The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, 09 January 2023
Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 ><}}}}*> Acts 10:34-38 ><}}}}*> Matthew 3:13-17
Photo by author, September 2022.
God our loving Father,
thank you for this most wonderful
Monday when we close
the Christmas Season
with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord,
we also celebrate the feast
of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo
which is the most popular
devotion in our predominantly
Catholic nation.
As you opened the heavens
with your outpouring of love
and life upon us today like
what happened at the baptism in Jordan,
open our minds and our hearts, Father,
to recognize Jesus as your Anointed One;
most of all, may our double celebrations
this Monday remind us of the need for us to mature
in our faith in you.
Photo from flickr.com by Mark S. Abeln, Resurrection Cemetery in Affton, Missouri, USA, 16 November 2010.
Fix our eyes on your Chosen One,
Jesus Christ, upon whom you have
put your Spirit who brought forth
salvation to us all,
not crying out,
not shouting,
not breaking a bruised reed
nor quenching a smoldering wick;
let us imitate the gentle humility
of your Servant, our Lord Jesus Christ
in whose person you have made your
covenant, a light for the nations,
healing us of our infirmities of
body and most especially of soul,
not yielding to anyone nor anything
because you and him are one
(cf. Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7).
Let us continue the teaching of Peter
in the house of Cornelius with our own
experiences and meditations, with our
own witnessing "of how God anointed
Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good
and healing all those oppressed
by the devil, for God was with him"
(Acts 10:38).
Photo by Mr. Jay Javier, Quiapo, 09 January 2020.
God our loving and merciful Father,
let us see Christ's presence and
coming in our lives daily,
his coming out of Jordan
with your mission to save us,
to journey with us in this life;
most of all, let us heed your voice,
Father, to be one in Jesus in all
sufferings and trials, standing
and fighting for truth and justice
even to the point of death on the
Cross because he is your beloved Son
with whom you are well pleased
(Matthew 3:16, 17).
Lord Jesus Christ,
our Nuestro Padre Nazareno,
make us realize that more than
the devotions and panata,
more than that lovely robe of your
royalty as King of kings,
help us penetrate your dark skin
in Quiapo to realize your being
called "Nazarene" does not only mean
your origin, Nazareth, but most of all,
from the Hebrew word "nezer" or shoot -
that you are, O Lord Jesus is the "shoot
from the stump of Jesse" (Is.11:1),
the one completely consecrated
to God from your mother's womb
until your death on the Cross.
Make us realize this, Jesus Nazareno,
that we too, in our baptism, are
consecrated to God: let us manifest
your love,
your justice,
your humility,
your healing,
your mercy
in our lives.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, 08 January 2023
Isaiah 60:1-6 ><}}}}*> Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6 ><}}}}*> Matthew 2:1-12
Still, a blessed Christmas to everyone! As I have been telling you, let us continue greeting one another with a Merry Christmas for it is still the Christmas Season. Forget those happy new year greetings. Insist on Merry Christmas especially today when our celebration reminds us that Christmas is manifesting, showing Jesus Christ!
In fact, our celebration today is a high point of Christmas – even the Christmas in some parts of Europe, the US and even the Philippines. As a result, so much focus have been given on the magi that we forget the very essence of Epiphany is Jesus Christ – not the names of the magi nor their gifts nor their number.
From the Greek word epiphanes that means “manifestation”, the Epiphany of the Lord celebrates the discovery of Jesus by the foreigners known as magi from the East, learned men who were seeking the truth. In discovering Jesus, he was made known to all the world as the Savior and the King of Kings.
It is very interesting that what we have we heard proclaimed in the gospel today is the first conversation ever recorded by Matthew in his account that was uttered by the magi searching for Jesus:
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”
Matthew 2:1-2
That spoken question by the magi which stirred the whole of Jerusalem and bothered even King Herod – “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? – is a theme that resonates throughout Matthew’s gospel because in the Jewish thought, God is their only king. King for them is more than a political ruler but a manifestation or reflection of the face of God who alone is the king of the universe.
Matthew is teaching us something very important in recording the first conversation spoken in his gospel account was by the magi asking “where is the newborn king of the Jews” to remind us that every day, it is Jesus Christ whom we must seek first in our lives, in our prayers, especially in the scriptures.
Upon waking up in the morning, what is the very first thing you do – check on your cellphone for messages? turn on the radio or TV or laptop? What or who do you look for first thing in the morning? Do you at least light a candle on a little altar in your room to pray the Morning Offering or meditate on the scriptures of the day?
The person(s) or things that we immediately focus upon waking up indicate very much the persons or things that rule us daily. See how the magi from the east were seriously seeking Jesus Christ by daring to ask even King Herod about the newborn king of the Jews! Don’t you find that funny considering that the magi were regarded as men of wisdom but dared to inquire and trouble Herod with that question? Were they insulting Herod?
Definitely not. They were just sincerely searching for the true King of all!
That is the essential point in Matthew’s telling us of the magi searching for Jesus: the experts of Jerusalem knew where their newborn king was born based on the scriptures but they never bothered to look for him! Many times we are guilty like them when God is just in our head as an idea or a concept but not a reality in our life.
Next to assiduously seeking Christ, I love to reflect on that aspect of these wise men asking (with sarcasm?) King Herod where is the newborn king of the Jews: the magi must have noticed and felt King Herod was not a true king after all in the Jewish thought and tradition. They must have heard and personally proven upon meeting him that he was indeed ruthless and evil when he ordered the massacre of all boys two years old and below in Bethlehem and vicinity after they have left by going through a different route.
See how Matthew as well as the other gospel writers showed in their accounts the kindness and goodness of Jesus in healing the sick, forgiving the sinners, teaching and guiding the people who were so lost. When we pray the gospel accounts, what we find and experience is the immense love and mercy of God through Jesus Christ. He is rightly called the face of the unseen God – so gentle, so loving, so humble, so merciful. Because of Jesus, we were able to have a glimpse and experience of the great love of this God Jesus taught us to call as Father. That is why at his crucifixion we saw Jesus hailed as truly the “King of the Jews, truly the Son of God” (Mt. 27:37, 54) because he manifested God’s love and holiness, compassion and mercy, kindness and care.
This is the essence of the Epiphany. It was not just the discovery of Jesus by the magi nor his manifestation to all the nations but most of all, the making known of God’s goodness when like the magi who “departed for their country by another way” (Mt.2:12), we change our ways to become icons of Jesus Christ.
Don’t worry; it is a lifelong process. The magi saw Jesus as a child, not as an infant anymore because of their long journey. What matters is that like them, we never stop persevering in following and manifesting Jesus in our lives.
Perhaps this Sunday, we must examine ourselves in the way we deal with other people especially in our family and in our office or school, especially in our parish and community: do we reflect the Kingship of Jesus Christ or that of the world like Herod in our lives?
This Solemnity of the Epiphany is inviting us not just to seek Christ our King but most of all, to manifest Christ’s Kingship based on loving service to others. That is the best gift we can offer Jesus, our very gift of selves just like him. Let us pray:
Dearest Lord Jesus Christ:
let me search you always in my life,
in my prayers,
among the people I meet,
in the Sacraments;
most of all,
let me manifest you Jesus
not only my words and thoughts
but most of all in my daily living,
in my actions
of loving service to others
especially the sick and lowly,
the marginalized and misunderstood;
let me be your light, O Lord,
to guide people in darkness of sin
and ignorance and indifference;
most of all, let me reveal like St. Paul
your mystery of love and salvation
to the many among us who have turned
away from you,
seeking to follow and imitate
King Herod in his ruthless ways
of control and too much pride.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Weekday of Christmas, 05 January 2023
1 John 3:11-21 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> John 1:43-51
Phot by Mr. John Ryan Jacob, 02 January 2023 in Paco, Obando, Bulacan.
Lord Jesus Christ,
now I can feel your insistence
for me to come so I may see you;
I think it should be the first thing
to preoccupy us every new year:
how we must come in order to see
you each day, each year.
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said to him, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.”
John 1:45-47
Let us be sincere, O Lord Jesus,
like Nathanael or St. Bartholomew
who never hesitated to tell Philip
the prevailing belief of your time that
nothing good comes from Nazareth;
problem with us is we always deny
such truths deeply ingrained within us
like our personal biases against others
due to region and religion,
language and politics,
color and inclinations.
Let us come so we may see
you more in others that despite
our many biases and prejudices,
you do come in our many differences;
let us be bold and brave to subject
our beliefs and perceptions to tests
by personally coming to see the reality,
the truth so that we may realize
that you are not only the Messiah
but most of all, like Nathanael,
you are "the Son of God, the King of Israel"
(John 1:49).
Most of all,
Lord Jesus Christ,
let us come and see
with all our reservations
and doubts,
biases and mistrust
so that we may see
far more greater things
than what we have already seen
in passively following you -
let us come so we may see
"the sky opened and
the angels of God
ascending
and descending
on the Son of Man"
(John 1:51).
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Christmas Weekday, 04 January 2023
1 John 3:7-10 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> John 1:35-42
Photo by Mr. Ryan John Jacob, 02 January 2023 in Paco, Obando, Bulacan.
I have always wondered, Lord Jesus,
what have you shown Andrew and his
companion that day you invited them
to "come and see"?
He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah,” which is translated Christ.
John 1:39-41
Everyday, you also invite me
to come so that I will see you but
rarely do I really COME to experience
you; rarely do I come to feel you;
rarely do I come to listen to you;
rarely do I come to just sit beside you
nor watch the day go by; forgive me,
Jesus for always refusing to come to you
especially when you are down and sad,
sick and aching inside, when you are
boxed by people, imprisoned in wrongful
thoughts, or simply because you are poor,
not like me and my friends who are cool
and hip and modern...
That is why, many times,
I also fail to SEE you in person,
Lord Jesus that I do not see your smiles
and your tears; I do not see
your sufferings and pains;
I do not see your point of view;
I cannot see your reasons and your
situations nor plight; most of all,
I fail to see your love and trust in me
because I keep on spending more time
coming to see the make believe world of media.
What did Andrew and companion
see that whole day, Jesus?
It must be a lot of you!
A lot of you in yourself,
a lot of you in themselves,
and a lot of you in others
as well as in life and in nature!
Dearest Lord Jesus,
bless me and let me
this 2023 to always come
and see where you stay
so that at the end of each day
I may also say or exclaim like Andrew
"We have found the Messiah"!
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Eighth Day in the Octave of Christmas, 01 January 2023
Numbers 6:22-27 ><}}}}*> Galatians 4:4-7 ><}}}}*> Luke 2:16-21
A blessed Merry Christmas everyone! Our Mass on this first day of 2023 is not for the new year but in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Mother of God because her Son Jesus Christ is true God and true Man. Of all human beings, she is therefore the best model for us to follow in welcoming every new year.
First thing we notice with Mary is her prayerful silence at the birth of Jesus Christ, the very new year in humanity when henceforth, time is reckoned in relation with his birth that is why we have those initials BC for “Before Christ” and AD for “Anno Domini” or “Year of the Lord”.
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.
Luke 2:16-19
I come from the town of Bocaue in Bulacan known as the “fireworks capital” of the Philippines and I have never liked our manner of ushering every new year with a bang. Even the Chinese are ashamed at how we overdo our fireworks and firecrackers during the new year. What I hate most are the human lives lost every year because of pyrotechnics.
Life always begins in silence. Destruction comes in loud noises just like what we do every new year with fireworks and firecrackers. It is Jesus Christ who drives out the evil spirits from our lives and the world since he came to the world more than 2000 years ago and here we are, calling all the evil spirits back!
In my former parish, we used to have a Holy Hour after our Mass of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God in the evening of December 31. Like Mary, we pray in silence to Jesus to thank him for all that have happened the past year, for everything, whether good or bad.
Let Jesus come and dwell in our hearts tonight and tomorrow. Pray with your family and loved ones. Pray by yourself.
Secondly, like Mary, let us treasure all our memories of the past year in our hearts, both the good and the bad ones especially the people who have touched us and hurt us too.
Silence is the door through which God enters our heart and soul, enabling us to have that meaningful awareness of Jesus in us and among us, helping us to see the larger picture of life with its many realities. One of my favorite writers, T.S. Eliot wrote in his very long Four Quartets that “tragedy occurs when we have the experience but miss the meaning”. Very true!
Most of all, it is in silence where we grow deeper in faith, hope and love of God because silence is the domain of trust. That is why saints and monks and every holy person of high level of spirituality are lovers of silence. Silent people are the most trusting ones to God and to others.
I have been dwelling this week on that scene when the shepherds came with all their noises and talks while Mary sat in silence along with St. Joseph, the patron saint of silence.
What was Mary thinking or praying? Was she asking for a better year in their lives after all the trials and difficulties she and Joseph have in having Jesus?
I don’t think she prayed for a better year ahead like many of us wishing in Facebook that 2023 would be better.
If we have Jesus Christ in us like Mary, every year, every day is always the best. If I may say so, every today becomes the least joyous days of our lives in Christ. Read and pray the gospel to see how the lives of Mary and all the other disciples went through the most wonderful and spectacular experiences in having Jesus.
Like Mary after giving birth to Jesus, she never prayed nor wished for a better year despite her being the Mother of God because nothing is better than living each day in Christ our Savior.
It is useless and futile to get all those lucky charms nor consult fortune tellers on what is in store for us this 2023. Mary knew nothing at all what was in store for her in giving birth to Jesus, much less in following him as his foremost disciple. All she was certain at that time time was the name to be given to her child, Jesus that means “God is my savior”.
Jesus is still and will always be our only certainty in life – day in, day out in every year. Let us not lose Jesus. Like Mary, let us treasure him in our hearts where he dwells. Let us pray with Mary:
Lord Jesus Christ,
on this passing of 2022
as 2023 comes, make me silent
in you, trusting you like your Mother
and our Mother too,
the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Thank you for everything;
despite the many disappointments
and failures, trials and sufferings,
hurts and pains amidst the more
joys and laughters I have had from
people you have given me this 2022,
teach me to trust you more that everything
in the past year indicates more better days are ahead!
I pray only for one thing this new year
as your disciple, Lord:
like Mary, let me love and trust you more,
never let me leave you,
keep me at your side even
at your Cross. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Octave of Christmas, Feast of the Holy Family, 30 December 2022
Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14 ><}}}}*> Colossians 3:12-21 ><}}}}*> Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
Photo by Ms. Janine Lloren (2015), Duomo Cathedral in Florence, Italy depicting the harsh conditions the Holy Family faced in Egypt while escaping Herod.
God our loving Father,
thank you for sending us
your Son Jesus through the
husband and wife of
Joseph and Mary;
as we celebrate today
the feast of the Holy Family
of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
you remind us too that
Christmas is a living story
that happens daily when you
come first in every family.
Help us imitate the Holy Family
in getting closer with you
and with one another in their
flight to Egypt when they faced
so much sufferings and hardships;
how sad that as families face
so many attacks these days from
within and from the outside,
family members have failed to
realize that our flights to Egypt
when we have to go through trials
and difficulties are occasions
to get closer to Jesus and one another;
teach us to go back to you in prayer as
a family, to bring back our altars
of sacred images and icons now
replaced by the giant flatscreen TV;
enable us to reach out more to one
another, to hug more, to converse more
than to spend the whole day before the
computer screen and cellphone
or with business partners and colleagues
or friends and classmates.
Most of all,
as Ben Sirach and St. Paul
reminded us in our first two readings
today, make us realize that our
relationships in the family
mirror our relationship
with you, O God, our Father;
let all our love and charity,
kindness and care begin at home
because that is where Christ
comes first to us! Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Octave of Christmas, Feast of Holy Innocents, Martyrs, 28 December 2022
1 John 1:5-2:2 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Matthew 2:13-18
Beloved: This is the message that we have heard from Jesus Christ and proclaim to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. But if we walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:5-7
God our loving Father,
thank you for sending us your Son
Jesus Christ, the light of the world;
we have experienced many times in life
especially during these three years of pandemic
that no matter how dark our lives may be,
for as long as we walk in Jesus Christ,
there is always light.
Forgive us, Father,
that many times we look for other lights;
we are so tempted and delighted in
following the lights of the world with its
vast array of colors that blind our eyes
or with klieg lights that put us on spot like stars
yet leave us groping in emptiness after;
forgive us, Father, in following other lights
that turn us away from one another and you;
until now, many of us act and think like Herod
and the experts of Jerusalem who refuse to
follow the light of Jesus that make us recognize
you on the face of one another.
Let the light of Jesus born on Christmas
enlighten our minds and our hearts to see
and follow you, O God our Father,
found on the face of every child still in the womb,
on the face of every child who must be cared and protected,
on the face of every woman, especially mothers
and grandmothers forgotten after nurturing us,
on the face of every dad especially those working
away from family and loved ones, rarely seen
crying and rejoicing for their loved ones,
on the face of young people so lost with no one
to listen to them, be with them, assure them of love,
on the face of our health workers considered heroes
yet still taken for granted and even forgotten,
on the face of farmers and fishermen marked with
so many lines of hardships and sufferings under the sun
to feed us yet totally left on their own,
on the face of others in the margins and the disadvantaged,
those forgotten by the society and unfortunately by families:
this Christmas, call us into our own Egypt,
into a retreat and soul-searching for enlightenment
to find your face anew within us
so we may find you on one another.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Octave of Christmas, Feast of St. John Evangelist, 27 December 2022
1 John 1:1-4 ><000'> + ><000'> + ><000'> John 20:1, 2-8
God our loving Father,
we thank and praise you in
giving us a great saint in
John the Evangelist,
the beloved disciple of your Son Jesus Christ
whose feast we celebrate in this
Octave of Christmas;
it was John who declared that
"God is love" (1 Jn. 4:8, 16),
the most sublime assertion about God
not found in any other religion!
John did not merely said "God loves"
nor "love is God"; instead, John expressed
that you, O God, is love, your essence is love
that is why everything you say and do is love!
In his gospel and letters,
John showed us how your love, O God,
came down on us so that our love
may go up in you, with you, through you
in Christ Jesus who is the expression of your
love himself when you sent him to us this Christmas
for "God so loved the world that he gave us
his only Son" (Jn. 3:16);
when Jesus Christ was about to offer himself
on the Cross, his lowest point in life when he
suffered and died, he gave us his new commandment,
"that you love one another; even as I have loved you,
that you also love one another" (Jn.13:34).
How beautiful that John,
the only Apostle to have grown old
without tasting death as a martyr
unlike the others and remained standing
at the foot of the Cross to whom Jesus
entrusted his Mother,
was able to contemplate all these
wondrous movements of your love, O God,
so that our joy may be complete in Christ.
Open our eyes and our hearts of faith,
Lord Jesus Christ like John the Beloved
so that we may always believe even when
the tomb is empty, when you seem to be missing
and absent; teach us to love you more dearly
so that we may be true in our love in
loving our brothers and sisters whom we can see
as expression of our love to God whom we cannot see;
let us keep on loving so that love may be perfected in us
so we may see God in others
and God may be seen in us always.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Octave of Christmas, Feast of St. Stephen, First Martyr, 26 December 2022
Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-59 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Matthew 10:17-22
Photo by Mr. John Ryan Jacob, 24 December 2022 in Paco, Obando, Bulacan.
Dearest Jesus:
when I was a child,
I have always wondered
how did it happen you were born
in December then suddenly in April
you died on the Cross?
Now I have grown and learned
about history and most of all about life
and living, I have realized the beautiful
truth of your coming: you became like us
not to remove but to be one with us
in our sufferings even death
so that we may be one with you
in your Resurrection!
Thank you for this wonderful
reminder of your Christmas Octave:
your Nativity is also the feast of your final coming
when you will be surrounded by your angels
and saints like St. Stephen our first Martyr,
tomorrow by St. John the Apostle, your beloved,
and on Wednesday by the Holy Innocents.
Along came with Christmas comes also the
Cross of Good Friday!
Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”
Matthew 10:17-18, 22
O Lord, indeed, let us
"beware of men" who forget
that looming behind your manger
is also the Cross;
let us "beware of men" who have
commercialized and trivialized
your birth, focusing more on
happiness and fun, not even joy as
you have described at your Last Supper;
let us "beware of men" who have taken you
away from Christmas, worshipping money
and things and all that glitz and glamour of the world;
let us "beware of men" who forget the poor
and marginalized, the old and infants especially
those in their mother's wombs;
let us "beware of men" who insist on changing
the rules of marriage and sex according to their
selfish and truncated views on life and relationships;
let us "beware of men" who deny your Cross!
Like St. Stephen, help us Lord Jesus
to always look up to you in heaven in
prayers and sacrifices, witnessing your gospel
and your Cross, remaining faithful and true to you,
upright and decent in living, defending life and justice
without condemning nor judging our persecutors.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Christmas Eve, 24 December 2022
Isaiah 9:1-6 ><}}}}*> Titus 2:11-14 ><}}}}*> Luke 2:1-14
Christmas is the busiest season for us priests. How ironic that as we keep on reminding the people to prepare more on the spiritual aspect of this most loved season, we priests are also caught in all the rush and busyness of Christmas, beginning with the Simbang Gabi and Misa de Gallo and other parish concerns.
But, God gives us the grace to hurdle all difficulties of sleeping late, rising early and in between, praying as we prepare for our homilies. Thank you too for your appreciation and prayers for us priests. Forgive us when sometimes we get too touchy this week for lack of sleep.
As usual, I woke up early today to pray and prepare for Christmas but unfortunately, I felt like waking up on the wrong side of the bed, feeling grouchy. Most of all, so dried in prayer. Yet, God is so merciful after being silent before him before noon, I just felt writing this prayer interspersed with my reflections of the scriptures which I have been praying over since Wednesday.
Dearest sweet Jesus:
I feel agitated.
Or excited?
So many things are coming
and filling me at this moment;
I could not be still to find you,
to experience you.
Come, Lord Jesus,
So that I may share you
with others!
Let me be your Christmas too
by being Your presence to others,
myself as a gift and present especially
to those grieving for the loss of a loved one
during this difficult years of the pandemic;
let me be your Christmas and presence,
myself as a gift and present to those nursing
fresh wounds or wounds that would not heal
because they are so deep and painful;
let me be your Christmas to those with nothing
this Christmas Day except their very selves
with that firm faith and fervent hope in you,
Lord Jesus, by being small and fragile like you
on the manger in Bethlehem.
How lovely is Luke’s presentation of the first Christmas, of Jesus Christ coming in a time of history that is so troubled, so inhospitable especially for children.
Just like today with this ongoing pandemic made worst by the many wars going on that have triggered so many other difficulties and sufferings, from poverty to homelessness. Yet, it is the most beautiful setting of Christ’s coming set at the background of many leaders feeling they are the savior of the world or of their country just like the Roman emperor at the time of his birth. In all their “larger than life” portrayal of themselves, there is Jesus Christ in the most ordinary yet powerful truth of God among us – coming as an infant, coming and starting small!
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of Bethlehem…with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:1-4, 5-7
We need not be famous nor have all the power and wealth to change this world. We all just have to be our true selves, little “earthlings” because in our being small when Jesus comes. We do not have to live in luxuries nor be in the cities or any country. Just be where we are, in our simplicity and humanity where Christ comes to fill us because he is God’s Firstborn in whom everything is created for him, with him and in him as St. Paul had noted.
Inasmuch as God believes in us by entrusting to us his Son Jesus Christ, let us believe also in God truly that he will work miracles in us, with us and through us! That is why Jesus came.
Let me be your Christmas to others, Jesus:
I may not be able to wrap any gift this Christmas,
let my arms and smiles wrap others in a hug
so they may experience your warmth and loving presence;
let me be your Christmas to others, Jesus,
by sharing food, and being the food myself to
those hungry and thirsty to give them strength
not only in body but also in soul;
I do not know how to bake cookies
and other goodies but, still make me your Christmas
to others by sharing your joy and kindness with them
so we could have memories of my love
no matter how imperfect it may be;
most of all, dear Jesus, let me be your Christmas light
this Christmas for others especially those in the darkness
of sin and evil, depression and confusion,
helplessness and despair, isolation and alienation,
of festering anger and recurring painful memories.
We have been through a lot of so many things these past three years. It is God’s will that since the pandemic started in 2020 that this time, we celebrate Christmas face-to-face, which is what Christmas is essentially all about – the Son of God coming to us in flesh to experience Father personally.
Christmas is a story of encounters, of God meeting persons, real people like me and you.
Jesus came as a baby so that we could easily and lovingly receive him as he entrusts himself to our love and care and protection. So many things have happened to us since 2020 but hey, we are still alive, still here celebrating Christmas. Let us dwell in this joy of Jesus coming to us so we may also share him with others still sulking in all the negative vibes brought by COVID-19.
May we imitate his Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary who “kept all these things, reflecting them in her heart” (Lk. 1:19) for it is in our hearts where Jesus comes daily.
How sad that with all the experiences we have had these years of pandemic that we lose sight of its meaning that amid all the darkness and hostilities of this world, Jesus surely comes to save us!
Dearest Jesus,
let me be your Christmas to others:
make me firm in my conviction and faith in you
"rejecting godless ways and worldly desires
by living temperately, justly and devoutly" (Titus 2:12);
let me be your Christmas,
be born in me every day as I strive
to follow you even to the Cross
so that "the people who walked in darkness
may see your great light to experience peace"
(Isaiah 9:1, 5) when I say your words
and do your works. Amen.
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