ay matutulad sa isang taong matalino na nagtayo ng kanyang bahay sa ibabaw ng bato. Umulan nang malakas, bumaha, at binayo ng malakas na hangin ang bahay na iyon, ngunit hindi nagiba sapagkat nakatayo sa ibabaw ng bato.
Ang bawat
nakikinig ng aking mga salita at hindi nagsasagawa nito ay matutulad sa isang
taong hangal na nagtayo ng kanyang bahay sa buhanginan. Umulan nang malakas,
bumaha, at binayo ng malakas na hangin ang bahay. Bumagsak ang bahay na iyon at
lubusang nawasak.”
At once they left their nets and followed
him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of
Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee,
mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and
their father and followed him.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Are you ready to respond to Jesus’ call?
Jesus called ordinary fishermen to help Him advance the gospel, ordinary folks just like you and me. What is striking in the gospel reading was their immediate response to the call of the Lord. When Jesus called Peter and Andrew they immediately left their nets (their livelihood) and they both became a follower of Jesus.
The same occurrence happened when Jesus
called the brothers Zebedee and John. Upon hearing the call of Jesus they left
their boat and their father to immediately become a follower.
Let us take a closer look at the gospel for today because this is for us also. The four of them were ordinary fishermen, they were expert in their craft but they had no formal education about the faith.
What does this mean to us? This simply means that a formal education about the faith is not a requirement to become an effective follower. What is important is the desire, humility and willingness to respond to Jesus. For as long as we are ready to respond we all can have a role in the mission of Jesus.
Let us not worry if we have no formal education about our faith because this is not the requirement of Jesus. What Jesus wants from us first is for us to respond to His call, this is perhaps the first requirement responsiveness to His call.
Jesus is always calling us to follow Him
every second, every minute and hour that passes by. Let us respond to this call
of Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Nagpatuloy siya ng paglakad at nakita rin niya ang magkapatid na Santiago at Juan, mga anak ni Zebedeo. Sila’y nasa bangka, kasama ang kanilang ama, at naghahayuma ng lambat. Tinawag din sila ni Hesus. Agad nilang iniwan ang bangka at ang kanilang ama, at sumunod kay Hesus.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
Turning to the disciples in private he
said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many
prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear
what you hear, but did not hear it.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What do we need to do to fully grasp the grace of the Holy Spirit in our life? We need to be humble, we need to be childlike for such is the life of Jesus: full of humility and full of childlike trust.
The Holy Spirit would reveal itself to us once we become humble and childlike. Thus, the Holy Spirit will give us something that others don’t have and that is the enlightenment to discern the workings of God in our life.
Notice the childlike excitement of those who volunteer their time to serve during Holy Mass or to do volunteer work for the church. Observe their readiness to submit themselves to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. But not everyone has this gift of feeling the profound presence of God in their lives. This is given free without any cost by the Holy Spirit to those who strive to dive deeper into our Catholic faith.
We impede the grace of the Holy Spirit
into our lives when we trust more on our wealth instead of God. When we don’t
attend Holy Mass When we are self-righteous, when we are corrupt, when we
curse, when we say profanities and swearwords. When we seek pornography and other
sins of the flesh. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Walang
nakakikilala sa Anak kundi ang Ama, at walang nakakikilala sa Ama kundi ang
Anak at yaong marapating pagpahayagan ng Anak.” Humarap si Hesus sa mga alagad
at sinabi, na di naririnig ng iba: “Mapalad kayo, sapagkat nakita ninyo ang
inyong nakikita ngayon! Sinasabi ko sa inyo, maraming propeta at mga hari ang
nagnasang makakita ng inyong nakikita ngunit hindi nila nakita. Hinangad din
nilang mapakinggan ang inyong naririnig ngunit hindi nila napakinggan.”
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to
another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I
say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you,
many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do you ask Jesus to give you the gift of faith?
What brought the centurion to Jesus? It was his great faith, when the centurion went to Jesus to ask for help for his servant he had nothing except his great faith. He firmly believed in Jesus power to heal and he used his great faith to convince Jesus to cure his servant.
Who is this centurion? He is a roman officer and he has people under his command, he also is not a follower yet he has great faith in Jesus. Don’t we want this kind of faith as well? Of course, we all want our faith to be like the centurions. Therefore, we must prayerfully ask Jesus to give us the same faith. But do we ask Jesus to give us the gift of faith? Is the gift of faith always part of our prayer request to Jesus?
If Jesus could give that great faith to a non-follower like the centurion why can’t He give us the same faith considering that we are his followers? Faith is a gift that Jesus freely and generously gives to anyone who humbly ask for it.
What is our usual prayer to Jesus? Is it always to have the things of this world? Let us not forget that the things of this world are passing and temporary. While faith will not pass it will always be with us. Faith will be with us until the end, it will accompany us in our journey beyond this world going to the eternal Kingdom of the King of Kings no other than Jesus Himself.
Give us your gift of faith O Lord Jesus, most
especially the person who is reading this reflection right now. Amen. – Marino
J. Dasmarinas
Ako'y
nasa ilalim ng nakatataas na pinuno, at ako man ay may nasasakupang mga kawal.
Kung sabihin ko sa isa, 'Humayo ka!' siya'y humahayo; at sa iba, 'Halika!'
siya'y lumalapit; at sa aking alipin, 'Gawin mo ito!' at ginagawa niya."
Namangha si Jesus nang marinig ito, at sinabi niya sa mga taong sumusunod sa
kanya, "Sinasabi ko sa inyo, na hindi ako nakatagpo kahit sa Israel ng
ganito kalaking pananalig. Tandaan ninyo: marami ang darating buhat sa silangan
at kanluran at dudulog na kasalo nina Abraham, Isaac at Jacob sa kaharian ng
Langit."
They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What was going on at the time of Noah?
During the time of Noah Yahweh saw the wickedness of men that’s why He decided to destroy them. However, Noah was a blameless and righteous man and because of his righteousness he and a handful of his relatives and a few animals were saved by Yahweh.
From the time of Noah let as move fast forward to our present time. Is there still wickedness and evil today? The answer is a resounding yes! Evil and wickedness are still prevalent today, it’s actually everywhere. For example, the unfortunate human sufferings being experienced by the people of Ukraine brought about by Russia’s aggression. Another example, whether we admit it or not many of us also continue to harbor evil and wickedness in our hearts.
On this first Sunday of advent the Lord is calling us to leave behind our sinful lives. This is best exemplified by the call of Saint Paul to the Romans in our second reading, he tells us. “Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and lust, not in rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. (Romans 13:12-14 ).
This call of renewal is also echoed by the prophet Isaiah in our first reading. He called for all people to go to the mountain of the Lord and walk with the light of the Lord (Isaiah 2:3 ).
On this first Sunday of Advent we are also reminded about the uncertainty of life. That it may end anytime that’s why we must seriously hear God’s message for us to repent and walk away from our sins and embrace goodness, forgiveness and love. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Dumating ang baha di nila namalayan at tinangay silang lahat. Gayun din ang mangyayari sa pagdating ng Anak ng Tao. Sa panahong iyon, may dalawang lalaking gumagawa sa bukid kukunin ang isa at iiwan ang isa. May dalawang babaing magkasamang gumigiling; kukunin ang isa at iiwan ang isa.
Kaya magbantay kayo, sapagkat hindi ninyo alam kung anong araw paririto ang inyong Panginoon. Tandaan ninyo ito: kung alam lamang ng puno ng sambahayan kung anong oras ng gabi darating ang magnanakaw, siya’y magbabantay at hindi niya pababayaang pasukin ang kanyang bahay. Kaya maging handa kayong lagi, sapagkat darating ang Anak ng Tao sa oras na di ninyo inaasahan.”
Be vigilant at all times and pray that you
have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand
before the Son of Man."
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What will happen to us if we are so much busy with our worldly activities that we forget our intimacy with God? We become worldly beings that exist only for this temporal world thus we cutoff any contact with God in favor of this world.
This is dangerously happening now for example there are countries that prohibit the saying of prayers in schools. There are countries that proudly promote abortion and other anti-life measures. We must be watchful and try every possible way to counter this anti-life and anti-Christian policies and mindset espoused by the liberal minds of today.
Where would we start? We start inside our respective families, so we bring our children to Mass, we pray the Holy Rosary and worship God as a family. We teach them the basics of our faith; we teach them how to read the Bible. And we read to them the words of God in the bible and reflect on it as a family.
By doing so we would be deeply implanting
the roots of our faith in their young minds and they will imbibe it as they
grow. Therefore, they would be able to withstand whatever worldly tribulations
and temptation that may come their way. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Sapagkat
darating iyon ng di inaasahan ng tao sa buong daigdig. Kaya't maging handa kayo
sa lahat ng oras. Lagi ninyong idalangin na magkaroon kayo ng lakas upang
makaligtas sa lahat ng mangyayaring ito at makaharap sa Anak ng Tao."
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.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do you have an awareness of the kingdom of God in your life?
Many of us are only aware today of the kingdom of this world. Thus, we are very busy to earn for our own survival and self-gratification. We allow ourselves to be eaten by the rat race culture of this world. For example, in other countries where the presence of Jesus is almost non-existent in their people. Once they encounter major failures in their life some people don’t think twice of committing suicide.
Why is this so? Perhaps the reason behind this is they’ve already focused themselves on this world only. Every aspect of their life revolves around this world. There is no illumination of the presence of Jesus in their life. Here lies the danger of not having God in one’s life. It’s like always the end times whenever they encounter failures/problems in their life.
We are therefore very fortunate that we know Jesus because we always have this fortress of hope and protection where we can always hold on. Whatever personal problems that we may have and no matter how bleak the future may seem. We remain hopeful and this hope is always given to us by Jesus.
Let us therefore share the gift of Jesus
with our fellowmen let us not keep this to ourselves. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Gayun din naman, kapag nakita ninyong nangyayari na ang mga ito, malalaman ninyong malapit nang maghari ang Diyos. Tandaan ninyo: magaganap ang lahat ng ito bago mamatay ang lahat ng taong nabubuhay sa ngayon. Mawawala ang langit at ang lupa, ngunit ang salita ko’y hindi magkakabula”
Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon,
and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the
roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of
what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great
glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.”
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Reflection:
Are you afraid of the end of this world?
The talk of end times always sends shivers to many most especially to those who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus. This topic is something that they always want to avoid as much as possible. However, if God is in your heart; who can be against you? If God is with you nothing can distress you no matter how horrifying the signs of the times are.
For those who are losing hope; for those who continue to live in sin, for those who do not give space for God in their lives the end times is within their reach already. But there still hope for them. And this hope is given to them by Jesus; they simply have to allow Jesus to come into their lives.
For those who steadfastly believe in God, who faithfully follow His commands. Who continuously remain hopeful notwithstanding the discouraging signs of the times. Redemption from any fear is upon them already.
Why don’t we change our ways and why don’t we get closer to Jesus and invite Him to come into our lives? So that whatever happens to this world we’ll have neither worries nor fears for we know that we are always in God’s loving embrace.
Let us change our ways, let us listen to
the voice of God calling us all to repent through the Sacrament
Confession/Reconciliation. Let us always remember that the indifference of the
people of Jerusalem to Jesus resulted in their destruction. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
