April 24 Thursday Gospel Reflections on John 15:9-11

Our Gospel today is very short but has a very powerful message for us.

God wants us to be with Him and the only way for our Father is to live by his commandments. It's simple, practical and straight to the point. If we live in His love the kingdom of heaven is waiting for us.

There is common knowledge that we have to offer a lot of sacrifice just to be with our Father in heaven. We have to endure a lot of suffering and we have to be against the world at all times.

But that's not what the Father wants us to be. We still have to achieve happiness in this world while we are aiming to be with him.

The challenge for us in this gospel is that we have to find happiness in everything that we do. There are a lot saints today who gave us the idea of happiness. In every little way that we do, we have to find God's purpose and happiness.

You can read the gospel and other readings here.

April 23 Wednesday Gospel Reflections on John 15:1-8

"You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you."

This phrase from the Gospel today is very true when you think about the situation of the Roman Catholics during the persecution days. By the mere fact of being identified with the Catholics means gruesome death.

Today, we obviously don't experience that situation. But a new persecution is happening in our Church today. Because of the scandals in the Roman Catholic Church particularly on the sex abuse of the priests, we are being persecuted in the sense that we do not do anything about it. We strongly abhor these actions and do everything to prevent them.

On the other hand, we are also dubbed as anti-modernization because of our ideas about abortion and gay marriage.

But these are just challenges for us. We have to be steadfast of our faith and tradition as these are the strongest foundations in our belief. God has called us again to hold fast to our beliefs.

Read today's readings and gospel here.

April 22 Tuesday Gospel Reflections on John 14:27-31a

This part of the gospel is pretty special for me since I remember well a song tied to the following phrase:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you."

Although the actual lyrics are a little bit different (probably from a different version of the bible), the chorus takes on a different route. The chorus tells you that love is all you need and love is very important to all of us.

Which has led me to think the relationship of peace and love. Peace is not removing the bad things in our society but peace is a situation where people care for each other, where they love each other. We can't say our society is at peace because there is no war. Peace is never the absence of evil but the existence of understand, love and care for everyone.

Read the gospel here.

April 21 Monday Gospel Reflections on John 14:21-26

Today's gospel has a message for both the preachers and the faithfuls of the Christian world.

Reliving the words of Judas in the Gospel, " “Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?”

As preachers of the Gospel, we have to remember that God has revealed the Gospel not only to us but also to the world. We have to be humble enough to accept that fact that most of our faithfuls are even more convinced of the word of God compared to us. There are actually people who gives more to the church than what we do for God everyday. The gospel is a challenge for us to preach and to support our flock more so as to lead them to heavenly kingdom Jesus has prepared for us.

As the faithful who follows the shepherd of God, let us help them through our prayers and any support that we can. The world provides us with a constant challenge to preach the good news in anyway. Although most of the time we can't be missionaries, but we can help spread the gospel through our small ways everyday.

You can read the gospel and the rest of the readings here.

April 20 Sunday Gospel Reflections on John 14:1-12

Today's Gospel is basically the Gospel of Friday and Saturday combined. This Sunday, the idea of Jesus as the "Truth, the Way and the Light" is highlighted and supported by the previous readings.

The first reading is from the Acts of the Apostles and the second reading from the letter of Peter. These readings wonderfully chronicles the devotion of the Apostles to our Father and their affirmation to His greatness.

In the Acts of the Apostles, new disciples were chosen to work with the people. The reason is that the Apostles have to spend some time praying and although they work with the poor, they should also spend some time praying.

There are times that we are very busy with our daily activities that we forgot to pray or be still to communicate with the Father. It is only through prayer that we examine ourselves and our goals as well as communicate these goals to Jesus. A few minutes a day is always encouraged to talk to Jesus. He is always with us - waiting for us to talk to Him. Our struggles, our triumphs and even the most simple things in life could be shared with Jesus. He is our friend and our savior that will help and bless us in any endeavor that we do in life.

Read the readings and the gospel here.

April 19 Saturday Gospel Reflections on John14:7-14

The gospel today tells us of Jesus affirming His relationship to the Father. He reminds His disciples of His relationship - that He and the Father are one.

You will read however, that Phillip is asking for more from Jesus - he wants to see the Father.

We are always looking for something great. We want to be wowed at all times, the amazing are the only things that we want to believe. But we forget to appreciate the daily miracles that we often see everyday. The sun rises everyday, the flowers are beautifully blooming and the people that you love every day are there to support and love you wherever you are.

We have to take a look beyond the "beyond" and see the daily miracles and beauty that we experience everyday. God loves us and does everything for us everyday and every moment.

April 18 Friday Daily Gospel Reflection on John 14:1-6

In today's gospel we encounter one of Jesus famous words of assurance to His disciples and to us His followers:

“I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Such a phrase comes after the reassurance of Jesus to His disciples that He has prepared the place for those who follow them. For us His followers, we are again assured that even though we are faced with the hardships of daily living, Jesus is their to guide us.

I remember a good quotation that has even become famous for its various merchandise - WWJD or What Would Jesus Do? It's a question posed to His followers not only to think like Jesus but also to act like Him. We should be since Jesus is our way for our eternal salvation to be with Him one day.

April 17 Thursday Gospel Reflection on John 13:16-20

In today's gospel, we are again reminded what it is to be a leader. A leader is not just somebody up there but also the one who serves and servers well.

Pope Benedict XVI is in US today and like a good disciple of Jesus Christ, he shows to the faithful the undying faith that he has for our Lord Jesus Christ. Some may have scorn him and the Roman Catholic church for decades but our steadfast faith has led us through to continue worshiping him.

This gospel is also a reminder for us leaders, managers, supervisors and even parents who has someone that is looking to them. Aside from providing exceptional example, we have to be servants to the men, women and children that we lead everyday.


You can read today's gospel here.

April 16 Wednesday Gospel Reflection on John 12:44-50

In today's Gospel we take a look at Jesus' preference on love instead of punishment:

"And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them,
I do not condemn him,
for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world."

These words reminds us that God isn't here to look for the things that we have done wrong but to take a look at the good things we have done. Sometimes, we have that notion that our God is a punishing God that will rain fiery stones to us if we commit sin. God is not like that, Jesus came to the earth and preached the good news of the gospel and established confession.

God reminds us that we have to work hard for our salvation but at the same time follow Him not because we fear Him but because we love Him.

Read today's gospel here.

April 15 Tuesday Gospel Reflection on John 10:22-30

In today's Gospel we see Jesus Christ being bothered by the Jews as they persist in asking Him to plainly say to them that He is God.

We are all religious people in one way or the other. We are always looking for the "beyond", the reason for everything or the metaphysical. But we don't just select anyone who is there claiming to be god, we have to make sure that our religious beliefs are true. That is the reason why we sometimes become so impatient in knowing who to follow that we end up in different religions but in reality we are just looking for a way to know if the God we are following is the true God.

But any religion, as long as they follow the good ways of God could be a way to Jesus. We don't have to jump from one religion to another. All we have to do is to look inside us and listen carefully as to what we have to do. It is not in the way we worship God but it is in the way we deal with our fellowmen that we will know who really God is. We have to look inside in each one of us, to hear Jesus Christ and know His ways and feel His love for everyone.

You can read the Gospel and other readings here.

April 14 Monday Gospel Reflection on John 10:11-18

There are two things that have struck me in this gospel: care and power.

Jesus has carefully laid out to His disciples and followers the care that He is willing to do. He has likened us to a sheep wherein He is the farmer that will guide us to safety. As a Shepherd, He will do everything in His power to make sure each and every member is well taken cared off.

On the other hand, Jesus has also reminded us with His power. "I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again". As the Son of God, He was given the power and at His own disposition, how and who to use it.

But instead of feeling fear, Jesus has continuously urges His disciples that it is ultimately about love. His power over everything is also matched with His ability to care and love everyone.

In our end, we should use our care and our power at the same time as well. We may have the power over different individuals but if we don't show equal care for those we lead, we are worthless in the sight of God. Let us use our power, not just to be over someone but to do a better job and spread the word of God in small ways through care.

Read today's Gospel Reading Here.

April 13 Sunday Gospel Reflection on John 10:1-10

God gives us the assurance that in the midst of everything - the bad and worst things that are happening in our life and in the world, He is still there to guide us.

The good news is that He will always be there no matter what. But the challenge is in ourselves:

Do we have the conviction to follow His voice or are we led astray by the mere bad news and frustrations that we encounter in life?

It is very important for us to follow His voice. We even watch our television, go online or read the newspapers and be intrigued by the messages that we see. Advertising has been the name of the game for decades now and we are often hooked with clever messages. We don't even know who these people really is. All we know is that they are good in what they do: sell their ideas to us.

God is asking us to heed His voice and at the same time, resonate His message of love and forgiveness to the entire world. Let us not only be receivers and listeners of His voice but also workers to let His message known everywhere.

Read the Sunday's Gospel Here.