Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Oktubre 25, Biyernes: Ika-29 na Linggo ng Taon: Lucas 12:54-59

Mabuting Balita: Lucas 12:54-59

54 Sinabi rin ni Jesus sa mga tao: “Kapag nakita ninyong tumataas ang ulap sa kanluran, kaagad ninyong sinasabi, ‘Uulan,’ at ganoon nga ang nang­yayari. 55 At kung umiihip naman ang hangin galing timog, sinasabi ninyong ‘Magiging napakainit,’ at nangyayari nga ito. 56 Mga mapagkunwari! Nabi­bigyan ninyo ng ka­hu­lugan ang anyo ng lupa at langit pero bakit hindi ninyo sinusuri kung ano ang panahong ito?

57 At bakit hindi kayo mismo ang ma­ka­pag­pas­ya kung ano ang tama? 58 Sa pag­punta mo sa mayka­pang­ya­rihan kasama ng kalaban mo, sikapin mong ma­kipag-areglo sa kanya sa daan; baka iharap ka sa hukom, at ibigay ka naman ng hukom sa pulis para ipakulong sa bilangguan. 59 Sinasabi ko sa iyo: hindi ka makalalabas doon hanggang hindi mo nababaya­ran ang kahuli-hulihang sentimo.”

Ang Mabuting Balita ng Panginoon.

1Reflection for October 24, Thursday; Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 12:49-53

Gospel: Luke 12:49-53

Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

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Reflection:

A sinful man was invited by his friend to attend a parish renewal program. The sinful man was already tired of living a life of sin and he wanted to rid himself of any form of sinfulness. So, he said to his friend, “Ok I will attend.” While in the process of formation he was enlightened about how sin destroys a person and prevents a person from having a personal relationship with Jesus.

After the renewal program was through the sinful man decided to let go of friends who had brought nothing to his life but sin. Thus he was hated by his former friends and was even threatened with physical harm.    

The moment we decide to live a life according to the will of Jesus we have to expect conflict and misunderstanding. We have to be ready to be hated or lose some of our friends and even our family members as well for this is the reality of following Jesus.

When you truly follow Jesus you set aright what is wrong. You will have the fire in your belly to leave those who do nothing to you except to influence you to sin. You will have the fire in your belly to correct those who continue to sin no matter what it may cost you. 

Jesus in the gospel talks about division, He tells us: From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law (Luke 12:52-53).”

Indeed, there are times that division has to occur for good to triumph over evil. Division has to occur so that a wayward behavior can be set aright. We need not worry about the outcome of this kind of division for the reason that this division is a division that purifies a person from the impurities of sin. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Oktubre 24, Huwebes: Ika-29 na Linggo ng Taon: Lucas 12:49-53

Mabuting Balita: Lucas 12:49-53

Sinabi ni Jesus sa kanyang mga alagad, 49 Dumating ako upang maghagis ng apoy sa lupa, at ganoon na lamang ang pagnanais kong magliyab na sana ito! 50 Ngunit dapat akong mabinyagan ng isang binyag, at ganoon na lamang ang pagkabalisa ko hanggang di ito na­ga­ganap! 51 Sa akala ba ninyo’y duma­ting ako para magbigay ng kapa­yapaan sa lupa? Hindi, sinasabi ko sa inyo, kundi paghihiwa-hiwalay! 52 Sa­pagkat mula ngayo’y magkakahati-hati ang limang nasa isang sambahayan, tatlo laban sa dalawa at dalawa laban sa tatlo; 53 mag­kakahati-hati sila: ama la­ban sa anak na lalaki at anak na lalaki laban sa ama, ina laban sa anak na babae at anak na babae laban sa ina, biyenang babae laban sa kanyang manugang na babae at manu­gang na babae laban sa biye­nang babae.”

Ang Mabuting Balita ng Panginoon.

Reflection for October 23, Wednesday; Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 12:39-48

Gospel: Luke 12:39-48

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

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Reflection:

Are you prepared for the coming of the Lord?

Here in our gospel Jesus tells us to be prepared for we do not know the time of His coming. Aside from being prepared Jesus gives us another responsibility none other than to share whatever we know about Him. It’s not enough for Jesus that we know Him.  He wants us to move and do the next step and this is to share what we know about Him.

The Christian faith that God has given to us is not to be kept to ourselves. We must share and live it for it is in sharing and living our faith that we are able to completely follow Jesus. To whom we would share? Start within your family most especially your children. If you are able to successfully evangelize you will have no problem of what will happen to them when they become adults.

But the dilemma of many of us is we don’t share with our children what we know about Christ. Not because we know nothing about Jesus, many of us actually don’t have a shortage of knowledge about Jesus. In fact many of us know abundantly about Jesus but the problem is we don’t live and practice what we know about Christ and His teachings. This is one of the major reasons why we are not able to share Jesus with our children and with our friends.

We must aspire to learn more about Christ Jesus and after learning more about Him. We must live what we’ve learned from Him, thus we become prepared for His coming anytime. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Oktubre 23, Miyerkules: Ika-29 na Linggo ng Taon: Lucas 12:39-48

Mabuting Balita: Lucas 12:39-48

Sinabi ni Jesus sa kanyang mga alagad 39 Isipin ninyo ito: kung nalaman lamang ng may-ari ng bahay kung anong oras ng gabi ang dating ng magnanakaw, hindi sana niya paba­bayaang looban ang kanyang bahay. 40 Kaya maging han­da kayo sapagkat duma­rating ang Anak ng Tao sa oras na hindi ninyo inaakala.”

41 Sinabi ni Pedro: “Panginoon, ka­nino mo ba sinasabi ang talinhagang ito, sa amin o sa lahat?” 42 Sumagot ang Pangi­noon: “Isipin ninyo ito: may tapat at mata­linong katiwala na panga­nga­siwain ng panginoon sa kanyang mga tauhan para bigyan sila ng rasyon sa tamang oras. 43 Kung sa pagdating ng kan­yang panginoon ay matagpuan siya nitong tumu­tupad nang gayon, mapalad ang lingkod na iyon. 44 Talagang sinasabi ko sa inyo, panganga­siwain siya nito sa lahat nitong ari-arian. 45 Ngunit maaari namang maisip ng lingkod na iyon: ‘Matatagalan pang dumating ang panginoon ko’ at simulang pagmalupitan ang mga utusang lalaki at babae, at kumain, uminom at maglasing. 46 Ngu­nit darating ang panginoon ng lingkod na iyon sa araw na di niya inaasahan at sa oras na di niya nalalaman. Palala­yasin niya ang katulong na ito at pakiki­tunguhang gaya ng mga di-tapat.

47 Maraming hampas ang tatang­gapin ng katulong na nakaaalam sa kalooban ng kanyang panginoon pero hindi nag­handa ni sumunod sa kalooban niya. 48 Kaunti lang naman ang tatanggapin ng walang nalalaman sa kalooban niya ngu­nit gumawa ng mga bagay na dapat parusahan. Hihingan nga ng marami ang binigyan ng marami at hihingan nang higit ang pinag­katiwalaan nang higit.

Ang Mabuting Balita ng Panginoon.

1Reflection for October 22, Tuesday; Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 12:35-38

Gospel: Luke 12:35-38

Jesus said to his disciples: “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way blessed are those servants.

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Reflection:

There’s no substitute for being ready or prepared. For example, death this is the most dreaded occurrence that no one wants to experience among us. But whether we like it or not it will come to us we just don’t know when.

Being ready for what may happen gives us that sense of security. Whatever comes our way we are prepared and we will accept it. For the reason that we have been preparing for it for so long. In whatever aspect of life preparation is essential and this is what the gospel is telling us today.  

We who are all servants of God should always be prepared for any eventualities that may come our way. The best preparation that we could ever do is to always be in touch with Jesus through the Sacraments, prayers and by our attendance at Holy Mass. Do you always submit yourself to the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Confession? Are you prayerful? Do you always make yourself available for Holy Mass?  

In the gospel Jesus told the disciples that they must always be prepared; He used the parable of the master’s return from a wedding as an example. Therefore we too should always be prepared for anything in our life. And the best preparation is to have a personal friendship with Jesus.

Are you always prepared? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Oktubre 22, Martes: Ika-29 na Linggo ng Taon: Lucas 12:35-38

Mabuting Balita: Lucas 12:35-38

Sinabi ni Jesus sa kanyang mga alagad 35 Maghintay kayong bihis at handang maglingkod, na may nakasinding mga lam­para. 36 Maging tulad kayo ng mga taong naghihintay sa kanilang pa­nginoon. Pauwi siya mula sa kasalan at agad nilang mabubuksan ang pinto pag dating niya at pag katok. 37 Mapalad ang mga lingkod na iyon na matatagpuang naghi­hintay sa panginoon pag­dating niya. Maniwala kayo sa akin, isu­suot niya ang damit pantrabaho at pauupuin sila sa hapag at isa-isa silang pagsisil­bihan. 38 Dumating man siya sa hating­gabi o sa madaling-araw at ma­tagpuan niya silang ganito, mapalad ang mga iyon!

Ang Mabuting Balita ng Panginoon.

1Reflection for October 21, Monday; Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 12:13-21

Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. 

He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”

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Reflection:

Which would you prefer to have the treasures of this world of to possess treasures about God? Many of us would certainly prefer to have worldly treasures rather than possess knowledge about God. Why? Because this is what this world is teaching us: to have and accumulate worldly treasures.

How about the choice to possess God? Perhaps only a few would prefer to possess God. This materially centered world would always dictate upon us to have whatever material possession that we can possess so that we can attain worldly success in whatever manner possible.

But earthly success is not in the vocabulary of God, what God wants from us is for us to become His followers. God did not create us for this world He created us for us to be with Him in heaven someday.  

We were created by God to become spiritually fruitful so that others can learn from us about God.  Earthly success will count for nothing at the end, what will count during that time is the relationship that we have built with God and His people.

Life that is built around chasing earthly wealth and power is empty and meaningless. On the other hand life that is centered upon God is fruitful and meaningful.

Are you seeking for a meaningful life?  -  Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Oktubre 21, Lunes: Ika-29 na Linggo ng Taon: Lucas 12:13-21

Mabuting Balita: Lucas 12:13-21

13 Sinabi kay Jesus ng isa sa kara­mi­han: “Guro, sabihin mo nga sa aking kapatid na hatian ako ng mana.” 14 Ngu­nit sinabi ni Jesus sa kanya: “Kaibigan, sino ang nagtalaga sa akin bilang hukom o tagapaghati ninyo?” 15 At sinabi niya sa mga tao: “Mag-ingat kayo at iwasan ang bawat uri ng kasakiman sapagkat mag­karoon man ng ma­rami ang tao, hindi sa kanyang mga ari-arian nakasalalay ang kanyang buhay.”

16 At idinagdag ni Jesus ang isang ta­lin­haga: “May isang taong mayaman na ma­raming tinubo sa kanyang lupain. 17 Kaya nag-isip-isip siya: ‘Ano ang ga­gawin ko? Wala man lang akong ma­pag­­tipunan ng aking ani.’ 18 At sinabi niya: ‘Ito ang gaga­win ko, gigibain ko ang aking mga bodega at magtatayo ako ng mas malalaki; doon ko titipunin ang lahat kong trigo at ang iba pa. 19 At ma­sasabi ko na sa aking sarili: Kaibi­gan, ma­rami kang ari-ariang naka­laan para sa maraming taon. Magpa­hinga ka, kumain, uminom at magsaya.’

20 Ngunit sinabi sa kanya ng Diyos: ‘Ha­ngal! Sa gabi ring ito, babawiin sa iyo ang iyong buhay. Mapapasakanino na ang iyong inihanda?’ 21 Gayon din ang masa­sabi sa sinumang nag-iimpok ng yaman para sa kanyang sarili at walang tinutubo para sa Diyos.”

Ang Mabuting Balita ng Panginoon.

Reflection for Sunday October 20, Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Luke 18:1-8

Gospel: Luke 18:1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, “There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’ For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.’” The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

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Reflection:

After the death of Mother Teresa a book about her was published titled: Come be my light. It contained Mother Teresa’s letters regarding her struggle with her own faith. She said that she never experienced the presence of God since the founding of her religious congregation in 1948.

Notwithstanding the emptiness that she felt Mother Teresa did not give up on her mission of helping the poor and the abandoned. She never gave up waking up 4:30 in the morning everyday to pray and converse with Jesus.         

What do you do when it seems that Jesus is deaf to your prayers? When you don’t see any visible signs of reply from Jesus? Do you give up and simply walk away from Him? Or you continue to hold on to Jesus, you continue to pray and hope that somehow you would see signs of His reply.

In the Gospel Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He told them about a dishonest judge who neither feared God nor respected any human being.

 There is also a woman who keeps on bothering the judge to give her justice.  Due to her persistence the judge finally listened to the woman and gave her justice. And the Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them?

God’s word is always alive that it speaks to us! What Jesus is saying is we need to be prayerful and we must not give up even if we don’t see signs of reply from Him.

In our short journey in this world there will be disappointments, there will be failures and struggles. Yet these trials must not lead us to abandon our faith. We must continue to be persistent in our prayers, we must continue to trust in the Lord and we must continue to believe and have faith. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Linggo October 20, ika-29 na Linggo sa Karaniwang Panahon: Lucas 18:1-8

Mabuting Balita: Lucas 18:1-8

1 Dapat laging manalangin at huwag masiraan ng loob – ito ang sinabi ni Jesus sa kanila sa isang talin­haga. 2 Sinabi niya: “Sa isang lunsod, may isang hukom na walang takot sa Diyos at walang pakialam sa mga tao. 3 May isa ring biyuda sa lunsod na iyon na madalas pumunta sa kanya at sinasabi: ‘Igawad mo sa akin ang kataru­ngan laban sa aking kalaban.’ 4 Ma­tagal siyang umayaw pero naisip niya pag­katapos: ‘Wala man akong takot sa Diyos at walang pakialam sa tao, 5 igagawad ko pa rin ang kata­rungan sa bi­yudang ito na bumu­bu­wisit sa akin at baka masiraan pa ako ng ulo sa pag­punta-punta niya’.”

6 Kaya idinagdag ng Panginoon: “Pa­kinggan ninyo ang sinabi ng di-matuwid na hukom. 7 Di ba’t igagawad ng Diyos ang katarungan sa kan­yang mga hini­rang na araw-gabing tumatawag sa kanya? Pababayaan ba niya sila? 8 Sinasabi ko sa inyo, agad niyang igagawad sa kanila ang kata­rungan. Ngu­nit pag dating ng Anak ng Tao, maka­kakita kaya siya ng pana­nampalataya sa lupa?”

Ang Mabuting Balita ng Panginoon.

1Reflection for October 19, Saturday; Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs: Luke 12:8-12

Gospel: Luke 12:8-12

Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.

“Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”

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Reflection:

Do you acknowledge the majesty and goodness of God before others? To acknowledge God is to proclaim His goodness towards us. To acknowledge God is to proclaim and share His blessing with others. For example, when you say God bless you to someone, you are already acknowledging the goodness of God in your life. And by saying God bless you, you want your friends to be blessed by God as well.

To acknowledge God in one’s life is to live and share His teachings. Do we live and share His teachings? We become productive followers of Jesus when we share Him and when we live His teachings. Profession of faith is not good enough we have to humbly show that we are living our faith and in turn we become active and not passive followers of God.

We always acknowledge the presence of God in our lives when we do good and shun whatever forms of evil. When we are always humble and loving even if our others are not humble and loving towards us. This is for the reason that Jesus is a God of love and humility. Do we strive to live the love and humility of Jesus?

 It’s tempting to ego trip most especially when we have the power and means to do so but this is against the will of God. How would Jesus be seen in us and how could we acknowledge the presence of Jesus in our lives if we are egoistic and arrogant?

Love, Mercy, Humility just to name a few are the language and lifestyle of God and when we live these virtues we are acknowledging the presence of God in our lives. – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Ang Mabuting Balita para sa Oktubre 19, Sabado: San Juan de Brebeul at San Isaac Jogues, mga pari at mga kasama , mga martir: Lucas 12:8-12

Mabuting Balita: Lucas 12:8-12

Sinabi ni Jesus sa kanyang mga alagad 8 Sinasabi ko sa inyo: sinumang ku­mi­­lala sa akin sa harap ng mga tao ay kiki­lalanin din ng Anak ng Tao sa harap ng mga anghel ng Diyos. 9 At ang ayaw ku­milala sa akin sa harap ng mga tao’y hin­di rin kikilalanin sa harap ng mga anghel ng Diyos.

10 Ang sinumang magsalita laban sa Anak ng Tao ay mapapatawad, ngunit ang sinumang lumait sa Espiritu Santo ay hindi mapapatawad. 11 Dalhin man nila kayo sa harap ng mga sinagoga at mga namu­muno at mga may­kapang­ya­rihan, hu­wag kayong mabalisa kung paano ninyo ipagtatanggol ang sarili o kung ano ang inyong sasabihin. 12 Sa­pagkat ang Es­piritu Santo ang magtuturo sa inyo sa oras na iyon ng dapat na sabihin.”

Ang Mabuting Balita ng Panginoon.

Reflection for October 18, Friday; Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist: Luke 10:1-9

Luke 10:1-9

The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’”

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Reflection:

Are you doing something to share the teachings of Jesus?

Like the seventy two which Jesus sent ahead of Him. We too are laborers in the vineyard of the Lord, what is the implication of this to our life? We are also called to share and live the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus told the disciples: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.” This is very true until to this very day. The harvest indeed is plentiful but the laborers are so few. Therefore in our own little way let us also be laborers like the seventy two. Let us spread and live the teachings of Jesus, let us not be afraid for God will be with us.

Many of us invest do much of our time in laboring for this world alone that we forget to labor in the vineyard of the Lord. But where would our labors for this world bring us? Only here in this world but if we labor for the Lord we go to heaven after the end of our journey in this world.

Would you labor in the vineyard of the Lord? – Marino J. Dasmarinas