Category: Resurrection of Jesus

Looking at Easter, seeing Easter

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday within the Octave of Easter, 07 April 2021
Acts of the Apostles 3:1-10  <*(((>< + ><)))*>   Luke 24:13-35
Photo by author, sunrise at Lake Tiberias in Galilee, the Holy Land, 2017.
When the crippled man saw Peter and John 
about to go into the temple, he asked for alms.  
But Peter looked intently at him, as did John, 
and said, "Look at us."  He paid attention to them, 
expecting to receive something from them.  
Peter said, "I have neither silver nor gold, 
but what I do have I give you:  
in the name of 
Jesus Christ the Nazorean, 
rise and walk."  
Then Peter took him by the right hand 
and raised him up, and immediately 
his feet and ankles grew strong.  
(Acts 3:3-7)

Praise and glory to you, our Risen Lord Jesus Christ, in sharing with us your victory and glory over sin and death, sickness and powerlessness. In joining us in our humanity in all of its aspects except sin, you have made us share in your divinity at Easter.

Like Peter and John at the Beautiful Gate that afternoon, fill us with your presence and power, love and mercy to uplift and empower our brothers and sisters afflicted with sickness and other burdens that drag them down, unable to rise again to experience life anew.

Give us the courage to tell people to look at us and find you like that crippled man you have healed through Peter and John.

Moreover, let us look at your face, look for what will unite us than divide us, look at your light than at the world’s darkness and shadows so we may look for Easter especially in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Remove the pessimism and cynicism growing among us in this worsening pandemic.

Ignite the flames of faith, hope and love within us so our eyes may be opened to see you again walking with us in this journey.

Cleanse us of our biases and prejudices, as well as of our expectations and other personal beliefs so we may see you most especially when we are treading the wrong path to our Emmaus of sunset and defeat.

That very day, the first day of the week, 
two of Jesus' disciples were going to a village 
seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, 
and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.  
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, 
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them 
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.  
(Luke 24:13-16)

O dear Jesus, may we look at Easter on the face of everyone you send us and at every situation we find ourselves into so we may lead and guide others to you.

May we see and recognize you most of all in the darkness enveloping us this time of crisis so that eventually, we may come together in the breaking of bread and sharing of our very selves to others blinded by the calamities that have fallen upon us. Amen.

“Road to Emmaus I” painting by Daniel Bonnel, 2011 from mwerickson.com.

Telling the Easter story

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday within the Octave of Easter, 05 April 2021
Acts 2:14-, 22-33   ><)))*> + <*(((><   Matthew 28:8-15

Praise and glory to you, O God our Father for this great gift of Easter, of your Son Jesus Christ’s rising from the dead. In this time of lockdown following the deadly surge in COVID infections, it has become so difficult for many of us to celebrate Easter with deaths and sickness surrounding us, literally coming to our homes.

Send us your Holy Spirit to fill us with fire of courage and wisdom like with St. Peter in proclaiming the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ who has risen from the dead. Make us see the many interconnections in our lives of your words, of history, of everything that make us experience your reality and your goodness in Christ’s coming.

May we be immersed in your words so we may not only see its ties with our own lives but also with everybody else. May we have the sight to penetrate deeply to read the signs of the time in this pandemic so we may look at everything in your light.

In this time of emergency when so many lives are a stake not only of those getting sick but equally important of those battling the pandemic head on like our medical front liners, we pray for our government officials who until now remain detached from the crisis and most especially with the people they must serve. They are like the chief priests and elders that morning twisting the story of Easter to suit their pride and ego.

Like Mary Magdalene and the other Mary who went away quickly from the empty tomb, fill us with your reverential fear and joy to announce the good news of Easter for it is when we proclaim that Jesus is risen and alive, that is when we truly meet and encounter him. 

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary 
went away quickly from the tomb, 
fearful yet overjoyed, 
and ran to announce this to his disciples.  
And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.  
They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.  
Then Jesus said to them, 
"Do not be afraid.  
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, 
and there they will see me." 
(Matthew 28:8-10)

O dearest Lord, let us go back to our Galilee, to our daily life of routine, of work and study, of ordinary folks and family where we first met you. Let us cherish them again and reflect their meanings, why they happened and where were you then when they happened. Amen.

From Facebook: “There is an urgency to announce the Joy, the joy of the Risen Lord.”