The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Solemnity of Sts. Peter & Paul, Apostles, 29 June 2023
Acts 12:1-11 ><}}}}*> 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18 ><}}}}*> Matthew 16:13-19
The lithography of Sts. Peter and Paul in Missale Romanum by unknown artist with initials F.M.S (19. cent.) printed by Typis Friderici Pustet. (Renáta Sedmáková | us.fotolia.com)
Praise and glory to you,
Lord Jesus Christ
for this Solemnity of your
two great Apostles,
Sts. Peter and Paul
whom you have both
chosen to be the solid rock
on which your Church is built,
remaining forever her
protectors and guides;
to them Rome owes her greatness
when you, O Lord, led them to
sanctify that capital of the
ancient Empire
with their martyrdom
to become the center of
the Christian world
until now.
In their great efforts
of fulfilling your mission,
there emerged a most unique
even unlikely partnership
in making you known,
O Lord, teaching us
that important lesson
that discipleship is always
being together with others
being sent on a mission,
never alone nor simply a case
of "me and Jesus"
as we would always
insist.
Teach us, dear Jesus,
to be like Sts. Peter and Paul
focused only in you to overcome
our many differences in the Church;
help us to set aside
our biases and prejudices
to always find you
as the very essence
of our discipleship;
may we learn to
respect each other
by finding you in
each co-worker
and with everyone
we serve and meet.
May our lives
mirror your true person,
Lord Jesus,
so that people are not
misled to who
you really are.
How inspiring
that both Sts. Peter and Paul
were imprisoned for preaching
your name and yet,
no bars nor chains not
even death held them captives
in spreading your good news;
in fact, some of the finest
parts of the New Testament
were composed when both
Apostles were in prison;
what a grace for us today
their many letters
still sound
so true and relevant,
providing us compass
in charting our ways
in a world so divided
and so sick with
individualism, relativism,
and materialism.
Help us, dear Jesus,
to break free from
the many prisons
that hold us from freely
witnessing your loving service
for others like Sts. Peter
and Paul; set us free, Lord,
from the chains that hold us
and make us fearful
of standing by our faith
and of your teachings
in this time of total disrespect
for life; most of all, free us, O Lord,
like St. Peter from our prison cells
of indifference in the face of
continued erosion of
marriage and family
as envisioned by God
since creation.
Dear Jesus,
make us realize
that every present moment
is the time of our departure;
may we live fully at your service
by keeping the faith in you
like Sts. Peter and Paul.
Amen.
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