The Lord Is My Chef Easter Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the Second Week of Easter, 11 April 2024 Acts 5:27-33 ><))))*> + <*(((((>< John 3:31-36
Photo by author, Bolinao, Pangasinan, April 2022.
Once again, O Lord, Your words are very amusing today: "For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit" (John 3:34).
It sounds so funny yet so true, dear Jesus! We not only ration the Holy Spirit but we also ration every good gift You give us as if it would run out, as if You would stop blessing us, as if You are not God.
Forgive us, Lord, when we ration especially Your love to others, when we do not realize that love and life and every blessing You give are meant to be given and shared fully with others.
“We gave you strict orders did we not, to stop teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
Acts 5:28
Dearest Jesus, fill us with courage like Your Apostles after Pentecost that we too may give all to fill the world with Your Good News of salvation in You, with You, and through You! Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Easter Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday in the Second Week of Easter, 10 April 2024 Acts 5:17-26 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> John 3:16-21
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this report, they were at a loss about them, as to what this would come to.
Acts 5:24
Your words, O Lord, from the first reading are very amusing: after discovering the jail securely locked with guards stationed outside but the apostles nowhere, they were the ones who felt at a "loss"; they who have imprisoned the Apostles were the ones LOST when they were supposed to control the situation.
How ironic so often in life when we feel to have been more in control of everything even people, when we feel we lord over everyone, that is when we feel more empty, and more at a loss.
And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.
John 3:19
Photo by author, Jesuit Cemetery at the Sacred Heart Novitiate.
Forgive us, Lord Jesus in choosing darkness of sin, darkness of pride, darkness of bitterness and of unforgiving that is why many times we are at a loss in life especially when we profess to believe in You, when we claim to be Your disciples; let us go toward Your light of truth and justice, Your light of loving service, Your light of mercy and forgiveness so that in our very selves, people may truly experience "God so loved the world." Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-09 ng Abril 2024
Caravaggio’s painting “The Incredulity of St. Thomas” (1602) from en.wikipedia.org.
Sa tuwing maririnig ko ang kuwento kay Santo Tomas Apostol ni Kristo, ako'y nanlulumo dahil batid ko hindi ayon turing natin sa kanya na "Doubting Thomas" gayong tanging tag-uri sa kanya ng Ebanghelista ay "Didymus" o "Kambal"; nag-alinlangan nga si Tomas sa balitang napakita si Jesus na muling nabuhay sa kanyang mga kasama nguni't kailanma'y di nabawasan kanyang paniniwala at pagtitiwala.
Malaking pagkakaiba ng hindi maniwala sa hindi makapaniwala na isang pag-aalinlangan bunsod ng kakaibang pakiramdam tulad ng pagkamangha o ng tuwang walang pagsidlan sa isang karanasang napaka-inam ngunit hindi maintindihan balot ng hiwaga at pagpapala gaya nang mabalitaan ni Tomas paanong nakapasok sa nakapinid na mga pintuan Panginoong Jesus na muling nabuhay.
Katulad ng kanyang mga kasamahan nonng kinagabihan ng Linggo ding iyon, wala ding pagsidlan tuwa at kagalakan ni Santo Tomas nang sa kanya inilarawan ipinakitang mga kamay ni Jesus taglay pa rin mga sugat natamo sa pagpapako sa Krus nagpapatunay na Siya nga ang Panginoong nagpakasakit at namatay noon, nabuhay muli ngayon!
Hindi ba
ganyan din tayo
sa gitna ng ating mga
pag-aalinlangan
bagama't damang dama
natin ang katotohanan
ng mga pagpapala at biyaya
hindi tayo makapaniwala
sa kadiliman ating natagpuan
liwanag ni Kristo habang sa
kawalan naroon Kanyang
kaganapan at kapunuan?
Sandigang ating pinananaligan
dasal na nausal ni Tomas na
banal pagkakita kay Jesus
na muling nabuhay,
"Panginoon ko
at Diyos ko!"
Huwag tayong matakot kung tayo ay mag-alinlangan at kung minsa'y hindi makapaniwala sa mga gawa ng Diyos na sadyang kahanga-hanga; sa mundong ito na ang pinanghahawakang kasabihan ay "to see is to believe", ang kabaligtaran nito ang siyang katotohanang ating mapapanaligan, "believe that you may see" dahil sa dilim at kawalan parati dumarating ang Panginoong Jesus natin!
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 07 April 2024
Photo by author at the refectory of Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 18 March 2024.
We turn to jazz this Second Sunday in Easter in order to express the meaning of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection that is simply too deep for words because of its intense nature. Unlike Christmas that lights up our minds with so many images, Easter is different in the sense that it is something we have to feel and dig deep down inside us to really appreciate. Like jazz music that stirs our souls with its unique sounds that enable us to touch our very being.
For this Sunday we have chosen David Sanborn’s Love Will Come Someday from his 1982 album As We Speak because it captures the spirit of this Easter Octave also known as Divine Mercy Sunday when Jesus appeared to His disciples inside a locked room for fears from the Jews on the very night of His Resurrection. We reflected in our previous blog that the Resurrection of Jesus opened a new dimension in human existence when we could no longer be held hostage or captive by even the most difficult plight in life with Jesus opening many possibilities for us even while in this life (https://lordmychef.com/2024/04/06/easter-is-new-existence-in-christ/).
Sanborn’s almost two minutes of sax introduction to his Love Will Come Someday gives us the feel of the prevailing setting of Easter and life wherein there is the constant presence of darkness and emptiness where we also find Christ’s light and fullness. Sanborn has been a session musician collaborating with almost every big name in the music scene across all genres. His sax is so soothing yet penetrating that brings out even those things we have been hiding deep inside us resulting in a sort of catharsis which is very Easter too!
Written by Michael Sembello and David Batteau with the latter doing the vocals, Love Will Come Someday is a poignant song of the ups and downs not only of love but of life itself. Very often, like the darkness and emptiness we find in the Easter stories since last week, we find our lives in the same setting too when we could not figure out exactly or right away at why or how certain things happen in our lives despite our best efforts.
Funny how the legends die When heroes never come alive in the day time Funny we can be sad It doesn’t have be so bad in the night time
You want know where they The songs all go in your life time One of these we’ll go And find out where they stay
Once upon a lovers song There was a boy who sang along in the night time Once upon a lovers dream There was a tale of broken wings in the day time
But, there are times when suddenly, Jesus comes to us amid all locked doors, appearing to us, extricating us from difficult situations that amid great joy, we could not believe it happening at all that we doubt like Thomas simply because they are so surreal!
And there lies the mystery of life and love, of Easter: visions and images are not so important because it is the intensity within us which makes Jesus and those we love so present that we respond with more love and adoration.
Catch a piece falling star Try to keep in a jar till the morning Catch a summer firefly Willing it’ll stay alive till the morning
You want to know where did the songs all go In your life time One of these days we’ll go and find out Where they stay
Love will come someday Love will find a way Love will come someday Love will find a way
The songs that I sing, the songs that I bring The songs that I sing, the songs that I bring The songs that I sing, the songs that I bring, yeah, yeah
As we mature and journey in this life, the more we find God and our very selves and those we know more real, more loved and lovable. In the end, love always finds a way someday. Like Thomas, we just have to believe in order to see. Here is David Sanborn and to those belonging to my generation, cheers to the music we grew up with, hoping the younger ones find these treasures too.
The Lord Is My Chef Easter Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday in the Easter Octave, 03 April 2024 Acts 3:1-10 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Luke 24:13-35
Photo by author, Della Strada Chapel, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 19 March 2024.
Continue to open my eyes, my heart, my total self to Your coming, to Your passing Lord Jesus Christ; Your tomb was empty because You chose to walk with me even when I was at the wrong path, in the opposite direction like those two disciples on the way back to Emmaus from Jerusalem because You were nowhere that Easter Sunday; what a beautiful gesture by You, dear Jesus, to walk with them, to converse with them, most of all, to make their hearts burn within!
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them…
Luke 24:31-33
Photo by author, Della Strada Chapel, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 19 March 2024.
My dear Jesus, many times I felt giving up of going back to Emmaus too, leaving Jerusalem at those times I felt You were gone; but when You helped me retrace my path with Your words and many signs, my heart burned within of love and faith in You that before I knew it, You have brought me back to Your path again with enough love to move on; keep me in Your path to the Cross, Jesus; let me immerse in the Scripture to discover in Your words Your presence, Your calling, Your life in my life and relationships with You, with nature, and with others.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 19 March 2024.
Keep that fire of love burning within me, Jesus so that I may bring Your light and your warmth to those seeking You, those lost in life, and worst, those resigned in their situations like that man crippled from birth at the Beautiful Gate of the temple:
When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms. But Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, “look at us.” He paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them. Peter said, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.”
Acts 3:3-6
There are times, Jesus, I look more into negative self, my distaff condition, my wounds even if I am looking at You like that crippled man expecting the trivial things than the essential ones like fulfillment in You; enable me to look for You in my heart, to see You in my self and on the face of others I meet.
Dearest Jesus, keep the fire of Your love burning inside me so I may see You and follow You more closely daily. Amen.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
Blessed happy Easter everyone! We take a melancholic love song on this day of celebrating the triumph of love in Jesus Christ’s Resurrection because Easter is a continuing journey with Him, in Him and through Him amid darkness and emptiness in life (https://lordmychef.com/2024/03/30/easter-is-signs-scripture-together-always/).
Like the story of that first Easter morning while still dark when Mary Magdalene and later Simon Peter with the beloved disciple found the tomb of Jesus empty except for His burial cloths neatly folded to indicate the Lord’s rising from the dead, Ronnie Milsap’s 1983 hit Is It Over speaks a lot of the essence of Easter about faith in the love of Jesus Christ.
Milsap’s Is it Over invites his beloved to sincerely search her heart to get over her former relationship so that theirs would flourish and grow; in the same manner, we need to get over our Good Fridays in order to experience the glory of Easter Sundays in life.
Is it over, are you really over him Is it over, or will you take him back again If it’s over you can let his memory in Come on over, we’ll let our love begin.
You say you can’t count the times that he’s hurt you And he’s hurt you for the last time Now you say I’m the one that you’re needing But is the need in your heart or just in your mind.
Is it over, are you really over him Is it over, or will you take him back again If it’s over you can let his memory in Come on over, we’ll let our love begin.
Like Jesus calling us every day in our lives to come over to Him by leaving behind our past hurts, Is it Over tells on the need to move on in life, to embrace the present by learning from the past. Most of all, of the need to confront one’s true self in the heart, not just in the mind in order to move on in life.
Milsap’s music and voice are uniquely refreshing that sound very Easter perhaps due to his personal experiences. Born partially blind and abandoned by his mother after birth, Milsap grew up in poverty with his grandparents in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. Despite his handicap and poverty, he was found exceptionally brilliant and talented even while in his early childhood when he was sent to a school for the blind at the age of five where he developed his musical talent at age seven. He was later sent to Governor Moorehead to formally begin studies in classical music. It was there in his early teens when Mislap learned to play several musical instruments and chose to master the piano.
At age 14, Milsap became totally blind after being slapped on his left eye by one of the houseparents but that never affected his pursuits in learning as well as music. He was able to finish college through scholarships and was already in law school as a full scholar when he decided to leave to concentrate in music in 1964.
He met his wife Joyce Reeves in one of their gigs the following year, got married and remained together until her death in 2021 due to cancer. They had a son, Ronald who died in 2019 aged 49 apparently due to a medical condition
Is It Over follows the style of Milsap’s earlier and biggest breakthrough in 1977, It Was almost Like a Song that topped the Billboard charts in many categories. Both songs are very popular among us Filipinos who are certified romantics.
Now aged 81, Milsap remains active in the music scene as a composer, collaborating with some of the biggest names in the industry. His life is a beautiful example of the Easter glory amid many darkness and emptiness. Although officially retired, it isn’t over yet for Mislap as he continues to record and busies himself with a podcast as well as an amateur radio enthusiast.
The Lord Is My Chef Holy Thursday Recipe, 28 March 2024 Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 > + < 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 > + < John 13:1-15
Photo from wikipediacommons.org of Christ’s washing of feet of Apostles at Monreale Cathedral in Palermo, Italy.
Tonight we start the Easter Triduum – the three holy days of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper and Washing of the Feet.
In our Mass tonight, there will be no dismissal after Holy Communion that is immediately followed by a short procession inside the church of the Blessed Sacrament to its repository that will be the focus of “Visita Iglesia” (not Stations of the Cross) when people “visit” at least seven churches to pray to the Divine Presence of Jesus. Tomorrow in most parishes is the “via Crucis” or Way of the Cross then in the afternoon after the Veneration of the Holy Cross is the Procession of the Burial of the Lord.
See how on these most holy days of the year, much of our activities involve a lot of walking – and rightly so because Jesus Christ was always walking even to His Crucifixion and after Resurrection.
Hence, on the night He was betrayed after Supper, He washed the feet of His disciples including us today because He had also known how difficult and tiring it is to always walk in this life.
“…fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.”
John 13:3-5
From IStock/GettyImages.
More than reenacting the washing of the feet, tonight we are reminded by Jesus of the journey ahead to his Crucifixion when – with apologies to Robert Frost – we still have to walk “miles to go before we sleep” by choosing the road less travelled “that made the difference.”
And here lies the problem of our time: with the advancement of technology, our modes of transportation like communication have greatly affected our relationships with others, for better and for worse. From being peripatetic persons, we have become more accustomed to riding, of getting fast and effortless to our destination that we no longer walk that much unlike before that has affected even our relationships with one another. How can we continue the work of Jesus when we no longer walk that much?
Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News, 2020.
Observe how it has become so difficult to ask for directions these days because nobody is walking anymore. Most of us are ensconced in our own vehicles that have become our own little world and tiny universe every time we travel even if it were just a “walking distance”. Aside from breaking apart from the rest of humanity, we have also become very impersonal in the sense that we now rely more with Google maps and other travel apps than with the ordinary “man on the street.” Worst, we rarely touch the ground with our bare feet that if ever we would walk, it has been relegated to mere physical fitness often done alone with earphones as companions. We have not only grown apart from others but have also lost touch with earth because we no longer walk that much like Jesus and His disciples.
Two weeks ago during my retreat, I walked around the vast grounds and mini-forests of the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches when I realized that priesthood is peripatetic in nature because it is a ministry that walks to reach out, search for the missing sheep as per instruction of the Lord. Jesus even added that in fulfilling our mission, we must carry nothing when we walk except a staff and sandals.
Walking with our parishioners in the Via Crucis, 01 March 2024.
Moreover, priesthood is a ministry of being companions as shepherds in the journey of the people. That is why Jesus is our Good Shepherd because He is the One who truly journeys with us in this life. He is the One who continues to walk with us in our many ups and downs, in the many dusty trails and harsh realities of life that no gadget or wealth or media platform could bring comfort and security to any weary traveler.
It is only in walking when we could truly journey with others in life to converse with them and listen to their doubts and frustrations like the two disciples walking back to Emmaus three days after Good Friday. It is only in walking can we truly meet the sick, the orphaned and the widowed, the blind and the lame, the sinners and the misfits the world had left behind or pushed onto the margins of the society, far from our superhighways.
Most of all, when we walk we touch ground, we feel the earth called “humus” in Latin, the origin of the words human and humility. Could it be that we have become less humble today partly because of our refusal to walk more often?
Forgive us your priests when we have refused to walk with you especially when you are troubled and lost. Forgive us your priests as we have ceased to be like Jesus who walked most of the time because we have been so obsessed riding and travelling most of the time in our cars and SUV’s as well as mountain bikes and big bikes that have insulated us from your cries and anguish. We have not only lost the art of walking but have totally forgotten about walking the extra mile to pray and commune with our Lord and Master Jesus Christ found among the poor and the sick, the marginalized peoples forgotten in our upwardly, mobile society.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches 20 March 2024.
We always hear the expression “life is a journey.” Our first reading tonight attested to this reality when God reminded the chosen people preparing for exodus from Egypt “to eat and dress like those who are in flight”(Ex.12:11).
The original concept of the restaurant is not just a place where people stop to eat during a long journey. Restaurants were truly “rest stops” where travelers could rest their feet by soaking them in warm water so that they could travel again to reach their destination.
The Holy Eucharist is a “sacred restaurant” where we eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ who nourishes us in our life journey. Most of all, in the Eucharist and Sacrament of Reconciliation, Jesus continues to wash our feet to cleanse us from our sins and burdens to make this journey of life lighter and easier. When we receive Him in the Holy Communion, we make Him our “companion” in life filled with darkness and pains, uncertainties and lack of direction. The word companion literally means “someone you break bread with” – a beautiful picture of the Eucharist described to us by St. Paul in the second reading.
From istock/GettyImages.
In washing the feet of His disciples, Jesus Christ showed us in His humble gesture that He is indeed our Savior who went down so low even unto death on the Cross to express His immense love and mercy for each of us. Everything that transpired on the night He was betrayed prefigured the events of Good Friday which we make present every time we celebrate the Eucharist that is summed up in loving service for one another.
Do we still walk? And if we walk, who is our companion, the one we break bread with? Likewise, do we walk our talk of our faith?
May we never leave behind Jesus among our family and friends as we walk through this life. A blessed Holy Thursday to everyone. Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-26 ng Marso 2024 Ika-anim na Huling Wika ni Jesus
Larawan kuha ni G. Chester Ocampo, kapilya ng Immaculate Conception Seminary, Guiguinto, Bulacan, 30 November 2015.
May isang mangkok doon na puno ng maasim na alak. Itinubog nila rito ang isang espongha, ikinabit sa sanga ng isopo at idiniit sa Kanyang bibig. Nang masipsip ni Jesus ang alak ay Kanyang sinabi, “NAGANAP NA!” Iniyukayok Niya ang Kanyang ulo at nalagot ang Kanyang hininga.
Juan 19:29-30
Kung minsan ako ay nalulungkot tuwing Huwebes Santo kapag natutuon ang pansin ng mga tao sa rito ng paghuhugas ng pari sa mga paa ng ilang mananampalataya. Tunay na kakaibang eksena at karanasan iyon sa mga tao ngunit ang totoo, hindi naman talagang bahagi ng Misa ng Huwebes Santo ang naturang paghuhugas ng mga paa na puwede namang hindi ganapin.
Ang tunay na lundo ng Banal na Misa ng Huwebes Santo ay naroon sa bahagi ng Ebanghelyong nagsasaad ng diwa ng paghuhugas ni Jesus sa mga paa ng kanyang mga alagad:
Bisperas na ng Paskuwa. Alam ni Jesus na dumating na ang panahon ng kanyang paglisan sa sanlibutang ito upang bumalik sa Ama. Mahal niya ang kanyang mga tagasunod na nasa sanlibutan, at ngayo’y ipakikita niya kung hanggang saan ang kanyang pag-ibig sa kanila.
Juan 13:1
Hanggang saan nga ba ang pag-ibig sa atin ni Jesus?
Hanggang sa wakas. O, end sa Inggles. Ngunit kapag sinabi nating hanggang sa wakas, parang mayroong hangganan ang pag-ibig natin kaya ang pahayag na ginamit sa pagkakasalin ay “ipakikita niya kung hanggang saan ang kanyang pag-ibig sa kanila.”
Mas mainam ang pagkakasalin sa Inggles ng huling pangungusap na nagsabing “He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.” Mula sa salitang Griyego na telos ang katagang wakas o end sa Inggles. Nguni’t salungat sa madalas nating isipin ang “wakas” bilang hangganan dahil ang telos ay nagpapahiwatig ng direksiyon at hahantungan na kaganapan o perfection. Hindi lang pagtigil at paghinto ang wakas o end.
Kaya naman nang sabihin ni Jesus doon sa Krus na “naganap na”, ang pakahulugan Niya ay ang kaganapan ng Kanyang misyon na mahalin tayong lahat hanggang sa wakas na siyang tinutukoy ng pahayag sa simula ng kanilang Paskuwa, “at ngayo’y ipakikita niya kung hanggang saan ang kanyang pag-ibig sa kanila” sa paghuhugas ng kanilang mga paa na ang kaganapan ay sa Kanyang kamatayan sa Krus kinabukasan ng araw ng Biyernes.
Ipinamalas sa atin ni Jesus ng buong-buo at ganap sa Kanyang pagkamatay sa Krus ang pag-ibig ng Ama para sa atin batay sa Kanyang sinabi kay Nicodemus, “Gayon na lamang ang pag-ibig ng Diyos sa sanlibutan, kaya ibinigay niya ang kanyang bugtong na Anak” (Jn.3;16).
Kung tutuusin ay hindi naman kailangang mamatay si Jesus sa Krus upang tayo ay maligtas ngunit pinili pa rin Niya ito bilang tanda ng Kanyang pagmamahal sa ating lahat. Kaya naman dito rin nating makikita ang magandang kahulugan ng pagmamahal na hindi lamang basta pagtupad sa mga kautusan o pagiging mabuti sa kapwa. Sa kabuuan nito, ang pagmamahal ay pagiging-ganap ng ating buhay. Love is the perfection of life, ayon kay Thomas Merton, isang mongheng Amerikano noong araw.
Kapag tayo ay nagmamahal, tayo ay nagiging ganap tulad ng Diyos! Kaya, basta magmahal lang ng magmahal hanggang masaktan dahil hindi iyan mauubos tulad ng Diyos.
Mga minamahal, yamang gayon kadakila ang pag-ibig ng Diyos sa atin, dapat din tayong mag-ibigan. Walang taong nakakita sa Diyos kailanman, ngunit kung tayo’y nag-iibigan, nasa atin siya at nagiging ganap sa atin ang kanyang pag-ibig.
1 Juan 4:11-12
Mula sa unang sulat ding iyan ni San Juan, ating matutunghayan ang pahayag niya na ang Diyos ay pag-ibig na ayon sa dating Santo papa Benedicto XVI sa kanyang unang encyclical na Deus Caritas est, ito ang pinaka-malalim na pahayag tungkol sa Diyos na hindi matatagpuan sa ibang relihiyon maliban lamang sa Kristiyanidad.
Mga ginigiliw ko, Diyos lang ang makapagmamahal sa atin ng ganap. Tanging si Jesus lang ang makapagmamahal sa atin ng ganap na Kanyang pinatunayan doon sa Krus.
Palagi kong sinasabi, “human love is always imperfect” kaya hayaan nating punan ni Jesus, gawin Niyang ganap at buo ang ating pagmamahal na palaging kapos at kulang. Maari itong mangyari kapag tayo nagsimulang magparaya at magpatawad, magbigay ng walang hinihintay na kapalit, manahimik kesa kumibo at humaba pa usapan. Tanggapin natin at angkinin mga sakit at sugat natamo natin sa imperfect love ng pamilya at kaibigan o sino pa man.
Tularan natin si Jesus na nagpakasakit at naghandog ng buhay sa Krus dahil sa pag-ibig.
Manalangin tayo para sa mga minamahal natin at sa nagmamahal sa atin sa kabila ng ating mga imperfection:
Panginoong Jesu-Kristo, sana makapagmahal din ako tulad Mo hanggang kamatayan; sana masabi ko rin sa wakas tulad Mo "naganap na"; patawarin po Ninyo ako sa maraming pagkakataon na hindi pa rin tapos at patuloy pa rin sa pagnanana ng mga sugat kong natamo sa imperfect na pagmamahal ng kapwa kaya hindi ako maka-move on dahil nilalamon akong buhay ng mga sugat at alaalang ito kaya hindi ako lumago at maging ganap sa Iyo. O Kristo Jesus, patawarin po Ninyo ako at turuang magpatawad dahil sa pagpapatawad kami tunay na nagmamahal ng ganap tulad Mo. Amen.
It is the final Sunday in Lent as we enter its final week with temperatures soaring into the 30’s as we get into the heat of summer in the country. To soothe us in our Sunday feature, we have chosen Lee Ritenour’s classic smooth jazz Is It You? from his 1981 album Rit.
An American jazz-guitarist, Ritenour is considered as one of the great movers in the jazz scene since the late 1960’s until now, being a part of so many groups and individual musicians in producing great music and tunes that unknown to many of us have were surely delighted and even uplifted.
Is It You? is one of those music by Ritenour with Eric Tagg doing the vocals as well as co-writing it along with Bill Champlin.
So characteristic of Ritenour’s jazz experiments fusing it with rock and pop, Is It You? speaks of a man’s feelings of doubts amid strong convictions of being ready to love a woman he is asking if she too is ready; hence, the question, Is It You?
Someone’s just outside, knocking at my door A stranger, somebody unknown Someone’s in my dreams, can’t get it off my mind, yeah I’m tired of being alone Someone’s trying to find an easy way inside Come on, I’m right here at home, right at home
Is it you? Is it you? Is it you? Is it you, you, you?
Who’s that deep inside me, sneaking around my heart? Are you somebody in love? Show me what you’re doing and tell me who you are Hey, I’m ready for love, for love
Is it you? Is it you? Is it you? Is it you, you, you?
If it’s you, come out in the open You don’t need to hide your love If it’s you, you know I’m hoping ‘Cause it’s way too late to run away Don’t run away from love, my love Is it you?
Photo of a convolvulus tricolor from BBC Gardeners World Magazine.
Many times we felt that way too that despite the uncertainties we feel, there is that strong thrust from within to dare step forward and make the move to find out like Ritenour if is it you?
In some ways, it must have been the feeling too of those Greek converts in Jerusalem that Palm Sunday who asked Philip if they could see Jesus. They too had that strong feeling towards Jesus after hearing the many good things about himself, his teachings and his miracles. When they said they wanted to see Jesus, it was more than seeing him literally because the Lord was never in hiding. The Greeks, like us and Ritenour in his song, were seeking something more, something deeper, something about faith (https://lordmychef.com/2024/03/16/lent-is-believing-in-order-to-see-jesus/).
There lies the beauty of life, of following Jesus: while the world tells us that to see is to believe, Jesus tells us that to believe so we would see; the world tells us to enjoy life without inhibitions one’s enjoyment, Jesus tells us that it is in dying that we truly live.
Both happens when we dare to ask, when we dare to step forward and take the plunge, of giving one’s self in love. To ask of seeing Jesus, of seeing somebody special, of asking if is it you is also believing in him or the other person.
Believe. And you shall see that indeed, it is you, Jesus!
When we were growing up discovering the power of love, these nursery rhymes were so sublime we used to find every Valentine's without knowing why "Roses are red, Violets are blue, Sugar is sweet. So are you. And I love you!"
Red means love but what about blue that has become violet too? Late have I known as a chaplain to kids and grown ups too when I Googled that violets mean simplicity, humility and modesty that to give a violet close to blue is to say "I love you too!"
In this blessed season of Lent when everything is violet a shade akin to blue to keep things subdued as we try to imbue virtues and values of repentance and contrition for sins, of patience and perseverance, of sacrifice and alms-giving that lead to a sharing of self in love like Jesus Christ did a long time ago.
True, violets are blue, hue of God's mercy for me and you; as we go through this journey in Lent hear my plea to you, Jesus: "Roses are red, violets are blue; let your Lent come true because I love you too!" Amen.
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