My Reflections...

Archbishop of Manila, Philippines, Luis Antonio Tagle, on clerical sex abuse, in Rome, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012

2012-02-11T00:42:00.001-08:00

Please click on this link: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/feb/09/bishop-warns-of-priest-sex-abuse-cases-in-asia/?page=2#article

My Reflections for Wednesday February 15 Mark 8:22-26

2012-02-09T03:35:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

A woman who was a come and go Catholicsuddenly decided to leave the church in favor of the protestant faith.When she was asked why she decided to leave she said: “The protestant faithopened my eyes to the real Christian church.”

Perhaps we know of Catholics who arenot well versed about the basic teachings of the church. They are alsovulnerable to abandon the faith. What must we do? We must be the vehicle fortheir enlightenment about the truths of the catholic faith. Let us open theireyes and let them know that we don’t worship the saints. Let us open their eyesand let them know that the Catholic church was founded by Jesus through Peter.Let us open their eyes and let them know that the Holy Bible is the book of thechurch that we must always read.

There are many more truths about thechurch that others do not know. Let us allow ourselves to be Jesus’ vehicle sothat their eyes of faith will be opened. So that they will not anymore be blinded to decideto leave our universal church. …

My Reflections for Tuesday February 14, Mark 8:14-21

2012-02-09T00:19:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

Why do we often times do not get themessage that Jesus wants us to understand? Because we allow ourselves tobe distracted by what we see; we thus lose focus on the message that Jesuswants us to imbibe.

This is the situation in our gospel;Jesus wanted the disciples to be wary of the teachings and over zealousness ofthe Pharisees and Herod to externally fulfill their laws. But Jesus used theword leaven and since they have no bread they understood it as something thatrelates to their lack of bread.

This is what happens when we haveshallow faith, when we allow ourselves to be distracted with our worldly preoccupations.

Try focusing our attention on Jesusalone, try being faithful to Him and disregard worldly temptations. This willtherefore result in our deeper intimacy with Him and we will understand themessage that He wants to convey to us. ….

My Reflections for Monday February 13, Mark 8:11-13

2012-02-08T23:33:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

A young lady asked God for a sign andshe said: “If my boyfriend will propose marriage to me today it’s a sign fromGod that he will be faithful to me.” So he arrived and indeed he proposedmarriage and they got married but after two years the husband left her forsomeone else.

We must not let our belief in Jesus beinfluenced by any signs we must believe with faith. For example if we arewishing for something from Jesus we must believe with faith that He will giveit to us. We must not let signs or any other symbols influence our belief.

Let us remember that the devil isalways on the prowl and it may take advantage of our feeble faith.

Strengthen your faith in Jesus, alwayshold-on to Him alone and never let yourself be influenced by any signs or symbols. …

Ang aking repleksyon para sa Ika-6 na Lingo Pebrero 12, Marcos 1:40-45

2012-02-08T03:13:00.000-08:00

Ang aking repleksyon:

May isang lalaki na nagkaroon ngmalubhang sakit sa kanyang kidney. Para siya ay mabuhay siya ay nag papadialysis ng dalawang beses sa isang lingo. Habang siya ay nag papagamot siya atang kanyang pamilya ay nag hahanap din ng donor ng kidney para siya ay lubusanng gumaling. Pagkalipas ng dalawang taon sila ay nakakita ng isang mahirap na kamag anak na handang mag bigay ng isa sa kanyang kidney.

Para mas mapadali ang proceso ng pagtutugma kung siya nga ay pwedeng mag donate. Minabuti ng may sakit at ngkanyang pamilya na patirahin siya sa kanila. Ang donor ay kanilang itinuring nakabilang na sa kanilag pamilya hangang sa madiskubre nila sa pamamagitan ng pagsusuri sa ospital na siya pala ay may sakit na AIDS. Sa madaling salita siya ayhindi na pwedeng maging donor at sa takot ng pamilya na sila ay mahawa. Angkanyang mga gamit ay kanilang inihiwalay kasama na rito lahat ng kanyang mgagamit sa kusina. Ang sumunod nito ay ang pag iba ng kanilang pag turing sakanya. Siya ay hindi na nila kinakausap at hindi na isinasabay sa kanilang pagkain. Hangang sa siya ay kanila ng tuluyang pina alis.

Hindi naman po tayo ma hahawaan ng AIDSsa pamamagitan lamang ng pakikipag salamuha sa isang may sakit nito.Hindi rin ho tayo mahahawa sa pamamagitan ng kanilang ginagamit na mga kutsarao anupamang gamit sa pagkain.

Sa atin pong ebanghelyo ay may isangtaong may Ketong na lumapit, lumuhod at nag makaawa kay Hesus na siya aypagalingin sa kanyang nakakahawang sakit. Nahabag si Hesus sa kanya kaya hinawakan niya ito at pinagaling.

Habang tayo ay nabubuhay sa mundong itomaaring tayo ay makatagpo o maka kita ng taong may nakakahawang sakit. Bakasiya ay may AIDS, baka siya ay may HEPATITIS o baka meroon pang may KETONG.Maging mabuti tayo sa kanila, tulugan natin sila at huwag natin silang iwasan opandirihan.

Gayahin natin si Hesus na hindiiniwasan ang taong ketogin bagkus siya ay kanyang pinagaling at kinahabagan. …

My Reflections for Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time February 12, Mark 1:40-45

2012-02-07T20:54:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

There was a man who had a kidneyfailure. To temporarily extend his life he would submit himself to a twice aweek dialysis treatment. After two years of searching for a donor hefinally found a poor relative who was very willing to donateone of his kidneys.

To facilitate fast matching of healthcompatibility the donor was invited to stay with the family of the sick man.The prospective donor was treated well until it was found out during the batteryof health test that he had AIDS. Naturally he was not anymore fit to bea donor and fearing infection all his things were isolated by his relatives including hiskitchen utensils. After which their treatment of him radically changed. He wasnot welcome anymore and he felt the isolation and ill treatment then hewas asked to leave them permanently. We cannot be infected with AIDS by merely stayingwith an infected person nor by sharing the same utensils with them.

In our gospel we have a man withleprosy (a contagious disease) who humbly went to Jesus He knelt and beggedJesus to cure him. Jesus had compassion for the man He touched him and was immediatelymade clean without any reservation.

As we move forward with our lives weshall be meeting or will be acquainted with people with contagious disease. Some mayhave AIDS, some may have HEPATITIS and some may even have LEPROSY. Let us begood to them let us treat them with compassion and understanding.

Let us emulate Jesus who treated thehumble leper in our gospel with love and compassion. …

My Reflections for Saturday February 11, Mark 8:1-10

2012-02-07T06:27:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

Trials are part and parcel of ourdiscipleship with Jesus; expect it for it’s a test of our faith andfidelity.

For three days the crowd in the gospelhad nothing to eat yet they remained faithful to Jesus. What made them stayattached to Jesus? It was obviously caused by His countless miraculous actsthat they’ve witnessed and heard.

After three days their perseveringfaith finally paid-off. Jesus had compassion for them for they had not eatenyet for three days. He multiplied the seven loaves to thousands same as withthe few fish.

We have in Jesus a compassionate God,we have in Jesus a God who will always help us for so long as we persevere andhave faith. …

My Reflections for Friday February 10, Mark 7:31-37

2012-02-06T02:05:00.002-08:00

My Reflections:

We can only speculate on the motive ofJesus when he took the man away from the crowd where He cured him. PerhapsJesus wanted that personal interaction, perhaps Jesus wanted silence so that Hecould concentrate.

Let us frequently communicate withJesus through our one on one interaction with Him and let us do it in silence.The best venue to do this is in the Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapelwhere He is always there patiently waiting for us. If we have no AdorationChapel in our parish church, let us open our bible and let us meditate andreflect on His words and actions written in the first four books of the NewTestament. If we have no bible, let usfaithfully attend Mass in silence and let us communicate with Jesus for He isthere waiting for us.

Let us always personally interact withJesus and let us always do it in silence. …

My Reflections for Thursday February 9, Mark 24-30

2012-02-06T01:31:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

The Greek woman in the gospel has greatfaith, she showed Jesus that even if she is not a Jew she deserved to be helpedby Him. Consequently, Jesus was moved by this showcase of great faith that iswhy He cured the daughter of the woman.

The enormity of our faith in Jesus isalways a factor for our healing and for our desires to come true. Let ustherefore continue to hold-on to Him no matter how difficult our situationsare.

Let us not doubt let us continue tobelieve and have faith for nothing is impossible for those who have faith andfor those who believe in Jesus. …

My Reflections for Wednesday February 8, Mark 7:14-23

2012-02-06T01:30:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

The words that come from us indicates ourcharacter. If we often curse and say unprintable words it shows that we werenot properly brought-up by our parents. If this is how we are now we must dosomething about it and we must cure this character deficiency.

Parents must only say words that healand motivate because this will do a lot of good to their children. They willgrow with this healing and motivating words thus they will become Godly citizens of this world. But if children would grow-up and hear their parents curse and say repulsive words. There isa big chance that they will imbibe this and we all know that this is not good.

Jesus in our gospel encourages us to becareful with every word that we say. Because it is through this that we sin itis through this where we could make or unmake the future of our fellowmen includingour children. …

My Reflections for Tuesday February 7, Mark 7:1-13

2012-02-04T23:56:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

There was a wayward son who wouldalways berate his parents whenever he was drunk. He would curse them and blamethem for his current miserable situation. The retired parents would always bebaffled by this undeserved torment thus they would just bow theirheads and silently cry in anguish. We must not be like this disrespectful son wemust instead give our utmost love and care to our parents while they can stillfeel and perceive our love.

The fifth commandment states: Honoryour father and your mother that your days may be long in the land that theLord your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)

Ephesians 6:2-3 tells us: “Honor yourfather and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it maygo well with you and that you may live long in the land."

There's a lot more passages in thebible that tells us that we must honor our parents especially when they arealready in the ebb of their years.

Let us all be reminded that when welove and respect our parents we are loving and respecting God also. When wetake care of our parents we are honoring God too.

Let us give our best love and care toour parents. ...

My Reflections for Monday February 6, Mark 6:53-56

2012-02-04T23:15:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

How fortunate were those who got healedby Jesus by simply touching the tassel of His cloak it speaks volumes of theirfaith. But there are also those who have faith but they’re not physicallyhealed, there are those who have faith but they continue to suffer from theirsickness. Sometimes it may baffle us why they physically suffer consideringthat they also have faith.

The healing that Jesus gives us is notalways physical, oftentimes its spiritual which means that we're given thatgrace to accept our physical sickness that wouldn’t be cured anymore.

There are people who are still happy inspite of their physical sickness for they’ve learned to offer to God theirsufferings. They’ve learned that the sufferings that they’re undergoing right nowis nothing compared to the sufferings that Jesus endured.

Are you suffering right now? Offer it to Jesus, learn to accept it and continue to havethat enormous faith in Him. …

Ang aking repleksyon para sa Lingo Pebrero 5, Marcos 1:29-39

2012-02-01T06:52:00.000-08:00

Ang aking repleksyon:

Kung tayo po ay mag sasagawa ng survey kungano ang pananaw ng tao sa kanyang buhay sa ngayon. Sigurado ako na sasabihinniya na mahirap ang buhay. Marahil ay ito rin ang ating isasagot: Mahirap angbuhay! Oo nga mahirap ang buhay dahil tayo ay tumitigin lang sa mga pag hihirapna ating pinag daraanan sa ngayon. Nalilimutan nating tingnan na ang Diyos aymarami paring mga biyayang ibinibiigay sa atin.

Hindi rin natin nakikita ang mga buhay ng ibana mas mahirap pa kaysa atin. Masyado tayong naka sentro sa ating mga pasanpasan na mga krus. Hindi na natin nakikita na may kaligtasan at kaluwalhatiansa krus. Hindi natin ito makikita sa ngayon pero pag niyakap natin ito katuladng pag yakap ni Hesus sa krus niya. Mag liliwanag sa ating isipan na maybiyayang nakatago sa ating mga pasang krus. Ito marahil ay hindi pa natin maaaninagsa ngayon.

Sa ating unang pag basa si Job ay nagsalitatungkol sa kanyang mga hinagpis at pasakit sa buhay. Hindi natin siya masisisipero alam din naman natin kung ano ang nangyari sa kanya sa bandang huli. Hindilamang ibinalik ng Diyos ang dati niyang mga kabuhayan bagkus ay dinoble paniya ito.

Sa ating ebanghelyo ay boungpananampalatayang ipinagkaloob ni Simon Pedro ang pag papagaling sa kanyangbiyenan kay Hesus. Nilapitan ito ni Hesus hinawakan sa kamay at ibinagon atsiya ay gumaling. Kadalasan ang kulang sa atin ay hindi tayo nag titiwala kayHesus pero mas nag titiwala tayo sa ating mga sarili.

Ano po ba ang mga bumabagabag sa atin sangayon? Ang kahirapan ba ng buhay? Ang ating bang sakit o mga pasakit? Ang ating bang mgapangarap sa buhay na dipa natin na tutupad? Problema ba sa ating mga pamilya?

Wag po tayong mawawalan ng pag-asa, Ibahagiat sabihin natin ito kay Hesus at patuloy tayong mag tiwala sa kanya. …

My Reflections for Sunday February 5, Mark 1:29-39

2012-01-31T21:38:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

If we will conduct a survey on how lifeis perceived right now, I’m quite sure that they will say that life is hard.This might be also our response: Life is hard! Indeed life is hard because weonly focus on our own miseries and we forget the many blessings that God hasbeen giving us.

We also fail to see the lives of otherswhich are obviously more difficult than ours. We become too much fixated with our crosses. That we fail to see thesalvation attached to it once we decide to wholeheartedly embrace and carryit.

In our first reading Job is lamentingabout the harshness of life, his miseries and how it’s eating him up already.We cannot blame him but we know what happened to him in the end, God did notonly restored his fortunes He gave Job more than what he had before. And therewere many more blessings that went Job’s way.

In our gospel Simon entrusted the fate of his sick mother-in-law to Jesus. He told Jesus about her sickness; Jesuswent to her grasped her hand and she was immediately cured. Sometimes ourproblem is we trust more on ourselves rather than Jesus. We put more weight onour human effort rather than the divine effort of Jesus.

What is it that is bothering us rightnow? Is it the harshness of life? Is it sickness? Is it unfulfilled dreams? Isit family and personal problems? Let us tell Jesus about it, let us be patient,let us not give-up and let us continue to hope and rest our destiny on Jesus....

My Reflections for Saturday February 4; 1st reading 1st Kings 3:4-13

2012-01-30T19:06:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

In our first reading the Lord appeared toSolomon in a dream and said: "Ask something of me and I will give it toyou." Solomon did not ask for any material things; he instead asked for anunderstanding heart to judge the people and to distinguish right from wrong. Whydid Solomon ask for this wisdom instead of temporary things?

Because the most important things in thisworld are not those that are seen or perceive by our worldly senses. The mostimportant things are those that are felt by our hearts and minds. It doesn’tmatter anymore if we are not rich if we don’t have power. It’s enough that weare able to guide, nurture and mentor those who are in our sphere of influence.

The legacy that lasts is not the structuresthat we’ve built but the hearts that we've touched and converted.

If the Lord will give us the same opportunitywhat will we ask from Him?

My Reflections for Friday February 3, Mark 6:14-29

2012-01-30T00:59:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

John’s courage to expose the immorality of Herod and Herodias caused his death. If only he turned a blind eye to their immorality. But John is a righteous man who doesn't compromise with anykind of wrongdoing.

This uncompromising stand of John againstwrongdoing and immorality invites us to examine ourselves. How do we deal withwrongdoing and immorality? Do we just close our eyes as if we have not seen anything? Anyway it’s not us who will suffer so let themdo what they want to do with their lives even if it’s wrong and immoral! The problem withthis kind of attitude is we are encouraging Satan to spread his wings and wemight be tempted also to do wrong.

Let us not compromise with wrong let usoppose it and let us not do it.

My Reflections for Thursday February 2, Luke 2:22-40

2012-01-28T06:48:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

Do we always bring our children to churchfor Mass? Do we present them to the Lord and say: “I offer my child to you takecare of him/her.

Because of our busyness and perhaps becausewe were not brought-up by our parents to be always present at Mass everySunday. We forget also to bring our children to attend Mass; if this is how weare now we must correct this.

We must first of all bring our childrencloser to Jesus for the reason that this is our primary duty as parents.We must introduce them to Jesus by reading to them His life in the bible and wemust implant in them the habit of regularly reading the bible.

What will itprofit our children if they have the best material things in this world yetthey don’t have in their hearts Jesus? Nothing! Just try observing the behavior of a child whois brought-up with the values of Jesus vis-a-vis a child brought-up with thevalues of this world.

Let us therefore bring our children to the churchand let us introduce them to Jesus. ...

My Reflections for Wednesday February 1, Mark 6:1-6

2012-01-28T05:46:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

Many of us have this habit of judging othersbecause of how they look, because of their status in life.

There’s this story of a house boy who wasalways being belittled by the family that he was serving. They would often tellthe boy that he would stay as their slave for the rest of his life and theyseem to be right because they were very rich. The boy humbly took all theseinsults in stride. Twenty years have passed the boy that they have treated as slavebecame a priest and the rich family became poor.

It’s not right to judge others because oftheir status in life and the clothes that they wear. Who are we to judge themwhen we don’t know them well? When we don’t know how pure their hearts are? Letus always remember that the poor are closest to Jesus heart and Jesus lovesthem dearly.

Jesus was disparaged also by His townmates because He was a poor carpenter and a son of Mary. If only they knew Him well theywould have not looked down on Him.

My Reflections for Tuesday January 31, Mark 5: 21-43

2012-01-26T23:45:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

We have two exhibits of rock solid faith inour gospel and both of these two faith exhibits were rewarded by Jesus. Why?Because both of them never gave-up, when those around them were giving up they did not. They believed and persisted and both their belief and persistence wererewarded by Jesus.

What is it that we want from Jesus? Be not afraid simply believe, have faith and persist that you will have it for nothing isimpossible with Jesus.

As He said in our gospel for today: “Do notbe afraid; just have faith.”

My Reflections for Monday January 30, Mark 5:1-20

2012-01-26T22:50:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

Is there anyone in this world that is more powerfulthan Jesus? No one, even demons and unclean spirits are afraid of Him. If thisis so; how come not everyone of us gravitate towards Him? Because the power of Jesusis not of this world; we normally equate powerwith position of influence and money.

Does Jesus occupy a position of influence? DoesJesus have money? Jesus has none of these worldly trappings! If we follow JesusHe will dislodge us from our corrupt and worldly comfort zones and we who arealready enslaved by this world will not like this.

Jesuspower is something that we feel in our hearts; it is something that He gives usfreely and often times something that is not felt and seen by worldly people. Nowonder in the gospel after Jesus exorcised the possessed man they immediatelyasked Him to leave their place.

Let us continue to hunger for Jesus and letus continue to seek Him even if He doesn’t have the temporary influence andpower of this world. …

My Reflections for January 29 Fourth Sunday in OT Mark 1:21-28

2012-01-23T20:14:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

A man was trying very hard tostraighten his life; he would often say to himself that he would not womanize anymore. But hewould always fall down and succumb to the enticement of the devil. This becamea vicious cycle for him: he would promise to himself not to offend his wife only tofall once again to temptations.

Evil possession is a reality oflife it is always there hovering around waiting for the right moment to pounceon us. Evil possession is also not solely limited through diabolicalpossession. It now hides itself through our ego, high sense of self andthrough our other undesirable motives, thoughts and actions.

Very clearly we have in thegospel the one who can defeat the devil and it’s no other than Jesus. By His authority Jesus drove out the evil spirit possessing theman. And it is also surprising that the evil spirit knew who Jesus was, thissimply means that Jesus was marked as their number one enemy for Healone can defeat them permanently.

Jesus is still the same today asHe was yesterday and as He shall be in the future. The evil spirit stilltrembles before His presence, He is our sole antidote to Satan’s evil scheming.Let us therefore hear His voice crying out for us and let us not harden ourhearts for Him. Instead let us open our hearts for Him alone. So that the evil spiritwill not have a place to maneuver and plant his temptations within us.

Do we hear the voice of Jesus? Do we open our hearts to Him?

Ang aking repleksyon para sa Lingo Enero 29, Marcos 1:21-28

2012-01-23T20:12:00.001-08:00

Ang akingrepleksyon:

May isanglalaki na gusto ng mag bagong buhay lagi niyang sinasabi sa kanyang sarili nahindi na siya mambabae at gagawa ng ibang mga kasamaan. Pero siya ay lagingnadadapa at natutukso ng demonyo. Ito ang naging hindi magandang daloy ngkanyang buhay dahil lagi siyang nangangako pero siya ay laging nagkakasala.

Ang tuksong demonyo ay laging nandiyan sa tabi at nag hihintay ng tamang pag kakataonpara tuksuhin tayo. At ito ay hindi lamang naka sentro sa pag sapi sa isangtao. Kadalasan siya ay nag tatago sa pamamagitan ng ating kayabangan at pagmamataas at ng ating iba pang hindi magagandang iniisip at ginagawa.

Sa atingebanghelyo ay malinaw kung sino ang makakatalo sa masamang espiritu at iyan ay walangiba kundi si Hesus lang. Sa pamamagitan ng kanyang kapangyarihan ay pinalayas ni Hesus ang masamang espiritu na umaalipin sa lalaki. Atnaka pag tataka rin na kilala ng masamang espiritu si Hesus nangangahulugan lamang na takot itokay Hesus at siya lamang ang makakatalo sa kanya.

Si Hesusay nandito pa rin sa atin ngayon nag papalayas at tumatalo parin sa mgamasasamang espiritu sa buhay natin na pilit na tumutukso sa atin. Makinig tayosa pag tawag ni Hesus at buksan natin ang ating mga puso at ilaan ito para sakanya lamang.

Nakikinigba tayo kay Hesus at binubuksan ba natin ang ating mga puso para sa kanya?

My Reflections for January 28 Saturday Mark 4:35-41

2012-01-23T00:03:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

Jesus was sleeping soundly in thestern while the disciples were very terrified because the boat was beingbattered by a violent storm.

Why were the disciples in fear whenJesus was already with them? Have they already forgotten the many miracles thatJesus did for them? Have they already forgotten the many miracles of Jesus thatthey’ve witnessed?

The dilemma of the disciples isoften times ours too. We tend to be bothered by worldly problems that we forgetthat Jesus is already with us. Why is this so? Because our faith in Jesus isinadequate it still needs to be strengthened by our fidelity, prayers and by our close intimacy with Jesus.

Always be faithful to Jesus,always be prayerful and always be intimate with Jesus, focus on Him alone. …

My Reflections for January 27 Friday Mark 4:26-34

2012-01-22T23:10:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

The lives of children are like seeds that is sown by parents some of these children will mature fruitfullysome will not they may even bear bad fruit.

How can we assure that ourchildren will be fruitful and Godly citizens of this world? Plant on them theseeds of the Kingdom of God by teaching them the values of Jesus. Thisis the only way that these children will grow up as useful citizens of thisworld.

Let us not make this mistake ofbombarding our children with every conceivable material rewards or things.Because they will not grow up as what we and God wanted them to be; they mayinstead give us problems eventually. ...

My Reflections for January 26 Thursday Mark 4:21-25

2012-01-22T20:46:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

What do we do after our presencein the Holy Mass? What do we do after we’ve read and reflected on the word ofGod? Do we keep it only to ourselves?

God who continues to make adifference in our lives must shine brightly within us not; necessarily throughour words. But most importantly through our actions, if we hear in the homilythat we must give to the poor let us give to the poor through our actions. Ifwe read in the bible that we must be humble and forgiving let us be forgivingand humble by letting go of our resentment and anger.

We must at all times be the lampsof Jesus that enlightens the lives of others through our actions. …

My Reflections for January 25 Wednesday Mark 16:15-18

2012-01-21T23:45:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

Sometimes it’s hard to believehow sinners or persecutors of the church become a follower of Jesus. Oftentimes we are skeptical about them, we don’t believe that they’ve turned a newpage in their lives. But nothing is impossible with Jesus; He can do miracles inour lives He can convert us to become His followers.

Saul who became Paul was a formerpersecutor of the church. He had nothing but hatred and scorn for the churchand its people until Jesus converted Him. While he was on a journey going to Damascushe saw a blinding light and he heard a voice that asked him: “Saul, Saul, whydo you persecute me?” (Acts 9:3-4)

If we think that there arehopeless people because of their ill mannered demeanor and arrogance. Let usnot give-up on them; let us continue to pray for their conversion and let uscontinue to extend the love of Jesus to them.

My Reflections for January 24 Tuesday Mark 3:31-35

2012-01-19T06:10:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

Mario is a bright God fearing boyfrom a poor family and his parent has no means to sustain his studies. Seeingthe good manners and the potential of this young boy a relative volunteered toassume responsibility for him. So he stayed with his relatives where he washumanely treated.

The family who assumedresponsibility for this boy is a relative of Jesus and this poor God fearingboy is a brother of Jesus. Because Jesus tells us that whoever does the will ofGod is His brother, sister and mother.

How about those who do not live theirlives according to the commandments of Jesus? Are they hopelessly cut-off fromJesus? No their not, Jesus is a forever merciful and forgiving God, Hepatiently waits for those who are misguided until they find enlightenment.

Who will help them beenlightened?

It’s no other than us…

My Reflections for January 23 Monday Mark 3:22-30

2012-01-19T06:08:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

The least known amongst the threepersons in one God is the Holy Spirit. Yet the Holy Spirit is the water thatfills and nourishes our empty minds so that we can grow in faith. The Holy Spirit was the one that empowered Jesus to do miracles, to give life to the weary and hopeless.

This is the same Holy Spirit thatimpels us now to know more about our faith and to know more about our triuneGod. This is the same Holy Spirit that advocates for us whenever we are feeling down. The same Holy Spirit that tells and bothers us to make right themany wrongs that we’ve made. And the same Holy Spirit that whispers to us tofollow the humility of Jesus.

Let us invite the Holy Spirit to come into our lives byhabitually praying this prayer.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the heartsof your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth yourSpirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.

O,God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of thefaithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and everenjoy His consolations. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Ang aking repleksyon para sa Lingo Enero 22, Marcos 1:14-20

2012-01-18T22:22:00.001-08:00

Ang aking repleksyon:

May isang tao na nanaginip nasiya ay namatay at sa kanyang panaginip ay dumaan siya sa isang napaka dilim nakapaligiran. Doon ay narinig niya ang mga boses ng mga taong nananangis sa sobrang hirap. Pagkatapos nitoay nakita niya si satanas na ngumingiti sa kanya at siya ay pinalalapit nito sakanya. Pag kakita niya nito siya ay mabilis na tumakbo at siya ay nagising sakanyang masamang panaginip. Ang taong ito ay namumuhay sa kasalanan meronsiyang asawa pero meron din siyang mga relasyon sa ibang babae.

Ang nakakatakot na panaginip naito ay nag bunsod sa tao na mag punta sa kanilang simbahan. Nag dasal siya doonat humingi siya ng tawad kay Hesus at pagkatapos ay nakita niya ang kuwarto ngkumpisalan. Nag punta siya doon at ikinumpisal niya ang kanyang mga kasalanansa pari. At siya ay pinayuhan ng pari na magsisi at tumalikod na sa kanyang mgakasalanan at sumunod kay Hesus sa pamamagitan ng pag sasabuhay ng kanyangpananampalataya.

Ang kuwentong ito ay kuwento rinng ating pagiging mga makasalanan. Aminin man natin o hindi: Tayo aymakasalanan at patuloy na nagkakasala. Papayag ba tayo na patuloy na magpaalipin kay satanas sa pamamagitan ng patuloy na pagkakasala? Paano kung tayo ay namatay ngayon? Gusto ba natin na tayo ay humantong sa impyerno kapiling sisatanas?

Wala sa atin ang may gusto sa impyerno; sa kaibuturan ng ating pagkatao ay nauuhaw tayo sa Diyos. Gusto natin ngkapayapaan at kapanatagan sa ating mga puso. At ito rin ang gusto ng Diyos parasa atin.

Ano ang dapat nating gawin?Kailagan na tayo ay sumunod kay Hesus sa pamamagitan ng pag sisi sa ating mgakasalanan at pananampalataya sa mabutingbalita. Mag simula po tayo ng pag sisi sa ating mga kasalanan sapag kukumpisal nito sa pari.

Kaya ba po ba nating gawin ito?Tayo po ba ay handang mag pakumbaba para sundin ang kagustuhang ito ni Hesus?

My Reflections for January 22, Third/3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Mark 1:14-20

2012-01-18T05:43:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

A man had a dream that he had adeath experience. He went thru a pitch dark environment wherein he heard peoplegroaning in agony. Then he saw the devilgrisly smiling at him motioning him to go towards him. He suddenly run as fastas he could and he woke-up from his horrible dream. The man incidentally wasliving in sin, he had a wife but he also had other amorous relationships.

The horrifying dream led the manto church he prayed and ask Jesus’ forgiveness then he saw the confessionalbooth. He went there and confessed his sins to the priest and the priestadvised him to repent and to sincerely follow Jesus by faithfully practicinghis faith.

The story of this man is our ownstory of sinfulness too, we are sinful and we keep on sinning. Will we allowthe devil to continue to enslave us by incessantly sinning? What if we dieright now do we want to end up in hell and be in the possession of the devil?

No one of us is wishing for hell, deep inside our beings we yearn for God, we yearn for peace andserenity in our hearts. And this is what God wants for us also; He wants togive us peace and calmness that He only can give us.

What must we do? We must repent, believe in the gospel andfollow Jesus. We should start by humbly submitting ourselves to the healingSacrament of Confession.

Are we humble enough to followthis desire of Jesus for us?

My Reflections for January 21 Saturday Mark 3:20-21

2012-01-17T23:32:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

An intelligent young man decidedto enter the seminary against the will of his parents and relatives. Being poorand the only child his parents wanted him to be a doctor so that he’ll become richand eventually properly take care of his parents. But he was adamant in hisdesire thus he was labeled as someone that is out of His mind by his relativesand friends.

Jesus too was called as someonethat is out of his mind by his relatives because He chose to live the life ofan itinerant preacher. He chose to fight for the poor and oppressed, he choseto go against their laws specifically the law of the Sabbath. Thus earning theire of the powerful Jewish elite.

Let us not be afraid to tread theless travelled road for so long as we are not steeping on the toes of anyone.Sometimes God will call us to have a much higher purpose in life and oftentimes our relatives and friends will not understand us for this.

Let us follow the voice of Godrather than the voice of our relatives and friends. …

My Reflections for January 20 Friday Mark 3:13-19

2012-01-17T00:32:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

As a Christian our prime missionis to spread our faith; to share with others what we know through our words andactions. We may not be faithful withthis mission but every now and then God constantly reminds us of thisresponsibility. That we need to do something in our lifetime to spread ourfaith; it’s not hard anymore to do this now.

We have the technology at ourdisposal to make a difference and reach-out with those who are not properlyschooled about our faith. We have our family (Our domestic church) to share ourfaith and we have our extended relatives and close friends to share our faith.

What have we done so far to belike the apostles who fearlessly shared the faith? Have we led the prayer ofthe Rosary in our domestic church? Have we invited our dormant catholic family andfriends to reignite the fire of their faith by shepherding them to church forMass?

Have we done something yet?

My Reflections for January 19 Thursday, Mark 3:7-12

2012-01-16T23:21:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

We are very proud of postingevery achievement that we have and do in our Fb accounts. We post pictures toshow-off where we are and what we’ve done so far. We do every conceivable actionto proudly tell the world about us.

How about Jesus? What if He has afacebook account? Will He be posting every miracle that He does in His facebook’sstatus update? No! Jesus will never ever post anything that will publicize His miracles and kindness. The more that His actions are unknown the more the He likesit, the more that He is not given credit the more that He likes it.

This is attributed to Jesus’ Humilityand Self-effacing behavior. Let us therefore forget about prestige and honor andlet us not fret if we are not given honor for the things that we do. It’salready enough that we do silent acts of kindness with no one noticing it except Jesus.

Have we thought of emulating thehumility and self-effacing attitude of Jesus?

My Reflections for January 18 Wednesday Mark 3:1-6

2012-01-14T07:56:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

Jesus is a healer and His healingpower is not bounded by anything be it criticism by His perceived enemies. His healing power is not solely restricted with physical healing; Heheals us more spiritually and emotionally.

But Jesus requires something fromus also and that is our faith in Him. Just like the faith of Davidwhen he defeated Goliath. The same faith also of theman with a withered hand that was cured by Jesus on the Sabbath.

Let us hold on to Jesus withfaith no matter how hazy the horizon that is in-front of us now. …

My Reflections for January 17 Tuesday Mark 2:23-28

2012-01-14T07:12:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

We always judge through what wesee we obviously never judge with what we don’t see. For example we judge based on what is worn by aperson because this is what we see. But do we see the inner self or what is inthe heart of that person? We do not see it but God sees it, He knows what is inour hearts and minds.

Let us therefore always be consciouswith out thoughts and our motives. Because God is able to read our minds wecannot conceal anything from God.

Everything is transparent withHim…

My Reflections for January 16 Monday, Mark 2:18-22

2012-01-14T06:44:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

The question about fasting wasthrown at Jesus because His followers were not fasting unlike the followers ofJohn and the Pharisees. Jesus and His followers were not fasting from food butI’m quite certain that they were fasting in the most profound way.

They were fasting from thefeeling of self-righteousness, from judging others and other forms of interiorspiritual cleansing. And this form of fasting is not actually observable by ournaked eye.

So which is more ideal for Jesus?Fasting from food which is seen or fasting from our despicable behaviors whichare unseen. Jesus prefers more the unseen form of fasting and nobody knowsabout this interior fasting except God and the person who does this.

Let us observe interior fastingfor this will help us have a deeper relationship with Jesus.

Ang aking repleksyon para sa Lingo Enero 15, Juan 1:35-42

2012-01-13T20:28:00.000-08:00

Ang aking repleksyon:

Meron bang pag kakataon na maliang pag tawag sa atin ni Hesus? Kung saan tayo ay tinatawag ni Hesus na magsilbi sa kanyang ubasan pero hindi naman pala dahil tayo ay pinag lalaruanlamang niya. Wala po, pag tayo ay tinawag ng Diyos na mag silbi sa kanya ito aypag tawag na totoo at dalisay. Pag tayo ay bumibitaw sa pag tawag sa atin ngDiyos hindi ibig sabihin na tayo ay binibitawan ng Diyos kundi tayo mismo anglumalayo sa Diyos.

Sa ating unang pag basa makikitanatin si Samuel na tinawag ng Diyos ng tatlong beses habang siya ay natutulog.At tatlong beses din siyang tumutugon sapag tawag ng Diyos. Si Samuel ay hindi nag sawa sa pag tugon sa Diyos. Siya ay laging nandoon para tumugon sa pag tawag ng Diyos sakanya.

Paano po ba natin ma di discover kung totoo ang pag tawag ni Hesus sa ating mga buhay? Dapat tayo ay dalisay na tumutugon sakanyang pag tawag na sumunod sa kanya. Pag sinasabi na tayo ay tinatawag ngDiyos ito ay hindi laging nangangahulugan na tayo ay tinatawag sa bokasyonbilang maging isang pari o madre.

Makakatugon tayo sa pag tawag ngDiyos sa atin kung saan tayo naroon ngayon. Kung tayo ay nasa bokasyon ng buhaymay asawa ang pag tawag na gusto ni Hesus na tugunan natin. Ay yung tayo aymaging tapat sa ating sinumpaan sa harap ng Diyos ng tayo ay ikasal hangang sahuling hininga ng ating buhay. Kung tayo ay Ina o Ama ang pag tawag sa atin ngDiyos na dapat nating tugunan ng taos sa ating mga puso. Ay yung tayo ay magingmagandang halimbawa sa ating mga anak. Ganon din naman pag tayo ay anak ang pagtawag sa atin ng Diyos ay tayo ay maging mapag mahal at paging maalaga sa atingmga magulang.

Sa ating ebenghelyo, ng marinigni Andres at ng kanyang kasama si Juan na nag sabing: “Narito ang Kordero ngDiyos.” Ang sinabing ito ni Juan ay gumising sa kanilang kamalayan kaya sila aysumunod kay Hesus. Habang sila ay sumusunod si Hesus ay tinanong nila ngganito: Guro, saan ka nakatira? At sila ay makahulugang sinagot ni Hesus sapamamagitan ng pag sabi ng: “Halikayo ay makikita n’yo”.

Aminin man natin o hindikaramihan sa atin ay bata pa kung ang pag uusapan ay ang ating pag kakakilalakay Hesus. Oo kilala natin si Hesus pero kilala naba natin siya ng mas malalim?Tayo ba ay gumagawa ng pamamaraan para tayo ay maging mas malapit sa kanya?Marahil karamihan sa ating ay hindi pa alam kung saan tayo mag sisimula saating pag papalalim sa ating ugnayan kay Hesus.

Tayo ay tinatawag ni Hesus sa pamamagitanng ating pananampalataya sa pag diriwang ng Banal na Eukaristiya/Misa. Sapagdiriwang na ito ay makakapiling natin si Hesus, sa pag diriwang na itoay makikita natin si Hesus at tayo ay magiging kaisa ni Hesus.

Ito ay sa pamamagitan lamang ngating pananampalataya…

Ang Aking repleksyon para sa Lingo ng Kapistahan ng Sto. Nino, Enero 15 Marcos 10:13-16

2012-01-13T08:03:00.000-08:00

Ang Aking Repleksyon:

Sino poang taga hubog sa ating mga anak? Syempre ito ay ang mga magulang, mula samagulang ay natututunan ng mga anak ang mga maka Diyos na mga katagian. Tuladng pag mamahal sa Diyos, pag papakumbaba, pag sunod at marami pang ibang mgakatagian. Samakatuwid ang mga katagiang tulad nito ay isang bagay na itinuturong magulang sa kanyang mga anak. Ang anumang bagay na itinuturo ng magulang ay nakukuhang mga bata at anuman na kikita ng anak sa magulang o nakatatanda sa kalaunan ay ginagaya rin ng mga bata.

Halimbawapo pag ang mga bata ay tinuturuan ng mga magulang ng tungkol sa pag ibig sa Diyos.At pag papakumbaba at kung ang mga ito ay isinasabuhay din ng mga magulang. Walahong kaduda duda sila ay lalaking nag sasabuhay din ng mga maka Diyos nakatagiang ito hangang sa katapusan ng kanilang mga buhay. Kung ang mga batanaman ay tinuturuan ng hindi magagandang asal at kung ito ay nakikita rin nilasa kanilang mga magulang ay napakalaki ang tsansa na sila ay magiging ganondin.

Samadalingsalita ang magulang o ang mganakakatanda ay madaling makakapag tanim ng mga magaganda o hindi magagandangpag uugali sa mga bata.

Sa ating ebanghelyo ay may mga taong mag dadala sana sa mga bata kay Hesus marahil sila ay mga magulang. Itinatanim nila sa kaisipan ng mga bata na kailagan na sila ay palaging mag pupunta kayHesus. Pero sila ay hindi pinahintulutan ng mga alagad at ito ay nakita niHesus kaya siya ay nagalit sa kanila. At Sinabi pa ni Hesus sa mgaalagad: “Hayaan ninyong lumapit sa akin ang mga bata,at huwag ninyo silang pagbawalan, sapagkat ang mga katulad nila angmapapabilang sa kaharian ng Diyos.” At kinalongni Jesus ang mga bata, ipinatong ang kanyang mga kamay at binasbasansila.

Sa ating pag diriwang ngkapistahan ng Sto. Nino ay huwag nating kalimutan. Na nasa ating mga kamaynakasalalay ang kinabukasan ng mga bata at sila ay mahal na mahal ni Hesus.Tayo ay ang kanilang numero unong taga pag hubog at ang pinaka una na dapatnating ihubog sa kanilang mga murang isipan ay ang pag mamahal kay Hesus.Dalhin natin sila kay Hesus at ipakilala natin sila kay Hesus.

Tinuturuan po ba natin ang atingmga anak na mahalin si Hesus? Dinadala po ba natin sila kay Hesus sapamamagitan ng ating palagiang pag sisimba? Tinuturuan po ba natin sila na magdasal kay Hesus?

My Reflections for January 15 Feast of the Sto. Nino Mark 10:13-16

2012-01-13T06:28:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

Who are the main formators of children?Of course it’s the parents, from parents children learn the basic Christianvalues. Such as love for God, Humility, Obedience and other values. Childrenlearn almost everything from their parents.

Therefore virtues such as theseare something that is taught by parents to their children. What is taught bythe parents is imbibed by their children. What is observed from the parents iscopied by children.

For example if children aretaught by their parents about love for God and humility and these teachings arealso lived or practiced by parents. It’s no brainer that they will grow-uppracticing these virtues until the end of their lives. If children are taughtarrogance and they observe this also from their parents it's a cinch that the same thing willhappen they will also be arrogant.

Therefore the mind of a child isfertile soil for inculcation of proper Christian values by their eldersspecifically their parents.

In our gospel we have people(most probably parents) bringing children to Jesus. These people were trying toinculcate into the minds of the children that it is a must that they go toJesus. Which is always the right thing to do but the disciples prevented themand Jesus saw this thus He got angry. And he told the disciples to let thechildren come to Him then He embraced and afterwards blessed them by placingHis hands on them.

As we celebrate the feast of Sto.Nino let us not forget that upon our hands rest the future of children thatJesus’ loves so dearly. We are the prime formators of our children and the veryfirst formation that we much teach our children is the love for Jesus. Let usbring them always to Jesus for Jesus loves them dearly even more than we lovethem.

Do we teach our children to loveJesus? Do we bring them to Jesus? Do we teach them to pray to Jesus?

My Reflections for January 15 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time John 1:35-42

2012-01-12T19:58:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

Isthere such a thing as false calling wherein God falsely calls us to serve inHis vineyard? There is none, when God calls us to serve in His vineyard Hesincerely calls us. When we turn our backs from God’s call it is us who walksaway not Him.

Inour first reading we have the youthful Samuel who was called by God three timeswhile he was sleeping and three times he also responded. Samuel did not waiverfrom responding to God’s call he was always there whenever God calls him.

Howcan we truly discover Jesus call in our lives? We must sincerely respond to His callto follow Him. Not necessarily to follow Him to become a priest or a nun; wecan follow Jesus even where we are now. If we aremarried the call of God that we must faithfully respond for the rest of ourlives is to be faithful to our vows of marriage. If we are parents the call ofGod for us that we must sincerely respond is to become good role models to ourchildren. Same as with a son or daughter the call of God for them is to be lovingand caring towards their parents until the end.

Inour gospel when Andrew and his companion heard John said: “Behold the Lamb ofGod.” The phrase uttered by John struck a chord in them that they decidedto follow Jesus they wanted to discover more about Jesus. As they werefollowing they asked Him: Where are you staying?” And Jesus gave them a verymeaningful response by saying: “Come and you will see”.

Whetherwe admit it or not majority of us are infants as far as our knowledge of Jesusis concerned. Yes, we know Jesus but do we know Him deeply? Do we exert effort to be up close and personalwith Him? Perhaps some of us do not know as to where we will start in our deepeningwith Him.

Jesusis calling us to come and to see Him through the eyes of our faith in thecelebration of the Holy Eucharist/Mass. There we will be with Jesus, there wewill see Jesus and there we will be one with Jesus.

Onlythrough the eyes of our faith…

My Reflections for January 14 Saturday Mark 2:13-17

2012-01-09T19:31:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

Jesus call to follow Him is forall of us, the more sinful we are the more that He calls us to follow Him. Letus not feel small or unworthy to His call of discipleship and repentancebecause we are sinful. In fact Jesus doesn’t look at our sinfulness He looks atour hearts that desires to leave behind our sinful past.

In our gospel for today we haveLevi a tax collector and perceived to be sinful. Jesus called Levi to followHim and without any second thought Levi responded and he followed Jesus.

Jesus is also calling us tofollow Him. When will we respond to His call?

My Reflections for January 13 Friday Mark 2:1-12

2012-01-09T19:30:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

Obstacles are part of our lives,they are there to test us and they are also there for us to overcome. Whenthe paralytic was brought to Jesus by the four men there were many peoplearound Jesus. But the paralytic persisted in fact he used thatseemingly insurmountable obstacle. To further urged those who were carrying himto persist and take every possible means so that he will have that up-close andpersonal encounter with Jesus.

Through their persistence andfaith they were able to overcome the great odds and the test of faith itself. Whatare the seemingly insurmountable odds that are in-front of us now?

Let us not lose heart, let us bepersistent and let us have faith in Jesus.

My Reflections for January 12 Thursday Mark 1:40-45

2012-01-09T06:13:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

The leper humbly went to Jesus and said: "Ifyou wish, you can make me clean." Don’t we also want Jesus to clean us with themany things that is bothering us? The first thing that we must do is to humblygo to Him and ask Jesus to make us clean too.

But how can Jesus clean us if we seldom go toHim in prayer? If we only remember Him when we are downcast?

In good times and in bad let us not forgetJesus, let us always connect with Him thru humble prayer. ...

My Reflections for January 11 Wednesday Mark 1:29-39

2012-01-09T05:43:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

Do we still have our daily quite moments withGod wherein we pray without saying a word? We connect with God with our wholebeing, we listen to Him and He speaks to us thru His silence.

Some of us are so busy that we don’t havethis precious one on one moments with God anymore. Yet we create time for ourfriends we create time for our hobbies and vices. If we want to know God deeply then it is amust that we regularly spend quite time with Him in prayer.

God and you alone one on one in silence...

My Reflections for January 10 Tuesday first week in OT; Mark 1:21-28

2012-01-06T20:39:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

What would Jesus do to us? Jesus will healus! Healing of anything that bothers us isalways the standing offer of Jesus. He perpetually invites us all to come toHim. (Matthew 11:28)

The possessed man in the gospel was afraid ofJesus; because Jesus is the number one enemy of the devil. And Jesus’ numberone enemy is also the many evils of this world disguised in so many temptingways.

What is the devil’s possession of us know? Isit uncontrolled lust for sex and other related things? Is it enslavement fromalcoholism? Is it ego or very high regard of ourselves that goes beyond theroof of our houses? Is it lust for power and money? Is it indifference to theplight of the poor?

Jesus will free and cure us from these allonce we accept his invitation to come to him all of us who are weary and tiredof our sinful lives.

Excerpts from the Jubilee Mass: Imus Cathedral Presided by Card. Gaudencio Rosales Nov. 25, 2011

2012-01-05T21:51:00.000-08:00

My Reflections for Monday: The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord January 9 Mark 1:7-11

2012-01-05T21:11:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

Time and again John the Baptist reminds us ofour need to always be humble. Not to think of ourselves as somebody but tothink of ourselves as nobody. Humility is always John’s reminder for all of uswho follow Jesus; we all need to be humble as Christ is humble.

In this feast of the Baptism of the Lord weare also being reminded with our baptismal mission. To humbly share the grace of our faith; we must live this baptismalmission at all cost. Because many are not yet properly educated about ourfaith, many are catholics in name only. We who know something about our faithmust learn to share what we know. No matter whom we are, no matter where weare, no matter how small our knowledge and no matter the cost.

Let us therefore humbly put fire into ourbaptismal mission, just like what John and Jesus did. They were both ablazewith their Baptismal Mission that they even gave their lives for it.

Are we willing to follow the Baptismaldevotion of Jesus and John?

Ang Aking repleksyon para sa Lingo ng Kapistahan ng Pagpapakita ng Panginoon, Enero 8 Mateo 2:1-12

2012-01-04T05:37:00.000-08:00

Angaking repleksyon:

Mayisang ina na nawalan na ng pag-asa sa kanyang anak na naligaw ng landas hangangsiya ay pinayuhan na patuloy na unawain ang kanyang anak. At siya ay pinayuhan rin nailapit siya kay Hesus at patuloy na ipanalagin. Sinunod ng inaang payo at pag katapos ng mahabang panahon ng pag darasal at pang unawa. Ay natagpuan din sa ng kanyang anak si Hesus at anganak na naligaw ng landas ay nag bagong buhay.

Ngayonpo ay ipinag diriwang natin ang kapistahan ng Pagpapakita ng PanginoonHesukristo sa mga hentil na kinakatawan ng mga pantas. Sila ay nag hanap ngmabuti kay Hesus para siya ay kanilang parangalan ng kanilang presensya at mgahandog. Sa kanilang masipag na pag hahanap ay kanilang nakita si Hesus sa isangbahay kasama ng kanyang inang si Maria at kanilang inihandog ang mgadalang ginto, kamanyang at mira.

Habangtayo po ay patuloy na nag lalakbay sa pansamantalang mundong ito tayo ay maghahanap ng mga napakaraming bagay. Tulad ng mga kayamanan, kapangyarihan at ngiba pang bagay ng mundo. Pero sa kabila ng lahat ay kulang parin yan at tayo aypatuloy na mag hahanap ng isang bagay na pupuno sa atin. Ng isang bagay na magbibigay sa atin ng kapayapaan at kapanatagan. At sino ang isang bagay na ito?Ito ay walang iba kundi si Hesus.

Angtatlong mga pantas na galing sa silagan ay masusing nag hanap kay Hesus hangangsa siya ay kanilang makita. Patuloy rin po nating hanapin si Hesus at patuloytayong mauhaw sa kanya. Kung sasabihin natin na nakita na natin si Hesus atsiya ay na nanahan na sa ating mga puso. Wag po tayong makuntento at patuloytayong mauhaw kay Hesus sa pamamagitan ng pag papalalim sa kanyang mga aral.Hindi tayo bibiguin ni Hesus kung tayo ay masusing mag hahanap sa kanya.

Tuladng mga pantas na masigasig na nag hanap kay Hesus. Tayo rin po ay hinahamon napatuloy na hanapin si Hesus na patuloy na mauhaw sa kanya. Hanapin natin siHesus sa presensya mga mahihirap na walang matuluyan. Hanapin natin si Hesus sapresensya ng mga inaapi at pinababayaan ng kanilang pamilya at lipunan sadahilang si Hesus ay palaging nasa kanila. At ibigay natin sa kanila ng boungpuso ang pinaka magandang handog na kaya nating ibigay sa kanila. …

My Reflections for January 8 Sunday the Epiphany of the Lord, Matthew 2:1-12

2012-01-03T22:45:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

A mother has nearly given-up onher wayward son until she was advised by her friend to continue to be patientand persevering with him. She further was told to bring her son closer to Jesus and not togive-up on praying for his conversion. The mother heeded the advice of herfriend and true enough after years of patiently praying and guiding her son. Hefinally found Jesus and the son had a sudden conversion.

Today is the Solemnity of theEpiphany of the Lord; Jesus’ manifestation to the gentiles represented by theMagi. These three wise men diligently looked for Jesus to honor Him with theirpresence and gifts. With their diligence they found Him in a house with Hismother Mary after which they offered their gifts of gold, frankincense andmyrrh.

While we continue our temporary journey inthis world we will be going after so many things: riches, fame and other worldly trappings.Yet we would still end-up empty because we will not be satisfied, we will cravefor more of these many temporal things. We will still be chasing for that something that will fulfill us, forthat something that will give us peace and contentment. And who is thissomething? He is none other than Jesus.

The three wise men from the eastmeticulously searched for Jesus until they finally found Him. let us alsocontinue to search and thirst for Jesus in our lives. If we say that we’ve already foundHim and that He is already in our hearts let us not be content with this. Letus dig deeper into the life of Jesus and let us discover more about Him. Jesuswill never disappoint anyone who diligently searches for Him; He will makeHimself available to us once we search with all our beings.

Asthe Magi were very diligent with their search for Jesus. We are also challengedto continuously search and to have this continues thirst and hunger for Him. Let us look for Jesus in the homeless beggar, let us look for Jesus in the oppressed and in those many that are neglected. For He is always with them And let us give them the best gift that we can give them. ...

My Reflections for January 7 Saturday, John 2:1-11

2012-01-02T03:45:00.000-08:00

MyReflections:

Manymothers are silently suffering for their son’s disrespect towards them. Justthe other day a drunk son was berating his mother who cried in agony for herson’s disrespect. Howdid Jesus treated his mother Mary? She was special to Him; Jesus gave her therespect and love that she truly deserved.

In the gospel when the wedding banquetrun out of wine Mary said to Jesus: They have no more wine. And Jesus said toher, "Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yetcome." Yet afterwards Jesus produced His first miracle at Cana by makingthe water jars the best wine. Jesus gave-in to the request of his motherbecause He respected and loved her deeply.

Let us give our mothers the highestrespect that we can ever give them and let us give them the deepest love thatthey richly deserve.

How are we treating our mothers?

My Reflections for January 6 Friday Luke 3:23-38

2012-01-02T03:42:00.000-08:00

MyReflections:

Deathis a unifying factor in the family for example during wake. We will be introduced to relatives whom we have never seen in ourentire lives. Then we normally talk with them; through this we will be able totrace how we are intricately connected.

Aswe talk with our relatives let us take this opportunity to get to know thembetter. Let us be nice and helpful towards them and let us humble ourselvesbefore them.

Whoknows with these behaviors we might be the instruments for them to get closer to Jesus. …

My Reflections for January 5 Thursday John 1:43-51

2012-01-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

MyReflections:

Jesussaid to Philip: Follow me, such a powerful word coming from Jesus. Followwhere? Perhaps Philip had this question in his mind and perhaps in His mindJesus was also saying to Philip. Follow me in my humility, follow me in myperseverance, follow me in my being a man for others and follow me in my humbleobedience to the will of God.

Thispowerful word of Jesus echoes until this very day and it is not anymore addressed to Philip butto you and me. He powerfully tells us to follow Him; many have said yes andfollowed Jesus already.

Howabout us? When will we say yes to Jesus?

May we all have a Blessed, Happy and Prosperous New Year!

2011-12-31T07:00:00.001-08:00

My Reflections for January 4 Wednesday John 1:35-42

2011-12-30T09:24:00.000-08:00

MyReflections:

Whoare the people that often gets our attention? It’s normally the rich and famous.Our heads turn like screwdrivers as they pass by our presence. Do they evokethe presence of God in them? Very seldom! Where does the presence of God alwaysdwell? He is always with the poor for the simple reason that in His humanityJesus himself was also poor. He chose to be identified with the poor becausethey are closest to His heart.

Letus therefore always extend a helping hand to the poor regardless if we knowthem or not and regardless if they ask for help or not. Let us take time to know them deeply byconversing with them or by even going to their abode.

Butthe true fact is this: We seldom extend help to the poor but all is not lostyet. There is still time for us to change our indifference towards them. …

My Reflections for January 3 Tuesday John 1:29-34

2011-12-30T08:33:00.001-08:00

MyReflections:

Whetherwe admit it or not, there are times that we gloat about ourselves and we craveto be recognized. This is one of our human frailties to raise ourselves mostespecially when we gain something for ourselves. Or when there is anopportunity for us to be recognized we immediately grab that fleeting moment ofopportunity.

Thereare even some who change with time; for example in friendship some are like weatherconditions. They often change as they gain riches and higher life status butleast we forget that whatever we have now is temporary. Someday or even soonerwhat we have now may be taken from us and we end up with nothing.

Solet us keep our feet on the ground, let us at all times follow the humble pathof John the Baptist. …

My Reflections for January 2 Monday John 1:19-28

2011-12-30T06:13:00.000-08:00

MyReflections:

Aglass that is full of water will not anymore be able to contain the water thatis being poured to it. But the glass that is half-full will still be able to accommodatewater.

Thisis basically the same with those who are so full of themselves they will notanymore grow in faith. Because they think that they already know everything butthose who are humble will further grow in faith. For the simple reason that theyare like the half-full glass that yearns for more water. If we want to grow infaith; we must at all times be humble because humility is the password for us tofurther grow in faith.

Letus start the year right by emulating the humility of John; he purposelydecreased as Jesus increased. …

My Reflections for the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God January 1 Sunday Luke 2:16-21

2011-12-29T20:57:00.000-08:00

MyReflections:

Todaywe celebrate the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God. The Blessed Mother humbly submitted herselfto the will of God. Thou she quietly reflected on the uncertainties and surprisesthat went her way. Yet in the midst her trepidations she remained faithful to the will ofGod she was with Jesus until the very end of His life until its end on thecross.

Aswe begin our new year we will be swimming into the ocean of uncertainties andsurprises. Let us be ready by beinghopeful and by keeping our strong faith in our all knowing God. Let us continueto glorify and praise God and let us strive to share and deepen our faith.

TheLord wants nothing but the best for us; He desires us peace and He wishes toalways be with us. Let us open our whole being to the many blessings that theLord wants to give us. But this will only materialize if we continue to be nearHis presence by not committing sin. By means of our constant presence inthe Holy Mass, by way of our humble submission to the Sacrament ofReconciliation and by humbly living our faith in Jesus.

As we step inside this new year letus remain Hopeful and Optimistic for nothing is impossible with God.

Ang Aking repleksyon para sa Kapistahan ni Maria Ina ng Diyos, Enero 1 Lucas 2:16-21

2011-12-29T20:56:00.001-08:00

AngAking repleksyon:

Ipinagdiriwangnatin ngayon ang Kapistahan ni Maria Ina ng Diyos. Boung pag papakumbabangibinigay ng Mahal na Birhen ang kanyang sarili sa kagustuhan ng Diyos para sakanya. Siya ay nag nilay ng mabuti sa gitna ng mga pangyayaring ito sa kanyabuhay. At siya ay hindi bumitiw sa kanyang pananampalataya at patuloy na nagingtapat sa kagustuhan ng Diyos para sa kanya.

Sapag salubong natin sa taong ito tayo ay maglalayag sa malawak na dagat ng walangkasiguruhan at mga sorpresa. Tayo ay palaging maging handa sa mga ito sapamamagitan ng pag kakaroon ng pag-asa sa Diyos. At pagkakaroon ng matibay napananampalataya sa ating panginoong Hesuskristo. Patuloy tayong mag bigay pugayat parangal sa ating Diyos at pag sikapan nating ibahagi at mas palalimin paang ating pananampalataya sa kanya.

Walangibang hangarin ang Diyos kundi ang pinaka mabuti para sa atin, gusto niya natayo ay magkaroon ng kapayapaan at gusto niya na siya ay laging nasa sa ating mga puso. Kaya buksan at tangapin natinng boung puso ang kagustuhang ito ng Diyos sa atin. Itong lahat ay magkakaroonlang ng katuparan kung tayo ay patuloy na lalapit sa Diyos sa pag iwas sa kasalanan. Sa patuloy nating presensya sa banal naMisa, sa pamamagitan ng pag papasailalim natin sa Sakramento ng Kumpisal at sa ating pag sasabuhay ng ating pananampalataya.

Habangtayo ay humahakbang patungo sa loob ng taong ito tayo po sana ay laging mapunong pag asa dahil walang imposible sa Diyos.

Masaganangbagong taon po sa ating lahat!

My Reflections for December 31 Saturday John 1:1-18

2011-12-29T18:30:00.001-08:00

MyReflections:

Itis always thru our daily lives that Jesus is best seen through us: The way wetalk the way we behave. Most especially when nobody is looking at us and it isthrough these unguarded moments that Jesus is truly made visible through us.

Johnlived his life with one sole purpose and that is to prepare the way of theLord. There was no pretension nor double speak he humbly lived his purposedriven life for Jesus. As we near theend of this year and we begin the forthcoming year. We are challenged by thegospel to let the light of Christ shine brightly in our lives.

Nopretensions, no ulterior motives…

My Reflections for The Feast of the Holy Family; December 30 Friday Luke 2:22, 39-40

2011-12-28T23:59:00.001-08:00

MyReflections:

Whatis the best gift that a husband/wife can give to God and to their spouses? It’sfaithfulness to their marriage vows; this is the best offering that we can bequeathGod and our spouses. What is the best gift that we can give our children? Thebest gift is not the latest gadget/s but to implant In their hearts the love ofGod for them. Children must know that there’s a God that is in control of everythingin this world.

Todaywe celebrate the Feast of the Holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph bothspouses were faithful to each other. Both spouses presented the young Jesusto the Lord.

Arewe still faithful to our marriage vows? Do we still bring our children to thechurch for Mass? Do we still teach them about our faith?

Letus preserve the values of the Holy Family in our own respective families. …

My Reflections for December 29 Thursday: Luke 2:22-35

2011-12-27T05:41:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

Parents play a very vital role in the formation of values of theirchild, where the parents go so does their child.

For example, if the parents seldom brings to church for Mass theirchildren it is a cinch that when they grow-up they will also rarely go tochurch for Mass. If parents do not lead worthy lives there’s a big chance thatchildren will be also. In other words the fruit will almost be the same with thetree.

In our gospel, Mary and Joseph both devoted to their Jewish upbringingbrought the child Jesus to the temple in compliance with their Jewish law. Theywere leading by example on how it is to be faithful to the laws of God; theywere forming the child Jesus to be like them.

It always pays to be good parents and it always pays to be Godlyparents like Joseph and Mary. …

My Reflections for December 28 Wednesday: Matthew 2:13-18

2011-12-27T00:53:00.001-08:00

MyReflections:

Saint Joseph is an epitome of humility;he is also an embodiment of obedience. He never doubted the angel who told himto flee to Egypt; he humbly followed never pretending to know more than God’smessenger. He could have argued with the angel but to be argumentative wasnever in his character. He was a virtuous man who valued God’s supremacy overhim.

In times of difficulties weoftentimes question God as to why misfortunes are happening to us. Let us notquestion God; let us simply obey and let us at all times humble ourselvesbefore Him.

God’s greatest gifts are alwaysreserve for those who are humble and for those who obey.

My Reflections for December 27 Tuesday: John 20:1a, 2-8

2011-12-23T22:12:00.000-08:00

MyReflections:

Mary,Simon Peter and the other disciples were looking for Jesus because He was notanymore in the tomb. Of course if Jesus was still in the tomb they would becalm and composed.

Howdo we behave towards those whom we love? We oftentimes are not expressive ofhow much we love them. Then suddenly they are permanently taken off from oursight and we miss and look for them. Then we have regrets because of the lovingwords that were left unsaid.

Letus not wait for our regrets to come let us erase regrets in our minds byexpressing now our affection to those whom we love and care. …

My Reflections for December 26 Monday: Matthew 10:17-22

2011-12-23T20:50:00.001-08:00

MyReflections:

Arewe tired of following Jesus? Do we feel persecuted because we chose tofollow Jesus? We must not give-up on following Jesus In the midst of these trials. With our emptiness and brokenness Jesus will always be there to fill us with His abiding love.

Jesusdid not promise us a life of comfort and ease; He rather promised Hisconstant presence within us. So let us continue to become Jesus eyes, ears andhands in this world. Let us radiate Jesus’ light no matter who gets hurt andexposed; let us not be afraid Jesus will always be with us. …

Ang aking tagalog na repleksyon para sa Lingo Disyembre 25; Pasko ng pag silang Misa sa Araw, Juan 1:1-18

2011-12-23T09:10:00.000-08:00

Angaking repleksyon:

Mayisang batang ina na maselan na nag bubuntis at siya ay binigyan ng kanyang doctor ng pag pipilian:Ang kanyang bang buhay o ang buhay ng bata na nasa kanyang sinapupunan. Hindikaagad nakasagot ang ina. Kinabukasan siya ay tinanong uli ng doctor at marahanniyang sinabi na mas pinipili niya ang kanyang buhay kesa buhay ng bata na nasakanyang sinapupunan.

Angpag mamahal po ng Diyos para sa atin ay hindi katulad ng makasariling pagmamahal ng ina. Hindi natin maaarok o masusukat ang pag mamahal ng Diyos. Sukatna ibigay niya ang kanyang bugtong na anak para lang sa ating kaligtasan.Sinasabi na ang pinaka mataas na pamantayan ng pag-ibig ay ang umibig ng walangpamantayan. At ganito kalalim ang pag mamahal ng Diyos sa atin.

Angisang pamilya ay nangangailagan ng pag-ibig na walang pamantayan o panukat parasila mag samasama ng masaya. Ang sekreto sa isang matangumpay na pag sasama ngmag asawa ay ang walang hanganan na pag mamahalan. Kung wala itong malalim napag mamahalan ang pamilya at ang mag asawa ay mag hihiwalay.

Angkapanganakan ni Hesus na ating pinag diriwang ngayong araw ay bunga ng walangkapantay na pag-ibig ng Diyos sa sangkatauhan. Ano na po ang ang ginawa natinsa pag mamahal na ito na bigay ng Diyos sa atin sa pamamagitan ng kapanganakanni Hesus? Ito ba ay itinago nalang natin sa ating mga sarili o ito ay ating ibinabahagisa iba na nauuhaw din sa pag mamahal ni Hesus? Sa lahat ng panahon ay dapatnating ibahagi ang walang kapantay na pag mamahal ng Diyos sa atin.

Sinopo ba ang ating pag babahaginan ng walang kapantay na pag-ibig ni Hesus?Tumingin lang po tayo sa ating kapaligiran dahil napaka dami nila at kailangangkailagang nilang maramdaman ang tunay atwalang kapantay na pag-ibig ni Hesus sapamamagitan natin. …

Ang aking tagalog na repleksyon para sa Lingo Disyembre 25; Pasko ng pag silang Misa sa Hatingabi, Lucas 2:1-14

2011-12-23T08:09:00.000-08:00

AngAking Repleksyon:

Paanopo ba natin sasalubugin ang kapanganakan ni Hesus ngayong gabi? Tayo po ba aynasa mga reunions ng pamilya? Maganda ito pero gawin natin itong simple lang attingnan din natin na walang masasayang na pagkain sapagkat marami ang nag hihirap sa ngayon.

Angating ebanghelyo ay nag papakita ng napaka simpleng pag silang kay Hesus nawala ni isa mang bahid ng karangyaan. Ito rin po sana ang ating magingpamantayan pag tayo ay nag diwang ng ating Pasko: Gawin natin itong simplelang. Hangarin din po natin na tayo ay may mapapaligaya na ating kapwa sapamamagitan ng pag bibigay sa kanila lalo na ang mga mahihirap. Pag ginawanatin ito ay mas mararamdaman nila ang tunay na diwa ng pasko at mas madadama nilasi Hesus sa pamamagitan ng ating pag mamalasakit sa kanila.

Siguruhindin po natin na tayo ay mag sisimba ngayong gabi dahil ito po ang tama at dapatnating gawin para mag bigay pugay at parangal sa pag silang ng ating panginoongHesukristo. Ang totoong dahilan ng kapaskuhan ay walang iba kundi ang pagsilang ni Hesus. Pero sa ngayon po ay tayo ay lubhang napakaabala sa ating mgapag diriwang at pag sasaya na hindi na natin kasama si Hesus. Kaya ang mgakasayahang ito na ang nagiging sentro ng ating Pasko at si Hesus ay naiisantabi na lamang at ito ay tunay po na nakakalungkot.

Dapat po ay inuuna natin angDiyos sa pamamagitan ng ating pag sisimba sa Banal na MIsa. Sa atin pong unang pag basa ay sinasabi ni propetaIsaias: Nakakita ng isang maningning naliwanag ang bayang matagal nang lumalakad sa kadiliman; sumikat na ang liwanag samga taong naninirahan sa lupaing balot ng dilim. Makikita lamang natin ang maningning naliwanag na ito ni Hesus pag siya ay ating inuna at binigyan ng tunay na pagpapahalaga.
Paano po natin makikita ang liwanag ni Hesus kung uunahin natin ang ating mga pag diriwang at tayo naman ay hindi mag sisimba ngayong gabi? Paano po natin ma susumpugan ang tunay na kahalagahan ng pag silang ni Hesus kung hindi tayo mag babahagi sa mga mahihirap?

My Reflections for December 25 Sunday Mass during the day; Solemnity of the Nativity/Birth of the Lord; John 1:1-18

2011-12-23T00:45:00.000-08:00

MyReflections:

Ayoung pregnant mother was given a choice by her doctor: Her life or the life ofher child. The mother wasn’t able to immediately answer. Then the next day she was again asked the same question by her doctor. She softlyreplied that she would chose her life over her child’s life.

The love of Godfor us is not like the selfish love of the mother; the love of God for us isimmeasurable. That He gave to us His only begotten son so that we may live andhave life. It is said that the best measure of love is to love without measure and this is how we can best describe the love of God for us.

Afamily to bond together needs immeasurable love and the secret toa long and lasting marriage is immense love between the husband and wife.Without this immense love this family is bound to disintegrate same as with thehusband and wife.

Thebirth of Jesus the word made flesh which we celebrate today is the result ofGod’s immense love for us. What have we done with this gift of love coursedthrough the birth of Jesus? Have we kept it for ourselves or have we decided topay forward the love that God has given us? Wemust at all times decide to pay forward this immense love of God because thereare still countless who have not felt His love.

Whoare they? Let us look around our environment; they are numerous and they badly needto feel the true love and true joy of Jesus' birth through us. …

My Reflections for December 25, Midnight Mass Gospel Sunday Luke 2:1-14

2011-12-22T02:56:00.000-08:00

MyReflections:

Howwill we meet the birth of Jesus this midnight? Will we be on agathering/reunion with our family and relatives? This is very good but let uskeep this celebration simple and let us ensure also that there will be nowasted food.

Thegospel intimates to us the very simple birth of Jesus, bereft of any sign ofaffluence. This must also be our guide when we celebrate our Christmas; let usmake it as simple as possible. Let us also see to it that we make others happymost especially the poor by sharing what we have with them. If we do this theywill see the person of Christ in us; the true meaning of Christmas will becomea living reality for them through us.

Letus also see to it that we attend the midnight Mass for this is the best way to usherthe birth of Jesus. The true reason of the season that is the birth of oursavior is often times overcrowded by our many celebrations. Thus ourcelebration becomes the center of our Christmas; Jesus is now put aside infavor of these many celebrations.

OurResponsorial Psalm which says: Today is born our savior Christ the Lord. Typifiesthat we must put more premium first on the birth of Jesus and not on our manycelebrations. In our first reading the prophet Isaiah signified the importanceof Jesus’ birth by saying that those who walked in darkness have seen a greatlight and those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. (Isaiah 9:1)

Howcan we see the true light of Jesus that will brighten our lives if we put firstour celebrations in lieu of our presence in the Holy Mass tonight? How can wediscover the true essence of Christ simple birth if we will waste food? And not share what wehave with the poor which Jesus always love to be identified with. ...

My Reflections for December 24 Saturday Luke 1:67-79

2011-12-20T01:58:00.000-08:00

My Reflections:

Do we recognize the many blessings that Godhas given us? For example: The air that we breathe, our loving family, the goodhealth that we have and there are many more blessings that God showers us. Do wealways remember to thank the Lord for all these? Or we are already used to these blessing that it becomes ordinaryalready; thus we forget God.

The devil would always bait us to get busywith worldly things so that we will eventually forget God. So what are theresults? We will not anymore fear God, we will lose our guilt of conscience. Wewill therefore mindlessly commit sin such as abortion, murder, infidelity andmany more sins against God.

Zechariah was well aware of the manyblessings that God has showered him and his family that’s why he praised Him.In good times and in bad he never walked away from God he remained faithful toHim.

We must also be fully aware of the manyblessings that God has been showering us and we must always be grateful for allof these. ...

My Reflections for December 23 Friday Luke 1:57-66

2011-12-19T23:15:00.000-08:00

MyReflections:

Whatis the reward for our faithfulness to the Sacrament of Marriage? It’s God’sblessings, peace of mind, worthy children and there are many more.

Inour gospel through their fidelity and love for each other Elizabeth andZechariah were blessed by God with a child. The child was named John in fulfillmentof the desire of God coursed through the angel Gabriel.

Thereis always a reward for those who are faithful to the Sacrament of Marriage. Itmay not be a worldly reward such as temporal riches. Anyway, who needs temporalriches and success if it can fly away from our grasp anytime!

Whatare the rewards for faithful couples? There are multitudes of them such assuccessful and loving children, peace and tranquility in the family just toname a few. …

My Reflection for December 22 Thursday Luke 1:46-56

2011-12-19T20:02:00.001-08:00

MyReflections:

Lifenowadays is hard so there is a tendency for us to be forlorn and weary.But let us look around; watch the news and we will find out that we are stillfortunate. Because there are more whosesufferings are much severe than us, whose trepidations are much deeper than us.

Solong as we have Jesus in our hearts our sufferings is nothing: we can overcomemountains of tribulations if we invite Jesus to dwell in our hearts. And if wesurrender to His will for us.

TheBlessed Mother despite her sudden pregnancy tranquilly found time to sing inpraise of God. For the reason that she humbly surrendered her everything to thewill of God, she said yes to God.

Letus therefore rejoice for we know that God is with us let us continue to offerHim our praise and thanksgiving in spite of our problems.

My Reflections for December 21 Wednesday Luke 1:39-45

2011-12-18T14:41:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

What are our plans this Christmas? Is it the same self-centered plans? Wherein we go and buy goods for ourselves and our love ones? How about making a positive difference in the life of someone who is poor and completely unknown to us?

Perhaps we have not thought of doing this yet because we are so busy with our own self-absorbed plans. But let us look at the gospel today. The Blessed Mother went out of her own comfort zone to visit her cousin Elisabeth to boost her morale. To inform Elizabeth that someone is there for her to nurse and look after her welfare while she’s on her delicate pregnancy.

Let us also go out of our comfort zones and let us make someone who is poor and unknown to us happy. I bet that they will appreciate it very much.

My Reflections for December 20 Tuesday Luke 1:26-38

2011-12-18T07:02:00.000-08:00

MyReflections:

Noone is exempt from sudden trepidation perhaps this is one of our weakness ashumans. Even the Blessed Mother had that sudden apprehension also when theangel Gabriel greeted her. Then as she listened to the angel the Blessed Mothersaid: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to meaccording to your word."

In her humanity the BlessedMother was initially apprehensive of the angel’s message. Then as she conversedwith the angel we see her totally surrendering her everything to the will of Godfor her.

It’s normal for us to beapprehensive yet in this apprehension of ours God reminds us also that He is incomplete control of our lives and destiny. We must hold-on to Him and learn tosurrender our everything to Him.

Just like the Blessed Mother whohumbly surrendered her everything to the will of God for her.

My Reflections for December 19 Monday Luke 1:5-25

2011-12-17T21:19:00.000-08:00

MyReflections:

Wemay have dreams or aspirations in life that may seem impossible for us to achieveand we naturally doubt. But let us not doubt no matter how impossible it is letus continue to silently work for that seemingly impossible dream. Then let usleave everything to God’s providence let us ask Him to bless and guide us as weaspire for this impossible dream.

Therighteous couple Zechariah and Elizabeth were both old and it was impossiblefor them to have a child. Yet they continued to humbly pray for the impossibleand then God heard their prayers. He gave them John to be their child.

Forso long as we never give-up in humble prayer; God will make the impossible possible. ...

My Reflections for December 18 Fourth Sunday of Advent Luke 1:26-38

2011-12-14T23:29:00.000-08:00

MyReflections:

Thecurrent worldwide economic downturn is a phenomenon caused not by anyone but us.We are so greedy that we want all the material comforts in this world. Weblindly sacrifice the welfare of the greater majority for our own short-lived comforts.

Thereare those who blatantly manipulate stock markets to gain riches for themselves.Not minding the ripple effect that it may create on the poor. Because war is big business,there arenations who create wars on different fronts to spur their economies. There arecountless more self centered agendas that we nurture in our hearts and we don’tcare with the welfare of others especially the poor ones. We will do everythingfor so long as we can greedily satisfy our lust for immoral wealth and power.

Inour gospel we have a living model of altruism and that is the Blessed Mother; shealtruistically submitted herself to God. With little trepidation she humblyembraced the will of God for her to bear in her womb the baby Jesus. Whywas the Blessed Mother selected by God to be the human mother of Jesus? Whenshe was not the only woman at that time there were many of them but amongstthem she found favor with God.

It was her selflessness it washer humility; perhaps God scouted many women to become the mother ofJesus. But the Blessed Mother was way above the others simply because of heraltruism, humility and faith. God knew beforehand that Mary will not takeadvantage of the honor which she will give her. God knew that Mary has in herimmaculate heart the welfare of all humanity. Perhaps this is the reason why she said to the angel: "Behold,I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to yourword."

In the midst of this present corruptand greedy world God wants us all to model our lives upon the Blessed Mother.Her humility, her altruism and her embrace of the will of God for her. As we gonear Christmas let us hold close in our hearts and emulate these virtues of theBlessed Mother.

If there are people whom we havebeen estranged with for so long let us humble ourselves before them. If we areselfish it’s about time that we become selfless and if we have been doubting the willof God for us let us embrace it now with all our faith. …

Ang aking tagalog na repleksyon para sa Lingo Disyembre 18 Ikaapat na Lingo ng Adbiyento Lucas 1:26-38

2011-12-14T23:23:00.001-08:00

Ang aking repleksyon:

Ang kasalukuyang pag baba o pagbagal ng economiya sa boung mundo na kung saan ay marami ang nawawalan ngtrabaho at naghihirap. Ay isang pangyayari na walang ibang may gawa kundi tayo. Masyadotayong sakim na gusto natin ay atin ang lahat ng materyal na karangyaan saboung mundo. Hindi na natin isinaaalang alang ang kinabukasan ng higit na nakakararamina mahihirap para lamang matugunan ang ating kasakiman.

Mayroong diyang nag mamanipula ngstock markets para lamang mag kamal ng pera. Hindi nila alintana na maramingmahihirap ang maaapektuhan sa kanilang ginagawa. Dahil ang giyera ay isangmalaking negosyo meron ding mga bansa na gumagawa ng giyera sa ibat ibang parteng mundo para lamang tumakbo ang kanilang economiya. At marami pa tayong ibang mga pansarilinginiisip na wala tayong pakialam sa kapakanan ng nakararaming mahihirap. Gagawinnatin ang lahat para lamang matugunan ang ating pagka sakim sa kayamanan atkapangyarihan.

Sa ating pong ebanghelyo aymayroon tayong buhay na modelo ng pag mamalasakit para sa ating kapwa. At iyanay walang iba kundi ang ang Mahal na Birheng Maria; Ibinigay niya ang kanyangsarili para maisakatuparan ang kagustuhan ng Diyos sa sangkatauhan. Si Maria aynatural na kinabahan ng konti ng mag wika sa kanya ang angel Gabriel na siya aymag dadalantao. Pero boung pag papakumbabang niyakap niya ang kagustuhan ng Diyosna siya ay mag dalantao sa pamamagitan ng Espiritu Santo. Bakit ba napili ng Diyossi Maria para maging ina ni Hesus samantalang marami namang babae noongpanahong iyon?

Ang Mahal na Birhen ay napili dahilsiya ay handang mag sakripisyo para sa ika liligtas ng sangkatauhan. Siya rinay lubhang mapag pakumbaba ng higit kaninuman sa mga kababaihan. Alam din ngDiyos na hindi aabusuhin ni Maria ang karangalang ibibigay niya sa kanya dahilnasa kanyang puso ang kapakanan ng sangkatauhan. Marahil ito ang dahilan kayaniya sinabi sa angel: Ako’y alipin ng panginoon, mangyari sa akin ang iyong sinabi.

Sa gitna ng corrupt at sakim namundo ay gusto ng Diyos na sundan natin ang pagsasabuhay ni Maria. Ang kanyanglubhang pag papakumbaba, ang kanyang pag mamalasakit at ang kanyang pag yakapsa kagustuhan ng Diyos para sa kanya. Habang tayo po ay papalapit sa Pasko,ilagay natin sa ating mga puso at gayahin ang mga katagiang ito ng Mahal naBirheng Maria.

Kung meroong tayong mga taonghindi kinakausap ng napakatagal na panahon; magpakumbaba tayo sa kanila. Kungtayo ay sakim at walang malasakit napapanahon na para tayo ay mag malasakit athindi maging sakim. At kung tayo ay nag aalinlagan sa gusto ng Diyos para saatin wag na po tayong mag aalinlagan at yakapin natin ang kagustuhan ng Diyosng may pananampalataya. …

"Love Makes a True Shepherd": Unto Manila, A Chito is Born

2011-12-14T21:12:00.000-08:00

Please click on this link:

http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2011/12/love-makes-true-shepherd-unto-manila.html

My Reflections for December 17 Saturday Matthew 1:1-17

2011-12-12T23:33:00.000-08:00

MyReflections:

Ithink everyone of us would love to trace back our own family tree; we want toknow who our ancestors are. Where they came from; what were their personalitiesand we want to discover more about them so that we would know ourselves better.

Inthe human family tree of Jesus we see a lot of people with different idiosyncrasiesit’s a mixture of good and bad family tree. But when we look at Jesus we willonly see one unique characteristic and that is His goodness towards us. He knewwhat He had to do; He focused on it until He achieved it by way of dying on thecross for our sake.

Ourown family tree will reveal to us a lot of things that we do not know; whateverit is let us emulate the self-sacrificing life of Jesus.

Live streaming Installation of MOST REV. LUIS ANTONIO G. TAGLE, D.D, Archbishop of Manila 12 DEC 2011; 9:00 AM (PHILIPPINE TIME; +8 GMT)

2011-12-11T16:54:00.001-08:00

Please click on this link:

http://www.tvmaria.net/

My Reflections for December 16 Friday John 5:33-36

2011-12-11T05:20:00.001-08:00

MyReflections:

Aswe witness for Jesus satan will temp us to put ourselves prominently in front thanJesus. Satan will temp us to own for ourselves the wisdom that we have. But letus fight these temptations by looking at John by following his humility and fidelitytowards Jesus.

AsJohn has said: It is necessary that Jesus must increase and I must decrease.(John 3:30) This must also be our guiding principle in our lives as we live andpreach Jesus. Jesus must always shine brightly in our lives and let us ensure thatHe is always visible within us through our words and actions.

Ifwe are given honor for doing something for Jesus and His people let us deflectthat honor to the one who strengthens us and that is Jesus. …

My Reflections for December 15 Thursday Luke 7:24-30

2011-12-11T04:56:00.001-08:00

MyReflections:

It’sa mystery to me why Jesus said that the least in the Kingdom of God is greaterthan John. Perhaps He was trying to motivate the so-called sinners: The tax collectors. To continue to follow Him because there is a reward that awaits those who willfaithfully follow Him. Perhaps He also desired that those who were listeningwould emulate the humility of John or even surpass it.

Thereare times that Jesus speaks to us in cryptic language that seems so hard for usto understand. We nevertheless must continue to hold-on to Him, we mustcontinue to blindly follow Him without question.

Nevera person was misled by Jesus by blindly holding His hand and faithfully following Him.

My Reflections for December 14 Wednesday Luke 18b-23

2011-12-11T04:03:00.001-08:00

MyReflections:

Manyare looking for happiness and fulfillment; they try to look for it within theirwealth but they failed. We also look for our happiness and fulfillment in the many facetsof our lives and we end up holding an empty bag.

Thedisciples of John were sent by him to Jesus to ask this question: 'Are you theone who is to come, or should we look for another?' Jesus answered them byciting His many miracles and healings.

Weknow that Jesus is the one who can cure us with everything that is botheringus. Let us not look elsewhere; let us focus our sights on Him.

My Reflections for December 13 Tuesday Matthew 21:28-32

2011-12-11T01:50:00.001-08:00

MyReflections:

Ourchange of heart for the greater glory of God is what He always desire for us.God doesn’t look at our past no matter how dreaded the sins that we’ve committedbefore, God is willing to forget all of those dreadful sins. Provided we have achange of heart to do what is right and to do what is pleasing in God's eyes.

Letus remember that Gods mercy is infinite, He will always be there for us totightly embrace us with His love. So what are we waiting for? Let us have achange of heart, let us leave behind our sinful past and let us face the hereand now with Jesus. …

My Reflections for December 12 Monday Matthew 21:23-27

2011-12-11T00:21:00.001-08:00

MyReflections:

Weknow that Jesus’ authority emanates from God and Jesus is also God the Son thisis what we were taught by our faith. But why do we often times disobey Jesusauthority over us? We disobey simply because we want to follow our own selfishwill; we overpower the willful authority of Jesus by our own selfish will.

Cometo think of it, what have we achieved so far by willfully disobeying theauthority of Jesus over us? Nothing except self inflicted troubles caused byour disregard of Jesus authority over us.

It’snot yet late for us to recognize Jesus authority; let us thereforehumbly bow and meekly follow Him.

My Reflections for Sunday December 11 Third Sunday of Advent John 1:6-8, 19-28

2011-12-09T04:40:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

St. Vincent Ferrer hassaid: Whatever you do, think not ofyourself, but of God.

Perhapsthis is how we can best describe John the Baptist; he prepared the way of Jesusin a manner that he would decrease and Jesus would increase. It did not matterto him if he would be honored or recognized for his effort what was importantfor him is to humbly prepare the way of Jesus.

The saints of the church did the same as what John did; they selflesslygave their lives for the sake of the advancement of the teachings of Jesus. Recognitionand honor was of no importance for them. It was enough for them that they have preached and lived the teachings of Jesus in the consciousness of the people whomthey were serving at that time.

Onthis third Sunday of advent we are all being invited to look upon ourselves andexamine as to how are we preparing the way of Jesus. Do we prepare His way withhumility wherein Jesus is highlighted and we become his namelessservants? Or we prepare His way based on our own terms; we put ourselvesprominently in front to gain honor and prominence.

Letus not forget the true reason of this season and that is Jesus our Christ!

Ang aking tagalog na repleksyon para sa Lingo Disyembre 11 Ikatlong Lingo ng Adbiyento Juan 1:6-8, 19-28

2011-12-09T04:28:00.001-08:00

Ang akingrepleksyon:

Sabi niSan Vicente Ferer: Sa iyong mga ginagawa ay wag mong isipin ang iyong sarilikundi isipin mo lagi ang Diyos.

Ganitoinihanda ni Juan ang pag dating ni Hesus; inihanda niya ito sa pamamaraan na siHesus ay magiging dakila at siya nama'y maging mababa. Hindi importante kayJuan kung siya ay mapaparangalan sa kanyang mga ginawa. Ang mas importante sakanya ay maihanda niya ng may pag papakumbaba ang pag dating ni Hesus.

Ang mgasanto ng simbahan ginawa din nila ang ginawa ni Juan; ibinigay nila angkanilang mga buhay para kay Hesus. Ang makilala o maparangalan ay bale wala sakanila sapat na sa kanila na na isinabuhay at na ipahayag nila ang mga pag tuturo ni Hesus sa mga kamalayanng kanilang pinag sisilbihan.

Ngayongikatlong Lingo ng adbiyento tayo din ay inaanyayahan na tumigin sa ating mgasarili at mag nilay kung paano natin inihahanda ang daraanan ni Hesus.Inihahanda ba natin ito ng may pag papakumbaba na kung saan si Hesus ay mas matingkad na nakikita at tayo naman ay nagiging isa na lamang sa kanyang mgalingkod. O dili naman kaya ay inihahanda natin ang kanyang daraanan kaugnay saating pansariling kagustuhan. Na kung saan ay ipinag yayabang natin ang atingmga sarili para tayo ay parangalan at papurihan.

Huwag ponating kalimutan ang tunay na pinag hahandaan natin sa panahong ngayon at itoay ang nalalapit na pag silang ni Hesus. …

My Reflections for December 10 Saturday of the 2nd week of Advent Matthew 17:9a, 10-13

2011-12-08T05:48:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

Why is it that we often recognize the importance of someone after hehad left us? Or we don’t listen to the voice of our conscience to repent untilwe realize later that we are in a problematic situation.

The call of John for repentance continuous until this very hour, hespeaks to us through people around us and through our conscience. We must notignore it; we must listen to it before it’s too late.

We have nothing to lose if we listen and repent; everything is ours togain including the serenity of heaven once we listen to the voice that calls usto repentance. …

My Reflections for December 9 Friday of the 2nd week of Advent Matthew 11:16-19

2011-12-08T03:46:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

Whenever biographies of famouspersonalities are to be written publishers would try to make the exterior ofthe book as attractive as possible so that it would create an immediateexterior impression to the buying public especially to those who have a superficialknowledge of the personality involve.

Jesuswas called names such as glutton, drunkard, friend of tax collectors andsinners. Because that’s what they observed, they based their unfair judgmentson what they saw. If only they knew that the real motive of Jesus was toconvert these sinners and to save their souls. They would not have unfairlyjudged Him.

Letus therefore refrain from unfairly judging our fellowmen based only on what wesee on them because more often than not this judgment is often wrong. …

My Reflections for Thursday December 8 the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Luke 1:26-38

2011-12-04T05:41:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

All of us when born to this worldhave an accompanying burden called original Sin. This was brought about by thedisobedience of Adam and Eve. (Genesis 3) We are only freed from original sin byvirtue of our Baptism and this is also the time that we become official members of the Roman Catholic Church.

Mary the mother of Jesus isdistinct from all of us because she doesn’t have the curse of original sin. OnDecember 8 1854 through the document Ineffabilis Deus Pope Pius IX pronounceand defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved and exempt from allstain of original sin.

The gospel tells us that God thruthe Angel Gabriel had chosen the Blessed Mother to be the Mother of Jesus. Why Mary of all women? We do not know the answer but looking closely on thegospel it says that; She found favor with God because she did not dare askquestion why she was chosen. She simply followed with humility God’sdesire for her when she said: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord may it bedone to me according to your word.

We too are being challenged by thegospel to be like the Blessed Mother, to humbly follow the will of God for us.God will lead us to the road that are often less travelled by many; let us notquestion Him let us humbly follow His leadings for us.

My Reflections for December 7, Wednesday Matthew 11:28-30

2011-12-04T04:50:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

Jesuswill never refuse to help us carry our burdens in life, no matter how big orsmall He will always be there to help us. We just need to go to Him withhumility.

Butthe irony of it all is this: whenever some of us have problems we first try toexhaust every available avenues that will help us solve it. Then we turn toJesus as our last resort.

Wemust change this cycle. Instead, whenever we have burdens we must first go toJesus so that as we carry it He will be there to help us, to refresh us and to makeour burdens light. …

My Reflections for Tuesday December 6: Matthew 18:12-14

2011-12-04T04:30:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:
Up towhere can we stretch our patience for those who sin or for those who do notfollow our advice? At a certain point this patience will snap and reach itslimit and we condemn those who sin and those who do not follow our advice.

How about God? Our course Hispatience is infinite, He will not condemn those who sin He is patient with usuntil we see the light of repentance.

God can make saints out of sinnersfor He doesn’t give-up on us, no matter how sinful we are and no matter who weare.

Let us not give-up also onthose who sin, on those who do not listen to our advices, let us bepatient with them, and let us continue to nurture them with love andunderstanding. ...

My Reflections for Monday December 5: Luke 5:17-26

2011-12-04T04:23:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

It’s a must for all of us to have faith; in good timesas well as in bad we must always have faith. This deep faith is what will bringus closer to Jesus; we must therefore deepen our faith through our personal andstructured prayers. By reading the bible, by our regular presence in theEucharistic Adoration chapel and by our attentive presence in the celebrationof the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Then, notice how Jesus will slowly move into yourlife, embracing you with His abiding love. ...

My Reflections for Sunday December 4 Second Sunday of Advent Mark 1:1-8 (Originally posted on December 5, 2008)

2011-11-30T06:41:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:
Yesterday afternoon I presided a funeral blessing for a 92 years old man, when I arrived, the chapel was already teeming with people. There were speakers who gave him glowing tributes, an old lady told me that he was instrumental in the building of their chapel. Another one told me that he encourage a lot of people in their place to attend the cursillo, an old man who was his contemporary told me that he was always leading the rosary prayer in their chapel. There were many more good things that I heard about him and it all told me one thing: in his own humble manner he prepared the way of the Lord for them.

On this second Sunday of Advent we reflect on how John the Baptist fulfilled with humility the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah. He preached repentance and forgiveness of sins; he prepared the way for Jesus with humility when he said: “One mightier than I am is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” John perfectly knew that his role was to be a herald for the coming of our savior Jesus.

As Christian Catholics, this is also our role; to be messengers for Jesus with humility. To help spread the good news about repentance and forgiveness of our sins through the Sacrament of Confession.

We should not keep to ourselves this beautiful call for repentance we must echo this call to our friends and most specially our family members. However, it’s easier said than done, it’s not easy to encourage them to humbly submit themselves to the Sacrament of Confession. But if we will be like John who embraced his discipleship with all humility I think we will be effective.

On this second Sunday of Advent we are therefore being challenged by the gospel to help prepare the way of the Lord and to respond to John’s call for repentance.

Are we prepared to respond?

My Reflections for Sunday December 4 Second Sunday of Advent Mark 1:1-8

2011-11-30T03:21:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

Humble people are simple they live simply without the unnecessary appendages of life. They shun publicity, they silently work in the vineyard of the Lord with competence and if they are given honor for what they do. They try very hard to deflect the honor and points to someone else as the one who deserves it.

John is a model of humility, simplicity and true discipleship let us look at how he lived. John was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey and he preferred to be alone in the wilderness.

He is also a model disciple; he preached repentance and forgiveness of sins without any ulterior motives whatsoever. He humbly preached and extolled Jesus as someone whom he was not even worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.

On this second Sunday of Advent let us ponder on the humility of John the Baptist as with our own humility if there is any. Let us think about how he humbly prepared the way of the Lord as to our own way of preparing others on the forthcoming birth of the Lord if there is anything that we are doing now.

There is still time for us to become humble and there is still time for us to create awareness about the forthcoming birth of Jesus. ...

Ang aking tagalog na repleksyon para sa Lingo Disyembre 4 Ikalawang Lingo ng Adbiyento Marcos 1:1-8

2011-11-30T03:20:00.001-08:00

Ang aking repleksyon:

Ang mga mapagpakumbabang tao ay simpleng namumuhay na walang pangangailagan sa mga bagay na hindi niya masyadong kailagan. Sila ay umiiwas sa publisidad o katanyagan bagkus sila ay tahimik na nag tratrabaho sa ubasan ng panginoon. At kung sila ay bibigyan ng parangal sa kanilang mga ginagawa. Sila ay sadyang umiiwas at mas hinahangad pa na ibigay ang karangalan sa iba.

Si Juan ay isang modelo ng pagpapakumbaba, kasimplehan at ng pagiging totoong alagad; tingnan natin kung paaano siya namuhay. Hinabing balahibo ng kamelyo ang damit ni Juan at balat ang kanyang pamigkis ang kanya namang pagkain ay balang at pulot pukyutan at mas pinili nyang mag isa sa ilang na lugar.

Siya rin ay isang tapat na alagad siya ay nangaral tungkol sa pag babalik loob ng tao sa Diyos na walang ibang motibo kundi ilapit ang tao sa Diyos. Boung pag papakumbabang ipinahayag niya si Jesus bilang mas makapangyarihan sa kanya. Na kung saan siya ay hindi man lang karapat dapat na magkalag ng tali ng kanyang mga panyapak.

Ngayong ikalawang lingo ng Adbiyento pag ukulan natin ng pansin ang pag papakumbaba ni Juan at pag isipan din kung tayo ba ay mapagpakumbaba din. Pag ukulan din natin ng pansin kung paano niya boung kapakumbabaang inihanda ang daraanan ni Jesus. Kaugnay ng ating pag hahanda sa ating mga kapwa sa nalalapit na pag silang ni Hesus. Yan ay kung may ginagawa nga tayo para ihahanda ang ating kapwa.

May panahon pa naman para tayo ay maging mapag pakumbaba at may panahon pa rin para tayo ay gumawa ng paraan na ihanda ang ating mga kapwa para sa nalalapit na pag silang ni Hesus. ...

My Reflections for Saturday December 3 First week of Advent: Matthew 9:35-10:1, 5A, 6-8

2011-11-29T21:51:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

What does Jesus mean when He said: “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give." It means that whatever we have received from Jesus we must share it without expecting anything in return. If in the process of sharing what we know about Christ we will receive something that is voluntarily given by all means accept it but we must not demand.

Let us remember that whatever knowledge that we have about Jesus is freely given by Him. We did not know Jesus because we’ve studied about Him; we know Him because He blessed us with the gift of knowledge about Him.

Share the love of Christ; share it without expecting anything in return. ...

My Gospel Reflections for Friday December 2 First week of Advent: Matthew 9: 27-31

2011-11-27T18:21:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

How strong is your faith in Jesus? Is it as strong with the two blind men in the gospel? The two blind men were healed by Jesus because their faith in Him was rock solid. Our strong faith in Jesus will bring us healing it will bring us inner peace that this world will not be able to give us.

What will this temporal world give us? It will give us wealth but not faith, it will give us power but not faith and it will give us popularity but not faith.

It is only through Jesus that we can have faith, the same faith that the two blind men had. That is why their eyes were opened and healed courtesy of their deep faith in Jesus.

How is your faith in Jesus?

My Gospel Reflections for Thursday December 1 First week of Advent: Matthew 7:21, 24-27

2011-11-27T17:22:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

What is the purpose of the Holy Mass readings especially the gospel? What is the purpose of the words of Jesus in the bible? It’s for us to listen to it and it doesn’t stop with our listening; it is expected by Jesus that we will translate what we have listened to living actions.

But the problem is some of us are only good with listening and it stops there already. No wonder there are educated people some are even educated by famous catholic schools continue to engage in corruption, immorality and apathy.

Listening without action is useless but listening coupled with positive action is always pleasing in the eyes of Jesus. ...

My Gospel Reflections for Wednesday November 30 First week of Advent: Matthew 4:18-22

2011-11-27T16:06:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

Let us read the gospel and observe how Peter and Andrew followed Jesus without question same with James and Zebedee. They did not bother to ask Jesus as to where are they going they simply trusted Jesus.

Don’t we question Jesus when the events of our lives are not favourable to us? As we journey in this world there shall be failures and frustrations but let us not be disheartened by these disappointments.

Let us keep on trusting Jesus without question; He knows what is best for us. ...

My Gospel Reflections for Tuesday November 29 First week of Advent: Luke 10:21-24

2011-11-27T15:06:00.001-08:00

My Reflections:

Through the eyes of our faith we will be able to discover more about Jesus. This kind of faith is something that does not question, it simply follow the guidance of Jesus. He doesn’t contradict what Jesus desires to do with him; he blindly holds the hand of Jesus and he gives his full trust and confidence in Him.

Through his docile faith he therefore discovers more about Jesus and he is able to have this deep intimacy with Him.