Jesus moved
about within Galilee; he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were
trying to kill him. But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near. But when his
brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but as
it were in secret.
Some of the
inhabitants of Jerusalem said, “Is he not the one they are trying to kill? And
look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities
have realized that he is the Christ? But we know where he is from. When the
Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.” So Jesus cried out in the
temple area as he was teaching and said, “You know me and also know where I am
from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not
know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me. So they tried
to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet
come.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Does Jesus
fear death? Yes, He feared death, yet Jesus did not allow His fear of death to
paralyze His movement and desire to do His mission for God. He continued with
His mission and became more creative in doing it until He reached His appointed
time of arrest, persecution and death on the cross.
We see this
in the gospel reading for today, Jesus did not want to travel to Judea for the
reason that the Jews were planning to kill Him. But it was the feast of
tabernacles, a sacred Jewish feast that He must observe. So, Jesus went albeit
secretly and there He preached with passion as if there was no threat on His
life.
Do you also
have fears in your life? Whatever your fears are don’t let it paralyze you. You
have to face it so that you could conquer or defeat it. If Jesus let His fear
of death overcome Him. There would have been no triumphant death on the
cross and there would have been no salvation for all of us.
When we face
our fears we live our dreams and we are able to achieve great things for us and
our fellowmen. Fear is an instrument of the devil to prevent us from achieving
great things for us and for God. What are your fears? Ask Jesus to help you
defeat it for He will surely help you. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said to
the Jews: “If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true. But there
is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives
on my behalf is true. You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the
truth. I do not accept human testimony, but I say this so that you may be
saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to
rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that
the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my
behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the Father who sent me has
testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in
the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures, because you think you have
eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But you do not want
to come to me to have life.
“I do not
accept human praise; moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in
you. I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another
comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe, when you
accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the
only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who
will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. For if you had
believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me. But if
you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
+ + + + + +
Reflection:
How are you
as a witness for Jesus? Do you live and share His teachings? A good witness for
Jesus is someone who walks with Him all through the seasons of his/her life.
What would you get for witnessing for Jesus?
There would
be instances that you would be ridiculed. It doesn’t matter anyway because
everything is worth it for Jesus. You may not immediately see the fruits of
your witnessing for Jesus but in His own perfect time you shall harvest those
fruits.
In our gospel
Jesus mentions John the Baptist who prepared the way for Him. John told those
who were acclaiming him to be the messiah that he was not. He told them that
something greater is to come after him and it was none other than Jesus.
John was an
effective witness for Jesus because he did not grab the credit that was only
due for Jesus. He was content to fade away so that Jesus would be highlighted
more. With John’s witness for Jesus we are educated about lessons on
humility.
That humility
is one of the best if not the best virtue that we could harness so that we can
effectively bring and lead others to Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus
answered the Jews: “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” For this
reason they tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the
Sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.
Jesus
answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do
anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for what he does,
the Son will do also. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything
that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that
you may be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so
also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. Nor does the Father judge
anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son
just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor
the Father who sent him. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and
believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to
condemnation, but has passed from death to life. Amen, amen, I say to you, the
hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of
God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself,
so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself. And he gave him
power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at
this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear
his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection
of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of
condemnation.
“I cannot do
anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do
not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.”
+ + + + + +
Reflection:
Do you
believe in the oneness of God the Father and God the Son?
We can best
summarize the first half of Jesus pronouncements in the gospel as, “Like father
like son.” We believe this because Jesus is the second person in the Trinity.
He is the word made flesh (John 1:14).
Since we look
up to Jesus as the founder and leader of our faith it is without doubt that we
are His followers. But are we worthy followers of Jesus? Yes, we believe His
pronouncements in the gospel about His oneness with the Father. But do we
translate this belief or this adherence to actual actions of faith?
For
example, do we extend help if there’s someone in need? Do we speak the truth
when we need to speak the truth? Do we always embody the great virtue of
humility? Do we live what read in the gospel?
Do we live
the preaching of Jesus? For example, if a spouse who went ashtray would ask for
your forgiveness and wants to reconcile with you. Will you forgive and
reconcile? Or you will already slam the door and lock it permanently with unforgiveness? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
There was a
feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem at
the Sheep Gate a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these
lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had
been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that
he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” The
sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the
water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before
me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” Immediately the man
became well, took up his mat, and walked.
Now that day
was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath,
and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” He answered them, “The man who
made me well told me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’“ They asked him, “Who is the
man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” The man who was healed did not know
who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there. After
this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, “Look, you are well;
do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went and
told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. Therefore, the Jews
began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath.
+ + + + + +
Reflection:
Is there a
relationship between sickness and sin? Based on the pronouncements of Jesus in
the gospel there is.
The man who
had been sick for thirty-eight long years was asked by Jesus, “Do you want to
be well (John 5:6)?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me
into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else
gets down there before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and
walk (John 5:7-8).” Then on the latter part of the gospel Jesus said to the
healed man: “Look, you are well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse may
happen to you (John 5:14).”
We may not
know it but many of our sickness are brought about by our sins. For example,
the sin of Greed, Anger and Gluttony, in so many ways Greed and Anger are one
of the triggers for us to have sickness such as high blood pressure and the
like. The same is true with Gluttony, over indulging on any kind of food will
eventually make us sick in the long run.
Let us
therefore repent from our sins and avoid it thereafter. The moment we repent by
way of the Sacrament of Confession we would be free from any guilt of
conscience and surely free from the possession of the devil which sometimes
disguises itself as sickness. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
At that time
Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet
has no honor in his native place. When he came into Galilee, the Galileans
welcomed him, since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast;
for they themselves had gone to the feast.
Then he
returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. Now there was a
royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had
arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and
heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see
signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him, “Sir,
come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will
live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. While the man was on
his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. He asked
them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday,
about one in the afternoon.” The father realized that just at that time Jesus
had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to
believe. Now this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from
Judea.
+ + + + + +
Reflection:
How deep is
your faith in Jesus? Is your faith limited to what you can perceive and see? Or
your faith is not bounded by what you can perceive and see?
Sometimes
it’s hard to have faith if we don’t see something concrete that would reinforce
our faith. But faith that is dependent on what we can see is shallow. Deep
faith is something that we hold in our hearts even without visible manifestation.
The royal
official in our gospel has this deep faith. He believed what Jesus told him
even without any visible manifestation. He simply believed in the words of
Jesus. When Jesus told him to go back home for his sick son will live, he left
without asking any question. He held close to his heart the very words of Jesus
that his son would live. And upon arriving home his son was indeed healed the
very same time that Jesus uttered the miraculous words to him.
There will
come a time that our faith in Jesus will be tested, say for example a severe
sickness. What are we going to do when we reach this point of no return? What
are we going to do if for example the doctor would tell us that we only have a
few months to live?
We must hold
on tightly to our faith in Jesus and never give up no matter what our present
circumstances are. This is for the reason that our faith in Jesus is much
bigger than any trials or problems that we may face. Our faith in Jesus is far
stronger than any sickness that could kill our bodies but not diminish our rock-solid
faith in Jesus.
How strong is
your faith in Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing
near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain,
saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them Jesus
addressed this parable: “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his
father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So
the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son
collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he
squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent
everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire
need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his
farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the
swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many
of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I,
dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to
be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.” ’So
he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his
father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son,
embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned
against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But
his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on
him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf
and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine
was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then
the celebration began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his
way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He
called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to
him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened
calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he
refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said
to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once
did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on
with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with
prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He said to him, ‘My son,
you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must
celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life
again; he was lost and has been found.’”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Can you measure the love of God?
The infinite love of God is showcased in our
gospel for this fourth Sunday of Lent. The loving and infinitely forgiving
father is no other than God. And the repentant younger son who squandered all
of his inheritance through debauchery and sinful living could be anyone of us.
We may think that because of our many sins we
are already beyond reach by God’s love, mercy and forgiveness. No, the Lord can
still reach us no matter how far we have strayed. Why? For the reason that God’s love is pervading
and infinite. It’s like the sun which is available to all of us no matter the
sins that we have committed and no matter who we are.
But for us to be reached by this infinite and
pervading love of God. We must first be willing to repent from all of our sins.
And we must be willing to humble ourselves before God. We have to humbly admit
and realize that we are all sinners. Thus, just like the younger son we
too are in need of God’s mercy, love and forgiveness.
It’s about time that we return back to our
forgiving, merciful and loving God. It’s about time that we repent and leave
behind us our sinful lives and those people who influence us to commit sin. –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
1 Lumapit kay Jesus ang lahat ng
kolektor ng buwis at mga makasalanan para makinig. 2 Kaya nagbulung-bulungan
ang mga Pariseo at mga guro ng Batas: “Tinatanggap niyan ang mga makasalanan at
nakikisalo sa kanila.” 3 Kaya sinabi ni Jesus ang talinhagang ito sa kanila:
11 “May isang taong
may dalawang anak na lalaki. 12 Sinabi
ng bunso sa kanyang ama: ‘Itay, ibigay na ninyo sa akin ang parte ko sa mana.’
At hinati sa kanila ng ama ang ari-arian. 13 Pagkaraan
ng ilang araw, tinipon ng bunsong anak ang lahat ng kanya at naglakbay sa
malayong lupain. Doon niya winaldas ang sa kanya sa maluwag na pamumuhay.
14 Nang maubos na
ang lahat sa kanya, nagkaroon ng matinding taggutom sa lupaing ’yon at nagsimula
siyang maghikahos. 15 Kaya
pumunta siya at namasukan sa isang tagaroon, at inutusan siyang mag-alaga ng
mga baboy sa bukid nito. 16 At
gusto sana niyang punuin kahit na ng kaning-baboy ang kanyang tiyan pero wala
namang magbigay sa kanya.
17 Noon siya
natauhan at nag-isip: ‘Gaano karaming arawan sa bahay ng aking ama na
labis-labis ang pagkain at namamatay naman ako dito sa gutom. 18 Titindig ako, pupunta sa aking
ama, at sasabihin ko sa kanya: ‘Itay, nagkasala ako laban sa langit at sa
harap mo. 19 Hindi na ako
karapat-dapat pang tawaging anak mo; ituring mo na akong isa sa iyong mga
arawan.’
20 Kaya tumindig
siya papunta sa kanyang ama. Malayo pa siya nang matanaw ng kanyang ama at
naawa ito, patakbo nitong sinalubong ang anak, niyakap at hinalikan. 21 Sinabi sa kanya ng anak: ‘Ama,
nagkasala ako laban sa langit at sa harap mo; hindi na ako karapat-dapatpang tawaginganakmo.’
22 Pero sinabi ng
ama sa kanyang mga utusan: ‘Madali, dalhin ninyo ang dati niyang damit at
ibihis sa kanya; suutan ninyo ng sinsing ang kanyang daliri at ng sapatos ang
kanyang mga paa. 23 Dalhin at
katayin ang pinatabang guya, kumain tayo at magsaya 24 sapagkat namatay na ang anak kong ito at nabuhay, nawala
at natagpuan.’ At nagsimula silang magdiwang.
25 Nasa bukid noon
ang panganay na anak. Nang pauwi na siya at malapit na sa bahay, narinig niya
ang tugtugan at sayawan. 26 Tinawag
niya ang isa sa mga utusan at tinanong kung ano ang nangyari. 27 Sinabi nito sa kanya: ‘Nagbalik
ang kapatid mo kaya ipinapatay ng iyong ama ang pinatabang guya dahil nabawi
niya siyang buhay at di naano.’
28 Nagalit ang
panganay at ayaw pumasok kaya lumabas ang ama at nakiusap sa kanya. 29 Sumagot naman siya sa ama:
‘Maraming taon na akong nagsisilbi sa inyo at kailanma’y di ko nilabag ang inyong
mga utos pero kailanma’y di ninyo ako binigyan ng kahit na isang kambing na
mapagpipiyestahan namin ng aking mga kabarkada.
30 Ngunit dumating
lamang ang anak ninyong ito na lumustay sa inyong kayamanan sa mga babaeng
bayaran, at ipinakatay pa ninyo ang pinatabang guya.’ 31 Sinabi sa kanya ng ama: ‘Anak, lagi kitang kasama at sa iyo
rin ang lahat ng akin. 32 Pero
dapat lamang na magdiwang at magsaya dahil namatay na ang kapatid mo at
nabuhay, nawala at natagpuan’.”
Ang Mabuting Balita ng Panginoon
+ + + + + + +
Repleksyon:
Masusukat mo ba ang pag-ibig ng Diyos?
Ang walang sukatang pag-ibig ng Diyos ay ipinapakita
sa ating mabuting balita ngayong ika-apat na lingo ng kuwaresma. Ang mapagmahal
at mapagpatawad na ama ay walang iba kundi ang Diyos. At ang nag sisising
bunsong anak na winaldas ang kanyang minana sa pamamagitan ng makasalanang
pamumuhay ay maaaring sinuman sa atin.
Baka isipin natin na dahil sa ating maraming mga
kasalanan ay tayo ay hindi na abot ng pag-ibig, awa at pagpapatawad ng Diyos.
Tayo ay abot na abot parin ng Diyos gaano man tayo kalayo humiwalay sa kanya
dahil sa ating mga kasalanan. Bakit? Dahil ang pag-ibig, awa at pagpapatawad ng
Diyos sa atin ay walang hangganan. Para itong sikat ng araw na para sa ating
lahat at walang pinipili maging sino man tayo.
Pero, para tayo ay maabot nitong walang hangang
pag-ibig ng Diyos. Dapat tayo ay handa ring pagsisihan ang ating mga nagawang
mga kasalanan. At dapat tayo rin ay handang mag pakumbaba sa Diyos. At boung
kababaang loob na tanggapin na tayong lahat ay mga makasalanan. Kaya tayo rin
ay nangangailagan ng awa, pagpapatawad at pag-ibig ng Diyos.
Kaya napapanahon na na tayo ay bumalik na sa ating
mapagpatawad, mawain at mapagmahal na Diyos. Napapanahon na na tayo ay magsisi
at tuluyan nang iwanan ang buhay makasalanan. At ang mga taong wala ng ginawa
kundi ang impluwensyahan tayo na magkasala. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus
addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one
was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his
position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not
like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this
tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But
the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to
heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I
tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who
exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be
exalted.”
+ + + + + +
Reflection:
Have you tried conversing with those who are humble?
What do you notice about them? They very rarely talk about themselves, if they
even talk about themselves they see to it that it’s done not for the purpose of
raising their own self-image. So, we naturally gravitate towards them and we
love to be with them because they carry an aura of holiness.
Have you tried conversing with those who are so full
of themselves? Of course, they always talk about themselves: their
accomplishment, their riches, things that they do and it goes on and on: all
about themselves. Truth be told, we don’t want to hear these self-serving words
that only feed their bloated egos.
God would prefer also that we at all times become
humble. To talk less and less about ourselves and our accomplishments for the
simple reason that He already knows everything about us. He would very
much prefer that we simply practice our faith, never worrying if other would
notice about it or not. Simply content to do things for the greater glory of
God and not to serve our own glorification.
Many of us are like the Pharisee in our gospel, we
love to talk about ourselves and we love to boast about the things that we do.
An inner renewal is in order for all of us so that we would become like the
humble tax collector who gained the favor of God.
We have to
remember that the Lord always favors the humble as stated in the gospel. Those
who do not change whatever fame and fortune they may possess. They remain
grounded; they never allow their sudden fame and fortune to go into their
heads. They are well aware that whatever they have now is a gift from God that
they must not brag about. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
One of the
scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the
commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our
God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is
this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment
greater than these.” The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right
in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your
heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your
neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You
are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more
questions.
+ + + + + +
Reflection:
Why did Jesus
give us these two timeless and greatest commandments about love? Because we
need these two instructions about love to heal the world of its many sufferings.
For example if only there’s authentic love for God in the hearts of the rich
there would be no more sufferings and hunger amongst the poor.
But many of
them don’t have the love of God in their hearts that’s why they continue to
oppress and take advantage of the poor. They love themselves more than God,
they love temporal power more than they love the people of God.
Let us hear
the command of God to us: Let us love Him with all our heart, mind and soul.
Let us also allow God to use us as his vehicle so that those who are alien to
the love of God would feel it through us. And those who don’t know God will
come to know God because of our unconditional love for them.
Let us little
by little conquer the enmity of this world with our love for God and for our
neighbors. And let us not only love those who will love us back or those who
are lovable to our eyes.
Let us also
love even those who are not lovable to our eyes for this is the true measure of
love. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus was
driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute
man spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, “By the power of
Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons. Others, to test him,
asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall
against house. And if Satan is divided against himself how will his kingdom
stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then,
drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I
drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man
fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger
than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and
distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does
not gather with me scatters.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do you
believe in Jesus as your Lord and savior? In our gospel for today, after
casting out the demon from a man Jesus was accused to be one with the demons.
They obviously did not believe in Jesus as their Lord and savior. They also
can’t believe that Jesus is capable of doing this miracle with good intentions
in His heart. Otherwise they would have not accused Him as one with the demons.
Who is one
with the demons? Is it Jesus or the ones who refuse to believe in Him? There
are only to options that we have in this world to believe in Jesus or not to
believe in Jesus. To believe means that we should walk the path of Jesus for we
can’t say that we believe yet we don’t walk the path of Jesus. Those who don’t
believe are those who are vulnerable to the company and possession of the
devil.
Many of the
people of today are like those in the time of Jesus who did not believe in Him.
For what reasons? Perhaps they are so obsessed with their own selves. That they
regard themselves as somebody who know better than Jesus that’s why they don’t
believe. Or they believe but they don’t follow the teachings of Jesus.
But the
consequence of not believing in Jesus is enormous. First and foremost is they
invite the devil to possess them. And once they are already possessed by the
devil they now are capable of doing evil without any guilt of conscience.
This is the
reason why there are mothers who abort their unborn child without any guilt of
conscience. This is the reason why there are married couples who engaged in
adulterous relationships without guilt of conscience. They are capable of doing
these despicable acts because they are already possessed by the devil of
convenience and the devil of lust.
But there’s
still hope for as long as there are people like you who believe in Jesus.
People like you who will stand for the teachings and values of Jesus. People
like you who will value the gift of life more than the evil of abortion and
wicked convenience. And people like you who will respect the sanctity of the
marriage covenant and not succumb to wicked, evil and lustful desires enticed by the devil. –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said to
his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the
prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until
heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a
letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore,
whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do
so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches
these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
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Reflection:
Do you obey,
teach and live the commandments of the Lord?
Jesus in our
gospel for today speaks about Himself as the fulfillment of the law. In effect
Jesus was telling the disciples I am now the fulfilment of those commandments
from the Old Testament.
For example,
the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) which God gave to Moses in the mountain
of Sinai. Jesus summarized these ten to become the two greatest commandments
which states: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and
the Prophets hang on these two commandments (Matthew 22:37-40).”
Jesus
summarized the ten commandments thus it became the two greatest commandments of
love. Indeed, if we really have Jesus in our lives there would be no room for
hatred, condemnation, self-righteousness, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.
What would
remain in our hearts is love for love is the advocacy and language of Jesus.
Jesus love for us is so unlike the love that we have. This is for the reason
that Jesus love is not a selective kind of love but love for everyone of us no
matter who we are.
This is therefore the exercise of love that we have to
emulate: To love everyone no matter how they loved us and no matter the sins
that they’ve committed against us. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Peter
approached Jesus and asked him,“Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often
must I forgive him? As many as seven times? Jesus answered, “I say to you, not
seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be
likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he
began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge
amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be
sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of
the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient
with me, and I will pay you back in full. Moved with compassion the master of
that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left,
he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He
seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe. Falling
to his knees, his fellow servant begged him ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay
you back. But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back
the debt. Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply
disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master
summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire
debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow
servant as I had pity on you? Then in anger his master handed him over to the
torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father
do to you unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”
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Reflection:
Do you easily
forgive?
In our gospel
there is a servant who asked to be forgiven for the huge amount that he owed
from his lord, so he was forgiven. Yet when he met the person who owed him a
much lesser amount, he demanded for the debt to be paid back to him.
Perhaps many
of us are like this servant who asked for forgiveness from his Lord and Master.
We ask for forgiveness from Jesus from all of our sins, yes we submit ourselves
to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. But do we truly live this forgiveness that
we have received from Jesus? Do we pay forward this forgiveness that we have
received from Jesus?
When we
forgive we free ourselves from the imprisonment of anger and hatred. Just
imagine if we have anger in our hearts we carry this burden that do no good to
us except to heighten our blood pressure. Why not let bygones be bygones and
forgive and forget and move on without carrying a heavy burden in our hearts?
We only are
punishing ourselves if we don’t forgive. And we only leave a devious space for
the devil to dwell when we don’t forgive. Let us always learn from Jesus who is
always forgiving. Let us learn from Jesus who doesn’t keep any record of wrong
in His heart. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
The angel
Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin
betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David and the virgin’s name
was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with
you. But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of
greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her “Do not be afraid, Mary, for
you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear
a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of
the Most High and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father and
he will rule over the house of Jacob forever and of his Kingdom there will be
no end. But Mary said to the angel “How can this be since I have no relations
with a man? And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon
you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to
be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your
relative has also conceived a son in her old age and this is the sixth month
for her who was called barren for nothing will be impossible for God. Mary
said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to
your word. Then the angel departed from her.
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Reflection:
What are you
going to do if you receive a shocking news? Perhaps the first that would come
to your mind is to pray and ask for guidance and strength from the Lord.
When Mary
received the annunciation from angel Gabriel that she would be pregnant with
the baby Jesus. She might have been in shock for a moment, then right after she
perhaps prayed to the good Lord for guidance and strength. After which she was
ok and with faith she accepted the will of the Lord for her.
The
annunciation of the birth of the Lord Jesus conveys to us that nothing is
impossible for God. That God can do miracles as He did to Mary. It conveys to
us that our God is a God of possibilities and miracles. Our God can make things
happen for us for as long as we have faith and for as long as we have
unwavering belief in Him.
If you
somehow feel weariness with your journey with the Lord for the reason that
nothing significant is happening to you. Do not lose heart, continue to journey
with Him and trustingly hold on to Him. For He will not forsake those who
continue to trust Him. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Some people told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. He said to
them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell
you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen
people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them–do you think they
were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell
you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”
And he told them this parable: “There once was
a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search
of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I
have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it
down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it
for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize
it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”
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Reflection:
A story is told about a sinful man who was
counseled to repent from his sins and walk away from it completely. However,
the man did not listen to the wise counsel, he persisted on doing his sinful
ways until he met a sudden end.
What will happen to us if we would not walk away
from our sinfulness? Sooner or later there will be punishment and there will be
reckoning or payback. This is the normal cycle of life; if we refuse to walk away
from all of our sinfulness there shall be punishment. If punishment will not
catch up with us here in this world it will surely get hold of us in the
afterlife.
In our gospel, Jesus told those who were
listening to Him to repent while they have the luxury of time. Because if they
would not repent something very bad may happen to them. Same as what happened
to the Galileans who were killed by Pilate and the eighteen people who perished
when the tower of Siloam fell upon them.
This is how great the love of God for us, He
will continuously call upon us to repent from all of our sinfulness. Why?
Because as much as possible Jesus wants us to be saved from the severe
punishment of hell. Jesus will give us every opportunity to come back to Him no
matter the sins that we have committed.
But at the end of the day, it’s still in our
hands if we would listen to this call of Jesus or not. Let us say we listened
to this call of repentance, what would happen to our lives? There would be
essential transformation in our lives: From a chaotic to a peaceful life and
from a life of sin to a peaceful life free from sin.
Would you listen to this call of Jesus? -
Marino J. Dasmarinas