40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 19 March 2025 Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16 + Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 + Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 17 March 2025.
God our most loving Father, thank you for this Solemnity of St. Joseph, the most chaste husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary who witnessed to us with his life of faith the important aspects of Lent that have become a rarity these days - silence and stillness in you.
In this world of 24-7 when everything is "instant", we have lost the sense and beauty of silence and stillness in you, O Lord, making us to drift farther away from you, not believing you, not obeying you relying more in our powers and control of everything.
But life is not about doing and things as your Son Jesus have shown us: life is about being and loving, of persons in whom we find you and meaning of our lives.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home…She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home (Matthew 1:19-20, 21, 24).
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 17 March 2025.
Teach us, Jesus to be like St. Joseph your foster father to be holy and righteous: obedient to your laws but most of all, faithful and loving to God through one another.
Teach us, Jesus
to be like St. Joseph
your foster father
to be silent because
silence is the domain of trust:
let us trust you more
than our selves,
than our gadgets,
than our modern thoughts
and beliefs;
teach us Jesus
to be like St. Joseph
to be still in this time
when everyone is easily
agitated foolishly
by the cacophony of
various shouts and cries
in social media that are mostly
not true.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
Teach us, Jesus, that life is a daily Lent, of being silent and still in your presence, in your voice, in your plans so that like St. Joseph your foster father we may take care of you found in each one of us especially the weak and the poor. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Memorial of St. John Bosco, Priest, 31 January 2025 Hebrews 10:32-39 <*((((>< <*(((>< + ><)))*> ><))))*> Mark 4:26-34
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
Remember the days past when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a great contest of suffering… Therefore, do not throw away your confidence; it will have great recompense (Hebrews 10:32, 35).
Thank you, O God our loving Father for another month past this new year; there is indeed no other path to take but forward in you and with you through Jesus.
How amazing, dear Lord as I look back to my many setbacks and problems hurdled in the past, the more I look forward into the future! The more I am excited of the coming days ahead because if I made it through in the past, through the long, dark nights of trials and sufferings, you are always with me in Jesus.
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Spirituality Center, Tagaytay, August 2024.
Keep me faithful, Jesus; let me not lose that confidence in you, Lord, like the farmer in your parable: let me keep on sowing your gospel in words and in deeds especially among the young and the underprivileged like St. John Bosco whose memorial we celebrate today; let me do whatever good I can do today; most of all, like St. John Bosco, let me love without measure without claiming anything at all except as your work, Lord Jesus in sowing seeds until they sprout to life and grow until harvest time. Amen.
Photo by author, Northern Blossoms, Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the Thirty-Fourth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 28 November 2024 Revelation 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 21:20-28
Photo by author, Pulong Sampalok, DRT, Bulacan, 22 November 2024.
God our loving Father, have mercy on us your people marching towards You in Jesus Christ; as we approach the closing of this liturgical calendar to usher in the Advent Season, let us see with an upbeat mood the upheavals going on these days especially in our own country.
Keep us strong, Father, in our faith in You and in our firm resolve to persevere in doing what is good and just amid all the destabilizations and noise going on; keep us patient with all the evil still going on, aware always of the sufferings and tribulations we all must endure as part of our witnessing to the Cross of Jesus Christ.
Keep us upbeat in Jesus Christ our Lord, to always live and share in the vision and values of His Gospel despite the many immoralities and profanities by some in power; may we strive to seek and find and follow Jesus always because truth and justice and goodness have the final say in everything in this life - not lies and malice and evil. Amid all the hardships, may we continue to sing the song of the Lamb here on earth so that eventually in the end, we too may be invited to come to the wedding feast of the Lamb there in heaven like what You have shown John in Revelation. Amen.
Photo by author, Pulong Sampalok, DRT, Bulacan, 23 November 2024.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 10 November 2024 1 Kings 17:10-16 ><}}}}*> Hebrews 9:24-28 ><}}}}*> Mark 12:38-44
Our Sunday readings are so lovely, so picturesque where you find in both first reading and gospel the character of a poor widow standing side by side with great men of faith in God as the main focus, the Prophet Elijah and Christ Jesus, respectively.
In the first reading, we find humorously the Prophet Elijah asking for water, then some bread from a widow gathering sticks outside her home in Zarephath.
Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid… For the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain upon the earth.'” She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well; The jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the Lord had foretold through Elijah (1 Kings 17:13, 14-16).
Elijah had fled Israel after proclaiming a drought because the people turned away from God to worship baals or false gods brought by the wife of King Ahab, Queen Jezebel. God then directed Elijah to Zarephath outside the city of Sidon to hide where the king was the father of his archenemy, Queen Jezebel!
Imagine Elijah hiding in the most hostile place of all with a pagan widow who worshipped baal so denounced by him. But, here is a marvelous story of faith of Elijah who trusted God completely in obeying Him to move to the pagan region ruled by his enemies. Similar was the faith of the pagan widow who surprisingly believed Elijah and God’s power that she did not mind putting her life and her son’s at risk in harboring their enemy. Their admirable faith both remind us how God accomplishes His great acts of mercy and love when we surrender ourselves totally to Him.
Photo by author, Wailing Wall of Jerusalem, May 2019.
Nine hundred years later after Elijah, we had Jesus in Jerusalem like the prophet in a very hostile place and situation too – in the Temple that was the very domain of His enemies. This was the Holy Week after Jesus had entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday leading to Good Friday.
And like Elijah who approached a widow worshipper of baal, Jesus dared to sit at the temple area after harshly castigating the scribes there:
He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, all her livelihood” (Mark 12:41-44).
Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury.
Throughout this week, that scene of Jesus seated at the Temple had so absorbed me. What was Mark trying to tell us in reporting this? Jesus seated at the temple opposite the treasury observing the crowd is something else.
See the genius of Mark in weaving this Sunday’s gospel scene: right after castigating the corrupt leaders of Israel who were affiliated with the temple, Mark segued into this poor widow dropping some coins into the treasury box. In ancient Israel, the poor like the widows were not required to give those contributions. In a stroke of genius, Mark tells us something is wrong in this scene which Jesus rightly attacked because that widow was one of those widows whose house was devoured by the scribes!
“The Widow’s Mite” painting by French painter James Tissot, from brooklynmuseum.org.
And Mark never intended the story only for the Christians of his time but also for us as we have continued in the Church that malpractice by priests and scribes of Jerusalem. Woe to us priests and bishops who go around in “long robes and accept greetings, seats of honor” and worst of all, “devour houses of widows”, forgetting the poor, preferring always to be with the rich and powerful that social media attest.
Like Zarephath and the Jerusalem Temple, there is Jesus sitting in the middle of our Church under attack on all fronts and within in order to be closer with us especially the widows and the poor who are victims of an unjust society and systems perpetrated by same men and women supposed to be servants of God, or, at least men and women of God.
Photo by author, July 2024.
That image of Jesus seated at the Temple opposite the treasury was in fact a reminder of His being the victim too of injustice in the temple like the poor widow, of His Crucifixion on Good Friday. In fact, the 30 pieces of silver the priests have paid Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus must have come from that treasury.
In the midst of the hostilities and hurts, the divisions and abuses of power by priests and lay alike, in the Jerusalem Temple then and now in our Church, there has always been Jesus sitting among us, observing our offerings after first offering Himself for us all as our perfect High Priest (second reading) who finally freed us from these injustices and inhumanity of the past.
That is why I love this scene so much.
More than tithing, Jesus tells us this Sunday that like that generous heart of the poor widow, despite her plight, she continued to give because she believed, she hoped, most of all, she loved God. She need not give but still insisted because the treasury was for the upkeep of the temple, the very house of God, therefore, for God Himself.
There are times I hurt deep inside for the pains of the many scandals some priests and bishops have caused the Church but I choose to remain, even to sit in this Church or be a victim like Jesus amid all these because I love Jesus. Yes, amid all these sorrows, there is one “first” I see above all, Jesus Christ. This is concretization of last Sunday’s “which is the first of the commandments” – God who is love above all!
Jesus is telling us this Sunday through the poor widow that it is recognizing God in us and in one another that matters, and that is why we give at all.
Photo by author, 2022.
If we love God, if we find God in us and in others, when we find Jesus seated among us, then we realize we are the Church, we are the Temple we love. The moment we realize this, the more we feel at home “sitting with Jesus in the temple”, then we start giving totally because we love as well as know for a fact that whatever we give is actually what we receive from God in Jesus.
Why give so little? Give all, give everything because you never have anything to begin with! Everything is from God. That is why it is in giving that we truly receive. In every Mass, we do not give anything except our mere presence that is not even complete and yet, we get abundant blessings, primarily Jesus Christ whom we receive wholly, Body and Blood.
In every Mass we celebrate, we sit with Jesus in the midst of this inhospitable world we live in, even right in the church we love and hate sometimes. We do not give up. We persevere because we believe, we trust, we hope. Most of all, we love like Elijah and Jesus and believe like the poor widows of Zarephath and Jerusalem Temple. Amen. Have a blessed week ahead!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Memorial of St. John Paul II, Pope, 22 October 2024 Ephesians 2:1-10 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]*> Luke 12:35-38
Photo by author, mountain range off the coast of Nagsasa Cove, San Antonio, Zambales, 19 October 2024.
Glory to You, O God our most loving Father for this blessed Tuesday as we celebrate the Memorial of one your great servants in modern time, Saint John Paul II, the Pope who truly worked so hard to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ our Savior, especially to children and young people, to the sick and suffering.
Oh how we miss him so much most especially in his efforts to promote unity in the real sense without bending Church teachings and traditions like St. Paul who taught the unity effected by Jesus Christ:
So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:19-22).
Grant us through your Son Jesus Christ the grace to have Him always at the center of our lives and in our efforts to bridge people together despite their many differences so that we may truly build the Body of Christ here on earth.
Like St. John Paul II, let us be faithful servants, let us "gird our loins and light our lamps" awaiting your presence, Lord Jesus, of your coming among people who open themselves to building unity, to coming together in your name to promote peace and harmony not a unity for the sake of appeasing modern thoughts and trends, nor to win favors or be popular but truly standing firm in Jesus and His teachings because truly, as St. John Paul had taught us, "Unity not only embraces diversity, but is verified in diversity." Amen.
Pope John Paul II, using his crosier for support, celebrates an outdoor Mass in Slovenia, Sept. 19, 1999. (photo: Gabriel Bouys / AFP via Getty Images)
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday in the Twenty-ninth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 21 October 2024 Ephesians 2:1-10 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 12:13-21
Photo by author, the pristine Nagsasa Cove in San Antonio, Zambales, 19 October 2024.
Your words today, O loving God through St. Paul are so refreshing, so lovely to read and hear, very reassuring especially for those of us losing hope in life, those so tired and exhausted, those about to give up; let us sing joyfully to You, O Lord, and serve You gladness!
For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them (Ephesians 2:10).
Everything that we have become, every good and beautiful thing we do is simply because of You, O God, at work in us, through us; what a great honor, O God You made us so good and beautiful, You brought us here, You sent us for a mission; let us be open in order to give our unconditional "YES" to Jesus Christ in faith daily so that we may do continue your work in keeping this a better and more humane world; let us give our unconditional "YES" to Jesus daily so we may experience your guidance and help in our undertakings to reflect You, dear God, so that it is You who is always found and recognized in everything we do that is true, good, and beautiful; let us not be preoccupied with so much material wealth and fame that fills us with greed unable to satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts found only in You. Amen.
Photo by author, river leading to Nagsasa Cove, San Antonio, Zambales, 19 October 2024.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Memorial of St. Teresa of Avila, Virgin & Doctor of the Church, 15 October 2024 Galatians 5:1-6 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 11:37-41
Photo by author, somewhere in Pampanga, August 2024.
What a wonderful Saint You have gifted us today, dear Jesus in St. Teresa of Avila; what a wonderful saint we need so much these days to guide us in your Church, one who has "faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6).
In this time when people laugh at our traditions of old, when liberalism is so adored, modern thoughts highly praised and so embraced that many of us are so concerned in "cleansing the outside of the cup and dish while inside us are filled with plunder and evil" and pride, so highly speaking of freedom, inclusivity and sensitivity that in the process we forget You, Jesus; like St. Teresa of Avila, lead us back to our faith working through love that seeks You in deep prayer by detaching ourselves from the trappings of this modern world like social media's very alluring style of story-telling that's empty inside because of all outside as "palabas" - one big show, a circus.
We pray to You, Jesus, through St. Teresa of Avila for the grace of a contemplative spirit in a world so active that frees us from the slavery of one's own passions and fantasies so that we can be more free to become a loving person who sees You in others we must serve. Amen.
Photo by author, 21 August 2024, St. Scholastica Spirituality Center, Tagaytay City.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Memorial of St. John XXIII, Pope, 11 October 2024 Galatians 3:7-14 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 11:15-26
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
Lord Jesus Christ, fill me with your Holy Spirit, enliven my faith, hope and love in You; in this age of so many divisions when we are being pulled by the strong forces of the past to go back to what was before due to the excesses of modern time, let us look for your Cross, O Lord, to let the "finger of God" work in us to cleanse us of all evil and filth that make us "scatter" than "gather".
“But if is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you… Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’ But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that person is worse than the first” (Luke 11:20, 23-26).
Let us realize, like what St. Paul tells us in today's first reading that we who "have faith in You are the children of Abraham, that the blessing of Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:7, 14).
Let us embrace that truth, Jesus, that You have done everything for our salvation, for our freedom, for our being children of the Father; You have cleansed us, come fill us with your Spirit for us to see our similarities not differences to build a more humane society here on earth; fill us with your Spirit, Jesus, let not the bonds and shackles of sin hold us, isolated from others, always competing that prevent peace in finally happening.
Help us imitate your faithful servant St. John XXIII who convened the Second Vatican Council to open the windows of the Church and welcome this modern age so we may find You Jesus ever more present in this changing time; most of all, to share You, Jesus who is still most needed in this troubled age.
You have done everything for us, Jesus. Let us rest on that by remaining in You, doing your work and make us stop playing god, savior of the world. Amen.
Photo by Ka Ruben, new stained glass of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City to be blessed on Sunday, the 107th anniversary of the last Apparition of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Sts. Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs, 16 September 2024 1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 7:1-10
Photo by author, Alfonso, Cavite, 21 April 2024.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another (1 Corinthians 11:33).
Lovely words, God our Father, for this lovely, cold Monday of overcast skies most likely with a lot of rains ahead.
Wash us clean, O God, with your rains of mercy and wisdom: it must be so easy to understand what St. Paul meant that we "wait for one another" when we come to eat together but that is exactly what has become a rarity these days; forgive us, Father, for like the Corinthians we have become like pagans, so unChristian in our lives especially at the Eucharist of your Son Jesus Christ; we no longer "wait" for one another as in we do not celebrate as one due to factions and selfishness that come in all forms; we no longer "wait" not serving each other truly as brothers and sisters; worst of all, we live for the present moment alone, being so unwise like unfaithful servants not "waiting" for Christ's return.
Let us "wait" for you, Jesus, like the people in Capernaum: the locals "waiting" for the centurion as they "strongly urged" you to help him because of his kindness to Jews; lovely was how the centurion "waited" for you, sending emissaries asking you Jesus for the healing of his slave; but, most wonderful of all, was the centurion's faith in you, Lord as he described how his slave faithfully "waited" on him, prompting him to tell you:
“Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; but say the word and let my servant be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one ‘Go’, and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (Luke 7:6, 7-8).
Indeed, dear Jesus, to "wait" is to serve; to "wait" is to be one with others and with you; to "wait" to find myself always not worthy to receive you but you chose to "wait" for us in the Cross with your words of mercy and forgiveness that we are all healed, we are saved.
Pray for us, holy martyrs Pope Cornelius and Bishop Cyprian who both waited faithfully for their flock especially those who have lapsed in faith, those who have sinned and erred. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 15 September 2024 Isaiah 50:5-9 <*{{{{>< James 2:14-18 ><}}}}*> Mark 8:27-35
There is something very striking with the similarities and differences in our gospel last Sunday and today that greatly reveal to us the person of Jesus Christ whom we all imitate and follow as His disciples.
In Decapolis last Sunday, Jesus separated a deaf man – “took him off by himself away from the crowd” – to heal him by putting his fingers into the man’s ears, then spitted and touched his tongue as he groaned “Ephphatha” – be opened – and the man was healed as “he spoke plainly”.
Further up north of Decapolis which is the chief pagan city of Caesarea Philippi, the Apostle Peter took Jesus away from the crowd after the Lord spoke openly of His coming Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
But unlike the deaf mute healed when separated from the rest, Jesus rebuked Peter as He returned to the crowd as He continued to speak openly of His coming Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do” (Mark 8:31-33).
Photo by author at Petra in Jordan, May 2019.
I love the contrast of these two events Mark tells us so succinctly without missing details that speak so well of God’s ways and man’s ways, of what is to think and act like Jesus and how the devil tricks us into its devious and insidious ploys.
See also how last Sunday the healed deaf-mute “spoke plainly” in Christ while today we are invited by Mark to “openly speak” like Jesus of life’s sufferings and death.
When God separates us from the rest of the people and our usual routines like what happened at Decapolis last Sunday, it is because He wants us to experience Him more closely, for us to be healed, and for us to touch base with Him anew who is the very root of our being. Like that nameless deaf man, we need to separate once in a while from the world for us to be healed of our many deafness so that we may listen more intently to God’s voice and words right in our hearts, in the scriptures, and in the cries of the poor and suffering among us.
Actually, Jesus was continuing in Caesarea Philippi His method last Sunday of “separating” when He first asked the Twelve “Who do people say that I am?” that prompted them to tell Him the many misconceptions about His identity. In a similar way with the deaf at Decapolis, Jesus took off the Twelve in Caesarea Philippi when He asked them the more specific question “But who do you say that I am?” and Peter rightly answered Him, “You are the Christ.”
Matthew has a similar story probably with some additions from other sources that we find Jesus praising Peter for his answer, entrusting to him the church, and promising him with the key to heaven. The rebuke of Peter would happen later in their journey.
Mark had none of that considering his gospel was Matthew’s basis. We find in Mark’s brief account of Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi Perhaps how often just as when we feel so close with God like Peter, it is the same moment when the devil comes to trick us to break away from God and follow our own ways, not His.
Photo by author near ancient city of Caesarea Philippi, May 2017.
The event at Caesarea Philippi gives us clearest sign to identify Jesus as the Christ, that is when Jesus speaks openly of His coming Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly (Mark 8:31-32).
Jesus never hides us from the realities of life as He speaks “openly” of His Pasch. From Caesarea Philippi, Jesus and the Twelve would head back south towards Jerusalem making a stop over on Mount Tabor for the Transfiguration where Christ’s glory was revealed to Peter, James and John.
It was during His Transfiguration that that Father and the Son made clear that Christ’s glory cannot be separated from the Cross. It was after Caesarea Philippi when Jesus announced thrice to the Twelve His coming Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
Notice too that qualifier “must” – that He “must suffer greatly”.
Just one word but so powerful, showing us the consistency of Jesus in speaking about His Pasch, the Cross, and later its relationship with discipleship, of the need for us to forget ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.
Our motorized procession of the Blessed Sacrament in our previous Parish at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020. Photo by Ms. Anne Ramos.
It saddens me when some priests and people in the Church shy away from talking openly about life’s many sufferings. We recognize their good intentions of not forgetting the beautiful and brighter side of being a Christian but to look at the Cross negatively and all its other implications is totally unChristian.
We cannot disregard the pains and darkness that come in being a disciple of Jesus; the Cross is the life of a disciple because it is the center of Christ’s person and teachings as expressed in yesterday’s Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. All these “health and wealth” style of many preachers even in the Church are red flags of the devil’s ploy, of Peter separating Jesus from the Cross.
We act like Peter rebuking Jesus in Caesarea Philippi whenever we try to soften or hide, even cover the corruption and abuses going on in the society and families, the Church and our communities. That is clearly thinking in man’s ways not in God’s ways.
We cannot arrive at the truth and beauty of life disregarding the falsehoods and negativities around us. That was the problem with the people in mistaking Jesus as one of the prophets who were seen more as miracle workers who instantly healed them of their sickness.
Photo by author in my previous parish, 2017.
And here lies the danger too to us that we will never be able to have a good answer to Christ’s question “But who do you say I am?” if we avoid the many passion and death of this life in Jesus.
To openly speak like Jesus and embrace the sufferings and death we must endure is our first expression of faith with works we heard in the second reading from James.
To openly speak like Jesus and embrace the sufferings and death we must endure is the fulfillment of the first reading’s Song of the Suffering Servant who is Jesus Himself.
When we openly speak and embrace life’s daily sufferings and deaths like Jesus is to trust completely in God like Him. Let us speak openly of the Cross, of love and mercy, of God like Jesus Christ! Let us pray:
Lord Jesus Christ, let me continue to follow you closely by separating from the rest often to hear you more, to love you more, to trust you more; let me know you more clearly so that I may love you more dearly and follow you more closely speaking plainly, speaking openly without sugarcoating your call, your Cross. Amen.
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