Team Jesus

"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 ki...

“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...