Ross Dizon

Burden and Sorrow of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Jesus is God-with-us.  He stays with us all along the way that we travel.  He finds bearable the burden that we turn out to be. The disciples cannot haul in the net due to the huge number of fish caught in it.  But surely, it is a burden that makes the fishermen...

Palpable, Touchable, Visible, True

Jesus makes palpable God, whom no one has seen or touched.  True disciples do not rest till their Teacher is palpable to them. Jesus knows that when he shows up risen, his disciples will think they see a ghost.  They will want him to be palpable.  That is why he has...

Live and Die as Jesus Christ Did

The risen Jesus is at God’s right hand and intercedes for us.  His love enables us to live and die as he did. There are in the New Testament paradoxical teachings.  These ideas, for instance, strike us as odd:  to die is to live, loss is gain, to serve is to rule,...

Palms of Martyrdom, of Witness

Jesus is the faithful witness and the King of martyrs.  To welcome him means to follow him to the end with palms in our hands. Of the four gospel writers, only John mentions palms.  Matthew and Mark speak only of “branches.”  Luke, for his part, says nothing at all...
Cries of Those Who Are Poor for Justice

Increase Faith and Stir It into Flame

Jesus Christ is the leader and perfecter of our faith (Heb 12, 2). It is right, then, that we ask him to increase always our faith. Faith is a divine gift (Rom 12, 3; Phil 1, 29; 2 Pt 1, 1). That is, God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit gives it to us. We ask it, then, from...

Cries of Those Who Are Poor for Justice

Care and Concern for Those in Need

Jesus fulfills the law and the prophets. He teaches us by words and deeds to care for the poor, their misery making us ill. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus teaches us to care for those who are poor. Though we can safely say that the helpless beggar is resigned...

Cries of Those Who Are Poor for Justice

Serve God Alone and Not Money

Jesus shows us the way to serve God absolutely and not money ever. Do we Christians, and Vincentians besides, really learn from him? Jesus does not love money. He is not all like those who sneer at him on hearing him say, “You cannot serve both God and wealth.”...

Cries of Those Who Are Poor for Justice

Mercy That We Find Hard to Understand

Jesus Christ is the incarnation and personification of divine mercy (DM 2). Dwelling among us, he hopes that God’s mercy will rub on us human beings. Sinners draw near to listen to Jesus. He welcomes them, and he even eats with them, which bothers the Pharisees and...

Cries of Those Who Are Poor for Justice

Learning Well from Our Master and Teacher

Jesus Christ is our one Teacher. Those who do not stop learning from him, following him on the way of the cross, are truly his disciples. Great crowds travel with Jesus. But quality matters to him more than quantity. He wants disciples who do not only go with him but...

Cries of Those Who Are Poor for Justice

Lowly Followers of Jesus Christ

Jesus is the definitive proof that God lifts up the lowly and repays those who reaches out to them. Our Teacher calls us to the same lowliness and outreach. Jesus is a guest of one of the leading Pharisees. In other words, he is not among the lowly folks. Rather,...

Cries of Those Who Are Poor for Justice

Narrowness to Go Through and Overcome

Jesus himself goes in through the narrow gate.   His example gives us strength to go through and overcome all narrowness. Someone asks Jesus, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” The question, in other words, is whether there is wideness in God’s mercy or...

Cries of Those Who Are Poor for Justice

Courageous, Watchful, Ready, Faithful

Jesus is the leader of those to whom the Father sees fit to give the kingdom.  Those who truly belong to him are courageous, watchful, ready, faithful. “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours,” taught Jesus earlier.  Now he says that such...

Pin It on Pinterest

FAMVIN

FREE
VIEW