Ross Dizon

Emmanuel, That Is to Say, God-with-Us

Jesus, the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, is Emmanuel, God-with-us.  He is with us always, until the end. The first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew proclaims that Jesus is Emmanuel, God-with-us.  And the last chapter narrates...

Defend Those Who Are Poor and Helpless

Jesus lives.  That is why they see him and live those who believe in him, and love him.  The Spirit of truth does not fail to defend them. Jesus takes leave of his disciples.  For comes the hour for him to give his body up and to shed his blood.  Hence, they are sad...

Splendor of Christ on the Cross

Hanging on the cross, Jesus is clothed with the splendor of self-emptying love.  He thus is the source of blessings. Jesus was deeply troubled as he told his disciples that one of them would betray him.  This and the thought that he would soon suffer and die must have...

Grasp What Jesus Is, What He Says and Does

Jesus who is close to the Father’s heart makes him known to us.  It is crucial that we grasp what Jesus is, what he says and does. Those to whom Jesus speaks do not grasp what he teaches by way of a figure of speech.  And they are not the disciples but the Pharisees. ...
Foolish and Slow to Believe, and Afraid

Foolish and Slow to Believe, and Afraid

Jesus alone is Lord, the Most High, for there is no better and more lowly servant of all than he.  Hence, to mistake his greatness with that of the world is to be foolish before him. As it turns out, Jesus is right to ask his disciples to tell no one that he is the...

Foolish and Slow to Believe, and Afraid

Rumors, No; Intimate Knowledge, Yes

Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed.  To know and confess him so is to go beyond rumors; it is to live and die like him. There are rumors that Jesus is John the Baptist who is back to life.  Or is Elijah who is expected to come before the Day of the Lord...

Foolish and Slow to Believe, and Afraid

Gestures and Words That Heal and Proclaim

Jesus opens our ears and makes loose the strings of our tongues.  He enables us to make gestures that heal and speak words that proclaim God’s kingdom. Amazing magic for the sake of a deaf and mute in a place where pagans live?  If this is what Jesus’ gestures make us...

Foolish and Slow to Believe, and Afraid

Fresh Start in Life for Us Men and Women

Jesus shows us the new that one has yet to see or hear or think of.  To be his disciples, we have to make a fresh start. The Pharisees and scribes ask Jesus why his disciples do not follow the tradition of the elders.  It is because the disciples eat with hands that...

Foolish and Slow to Believe, and Afraid

Rise or Fall, Live or Die, Yes or No

Jesus comes down from heaven and dwells among us.  He takes up our flesh of death to give us spirit and life.  He wants us to rise. The Jews were the ones who grumbled before when Jesus said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”  Those who grumble now are...

Foolish and Slow to Believe, and Afraid

Bearers of Joy and Hope That Flows Over

Jesus’ is the power that frees us from the sadness and hopelessness of death.  He wants us to be bearers of joy and hope like his Mother. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of those who make up the Church to bring Christ to others.  And he is the light of the...

Foolish and Slow to Believe, and Afraid

Perishable, Yet Saving Just the Same

The Word becomes flesh; the imperishable, perishable.  And he shares in our humanity so that we may share in his divinity. Jesus says that he is the bread that came from heaven, which makes the Jews grumble.  They are sure that he is from the same land as they and as...

Foolish and Slow to Believe, and Afraid

Seekers of the Food that Lasts Forever

Jesus is the bread and drink of life.  The seekers who go to him and believe in him will have their fill; they will never hunger or thirst. The crowds know that Jesus did not go in the boat with his disciples.  That is why those who look for him go to the place where...

Foolish and Slow to Believe, and Afraid

Loaves and Fish of the Poor for the Poor

Jesus is the answer in full that the Father gives to our prayers.  And we poor people ask him to give us this day our daily loaves of bread. Jesus draws many people due to the signs he has performed for the sick.  But he seems to draw more people after going up on the...