Team Jesus

The tenants in the parable killed the landowner’s servants and son. Jesus asked the chief priests and the elders, “What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” The chief priests and elders responded, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death,” but Jesus replied, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” Today’s Gospel teaches us to be good without playing favorites. Let us assume that the landowner is us. We voluntarily helped our friends, but in return they hated us. It’s sad, yet we shouldn’t seek for vengeance; instead we should still continue to do good things and also learn to forgive. We shouldn’t fill our hearts with anger or hatred. We can continue sharing our kindness despite the hatred and selfishness of others. We are the children of God and we should follow His will. Sometimes, when we do good or are kind to other people, we also expect something good in return. However, even though we didn’t get any sig

Today’s Gospel tells us how our actions are more important than words. Some people are afraid of making promises, although at the end of the day, they choose to fulfill what they are asked to do without saying a word. However, others are less worried or not worried at all at keeping them and tend to struggle in doing what is asked of them. Same situation goes to how aware we are about the will of the Lord. We know everything about the will of the Father. However, are we doing what God has told us to do? Going to church every day doesn’t mean that you have more chances of entering the Kingdom of God than those who seldom visit. Even if you know a lot about what God wants you to do, but not actually doing it, you are a like the second son in the Gospel. Jesus wants to tell us that God appreciates not only our words, but more importantly, the actions we will be doing, for example, after going home from mass. We shouldn’t just keep in mind what we have learned for today and prom

The parable is about a landowner and laborers in a vineyard. The laborers which the landowner hired from the very start agreed on receiving a denarius (ancient coins) for the day. The landowner went out in different times of the day and hired some laborers. At the end of the day, the landowner told the foreman to call the workers and pay them their wages beginning with the last ones hired and then the first. When the first ones received the same amount as the last ones, they grumbled against the owner and said, “These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day's burden and the heat.” But he told them that he’s not being unfair since they agreed to work for a denarius. The parable tells us that we are all the same, we are all humans whether we are rich or poor and whether we work hard or not, we are all the same and in the end, we go to heaven because God still welcomes us despite of how sinful we are. Sometimes, we think that we deserv

The Gospel is a parable told by Jesus Christ to Apostle Peter when he asked Him how many times he should forgive his brother.  According to Jesus, the kingdom of Heaven is like a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants.  Since one of the king's servants was unable to pay back his loan, the servant was to be sold, along with his wife and children.  The servant begged the king to give him more time to pay off his debt. Because the king was merciful, he forgave his servant.  However, after that, the servant went to another person who owed Him money.  Even though that person begged for more time also, the servant was cruel and demanded the money right away.  When he couldn't pay, the servant had that person thrown into prison.  This incident came to the king's attention, and the servant was punished for his wickedness. The parable tells us that we should be forgiving and merciful like God. Even though we commit sins and wicked deeds, God will forgive us a

Trust What is the meaning of “trust”? How do we define it? Webster’s Dictionary provides the following definitions: •                The trait of trusting; of believing in the honesty and reliability of others •                Complete confidence in a person or plan etc •                To Allow without fear These are just some of the following definitions you would find in a dictionary- its literal meanings. Take note, these definitions are literal, or as in Filipino “ denotatibo” , not figurative “konotatibo”. So how can we relate this information to today’s Gospel? Well we could define it figuratively, for isn’t the Bible full of figurative statements? So does today’s Gospel “The trait of trusting; of believing in the honesty and reliability of others” The Lord is inexplicable, there goes the saying “ the Lord works in mysterious ways”. For example, in the Gospel, the disciples ask Jesus to send the begging woman away for they were being disturbed. “J

Today's Gospel is all about our faith and trust we have for Jesus. Life is full of insecurities and doubts. These insecurities will be our weakness. Just like Peter in the Gospel, he had so many doubts that he cannot believe that Jesus can do all things. It was a challenge for Him to overcome his insecurities and fears and to believe in God. The strong winds and great waves portray the challenges and struggles we are experiencing in life, and these challenges will measure our faith in Him. Just like Peter, who was filled with fear and terror, we are also afraid of take risks because we don't have much courage to do so. We often forget that God is always there for us, waiting for us to call out for Him. Our faith will give us courage to try to do something more than what we are capable of.                                                                                                                 We need to step out of our comfort zone to discover new things. Eve

Today’s Gospel is about the Transfiguration of Jesus. A cloud came with a voice saying, “This is my Beloved son”. This account of the transfiguration confirms that truly Jesus is the Son of God. After that event the disciples of Jesus fell prostate and were afraid but Jesus told them to rise and not to be afraid. We are like the disciples of Jesus. We are afraid of the things that we face in life like problems and things that will not makes us happy. It is normal to be afraid since we are just human after all but, the message of God in this Gospel is to rise and not to be afraid. Think about the disciples in this Gospel they were afraid but they rose and saw that Jesus was with them. Always think that Jesus is with us all the time, in our hard times and in our happy moments. We’ve all experienced a time in our life that we have a lot of things to do given only a limited time because of deadlines and such. Last school year, I had 5 projects to do and had only a week to finish t

"The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels." Since time immemorial evil and temptation is always present in our lives. Satan will grind away the weakness of our character. He will tell us that life is full of inequities and disappointments. He will seek to rob our joy and diminish our relationship with the Lord while God is working to bring us into his kingdom Satan is working to keep us out. We should be patient like God. In the battle against evil we must not forget that our methods are to be different than the world because inappropriate actions will do more harm. We are to love our enemies and soften the hardness of their hearts just like how Jesus loves us. We make fatal mistakes but our God is lenient and forgiving he will ne

Today’s Gospel reading speaks about the Parable of the Sower. The seeds were sown in different places with different environments. Some sown on the pathway, some on the rocky ground, some among thorns, and some on rich soil. We, the children of God, are represented by the seeds. The ones that are sown on the pathway are the people who hear the Word of God but do not understand what it means. Meanwhile, the seeds that are sown on the rocky ground are the people who receive God’s Word and enjoy it, but they lack commitment so their happiness does not last. The seeds which are sown among thorns are the ones that are choked and distracted by earthly possessions or whatever disturbances there are in life. On the other hand, the seeds that are sown in rich soil are the ones who hear the Word – understands it, and makes it fruitful. With our ever-changing world, sometimes (if not most of the time), we find it difficult to make time for God. In the current situation that I am in, I can ho

Let me start the Sunday Reflection by sharing a Bible Story, a story about Job. Job had everything – family and wealth. God bragged to Satan about Job’s goodness, but Satan argued that Job was only good because God blessed Him.  Satan challenged God that, if God would allow him to punish Job, Job will curse God. God allowed Satan to punish Job. Slowly, he lost everything - his family and his wealth. But Job never turned against God, instead, he praised God despite of what he lost. God achieved victory and He rewarded Job double of what he lost. What I learned in the story is humility. Job had everything but he never used his power against others. He remained humble. He praised Him and continued to trust in Him. God and Job’s relationship was unbreakable on which today’s Gospel focuses on. I was introduced to the Catholic faith when I was young. I remembered so well that my parents would bring me to church. I pray when they pray, just following what they do. As a kid, I

“That’s my cross I have to carry”, says the one who interprets the cross as a burden given by God to us. During the time of Jesus, a cross wasn’t just a symbol of pain and suffering; it was mainly a symbol of death. When Jesus said “take up your cross and follow Me”, He meant that we need to put to death our own plans and desires and turn our lives over to Him and do His will. Jesus doesn’t simply call us to believe that He exists, or even to believe that He can save us. He calls on us to commit our whole lives to Him—to trust Him alone for our salvation, and then to follow Him as His disciples. Following Jesus may seem easy when our life runs smoothly. Our true commitment to Him is revealed during trials. It is easy for us to affirm the Lord when we are in favor of what is happening to us but when the going gets tough, it is very easy for us to disobey Him and even turn our backs on Him. Why is it easy for us to forsake God when we think that the cross is too heavy for us

“DO NOT BE AFRAID”, Jesus assures us three times in today’s Gospel of Matthew. Like Jesus’ apostles, we are called not to fear but to proclaim the love of Christ with our lives. We are called to be witnesses of our Christian faith by our acts of love, forgiveness, and self-giving. We are called to mission to share the joy of His love has brought to our lives and His desire to give mercy and love to all. Given this mission, our commitment to Christ will be put to test. Fear may overwhelm us because our friends may not understand why we meet for reunions and attend Praise and Worships. Some may not even understand why we share our life experiences to people we just only met (e.g., shepherds, flockmates). Others may even make fun of how we act, because they don't understand the joy He gives us when we are with our brothers and sisters singing and praising HIM as the love of our lives. Though He may permit this kind of persecution, our Father will never forget or abando

The Gospel today tells us that God’s love is eternal. Without His love, we are nothing, just ashes waiting to be blown away and get lost. His love is eternal, because He sent forth His one and only son to save us from our sins to give us new life. When we eat the bread during the Holy Communion, it represents that we allow Him to be in our life. The line “Whoever eats this bread will live forever”, tells us that when we allow God to enter our lives (when we eat the body of Christ), we will be complete, we will be able to experience life after death. Without Him, whatever we seek, we wouldn’t be able to find it, because there is nothing but emptiness. That emptiness is filled with God’s everlasting love. Nothing is ever complete without love and passion. You cannot achieve a happy life when there is no love. You might work for a company that has a high salary, but how can you enjoy your job when you don’t even like it, even though your pay is great. You may become luxurious, bu

In today's Gospel, we are once again reminded of God's unconditional love for all of us, even if we are sinners. Although we keep sinning against Him from time to time, He still constantly loves and forgives us that He even sends His only Son, Jesus, for us to be saved. You see, God's love is absolute for God doesn't fall out of love. We may have hurt Him with our disobedience and with the things that we've done against His will but He's still there for us, waiting for us to open our hearts to Him. But here we are, falling out of love each time things don’t go our way. When life gets rough and everything's just messed up, we end up doubting His plans and questioning His love. God loves us even though we are sinners filled with brokenness, flaws and imperfections but this doesn’t mean that we should keep committing sin. Hence, we should be proud, thankful and blessed because God send us Jesus His only Son to die for us. He wants us to love ourselves

When Jesus arrived Bethany, Martha met Him saying that if Jesus could have been there, Lazarus would still be alive. Then she continues saying “but I know that even now, whatever you ask of God, He will grant You.” In this Gospel, Martha represents us. There are times that we blame God for our problems. We get angry at Him for not being with us when we need Him most, thinking that He should have done something for us not to experience such pain and heartaches. But maybe just like Jesus, God takes His time to aid us in our problems. Maybe this is His way of letting us grow and learn from our problems. But God never leaves our side, He is always there to watch over us. Just like Martha, we also need to have faith. Despite having faced such problems, we still know that God is always there to rescue us. Even though Martha is grieving for the loss of her brother, she continued to have faith in Jesus. Losing someone is tough, but we should not let it take away our faith too. S

“The way of the Lord does not often correspond to the way of the world because the world often value the big and the powerful while the Lord treasures the small and the weak, who do not count on their own strength but place their trust in God. “ The gospel that we heard is about the Beatitudes wherein God reassures us his providence even at our worst being. Hardships and challenges are inevitable in our lives. Some people say, these make us strong and mold us to become better individuals. But have we ever asked ourselves why these also cause people to have breakdowns? Upon reflecting on the gospel reading, I realized that the beatitudes does not call us to be weak, instead it encourages us to acknowledge our own weaknesses and vulnerabilities. It helps us understand that it's okay to be imperfect, that it is also okay to seek other’s help because you can’t do it alone, and that its okay to be not fine, once in a while, because these imperfections lead us to God. We should

Jesus said to Peter and Andrew, "Come after me and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. As members of this youth ministry, the gospel reminds us to always come after God because we are meant to be fishers of men. We are meant to bring people closer to Him. We are called to serve Him through this ministry. We may think sometimes that we are not capable of fulfilling the things that are entrusted to us. But let us be like Jesus' disciples, just let go and trust God that He knows what He's doing with us. Jesus might have seen something in them that would help him fulfill his mission that time and maybe the reason that we are still in this ministry is because we have something in us that could help in bringing more youth back to Jesus. Let's hold on to that and forget about the things that we cannot do. Let's focus on the things that we can do and start doing it because we are called for a reason. All we have to do is t