Ross Reyes Dizon
Author
Justify Those Who Are Not Wholly Just
Jesus is “God-with-us.” This name makes known that the one who alone is holy is with us who are not holy; he wants to justify us. The angel of Joseph’s dream seems to justify Mary, to show her not guilty, to say that she has been true to him. But there are those who...
Announce the Good News to the Poor
Jesus is God’s Anointed and Sent One to announce the Good News to the poor. To belong to God and to Jesus is to belong to the poor. John the Baptist seems to go into crisis, and his whole group with him. For what he hears in prison about Jesus does not sound...
Prepare the Way of the Lord Jesus
Jesus is the King who comes to rule the earth with justice. We all have to repent and prepare for his coming. To prepare the way of the Lord, this is what all of John the Baptist’s being and doing is about. To prepare means, first of all, to preach repentance, to...
Fix our Gaze on our Lord Jesus
After putting up with the shameful cross, Jesus has been lifted up to the highest place. To fix our eyes on him means not to lose heart. A new year starts in the Church, but she asks us to fix our gaze on the end. It tells us, “Eyes on the prize.” It is the...
Outcasts Who Enter the Kingdom Before Us
Jesus does not turn down the outcasts that come to him, but welcomes them. He promises to give them God’s kingdom. We celebrate the solemn feast of Jesus Christ, King of the universe. And the Church sends us back to the place called “The Skull.” There, they crucify...
Sun of Justice That Saves and Heals
Jesus is the sun of justice that enlightens us who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. The Ukrainians suffer very much due to the war. And life will be harder still for millions. For they are plunged into the cold and the dark; thanks to the sun for heat and...
Believers, and Not Just Thinkers
Jesus is the resurrection and the life. It is enough for us to be believers in him to conquer death. The problem of religion does not lie in those who are not believers but in those who are believers. It does not lie in the publican, but in the Pharisee that looks...
Save What Is Lost, This Is What It Is About
Jesus, the Son of Man, has come to seek and to save what is lost. No, there are no lost cases for him. St. Luke tells us that Zacchaeus is a chief publican and a wealthy man. This means that, in the eyes of others, no one can save him. For he is a publican, that is...
Just Servants of the Holy Lord
Jesus is the image of the all-just God who alone is good. Before him and before God, no one is just. Last Sunday’s theme on prayer is back today. For Jesus tells the parable of the Pharisee and the publican. The two are in the temple to pray. And St. Luke lets us...
Cries of Those Who Are Poor for Justice
Jesus is the help that comes from above. He is at once the unflagging prayer for the poor and the saving answer to their cries. Jesus tells his disciples the parable of the widow and the judge. He wants to teach them how they should pray to the one who hears the...