Tag: prayer

Our Mother, Our Home

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Wk. X, Yr. II
Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, 10 June 2019
Genesis 3:9-15, 20 >< }}}*> <*{{{ >< John 19:25-34
From Google.

As we resume the Ordinary Time today Lord Jesus, remind us not to take this longest period in our liturgical calendar lightly because it is “ordinary”. It must have been your will when you instructed Pope Francis last year to declare every Monday after the Pentecost as the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.

Thank you Lord for reminding us today to always relive and fulfill the words you have spoken as you hung upon the Cross:

When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

John 19:26-27

How wonderful that in one of your final acts before your death, you ensured an adoption arrangement for your mother whom you would leave behind when you finally ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father.

But more than that, you are also teaching us that Mary as the image of the Church is also our home, that like the beloved disciple, we have to take her home we may come home to her.

Give us that grace in this Ordinary Time as your disciples that we take Mary your Mother as our Mother too, both as an individual and as the Church. What a great honor to be like your beloved disciple that you entrusted your Mother to us. May we be your true disciples always in loving union with you like Mary.

To love Mary and to protect her is to love and protect your Church O Lord that is now under attacks more than ever in history.

Forgive us for the many times we have wounded and hurt in so many instances the Church in the same manner we have done with our own mother.

Teach us to be like you, a faithful and loving son, who thought until the end at your brink of death the safety and security of your Mother and of your Church. Amen.

Mary, Mother of the Church. From Google.

Loving Jesus First

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Friday, Easter VII, 07 June 2019
Acts 25:13-21 >< }}}*> >< }}}*> >< }}}*> John 21:15-19
The shore of Lake Tiberias where Jesus asked Simon thrice, “Do you love me?” Photo by author, April 2017.

My dearest sweet Lord Jesus Christ: For the past twenty one years, I have always heard you asking me the same question you asked Simon along the shores of Tiberias. And you always come to me asking me those questions most especially after I have sinned against you, just like when Simon had denied you after you were arrested.

Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep…” And when Jesus had said this, he said to Simon, “Follow me.”

John 21:17b,19b

Lord, you know everything about me: you know my innermost thoughts, you know my sins, you know my weaknesses, you know my insecurities, you know my pains and darkness and most of all, you know how imperfectly I love you.

And that is why I am so in love with you, Jesus: I am not worthy of your love and yet you choose to love me, you choose to be patient with me, you choose to forgive me. And you continue to call me to follow you.

You have given me with so much, Lord, and I have given so little to you. Teach me to give more of your love, more of your fidelity, more of your kindness, more of YOU to others.

Keep us all, especially your priests, to always love you first before following you.

So many times, especially in this age, we have forgotten you our Caller and we have been so focused and madly in love with your call which is secondary.

You will always be our first love, Jesus and it is from that love where everything else follows. Amen.

Bronze statues of Jesus conversing with Simon at the shore of Tiberias before his ascension. We have to love Jesus first before we can follow him. Photo by author, April 2017.
Continue praying for us priests.
Let us be focused more with Jesus our Caller,
not with his call.

The Name of God is His Presence

The lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Thursday, Easter VII, 06 June 2019
Acts 22:30;23:6-11 >< )))*> >< )))*> >< )))*> John 17:20-26
Part of the Mt. Sinai mountain range in Egypt. Photo by author, 07 May 2019.

More than 1500 years before your coming Lord Jesus Christ, God called Moses in a burning bush, introducing himself as “I Am Who Am”. That “name” was more than a word. It was his very presence among the chosen people.

With a name, you enabled us to invoke you, to call you O God for you are always present in us and among us.

But now, your name, your presence gets a deeper meaning in Jesus when he said:

“Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”

John 17:25-26

So wonderful, O Lord, the in you, God is more than a mere presence but has become a loving presence among us and in us! In your great sacrifice for us, you did not introduce to us a new word for God’s name but a new mode of presence that anyone who encounters you Jesus encounters the Father too.

And it is always more than that, O God, for you are semper major, always greater.

In Christ Jesus, we encounter you Father as you approach us in him; then, you lead us out beyond our very selves into your infinite greatness and love for you are always more than a presence!

Exactly what you did to St. Paul during his trial in Jerusalem when the Pharisees and the Sadducees joined forces to pin him down eventually quarrelled when he spoke of Christ’s resurrection.

So many times in life when we feel like giving up, when we feel it is over, you suddenly surprise us with sudden turn of events that are so amazing, bringing joy into our hearts and most of all, reassuring us with your love and protection.

We pray for those hoping for miracles, whether big or small, that they may feel your loving presence to realize you are the “emmanu elohim” or Emmanuel for God-is-with-us. Amen.

Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches. Photo by author, July 2018.
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fr nick

Sanctify us, O Lord

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Wednesday, Easter VII, 05 June 2019
Acts 20:28-28 >< )))*> >< )))*> >< )))*> John 17:11-19
Facade of the Church of All Nations beside the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed his “high priestly prayer” consecrating us to the Father. Photo by author, 04 May 2019.

As I prayed last night, O Lord Jesus Christ, I felt out of words for all the love and joy you have poured me yesterday. As I looked back on the day that had passed and meditate on your words today, I do not know what else to say except thank you, thank you, and thank you.

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. Consecrate them in truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I send them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”

John 17:11,17-19

Wow…! How lovely to hear and experience being prayed for by you, Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. How comforting to dwell on your prayer for us, consecrating us in truth, consecrating yourself for us so that we may be consecrated in truth.

All these despite our unworthiness. You still consecrated us priests, made us holy not because we are good or talented but all because of your love.

Help us to keep in our minds this great honor is not for our own sake but for the world, to continue your work and mission of consecrating the world to the Father.

Keep us united always in you, Jesus who is the Truth, the we may be able to do your work always of making you present among those in need, present especially in our lives, in our prayers, in our church, in our celebration of the Sacraments.

Lord, we have turned away from you. We have forgotten you. Please cast out from us all these prevailing thoughts in the Church of pomp and pageantry on the pretext of glorifying you with so much rituals and decorations in our churches and celebrations.

Consecration and sanctification can never be equated with silver and gold that adorn our churches while the flock go hungry, remaining in the darkness of ignorance and slavery to sins because we have never worked hard to teach them the truth, you.

How can we be holy, O Lord, when we have become of the world? When we have “perverted the truth to draw disciples away from the people” (Acts 20:30).

What a shame, Jesus our High Priest that we your priests cannot sincerely speak like St. Paul as he bid goodbye to his flock in the first reading:

“I have never wanted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You know well that these very hands have served my needs and my companions. In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”

Acts 20:33-35

Consecrate us anew, Lord, sanctify us to be one with you again and to serve your truth with fervor and commitment. Forgive us your priests, Lord and let find our way back home to you. Amen.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Please pray for us priests today.

Facing death

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Tuesday, Easter VII, 04 June 2019
Acts 20:17-27 >< )))*> >< )))*> >< )))*> John 17:1-11
Altar of the Church of All Nations beside the Garden of Gethsemane in the Holy Land. Photo by author, April 2017.

I am hesitant in greeting you a good morning, Lord Jesus Christ. How I wish I could have even a fifth of your courage in facing death. All throughout your life here on earth, you faced death squarely. You were never caught by surprise.

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come.”

John 17:1

In the first reading, St. Paul also spoke about his coming death when he summoned the leaders of the church in Ephesus to a meeting in Miletus where he told them that after that meeting, they would never see his face again.

Every day, Lord, we face death every time we make choices and decisions. But rarely are we aware about death with the capital “D” except when we are in extreme danger or when diagnosed with the big “C”.

Last night as I prayed, I got focused about facing death. I am afraid, Lord even though I know that when it comes, I will not feel anything. The pain would be with those I would leave behind, with those who love me and care for me. Yet, I am still afraid.

And that is when you consoled me, making me realize that what is most terrifying with death is when we fail to live authentically. When we waste every opportunity to live fully because coming to terms with death is coming to terms with life too!

That is the reason why you – and the saints – were never afraid with death. That is part of the joy of Easter, of living authentically.

Help us, O Lord, to live truthfully, and fully in your love and mercy so that when our time comes, we have no regrets leaving this life on earth because while still here, we are already one with you in the Father (Jn.17:3).

We pray also for those who are terminally ill, undergoing surgery and other medical procedures today, for those languishing in jail especially those who are innocent, for those barely surviving the many trials of every day living trying to make ends meet. Comfort them, Lord Jesus with your healing presence. Amen.

A sculpture of Jesus’ Agony at the Garden below a window of the Church of All Nations beside the Garden of Gethsemane. Photo by author, April 2017.
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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
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

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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Visit and surprise us, Lord!

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Friday, Easter VI
Feast of the Visitation of Mary, 31 May 2019
Zephaniah 3:14-18 >< }}}*> <*{{{ >< Luke 1:39-56
Bronze Statues of Mary visiting Elizabeth at the patio of the Church of Visitation, Ein-Karem, Israel. Photo by author, April 2017.

Like the Blessed Virgin Mary in today’s feast of the Visitation, I rejoice in you O God:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”

Luke 1:46-49

And like her cousin Elizabeth, O Lord, I also wonder:

“And how does this happen to me, that (the mother of) my Lord should come to me?”

Luke 1:43

You always surprise me, O Lord, whenever you would come to visit me and do great things for me that people recognize you in me.

Of course, it feels good, Lord, when people affirm us for doing your work.

Problem is, fear creeps into us the moment we see the great tasks and mission you have for us. That is when we start wondering why visit us, Lord or why choose us, Lord? Then, we look at others, telling you they are better than us in doing your work.

And that is when we walk away from you, or worst, if we remain, we pretend to be doing your work.

Give us the grace of humility like Mary to accept and own our blessedness from you, of being chosen by you for a specific work and mission. Give us the grace to walk and live in the truth of being blessed like Mary to share you, Jesus, with others.

Visit us always, Lord, to surprise us of your great works in us so we may visit others too to share you with them.

Like Mary, let us welcome you in your every visitation to us.

Most of all, like Mary, let us always believe your words would be fulfilled in us, O Lord. Amen.

Church of Visitation at Ein Karem, Israel. Photo by author, April 2017.

Meeting Jesus (in a little while)

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Thursday, Easter VI, 30 May 2019
Acts 18:1-8 >< }}}*> <*{{{ >< John 16:16-20
From Google.

My dearest Jesus Christ, I am tired. There are times I just force myself to do your work, fighting off temptations of disappointments and disillusions. Like your apostles, I am baffled with your words:

“A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me… Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”

John 16:16, 20

A little while… you were with us, Lord. Not only during those 33 years you spent on earth more than 2000 years ago. A little while in times of joy and success, we feel you so close, Jesus.

But then, a little while, we no longer see you. Not only during those three days of your pasch from Holy Thursday evening to Holy Saturday but especially when we go through our own passion and little deaths.

And a little while later, we see you again in our little resurrections in life, every time we hurdle some obstacles here and there.

Give us the grace always, Lord Jesus, to persevere in our many hardships and trials in life to find you and meet you in between those “little whiles”.

Like St. Paul in the first reading, help us to move on, to accept this is your work and not ours, that our standards are different from yours when defeat for us is victory for you, or when loss for us is a gain for you.

Strengthen us inside, Jesus, so we may be focused on you alone, waiting to encounter you, to meet you in the Church, in your many Sacraments and signs. In these tensions of your being here and not yet, of your sure coming, may we be always on guard and present to meet you. Amen.

Stations of the Cross on the wall of the Catholic Church inside the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Photo by the author, 03 May 2019.
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Losing our head in prayer

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Wednesday, Easter Wk. VI, 29 May 2019
Acts 17:15,22-18:1 >< }}}*> John 16:12-15 >< }}}*>

My dearest Lord Jesus: As I prayed last night, I cannot remove from my mind that beautiful sight of a man in a chapel, so absorbed in conversing with you, that he seemed to have lost his head in prayer.

Photo by JJ Jimeno of GMA News, UP Chapel, 27 May 2019.

Today our readings speak of the need to lose our selves in you.

St. Paul tried to win over the people of Athens at the Areopagus, proclaiming your Gospel without condemning or attacking their religion. He even cited their shrine “To An Unknown God” (Acts 17:23) as a step closer to discovering you and following you as the true God.

He never lost his cool even when people did not believe his teachings of your resurrection from the dead. He simply had himself lost to your will and left Athens to proceed to Corinth where you have prepared great things for his ministry.

Lord, so many times, we cannot let go of our heads, of our know-it-all-attitude in life that we cannot let go and let God.

Let us always remember your words during the Last Supper, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now” (Jn.16:12).

Let us be patient, waiting for your Holy Spirit to come to us, to fill us with your wisdom, to remind us of your teachings and to guide us in doing your work.

Let us lose not only our heads but our very selves to you so we may do your work in the way you would want it be done. Amen.

Photo by the author, parish sacristy, 10 March 2019.
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Presence is always a gift

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Tuesday, Easter Wk. VI, 28 May 2019
Acts 16:22-34 >< }}}*> John 16:5-11 >< }}}*>
Church of St. Peter Gallicantu (Rooster), Jerusalem, 05 May 2019.

Praise and glory to you, O God our loving Father! Thank you for the night, whether we were able to sleep soundly or not; thank you for the rains, for the sunrise, for the brand new day! Thank you for the internet, thank for the grace of prayer, thank you for the gift of life.

Thank you for your gift of presence in Jesus Christ!

Your readings for today remind us that every presence is always a gift. It is always best to have even a little of anything than nothing at all.

Some of us while reading this still have same problems that persist like a sickness not getting worse, bills to be paid, debts piling up, problems getting bigger. Sometimes for many of us, life is so dark that we cannot even feel you, Lord.

In moments we feel like giving up in life, giving up on you, Jesus, please send us a St. Paul who would shout in a loud voice to us like in the first reading, “Do no harm to yourself; we are all here” (Acts 16:28).

Give us the grace and courage to be present to anyone like St. Paul so we can uplift their sagging spirits and continue to find meaning in life in our simple presence.

Fill us with the Holy Spirit to bring joy and conviction to those who doubt you. May they believe in you and find your presence, find fulfillment to be reassured of the beauty of life. Amen.

Sunset in the desert of Jordan on our way to Amman, 01 May 2019.
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