The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for Monday, Easter Octave, 22 april 2019
Acts 2:14, 22-23///Matthew 28:8-15
Photo from Google.
Glory and praise to you, O Lord Jesus Christ! Thank you very much for the gift of Easter, the gifts of new life, of hope, and most of all, of love. Thank you very much for sharing with us your glory of rising from death.
But what is worst that could happen with us this Easter is when we choose to remain in the darkness of ignorance and sin, of not truly believing you are risen. And leading others away from you like those terrorists in Sri Lanka yesterday.
The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’ And if this gets to the ears of the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.'” The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed.
Matthew 28:12-15
Until now, O Lord, there is still that spirit of your enemies living in us, of those soldiers bribed who chose to disregard what they have experienced, to lie of your Resurrection. Until now, we continue to betray you, replacing you with people and things we find more valuable to us. And worst is when we mislead others away from you.
Let us go to meet you, “fearful yet overjoyed” like Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to announce your rising from the dead. Let us accept the truth of what Peter boldly proclaimed after Pentecost in Jerusalem that indeed, we have “killed” you now risen from the dead.
Let our ignorance of you, Jesus, be an opening for our faith in you so we may grow in intimacy with you. Amen.
Sunset in San Juan, La Union, January 2018. Photo by author.
A blessed happy Easter to everyone! Sorry for the delay with our LordMyChef Sunday Music – I can’t really think of a song that can go well with our reflection about Easter: the need to “internalize” our faith in our Risen Lord Jesus Christ while still being joyful filled with life. And so, we are having two songs in a row for our reflections. After all, it is Easter, the Mother of all our feasts!
Easter stories are always filled with shades of darkness. Unless we are willing to go through the darkness of Good Friday, we shall never experience the brightness of Easter. It is in darkness when we learn to trust more and believe more, hope more and love more.
To help us examine our selves, we share with you Marvin Gaye’s classic “What’s Going On” released in 1971. Aside from the timeless meaning of the song, the lyrics are very poetic.
Mother, mother There’s too many of you crying Brother, brother, brother There’s far too many of you dying You know we’ve got to find a way To bring some lovin’ here today
Father, father We don’t need to escalate You see, war is not the answer For only love can conquer hate You know we’ve got to find a way To bring some lovin’ here today, oh oh oh
Picket lines and picket signs Don’t punish me with brutality Talk to me, so you can see Oh, what’s going on What’s going on Yeah, what’s going on Ah, what’s going on
Mother, mother, everybody thinks we’re wrong Oh, but who are they to judge us Simply ’cause our hair is long Oh, you know we’ve got to find a way To bring some understanding here today Oh oh oh
For our second song in our twin header this Easter Sunday, we have the joyful 1983 hit by Christopher Cross “All Right”. Amid all the darkness we are going through in our lives, Jesus continues to walk with us, listening to us, and most of all sharing with us. With Jesus we can all make it!
I know, I know what’s on your mind And I know it gets tough sometimes. But you can give it one more try to find another reason why, You should pick it up and try it again â??Cause it’s all right – I think we’re gonna make it, I think it might just work out this time. It’s all right – I think we’re gonna make it I think it might work out fine this time It’s all right – I think we’re gonna make it I think it might just work out, cause it’s not too late for that too late for me.
A painting of the road to Emmaus with Jesus from Google.
The Lord Is My Chef Easter Sunday Recipe, 21 April 2019
Photo from Google.
During our morning prayer (lauds) at the parish today, I invited my parishioners to “internalize” the meaning of Jesus being buried, being “dead” this Saturday. I love the word “internalize” that evokes the imagery of Jesus “descending into the dead” while we his disciples go inside our very selves, probing deeper our heart and soul to examine our faith in the Risen Jesus Christ.
Internalize. I think this is the keyword this Easter Sunday. To internalize means to go into the dark, to befriend darkness. Unless we have gone through the darkness of Good Friday, we shall never fully appreciate the brightness of Easter Sunday. How sad that so many of us went through all liturgical celebrations and other devotional practices of Palm Sunday into Holy Thursday and Good Friday only to be absent this Easter Sunday which is the most important celebration of our faith, the very foundation of our being Christians. All those five weeks of Lent plus the Holy Week are preparations for Easter which covers more than 50 days beginning today until Pentecost. And those 50 days are counted as one big day because Easter is the Mother of all feasts in the Church!
And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching; empty, too, your faith.
1 Corinthians 15:14
Recent events demand that we as a Church, the Body of the Risen Lord, internalize our being Christians. You must have seen that viral photo of Antipolo pilgrims who have turned the Cathedral into a huge trash bin during Holy Thursday’s visita iglesia. It was the same sight in many churches and pilgrimage sites last week that make us wonder if Jesus is really alive in us? Or, Jesus has risen but we have remained dead in our sins and indifference, in our own “do-it-yourself” kind of religion or cafeteria Catholicism when we choose to believe only in certain teachings and beliefs that suit our tastes and well-being.
Photo by Kae Rivera via GMA News.
Problem is not only with the faithful but also with us priests when we have forgotten or even disregarded Jesus our Lord and Master, giving more emphasis on our own beliefs and concepts of what is true, good and beautiful that our celebrations and practices have become more of a show than expressions of faith. See how repositories on Holy Thursday have become more like a stage for “Asia’s Got Talent” or any variety show that have robbed Christ of the dignity and honor because people have become more focused with the glitz and glamour of the stage design and production. Sorry to say, it has become more of a show than a devotion as people leave talking about the spectacle than Jesus being present. And the sad part is how we priests have misled the people away from Christ but consciously or unconsciously, closer to us.
Now see my dear readers how in our gospel accounts this Easter Sunday that the prevailing mood and scenery are of darkness.
At daybreak on the first day of the week… On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark… That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus…As they approached the village to which they were going, they urged Jesus, “Stay with, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
Luke 24:1… John 20:1…Luke 24:13, 28-29
From Google.
Jesus rose in the dead of the night to bring light and life. Recall how the evangelists unanimously tell us that when Jesus died, there was widespread darkness to remind us that our darkest moments in life are our finest ones when we are with him. His first appearances were all in the darkness of dawn, dusk, and evening. There is something in darkness that Jesus invites us to come to him and meet him. It is only in the dark when we truly enter into a new and deeper level of friendship and relationship, of intimacy with him or with anyone else like married couples because it is in darkness when we truly trust and believe the other person. In the darkness of the night we muster all our faith and trust, strength and courage to await the breaking of a new day filled with hope and joy.
In this age of social media when everybody has the whole world as a stage, we always live in the brightness of so many artificial lights, stage lights for performances or palabas as we call them. We no longer have what Paul Simon sings “Hello darkness my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again…” Jesus conquered darkness so we can befriend it to find our selves and others better. Darkness is the light that leads us to Easter! Life need not be always bright because the sun does not shine on all days.
The tragedy of forgetting darkness, of always living in artificial lights is that the more we fail to see ourselves, others, God, and the world around us. The more we fail, the more we are sad, the more we are unfulfilled. Worst, the more we do not see despite all the lights! Don’t you find that ironic, even absurd? And that explains why we have so many undeserving elected leaders today. This Easter, let the darkness of the dawn, of the empty tomb be our light in following Jesus. Be not afraid to walk in the dark like the two disciples going to Emmaus because Jesus always walks with us, listens to us, shares with us in the darkness of our lives. Jesus is alive and he loves you very much! Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-20 ng Abril 2019
Larawan mula sa Google.
Ano nga ba ang kabuluhan Nitong mga panata na sinasakatuparan Kung wala namang kahulugan Maliban sa ito'y nakagisnan?
Inyong pagmasdan itong ating mga nakagawian Na pawang puro kaluhuan Puro palabas wala na sa kalooban Kaya nawala na sa atin ang kahulugan.
Pagkakataon sana upang ating masalamin At mapaglalim mga minanang kaugalian natin Ngunit nagiging isang malagim na tanawin Karima-rimarim na pag-uugali ng marami sa atin.
Larawan mula sa GMA News.
Isang kabataan nadismaya sa nakita Nang gawing malaking basurahan simbahan nila Ng mga nag-visita iglesia na walang pakundangan Nilapastangan at sinalaula tahanan ng Diyos.
Hindi lamang iyan sa Antipolo Kungdi maging mula Aparrri hanggang Jolo Eksenang ganyang kagulo Ng mga Katolikong sira ang ulo.
Larawan mula sa Google.
Anong uri nga ba ng pananampalatay mayroon tayo Mga Filipino diumano Katoliko sarado Hindi mababago anila pagiging Kristiyano O sarado isip at puso sa katotohanan ni Kristo?
Ngayong "nakahimlay" Panginoon natin Suriin mga pagkukulang natin Kung bakit mga pagdiriwang at gawain Sa simbahan nawalan ng taginting.
Mga simbahan ba natin maituturing na bahay dalanginan pa rin Kung punung-puno ng mga palamuti, walang katapusang mga pagawain? Puro flat screen at tarpaulin mga dingding Lahat na lamang naka-recording, ang Diyos wala nang dating.
Nasaan na ang marubdob na pakiramdam Kung ang simbahan mistulang tindahan At ang masaklap na katotohanan minsan o palagian Kay Father walang maramdamang kabanalan.
Madalas nating mapakinggan itong kasabihan Kung ano ang gobyerno, ganoon din ang mga tao; Huwag nating kalilimutan ang katotohanang iyan Sa simbahan ma'y matatagpuan una doon sa mga kaparian.
Yesterday I saw the Maundy Thursday letter of Archbishop Soc Villegas to us his brother priests. I have never had a death threat in my life but have experienced being the subject of a fake news on being dead in 2005. And like the good Bishop Soc, I also asked “why me for doing what is right?”
It was one of the darkest hours in my entire life. I was then assigned at our diocesan school for boys in Malolos when I initiated an investigation on two married teachers allegedly having an affair following a tip from some faculty members. Our school principal who was well-respected by everyone headed the board. After a few days into the investigation, the teachers concerned resigned after realizing the overwhelming evidences their accusers have gathered against them. We were so glad the case was peacefully and easily resolved.
A week later, a teacher woke me up very early morning with a call, asking if the text message they have received was true that I have died of a heart attack past midnight. My immediate response to the teacher was, “why did you call me if I have died already?” She was crying and was so concerned as I listened to her on the phone. Then I asked her to send me the text message, but, later I changed my mind, telling her “what if it were true?”
I was never able to get back to sleep that morning because everybody was asking about the fake news that spread so quickly. I had to call my family to assure them I am very alive and well. By eight o’clock I realized the gravity of the matter: nuns were praying and masses have been offered for my “untimely death” that some priests have in fact came to see me in the school. I tried to brushed it aside, taking it lightly with my usual jokes. I even held my classes that whole day, telling my students that even if I die, I would always come to teach them.
Things became so different later that day for me. Especially when I prayed first in our chapel that evening and later in my room. Alone, I cried, feeling a deep pain within, asking myself what have I done wrong to deserve such a fake news? It was a pain so different, something you could really piercing through one’s self, slashing and shredding every bit of my being. That night I felt I have finally grasped all those existential absurd and pessimistic stuffs by Abert Camus and Soren Kierkegaard. Like what young people would say these days, “gets ko na sila”.
Crucifixion at the altar of the Betania Retreat House, Tagaytay. Photo by author, 2017.
It did not stop there. The “mystery texter” eventually texted me, threatening me of so many things, cursing me that I would suffer so much before I die. With that, I sought help from my friends in the news who referred me to a text scam investigator whom I never met but was so kind to help me for free. With his technical skills plus my news background as well as pastoral psychology, I was able to eventually identify my mystery texter who was a co-teacher of the accusers of the teachers in the illicit affair. It turned out, she was so broken-hearted after being dumped by the male teacher for another co-teacher who was prettier and lovelier than her. And she’s also married! She thought I was protecting the accused male teacher who happened to be an ex-seminarian but later we learned he was notorious in having illicit affairs among his married co-teachers.
She eventually resigned from our school in 2006 along with her group of co-teachers who all end up miserable in life. Their leader got separated from her husband who was caught in the act in another school banging an employee in a vacant room during summer break. Another was widowed. The third just got uglier. And she? She went to teach abroad in 2007 but had to go back home after learning her husband’s extra-marital affairs. She was able to go back to our old school because I never told my rector my findings. After a year and a half, she was fired from our school when the wife of our school driver caught them having an affair. I have never seen her nor her group since I left our school in 2010.
The Cross of Christ atop the church of our Lady of Lourdes in France. Photo by my former student Arch. Philip Santiago during his pilgrimage in 2018.
Thank you for bearing with me with my long story. It is the first time I have shared it with anyone except with one good teacher I have kept as a friend. Since yesterday I have been telling you about the “hour” of Jesus Christ, his passion that started at the Last Supper, culminating at his crucifixion. We said the darkest hour of Jesus Christ is also his finest hour because of his immense love. In the end, it was his love that triumphed over sin and evil. And that is why we call this Friday as Good.
When I recall that episode in my life, I thank God. You know when I was being attacked then by that mystery texter, that was the same year God gifted me my first trip to the US when my Ninang’s daughter got married. Life has become harder for me since then but has become “betterer”.
Of course I was scared at that time, checking on everything I was doing. Everything in my life has to be planned and calculated; I hate surprises that is why I am not fond of gifts, that I do not readily open them. But, was I angry or mad? No. Even at that time. I even pitied our teacher for being fooled. There is still pain in my heart when I remember those people behind those things but overall, I have transcended the episode. And I feel I have been transformed by it. The incident made me more resolved to be good and better as a person, as a priest. Most of all, it had taught me that like Jesus Christ, we always have to make a stand for what is true, what is good, what is just. It is always painful, lonely and scary to be on the cross. But it is on the Cross of Christ where we shine and share in his glory. It is only at the Cross of Christ where we are truly transformed into better persons because of love. It is only on the Cross of Christ where we realize the value and beauty of this gift of life, of every person in our lives that we start living authentically. At the Cross of Christ, we are assured always of a bright new day to get better and stat anew in life. A blessed weekend to you!
The Crucifix by National Artist Napoleon Abueva at the Holy Sacrifice Parish at UP Diliman. Here we find Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Death and Glory of Christ always together, a hairline apart from each other. See also the long arms of Christ that seem to be disproportionate to his body. According to a story, the UP Chaplain who commissioned that crucifix, the Jesuit Fr. John Delaney asked Abueva to make the arms of Christ longer than usual to show Jesus welcomes everyone; there’s a room for everyone in the Lord’s Cross, especially those suffering. Photo from Google.
Crucifix at the Fatima Square in Portugal. Photo by Arch. Philip Santiago, October 2018.
The Evangelists tell us that Jesus died on the Cross on a Friday at about 3:00 PM. And they tell us too that our Lord died praying, exactly what most of the Seven Last Words have expressed. But from the gospel we have heard this afternoon written by the beloved disciple John, we discover something very beautiful: Jesus was very calm and peaceful in his prayer unto death.
After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
John 19:28-30
When we are deep in suffering, in severe pain like Jesus on the cross, what do we usually pray?
Most often, we pray that the terrible ordeal we are going through would finally end or be finished. And sometimes, due to desperation, we even pray for death, of how we wish God would finally end our life to be free from all the problems and pains we are going through. And we feel death is the solution.
One of the things I have realized about death came from the 1990’s movie “House of Spirits” when the mother played by Meryl Streep told her daughter played by Winona Ryder that “you do not pray for death because death surely comes.” I always tell that to patients I visit who are in deep pain and suffering. I know it is easier than done. But when we reflect on the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, we discover how he had made death an offering, a gift of self in love. Clearly we find here that his darkest hour is also his finest hour because of love.
Chapel of the Holy Family, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches. Photo by author, 2016.
In the original Greek text of St. John, the word used to express Jesus Christ’s final prayer “It is finished” is “tetelestai” from the root word “telos” meaning the final end and direction. It is not just an ending but a direction too. At the start of this year’s Lenten season, we have reflected that life is more about direction than destination. Direction leads to growth and maturity because it is about persons. Destination is just about place and location.
From the very start, Jesus was clear with His mission, of how it would be accomplished. He has always been sure of himself, of who he is. Notice how St. John repeated many times in his account of the Last Supper how Jesus was “fully aware” of everything that was going to happen: he was so composed and serene that he even gave bread to his betrayer Judas Iscariot during their supper. Last night we heard how Jesus knew everything was coming to end that he washed the feet of his disciples.
When his “hour” had come, Jesus was “fully aware of everything” that he was never left to the whims and powers of his enemies when he went through his Passion, calmly and courageously facing his death on the Cross. He always had the upper hand that he was able to pray “It is finished” because he was so sure of his Resurrection on Easter. In praying “It is finished,” Jesus consecrated not only himself but also all humanity to the Father so that we are able to bear and face death squarely like him.
Mt. St. Paul Retreat House, Baguio. Photo by author, June 2017.
In the Mass after the consecration of the bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood, we proclaim “Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.” We call it as “the mystery of our faith” because when we say “Christ has died,” we admit that truly, the Son of God went through all kinds of sufferings in life we all go through like betrayal, rejection, loneliness, sickness, hunger, thirst, and yes, even death. And His sufferings continue as we suffer more in this world marred by evil and sins, making us cry, asking when would these end and be finished. And there lies the mystery of our faith on the Cross that led to Easter: when we look at Jesus Christ on His Cross, we see our own pains and agony as God’s pains and agony too. Jesus joined us in our anguish and death so that we could experience all the more his immense love for us. Without Jesus and his Cross, we would never be able to bear or even face the many deaths we go through daily. May we recognize God’s immense love for us again this afternoon when we venerate the cross and see it as the merging point of human and Divine suffering. Keep praying with Jesus who has the final say with death at Easter. Amen.
*This is an updated version of my Good Friday reflection last year.
Altar at the Carmelite Monastery in Israel with a unique Crucifix. Photo by Dra. Mai B. Dela Pena, 2011.
Today I am celebrating my 21st year in the priesthood. This is the first time our ordination anniversary falls on a Holy Thursday when we celebrate the institution of the two Sacraments most closely linked with us priests and the Church, Holy Eucharist and Holy Orders.
When we were ordained by Archbishop Rolando J. Tria-Tirona 21 years ago at the Malolos Cathedral, there were so many things going on in my mind and in my heart. But there was one thing that had remained very clear with me since that day: I am being ordained priest at the age of 33, the very same age Jesus was crucified on the Cross. From then on until now, I have kept in my heart that priesthood is suffering and dying on the Cross in Jesus and with Jesus centered on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.
John 13:1
Of the four evangelists, it is only St. John who repeatedly mentions the expression “hour of Jesus” in his gospel account. For him, the very life of Jesus is a journey and preparation to his “hour” which is his crucifixion and death. The hour of Jesus is his passion. The word passion is from the Latin verb patior that means to undergo, to pass through, evoking some form of suffering and pain.
The hour of Jesus started in his Last Supper. It was a very long hour so to speak. And very dark. However, it was also the finest hour of Jesus when he poured out his immense love and mercy for us. Beginning at his supper when he washed the feet of the Apostles to his agony in the garden when he perspired with blood to his arrest reaching it darkest point in his crucifixion and death, the darkest hour of Jesus is also his finest hour when he was able to bear all sufferings and insults, including death because of love. Jesus showed us that in fact, love is the very process of passing over, of going beyond our means and capacity in order to transform and become better persons. That is why our darkest hour is also our finest hour when we are transformed in Jesus because precisely that is when we truly love. It is also for this reason that the Eucharist is called an agape which is the Greek word for the highest form of love that does not expect anything in return. That is the love of Jesus Christ. And supposed to be the love of us priests.
Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.
Jesus washes feet of Apostles. From Google.
Msgr. Epitacio Castro, one of our retired priests, has a favorite expression with his being a priest: “pinag-uubra lang ako ng Diyos”. True. God is just making do of us as priests because nobody is worthy of being one. We are the worst men around! We are also sinners like you, even more sinful than most of you. In the Eucharist, we priests experience that great love of Jesus Christ when he tries to make us fit as his priests, transforming us into men like him. It happens every time we are one with him in his hour of suffering and death. Priesthood is a life of leaving and loving, of passing over and transformation. The day we were ordained, our Last Supper began, our passion began because that is also our hour in Jesus Christ. Every time we celebrate the Holy Mass, we priests are reminded that our hour had come to pass, challenging us to love more. Pray for priests who no longer love the Eucharist; something is terribly wrong with them.
I am a sinner. But it is a tremendous grace of God through the Eucharist that I continue to leave and pass over, from sin to holiness and grace, from darkness to light, from selfishness to selflessness, from desperation to hope, from grief to joy. And all because of the power of love of God overflowing in the Eucharist. How can I resist to love and to forgive, to let go and move on, to be patient and to persevere when right in the Eucharist I could feel Jesus truly present, entrusting himself to me who is so untidy with sins and weaknesses? How could I not believe in him when Jesus is the first to believe in me despite my many self doubts? Every celebration of the Eucharist is an imitation of Christ when we priests go down to wash and kiss the feet of the people we serve whom we also hurt and hurt us too!
They say the darkest nights are the longest nights. Very true especially for us priests. Be patient with us when we forget so many things, when we change so often in our plans because every time there are celebrations, our hour goes over time too. Bear with us, pray for us when we sometimes become irritable even grouchy because aside from your many problems and burdens we help you carry, we have our own struggles and problems too. That hour of Jesus remains with us even after every Mass when you all go home to your own family while we priests are left alone in our parish thinking about the next celebrations. The hours are long and the nights are so dark and all we have is that flickering light of faith, hope, and love in Jesus in our hearts.
But, though the darkest nights are the longest nights, they also say that only the brave who dare walk the darkness can see the brightness of the stars above. Courage does not mean having no fear but the ability to face our fears. And, oh! We priests have many fears too, including the fears of rejection, of being misunderstood, of being boxed, and most of all, of failing. We are what you call as “warrior is a child” — “They don’t know that I come running home when I fall down. They don’t know who picks me up when no one is around. I drop my sword and cry for just a while, ‘Coz deep inside this armor, The warrior is a child.
In the Eucharist, we priests truly share in the priesthood of Jesus Christ because that is also when we feel transformed in his love, when we pass over with so much pains from the many experiences we have in our very selves and with others. Indeed, without the Eucharist, we are not priests! Every time I raise Christ’s Body and Blood, I pray that Jesus may make me whole in body, mind and heart, that he may wash me of all my sins, doubts and fears. Nobody else in the Mass perhaps, except us priests who truly feel the meaning of praying these words before receiving communion, “Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my shall be healed.”
Maybe you have all seen the photos after the fire that razed the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris this Holy Tuesday. Intact were the altar table with the huge cross beaming with light. What a beautiful reminder to us all, especially us priests, that in this life, our darkest hours are also our finest hours when we are one with Jesus Christ. No fire nor anything can ever destroy us because Jesus had overcome every evil even death for us. Every destruction and darkness are a prelude to the light and new creation of Easter Sunday that begins right here in the hour of the Eucharist of Jesus. Let us remain in Christ in love in passing over, in leaving behind the pains and hurts of the past with much love in our hearts to move on in this life. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe, Holy Wednesday, 17 April 2019
Isaiah 50:4-9///Matthew 26:14-25
Photo from Google.
Today O Lord Jesus Christ is “spy Wednesday” for tonight Judas will strike a deal with your enemies to betray you. Tonight is said to be the night of traitors, of betrayers.
O Lord, we hate being called traitors and betrayers, a Judas Iscariot. And yet, too often, it is true whenever we sin, whenever we turn away from you, when we exchange you for things and people we find more valuable than you.
One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
Matthew 26:14-16
Please forgive us Jesus whenever we betray you. Most of all, we pray and seek your forgiveness and healing O Lord from this grave sin of betrayal for we do not only do it to you but to those most dearest to us, our family and friends whom we hurt whenever we hand them over to troubles and miseries, to grief and tears.
Help us Lord Jesus to enter into full communion with you, to be filled with your Holy Spirit so that we think and act like you in total obedience to the Father, giving no space in us for satan to trade you off for anything. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe, Holy Tuesday, 16 April 2019
Isaiah 49:1-6///John 13:21-33, 36-38
At the Wailing Wall of Jerusalem, April 2017. Photo by author.
As we come closer to your Paschal Triduum O Lord Jesus Christ, I try to probe deeper into myself to examine where are in you in my life? There were so many times I have not been faithful to you. There were so many times I wavered, almost gave up following you because nothing seemed to happen.
Who really fills me, you O Lord or the enemy?
So many times I have wallowed into so many complaints and excuses, always doubting if you are really with me, if you have truly called me. Like Peter, I just say so many things, asking you many questions without really understanding and knowing anything at all especially your very words. Worst, there are times I feel like Judas sharing in your sacred meal and yet betraying you when I sin because I have allowed evil to take over me.
Give me the grace to be like you as the faithful, suffering Servant of God so certain and so trusting of the Divine call and mission:
The Lord called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. He made me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, yet my reward is with the Lord, my recompense is with my God.
Isaiah 49:1-2, 4
Lord Jesus Christ, reign in my heart, fill me with your humility, justice, and love. Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, ika-16 ng Abril 2019
Ngayong Semana Santa aking naalala Aking nabasa isang tunay na istorya Tungkol kay Santa Mother Teresa Noong nabubuhay pa siya sa Calcutta.
Minsan daw isang alaga nilang kulang-kulang Sinidlang bigla ng galit na di maintindihan Krusipihiyo sa dingding nabalingan ng pansin Ibinato sa Santa nating taimtim nananalangin.
Walang nakapansin nang ito'y kanyang gawin At nang ito'y pulutin ng butihing Mother natin Nakita niyang bali-bali ngunit nakapako pa rin Si Kristong Panginoon natin.
Larawan mula sa Google.
Kanyang pinagdikit-dikit bali-baling katawan Na parang nabendahan tulad ng isang sugatan Saka inutusan ng madreng maalam kanyang mga kasamahan Kanyang tinuran sa kanila, mahigpit na tagubilin:
Isabit muli sa ating dingding nabaling Krusipihiyo natin At inyo ring idikit kalapit yaring panalangin, "Hayaan po ninyo Panginoon na paghilumin Nitong aking mga kamay nawasak mong katawan."
Larawan ng mosaic sa kripta ng Katedral ng Maynila. Kuha ni Arch. Philip Santiago, Oktubre 2016.
Ito ang aral na lagi nating pakantandaan Kaya minsan-minsan dapat nating pagnilayan Paano nasugatan at patuloy nating sinasaktan Ng ating mga kasalanan yaring Mahal na Katawan.
Sa naturang kuwento ng ating banal Kanyang dasal sana'y di lamang natin mausal Katulad niya'y ating maisabuhay Paano ating mga kamay makakaramay.
Mula sa Google.
Mga kamay ni Hesus sa krus katulad ay tulay Nag-uugnay, nagbibigay-buhay Sa mga handang abutin Diyos at kapwa natin Sa pag-ibig na walang kapalit na hinihiling.
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