Ross Dizon

Ambitions that Are Selfish and Unfettered

Christ on the cross is the last of all and the servant of all.  He puts to shame all those with ambitions to be the first and the greatest.  Like most of us, the disciples of Jesus, for sure, have their ambitions.  After all, they, too, have the right to be better....

Proclaim that Jesus Is the Christ

Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed.  And we proclaim this, of course, one with Peter and all the Church. Peter gets to proclaim that Jesus is the Christ.  And the latter tells his disciples right away to speak about it to no one.  He then teaches them that...

Groan while Yearning to Be Free

Jesus is the one who makes us truly free.  He cannot but groan as he sees that we do not yet enjoy the freedom he wants us to have.  Jesus heaves a groan as he heals a man who is deaf and cannot talk.  Such a groan may be a sign of his compassion.  It may also mean it...

Clean and Not Clean in the Eyes of God

Jesus is the one who sees God.  Hence, he cannot but be the eldest among many brothers and sisters who are clean of heart. Those God has chosen are not to add to what he commands or subtract from it.  Does not this make known that his commands must stay plain, clean,...
Set Free, out of Love, the Oppressed

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. ...

Set Free, out of Love, the Oppressed

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...

Set Free, out of Love, the Oppressed

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...

Set Free, out of Love, the Oppressed

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...

Set Free, out of Love, the Oppressed

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...

Set Free, out of Love, the Oppressed

Dead to Sin and Living for God in Christ

Jesus is the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in him, though they die, will not stay dead.  In him they will live for God and be dead to sin. There cannot be dead folks among those who believe in Jesus.  This flies in the face of my sorrow due to the...

Set Free, out of Love, the Oppressed

Open the Eyes of Those Who Cannot See

Jesus is the light of the world.  That is why to open the eyes of the blind is part of the task that his Father has entrusted to him. Jesus decides on his own to open the eyes of a man blind from birth.  The latter gets to see so clearly that he recognizes him to be a...

Set Free, out of Love, the Oppressed

Visions of a Better Future of Glory

Jesus is the risen Son of Man.  And he is so, for, though the Son of God, he was a servant and obeyed to death on the cross.  He makes our visions of glory come true. Peter does not like what Jesus says about his visions of what is to come.  They seem terrible to...

Set Free, out of Love, the Oppressed

Tempt Someone Is Not What God Does

Jesus let the devil tempt him just as we are tempted, though he did not sin.  Hence, he can feel for us who are weak, and lift us up. James makes clear that God does not tempt us.  We are tempted by our own evil desire. Today’s first reading and gospel, though,...

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