Photo by author, the Assumption Sabbath Place in Baguio City, 2018.
God our merciful Father, on this Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we start the praying of ten Hail Mary’s daily at noon until the 15th of next month for collective “healing” and the end of COVID-19 pandemic.
Through the Blessed Mother of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray for firm faith, vibrant hope, and unceasing love for you and for others as we go into the sixth month of our quarantine to help stop the spread of the corona virus.
But it seems, until now, O God, many of us still do not get the full meaning of this quarantine period with most of us pinning our hopes for a magic cure that would come to end these sufferings and resume our previous way of life.
Help us see, O God, the process of quarantine, of purification you want us to go through not as a punishment but as a lesson to learn and remember that will prevent us from all the excesses that have burdened us down lately, preventing us to rise like the Virgin Mary.
On this great feast of Mary’s Assumption into heaven, teach us how we may all rise up to your presence, win over COVID-19 not just with a vaccine or physical remedy and cure to the disease but on how we must change our ways of life, our attitudes and dispositions.
How wonderful, O God, to hear the story anew of Mary and Elizabeth who trusted you so much in the coming of our Savior as they both emerged from their own kind of “quarantine” period in this gospel scene of the Visitation.
May we realize like Elizabeth during this quarantine period that true blessedness is in believing “what was spoken by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Lk.1:45), that we entrust all our hopes in you, O God, not to mere humans who make a lot of promises only to be broken. May we open ourselves like Elizabeth who went into seclusion upon conceiving St. John the Baptist that you always come in the simplest yet wondrous ways of life. Keep within us that sense of wonder and awe, Lord.
“The Assumption of the Virgin” by Italian Renaissance painter Titian completed in 1518 for the main altar of Frari church in Venice. Photo from wikidata.org.
Teach us like Mary to always proclaim your greatness as we rejoice in Jesus our Savior in our very lives of humility and simplicity, obedience and surrender to your will. May our lives be a song of praise to your wondrous deeds, O Lord, like Mary that is centered and focused on you.
Cleanse us of our sins, especially of greed and conceit that have led to this pandemic.
How sad that until now, we still don’t get it.
May this crisis remind us that we are all in a temporary journey here on earth – like in a quarantine – that our final resting place and destination in the end of everything is in you, O God, like Mary whom you gifted with the Assumption of her body and soul into heaven ahead of us all.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of the Dedication of St. Mary Major in Rome, 05 August 2020
Jeremiah 31:1-7 <*(((><< | + | >><)))*> Matthew 15:21-28
Photo by Arch. Philip Santiago, St. Mary Major in Rome, 2018.
O God our almighty Father, in all eternity you have planned what is best for each of us and we thank you so much for that for your great wisdom matched with your immense love for us.
Unfortunately, we always run away from you, discarding your plans for our own personal plans that most often do not work because these are based on what we want, what we like and not of what is really best for us.
Help us to seek your plans for us, Lord, by remaining in you, trusting you because you know what is best for us being our Maker.
Open our selves to you to redeem us from our disgrace and infirmities by seeking your plans in rebuilding our lives like your so-called “remnants of Israel” in the first reading – the few who have remained faithful to you despite the turning away from you of majority of Israelites who chose to worship false gods in the time of Jeremiah.
And ironically, to be like that Canaanite woman at the region of Tyre and Sidon – though a pagan – who remained faithful to you waiting for the Christ to come by holding on to your plans, hoping in your plans, and finally realizing your plans of healing and salvation in Jesus!
Grant us the perseverance and love to seek, believe in your plans for us like the Blessed Virgin Mary as we celebrate today the Memorial of the Dedication of St. Mary Major in Rome, one of our four Major Churches and first Marian shrine in the whole Christendom.
How lovely it is, O God, that you literally laid out your plans for this Basilica when the Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to a faithful Christian couple as well as Pope Liberius in the year 358 to build a church in her honor on the site where snow would fall on the night of August 4-5.
And you did make snow to fall on that night, forcing Pope Liberius to trace the outlines of the church on the snow where the first basilica was built!
But, it was only the beginning of the unfolding of your plans: the Basilica of St. Mary Major was completed a century later after the Council of Ephesus in 431 where Mary was declared the Mother of God, thus clarifying all doubts on the divinity of your Son Jesus Christ who had come to save us.
May we pause for some moments of silence today to pray and seek your plans for us specially in this time of the pandemic. We pray harder for our leaders in government for humility and honesty in seeking you, O God, to draw a specific plan that is clear and workable to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
This we ask in Jesus Christ’s name, in the power of the Holy Spirit with Mary our Mother. Amen.
Photo by author of a pilgrim writing a petition to the Blessed Mother in a Marian shrine in Madaba, Jordan, 2019.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 16 July 2020
Isaiah 26:7-9, 11, 16-19 >><)))*> + <*(((><< Matthew 11:28-30
Photo by author, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel of the Holy Family, Guiguinto, Bulacan, 08 December 2019.
Your words today, O God our Father, are very comforting and consoling, so reassuring of your love and mercy for us sinners, giving us new life in you as we celebrate the memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Like the Israelites living in exile because of their own making when they turned away from you in sins worshiping false gods, we also admit our sinfulness and failures in standing up for what is true and just, in being faithful to you.
Help us to rise again, heavenly Father, breathe into us your life-giving Spirit specially at this time we feel so down and crushed not only by COVID-19 pandemic but by public officials concerned only with their well-being and whims forgetting the people they are supposed to serve.
We conceived and writhed in pain, giving birth to wind. Salvation we have not achieved for the earth, the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth. But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise; awake and sing, you who lie in the dust. For your dew is a dew of light, and the land of shades gives birth.
Isaiah 26:18-19
If there is anything we would want to have these days, it is rest, O Lord.
A lightening of our load and burdens.
But why another yoke, Jesus?
Forgive us Jesus when we feel negative with yoke because they always portray to us images of slavery and oppression. Open our eyes, Lord, as we come closer to you to take your yoke because you not only help us carry our burdens but most of all, your yoke gives us direction in our path back to the Father.
May your Blessed Mother of Mount Carmel help us to hold on to God in this hour of darkness in our lives as individuals and as a nation. Amen.
Photo by author, Our Lady of Mount Carmel of the Holy Family, Guiguinto, Bulacan, November 2019.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Mary, Mother of the Church, 01 June 2020
Genesis 3:9-15.20 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> John 19:25-34
Mary Mother of the Church. From Google.
Dearest Lord Jesus Christ:
Today is a very crucial period in our life as a Church here in the country moving into transition from Enhanced Community Quarantine to the lower case of General Community Quarantine. Some businesses and industries are slowly being allowed to open and operate.
Except our churches.
Today our Church leaders are meeting with the government to continue their talks for the opening of our churches to allow the faithful to celebrate the Holy Mass as a community.
We pray for the Holy Spirit to enlighten the minds and hearts of our officials in their meeting to see the importance of spiritual nourishment in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We pray for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary your Mother and our Mother too whom you have entrusted to your beloved disciple to care for us your Body here on earth.
Thank you very much Lord Jesus in giving us Mary your Mother to be our Mother too.
On this first day of the resumption of Ordinary Time, a day after Pentecost Sunday when we celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit to launch the Church, we also offer this day in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Mother of the Church.
Indeed, inasmuch as she had stayed by your side at the foot of the Cross, Mary has always been with us in our journey as your Mystical Body here on earth. She has always been home for us, taking care of us, looking after us, and reminding us of our mission in you.
Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal.
It is so unfortunate that we have always taken her granted.
Worst, some people have maligned and derided her important role in cooperating with all your plans for the Church.
May her charity and fidelity to you, Lord, inspire us to work further for the mission of the Church to make you present in the world now in pandemic, seeking the best ways to pick up the pieces and start anew their lives.
May the world be ready now to listen to the teachings of Mary your Mother to return to you and turn away from sins and evil. Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-14 ng Mayo 2020
Larawan kuha ni G. Jim Marpa, 2019.
Madalas nating isipin
mapalad o pinagpala
ang taong walang tiisin
buhay ay sagana at magaan
walang pinapasang hirap at sakit
nabibili lahat ng magustuhan:
malaking tirahan, magarang sasakyan
hindi kinakailangan may pinag-aralan
basta't mayaman
wala tayong pakialam
saan nagmula kanyang kaban
na tila di nauubusan kahit baon sa utang.
Huwag nating lilimutin
ang tunay na pagpapala
wala doon sa kayang bilhin
anoman ibigin, pagkain o inumin
o doon sa matatamo sa pagsisikap natin:
kapangyarihan at pangalan, maski pangangatawan.
Ang tunay na pagpapala
nagmumula lamang sa Diyos
hindi materyal kungdi espiritwal
kaya nang mangaral si Jesus sa burol
lahat ay nagimbal dahil kanyang pinangaral
salungat sa takbo at hangad ng sanlibutan.
Larawan kuha ni G. Jim Marpa, 2019
Mapapalad kayong mga aba,
mga nahahapis at mapagkumbaba;
mapapalad din kayong mga mahabagin,
mga nagmimithing makatupad sa kalooban ng Diyos,
lalo na mga gumagawa ng pagkakasundo
at mayroong malilinis na puso.
Mapalad din mga pinag-uusig
at inaalimura,
pinagwiwikaan ng kasinungalingan
alang-alang sa Panginoong Hesus
na di lang minsan tiniyak ang tunay na mapalad
ay yaong nakikinig, tumatalima sa salita ng Diyos.
At sino ang unang tumanggap,
tumalima sa Salitang naging Tao
kungdi si Maria na Ina ng Kristo
na bukod na pinagpala sa babaeng lahat!
Alalahanin matapos niyang tanggapin
bilin ng anghel ng pagsilang niya sa Emanuel
nagmadali siyang dalawin si Elizabeth
nakatatandang pinsang nagdadalantao rin;
pagkarinig sa kanyang tinig
kinasihan ng Espiritung Banal at ang nausal
"mapalad ka sapagkat nananalig kang matutupad
ang mga ipinasabi sa iyo ng Panginoon."
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Simbahan ng Visitation sa Israel, Mayo 2017.
Ngayong panahon ng pandemya
hindi pa ba natin nakikita
walang saysay at kahulugan
mga inakala nating pagpapala
gaya ng kayamanan at kapangyarihan
o maging kalusugan?
Sa lahat ng panahon na sadyang walang katiyakan
wala tayong ibang kaseguruhan, maaring sandigan
kungdi ang Panginoong Diyos lamang!
Kaya kung ikaw ay magdarasal
laging hilingin tanging pagpapala sa Maykapal
pananalig at paniniwala salita niya di naglalaho parang bula.
Larawang kuha ng may-akda, Linggo ng Bibliya, 26 Enero 2020.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima, 13 May 2020
Acts of the Apostles 1:12-14 <*(((>< 000+000 ><)))*> Luke 1:39-47
Our Lady of Fatima procession at the Fatima Shrine in Portugal, 2017. Photo from vaticannews.va.
O God our Father, today we come to you on this most trying time in modern history at the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic that has disrupted our lives – for better and for worse – to ask for your mercy and healing.
As we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima who had appeared in Portugal 103 years ago today, we are reminded by the Blessed Mother of your Son Jesus Christ that true blessedness is not being wealthy and powerful, of being well and strong but above all of believing in you, our God Almighty.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb… Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
Luke 1:41-42, 45
COVID-19 has shown us that in this life, true blessedness is not found in money and things, nor in popularity and influence or other things that have become the benchmark of everything that is good in this life.
Our lady of Fatima Shrine in Fatima, Portugal. Photo from Pinterest.
In less than six months, the corona virus had shown us what the Lady of Fatima has always been telling us since 1917: to go back to you, God our Father through your Son Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist and Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Thank you in giving us all a Mother in the Blessed Virgin Mary who is the perfect image and model of discipleship in Christ:
-Mary was the first to believe in Jesus by receiving him in her womb;
-Mary was the first to share the Incarnate Word by visiting her cousin Elizabeth while six months pregnant with his precursor John;
– Mary was the first to believe in the saving work of Jesus when she interceded at a wedding in Cana;
Mary was the first to believe in the Resurrection that she remained standing at the foot of the Cross; and,
Mary was the first to believe in the coming of the Holy Spirit that she accompanied the Apostles praying at Jerusalem on Pentecost day.
Like Mary, may we grow deeper in our faith, believe more in you than believe in the world or with our very selves.
Like Mary, may we bring unity to our family and community, church and nation, so we may help strengthening the faith of one another, in believing in you by submitting ourselves to your holy will.
Teach us, Lord, to be simple and humble so we may believe more in you. Amen.
Painting ng Pagbabalita ng Anghel kay Maria ng Pagsilang ni Hesus sa harapan ng Basilica ng Annunciation sa Nazareth, Israel. Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Mayo 2017.
Wala akong kahilig-hilig sa ano mang countdown ngunit kagabi sa aking pagninilay ng Dakilang Kapistahan ng Pagbabalita kay Maria ng Pagsilang ng Mesiyas, bigla ko naisip siyam na buwan na lamang mula ngayon ay Pasko na ng Pagsilang!
Kaya… Merry Christmas sa inyong lahat ngayon pa lamang!
Naisip ko tama lang isipin na natin ngayon siyam na buwan bago ang Pasko ng Pagsilang sa gitna ng lockdown sanhi ng COVID-19 upang magbago ating kamalayan sa Christmas countdown sapagkat higit pa sa petsa ang Disyembre 25 — ito ay isang kaganapan o “event” wika nga sa Inggles na nangangahulugan din ng “fulfillment” o kabuuan.
Ang Pasko ay si Hesu-Kristo, ang Diyos Anak na nagkatawang-tao!
Sinasabi na maraming binabago sa buhay ang COVID-19 at una na rito ang “back to basics” tulad ng paghuhugas ng mga kamay palagi, pagsasama-sama ng pamilya, at taimtim na pananalangin.
At isa sa mgapangunahing basic ng buhay ay ang Diyos na nagkatawang-tao, si Hesus. Dapat nating mapagtanto muli na bagaman dumating na si Hesus 2000 taon na nakalipas, patuloy pa rin siyang dumarating sa piling natin at muling darating sa wakas ng panahon.
Paglibot ng Santisimo Sakramento sa Parokya ni San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Bagbaguin, Santa Maria, Bulacan noong 22 Marso 2020. Larawan kuha ni Bb. Ria De Vera
Si Kristo ay dumating, dumarating, at darating sa tao na bukas ang puso at kalooban
Isang mabuting halimbawa ang ipinakita sa atin ng Mahal na Birheng Maria nang ibalita sa kanya ng Anghel Gabriel ang mabuting balita ng pagsilang niya kay Hesus na ating Tagapagligtas. Tatlong bagay ang ating nakikita rito.
Una ang kanyang pagiging bukas palagi sa salita at kalooban ng Diyos.
Kapag pingninilayan ko ang tagpong ito ng ebanghelyo ayon kay San Lukas, palagi ko naiisip na mas malamang nananalangin noon ang Birheng Maria.
Kaya paulit-ulit ko na sinasabi sa inyo mga ginigiliw ko, lalo na mga magulang na gamitin ang pagkakataong ito ng lockdown na ituro muli ang mga dasal na nakalimutan na ng mga bata. Higit sa lahat, magdasal ng sama-sama tulad ng pagrorosaryo. Mamyang alas-7:00 ng gabi, sabay-sabay tayo sa buong daigdig makiisa sa panawagan ni Papa Francisco na dasalin ang “Ama namin” kontra sa COVID-19.
Tanging sa pananalangin lamang natin mapapakinggang tunay ang kalooban ng Diyos sa atin.
Ikalawa ang pagtanggap ng Mahal na Birheng Maria sa salita at kalooban ng Diyos.
Hindi sasapat ang pananalangin lamang; kung hindi rin naman pumayag si Maria sa hiling ng Diyos na maging Ina ni Hesus, wala ring Pasko at hanggang ngayon marahil inaabangan pa natin ang Kristo.
Katulad ng Mahal na Birheng Maria, nawa tayo man ay pumayag at sumang-ayon sa hinihiling sa atin ng Diyos. Gaya ni Maria, masabi rin natin ang matamis na pananalita niya sa anghel matapos mapakinggan ang mabuting balita, “Maganap na nawa sa aking ang iyong mga sinabi” (Lk.1:38).
Ikatlo, pinangatawanan ni Maria ang kanyang “Oo” o “Opo” sa Panginoon.
Masdan mabuti ang huling talata ng ebanghelyo sa araw na ito: “At iniwan siya ng anghel” (Lk.1:39).
Tingnan ninyo ang lahat ng nasusulat sa Bagong Tipan: wala nang ibang pagkakataon na ang anghel ay nakipag-usap pa muli kay Maria! Kay San Jose at mga Apostol tulad ni San Pedro, ilang ulit nagpakita ang anghel upang liwanagin mga gawain nila. Nguni’t si Maria pagkaraan nito ay naiwan nang mag-isa sa kanyang matibay na pananampalataya sa Diyos!
Ang tanging sigurado lang si Maria ay ang pangalang ibibgay sa kanyang sanggol na Hesus. Maliban dito ay pawang pagtitiwala at pananalig ang umiral kay Maria na naging tapat sa pagsunod sa Diyos hanggang sa mapako sa Krus si Hesus. Kaya naman sa kanya unang nagpakita si Hesus na muling nabuhay sapagkat si Maria ang unang tunay at lubos na nanalig sa kanya, sa salita at sa gawa.
Ang lugar kung saan binati ng anghel si Maria na ngayon ay nasa ilalim ng Basilica ng Annunciation sa Nazareth. Larawan ay kuha ng may-akda, Mayo 2019.
Hamon ng Ebanghelyo
Nakakatuwa ang maraming balita ng mga taong nagsasakripisyo, naglalaan ng sarili para sa kapwa sa gitna ng pandemiyang COVID-19. Una na sa kanila ang mga tinaguriang frontliners na health workers – mga duktor, nars, med tech, at lahat ng naglilingkod sa mga pagamutan.
Kahapon ay naikuwento ko sa inyo isang tindero ng saging na hindi nagtaas ng presyo bilang tulong niya sa lockdown na umiiral.
Kaibayo naman nito ang napakalungkot at masakit – at nakakapikon! – na mga balita ng mga mapagsamantalang tao sa gitna ng krisis.
Unang-una na ang mga halal na upisyal ng bayan sampu ng kanilang mga pamilya na nagpa-VIP treatment para sa COVID testing. Gayun din iba pang upisyal ng bansa na hanggang ngayon ang inaatupag ay sariling kapakanan habang buong bayan ay nagdurusa.
Sila ang mga makabagong Haring Acaz na noon ay kunwari tumangging humingi ng palatandaan mula sa Diyos kung tunay niyang ililigtas ang Israel. Ang totoo, nakipag-alyansa na si Haring Acaz sa mga katabing bansa laban sa Assyria gayong kabilin-bilinan sa kanya ni Propeta Isaias na magtiwala sa Diyos lamang. Batid ng Diyos ang katotohanan at kunwari’y tiwala si Haring Acaz sa kanya!
Kahapon sinabi ng Punong Ministro ng Italya na siyang bagong sentro ng COVID-19 na lahat ay nagawa na nila sa lupang ibabaw laban sa pandemiyang ito; inamin niyang wala na silang maaring takbuhan ng tulong kungdi ang Diyos sa langit.
Alalahanin natin na hindi sapat ang basta manalangin.
Katulad ni Maria, atin nawa maisabuhay ang pagiging bukas palagi sa Diyos sa pakikinig sa kanyang tinig at higit sa lahat, pagsang-ayon dito at paninindigan sa pamamagitan ng ating mabubuting gawa.
Manalangin tayo:
Larawan kuha ni Bb. Anne Ramos, 22 Marso 2020, paglibot ng Santisimo Sakramento sa Parokya ni San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Bagbaguin, Santa Maria, Bulacan.
O Diyos Ama naming mapagmahal, kami ay nagpapasalamat sa pagbibigay mo sa amin sa iyong Anak, ang Panginoong Hesu-Kristo na siyang aming kaligtasan lalo’t higit sa panahong ito ng COVID-19.
Buksan po ninyo aming puso at kalooban katulad ni Maria upang manahan din sa amin si Hesus, gawin niyang luklukan ang aming mga puso at kalooban.
Bigyan mo rin kami ng tapang at pananampalataya tulad ni Mari upang lahat ng aming sasabihin at gagawin ay pawang nilalayon at kalooban ng Panginoong Hesus.
Maging matatag nawa kami tulad ni Maria na samahan si Hesus hanggang paanan ng Krus upang mapanindigan kanyang kalooban sa kapangyarihan ng Espiritu Santo. Amen.
40 Shades of Lent, Wednesday, Solemnity of the Annunciation, 25 March 2020
Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10 +++ Hebrews 10:4-10 +++ Luke 1:26-38
Mosaic of the Annunciation to Mary at San Giovanni Rotondo Church, Italy. Photo by Arch. Philip Santiago, 2019.
Glory and praise to you, O God our Father as we celebrate today the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Birth of Jesus Christ to Mary. What a celebration so appropriate in this time of COVID-19 amid the ongoing lockdown not only in our country but in many parts of the world.
You know how I am not into any countdown whatsoever, Lord; in fact, I do not even keep tabs of how many days we have been locked down except that I really miss my parishioners, the normal grind of each day.
But as I prayed on this Solemnity, the first thing that I realized is that we are nine months from Christmas!
Jesus is coming, Jesus has come, Jesus is never gone — especially in this lockdown!
Photo by Ms. Ria De Vera during our procession of the Blessed Sacrament in our Parish, 22 March 2020.
What an honor and grace, O Lord, that despite our sinfulness and failures, you continue to offer us salvation, of starting all over again, of picking up the pieces of our lives, of hoping for that great day when all these lockdown and pandemic are gone.
We pray for all the health workers who sacrifice their very lives in saving the sick and all the other unsung heroes who do their share in helping us unburden the heavy crosses we are carrying following COVID-19’s wrath.
Thank you for the many among us who have opened like Mary to receive Jesus and share Jesus in these trying times.
But we also pray, O Lord, for those many of us who remain closed and cold to you and to others.
The people who continue to ignore “social distancing” and those who have remained spiritually and emotionally distant from family members, friends, and neighbors.
We pray most especially for our officials in the government who continue to bring more shame and dishonor to themselves to the detriment of the people.
The leaders who think more of themselves, who regard themselves as more important than others. The modern “King Ahaz” of our time who rely more on their own power, on their alliances with their foreign and local lords and masters.
Have mercy on them, Lord.
Come quickly and save us.
Open our hearts, teach us humility to be able to say to you like Mary, “Be it done unto me according to your word.” Amen.
Photo by author of the site where Mary received the Good News of Christ’s coming from Archangel Gabriel beneath the Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth, 2019.
Tuesday, Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, World Day of the Sick, 11 February 2020
Isaiah 66:10-14 ><)))*> 0 <*(((>< John 2:1-11
Photo of Our Lady of Lourdes in France by Arch. Philip Santiago, September 2018.
Praise and glory to you O God, our loving and merciful Father who has given us a wonderful and most kind mother in the Blessed Virgin Mary through Jesus Christ your Son.
Through Mary, your abundant blessings, O God, have flowed and continue to overflow upon us even with the completion of her mission here on earth as Mother of Jesus.
How true were your words to the Prophet Isaiah that you shall send Israel a mother who shall comfort us, a mother in whom you shall spread prosperity and blessings upon us (Isaiah 66:10-14).
When Mary came into the scene when she was conceived without original sin, through her came our Savior Jesus Christ. From the very start, she worked to be the vessel of your blessings, God.
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” Jesus told them, “Fill the jars wit water.”
John 2:1-3, 5, 7
How wonderful to recall and meditate on this first miracle of Jesus of turning water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana through the intercession of his Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary.
How lovely it is that more than 1800 years, another miracle would happen again from you, O God, at a grotto in Lourdes, France involving water through the Blessed Virgin Mary again!
Thank you dearest Jesus for the gift of water, the gift of life in you. Water is the primordial element of life, and water is also one of the primordial symbols of humanity. How amazing that since the miracle at Cana, your life continues to overflow upon us, Lord Jesus Christ, through Mary especially at Lourdes, France.
There are at Lourdes, Mary told the young St. Bernadette to dig on earth where water burst forth a spring, like life coming out of the womb of the earth. Until now, that spring is the origin and beginning of many healings and other miracles among generations of different peoples from all walks of life and nation, including to those who have not been there in Lourdes, France!
The waters of Lourdes remain a symbol of fruitfulness and of healing, of maternity in Mary who cares most to us and the sick next to Jesus our Lord and Savior..
Give us the grace, O God, the gift of purity, of cleanliness in our hearts so that we may become like Mary at Lourdes as a vessel of your healing and compassion especially for the sick of the world. Amen.
Photo of a cross of atop the church of Our Lady of Lourdes in France by Arch. Philip Santiago during his pilgrimage, September 2018.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, 02 February 2020
Malachi 3:1-4 ><)))*> Hebrews 2:14-18 ><)))*> Luke 2:22-40
Photo by author of Baby Jesus at the Bishop’s Chapel, Malolos Cathedral, 07 January 2020.
We take a break from our Ordinary Sunday to celebrate today the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord at the temple, 40 days after Christmas. It is a prolongation of the celebration of the Lord’s Nativity with a paschal undertone recognizing Christ as Light who had come to us to lead us back to the Father through his Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
This feast used to be known in the East as the Ypapante or the Encounter of Jesus by the two elderly people at the temple, Simeon and Anna. When it reached Europe, it came to be known as the “Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary” based on St. Luke’s description, evolving into Candlemass or Candelaria when Pope Sergius I in Rome adopted in the eighth century the French tradition of procession of lighted candles at dawn before the Mass to signify Jesus as the light of the world who had come to bring us back to the Father expressed by Simeon in his canticle.
“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”
Luke 2:29-32
Despite its evolution through the ages with its many names and practices, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is a good reminder to us in recognizing, meeting, and sharing Jesus Christ to everyone as the light of the world.
Photo by author of a view from the Temple of Jerusalem, May 2017.
Being devout leads us to recognize and meet Jesus
Only St. Luke reports the story of the Presentation of Jesus at the temple because he wanted to show his audience who were Gentiles or pagan converts that Jesus came not only for the Jews but for everyone.
This remains true to us especially in these modern times when people live in artificial lights and “Klieg lights” that put us on the centerstage only to leave us later groping in the dark, even blinded to false hopes of virtual realities.
St. Luke invites us today to emulate both Simeon and Anna in recognizing and meeting Jesus, the only Light of the world who dispels darkness within and around us.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he head seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the cild Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God.
Recall how during our Simbang Gabi that for the Jews, a “righteous” person is someone who is holy because he faithfully keeps the Laws of God like St. Joseph, the husband of Mary.
But more than being holy and just, St. Luke also described to us Simeon – as well as Anna implicitly – as “devout” Jews. It is a word rarely used in the Bible. In fact, St. Luke used it only four times: once here in this scene and thrice in the Acts of the Apostles.
In Acts 2:5, St. Luke called the Jews who came to Jerusalem for Pentecost as “devout” ones; then in 8:2, he said “devout men buried” the first martyr of the Church, St. Stephen; and finally in 22:12, he gave the distinction to Ananias as “a devout observer of the law” who came upon instructions from God to pray over and heal Saul who was blinded by Christ’s light on the way to Damascus.
In all four instances, St. Luke described people as “devout” including Simeon and Anna as those of “good heart, ready to believe, and then to act openly and with courage” (Timothy Clayton, Exploring Advent with Luke; page 125). Devout people or devoted persons are a notch higher than just being faithful because they do not merely wait but look forward to the fulfillment of what they believe.
Devoted people make things happen; they do not wait for things to unfold. And that is why they are always at the right place in the right time. Like Simeon and Anna, they give themselves to God wholly to stay attuned with the Holy Spirit and be ready to follow its promptings and leads.
Anna meeting Jesus from catholicfunfacts.com.
See the common trait of both Simeon and Anna as devout people — the presence of the Holy Spirit in them that amid the crowd in the temple on that day, they were able to spot the Child and Savior Jesus Christ being presented by his parents Mary and Joseph!
There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshipped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
Luke 2:36-38
Jesus comes to us everyday in various ways, in many occasions. He is always passing by, calling us. We have to be on guard in these moments so that we do not miss him. Like reporters following the news, we have to be focused or “tutok” and immersed or “babad” so that nothing or no one escapes us.
Three ways of being devout like Simeon and Anna
It is imperative that we have to be devout first with God so that we recognize and meet his Son Jesus Christ coming to us so we may eventually share him to enlighten everyone. Simeon and Anna show us three important things to keep for us to be devoted to God to encounter Jesus Christ.
First, we have to be faithful in our prayer life. There is no other way in meeting Christ except in having a life of prayer which is a discipline. It is something we do as a habit, every day, every night. Not just once a year like those going to Quiapo every January 9 or completing any novena and then the whole year does nothing.
Devotion is more than collecting images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and the saints, joining processions during fiesta or Holy Week, then nothing. Devotion is life, not a show.
Like Simeon and Anna, we have to grow intimately with the Lord by cultivating personal prayers and joining communal activities like the Sunday Mass so that we may know personally and vibrantly God who always leads us to various directions and mission. God is never static but dynamic, unlike us people who keep on insisting on some of our traditions and ways no longer applicable.
Notice how in the first reading the Prophet Malachi said the Lord will suddenly come in the temple, calling on people to always await him (Mal.3:1).
The Old Jerusalem from the inside of the Church of Dominus Flevit (The Lord Cried) at the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem. Photo by author, May 2017.
Second, we can only recognize, meet and share Jesus Christ as Light when we care, love, and respect others. See how Simeon spoke to Mary about his coming mission and its harsh realities. He recognized not only Jesus but also Mary and Joseph. Simeon’s speaking to Mary and Joseph means he recognized the important roles of the parents in being instrumental that he met the Lord.
Any devotion to God and his saints and the blessed Mother Mary without any concern for the people especially the poor and the needy is merely a show and a pageantry of clerical and liturgical excesses. It is triumphalism in its purest sense and hypocrisy at its worst.
We meet Jesus among other people not only within us. This is the gist of the author of the Letter to the Hebrews today when he claimed how Jesus suffered and endured sufferings and death to help those facing trials and tests in life.
Third, we can only recognize, meet, and share Jesus Christ as Light when there is joy in our hearts. And not just being joyful but overflowing with joy like Simeon and Anna that upon encountering the Child Jesus, the more they felt eager to share the good news with others. In fact, they were overjoyed that they even felt so ready to die.
Our parish church on a Sunday afternoon. Photo by Angelo Nicolas Carpio, 12 January 2020.
Fruit of devotion is finally embracing Jesus Christ
Every night before we priests and religious pray Simeon’s Canticle in our Compline (Night prayer), we recite a responsory that says, “Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit”. And after that, the antiphon: “Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.”
It is only then that we recite or chant Simeon’s Canticle or Nunc Dimittis. It is then followed by the final prayer closed with a blessing that says, “May the all-powerful Lord grant us a restful night and peaceful death. Amen.”
Without sounding morbid or anything, it is my most favorite prayer of all our prayers because it is filled with joy, filled with Jesus, filled with Light. At the end of the day, what a consolation to be filled with joy of Christ that you have had a glimpse of him that you rest in peace hoping to meet him again as well as share him with others too.
I think it is only when we are overflowing with joy that we realize its fullness is found only in Christ, whether in this life or in eternal life. Amen.
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