The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal High Priest, 23 May 2024
Hebrews 10:11-18 <*{{{{>< + <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Mark 14:22-25
Praise and glory to You,
Lord Jesus Christ for reminding us
this Thursday after the Pentecost
of Your call for us to be like You,
our Eternal High Priest,
in gentleness and mercy,
kindness and love;
and the good news is
all these are already in us
when we were baptized
to share in Your priesthood
the Father had promised
to Jeremiah fulfilled in You:
The holy Spirit also testifiesd to us, for after saying: “This is the covenant I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord: ‘I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them upon their minds,'” he also says: “Their sins and their evildoing I will remember no more.” Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer offering for sin.
Hebrews 10:15-18
Two Sundays ago,
we celebrated Your Ascension
that is more relational in nature
than spatial, the leveling up of
our relationships with You and
with one another that is affirmed
today by this feast of You,
Jesus our Eternal High Priest
and Mediator when You
established the New Covenant
on that Last Supper:
As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”
Mark 14:22-24
These words, dear Jesus
You fulfilled on the Cross
the following Good Friday;
in Your self-offering on the Cross,
You fulfilled the temple worship
by putting an end to
those bloody sacrifices,
rites and rituals of the Old that
were empty due to the sins
and weaknesses of
the priests and people;
in Your dying on the Cross
as fulfillment of Your words at
the Last Supper as our
Eternal High Priest and Mediator,
You have consecrated us as
Your holy people;
this perfect offering
is what we celebrate,
what we remember,
what we make present daily
in the Holy Eucharist;
help us, therefore, dear Jesus,
to be faithful and true to You
by being more loving with one
another as we face the Father
in the Sacrifice of the Mass
in You, through You and with You
Jesus by sharing in Your Priesthood,
help us laity and priests alike
to be true in our witnessing,
in our loving sacrifices for each other.
Every priest stands daily at his ministry, offering frequently those same sacrifices that can never take away sins. But this one offered one sacrifice for sins, and took his seat forever at the right hand of God. For by one offering he has made perfect those who are being consecrated.
Hebrews 10:11-12, 14
Forgive us,
Your priests and bishops,
dearest Jesus
whom You have called
to act in "persona Christi"
but have become more like
the priests of the Old Testament
so concerned with our
name and position,
power and wealth;
forgive us, Lord Jesus,
when we Your priests and bishops
look and move like matinee idols
or think and speak like managers
than pastors of souls;
forgive us, O Lord,
when we Your priests and bishops
have no more time to kneel daily
be with You in prayers
because we prefer
to socialize and party
with the rich and powerful
that we miserably fail
in finding You
among the poor
and the suffering.
Transform us
priests and bishops
to be more like You
Jesus Christ,
our Eternal Priest and Mediator
in thinking,
in speaking,
in doing,
in living,
most especially in loving.
Let us not forget
that You saved mankind
by suffering and dying on the Cross,
not with with programs
and activities
because Your glory
can only be found on the Cross
where death is conquered
and led to life and light.
Amen.
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