Reflection for Monday January 5, St. John Neumann; Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25

Gospel: Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet  might be fulfilled:

Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.

From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people. His fame spread to all of Syria,

and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain, those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and he cured them. And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.

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Reflection:

When does the Kingdom of heaven comes to us? It’s when we have a personal relationship with Jesus. Personal relationship with Jesus means that He becomes our friend, our savior and the rock solid foundation of our life. When Jesus is an integral part of our lives the Kingdom of heaven is already within us even while we are still in this world.

To many of us heaven is the literal heaven that we all know about. It’s upstairs in the skies where God, His angels and other Holy companions are located. And we would only be able to go there after we die. But it’s very much possible for all of us to have a taste of heaven while we are still alive in this world if only we would learn to abide by the teachings of Jesus.  

Jesus in our gospel preached to the people of His time to repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. And who is the Kingdom of Heaven that is at hand? That Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus is talking about is no other than Himself. Jesus was literally offering Himself to the people of His time to have heaven.

Many listened to this call of repentance by Jesus that’s why they followed Him and their lives were never the same again. They felt heaven in the company of Jesus, they were fed by Jesus, they were healed by Jesus they were given hope by Jesus; they were forgiven of their many sins and so forth.

How about you? Will you listen to this call of repentance by Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday January 4, Solemnity of The Epiphany of the Lord; Matthew 2:1-12

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage. When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea for thus it has been written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah are by no means least among the rulers of Judah since from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word that I too may go and do him homage.” After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures  and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod they departed for their country by another way.

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Reflection:

Are you yearning for the presence of Jesus in your life? What do you do when you are yearning for Jesus? Do you read your bible and meditate on His living words? Do you go to church for Holy Mass or to be with Him in the Adoration Chapel?  

We’ve searched for Jesus one way or another and our search for Him has always bore fruit for Jesus never hides Himself from us. HE would always be there for us once we diligently search for Him. And once we encounter Him we will never be the same person for He will change and complete us according to His will.

The three magi in our gospel were searching for Jesus also, but why were they searching for the baby Jesus? Of course we all know that they have something special to give to Jesus.  But aside from their gifts that they want to offer to HIM, why were they searching for HIM?

They were searching for Jesus because something was deeply missing in their life and this missing link could only be filled once they find Jesus. So they thoroughly searched and searched they went to Jerusalem they asked for HIM there. Until they were guided by the star to Bethlehem and there they found the baby Jesus and they paid homage by giving HIM their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

But this is not the end of the story for when they found Jesus they also found inner healing that nobody could do to them except Jesus. So they went home without anymore emptiness and missing link in their life.

Is there emptiness in your life? Look for Jesus for He will fill your emptiness. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Saturday January 3, Before Epiphany; John 1:29-34

Gospel: John 1:29-34

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel. John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

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Reflection:

Would you be willing to give your life so that others may live? Jesus did that for you, He gave His very life on the cross so that you may live and have life. What have you given Jesus in return? Have you thought of silently helping the poor and unwanted which Jesus always represent?

We often have this me and myself mentality; me first, myself first before the wellbeing of others. But Jesus did not think of Himself first, it was you first and never Himself otherwise He would not have freely given His life on the cross. 

Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world as John the Baptist referred Him to be in our gospel. Let us not simply forget this ultimate sacrifice of Jesus by doing nothing, by not helping the poor and unwanted. We have to do something good for them no matter how small or insignificant for this is our responsibility.

Just imagine the good that you will be doing if you would help the poor and unwanted. Whatever good that you do for the poor they surely will do also to another poor for the poor are the most generous people that you would ever meet in this world.

What you do to the poor and unwanted you do to Jesus. You help the poor you help Jesus, you give water and food to the poor and unwanted you help Jesus. Never worry for whatever help that you silently give to the poor Jesus will plow back to you in manifold ways.

Have you silently given help to the poor? - Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Friday January 2, Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church; John 1:19-28

Gospel: John 1:19-28

This is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, “Who are you? He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted “I am not the Christ.” So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah? And he said, “I am not. “Are you the Prophet? He answered, No. So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?”

He said:

“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord, as Isaiah the prophet said. Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked him “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet? John answered them “I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize the one who is coming after me whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie. This happened in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

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Reflection:

How could you remain in the perpetual grace of God? You would always remain in the perpetual grace of God when you are always humble. But it’s hard to be humble all the time, it’s hard to bow; it’s hard to bend in humility. It’s hard to conquer your ego most especially when you’re doing well.

John the Baptist remained in the perpetual grace of God for he was always humble. He did not salivate for power and fame; he never had an awareness of the word ego for he remained humble and self-effacing throughout his short life.  

You know now how to be in the perpetual grace of God. But then again you will say, “It’s hard to be humble all the time.” It’s hard indeed to be humble all the time for the simple reason perhaps that you think that humility is a byproduct of your own effort.

You don’t dispense humility to yourself, its God through the graciousness of the Holy Spirit that gives you humility. Therefore pray to Jesus to grant you the grace of humility for He freely dispense it to those who humbly ask for it.

Have you already asked Jesus to dispense unto you the virtue of humility? -  Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Wednesday December 31 Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas; John 1:1-18

Gospel: John 1:1-18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 

He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.

And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only-begotten Son, full of grace and truth.

John testified to him and cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only-begotten Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.

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Reflection:

What is the best New Year’s resolution that you could ever do? The best resolution is for you to be like John who humbly prepared the way for Jesus. John brought people to Jesus, John never told the people of his time to stay with him. He pointed to Jesus as the one that they must follow and not himself. Are you capable of doing this?

Are you up to the task of guiding others to Jesus and do you have the motivation to gently speak about Jesus to your fellowmen? If we have the fear of speaking we could also simply live the life of Jesus and that is more than enough already to point others to Jesus. There are people who cannot read and there are some also who cannot hear therefore it’s how we live that we could best bring them to Jesus.

Some of us may say that to share Jesus is not my job it’s for the exclusive domain of deacons, priest, bishops and nuns. But no, by virtue of our baptism we have already been empowered to share whatever we could share about Jesus and our Catholic faith. But have you shared Jesus and your Catholic faith?

This New Year make it your resolution to share and live Jesus. Be not afraid to share Him for He will be with you and the Holy Spirit who makes everything possible will be with you also.

Therefore be like John who shared Jesus and who pointed to Jesus as the Anointed one. Use facebook, instagram, twitter and many other means of communication to advance the teaching of the greatest teacher who ever walked this earth.    

Don’t you want to become an agent of change for Jesus this 2015? Of course you want! -  Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Monday December 29, Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas; Luke 2:22-35

Gospel: Luke 2:22-35

When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. 

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Lord, now let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which you prepared in the sight of every people, a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

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Reflection:

Do you know how it feels to hope on nobody but the Lord Jesus? Simeon the man from Jerusalem certainly knew this unique feeling, he was already ready to go out if this world upon seeing the young Jesus. His hope and salvation rested on nobody but Jesus, is Jesus the Hope and Salvation of your life?

Simeon was searching for Jesus and guided by the Holy Spirit he was able to find Jesus in the temple being offered to God by his parents. Do you search for Jesus in your life and do you thirst for Him? You will certainly find Jesus when you search and thirst for Him. This may sound impossible to you but this is certainly true as true as the rising of the sun in the morning.

But many of us don’t even bother to search for Jesus and we hardly have time for Jesus. So what happens to our life? We have so many fears in life; the fear of dying, the fear of sickness and so forth. Simeon in our gospel reading was not fearful of anything even death! He was even ready to die already for he already found Jesus. 

As you continue your journey in this world you will be going after so many worldly things such as riches, power, higher learning and so forth. All of these worldly things will not give you peace of mind these things may even disturb your mind. 

For a change, why not stop going after these worldly things and thereafter begin your search for Jesus? He’s just around the bend waiting for you. – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. – Jeremiah 29:13

Reflection for Sunday December 28, Feast of The Holy Family; Luke 2:22-40

Gospel: Luke 2:22-40

When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, They took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, He took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel. The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted —and you yourself a sword will pierce— so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

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Reflection:

What is the status of many modern families today? They are always wired to their gadgets that connect them to the World Wide Web. What was the status of the family twenty five years ago? They were strongly connected with each other for they often communicate. They were wired also not by any means of high-tech gadgets but they were wired to each and every member of their family. For life then was so simple, there was no internet or any kind of high-tech gadgets.

The modern family of today seldom talks with each other; they have more time with their gadgets than with their fellow human being. What a sad fact of modern life! But this is the reality of the modernity of life: We have more time with gadgets and internet yet less time for person to person interaction.

Twenty five years ago life was very simple and serene; children were more respectful to their parents. And the parents of yesterday had more time for their children than the modern and high-tech parents of today. We need not go far to prove this sad fact of modern family life we simply have to look at our own respective families today.

Today we celebrate in a very special way the feast of the Holy Family of Joseph, Jesus and Mary. The simple and humble model family that we must all emulate, they had no means of material wealth yet they were happy and they had contentment. Why? For the simple reason that God was at the center of their lives.

They worship God as a family and they faithfully observe the teachings of their Jewish faith. How many of us worship God as a family? How many of our modern family faithfully observes the discipline of the Catholic Church?

Many parents today are disheartened by the actuations of their grown-up children. Many parents would say, “I never brought you up to become so arrogant and so disrespectful to me. But on hindsight, did these parents invest time on their children? Did they bring them to church for Holy Mass? Did they teach them our Catholic faith? Did they open to them the life of Jesus which is always available in the bible?

The Holy Family of Jesus, Joseph and Mary is telling us to go back to the basics of family life. Keep family life simple and pure, communicate more often have more time for face to face family interaction. Listen more to your spouse and your children for they have so many personal stories to tell you.  And last but certainly not the least is to bring your entire family to church for Holy Mass.

How’s your modern family today? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Friday December 26, Saint Stephen, First Martyr; Matthew 10:17-22

Gospel: Matthew 10:17-22

Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”

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Reflection:

What fuels a person to give his/her life for Jesus? It’s their fidelity to the mission of Jesus and it’s their love until the end of their lives for Jesus. For many of us it’s hard to think that there are people who are willing to give their life for Jesus. But this is the reality; there really are unsung heroes who will willingly give their life for the mission of Jesus.

Another reality of life is this, those who humbly continue the mission of Jesus are often times persecuted also. Let us think about the many martyrs of the church who shed their blood for Jesus’ mission. There are many of them some became saints and some silently went to heaven. They never wavered in their fidelity to the mission of Jesus they continued amidst the persecution/s.

Let us say for example, what if you will also be called to witness for Jesus inside your family? Will you take the risk to speak about the teachings of Jesus even if its  unpopular to the majority of your family members?

A faithful follower will never be afraid to humbly speak for Jesus, for to speak for Jesus teachings is always right. But we must also do it in such a way that we will not condemn others in the name of Jesus for He doesn’t condemn.

We must always see to it that we always show the gentleness of Jesus. And not our own personalities which often times are judgmental and self-righteous. Amen. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Thursday December 25, Christmas Day Mass; John 1:1-18

Gospel: John 1:1-18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God. And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory,the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. John testified to him and cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.

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Reflection:

Do you perceive the presence Jesus in your life? Do you feel His abiding love and care? Jesus was born into this world for you. God so love you that He became human like you. He walked in this world and mingled with the ordinary people of His time. For what reason did God do this? The reason is no other than love, God so love us dearly that He willingly gave His only begotten son for us.  

Jesus descended into this world through Mary to let us know that He is not a distant God. To let us know that He is a God amongst us, a God who walks with us and a God who is always there for us.

If through His birth Jesus humbled Himself for us so that we may live and have life, in what way do we humble ourselves for God? Are we silently doing our share to help Jesus advance His mission in this world? Do we invite our fellowmen to go to church for Holy Mass so that they too would feel the love of God?       

In this day of the birth of Jesus the church is teeming with people for Holy Mass. However some or many of them don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus yet. They are there because they’ve grown with this holy tradition. If we know someone who is like them it would be noble therefore if we would gently teach them about the life of Jesus and the reason why He was born into this world.

Have you done something to gently share the real reason for this season? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Thursday December 25, Christmas Midnight Mass; Luke 2:1-14

Gospel: Luke 2:1-14

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

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Reflection:

What is a manger? It’s a box where feeds for farm animals are placed, where is a manger located? It’s located in a barn, what is a barn? It’s a small place where farm animals are located or housed. God chose Jesus to be born in that lowly location for a reason and that reason is for us to appreciate that Jesus comes to our life in the humblest and simplest occurrence.

God could have chosen Jesus to be born in a palace befitting his status but God chose Jesus to be born in a humble location so that he would be accessible to all of us. If God chose Jesus to be born in a palace he would be distancing Himself from many of us for palaces befit only royalties’ and kings.

Jesus was born in a barn because no other place was available for them or no one was willing to let them in. They went knocking from door to door but to no avail. Perhaps they were all busy that’s why they have no time to open their house for the birth of Jesus.

On this night of the birth of Jesus, He is knocking on the doors of our hearts as well. Let us open our hearts to Jesus let us let Him dwell there for there is no greater gift that we could ever receive in this season of Christmas than Jesus Himself.

Would you open your heart for Jesus? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Wednesday December 24, Fourth Week of Advent; Luke 1:67-79

Gospel: Luke 1:67-79

Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David. Through his prophets he promised of old that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hand of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life. You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

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Reflection:

When do you feel that you are full of the Holy Spirit? It’s when you make prayer part of your daily life. You pray not once a day, not twice a day, not thrice a day, not four times a day, not even five times a day. You pray more than the sum total of the numbers that was mentioned.

Many of us do not pray often everyday because we think that it takes time to pray, no it doesn’t take time to pray. We can even pray even for a few seconds because the efficacy of our prayer is not measured by its length it’s measured by our focus and intensity.  

In our gospel we have the father of John named Zechariah. He is not only a priest he is also a holy man and as such he is a prayerful man; he prays with focus and passion. Because of his prayerful life it was already automatic for Zechariah to be filled with God the Holy Spirit.

The canticle of Zechariah was not only his own making it was also largely influenced by God the Holy Spirit whom he was always in-touch with thru his prayerful life. It was the Holy Spirit who empowered Zechariah to compose his canticle or song of praise for God.

Do you have an effective and passion filled prayer life? Do you feel in a very special way the presence of God the Holy Spirit in your life? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Tuesday December 23, Fourth Week of Advent; Luke 1:57-66

Gospel: Luke 1:57-66

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be? For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.”

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Reflection:

What can our fidelity to the desire of God do to us? It could bring us blessings, it could free us from the bondage of sin, and it could heal us from any form of sickness and the like.

Initially the new born baby was supposed to be named after his father Zechariah for it was the tradition during that time. But his mother Elizabeth intervened she told them that he is to be named John. Perhaps Zechariah had told his wife Elizabeth about his encounter with an angel in the sanctuary who told Zechariah that the boy should be named John.

The relatives were not fully convinced with the desire of Elizabeth to name her child John. So they asked Zechariah and on a tablet he wrote the name John. And immediately Zechariah was freed from the bondage of not being able to speak.

God has always a reward for those who are faithful to His desire and this desire is to follow at all times His will for us. You may ask, what is the will of God for myself? God’s will  is for us to  observe faithfully His ten commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) and to follow Jesus’ two greatest commandments of love (Matthew 22:36-40).

You may not become rich and powerful in the measurement of this world if you will follow His desire. But you will certainly have peace in your life, peace that this world would not be able to give you no matter how rich and powerful you become.

Do you always strive to follow the desire of God? – Marino J. Dasmarinas    

Reflection for Friday December 19,Third week of Advent; Luke 1:5-25

Gospel: Luke 1:5-25

In the days of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years.

Once when he was serving as priest in his division’s turn before God, according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”

Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time. Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute.

Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home. After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying, “So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others.”

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Reflection:

Do you have a prayer request before God? Do you believe that your prayer request will be granted by God? You must always believe that God will grant your prayer request. Because when you believe that you will have what you want from God what you want from Him is already within your reach.

In our gospel the couple Zechariah and Elizabeth was praying to God for the gift of a child. Yet when the angel of God appeared to Zechariah in the sanctuary and told him that his wife would be pregnant. Zechariah suddenly had doubts and the reason for his doubt was credible for the reason that both of them were already old.

It was so uncharacteristic for Zechariah to doubt considering that he is a priest serving God. Zechariah forgot that nothing is impossible for God, did he forget or he simply had weak and feeble faith? Perhaps Zechariah had weak faith during that moment when the angel appeared to him.

Perhaps Zechariah was overwhelmed by their personal circumstances (Old age and the like). Let us not doubt when we have prayer/s for God. Let us firmly believe and have faith that God will grant us what we want from Him.  

Do you have a prayer request for God? Believe and have faith that He will grant it to you for He will surely give it to you if you would only believe and have faith. Amen. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Wednesday December 17,Third week of Advent; Matthew 1:1-17

Gospel: Matthew 1:1-17

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David the king.

David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.

After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Christ, fourteen generations.

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Reflection:

With the modernity of technology today wherein we are always busy with facebook and our many gadgets. Do we still have time to know our family tree or are we still willing to know our family tree? Say for example the names of our ancestors, are we still willing to know them?

Or we don’t have time to know them for the simple reason that they belong to the past already. And we are now here in this high-technology driven times where there is less people to people interaction. We now interact more with our internet friendly cell phones, ipads, laptops etc.

Nevertheless, we still need to know who our relatives are for the simple reason that we are humans, we are not high tech cell phones or other gadgets. And as such we need to know who our relatives are, so that we could also touch base and help them if they are in need of help.

We have in our gospel the ancestry of Jesus, it traces the family history of Jesus. From Abraham, King David up to Saint Joseph the designated father of Jesus. This ancestry shows the humanity of Jesus.

Even if He is God the Son Jesus is also human like all of us and being human this means that He is one with us. We can even adopt Him as our relative so that we could feel more closer to Him. For example we can treat Jesus as our brother or even our father that we could communicate with anytime.

God could have chosen Jesus to directly originate from heaven like a shooting star coming into earth. But God allowed Jesus to come from an ancestry of numerous people so that we can always be at home with Him. And so that we could treat Him as our close friend, our brother or even our father.

How’s your relationship with Jesus? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Tuesday December 16, First day of Misa de Gallo/Simbang Gabi; John 5:33-36

Gospel: John 5:33-36

(Jesus said to the Jews) You sent emissaries to John and he testified to the truth. I do not accept testimony from a human being but I say this so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.    

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Reflection:

Today is the first day of Misa de Gallo or Simbang Gabi. As we go through this nine days novena Mass let us try to prepare ourselves to be worthy to the coming birth of our savior. This we could do best by having an interior renewal of ourselves, by reconciling with our enemies. And by not focusing on the material side of Christmas focusing rather on the true essence of Christmas which is the birth of our savior Jesus Christ.

Have you testified for Jesus by the way you talk and live? Have you humbly called for repentance and renewal? John humbly did all of these noble things, he was sent by God to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus. Have we done something also to prepare the way for the coming birth of Jesus?

For example if you’re a parent, have you taught your children that the true essence of Christmas is not the material gifts that they would be receiving not either the appearance of Santa Clause? Have you pointed out to your children that the essence of Christmas is about Jesus?

Slowly but surely the true meaning of Christmas is being overpowered already by materialism and commercialism. In our own little way we could be like John also if we would try to highlight the true reason for this Christmas season no other than the birth of Jesus.   

Have you done something to humbly point out that the true  meaning of Christmas is the birth of Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Monday December 15, Third week of Advent; Matthew 21:23-27

Gospel: Matthew 21:23-27

When Jesus had come into the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority? Jesus said to them in reply, “I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things.  Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?” They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him? But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd, for they all regard John as a prophet. So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know. He himself said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

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Reflection:

Where does Jesus’ authority comes from? We know that it comes from God, God gave Jesus the authority to preach, heal, exorcise those who are possessed by the devil and so forth.

The ruling class at that time (Pharisees, chief priest and elders of the people) was questioning Jesus’ authority because Jesus’ authority was more powerful than theirs. People were starting to flock more to Jesus than to them therefore they have to question His authority. Jesus never backed down with His authority He held-on to it until death.

Parent’s authority over their children is encompassing this means that for as long as parents live they have authority over their children until mortal death ends this authority. But why is it that many parents are being disrespected by their children?

This is for the reason that many parents failed to properly role model their authority over their children. They did not discipline their children; they spoiled their children by showering them material things. They failed to lead by example and they failed to introduce God to their children by teaching them about Jesus and by bringing them to church for Holy Mass.  Thus they end-up losing their authority over their children and the respect of their children.

If we want to have authority over our children and with other people under our care we must therefore be like Jesus. For Jesus exercised His authority by being a good role model, Jesus led by example until the end, even at the cost of His very own life.

How do you exercise your authority? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Saturday December 13, Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr; Matthew 17:9a, 10-13

Gospel: Matthew 17:9a, 10-13

As they were coming down from the mountain, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands. Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

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Reflection:

Why is it that we sometimes are not aware that God is already manifesting His presence in our lives?   Because we have no awareness of God and our lack of awareness is made worse by our non observance of the church’s discipline.

For example, our Sunday Holy Mass obligation, our obligation to submit ourselves to the Sacrament of Reconciliation at least once a year and so forth. When we behave like this we distance ourselves from God and as a consequence of this we become numb to the presence of God in our lives.  

By not following Jesus the scribes and the Pharisees were not able to imbibe the teachings of Jesus. That the Prophet Elijah has already manifested himself through the person of John the Baptist. By not followinng they persecuted and killed both John and Jesus.

If they followed John and Jesus they would have not dared to persecute and kill them for they will know their mission and their true identity.

How then could we connect this gospel with our faith life? If we will not listen to the voice of Jesus who speaks to us through manifold ways like the observance of the church’s discipline. We distance ourselves also from Jesus just like what the Pharisees and scribes did. And we may end- up becoming the persecutor of the church which Jesus has founded instead of becoming its protector.     

Do we faithfully observe the laws and discipline of Jesus voiced through the Catholic Church? - Marino J. Dasmarinas