Reflection for Sunday December 2, First Sunday of Advent: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

Gospel: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

Jesus said to his disciples: “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.

“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:

A story is told about a man who was diagnosed with cancer sensing that the end of his earthly journey is about come to an end. He went to a priest and asked him to be administered the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.  The man in the throes of death was able to properly prepare himself for the coming of his own end times experience in this world.

Today is the first Sunday of advent. What is the meaning of advent? In the Christian faith advent means coming, someone very important is about to come into our life. Of course, we all know who is this very important that is about to come, He is no other than Jesus our savior.  

Outside of the Christian faith advent could also means coming, coming of what? Coming of a turbulent episode in our lives which could be sickness as we have in our story. It could also means coming of a problem which we create for ourselves.

Nevertheless, let us not allow ourselves to get distracted by all of these tragic human events that could come to us. This is for the reason that the center of advent is about Jesus’ coming into our lives. The savior will come to save us from anything that troubles us. 

In the first part of the gospel Jesus tells us this: 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 (Luke 21:25-26).

Of course, we only have two choices on how we would meet this seemingly calamitous end. First is to be afraid; who would not be afraid when the earth is crumbling before us? The second one is to be calm, be hopeful and not to be afraid because there’s a God who is in charge of everything.

In the midst of life’s uncertainties let us still be full of hope and positivity because our savior will come to save us. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

1Reflection for December 1, Saturday; 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 would succumb to these unhealthy behaviors/lifestyles the moment 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 people and evil things around us. If there’s no active presence of the devil in our environment there would be 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 would deviously 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 when we already have Jesus in our lives the devil will naturally flee and run for his life. Therefore, we must always open our hearts to Jesus for as long as we exist in this world.

Would you open your life to Jesus? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 30, Friday; Saint Andrew, Apostle: Matthew 4:18-22

Gospel: Matthew 4:18-22

As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.

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Reflection:

Have you had an experience of being called by your name?

Anyone who calls your name will surely get your attention. You will stretch your neck to look for that person who called you by your name. Why do you respond? You respond for the simple reason that you assume that the one who called you by your name knows you.

In the gospel today Jesus called Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John all of them ordinary fishermen. Did they know Jesus deeply beforehand? No, but Jesus certainly knew the four fishermen otherwise He would not have called them.

Jesus knew their sinfulness, their weaknesses and even their lack of education He knew yet He called them. What does this call of the apostles tell us? This tells us that notwithstanding our shortcomings whatever these shortcomings are the Lord is still calling us to follow Him.

Jesus knows about our failings and weaknesses, even our sinfulness He knows also; yet He still calls us to follow Him. And become His partner in His mission to advance the good news of our salvation.

Would you respond to His perpetual call? Or would you continue to sit idly and be slaves of this material and fleeting world?

The wisdom filled choice is to always respond and become a follower of Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for November 29, Thursday; 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 comes 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. But the drunkard would not listen to their wise counsel. Eventually he got sick 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 the door of 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 have to remember that we are all sinful and we are all in need of Jesus’ Mercy, Forgiveness and Healing. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 28, Wednesday; Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 21:12-19

Gospel: Luke 21:12-19

Jesus said to the crowd: “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:

What made you decide to follow Jesus? Is it because of a promise of a good life, a life free from problems and worries from this world?  Many of us have this mistaken notion that it is easy to become a follower. But it’s not easy for to follow Jesus involves great sacrifice.

 It involves deep humility, it involves giving up some of our family time. To follow Jesus even involves making unpopular stand on family and societal issues such as abortion, immorality and the like.

There is no free ride going to Jesus, we have to persevere, we have to sacrifice and carry our own cross. Yet everything that we do for Jesus is well worth it. This is for the reason that whatever we do for Jesus, He will give back to us a hundred times.

Perhaps it may not be during our lifetime in this world. But certainly someday, somehow; He will surely reward us very generously in the afterlife. Let us therefore always be faithful and courageous in our decision to follow Jesus whatever it may cost us. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 27, Tuesday; 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:

When will the end times be? Many would say that the end time is here and now. Just look at the many wars being fought in many parts of the world. Just look at the many terroristic activities happening almost everywhere. Just look at the massive hunger in third world countries. Just look at the massive environmental catastrophes around the world.

Aren’t these all signs of the end times? These unfortunate events are not yet the end times for no one of us knows about it, only God knows when it would be. But it seems that the telltale signs are already in place.

However it’s not the end times yet. This is for the reason that these unfortunate events that are happening now all over the world are created by us and not by God. For example, human’s greed for power and natural resources creates wars in many parts of the world. Our abuse of the environment creates natural disasters.

Terroristic activities that are happening everywhere are due to human’s misguided and fanatical devotion to their creed. So, who is creating these end times scenarios? It’s not God but us, by our misguided adherence to this world we actually are hastening the world’s end times. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 26, Monday; Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time: 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:

What is your motive when you give to your church or to your fellowmen? Do you give because you are expecting something in return or you give because you simply want to help?

The right form of giving is to give without strings attached and to give from the heart. We don’t give because we are forced to give or we give because we have surplus. The joy of generous giving comes when you give freely. Just observe that unexplainable joy that you feel after you’ve given something straight from your heart. 

We have countless motives when we give or when we help our fellowmen. Whatever our motives are we can rest assure that God knows our reasons. Because we cannot hide anything from God.

The two small coins given by the poor widow in the gospel seem to be insignificant compared to what were given by the wealthy people. However, Jesus was pleased with her act of generosity for she gave it all. She gave without conditions and she gave without expecting something in return.

How do you give? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for November 24, Saturday; Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs: 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:

What will happen to us after we die? Would we still know each other’s name if we see each other in heaven? Would we still feel the same if we see each other in heaven? We don’t know because we haven’t died yet.

But one thing is sure there will come a time that we will have a physical death. Would it be the end? No, we who follow Jesus believe that our physical death is only the beginning of eternal life with Jesus in heaven.

The Sadducees do not believe in the resurrection. That’s why they asked Jesus the question about the seven brothers who married the same woman. So they asked Jesus, to whom will she belong during resurrection?

Jesus gave them this meaningful answer, “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 (Luke 20:34-35).

Many of us may have the same concern with the Sadducees, what will happen to us after we die? Are we not stretching our minds too far by having this thought? Instead of being concerned with the afterlife or the resurrection.

Why don’t we focus our attention to our present life? Do we live it according to the will of Jesus for us? If we live our present life according to the will of Jesus, we need not worry about the afterlife for the simple reason that Jesus will take care of us all.

Let us not worry about the afterlife because when we die there will be no more worries only happiness. When we die there will be no more conflict only loving friendships and when we die there will be no more distinction as to who we are for we shall all be equal in God’s eyes.

The afterlife in the kingdom of God is the perfect life for us, let us aim for it while we are still in this worldly journey. Let us start by living our lives according to what God wants us to live it. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 23, Friday; Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time: 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:

Do you cling to the words of Jesus as if your very life depends on it? Is your day not complete without reading or listening to His words? In the gospel the chief priest, the scribes and the leaders of the people wanted to kill Jesus. But they couldn’t execute it because they were afraid of the people most especially the ordinary people. For the reason that they treasure every word and pronouncement of Jesus.

The chief priest, the scribes and the leaders of the people are considered as intellectual or learned yet they did not believe Jesus. But the common folks, they believe Jesus and they hang to His every word.

Many of the people of today don’t anymore treasure the words of Jesus they instead value more this world than Jesus. They let the hedonistic language of this world dictate upon them. And the words of Jesus? It has no more use to them, no wonder many people most especially the young ones live misguided and misdirected lives.    

Let us revisit once again the words of Jesus which we can easily find in the bible and let us read it everyday. Let us allow it to direct our life instead of this world shaping our lives.

Someday when we are already old and sickly we will find out that the passion that we’ve devoted for this world amounts to nothing. For the simple reason that whatever we’ve earned in this world we will leave behind. The only treasure that we can bring with us onto the afterlife is our faith and love for Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for November 22, Thursday; Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr: 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 even if they have their own share of life’s burdens? 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 weeps 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 November 21, Wednesday; The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary: 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:

What are you presently doing with the talent/s that the good Lord has given you? Are you using to further God’s kingdom in this world or you’re only using it to advance your own interest in this world?

We are taught by our faith that all blessings that come our way are God given. Thus, we have a responsibility to pay it forward specially to those who are in need. Whatever these blessings are, be it material blessings or intellectual blessings we have to share it. We should not keep it to ourselves only we have to share it. For its only in sharing what we have that we would receive more blessings from the Lord.  

The third servant was not productive like the first and second because he was fearful of the nobleman. Not only that he was fearful; I think he was also lazy and selfish that’s why he simply stored the gold coin in a handkerchief and left it there until it was taken back by the nobleman.

The feelings of fear, being lazy and selfish are the qualities that paralyze a person from becoming a more productive servant of the Lord. If we want to serve and share in the mission of Jesus we need to discard these negative traits. We also need to always have a positive outlook in life. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 20, Tuesday; 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:

Why did Zacchaeus exert so much effort to see Jesus? Because Zacchaeus was already tired of living a sinful life. He wanted to live a new life so to speak, a life free from sin and the guilt of sin!

So, when Zacchaeus a sinner and a wealthy tax collector heard that Jesus would be passing through their town. He immediately planned to see Him and consequently he immediately went to see Jesus. But because of the big crowd and because he was a short man there was no way for him to see Jesus personally.

Butt the desire to mend his ways was so strong that Zacchaeus even climb a sycamore tree so that he would see Jesus. Surely, Jesus knew that there’s this repentant sinner named Zacchaeus who badly wants to see HIM.

When Jesus was about to pass by the sycamore tree. Jesus looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house." And so he did and brought Jesus to his house and right there in his house Zacchaeus repented. And from his repentance Jesus gave him salvation.  

We all are sinner and being so we are all called to follow the action of Zacchaeus. We are called by Jesus to repent as well. Not tomorrow not next week and certainly not next month but today: This very hour that you’re reading this. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for November 19, Monday; Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time: 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:

What is the most important qualification for those who wants to be healed by Jesus? It’s faith! Our faith in Jesus can make the impossible possible.

The blind man in our gospel has this exceptional faith. It was his faith in Jesus that drove him to call upon Jesus to heal him. It was his deep faith in Jesus that moved him to continuously shout Son of David even if he was already being admonished to keep quite.

This man is blind yes, but his faith in Jesus is not blind and his faith is incredibly bigger than his blindness. For sure he knew Jesus beforehand somebody told him who Jesus was and without question he immediately believed.

And after believing he started thinking more about Jesus, perhaps Jesus was always in his mind. Perhaps the blind man was already imagining what he would do if Jesus would pass by him. Our faith in Jesus is always affirmed and strengthened when we always think of Him. And when we always ask Him to give us the gift of faith.

The gospel for today used the blind man to show us all what deep faith in Jesus can do for us. And that is nothing is impossible for those who believe and for those who always pray with faith. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

1Reflection for Sunday November 18, Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mark 13:24-32

Gospel: Mark 13:24-32

Jesus said to his disciples: "In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. "And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.

"Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates. 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. "But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

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Reflection:

Every now and then there are movies with end times' story lines such as extensive flooding, hunger, tsunami disasters, wars and the like. This is not only happening in movie themes, this is in fact already part of our life’s reality. Just watch the news and you will see many depressing situations. What if these frightening events that we see are really signs of the end times? Are we ready for it?

All of us perhaps are not yet ready for these end times scenarios and all of us are not yet ready for these end times pronouncement by Jesus in the gospel. He tells us this: "In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken(Mark 13:24-25)." This is unimaginable and horrifying, but what if it suddenly comes like a thief in the night? What will happen to us? Where would we end up?

We may not all be ready for these horrific events, we may lose sleep thinking about these dreadful scenarios. But for so long as we have God in our hearts and for so long as we live within the ambit of His teachings. We need not worry for God will give us faith to endure all of these tribulations. He will give us peace in the midst of the absence of peace in our hearts.

But often times we forget the power of God over everything that happens and exists in this world. We often times forget that God is above all these tribulations. Yes, all of these may happen at a time when we least expect it but if we have faith we have nothing to worry. If we love and believe in Jesus we have nothing to worry. 

Let us always learn to give all our worries to God, let us always learn to invite Him to dwell into our hearts. By doing so we will not dread anything even the horrific end times we will not fear.

Do you always pray to the Lord and ask Him to come in to your life? Do you always ask Him to make you strong in the midst of the tribulations and problems in your life? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 17, Saturday; Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious: 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:

Do You always pray with persistence? Meaning you pray and pray and never lose heart until you have what we’ve been praying for. Jesus in our gospel is teaching us that we must be persistent in prayer. Even if what we’ve been praying seems impossible we still have to persistently pray because the impossible becomes very much possible with God.

In our gospel there’s the presence of a heartless judge who feared and respected no one. Yet when he was pestered by the widow for a just decision he gave. Why? Because the widow did not give up.

If we are in the shoes of the widow and we know that this judge is impertinent would we still pursue our request for a decision? Or we simply give up and if possible request for another judge who would be more sympathetic to our plight?   

When we have a prayer request before God we must always have the motivation to humbly request God again and again to grant us what we want to have from Him. Never mind if it will take time before God answers what is important is we continue to pray and we never give up. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 16, Friday; Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 17:26-37

Gospel: Luke 17:26-37

Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, someone who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise one in the field must not return to what was left behind. Remember the wife of Lot. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it. I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left.” They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather.”

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Reflection:

Are you afraid of the end times? Of course, we all are, Jesus mentions frightening scenarios in our gospel reading for this Friday. He mentions similar destructive occurrence like in the days of Noah where everyone on the face of the earth were wiped out except for Noah and his group.

The same destruction happened in the place of Sodom and Gomorrah where the people there became very sinful. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah committed despicable sins such as sexual sins, thus earning the wrath of Yahweh.    

Our own respective end time will come to us; we cannot prevent this from happening for this is the nature of our life. But then again, we hold in our hands what kind of end time and life after our end time we would have. If it would be a hellish end time or a heavenly and peaceful  end time. What Jesus mentioned to the disciples is a fair reminder for all of us to straighten our lives.

Let us leave behind everything that makes and influence us to sin while we still have the luxury of time  . Let’s seriously reflect on this call of Jesus to repentance, sin has done nothing good to us. It made our lives miserable and if we would not leave it behind us it would further make our lives more miserable until it completely destroys us. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 15, Thursday; Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 17:20-25

Gospel: Luke 17:20-25

Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, “The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.”

Then he said to his disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. There will be those who will say to you, ‘Look, there he is,’ or ‘Look, here he is.’ Do not go off, do not run in pursuit. For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.”

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Reflection:

Could you say that you have the kingdom of God? You already have the kingdom of God in your heart if you have Jesus in your life. You already have the kingdom of God if you feel the love of Jesus in your heart. You already have the kingdom of God when you have peace and contentment in your heart.

Many of us including our politicians today seek the kingdom of this world. We amass wealth even corrupted wealth. We amass vast properties to serve as our earthly kingdoms. But this kind kingdom will not last forever. We will leave behind everything eventually, we have to remember that we came into this world with nothing and we will leave this world with nothing.  

At what price are we willing to pay just to have this earthly kingdom? Are we willing to sell our souls to the devil just to have possession of this earthly kingdom? Let us wake up before it’s too late otherwise our greed for earthly kingdom would become our passage to hell.  

In our gospel for this Thursday Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, “The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you (Luke 17:20-21).

Indeed, the kingdom of God is within our midst already yet it cannot be physically seen and measured nor could it be bought by any amount of money.  This kingdom of God is planted into our hearts by Jesus Himself.

Do you also want to have the kingdom of God? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for November 14, Wednesday; Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 17:11-19

Gospel: Luke 17:11-19

As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us! And when he saw them, he said, "Go show yourselves to the priests. As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God? Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."

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Reflection:

Do you always thank the Lord for the countless blessings that He showers upon you?

After healing the ten leapers only one returned (a Samaritan). That’s why Jesus said: Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? (Luke 17:17) Indeed, what happened to the other nine who were members of Jesus faith?

Jesus was looking for them perhaps being one in faith with Him Jesus was expecting them to also return back and signify also their gratitude to Him.  But the nine were missing in action, they were good only in soliciting favors from Jesus. After they got what they wanted they evaporated from His sight.

Such is the behavior of many of us, we earnestly pray when we need something from Jesus. Burt after getting what we want, Jesus is sometimes forgotten or Jesus is not given importance once again. Actually, it’s not only through Jesus that we show our ingratitude. Even to our family members or friends we are sometimes full of ingratitude.

Think of your spouse, children, parents and friends, have you acknowledge their goodness to you?   Have you said a word of gratitude to them, for the little and big favors that they’ve done for you? Or you haven’t done anything to acknowledge their goodness. Such is our behavior sometimes very forgetful or even ungrateful.

Let us think of Jesus, have we thanked Him for the many blessings that He has been giving us? The blessing of life, the blessing of sunlight every morning, have we thanked Him through our  prayers?

In everything let us be grateful to Jesus, for our life, for our health for the numerous healings. That we often times fail to recognize for the reason that we are always fixated on our problems. Thus, we miss out the goodness of Jesus to us. Even in the midst of our trials let us also be thankful because it purifies us and it makes us better individuals.

Do you always thank the Lord? -  Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for November 13, Tuesday; Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini: Luke 17:7-10

Gospel: Luke 17:7-10

(Jesus said to His disciples) “Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’

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Reflection:

What is the frequent failing of many who serve in the vineyard of the Lord Jesus Christ? It’s the feeling of being above everyone and the feeling that he/she is special because he/she is serving in the church.

Take for example a priest who has a high sense of himself and who gives orders to those who are at church as if they are his slaves. Sad to say but this is true: there are ill-mannered priest. It’s not only the priest who is guilty of this kind of failing we too are often guilty of this kind of ill-mannered behavior.

If we are like this then how could we bring others closer to Jesus and how could they see Jesus in us? Let us not forget that we who are followers of Jesus are His walking advertisement in this world. If we are arrogant and ill-mannered, how can we bring them closer to Jesus?

In our gospel Jesus reminds us that we are all servants before Him and our fellowmen. It doesn’t matter how high our position in the church, it doesn’t matter how educated/rich we are. If we are true followers of Jesus we must then become the servant of everyone.

For it’s in serving others and in our humility that we become real and authentic followers and servants of Jesus. - Marino J. Dasmarinas