Team Jesus

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus continues to talk about the Kingdom of God. He uses the image of a mustard seed being planted by a farmer, leaving it grow and comes back to harvest its fruits. He explained to His disciples, that yes, the mustard seed though small, can become one of the biggest and most productive plant. But if you leave it alone to grow and not take care of it, it will not become as productive as expected. Jesus is talking to us, the youth, to take care of the mustard seeds in our lives. These tiny seeds will grow and produce, if we always cling to God. God blessed us with so much gifts, talents and time. He blessed us with a community which nurtures us to grow and mature spiritually. Young as we are, we know we can produce much fruits by inviting young people to the BLD Youth Ministry. Armed with all these gifts and guided by the Holy Spirit, we can share our learning and experiences of God's love and His presence in our lives. We will gi...

In the Gospel, Jesus was rejected by his relatives and by the people of Jerusalem saying,  He was possessed by the prince of demons and that He was out of his mind. But, Jesus told them in the form of a parable his coming to plunder Satan and bring about his end. Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemies against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness but is guilty of an everlasting sin." With this, Jesus is reminding us to never mistake the Holy Spirit with Satan. He also emphasized that whoever does the will of God is His brother and sister and mother.  Reflecting on today's Gospel, I have recalled the times I took my problems negatively and mistook the Holy Spirit with something else. But having been nourished with the good news, I have come to realize that those problems were just "eye openers" to what God is trying to reveal through the Holy Spirit. ...

“Take it, this is My Body; this is my Blood of the covenant which will be shared for many.” -Mark 14:22, 24 Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. This is very symbolic for it is one of the sole foundations of our faith. In the Gospel, Jesus feasts with His disciples and shares His own Body and Blood. He says, “Take it, this is My Body; this is my Blood of the covenant which will be shared for many.” At this point, Jesus does not merely give food and drink to His disciples, but He also feeds them in a much deeper level. He welcomes them, enlightens them and heals them. This can be likened to what we experience during the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. We go to Church to feel God’s holy presence and receive nourishment, enlightenment and healing. The bread and wine that we partake are no longer that of its physical form; we are already partaking the real body and blood of Christ, which cleanses our whole mind, body and so...

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,...