The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Friday of Easter Octave, 26 April 2019
Acts 4:1-12///John 21:1-14
From Google.
Today O Lord I wish to offer to you my favorite morning prayer hymn we sing during Ordinary Time called “We plough the fields and scatter” (Wir Pflugen):
All good gifts around us Are sent from heav'n above, Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord for all his love.
You are “the author of life” indeed Lord Jesus Christ because all good gifts around us can only come from you!
When your Apostles were arrested and questioned by the priests and elders of Jerusalem “by what power or by what name” did they heal the crippled man since birth, Peter boldly answered them it was “in your name, Lord Jesus Christ!” (Acts 4:7-10)
When your Apostles caught so much fish after following your instruction to cast their net over the right side of the boat without really knowing it was you who gave the instruction from the shore, it was the beloved disciple who right away recognized you, “It is the Lord.” (Jn.21:7)
Lord Jesus, teach us to be humble always, to recognize YOU alone as the source of every good thing in life. So many times Lord, we always grab the honor in doing many great things in this life that we unconsciously divert people away from you and more closer to us.
O Lord…we priests are very notorious in doing that, grabbing all the credits for everything that is achieved as if we are the gods! Forgive us Lord. And let us proclaim always your goodness and your greatness. Amen.
“The Apparition at Tiberias after Easter” by Italian painter Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255-1318). Photo from Google.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe, Thursday, Easter Octave, 25 April 2019
Acts 3:11-26///Luke 24:35-48
From Google.
Today O dear Jesus Christ, St. Peter called you as “the author of life” in our first reading — a very beautiful and unique way of describing you who had resurrected from death.
From you alone, Lord, comes life indeed. Most of all, only you can restore and bring back life in case we lose it for you are indeed the author of life. St. Mark the Evangelist whose feast we celebrate today perfectly said it at the start of his gospel account:
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ (the Son of God).
Mark 1:1
You O Lord Jesus is the good news yourself because you are life, the author of life. Whoever believes in you, accepts you has life, regains life.
Sometimes we are like your disciples in our gospel today who doubted you when you suddenly appeared to them in their room. Sometimes we are overwhelmed with your presence. And most of the time, we think you might be a ghost or an imagination.
But the moment we try to feel you and experience your saving power, then we realize how scary it can be sometimes to believe you than to believe in ghosts because you are REAL, ghosts are not.
Help us to be like St. Mark the Evangelist who wrote the first gospel ever written now bearing his name and symbol of a lion. May we have the courage to write with our very lives your good news of salvation whose only author is you alone. Amen.
The beautiful west facade of St. Mark’s Cathedral Basilica in Venice, Italy with a statue of its patron atop with a winged lion with a bible below him as symbols. Photo from Bing.com.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe, Wednesday, Easter Octave, 24 April 2019
Acts 3:1-10///Luke 24:13-35
Road to Emmaus. From Google.
How interesting is Easter becoming, O Lord! Yesterday, Peter’s listeners were “cut to the heart” upon hearing your good news of salvation. Today, as you walked along with two disciples going to Emmaus feeling so sad with your death and news of missing body, you expressed great surprise at their being “slow of heart to believe”.
And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures.
Luke 24:25-27
So many times Lord, we are slow of heart to believe because we refuse to see the bigger picture in life when setbacks and failures can be staging points for greater growth and maturity. We choose to be mediocre and be contented with whatever is before us, refusing to strive and rise.
So many times Lord, we feel like that man crippled from birth at the Beautiful Gate of the temple contented in begging alms without realizing that negative things in our lives can enable us to receive the gift of life.
Like that crippled man from birth at the Beautiful Gate, let us seize every moment of meeting you, having you in our lives. Amen.
Healing of a Lame by Peter and John on a tapestry by Raphael at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Photo from Google.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Tuesday, Easter Octave, 23 April 2019
Acts 2:36-41///John 20:11-18
Photo from Google.
Now, when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other Apostles, “What are we to do, my brothers?”
Acts 2:37
What a powerful expression, O Lord Jesus Christ: “they were cut to the heart” upon hearing the preaching by St. Peter about you on Pentecost day, on how the people have killed you, on how they failed to recognize you as the Christ.
They were cut to the heart, they were so moved.
Yesterday O Lord, many of us were also cut to the heart with the powerful earthquake that rocked us hard late afternoon. Many prayed, many wondered what’s going to happen next. And many asked what are we to do?
Suddenly, people remembered you and called on you. That is always the case when calamities strike us, when problems arise in our families. We are cut to the heart. Our faith is awakened, we become conscious not only of you but of others we used to take for granted.
But there is something more wonderful in being cut to the heart, O Lord.
Mary Magdalene was also cut in the heart upon discovering your empty tomb that Easter morning. Give us that same grace of always seeking you, looking for you whenever we feel we have lost you.
So often, you come to us, calling us with our name but we never listen to you, always forgetting how much you love us, how much you have forgiven us with our many sins, how you have changed us.
Remind us like Mary not to touch you because from now on, we must relate with you in a higher level, that the most important thing to do is to proclaim to others most especially with our lives that we have seen you, that you are risen.
That is the most kindest and wonderful kind of cut of all, Jesus. Amen.
Jesus telling Mary Magdalene not to touch him in a painting at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Italy. Photo from Google.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, ika-22 ng Abril 2019
Larawan mula sa Google.
Busilak at ningning ng Pasko ng Pagkabuhay Hindi magiging makulay Kung hindi naging mapanglaw at madilim Malagim na Viernes Santo ni Kristo.
Ito ang katotohanang dapat nating matanto Walang Pasko ng Pagkabuhay kung walang Viernes Santo; Kaya itong si Hesu-Kristo unang tinungo ayon sa katesismo Kinaroroonan ng mga yumao noong Sabado Santo.
Sa kanyang pagtatagumpay sa kadiliman Hindi na tayo maaring panaigan ng kamatayan Kaya pati lagim ng kadiliman kanya nang nakaibigan Upang tayo ay magwagi kapag nasasawi.
Larawan mula sa Google.
Katulad noong kinagabihan ng Pasko ng Pagkabuhay sa Emaus Tayo ay sinasabayan sa paglalakad sa buhay nitong si Hesus Nakikinig sa ating mga karaingan at kabiguan At sa gitna ng kadiliman, ibinabahagi sa atin kanyang katawan.
Buksan ating mga isipan, lawakan ang pananaw Puntahan ang kadiliman sa ating kalooban upang maliwanagan Buhay ay hindi isang palabas lamang, parang pelikula Palaging bida sa bawat eksenang nililiwanagan ng artipisyal na ilaw.
Kaya nga kataka-taka, namamangha ka ba? Sa ating panahon at mundo na puro palabas ang tao Lalong nalilito, mga lilo nananalo sa puwesto Lahat pasikatan, patalbugan pero malayo sa katotohanan.
Starry Night ni Van Gogh mula sa Google.
Tanging liwanag ni Kristo ang totoo dahil siya ito mismo Maningning, maliwanag ang busilak Katulad ng mga bituin at buwan sa gabing madilim Hatid ay tiwala at sampalataya dahil sa pag-asa ng bagong umaga!
Halina at pumaloob sa kaibuturan ng ating pagkatao Doon ating makakadaop si Kristong muling nabuhay Nililiwanagan ating puso at kalooban ng kanyang katotohanan Upang tunay tayong makapamuhay at hindi magpalabas lamang.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for Monday, Easter Octave, 22 april 2019
Acts 2:14, 22-23///Matthew 28:8-15
Photo from Google.
Glory and praise to you, O Lord Jesus Christ! Thank you very much for the gift of Easter, the gifts of new life, of hope, and most of all, of love. Thank you very much for sharing with us your glory of rising from death.
But what is worst that could happen with us this Easter is when we choose to remain in the darkness of ignorance and sin, of not truly believing you are risen. And leading others away from you like those terrorists in Sri Lanka yesterday.
The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’ And if this gets to the ears of the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.'” The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed.
Matthew 28:12-15
Until now, O Lord, there is still that spirit of your enemies living in us, of those soldiers bribed who chose to disregard what they have experienced, to lie of your Resurrection. Until now, we continue to betray you, replacing you with people and things we find more valuable to us. And worst is when we mislead others away from you.
Let us go to meet you, “fearful yet overjoyed” like Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to announce your rising from the dead. Let us accept the truth of what Peter boldly proclaimed after Pentecost in Jerusalem that indeed, we have “killed” you now risen from the dead.
Let our ignorance of you, Jesus, be an opening for our faith in you so we may grow in intimacy with you. Amen.
Sunset in San Juan, La Union, January 2018. Photo by author.
A blessed happy Easter to everyone! Sorry for the delay with our LordMyChef Sunday Music – I can’t really think of a song that can go well with our reflection about Easter: the need to “internalize” our faith in our Risen Lord Jesus Christ while still being joyful filled with life. And so, we are having two songs in a row for our reflections. After all, it is Easter, the Mother of all our feasts!
Easter stories are always filled with shades of darkness. Unless we are willing to go through the darkness of Good Friday, we shall never experience the brightness of Easter. It is in darkness when we learn to trust more and believe more, hope more and love more.
To help us examine our selves, we share with you Marvin Gaye’s classic “What’s Going On” released in 1971. Aside from the timeless meaning of the song, the lyrics are very poetic.
Mother, mother There’s too many of you crying Brother, brother, brother There’s far too many of you dying You know we’ve got to find a way To bring some lovin’ here today
Father, father We don’t need to escalate You see, war is not the answer For only love can conquer hate You know we’ve got to find a way To bring some lovin’ here today, oh oh oh
Picket lines and picket signs Don’t punish me with brutality Talk to me, so you can see Oh, what’s going on What’s going on Yeah, what’s going on Ah, what’s going on
Mother, mother, everybody thinks we’re wrong Oh, but who are they to judge us Simply ’cause our hair is long Oh, you know we’ve got to find a way To bring some understanding here today Oh oh oh
For our second song in our twin header this Easter Sunday, we have the joyful 1983 hit by Christopher Cross “All Right”. Amid all the darkness we are going through in our lives, Jesus continues to walk with us, listening to us, and most of all sharing with us. With Jesus we can all make it!
I know, I know what’s on your mind And I know it gets tough sometimes. But you can give it one more try to find another reason why, You should pick it up and try it again â??Cause it’s all right – I think we’re gonna make it, I think it might just work out this time. It’s all right – I think we’re gonna make it I think it might work out fine this time It’s all right – I think we’re gonna make it I think it might just work out, cause it’s not too late for that too late for me.
A painting of the road to Emmaus with Jesus from Google.
The Lord Is My Chef Easter Sunday Recipe, 21 April 2019
Photo from Google.
During our morning prayer (lauds) at the parish today, I invited my parishioners to “internalize” the meaning of Jesus being buried, being “dead” this Saturday. I love the word “internalize” that evokes the imagery of Jesus “descending into the dead” while we his disciples go inside our very selves, probing deeper our heart and soul to examine our faith in the Risen Jesus Christ.
Internalize. I think this is the keyword this Easter Sunday. To internalize means to go into the dark, to befriend darkness. Unless we have gone through the darkness of Good Friday, we shall never fully appreciate the brightness of Easter Sunday. How sad that so many of us went through all liturgical celebrations and other devotional practices of Palm Sunday into Holy Thursday and Good Friday only to be absent this Easter Sunday which is the most important celebration of our faith, the very foundation of our being Christians. All those five weeks of Lent plus the Holy Week are preparations for Easter which covers more than 50 days beginning today until Pentecost. And those 50 days are counted as one big day because Easter is the Mother of all feasts in the Church!
And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching; empty, too, your faith.
1 Corinthians 15:14
Recent events demand that we as a Church, the Body of the Risen Lord, internalize our being Christians. You must have seen that viral photo of Antipolo pilgrims who have turned the Cathedral into a huge trash bin during Holy Thursday’s visita iglesia. It was the same sight in many churches and pilgrimage sites last week that make us wonder if Jesus is really alive in us? Or, Jesus has risen but we have remained dead in our sins and indifference, in our own “do-it-yourself” kind of religion or cafeteria Catholicism when we choose to believe only in certain teachings and beliefs that suit our tastes and well-being.
Photo by Kae Rivera via GMA News.
Problem is not only with the faithful but also with us priests when we have forgotten or even disregarded Jesus our Lord and Master, giving more emphasis on our own beliefs and concepts of what is true, good and beautiful that our celebrations and practices have become more of a show than expressions of faith. See how repositories on Holy Thursday have become more like a stage for “Asia’s Got Talent” or any variety show that have robbed Christ of the dignity and honor because people have become more focused with the glitz and glamour of the stage design and production. Sorry to say, it has become more of a show than a devotion as people leave talking about the spectacle than Jesus being present. And the sad part is how we priests have misled the people away from Christ but consciously or unconsciously, closer to us.
Now see my dear readers how in our gospel accounts this Easter Sunday that the prevailing mood and scenery are of darkness.
At daybreak on the first day of the week… On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark… That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus…As they approached the village to which they were going, they urged Jesus, “Stay with, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
Luke 24:1… John 20:1…Luke 24:13, 28-29
From Google.
Jesus rose in the dead of the night to bring light and life. Recall how the evangelists unanimously tell us that when Jesus died, there was widespread darkness to remind us that our darkest moments in life are our finest ones when we are with him. His first appearances were all in the darkness of dawn, dusk, and evening. There is something in darkness that Jesus invites us to come to him and meet him. It is only in the dark when we truly enter into a new and deeper level of friendship and relationship, of intimacy with him or with anyone else like married couples because it is in darkness when we truly trust and believe the other person. In the darkness of the night we muster all our faith and trust, strength and courage to await the breaking of a new day filled with hope and joy.
In this age of social media when everybody has the whole world as a stage, we always live in the brightness of so many artificial lights, stage lights for performances or palabas as we call them. We no longer have what Paul Simon sings “Hello darkness my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again…” Jesus conquered darkness so we can befriend it to find our selves and others better. Darkness is the light that leads us to Easter! Life need not be always bright because the sun does not shine on all days.
The tragedy of forgetting darkness, of always living in artificial lights is that the more we fail to see ourselves, others, God, and the world around us. The more we fail, the more we are sad, the more we are unfulfilled. Worst, the more we do not see despite all the lights! Don’t you find that ironic, even absurd? And that explains why we have so many undeserving elected leaders today. This Easter, let the darkness of the dawn, of the empty tomb be our light in following Jesus. Be not afraid to walk in the dark like the two disciples going to Emmaus because Jesus always walks with us, listens to us, shares with us in the darkness of our lives. Jesus is alive and he loves you very much! Amen.
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