The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle, 30 November 2021
Romans 10:9-18 ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> Matthew 4:18-22
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, 2019.
On this Feast of your "Protokletos" or
your "first to be called" as Apostle, I pray
Lord Jesus, for the many other St. Andrew
who have led me to you to be your disciple.
How beautiful it is to recall from the
fourth gospel how St. Andrew was
originally a disciple of St. John the Baptist
but when he met you on your baptism,
he dared asked you where you stayed;
and when you told him to "come and see",
the next thing we are told he called his
elder brother Simon, telling him how he
had seen the Messiah and brought him to you.
My coming and seeing you, and following
you, dear Jesus, happened through the men
and women you have earlier called to be fishers
of men to call me too with their kindness and
witnessing to your gospel: my former teachers,
the many priests who have inspired me with
their ministry and friendships, the nuns who
nurtured my vocation in elementary, the many
other dedicated men and women of faith
whose lives with their encouraging conversations
and affirmations have inspired me
to seek and follow you more, Lord.
Hence, on this day, I pray also for deeper faith,
livelier hope and more infectious love from you,
Lord Jesus, that I may also be like St. Andrew,
a fisher of men and women who would bring
people closer to you in the service of the Church
and for the poor and needy.
But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent?
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 28 November 2021
Photo by author, sunrise at Lake of Galilee, Israel, 2017.
A blessed happy New Year, everyone!
It is the first Sunday of Advent, the start of another year in our Church calendar as we officially prepare for the coming Christmas these next four Sundays. And that is why we have chosen this 1973 music by Sergio Mendes and his Brasil ’77 for this Sunday, “Hey, Look At the Sun”.
From their third studio album called “Love Music”,Hey Look At The Sun sounds so personal with that Hey! – which is close with the spirit of Advent when Jesus calls us to be vigilant for his Second Coming (https://lordmychef.com/2021/11/27/beginning-with-the-end-in-sight/).
Sometimes I wonder if sunrise happens only once or twice a year, maybe every nation would stop and pause on those days so that everybody could see the beauty and charm of life every morning brings with the rising of the sun.
It is my favorite time of the day, of catching the rising sun that makes me feel so alive.
And so loved.
all of my life there were things i wanted to do but they all change the moment i set my eyes on you the magnet is on that attracted me to you there’s something inside i just can’t explain but now i know what i must do
hey look at the sun it’s fin’lly shining on my life shining on my life and it’s because of you it’s finally shining on my life for me and for you
Sergio Mendes and his lovely singers were suave and sophisticated, so to speak. Their songs are very inviting and melodious as they fused bossa nova with jazz and funk. Most of all, their lyrics – even the ones they covered – always touched on the human experience of love.
In Hey Look At the Sun composed by Nelson Angelo which was covered a decade ago by local artist Sitti, the main character speaks of how everything changed in her life after discovering love in a man who suddenly came to her life. Everything changes in our lives when we love and when we are loved.
This is the reason Jesus tells us in the gospel this Sunday to “beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties daily life” today along with St. Paul in the Second reading” (Lk.21:34), meaning, to love more the other person not only our very selves focused on material things.
To wait for his Second Coming at the end of time means to remain in loving service for one another; hence, the need for us to change our ways to rediscover love by rediscovering the next person to us as brothers and sisters in Jesus.
all of my life i’ve wondered round time and again but i’ve never thought that i am searching with to an end and then you came along and my world of love began so now i’m gonna change my ways you’re all i want you’re all i need
hey look at the sun it’s fin’lly shining on my life shining on my life and it’s all because of you it’s fin’lly shining on my life for me and for you
A blessed week ahead of everyone!
*We have no intentions of infringing into the copyrights of this music and its uploader except to share its beauty and listening pleasure.
I recently attended the 30th anniversary to the priesthood of my classmate from high school seminary who’s dying of a rare kind of cancer. Due to my being “mababa ang luha”, tears easily rolled from my eyes before the Mass started when I saw his mother sobbing as we brought him to his designated “lazy boy” at the altar.
This may sound weird but I must insist, I was not crying during that Mass for Fr. Sammy; just teary-eyed because everything was so touching.
In attendance were five of us classmates from the minor seminary, four priests and one lay, Fr. Sammy’s twin brother, Sannie. Main celebrant was our former prefect of discipline, Msgr. Albert while the homilist was the youngest in our class (1982) now our Vicar-General, Msgr. Pablo who recalled our high school seminary days when we were so young at 13-16 years old, and so thin, except me!
That was when more tears rolled from the corner of my eyes, making me wonder if there was any difference between shedding of tears and crying: my sight was never blurred without any need for me to wipe away my tears so often, and unlike in sobbing or crying, there was no gasping for air nor runny nose. I just felt there was a magical stream at the corner of my eyes overflowing with crystal-clear waters that felt so good as I reminisced our high school days.
But, I knew it was a lull in the storm… and soon, our dams of tears would surely break loose when the inevitable happens. For now, let’s not talk about it and just go back to my real topic, the shedding tears and crying.
Across the city of Jerusalem and way up from the Garden of Gethsemane is the Church of Dominus Flevit (the Lord Wept) whose roof is shaped like tears. It is the site believed to be where Jesus wept over Jerusalem for its coming destruction that eventually happened on the year 70 AD.
Photo by author, 2017, Church of Dominus Flevit, the Holy Land.
Notice that Jesus did not simply cry; he wept!
The Bible tells us that Jesus also wept was at the gravesite of his friend Lazarus whom he later raised to life (Jn.11).
How touching it must have been to see our Lord Jesus weeping, so human and most of all, so loving to his friends and for us all.
And that is what tears express, the deep love within us for one another, an outpouring of our love that look like beads of prayer.
While tears do come from ducts near our eyes that are automatically secreted when something foreign gets into our eyes to cleanse them, tears ultimately come from the soul that are deposited into the heart to cleanse and heal its wounds and scars left when we gave a part of ourselves in love. In the same manner, tears express our inner desires for love and acceptance, understanding and kindness, mercy and forgiveness, and most especially, for God and a loved one.
According to scientists, the chemical composition of tears vary depending on the emotion expressed why we cry; but, whether they are tears of joy or tears of sadness, tears are always a grace from God as they cleanse our eyes, our hearts and souls so we may see clearly everything in life, specially the face of the persons next to us or even far from us, whom to love, whom to trust, whom to believe again.
To be able to cry or to simply shed tears
means we are still alive,
that our heart is still beating,
still aching because we love.
Is there really a distinction between shedding tears and crying? I really do not know but what I am certain of is that tears are the most unique expressions of our human emotions that come from the deepest core of our being that when they flow in our crying and weeping, our whole body and very selves are fully involved. No wonder, crying can also be the most beautiful and eloquent prayer to God when our heart is overwhelmed with pain and sadness, even grief, or joy and happiness which our mouths cannot say but only our hearts can see.
That must be what Eric Clapton have felt when he wrote Tears in Heaven in 1992 following the tragic death of his four year old son Conor who accidentally fell from the 54th floor of their apartment in New York City.
To be able to cry – or to simply shed tears – means we are still alive, that our heart is still beating, still aching because we love and longing for love.
May our tears pave the way for beautiful smiles and joys in the heart in the days to come! Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 14 November 2021
Photo by Ms. Nikki A. Vergara, 2020 at Victoria, Laguna.
We go OPM (Original Pilipino Music) this Sunday with Color It Red’s 1994 single Paglisan from their Hand-Painted Sky album released that same year. Twice did we hear it played this week on two occasions as if accompanying us in our life journey: first was last Tuesday after a friend reminded me of our dinner the following day with her husband before they migrate to Canada and second at the funeral of a former classmate’s husband who suddenly died of a heart attack.
Paglisan perfectly matches our Sunday readings in preparation for the closing of our liturgical calendar two weeks from now. In the gospel we hear Jesus speaking of the coming tribulations and cosmic signs to signal the end of the world for his Second Coming when everything is finally made new in him, vanishing evil and sins on the face of earth. But it is not all destruction and end – it is actually a prelude to new beginnings in life in God.
Ms. Cookie Chua lends the most perfect voice and attitude to the song Paglisan that speaks about the death of a beloved or maybe a break up. So peaceful and serene with some birds chirping signaling the start of a new day, the song speaks of how everything must come to an end like a journey. And in every leaving and ending, there is always the love that remains and keeps us one with those who have left us.
Kung ang buhay ay isang umagang nakangiti At ikaw ay ang lupang sinusuyo ng bituin
‘Di mo man silip ang langit ‘Di mo man silip, ito’y nandirito pa rin
Kung ang lahat ay may katapusan Itong paglalakbay ay makakarating din sa paroroonan At sa iyong paglisan, ang tanging pabaon ko Ay pag-ibig
Sa pagbuhos ng ulan, sa haplos ng hangin Alaala mo ay nakaukit sa pisngi ng langit
‘Di man umihip ang hangin (ah) ‘Di man umihip, ika’y nandirito pa rin
Kung ang lahat ay may katapusan Itong paglalakbay ay makakarating din sa paroroonan At sa iyong paglisan, ang tanging pabaon ko Ay pag-ibig Ay pag-ibig Ay pag-ibig
The year is about to end. Let us be thankful for the people and experiences we have had this 2021 despite the pandemic. May we continue to do our part in working for a better future.
Have a blessed week ahead!
*We have no intentions of infringing into the copyrights of this music and its uploader except to share its beauty and listening pleasure.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
First Friday, Week XXXI, Year I in Ordinary Time, 05 November 2021
Romans 15:14-21 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 16:1-8
Photo by author at Silang, Cavite, 2020.
On this First Friday of November,
I thank you dear God our Father
for the enriching and comforting words
of St. Paul these recent weeks as we
come to the penultimate installment of his
beautiful Letter to the Romans:
I myself am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another. But I have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in performing the priestly service of the Gospel of God, so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:14-16
You have reminded us these past weeks
through St. Paul not only of the need to
have sound doctrine on what we believe
but most of all to have much love in our
faith and hope in you.
As he begins to close his letter to the
Romans, may we imitate his great love
and concern for the Gentiles and those
others to whom the Gospel has not been
proclaimed yet; many times in our lives,
we only remember those with us, those like
us, forgetting and missing out those not
with us, those living in the margins, those in
the fringes of the society and Church.
Give us, dear Father, such attention
of St. Paul in seeking those not yet in our fold,
those neglected and taken for granted; how sad
that we only remember others when we are already
in dire need and extreme situations like that wise
steward in the gospel today: at the height of his
power and influence, he never thought of the
creditors of his master, milking them dry of their
resources; but when he was in danger of being
terminated, he suddenly remembered them.
Most of all, he dealt with them with charity and
leniency to win their favors and sympathies.
Before any calamity or storm befall us,
when unfavorable circumstances happen
to us or anyone, remind us, loving Father,
to think of others,
to search for the lost
and little ones
lest we miss them totally
as if they do not exist.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious, 03 November 2021
Romans 13:8-10 ><]]]'> + ><]]]'> + ><]]]'> Luke 14:25-33
Your words from St. Paul today
are so sweet, O God our Father:
"Brothers and sisters: Owe nothing
to anyone except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has
fulfilled the law" (Romans 13:8).
That sounds so heavenly music to me,
Lord! In the world where we spend
so much time and money paying off
our debts, here is something that is so
good that we would never be able to
write off - the debt of love - because
the more we love, the more we are
indebted, the more we love it!
But it is not the kind of love that
the world knows which is not love
at all, a love that is just a feeling,
a self-serving desire with so many
attachments to self, things and others
that create a false sense of sufficiency
that we think the world owes us without
realizing we owe nothing to anyone
except to love one another.
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, “If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:25-27
Teach us to be simple and humble
like St Martin de Porres of Peru
whose feast we celebrate today;
enable us to imitate him in living
out the gospel of Jesus daily,
forgetting his very self to follow
his Lord and Master on the Cross
by sharing whatever he has
not only to everyone but
even to animals and pests
that he became known as
"Martin the charitable"!
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sunday XXXI-B in Ordinary Time, 31 October 2021
Deuteronomy 6:2-6 ><]]]]*> Hebrews 7:23-28 ><]]]]*> Mark12:28-34
Since the start of this pandemic last year, I have always have that strange feeling of COVID-19 chasing me like a mad dog that would not stop until I am dead. Even after I have had the jabs, practicing all health protocols and best efforts of being “positive” to be negative of the virus, that morbid feeling keeps on creeping.
It is depressing but, it is not that bad as the pandemic has slowly become a grace-filled moment for me like to many of you (I hope so) to discover anew and realize that GOD is absolutely the one thing most important in this life, that GOD is not just the first among all things in life but essentially the very reason of everything in life!
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”
Mark 12:28-30
Maturing and growing from fear to love.
From Jericho last Sunday, Jesus had finally reached Jerusalem, teaching in the temple area of the many valuable lessons on growing and maturing in our faith, in nurturing a personal relationship with God through him by moving from fear to love, from knowing to experiencing persons.
Like us in this time of the pandemic thrown into confusion, the scribe approached Jesus to be clarified with the many laws and precepts they were tasked to follow to lead a holy life and enter eternity. Like Bartimaeus last week, the scribe sincerely asked Jesus for enlightenment from the many darkness and blindness afflicting him.
And he was not disappointed when Jesus answered his question so differently by quoting verbatim from the most ancient prayer known by every devout Jew called the Shema Israel which we heard proclaimed at the first reading. By directly quoting Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Jesus showed that more than the question of being the “first commandment” in the list of things to follow that is always binding on all, loving God with one’s total person is actually the source of all other commandments – even of those not listed!
In his answer to the scribe’s question, Jesus perfectly showed what holiness is all about – an integration (wholeness) of one’s faith and prayer and life from which flows the very essential fact of our lives that there is no other God than our God who alone is the One.
And the good news is that this great and powerful God had chosen to be one with us in the most personal manner by residing in our hearts!
We have a beautiful expression in Tagalog, “nakialam ang Diyos” – God “intervened” in our very lives by sending us his own Son Jesus Christ, unmindful of our nothingness, because he chose to love us, to be with us, to redeem us. What an amazing and loving God is he indeed who is perfect and most holy seeking an intimate and personal relationship with the broken and imperfect, sinful humans through our Lord Jesus Christ who embraced everything in us except sin.
Photo by Ms. Mira Mandal Sibal.
In this scene, Jesus is inviting us to move away from our usual “impersonal” relationship with God that is based on laws to follow, resulting in fears to the punishments due when failed to obey them. It is not even a relationship to speak of but more like a deal or transaction wherein we look at him as God our Lord and Master who takes care of our needs as his subjects and servants. Very feudal, so far from God’s will.
Making matters worst is our Filipino psyche of “sapagkat ako ay tao lamang” where we capitalize on our being weak as humans, therefore lowly but not necessarily humble using it as an excuse for failing to “love” him accordingly, and thus, an expression of our pride and insubordination to God.
Like Bartimaeus before his healing, we prefer to stay at the roadside than join Jesus on the way, avoiding relationships that call for a commitment to love.
Jesus wants us to be involved with God through him personally for it is only through him and in him can we experience God’s immense love and mercy by letting go our selfish selves. And the more we let go our selves in love, experiencing pains and sufferings like Jesus, the more we mature and grow better as persons, realizing the need to nurture this wonderful relationship with God who is love, who is the very core of our being.
That is when we move closer to the kingdom of God which is the very person of Jesus Christ found in everyone!
“The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘He is One and there is no other than he.’ And ‘to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all the burn offerings and sacrifices.”
Mark 12:31-33
Maturing and growing, loving personally
Jesus continued his answer to the scribe by explaining the evolution of commandments from God as its very source, telling us that as we appreciate his majesty and grandeur, we naturally and progressively flow to our discovery and loving too of the other persons around us.
Christ reminds us that whenever we find there is no other God than our God, we likewise discover that everyone is our neighbor, not just those like us in belief and color. The more God reveals himself to us in his grandeur and majesty, the more he also reveals himself to us in every person. Thus, it was in this moment in that encounter with the scribe that Jesus reintroduced his teaching on the universality of salvation, not just for Jews but for everyone!
In a similar manner when Bartimaeus was healed of his blindness last Sunday, today’s gospel is a wonderful story of enlightenment of the scribe who also regained his sight and vision in realizing that the love of God is also the love of one another! That is why he too cannot deny in himself the very truth that the highest form of worship, of “burnt offering and sacrifices” at the temple is personally loving God through everyone around us.
This is one of the important lessons this COVID-19 pandemic has taught us: it is always easy to say or even assume most of the time that we love, that we are loved, taking for granted the expression of our love and concern for others. We now feel so sorry how we have let days and weeks, months and years to have passed without seeing or calling family and friends or at least saying “hi” in whatever platform of social media until COVID-19 came.
Photo from inquirer.net.
While this pandemic has taught us the value of many ordinary things we have taken for granted like simple washing of hands and basic practices of cleanliness that matter so much to remain virus free and healthy, it has painfully taught us too the value of every person dear to us when one by one they were getting infected with COVID-19, some never recovered from the dreaded disease and now gone forever.
So many deaths have occurred in our circles of family and friends since last year in this pandemic; and, the saddest part is how swiftly they have left without any warning at all, denying us the chance of even a few seconds to see them and tell them how much we loved and cared for them.
It is always easy to know and say there is only One God, that he loves us so much, and that we also love him in turn. But, to move from fear to real loving, from formal knowledge to personal relationship, it is different. How true is that saying of us seeing the forest but missing the trees!
This Sunday, Jesus tells us to grow and mature in our relationships with him in prayer that must flow progressively and naturally to the people around us. It is only in finding this close link of loving God and loving neighbors that we get nearer to Jesus, who is the kingdom of God.
Tomorrow we celebrate All Saints Day in honor of all the departed already in heaven and on November 2, the All Souls Day for those awaiting in purgatory. Two great feasts that coincide with our Sunday gospel preparing us for the final destination, of being in the kingdom of God fully which is heaven.
While still here on earth not from the kingdom of God, Jesus is giving us the grace to experience heaven in our personal love in him to the Father through each other. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Week XXX, Year I in Ordinary Time, 29 October 2021
Romans 9:1-5 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 14:1-6
Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 2020.
Today I feel dear God our Father
the pains and sadness of St. Paul
in the first reading for his fellow Jews'
refusal to accept and believe in your
Son Jesus Christ.
But it is something more than just
about faith, in accepting Jesus as
Savior that I am speaking of;
you know it very well of some loved
ones who are "blinded" by so many
other things in life that they cannot see
or refuse to see not only Jesus passing
by daily in our lives but even us family
and friends who truly care for them.
Brothers and sisters: I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie; my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing witness that I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh.
Romans 9:1-3
How can we open the eyes,
awaken our obstinate loved ones to
the truth that they are loved
when they are fixed with their past,
their hurts and pains despite
our apologies and amends made to them?
How can we make our obstinate beloved
realize we are present for them when
they prefer their gadgets and things,
their addictions and vices, even their
toxic friends and relationships?
How can we enable our obstinate
loved ones experience the beauty of life
when all they do is complain
what is lacking than what we have?
We pray today Lord Jesus for
those people we love who act like
those Pharisees and scholars of law
who refused to respond to your question
when you asked them, "Is it lawful to cure
on the sabbath or not?" before healing a
man suffering from dropsy; worst,
they preferred to be coldly silent
after you have healed the man (Lk.14:2-6).
Teach us to be more patient
and kind, loving and open to still accept
those who for all kinds of blindness
refuse to accept us, most especially YOU.
Amen.
Finally, I have found an opportunity this Sunday to feature one of our most favorite bands in the 1980’s with its superb music and mysterious – and controversial lyrics – R.E.M. with their first hit song in 1987 The One I Love that has often been misinterpreted by many people as a straightforward love song when in fact it is the opposite.
According to lead vocal Michael Stipe, he was hesitant at first in recording this song because it is about people using people repeatedly for selfish gains, describing it as so “brutal” with a line that says “A simple prop to occupy my time” – of how a man uses the one he “loves” like a thing!
This one goes out to the one I love This one goes out to the one I've left behind A simple prop to occupy my time This one goes out to the one I love
Fire Fire
This one goes out to the one I love This one goes out to the one I've left behind A simple prop to occupy my time This one goes out to the one I love
Stipe explained that the song never referred to any actual person nor event except that the band simply played up its lyrics while on tour with just one word at its chorus which is “Fire”.
One can readily find that it is not a love song at all by watching its music video that is generally dark except for some scenes of blue skies with white clouds that featured empty apartments and sad-looking couples.
But such is the genius of these four men who got together to form R.E.M. while students at the University of Georgia in 1980 as one of the earliest alternative rock bands who’s other major hit is called “Losing My Religion” – another song that one must not take literally as anti religion. But, that is another story we are reserving in the future.
We chose R.E.M.’s The One I Love because of its direct relationship with our Sunday gospel, especially at that part in the end when Jesus summoned the Twelve to himself to explain to them the basis of their relationships after the ten became indignant with the brothers James and John’s request from him to be seated at his right and his left when he assumes his kingship as the Messiah or Christ.
“You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:42-45
Here we find Jesus clearly telling us how our relationships must be based on love and respect, serving the lowest and weakest among us unlike the way of the world that is based on power and dominance where everyone tries to escape sufferings and persecutions (https://lordmychef.com/2021/10/16/the-things-we-wish-vs-things-we-pray-to-jesus/).
Love always calls for giving up of self, thinking always the good of the other person. Not using them as props.
*We have no intentions of infringing into the copyrights of this music and its uploader except to share its beauty and listening pleasure.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of St. Teresa of Avila, Virgin & Doctor of the Church, 15 October 2021
Romans 4:1-8 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 12:1-7
At that time, so many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot. Jesus began to speak, first to his disciples, “Beware of the leaven – that is, the hypocrisy – of the Pharisees. There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.
Luke 12:1-2
Dear God our Father,
as we remember St. Teresa of Avila
who bravely fought for what is true
and sublime, help us also to fight
hypocrisy that is so rampant
these days of mediated communications.
From the Greek word hypokritein
for "masks", we keep on putting
fake fronts on ourselves thinking
we would look better to others and
the world when in fact we end up
like actors and actresses,
or worst, as clowns making fun
of our very selves.
Help us realize the evil that is
hypocrisy as your Son Jesus Christ
reminds us today in the gospel
of how it acts as an accomplice
to every sin that leads us to the
eternal fires of hell or Gehenna.
St. Paul explained it so well in
continuing his exposition about your
righteousness, O God, how you have
justified Abraham not with his works
but with his deep faith in you; that,
the more we believe, the more we
obey you and your laws that Jesus
had summarized in the law of love.
Whenever we think of Christ we should recall the love that led him to bestow on us so many graces and favors, and also the great love God showed in giving us in Christ a pledge of his love; for love calls for love in return. Let us strive to keep this always before our eyes and to rouse ourselves to love him. For if at some time the Lord should grant us the grace of impressing his love on our hearts, all will become easy for us and we shall accomplish great things quickly and without effort.
St. Teresa of Avila, Office of Readings, 15 October
O most blessed
St. Teresa of Avila
who sought the truth of Jesus
Christ in deep prayers and works
of sacrifices, help us to be true;
teach us to take off our masks,
especially our religious hypocrisies
for nothing is concealed with God;
most of all, let us have a taste
of that sweet union in God
found in our being honest and true
to him always.
Amen.
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