Reflection for March 12, Thursday of the Third Week of Lent; Luke 11:14-23

Gospel: Luke 11:14-23

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons. Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

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Reflection:

Do you believe in Jesus as your Lord and savior? In our gospel for today, after casting out the demon from a man Jesus was accused to be one with the demons. They obviously did not believe in Jesus as their Lord and savior. They also can’t believe that Jesus is capable of doing this miracle with good intentions in His heart. Otherwise they would have not accused Him as one with the demons.

Who is one with the demons? Is it Jesus or the ones who refuse to believe in Him? There are only to options that we have in this world to believe in Jesus or not to believe in Jesus. To believe means that we should walk the path of Jesus for we can’t say that we believe yet we don’t walk the path of Jesus. Those who don’t believe are those who are vulnerable to the company and possession of the devil.

Many of the people of today are like those in the time of Jesus who did not believe in Him. For what reasons? Perhaps they are so obsessed with their own selves. That they regard themselves as somebody who know better than Jesus that’s why they don’t believe.

But the consequence of not believing in Jesus is enormous. First and foremost is they invite the devil to possess them. And once they are already possessed by the devil they now are capable of doing evil without any guilt of conscience. This is the reason why there are mothers who abort their unborn child without any guilt of conscience. They are capable of doing this despicable act because they are already possessed by the devil of convenience.     

But there’s still hope for as long as there are people like you who believe in Jesus. People like you who will stand for the teachings and values of Jesus and people like you who will value the gift of life more than the evil of abortion and wicked convenience. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for March 9, Monday of the Third Week of Lent; Luke 4:24-30

Gospel: Luke 4:24-30

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth: “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian. When the people in the synagogue heard this they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

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Reflection:

Do you expect Jesus to bless you abundantly because you always pray and you do good? How would you feel if your expectation is not meet by Jesus with the same expectation that you have?  Would you now be indifferent to Jesus?

We cannot fathom the mind of God, there are times that His decisions will not fit our own comprehension. We nevertheless should continue to be faithful to Him even if His will is often times not attuned to our own will. In His own time God will eventually give us what we want. We simply have to be patient and not be uninterested with God.

In our gospel the people of Nazareth is angry with Jesus for the simple reason that what Jesus said did not fit their expectation. Their minds were already conditioned to believe their own expectations. But we cannot read the mind of Jesus and we cannot put Jesus in a box because His decisions are often times out of the box.

We simply have to believe and hold-on to our faith in Jesus no matter what happens. Even if sometimes or even often times His decisions doesn’t fit our own selfish expectations. Who knows one of these days Jesus will suddenly give us what we want. During these times when we least expect Him to give it to us.

Let us continue to have faith in Jesus in good times and in bad for He knows what is best for us. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday March 8, Third Sunday of Lent; John 2:13-25

Gospel: John 2:13-25

Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace. His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, Zeal for your house will consume me. At this the Jews answered and said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this? Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews said “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead his disciples remembered that he had said this and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.

While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well.

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Reflection:

What made Jesus lose His temper? What drove Him to angrily overturn the tables of the money changers and the others who were doing business in the temple area? Is it out of the character of Jesus to get angry because He was supposed to be gentle and kindhearted?  

The temple area was not anymore being used according to its real purpose. It was OK to have business there for that area was intended to be used as such. But there was fraudulent business that was going there. The animals that was to be offered to the temple was overpriced and there was many more deceit and cheating in the conduct of their business.  

Therefore Jesus had no other choice but to create order and in the process He got angry. Anger that was justified for it reminded the people that the temple area should be free from anything that is fraudulent. And anything that is against the will of God. The temple area and the temple itself must always be free from any form of desecration for it is the house of God.

This is a good reminder for all of us when we go to church to worship God. We should go there only to worship God and not do anything that would defile the temple of God. The defilement or desecration that we do is not limited to physical defilement. We also defile the church when we think of anything that is not good and ungodly while we are in the church.

How about if we are already not in the church or not anymore within the area of the church? Is it now justified to think of sinister things against our fellowmen, anyway we are now way outside of the church?

 It’s still not right, For we are the church our body is the visible representation of the church. Therefore we must at all times be free from any form of deceit or anything that would make us unworthy before the eyes of Jesus. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for March 7, Saturday of the Second Week in Lent; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Gospel: Luke  15:1-3, 11-32

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. So to them Jesus addressed this parable. “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers. So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.

But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly, bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found. Then the celebration began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound. He became angry and when he refused to enter the house his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.

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Reflection:

What kind of God is our God? He is a God of love, mercy and forgiveness, what does this mean? This simply means that nobody is beyond reach of the love of God. No matter how sinful we are and no matter how grave the sins that we have committed we are still loved dearly by our God.

But there’s one quality that we must have to experience God’s love mercy and forgiveness . And this is repentance, we have to realize first our own sinfulness and have the desire to walk away from our sinfulness and be one again with God.

After wasting his inheritance to debauchery and sinfulness the younger son in our gospel parable had a humbling experience. He had nowhere to go, he lived a life of a beggar so to speak.

 So different from his life of comfort when he was still with his father.  He therefore said to himself, why not go back home and ask for forgiveness from my father? So he did, and to make a long story short his father forgave him.     

This season of lent let us think and reflect about our own sinfulness and other offenses that we’ve done that created distance between us and Jesus. Let us go back home to Jesus loving embrace by asking for His forgiveness. This we could do best if we would humbly submit ourselves to the healing Sacrament of Reconciliation/Confession.

Would you be willing to submit yourself to the Sacrament of Confession? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for March 6, Friday of the Second Week in Lent; Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: “Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’ They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” They answered him, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times. Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures:The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?

Therefore, I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit. When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.

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Reflection:

What is our mission as far as our faith life in this world is concerned? It’s to pay forward or share whatever we know about our faith. It’s to give life to our faith by not keeping it to ourselves. And it’s to generously share whatever we know about our faith. But have we already shared our catholic faith or whatever we know about our faith and Jesus?    

 In our gospel for today, Jesus gives us the parable of the tenants who were entrusted by the landowner of his property. Before the landowner left them he first ensured that they already have all that they would be needing to make them productive. And so the landowner left and when harvest time came the landowner was now demanding his share from the tenants.

We are the tenants which Jesus is speaking about in the gospel.  The land or property that Jesus has entrusted to us is no other than our faith. What have we done so far to the gift of faith that He has entrusted us? Have we already shared it? Or we are still up to know keeping it to ourselves?

If we want to grow in faith we have to humbly share it. For it is in sharing our faith that we would grow in faith. It is in sharing our faith that would make us productive followers of Jesus. Many are still not properly educated as far as their faith life is concerned and many are Catholics in name only. And who is to blame for this lack of education of our catholic faith? We are partly to be blamed because many of us have not yet shared the gift of faith that Jesus has entrusted us.

But it’s not yet late to share our faith for we still have time.  Therefore we have to do something, start first by inviting your family to go to Holy Mass. Then gently teach them with whatever you know about your catholic faith.

Have courage to do this for God’s blessings will be upon you. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for March 5, Thursday of the Second Week in Lent; Luke 16:19-31

Gospel: Luke  16:19-31

Jesus said to the Pharisees: “There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’ Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours. He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s house for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them lest they too come to this place of torment. But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them. He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. Then Abraham said ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.

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Reflection:

Does the poor have a purpose in the life of the rich and affluent? Yes they have! The poor closes the gap between the rich and God, the poor brings God closer to the rich for the poor represents God. Jesus himself said that whatever we do to the least or poor we do unto Him (Matthew 25:40).

We have in our gospel the characters of the nameless rich man (He could be anyone of us) and the poor man Lazarus. The nameless rich man was insensitive to the needs of the poor man Lazarus. Why? Because the rich man perceived the poor Lazarus as good for nothing, Lazarus would simply disturb him from his enjoyment of his riches.

What if the rich man knew beforehand that at the back his door stands God in disguise of the poor man Lazarus? Who unceasingly knocks to bring him more blessings and to save him from going to hell? He would have immediately opened his door and give Lazarus every precious things and every royal treatment that he could give him.

But the rich man never recognized the presence of God in Lazarus, he instead nonchalantly continued with his greedy lifestyle.

How then could we connect this gospel to our own personal life? We see and encounter the poor (Materially and Spiritually poor) almost everyday. Do we even care to take a second look at them and then give them something to fill their empty stomachs and spirits? If we can’t give them anything because we are also poor, do we even care to talk to them or even smile at them?

There are times that yes we give to the poor and to those who are in need. But we limit our giving to the things that we don’t need anymore. We limit our generosity to give them money that will not hurt our own bank accounts! 

If only we know that it’s Jesus whom we are helping. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for March 4, Wednesday of the Second Week in Lent; Matthew 20:17-28

Gospel: Matthew 20:17-28

As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” He replied, “My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

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Reflection:

What makes us worthy in the eyes of Jesus? Obviously it’s not our title/s or any worldly appendages. What makes us worthy in the eyes of Jesus is our readiness to humbly serve without seeking any recognition in return. This is what makes us worthy in the eyes of Jesus.

Why do we follow Jesus in the first place? Is it for us to have an exalted position in our community or in our parish church? We love it so much to be looked-up because we advertise ourselves to be close to Jesus.

And when nobody is noticing us we seek attention for we serve Jesus. Do we make Jesus happy when we use Him for us to be exalted? Of course not! But this is where we always fall! We use Jesus as our springboard for us to be exalted and respected.

Can’t we simply fade away in silence after we’ve served our church or after we’ve done good to our fellowmen? Can’t we simply fade away and let our gentle and merciful God be in-front so that He could attract more believers?

Many of us are afraid to be humble because we perceive humility as weakness. But truth be told, our humility is powerful very powerful that it creates endless echoes in the hearts of those who see and feel it. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for March 2, Monday of the Second Week in Lent; Luke 6:36-38

Gospel: Luke 6:36-38

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

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Reflection:

What is the mother of mercy? Its love, you can’t be merciful if you do not know how to love. The moment you feel mercy in your heart you already have love that you can freely dispense anytime to any person or group of persons.

What kind of love is this that gives birth to mercy? Obviously this is not only romantic love for romantic love is a limited kind of love. The kind of love that gives birth to mercy is the perfect kind of love or the highest form of love.

Who gives us this highest form of love? Jesus Himself gives us this kind of love. We receive this from Jesus when we are always in close contact with Him. By way of our faithful presence at Holy Mass, through our frequent interaction with Jesus by means of the Sacraments of the Church. And by readings His life transforming and life giving words in the bible.

Come to think of it, what happens to us if we are not merciful, if we are quick to condemn and if we don’t forgive? We allow ourselves to be imprisoned by  toxic emotion/s that is brought to our feet by the devil.

When we are always in close contact with Jesus we are always merciful. We will never condemn or judge anyone. And we will always forgive no matter how deep the hurt that has been inflicted upon us. 

Find it in your heart to follow and seek Jesus now and be free from any form of hatred in your heart. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Sunday March 1, Second Sunday of Lent; Mark 9:2-10

Gospel: Mark 9:2-10

Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him. Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.

As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant.

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Reflection:

What if Peter, James and John refused to go with Jesus to the mountain of transfiguration? They would have missed the once in a lifetime experience of heaven. They would have missed seeing Jesus transfigured before their very eyes. They would have missed seeing Jesus conversing with Moses and Elijah. (The great prophets of the Old Testament). They would have missed the opportunity to hear the voice of God telling them: This is my beloved Son. Listen to him (Mark 9:7).    

But they did not refuse the invitation of Jesus they simply obeyed and went with Him to the mountain of transfiguration. Thus, they had that sudden experience of heaven. And they knew from thereon that if they would only be faithful to their discipleship for Jesus they already have their own dwelling in heaven.

In our first reading, when God told Abraham to bring his son Isaac to the mountain of moriah. So that Isaac could serve as his own sacrificial offering to God, Abraham obeyed without questioning the wisdom of God.

When Abraham was about to kill Isaac. A messenger of God intervened and told Abraham not to kill Isaac for God was just testing his faith. And what was the price for Abraham’s fidelity? He was blessed with so many descendants as many as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore (Genesis 22:17).

Perhaps, when Jesus told Peter, James and John to go with Him onto the mountain of transfiguration. Jesus was also testing the three of them.  He was testing  the strength of their faith and discipleship for Him. They passed their test of faith just like Abraham who passed his own test of faith also. 

Thus, Peter, James, John  and Abraham  were richly rewarded by God. The reward for the three disciples were the foretaste of heaven among others. And the reward for Abraham was the descendants that was as many as the stars in heaven and the sand on the seashores.

As long as we live in this world we will also have our own tests of faith. It will come to us in different forms and shapes. Let us remain faithful no matter how hard and difficult the tests. For there’s always a reward for those who would be faithful. 

Have we already passed our own test of faith from Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for February 28, Saturday of the First Week of Lent; Matthew 5:43-48

Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48

Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers and sisters only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

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Reflection:

What is genuine love? It’s a love that doesn’t discriminate a love that embraces everybody including those who are not lovable to our eyes. The beauty of loving even those who do not love us is we show them what true love is all about. True love that emanates from Jesus Himself.

When we love even those who are not lovable we don’t only give them our unconditional love. We also teach them to give love, never mind if they will not love us in return. What is important is we teach them the language of unconditional love so that they will learn from it and hopefully be converted by  it.

But is unconditional love still relevant today? For many of us today love is a two way street: You love me and I give you love in return if you will not love me I will not give you my love. But if this is our mentality the language of true love will not anymore have life. There would be no more true love and true sacrifice for the person that we love.

True love or genuine love therefore is to love without any condition/s and to love without expecting love in return. Hard to do, right? But if we truly love Jesus we would be able to freely give love, love which is not bound by the laws of reciprocity. – Marino  J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for February 27, Friday of the First Week of Lent; Matthew 5:20-26

Gospel: Matthew 5:20-26

Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

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Reflection:

What is the antidote to sin or what could defeat sin or hatred? Its humility, forgiveness and love. For example if you sin against your spouse the cure for this sin is to humble yourself before your spouse. You do this by  saying, I’m sorry for hurting you or  I’m sorry for betraying your trust.

If your spouse loves you dearly you can expect forgiveness, the mitigating factor here is  your humility to admit your offense or sin. But not everyone of us are willing to say, I’m sorry for to admit ones mistake or to say I’m sorry is one  of the hardest words to say. But if there’s humility in us we will not think twice to apologize for this will once again heal the relationship.

But the paradox is, we are quick to sin yet we are not quick to apologize  or some are not even willing to apologize. And this lack of humility on our part creates bigger trouble/s in our married relationship or any other kind of relationship for that matter. 

In our gospel Jesus is teaching us about humility and to have the courage to admit our own mistakes or shortcomings (Matthew 5:23-25). Why? Because if we are willing to humble ourselves and if we have the courage to admit our own sinfulness. We therefore save ourselves from further trouble/s but if we continue to be dominating and arrogant then trouble/s would always be with us.

Would we be willing to humbly apologize to somebody whom we have offended? To reach-out or to apologize is hard to do but it’s also a redemptive experience for it will set us free from the bondage of guilt and sin.  – Marino  J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for February 26, Thursday of the First Week of Lent; Matthew 7:7-12

Gospel: Matthew 7:7-12

Jesus said to his disciples: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.”

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Reflection:

What do you do when your child sincerely ask something from you? You try your very best to give what he/she is asking from you. Why? Because you love your child and you don’t want to disappoint him/her. What if your parents will sincerely ask something from you? For the same reason you will also try your very best to give what your parents are asking from you.

The love of Jesus is far greater than the love of a parent to his/her child or a child’s love for his/her parents. What does this mean? If we will do everything to grant the request of our loved ones, Jesus will surely grant also whatever we sincerely ask from Him.

Our sincerity counts when we ask something from Jesus. For example when Jesus said to His disciples: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7). It goes without saying that Jesus expects utmost sincerity from them.

This is also what Jesus expects from us when we ask Him for something. The pureness of our desire is a major factor for Jesus to grant us what we want from Him. If Jesus sees that there’s no purity and sincerity in our prayers or if our prayers are centered  to serve our selfish ends. Then we can be assured that nothing will come out from it for we do it for our own selfish objectives.

In hindsight, this is also an invitation for us to reflect on our prayers for Jesus. He may not have yet granted some of our prayers, perhaps we need to re-assess our objectives. Perhaps we need to be more sincere and selfless in our prayers.

Are you always sincere when you pray to Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for February 25, Wednesday of the First Week of Lent; Luke 11:29-32

Gospel: Luke 11:29-32

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

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Reflection:

A sinful man had a conversion, when he was asked what moved him to be good and Godly. He replied this, I’m dying and I don’t want to be in hell when I depart this world. Hell is real as well as heaven and those who continue to sin and will continue to ignore God’s call to conversion will certainly end-up in hell someday.

Some of us may ask, is heaven and hell for real today? Yes it’s both real and it’s already here in our midst.  If we always do good our life would be like heaven on earth, yes there would be problems from time to time. But we will always overcome these problems because Jesus is always at our side to help. On the other hand if we continue to do bad we can expect our life to be in a hellish situation today. This is the practical reality of heaven and hell.

However, God loves us so much that He also wants us to repent and permanently walk away from our sinfulness. This is for the reason that the good lord wants us to experience heaven while we are still here in this world. And He also wants us to end-up in heaven after our passing in this world.  This is the great love of God for us, He always call us to repentance in everyday of our life.

Someday when we die some of us will say, if only I listened to Jonah and Jesus call of repentance. I would not be in this hellish environment right now but I did not. I instead continued to enjoy the many pleasures that were brought to me by the devil.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for February 24, Tuesday of the First Week of Lent Matthew 6:7-15

Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15

Jesus said to his disciples: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.    

“This is how you are to pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

“If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”

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Reflection:

What is the secret toward intimacy with God? Its prayers that comes from the depths of our beings. This is the foundation of our intimacy with God. From the fountain of our prayerful life will emanate the God given desire to know more about God. Do you always pray with your heart and mind on it? Or you only pray when you feel that you need to pray or when you have the time to pray?

The most effective method of prayer is to pray without any excess baggage in your heart. What does this mean? You pray without carrying any hatred in our heart. For example if someone has done you wrong and this person is asking for your forgiveness. What would you do? Will you forgive or not forgive? Of course you have to forgive. For how could God forgive you when you yourself is not willing to forgive? We have to live forgiveness if we want God to hear and forgive us.

We are mere passers by in this world, sooner or later the curtains of our life in this world will come to a close. How can we go to heaven if we carry the weight of unforgiveness in our hearts? And how can we go to heaven if we carry the weight of hatred in our hearts?

When Jesus was dying on the cross He said a short yet very meaningful prayer to God. While gasping for breath Jesus prayed this: Father forgive them for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34). If Jesus can forgive why can’t we forgive?        

Do you have hatred or any form of unforgiveness in your heart right now? Let go of it and if you still cannot let go humbly pray to Jesus and ask Him to heal you.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for Sunday February 22, First Sunday of Lent; Mark 1:12-15

Gospel: Mark 1:12-15

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.

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.

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Reflection:

What is the purpose of temptation/s? It’s to test a person’s endurance against Satan and his accompanying offer of attractive sin/s. Many of us fall prey to this temptation because we are spiritually weak and this is primarily caused by our not being always wired with God. This is the only reason why we fall into temptation: Our missing or weak connection with God.

What made Jesus survive His forty days temptation in the wilderness by Satan? It was His close connection with God. Jesus achieved this connection with God through His prayerful life. This is the reason why Jesus survived His own test of temptation by the devil in the desert. Jesus was tempted by the devil three times and He subsequently rejected it also three times.

Gold is purified by severe fire to eliminate its impurities we humans are also purified through temptations to make us pure and worthy before God. We are made more worthy before the eyes of God once we are able to pass through and defeat temptations.

As we go through our own forty days journey this lent we will not obviously be brought by satan to the desert like what he did with Jesus.  But certainly satan will also be at our side every once in a while he would try to temp us to sin against God and our fellowmen.

Let us not give-in to satan’s temptation no matter how attractive for when we succumb to it we sin and we distance ourselves from the love of God. The devil is very creative and devious he will do everything to make us sin. The devil will sugarcoat sin so that we would bite upon it and if we succumb our very life would now be in trouble for we would be under the devil’s control already.

Some of us would say to avoid the temptation of the devil is to already defeat it. No, for when we avoid temptation we are only prolonging our own agony and connection with the devil. Let us stare the devil and his temptation in  the eye and when we are eyeball to eyeball already let us reject him by our rock solid faith in God.

How do you defeat your own temptation/s? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for February 21, Saturday after Ash Wednesday Luke 5:27-32

Gospel: Luke 5:27-32 

Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me. And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

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Reflection:

How do we treat sinners? Are we quick to condemn them for who they are? Or we are patient with them and even build bridges with them so that they would also feel the love and forgiveness of Jesus?

When we judge sinners we also immediately cut-off the chance for us to be an instrument of their healing and conversion. We are also pushing them deeper into the mud of sin. But why are we judgmental when we are sinners also? Why are we judgmental when we are not perfect, when we too are subject to judgment?    

There is a story of a sinner who finally decided to change his ways. So he gathered enough courage and presented himself to his parents to ask for forgiveness. But the parents did not forgive him they instead condemned him as good for nothing and useless.

In the days that followed they received a call that their son ended his life. If only they were not  judgmental they could have saved a life and became an instrument of conversion. But they choose not to forgive.  

When Jesus saw the tax collector named Levi who was labelled as sinners by those who knew him. Jesus never condemned the tax collector He instead asked Levi to follow Him and this sinner left everything to follow Jesus. We see the beautiful result when we don’t condemn.

In the heart of every sinner rest a sacred place that is reserved for someone who will not judge them. A sacred place exclusively for those who would be willing to forgive them and help them get-up and start a new life with Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for February 20, Friday after Ash Wednesday Matthew 9:14-15

Gospel: Matthew 9:14-15 

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them and then they will fast.”

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Reflection:

What does fasting do to us? It cleanses our bodies, when we fast we dictate on our bodies rather than our bodies dictating on us. For example when we see a delicious food, our bodies would normally dictate upon us to eat that delicious food. This is always the scenario: Our bodies dictate upon us and we succumb to it.

However, when we fast, it’s the other way around we don’t succumb to this dictate we contradict it, for what reason? For the observance of certain customs and tradition in this case we can cite our fasting during Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

In our gospel, Jesus was questioned by the Pharisees why His disciples were not fasting. Jesus answered them this: They are not fasting for the reason that the bridegroom (Referring to Himself) is still with them. Therefore their tricky question was properly answered by Jesus.

Literal fasting when done for a good reason is valid but when it’s done for people to see or to get praise from people. It becomes invalid or useless it’s much better not to fast when we do it for show.   

But there’s a much meaningful and permanent fasting that God wants us to do. We permanently fast from oppressing others, we permanent fast from our arrogance and high sense of ourselves and we permanently fast from our greed and indifference.

Are we capable of doing this kind of fasting? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for February 19, Thursday after Ash Wednesday Luke 9:22-25

Gospel: Luke 9:22-25

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

Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”

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Reflection:

A man of the world was on the verge of ending his life, he decided to go to a cliff to jump so that he could end everything.  On his way he saw a church that has an inscription of the words of Jesus that says: Come follow me. He gave it a serious thought and decided to go to the church and inquire about it.

 There he was informed that it was a call to vocation in the service of the Lord. He thereafter decided not to end his life he instead responded to the instant vocation call. And soon after he found God and he also discerned the true meaning of his life with Jesus.

Many of us spend our lifetime to pursue our earthly ambition such as to be rich and powerful. And then when we reach the pinnacle of our ambitions we also discover that something is still lacking or missing. We yearn for something that is meaningful and something that would satisfy our inner being.   

This something that is meaningful that we yearn is no other than God. No matter how rich and powerful some of us may become we will still not have peace of mind. For the simple reason that only God will gives peace of mind only God will give us inner calmness and healing.

But the big question is this: Are we willing to give away our life to God so that He could save it and make full use of it? – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for February 18, Ash Wednesday (Fasting and Abstinence) Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Jesus said to his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.When you give alms,do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that you may not appear to be fasting except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

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Reflection:

How does the season of lent affect you? Does this make you closer to God? There are three keys for you to have a meaningful observance of lent. The first is Almsgiving, the second is Prayer and the third is Fasting. In all of these three Jesus advocates silence and self-introspection and Jesus advocates contradiction to what this world would normally dictate you to do.

In Almsgiving, Prayer and Fasting Jesus advocates doing it in the privacy of your heart. Nobody will know except you and God alone not even your closest relative or friend.  Why? Because it is in silence and secrecy that you would also receive blessings from God (Most especially spiritual blessings).  For example, how could you have peace of mind? It’s through silence. How would you feel the presence of God in your life it’s in silence also.

God is not a loud or boastful God He is not like the many artificial Gods of this secular world that thrives in noise and publicity. Come to think of it, is it possible to have communion with Jesus through noise and publicity? Never. You will never have connection with Jesus through noise, publicity and other acts of self-promotion.    

As we begin our forty (40) days journey this lent let us try to look back about the loudness of our lives. Let us look at our facebooks and observe how we loudly promoted our lives there and let us ask ourselves this question: Has this self-promotion and sometimes hedonistic lifestyle led me in close communion with Jesus?

Lent is the time of year that the Good Lord gives us so that we could get closer and intimate with Him. It is His hope that through lent we could have a close encounter with Him and this we could best do in silence.

As the priest or lay minister put ash with the sign of the cross on your forehead. Close your eyes and silently pray this to the Lord: Lord Lead me back to you and bring me closer to you. – Marino J. Dasmarinas