40 Shades of Lent, Thursday after Ash Wednesday, 27 February 2020
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 +++ 0 +++ Luke 9:22-25
As we step forward into the second day of Lent, O Lord, you remind us today of your call to conversion which is actually a call to love and a call to life.
Forgive us, O Lord, for those times we have turned away from you in sins, thinking that is the path to life, the path to freedom, the path to fulfillment – only to find out later it is the path to destruction and death.
Moses said to the people: “Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the Lord, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy. I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.”
Deuteronomy 30:15-16, 19-20
Photo by author, our Parish altar candle, Lent 2019.
Help us, Jesus, “to deny ourselves, take up our crosses daily, and follow you” (Lk.9:23) in the path of conversion and fidelity to your everlasting covenant.
Make us realize that Lent is more than a season we yearly celebrate but a reality of life itself, a life so blessed in your coming to be one with us in our sufferings and struggles.
Give us the strength, dear Jesus, to renew your covenant with us, to always choose God, choose life.
May we also share your love and mercy, understanding and patience, kindness and compassion to our fellow pilgrims in this journey of life so that together in the end, we may all enter into the house of the Father in heaven. Amen.
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, 22 January 2020
1 Samuel 24:3-21 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Mark 3:1-6
Cross atop our Parish church, 19 January 2020. Photo by Gelo N. Carpio.
Dearest Lord Jesus:
Today I realized something new, something different: that biblical term “hardness of the heart” may not be totally wrong at all.
It sounds negative but may mean two things also like of hardness of the heart for God or a hardness of the heart against God and others.
Hardness of the heart for God: When King Saul was trying to dissuade the young David from facing the Philistine giant Goliath, David explained:
“The Lord, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will also keep me safe from the clutches of this Philistine.”
1 Samuel 17:37
Would it really matter, O Lord, if we face a great or little obstacle in life if we have that complete faith and trust in you, if like David we would have such heart so hard for you?
David was very insistent on fighting Goliath – he knew and was convinced that no matter what, God will fight his battle! He had a hard heart for you, O God. Very adamant in fact.
When we have total faith and trust in you, O Lord, there is no one or nothing we should be afraid of.
Hardness of the heart against God: When Jesus confronted his enemies during a sabbath at the synagogue regarding the healing of the man with a withered hand there, they chose to be silent than make a stand for what is good and right.
Then Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to do good on a sabbath rather than do evil, to save life rather than destroy it?” But they remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
Mark 3:4-5
St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, pray for us!
Lord Jesus Christ, remind us always of the beautiful imagery of your Cross, of you always standing in our midst, presenting yourself before us to always choose you, side with you in making choices in life.
Give us the grace and courage like with St. Vincent, the first martyr of Spain who bore all forms of torture with silence and grace, remaining faithful to you.
Give us that grace to give you a chance to work in us.
Friday, Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot, 17 January 2020
1 Samuel 8:4-7, 10-22 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Mark 2:1-12
Grotto, Baguio City, January 2019.
Thank you very much, O God for another week of work and school about to close this day. Most of all, thank you for for the rest you have given us these past few days from our restive Taal Volcano. Continue to keep everyone safe and ready for any worst eventuality.
Today we pray, O Lord, for those people who have rejected us, those who have rejected our friendships, those who continue to reject our peace offerings, those who still reject the mercy and forgiveness we have given them.
Our lives have all been marred with so many rejections. Too often, we do not complain and just take them as part of life, the risk in any relationships, though, deep inside, we are hurt.
But, so often, we also forget how we have always rejected you, O God, in our lives. Of how we would rather choose our own ways that often lead us into sins and destruction, rejecting your wonderful plans that simply ask us to trust in you, to believe in you, and to rely in you.
Samuel was displeased when they asked for a king to judge them. He prayed to the Lord, however, who said in answer: “Grant the people’s every request. It is not you they reject, they are rejecting me as their king.”
1 Samuel 8:6-7
Teach us, O God, to open up to you again. To be open to your love and mercy, to your mercy and forgiveness brought to us by your Son Jesus Christ.
Help us to break this cycle of rejections we within that lead us to sin.
Every time we reject you, O Lord, or our brothers and sisters in love and mercy to insist on our own ways, our own ideas and thoughts, and beliefs, that is when we often sin.
Help us to be like St. Antony who left everything in life to be a hermit in the desert in order to find you and follow you. Help us find our own desert of desolation where we can always be alone with you to rely only in you, to accept your truths to guide us in our daily life. Amen.
St. Anthony the Abbot, a.k.a. the Great, pray for us!
Malaci 3:19-20 ><}}}*> 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12 ><}}}*> Luke 21:5-19
The Wailing Wall of Jerusalem Temple, May 2019.
We are now at the penultimate Sunday of the year as Jesus continues to summarize his teachings today at the Temple area in Jerusalem about his final coming at the end of time.
While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus said, “All that you see here — the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” He answered, “See that you not be deceived… “
Luke 21:5-8
On the surface, Jesus seemed like to be a “kill joy” in making those bold assertions about the coming destruction of the Temple while everybody was admiring it. But notice how the people reacted: instead of being worried, they asked when it would happen and what would be the warning signs before it takes place as if it is just an ordinary thing!
“Wala lang…” as the young would say these days. Nothing, duh…?
View of Jerusalem from the Church of Dominus Flevit where Jesus wept upon seeing the city from the Mount of Olives.
St. Luke tells us that before Jesus entered Jerusalem, “he wept over it” at the thought that it would be destroyed and that its enemies would not “leave one stone upon another” (Lk.19: 41-44).
If there is anyone deeply hurt and saddened with the Temple’s destruction, it is not other than Jesus Christ our Lord. He certainly shared the people’s admiration for the Temple which he had also claimed as “my Father’s house” (Lk.2:49) when he was accidentally left behind there by Mary and Joseph when he was 12 years old.
Imagine what Jesus must have felt when he spoke of the destruction of the Temple which is the heart of Jerusalem, the jewel of the city, and most of all, the sign of God’s presence among his chosen people!
There must be something deeper with his warning words of the Temple’s destruction that pertains not only to his people at that time but also to us today.
Wailing Wall of Jerusalem, may 2019.
For the Jews at that time, the destruction of the Temple is the end of the world, the signal of the apocalypse. More than a catastrophe involving the destruction of buildings and almost everything including life, it is judgment day that must not be taken lightly.
It is a day calling for conversion as the prophet Malachi in the first reading reminds us that every coming of God is a day of judgment and salvation.
Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire… But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.
Malachi 3:19-20
Christ had already come and will come again.
This was his promise and this is what he meant at the cleansing of the temple, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn.2:19). At his Passion, Death, and Resurrection, Jesus Christ had replaced the old Temple worship with himself!
This is what we celebrate in every Holy Mass, God’s coming to us in Jesus Christ his Son.
Jesus comes in every here and now, and his every coming is a process of destroying our old temple of self to give rise to a new temple in Christ. Our concern need not be about a future date of his Second Coming or specific signs of its fulfillment.
Every day Jesus comes again and the challenge is for us to live authentically as Christians daily and not be bothered about the future. He warns us not to be deceived by all of these apocalyptic predictions and statements.
The key word is conversion, of living in the present. Jesus tells us so many things that can be very frightening and scary because what he wants us to do in preparation for his Second Coming is to love, love, and love.
And to love is to always suffer in Christ, with Christ.
He answered, “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in in my name… Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky. Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you… You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair of on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
Luke 21:8-19
From I.REDD.IT.
Yes, Jesus will definitely come again at the end of time. Like last Sunday, definitely, there is a resurrection of the dead and life everlasting. But both must be seen in the context of the present time, of the here and now.
When Jesus comes again to judge us at the end of time, he won’t be asking us about the things we have been so preoccupied with in this life like how much money we earn, what car do you drive, or how big is your house?
When Jesus comes again, he will be asking us questions we have always refused to answer in our daily lives like how much have you loved, how much have you sacrificed and suffered for a loved one, or how much have you shared to a stranger?
These are the questions we must be asking ourselves as we near towards the end of the year: how close have I followed Jesus Christ in his Passion and Death so I may be with him in his Resurrection?
May we imitate St. Paul in his second letter to the Thessalonians today to faithfully and calmly fulfill our daily tasks in this life, avoiding being idle for each day is the day of the Lord. Amen.
Romans 6:19-23 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Luke 12:49-53
The late Joey Velasco at work. From Google.
As I prayed today’s gospel, Lord Jesus, I remembered the late painter Joey Velasco who is best known for his “Hapag ng Pag-Asa”.
Joey portrayed you in a very unique way that is very disturbing, even harsh just like the way you spoke in today’s gospel.
Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”
Luke 12:49-51
Why did I feel that way, Lord?
It seems I have been so conditioned to your image of being “meek and humble”, so gentle like Isaiah’s Suffering Servant who bore all pains and insults.
But more than that imagery that we have nurtured of you like a “baby” within us, Joey’s paintings of you among the poor and suffering disturb us because we are so detached from you.
Yes, we are disturbed and even pained because we have refused to follow you closer among the poor and suffering.
So often, your words shock us and actually bring us back to life because we have actually been dead to sin and evil or the “wages of sin” according to St. Paul in our first reading today.
“That All May Be One” painting by Joey Velasco. Photo from Google.
We are disturbed because our silence in reaching out to the poor and oppressed is more harsh than your words.
Your words are “harsh” because they are so radical in the truest sense, from the Latin radix or roots – you are shaking us down into our inner core and being to set the earth out on fire with your love!
Your words disturb us because they call us to leave our comfort zones and sidewalks to follow you right onto the dirty road of pain and suffering with the poor.
Yes, you have come Jesus to bring divisions, but not out of our petty quarrels and whims and fanaticisms.
Let us be divided for what is true and good, for what is just and fair.
Let us be divided, Lord, by choosing your side, by standing by your side at the foot of cross with the wounded and unaccepted.
Open our hearts, O Jesus, to the truest sense and meaning of your words to reawaken in us your fire and spirit of loving service for the less fortunate. Amen.
Saturday, Memorial of St. Lorenzo Ruiz and Companions, 28 September 2019
Zechariah 2:5-9, 14-15 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Luke 9:43-45
From Google.
Today, O God our loving Father, we praise and thank you for the gift of our first Filipino saint, San Lorenzo Ruiz along with his companions martyred in Japan on this day in 1637.
What a great blessing too, dear Father, that our first saint is a layman, someone we need these days to look up to and follow your universal call to holiness.
Bless our lay people who make up most of our faithful who are also our most essential co-workers in your vineyard, Lord.
We need them so much in this world that has become very secularized.
Restore their faith not only to you O God but also to us your priests, their priests and teachers and guides to you. May the lay people be faithful to your teachings through the Church they now question in the name of progress and liberalism.
Like San Lorenzo Ruiz, may the faithful trust again their priests and bishops despite the scandals that continue to rock our wounded Church.
What a beautiful sight to behold the martyrdom of San Lorenzo Ruiz with other fellow lay faithful and Dominican priests who all comprise the Body of Christ, the Church. In them were fulfilled your words to the prophet:
“People will live in Jerusalem as though in an open country, because of the multitude of men and beasts in her midst. But I will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.”
Zechariah 2:8-9
May we all trust you, O Lord, especially in this time of varied forms of persecution against the Catholic Church here and abroad. May we have the courage of San Lorenzo Ruiz and companions to suffer with you, and to suffer for you. Amen.
Sacred Heart Spirituality Center, Novaliches, QC, June 2016.
We go alternative rock today as our gospel continues with its “shock preaching” for the third consecutive Sunday.
Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptised, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”
Luke 12:49-51
And so, what is the good news in these pronouncements by the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ?
Interestingly like our intriguing gospel today is our featured music “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” by The Smiths released as a single in May 1984. And like the gospel today, we might ask, what is so good with this song that has become an anthem for our generation when heaven knows I’m miserable now?
Like our shocking and controversial gospel that sounds so negative on the surface, Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now is a good news in itself worth sharing with others.
It is a very defining song of the time that is why it is listed as one of “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll”. Its music has remained fresh and crisp, a melody that is definitively rock with a hint of lullaby perfectly given justice by the so British accent and voice of Morissey.
From Google.
And most of all, deep in all those icings, is the perfect cake: the lyrics that is intelligently straightforward and witty laced with deep meanings only a person who truly loves can identify with.
Although its title was inspired by Sandie Shaw’s 1969 single “Heaven Knows I’m Missing Him Now”, Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now is a tribute to those who choose to be good, who choose to stand with what is true and beautiful even to the point of being deserted by others like Jesus Christ, the prophets, the saints, as well as Lucy and Snoopy!
From Google.
It is definitely an intelligent music that has remained relevant up to this time making it truly a good news.
In this age when reason is being disregarded with emphasis given more on popularity, on what is trending and viral, on what has the most “likes” and who has the most “followers”, The Smiths’ Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now shows us how it can sometimes be dangerous being right, being true, being just.
The next time you feel hurt and aching inside, when you feel going through pains for being true and good among those people so ugly inside and outside, who are fake and untrue, pray and fix your sights on Jesus Christ on the Cross because “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”.
And, never lose your wit and humor!
What she asked of me at the end of the day Caligula would have blushed “Oh, you’ve been in the house too long” she said And I naturally fled In my life Why do I smile At people who I’d much rather kick in the eye?
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe, Week XX-C, 18 August 2019
Jeremiah 38:4-6. 8-10 ><)))*> Hebrews 12:1-4 ><)))*> Luke 12:49-53
Batanes sunset after a storm, 2018. Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News.
Jesus continues with his “shock preaching” for the third consecutive Sunday today as “he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem” and face his death there.
And his preaching is getting more shocking.
Unlike the previous two Sundays, it was easier to see why Jesus had to shake us with his teachings as he wants us to seriously consider the reality of death that comes “like a thief at night” (Lk. 12:39, Aug. 11). Far from being morbid, Jesus is inviting us to be more concerned with things that last even after death because “life does not consist of possessions” (Lk. 12:15, Aug. 04).
This Sunday, Jesus gets bolder with his teaching of three provocative statements that challenge and motivate us in being like him who is “resolutely determined” in facing his passion and death by setting the world on fire, eagerly awaiting another baptism, and the most controversial, bringing division – not peace – among us his followers.
Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptised, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!”
Luke 12:49-50
Sunset in Athens, Greece by Dra. Mai B. Dela Pena, 2016.
These first two pronouncements by Jesus go together like our expression “baptism of fire” to mean an initiation into something very new and life-changing or, as we say these days, a “game changer”.
In St. Luke’s second book, the Acts of the Apostles, we find the Holy Spirit coming down as “tongues of fire” upon the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary on Pentecost, filling them with wisdom and courage to proclaim the Good News of salvation by Jesus Christ. For St. Luke, this imagery of the Holy Spirit like fire is very important.
Fire gives heat, symbolising life itself. Without heat, we become cold and die.
Fire also means energy that can move and propel anything including people, covering great distances.
Most of all, fire purifies, removing impurities in so many things including persons.
Since June 30, we have been following Jesus as “he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem” (Lk. 9:51). This is the baptism Jesus is so eager, his Passion and Death on the Cross that leads to Easter. It is a path characterized by fire that emboldens us, purifies us, and most of all, illumines us of the more essential things in life!
From Google.
When we recall those trying moments in our lives, those many “baptisms of fire” we have gone through, there is always that sense of inner joy and gratitude in “passing over” through our little deaths that have made us stronger today. Whether we have triumphed or failed in those many baptisms of fire, what matters most is we went through it, deepening our faith that made us more determined in life.
And one very difficult lesson we have also learned in our little deaths is the painful reality of divisions among us.
“Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”
Luke 12:51
In this age when sound reasoning is being pushed aside in making decisions on many issues and conflicts confronting us by following what is merely popular as “trending” and “viral” measured in the most number of “likes” or “followers”, we find ourselves plunging into more darkness than ever. What used to be not normal has become normal today like obscenity and profanity. Life is reduced to mere lifestyle with everybody insisting on one’s rights in total disregard of one’s responsibilities that anyone may use whichever toilet is preferred. Death in its many masks has become a solution to many problems that has spawned more serious problems. And worst, in the midst of these discussions that disregard morality, proponents of the Godless ways are the ones invoking the name of God!
Jesus tells us in the fourth gospel that “the peace I give you is not like the peace the world gives” (Jn.14:27) which is often more of appeasing one another, of compromises that eventually fails. Peace is more than the absence of war but is appropriately called the effect of righteousness, of love and justice (Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes, #78). And always, that path to peace is the Cross of Christ.
Jesus wants us his disciples going through our little passion and deaths to illumine the world with the Holy Spirit as it is slowly being engulfed in the darkness of sin and evil. And he knows it is not an easy task. Like him, we have to grow in faith completely relying on the Father who vindicated him as he died on the Cross.
Brothers and sisters: Let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. In you struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.
Hebrews 12:1-2, 4
In 1945, the late Fr. Hans Urs Von Balthasar titled a chapter of his book “God is dangerous”, writing that
“He presents his victory over death as an example to be imitated, he draws us beyond our limits, into his adventure, which is inevitable fatal.”
“Heart of the World” (Ignatius Press, 1980)
Yes, God is dangerous — too hot to handle and too difficult to resist. We have all felt like Jeremiah bearing all the pains and sufferings because we have allowed ourselves to be “seduced and duped by God’s irresistible charm” (Jer. 20:7). And despite this harsh reality, we choose to remain standing at the foot of our Master’s Cross because it is there we can see everything more clearly, where we experience real peace.
Would you rather be in grave danger with God on your side or be safe for now with no one and nothing to hold on in the end?
Do we really have a choice with you? Of course, you are not forcing us to choose you because you gave us freedom, your most wonderful gift expressing your love for us. You never impose yourself on us and, we are always free to choose you or not!
But, how can we not choose you, O God? You are the only good, the ultimate good. And you never fail to give us the best, nothing less.
Joshua addressed all the people: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I gave you a land which you had not tilled and cities which you had not built, to dwell in; you have eaten of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.”
Joshua 24:2, 13
Problem with us, Lord, is our failure to accept and own your gifts. We keep on looking for something else when you are giving us the very best. We always insist on what we want, on our choices we think to be good but not really good. But, because we are free, you allow us to disregard your gifts and choose something else – and still bless us!
And so we pray today that you teach us to both accept and own your gifts to us, Lord.
It is not enough that we accept gifts but we must also own them to be truly a blessing that can be shared and given to others.
Material and spiritual blessings, life lessons and life-blows, and all the other good gifts from you Lord are easy to accept but unless we own them too as ours, they get wasted.
Anything received but not owned becomes useless because it does not prosper nor grow nor mature and bear fruits. Be it our very selves, our country, our jobs, our family and friends. Everything, especially you, Lord, whom we always receive but never shared because we never truly have you in us. Let us own you, Lord! Amen.
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, 14 August 2019
Deuteronomy 34:1-12 >< )))*> >< )))*> Matthew 18:15-20
From Google.
My dear Lord Jesus,
Is it part of your grand design that this August which the pagans consider as “ghost month” is when we also celebrate the feasts of two great saints martyred at Auschwitz?
At a time when people thought you where absent, Lord, there was St. Benedicta Teresa dela Cruz (Edith Stein) witnessing to your presence in her works and courage when she offered her life to the gas chambers on August 09, 1942.
Today we remember the Polish Catholic priest St. Maximilian Kolbe who also died at Auschwitz a year earlier than her in 1941 when he volunteered to replace a married man who was rounded up for execution following the escape of a prisoner.
Like Moses in the first reading, you filled St. Maximilian with your radiance that prisoners and guards alike were stunned when he offered himself for the painful punishment.
His great love for you Jesus and deep devotion to your Blessed Mother kept him busy praying and comforting his fellow prisoners despite his frail health proving your words that “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them” (Mt.18:20).
After surviving two weeks of starvation and hard labor, St. Maximilian cheerfully offered the executioner his arm for the lethal injection of carbolic acid and died instantly in your bountiful grace, O Lord.
Your servant St. John Paul II declared in his 1982 canonization that St. Maximilian Kolbe as the Patron Saint of our “difficult century” where a culture of death continues to prevail in the name of economic progress and a wrong understanding of freedom.
Give us the courage and enthusiasm of St. Maximilian Kolbe to uphold the value of every person and to fight erroneous beliefs that disregard and remove God and morality from life.
We also pray on this day of his feast for the drug addicts and political prisoners who, because of their situation and beliefs, are taken for granted as lesser beings by some may still accorded with equal respect and dignity. Amen.
From Google.
A painting of St. Maximilian Kolbe with his prison jacket number “16670”, holding two crowns with the prison jacket of Francis Gajowniczek, the married man he volunteered to replace after being rounded up for execution following the escape of another prisoner.
In a vision when he was 13 years old, the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Maximilian asking him to choose a crown. He chose both, white and red crowns as he promised to enter the seminary to become a priest. Unknown to him, the crowns would symbolise later his martyrdom.
A day after his execution his body was cremated on 15 August 1941, a date that would later be declared as the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary whom St. Maximilian loved so dearly. Likewise, it fulfilled his desire to immolate himself completely when he wrote, “I would like to use myself completely up in the service of the Immaculate, and to disappear without leaving a trace, as the winds carry my ashes to the far corners of the world.”
lordmychef.com 