Saturday, February 7, 2015
Reflection for Sunday February 8, Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time; Mark 1:29-39
Gospel: Mark1:29-39
On
leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James
and John. Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told
him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the
fever left her and she waited on them.
When it
was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by
demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick
with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to
speak because they knew him.
Rising
very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he
prayed. Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said,
“Everyone is looking for you.” He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby
villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.” So he
went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the
whole of Galilee.
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Reflection:
Are you
afraid to get sick? Of course we all are afraid of sickness and as much as
possible we don’t want to get sick. Some of us would even wish to have an
instant death so that we could avoid getting sick and being enslaved by
sickness. But one of the many truths of life
is the reality of sickness and death. Somehow it will catch-up with us no
matter how we try to avoid it.
What is our
shield for sickness? Our money and health insurance? It will not be enough and
it may run out before we get healed. So what is the best cure for sickness? It’s
our faith in Jesus! Our deep faith in Jesus will set us free from all kinds of
sickness: Be it physical, emotional and spiritual sickness. Faith is a mystery that
we should all embrace and faith is also a gift that we should ask Jesus to give
us so that we would be able to feel His healing presence in our lives.
After preaching
in the synagogue Jesus went to the house of Simon and Andrew with James and
John. He went there because Simon’s mother in law was sick with a fever. Jesus
simply approached her grasped her hand and helped her get-up and with those
simple gestures from Jesus she regained back her health. It was not only Simon’s
mother in-law who got healed; many more were brought to Jesus in that place and
all of them were healed.
The big
question here is this; did they all have faith in Jesus that’s why they were
all healed? Yes of course otherwise they would have not been healed.
Do you always
ask Jesus to give you the gift of faith and do you always prayerfully ask Jesus to heal you
with anything that ails you? – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Reflection for February 6, Friday; Sts. Pedro Bautista, Paul Miki and Companions; Mark 6:14-29
Gospel: Mark
6:14-29
King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame
had become widespread, and people were saying, “John the Baptist has been
raised from the dead; That is why mighty powers are at work in him.” Others
were saying, “He is Elijah” still others, “He is a prophet like any of the
prophets. But when Herod learned of it, he said “It is John whom I beheaded. He
has been raised up. Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison
on account of Herodias the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.
John had said to Herod “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife. Herodias
harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod
feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in
custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to
listen to him. Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday,
gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of
Galilee. His own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod
and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I
will grant it to you. He even swore many things to her, “I will grant you
whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom. She went out and said to
her mother “What shall I ask for? Her mother replied, “The head of John the
Baptist. The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I
want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist. The king
was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish
to break his word to her. So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders
to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. He brought
in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to
her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and
laid it in a tomb.
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Reflection:
What does it mean when you’re constantly
being bothered by your conscience? It simply means that you’ve done something
that is wrong and the only cure for this wrongdoing is to correct it. For example
if a believer has cheated on his/her spouse she/he will naturally be bothered
by her/his conscience. And this torment will not end until there’s a closure or
admission of the sin.
When King Herod heard about the miraculous
actions of Jesus and the popularity that He was earning from the ordinary
people. Herod thought of John whom he ordered beheaded it suddenly came to his
mind that John was alive. But it was very clear to King Herod that he ordered
John killed.
So why did King Herod thought of John when
he heard about Jesus? This is for the reason that King Herod was already being
bothered by his conscience. Herod did something which is terribly wrong and the
price that he has to pay for his wrongdoing was the guilt of conscience which
was constantly bothering him.
Aren’t we like that also when we do wrong?
But what separates us from Herod is we have an opportunity to admit our wrongdoing.
And once we do so the guilty feeling will not be there anymore.
But why allow ourselves to be pestered by
our guilt? Why not permanently delete guilt from our minds by not committing a
wrongdoing/sin? Some of us may say that it’s impossible not to commit a
wrongdoing or sin. Yes it may be impossible but, why not try asking Jesus to
help us be clean all the time or if we sin, why not humbly apologize and admit
our sin or wrongdoing? – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Reflection for February 5, Thursday; Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr; Mark 6:7-13
Gospel: Mark 6:7-13
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send
them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed
them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick –no food, no sack, no
money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second
tunic. He said to them Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave
from there. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you leave there and
shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them. So they went off and
preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with
oil many who were sick and cured them.
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Reflection:
What is the advantage of not being attached
to worldly things? We learn to trust on the providence of God and we learn that
the things of this world do not matter for its temporary and fleeting. We learn
that our faith in God is more than enough to compensate for our lack of worldly
things.
Come to think of it, how much money do we
need to earn in our lifetime that there are people who work their butts out to
earn money? Money that if we are not discerning could even contribute to our
being sick! And then at the end this same money that we’ve earned so hard may
not even be enough to pay for our hospital bills!
In the gospel, when Jesus told His
disciples not to bring, food, money and the like. He was essentially telling
them not to worry for He would provide for them. If God can provide for the
birds and other animals will He not provide for us whom He created in His image
(Genesis 1:27)?
Many of us are so concerned with the
material and physical aspect of life such as the clothes that we wear. The high-tech
gadgets that we have but in close retrospection we actually can live even
without these material things.
Our problem is we allow this world to
dictate upon us. This is the reason why many of us punish ourselves to work so
hard to earn money. For what? So that we could show off how wealthy we’ve
become?
Jesus invites us to re-think our style of
living for we may have already become slaves of this world. Rather than become
His faithful and trusting followers. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Reflection for February 4, Wednesday; Fourth Week in Ordinary Time; Mark 6:1-6
Gospel: Mark 6:1-6
Jesus departed from there and came to his
native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the sabbath came he began to
teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said,
“Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What
mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of
Mary, and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his
sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A
prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin
and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart
from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at
their lack of faith.
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Reflection:
Was Jesus expecting to be treated like a
powerful celebrity when He went back to His hometown? No, because it was not in
His character to flaunt Himself. As much as possible Jesus wanted to be treated
like an ordinary person, never did He desire publicity and recognition. Jesus did
miracles without any fanfare and hype and we attribute this to His humility. What disheartened Jesus was His town mates lack
of faith.
Let us think about us as individuals, don’t
we desire recognition and don’t we crave to be listened? We love it the moment we hear people recognizing
the things that we do and this is due to our yearning to satisfy our bloated
egos. Isn’t possible for us to be humble and low profile like Jesus?
As we do good things or anything that we do
for God let us not seek to be recognized let us simply fade away. Let us not
seek adulation for those who crave adulation are also abandoned like a hot
potato. Those who crave for admiration ultimately ends up in disgrace.
Let us not be disheartened if we will not
be recognized or honored for these are just temporal honor/s given by temporal
humans like us. In everything let us seek the humility of Jesus, Let us seek
the silent recognition of Jesus rather than the noisy and temporal recognition of
this world. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Monday, February 2, 2015
Reflection for February 3, Tuesday; Fourth Week in Ordinary Time; Mark 5:21-43
Gospel: Mark
5:21-43
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to
the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the
sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he
fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My daughter is at the
point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and
live. He went off with him and a large crowd followed him.
There was a woman afflicted with
hemorrhages for twelve years. She had suffered greatly at the hands of many
doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew
worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and
touched his cloak. She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” Immediately
her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her
affliction. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned
around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?”
But his disciples said to him, “You see how
the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, Who touched me?” And he looked
around to see who had done it. The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached
in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured
of your affliction.”
While he was still speaking, people from
the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why
trouble the teacher any longer?” Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus
said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” He did not
allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother
of James. When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught
sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said
to them, “Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” And
they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child’s father
and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child
was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which
means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” The girl, a child of twelve, arose
immediately and walked around. At that they were utterly astounded. He gave
strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something
to eat.
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Reflection:
Do you have a prayer before Jesus? Pray for it never give up and continue to badger Jesus with your prayer.
For this is the secret for you to have what you wish for from Jesus. Everything
should start with faith and once we start our interaction with Jesus with faith.
everything will simply fall into place including what we wish for from Jesus.
But how can we grow in faith? We should
humbly ask Jesus to give us the gift of faith not only that we ask Jesus for
the gift of faith. We also should reach out to Jesus through our prayers, our
presence at Holy Mass and by reading the most precious book of all books which
is the Holy bible.
The woman in our gospel has been bleeding
for twelve long years she went to anyone who could cure her to no avail. Then
she heard about this healer named Jesus and from thereon she started to have
faith in Jesus. And her faith impelled her to reach out to Jesus she even said
to herself, If only I could touch a portion of His clothes I would be healed.
All of us have heard about Jesus but not
all of us are praying for this gift of faith. Not all of us are constantly
reaching out to Jesus by means of our prayers and pious presence at Holy Mass.
Not all of us have a habit of reading and reflecting on the words of Jesus in
the bible.
Some of us may even say, I’m very busy I
have no more time to do these acts of faith. How then can we grow in faith? How
then can we be friends with Jesus? How then can we have healing from Jesus? –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Reflection for February 2, Monday the Presentation of the Lord; Luke 2:22-40
Gospel: Luke
2:22-40
When the days were completed for their
purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus 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 the 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 can we offer the Lord? Are we willing
to offer our time in the service of the Lord? The Lord is not asking us to give
all of our time to Him I think even a little of our time will already suffice
for the Lord. But have we dared yet to give our time to the Lord? Mary and
Joseph in compliance with their Jewish faith brought Jesus to Jerusalem to
offer Him to the Lord.
Many of us are afraid to give our time for
the Lord for there’s no money in the service for the Lord. Yes indeed there’s
no money in the vineyard of the Lord but life is not all about earning money.
There’s more to life in fact than simply earning money and there’s more to life
than having all the power and material wealth in this world.
Have we thought of doing something for the
Lord, have we thought of doing something that would give satisfaction to our
inner being no other than our souls?
Material things are important for we also
need it for our existence but it’s not the be all and end all of life. The be
all and end all of life is God. For our earthly possessions no matter how
enormous will pass us by. But God will not pass us by He will be with us here
in this world. And He will still be with us until after our temporal journey in
this world is over and done with already.
What can we offer our Lord? – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Reflection for Sunday February 1, Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time; Mark 1:21-28
Gospel: Mark
1:21-28
Jesus
came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. The
people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having
authority and not as the scribes. In their synagogue was a man with an unclean
spirit; he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you
come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God! Jesus rebuked him
and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a
loud cry came out of him. All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this?
A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they
obey him. His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.
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Reflection:
A gay
person was trying very hard to change his ways, he wanted to become straight
for He was already tired of his hidden life.
But every time he tries to change the devil would always present itself
to him and he would always succumb to his evil temptations.
He had a
dream one night and in that dream Jesus told him, “I will change you if you
will allow me to change you.” Oh yes my Lord he told Jesus and Jesus
subsequently told him, read the book that contains me. Read more about me there
and let my words sink into you. As he
woke-up in the morning the first book that he saw was their dusty bible. He
read it and from thereon he read it everyday and true enough he was changed by
Jesus.
Do you
want to feel the authority of Jesus? Begin by knowing more about His life by
reading your bible. Try reading it initially by yourself and as your read try
to feel every words of Jesus reflect on it and let it sink in to you. Do this
daily, let Jesus speak directly to you and then notice the authority of Jesus working
in your life.
As you
let His authority work in your life notice the change that will happen to you.
Perhaps if you’re self-centered you will now slowly but surely become more Christ
centered. If you’re arrogant and domineering you will now become humble and
gentle. However for this to happen, you have to know more about Jesus.
You have
to recognize His authority over you and this could only happen if you will take
time to know more about His life changing story in the bible. This could only
happen if you will give Jesus even a little of your precious time everyday.
Do you
want to feel the authority of Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Friday, January 30, 2015
Reflection for January 31, Saturday St. John Bosco, Priest; Mark 4:35-41
Gospel: Mark 4:35-41
On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said
to his disciples: “Let us cross to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they
took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him.
A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was
already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him
and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? He woke up, rebuked
the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still! The wind ceased and there was
great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have
faith?” They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is
this whom even wind and sea obey?”
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Reflection:
Was Jesus only testing the faith of His
disciples? If He was, then Jesus found out that His disciples was terribly
wanting in faith. Jesus calmed the violent sea storm to assure them all that He
was in control of everything.
We too will encounter storms in our life. How
would we handle these storms? Will we allow these storms to defeat us and
prevent us from living our lives? Or we continue to become calm under duress
caused by these life storms?
The obvious answer is we will continue to
be calm no matter how difficult the storm/s that we will be encountering. For
the reason that we have Jesus in our life, we know that Jesus will take charge
of every life storm that we will be encountering.
We are often times easily rattled by our
life storms or problems because we are lacking in faith. If only we will learn
to trust Jesus more than we trust on ourselves. If only we will not lean on our
own finite understanding. We will then be able to discover how mightily
powerful Jesus is. That Jesus is more than enough to defeat any kind of life
storms that we will be encountering in our lives. - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Reflection for January 30, Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time; Mark 4:26-34
Gospel: Mark 4:26-34
Jesus said to the crowds:“This is how it is
with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and
would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows
not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the
ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the
sickle at once, for the harvest has come.”
He said, “To what shall we compare the
Kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed
that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the
earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and
puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.
With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to
understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them but to his own
disciples he explained everything in private.
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Reflection:
Do you want to have and feel the kingdom of
God in your life? Then you should open your life to God. In everyday of your
life God showers you with every blessing that He could give you. But do you
notice and acknowledge these blessings that God gives you? For example the
blessing of a new life when you wake up in the morning, the sunlight, the air
that you breathe and so forth. Do you care to thank God for all of these
blessings?
Acknowledgement of God’s many blessings is
the first step for you to have and feel the kingdom of God in your life. When
you recognize the majesty and power of God you also open your life to His
kingdom. And you let God come into your life; eventually you let God rule your
life.
Then little by little you let God take
charge of your life and not you anymore taking charge of your own life. This is
where the kingdom of God begins to take root in your life. It grows little by
little until it blooms where others can take shelter and comfort.
Jesus
in our gospel for this Friday mentions about the small mustard seed which is
none other than Himself and His kingdom. This small mustard seed once acknowledge
and recognized by the soil (Which is no other than you). Begins to sprout until
it blooms and eventually grows bigger so that those who are in need could take
shelter and sanctuary.
Do you always acknowledge, recognize and
thank God for all of the blessings that He gives you? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Reflection for January 29, Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time; Mark 4:21-25
Gospel: Mark 4:21-25
Jesus said to his disciples, “Is a lamp
brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be
placed on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible;
nothing is secret except to come to light. Anyone who has ears to hear ought to
hear. He also told them, “Take care what you hear. The measure with which you
measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To
the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has
will be taken away.
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Reflection:
Do you take time to share what you know
about God? Do you live the faith that God has given you? Our knowledge and
faith about God will further blossom if we learn to share it. We will also grow in faith as we care to share it.
But have we thought of sharing God?
Sometimes we are afraid to share God
because many of the population of today are not anymore centered on God. They
are more centered on how they could earn a living, centered on the material
side of this world and how to survive in this world. But what kind of people
are we growing if they will be more focused on this world than God?
Jesus in our gospel mentions about a lamp
that must not be hidden under a bed for it will have no use at all! Jesus
mentions about a lamp that is put in a lampstand so that it will serve as a
guiding light where others could gain wisdom and enlightenment from it.
Your knowledge about God and your faith is
the lamp of your life. You must not keep it to yourself! You must share and
live it so others would be enlightened by it! There are people who don’t know
God because there are people who don’t care to share and live what they know
about God.
Therefore, bring the lighted lamp of Jesus
into your own environment and bring the lamp of Jesus into your own family. So
that they could be enlightened and transformed by Jesus, this you will do with
utmost humility. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Reflection for January 28, Wednesday; Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor; Mark 4:1-20
Gospel: Mark 4:1-20
On another occasion, Jesus began to teach
by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat
on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he
taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said
to them, “Hear this! A sower went out to
sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it
up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at
once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and
it withered for lack of roots. Some seed
fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. And some seed
fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty,
sixty, and a hundredfold. He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”
And when he was alone, those present along
with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, “The
mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside
everything comes in parables, so that they may look and see but not perceive, and
hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and
be forgiven.”
Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand
this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows
the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once
and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky
ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have
no roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes
because of the word, they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are
another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the
lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word,
and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the
word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
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Reflection:
Are you open to hear or read the words of Jesus?
The word of Jesus are the seed that He sows in our hearts. We can read this when
we open our bible, when we go to Holy Mass and when we hear or read
commentaries about the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Some of us hear or read this good news of
Jesus when we are burdened by our problems. Then after our problems have been solved
we once again distance ourselves from the words of God. We only treat God like
a commodity that we only use when we are in need. Thus the words of God does not
bear fruit in our hearts and we also do not become fruitful followers of Jesus.
How could we become fruitful followers of
Jesus? It’s when we read, hear and share His words. It’s when we allow the
words of God to bear much fruit in our hearts that it transforms us to become a
person with a new mindset soundly grounded upon the words of God. Thus we
become the rich soil that Jesus mentions in the gospel (Mark 4:20)
There are people who allow themselves to be
transformed by the seeds or the words of God. For example from being bad they
become good, from being irresponsible they now become responsible, and from
being corrupt they become incorruptible. Why? This is for the reason that they
allowed God’s words to work miracles in their life!
How about you? Will you allow the words/seeds
of God to heal and transform you? –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
Monday, January 26, 2015
Reflection for January 27, Tuesday; Third Week in Ordinary Time; Mark 3:31-35
Gospel: Mark 3:31-35
The mother of Jesus and his brothers
arrived at the house. Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him, “Your mother and your brothers and your
sisters are outside asking for you. But he said to them in reply, “Who are my
mother and my brothers? And looking around at those seated in the circle he
said “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is
my brother and sister and mother.”
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Reflection:
In what way could we become a relative of
Jesus? It’s when we do acts of mercy and compassion toward anyone in need. It’s
when we help Jesus spread His good news of salvation to others most especially
to those who have not heard yet of His gospel message.
To do good to our blood relatives is
already a given fact of life. We help them because we are connected with them
by consanguinity or through common family tree. Jesus in our gospel wants to stretch
further our acts of mercy and compassion He wants us not to limit these acts of
mercy and compassion to our own family circle only!
Say for example what if Jesus would ask us,
could you also give the same help to a complete stranger in need? The same help
that you would normally give to your blood relative/s? This is very difficult
to do: To give help to a stranger with the same amount of help that we would
normally do to our blood relative/s.
Nonetheless, this is the challenge for all
of us if we want to be called a relative of Jesus: We must help anyone in need!
In hindsight, why did Jesus said that whoever does the will of God is my
brother and sister and mother? Perhaps the purpose of which is to measure our desire
to become a relative of Jesus.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Reflection for January 26, Monday; Sts.Timothy and Titus, Bishops; Mark 3:22-30
Gospel: Mark 3:22-30
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem
said of Jesus, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he
drives out demons.” Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables “How
can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom
cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself that house will not be
able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided he
cannot stand; that is the end of him. But no one can enter a strong man’s house
to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can
plunder his house. Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people
utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will
never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin. For they had said,
“He has an unclean spirit.
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Reflection:
What is the antidote to evil possession or
who can defeat the devil? It’s no other than Jesus only Jesus can defeat the
devil. As time progress the devil also progresses; before we only attribute the
presence of the devil to evil possession.
But
not anymore today! The devil of today doesn’t only present itself by way of
evil possession. It presents itself in manifold ways such as: greed, lust
enslavement to the modernity of time and so forth. Who can defeat the devil
today? It’s still Jesus the same Jesus that defeated the devil in our gospel.
Jesus doesn’t change He is the same Jesus
yesterday, today and tomorrow. His power to defeat the devil is still present today
as it was present yesterday. But do we allow Jesus to dwell in our lives? Do we
still have time for Him in this era of high-technology and high-definition
gadgets?
We must at all times give time for Jesus so
that we could always ward off the devil from our midst. If you always have Jesus
in your life you give no room for the devil to dwell in your life.
Do you give time for Jesus? – Marino
J. Dasmarinas
Reflection for Sunday January 25, Third Sunday in Ordinary Time; Mark 1:14-20
Gospel: Mark
1:14-20
After
John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This
is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe
in the gospel. As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother
Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to
them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Then they abandoned
their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James,
the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their
nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along
with the hired men and followed him.
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Reflection:
What is
the prerequisite in following Jesus? Its repentance and belief in His gospel
message, we cannot follow without repentance and firm belief in His gospel
message.
When Simon, Andrew, James and John responded
to His call they did not simply respond. Along with their response to Jesus
came their desire to repent. They also did not only leave behind them their
livelihood and families they also left behind their sinfulness or anything that
made them sin.
When the
four of them went along with Jesus to become fishers of men they were already
renewed by Jesus. They were also equipped by Jesus with practically anything
that they would be needing as they go about their mission.
What is
the relevance of the gospel to us and to our faith life? We too are being
called by Jesus to a life of renewal and repentance. We too are being called by
Jesus to follow Him and become fishers of men. Why does Jesus calls us to
a life of renewal and repentance? This is for the reason that we are all
sinners, no one of us is sinless.
The
recent visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines was not only a visit per se. It
was also a clarion call for all of us for a life of renewal and repentance.
Hundreds and millions of us went to the streets to see the Pope and to greet
him. What now after that encounter with Pope Francis?
Let us
not waste our encounter with the Pope by doing nothing let us allow it to move
us towards our renewal and repentance. The visit of the Pope
was also Jesus' direct call to all of us to follow Him so that we too could
become His instruments of renewal and repentance by doing so we become fishers
of men too!
To
positively respond to Jesus' call of repentance and belief in His gospel message
is the best action that we could ever do to our life.
What are we going to do to this call of Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Reflection for January 24, Saturday; St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor; Mark 3:20-21
Gospel: Mark 3:20-21
Jesus came with his disciples into the
house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When
his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is
out of his mind.
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Reflection:
What happens when we get to serious with our
vocation for the Lord? They normally would label us as someone who is out of
his/her mind. For example when we prioritize God over money, when we shun
friends even relatives from our environment friends/relatives who do not bring
us any good. and instead we focus our time and energy for the glory of God. They would really label
us as somebody who is out of his/her mind.
But come to think of it, who is out of
his/her mind? Those who focus their time and energy for the greater glory of
God or those who focus their time and energy to this world only? If you focus
your attention to this world what will happen to you when you die? Where will
you end up if you allow yourself to be possessed by this world?
Jesus was labeled as out of His mind for the
reason that He was very zealous in His mission for the Lord. He allowed Himself
to be possessed by His mission for the Lord rather than embrace worldliness.
There really are people who will not
understand us for the things that we do for the greater glory of God. We must
move on nevertheless and continue doing our mission for Jesus. Let us just pray
for the enlightenment of those who do not understand or refuse to understand
what we do for the Lord. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Reflection for January 23, Friday of the Second Week; Mark 3:13-19
Gospel: Mark 3:13-19
Jesus went up the mountain and summoned
those whom he wanted and they came to him. He appointed Twelve, whom he also
named Apostles that they might be with him and he might send them forth to
preach and to have authority to drive out demons: He appointed the Twelve: Simon,
whom he named Peter; James, son of Zebedee,and John the brother of James, whom
he named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,
Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, and Judas
Iscariot who betrayed him.
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Reflection:
What is the relevance of the selection of
the twelve apostles to you? It reminds you that you also have a mission for the
propagation of the faith. You may say, I know nothing about the faith therefore
I can do nothing for I know nothing.
The twelve that was chosen by Jesus know nothing
also about the faith; many of them were in fact laborers and sinners. Yet they
were called by Jesus to follow Him. Therefore to say that you know nothing is
not an excuse because you will know if you will only try to know something
about the faith.
Jesus will not fail you He will even equip
you so that from knowing nothing you will now know something. And this
something that Jesus will give you will soon grow if you will continue to
respond to His call.
Be not afraid to respond, be not afraid to
dive into the deep waters of our faith for Jesus will always be with you. Begin
your mission in your family first which is your domestic church. Gently evangelize
them about Jesus and about our Roman Catholic faith through your healing words
and actions. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Reflection for January 22, Thursday of the Second Week; Mark 3:7-12
Gospel: Mark 3:7-12
Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his
disciples. A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea. Hearing
what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem,
from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and
Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd,
so that they would not crush him. He had cured many and, as a result, those who
had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him. And whenever unclean spirits
saw him they would fall down before him and shout, “You are the Son of God.” He
warned them sternly not to make him known.
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Reflection:
Do you always go to Jesus in prayer
everyday? It’s is a must for all of us believers so that He could always bless
and heal us. If we will not sought
Jesus, to where would we go? We go after the ephemeral riches that this world
is always offering us?
Until we become hooked to the many temporal
offerings of this world. Then slowly but surely the devil will see to it that
he gets hold of us as we go after the many tempting offerings of this world.
In our gospel people from all over the place
went after Jesus because they knew that only Jesus could heal and help them. They
sought Jesus like a priceless diamond so that they could be healed of their many
sickness.
Let us learn from them by seeking Jesus as
well in everyday of our life through our prayers, our presence at Holy Mass and
other forms of devotions that will show our deep love for Jesus. Let us not wait for the time that we are
already sick before we embrace Jesus.
Reflection for January 21, Wednesday Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr; Mark 3:1-6
Gospel: Mark 3:1-6
Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a
man there who had a withered hand. They watched Jesus closely to see if he
would cure him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him. He said to the man
with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.” Then he said to the
Pharisees, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to
save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent. Looking around
at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, Jesus said to the
man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. The
Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him
to put him to death.
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Reflection:
Do you always help when you see somebody in
need of help? Or you sometimes make excuses so that you would not be obliged to
help. Like pretending not to see anyone who is in need of your help. For
example you see a poor man who is in dire need of help, what are you going to
do to that poor man? Pretend not to see his obvious need of help?
When Jesus went to the synagogue there was
this man with a withered hand. He did not ask Jesus for help but Jesus knew
that he needed help so Jesus called him and right after restored his withered
hand.
All of us also encounter people who are in
need of our help. Perhaps many of us simply pretend not to see them for we
don’t want to be disturbed. But there are those who would proactively go out of
their way to give help even if they are not asked and these people are like
Jesus and they have the heart of Jesus.
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