1Reflection for Friday December 23, Fourth Week in Advent; Luke 1:57-66

Gospel: Luke 1:57-66

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

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Reflection:

“What then will this child be?” asked the neighbors about the newly born John. Perhaps, this is also the million dollar question that every parents ask themselves when their baby is born.

A child’s future to a great extent depends on how their parents rear them. As for John the Baptist, even if his destiny was already carved in stone and even if the guidance of the Lord was with him he was also properly brought-up by his parents: Elizabeth and Zechariah.

In every baptism that a baby goes through the guidance of the Lord is already with him/her. Then after baptism it is now the responsibilities of the parents to properly bring—up their child according to our catholic teachings and values. What happens then if the parents are irresponsible and they failed to properly guide the child? The parents are partly to blame if the child ends-up as a failure in his/her adult life.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were both ideal parents of John. He was taught discipline, simplicity, humility and the like.  John imbibed all of these values given to him by his parents. His parents teachings was John’s guiding light that prepared him to become the precursor for Jesus.

How are you rearing your child or how did your parents raise you? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Thursday December 22, Fourth Week in Advent; Luke 1:46-56

Gospel: Luke 1:46-56

Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. for he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.” Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her home.

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Reflection:

Do you remember to proclaim the greatness of the Lord and does your spirit rejoice in God your savior?

We may have different answers but the Blessed Mother pronounced these words (Magnificat) in the gospel with the purest of intentions. No double speak or meaning it was pure rejoicing for her for she realized the great honor that God bestowed on her.        

Did the Blessed Mother still rejoice during the passion of her son Jesus? Of course in her humanity she did not but deep inside her she was also ready for it for she knew that her son was destined to become the savior of humanity.

The Blessed Mother in her magnificat teaches us that we must proclaim and rejoice the greatness of Jesus we must thank Him for everything. In our triumphs and in our failures we must thank Him.

 But do we always remember to thank the Lord for our triumphs and failures every day? And why should we also thank the Lord for our failures? For the simple reason that we also learn from our failures and there’s always silver lining behind every failure.

Therefore we must proclaim the greatness of the good Lord in good times and in bad and triumphs and failures. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Wednesday December 21, Fourth Week in Advent; Luke 1:39-45

Gospel: Luke 1:39-45

Mary set out in those days and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

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Reflection:

Are we aware of the fact that during this Christmas season there are people who badly want our presence and who want to touch base with us? These people desire us to be with them even for a short time. They may be our parents, our siblings our children and our relatives whom we have not seen and talked for so long.

In the gospel today the Blessed Mother walked more than 100 km from Nazareth to the residence of her cousin Elizabeth just to see her and to let her know that she is there for her. Mary visited her cousin not minding the long distance that she will be going through Mary simply wanted to express her support to her cousin Elizabeth.

The Blessed Mother was also pregnant around that time. Yet she purposely did not mind her own needs so that she could focus on the needs of her cousin. Mary could have simply brushed aside her cousin Elizabeth but she did not.

How many of us are willing to do that selfless act? How many of us are willing to forget our own needs so that we could give happiness to others?  Let us all be like the Blessed Mother. 

Let us forget ourselves and make a very big difference in the lives of others especially the poor ones who cannot repay our act of altruism. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Monday December 19, Fourth Week in Advent; Luke 1:5-25

Gospel: Luke 1:5-25

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

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

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

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

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

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Reflection:

Are you faithful to the Lord’s command?

The couple Elizabeth and Zechariah were both well beyond their best years as far as having a child is concerned. But God unexpectedly blessed them with a child. Why did God elected to bless them with a child? Perhaps God did so because both were faithful to Him, both were righteous and they both observe blamelessly His commandments and ordinances.

There are things in life that may seem to be impossible already for us to achieve. But we must always remember that nothing is impossible with God.  Everything is possible for Him for so long as we have faith and are faithful to Him. This is evidenced by what happened to the righteous couple of Zechariah and Elizabeth.

What if they were not righteous? What if they did not faithfully observe the commandments of the Lord? Perhaps, the Good Lord wouldn’t have blessed them with a child. But they were faithful that’s why God rewarded them with a blessing of life.

I think that most of the blessing that God gives us is anchored on our faith and faithfulness towards Him. This is perhaps the first requirement of God if we want to receive something from Him. But are we always faithful to God? Do we always follow His commandments?- Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for Sunday December 18, Fourth Sunday of Advent; Matthew 1:18-24

Gospel: Matthew 1:18-24

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife into his home.

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Reflection:

Why can’t husbands be faithful to their wives? I can only surmise that it’s the lack of sufficient moral and spiritual groundings. I think it’s also the husband’s intentional forgetfulness of their Marriage vows which states: “To have and to hold, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health till death do us part.”

In contrast to the philandering husbands of today is Joseph the faithful, righteous and obedient husband of Mary. When Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant before they lived together he decided to divorce her quietly so that she would not be exposed to shame, humiliation and severe punishment.

 It was Joseph’s intention to divorce Mary but the angel of the Lord intervened in a dream and said: "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife into his home.

In the Sacrament of Matrimony the husband is also being told by God thru the  Marriage vows, thru the Sacramental blessing of the Priest which officiates through the person of Jesus and thru his wedding ring that he must be faithful to his wife not only for a month, not only for a year but for the rest of his life!

  

In the gospel we see Joseph’s humble submission to the will of God. He obediently followed what God said thru an angel; he therefore brought Mary to his home and took care of her for the rest of his life. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Saturday December 17, Third Week in Advent; Matthew 1:1-17

Matthew 1:1-17

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

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

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

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

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

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Reflection:

Can you still trace back your own family tree?

The family tree of Jesus is not all righteous some were sinners like us, for example King David committed adultery with a woman named Bathsheba. There were other sinners in His family tree but God chose to imbed Jesus in that lineage.

The incarnate God our Emmanuel wants to dwell in us too it doesn’t matter who we are or how sinful we are. He just wants to be with us so that we could find peace and hope in our lives. Peace and hope which are sorely lacking in our lives today.

As you trace back your own family tree you surely would find imperfections amongst them. But it should not dishearten you for the simple reason that nobody is perfect in this world. Even you are not perfect, notwithstanding your own imperfections always believe that the Good Lord has a plan for your life.   

And that plan is for you to have a personal relationship with Him. God is very excited to have a personal encounter with you! He wants you to become His close confidant. So that you’ll always have someone to run to whenever you’re being enveloped by the trials of this world.

This advent season, allow Jesus to come into your life and strive also to live your life worthy for His coming birth. Don’t think anymore of your sins for everyone of us are sinners think rather of Jesus unconditional love which is always available for you. -  Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Friday December 16, Third Week in Advent; John 5:33-36

John 5:33-36

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

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Reflection:

Do you have a personal experience about Jesus? For example an instance in your life wherein Jesus changed you to become a gentler and loving person or any experience that you have about Jesus.

If you have this one of a kind life changing experience with Jesus you have to share it, don’t just keep it to yourself.  This is for the reason that when you share your life experience with Jesus you can change another life courtesy of Jesus through you.

However we have to remember that we have to share Jesus in humility and gentleness. For the simple reason that this is where we could become more effective heralds of our savior. If we share Jesus with bombast we may never be able to bring others near Him because we humans gravitate toward humble and gentle people.

If we are afraid of sharing Jesus through the spoken word let us not be afraid to share Jesus through our actions. Actions of love, humility and gentleness for the simple reason that these acts are the best testament that Jesus is alive and has an active part in our lives. – Marino J. Dasmarinas