The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, 14 September 2023
Numbers 21:4-9 ><}}}}*> Philippians 2:6-11 ><}}}}*> John 3:13-17
Photo by author, 02 September 2023.
With their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses…
Numbers 21:4
Forgive us,
God our Father,
for always complaining
even challenging you
when things get
difficult and rough
for us in life;
forgive us,
merciful Father
when our patience
is worn out
by life's journey
that we forget all
your good works,
not seeing the long
distances we have
covered,
the rivers we have crossed,
and mountains and hills
we have overcome
with you,
through you,
in you.
Brothers and sisters: Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:6-8
Empty our hearts
of our pride,
Lord Jesus Christ
and fill us
with your humility,
justice,
and love;
make us realize
Jesus that it is in
being empty
and detached
when we are truly free
and hence, more faithful
and loving without
any encumbersome
or excess baggages
that bog us down
in moving on in life.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that anyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
John 3:16
Let me love
like you,
dear God:
a love that seeks
relationships
and connections
not isolation
nor self-sufficiency;
let me love
like Jesus,
a love rooted in the Father,
a love that is more than a feeling
but a decision,
a choice made daily,
affirmed in actions of
fidelity and kindness,
obedience and trust;
let me love
like you, O God:
a love that gives life,
other-centered,
veritable/truthful,
and enduring.
Let me love my Cross,
Jesus,
to let me lose
everything in you
and for you
in order to gain
life and you.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop & Doctor of the Church, 13 September 2023
Colossians 3:1-11 <*{{{>< + ><}}}*> = <*{{{>< + ><}}}*> Luke 6:20-26
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Convent, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.
Direct our thoughts
this day to you O Lord,
our loving God and Father
in heaven!
Let us seek what is above
where Christ is seated
at your right hand, O God;
let us think of what is above,
not of what is on earth
for we have already died
in sin with our life now hidden
with Christ in you, dear God;
most of all, let us put to death,
then, the parts of us that are earthly:
immorality, impurity, passion,
evil desire and the greed that
is idolatry (Colossians 3:1-3, 5).
Many times we forget these,
dear God, spending too much time
and efforts that later amount to nothing
as we pursue things of the earth;
we not only destroy our selves
but also the people you have gifted us
to be our companions in this life;
how easy for us to profess our love
for mankind without recognizing
those people we meet each day
as our beloved, missing the trees
for the forest!
How lovely when your Son
Jesus our Lord came,
he looked up to us so often,
as if telling us to look up too,
not down on ourselves and
to one another; normally, we
look up to you, dear God
because you are above us
but Jesus looked up to us
to show us how blessed we are:
Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours.”
Luke 6:20
Loving Father,
let me remember that
true blessedness is having
nothing except you;
true blessedness is
being looked up to
by Jesus,
remembered,
cared for,
and
accompanied
in this life back to you
in Heaven.
Indeed, as St. John Chrysostom
had taught us,
you, O God, ask us
so little
but gives us
so much!
Amen.
Photo by author, Mount St. Paul, La Trinidad, Benguet, 2017.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-12 ng Setyembre 2023
Larawan kuha ni G. Cristian Pasion, Bihilya ng Pasko ng Pagkabuhay 2022, Pambansang
Noong bata ako buong akala ko ang paglalamay at pakikiramay ay iisa. Alalaong-baga, kapag may lamayan, mayroong namatay at paraan iyon ng pakikiramay. E hindi pala ganun!
Sa aking pagtanda at pagkamulat sa wika, higit sa lahat sa buhay na palaging kaakibat pagkamulat din sa kamatayan, napagtanto ko na bagaman magkaiba ang lamay at ramay, malalim at matalik ang ugnayan ng dalawang kataga.
Ang paglalamay ay pagpupuyat, tulad ng pagsusunog ng kilay o pag-aaral sa gabi. Maari din itong hindi pagtulog sa magdamag upang matapos ang isang proyekto at gawain. Naglalamay din bilang bahagi ng gampanin at tungkulin tulad ng mga nagtatrabaho ng pang-gabi o graveyard shift gaya ng mga pulis, mamamahayag, drayber, mga viajero at mga nasa call center.
Maraming pagkakataon sa paglalamay ikaw ay may kasamang nagpupuyat upang tulungan na tapusin ang gawain o gampanan ang tungkulin. Sa paglalamay, palaging mayroong kasama upang tulungan tayong malampasan ano mang pagsubok na pinagdaraanan. Doon nagsasalapungan ang dalawang kataga ng lamay at ramay: sa gitna ng kadiliman ng gabi, mayroong maasahang kasamang nakikibahagi at nakikiisa sa pagdurusan at hirap na pinagdaraanan.
Larawan kuha ni G. Jay Javier, Tayabas, Quezon, 13 Agosto 2023.
Napakaganda ng larawang sinasaad ng lamay at ramay – ang kadiliman ng gabi. Sa bibliya, ang gabi at kadiliman ay sumasagisag sa kapangyarihan ng kasamaan.
Ipinanganak si Jesus sa pinakamadilim na gabi ng buong taon, mula Disyembre 23 hanggang 25. Malinaw na pagpapahayag ito ng pakikiramay ng Diyos sa kadiliman ng ating buhay. Doon siya palaging dumarating kung tutuusin.
Huwag nating pag-alinlanganan katotohanang ito na muli nating natunghayan noong Huling Hapunan ng Panginoon na naganap sa pagtatakip-silim ng Huwebes Santo. Kinagabihan si Jesus ay nanalangin sa halamanan ng Getsemani ngunit tinulugan ng tatlong malalapit na mga alagad. Huli na ang lahat nang sila ay magising nang dumating si Judas Iskariote, isa sa kanilang mga kasamahan na nagkanulo kay Jesus sa kadiliman ng gabi.
Anong saklap na walang karamay si Jesus sa paglalamay na iyon na nagpatuloy sa kanyang paglilitis sa Sanhedrin kung saan naman tatlong ulit siyang tinatwa ni Simon Pedro habang nasa labas ng tahahan ng punong pari. Kaya nga kung sakali man tayo ay nasa napakadilim na yugto ng buhay at tila nag-iisa, alalahaning si Jesus ay ating kapiling, nakikiramay sa atin dahil siya ang naunang nakaranas na maglamay ng walang karamay! Kanya itong binago at tiniyak na hindi na mauulit kanino man upang siya ay makaramay sa bawat lamay ng ating buhay nang siya ay muling mabuhay, nagtagumpay sa kamatayan at kasamaan sa gitna rin ng kadiliman ng gabi.
larawan kuha ni G. Cristian Pasion, Bihilya ng Pasko ng Pagkabuhay 2021.
Kamakailan ay dumadalas aking pagmimisa sa mga lamayan ng mga yumaong mga kamag-anak at kaibigan. Noon pa man lagi nang nasasambit ng mga kaibigan bakit nga ba hindi tayo magkita-kita habang buhay pa kesa naman doon na lamang palagi nabubuo pamilya at barkada sa lamayan ng namamatay?
Tama rin naman kanilang bukambibig sa mga lamayan. Ano pa ang saysay ng pagsasama-sama gayong nawala na at pumanaw ang mahal sa buhay?
Ngunit kamakailan ay napagnilayan ko rin na tama lamang na magkita-kita tayo sa mga lamayan upang ipahayag ating pakikiramay dahil naroon tayo hindi lamang upang makidalamhati kungdi magpuri at magpasalamat din sa isang yumao. Wika nga ng marami, lamay lamang ang hindi ipinangungumbida kasi doon masusukat tunay na kabutihan ng isang tao sa kanyang pagpanaw: kung marami ang naglamay at nakiramay, ibig sabihin, mabuti siyang tao, mapakisama, laging karamay noong nabubuhay pa.
Napagtanto ko ito sa nakakatawang pagkakataon; kundangan kasi, bilang mula sa mga sinaunang panahon, para sa akin ang pakikiramay ay dapat seryoso. Malungkot nga dapat at nakikidalamhati. Hirap na hirap ako noong matanggap ang picture taking sa lamayan! Iskandalo kung baga sa akin ang magpose at picture-taking sa lamayan, lalo na sa tabi ng labi ng yumao. Paano ka namang ngingiti e mayroong ngang patay at namatayan?
Larawan kyha ng may akda, 2018.
Nakatutuwang isipin kung paanong itinuro sa akin ng teknolohiya ang malalim na kahulugan ng pakikiramay sa paglalamay. Na ito ay higit sa lahat pagdiriwang ng buhay, pagpupugay at pasasalamat sa magandang samahan na ating tinitiyak na magpapatuloy pumanaw man ating kaibigan at kamag-anakan. Ang ating pakikiramay ay hindi lamang pagpadarama ng pakikiisa sa dalamhati kungdi pagtiyak ng pagkakaisang ito sa pagmamahal, pasasalamat at pag-alala tuwina sa isang pumanaw at kanilang mga naulila.
Mainam pa rin makadaupang-palad mga kamag-anak at kaibigan habang nabubuhay ngunit hindi pa rin huli ang lahat na sakali man dala ng maraming kadahilanan tayo ay makiramay tuwing mayroon lamay dahil ang totoo’y buhay pa rin ating ipinagdiriwang. Ito ang dahilan kaya ating tawag sa pumapanaw ay hindi namatay kungdi sumakabilang buhay. Balang araw siya ring ating hantungang lahat kung saan ang lamay at ramay ay iisang katotohanan na lamang na kung tawagi’y, pag-ibig.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Twenty-third Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 12 September 2023
Colossians 2:6-15 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 6:12-19
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, 2019.
Father,
our loving God,
I am getting old;
there is indeed a gap
not only in our age
but also in many other things.
Yet, it is so amazing
that even in this modern age
of great technological
advances me and my
generation could not keep up
much less even learn nor
understand, I am so grateful
to you loving Father
that people still these days
thirst for you,
yearn for you,
search for you.
In my dealings with
people these days,
both young and old alike,
they still prefer meaning
in life than just mere
material pursuits;
more people still find
themselves in moral dilemmas,
a sign they still have moral fiber,
a conscience bothered
by evil and sin.
Help us, dear Father,
to walk in Jesus Christ,
be rooted in him and be
built upon him so as not
to be captivated with empty,
seductive philosophy afflicting
even some churchmen
according to the tradition of men
and elemental powers of the world
not according to Christ
(Colossians 2:6-8).
May we remain
true to your teachings
and to your very person,
Lord Jesus
so as not to mislead
others to modern fads and
trends because we have
tried and tested,
you never go out of style;
you are always "in" because
you dwell in each of us,
truly "hip" because you are
forever true.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Twenty-third Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 11 September 2023
Colossians 1:24-2:3 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 6:6-11
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 2017.
Dearest Father in heaven:
Is there really being at the
wrong place at a wrong time?
It has been 22 years since 9/11
when so many lives were lost,
many families and relationships
were broken by those terrorist attacks;
recently, over 2000 people perished
in a massive earthquake in Morocco;
everywhere, bad things happen to
many people because they were
at the wrong place at the wrong time,
Father?
I know, dear God,
life is not that simple
or simplistic, of being at the
wrong place at the wrong time;
if you are everywhere, Father,
how could there be
a wrong place and
a wrong time?
Brothers and sisters: I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his Body, which is the Church…
Colossians 1:24
NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: (SEPTEMBER 11 RETROSPECTIVE) Smoke pours from the twin towers of the World Trade Center after they were hit by two hijacked airliners in a terrorist attack September 11, 2001 in New York City. (Photo by Robert Giroux/Getty Images)
But as I prayed with St. Paul,
I realize something more deep,
more profound, even mysterious,
than our common excuse of
being at the wrong place at the
wrong time: every here and now
is always a right place and
right time in you, O God our
loving Father!
St. Paul was at the right place and
right time on that day on his way
to Damascus to persecute
the Christians to meet Jesus Christ;
all throughout his life, as he
completely surrendered to Jesus,
St. Paul found everything falling
into its right place in you, O God.
Many times,
people and nature
may seem to put us
at the wrong place
and the wrong time,
but you always ensure, O God,
in Christ Jesus that everything
will work out in our favor
like that man with a withered hand
planted by the scribes and
Pharisees at the synagogue
on a sabbath to see if Jesus
would heal him.
But he realized their intentions and said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up and stand before us.” And he rose and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than do evil, to save life rather than destroy it?” Looking around at them all, he then said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so and his hand was restored.
Luke 6:8-10
There are many ways of looking
at every situation in life,
either as a blessing
or a curse or a bad luck
as some would usually say;
but with you, dear Jesus
who had come to bring God
closest to us,
every time,
every place
is always the right one,
a blessed one.
Open our hearts
to your loving presence,
Father, in Jesus Christ
who suffered and died
to rise again for us
to experience life
amid death,
joy amid sufferings,
and light in darkness.
Amen.
Photo by author, Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infant, Quezon, 04 March 2023.
The Lord Is My Chef sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sunday in the Twenty-third Week of Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 10 September 2023
Ezekiel 33:7-9 ><))))*> Romans 13:8-10 ><))))*> Matthew 18:15-20
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Convent, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.
Our gospel this Sunday is very difficult but also one of the simplest and fundamental teachings by Jesus Christ: fraternal correction for more harmonious relationships.
That is very difficult because we have all experienced how when we heard of somebody going wayward in life, of living in a life of sin, our immediate reaction is to talk about them, engage in gossips without any intentions at all to correct them. Sad to say, we even distance ourselves from them – exactly the opposite of what Jesus is teaching us today:
Jesus said to his disciples: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two other along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.”
Matthew 18:15-17
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Convent, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.
Jesus is now heading to Jerusalem to fulfill his mission. Along the way, he taught his disciples important lessons about the Church he had just “established” upon Peter, the Rock, while at Caesarea Philippi three weeks ago.
In these next three Sundays, Jesus tackles three delicate issues we continue to face even in our modern time like fraternal correction, forgiving, and work. These are delicate topics because they are all expressions of mutual love for one another.
Very often, we commit the sin of omission in the realms of these three, particularly of fraternal correction as we tend to detach ourselves from others especially if they are committing sin. By distancing from them, we unconsciously allow them to sin. In the movie The Good Nurse based on that true story of a nurse in the US who killed so many patients for some years by transferring to different hospitals, the good nurse asked him why he did it? The serial killer nurse said, “nobody told me to stop doing it.”
The dark side of the sin of omission lies in that tendency within us to not care at all especially with those who prefer to separate from us and lead their lives in the way they wanted. There is that tendency within us to be like Cain even if we are not guilty of any sin or may even be the offended party, saying, “am I my brother’s keeper?” Most sad are our Filipino expressions when somebody sins, “Bahal ka na sa buhay mo…pinili mo iyan, pagdusahan mo.”
Photo by author, Camp John Hay, 12 July 2023.
Fraternal correction is the antidote to sins of omission because it is about keeping our relationships intact as family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ.
Jesus becomes truly present in the world among us when we live in harmony because “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt. 18:20).
As early as the Old Testament, God had already insisted on this moral precept as his children that we look after one another like a guard or sentinel in the positive sense as he told the Prophet Ezekiel in the first reading. At that time, the enemies of Judah were closely approaching their borders that they designated watchmen as their first line of defense. Failure by these watchmen to warn the people – as it turned out later – could spell disaster for the kingdom.
The same thing is true with us. We are all interrelated with each other. One rotten tomato can spoil the whole batch. We cannot choose to be indifferent or just be mere bystanders amid the evil and sins happening around us perpetrated by those closest to us. But we must do it all in the spirit of love, not because we are better or holier.
Brothers and sisters: Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 13:8, 10
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 22 March 2023.
Fraternal correction is an expression of our mutual love for one another, the exact opposite of sin of omission. St. Paul offers us a lot today about this love that builds our family and community still from his letter to the Romans.
Let us start with St. Paul’s conclusion that love is the fulfillment of the law which we often hear and even proclaim to others. Main question that arises from this is the nature of this love. For St. Paul, love is the self-sacrificing love that Jesus showed us when he offered himself for us on the cross. Recall last Sunday St. Paul reminded us to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice(Rom. 12:1) like Jesus. In that same chapter, St. Paul spoke about not retaliating or seeking vengeance, an echoing of the Lord’s instruction on love when asked by a scholar of the law which is the greatest of the commandments (Mt.22:37-40).
Here we find, love for St. Paul is the imitation of Jesus Christ, a love that can never be measured at all and even be demanded and decreed! The love of Jesus Christ is so new as he mentioned at his last supper (Jn. 13:34) because it is a love rooted in God, a love that elevates us or as young people say “levels up” every disciple into the mystical plane.
Prior to his telling us today “to owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another”, St. Paul was expounding at the beginning of Romans 13 the theme of obedience to authority, a sort of social responsibilities, of things like justice (vv.1-7). While justice demands we pay off our debts and other dues to one another, to the state and public officials, it is a totally different scenario when it comes to love.
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Convent, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.
Love is not a possession that anyone can receive or give in an exactly measured quantity. St. Mother Teresa said that the measure of love is when you love immeasurably. There is no such thing as a kilo of love. It is either you love or do not love! And when that happens, when we do not love, then we sin. That sin can only be repaired and corrected by love. Sin is when we lack love; to overcome sin, pour in more love.
In all his writings, St. Paul always had love as the basis of his teachings so that without sounding as imposing, he could persuade us to live deeply moral lives as expression of that love in Christ which he eloquently expressed in his ode to love in 1 Corinthians 13. One of the earliest Latin phrases I have learned as a child was from my elementary school days at St. Paul College Bocaue (Bulacan). Our school motto is “Caritas Christi urget nos” – The love of Christ impels us (to love more) – from 2 Corinthians 5:14.
When we examine our true love experiences that are not selfish but other centered, we realize that love is a debt we can never pay off because love is a gift from God. This gift of his love makes us those who receive it in a filial, loving relationship with him our Father. Most of all, we realize we too can love like Jesus Christ!
God does not “order” nor “command” us in the strict sense to love him. He asks for our love because he loves us, because he is love. When we love, we fulfill the commandments of God. We live in peace and harmony with one another like in heaven. That is why it is only love that will remain in heaven where there will be no more fraternal corrections. Most of all, never be paid off as a debt because love is all that shall remain to become our very person in Christ. Amen.It is a Sunday. If you love, celebrate Mass in your parish. Have a blessed, loving week!
Photo by author, La Trinidad, Benguet, 12 July 2023.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 08 September 2023
Romans 8:28-30 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Matthew 1:18-23
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2023.
Praise and glory to God
our loving Father in
choosing you, Most Blessed
Virgin Mary to be the Mother
of his Son, our Lord
Jesus Christ!
You are most unique
of us all not on your own
account but totally
on the goodness of God;
but, there lies your greatness
in teaching us that important
lesson of being open to God,
to his plan and will,
to always saying yes to him,
trusting him,
remaining faithful to him.
We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Convent, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.
You are the only exception,
dearest Mother Mary,
next to Jesus our Savior and
his forerunner St. John the Baptist
whose birthday we celebrate
to remind each of us
that we are born into this
world according to God's plan.
Let us keep that
ingrained in our hearts
and minds:
no matter what
are the circumstances,
sometimes too painful
and even unbearable
for some,
God our Father
has plans for us that
he gifted us with life
to be born,
to be alive
because he called us
according
to his purpose;
each of us
is a part of God's
grand design
and what an honor
and privileged
we are born!
Pray for us,
dear Mother Mary,
to be open to God,
to say yes
and act on his call
to us just like you
to fulfill his purpose;
pray for us,
dear Mother to have
that courage like you
to believe no matter what,
even amid the lack of
any understanding
of the implications of God's
plans for us;
pray for us,
dearest Mother
to be close to Jesus
especially at the Cross
just like you.
Thank you,
Blessed Mother Mary
in saying yes to God
to be the Mother of his Son,
to be the first among us
in being conformed
to the image of Jesus Christ,
from his birth to his death
and on to his resurrection
that you now enjoy
his promised glory
in heaven.
Amen.
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Convent, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Twenty-Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 07 September 2023
Colossians 1:9-14 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 5:1-11
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Convent, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.
God our loving Father,
I have been praying
for many things from you
for myself and friends
but today, I imitate
the prayers of St. Paul
for the Colossians:
…that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord…
Colossians 1:9-10
This is what we should first
pray for daily,
to be filled with knowledge
of your will, O God:
we do not have to be all-knowing
like you but be open
to discern your will,
to follow and do
what you ask us
without doubts
or apprehensions like
when Simon Peter
obeyed Jesus Christ's
order to cast their nets into
the deep despite their not
catching anything at all
the previous night;
forgive us, Father,
for many times we
feel and so believe
that we know so much,
the we know better
that anyone, including
you.
Fill us with knowledge
of your will, O God,
so we may have the
spiritual wisdom and
understanding to see our
sinfulness before you,
just like Simon Peter
after that miraculous catch
of fish when he fell at the
knees of Jesus, saying,
"Depart from me, O Lord,
for I am a sinful man"
(Lk.5:8).
Fill us with knowledge
of your will, O God,
so we may seek
meaning and fulfillment,
not just material things
and pleasures we can totally
abandon to follow Jesus
catching men and women
for him "to be delivered
from the power of darkness"
to have redemption.
Amen.
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Convent, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Twenty-Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 06 September 2023
Colossians 1:1-8 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 4:38-44
From Facebook, April 2021: “There is an urgency to announce the Joy, the joy of the Risen Lord.”
My dearest Jesus,
my Lord and my God,
how often have I tried to
have you solely as mine,
trying to keep you for myself,
refusing to share you with others,
forgetting the inverse truth
that to have you is actually
to give you,
to share you
with others?
At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent.”
Luke 4:42-43
Teach me, dear Jesus
to be like Simon's
mother-in-law: after
being healed by you,
"she immediately got up
and waited on them"
(Lk. 4:39); teach me to
be attached to you,
close to you but never
to cling to you in a way
that prevents others
from experiencing you.
Like St. Paul who freely
trusted other fellow workers
in your vineyard,
let me enrich others' faith
by graciously sharing you
with them so that
they too may share
you to more other
people to experience
your love and mercy,
your joy of salvation.
Amen.
Much of my 25 years in the priesthood were spent in the school ministry. My first assignment after ordination in 1998 was as a school administrator and teacher at our diocesan school in Malolos City until 2010. After a decade of parish ministry with a parish of my own, I was again sent to the school setting as chaplain of the Our Lady of Fatima University in Valenzuela City in 2021 to present.
As I celebrated Masses of the Holy Spirit in our six campuses amid the rains of the past two weeks, I told our students of the one important lesson they must first learn every school opening: there will always be storms in life. Literally and figuratively speaking. There are no ways of preventing storms and typhoons. Just like other calamities. Hence, the need for our students at a very young age to learn too the very important lesson of prayer.
Photo by author.
My dear students, prayers do not necessarily change situations like typhoons and calamities but prayers transform the person.
A man of prayer or a woman of prayer is like a gold bar or a diamond that even if it is thrown into the mud or sewage, it remains a gold or diamond. A person of prayer becomes strong and pure like gold and diamond or any precious stone.
So, have a prayer life.
Handle life with prayer so you will be able to weather every storm that comes to your life. Have that sacred space within you where you meet and commune with God, with Jesus Christ. Remember, God’s presence is never determined by outside forces like storms. God is always with us, even within us. Problem is we rarely notice nor recognize him because we are not attuned with him.
Experts tell us that every storm has an eye as its central part; however, the eye is the calmest part of every storm, always bright and sunny. It is its walls that are most dangerous where winds are most strongest and unpredictable. Having a prayer life, having a sacred space within us is like having that eye of the storm, our center of being that is always calm and peaceful because that is being rooted and grounded in God.
More than reciting prayers, having a prayer life is entering into a relationship with God in Jesus Christ, creating that sacred space within us where we experience his Divine presence whatever the season or weather is. It is being one with God. This relationship with God is reflected in our relationships with others, enabling you to make many friends and create wonderful relationships that enrich you as a person and eventually, after graduation, as a professional.
Photo by author.
The post-COVID period offers us with so many new ways of learning even amid class suspensions during storms. New methods, new technologies will emerge in the future making learning more enriching, more sustainable amid many outside factors like storms. But one thing remains very true in all our learning endeavors: we can only know so much, and there is only one who truly knows everything in this life – God. Know him first. And well.
This school year and every school opening until your graduation, remember these three things always, my dear students: study hard, work harder, and pray hardest. God bless!
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