Ross Dizon

Go around Towns and Villages as God Wants

Jesus has come so he may go around towns and villages and preach by words and by works, and as the Father shows him in prayer, the Good News.  Before he makes up his mind to go around all of Galilee, Jesus goes off alone to a forlorn place to pray.  He does so before...

Destroy the Idols that Make Us Slaves

Jesus, the only Son who is in the bosom of the Father, makes him known. For us to see him, then, is to see the Father, which gives us reason to destroy our idols.  Jesus teaches in the synagogue of Capernaum. He amazes those who hear him, since he strikes them as one...

Take Seriously the Good News of God

Jesus is the Good News of God in person. To take seriously this Good News means to have, for sure, life, bliss, salvation. There are those, of course, who do not take seriously Jesus’ proclamation that the kingdom of God has come. They say that if it were true, things...

Fill Our Life with Jesus Christ

Jesus is the bread of life.  Those whose life is full of him have their fill.  To go to him and to believe in him is to hunger and thirst no more. To fill their life with Jesus Christ is one of the things that missionaries are to remember (SV.EN:276). And all those,...
Bear Much Fruit Means Die with Christ

Breath that Creates, Gives Life and Renews

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has come so that his followers, his sheep, may have life and have it to the full.  He passes on to them his breath. In the Acts of the Apostles, fifty days separate Pentecost from Easter.  But that is not so in John’s Gospel that we hear or...

Bear Much Fruit Means Die with Christ

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...

Bear Much Fruit Means Die with Christ

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...

Bear Much Fruit Means Die with Christ

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...

Bear Much Fruit Means Die with Christ

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. ...

Bear Much Fruit Means Die with Christ

Revive the Faith of The Faltering

Jesus feeds us with his word and his body and blood.  He makes us live and seeks to revive the faith of those who falter.  For sure, Jesus did revive the hopes of those who longed to see their homeland free from the rule of Rome.  If he did not do so, the crowds would...

Bear Much Fruit Means Die with Christ

Send Jesus, Send the Disciples

Jesus is God’s Sent One to announce the Good News to the poor.  And the Sent One, in turn, does not hesitate to send his disciples. Jesus tells his disciples that for him to send them is to give them a share in his own mission.  For he says to them, “As the Father has...

Bear Much Fruit Means Die with Christ

Risen from among Those Who Are Dead

Jesus, who died on the cross, has risen.  Hence, we cannot look for him among the dead, but among the living. Early in the morning, following the Sabbath right after Jesus’ death and burial, Mary of Magdala goes to the tomb.  Knowing what Mark and Luke say, we can...

Bear Much Fruit Means Die with Christ

Feed Other Humans First of All

Jesus seeks to feed us with his body and blood, so that we may have life to the full.  He loves us, yes, to the end. For sure, the thirty pieces of silver cannot but feed even more Judas Iscariot’s greed.  But does the traitor sell Jesus for a trifle, asking no high...