Team Jesus

       Jesus The Messiah, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven, who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” Since Peter was the one who recognized Jesus as the son of the Living God, He is now the handler of the keys if the kingdom of God.      Many of us still do not believe totally about God’s faithfulness and love to us. But there are still who believe but do not follow in God’s Ten (10) commandments. They will only call God’s help and mercy when they have obstacles and trials come in their ways like emergencies, dreaded diseases and in depression. And when they can overcome those mentioned challenges in life, they forgot God even to thank Him for surpassing all those life’s suffering.      This calls us all Christians and believers of Christ to sill hang on to our faith to God in sadness, loneliness, gladness an...

  The story of the Canaanite woman's encounter with Jesus is found in today's gospel. This chapter represents a number of significant topics: such as faith, modesty, and the applicability of Jesus' message to all people. A Canaanite mother begs Jesus in this text to help her daughter who is being tormented by a demon. The woman persists, kneeling before Jesus and pleading, "Lord, help me!" At first, Jesus appears to ignore her, telling her that His primary focus is on the "lost sheep of Israel," but He later seems to change His tune, telling her that it is not right to take the children's bread and give it to "dogs," a reference to non-Jews. The woman's response is crucial to the plot. She accepts her Gentile status, but ingeniously flips Jesus' example by adding, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Her response demonstrates deep humility, unshakeable faith, and acknow...

Just like when we trust God, we know that He'll always be with us through our hardships. Once we realize that it is not us against the world; rather, it's us and our God against the world, we suddenly realize that we don't have to go through this life alone. We should be accepting of others around us because we were made in God's image. We may overcome previously insurmountable obstacles if we have complete faith that someone will be there for us in our hour of need. - Charlz Racel Dela Cruz

  The Gospel today talks about the time when Jesus was gathered along with tax collectors and sinners. This created an issue with the Pharisees and scribes for they were surprised that Jesus welcomed sinners and was even eating with them. It was then he began to tell the story of the prodigal son. The Gospel is actually relatable to most of us, there really are times in life where we easily judge other people based on what they used to be or by who we thought they are, but have we ever thought of the fact that it is possible for people to change and repent from the things that they have done before? We may not realize it, but maybe we too are like the Pharisees and scribes who easily judged the people Jesus was hanging out with. Maybe we too sometimes think that we are the good ones but somehow it turns out we are actually worse than the people we are judging. Maybe we think too highly of ourselves to the point we sometimes forget the reason why we are doing things. Put as an examp...

  The world is a vast place. Thus, it is no wonder that different people have different beliefs and understandings: most of which completely diverge from the teachings of the Church. Perhaps this has been the reason for the Church’s difficult beginnings.   Persecution was much more rampant a long time ago. Any missionary who takes the challenge to spread God’s words were oftentimes sentenced to brutal punishments. In fact, many biblical personage’s fates ended this way. This challenged their faith – yet they persevered. Many will oppose your beliefs; and many will deny your words until their last breath. However, as long as you have the passion and dedication to become the Lord’s servant, then your faith will save you.   Therefore, Jesus never spoke of literal flames of anguish and eternal conflict. Rather, He spoke of the challenges the disciples will face once they continue His work on earth. Those flames are the flames of desire for Him: the desire to serve the almight...

 How deep is the faith you give towards the Lord? Do you trust His will in you? What do you treasure the most in your life?   I reflected on today's reading through these questions. What we treasure will orient our entire being and guide our lives. Jesus invites us to treasure what matters and align our lives towards it.  Sometimes, we believe the phrase “expect the unexpected,” by means of not being surprised by an unusual event. Anything could happen -  and they probably will. But what if it is the way of the Lord to guide us in our lives? The Lord may not give what you desire but He gives what’s best for you.   Rejections might be the effect of God’s will for me. Every time I desire something, I cannot achieve it or have it. Then I judge God for not helping me in my dreams and sometimes I put little faith in Him.   The book of Wisdom speaks of the ancestors in faith trusting God’s promises. Yes, I failed but it is the purpose of God that there is somethi...

   There could be times when we think and look at ourselves so high that it could cause us to think about life in a different way. A life that God does not want us to live with. Life where addiction, hatred, arrogance, and greed are present. Sometimes, we forget that the person we are talking with is our mama or papa, ate or kuya, tito or tita that needs proper respect. This treatment and perspective might be open to our lives, but we can try to live the life that God wants so that we can avoid doing it: a life full of respect, honesty, trust and love. As what was stated in the Gospel, we need to "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions." (Luke 12:15). We are given life to be an example to others by being a living witness of God's creations and sharing it with people in need.  It was mentioned in the first reading the gifts of God that are given to us to be used wisely and at God's command. Eve...