Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Reflection for Saturday April 8, Fifth Week of Lent: John 11:45-56

Gospel: John 11:45-56
Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to kill him.

So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples. Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves. They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?”
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Reflection:
Do you always make yourself available to the people? For example if you’re a politician are you always available to your constituents even if it’s not election time? Many politicians are only available when they campaign during election. But after the election has been won they are already hard to find.

If you’re a priest or a person of God do you always make yourself available to those who are in need of your time and advice? Many person of God discriminates; they are always available to those who are rich and powerful. But they are not always available to the poor and powerless. 

Aside from performing miraculous healings Jesus is also humble, approachable, and helpful. He always empathized with the poor and lowly. This is what made Jesus dear to the hearts of the people most especially the common people.

Through these virtues He galvanized into one the dispersed children of God. And it created a bandwagon effect that whoever saw or even heard about Him was captivated to follow Him. Thus Jesus became a threat to the powers that be at that time.

We who follow Jesus must learn from these human qualities of Jesus. We may not have the gift to perform miraculous healings. But if we are humble, approachable and always available we could also be His representative to our fellowmen most especially to the poor and powerless. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Monday, April 3, 2017

Reflection for Friday April 7, Fifth Week of Lent: John 10:31-42

Gospel: John 10:31-42
The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?" The Jews answered him, "We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God." Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, 'You are gods"'? If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and Scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? If I do not perform my Father's works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." Then they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power.

He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained. Many came to him and said, "John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true." And many there began to believe in him.
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Reflection:
Raffy was a popular figure in their parish, he was being consulted every time there was problems and decisions to be made. Then a new figure in the parish came along a humble man whose wisdom was very profound. Suddenly the people in the parish gravitated to this humble and wisdom filled man. Therefore Raffy planned to bring down this humble man so that he could once again be the main man in their parish. 

The hatred of the Jews against Jesus was not only caused by His pronouncement that He and God are one and the same. Their hatred against Jesus was also caused by their envy with Jesus popularity with the people most especially with the ordinary people. The Jews were slowly losing grip of their authority because of Jesus. Therefore they must plot to kill Him at any cost.

There would also be people who will come along who are much better than us. Who are more humble than us (If at all we are humble!). Let us not envy them, let us not plot any untoward against them let us instead be happy for them. To rejoice with somebody who is taking the limelight from us is hard to do. But this is not impossible to do if we really are true followers of Jesus. 

The mistake of the Pharisees and scribes during the time of Jesus is they allowed envy and pride to control them. By doing so they in the process opened themselves up to the control of the devil. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Thursday April 6, Fifth Week of Lent: John 8:51-59

Gospel: John 8:51-59
Jesus said to the Jews: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” So the Jews said to him, “Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ You do not know him, but I know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar. But I do know him and I keep his word.  Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.
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Reflection:
Are you always on the same page with Jesus?

It’s very obvious that Jesus and those who were listening to Him were not on the same page. Otherwise they would have understood each other. For example, Jesus told the Jews; whoever keeps my world will never see death and the Jews were mocking Jesus because they couldn’t believe this statement.

How about us? Do we believe this statement of Jesus that whoever keeps His word will never see death? For worldly people this is hard to believe they will even be mocking also those who would tell this to them. But come to think about it, how would those with deeper faith react to these pronouncements of Jesus?

Of course they will believe since they have deeper faith and they’ve already developed this personal and deep relationship with Jesus. This is what separates the believer from the unbeliever, the believer because of his deep and personal relationship with Jesus will always believe whatever Jesus tells him in the gospel.

The believer makes every pronouncement of Jesus in the scriptures as his guiding light. Jesus is not a historical figure to Him Jesus to him is an ever present guiding light that illuminates his life.

Invite Jesus to guide and illuminate your life too! -  Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Reflection for Wednesday April 5, Fifth Week of Lent: John 8:31-42

Gospel: John 8:31-42
Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, 'You will become free'?" Jesus answered them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free. I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to kill me, because my word has no room among you. I tell you what I have seen in the Father's presence; then do what you have heard from the Father."

They answered and said to him, "Our father is Abraham." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God; Abraham did not do this. You are doing the works of your father!" So they said to him, "We were not born of fornication. We have one Father, God." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me."
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Reflection:
How can we become true followers of Jesus?

It is only through our adherence to Jesus teachings that we will become His true follower there is no other way. How about those who regularly give large sum of money to the church but they disobey Jesus’ teachings? Are they not true follower? They are not! No matter how big the amount that they regularly give to the church.

It’s not impossible to become faithful to Jesus for everyone of us can aspire to become one. But we often times choose not to be faithful because we allow ourselves to be seduced by the devil. The devil who is disguised in many worldly forms whose only mission is to take us farther from Jesus.  

Remember Judas Iscariot? He allowed himself to be seduced by the devil for he betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15).  What was the effect of that betrayal on Judas? Endless mental torture and guilt of conscience that eventually led him to end his life. (Matthew 27:3-5)

Do you sometimes allow the devil to take hold of you? – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for Tuesday April 4, Fifth Week of Lent: John 8:21-30

Gospel: John 8:21-30
Jesus said to the Pharisees: “I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come. So the Jews said, “He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’? He said to them, “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins. So they said to him, “Who are you? Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world. They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father. So Jesus said to them,  When you lift up the Son of Man then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him. Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.
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Reflection:
What is the barrier that prevents us to be with Jesus? It’s our sinfulness and unfaithfulness to Him. Whenever we sin we put barrier that divides us from Jesus the more we sin the more barriers that we create that separates us from Jesus. 

But we also know that this separation is not permanent because through our humble submission to the Sacrament of Reconciliation we allow Jesus to reach out to us as we reach out to Him also. This is what separates us from the many Pharisees of Jesus time.

 By their arrogance and unbelief they created a permanent barrier between them and Jesus. This is one of the reason why Jesus told them (Pharisees), where I am going you cannot come. What then is the key element for us to be able to go eventually where Jesus is? It’s our humility and faith in Jesus.

We read in the first part of the gospel that Jesus is somewhat distant and aloft. Yes, in His humanity Jesus was perhaps exasperated already with the Pharisees. Who would not be? They always contradict Him, they always find fault in Him and they were full of jealousy and unbelief.

Nevertheless Jesus loved them dearly also the same love and intensity that He gave to His followers and to us also. Jesus did not sacrifice His life on the cross for those who only believe Him. He died on the cross for all of us believers, unbelievers and sinners.

If you think that because of your sinfulness and unbelief you’re already hopeless and out of the loop of the love of Jesus. You’re not! You still have hope, you’re still dearly loved by Jesus who died for you on the cross. Pray to Him and look up to Him. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for Monday April 3, Fifth Week of Lent: John 8:1-11

Gospel: John 8:1-11
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”
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 Reflection:
How would you react if you happen to see a sinner? Would you immediately look-down on her/him? Would you instantly judge him/her? Or you may even be averse to be identified with him/her. This normally is our human behavior towards sinners: Aversion and judgment.

In the gospel the Pharisees and scribes saw a woman caught in the act of committing adultery. So they immediately condemned her and sentenced her to die by stoning for that was the punishment. They were so consumed by their judgment that they forgot that they themselves were sinners as well. Did they forget or they purposely forgot that they were also sinful?

In the midst of their judgment here comes Jesus who reminded them about their own sinfulness. He told them: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then, they all walked away from her for they were sinners too!

Let us not forget that the moment we judge we expose ourselves also to judgment. But perhaps we will say who will judge us? When nobody knows about our secret sins except us; there’s somebody who knows our best kept sins and He is none other than Jesus. All of us are exposed before Jesus; He knows every detail of our lives most especially our best kept sins.

So what should we do if we happen to encounter so-called sinners? We must not judge them and we must not hate them. Instead of judging them let us rather extend the love, mercy and forgiveness of Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Saturday, April 1, 2017

1Reflection for April 2, Fifth Sunday of Lent; John 11:1-45

Gospel: John 11:1-45
Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill. So the sisters sent word to him saying, "Master, the one you love is ill." When Jesus heard this he said, "This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in a day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." He said this, and then told them, "Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him." So the disciples said to him, "Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved." But Jesus was talking about his death, while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep. So then Jesus said to them clearly, "Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him." So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go to die with him." When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise." Martha said to him, "I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world." When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, "The teacher is here and is asking for you." As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him. For Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still where Martha had met him. So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Sir, come and see." And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him." But some of them said, "Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?" So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him, "Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me." And when he had said this, He cried out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, "Untie him and let him go."

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
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Reflection:
When Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave, He showed us that there is life and resurrection for as long as we believe in Him. There is hope for a new life even if we die but to have this new life we should not only know Jesus. We must also die from our sinfulness and we should be friends with Him as well.

Jesus went to the tomb of his friend Lazarus for only one purpose and that is to bring His friend back to life again. Why? This is for the reason that Jesus wanted them to believe and have faith in Him. Jesus wanted them to know that nothing is impossible for Him, that even death He can mightily defeat.

Jesus’ raising of Lazarus opens our minds to the reality that there’s a new life after our mortal death provided that we are friends with Jesus and provided that we are willing to accept Him as our Lord and savior.

Is Jesus your friend is He your only Lord and Savior? – Marino J. Dasmarinas