1Reflection for Sunday October 19, Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time; Matthew 22:15-21

Gospel: Matthew 22:15-21

The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech. They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion, for you do not regard a person's status. Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?" Knowing their malice, Jesus said, "Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that pays the census tax." Then they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?" They replied, "Caesar's." At that he said to them, "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."

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Reflection:

Can we think of anything that we have given back to God? Perhaps we will pause and think about what we have given back God for all the blessings that He has been giving us all these years. After pausing maybe we still cannot think of anything that we have given God and the reason for this is maybe we have not given back God yet.

Every blessing that we have comes from God although we may think that what we have now came from our own hard work. But the truth is every blessing that we have God has generously given us including our very life now.

In our gospel for today Jesus tells us give to Caesar what belongs to him and give to God what belongs to God (Matthew 22:21). In modern language this means that we give what belongs to the government by way of paying the right taxes and other duties that the government has a rightful claim.

What then can we give God? We give God something special that comes from our hearts. Where is God then so that we could give back to Him? God is not hard to find, we simply have to look around us and we will see God. For God is with the poor, the hungry, the sick, the abandoned and anybody who needs our help, God is with them. Let us give generously to them so that we could give back to God.

In the gospel of Matthew somebody asked the king: Lord when did we see you hungry and give you food; thirsty and give you drink, or a stranger and welcome you or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to see you? The king answered, truly I say to you: whenever you did this to one of the least you did it to me (Matthew 25:37-40).    

Have we already done something for God? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Saturday October 18, Feast of Saint Luke, Evangelist; Luke 10:1-9

Gospel: Luke 10:1-9

The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’”

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Reflection:

How could we become effective bearers of the teachings of Jesus? We should live simply, we should lean on Jesus in everyday of our lives. This doesn’t mean that we just lay idle and wait for the bread from heaven to come to us. This means that we still have to work but at the same time we will not let our work control us we would rather let the values of Jesus take control of us while we work.   

Is it still possible to live simply today where the culture of greed and accumulation rules? Of course it’s still very much possible it’s actually upon our hands on how we would live in this world. If we would let the culture of greed and accumulation rule us or we would let the simple lifestyle of Jesus rule us.

 It’s all in our hands because Jesus gave us the freedom of choice. But it would be prudent to follow the desire of Jesus for us none other than to live our lives simply and to depend on Him at all times and not depend on us or anyone.  

When Jesus sent the seventy-two disciples to their mission He advocated total dependence on Him which translates to simple living. Why? Because it’s only through this that they could become effective bearers of the good news of Jesus.  

How are you living your life today? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Friday October 17, St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr; Luke 12:1-7

Gospel: Luke 12:1-7

(At that time) So many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot. Jesus began to speak, first to his disciples, “Beware of the leaven–that is, the hypocrisy–of the Pharisees.

“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops. I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more. I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one. Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.”

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Reflection:

To whom do we entrust our lives in this world?  Do we entrust it to Jesus or we always entrust it to ourselves? If we say that we are in control of our lives this simply means that we take the driver seat and let Jesus take the passenger seat. However, when we take the driver seat we also open ourselves to many worrying circumstances that would continuously disturb us for as long as we live.

In our gospel Jesus tells us that He knows everything about us; our deepest fears and worries. Even the number of our hairs He knows how many, then He assures us not to be afraid for we are worth more than many sparrows (Luke 12:7).

When we let Jesus take the driver seat of our lives we will have no more fear of anything that may befall us; even death we will not fear anymore. For this is one of the countless blessings that we would receive from Jesus once we let Him take the driver seat of our lives.

There may come a time that we will hit a wall and everything in our lives will come to a halt. And we will begin to ask ourselves: Where am I going and what is the purpose of my life in this world? This would come because we are always at the driver seat in full control of our lives this world.

Why not let Jesus take the driver seat and we stay at the passenger seat? - Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for Thursday October 16, Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 11:47-54

Gospel: Luke 11:47-54

(Jesus said) “Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets whom your fathers killed. Consequently, you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of your ancestors, for they killed them and you do the building. Therefore, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute’ in order that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who died between the altar and the temple building. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood! Woe to you, scholars of the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.” When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees began to act with hostility toward him and to interrogate him about many things, for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.

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Reflection:

Why were the prophets killed? For example John the Baptist, why was he killed? Because he courageously spoke about the truth no matter who gets hurt! During that time John was enjoying a respectable status until he denounced the immorality of King Herod.

Therefore from respectability John was scorned, imprisoned and eventually beheaded. What a frightening end for a prophet of God but this is the role of the prophet: To speak about the truth no matter who gets hurt! Because in speaking about the truth we change lives, we correct errant behaviors and we create awareness that evil deeds will not get away unnoticed.   

We too could become a prophet when we are not afraid to speak about the truth no matter who gets hurt. When we present Jesus not only as a miracle worker and a God of prosperity. For example, we also present Jesus as someone who would invite us to carry our burdens and our life’s trials.

It’s so tempting to always package Jesus as a God of miracles, abundance and prosperity. But this is not the totality of Jesus because Jesus also went through sacrifices and trials without which there would have been no triumph over the cross and there would have been no salvation.

 What would happen to a follower when he/she encounters trials if he/she only know Jesus as a God of prosperity?  He may not know how to deal with his trials and the worst case scenario is he/she may even blame Jesus for his/her trials.

We should therefore not forget to also present Jesus as someone who will bring us trials and hardship. This is for the reason that it is only through our trials that we get to have a deeper intimacy with Him.  

Are you going through hardship and trials right now? It has a purpose, none other than for you to be aware of the abiding presence of Jesus in your life. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Wednesday October 15, St.Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor; Luke 11:42-46

Gospel: Luke 11:42-46

(Jesus said) “Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others. Woe to you Pharisees! You love the seat of honor in synagogues and greetings in marketplaces. Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.”

Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply, “Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.” And he said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law! You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.”

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Reflection:

Where does this anger of Jesus toward the Pharisees and the scholars of the law comes from? It originates from their hypocrisy, they are only good at creating laws for their people to follow yet they don’t follow it themselves.

They make their self-created laws as an instrument to beguile and eventually enslave their people. Therefore, instead of introducing God to their people they eventually introduce themselves as Gods to their people.

Their style of leadership is leadership by deception and many of our Politicians has this kind of leadership. They pretend and project themselves to be leaders of the poor/masses and their   only hope to conquer poverty. But they have the stomach to corrupt the money that is for the poor, how could they do this to the masses that they are supposed to truthfully serve?    

Politicians are not alone in this kind of pharisaic mentality we too are often times guilty of this mentality. We tell others or even our children not to do this and that yet when nobody is watching anymore we are the main violators of the rules that we create.

The truth hurts but this is the truth we have to accept this and hopefully make this as our springboard to live our lives according to the teachings of Jesus and not according to the false and self-serving teachings of the Pharisees and the scholars of the law. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Tuesday October 14, Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 11:37-41

Gospel: Luke 11:37-41

After Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.”

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Reflection:

Was the Pharisee who invited Jesus to dine in his house a fan of Jesus?  Yes he was a fan for he liked the wisdom and eloquence of Jesus that’s why he invited Jesus to dine in his home. Everything was going smoothly between the teacher and His fan until Jesus did not wash His hands before eating.  

Did Jesus purposely skip washing His hands so that His fan would see Him doing it? Yes, yet there was a much deeper reason why he did not wash His hands. Jesus wanted His fan (The Pharisee) to realize that there is something more profound than mere external observance of the Jewish law.    

For Jesus it’s always what’s inside our hearts! Never mind those things that are visible to the naked eye for the reason that what is seen will eventually pass and be forgotten. But what is in our hearts will never be forgotten; for example the acts kindness and love that we do to our fellowmen.

For instance, we forever remember the acts of kindness and love that has been given or done to us. But we don’t anymore remember the external appearance (What clothes he/she was wearing and so forth) of the person who did these acts of kindness and love to us.

Jesus is always biased with acts of kindness and love, for these are the spirit and backbone of His teachings. Jesus never taught us to always be concerned with our external reputation and the many other external aspect of our lives. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Monday October 13, Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time; Luke 11:29-32

Gospel: Luke 11:29-32

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,so will the Son of Man be to this generation. At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.”

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Reflection:

How would we react when somebody tells us to mend our ways and repent from all of our sinfulness? Don’t we sometimes feel insulted and antagonized? We feel insulted and antagonized because the call for us to mend our ways is prophetic and true.

We get angry when others tell us to repent and walk away from all of our sinfulness but why get angry when they are telling the truth? Why get angry when those who are telling us to mend our ways are only concerned for our own wellbeing?  

It happened to Jesus, He called for repentance among those who listened to Him and to those who heard His provocative statements but it only fell on deaf ears. Very few listened to Jesus among the high and mighty because they loved sin more than the wise counsel of Jesus.   

Isn’t this happening to us today? Many of us love to sin more than listen to Jesus. This is the paradox of our high-technology driven time today. Many of us today listen more to our high-tech gadgets than listen to Jesus by reading His words. Many of us have more time with our earthy undertakings than have our important quite time with Jesus. What will happen to us if we are like this?

Let us listen more to Jesus and let us listen to His call of repentance. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday October 12, Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time; Matthew 22:1-14

Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14

Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’ Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, 'The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’ The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to meet the guests, he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. The king said to him, 'My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?' But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ Many are invited, but few are chosen."

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Reflection:

What are we going to do if say for example a neighbor would invite us to go to church for Holy  Mass? Should we accept it or not?  It would be easy to accept the invitation for those who grew attending Holy Mass. But it would also be hard to accept the invitation if those who are being invited are not regular Sunday Mass goers. We would use or even create every available means to avoid going there. 

But what are we missing when we refuse the invitation of the Lord to be present at Holy Mass? We miss being in heaven for an hour while we are still here on earth. We miss to attend the holiest and blessings filled gathering of people.    

In our gospel, those who were invited refused the invitation of the king to attend the wedding feast of his son. For they all have their own preoccupations and priorities, but come to think of it; what is one hour for the wedding feast?  What is one hour for our attendance at Holy Mass compared to seven days or 168 hours that we give to our personal lives in a week? 

Jesus in the gospel invites us to go to Holy Mass, He doesn’t care about who we are: How sinful we are, how poor or rich we are. What the good Lord only cares is our willingness to be with Him at Holy Mass so that He could spiritually bless our empty and barren lives.

If our focus is always with our personal and worldly activities we will end-up with nothing eventually. What is with all of these worldly activities when all of these are not permanent and lasting? When all of these we will leave behind when we eventually die! Many of these worldly undertakings that we prioritize over our worship for Jesus could even result to the disintegration of our family/families. Or could even result to our getting sick!  

What would it benefit us if we gain all the material riches of this world yet we don’t have Jesus in our lives? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Repleksyon para sa Oktubre 12, Ika-28 na Linggo sa Karaniwang Panahon; Mateo 22:1-14

Mabuting Balita: Mateo 22:1-14

1 Muling nagsalita si Jesus sa pamamagitan ng mga talinhaga: 2 “Tungkol sa nangyayari sa kaha¬rian ng Langit ang kuwentong ito: May isang haring naghanda sa kasal ng kanyang anak na lalaki. 3 Ipinatawag niya  sa mga katulong ang mga imbi¬tado sa kasalan ngunit ayaw nilang dumalo. 4 Muli niyang pinapunta ang iba pang mga katulong para sabihin sa mga inanyayahan sa kasalan: ‘Nag¬handa ako ng pagkain, nagpatay ng mga toro at mga pinatabang hayop; handa na ang lahat kaya pumarito na kayo sa kasalan.’ 5 Ngunit hindi nila pinansin ang paanyaya, sa halip ay may  pu¬munta sa kanyang taniman, at sa kanyang negos¬yo naman ang isa pa. 6 Sinunggaban naman ng iba pa ang mga katulong ng hari, nilibak at pinatay. 7 Lubhang nagalit ang hari kayat ipi¬na¬dala niya ang kanyang hukbo para puksain ang mga mamamatay-tao at sunugin ang lunsod. 8 At sinabi niya sa kanyang mga katulong: ‘Handa na ang kasalan ngunit hindi karapat-dapat ang mga inanyayahan. 9 Pumunta kayo nga¬yon sa dulo ng lunsod at anya¬yahan sa kasalan ang bawat ma¬kita ninyo.’ 10 Kaya agad na lumabas sa mga daan ang mga katulong at tinipon ang lahat ng makita, masama at mabuti, at napuno ang kasalan ng mga nasa hapag. 11 Pagkatapos ay dumating ang hari para tingnan kung sino ang mga nasa hapag at napansin niya ang isang lala¬king hindi nakadamit-pam¬piyesta. 12 Kaya sinabi niya sa kanya: ‘Kai¬bigan, paano ka nakapasok nang walang damit pangkasal?’ Ngunit hindi umimik ang tao. 13 Kaya sinabi ng hari sa kanyang mga katulong: ‘Igapos ang kanyang mga kamay at paa, at itapon sa dilim, kung saan may iyakan at pagngangalit ng mga ngipin.’

14 Marami ngang talaga ang tinawag pero kaunti ang pinili.”

Reflection for Saturday October 11, Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 11:27-28

Gospel: Luke 11:27-28

While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

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Reflection:

Who was the woman who said to Jesus, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed (Luke 11:27).” She obviously was so enthralled by the words and works of Jesus that she pointed to the Blessed Mother and gave her honor as the foundation of Jesus.

Do we give the same honor and reverence for the Blessed Mother? Some Christian faiths don’t honor the Blessed Mother as much as we honor her. But why cannot we honor the earthly mother of Jesus? Without the Blessed Mother Jesus would have not been born and we would have no savior.      

But thanks to the humility of the Blessed Mother Jesus was born into this world. She humbly accepted her sacred mission as the mother of Jesus when she said, I am the handmaid of the Lord let it be done to me according to your word (Luke 1:38).

This gospel is an invitation for all of us to give more honor and reverence to the Blessed Mother by asking her to always pray for us. This also reminds us of the role of our own mothers in our lives. The countless sacrifices that they carried on their shoulders so that they could rear us with honor and dignity.   

Do you always remember to ask the Blessed Mother to pray for you and to bring your prayers to Jesus? Do you pray the Holy Rosary even for only once a week? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Friday October 10, Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 11:15-26

Gospel: Luke 11:15-26

When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said: “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?

For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

“When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’ But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.”

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Reflection:

There was an advertisement on TV that has a catchy line that goes like this: Our products are everywhere. Could we also say this to the devil, that he and his minions are everywhere today? Yes, the sad reality is the devil and his minions are prevalent today more than ever. They are everywhere literally disguised in so many attractive ways that we could not identify who they are and where they reside.

We may not know this but some of these evils reside within us, this is the reason why from time to time evil thoughts suddenly pops in our minds. Should we worry about this? Of course, for the reason that this shows our lack of faith and interactions with Jesus.

Evil thrives within us when Jesus is absent within us, when we shabbily treat Him and when our faith in Jesus is weak. Therefore when we have weak faith we also give the devil an opportunity to cast his evil magic spell upon us.

Our gospel for this Friday tells us that Jesus is far more powerful than the devil, that Jesus could demolish the devil anytime He wants. But Jesus needs also our cooperation because He also gave us the freewill to decide for ourselves. If we are going to embrace Him and let Him come into our lives or we continue to allow the devil to gain control of our lives. Do you allow the devil to once in a while take control of you? 

 Be wary of the devil, defeat him with your rock solid faith in Jesus. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

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