The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Feast of Sts. Philip & James the Less, Apostles, 03 May 2023
1 Corinthians 15:1-8 ><))))"> + ><))))"> + ><))))"> John 14:6-14
Photo by author, sunrise at Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.
Thank you, dearest Lord Jesus Christ
for the gift of two Apostles whose
feast we celebrate today,
St. Philip and St. James the Less;
thank you in giving us examples
to personally be near you,
to be one with you
and to be one in you.
How lovely it is to recall
when Philip along with Andrew
approached and asked you
where you stayed and you told them
to "come and see"; what they saw
and experienced must be so wonderful
that Philip was so convinced in
calling Nathanael to come and see you
whom he had recognized as the Messiah.
In being your apostles,
Philip and James remind us
of the need to be close
and familiar with you to
discover your true identity,
to enter into a personal contact
with you by listening, responding
and communing in you Jesus daily,
of the need to dwell in you always.
During your last supper,
you expressed clearly how
the word "dwelling" means -
intimacy and oneness in the Father
in you and with one another also
in you, dear Jesus.
Your cousin James who eventually
became the bishop of Jerusalem
practiced this meaning of dwelling
in you by working to resolve the
the tensions among the Jewish
and Hellenist converts to
Christianity; how beautiful that
the early Church lived in
harmony with each other,
rooted in you, Jesus,
our home,
our dwelling.
Amen.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 02 May 2023
Reflections on the occasion of my 25th year in the Priesthood
With our Bishop, Most Rev. Dennis C. Villarojo, DD after our anniversary and his birthday Mass in his private chapel; from left Fr. Romy Sasi, Fr. Arnel Camacho, Fr. Leonard Hernandez, the Bishop, Fr. Ed Rodriguez, and me. Not in photo was Fr. Joshua Panganiban who was sick and another classmate who had left the ministry more than five years ago. Photo by Fr. Leonard.
I first entered the seminary as a second year high school in 1979. When we were about to graduate in 1982, I was told to leave the seminary after failing admission to San Carlos Seminary due to the unfavorable results of my psychological exam. It was a very painful experience for me. It is only now on my 25th year of priesthood that I am coming to terms with that dark episode in my life. In fact, it is only now that I can admit it unashamed.
Making it doubly hard for me was when San Carlos Seminary Prefect of Discipline Msgr. Sunga refused to tell me the findings in my psychological exam except I would find it out as I moved on in life. And I think, I have found the reason. “It is the Lord!”
My classmates from UST AB Journalism class of 1986, from left, Lito Zulueta, Dante Santiago, Ellen Jurado-Cobarrubias, front Marie Ann, Luz Lopez Urquiola, Bel De Leon, beside me, Pia Pajarillo-Bantolo, Vilma Capellan, Rose Munoz-Landicho and Ross.
From that experience, I have realized that Christ comes to us even in the darkest moments of our lives. It is often when we have nothing, when we are empty that we are abundant in Christ. It is a mystery that continues to unfold until now! Difficult to explain fully. What was a setback and a dark spot for me before, that failure in my psychological exam has become more of a blessing later to me.
From the seminary, I went to the University of Sto. Tomas to pursue my first love, journalism. Everything happened so fast from UST where I had the chance to join the staff of the Varsitarian, covering the sports beat.
For my internship program, I trained at GMA-7 News to explore broadcast news. Immediately, I was amazed with the speed and timeliness of broadcast news with the constant clacking and ringing or sometimes whining of the UPI and PNA telex machines either from breaking news or when they ran out of newsprint reels. Luckily after graduation in 1986, I was hired by Ms. Tina Monzon-Palma as radio news writer for DZBB-AM and DWLS-FM.
With my co-staffers at the Varsitarian of UST, from left, Alane Ty, Jenny Bartolome, Sr. Gina Kuizon, Mother superior of RGS who was the assistant of Ms. Jesselyn G. Dela Cruz our Asst. Publications Director, Lito Zulueta of Inquirer, at the back are Romy the husband of Mam Jess and Jun Carnecer.
From a news writer in 1986, I became a reporter in 1988 covering the police beat on the night shift until 1990 when Ms. Jessica Soho recommended me to replace her in the the military/defense she used to cover after she was promoted to having a regular morning show, “Kape at Balita”.
I refused the position because I was so afraid of failing to measure up to Jessica’s stature but most of all, I felt not qualified of not having the voice for broadcast news. Yes, I have never wanted to be an “on-cam” reporter because I do not have the broadcast voice. Got no problem with that. That is why my application at GMA-7 was for a news writer. Again, it was the Lord I moved to become a police reporter at that time.
It is funny how I have always refused tasks that put me at the forefront since my GMA-7 days as a result of that “psych exam” in high school. Since college, I have found myself working best behind the scenes and behind the camera, working in hiddenness.
And yes, most of all, for lack of self-confidence. That is why I could not also believe when I felt God calling me to the priesthood again! And when I have become a priest, I have always wanted to be sent into the far-flung areas unnoticed but God would always bring me to major assignments like first, our diocesan school beside the Malolos Cathedral and now as chaplain of Our Lady of Fatima University with six campuses and two Medical Centers!
Me in our old newsroom filing my report after the graveyard shift 1989; photo by Mr. Jack Taylaran.
Going back to my vocation story… Every time I moved up in GMA-7 News, I would feel a reawakening or a resurging of my vocation. In the midst of the perks of the job plus the “celebrity” status, that was when I felt empty and unfulfilled! Something was missing in my life at the beginning I could not figure out. Tried to find fulfillment in everything including relationships but, I still felt empty. In fact, my vocation to the priesthood “pestered” me most when I was into relationships, feeling so praning with a voice within asking me “paano pagpapari mo?” As a result, I tried going back to prayers, then to Sunday Masses that slowly gave me some sense of fulfillment and peace within.
But after covering the December coup attempt of 1989 I felt something so strange deep within me: the more I felt empty within. Despite the adrenalin rush of covering the bloodiest coup attempt in our history, the thoughts of the priesthood would always cross my mind even without my thinking. It happened again the following year during coverage of the July 1990 earthquake. I was not feeling contented with my life. All I felt was a deeper longing for God and spiritual things like serving the people not just as a reporter. I felt God calling me to something more than covering the news but proclaiming the good news of Christ.
On my first day off after the July 1990 earthquake, I went to see my former minor seminary rector, Fr. Memeng Salonga for spiritual direction. He told me what I was feeling could be a vocation to the priesthood. My plan at that time was to wait for about five years before deciding for the priesthood. What if I were wrong again like what happened when I applied to San Carlos Seminary? Most of all, I had no more plans of becoming a priest. And I thought of running away from God like the Prophet Jonah, without realizing I ended up exactly like him!
It happened in January 1991 when it was my turn to join then Armed Forces chief Gen. Lisandro Abadia in his inspection of troops in northern Luzon. On our last stop at Laoag airport, one of the tires of our plane exploded upon landing!
It happened at the right side of the plane where I was seated near the window. Instinctively on seeing and hearing the explosion, I ducked my head down and braced myself for impact while deep inside me, I was frantically praying in silence to God, telling him, “magpapari na po ako, magpapari na po ako!”
That is why Jonah is my favorite character in the Old Testament as I felt like him inside the belly of PAF’s Fokker plane in 1991 trying to escape God’s call to the priesthood.
My GMA-7 colleagues, from left, JJ Jimeno, Jimmy Gil, Boy Sonza, Jun Fronda, Atty. Dan de Padua, Kelly B. Vergel de Dios, Marissa Flores, Jessica Soho, and Ben Cab of PNA.
When we got back to Manila late that afternoon, everybody was congratulating me, saying I could be the next Jessica Soho as I figured out in a near-fatal accident with the Chief-of-Staff. Behind my smiles was a firm resolve inside to finally follow Jesus. Weeks after Mt. Pinatubo spewed smokes in March, I gave my letter of resignation to Ms. Palma and simply told her, I was going back to the seminary to give my vocation a second chance. Mt. Pinatubo would finally erupt on June 12, 1991 when I was already inside the seminary.
My first year in the seminary, 1991, after resigning from GMA-7 News.
Life was not easy in the seminary. Temptations to leave the seminary and go back to work were most tempting during my first three years as I knew already where to go, what to do in life. Maybe about three times I have tried leaving the seminary while I was constantly warned of being sent out too!
The Portuguese have a saying that “God writes straight crooked lines.” True. Nine years after leaving the seminary in high school, I went back to the seminary in 1991 eventually being ordained in 1998. Now 25 years as a priest, I thank God for this most precious gift of priesthood. It is very difficult but most fulfilling.
As a priest and an individual, I have realized that if there are 8-billion people in the world, there are also 8-billion kinds of love God has specifically for each one of us. God loves us in the most personal manner. It is the greatest mystery in life we would never be able to solve because it is insolvable. We just have to live on it, be wrapped in his mystery that once in a while, like the beloved disciple amid the darkness of dawn, we would have glimpses of him, making us shout “It is the Lord!” Thank my dear friends for showing me always the Lord. Hope and pray you too have seen the Lord in me! God bless!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop & Doctor of the Church, 02 May 2023
Acts 11:19-26 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> John 10:22-30
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 22 March 2023.
God our loving Father,
fill us with your grace of
encouragement;
give us the grace to
encourage people especially
those discouraged to move
on with life,
those discouraged by setbacks
and other disappointments
in life,
those discouraged by sickness,
by poverty, by so many other
reasons that they lose hope
and trust in you.
Like the Apostle Barnabas
whose name means
"son of encouragement",
may we bring encouragement
to others especially in times of
uncertainties, of sufferings,
and difficulties; most of all, like
Barnabas who went out of his way
to look for Saul to bring him to
the Church, may we search for those
who have opted to stay out from our
circles to encourage them to join
the mainstream, to be involved in
spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ,
especially his truths now under
attack from people promoting modern
trends of heresies.
Gift us with the conviction and
clarity of St. Athanasius who
fought Arianism with such vigor and
passion until his death.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, 01 May 2023
Genesis 1:26-2:3 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< Matthew 13:54-58
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2023.
Glory and praise to you,
God our loving Father
in giving us a share
in your work in making
this world a better place;
despite our sinfulness and
turning away from you
in the time of Adam and Eve,
you still call us to participate
in your work of holiness
by calling St. Joseph to
marry the Blessed Virgin
Mary, the Mother of your Son
and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Despite the difficult situation
and work ahead of him,
St. Joseph obeyed you,
working in silence,
doing your will,
taking care of Jesus and Mary
that in his work,
people recognized
Jesus!
Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter’s son?”
Matthew 13:54-55
Like St. Joseph,
may we not find only
the labor and amount
of work to be done
in our tasks and jobs
but most of all,
that we may find
you in Jesus Christ,
the very meaning of
our life and work.
Amen.
Lawiswis Ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-01 ng Mayo 2023
Larawan kuha ng may-akda noong 2017, ang tinuturing “gawaan” ni San Jose sa Nazareth sa ilalim ng isang kapilya sa kanyang ngalan ngayon.
O San Jose na aming
patron ng mga manggagawa
bagama't marami ang hindi
nakaka-unawa sa iyong
mga ginawa
ng buong katahimikan
at katapatan
pangangalagaan
Panginoong Jesus
Manunubos natin
pati na Kanyang Ina,
ang Birheng Maria
upang matupad
banal na layon ng Diyos
kaligtasan ng sangkatauhan;
Bagama't walang sinsasaad
mga Banal na Kasulatan
sa iyong katauhan
maliban sa iyong pagiging
matuwid na mula sa lahi
ni Haring David,
sa iyo San Jose
mababanaagan ang
kabutihan at kadalisayan
ng kalooban nang si Jesus
ay kilalanin at ituring
"anak ng karpintero"
dahil marahil
kayo ay magkapareho
sa maraming aspekto.
Turuan kami
San Jose, aming pintakasi
higit sa mga gawain at
trabaho, aming hanapin
diwa at kahulugan ng buhay;
lahat ng pagpapagal
ay isang pag-aalay
sa bawat obra
si Kristo ang taglay
sa Kanya lahat nakasalalay
dahil Siya ang buhay
kaya kami ay tulungan
gumawa ng kabutihan
sa gitna ng katahimikan
ng aming paghahanap-buhay!
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Fourth Sunday in Easter-A, Good Shepherd Sunday, 30 April 2023
Acts 2:14, 36-41 ><}}}*> 1 Peter 2:20-25 ><}}}*> John 10:1-10
Photo by author, Baguio City, January 2018.
Beginning this Sunday, all our gospel readings will be about the major teachings of Jesus before his arrest that led to his Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Like the Apostles, we are reviewing the Lord’s final teachings in the light of Easter to fully appreciates its meaning and significance.
First of these teachings is the Lord’s declaration, “I am the good shepherd” (Jn. 10:11).
This is very significant in the fourth gospel where we find Jesus using the phrase I AM. It was not just reminiscent of God identifying himself as I AM WHO AM to Moses in the Old Testament but most of all, for Jesus it is his self-identification as the Christ, the Son of God whom his enemies refused to accept nor recognize.
More interesting in our gospel this Sunday is how the Good Shepherd discourse of Jesus actually began with his claim as being the gate or door through whom the sheep enter and pass through.
Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go our and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
Jesus spoke twice “I am the gate” in vv. 7 and 9 to emphasize and clarify that flock belongs to him, never to us. That is why Jesus is the gate, the only way through whom the sheep pass through. Hence, the true mark of a good shepherd is one who passes in Jesus as the gate, the owner of the sheep. Whoever does not pass through Jesus is a thief, a robber. A fake shepherd.
Nobody else could ever replace Jesus as Shepherd of the flock but he wants us all to be shepherds like him, passing in him our gate. This we can understand when we fast-forward to his third and final appearance to the seven disciples at Lake Tiberias after Easter. After their breakfast at the lakeshore, Jesus asked Simon Peter thrice, “Do you love me?” In every question, Peter professed his love for Jesus who asked him only for one thing, “feed my sheep” until finally adding at the end, “follow me” (cf. Jn. 21: 15-19). His call to follow him came after describing to Peter how he would suffer and die for him.
To pass in Jesus as the door to the sheep is first of all to love Jesus.
We all have experienced that loving calls for nearness which Nat King Cole described perfectly in his hit “The Nearness of You”. Whenever we love somebody, we want to be always near our beloved. The same desire we must possess if we truly love God. Furthermore, being near demands that we share feelings with the one we love – his/her joy is our joy, his/her pain is our pain. No wonder when we love somebody, we are willing to suffer. That is the first true mark of our love for Christ – we are willing to suffer for him and with him on the Cross!
That is the first meaning of Jesus is the gate of the sheep as the Good Shepherd: his Cross is our path to fulfillment, to true joy in this life and to eternal life eventually. We can only have a true relationship with him through others when we are willing to share in others’ sufferings like Jesus. Because of his Passion, Death and Resurrection, Jesus has turned suffering into a grace itself and a source of grace too because to suffer with somebody else is love. Anyone who avoids suffering does not love at all and can never be a shepherd like Jesus.
The second meaning of Jesus is the gate flows from that nearness with him – it is not enough to be close but most of all, to be obedient, submitting our total self to him in the same manner he obeyed the Father as expressed in St. Paul’s beautiful hymn found in Philippians 2:6-11.
How close can we come to Jesus is the sum of our obedience to him. Or to anyone we love. It is only in being obedient can we truly follow Christ and those we love. When we love, we are not presented right away with everything that could happen in our relationship and journey in life. Love is a wholesale, a package deal always without ifs nor buts. Nobody knows to where our lives would lead to as most couples could attest. That is why, more than being close and near to Jesus or our beloved, we need to be obedient too because that is the mark of true love when we humbly submit ourselves to the one we love.
Obedience calls us to go down to our lowest level because that is the highest mark of our love too. Recall how Jesus at their last supper “loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end” (Jn.13:1) by washing their feet. See how the Son of God went so low, lower than what slaves were not supposed to do, that is, wash feet of others. Jesus showed this in no uncertain terms the following Good Friday by dying on the Cross, of literally going under earth at his burial that led to his highest glory, his Resurrection.
That is why Jesus is the Good Shepherd by first being the gate because in him, we have shared in his pasch to share in his glory. As the gate or door, we enter in Jesus by sharing in his paschal mystery of loving, suffering, and following.
Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 2020.
Today we are reminded that our being the flock of Jesus, a sheep of the Good Shepherd is not our choice but a gift of God himself.
Our coming together in the church, in our celebrations and sacraments is not a mere social function out of our own volition. It is a gift and a call from Jesus. That is why it is very important to celebrate the Sunday Mass.
It is Christ himself we refuse and turn down when we skip Sunday Masses because when we love somebody, we show it by being present, being near, ready to suffer and obey to show our love.
Jesus is not asking us too much except an hour each week to immerse ourselves in his life giving words, to find him with others we meet and live with.
Peter said something still very true especially in our time, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation” (Acts 2:41) where God is totally disregarded as if we can live without him, without loving like him. Let us return to Jesus, pass in him our door to life and fulfillment by loving, suffering and following him our Good Shepherd. Amen. Have a blessed week and month of May ahead!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Third Week of Easter, 28 April 2023
Acts 9:1-20 ><}}}}"> + ><}}}}"> + ><}}}}"> John 6:52-59
Photo by author, Lian, Batangas, 2022.
Thank you dear Jesus
for your wonderful words
today that remind us of your
personal call to each one of us
like St. Paul; sometimes we envy
O Lord the manner you have called
the saints to follow you but at
closer look, you have called us all
in the most personal manner,
in the most unique way
according to our person
and situation,
our own "Damascus".
Today's first reading is so
marvelous because we too
have experienced you personally
calling us in our name like "Saul",
who like us too, many times do not
know you nor recognize you at all;
sometimes, we are like Ananias
arguing with you, telling you what
we know as if you do not know!
Dearest Lord Jesus,
like Saul or St. Paul and
Ananias, give us the grace to
answer and respond to your calls:
First, to work for you, the Christ:
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Now get up and go into the city
and you will be told
what you must do" (Acts 9:5,6).
Second, to follow you, the Christ:
"Go, for this man is a chosen
instrument of mine to carry
my name before Gentiles, kings,
and children of Israel" (Acts 9:15).
Third, most of all, to suffer for you, O Christ:
"and I will show show him
what he will have to suffer
for my name" (Acts 9:16).
Let us keep this in our minds
and hearts, Lord Jesus:
that each day you come to meet
us in our various "Damascus",
calling us to work for you,
follow you,
and most of all,
suffer for you.
Stop us, dear Jesus,
in our many quarrels
like the Jews at your time;
let us go with you
and suffer with you to be
a bread too for others
in sustaining their
journey with you.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Third Week of Easter, 27 April 2023
Acts 8:26-40 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + <))))*> John 6:44-51
Lord Jesus Christ,
teach us to listen more
intently to you speaking to us
in the most unusual manner,
often when we least expected
like in the story of Philip and
the Ethiopian eunuch.
Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch… who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home. Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit said to Philip, “Go and join up with the chariot.” Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.
Acts 8:27, 29-31
What a wonderful
and amusing passage of how
it happened! But that is
beside the point because
that's the way it is with you,
Lord Jesus and your Holy Spirit
working in most extraordinary
ways; what matters is first of all
Philip showing us the importance
of listening and obeying your
promptings no matter how
difficult or funny it may be!
Listening to you, Lord,
means listening to others, too!
Teach us to see this important
relationship of listening to your
voice in our human voice.
Many times, we are afraid to
obey you because we doubt
your voice jibes with the human
voice. Give us courage to express
your words by listening to what
others are saying like Philip when
he asked the eunuch if he understood
what he was reading.
Likewise,
keep us attuned with your words
and teachings, Lord so that when
people ask us to explain things for them,
we would always be ready like Philip
to confirm your voice others hear.
When we know and appreciate
these dynamics of listening,
then it becomes so true that
"No one can come to me unless
the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day"
(John 6:44). Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Third Week of Easter, 26 April 2023
Acts 8:1-8 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> John 6:35-40
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, 2019.
Lord Jesus,
teach me to be a "devout"
person; not just righteous or
holy but devout as well
like those "Devout men (who)
buried Stephen and made a loud
lament over him" (Acts 8:2).
Yesterday, you taught us dear Lord
that whatever is in our heart is
reflected on our face;
today you teach us that
to be "devout" is still of the heart
which is to be of a good heart
ready to believe and act openly
with courage on that belief.
Only St. Luke used the adjective
"devout" to describe some persons
like Simeon who praised God upon
seeing Jesus when presented to the
temple by his parents; the Jews from
all over the world who came to observe
Pentecost day in Jerusalem;
the men who buried Stephen, and
Ananias who sought Saul while
still blind to bring him to the Church.
Many times dear Lord
our being devout is
self-serving when we merely
open our eyes for things
that are seen in our many
devotions, seeing more our selves
failing to see Christ in
the other persons
who have to be loved
and cared for, understood
and forgiven, accepted and
affirmed.
No wonder until now,
though we receive you Jesus
in the Eucharist, we do not
experience and feel your Body,
your Person because our hearts
are not open at all to you through
others especially the sick and
suffering. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Third Week of Easter, Feast of St. Mark, Evangelist, 25 April 2023
1 Peter 5:15-14 <*(((>< + ><)))*> + <*(((>< + ><)))*> Mark 16:15-20
A painting of St. Mark the Evangelist by French artist Valentin de Boulogne done in 1624-1625 from en.wikipedia.org.
Thank you, dear Lord Jesus
for calling and sending us
St. Mark the Evangelist,
the first to have written
your gospel account based
on the teachings of his
friend and mentor,
St. Peter; his gospel
account eventually
became the guide of
later gospel accounts by
Matthew and Luke.
And we thank you for
that giftedness of being
the first to write,
the first to dare
go out and make you
known by everyone,
Lord Jesus Christ!
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Mark 16:15-16
St. Mark is often described
as being young
and at the same time
immature: twice he is
portrayed as fleeing
from your mission,
first from the scene
when you O Lord was
arrested that he left his
linen cloth behind
and then during the
missionary journey of
Paul and Barnabas
when he left them
and went back to
Jerusalem.
But, it was his youthfulness
that pushed him too to dare and
write the first gospel account;
how wonderful that he is
represented by the lion
as he began his gospel with
the fulfillment of the prophecy of
Isaiah in John the Baptist as
"the voice crying in the wilderness"
like the lion.
Every time we dare to cry
and shout in the wilderness
of your coming, dear Jesus,
your gospel comes,
your gospel is fulfilled;
every time we overcome
our immaturities
and recklessness,
you become present;
every time we imitate you,
Jesus, we write the gospel!
Let us clothe ourselves
with humility in our dealings
with one another, resisting
the devil by being steadfast
in our faith in you (1 Peter 5:5, 9).
Amen.
