Mission of healing

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe, Solemnity of the Pentecost-A, 31 May 2020

***Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11* <(((>< 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13* ><)))> John 20:19-23***

Pope Francis praying at an empty St. Peter’s Square 27 March 2020. Photo from cruxnow.com.

As I prayed over the readings this coming Pentecost Sunday, my thoughts kept going back to those powerful images when Pope Francis prayed at an empty St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican last March 27 when COVID-19 was ravaging the whole Italy with so many deaths.

Now more than ever, the Church badly needs the Pentecost – a new Pentecost that will heal and rebirth the world so wounded and altered by the corona pandemic this year 2020.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
John 20:19-20

Modern rendition of the Pentecost. From Google.

Holy Spirit, breath of life and cause of unity

The Pentecost is not just an event remembered in the past but a reality that happens daily when the Holy Spirit comes and is received by those attuned with its life and mission which is to bring peace through unity and healing.

Promised by Jesus Christ to his followers as their Advocate and Counsellor, the Holy Spirit descended on them during the feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem when Jews from all parts of the world gathered to remember the 50 days after their Passover in Egypt at the time of Moses.

It was the perfect setting for the Christian Pentecost – this time 50 days after Easter – to celebrate the new unity of mankind in Jesus he established on Holy Thursday evening at his Last Supper. Inasmuch as the Jews went home at that time to be one with their fellow believers in Jerusalem, on that day from the holy city comes forth the new solidarity of peoples in Jesus led by his followers gathered that day in the Upper Room.

Hence, the tradition of considering Pentecost Sunday as the birthday of the Church, too.

Though we have heard two different versions of its coming, what matters most is the Person of the Holy Spirit as the breath of life and the cause of unity among the followers of Christ.

In the first reading, Luke gives us an artistic presentation of the coming of the Holy Spirit showing the unity of the peoples: first of the followers of Jesus and later with the Jews gathered in Jerusalem on that day for their feast of Pentecost. Whereas the apostles were at first presented as timid and lacking in understanding, the Holy Spirit emboldened them on that day to go out and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Led by Peter, they were filled with life and wisdom and courage, converting thousands of people on Pentecost day despite their speaking in different languages, exactly the opposite at the Tower of Babel in the Old Testament.

In the gospel, John gives us the theological grounding of Pentecost when we find Jesus appearing to his disciples hiding from the Jews on the evening of Easter at the Upper Room where he breathed on them the Holy Spirit that filled them with joy upon seeing him risen and alive.

The scene was reminiscent of the many stories in the Old Testament of the “breath of God” giving life to the first human beings in the story of creation, the “breathing on” by Elijah on the nostrils of the widow’s dead son back to life (1Kgs.17:21), and the promise of God to Ezekiel to restore to life the many dry bones in their graves in the time to come (Ezek. 37:1-14).

These stories now take on deeper meanings in Jesus Christ its fulfillment. And not only were the disciples breathed on with new life in Christ but also the whole creation was renewed in the coming of the Holy Spirit that we pray, “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and you shall renew the face of the earth”.

Perennial Pentecost for peace and healing

Pentecost is an event that continues to happen daily especially when we are gathered as the body of believers of Jesus Christ tasked to realize its fulfillment. This coming of the Holy Spirit is not a one-shot deal that happened only in the past in Jerusalem more than 2000 years ago — it is something we as followers of the Risen Lord must always wait and make happen every day so as to continually bring life and renewal to this world especially at this time of the corona pandemic.

In giving us the Holy Spirit, Jesus not only renewed our lives as his disciples united in him but also conferred his own power without restrictions to accomplish our mission.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
John 20:21-23

The Chair of St. Peter at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome with the stained glass of the Holy Spirit above. Photo from dreamstime.com.

At the Vatican inside the great St. Peter’s Basilica is a beautiful stained glass of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove rising above as background to the Chair of St. Peter ( Feast is February 22) at the sanctuary area.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI described this beautiful work of art:

“It seems to me that a deep analysis of the essence of the Church lies hidden here, is contained here… It unites the Church with creation as a whole. It signifies through the dove of the Holy Spirit that God is the actual source of all light. But it tells us something else: the Church herself is in essence, so to speak, a window, a place of contact between the other-worldly mystery of God and our world, the place where the world is permeable to the radiance of his light… The Church is the place of encounter where God meets us and we find God. It is her task to open up the world closing in on itself, to give it the light without which it would be unlivable.”
Images of Hope, pp.29-31

Here we find part of our mission in collaboration with the Holy Spirit is the the healing of the world that can be achieved only through peace. See how Jesus had to repeat twice his gift of peace to his disciples because it is his greatest gift to us following his Resurrection.

Life thrives and blooms most where there is peace, where there are disciples of the Lord willing to work for it with love and patience.

But the peace from Jesus Christ always has a price that we must be willing to pay to achieve it.

See that after his first greeting of peace, Jesus showed his wounds — he was the first to pay the price for peace with his own life.

Bringing around our Parish the Blessed Sacrament during the lockdown, March-May 2020.

This is the meaning of the many sacrifices and sufferings we all have to go through in this quarantine period expected to continue until 2021: if we want to get out of this pandemic, aside from the need for a vaccine and medication, we all need to change our ways to make sure this will not happen again.

It is always easy to join so many advocacies and rallies calling for every kind of change in the society and the world but nothing had ever happened because whenever we come home, we do not change our own ways of living! Sayang (what a waste) were all the inspiration and energies of the Holy Spirit for our many causes that have not taken roots right in our hearts.

All the apostles of the Lord paid the price of peace with their own lives that led to the healing not only of individuals and families but even of nations and the world.

The second time Jesus offered his gift of peace, he breathed the Holy Spirit on his apostles and commissioned them to forgive all sins.

Peace is the fruit of love according to Vatican II.

As such, peace from the Holy Spirit leads to healing when there is dialogue, prayer and repentance, that lead to justice, love, and forgiveness. Peace and healing need hard work that is why they are fruits. They never come on a silver platter.

On Monday, most of the quarantine levels in the country are downgraded because it is hoped we have somehow controlled the spread of COVID-19.

As we eagerly await more freedom and mobility in this time of pandemic, what have we achieved during these three months of quarantine, said to be the longest in the world?

Have we resolved our family differences? Have we rediscovered our family members, getting more close than ever, more kind, more understanding?

How sad that all we can share as our quarantine stories are all about food and other pursuits we have undertaken forgetting the unity and life of our family and community.

How sad when we in the Church have all been preoccupied with the new communication media but failed at all to make any impact or dent in the lives of our faithful because we have not shared Jesus Christ at all, when all our “live streaming” and vlogs are powered by likes and followers, not by the Holy Spirit.

Pope Francis blessing the people last March 27 in an empty St. Peter’s Square during the height of COVID-19 in Italy that became the new epicenter of pandemic next to China. Photo from Vatican Media Office.

Jesus never takes back his gift of peace, his gift of healing, his gift of the Holy Spirit. He promised to never leave us orphans. Let us not leave the Holy Spirit behind and stop believing in our selves.

That’s the way we have been in the world and even in the Church.

That is why – to a large extent – we have this corona pandemic.

A blessed week to everyone.

Violence in time of corona

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Tuesday, Easter Week-VI, 19 May 2020

***Acts of the Apostles 16:22-34* <(((>< +++ 0 +++ ><)))> *John 16:5-11***

Photo by author, Chapel of Holy Family, Sacred Heart Spirituality Center in Novaliches, QC, 2016.

Dearest Jesus Christ:

Today I pray to you for a stop of the many forms of violence going on in this time of the corona pandemic.

How sad that in midst of all the sufferings we are going through, we still cannot have prolonged moments of peace with one another.

Can we not just skip some rigidity and selective justice that make the marginalized people suffer more?

My heart is so moved with the news I saw about Mang Dodong, a fish vendor from Caloocan who was detained in Navotas May 07 due to lack of a quarantine pass. It was only tis Monday, after ten days since his detention, that his wife learned of his arrest. His wife is said to be illiterate and knows nothing about procedures for his release.

How can some people let an old man trying to make ends meet be subjected to these kinds of hardships?

It pains our hearts, Lord, to hear this kind of news vis-a-vis of a police official said to be so good that he cannot be sacked and replaced, much less suffer for violating COVID-19 rules of which he is said to be an expert?

Lord, can you not make an instant, sweeping miracle, like Moses with his powerful staff that will suddenly make us all compassionate and sympathetic with those truly deserving of understanding and mercy or clemency?

Why do we have to be so harsh, even violent, in these days of pandemic, something so similar with the experiences of Paul and Silas in the first reading today.

The crowd in Philippi joined in the attack on Paul and Silas, and the magistrates had them stripped and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After inflicting many blows on them, they threw them into prison and instructed the jailer to guard them securely.
Acts of the Apostles 16:22-23

What is most ironic is when after a powerful earthquake that flung open the doors of the jail in Philippi, the guard thought the prisoners including Paul and Silas have all escaped that he tried to kill himself when…

Paul shouted out in a loud voice, “Do no harm to yourself; we are all here.”
Acts of the Apostles 16:28

What a heartless world we have, Lord! We continue to inflict so much violence on others physically, verbally, and emotionally. And the worst part of this is that we inflict them on the most weakest among us, the least and then powerless like Mand Dodong and Aling Patring!

“Do no harm to yourself; we are all here.”

Is it not Lord when there are people around that we should all feel safe and secured, free from all harm? It is the opposite that is happening exactly today!

How I wish we could boldly say these same words by Paul to others to feel safe in buying much needed medicines, or to safely and freely go to work for much needed money to pay electric bills and buy food.

Save us, Lord Jesus, from so much pains and sufferings, and violence we inflict upon others in words and in deeds.

Send us your Holy Spirit to comfort us from all the violence we experience, we feel, we see and hear. Amen.

The peace of Jesus Christ

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Tuesday, Easter Week-V, 12 May 2020

***Acts of the Apostles 14:19-28* ><)))> +++0+++ <(((>< *John 14:27-31***

Photo by author, a bass relief of the Agony in the Garden by Jesus at the Church of All Nations beside Gethsemane near Jerusalem, May 2017.

Lord Jesus Christ, I pray for more faith and trust in you today to experience your peace within so we can truly appreciate the beauty and meaning of life.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.”
John 14:27-28

So many sufferings, so many uncertainties in life but indeed, Lord, you have never left us.

It is so difficult to rejoice – even absurd – when “you are not with us because you are with the Father”.

I could just imagine the increased fears and anxieties your apostles must have felt when you told them to not let their hearts be troubled or afraid when you were to be betrayed and arrested, and eventually suffered and died.

I always wonder, Lord, why during this quarantine period, as I reviewed my life, there are so many painful memories coming back to me that I thought I have transcended or even outgrown, and hoped forgotten and deleted in my memory bank. Worst, the longer the time had lapsed, the more painful these memories become, like death and other losses in life.

but, no word can ever be enough to express and explain how in these painful past you have stayed in us, now coming back to remind us you will always be with us. And that is when we finally feel your peace within.

Your peace is not found outside us but within us – right in our hearts where we allow you to dwell, to reign in us amid all our trials and sufferings that we continue to forge on in this life, to keep the struggle alive.

Grant us the courage and wisdom you have given Paul and Barnabas who, despite the physical harm and emotional distresses they went through, they never wavered in their mission of proclaiming your Gospel because they have you in their hearts.

Please, Lord Jesus, reign in my heart and fill me with your humility, justice, and love. Amen.

Photo by author, garden beside St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Jerusalem, May 2017.

A prayer to be not afraid like St. Joseph

40 Shades of Lent, Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary, 19 March 2020

***2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16* +++ Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 +++ *Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24***

Photo from zenit.org, “Let Mom Rest” figurine

Praise and thanksgiving to you, O God our loving Father in giving us your Son, Jesus Christ our Savior. In sending him to us, you have asked St. Joseph to be not afraid to be the husband of the Blessed Mother of Jesus, Mary Most Holy.

…the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.
Matthew 1:20-21, 24

We pray today on this Solemnity of St. Joseph that we may also not be afraid in fighting this pandemic COVID-19.

Let us be not afraid to stay home to be with our family again, together and longer.

Photo by author, Chapel of St. Joseph, Nazareth, Israel, May 2017.

Let us be not afraid to talk and converse really as husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters. Help us to be more open and more silent like St. Joseph to hear our family members’ innermost thoughts and feelings again with love and understanding.

Let us be not afraid, O Lord, to seek and work for real peace in our family now disintegrating as we disregard each other, choosing fame and wealth than persons.

Let us be not afraid to reach out also to those living alone like the sick, the elderly, the separated, those abandoned by family and friends or society, those widowed.

Let us be not afraid to share food and money to the needy, time and talent, joy and hope to those living in the margins.

Let us be not afraid to ask for forgiveness, to say again those beautiful words “I am sorry” to those we have hurt in words and in deeds; likewise, let us be not afraid to say also those comforting words “I forgive you” to those who have hurt us in words and in deeds.

Let us not be afraid to show respect anew to our elders. Forgive us, O God, in making disrespect a way of life in our time, in our society, in our government and right in our homes and family as we disregard the dignity of one another.

Let us not be afraid to pray again, to kneel before you, and humbly come to you as repentant sinners, merciful Father.

Let us be not afraid to bring Jesus your Son into this world with your love and kindness, sympathy and empathy so we may be healed of so many brokenness and pains deep within.

Let us not be afraid to be humans again and realize we are not gods, that we cannot control everyone and everything in this world.

Let us be not afraid to be open to you and to others, especially the weak and needy because the truth is, we need you O God and one another.

Please, like St. Joseph, let us not be afraid to wake up to the realities of this life to follow you always in your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

O blessed St. Joseph, Husband of Mary, pray for us!

Photo by author, site of St. Joseph’s shop in Nazareth beneath a chapel in his honor, May 2017.

Discipleship is embracing the Cross of Jesus Christ

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul, Wk. XIV-C, 07 July 2019

Isaiah 66:10-14 >< }}}> Galatians 6:14-18 >< }}}> Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

Photo by Lorenzo Atienza, Malolos Cathedral, 12 June 2019.

Please forgive me for my curiosity: lately I have noticed the sudden sprouting of many “breastfeeding stations” and “lactation sections” in many public places that I feel so tempted getting inside them just to see how the mothers would react.

One of the joys of prayer is how God would communicate with us even with the most crazy ideas we have like that thought of entering a breastfeeding station. I recalled this thought as I dwelt deeply into Isaiah’s prophecy in our first reading today presenting God like a mother comforting her children the Israelites who were exiled to Babylon.

It was one of the lowest points in the history of the Jewish people when they lost everything – family and friends, country and nation, and most of all, their Temple in Jerusalem that they felt they were forsaken by God. As exiles, they were slaves without any freedom at all.

Thus says the Lord: “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her, all you who love her, exult, exult with her, all you who were mourning over her! Oh, that you may suck fully of the milk of her comfort, that you may nurse with delight at her abundant breasts! As nurslings, you shall be carried in her arms, and fondled in her lap; as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.”
Isaiah 66:10-11, 12b-13

Sometimes, God allows us to experience several blows and beatings in life not because he punishes us or he takes delight in seeing us suffer; sometimes, we need to be like infants and children again to trust God more, to rely to his goodness. It is the surest way to remind us who we really are. That we are not god.

In our second reading, St. Paul bolstered this imagery of our being children of God by reminding us that the only bragging rights we have as disciples of Jesus is to be one with him in his Cross.

Brothers and sisters: May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Galatians 6:14

As children of the Father and disciples of Jesus, our mark of distinction is not found in our greatness, achievements and success but in our being weak, in our being wounded and bruised, always needing the comfort by God like a mother to her children. This is very clear with St. Paul not only in our second reading today but most especially in his second letter to the Corinthians:

“I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:9-10

It is in our weakness when God is most manifested.

Try listening to anyone bragging about his or her achievements and talents: for a time, we get impressed, we admire them but in the long run, it becomes both convulsing and convoluting. But when we come to learn or hear the sacrifices and sufferings of people even those we do not personally know, we feel uplifted. We remember God and his goodness, his mercy and love.

Crucifix at the side wall of the chapel of St. John Evangelist at Cana, Galilee. Photo by author, 06 May 2019.

Only the disciples of Christ who join him in his Cross can be filled with the gift of peace, the only possession of every disciple. See how how when Jesus sent out the 72 other disciples, he asked them not to bring anything at all. The only thing they must have is the peace of Jesus Christ that they have to share with everyone they visit.

“Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.'”
Luke 10:3-5

Remember that when Jesus visited his Apostles in the locked upper room on the evening of Easter Sunday, he also greeted them with “peace” or “shalom” which is God’s greatest gift to anyone. Shalom in Hebrew means having a good relationship with one’s self, with others, and with God. Peace is always borne out of love and only those willing to sacrifice, suffer and even die for someone are the ones who truly love.

There can be no peace in our hearts when we are filled with pride and ego. We need to be like children again, relying solely in the powers of our parents.

Last Thursday we brought our niece to her doctor at UST Hospital. While waiting for my sister when she left to get the lab results, I saw my niece feeling sleepy. I asked her to sleep on my lap as I gently rubbed her shoulder until she fell asleep soundly and peacefully.

What an attitude of not being bothered by her sickness because she must have great trust in me her uncle, my sister her mom, and also her doctor!

When we embrace our crosses in life and rely solely in Christ, we can also experience peace within. That is when we can rejoice as Jesus assured us, “your names are written in heaven” (Lk. 10:20).

A blessed week ahead to everyone! Jesus loves you, entrust to him all your worries and woes. Amen.

Peace in Jesus

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Monday, Easter VII, 03 June 2019

Acts 19:1-8 >< }}}> >< }}}> John 16:29-33

We are fast approaching the closing of your Easter Season, Lord Jesus, but your daily readings remind us that following you is not all glory. The joy of Easter remains to be found in the Cross of your Good Friday.

Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.
John 16:32-33

It is very true, Lord Jesus, how in the world we always have trouble witnessing for what is true and good, for what right and just, for what is decent and moral.

We are so scattered not only due to our running away from you but also scattered within us when we often choose what we know is wrong and sinful but later get so bothered and guilty without any peace at all.

Free us, Jesus from the powers of darkness that envelop us and let your Holy Spirit enlighten our minds and our hearts to follow your holy will even to the Cross.

Let it sink into our hearts that there is no shortcut to peace, that we always have to allow your Holy Spirit to work in us like the example of St. Paul when he preached you among the people of Ephesus.

True peace in you can only come from love borne out in the spirit of justice and respect for life and persons. Like St. Charles Lwanga and his 21 companion martyrs in Uganda, help us to see our value as a person, keeping our body, mind and spirit clean from all sins.

Help us muster your gift of courage in our hearts like the martyrs to witness your truth and your love. Amen.

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The problem of peace

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe, Monday, Easter Wk. III, 06 May 2019

Praise and glory to you O Lord Jesus Christ!

Thank you for this gift of Monday. Thank you for bringing us here in your birthplace and place of death as well.

How ironic and tragic, Lord.

As we arrived here in Bethlehem, fighting erupted anew at Gaza Strip, with rocket attacks reportedly killing and injuring undetermined people yet.

Fightings continue to this very moment and thank you for being far from it.

Lord, it is the most baffling mystery in life: your land is the land where peace remains elusive. And maybe because our hearts have always been far from you.

Like the people who spread lies against Stephen and the people who came looking for you for more food.

We always have our hearts filled with our very selves but never with you.

Let us be your John the Baptist in this time, one who prepares your coming by preaching and living peace. Amen.

Advent Is Conversion of the Heart

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe-Prayer

Tuesday, 04 December 2018, Advent Week 1

Isaiah 11:1-10///Luke 10:21-24

“Behold, the Lord will come, and all his holy ones with him; and on that day there will be great light” (from the entrance antiphon of today’s Mass).

Has this day come, Lord? It is supposed to have been fulfilled a long time ago in your birth, Lord Jesus, after Isaiah had prophesied of how a “shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” (Is.11:1) But it has not happened yet, remaining only a dream and a sight to behold in our imaginations when there would be peace and harmony at your coming, “when the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the young lion shall browse together with a little child as their guide, the cow and the bear with their young resting as neighbors, the lion eating hay like ox, and the baby playing by the cobra’s den as he lay his hand on the adder’s lair.” (Is.11:6-8)

It is a beautiful sight, a reality we are all wishing for but has never happened despite your coming to us, Lord Jesus Christ. And we know why: because we have not truly welcomed you in our hearts like children.

Give us the grace to be filled with your Holy Spirit, that we may be childlike so that this blessed season of Advent may dispose us to conversion and single-mindedness in you alone. Fill us with your Holy Spirit so we may attend to our deepest needs and hopes like peace and justice by being more compassionate with those who are suffering like the poor and the weak. Let us bring your light in this world darkened with sin and individualism, marred by senseless wars and petty competitions and rivalries among us. Hear our prayer, Lord, that we learn “to judge wisely the things of earth and hold firm to the things of heaven” (from today’s prayer after Communion). AMEN. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan 3022.

*Photo by the author, altar inside our parish sacristy, 03 December 2018.