Reflection for Sunday January 29, Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time; Matthew 5:1-12a

Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12a

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.”

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Reflection:

What is the secret to have a full and meaningful life in this world? Is it to accumulate wealth and power? Is it to have a beautiful face and body? None of these actually. The secret is to be blessed by God or to have the blessing of God.

But how are we going to attract the blessing of God? It’s by living a simple and humble life. A person who is preoccupied with chasing the offerings of this world and a person who is so full of himself will never be blessed and will never find true happiness which only God can give.

By possessing wealth and power the worldly person will be deluded to believe that he/she is already blessed. But in the long run he/she will eventually realize how much emptiness wealth and power has brought into his/her life.

Who is the ultimate giver of real blessing and happiness? It’s Jesus, He who always leads us to know God deeply. He who always lead us to have an awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit within us. And He who initially opens the doorway of faith for us.

The eight beatitudes that Jesus gave to His disciples and to us also is a contradiction to those who are so enamored by this world.  But truth be told beneath the eight beatitudes lies true blessedness and happiness.

This we could easily discover and feel if we are humble and simple for the reason that God always shower His infinite blessings to those who are simple and humble. – Marino J. Dasmarinas    

Reflection for Saturday January 28, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church; Mark 4:35-41

Gospel: Mark 4:35-41

On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples: “Let us cross to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still! The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”

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Reflection:

Was Jesus only testing the faith of His disciples when He allowed them to go through severe storm? If He was, then Jesus found out that His disciples were terribly wanting in faith. Jesus calmed the violent sea storm to assure His disciples that He is in control of everything.

We too will encounter storms in our life. How would we handle these life storms? Would we allow these storms to defeat us and prevent us from living our lives? Or we continue to become calm under duress caused by these life storms?

The obvious answer is we will continue to be calm no matter how difficult the storm/s that we will be encountering. For the reason that we have Jesus in our life, we know that Jesus will take charge of every life storm that we will be encountering.

We are often times easily rattled by our life storms or problems because we are lacking in faith. If only we would learn to trust Jesus more than we trust on ourselves. If only we will not lean on our own finite understanding.

We would then be able to discover how mightily powerful Jesus is. That Jesus is more than enough to defeat any kind of life storms that we would be encountering in our lives. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Friday January 27, Third Week in Ordinary Time; Mark 4:26-34

Gospel: Mark 4:26-34

Jesus said to the crowds: "This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come."

He said, "To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade." With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

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Reflection:

Did you know that God has scattered the seeds of faith in your heart?

Your knowledge of God always starts witha minute idea in your mind. For example, when you were young you know that there’s a God but as to who is this God and what is the role of this God in your life you don’t know yet. As you mature you nurture this idea by thinking  about God. By going to Holy Mass, by reading the scriptures and by researching about your faith in the internet.

By doing all these things the little idea that God has given you would now grow bigger until God becomes the stronghold of your life. He now becomes your safe refuge that you always look for during your times of distress.

However, not all nurture their idea about God and not all seek refuge in God. Many of us seek refuge in our vices and with our friends. Only to discover later that the refuge that they provide are short lived and passing. The only refuge that is forever is God all other refuges that others seek during their time of distress are all tied with the passing of time.

What is your part in this scheme of scattering of seeds by God? Your part is to help this seeds grow in the hearts of your fellowmen. This you can best do by sharing what you know about God, by living the teachings of God. And by encouraging others to read the scriptures and to attend Holy Mass. -  Marino J. Dasmarinas    

1Reflection for Thursday January 26, Saints Timothy and Titus, bishops; Mark 4:21-25

Gospel Mark 4:21-25

Jesus said to his disciples, "Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear." He also told them, "Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

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Reflection:

What do you do after your presence in the Holy Mass? What do you do after you’ve read and reflected on the word of God? Do you keep it only to yourself?

God who continues to make a difference in your life must shine brightly within you. Not necessarily through your words but most importantly through your actions. If you read in the bible that you should be humble and forgiving. By all means be forgiving and humble.

If there’s a need for you to reach out don’t think twice. Reach out and let Jesus who always reach out shine within you. When you do things for Jesus you have to always do it with humility so that Jesus should always be seen in you.

You allow yourself to become the lampstand of Jesus when you do things with humility. As such you will shine brightly and it will be Jesus who would be highlighted and not yourself.

Many of us commit this frequent mistake of raising ourselves in the pedestal of prominence. We purposely upstage Jesus and it is our ego and our very high regard of ourselves that are seen. – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for Wednesday January 25, Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle; Mark 16:15-18

Gospel Mark 16:15-18

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

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Reflection:

Sometimes it’s hard to believe how sinners or persecutors of Jesus become a follower of Jesus. Often times we are skeptical about them, we don’t believe that they’ve turned a new page in their lives. But nothing is impossible with Jesus; He can do miracles in our lives He can convert us to become His followers.

Today is the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul. Saul who became Paul is a former persecutor of Jesus and the church that He built. He had nothing but hatred and scorn for the church and its people until Jesus converted Him.

While he was on a journey going to Damascus he saw a blinding light and he heard a voice that asked him: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me (Acts 9:3-4)?” This encounter with Jesus on the road of Damascus was the beginning of Saul’s conversion and it culminated when he regain his sight.

Everyone of us have a dark past yet the good Lord is always there for us ever ready to convert us. What He only ask from us is our willingness to leave behind our sinful lives. So that we could start to live a new life and be an instrument of Jesus for the conversion of our fellowmen. – Marino J. Dasmarinas    

Reflection for Tuesday January 24, Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church; Mark 3:31-35

Gospel Mark 3:31-35

The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house. Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him. A crowd seated around him told him, "Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you." But he said to them in reply, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."

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Reflection:

A homeless boy was given shelter by a compassionate family. They treated him as a member of their family and shouldered his education until college. After finding a job he generously gave back to the family. All the love and care that they gave him he gave back a hundred times.

The family who assumed responsibility for this boy is a relative of Jesus and this poor God fearing boy is a brother of Jesus. Why? Because Jesus tells us that whoever does the will of God is His brother, sister and mother.

How about those who do not live their lives according to the commandments of Jesus?  Who do no good to the poor and in need? Are they already cut-off from Jesus? No they’re not, for the simple reason that Jesus is a merciful and forgiving God, He patiently waits for those who are misguided, those who do not show compassion and love until they find enlightenment.

The infinite mercy of Jesus is always available for us no matter who we are yet Jesus is always challenging us to do good to our fellowmen. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Monday January 23, Third Week in Ordinary Time; Mark 3:22-30

Gospel Mark 3:22-30

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.” Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided he cannot stand; that is the end of him. But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin. For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.

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Reflection:

What comes to your mind when you hear or read about Satan? Is it the usual concept of a dark and frightening figure with horns, tail and fork?

The devil is real but it doesn’t appear as what we’ve usually conceived it to be. Often times it disguises itself using other means so that we would not be able to identify it. Satan is real, in fact he is always around us taking his time until it sees an opportunity to take control of us.

It disguises itself in the appearance of an attractive woman or an attractive man   whom we still crave to covet even if we’re already committed or married. It disguises itself through a friends who wants to bring us to sleazy clubs and other sinful places.

 It masquerades as an uncontrollable sexual desire that tries very hard to take control of us. It presents itself in the form of money that will try to enslave and control us until such time that we already make it our God.

What is the antidote to this evil one? It’s your rock solid faith and friendship with Jesus. You therefore have to know more about Jesus by reading your bible and by your frequent presence at Holy Mass. So that you could easily ward off Satan the moment he presents himself to you. – Marino J. Dasmarinas