More than any other prophet, O Lord,
Hosea is the one who tells us most
of your immense love for us all;
his writing moves like a beautiful
love story so unbelievable
yet exists, so true.
After so many harsh words
against us your people for our
infidelity like prostitutes,
here at the last part of his book,
Hosea tells us to never lose hope
because you love us so much.
Moreover, dear God our Father,
what I like most in Hosea's writings
is how you yourself reveals to us
how we must approach you
like a teacher coaching us
for the best answers so we may pass
your final exam.
Thus says the Lord: Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God, say to him, “Forgive us all iniquity, and receive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls
Hosea 14:2, 3
Please Lord, help us experience
your promises of "healing our defections,
loving us freely, becoming like dew
so we shall blossom like the lily,
our splendor be like the olive tree
and fragrance like the Lebanon cedar,
allowing us to dwell in your shade again
and raise grain, blossom like the vine,
and our fame be like the wine of Lebanon"
(cf. Hosea 14: 5-8).
Cast away our doubts of your love
and mercy for us, Father for as your Son
Jesus Christ had revealed, all the commandments
is summed in LOVE, your great love for us
as the very reason why we must love you
not because you need our love but
so that we can have more of your love
when we love.
May we love,
love,
and love!
Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Third Week of Lent, 16 March 2023
Jeremiah 7:23-28 >>> + <<< Luke 11:14-23
Photo by author, sunset in the metropolis seen from Our Lady of Fatima University-QC, February 2023.
Lord, teach me to listen.
Let me not harden my heart
if today I hear your words,
O Lord.
Your people in Jeremiah's time
have indeed committed the most
grave sin of disregarding your
covenant:
Thus says the Lord: This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that command you, so that you may prosper. But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed. They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.
Jeremiah 7:23-24
But we are no different from them,
Lord! We are like them, totally
disregarding your commands,
walking in the hardness of our evil
hearts and turned our backs, not
our faces, from you! Worst than
the time of Jeremiah, we have imitated
the people at the time of Jesus,
accusing him too of casting out demons
by the power of Beelzebul
when media glorify satanic
cults, promoting same sex relationships,
abortion, and contraception;
when we speak about life
and justice, we are laughed upon
and when we cry for decency,
we are accused of hypocrisy.
Teach us to listen to your words,
O Lord; enable us to distinguish your
voice from that of the world and
the devil; most of all, help us
gather than scatter.
Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Third Week of Lent, 15 March 2023
Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 >> + << Matthew 5:17-19
Photo by author, La Mesa Eco-Park from Our Lady of Fatima University-QC, February 2023.
Thank you very much, O God
our loving Father for being
so close with us in a very personal manner,
giving us laws meant to lead us closer
to living with one another in peace
and harmony, and eventually
discover the beauty of love.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.”
Matthew 5:17
This season of Lent,
help us realize and discover
that the laws as expressions of justice
are the minimum requirements of love;
the fulfillment of laws is love
which is more than a special way of living
but itself the perfection of life
because when we truly love,
we go beyond the letters of the laws
and do more than what is required
that slowly we become a new person
in Jesus Christ.
Enable us, O Lord,
in fulfilling the laws
into love where we become more alive,
more real,
more personal
more perfect
like you.
Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-14 ng Marso 2023
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Ikatlong Linggo ng Kuwaresma 2019.
Ang kuwento noong Linggo ng babaeng Samaritana at ni Hesus sa balon ni Jacob ay larawan ng buhay natin na hitik sa mga palatandaan napakayaman sa kahulugan.
Tayo ang Samaritana umiigib sa tuwina banga ay dala-dala upang sumalok ng tubig na papawi sa maraming nilulunggati nauuwi sa pagiging sawi; palaging ubos, hindi sumapat upang maampat pagbuhos at pagtapon ng inigib na tubig upang matighaw maraming pagka-uhaw; palibhasa laman nitong ating banga ay mga kasalanan kaya sa katanghaliang-tapat tayo ma'y sumasalok gaya ng Samaritana upang ikubli sa mga mata ng iba ating pagkakasala.
O kay ganda marahil
katulad ng Samaritana
matagpuan sa katanghaliang
tapat itong si Hesus
pagod at naghihintay
sa ating pagdating
upang tayo ang kanyang
painumin ng mga salitang
nagbibigay buhay
at tunay na tumitighaw
sa lahat ng ating pagka-uhaw;
panalok ng Panginoon
ay sariling buhay
sa atin ay ibinigay
doon sa Krus nang
kanyang ipahayag
siya man ay nauuhaw,
isang magnanakaw
kasama niyang nakabayubay
doon din sa krus
sa kanya ay nakiinom
sa Paraiso humantong!
Itong balon ni Jacob
paalala ng matandang tipan
binigyang kaganapan ni Hesus
nang ipako siya sa krus
noon ding katanghaliang tapat
ng Biyernes Santo;
sa kanyang pagkabayubay
at pagkamatay sa krus
siya ang naging balon
at panalok ng tubig
na nagbibigay-buhay
dito na sa ating puso at
kalooban bumabalong;
kung sa bawat pagkakataon
tayo ay tutugon
sa kanya doon sa balon,
atin ding mararanasan
at malalaman na sadyang higit
at di malirip ang tubig niyang bigay
sinalok ng sariling buhay
upang tayo ay makapamuhay
ng walang hanggan! Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Third Week of Lent, 14 March 2023
Daniel 3:25, 34-43 >>> + <<< Matthew 18:21-35
Photo by author, sunrise at Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Bgy. Binulusan, Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.
God our Father,
grant me the grace of sincerity
to pray like Azariah whom you
spared from death along with
Shadrach and Meschach in the fiery
furnace of King Nebuchadnezzar;
not even their clothes were singed
by the intense heat that burned to death
their executioners!
Teach me to be sincere
like Azariah who prayed to you while
walking into the furnace with his
companions, telling you one of the
most beautiful prayers in the Bible
we too pray in our Sunday Lauds:
“For we are reduced, O Lord, beyond any other nation, brought low everywhere in the world this day because of our sins. We have in our day no prince, no prophets, or leader, no burnt offering, sacrifice, oblation, or incense, no place to offer first fruits, to find favor with you. But with contrite heart and humble spirit let us be received. Do not let us be put to shame, but deal with us in your kindness and great mercy. Deliver us by your wonders, and bring glory to your name, O Lord.”
Daniel 3:37-39, 42-43
Yes, dear God,
there is no need,
not even necessary,
for us to do anything
"to win your favor"
to grant our prayers except
that we be sincere before you,
that is, to be true and humble,
putting ourselves into your hands
completely that you would take care
of us like Azariah and companions.
Many times, O God,
we can't be like you and be
forgiving as a Father to those
who have wronged us because
we ourselves are not true,
lacking sincerity in begging
your mercy and forgiveness;
many times we doubt your
mercy and forgiveness
that often we act like
the unforgiving servant
in Jesus Christ's parable.
Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-13 ng Marso 2023
Larawan kuha ng may-akda sa ilang ng Jordan, Mayo 2019.
Apatnapung araw
nag-ayuno si Kristo
tinukso ng diyablo sa ilang:
“Kung ikaw ang Anak ng Diyos,
Gawin mong tinapay itong bato.”
Bagaman kanyang tiyan
ay walang laman,
hindi nalito si Kristo
sa tukso ng diyablo
naging matibay
tulad ng bato
na buhay ng tao
di nakasalalay
sa tinapay
kungdi sa
Salita ng Diyos
na tunay
nating buhay at gabay.
Dapat nating pakatandaan
na hindi sapat
at lalong di dapat
mapuno tayong lagi
at mabusog
ng mga bagay ng mundo
dahil sa maraming pagkakataon
tayo ay nababaon sa
balon ng pagkagumon
kung laging mayroon tayo;
sa pag-aayuno
tayo napapanuto
tumitibay ating pagkatao
tuwing nasasaid
ating kalooban
nawawalang ng laman
nagkakapuwang sa Diyos
na tangi nating yaman!
Nguni't mayroon pang isang anyo
itong pag-aayuno
higit pang matindi
sa pagkagutom
na madaling tiisin
kesa pagka-uhaw
na nanunuot
sa kaibuturan
ng ating katawan
hindi maaring ipagpaliban
gagawa at gagawa
ng paraan
upang matighaw
panunuyo ng labi
at lalamunan
madampian
kahit tilamsikan
ng konting kaginhawahan!
Maraming uri ating
pagka-uhaw:
pagka-uhaw ng laman
at sa laman
nahahayag
sa kayamanan,
kapangyarihan,
at katanyagan
na pawang mga anyo lamang
ng iisa nating pagka-uhaw
sa Diyos at Kanyang pag-ibig
sana sa atin may pumansin
at kung maari
tayo ay kalingain,
intindihin,
at patawarin,
mga lihim nating mithiin,
inaasam, hinihiling.
Kay sarap namnamin
paanong si Hesus
ating Diyos at Panginoon
nag-ayuno upang
magutom at
mauhaw din
tulad natin
upang ipadama
pag-ibig Niya
sa atin; Siya lamang
ang pagkaing bubusog
sa atin
at inuming titighaw
sa pagka-uhaw natin
kaya pagsikapang
Siya ay tanggapin
at panatilihim sa
kalooban natin!
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Third Week of Lent, 13 March 2023
2 Kings 5:1-15 >>> + <<< Luke 4:24-30
Photo by author, Tagaytay City, 07 February 2023.
Praise and glory to you,
God our loving Father
on this first working day of Monday
in the third week of Lent!
Teach me to be simple,
teach me to simply
follow my "thirst for you,
my soul's longing for you
to behold your face, O God"
(Psalm 42:3).
How wonderful and amazing
that you used, dear God,
simple people in the healing
of Naaman the Syrian army general:
first was the servant of Naaman's wife,
a little girl captured after their
victory over Israel in a battle who
informed her mistress, "If only my master
would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,
he would cure him of his leprosy"
(2 Kings 5:3);
second were Naaman's servants
who pleaded with him to obey
Prophet Elisha's instruction to wash
himself seven times in Jordan for his
skin be cleansed of leprosy
(2 Kings 5:13).
But the servants came up and reasoned with him. “My father,” they said, “if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would you not have done it? All the more now, since he said to you, ‘Wash and be clean’ should you do as he said.” So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
2 Kings 5:13-14
Many times, O God,
we forget that you are perfect
because you are simple;
many times, we humans
prefer to do things
that are complicated,
that are difficult to show our
greatness and prowess,
not realizing your power
lies in weakness and lowliness;
deepen our faith in you,
teach us to learn submission
and obedience to you like
your Son Jesus Christ our Lord
to effect change in ourselves,
in our lives,
and in the world.
Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Third Sunday in Lent-A, 12 March 2023
Exodus 17:3-7 + Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 + John 4:5-15, 39, 40-42
Photo by author, Taiwan, January 2019.
Thirst for water is something more intense for us humans than hunger for food. Thirst is something too strong we could feel affecting us deep down to the most remote and minutest parts of our body unlike hunger that is localized in the stomach area. Thirst moves us to search for water, even sending us to scamper even for droplets of water to quench our thirst unlike hunger we often dismiss by sleeping in the hopes of forgetting it, even overcoming it.
But not our thirst for water, something we would always quench by all means.
That is why, thirst would always mean more than physical but also something deeper that concerns our very soul and being. This is the beautiful meaning of our gospel this Sunday – from the wilderness of temptations to the summit of a high mountain of his transfiguration – we now join Jesus into a Samaritan town for some water after a very tiring journey on his way to Jerusalem to fulfill his mission. Here we also find Jesus thirsting for us humans, sinners as we are, like on the Cross at Good Friday.
Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” – For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans. – Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
John 4:5-10
Photo by author, an old well somewhere in the desert of Egypt, May 2019.
There are a lot of interesting details in this opening lines of this long story of Jesus with the Samaritan woman. Very notable is Jesus coming into a Samaritan town and talking to a woman that are both a big no, no for Jews at that time as the evangelist explained in verse 9, – For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.
It is very clear that what we have here is more than a geographical setting but a revelation of God’s immense love (and thirst) sending Jesus for us all especially the sinners and those neglected by the society, living in the margins like women and children, the poor and the elderly.
That Samaritan woman symbolizes us whom Jesus searches to return home to the Father.
Notice that Jesus comes to the well at the hottest time of the day, at noon when the Samaritan woman would come to draw water. Why? Because as we have seen in the story, the woman was a sinner, living with her sixth “husband” as pointed out to her by Jesus himself. She drew water at that time when no one was at the well to avoid the Marites of the town who would always feast with gossips about her scandalous lifestyle!
Is it not the same with us too? Jesus comes to us right in the heat of our sinfulness, of our infidelities, of our cheating, of our unkindness and unforgiving? It is when we are hot in sin when Jesus comes thirsting for us, inviting us to return to him. And too often, he works wonders to win us over, even sometimes allowing us to feel like the Samaritan as so special in doing him a favor.
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?”
John 4:7-9
Photo by author, Third Week of Lent 2019, Parokya ni San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.
Here we find Jesus working subtly, even playing by our games while we are in the heat of our sins and other pursuits in life when he would ask us favors, namely, asking for a drink.
In response, the Samaritan woman opens herself to a dialogue with Jesus rather than outrightly dismissing him as a nuisance. She felt that in giving Jesus a drink, she would do him a favor when in fact, as we have seen later, it was the Lord who did her the most favor as we shall see too on the Cross at Good Friday especially with Dimas.
Are we not like this Samaritan woman when we are in the heat of our sinfulness with our bloated ego that we even dare think of doing God a favor by entering into a dialogue until suddenly, for good reasons, we are swept off in our feet, finding ourselves in his merciful and loving arms?
Like the Samaritan woman, in opening to Jesus to a dialogue when we are in the noontime of our sinfulness or simple ordinariness, that is also when we allow the Lord to do us a great favor.
That is why I always tell people to give us priests a chance to do something good, never to compensate our services and ministry with remunerations. Very often, people say they feel so blessed with our ministry and presence but the truth is, we priests are the ones more blessed when we are able to selflessly serve you our flock!
This I have always felt in hearing confessions and anointing the sick especially since last year as a chaplain at the Fatima University Medical Center here in Valenzuela City. I have instructed our nurses to always insist to the family of patients to never give me anything after visiting their sick. They do not realize the tremendous grace and blessings I experience when I visit the sick, hear their confessions and anoint them with oil. Even when patients die, because as my former Parish Priest Fr. Ersando used to tell me as a young priest 24 years ago, confessing and absolving the sins of the dying and anointing them with holy oil are the most meritorious acts of a priest in preparing the faithful in meeting God our Father. This I have experienced so true in the recent death of Msgr. Teng Manlapig whom I have shared last week.
Many times in our lives, it is through the many “inconveniences” we experience that Jesus comes to invite us to open ourselves to receive his abundant graces and blessings not necessarily material in nature. God is never outdone in generosity and everything is pure grace in him because we are always blessed with more than we give when we offer him the gift of our self to do his will.
Remember always Jesus Christ’s words to the Samaritan woman at the well which are the same words he tells us especially when we are hot in our personal pursuits in life, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
In the first reading we have heard how “In those days, in their thirst for water, the people grumbled against Moses” (Ex. 17:3), quarreling among themselves and testing God.
How sad that until now, we grumble and quarrel and test God because of our many thirsts for things and pleasures we thought would complete us. Sometimes we feel as if God owes us so much that we feel so entitled in this life, deserving all the good things without realizing how God knows us so well, even the sins we hide most. We keep on thirsting and desiring so many other things when it is only God whom we must desire first of all, actually desire and thirst most all like the deer that yearns for streams of running water (Ps. 42:2).
Photo courtesy of Rev. Fr. Herbert Bacani, 2023.
One of my favorite churches of all time is the Sta. Cruz in Manila. It is one of the most beautiful churches that has remained unchanged, never altered. As a child more than 50 years ago until now, I am still fascinated by its sanctuary of a painting or a mosaic of Jesus Christ the lamb slain and offered as sacrifice whose blood is like the waters of a spring flowing into us through the Blessed Sacrament.
Notice that this story of Jesus with the Samaritan woman comes after his meeting with the Pharisee named Nicodemus at night where the Lord first discussed the symbolism and importance of being born again in water of Baptism and the Spirit to become a new person in him. This time at Jacob’s well Jesus promised the Samaritan woman water that becomes in the one who drinks it a source springing up into eternal life so that whoever drinks it will never be thirsty again.
This has become possible because Jesus “died for us while we were still sinners” (Rom. 5:8) on the Cross when he said again, “I thirst” (Jn. 19:28-29)!
May we continue to thirst for God by entering into dialogue with Jesus especially when he comes to us, also thirsty, asking us for some small favors from us in order to gift us with his bigger favors we have never imagined. Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Second Week of Lent, 10 March 2023
Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28 >> +++ << Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46
Photo by author, sunrise at Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.
Today O God you speak to us
of the most lovely virtue of kindness
which is more than being good to another
but precisely of treating others as a "kin"
or a kindred; being "kind" is the most
Christian word because it refers to our
being one big family in you our Father
with each one a brother and a sister in
Jesus Christ.
How sad we have become more
unkind than ever, just like the sons of
Jacob, the brothers of Joseph:
They said to one another:
“Here comes the master dreamer!
Come on, let us kill him and throw him
into one of the cisterns here;
we could say that a wild beast devoured him.
We shall then see what comes of his dreams
(Gen.37:19-20).”
From petty jealousies among us,
our being unkind deteriorate further
into sinister plots right in our hearts
to destroy our own loved ones,
those closest to us; worst of all,
it happens in the midst of us recognizing
them as "our own flesh" like Judah
and yet still "sell" them!
Forgive us, dear Jesus, for being so unkind:
“when the tenants saw the son,
they said to one another,
‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him
and acquire his inheritance.’
They seized him,
threw him out of the vineyard,
and killed him (Mt.21:38-39).”
Our responsorial psalm captures
the reason why we must always be kind,
“Remember the marvels the Lord has done.”
Let us heed your warning against being unkind,
“When the Lord called down a famine
on the land and ruined the crop
that sustained them,
he sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave
(Ps.105:16-17).”
Teach us to be kind with everyone because
"the stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes" (Mt.21:42);
This season of Lent,
let us bring back kindness in our hearts,
in our words,
in our thoughts
and in our deeds
even if others are not kind to us
because very often,
kindness has a way of teaching us
the importance of this virtue
that may not always be kind at all.
Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Second Week of Lent, 10 March 2023
Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28 >>> + <<< Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46
Photo by author, Anvaya Cove, Bataan, January 2023.
Being kind is more than being good. The word “kind” is from the old English kin – as in kindred or kinsfolk or same family, clan, or tribe. A kind person is someone who treats you as a kin, a family and not as an alien or a stranger. “Hindi ka naman iba sa amin” as we would say in Tagalog (“You are not different from us”). It is perhaps the most Christian word in the English language as it refers to our belonging to one big family with God as our Father and everyone a brother and a sister in Christ.
Unfortunately, kindness has become a rarity in our world today that has become so unkind where we feel so “different” as in “iba” in Tagalog even right in our own family like in the experience of Joseph in our first reading today.
They said to one another: “Here comes the master dreamer! Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here; we could say that a wild beast devoured him. We shall then see what comes of his dreams.”
Genesis 37:19-20
Most often, it is jealousy that makes people unkind like with the elder brothers of Joseph. This is expressed in our name-calling as we refuse to acknowledge someone as our kin by giving them aliases like Joseph referred to by his brothers as “master dreamer”. We Filipinos have all kinds of aliases and codes for the family members we hate like “bruha”, “demonyo”, “Hudas” or even “Hitler”. The more mean, the better, without us realizing how our jealousies expressed in name-calling deteriorate into sinister plots against our own kin. It is the most unkindest kind of unkindness demonstrated in the selling of Joseph:
Judah said to his brothers, “What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood? Rather, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, instead of doing away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed. They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. (Gen.37:26-28).
Genesis 37:26-28
Photo by author, Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.
This is the tragedy now going on in our family when we call our parents and siblings as “mom” and “dad”, “kuya” and “ate” yet at the same time, disrespect them in our thoughts and deeds! See the absurdity of Judah in concluding, “after all, he is our brother, our own flesh” that they sold him! He miserably missed the whole point that if Joseph were their brother and own flesh, all the more he should have cared and saved him even from being sold to slavery right there!
This is the curse of many fraternities in our universities. Even worst than Judah, there are some fratmen blinded by their rites and rituals of initiations that they have forgotten or have become oblivious to the meaning of brotherhood or fraternity. The most incomprehensible of all is with every death happening among their brods, still the same story of silence and cowardice happening with all attempts to hide their heinous crimes.
It is a tragedy we also participate daily in our homes when we regard our family as kin yet at the same time disregard all kindness and respect due to our parents and brothers and sisters, or to husband and wife. What an unkind world we have when we cheat on one another with our infidelity and betrayals, when we stab each other with harsh words of suspicions without bases at all as well as our never ending sumbatan.
Jesus himself shows us in his parable of the wicked tenants the face of this “unkindest kind of being unkind” springing not only from jealousy but from our self-centeredness and self-righteousness.
“when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’ They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.”
Matthew 21:38-39
Photo by author, Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.
What an unkind world when after recognizing one another as a kindred, instead of being kind and respectful, of having malasakit, like the wicked tenants we use our ties and kinships as bases for murderous and other evil plots against those we know and closest to us.
It is disheartening and frustrating when our social media are filled with moral aspersions as well as downright accusations so harsh that could sometimes get into one’s nerves, hurting our sensibilities. True, charity is never imposed and respect has to be earned but kindness is demanded of us because being kind is the hallmark of a person’s goodness.
Our responsorial psalm captures the reason why we must always be kind, “Remember the marvels the Lord has done.” And here lies the warning to those unkind, “When the Lord called down a famine on the land and ruined the crop that sustained them, he sent a man before them, Joseph, sold as a slave” (Ps. 105:16-17).
The story of Joseph the Dreamer never fails to move us of how in the end, his brothers wept in shame upon meeting him as their brother whom they have sold into Egypt. As Jesus said too to the chief priests and Pharisees of his time, “Did you never read in the Scriptures: the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?” (Mt.21:42).
This season of Lent, let us try to bring back kindness in our hearts, in our words, in our thoughts and in our deeds even if others are not kind to us. Sometimes, kindness has a way of teaching us the importance of this virtue that may not be always be so kind at all. Amen.
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