Reflection for Sunday June 19, 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time; Luke 9:18-24

Gospel: Luke 9:18-24

Once when Jesus was praying by himself, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.” He scolded them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.

He said, “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.”

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Reflection:

Do you want to grow in your relationship with Jesus and are you willing to suffer for Jesus?

Our personal relationship and knowledge about Jesus is always brought about by the frequency and intensity of our prayer life. For example, the more that we incorporate prayer in our daily lives the more that Jesus becomes clearer to us and the more also that we become closer to Him.

It is in this process of being close to Jesus that we allow ourselves to suffer for Him.  Not suffer for the sake of suffering but to suffer joyfully for Him and for His people.

 For example, if we help and give food to those who are in need our pockets will suffer. When we give our priceless time and energy for the sake of the people of God our bodies will suffer for the simple reason that we will be tired. But the true joy and fulfillment of this kind of suffering is unfathomable.

Jesus in the gospel invites us all to have this prayerful life, to emulate Him who always pray to the Father in solitude. In the process of our prayerful life the true identity of Jesus will crystallize in our lives. And without us knowing it we are already sharing Him by the way we live.

We will surely suffer if we follow, share and live Jesus. However, let us not be afraid of this kind of suffering since this kind of suffering is actually a blessing.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for June 18, Saturday of the Eleventh Week in OT; Matthew 6:24-34

Gospel: Matthew 6:24-34

Jesus said to his disciples: “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

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Reflection:

There was a man who literally wanted to test God’s providence, so he said to God: “God I will go to a remote mountain. I will be wandering there for a month and I will bring nothing with me except what I’m wearing.

On the first week he sustained himself with fruits that were within his reach. Then on the second week he accidentally stumbled on a small community of tribesmen. Once they saw him they wondered why he was different from them. They said to themselves this man must be God sent, so they treated him like a king and in return he taught them a lot of things that could be useful to them.

After a month he bade them goodbye, he was now fully convinced of God’s eternal providence.

In the gospel Jesus said to his disciples: “If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all (Matthew 6:30-32).”

The secret to a happy and fulfilled life is to serve God in whatever capacity and abandon our lives to His providence, he will provide for us for so long as we trust him our lives. Let us not be worried let us not be afraid.

Jesus himself said this: “Do not be troubled; trust in God and trust in me.” (John 14:1) – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for June 17, Friday of the Eleventh Week in OT; Matthew 6:19-23

Gospel: Matthew 6:19-23

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

“The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.”

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Reflection:

There were two friends named Romeo and Lito. Romeo was a man of the world, he was very obsessed on getting rich. He engaged in business spending a major portion of his time thinking how he could further grow it. He was very successful at it because he ended up as one the richest in their town. He was a very busy man and due to his busyness God was never part of his life.

Lito was the exact opposite of George; he was not obsessed with getting rich. He was content with his job in the government. He was a very pious man, doesn’t miss to worship Jesus at Mass and he was a helpful presence in their community.

Eventually both of them died, Lito had a smooth transition towards heaven but Romeo was not as fortunate. He was denied entry by Saint Peter for he stored treasures on earth where moth and decay destroys and thieves break in and steal.

Whether we admit it or not majority of us are people of this world, we are so concerned with our materials wellbeing and the exterior impression that others would have on us. We forget that what we have in this world are all temporary. It’s like “Chasing the wind” so to speak. All these material things that we have right now will eventually slip from our hands sooner or later.

What is important is we store up treasures in heaven.  Where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. This is best exemplified by being always connected with God and by doing acts of mercy and love.

Let us always bear in mind that all of us are just passersby in this world, this is not our permanent dwelling. Thus we have to put forward God first before anything that is from this world. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for June 16, Thursday of the Eleventh Week in OT; 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 others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”

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Reflection:

How important is prayer to your life? If you have five things to do everyday, is prayer included in that five?

When we pray with our heart we allow the good Lord to nourish our parched spirits. Through our prayers we also invite the good Lord to come into our life. And it’s also through our humble prayers that we slowly but surely develop our intimacy with Jesus.

In our gospel Jesus teaches us how to pray: It’s simple, short and direct and it does not beat around the bush. We must be frank, persevering and honest to Jesus for He knows what we need beforehand. We must also be sincere and always humble in prayer before our God.

For example, do we close our eyes when we pray the Our Father? Does this prayer make us sometimes cry when we pray it? Do we still kneel when we pray this prayer? These are all acts of piety that will help us have a more personal connection with Jesus.  

Jesus is also reminding us to re-examine our life of prayer. For we may be just praying for the sake of praying thus it’s already without spirit and fire.

How do we pray the Lord’s prayer? Do we still pray it with all our heart and being or we simply babble it with our minds wandering somewhere else? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for June 15, Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in OT; 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 others 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:

Jesus gives us three commands:

1. 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.

2.  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.

3. When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting.

Jesus reminds us to have an interior self-examination about our lives.  How are we living it right now? Do we live our lives so that others may notice us?  Are we only using God so that we will gain the admiration of our fellowmen?

Jesus advocates humility and secrecy in doing things for Him. We should not boast of the things that we do for God and for our fellowmen. Otherwise it’s all useless and chasing the wind. Jesus knows everything about us; our motives and the real reason why we do things for Him. He knows if we are only using Him to advance our own self serving agendas.   

Maybe we only live and do things for ourselves and we have no real concern for the lives of others. We may have also strayed very far already from Jesus, we may have betrayed Him for countless times in favor of the many sins of this world.

Let us humble ourselves before Jesus and ask for His mercy and forgiveness. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for June 14, Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in OT; 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 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:

It’s very easy to love those who love us back but can we still love those whose  love for us is declining?

During the infancy of marriage both spouses love each other deeply. But after a couple of years cracks will show up to test the strength of the marriage bond. For example, the spouse will not be affectionate anymore he would not be as what he used to be during the early part of marriage.

Will you easily give-up on your spouse whose love for you is waning? Of course not! You should rather continue on loving your spouse no matter his/her coldness to you. You should never give up and try to understand his/her imperfections and shortcomings for the simple reason that you also have your own imperfections and shortcomings.

Jesus’ love for us is not a selective love, love that is not based on the love that we give to Him. He loves us dearly in-spite of our many imperfections and shortcomings. – Marino J. Dasmarinas      

Reflection for June 13, Monday; Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor; Matthew 5:38-42

Gospel: Matthew 5:38-42

Jesus said to his disciples: You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.

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Reflection:

Do you know that exacting revenge against someone who did you wrong will not do you any good? For example you discovered that your spouse was unfaithful to you and you get back at her/him by being unfaithful as well. Do you know that you’re only enveloping yourself with sin?

There’s a psychological study that says that when a person is at the height of his anger he momentarily loses his rationality that’s why he/she commits sin that is unthinkable for him/her to do. After which he/she gains his/her rationality but it’s already late because sin has already been committed.

In the gospel passage Jesus told the disciples: “offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles (Matthew 5:39-41).

Jesus did not retaliate for all the punishments and insults that the Jews and roman soldiers did to Him, He was always meek and humble. May we always be meek and humble also to those who sin against us most especially sins inside the marriage covenant.

May we learn to turn the other cheek, hand our cloak and learn to walk some more miles for the sake of peace and eventual harmony inside the marriage covenant.

Instead of retaliating with the betrayal of the marriage covenant which will only make us sin. Why not engage in dialogue, prayer and forgiveness? – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

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  

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 

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