Reflection for Thursday October 9, Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 11:5-13

Gospel: Luke 11:5-13

Jesus said to his disciples: “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him, and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.

And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

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Reflection:

How persistent are we in our prayer? For example if we have a prayer before Jesus do we pray until our prayer is answered by Jesus? Or we easily give-up because we feel the Jesus doesn’t hear our prayer? The best attitude to have when we pray is not to give-up because giving-up is a sign of our lack of faith.

The foundation of every prayer is faith for without faith there is no successful prayer. For example, if we pray for healing for our sickness or we pray for something that we badly want we must therefore pray unceasingly with faith.

In our gospel there is this persistent fellow, who during the dead of night went to the house of his friend to ask for bread for his visitor. What moved this fellow to go to his friend to ask for bread even at midnight? It was faith! The fellow had faith that his friend would never fail him.  

Jesus in our gospel tells us: Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened (Luke 11:9-10).

Do you have a prayer before Jesus? Never give-up continue instead to badger Him with your prayer with faith. Prayer that comes from the depths of your heart and soul. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Wednesday October 8, Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 11:1-4

Gospel: Luke 11:1-4

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.”

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Reflection:

Have we asked Jesus to teach us to pray? This is one of the most powerful petitions that we could ever ask Jesus; to teach us how to pray. But do we pray regularly? When we pray we connect with Jesus and when we pray we allow Jesus to come to us and strengthen us.

Let us observe our feelings before and after praying, isn’t it that we feel good after we’ve prayed? The feelings of a person is different before and after prayer. Why is this so? This is the miracle of our prayer to Jesus, it heals us body and soul; it makes us accept the things that is hard for us to accept and it opens our body and soul to infinite graces from God.

Starting today let us begin our prayer with this humble petition for Jesus: Lord teach us to pray and then we solemnly recite the prayer (The Our Father) that Jesus taught us to pray. After praying the Our Father let us stay and speak to Jesus through our minds. And before ending our prayers let us also ask the Blessed Mother and our favorite saint/s to pray for us.

If exercise is for our bodies, our prayers are for our souls for it makes us have an active and healthy relationship with Jesus. Therefore the more we pray the more that we make healthy our souls and the more we pray the less worries we would have.

Prayer:

Lord teach us to pray, teach us how to properly pray the prayer that you’ve taught us.  Give us the grace of the Holy Spirit so that we could connect with you in our prayers. Give us the gift of spontaneous prayer dear Lord and give us the grace of focus and concentration when we pray. For there are times that our prayers comes only from our mouths and not from our hearts. Teach us how to pray O Lord. Amen. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Tuesday October 7 Our Lady of the Rosary; Luke 10:38-42

Gospel: Luke 10:38-42

In the course of their journey Jesus came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.

She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord's feet and listened to him speaking. Now Martha, who was distracted with all the serving, came to him and said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me. But the Lord answered, 'Martha, Martha,' he said, 'you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, and it is not to be taken from her.'

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Reflection:

Today is the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary this is in honor of the 16th century naval victory in Europe against the Turkish invasion. Pope St. Pius V attributed the victory to the intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was said that the ship’s crew in the battle field implored the intercession of the Blessed Mother by praying the Holy Rosary before the battle  occurred.

What are we going to do if we visit a house of a friend and we get the same treatment that Jesus received from Martha and Mary? Who are we going to favor Martha or Mary? It actually depend upon us who are we going to favor. But Jesus obviously preferred the action of Mary who sat down at the feet of Jesus and faithfully listened to Him.

What did Martha do that it did not get the merit of Jesus? Martha was busy preparing food for Jesus, why did Jesus did not favor her when what she was doing was for His honor also? Jesus is a preacher and being a preacher he wants people to listen to Him so that He could impart His wisdom. This was perhaps the reason why Jesus preferred the reverent action of Mary.

What happens to us when we listen to Jesus and when we meditate on His words? We gain wisdom from Jesus himself and we are enlightened by Him no less. But do we still have time to listen to Jesus? Are we not very busy with our many worldly undertakings?

 Some of us may say that we have to move and be busy because we have to earn and eat otherwise we’ll get hungry. Yes this is true, but what will happen to us if we are all work? If we have no more time for Jesus or if Jesus is just a minuscule entity in our lives? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for Sunday October 5, Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time; Matthew 21:33-43

Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: "Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’ They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?" They answered him, "He will put those wret-ched men to a wret-ched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times." Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes? Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit."

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Reflection:

In what instance/s in our lives does Jesus knocks in our hearts? It’s when He wants to get closer to us, Jesus does this to us in so many ways. For example through a friend who may want to share the words of Jesus to us. It may be through a written commentary about life and our faith in Jesus that may deeply awaken us. It may be through important events in our lives such as sickness even problems.

Some of us may listen to this knocks of Jesus and we open our hearts to Him and change our lives for the better. But many of us may not listen and may not even give careful reflection about this. Thus, we move-on with our lives as if nothing significant has happened to us. We continue to distance ourselves from Jesus or we continue to treat Jesus like a medicine that we only take when we are in need.

In our gospel for this Sunday Jesus gives us the Parable of the tenants. The tenants were allowed by the landlord to take care of his vineyard. When it was harvest time already of course the landlord was realistically asking for his share because the land was his property. 

So the landlord sent two batches of servants but the tenants greedily refused the demand of the landlord by killing some of the servants that he sent them. Finally the landlord sent his only son thinking that the tenants would now listen to him but they killed him as well.

The greedy tenants in the gospel are the chief priest and the elders, the landlord is God. The servants that God sent were the prophets and the only son is Jesus whom they have killed as well. The reason they did this to the prophets and Jesus is they disliked their call of renewal and repentance.

In some ways we also take the role of the greedy tenants because we continue to greedily love this world more than Jesus. Many of us may have already fell in love with what this world offers us that we refuse Jesus' demand of repentance. We continue to refuse to listen to His voice that asks us that we let go of all of our sinfulness.

Nevertheless, Jesus is still persistently knocking on the door of our hearts. Patiently waiting for us to open it so that He could come-in, defeat all our sins and take control of our lives. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Saturday October 4, Saint Francis of Assisi; Luke 10:17-24

Gospel: Luke 10:17-24

The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. 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.”

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Reflection:

What does Jesus require from us so that we could know Him deeply? Childlike trust and confidence in Him, we will not know Jesus if we rely on ourselves no matter how educated we are.

No matter the volumes of books that we have read about Jesus and our faith and no matter how many degrees we have finished about our faith. It would still not be enough because we have no childlike trust in Him.

When we have childlike trust before Jesus this simply means that we rely on Him and not on ourselves. And we entrust our lives in Him and not entrust it in our hands. When we begin to trust Jesus, He also begins to open and equip our minds with knowledge that is not available to those who do not trust Him no matter how intelligent they may be.

The seventy-two disciples came back from their very fruitful mission of spreading the good news about Jesus because they had childlike trust in Jesus. And therefore the power of Jesus reigned on them.

Let us take the risk of having a childlike trust in Jesus for this is a risk worth taking. - Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Friday October 3, Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 10:13-16

Gospel: Luke 10:13-16

Jesus said to them, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, ‘Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.’ Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

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Reflection:

Why is Jesus angry with the people of Chozarin and Bethsaida? Because they did not hear His call of repentance, they refused His offer of love and renewal for them.

It’s sometimes puzzling why we refuse to heed this call of Jesus when we have nothing to lose but everything to gain. For example, if we are living in sin right now and we decide to hear this call for renewal of Jesus. A big burden would be taken off from us but so many of us still refuse to walk away from sin, why?

 What does sin offer us that we can’t walk away from it? Does sin offer us heaven? Does sin offer us a quiet and contentment filled life? Why do many of us cling to sin when it doesn’t offer us anything good?    

Let us all have a fresh start in our lives by refusing to commit any form of sin even for a few days or even a week. And we compare our lives previously lived in sin and a life lived already lived with the guiding light of Jesus. We surely would love this new life with Jesus than the old life with the   burden of sin. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Thursday October 2, The Holy Guardian Angels; Matthew 18:1-5, 10

Gospel: Matthew 18:1-5, 10

The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”

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Reflection:

Why did the disciples asked Jesus about who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Were they expecting that Jesus would tell them that they would be one of the greatest in the kingdom of heaven because they are close to Him? From all indication this question of the disciples was asked to serve their own egos and Jesus knew about this.

 Therefore to straighten out things and to tell the disciples that self-seeking individuals will not be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus told the disciples; “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3-4).

The Kingdom of Heaven is reserved for the humble only for we cannot ascend heaven by our own effort. And we cannot ascend heaven without dependence on the good Lord. Therefore children are not only perfect models of humility they are also perfect examples for their reliance on their parents.  Could children exist by themselves? No they could not exist by themselves they need their parents to be with them to survive.

In like manner the disciples did not rely on themselves they humbly relied on God rather than in themselves. This was perhaps one of the salient point of Jesus when He called the child to their midst (Matthew 18:2).

This also applies to all of us, we cannot rely on our riches (If ever we have riches) no matter how presently rich we are. We cannot rely on our power as well no matter how presently powerful we are for all of these are creation of this world that could evaporate from our hands anytime. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Wednesday October 1, Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church; Luke 9:57-62

Gospel: Luke 9:57-62

As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” And to another he said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.” And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” Jesus answered him, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”

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Reflection:

What does it require to follow Jesus? It requires us to leave everything behind that could hamper our faithful and enduring discipleship. Is it not possible to follow Jesus and then remain attached to the things that we used to have? No, it’s never possible to follow and remain with what we used to have.

Can we follow and at the same time continue to sin? Can we follow and at the same time be attached with material things? Can we follow yet still love the lifestyle of this world? No we can’t, when we decide to follow Jesus this simply means that we are ready to leave everything behind us most especially our own sinfulness for the sake of our discipleship for Jesus.

To follow Jesus is initially difficult no question about it for it requires a radical change of our lifestyles! But fear not to follow because as we decide we will learn also to depend not on ourselves but on Jesus alone.  We will have the enlightenment to bring and trust our everything  including our very lives to Jesus. It’s like you have somebody who is always there for you when you decide to follow Him.

What if we are very much sinful? Would Jesus still call us to follow Him? Yes absolutely, the more sinful we are the more that Jesus calls us to follow Him. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Tuesday September 30, Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church; Luke 9:51-56

Gospel: Luke 9:51-56

When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.

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Reflection:

Why did Jesus decided to enter a Samaritan village when He knew that He would not be welcomed there? He could just have passed by and not went there, He could have chosen another way to avoid passing through the Samaritan territory. But He chose to go to a place where He was not welcome.   

This we attribute with the deep desire of Jesus to build friendship and to reach-out even to those who are hostile to Him. The Samaritans knew that Jesus was a Jew going to Jerusalem an area that the Samaritans dislike.

What does Jesus teach us in this gospel episode? We need to reach-out also even to those who are not welcoming of us. We need to do this so that we could offer the olive branch of peace and friendship to them. If they would not accept our offer it’s up to them what is important is we do what we have to do as followers of Jesus.

It’s not easy to offer peace and friendship to those who do not want our friendship. And it’s not easy to humble ourselves before others most especially before those who dislike us. But this is the way of Jesus, Her did not only made Himself available to those who like Him. He also offered Himself even to those who despised Him.

Are we willing to offer the olive branch of peace and friendship to those who dislike us? Are we willing to reach out and humble ourselves before them? – Marino J. Dasmarinas      

Reflection for Monday September 29, Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels; John 1:47-51

Gospel: John 1:47-51

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

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Reflection:

Do you believe in angels? In the bible there are many passages that tell us of the reality of angels. For example Hebrews 1:13-14 tells us; 13 God never said to any of his angels: Sit here at my right side until I put your enemies as a footstool under your feet. 14 For all these spirits are only servants, and God sends them to help those who shall be saved. Psalm 91:11 tells us this as well; 11 For he will command his angels to guard you in all your ways.

 Angels are real and God sends them to us to direct our ways toward Him. But many of us refuse to listen to the voice of angels we instead listen to what this world dictates upon us. Notice for example the aggressive advertising being employed by companies to announce their new product/s. These advertisers dictate upon us to buy their new hi-tech gadget/s and so forth. But come to think about it, do we really need it? Often times we don’t actually need it we simply listen to the aggressive advertisement.

We must be careful because this is the reality of our world right now. This world uses many devious methods for us to be enslaved by it. Let us not be discouraged nonetheless because God sends us His angels to point our ways to Him and to let us know that the infinite love of God is always there for us.

In hindsight, is it also possible for us to become an angel to somebody in need of spiritual direction? To somebody in need of encouragement, motivation or even material help? Yes it is very much possible that we could become God’s living and walking angel in this world today!

Do you want to become an angel of God? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday September 28, Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Matthew 21:28-32

Gospel: Matthew 21:28-32

Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people: "What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' He said in reply, 'I will not, ' but afterwards changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, 'Yes, sir, ‘but did not go. Which of the two did his father's will?" They answered, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him."

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Reflection:

What do we do when we hear the voice of God calling us to walk away from all of our sinfulness? Do we simply hear without acting on it? Or we hear and then we act and live our life once again worthy in the eyes of God. Many of us might be dismissive of this call of God to repentance, we might simply brush it aside and dismiss it as nothing or insignificant to our lives in this world.

But God did not only create us for this world alone there is something higher that lies beyond this world. There is something that follows after our existence in this world; and this is no other than heaven.

In our gospel for this Sunday there is this son who was asked by his father to work in his vineyard (Matthew 21:28). The son initially said that he will not go to his father’s vineyard but upon pondering about the order of his father. The son had a change of heart and went to the vineyard to work there (Matthew 21:29).   

God in our readings and our gospel for this Sunday is inviting us to have a conversion. We who are all sinners are being encouraged by God to have a change of heart so that we could walk away from our sinfulness.  Let us not worry if for so many times we said no to His offer of conversion. For He will not count the many times that we refused Him what is important for the Lord is the here and now and our yes to Him!

Are we all not tired yet of committing sin? Are we not tired yet of a noisy life, life without peace and serenity? The reality is sin has not brought us anything good except more problems and disturbance in our lives. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Saturday September 27, Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest; Luke 9:43b-45

Gospel: Luke 9:43b-45

While they were all amazed at his every deed, Jesus said to his disciples, “Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

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Reflection:

We can’t help but wonder why the disciples were afraid to ask Jesus to elaborate His meaningful statement that He is going to be handed over to men. Did they sense that something disturbing is going to happen to Jesus soon? Were they afraid to hear something that would deal with suffering and the cross? Or the disciples were simply used to the image of Jesus as a miracle worker and healer.

Is it only for His miracles and healings that we follow Jesus? Perhaps yes, many of us are only after Jesus the miracle worker and Jesus the healer. But if we are only after His miracles and healings then this is not true discipleship.

True discipleship happen to us when we are also ready to suffer for Jesus and when we are also ready to carry our own cross for Jesus. We cannot separate Jesus from suffering because He himself brutally suffered. Thus we cannot also separate ourselves from suffering/s if we truly follow Jesus.

Nevertheless, let us not be afraid to suffer for our discipleship for Jesus because our suffering for Jesus will not be in vain. There is always something glorious after carrying our own cross for Jesus. We may not know it immediately but there surely will be glory after we endure our cross for the sake of Jesus. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Friday September 26, Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 9:18-22

Gospel: Luke 9:18-22

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.” He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.

He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

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Reflection:

If Jesus would ask us, who am I to you? How would we answer Him? Would we answer based on what we know about Jesus or we answer Him in a much profound manner like you are my Lord and my God and I feel your abiding presence in my life everyday.

We must not limit our knowledge about Jesus to what we read or up to what only our minds would feed us. We must dive deeper than that in such a way that Jesus is already part and parcel of our daily lives. This only means that we read and live His teachings.

We become more productive followers of Jesus if we read and live His teachings because this would open us to a much deeper intimacy with Him. If we only read or hear and we don’t live His teachings our discipleship is lacking in substance.

We have to know Jesus and then we have to live Jesus these two (Know and live Jesus) must always go together. For it will help us endure the many trials/even sufferings that we would be facing as we exist in this world.  

Do you live the teachings of Jesus? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Thursday September 25, Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 9:7-9

Gospel: Luke 9:7-9

Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying, “John has been raised from the dead”; others were saying, “Elijah has appeared”; still others, “One of the ancient prophets has arisen.” But Herod said, “John I beheaded. Who then is this about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see him.

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Reflection:

What happens to us when we do something wrong and immoral? We are perpetually bothered by our conscience; we are quick to conclude that some events in our life are related to the wrong that we have done. This disturbance in our minds would continue to bother us until such time that we reach a closure (Whatever that closure would be) on the wrong that we have done.    

Herod the tetrarch was very much bothered when news came to him about Jesus. Why? Because Herod killed an innocent man in John, King Herod was already being tortured by his conscience about the wrong that he had done to John. This is perhaps the reason why Herod said, “John I beheaded. Who then is this about whom I hear such things (Luke 9:9)?”

What is the cure so that we would not be bothered by our conscience and so that we would not lose sleep over something? Let us avoid doing wrong and immoral let us strive to be clean before God and our fellowmen. This is the only cure available for us so that we could avoid being tortured by our conscience. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Wednesday September 24, Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 9:1-6

Gospel: Luke 9:1-6

Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.” Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the Good News and curing diseases everywhere.

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Reflection:

How do you live in this world? Do you live with your trust and confidence in Jesus or you are living with your trust on yourself and in this world?

When Jesus sent the twelve apostles to their mission of evangelization He told them this: “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic (Luke 9:3). What does this very important statement of Jesus imply to the apostles? Jesus in essence was telling the apostles, rely on no one but me for I will provide for all of your needs!

Did they rely on Jesus? Yes of course except for Judas Iscariot who betrayed Him. The eleven of them relied on Jesus that’s why they were very successful in their mission of evangelization. Many of them even gave their lives for their mission and reliance for Jesus.

This is a good point of reflection for all of us as we continue our journey in this fleeting world. To whom do we rest our lives in this world? Do we rest it on Jesus or we rest it on this world and ourselves. Many of us continue to work so hard to accumulate temporal things. There are even some of us or many of us who even work during Sundays so that we could have what we want. In exchange for what, our worship for God at Holy Mass?

Reliance on material things of this world will bring us only to emptiness. Even if we accumulate all of the material things of this world we would still not be happy we would still have this very deep feeling of void. What if we rely on Jesus? Then we are already complete and we are the happiest and most contented person in this world.  For the simple reason that Jesus is more than enough than any material thing/s of this world.    

We cannot bring to the next life the worldly things that we rely on this world. But if we rely on Jesus if we rest our lives in Him this would assure us of eternal life in heaven with Jesus. 

To whom do you rely? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Tuesday September 23, Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest; Luke 8:19-21

Gospel: Luke 8:19-21

The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.” He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

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Reflection:

Who would not want to become a relative of Jesus? Of course we all want to become His relatives. But Jesus has one important requirement for all of us so that we could become His relatives: Hear His word/s and act on it (Luke 8:21).

Do we hear the word of God and act upon it? For example the commandment of Jesus to love our enemies and to do good to those who hurt us (Matthew 5:44). Do we love our enemies and do good to them?  Or we immediately follow our natural instinct not to love those who don’t love us and hurt those who hurt us.

But what would happen if we follow our selfish human instinct? There would be more hatred and hurt, more walls than bridges. Mahatma Gandhi once said: An Eye for an eye would only make the whole world blind.

It’s not easy to become a relative of Jesus if we put so much value to ourselves. If we look at ourselves so highly and we immediately despise those who’ve hurt and disrespected us. But Jesus himself has forgiven those who’ve hurt, persecuted and killed Him.   

Though it’s difficult to become a relative of Jesus for it requires humility and forgetting of ourselves. Nevertheless we must aspire to become a relative of Jesus and not aspire to become a lover of our egos and high sense of ourselves – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Monday September 22, Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 8:16-18

Gospel: Luke 8:16-18

Jesus said to the crowd: No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care, then, how you hear. To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away.”

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Reflection:

What is our mandate as baptized followers of Jesus? It’s to share in the ministry of evangelization of Jesus, this means that whatever we know about our catholic faith we must learn to share. So that our faith would continue to grow and prosper and in the process we save more lives and we give spiritual direction and substance to others lives.

In the midst of this world darkened by sin we should be like the lighted lamp that is placed on a lampstand that Jesus mentions in our gospel for today. We light this darkened world with the teaching of Jesus we light this darkened world by living our lives the way Jesus wants us to live it.

Just imagine a family that does not talk about Jesus. This means that they do not know Jesus and it’s safe to assume that the same family does not go to church or seldom goes to church for Holy Mass. What will happen to this kind of family? This is where the critical role of parents comes-in as bearers of the light of Jesus.

As much as possible parents must take advantage of the docility of their children  by giving and teaching them Jesus. Just imagine the life a child being lighted by Jesus as he/she grows. This means that this child is brought to Holy Mass by his/her parents. This means that the same child is introduce to Jesus by His life in the bible. And this means that this child is being lighted by the teachings of Jesus and the church. 

This kind of child will never go wrong as he/she grows-up.  This kind of family will have no fear as it journeys through life because the light of Jesus is with them.

Do you still share the light of Jesus to the internet savvy children of today? Is the lamp of Jesus always aflame in your family? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday September 21, Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time; Matthew 20:1-16

Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16

(Jesus told his disciples this parable) 1 The kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He made an agreement with the workers for one denarius a day and sent them to his vineyard. 3 Going out at about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place 4 and said to them, "You go to my vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage." 5 So they went. At about the sixth hour and again at about the ninth hour, he went out and did the same. 6 Then at about the eleventh hour he went out and found more men standing around, and he said to them, "Why have you been standing here idle all day?" 7 "Because no one has hired us," they answered. He said to them, "You go into my vineyard too."

8 In the evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his bailiff, "Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first." 9 So those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came forward and received one denarius each. 10 When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each. 11 They took it, but grumbled at the landowner saying, 12 "The men who came last have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day's work in all the heat." 13 He answered one of them and said, "My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius? 14 Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the lastcomer as much as I pay you. 15 Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why should you be envious because I am generous?"  16 Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.'

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Reflection:

Can we measure the breadth and width of God’s love for us? No, because God’s love for us is not bound by any form of measurement. God loves us infinitely no matter who we are and no matter the sins that we have committed.

The landowner in our gospel which represents God solicitously invited in so many instances workers to work in His vineyard. He did not care about the time that they present themselves for work what was important for God was they respond to His invitation to work for Him in His vineyard.

The love of God for us is so immense that He wants us to go to Him irrespective of who we are. He continuously invites us to a new life with Him. We are precious to God we are dearly loved by God that’s why His invitation is always there for us, it’s ours to take anytime!

Many of us may say that we are not anymore worthy of this immense love of God because of our sinfulness. No, the more sinful we are the more that we become worthy of this great love of God. We must therefore respond to this invitation of God for us to go to His vineyard so that we could renew our lives and walk away from all of our sinfulness.

Will you respond to this invitation of God? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Saturday September 20, Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs; Luke 8:4-15

Gospel: Luke 8:4-15

4 When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to him, he spoke in a parable. 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up. 6 Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture. 7 Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold.” After saying this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.

9 Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. 10 He answered, “Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that ‘they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.’ 11 “This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. 12 Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of trial. 14 As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. 15 But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.

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Reflection:

How do you receive the word of God that you read and hear? For example when you read the words of Jesus in  the bible, do you reflect upon it, discern it and then share it? Or you just read it and then it ends there nothing eventful with your reading of the words of God. 

How do you react when you hear the words of God proclaimed during Holy Mass? Do you allow yourself to be moved by it? That it immediately stirs you to do good and live your faith so that you could make a positive Impact on the lives of your fellowmen.

Jesus words is the seeds that He plants in our hearts and Jesus expectation is always for us to be fruit bearing followers. Where others could learn about Jesus and our faith from us. We must not allow ourselves to become followers in name only who simply absorb the words of God and do nothing. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Friday September 19, Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 8:1-3

Gospel: Luke 8:1-3

1 Afterward he (Jesus) journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve 2 and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.

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Reflection:

Have you already preached or even shared the good news about Jesus? The gospel for this Friday opens our eyes to the preaching ministry of Jesus. Have you shared Jesus? For example through your life, through actual preaching or sharing or even writing on the internet anything that deals about Jesus.

An active follower is not ashamed to share Jesus, he/she find ways and means to share the teachings of Jesus. Let us reflect on this for we may have not yet shared Jesus or yes we have already shared Jesus but we don’t actually live what we have shared or preached about Jesus.

Be not be afraid to share Jesus for by sharing Jesus you straighten crooked lives. By sharing Jesus you are able to give hope to the hopeless and by sharing Jesus you save lives. Jesus is alive and kicking up to this very moment for He dwells in your heart.

It is therefore incumbent upon you to share this living Jesus and to let others know how Jesus continuously creates miracles in your daily life. So that they would also be transformed by Jesus the same way that Jesus is continuously transforming you up to this very hour.

Have you already preached or even shared the good news about Jesus? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Thursday September 18, Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 7:36-50

Gospel: Luke 7:36-50

36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house, and took his place at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. 

39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of  woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner." 40 And Jesus answering said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he answered, "What is it, Teacher?" 41 "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he forgave them both. Now which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, to whom he forgave more." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly." 

44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet  my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.

 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little." 48 And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?" 50 And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

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Reflection:

What compelled the woman to wet the feet of Jesus with her tears? What compelled her to wipe Jesus feet with her hair and to kiss Jesus feet and anoint them with an ointment?

It was her sinfulness, she was already tired of living her life in sin that’s why when she learned that Jesus was in Simon’s house. She did everything to get near Him so that she could humbly honor Him with whatever humble gesture that she could offer Jesus.

Never did she thought that Jesus would condemn and judge her  she simply focused on her need to be forgiven. This is Jesus for all of us, a God who will never condemn our sinfulness no matter how serious. A God who will never judge us based on the sins that we have committed in the past.

What is important for Jesus is the here and now, never mind the past sins for as long as we have the humility to ask for forgiveness. Perhaps, the humble gesture that the woman did was her way of asking for forgiveness of her past sins. The woman spoke to Jesus through her heart, she spoke through her acts of humility. And Jesus heard the desire of her repentant heart.

What are you capable of doing to show Jesus that you’re repentant of your sins? - Marino J. Dasmarinas