Reflection for Sunday January 8, Solemnity of The Epiphany of the Lord; Matthew 2:1-12

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.” Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

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Reflection:

A mother was on the verge giving-up on her wayward son until she was advised by her friend to continue to be persevering with him. She further was told to bring her son closer to Jesus through her prayers and not to give-up on praying for his conversion. The mother heeded the advice of her friend and true enough after years of patiently praying and guiding her son. Her son finally found Jesus and had a conversion.

Today is the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord; Jesus’ manifestation to the gentiles represented by the Magi. These three wise men diligently looked for Jesus to honor Him with their presence and gifts. With their diligence they found Him in a house with His mother Mary and offered their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

 These three wise men from the east meticulously searched for Jesus until they finally found Him. let us also continue to search and thirst for Jesus in our lives. If we say that we’ve already found Him and that He is already in our hearts let us not be content with this. Let us dig deeper into the life of Jesus and let us discover more about Him. Jesus will never disappoint anyone who diligently searches for Him; He will make Himself available to them.

As the Magi were very diligent with their search for Jesus. We are also challenged to continuously search and to have this continues thirst and hunger for Him. Let us look for Jesus in the poor and homeless, let us look for Jesus in the oppressed and in those many that are neglected. For He is always with them And let us give them the best that we could give them. -  Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for January 7, Saturday before Epiphany; John 2:1-11

Gospel: John 2:1-11

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servers, "Do whatever he tells you." Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told them, "Fill the jars with water." So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now." Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.

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Reflection:

What can we learn out of this first miracle of Jesus in the wedding at Cana? We learn of the enormous influence of his mother Mary over him. In the middle of the wedding banquet they suddenly run out of wine however thanks to Mary who informed Jesus that there was no more wine left.

Mary went to Jesus to tell Him that they have no more wine on the surface it appears that Jesus doesn’t care if they have no more wine. However, deep within Him Jesus cared for the simple reason that it was brought to His attention by His mother Mary.

What if Mary was not in the wedding, who amongst the disciples have the guts to approach Jesus to tell Him that there was no more wine? Perhaps nobody would have dared disturb their Master but thanks to the presence of Mary and her motherly instinct and influence over Jesus.

Mary is always listened to by Jesus for the simple reason she is His mother. Jesus came into this world through Mary, from His birth up to His death Mary was with Jesus as well. No small wonder that Mary has great influence over Jesus.

Do you always seek the intercession of the Blessed Mother? -  Marino J. Dasmarinas     

Reflection for Friday January 6, Friday before Epiphany; Mark 1:7-11

Gospel: Mark 1:7-11

This is what John the Baptist proclaimed: "One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."

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Reflection:

Do you still remember the date of your baptism and the priest that administered your baptism? Perhaps you don’t remember it anymore for the simple reason that it was a long long time ago. But should we strive to remember the date of our baptism? We should because it was through our baptism that we became a member of the Catholic/Universal church.

 Our Baptism is not only a rite or a Sacrament it is also a responsibility that we need to fulfill and what is the responsibility? The responsibility is to help Jesus spread the faith. Therefore, through baptism we become one with the mission of the church.

In the gospel, Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan river it was not a ceremonial baptism. It was rather a baptism that signalled the beginning of the mission of Jesus. Thus, after baptism Jesus commenced with His mission of salvation.

We have to be gently reminded that we always share in the mission of Jesus by virtue of our baptism. Thus, we have to ask ourselves: Have I already shared the gospel of Christ and am I living right now the teachings of the gospel? – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for Thursday January 5, Saint John Neumann; John 1:43-51

Gospel: John 1:43-51

Jesus decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, "Follow me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth." But Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him." Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree." Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this." And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

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Reflection:

Jesus said to Philip: Follow me, such powerful words coming from Jesus. Thus, Philip could do nothing except to humbly follow the Messiah. This is the reason why Philip became one of the twelve apostles, he was called by Jesus.  

What if Jesus would call you to follow Him, would you respond to His call?

Follow where? Follow Him in His humility, follow Him in His perseverance, follow Him in His being a man for others, follow Him in His gentleness and follow Him in His humble obedience to the will of God.

These powerful words of Jesus echoes until this very minute and it is not anymore addressed to Philip but to you and me! He powerfully tells us to follow Him; many have said yes and followed Jesus already.

Many have forsaken their material riches, high society status and power for the sake of Jesus. Why? Because at last they found the one that will finally cure their emptiness and brokenness. Emptiness and brokenness which they thought could be filled-up by their riches and power but it never did.

Many of us are still chasing after riches and power at what cost and for what? When we are at our deathbeds riches and power will not anymore matter what will matter is the relationship that you have with Jesus. Even now the riches and power that you are chasing will never complete you it will even exacerbate your emptiness.      

Will you finally say yes to Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for Wednesday January 4, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious; John 1:35-42

Gospel: John 1:35-42

John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God." The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come, and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, "We have found the Messiah," which is translated Christ. Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas," which is translated Peter.

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Reflection:

Do you respond when Jesus calls you? The call of Jesus comes in so many ways. He would indirectly call you using a friend or a written commentary.  

We have to respond when Jesus calls us, we must not ignore His call. What is the centrepiece of Jesus call? It’s always to walk away from sinfulness because sins make our lives problematic. Therefore when God calls us it’s an offer to take away our problems, problems that we create for ourselves brought about by our sinfulness.    

Let us respond to this call of Jesus and we will see that little by little there would be less sin related problems in our life. Problems that we create for ourselves because we refuse to hear the call of Jesus.   

What else will happen when we respond to Jesus call? We will know more about Jesus and His life. There would be strengthening of our faith and we will have a sturdy wall to lean-on whenever we pass through the many challenges of life.

In our gospel when Andrew and his companion heard John said: “Behold the Lamb of God.” The phrase uttered by John struck a chord in them that they decided to follow Jesus. As they were following they asked Him: Where are you staying?” And Jesus gave them a very meaningful response by saying: “Come and you will see.” (John 1: 36-39) – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Tuesday January 3, The most Holy Name of Jesus; John 1:29-34

Gospel: John 1:29-34

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, 'A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.' I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel." John testified further, saying, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God."

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Reflection:

Do you always crave for attention and recognition?

Whether we admit it or not, there are times that we gloat about ourselves and we crave to be recognized. This is one of our human frailties to raise ourselves in the altar of prominence most especially when we gain something for ourselves. Or when there is an opportunity for us to be recognized we immediately grab that fleeting moment of opportunity.

There are even some who change with time; for example in friendship some are like weather conditions. They often change as they gain riches and higher life status. But least we forget that whatever we have now is temporary. Someday or even sooner what we have now may be taken from us and we end up with nothing.

So let us keep our feet on the ground, let us at all times follow the humble path of John the Baptist so that we could become effective heralds for Jesus. Let us share Jesus if not in our words we do it through our actions. Many do not know Jesus because we don’t live the teachings of Jesus.

John lived to the hilt the teachings of Jesus, he did not compete with Jesus for attention. He instead let Jesus shine not minding if some of his followers left him for Jesus. Why? For the simple reason that John was so secure in His role as the precursor for the messiah.

Insecurity was never in the bones of John, he let Jesus bloom as he silently did his role outside of the fleeting lights of recognition. -  Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for Monday January 2, Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church; 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:

We pale in comparison to John the Baptist in every aspect of his humble and virtuous life. John has every opportunity to claim greatness but he was not tempted by the sudden fame. He instead remained humble and did not claim honor that was not due him.

How about us? Are we humble enough to let others take credit for an endeavor which was partly realized with our help? It’s very tempting to ego trip and take credit for it but the gospel is telling us that we must be humble at all times. We must not take credit for any achievement that is not ours.

John teaches us that true greatness before the Lord is to humble ourselves before Him. Never mind the adulation or praises of the crowd for these are just temporary and passing. 

Never mind if others are taking credit for the good that you’ve done. Let us always be reminded that God is not sleeping He sees everything that we do. Not only that God sees us; God also know what is in our hearts.

If we want to mature in our faith, we ought to emulate John’s discipleship; his humility and his self-effacing attitude for these are the qualities that would help us grow in faith and wisdom. -  Marino J. Dasmarinas