Reflection for Friday March 17, Second Week of Lent: Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46    

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: “Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned.

Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’ They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?”They answered him, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.”Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?

Therefore, I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.

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Reflection:

One of the gifts that Jesus gave us is our Catholic faith, Jesus gave this to us through our baptism. Does this gift of faith end with our baptism? No, Jesus is also expecting us to share this gift of our baptism by living and sharing our faith. 

We read in our gospel this Friday that there was a landowner who leased his vineyard to some tenants. After a period of time the landowner was now demanding his share of their produce. But they did not give him his share, the tenants were ruled by greed that they kept to themselves the fruits of the vineyard.

The same is true with the gift of faith that Jesus gave us, Jesus expects us to share the fruits of our faith. Let us not be content with status quo let us move and do something so that we could share our faith for this is what Jesus demands from us.

For example, why don’t you share your faith with the members of your family by inviting them to go to Holy Mass? Why don’t you share your faith with them by having a regular time for family reflection about the words of Jesus in the bible?  Or perhaps by praying the Holy Rosary which can certainly strengthen the unity of your family.

What have you done so far with this gift of faith that Jesus gave you through the Sacrament of Baptism? Have you shared it already most especially with the members of your family? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Thursday March 16, Second Week of Lent: Luke 16:19-31

Gospel: Luke 16:19-31

Jesus said to the Pharisees: “There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’ Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours. He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s house for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them lest they too come to this place of torment. But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them. He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. Then Abraham said ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.

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Reflection:

Does the poor have a purpose in the life of the rich and affluent? Yes they have! The poor closes the gap between the rich and God, the poor brings God closer to the rich for the poor represents God. Jesus himself said that whatever we do to the least or poor we do unto Him (Matthew 25:40).

We have in our gospel the characters of the nameless rich man (He could be anyone of us) and the poor man Lazarus. The nameless rich man is insensitive to the needs of the poor man Lazarus. Why? Because the rich man perceived the poor Lazarus as good for nothing, Lazarus would simply disturb him from his enjoyment of his riches.

What if the rich man knew beforehand that at the back his door stands God in disguise in the person of the poor man Lazarus? Who unceasingly knocks to bring him more blessings and to save him from going to hell? He would have immediately opened his door and give Lazarus every precious things and every royal treatment that he could give him.

But the rich man never recognized the presence of God in Lazarus, he instead nonchalantly continued with his greedy and insensitive lifestyle.

How then could we connect this gospel to our own personal life? We see and encounter the poor (Materially and Spiritually poor) almost everyday. Do we even care to take a second look at them and then give them something to fill their empty stomachs and spirits? If we can’t give them anything because we are also poor, do we even care to talk to them or even smile at them?

There are times that yes we give to the poor and to those who are in need. But we want everyone to know about this and we limit our giving to the things that we don’t need anymore. We limit our generosity to give them money that will not hurt our own bank accounts. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Wednesday March 15, Second Week of Lent: Matthew 20:17-28

Gospel: Matthew 20:17-28

As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” He replied, “My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

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Reflection:

What makes us worthy in the eyes of Jesus? Obviously it’s not our title/s or any worldly appendages. What makes us worthy in the eyes of Jesus is our readiness to humbly serve without seeking any recognition in return. This is what makes us worthy in the eyes of Jesus.

Why do we follow Jesus in the first place? Is it for us to have an exalted position in our community or in our parish church? Many of us love it so much to be looked-up and respected because we advertise ourselves to be close to Jesus.

And when nobody is noticing us we seek attention. Do we make Jesus happy when we use Him for us to be exalted? Of course not! But this is where we always fall! We use Jesus as our springboard for us to be exalted and respected.

Can’t we simply fade away in silence after we’ve served our church or after we’ve done good to our fellowmen? Can’t we simply fade away and let our gentle and merciful God be in-front so that He could attract more believers?

Many of us are afraid to be humble because we perceive humility as weakness. But truth be told, our humility is powerful very powerful that it creates endless echoes in the hearts of those who see it. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for Tuesday March 14, Second Week of Lent: Matthew 23:1-12

Gospel: Matthew 23:1-12

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

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Reflection:

Do you live what you preach? 

Walk your talk is a language of management, what does this mean? It simply signify to do what you say and lead by example. For instance if the leader tells his subordinates to do this and that, the leader must ensure that he does it first thus he leads the way for his people.

Many of the Pharisees and the scribes during the time of Jesus were leaders of their communities. And as such they give orders to their people to do this and that, then it ends with giving orders. There was no leadership by example from them, they gave orders and they just stay in their ivory towers observing their subjects.   

Effective leadership for Jesus is leadership by example. They are leaders who walk their talk. For instance in a family setting if the parents would say to their children, do this and that and observe this discipline and that. To facilitate thorough accomplishment of their orders the parents should lead by example. Thus, they earn the respect of their children.

Isn’t this advice of Jesus also very useful to our personal lives? If we want our orders to be accomplished and if we want to gain the respect of our people we must then be ready to lead by example. And this is by the way how Jesus lived His life and His leadership.

How are you as an individual or perhaps as a leader? Are you the type who’s just content of giving orders or you lead by example? – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for Monday March 13, Second Week of Lent: Luke 6:36-38

Gospel: Luke 6:36-38

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

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Reflection:

Are you merciful, are you not quick to judge and are you generous?

Jesus gives us today in the gospel guidelines for living our faith. Be merciful, this merciful attitude is not only exclusive to those whom we love or to those whom we are friends with. Let be merciful to anyone most especially to our enemies and to those who’ve hurt us.  

Stop judging/condemning and you will not be judged/condemned. Try pointing an accusing finger to someone whom you are judging or condemning and you will find out that three of your fingers are pointing back at you. Before you judge others of their iniquities look closely on yourselves first.

On forgiveness, Jesus tells us to forgive and we will be forgiven. There are some of us who are so heartless that we have no room for forgiveness in our hearts. Jesus gives us insights on how we can liberate ourselves form hateful emotions. 

We have to always be forgiving, it is indeed a liberating experience when we forgive; we let go of our pent-up emotions that have been enslaving us for so long. Just try giving your wholesale forgiveness to everyone who has hurt you and you will feel as if a big burden has been taken off you.

On giving, Jesus tells us to give and gifts will be given to us in return, this is very true. The more that we give the more that we will receive, oftentimes we don’t give simply because we are very concerned with our own needs. 

Let us always remember that whatever possessions that we have are not ours. We are simply stewards of the material possessions that we have. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for March 12, Second Sunday of Lent; Matthew 17:1-9

Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9

Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and do not be afraid." And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, "Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

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Reflection:

Has there been a time in your life wherein you feel giving up already because of the hardship that you’ve been going through? What did you do? Did you ask Jesus to help you face you trials? Did you ask Jesus to help you carry your burdens? Did you ask Jesus to strengthen your sagging morale?

One of the many reasons why Jesus brought Peter, James and John to the mountain of Transfiguration is to strengthen them. Jesus knew beforehand that Peter, James and John would be facing gargantuan challenges in their mission for Him. That’s why Jesus saw it fit to bring them first to the mountain of transfiguration to assure them that heaven exist and it’s for them to own someday if they would be faithful to their mission.

Isn’t this our life with Jesus? Life full of challenges and often times trials as well. However, let us not be daunted by these difficulties let us face it with faith for Jesus is with us. He will never abandon us, He will be with us every step of the way.

The event of transfiguration shows us that heavenly glory awaits us all if only we would be faithful to our Baptismal mission. Buy the sad reality is many are not doing it and many are not even aware that they have a mission to fulfill to propagate the faith.

  

We who know about this must never lose heart in doing our mission for Jesus and for the church.  Jesus is assuring us that heaven is ours to take someday if only we would continue to be faithful to our baptismal mission.

Are you doing your mission for the Transfigured Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Saturday March 11, First Week of Lent: Matthew 5:43-48

Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48

Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

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Reflection:

Would you obey the command of Jesus to love and pray for your enemy?

Who are we to not obey the command of Jesus to love even our enemy? We are mere mortals and sinful beings of God. If God loves us unconditionally, why can’t we do the same to our fellowmen?

Our problem is we give so much importance on our high sense of ourselves, on our egos. That’s why we often times say, “If you don’t love me I will not love you also.”, “If you’re angry with me, then I would be angry with you also.” These kinds of reasoning are reasoning of a person who is so full of himself. 

The call of Jesus for us it to do away with our very high regard of ourselves and this would only be possible if we would become humble. Humility therefore is the key factor for us to be able to follow this command of Jesus: To give unconditionally love even to our enemies.

Let be humility an integral part of our way of life. Let us always learn to reach-out, let us always be forgiving and let us not harbor ill feelings to those who’ve wronged us. If we’re able to do these, we can now say that we would be able to love and pray for everyone… even our enemies. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Friday March 10, First Week of Lent: Matthew 5:20-26

Gospel: Matthew 5:20-26

Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

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Reflection:

What is the antidote to sin or what could defeat sin or hatred? Its humility, forgiveness and love. For example if you sin against your spouse the cure for this sin is to humble yourself before your spouse. You do this by  saying, I’m sorry for hurting you or  I’m sorry for betraying your trust.

If your spouse loves you dearly you can expect forgiveness, the mitigating factor here is  your humility to admit your offense or sin. But not everyone is willing to say, I’m sorry for to admit ones mistake or to say I’m sorry is one  of the hardest words to say. But if there’s humility in us we would not think twice to apologize for this will once again heal the relationship.

But the paradox is, we are quick to sin yet we are not quick to apologize  or some are not even willing to apologize. And this lack of humility on our part creates bigger trouble/s in our married relationship or any other kind of relationship for that matter.

In our gospel Jesus is teaching us about humility and to have the courage to admit our own mistakes or shortcomings (Matthew 5:23-25). Why? Because if we are willing to humble ourselves and if we have the courage to admit our own sinfulness. We therefore save ourselves from further trouble/s but if we continue to be dominating and arrogant then trouble/s would always be with us.

Would we be willing to humbly apologize to somebody whom we have offended? To reach-out or to apologize is hard to do but it’s also a redemptive experience for it will set us free from the bondage of guilt.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Thursday March 9, First Week of Lent: Matthew 7:7-12

Gospel: Matthew 7:7-12

Jesus said to his disciples: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.”

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Reflection:

Do you always pray to the Good Lord?

You always open yourself to God’s unfathomable graces when you ask Him, when you seek Him and when you knock on His heart. These actions are signs of your humility before God and you recognize God’s superiority over you and you signify your need of Him.

Those who deeply believe would eternally ask Jesus, eternally seek Jesus and eternally knock on the heart of Jesus. They will never stop even if Jesus seems to be deaf to their pleadings. Why?  This is for the reason that they have an inherent need of God.

When God created us, He created us with an app to need Him yet many of us have the tendency to disregard it for the reason that we think that we can exist in this world without Him. But the truth of the matter is we cannot peacefully exists in this world without God!

God is good all the time if you ask and He doesn't give it to you yet. If you seek and you have not found it yet and if you knock and the door has not been opened for you yet. Dont give up, continue to storm the heavens with your prayers.

Soon enough, God will grant your heart’s desire, for the key to have what you want is in not giving up no matter how hard and gloomy the road that lies ahead. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Wednesday March 8, First Week of Lent: Luke 11:29-32

Gospel: Luke 11:29-32

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,so will the Son of Man be to this generation. At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.”

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Reflection:

How would you react if somebody tells you to mend your ways and repent from all of your sinfulness? Will you not feel insulted and antagonized? You'll feel insulted and antagonized because the call for you to mend your ways is prophetic and true.

We get angry when others tell us to repent and walk away from all of our sinfulness but why get angry when they are telling the truth? Why get angry when those who are telling us to mend our ways are only concerned for our own wellbeing? 

Many listened to Jesus  but many did not listen as well. In fact very few listened to Jesus among the high and mighty because they loved sin more than the wise counsel of Jesus.   Isn’t this happening to us today? We love sin (disguised as pleasure/s) more than listen to Jesus?

This is the paradox of our high-technology driven time today. Many of us today listen more to our high-tech gadgets than listen to Jesus by reading His words. Many of us have more time with our earthy undertakings than have our important quite time with Jesus. What will happen to us if we are like this?

Let us listen more to Jesus and let us listen to His call of repentance. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Tuesday March 7, First Week of Lent: Matthew 6:7-15

Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15

(Jesus said to his disciples) “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “This is how you are to pray:

‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’

“If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”

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Reflection:

How do you pray? Do you pray with a set of structured prayer such as the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be and many other prayers? Nothing is wrong with these prayers for it brings you closer to God. What is important is, when you pray you dive inside your prayer this means that your whole being is in communion with your prayer.

There is no wrong with our spontaneous/personal prayers for these are prayers that originate deep in our hearts.  Our whole beings are with our prayer, and by doing so we establish our connection with the Good Lord.

So we know how to pray and that is very good! But let us think about the many others who do not know how to pray (There are many of them). Perhaps we can make it our mission in life to teach them how to pray and in the process introduce them to Jesus.

Let us do something about this and let us also share this prayer that was taught by Jesus to His disciples. We become productive followers of Jesus when we pay forward whatever we know about Jesus most especially this prayer that HE taught us to pray.

Have you shared the Our Father prayer? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Monday March 6, First Week of Lent: 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:

Do you want to attract God’s blessing upon you? You have to do what Jesus commands you in the gospel. Jesus tells you to give food to the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, give clothes to the naked, take care of the sick and visit the imprisoned.

Jesus is teaching us to discard the me first mentality for so many of us have this me first mindset. What would you feel if you do away with the me first mindset? You would be free from the bondage of greed and selfishness which by the way is an instrument of the devil.

Life in this world is temporary you therefore have to make worthy decisions and actions that would impact the lives of your fellowmen. Never be concerned of your own life for God will take care of it for you.

The gospel tells us that there will be judgment and separation amongst those who followed and did not follow the will of God. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for March 5, First Sunday of Lent; Matthew 4:1-11

Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread." He said in reply, "It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God."

Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you and with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone." Jesus answered him, "Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test." Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me." At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve."

Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

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Reflection:

Do you fight temptation when it comes to you or you allow it to conquer you?

Thinking that he would be able to temp Jesus the devil said: "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread." Jesus rebuked the devil and said in reply, "It is written: 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

Jesus was in control even if he was hungry. Relating this with the many temptations that comes to us, how easily do we loss control of our minds and values when we are tempted by  the devil? We have to remember that we begin to commit sin the moment we allow the devil to temp us.  

On the second temptation: how often do we dare God to do this and that for us so that we would believe in Him. We should not dare test God, we simply have to believe even without seeing what we believe for it is an  indication of steadfast faith.  

The third temptation is towards material things like money and material possessions. Isn’t that sometimes we worship money? Money per se doesn't make us sin; it’s our greed for money that transforms us to become sinful.

During this lent we will surely be encountering many temptations from the devil. We simply have to refuse every temptation that the devil dangles before us no matter how attractive. Otherwise we allow the devil to control us and that is very dangerous. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for March 4, Saturday after Ash Wednesday: Luke 5:27-32

Gospel: Luke 5:27-32

Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus said to them in reply, "Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners."

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Reflection:

What made Jesus call Levi to follow Him and what made Levi leave everything behind to follow Jesus? Of course the main reason was Levi is a sinner and he was tired of living a life of sin. Therefore when Levi was called by Jesus he throw caution to the wind to follow Jesus. For he knew that at long last there is someone who’s not judging him. And someone who’s willing to give him a second chance to live life away from sin.

In this gospel episode Jesus gives us valuable lesson on how we can call others to conversion. First is let us not be judgmental with those whom we perceive as sinners. Who are we to judge when we are sinners also? Second is let us always give others a second chance no matter how sinful they are.

There are many who are itching to live their lives away from sin but no one is willing to give them a second chance. It seems to them that almost everyone is condemning them. If only we know that they are already sick and tired of living in sin. If only we know that they are just waiting for us to call them to a life of renewal.

During this season of lent let us make it our vow not to be judgmental. Let us make it our vow to give those whom we perceive as sinners a second chance. There are sinners because there are people who are judgmental and people who are not willing to give them a second chance. – Marino J. Dasmarinas