Tag: cancer

We are God’s dwelling, praying for cancer patients

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin & Martyr, 05 February 2024
1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13  <*((((>< + ><))))*>  Mark 6:53-56 
Photo by Mr. Boy Cabrido, kids playing “piko” outside patio of the National Shrine of St. Michael & the Archangels in San Miguel, Manila, 04 February 2024. 
On this first working day of the week,
we pray to you dear Father,
may we share your loving presence
we experienced at the Sunday Mass
to everyone we shall meet today;
like Jesus your Son, 
may we "approach, touch and raise"
especially those who are down in
trials and tribulations in life;
dwell in our hearts, Lord, like when
your clouds envelop the temple built
by Solomon when they placed your
Ark of the Covenant at the Holy of Holies.

When the priests left the holy place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord so that priests could no longer minister because of the cloud, since the Lord’s glory had filled the temple of the Lord.

1 Kings 8:10-11
Dwell on us your people, Lord;
fill us with your grace of courage to
witness your love and truth among peoples
like St. Agatha who died remaining a virgin
for your holy name after enduring so much
pains from her torturers who cut off her breasts
but with the intercession of St. Peter the Apostle,
her wounds were healed, making her the
patron saint of those with breast cancer;
you know O Lord the pains and difficulties
those with cancer go through;
give them the strength to withstand the 
long process of treatments along with their
loved ones;
never let them lose hope in you through
Jesus Christ who never gets tired "crossing
the lake" to reach the sick;
have mercy on those with all kinds of cancer,
bless those who were healed and in remission,
and please accept the souls of those
who have died.
Amen.
From en.wikipedia.org, painting of St. Agatha with her severed breasts that many thought to be loaves of bread that is why in some churches in Europe, breads are distributed during her memorial.

Beauty in our mortality

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Saturday, Week XXIV, Year II in Ordinary Time, 19 September 2020
1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49     || + ||     Luke 8:4-15
“The Sower” painting by Van Gogh, photo from Wikimedia Commons.

Dearest Lord Jesus,

Today I wish to repeat my prayer to you yesterday: Please grant me St. Paul’s clarity of mind and purity of heart in explaining and leading others to faith in you, most especially in believing the resurrection of the dead.

While we all profess faith in the resurrection of the dead, most of us are still puzzled like the Corinthians who could not accept it.

Here I have found St. Paul’s clarity of mind and purity of heart at its best when he wrote us the most wonderful and loveliest explanation of death and dying that lead to transformation and new life.

Brothers and sisters: Someone may say, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come back?” You fool! What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible. It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious. It is sown weak; it is raised powerful. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-44

In this time of the pandemic when death has become so “ordinary” and most of all, “so closest to home”, I pray for the many people now facing death in their hospital beds, in their homes comforted by the loving presence of family, as well as for those left alone to themselves due to so many reasons only you can understand. And forgive.

Bless those with advanced stages of cancer, those awaiting transplants, for those in their terminal stages. Give them the grace of hope, to continue to love even if things are getting worst than better.

Ease their pains, Jesus, and make them feel your loving presence with them on the cross.

Most of all, transform them like the seeds after having died and sown in good soil, grew and produced fruit a hundredfold. Amen.

Our foolish hearts

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Monday, Week XX, Year I, 19 August 2019

Judges 2:11-19 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Matthew 19:16-22

Grotto at Baguio (Mirador Hill), February 2019.

Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, he would be with the judge and save them from the power of their enemies as long as the judge lived; it was thus the Lord took pity on their distressful cries of affliction under their oppressors. But when the judge died, they would relapse and do worse than their ancestors, following other gods in service and worship, relinquishing none of their evil practices or stubborn conduct.

Judges 2:11-19

Sometimes I wonder why, O God, you did not just fix our hearts on you so we would remain in you?

Like the experiences of your people during the time of judges in Israel, our lives have become like one big vicious circle too difficult to break but so easy to predict: we turn away from you, our lives go wayward, we repent, you forgive us, then we go back to you, we are blessed and then, after some period of peace and prosperity, we again turn away from you, our lives go wayward and the cycle continues.

What a foolish heart we have, O Lord.

But, you are so filled with love and mercy for us, believing in us always for the ability to change and remain in you despite our weaknesses.

Thank you for never completely abandoning us, for always having that gaze filled with love like Jesus looking onto that young man in the gospel who walked away sad because he could not completely commit himself to serving you and loving you with all his heart.

Keep us faithful to you, enlighten our minds and our hearts to trust only in you even if the journey is full of dangers and difficulties.

We pray in a special way for our brothers and sisters suffering with various forms of cancer. May the prayers of St. Ezequiel Moreno grant them healing. Amen.

From Google.