Ross Dizon

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...

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...
Seventy Times Seven: to Live Is to Forgive

Seventy Times Seven: to Live Is to Forgive

Jesus fulfills the law and the prophets.  That is why he corrects Peter and says that we have to forgive seventy times seven. We say, “Three strikes and you are out,” though we hear, too, “One is enough, two is too much.”  So, seven is not a mean thing.  If it seems...

Seventy Times Seven: to Live Is to Forgive

Agree and Disagree in the Church

Jesus is in our midst as we gather together in his name.  It is due to him that we agree with one other and with our Father in heaven. It is enough that two agree, that two or three gather....  So, in the first place, we do not need a megachurch.  Nor is it needed, in...

Seventy Times Seven: to Live Is to Forgive

Lose and Gain, Die and Live with Christ

With his teaching and life, Jesus proves that to lose is to gain, to die is to live.  To belong to him is to embody this truth. Jesus calls fishermen Peter and Andrew.  Right away, the brothers, as though they have nothing to lose, leave their nets and follow him. ...

Seventy Times Seven: to Live Is to Forgive

Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven

Jesus has the key to the kingdom.  He is God’s Servant who comes to serve, to open and close.  He gives to those who are his own the keys of service. It looks like Peter knows quite well what people say about Jesus.  But he does not go where they are, for he says that...

Seventy Times Seven: to Live Is to Forgive

Strangers, Foreigners, There Are No More

Jesus makes one of the citizens and the strangers.  In him, there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female. Needs do not know borders, of nation or religion.  That is why both Jews and strangers have needs.  So, it does not surprise...

Seventy Times Seven: to Live Is to Forgive

Alone, Without Jesus We Do Sink

Jesus does not leave us alone especially in tough times.  He stretches out his hand and catches us, so that we may not sink. The disciples go ahead by themselves in a boat.  Meanwhile, Jesus dismisses the crowds.  He, then, goes up on the mountain by himself to pray. ...

Seventy Times Seven: to Live Is to Forgive

Respond to More than Just Our Needs

Jesus is a man for others.  That is why he cannot but respond to their needs.  To be his disciple means to follow his example. The crowds do not leave Jesus alone.  They must take him for someone who is ready to respond to their needs. And those who go to Jesus do not...

Seventy Times Seven: to Live Is to Forgive

Reign of God and His Justice First

Jesus teaches us how to pray. He wants us to ask first that the Father’s name be praised, his reign come and his will be done. Self-interest plays no part in Solomon’s prayer. He only asks for wisdom to reign. And the Lord does what he asks. So, Solomon knows what to...

Seventy Times Seven: to Live Is to Forgive

Kindly Power that Gives Us Hope

Kindly is Jesus, slow to anger and full of mercy. He gives us the good hope for salvation, peace and security. Every cloud has a silver lining. So, it is not all bad that the devil brings evil into the world that God created good. But the kindly Son of Man does not...