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Reflection for Sunday December 7, Second Sunday of Advent; Mark 8:1-8

Gospel: Mark 8:1-8

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist.

He fed on locusts and wild honey. And this is what he 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.”

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Reflection:

What if John said that he is already the one and no one anymore is coming after him? John could have fooled a lot of people but John did not take advantage of his new found celebrity status. He instead fulfilled the prophet Isaiah’s proclamation that he would prepare the way of the Lord.  

How did John prepared the way for Jesus? He called for renewal and repentance he coupled this with his humility, simplicity and not with judgment, arrogance and frivolity.  For these reasons, John was very successful in his mission of leading others to Jesus.

This gospel invites us also to reflect on how we lead others to Jesus, if at all we are doing something to lead others to Jesus. This is for the reason that we may have not done anything yet to lead others to Jesus.

How should we go about in leading our fellowmen to Jesus? In our own little way we should become another John in the environment where we are right now. This means that we must also do something to prepare the way of the Lord. This we could best do by our humility, simplicity and genuine worship for Jesus.

We can lead others to know Jesus by how we live. For example, if our friends have a limited knowledge of Jesus it may be through us that they would know Jesus deeply by how we live our faith. And it may be through us that they might have a personal encounter with Jesus.        

During this second Sunday of Advent let us ask ourselves these questions: Have I done something concrete to prepare the way of the Lord? Have I already led other to Jesus through my words and actions? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

PROTECT O DEAR LORD JESUS THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES AGAINST TYPHOON RUBI/HAGUPIT. SHIELD AND EMBRACE US WITH YOUR LOVE AND CARE. AMEN

LET US IMPLORE THE PROTECTION OF THE GOOD LORD AGAINST TYPHOON RUBI/HAGUPIT.

Reflection for December 5, Friday of the First Week of Advent; Matthew 9:27-31

Gospel: Matthew  9:27-31

As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out, “Son of David, have pity on us! When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith. And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this. But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.

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Reflection:

What are we willing to do to have faith? Are we willing to humble ourselves and kneel before God and ask Him to give us the gift of faith? Faith is a gift that Jesus freely gives to the humble. Even if you will not ask for it Jesus will give it to you for as long as you humble yourself in front of Him.

In the gospel for this Friday we have two humble blind men who cried to Jesus for compassion.  Why did they cry when they could have shouted at Jesus to get His attention? They cried because they saw hope and mercy in Jesus. For the two blind men Jesus was their only hope to have the gift of sight.

Let us also ask Jesus to give us the gift of Hope and faith for nothing is impossible for those who humble themselves before God. Even the impossible is now very much possible for as long as we have faith.   

Whatever we’re going through right now, believe that Jesus will heal us. And believe that He will answer our pleas for nothing is impossible for Jesus. This is best exemplified by the two  incredible blind men of deep faith in our gospel.

How’s your faith in Jesus? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for December 4, Thursday of the First Week of Advent; Matthew 7:21, 24-27

Gospel: Matthew 7:21, 24-27

(Jesus said to his disciples) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house.  But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

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Reflection:

What will happen to us if we always pray yet we don’t live our faith? For example we always pray the Holy Rosary everyday or we go to Holy Mass every Sunday yet we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to change us? We would easily succumb to worldly temptations and we render useless our acts of worship for God.

The Philippines is a catholic country, in fact more than eighty percent (80%) of us are Catholics and the majority of our leaders are Catholics. yet corruption is deeply rooted in our bureaucracy. Why is this so? This is for the reason that we are only good at worshipping God but we don’t allow our worship for God to transform us.

What does Jesus want from all of us? He wants us to worship Him and allow this same worship for Him to transform us. So that we could become His true and faithful followers, it’s very easy to pray so that others would see us. However, the real qualification for us to be called a follower of Jesus is when we allow our worship for Him to transform us.

What will happen to us if we let our prayers to transform us according to the will of the Father in heaven?  We would be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house.  But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock (Luke 7:24-25).

Do we allow our worship for God to transform us according to His will? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

My Reflections will resume soon please comeback. God bless you!

My Reflections will resume soon please comeback. God bless you! - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Monday December 1, Monday of the First Week of Advent; Matthew 8:5-11

Gospel: Matthew 8:5-11

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it. When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.”

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Reflection:

What brought the centurion to Jesus? It was his great faith, when the centurion went to Jesus for help for his servant he had nothing except his great faith. He firmly believed in Jesus power to heal and he used his mighty faith to convince Jesus to cure his servant.

Who is this centurion? He is a roman officer that has people under his command, he also is not a follower yet he has great faith in Jesus. Don’t we want this kind of faith also? Of course we all want our faith to be like the centurions. Therefore we must prayerfully ask Jesus to give us the same faith. But do we ask Jesus to give us the gift of faith? Is the gift of faith always part of our prayer request for Jesus?

If Jesus could give that great faith to a non-follower like the centurion why can’t He give us the same faith considering that we are his followers? Faith is a gift that Jesus freely and generously gives to anyone who prays for it.

What is our usual prayer to Jesus? Is it always to have the things of this world. Let us not forget that the things of this world are passing and temporary. While faith will not pass, it’s not also temporary.   

Faith will be with us until forever, it will accompany us in our journey beyond this world going to the eternal Kingdom of the King of Kings no other than Jesus Himself.

Give us the gift of faith O Lord Jesus, most especially the one who is reading this reflection right now. Amen. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday November 30, First Sunday of Advent; Mark 13:33-37

Gospel: Mark 13:33-37

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”

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Reflection:

What does it mean to be watchful? It means to always be prepared and alert for anything that may happen or arrive. But why do we need to be watchful? Why not simply become passive and complacent? We need to be watchful because this is what Jesus wants us to become for He will manifest His presence to us at any moment of our lives.

Why did Jesus told the disciples to be watchful when He was still with them? Jesus was actually preparing already His disciples for His eventual arrest and separation from them. And as they do their mission without Him, they should always do it with vigor, motivation and with clean intention. For He may manifest Himself again to them anytime, therefore they must never be complacent and passive.  

Today is the first Sunday of advent, this means coming or arrival of something very important. What is the significance of this command of Jesus for us? We too are being encouraged by Jesus to be watchful and prepared for His coming.  But how should we prepare?

First is by submitting ourselves to the Healing Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. All of us are sinful; we sin through our Thoughts, Words and Actions. These many sins that we commit make us ill-prepared for the coming of Jesus.   

Second is we have to forgive those who caused us pain,  if this tells us that we have to reach-out  to them in humility so be it. This is very difficult to do but if we say that we know Jesus then we must be prepared to embody Jesus. By doing so we bring Jesus to them and who knows it may be through us that they will have an awareness of the living presence of Jesus in their lives. 

Are we prepared to be watchful? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Saturday November 29, Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 21:34-36

Gospel: Luke 21:34-36

Jesus said to his disciples:“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

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Reflection:

What would make us succumb to disorderly behavior, drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life? We will succumb to this unhealthy behavior/lifestyle when we close our hearts to the love of Jesus. Lest we forget, the devil is always present in our environment and always trying to look for the right opportunity to snatch us away from the love of God.

Some of us may not believe that the devil is present in our environment but he is. This is the reason why there are evil events and things around us. If there’s no active presence of the devil in our environment there would have been no crimes and other evil things but the devil is present.

In our gospel for this Saturday, Jesus tells us this: :“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap (Luke 21:34).

The cure for this warning of Jesus is none other than Himself! If we have a close and personal relationship with Jesus we would be able to ward off any kind of temptation that the evil one will cleverly throw at us.

If the devil is always around waiting for the right timing to temp us. Jesus is always there also always knocking at our hearts so that he could enter our lives. And once we already have Jesus in our lives the devil will flee from our environment. Therefore we must always open our hearts to Jesus for as long as we exist in this world.

Are we willing to open our heart to Jesus so that He could exorcize our many evils? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Friday November 28, Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 21:29-33

Gospel: Luke 21:29-33

Jesus told his disciples a parable. “Consider the fig tree and all the other trees. When their buds burst open, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near; in the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the Kingdom of God is near. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

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Reflection:

A man was asked, what is your greatest fear in Life? The man replied, I fear death for I don’t know what would happen to me when I die.

We all have our own set of fears, we fear losing somebody we love, we fear losing our job. And the worst fear perhaps is the same as with the man who was asked about his greatest fear.  However why fear when Jesus is always there to soothe and take away our fears?

Many of us have so many fears for the reason that we don’t have Jesus in our lives and we don’t have a personal relationship with Him.  This is basically the reason why we have so many fears. But, why don’t we try to have discover more about Jesus through our faithful presence at Holy Mass? Why don’t we try to discover more about Jesus  by reading about His life in the bible?

Jesus in our gospel tells us that heaven and earth will pass away but His words will not pass away (Luke 21:33). Indeed, everything will pass away or we may pass away first before everything pass away. Nevertheless whatever happens and whomever passes away first we have nothing to fear for as long as we have Jesus in our lives. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Thursday November 27, Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 21:20-28

Gospel: Luke 21:20-28

Jesus said to his disciples: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is at hand. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Let those within the city escape from it, and let those in the countryside not enter the city, for these days are the time of punishment when all the Scriptures are fulfilled. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”

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Reflection:

There are two sets of human sufferings that come to us. The first set of suffering is one that we create for ourselves. For example a drunkard who has been told time and again by his relatives to stop for it would result to his getting sick eventually. But the drunkard would not listen to the wise counsel, eventually he ended-up with cancer of the liver caused by his excessive addiction to liquor.

The second set of sufferings that comes to us are those sufferings that we don’t bring to ourselves. Example of this is sickness that comes with getting old or any kind of suffering that we don’t create for ourselves.

In our gospel for this Thursday Jesus speaks about the destruction of Jerusalem and its people. They could have easily avoided this kind of sufferings if they listened to the messengers of God (the prophets) who called on them to leave behind their sinful ways. But they did not, they continued to sin they killed the messengers that God sent them including His Son Jesus.

As we close the curtains of this liturgical year and as we enter Advent. We are called by God to listen to His voice who calls upon us to humbly repent from our sinfulness. And the best response that we could ever do is to humbly submit ourselves to the Healing Sacrament of Confession.   

    

We are all sinful and we are all in need of Jesus’ Mercy, Forgiveness and Healing. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Wednesday November 26, Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 21:12-19

Gospel: Luke 21:12-19

(Jesus said to His disciples)  Before the end happens, however, They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

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Reflection:

Jesus talks about persecution. Jesus tells the disciples: They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name (Luke 21:12).  

Persecution is a reality for all of us followers of Jesus it comes to us in many forms such as through condemnation, isolation and the worst is death. Should we be troubled about being persecuted for our Catholic faith?

Yes and No, yes; for the reason that we are humans we have fears and once we allow this fear (Such as fear of being persecuted for our faith) to dwell in our hearts this is torture. 

No because we have hope and faith in Jesus and this hope and faith in Jesus can conquer our fear of persecution. Our hope and faith in Jesus will even fuel us to face peacefully our persecutors even at the cost of our own lives. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Tuesday November 25, Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 21:5-11

Gospel: Luke 21:5-11

While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus said, “All that you see here–the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”

Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” He answered, “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come. Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.

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Reflection:

Do you have fear of destructions and wars? Of course we all have these fears, we fear wars and destructions because it may be the sign of the end times. But why fear? When Jesus is telling us in our gospel today not to be terrified!

We are human beings and as such it’s natural for us to have fears in our hearts most especially when we see on TV destructions and wars. But Jesus words are more powerful than any wars and destructions combined!

In our gospel for this Tuesday Jesus mentions about destructions and wars. Jesus mentioned these words in the gospel hundreds of years ago. And what He mentioned then is actually happening right now. As you read this reflection there are many ongoing wars and destructions in many parts of the world. Are we going to tremble in fear? Of course not!

 For the reason that we know deep in our hearts that there’s hope! And this hope is given to us by Jesus. In the gospel Jesus tells us not to be terrified for He is far more powerful than any wars and destructions.

Therefore what we must do is to have hope and faith in Jesus for when we have Jesus in our hearts we have nothing to fear. Even the most destructive wars and calamities we will not fear!

Do you still have fear in your heart? Surrender it all to Jesus let Him take over your life. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Monday November 24, St. Andrew Dŭng-Lạc, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs; Luke 21:1-4

Gospel: Luke 21:1-4

When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”

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Reflection:

Do you know that you cannot outdo God’s generosity? Do you know that the more you give that more that you would receive? Many generous people including the poor widow who gave her whole livelihood knows all about this. Perhaps this is not the first time that the poor woman in our gospel offered her whole livelihood to the treasury.

Maybe she has been doing this act of extreme generosity for so many times already and time and again this poor yet generous woman has proven that whatever she gave out of her poverty comes back to her a hundredfold times.

You may ask, if what the poor woman gave comes back to her many times over. Then why is she still poor? Yes she is still poor based  in our own materialistic eyes, but she is actually very rich in terms of her faith and spirituality this is the reason why she could give everything including her earnings from her livelihood.  

To be materially poor is OK for as long as you are rich in faith and spirituality. For what is the essence of material wealth when it can easily fly away from our hands anytime?

Are you extremely generous like the poor woman in our gospel? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Solemnity of Christ the King Carmona Cavite November 23, 2014

Reflection for Sunday November 23, Solemnity of Christ the King; Matthew 25:31-46

Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46

(Jesus said to his disciples) "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you? And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me. Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs? He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me. And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

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Reflection:

A politician wanted to be the king of his town. So he said to himself: I need all the money that I could have so that I could use it for my campaign this coming election. To hasten his plan he aligned himself with the rich and rub elbows with them with the end in mind that they would contribute to his election campaign.

While planning for his campaign strategy his wife asked him, what are you going to do with the poor who comprise the majority of this town? The ambitious politician said to his wife, don’t worry I will pretend that I am one with them so that I could use them and have their votes.

Today is the Solemnity of Jesus Christ the King! What is the difference of Jesus kingship to this ambitious politician? The divergence between Jesus’ kingship and the kingship of this ambitious politician and ours too is like heaven and earth.

Our mindset of kingship is one that dabbles in lavishness and one that craves for respect and adulation. The kingship of Jesus dwells in humility, simplicity and service. Our mindset of kingship is to use the poor to serve our selfish ends the kingship of Jesus is to serve the poor without any ulterior motives whatsoever. The earthly kingship that many of us and our politicians aspire for is a total contradiction with the Kingship of Jesus.  

Come to think of it, what if we all align our understanding of kingship with the kingship of Jesus? The world that we are presently in would become a much better place to live. There would be no greed and corruption in government most especially there would be equality and no discrimination. There would be no more hunger because the poor would be properly taken care of but this is like wishing for the moon right now.

Each and everyone of us has his/her little kingdoms to administer. Say for example if you’re a parent or a bread winner, your kingdom is your home. If you’re a priest your kingdom is your parish, if you’re a politician your kingdom is your town.

Do you use the humble and selfless Kingship of Jesus in managing and leading your little kingdom? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Saturday November 22, Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr; Luke 20:27-40

Gospel: Luke 20:27-40

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. Then the second and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her.” Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise. That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” Some of the scribes said in reply, “Teacher, you have answered well.” And they no longer dared to ask him anything.

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Reflection:

Why are we striving to live a life worthy in the eyes of God? This is for the reason that we believe in the resurrection. We believe that after our walk in this world is already over we would be raised once again to a new life that is very much different from our present life right now.

The Sadducees who do not believe in the resurrection put in-front of Jesus a situation about a woman who married one after the other seven brothers. Their question for Jesus was to whom would the woman belong after all of them dies? Would she belong to brother number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7? They’ve asked this question to prove to everyone that there is no resurrection. Otherwise if there is a resurrection then there would be a dilemma for the woman and the seven brothers who married her.

But Jesus incisively answered the Sadducees that life in the resurrection is very much different from their present lives. During the resurrected life there would be no more marriage, no more death for everyone will be like angels according to Jesus.

We must all aspire for this resurrected life that Jesus mentions to us in the gospel. We start by living a life founded in our close relationship with Jesus. A life that is clean and righteous before the eyes of God and men.   

Is your present lifestyle worthy of resurrection in heaven with Jesus? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Friday November 21, Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Luke 19:45-48

Gospel: Luke 19:45-48

Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things, saying to them, “It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” And every day he was teaching in the temple area. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death, but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.

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Reflection:

Today is the memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was said that when the Blessed Virgin Mary was around three years old. She was brought to the temple as an offering to God by her parents Anna and Joachim. This was to fulfill a promise made by the couple to God when they were still childless.

There was an article that I’ve read about a confession of a young man who went through a medical procedure called sex change. From male he became female, after a few months of going though the procedure this young man was already full of regrets. 

According to him he was being deeply bothered by his conscience and he felt that something was wrong with the function of his body. I can’t remember if he died but there was something very unfortunate that happened to him after going through that procedure. 

Are we aware that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? Are we aware that Jesus is deeply saddened when we try to alter the physical composition of our body? Today with the help of science we could make ourselves appear younger. We can even make our bodies a walking expression of who we are by tattooing it.

Is this right? Of course not for God created our bodies to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. This is the reason why it does not deserve to be disrespected by the modernity of science and by our own wild imagination disguised as self-expression. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Thursday November 20, Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 19:41-44

Gospel: Luke 19:41-44

As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

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Reflection:

Why is it that some people are so peaceful and not worried about life even if the environment around them is worrisome? The reason behind is they’ve learned to surrender everything to Jesus. They listen to Jesus by way of their active prayer life and they’ve let Jesus take control of their lives and not them taking control.

When Jesus was nearing Jerusalem He was very sad and He wept for its people because they did not listen to God’s call of repentance (Through the prophets). They purposely blinded themselves to the reality of repentance, why? Because they love to sin and they liked what this sinful world offered them, they never cared to be concerned of the punishing outcome of their sinfulness.

Jesus loves us so dearly that He wants all of us to listen to Him. So that we could be spared of the dreadful punishment that is due to those who do not care to listen to Him. He also weep for  us everytime we sin, everytime we don’t to listen to Him.

When everything is said and done and we are already suffering for the reason of our sinfulness we have nobody to blame but ourselves. However, why let this very harsh event called punishment come to us? When we could actually avoid it by means of opening our hearts to the love and mercy of Jesus. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Wednesday November 19, Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 19:11-28

Gospel: Luke 19:11-28

While people were listening to Jesus speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the Kingdom of God would appear there immediately. So he said, “A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return. He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, ‘We do not want this man to be our king.’ But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, ‘Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.’ He replied, ‘Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.’ Then the second came and reported, ‘Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.’ And to this servant too he said, ‘You, take charge of five cities.’ Then the other servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.’ He said to him, ‘With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding man, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant; why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.’ And to those standing by he said, ‘Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten. But they said to him,

‘Sir, he has ten gold coins. He replied, ‘I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.’”

After he had said this, he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.

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Reflection:

A successful businessman suddenly died, when his soul was about to separate from his body he saw an angel and a devil. He naturally veered away from the devil and he put himself at the side of the angel. When they were about to enter the heavenly gates God was there to ask him this question: What can you say about your life on earth? The man said, I was a successful business man when I was still alive and I did no wrong to anyone.

Then God said that’s very good! But have you done something for my kingdom? The man was not able to answer for he did nothing to help grow the kingdom of God. Then God commanded the angel to bring him to the other side of the fence where the environment was very hot and humid for he did nothing to advance the kingdom of God.   

What is your present preoccupation right now? Are you very busy with the things of this world? Like how to expand your business and how to grow bigger your money and so forth. Many of us are perhaps like this: very earthly and always very busy with earthly things. But if we are all busy with the affairs of this world where would we end-up after our journey in this world is already over and done with? Where would we end-up if we do nothing for the kingdom of God in this world?  

In our gospel for this Wednesday a nobleman gave his servants gold coins so that they could do something to make it grow. Some of them were able to increase its value yet there was one  who simply kept in a handkerchief what was entrusted to him. He did nothing to grow the money entrusted to him by his master.

In our faith life doing nothing is never an option or faith in Jesus that is kept to oneself is never an alternative. We must share this faith that Jesus has entrusted to us in whatever manner possible so that it could grow also.

Are we productive servants of Jesus? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Tuesday November 18, Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 19:1-10

Gospel: Luke 19:1-10

At that time Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

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Reflection:

Was it only Zacchaeus who was seeking an encounter with Jesus? Was Jesus not also seeking an encounter with Zacchaeus?  Yes Jesus was also seeking an encounter with Zacchaeus! Why? For the reason that Zacchaeus was a sinner like all of us. And what made it more interesting for Jesus to seek out Zacchaeus was his desire also to see Jesus.

Before Jesus arrived at Jericho He already had in mind Zacchaeus He knew that this chief tax collector was looking for Him and ready to change his sinful ways. With this factor present the encounter of Jesus and Zacchaeus happened. After their meeting Jesus subsequently went to the house Zacchaeus to purify his house. As well as to liberate Zacchaeus of any form of sinfulness and right then and there his conversion and liberation from any form of sinfulness happened.

How could we relate this gospel episode with our personal lives? Like Zacchaeus we too are sinful we may not be thinking yet of walking away from our sinfulness. Yet Jesus is already knocking at our hearts so that he could also have a personal encounter with us.

If we say that we are not ready yet to walk away from our sinfulness because we enjoy sinning, then when will we be ready? Next month or next year? It may be too late already, nothing is certain with our life anything can happen the next seconds or minutes.

Therefore we must also be like Zacchaeus who responded to the desire of Jesus to meet him. Let us not delay anymore let us rush to meet Jesus now for tomorrow may be late already.

Are you prepared to have a personal encounter with Jesus today? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Monday November 17, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious; Luke 18:35-43

Gospel: Luke 18:35-43

As Jesus approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging, and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me!” Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied, “Lord, please let me see.”Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.” He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.

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Reflection:

Who is Jesus to you? Is Jesus the hope and salvation of your life? The blind man in our gospel had his hope and salvation anchored in Jesus. When he heard that Jesus was passing by he shouted with all his might, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” His shout comprised his prayer with faith in Jesus.

From a hopeless situation the blind man suddenly found hope and salvation because Jesus passed by him. And Jesus did not disappoint the blind man because He asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Then the blind man said in reply, Please let me see my Lord and immediately he receive his sight and he became a follower of Jesus from thereon.

What separates the blind man from us? It’s his persistent and persevering faith, it’s faith that can move mountains. This is what separates this blind man from us, what if we are in the shoes of the blind man? Would we simply give-up because we were rebuked and sternly told to be silent?    

But this blind man, when he was rebuked and told to be silent the more that he persisted and the more that he cried to Jesus for help.  And because of his persevering and persistent faith he was heard and given the gift of sight by Jesus.

What is it that we want from Jesus? Let us not give-up, let us be persistent and have faith for Jesus will soon hear us. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday November 16, Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time; Matthew 25:14-30

Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30

Jesus told his disciples this parable: "A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one--to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master's money.

After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, 'Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy. Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, 'Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy. Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, 'Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back. His master said to him in reply, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has more will be given and he will grow rich but from the one who has not even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

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Reflection:

What if the master did not return? There would have been no accounting for the servants most especially the third unproductive servant who was given one talent. But the master returned thus creating a problem for the third servant.

Inaction or status quo is never an option in our faith life or even in our life itself. We have to move we have to take calculated risk and sweat it out otherwise we will not grow and bear fruit in our faith life. The same with our daily existence; if we would just lay idle and not move we will not survive we will die of hunger. 

Because of his laziness and lack of initiative to move the third servant was labeled as useless by his master. He was thrown into the darkness of hell where there was grinding and wailing of teeth. 

By our baptism the Good Lord has entrusted us also with talents and responsibilities according to our abilities. If we are parents we have this inherent responsibility which we must use for us to become good and Godly parents.

In what manner could we become good and Godly parents? We teach our children about our faith for the simple reason that we are the first formators or teachers of our children. The home is also the domestic church or the little church where children are initially introduced to Jesus and formed with values. Parents must also teach children how to live simply because God created us to live simply and not to live complicated and worldly lives.

How else could be become productive talent bearers of the Lord in this world? We have to serve the church in whatever capacity, we have to integrate our faith life with our parish church for us to grow more in our faith life. And of course we also have to teach and live our faith so that through us it could grow further.

Someday there would also be an accounting of the talents or responsibilities that Jesus has entrusted to us. How would we report to the Good Lord? Would we be like the two productive servants or we would be like the third unproductive servant who did nothing and risked nothing. – Marino J. Dasmarinas