Reflection for Sunday January 1, Solemnity of Mary the Holy Mother of God; Luke 2:16-21

Luke 2:16-21

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.

When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

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Reflection:

A Blessed New Year to everyone!

What are your plans and expectations as you are ushered into this year? Whatever it is let us not forget that there’s a God who is in-charge of it all. Yes, we have to create our own plans but the final approval will come from God. It’s not our aspirations that will be followed we’re simply planners and the approval for our plans for this year will come from God.

When Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus were told by the shepherds on what was said to them by the angel. The Blessed Mother kept it in her heart, she reflected on it, Perhaps the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph had their own plans for their family. Perhaps both of them were wandering why it was happening to them why all these adversities?

 But they both listened to the message of God given to them by the shepherds coursed thru an angel. And what was the message? It was the birth of the Savior: That is the Messiah and the Lord.

As we walk the first baby steps of this infant year let us not forget to listen to the voice or messages of God for us. It may be disguised with trials, hardship and with persecution to boot! However, amidst these all let us steadfastly hold-on to our faith in God for He will not fail us!

As the Blessed Mother reflected on what was told to her by the shepherds, we too are encouraged to reflectively discern what is in store for us for this year. And let us not forget to ask the guidance of God and to ask the Blessed Mother to pray for us.

May we all have a Blessed and Prosperous New Year ahead of us and God bless us all! – Marino J. Dasmarinas       

Reflection for Saturday December 31, Seventh day within the octave of the Nativity of the Lord; John 1:1-18

Gospel: John 1:1-18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God. And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only-begotten Son, full of grace and truth.

John testified to him and cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’” From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only-begotten Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.

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Reflection:

Jesus is the word that became flesh that dwell amongst us and He became one with us. This is the mystery of the Incarnation: Jesus the word became like us with flesh and blood. 

This word that became flesh and blood shares with our pains and sufferings; He cures us from our sickness. He lightens our burdens because He walks with us and helps us carry our loads no matter how heavy.

But in spite of His incarnation there are still many who don’t know him. Some of us know Jesus but we refuse to accept Him as our Lord and Savior. We continue to ignore His call for conversion. 

So what happens is we are beset with problems; we don’t have peace of mind and we continue to be enslaved by money and other worldly things. This coming year, let us learn to lean and have hope in Jesus the word that became flesh. Let us allow Him to accompany us this 2017.

The moment you allow Jesus to dwell into your heart your life this 2017 will be full of hope and you will be able to survive the many challenges that you’ll face this 2017. -  Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for Friday December 30, The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph; Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

Gospel: Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

When the magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, Out of Egypt I called my son.

When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 

But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee. He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, He shall be called a Nazorean.

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Reflection:

A husband and wife who have been married in the church for more than twenty years. The couple has four grown-up offsprings; one day while the wife was rummaging into his husband’s things she discovered a long kept secret. Her husband has another family, to make a long story short she confronted him about it and he was made to choose by his wife. Them or his other family sadly the philandering husband chose his other family.

A few days ago poor boy around 9 years old approached me and requested something for Christmas. I asked him: where do you live? He said: very far from here. Then I said where are your mother and father? And the boy said: I don’t know where are they; as he walked away with what I’ve given him I looked at him as he faded into the darkness of night.

 I felt compassion for him unbelieving of his parents’ irresponsibility. There are many more depressing family situations that will make us cry and cringe in disappointment for parents who abdicate their family responsibilities.

Today we celebrate the The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph unlike the two depressing stories that I’ve mentioned this family is solid as a rock. They stayed together through severe persecution.

Saint Joseph is the model head of the family, he is obedient to the will of God unlike my first example Saint Joseph had no other family he was obedient to the will of God. He was also faithful to the Blessed Mother he took care of her and the baby Jesus.

Parents are the driver of their family where the parents goes so is their family. If the parents are irresponsible there’s a big chance that children would be also when they have their own families.

 Our own families are our domestic church this is where children are taught about the basics of faith, morals, and manners. What would happen to our children if we don’t even take time to nurture them, if we don’t bring them to church for Holy Mass?

If we don’t teach them about our Roman Catholic faith? If we don’t teach them how to pray the Rosary which is one of the basic family prayer. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Thursday December 29, Fifth day within the octave of the Nativity of the Lord; Luke 2:22-35

Gospel: Luke 2:22-35

When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

“Lord, now let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which you prepared in the sight of every people, a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

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Reflection:

Parents play a very vital role in the formation of values of their child, where the parents go so does their child.

For example, if the parents seldom brings to church for Holy Mass their children there’s a big chance that when they grow-up they will also rarely go to church for Holy Mass. If parents do not lead worthy lives there’s a big chance as well that children would be also. In other words the fruit would almost be the same with the tree.

In our gospel, Mary and Joseph both devoted to their Jewish upbringing brought the child Jesus to the temple in compliance with their Jewish law. They were leading by example on how it is to be faithful to the laws of God; they were forming the child Jesus to be like them.

It always pays to be good and godly parents because it helps mold the mind of the child to be good and to be godly as he/she matures. On the other hand we can just imagine a child being brought-up by irresponsible parents and parents who do not recognize the vital role of God in their life.

Though it does not assure 100%  that the fruit will always be like the tree. Yet when we always model good and godly behavior to our children we are already conditioning their minds to always do what is good and godly.

Therefore this modelling of good behavior will surely help them make important decisions in their own life as well. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for Wednesday December 28, The Holy Innocents, martyrs; Matthew 2:13-18

Gospel: Matthew 2:13-18

When the magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, Out of Egypt I called my son.

When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:

A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.

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Reflection:

What fuels extreme anger? It’s arrogance of power, it’s the mindset of ego and superiority. But the trouble with extreme anger is it makes us capable of doing extreme and dangerous acts too.

For example, in a quarrel between husband and wife. When the quarrel reaches its highest point both spouses could say and do things that they would regret after a few days or even hours. But the damage has been done already and there are times that the damage done would be irreversible no matter the regret and remorse.

So what should we do to avoid being sucked into this troublesome situation? Avoid the mindset of superiority and arrogance. Even if we have all the power and authority in this world let us not allow ourselves to be possessed by that power otherwise it will eventually destroy us.

Be humble instead, be considerate and be gentle. Be calm and collected under pressure of anger for this is how you could best live the teachings of Jesus.

When King Herod ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity within the age of two years and below (Matthew 2:16). His order was certainly fueled by his arrogance, ego, abuse of power and the mindset of superiority.

Did Herod suffer for his despicable act? He did certainly, he suffered in silence and he had no peace of mind for the rest of his life. This could happen to us also when we are arrogant and when we allow blind and extreme anger to rule us. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Tuesday December 27, Saint John, Apostle and evangelist; John 20:1a, 2-8

Gospel: John 20:1a, 2-8

On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.

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Reflection:

Who is the disciple that Jesus loved most? Of course it’s John the apostle whose feast we celebrate today. Among many other reasons, John is the beloved apostle because he remained with Jesus until His death on the cross.

 John never left Jesus like what others did; he stood for Jesus and was never afraid to show his fidelity to Him. John showed the mettle of his faith in Jesus by remaining with Him until the end. This is perhaps the reason why he is called the beloved disciple of Jesus.

Many times in our lives we also profess our love for Jesus. But when temptation comes along we often times choose to be tempted rather than remain loyal to Jesus. This is primarily the reason why many of us live complicated and chaotic life.

What if we try to be loyal to Jesus, what would be the effect of it in our life? If we would be loyal to Jesus we would avoid self-inflected problems and we will not fear whatever that may come to us.

Why is this so? The reason behind is we remained with Jesus and we never betrayed Him no matter how attractive the temptations to do so. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Monday December 26, Saint Stephen, first martyr; Matthew 10:17-22

Gospel: Matthew 10:17-22

Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”

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Reflection:

Do you feel persecuted for following Jesus? You are not alone; as you read this many are choosing to die for Jesus Christ than deny Him.

Contrary with those who promise a life of ease and affluence the moment we follow Jesus. Truth to tell is Jesus did not promise us a life of comfort and ease; He promised His constant presence within us amidst the persecution.

 So let us continue to become Jesus eyes, ears and hands in this world. Let us radiate Jesus’ light and love no matter the difficulties; let us not be afraid Jesus will always be with us.

Jesus Himself said in the gospel: “Whoever endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22).” – Marino J. Dasmarinas