Our Gospel for January 31. The Healing of the Gerasene Demoniac.

Mark 5:1-20

Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the sea,to the territory of the Gerasenes.When he got out of the boat,at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him.
The man had been dwelling among the tombs,and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain.
In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains,but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed,and no one was strong enough to subdue him.
Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones.
Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and prostrated himself before him, crying out in a loud voice,
“What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
I adjure you by God, do not torment me!”
(He had been saying to him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”)
He asked him, “What is your name?”
He replied, “Legion is my name. There are many of us.”And he pleaded earnestly with him not to drive them away from that territory.

Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside.
And they pleaded with him,“Send us into the swine. Let us enter them.” And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine. The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea, where they were drowned.
The swineherds ran away and reported the incident in the town
and throughout the countryside.
And people came out to see what had happened.
As they approached Jesus,they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion, sitting there clothed and in his right mind. And they were seized with fear. Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened to the possessed man and to the swine. Then they began to beg him to leave their district.
As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him. But Jesus would not permit him but told him instead, “Go home to your family and announce to them
all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.” Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.


Pinagaling ni Jesus ang Inalihan ng Demonyo

Marcos 5:1-20

 1Dumating sila sa kabilang ibayo ng lawa sa lupain ng mga taga-Gadara. 2Pagkababa ni Jesus mula sa bangka agad siyang sinalubong ng isang lalaking galing sa mga libingan na may karumal-dumal na espiritu. 3Siya ay may tirahan sa mga libingan at walang makagapos sa kaniya kahit na sa pamamagitan ng mga tanikala. 4Madalas siyang lagyan ng mga pangaw at tanikala ngunit nilalagot niya ang tanikala at pinagsisisira ng mga pangaw. Walang sinumang makapagpaamo sa kaniya. 5Palagi siyang sumisigaw, araw at gabi, sa mga bundok at sa mga libingan at sinusugatan niya ng bato ang kaniyang sarili.

 
 6Subalit pagkakita niya kay Jesus mula sa malayo, siya ay tumakbo at sinamba niya si Jesus. 7Sumigaw siya nang malakas: Ano ang kinalaman ko sa iyo, Jesus, Anak ng kataas-taasang Diyos? Ipangako mo sa Diyos na huwag mo akong pahirapan! 8Sapagkat sinabi sa kaniya ni Jesus: Lumabas ka sa taong iyan, karumal-dumal na espiritu!

 
 9Tinanong siya ni Jesus: Ano ang pangalan mo?
   Siya ay sumagot: Ang pangalan ko ay Hukbo, sapagkat marami kami. 10Nagmakaawa siya nang husto sa kaniya na huwag silang palayasin sa lupaing iyon.

 
 11Doon sa may libis ng bundok ay mayroong isang malaking kawan ng mga baboy na nanginginain. 12Nagmakaawa ang lahat ng mga demonyo na nagsasabi: Papuntahin mo kami sa mga baboy upang sa kanila kami pumasok. 13Kaagad silang pinayagan ni Jesus. Ang mga karumal-dumal na espiritu ay lumabas sa lalaki at pumasok sa mga baboy at mabilis na tumakbong palusong tuloy-tuloy sa lawa. At lahat ay nalunod sa lawa. Ang kawan ng mga baboy ay halos dalawang libo ang bilang.

 
 14Ang mga nagpapakain ng mga baboy ay nagmamadaling tumakbo at ipinamalita ito sa lungsod at sa kabukiran. Pumunta roon ang mga tao upang tingnan kung ano ang nangyari. 15Lumapit sila kay Jesus at nakita ang taong inalihan ng mga demonyo na nakaupo, nakadamit at nasa wastong pag-iisip. Siya ang nagkaroon ng isang Hukbo at sila ay natakot. 16Isinalaysay sa kanila ng mga nakasaksi ang nangyari sa inalihan ng mga demonyo at patungkol sa baboy. 17Nagsimula silang mamanhik kay Jesus na umalis sa kanilang lupain.

 
 18Nang sumakay na si Jesus sa bangka, namanhik ang inalihan ng mga demonyo na isama siya. 19Hindi siya pinayagan ni Jesus. Sa halip ay sinabi niya: Umuwi ka sa iyong bahay, sa iyong pamilya. Ibalita mo sa kanila kung ano ang ginawa sa iyo ng Panginoon at kung papaano ka niya kinahabagan. 20Siya ay umalis at nagsimulang maghayag sa Decapolis kung ano ang ginawa sa kaniya ni Jesus. Ang lahat ay namangha.

Our Gospel for January 30. The Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5:1-12a

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:

The Beatitudes*

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn,for they will be comforted.Blessed are the meek,for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.Blessed are the clean of heart,for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”


Ang Pangangaral sa Bundok

Mateo 5:1-12

 1Pagkakita niya sa napakaraming tao, umahon siya sa bundok. Pagkaupo niya, nilapitan siya ng kaniyang mga alagad. 2Nagsalita siya upang turuan ang kaniyang mga alagad. Sinabi niya:
    3Pinagpala ang mga mapagpakumbabang-loob sapagkat
   sa kanila ang paghahari ng langit. 4Pinagpala ang mga
   nahahapis sapagkat sila ay aaliwin. 5Pinagpala ang mga
   maaamo sapagkat mamanahin nila ang lupa. 6Pinagpala
   ang mga nagugutom at mga nauuhaw sa katuwiran
   sapagkat sila ay bubusugin. 7Pinagpala ang mga
   mahabagin sapagkat kahahabagan sila. 8Pinagpala ang
   mga may dalisay na puso sapagkat makikita nila ang
   Diyos. 9Pinagpala ang mga mapagpayapa sapagkat
   tatawagin silang mga anak ng Diyos. 10Pinagpala ang
   mga inuusig dahil sa katuwiran sapagkat sa kanila ang
   paghahari ng langit.
    11Pinagpala kayo kung kayo ay inaalimura ng mga tao
   at pinag-uusig at pinagwiwikaan ng lahat ng uri ng
   masasamang salita na pawang kasinungalingan dahil sa
   akin. 12Magalak at magsaya kayong totoo sapagkat
   malaki ang inyong gantimpala sa langit.

Forgiveness.

Quiet Time Requires Forgiveness by Rick Warren

“And forgive us our sins as we also forgive those who have sinned against us.” Matthew 6:7-9 (NCV) "When I hurt you, that causes guilt. When you hurt me, I feel resentment. Those two things can be resolved with forgiveness." You will not get very far in life unless you settle the relational issues that you’ve been holding on to. The prayer of forgiveness says, “Forgive us our sins as we also forgive those who have sinned against us.” We live in a broken world and none of us are perfect. In fact, we’re all selfish. I think more about me than I think about you. You think more about you than you think about me. And so we hurt each other, sometimes unintentionally and sometimes on purpose. When I hurt you, that causes guilt. When you hurt me, I feel resentment. Those two things can be resolved with forgiveness. The prayer of forgiveness is the only way to get rid of the emotional garbage of guilt and resentment. You will never reach the goals you set in your life if you’re carrying the extra baggage of guilt and resentment. They slow you down. God doesn’t want that for you. He wants you to ask for forgiveness when you hurt others and offer forgiveness to those who have hurt you so you can be freed to move forward. Now let’s say you let go of the guilt, but hold on to the resentment; you accept God’s forgiveness but you don’t forgive anybody else. You’ll still move forward at half the speed because you’re carrying the baggage of resentment. On the other hand, let’s say you let go of the resentment and forgive other people but you don’t forgive yourself. Then you’ll still be carrying the baggage of guilt that will keep you from reaching your goals. You have to let both of them go. How do you do that? Every day you need to give your guilt and resentment to God because new hurts come up every day. Then receive God’s forgiveness and release the resentment you’re holding against those who have hurt you. As James 3:18 says, “Those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness” (NLT). Every day you are either planting seeds of conflict with the people in your life or seeds of peace. When you plant seeds of peace you reap a harvest of goodness, which means you will reach your goals because God is going to bless your life.

Our Gospel for January 29. The Calming of a Storm at Sea.

Mark 4:35-41
  
On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples:
“Let us cross to the other side.”
Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was.
And other boats were with him.
A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat,so that it was already filling up.Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.They woke him and said to him,“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”He woke up,rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!”The wind ceased and there was great calm.Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified?Do you not yet have faith?”
They were filled with great awe and said to one another,
“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”

Pinatigil ni Jesus ang Bagyo.

Marcos 4:35-41 
35Sa araw na iyon, nang gumabi na, sinabi ni Jesus sa kaniyang mga alagad: Tumawid tayo sa kabilang ibayo ng dagat. 36Kaya nga, nang napauwi na nila ang napakaraming tao, sumakay sila sa bangka na kinalululanan ni Jesus. Ngunit may kasabay siyang ibang maliliit na bangka. 37At dumating ang malakas na bagyo. Sinasalpok ng mga alon ang bangka na anupa't halos mapuno ito ng tubig. 38Si Jesus ay nasa hulihan at natutulog na may unan. Ginising nila siya at sinabi: Guro, bale wala ba sa iyo na tayo ay mapahamak?
 
39Pagbangon ni Jesus, kaniyang sinaway ang hangin at sinabi: Pumanatag ka! At sinabi niya sa alon: Pumayapa ka! Tumigil ang hangin at nagkaroon ng lubos na kapayapaan.
 
40Sinabi niya sa kaniyang mga alagad: Bakit kayo lubhang natakot? Paano nagkagayon na wala kayong pananampalataya?
 
41Nagkaroon nga sila ng matinding takot at nagsabi sila sa isa't isa. Sino nga ba ito? Maging ang hangin at alon ay sumusunod sa kaniya.

Our Gospel for January 28. The Parable of the Mustard Seed.

Mark 4: 26-34

Jesus said to the crowds:
“This is how it is with the Kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,for the harvest has come.” He said, “To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

Ang Talinghaga ng Binhing Tumutubo at ng Butil ng Mustasa.
 
Marcos 4:26-34
26Sinabi ni Jesus: Ang paghahari ng Diyos ay katulad sa isang tao na nagtanim ng binhi sa lupa. 27Siya ay natutulog at bumabangon araw at gabi. Ang binhi ay sumisibol at lumalaki na hindi niya nalalaman kung papaano. 28Ito ay sapagkat ang lupa mismo ang nagpapabunga sa mga binhi, una muna ang usbong, saka uhay, pagkatapos ay mga hitik na butil sa uhay. 29Kapag hinog na ang bunga, kaagad na ipinagagapas niya ito sapagkat dumating na ang anihan.
 
30Gayundin, sinabi ni Jesus: Sa ano natin itutulad ang paghahari ng Diyos o sa anong talinghaga natin ihahambing ito? 31Katulad ito ng binhi ng mustasa na itinatanim sa lupa. Ito ang pinakamaliit sa lahat ng mga binhi na itinatanim sa lupa. 32Kapag naitanim at lumago, ito ay nagiging pinakamalaki sa mga gulay. Lumalago ang mga sanga nito na anupa't ang mga ibon sa himpapawid ay makakapamugad sa lilim nito.

 
 33Nangaral sa kanila si Jesus ng salita sa pamamagitan ng maraming talinghagang tulad nito, ayon sa kakayahan nilang makinig. 34Hindi siya nagsalita sa kanila maliban sa pamamagitan ng talinghaga. Ngunit ipinapaliwanag niya nang bukod sa kaniyang mga alagad ang lahat ng mga bagay.