Tag: prayer

To be fruitful, be faithful

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Feast of San Isidro Labrador, 15 May 2020

Acts of the Apostles 15:22-31 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> John 15:18-21

Photo from catholicrurallife.com

You are indeed so wondrous, O Lord Jesus Christ in being so timely with us, always present among us with your saints like San Isidro Labrador, the patron of farmers and most of all, a saint for every man and woman especially at this time of the corona virus pandemic.

How great are the stories of his deep devotion to the Holy Eucharist that as a farm worker, he was more faithful to the Mass and prayers above all than to his work but, without being remiss with his responsibilities to his landlord — with a lot help from your angels!

Most of all, his spirit of charities was so renowned among people of his time that according to tradition, his wife, another saint named Sta. Maria Torribia always kept a pot of stew or whatever soup they may have for the beggars San Isidro would feed daily at their home after working in the field. The pot never ran dry despite their poverty!

Here we find that to be fruitful in life, we have first to be faithful to God.

San Isidro Labrador, pray for us, teach us to be faithful so we may be fruitful in this time of COVID-19 like you who found Christ in everyone and in one’s work.

May we live out his commandment to love like you who remained humble and faithful to Jesus that you were blessed with fruitfulness in life.

Jesus said to his disciples: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.”

John15:12, 16-17

On this feast of San Isidro Labrador, teach us, O Lord Jesus, to be like the first Christians who resolved disagreements in prayers, seeking always your holy will in the spirit of love and charity.

May all of our labors and undertakings bear fruits of love and charity not only at this time but remain like those of the saints. Amen.

Photo of painting of St. Isidore with wife St. Mary Torribia with angels helping them in their farming. From MyCatholicLife.com.

It is always the Caller, not the call

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle, 14 May 2020

Acts of the Apostles 1:15-17, 20-26 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> John 15:9-17

Photo by author, Mirador, Baguio City, 2019.

Lord Jesus Christ, as we celebrate today the feast of St. Matthias your Apostle chosen to replace your betrayer Judas Iscariot, you remind us anew that in every call in life, it is you -the Caller – who matters most not the mission at all.

It does not really matter if we play at the starting line-up or the second team or substitute like St. Matthias who was originally one of your 72 disciples who have witnessed your works and preaching until your Resurrection and Ascension.

The only thing is he was never a part of those closest to you as one of the Twelve.

But, nothing is “second-rate” when we see you Jesus in every task, every mission given to us.

From Google.

Like St. Matthias, may we always be counted as one of your faithful followers ready to counter the evils by some of our traitorous and unworthy members of the Church like Judas Iscariot with our life of witnessing for you our Caller.

Thank you for the gift of being called by you as a friend.

May we always have the courage to remain faithful to you, Jesus, so we may accomplish our call. Amen.

True blessedness

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima, 13 May 2020

Acts of the Apostles 1:12-14 <*(((>< 000+000 ><)))*> Luke 1:39-47

Our Lady of Fatima procession at the Fatima Shrine in Portugal, 2017. Photo from vaticannews.va.

O God our Father, today we come to you on this most trying time in modern history at the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic that has disrupted our lives – for better and for worse – to ask for your mercy and healing.

As we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima who had appeared in Portugal 103 years ago today, we are reminded by the Blessed Mother of your Son Jesus Christ that true blessedness is not being wealthy and powerful, of being well and strong but above all of believing in you, our God Almighty.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb… Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

Luke 1:41-42, 45

COVID-19 has shown us that in this life, true blessedness is not found in money and things, nor in popularity and influence or other things that have become the benchmark of everything that is good in this life.

Our lady of Fatima Shrine in Fatima, Portugal. Photo from Pinterest.

In less than six months, the corona virus had shown us what the Lady of Fatima has always been telling us since 1917: to go back to you, God our Father through your Son Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist and Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Thank you in giving us all a Mother in the Blessed Virgin Mary who is the perfect image and model of discipleship in Christ:

-Mary was the first to believe in Jesus by receiving him in her womb;

-Mary was the first to share the Incarnate Word by visiting her cousin Elizabeth while six months pregnant with his precursor John;

– Mary was the first to believe in the saving work of Jesus when she interceded at a wedding in Cana;

  • Mary was the first to believe in the Resurrection that she remained standing at the foot of the Cross; and,
  • Mary was the first to believe in the coming of the Holy Spirit that she accompanied the Apostles praying at Jerusalem on Pentecost day.

Like Mary, may we grow deeper in our faith, believe more in you than believe in the world or with our very selves.

Like Mary, may we bring unity to our family and community, church and nation, so we may help strengthening the faith of one another, in believing in you by submitting ourselves to your holy will.

Teach us, Lord, to be simple and humble so we may believe more in you. 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.

We are God’s indwelling

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Monday, Easter Week V, 11 May 2020

Acts of the Apostles 14:5-18 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> John 14:21-26

Photo by Ms. Ria De Vera, Blessed Sacrament Procession in our Parish during quarantine, May 2020.

As we brace ourselves, O Lord, for the announcement this week of another possible extension of our quarantine period, we pray for more of your grace of presence and indwelling in us during this time that our churches remain closed to public worship.

Give us the fire and zeal of Paul and Barnabas in proclaiming your Gospel in words and in deeds.

Most especially, give us the same humility and decency to direct all praise and glory to your Divine Majesty and not to us.

Let us abide in you, O God our Father so that we may be your indwelling in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Photo by author, our closed church in time of corona virus, March-May 2020.

Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.”

John 14:23

May we always have the courage, O dear Jesus, to accept your invitation to belong to you wholly, to be at home in you.

Most often, we are so anxious of so many things, peace and calmness become elusive because we cannot rest in you, we cannot persevere and wait in finding you here in our very selves, in our daily life, in our worries and concerns.

Let us come home to you, Jesus, and abide in your love so that we become your indwelling of the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

A prayer for trolls and liars

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Saturday, Easter Week-IV, 09 May 2020

Acts of the Apostles 13:44-52 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> John 14:7-14

According to Pope Francis, the serpent is the first peddler of “fake news” when it deceived Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit in Paradise. Photo from gettyimages.com.

As we end another week O Lord, we pray this time for those who refuse to follow your path of truth. We pray for all trolls and peddlers of fake news and lies, including those who concoct and spread nasty and malicious talks about us.

The gossipers and slanderers.

We pray for them, Jesus, that they may finally come to their senses to see and accept the realities around them.

We pray that they may stop living in darkness, speaking of lies that have destroyed many good names and have caused so much heartaches to those they have maligned.

How sad, O Lord, that these liars and trolls are using the modern means of communications to spread their fake news and lies and gossips to mislead a nation, destroy families and organizations.

Photo by author, February 2020.

In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we saw how Jews were filled with jealousy against Paul and Barnabas while proclaiming your Gospel at the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia.

Not contented in engaging your apostles into “violent abuse of contradicting” their teachings, they also “incited the women of prominence and leading men of the city” to persecute Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:45, 50) because they cannot accept the truth, they cannot accept you, Jesus.

And that continues to happen today when people cannot accept you as Lord and God who truly loves us, forgiving our sins and setting us free to become better persons despite our sins and weaknesses.

Keep us faithful to your words, Lord, and purify our minds and our hearts that we may be one with you in the Father in thoughts, words, and deeds.

Likewise, we pray for everyone that we may always be on guard in examining information and stories we read and hear in order to stop the spread of fake news and lies. Amen.

Being calm in the time of corona

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Friday, Easter Week-IV, 08 May 2020

Acts of the Apostles 13:26-33 ><)))*> +++0+++ <*(((>< John 14:1-6

Photo by Ms. Jo Villafuerte in Atok, Benguet, 2019.

Your words today, O Lord Jesus, are so assuring, so refreshing like the rains last night. Even if all our problems and worries remain, your words are more than enough to banish their power over us as we gain that trust and confidence to forge into this day we do not know where it would lead us to.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.”

John 14:1

Keep us by your side, Jesus.

Let us take your path of love and humility, kindness and mercy especially in this time when patience is running out among many of us and emotions in everyone go high that we lose sight of the other persons going through troubles similar with ours.

Sometimes we fail to recognize you like what St. Paul said in the first reading because we always seek something more tangible, someone we can talk to like another person.

Let us be calm and trust in you that no matter what happens, you will never leave us alone and eventually lead us home to the Father’s house in heaven. Amen.

Remembering

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Thursday, Easter Week IV, 07 May 2020

Acts of the Apostles 13:13-25 <*(((>< ++0++ ><)))*> John 13:16-20

Photo by author, February 2020.

Thank you, O Lord, for the gift of remembering, of not simply recalling the past but even the joy or pain of experiencing them again. Most of all, of learning their lessons that have made us what we are today.

In this time of quarantine when we have so many time spent in remembering our past, our family and friends, may we also remember your saving grace to us like St. Paul at the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia.

Help us to remember – that is, to make you a part of the present again of which re + member is all about.

May we never live like what we have done before this pandemic began when we thought we can lead our lives without you.

As we remember your goodness, your coming to us in your Son Jesus Christ who suffered and died like us, may we keep in mind that everything is in your hand, in your power and control. Not ours.

Grant, O Lord, that in re + membering your saving action to us, your great love for each one of us, may we continue to lovingly serve one another in your name. Amen.

Mosaic of “Washing of Feet of the Apostles”, photo from Google.

Prayer in darkness

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Wednesday, Easter Week-IV, 06 May 2020

Acts of the Apostles 12:24-13:5 ><)))*> + ><)))*> + ><)))*> John 12:44-50

Photo by icon0.com on Pexels.com

Our lamentations continue, O Lord, as our nation is plunged into deeper and disturbing darkness. How can all kinds of darkness fall upon us in this administration? First, they found death as solution to many problems. And then came all their lies and fake news.

Not to mention their diplomatic ties with a godless government that has been dishonest from the very beginning regarding this pandemic.

They themselves have chosen to be in darkness at the very start of the COVID-19 pandemic who would rather pass blame and wash hands for every confusion in implementing the quarantine.

And, now comes their most serious attack to light, in shutting down a beacon of light of news and information.

The more we cry out to you, O dear Jesus, please come to us now. Quickly. And save us!

Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.”

John 12:44-46

We pray for those in government, in this administration who’s leader had blasphemed your Most Holy Name not only once or twice for the grace of enlightenment and decency from the Holy Spirit.

We pray like your early church for the Holy Spirit to set aside just one or two good souls in this government – if there are still any – to be sent to bring enlightenment to this administration who thrives on lies and malice along with their minions and supporters.

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.

Hear our cries and our pleas, O Lord of justice.

Show us your path of holiness amid this time of darkness and evil. Amen.

Photo from the Varistarian of UST.

Our sense of belonging

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Monday, Easter Week-IV, 04 May 2020

Acts of the Apostles 11:1-18 ><)))*> ooo+ooo <*(((>< John 10:11-18

Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, 2019.

One good thing about this COVID-19, O Lord, is how it is teaching us today that we all belong to each other, that we all belong to you, our loving and merciful God.

How wonderful that in the midst of quarantine, the many brothers and sisters we have looked down or taken for granted for so long a time are finally telling us, showing us that in this life, we do not need boundaries or walls but bridges to link us all as one.

We belong to just one flock with one Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

In him alone can we rely and trust because he is the only one who is “the way and the truth and the life.”

Even him tells us in today’s gospel that there are still other sheep who do not belong to our fold of whom he must also look after and guide (Jn.10:16) because ultimately, we all go to one destination in life which is eternity in you, O God, our Father Almighty.

Help us realize like Peter in the first reading that the key is to be inclusive than exclusive. May we see that more than the many superficialities of our color, beliefs, and gender is your Son’s Easter gift of divinity you have shared with us.

May we focus more on our similarities than differences so that we may work and live harmoniously as one big community to never allow this calamity to befall us again. Amen.

From Google.