Disciples of All Nations

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

17 May 2026

 

First Reading: Acts 1:1-11

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9

Second Reading: Ephesians 1:17-23

Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20

 

Reflection

By: Carlo Alexis Malaluan

 

Today we stand with the disciples on a mountain in Galilee. Yet even here, the Gospel tells us something striking: “When they saw Him, they worshipped, but they doubted.” Faith and hesitation sit side by side. That detail alone makes this passage feel very human. Unknowingly to the apostles, that tension is where the mission begins. Jesus does not choose flawless people. He entrusts His mission to those still growing. And this is important for us also, today: mission is not reserved for the spiritually confident. It begins with those willing to listen, even with uncertainty.

There is something deeply reassuring in this. Jesus does not wait for perfect clarity before He speaks His commission. He does not delay His trust until every question is resolved. Instead, He steps directly into the middle of their mixed interior state—worship and doubt together—and still sends them. He comes closer and declares what has become known as the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Jesus says, “Go.” It is not a suggestion to stay comfortable in familiar spaces. The Gospel always moves outward toward people we haven’t met, cultures we do not know, and places we might not naturally choose.

This also speaks directly to us. Many people imagine that they must first resolve every doubt before they can serve God, pray with others, or share their faith. But the Gospel shows the opposite. It is precisely in the midst of our unfinished understanding that Jesus calls us forward. What matters is not the absence of hesitation, but the decision to remain open—to worship even while still asking questions, to follow even while still learning.

Although the Gospel does not narrate the Ascension directly, this passage carries its meaning. As he ascends, Jesus is no longer bound to one place or one group. He is preparing to be present everywhere through His Spirit and through His disciples. In a sense, He is “ascending” not by leaving us, but by expanding His presence in the world through us. The movement is very important: From seeing Jesus in one place to carrying Jesus everywhere.

But at the heart of the passage, Jesus does not end with departure, but with presence. His promise transforms the meaning of absence: we are not working alone, we are not speaking into silence, and we are not left to improvise God’s mission. The Ascended Lord is not distant. He is always present, sustaining the Church from within. To hear this Gospel today is to recognize that the mission of Christ has not changed. Rather, it has only been handed on. We become His voice in places where silence has grown, His hands where healing is needed, and His witness where hope feels thin. And we do this not by our strength alone, but by the assurance that the One who sends us also accompanies us.

The disciples leave the mountain changed not because all their doubts are gone, but because they now know that doubt does not cancel a mission. They have witnessed the mystery of the Ascension of Christ going to the Father, which moves us to go to the farthest places of the earth to proclaim the Gospel. The Lord’s Ascension is not His absence. It is the beginning of His presence in us. And that is why His final words are not an ending, but a beginning: “I am with you always.”

Pagganap sa Tungkulin

Ika-33 Linggo sa Karaniwang Panahon

Nobyembre 16, 2025

 

Unang Pagbasa: Malakias 3:19-20a

Salmong Tugunan: Salmo 98:5-6, 7-8, 9

Ikalawang Pagbasa: 2 Tesalonica 3:7-12

Mabuting Balita: Lucas 21:5-19

 

Pagninilay

Ni: Renato C. Vibiesca

 

Kaliwa't kanan ang dagok sa buhay natin dahil samu't saring sakuna ang dumaan sa ating bayan at itinuturing na ngang delubyo ito ng ilan tulad ng malalakas na lindol, sunod-sunod na bagyo't baha, at malawakang kagutuman. Binabagabag din tayo ng giyera sa iba't ibang panig ng mundo at banta sa seguridad sa sarili nating bansa. Naglalabasan din ang mga bulaang propeta na nagsasabing gugunawin na ang mundo. Pero sa Ebanghelyo ngayon, pinapaalalahanan tayo ng ating Panginoong Hesus na kung mananatili tayong tapat sa pananampalataya sa Kanya, hindi tayo dapat matakot dahil ang Diyos mismo ang ating sandigan na magliligtas sa atin. Ang totoo, hindi naman talaga natin alam kung kailan ang eksaktong araw ng paggunaw ng mundo o kahit nga ang oras ng ating kamatayan mismo, ngunit ang sigurado ay ang pag-ibig ng Diyos sa ating mga nananampalataya. Kaya nga hindi tayo natatakot kung sumapit ang araw na ito, bagkus pinapaigting natin araw-araw ang pananalig sa Diyos.

Bilang paghahanda, hindi natin inaabangan ang mga senyales sa langit, sapat na ang paggampan natin ng ating mga tungkulin sa buhay nang may pagmamahal at pag-aalay sa Diyos. Kung ikaw ay estudiyante, sapat na ang pag-aaral nang mabuti; kung ikaw naman ay padre de pamilya o ina ng tahanan, sapat na ang patuloy na paghahanapbuhay at masigasig na pag-asikaso sa pangangailangan ng pamilya; kung ikaw ay nagtatrabaho sa pamahalaan, sapat na ang maging matapat na lingkod-bayan sa araw-araw. Ang mumunting kabutihan natin sa araw-araw na pamumuhay ang magsisilbing magandang senyales ng paghahanda at pagmamahal natin sa Diyos. Ang mga salita ng ating Panginoong Hesus sa Ebanghelyo ang patunay na hinding-hindi tayo pababayaan ng Diyos kung sumapit na nga ang araw na iyon.

Panalangin

Panginoong Hesus, nananalig kami sa Iyong pangako na hinding-hindi Mo kami pababayaan sa oras na sumapit ang aming kamatayan. Biyayaan Mo kami ng grasya ng pagmamahal sa Iyo sa araw-araw sa pamamagitan ng paggampan namin ng aming mga tungkulin para sa mga mahal namin sa buhay. Amen.

Live the Day

    

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

17 November 2024

 

First Reading: Dn 12:1-3

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11

Second Reading: Heb 10:11-14, 18

Gospel: Mk 13:24-32

 

Reflection

By: Benj Santiago

 

"But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

The end times. Is it near? Or is it still far away? No one knows. Many doomsday sayers are telling us that the end times is near because of the ongoing conflicts, natural calamities and disasters in different parts of the world. But again, the Bible says, no one knows except the Father.

We come across this passage at this time of the year when we are about to end the Liturgical Year. It is a reminder that I, you, all of us need to be prepared at all times. And the best way to prepare daily is to love others, to forgive those who sinned against us, and ask forgiveness for the sins we committed, plus the sins of omissions.

You and I must continue to appreciate blessings we receive including the opportunity to live another day. We need to show kindness, respect and empathy to people we meet every day.

Prayer

Dear heavenly Father, I pray that I may appreciate each day I live. May I be a blessing for people I interact with each day. May Your love, generosity, and kindness overflow from me to people I meet every day. Help us Lord to be prepared for the end times every day. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.

Deliberation

First Reading:  Isaiah 66:18-21

I am coming to gather every nation and every language. They will come to witness my glory.

I shall give them a sign and send some of their survivors to the nations: to Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coasts and islands that have never heard of me or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory to the nations, and from all the nations they will bring all your brothers as an offering to Yahweh, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels, to my holy mountain, Jerusalem, Yahweh says, like Israelites bringing offerings in clean vessels to Yahweh's house.

And some of them I shall make into priests and Levites, Yahweh says.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 117:1, 2

Second Reading: Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13

Have you forgotten that encouraging text in which you are addressed as sons? My son, do not scorn correction from the Lord, do not resent his training, for the Lord trains those he loves, and chastises every son he accepts.

Perseverance is part of your training; God is treating you as his sons. Has there ever been any son whose father did not train him?

Of course, any discipline is at the time a matter for grief, not joy; but later, in those who have undergone it, it bears fruit in peace and uprightness.

So steady all weary hands and trembling knees and make your crooked paths straight; then the injured limb will not be maimed, it will get better instead.

Gospel:  Luke 13:22-30

Through towns and villages he went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem.

Someone said to him, 'Sir, will there be only a few saved?' He said to them,

'Try your hardest to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.

'Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself standing outside knocking on the door, saying, "Lord, open to us," but he will answer, "I do not know where you come from."

Then you will start saying, "We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets," but he will reply, "I do not know where you come from; away from me, all evil doers!"

Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrown out.

And people from east and west, from north and south, will come and sit down at the feast in the kingdom of God.

Reflection:
by Gary Tulabut

This semester is my fifth as a college instructor. Therefore I am still relatively new compared to my colleagues. I still have a lot to learn. That is why, based on what I have learned in previous sems, I innovate my rules and techniques and to suit the needs, and sometimes the stubbornness, of my students.
This sem, one of my rule changes is that the midterm grade is already the final grade… unless a student wants to change his or hers. There will be no more quizzes after the midterms… except if a student wants to take one (max of 1 per week). Everyone will still be required to take the finals but if the result is pulling the grade of a student down, it will be disregarded for that student. This means that after the midterms, if a student gets a failing grade, he can request a quiz every week (about the topic for the week) to pull the grade up. The total denominator for quizzes increases every time he requests for a quiz. There’s no taking back those added number of items no matter what the student’s score will be.Why am I implementing this?Last sem, right after the finals and just before faculty members met for a deliberation of grades, a student sent me a private message in Facebook saying, “Sir, what else can I do to get a 75?” 75 is the passing grade equivalent to a 3 on the card. When I checked the records of this student, he did not even reach 70.I replied, “Iho, you should have asked this question after prelims or after midterms, and we could have done something.”The sad part is that he was one of those happy-go-lucky students who seem not to care at all about studying; those who rest their hopes on projects, term papers, and the kindness of their professors to pass.That is why my rule on the midterm grade as the final grade; so that they can still ask me what they can do to pass, and they will be forced to at least study for the quizzes they will request; or they may opt to just drop the subject.If we fail the final exams in heaven, there will be no more projects, no term papers, or a kind Prof. St. Peter. If we ask what we can do to enter the pearly gates, he might say, “My son/daughter you should have asked that during the midterms or prelims of your life, then we could still have done something.”

Prayer:Thank you Father for constantly reminding a stubborn student like me to do something now to straighten my ways while I am still in the midterms of my life and not to cram on my final days. Amen

Seeds of Hope

33rd Sunday In Ordinary Time
November 17, 2013
The Lord comes to rule the peoples with fairness.

First Reading: Malachi 3:19-20

The day is coming now, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and the evil-doers will be like stubble. The day that is coming is going to burn them up, says the Lord of Hosts, leaving them neither root nor stalk. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will shine out with healing in its rays.

Psalm: Psalm 97:5-9

Second Reading: 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12

You know how you are supposed to imitate us: now we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we ever have our meals at anyone’s table without paying for them; no, we worked night and day, slaving and straining, so as not to be a burden on any of you. This was not because we had no right to be, but in order to make ourselves an example for you to follow.

  We gave you a rule when we were with you: do not let anyone have any food if he refuses to do any work. Now we hear that there are some of you who are living in idleness, doing no work themselves but interfering with everyone else’s. In the Lord Jesus Christ, we order and call on people of this kind to go on quietly working and earning the food that they eat.

Gospel: Luke 21:5-19

When some were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, Jesus said, ‘All these things you are staring at now – the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.’ And they put to him this question: ‘Master,’ they said ‘when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be that this is about to take place?’

  ‘Take care not to be deceived,’ he said ‘because many will come using my name and saying, “I am he” and, “The time is near at hand.” Refuse to join them. And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not so soon.’ Then he said to them, ‘Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

  ‘But before all this happens, men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name – and that will be your opportunity to bear witness. Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.’

Reflection
By Nats Vibiesca

Many of us cried after watching videos of the people affected by the powerful earthquake and the devastating typhoon Yolanda in the Visayas. I cried because it was the end of the world for me. Since then I could not think. I could not write. I thought it was a paralysis of the left and the right brain. Deadlines, deadliest deadlines of my creative writing commitments are all in red lights. How can I write a perfect conflict for fiction if I see real people in desolation—dying in the Visayas? Do you think a writer can still imagine and manage to internalize the problems of his created protagonist from the hands of his antagonist if the agony of his Kababayans haunting his soul? I could not think of any greater human problem than the recent catastrophe in the Philippines. In desperation, maybe, many grieving people in the Visayas think that it’s really the end of the world. Is it possible to write at this time better conflict for a story than the suffering of the Filipinos against the forces of nature?

No. I cannot write any conflict with this heart breaking scenario. It’s the end of the world.

But the Gospel today is teaching me to be faithful, to persevere, and not to be afraid in order to survive. The end of the world is inevitable but the Lord gave us the instruction to be alive. Our Lord Jesus also tells us that persecutions and sufferings are opportunities to show our fidelity to God. In reality, the end of the world is only for those who have not recognized Jesus and being unfaithful results in affliction especially for those who do not trust the Lord. We can translate our faithfulness to Jesus into concrete actions like sharing the blessings we have to those who are hopeless.

Thus, faithfulness through actions defy the end of the world; this is by letting our Kababayans know that we care and love them and we will continue providing relief goods for the body and relief for the soul through unceasing prayers for them.

I wish and pray that the faithful will also bring seeds to the Visayas to immediately plant in the land. Flowering seeds, fruits or any crop seeds, and seeds of sturdy trees that will surely bring hope to the people as the Lord transforms the environment and bring back the beautiful colors of creation into life.

Let us all take courage and persevere because this is how we will survive.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, grant us the courage and perseverance we need in order to survive the hardships of life. Bless us with faithfulness of heart and keep us away from all miseries that will test our fidelity to You. We ask Your grace to help us to remain steadfast in our faith so we can inspire others through our actions. Amen.      

Christmas in Our Hearts

Christmas Day
25 December 2012

Readings for the daytime Mass on Christmas Day:

First reading  
Isaiah 52:7-10 

How beautiful on the mountains,
are the feet of one who brings good news,
who heralds peace, brings happiness,
proclaims salvation,
and tells Zion,
‘Your God is king!’
Listen! Your watchmen raise their voices,
they shout for joy together,
for they see the Lord face to face,
as he returns to Zion.
Break into shouts of joy together,
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord is consoling his people,
redeeming Jerusalem.
The Lord bares his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.

Psalm   
Psalm 97:1-6

Second reading  
Hebrews 1:1-6

At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son, the Son that he has appointed to inherit everything and through whom he made everything there is. He is the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of his nature, sustaining the universe by his powerful command; and now that he has destroyed the defilement of sin, he has gone to take his place in heaven at the right hand of divine Majesty. So he is now as far above the angels as the title which he has inherited is higher than their own name.
  God has never said to any angel: You are my Son, today I have become your father; or: I will be a father to him and he a son to me. Again, when he brings the First-born into the world, he says: Let all the angels of God worship him.

Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
A hallowed day has dawned upon us.
Come, you nations, worship the Lord,
for today a great light has shone down upon the earth.
Alleluia!

Gospel  
John 1:1-18 

In the beginning was the Word:
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things came to be,
not one thing had its being but through him.
All that came to be had life in him
and that life was the light of men,
a light that shines in the dark,
a light that darkness could not overpower.
A man came, sent by God.
His name was John.
He came as a witness,
as a witness to speak for the light,
so that everyone might believe through him.
He was not the light,
only a witness to speak for the light.
The Word was the true light
that enlightens all men;
and he was coming into the world.
He was in the world
that had its being through him,
and the world did not know him.
He came to his own domain
and his own people did not accept him.
But to all who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to all who believe in the name of him
who was born not out of human stock
or urge of the flesh
or will of man
but of God himself.
The Word was made flesh,
he lived among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father,
full of grace and truth.
John appears as his witness. He proclaims:
‘This is the one of whom I said:
He who comes after me ranks before me
because he existed before me.’
Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received –
yes, grace in return for grace,
since, though the Law was given through Moses,
grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God;
it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart,
who has made him known.

Reflection
By Nats Vibiesca

Just around the corner, many groups or sects predicted the end of the world before Christmas day this year.  They are proven wrong for the simple reason that they are not God for Whom thousand years are like one day.  In fact, God is timeless and makes every human prediction sound hollow.
God’s schedule goes way beyond our understanding. That’s why God sent a baby boy to earth to touch us personally, fingertip to fingertip, and experience divine mercy in our midst. It is a stupendous moment that the Son of God, invisible, becomes the Son of Man, visible.  The impossible becomes possible and we witness the greatest miracle, the source of all miracles. Our liberation from our sins started with one baby boy and our days will end when we see Him again in eternal heavenly glory.
Our Emmanuel is the source of pure joy and lasting peace—the real Christmas meaning in our hearts.  The joy and peace not related to glitter and gifts but to something more liberating, lasting, saving and redeeming rooted in faith because Christmas reveals New Life, and not the end of the world.
The secret of new life is not angels singing praises in the sky but all of us sharing the goodness received from God on this day and all days of our life. Let us share the blessings of Christmas to all people especially those in need of love and peace. Merry Christmas to all!

Prayer
Loving God, today we enjoy the abundance of your love as we embrace new life with Jesus. Make us generous to share the joy and peace we received to express how we truly care to those in need.  Amen.