Gladden our souls, Lord…

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 30 January 2024
2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14, 24-25, 30-19:3 ><}}}}*> + <*{{{{>< Mark 5:21-43

Today, O God,
I join the psalmist
in his prayer to you:
"Incline your ear, O Lord;
answer me, for I am afflicted and poor.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord,
I lift up my soul"
(Psalm 86:1, 3-4).

Gladden our hearts,
gladden our souls, Father
 in Jesus Christ
your Son;
many mothers
are now grieving
over their lost sons or
daughters to sickness
and accidents;
like David in the first reading,
it does not matter what kind of
a son or a daughter
one's children
may have been;
their death is always
a terrible loss,
a most unfair and unkind
one when parents should
have gone first
ahead of children.

You alone,
Lord Jesus Christ,
can comfort and gladden
our souls amid our many
griefs and miseries;
you alone, Jesus,
can stop our internal bleeding
for the many pains and hurts
within us we silently
endure like that woman in today's gospel
afflicted with hemorrhages
for 12 years;
raise us up, Jesus,
from the pits of
our agonies and slow deaths,
bring back to life
those losing zest of living
because of betrayals and
infidelities,
those in countless despair
of failures and frustrations.

Dear Jesus,
we pray for those who hide
all their pains and sufferings
as they forge on daily in life,
keeping the faith in you as they
try to make ends meet and
most especially struggling
to fulfill their promises of life
and brighter future
 for their loved ones
gladly awaiting their
coming home.
Amen.