Tag: music

“That’s The Way of the World” by Earth, Wind and Fire (1975)

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LordMyChefSundayMusic//Week XXV-B//23September2018
The Way of the World Vs. The Way of the Lord

            For our Sunday music today, we take the title track from the sixth studio album of the renowned group Earth, Wind and Fire“That’s The Way of the World” released in March 15, 1975.  It is also the soundtrack of the movie of the same title at that time.  EWF’s “That’s the Way of the World” hits the inner chords of our souls that perfectly fits the Sunday gospel where Jesus identified Himself with a child to show us how our relationship with children (and women) also reflect our relationship with God:  “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” (Mk.9:37)

             Childhood is a value in itself, the most pristine image of holiness, of God!  When we go back in the gospels and see the teachings of Jesus Christ, we always find His constant reference to children and to childhood, warning us not to lead them into sin because their angels are always guarding them (Mt.18:1-10).  It is plain and simple that anyone who abuses and molests children and women are not of God.  And that is the problem we have always have in the way of the world in relating with children, contrary to the way of the Lord which is to becoming like a little child (Mt.18:3).  EWF captures in their song this problem lost in our insistence of being “adults”.

Hearts of fire creates love desire
Take you high and higher to the world you belong
Hearts of fire creates love desire
High and higher to your place on the throne

We come together on this special day
Sing our message loud and clear
Looking back, we’ve touched on sorrowful days
Future pass, they disappear
You will find peace of mind
If you look way down in your heart and soul
Don’t hesitate ’cause the world seems cold
Stay young at heart, ’cause you’re never, never old

That’s the way of the world
Plant your flower and you grow a pearl
Child is born with a heart of gold
Way of the world makes his heart so cold

Hearts of fire create love desire take you
High and higher to the world you belong
Hearts of fire love desire
High and higher, yeah yeah yeah
Hearts of fire love desire

Ahh higher

*Photo courtesy of Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA News taken at Batanes a day before typhoon Ompong hit the country Sept. 14, 2018.  Used with permission.

“Good Times” by Bobbi Humphprey (1978)

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LordMyChefSundayMusic//Week XXIII-B//16September2018
Realizing Who Jesus Is

            We rejoice this Sunday that Super Typhoon Ompong is finally out of our country, hoping and praying that it would have not caused so much casualties and damages in areas it directly hit yesterday.  As we start the brand new week overcoming so many storms in life, here is American jazz artist Bobbi Humphrey’s “Good Times” from her 1978 album Freestyle to soothe your soul, supporting our Sunday reflection on realizing who Jesus is. It is only through His Cross can we truly realize and know who Jesus Christ is because it was there where He not only revealed Himself to us but also made us experience God’s immense love for us.  By suffering and dying on the Cross, Jesus did not remove but joined us in our pains and difficulties in life so that we may be one with Him in His glorious Resurrection.  In our relationships with others, it is only during hard times that we truly get to know who our friends are, who really love us because they are the ones willing to suffer with us and even suffer for us so we could have “good times” as Bobbi tells us in her lovely, jazzy song.  .

You and I have traveled life’s uncharted courses

We’ve been tossed around at many times on dark and stormy seas

But now the clouds are parting and the sun is shining through

It feels so good to know… you’re here with me,

 

To share the Good Times, that we waited for so long

I know the Good Times, will prove we weren’t wrong

To hold on to the dreams of how we knew it could be

We worked so hard at easin’ all the pain and misery

Until the Good Times had come ‘round for you and me

And now they’re here, now they’re here

 

I remember all the hard times when there wasn’t much to eat

And the longest coldest winter, when we didn’t have much heat

But we had all we needed with love enough to spare

Cause more than money we had what I knew would get us here

 

Bridge:   We fought and won each battle that we had to fight

Made it through the darkness when we couldn’t see the light

And deep inside I guess we always knew that we were right

To try and catch that star….’cause baby here we are. (Let’s share Good Times…. )

“Take A Little Rhythm” by Ali Thomson (1980)

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The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music//Week XXIII-B//09September2018
Opening To God

            Our gospel today tells us a beautiful story of a healing of a deaf-mute by Jesus Christ.  It is something that had hit me so close during our Mass this morning when one of the young people near our altar is a deaf-mute too.  He has been coming to our Eucharistic celebrations for about a year with his parents and elder sister.  I recently had a chance to talk to him when they came early for the Mass, inviting him to be an altar server when his parents interjected and told me about his condition.  I felt his sadness as he looked at his parents telling me his condition; and to cheer him up, I tried using hand signals to ask him if he might still want to become a sacristan as we are willing to make necessary adjustments for him.  During our Mass this morning when I saw him, I used some sign languages while delivering my homily so he could follow our reflections.  And I felt so blessed when I saw him smiled, as if telling me, he had understood my homily even a little.

            Unlike the blind, people with hearing disabilities are often left unnoticed if not ignored unless we are told or we discover their condition.  For our Sunday music, we pray for those with hearing disabilities as we thank God for the gift of hearing.  Here is Scottish singer-songwriter Ali Thomson with his 1980 hit “Take a Little Rhythm”, a feel good music, inviting us like Jesus in the gospel to be opened especially to those with hearing disabilities.Fr.NicanorF.LalogII,ParokyaNgSanJuanApostolAtEbanghelista, Gov.F.HaliliAve.,Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan. (Photo by author, Mines View Park, Baguio City, 17 January 2018.)

“You’re In My Heart” by Rod Stewart (1977)

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The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music//Week XXII-B//02September2018
Cross My Heart

            Today’s gospel invites us to examine our hearts because as Jesus Christ told the people of His time and us today, “Nothing enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.  From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.  All these evils come from within and they defile.” (Mk.7: 17,21-22) 

            There was only one song that I kept on hearing at the back of my mind while reflecting on the Lord’s teaching:  Rod Stewart’s “You’re In My Heart”.   I was in elementary school when this song came in 1977 that perfectly expressed my feelings with the only “crush” I had from Grade 1 to Grade 6.  Now that I am a priest and still very much in love – with Jesus Christ! – I still find this song very relevant, of how a love that is true and noble inside one’s heart could inspire anyone to change ways to become a better person!

I took all those habits of yours
That in the beginning were hard to accept
Your fashion sense, Beardsly prints
I put down to experience
The big bosomed lady with the Dutch accent
Who tried to change my point of view
Her ad lib lines were well rehearsed
But my heart cried out for you
Chorus:  You’re in my heart, you’re in my soul
You’ll be my breath should I grow old
You are my lover, you’re my best friend
You’re in my soul
My love for you is immeasurable
My respect for you immense
You’re ageless, timeless, lace and fineness
You’re beauty and elegance
You’re a rhapsody, a comedy
You’re a symphony and a play
You’re every love song ever written
But honey what do you see in me [Chorus:]
You’re an essay in glamour
Please pardon the grammar
But you’re every schoolboy’s dream
You’re Celtic, United, but baby I’ve decided
You’re the best team I’ve ever seen…

“Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green (1971)

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The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music//Week XXI-B//26 August 2018
Words That Heal, Words Of Eternal Life

             Today we conclude the “bread of life discourse” by Jesus Christ found in the sixth chapter of John’s gospel.  The people who have followed Him four Sundays ago after the miraculous feeding of more than 5000 abandon Him after being disillusioned with His claims that He is “the bread who came down from heaven…that the food He would give is His flesh and the drink He would give is His blood.”  Only the Twelve Apostles would stay with Jesus.

              Sometimes in life, we get disillusioned with people, with organizations and institutions including the Church, and even with God Himself.  And it is always easy to leave, to resign when we are disillusioned.  Here is Al Green with his classic “Let’s Stay Together” to soothe you and give you more reasons to remain with your loved ones despite the pains and hurts in life.  The music is soooo good that it is worth listening to the other versions of this Motown classic.  Sing – and dance – if you want to enjoy.  Most of all, remain in Jesus.

“Got To Get You Into My Life” by the Beatles (1966)

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The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music//Week XX-B//19August 2018
Body and Blood of Christ, Our Communion With God

             Finally… the Beatles in our LordMyChefSundayMusic!

           But did you know that the great Paul McCartney wrote this song not for a particular person but as an “ode to pot”?  Yes, in honor of marijuana, that holy grass producing holy smoke!

I was alone, I took a ride
I didn’t know what I would find there
Another road where maybe I
Could see another kind of mind there
Ooh, then I suddenly see you
Ooh, did I tell you I need you
Every single day of my life

             Sir Paul revealed this only recently in an interview for a book about him and his works (check Google).  But again, as I have told you last Sunday, that is the beauty of music:  truly a universal language that takes on a life of its own wherein it becomes applicable to every situation.  On this penultimate Sunday of the Lord’s “bread of life” discourse, we find this classic Beatle music speaking also of God’s “communion” with us through Jesus Christ’s Body and Blood in the Eucharist:  “we find Jesus speaking more boldly to the unfriendly audience by increasing the force of His declaration as “the bread of life” by repeating it eight times in eight verses!  Jesus did not budge in the arguments of the crowd and instead slowly spiraled up His discourse as food and drink for eternal life…showing us the direction we have to follow in Him.” https://lordmychef.wordpress.com/2018/08/18/lordmychefsundayrecipe-19-august-2018/

             Have to be clear with you, dear reader, I was not into pot and have not read the inspiration behind this song when I wrote my Sunday reflection… but that is indeed the effect of getting into Jesus in the Sunday Mass, beyond compare with weeds or any other drug:  Here again is Jesus Christ before us…inviting us to enter into a communion with Him and in Him without murmuring and quarrelling to calmly reflect on this mystery of the Lord as our food and drink to eternal life… let us not rush God like the crowd at Capernaum by demanding spectacular and verifiable things to remind us of His presence.  Jesus is with us in the most ordinary things like bread and wine, in the most common experience like the Mass.  He speaks to us in the most consistent manner, always repeating the same words of assurances of His love and mercy, kindness and presence.  Never doubt for we are making progress every Sunday, from Eucharist to Eucharist.  Sooner or later, we shall come to that promised day of eternal life in the Father through Jesus Christ.”  Have a hearty lunch with family and friends and God.  And music!

“Everything I Own” by Bread (1972)

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
“Everything I Own” by Bread (1972)
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music//Week XIX-B//12August 2018
Believe.  Love.  And live.

            On this third consecutive Sunday of the “bread of life” discourse of Jesus found only in the sixth chapter of John’s gospel account, our LordMyChefSundayMusic takes its cue again from the 70’s group Bread with their hit “Everything I Own.”  Listeners have always interpreted it as a song about a broken relationship; but, according to its composer David Gates, the song is tribute to his late father when he composed it in 1972.  The first stanza says so well Gates’ love for his late father. 

            But that is the beauty of music!  It has a unique quality of being so universal in meaning with many applications in the various instances of our lives.  It is indeed the food of the soul, like Jesus Christ as the bread of life.  We simply have to believe.  And when we believe, we love and start to live.  But when we stop believing, then we also stop loving because there is no more life to live.  Jesus is now offering us Himself as our bread of life, our sustenance in this life and to eternity.  Most of all, when we have Jesus as our bread of life, we partake in His divine life that leads us to real fulfillment.  But, are we willing to let go of everything to have Jesus, to believe in Him so we can truly love and live fulfilled?

You sheltered me from harm
Kept me warm, kept me warm
You gave my life to me
Set me free, set me free
The finest years I ever knew,
Were all the years I had with you

(Ref.)  And I would give anything I own
I’d give up my life, my heart, my home
I would give everything I own,
Just to have you back again

You taught me how to love
What it’s of, what it’s of
You never said too much,
But still you showed the way
And I knew from watching you//Nobody else could ever know,
The part of me that can’t let go (repeat refrain)

Is there someone you know,
Your loving them so,
But taking them all for granted?
You may lose them one day
Someone takes them away,
And they don’t hear the words you long to say (Ref.)

“Lost Stars” (2013), OST “Begin Again”

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The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music//Week XVIII-B//05August 2018
Meaningful Existence in Christ, the Bread of Life

             To fully appreciate this lovely song, try watching the movie “Begin Again” with your family and friends this Sunday.  Just stay home, be together to feel each other’s presence and find Christ among you.  In our Sunday reflection today, we said that “Sometimes, we feel we truly love God and those around us but when we examine our priorities in life, we do not really love that much because we fail and even refuse to care, recognize and look for the person. What we easily and often look for is the object, the things we can have to fill us, even bloat us.”  It is the same point of view of this song “Lost Stars” wherein we never stop searching for meaning in life, trying to lead others out of darkness to more fulfilment in life.  “Begin Again” shows us how true are the teachings of Jesus in the gospel today, that we must search and aspire for the higher things in life, not to be consigned with what the world offers that bloat our egos.  Life’s direction calls us to a continuous laboring in love, of always finding and giving meaning in our lives in God.  I have underlined some lyrics that are so related with the gospel today too.

Please don’t see just a girl caught up in dreams and fantasies
Please see me reaching out for someone I can’t see
Take my hand, let’s see where we wake up tomorrow
Best laid plans, sometimes are just a one night stand
I’ll be damned, Cupid’s demanding back his arrow
So let’s get drunk on our tears

And God, tell us the reason youth is wasted on the young
It’s hunting season and this lamb is on the run
We’re searching for meaning
But are we all lost stars?
Trying to light up the dark

Who are we? Just a speck of dust within the galaxy
Woe is me, if we’re not careful turns into reality
Don’t you dare let our best memories bring you sorrow
Yesterday I saw a lion kiss a deer
Turn the page, maybe we’ll find a brand new ending
Where we’re dancing in our tears…

*You may follow the lyrics on the music video.  Enjoy!

“Land of the Loving” by David Benoit with Diane Reeves (1986)

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The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music//Week XVI-B//22July 2018
Resting in Jesus Christ

It is again Sunday, the day of the Lord, our rest day too.  Rest is not merely a stop in our tasks and routines; rest is coming home to God.  Our tagalog word for rest is pahinga that literally means to be breathed on.  In the story of creation, man became alive after being breathed on by God.  Whenever we rest in God, we come home to Him and let Him breathe on us His life-giving Spirit in the Holy Mass, in our prayers, and in our family gatherings.  That is when we are also recreated in God.  That is the deeper meaning of “R&R” – rest and recreation can only happen in God.

            Here is a beautiful song by David Benoit sang by Dianne Reeves in 1986, “Land of the Loving.”  It speaks of how a woman had finally found the love of her life, the one who truly loves her and gives meaning to her life.  In finding her true love, she also found home, the land of the loving.  Sing with Dianne in the lovely music by David, recall how Jesus invites you to come home to Him and rest.  When you find Jesus and rest in Him, then, you are home sweet home…

Deep in your eyes is a promise
Love can be ours if we want it
Starting tonight every dream I ever knew
Here in your arms I’m believing
Finally my life has a meaning of its own
Here in the land of loving I am home

I was alone in the city
Searchin’ for someone to find me
Cold empty nights and a million strangers’ eyes
Here in your arms I’m beginning
To leave behind all the loneliness I knew
Here in the land of loving there is you
In this simple room magic is made
Though the world seems unchanged
Leave the lights on I’m a little afraid
This might be just one sweet dream
Deep in the night love is growing
Though I had no way of knowing
That when I found you I found ev’rything I need
Here in your love I’ll be staying
Fin’lly my life won’t be living all alone
Here in the land of the loving I am home

*Photo by Gretchen Ira Banaticla, Virginia, USA.  Used with permission.

“Devotion” by Earth, Wind and Fire (1974)

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The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music
Week XIV-B//15July2018
Discipleship is Directional, Not About Destination
 

            Somebody asked me last night after reading my Sunday reflection, “where is the direction?”

             As I have shared with you, life is essentially directional and not about destination.  Life is more of dealing with the questions “why” and “what” than of “where”.  When we search more of the where, we can get frustrated because in this journey of life, we really do not know the place where we should be or would be.  As we journey in life centered on Christ in prayer and silence, the more we still do not know of what will happen next, of what we’ll see next – yet, we are so excited.  We continue living because we believe, and most of all, we love!  When we love, we experience God.  That is when we begin to realize that indeed, heaven is more than a place or destination but a presence — that is also when we find our direction.  Here is a soothing music from Earth, Wind and Fire called Devotion from their album aptly titled Open Our Eyes released in 1974 that points to a direction.  Enjoy!

Through devotion, blessed are the children
Praise the teacher, that brings true love to many
Your devotion, opens all life’s treasures
And deliverance, from the fruits of evil
So our mission, to bring a melody
Ringin’ voices sing sweet harmony

For you here’s a song, to make your day brighter
One that will last, you long through troubled days
Giving your heart the light to brighten
All of the dark that falls in your way
You need devotion, bless the children
Deliverance from the fruits of evil
In everyone’s life, there’s a need to be happy
Let the sun shine, a smile your way
Open your heart, feel a touch of devotion
Maybe this song will help uplift your day.
Make a better way
You need devotion….