The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Week XIX in Ordinary Time, Year II, 04 June 2020
2 Timothy 2:8-15 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Mark 12:28-34
Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News, 02 June 2020
Remind people of these things and charge them before God to stop disputing about words. This serves no useful purpose since it harms those who listen.
2 Timothy 2:14
Dear God:
For today I just wanted to be silent before you in prayer.
But, you spoke a lot in that silence. Or, did I?
You know very well, Lord, how we have been silent since the start of this quarantine period due to COVID-19 pandemic. We bore everything in silence as much as possible, giving our government officials and lawmakers a chance to redeem themselves.
After all, we are in this mess because of their refusal to listen what others have been saying for the safety of the country, speaking of diplomacy and friendships among the originators of COVID-19, not knowing two of them have been infected with corona while here visiting. One eventually became the first fatality of COVID-19 outside China.
Photo by author, our altar decor with a snake on first week of Lent, 2020.
Those in government have always been doing all the talking that has always been non-sense and rubbish. They thought that the more words they used, the more things get clearer.
That is the problem, Lord: those in government like many of us your people are not aware that your silence always precedes your speaking; that your words are full of power, full of life, the fullness of meaning because every word comes from silence.
We humans, especially our elected officials, are all speaking out of noise and void, not from silence which is fullness.
We keep on talking in the hope and belief that the more we talk, the more our words become meaningful.
Lately, it is the opposite that is happening: the more our government officials speak, the more their words become empty while their tongues get sharper like swords, inflicting more pain and causing more shame.
They speak of lies after lies after lies hoping they become true if repeatedly said but the more they are lost.
They speak so tough, complete with warning against violators of quarantine rules but they are the ones who fall into their own pit, becoming like dogs eating what they have spit.
They speak of opening shops and offices, but they are closed to the plight of the commuters.
Worst and most unkind of all, they speak shamelessly of blaming the people for all their woes in this time of pandemic quarantine while they were busy silencing us the people, closing ABS-CBN and just this week, surreptitiously passing the anti-terror bill that silences all critics of this administration mired in profanities, lies, and insincerity.
They make so many laws, using so many words, and yet not a single word proved to be good like the scribe who asked Jesus:
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”
Mark 12:28
Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News, commuters at start of lockdown, March 2020.
Lord God of power and might, you are the only we have always count on for our protection and salvation.
You know what is in our hearts and you know very well what we are willing to do if you just say so.
For the sake of peace in our country, let our leaders eat their words or at least, keep their mouths shut to stop all their shows and start to listen, accept and love.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-03 ng Hunyo 2020
Larawan kuha ni G. Raffy Tima ng GMA-7News, 02 Hunyo 2020.
Nakapanlulumo, napakasakit
dibdib ko'y nagsisikip
sa sobrang hirap at pasakit
sinapit marami nating kapatid
dahil sa makitid na pag-iisip
nitong mga namumuno sa atin;
Niluwagan ang quarantine
mga mall at tanggapan pinabuksan
upang ekonomiya ay buhayin,
pananalapi ay paikutin.
Bukod tanging pinahalagahan
kayamanang napawalan sa lockdown
kanilang tingin nasa salaping kikitain
sadyang tinalikuran pampublikong sasakyan,
hirap ng mga mamamayan, wala silang pakialam.
Ni hindi sila naantig sa mga tanawin
at nang makarating na sa kanilang pandinig
napakaraming daing at hinaing
sa halip na unawain,
mga sisi at kasalanan sa kanila pa ibinaling!
Ano nga bang katauhan mayroon
mga namumuno na puro mga damuho?
Mga manhid at hindi na naaantig
sa pintig ng pulso ng bayan?
Hindi man nila naranasan
at marahil kailanma'y di pagdaraanan
mga hirap na tinitiis ng karamihang mamamayan
wala ba silang kamalayan ng malaking
kaibhan ng hirap at kaginhawahan?
O marahil naisangla na kanilang mga kaluluwa?
Larawan kuha ni G. Raffy Tima ng GMA-7 News, 02 Hunyo 2020.
Noong Linggo ng hapon,
dalawang kabataang dalaga nagsimba
kaya ako'y nagalak nang makita silang kasama;
pagkaraan ng Ama Namin, nahilo at nagdilim
paningin ng isa hanggang himatayin.
Nang aking tanungin baka siya ay gutom
o mayroong iniindang karamdaman,
aking nalaman dalawang kilometro
kanilang nilakad sa kainitan
makapagdiwang lamang sila muli sa Simbahan
na hanggang ngayon ayaw pabuksan
sa kabila ng kahalagahan ng espiritwal na pangangailangan.
Kaya nga napakalaking kahangalan
itong ating nasasaksihan sa gitna ng ating kahirapan
mga pinuno at upisyal kay raming pinag-aralan,
makapangyarihan at karamihan ay nakaririwasa
ngunit katauha'y nakalublob sa pusali ng kapalaluan;
mga batas dapat nilang ipatupad, kanilang niyurakan
walang iningatan kungdi kanilang pangalan;
mga tindahan at tanggapan pinabuksan,
wala namang mga pampublikong sasakyan,
malamang sila'y nagkahawahan sa katangahan
o mayroong ibang pinangingilagan at kinatatakutan
maliban sa mabangis na virus mula sa Wuhan?
Sana'y dumating ang panahon
muling maalala ng mga damuhong namumuno ngayon
mayroong Diyos sa atin ay hahatol
dahil siya lamang ang Panginoon at Hukom.
Hindi na ako nagtataka
ekonomiya kanilang pinahahalagahan
kapwa tao'y kinalilimutan, tinatalikuran
mga bahay-dalanginan ayaw nilang mabuksan
dahil walang pitak sa kanilang kalooban
Diyos na makapangyarihan
kaya naman mukha Niya ay hindi nila mabanaagan
lalo na sa mga kapwa na aba at nahihirapan.
Larawan kuha ni G. Raffy Tima ng GMA-7 News, 02 Hunyo 2020.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga and Companion Martyrs, 03 June 2020
2 Timothy 1:1-3, 6-12 ><)))*> + <*(((>< Mark 12:18-27
Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News, April 2020.
We thank you, most loving God our Father, for the grace of perseverance and patience in this time of the pandemic. We thank you for the gift of trusting in your love and mercy despite all the sufferings and hardships our people have been going through amid the callousness and insensitivity of our leaders in government who have allowed to open offices, factories, and malls without providing adequate transportation while keeping all houses of worship closed.
May they heed, O Lord, the reminders of St. Paul to Timothy:
“I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.”
2 Timothy 1:6-7
We pray for more courage for our leaders in government so they may not cower in fear to the threats of COVID-19 when there are so many measures to control its spread which they should have taken long time ago but have failed to do so for reasons only they know.
Give them courage to stand up to their superiors, to admit their faults and failures instead of being so concerned in building their image as strong and capable that deceive no one.
Remind us all, O Lord, that we own nothing in this life. Everything is yours even the power and authority we have that must be tempered with genuine love and concern for the people and most especially with self-control.
How sad, O Lord, that until now, there are people who insist on possessing persons like the Sadducees who cannot accept resurrection of the dead because they are stuck into the belief couples “own” each other:
“At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be? For all seven had been married to her.”
Matthew 12:23
From ShareCatholic.com
One of those who thought of owning people was the pedophile King Mwanga of Uganda who persecuted the Christians in 1885-1887.
Inspire us, Lord, with the examples of St. Charles Lwanga and companion martyrs who remained pure and chaste, choosing tortures and death than to give in to the sexual perversions and immoralities of King Mwanga.
Their martyrdom became the seeds for the growth of Christianity in Uganda.
Help us to lead holy lives, Lord, amid the many sufferings we have to endure especially at this time of pandemic worsened by those who do not seem to care at all about you and spirituality, of the elderly and the sick, of the poor and needy among us.
Keep us all strong and let us not be perverted by the corrupt among us, always bearing our share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from you, O God. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Tuesday, Week IX, Year II, 02 June 2020
2 Peter 3:12-15, 17-18 <*(((>< ooo 0 ooo ><)))*> Mark 12:13-17
Sunrise at our Parish. Photo by Ms. Ria De Vera, May 2020.
Sometimes, Lord, I refuse to use the word “amazing” for it is not totally something about good and beautiful. Though, the word is truly amazing, most often what amazes us can often vary depending on our focus and orientation.
Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech. They came and said to him, “Teacher…Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.” They brought one to him and he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They replied to him, “Caesar’s.” So Jesus said to them, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” They were utterly amazed at him.
Mark 12:13-17
What and why were they amazed at you, Lord Jesus?
Was it because of your brilliant answer to their question they have thought so tricky enough to catch you? If that were so, it was not really so amazing because your answer did not stop them from seeking other ways of ensnaring you.
Different things amaze people. And most often, what amazes us are not necessarily good and could even be sinister of something deeper and darker than what it seems to be on the surface.
What was more amazing for me, Lord – this time in a negative sense – was for them to even ask you that question.
Photo by author, Mt. St. Paul Spirituality Center in La Trinidad, Benguet, February 2020.
Did they not realize the answer before, which they already knew and have already been practicing before: paying the census taxes as subjects of the Caesar and giving contributions to the temple as faithful children of God?
If that were so, Lord, I am more amazed today that it is still happening in our own time when our government officials have refused anew our request to partially open churches and other houses of worship for the spiritual nourishment of the people.
How amazing that until now, there are people who prefer to look after the material well-being of others than their spiritual needs especially at this time of the pandemic.
How amazing, Lord, that they would rather open stores and shops to stimulate economic growth, forgetting that more important is the spiritual nourishment people are so hungry and thirsty these days.
Is it more amazing, Lord, when we continue to take you for granted even at critical moments like this as if we have never learned in history?
Help us, Jesus, to “grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. to him be glory now and to the day of eternity.” (2 Peter 3:18).
Teach us, O Lord, that what is truly amazing is to always find you as the most important even in the most minute details of our lives. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Mary, Mother of the Church, 01 June 2020
Genesis 3:9-15.20 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> John 19:25-34
Mary Mother of the Church. From Google.
Dearest Lord Jesus Christ:
Today is a very crucial period in our life as a Church here in the country moving into transition from Enhanced Community Quarantine to the lower case of General Community Quarantine. Some businesses and industries are slowly being allowed to open and operate.
Except our churches.
Today our Church leaders are meeting with the government to continue their talks for the opening of our churches to allow the faithful to celebrate the Holy Mass as a community.
We pray for the Holy Spirit to enlighten the minds and hearts of our officials in their meeting to see the importance of spiritual nourishment in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We pray for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary your Mother and our Mother too whom you have entrusted to your beloved disciple to care for us your Body here on earth.
Thank you very much Lord Jesus in giving us Mary your Mother to be our Mother too.
On this first day of the resumption of Ordinary Time, a day after Pentecost Sunday when we celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit to launch the Church, we also offer this day in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Mother of the Church.
Indeed, inasmuch as she had stayed by your side at the foot of the Cross, Mary has always been with us in our journey as your Mystical Body here on earth. She has always been home for us, taking care of us, looking after us, and reminding us of our mission in you.
Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal.
It is so unfortunate that we have always taken her granted.
Worst, some people have maligned and derided her important role in cooperating with all your plans for the Church.
May her charity and fidelity to you, Lord, inspire us to work further for the mission of the Church to make you present in the world now in pandemic, seeking the best ways to pick up the pieces and start anew their lives.
May the world be ready now to listen to the teachings of Mary your Mother to return to you and turn away from sins and evil. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe, Solemnity of the Pentecost-A, 31 May 2020
Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11 <*(((>< 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13 ><)))*> John 20:19-23
Pope Francis praying at an empty St. Peter’s Square 27 March 2020. Photo from cruxnow.com.
As I prayed over the readings this coming Pentecost Sunday, my thoughts kept going back to those powerful images when Pope Francis prayed at an empty St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican last March 27 when COVID-19 was ravaging the whole Italy with so many deaths.
Now more than ever, the Church badly needs the Pentecost – a new Pentecost that will heal and rebirth the world so wounded and altered by the corona pandemic this year 2020.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
John 20:19-20
Modern rendition of the Pentecost. From Google.
Holy Spirit, breath of life and cause of unity
The Pentecost is not just an event remembered in the past but a reality that happens daily when the Holy Spirit comes and is received by those attuned with its life and mission which is to bring peace through unity and healing.
Promised by Jesus Christ to his followers as their Advocate and Counsellor, the Holy Spirit descended on them during the feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem when Jews from all parts of the world gathered to remember the 50 days after their Passover in Egypt at the time of Moses.
It was the perfect setting for the Christian Pentecost – this time 50 days after Easter – to celebrate the new unity of mankind in Jesus he established on Holy Thursday evening at his Last Supper. Inasmuch as the Jews went home at that time to be one with their fellow believers in Jerusalem, on that day from the holy city comes forth the new solidarity of peoples in Jesus led by his followers gathered that day in the Upper Room.
Hence, the tradition of considering Pentecost Sunday as the birthday of the Church, too.
Though we have heard two different versions of its coming, what matters most is the Person of the Holy Spirit as the breath of life and the cause of unity among the followers of Christ.
In the first reading, Luke gives us an artistic presentation of the coming of the Holy Spirit showing the unity of the peoples: first of the followers of Jesus and later with the Jews gathered in Jerusalem on that day for their feast of Pentecost. Whereas the apostles were at first presented as timid and lacking in understanding, the Holy Spirit emboldened them on that day to go out and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Led by Peter, they were filled with life and wisdom and courage, converting thousands of people on Pentecost day despite their speaking in different languages, exactly the opposite at the Tower of Babel in the Old Testament.
In the gospel, John gives us the theological grounding of Pentecost when we find Jesus appearing to his disciples hiding from the Jews on the evening of Easter at the Upper Room where he breathed on them the Holy Spirit that filled them with joy upon seeing him risen and alive.
The scene was reminiscent of the many stories in the Old Testament of the “breath of God” giving life to the first human beings in the story of creation, the “breathing on” by Elijah on the nostrils of the widow’s dead son back to life (1Kgs.17:21), and the promise of God to Ezekiel to restore to life the many dry bones in their graves in the time to come (Ezek. 37:1-14).
These stories now take on deeper meanings in Jesus Christ its fulfillment. And not only were the disciples breathed on with new life in Christ but also the whole creation was renewed in the coming of the Holy Spirit that we pray, “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and you shall renew the face of the earth”.
Perennial Pentecost for peace and healing
Pentecost is an event that continues to happen daily especially when we are gathered as the body of believers of Jesus Christ tasked to realize its fulfillment. This coming of the Holy Spirit is not a one-shot deal that happened only in the past in Jerusalem more than 2000 years ago — it is something we as followers of the Risen Lord must always wait and make happen every day so as to continually bring life and renewal to this world especially at this time of the corona pandemic.
In giving us the Holy Spirit, Jesus not only renewed our lives as his disciples united in him but also conferred his own power without restrictions to accomplish our mission.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
John 20:21-23
The Chair of St. Peter at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome with the stained glass of the Holy Spirit above. Photo from dreamstime.com.
At the Vatican inside the great St. Peter’s Basilica is a beautiful stained glass of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove rising above as background to the Chair of St. Peter ( Feast is February 22) at the sanctuary area.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI described this beautiful work of art:
“It seems to me that a deep analysis of the essence of the Church lies hidden here, is contained here… It unites the Church with creation as a whole. It signifies through the dove of the Holy Spirit that God is the actual source of all light. But it tells us something else: the Church herself is in essence, so to speak, a window, a place of contact between the other-worldly mystery of God and our world, the place where the world is permeable to the radiance of his light… The Church is the place of encounter where God meets us and we find God. It is her task to open up the world closing in on itself, to give it the light without which it would be unlivable.”
Images of Hope, pp.29-31
Here we find part of our mission in collaboration with the Holy Spirit is the the healing of the world that can be achieved only through peace. See how Jesus had to repeat twice his gift of peace to his disciples because it is his greatest gift to us following his Resurrection.
Life thrives and blooms most where there is peace, where there are disciples of the Lord willing to work for it with love and patience.
But the peace from Jesus Christ always has a price that we must be willing to pay to achieve it.
See that after his first greeting of peace, Jesus showed his wounds — he was the first to pay the price for peace with his own life.
Bringing around our Parish the Blessed Sacrament during the lockdown, March-May 2020.
This is the meaning of the many sacrifices and sufferings we all have to go through in this quarantine period expected to continue until 2021: if we want to get out of this pandemic, aside from the need for a vaccine and medication, we all need to change our ways to make sure this will not happen again.
It is always easy to join so many advocacies and rallies calling for every kind of change in the society and the world but nothing had ever happened because whenever we come home, we do not change our own ways of living! Sayang (what a waste) were all the inspiration and energies of the Holy Spirit for our many causes that have not taken roots right in our hearts.
All the apostles of the Lord paid the price of peace with their own lives that led to the healing not only of individuals and families but even of nations and the world.
The second time Jesus offered his gift of peace, he breathed the Holy Spirit on his apostles and commissioned them to forgive all sins.
Peace is the fruit of love according to Vatican II.
As such, peace from the Holy Spirit leads to healing when there is dialogue, prayer and repentance, that lead to justice, love, and forgiveness. Peace and healing need hard work that is why they are fruits. They never come on a silver platter.
On Monday, most of the quarantine levels in the country are downgraded because it is hoped we have somehow controlled the spread of COVID-19.
As we eagerly await more freedom and mobility in this time of pandemic, what have we achieved during these three months of quarantine, said to be the longest in the world?
Have we resolved our family differences? Have we rediscovered our family members, getting more close than ever, more kind, more understanding?
How sad that all we can share as our quarantine stories are all about food and other pursuits we have undertaken forgetting the unity and life of our family and community.
How sad when we in the Church have all been preoccupied with the new communication media but failed at all to make any impact or dent in the lives of our faithful because we have not shared Jesus Christ at all, when all our “live streaming” and vlogs are powered by likes and followers, not by the Holy Spirit.
Pope Francis blessing the people last March 27 in an empty St. Peter’s Square during the height of COVID-19 in Italy that became the new epicenter of pandemic next to China. Photo from Vatican Media Office.
Jesus never takes back his gift of peace, his gift of healing, his gift of the Holy Spirit. He promised to never leave us orphans. Let us not leave the Holy Spirit behind and stop believing in our selves.
That’s the way we have been in the world and even in the Church.
That is why – to a large extent – we have this corona pandemic.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-29 ng Mayo 2020
Sa gitna ng aking pananalangin
minsa'y sumagi kung maari
itong alaala o gunita ay himayin
upang tukuyin at tuntunin
kailan nga ba nagsimula
tayo natutong manalig at sumandig
sa Panginoong Diyos natin?
Napaka-hirap alamin
simula ng pananampalataya natin
ngunit marahil kung ating tutuusin
bago ang lahat ay nalaman natin
unang naranasan higit sa lahat ay ang pag-ibig.
Ang Diyos ay pag-ibig
at kaya tayo nakapagmamahal
ay dahil una Niya tayong minahal;
kaya nga pag-ibig ang suma total
ng lahat ng pag-iral sapagkat
ito rin ang wika at salita ng Diyos
nang lahat ay kanyang likhain.
Bago nabuo kamalayan natin,
naroon muna karanasan ng pag-ibig
na siyang unang pintig sa atin ay umantig
sa sinapupunan ng ating ina
hanggang tayo ay isilang niya at lumago sa ating pamilya.
Bago tayo maniwala
nauna muna tayong minahal
kaya tayo ay nakapagmahal
at saka nanampalataya;
kung mahihimay man na parang hibla
ng isang tela itong ating buhay
natitiyak ko na sa bawat isa
ang tanging matitira
na panghahawakan niya
ay yaong huling sinulid
na hindi na kayang mapatid
sa atin nagdurugtong, naghahatid bilang magkakapatid.
Kaya palagi po ninyong ipabatid,
Panginoong Diyos ng pag-ibig
sa mga isipan naming makikitid at makalimutin
mga pagkakataon ng iyong bumabalong na pagmamahal
kailan ma'y hindi masasaid
habang bumubuhos sa bawat isa sa amin;
huwag namin itong sarilinin o ipunin
bagkus ipamahagi, ipadama sa kapwa namin.
Itong pag-ibig na ipinadama sa amin
ang siyang maaasahang katibayan
nagpapatunay mayroong Diyos na buhay at umiiral
na sa atin ay dumatal bago ang lahat, sa Kanyang pagmamahal.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Friday, Easter Week VII, 29 May 2020
Acts of the Apostles 25:13-21 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> John 21:15-19
Photo by author, ancient ruins of Caesarea in Israel, May 2019.
Dearest Lord Jesus, give us the courage to truly follow you, the courage to forget our selves, and most of all, the courage to truly desire and seek you.
So often, we always desire you but we are not willing to set aside our own plans and agenda. We are afraid of starting all over again, afraid of what others would say to our great visions and dreams.
We ask for your directions but we are never willing to go with you because we are afraid of going to uncharted and untested situations and places. We are afraid of getting lost, of losing time and money for our endeavors and pursuits in life.
We ask for strength but we refuse to give up our attachments because we are afraid of not having any fall back just in case we fail. We are afraid of losing everything if we entrust everything to the Holy Spirit.
Lord, let us realize like Peter that to desire and follow you requires courage on our part because to have you, to follow you means losing our very selves in you so we can be with you wherever you may be.
Jesus said to Peter, “Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
John 21:18
Even St. Paul in the first reading courageously followed you, Lord, from Miletus to Jerusalem to Caesarea and finally to Rome to fulfill the mission you have entrusted to him.
May we find courage in you Lord that like St. Peter and St. Paul, we may also answer and fulfill your call. Amen.
Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”
John 17:24
Wow! What a tremendous blessing you have poured upon us today, Lord Jesus Christ! Yesterday, you proved yourself to be a great friend to us, and today, you give us the great honor of being a gift to you from the Father.
We are nothing before you, O Lord, and yet that is who we are to you – a gift from the Father.
What an honor for us all when in fact, we have nothing except your gift of self, your gift of life.
And that is where the giftedness of any gift lies – not in the gift itself but in the giver and the receiver of the gift. Any gift is worthless unless somebody gives it and somebody receives it too.
Between the giving and receiving, therein happens the giftedness of gift when it is opened and offered. A gift left unopened under a Christmas tree or in a drawer remains nothing unless opened and used and appreciated.
Photo by author, Subic, Zambales, 2018.
We are a gift given by God to everyone in Christ Jesus. It is only when we are able to open and offer our selves do we become truly a gift.
Give us that grace, Jesus, of offering and sharing our giftedness like St. Paul in the first reading.
The following night the Lord stood by him (St. Paul) and said, “Take courage. For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness in Rome.”
Acts of the Apostles 23:11
There are many occasions, Lord, when we pray and ask you to spare us of all the sufferings and trials but now we have realized that it is only in being one with you in your passion when we truly become a gift to you from the Father.
It is in our becoming a gift to you that we become a gift to others and eventually realize our many gifts in ourselves too. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Wednesday, Easter Week VII, 27 May 2020
Acts of the Apostles 20:28-38 ><)))*> 000 + 000 <*(((>< John 17:11-19
Jesus praying at the garden of Gethsemane. Photo by author, Church of All Nations beside Gethsemane in the Holy Land, May 2019.
What a true and great friend we have in you, O Lord Jesus Christ! You are not only faithful and loving to us but most of all, so true to us that you pray for us that the Father may always keep up.
Every day we pray to you asking for so many things because you are life yourself.
We pray for our family and friends because we love them, and you surely love them too.
And here you are, dearest Jesus, praying for us to the Father!
Thank you so much for thinking of us always.
Forgive us Jesus for the many times we have turned away from you, when we have refused to love you in others.
Enlighten our minds and our hearts, Lord, about your prayer consecrating us in the truth, the word of the Father, when you are in fact, the Word who became flesh.
Baby Jesus in our Parish last Christmas 2019 on a bed of white roses.
Grant us the grace to be like St. Paul in the first reading who can sincerely proclaim to everyone his fidelity to your words and mission that was attested with the deep love of the presbyters of Ephesus who were deeply saddened when he bid them goodbye.
In this time of COVID-19 when life is so uncertain with so many people dying, may we give some precious moments of prayer and reflection with the life you have gifted us, you always prayed for.
Give us the courage to examine the kind of life we are leading, if we can have the sincerity of St. Paul in boldly declaring how we have lived and toiled among others.
Pray harder for us, dear Jesus that we may be always one with you in the Father and the Holy Spirit through others. Amen.
