Sunday, June 12, 2016

1Reflection for Sunday June 12, 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time; Luke 7:36-50

Gospel: Luke 7:36-50
One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to share his meal, so he went to the Pharisee’s home, and as usual reclined at the table to eat. 37 And it happened that, a woman of this town, who was known as a sinner, heard that he was in the Pharisee’s house. She brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and stood behind him, at his feet, weeping. She wet his feet with tears; she dried them with her hair; she kissed his feet and poured the perfume on them. 39 The Pharisee who had invited Jesus was watching, and thought, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what sort of person is touching him; isn’t this woman a sinner?” 40 Then Jesus spoke to the Pharisee and said, “Simon, I have something to ask you.” He answered, “Speak, master.” And Jesus said, 41 “Two people were in debt to the same creditor. One owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other fifty. 42 As they were unable to pay him back, he graciously canceled the debts of both. Now, which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, who was forgiven more.” And Jesus said, “You are right.” 44 And turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? 45 You gave me no water for my feet when I entered your house; but she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You didn’t welcome me with a kiss; but she has not stopped kissing my feet since she came in. 46 You provided no oil for my head; but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 This is why, I tell you, her sins, her many sins, are forgiven, because of her great love. But the one who is forgiven little, has little love.” 48 Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 The others reclining with him at the table began to wonder, “Now this man claims to forgive sins!” 50 But Jesus again spoke to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace!”
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Reflection:
A sinner who was so burdened by her many sins was contemplating of ending her life. When he was about to take the drugs that would end it all. She suddenly remembered what he read about the infinite love of Jesus. That Jesus loves her dearly no matter who she is and no matter how grave the sins that she committed.

After that enlightened episode in her life she decided to go to the Sacrament of Confession so that she could be reconciled once again with Jesus and be cleaned from all of her sinfulness. 

Aside from Jesus when have two very interesting characters in the gospel. One is a Pharisee named Simon and the other one is an unidentified woman who was labeled as a sinner. As usual Simon was the self-righteous Pharisee who thinks of himself as a non-sinner thus he detested the woman who humbly went to Jesus begging for forgiveness of her many sins. Did this woman know that Jesus would listen to her plea for forgiveness? Did this woman know that Jesus would give a portion of His precious time for her?

Yes this woman knew that Jesus would listen to her appeal of forgiveness and yes this woman knew that Jesus will give not only a portion of His precious time but even all of His time so that He could listen to her.

Many of us do not care to submit ourselves to the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Confession because we have the same mindset with Simon the Pharisee. We are self-righteous and we are quick to judge our fellowmen’s sinfulness but not our own sinfulness.

But truth be told, nobody is free from sin amongst us for we are all sinful. So what are we going to do? We have to be like the woman who recognized her own sinfulness. The same woman who went to Jesus with an alabaster jar of perfume to pour it on His feet. And the same woman who was so filled with repentance thus she wept unabashedly before Jesus.

Have you been to the healing Sacrament of Confession lately? – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Friday, June 10, 2016

Reflection for June 11, Saturday Saint Barnabas, Apostle; Matthew 5:33-37

Gospel: Matthew 5:33-37
Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the Evil One.”
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Reflection:
Do you stand by your word?

Our words are one of the essential showcase of our character. For example, if we are prone not to fulfill what we say we would eventually loss our credibility. No one will believe us anymore because the minds of those who know us have already been conditioned that we don’t stand-up for what we say.

But the moment we start to value word of honor and once we only say what is true. Our moral value and credibility will never be questioned for the simple reason that we have word of honor.

Many of us do not value anymore word of honor. Lying or to tell lies is just ordinary thing for many of us. We are not anymore bothered about its negative impact on our reputation. And the harm that it will create to our fellowmen, this is who some of us are today, very sad but very true also.  

To have integrity and word of honor is something that we have to imbibe. We have to discard any form of lying and we have to back-up our words with truthful and sincere actions. – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for June 10, Friday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 5:27-32

Gospel: Matthew 5:27-32
Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.

“It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
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Reflection:
A husband without any qualms told his wife that it’s all over for them, that they can now go on their separate lives. This is the culture nowadays; the sacredness of marriage is not anymore being respected by married couples. Adultery and divorce is always a tempting easy way out for them.

Why do these two evil instruments exist? For the simple reason that we don’t value our faith in Jesus anymore. Yes, we worship Jesus at church but we purposely imprison Jesus inside the four walls of the church. 

We don’t bring Jesus with us and we don’t allow Him to live with us. Since if we live the teachings of Jesus we would be afraid to even think of these two evil instruments. Much more commit and plunge our very selves into it.

But all is not lost yet, there is still hope and He is no other than Jesus. Let us bring Jesus with us, let us live His teachings and let us make Him our armor. So that we can easily protect ourselves from the evil scheming of the devil who always seeks to destroy the sanctity of the Marriage Covenant. - Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Reflection for June 9, Thursday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time; 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 with him. 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 cure for anger? It’s humility.

Nobody of us are perfect once in a while we get angry but do we have the humility to make amends after we have injured someone with our arrogance? Only a humble and gentle person would have the courage to say I’m sorry for what I did. But to say I’m sorry is not easy to do, only a humble person would summon enough courage to say this magic words that have healed so many disputes and arguments.

In our gospel for today, Jesus gives us teaching about anger. Jesus tells us that we must be reconciled with those whom we have differences and had feelings of enmity. But why do we get angry in the first place? We get angry because we lack humility, we get angry because we have this superiority complex against our fellowmen.

It’s only humility that could deescalate and eventually eliminate our anger. Let us therefore pray for the grace of humility, let us ask the God the Holy Spirit to give it to us. The best test of humility is our willingness to apologize and to admit our mistakes before those whom we have hurt.

Do you have the humility to apologize?  Apologize for it will set you free. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Reflection for June 8, Wednesday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 5:17-19

Gospel: Matthew 5:17-19
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
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Reflection:
What will happen to us if we would always observe the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-1) and the two greatest commandments that Jesus gave us (Matthew 22:36-40)? We will move closer to Jesus, we will grow in faith and there would be peace in our life.

This is the price that awaits those who would observe the laws of God. Without close observance of God’s commandments there would also be no close relationship with God. Observe those who don’t follow the commandments of God or observe your very own self when you don’t follow God’s commandments. What kind of life would you have? Isn’t a life of chaos and endless problems?

Therefore the key to intimacy with God is our faithful observance of His commandments. But human as we are we are also subject to our own frailties. We fall and sin every once in a while and thus we are temporarily separated from the love of God.

However Jesus also instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation so that whenever we sin we have a recourse out of sin. But do we take advantage of this healing and merciful sacrament? Are we conscious that this sacrament can completely erase every sin that we have committed? – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Monday, June 6, 2016

Reflection for June 6, Monday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 5:1-12

Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
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Reflection:
There was a man who wanted to be happy; he chased the cravings of the world: riches, popularity, power, lust, recognition and many more worldly things. He achieved all of those things but in spite of it all he came out empty and broken. He was still yearning for something.

While in deep thought in their house he chanced upon a dusty Bible he opened it and accidentally read on this Gospel reading (Matthew 5:1-12). He read and re-read the Gospel until it dawned on him that it was the answer to the happiness that he’s been searching for.

He practiced and lived the eight beatitudes and he finally experienced the fountain of happiness that he has been longing for so long.

The Gospel about the eight (8) Beatitudes is a paradox if we compare it with the standards of this world. For example: how can we be blessed and how can the kingdom of heaven be ours if we are materially and spiritually poor. Isn’t it more appropriate to say: Blessed are the rich in spirit for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Isn’t it more appropriate to say: Blessed are those who are joyful instead of blessed are those who mourn.

There’s a contradiction for each eight Beatitudes based on our worldly standards. But Jesus is challenging us to follow His teachings of the Beatitudes for it is here where we would find true happiness and peace.

On John 14:27 Jesus tells us: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid."

Are you willing to embrace Jesus’ teachings of the Beatitudes? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Reflection for Sunday June 5, Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time; Luke 7:11-17

Gospel: Luke 7:11-17
Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, crying out “A great prophet has arisen in our midst, “ and “God has visited his people.” This report about him spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.
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Reflection:
Do you want to feel the compassion and mercy of Jesus

Jesus compassion is undeniably supreme in our gospel reading today. Upon seeing the widow HE was moved with compassion and sympathy for her. Jesus has compassion for all of us also, we who are struggling with life, Jesus is always with us, HE feels our loneliness, brokenness and our emptiness.

Jesus saw a widow crying over the death of her only son When Jesus saw her; he was moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” And then Jesus did the unthinkable, He raised the widow's only son to life.

How many times has Jesus made miracles in our lives that we are not aware of? In the daily grind of life let us not forget that Jesus is always by our side making little and big miracles in our lives. Let us not forget it, let us always be grateful to Him by personally thanking Him.

Perhaps you’ve also passed through a stage of sorrow, loneliness and even brokenness. How were you able to triumph over it?  Did you ask help from Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas