Our interconnectedness in God’s abundance: the parable of life

Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 12 July 2026
Isaiah 55:10-11 ><}}}}*> Romans 8:18-23 ><}}}}*> Matthew 13:1-23

*Photo by author, Lake of Galilee, the Holy Land, May 2019.*

Matthew’s opening lines in today’s gospel present us a beautiful image of God’s abundance we often take for granted just like the parables of Jesus that remind us of our interconnectedness as brothers and sisters.

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parable, saying: “A sower went out to sow” (Matthew 13:1-3).

For the next three Sundays beginning today, all our gospel readings are taken from this 13th chapter of Matthew known as the “Discourse in Parables” that forms one whole unit of the Lord’s teachings in parables.

From the French word parabolein or “along the way”, a parable is a simple story often taken from ordinary things and events in life that offers valuable lessons about life; but, because it is a story taken from ordinary things and events, a parable is often taken for granted.

Many times we only realize later that the most profound realities in life are those found in most ordinary like God who comes to us daily in simplest ordinary things and people and events we take for granted or even refuse to recognize.

Our Filipino word for parable which is talinghaga captures this very well. From the phrase natataling hiwaga that means “tied mystery”: tali is a rope or a tie that binds things together like mystery or hiwaga. Hence, we have talinghaga for parable that indicate how a mystery is tied with the ordinary and simple things and persons and events.

That is the purpose of Jesus in teaching us in parables: that we may learn to find the hidden truths and mysteries of life in the most ordinary things. His teaching in parables is a continuation as well as a deepening of his call to us last Sunday to “come to him and learn from him” so that we may find rest and fulfillment in him.

What I find amazing in our gospel scene this Sunday is how Jesus was by the shore of the Lake of Galilee yet, his parable is about the sower.

Why not narrate something about the life of fishermen or fish vendors?

*Photo by author, Lake of Galilee, the Holy Land, May 2017.*

Again, let us situate ourselves in Matthew’s opening line, “On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.”

Imagine the scene, it was early morning, the sun had just risen, and people were starting to go about their usual lives when they heard Jesus teaching while seated on a boat perhaps owned by Peter. More than the parable of the sower itself, Matthew is showing us in this scene the very parable of our life that the whole world is God’s.

Every pilgrim to the Holy Land can attest to this unique beauty of the Lake of Galilee that is so lovely, so peaceful and yes, divine. It tells us of God’s superabundance in all of his creation, interconnecting us as brothers and sisters in him our Father.

This is the same parable and truth of life that God had spoken through the Prophet Isaiah in the first reading:

Thus says the Lord: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come own and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:10-11).

Nothing happens by accident in life; God knows everything. And the good news is, he gives everything that is good like the sower. Not just the seeds but the bread we eat, the water we drink, even the very breath we breathe.

Moreover, there is the connectedness of everything in God’s superabundance like that of the rain and snow making the earth fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the sower so that there would be bread for everyone, even clothes to wear.

*Painting by Van Gogh, “The Sower on Sunset” from wikipedia.org.*

God is the Sower always coming to us, tending us, sowing us with seeds that are absolutely good. It does not really matter what kind of soil receives the seed that even the pathway becomes a conduit in feeding the birds of the air!

The seed is definitely good because God is good. In all instances where the seed had fallen, we find God the Sower himself moving in each step of our life. Observe how in this image of the sower moving from his home to his field, it shows us also the journey of the word and the purpose of God in our life. There is no problem with the seed that is so fecund and definitely efficacious as God had told Isaiah that “my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.”

If ever the word is not fruitful, it is due to our poor disposition as listeners or recipients. That is why St. Paul reminds us in the second reading of how we must responsibly be true to our call and role as disciples of Christ. It is a process we have to be patient but must be consistent. What we are working for is not just for this time or for one’s self or society or country: we have to see the whole reality of life from here to eternity in Christ’s work of salvation is for all. We are all interconnected so that whatever good we do will always bear fruit, “some a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

*Photo by author, St. Michael Retreat House, Antipolo City, 16 June 2026.*

This Sunday, in this beautiful scene by the Lake of Galilee, or right there on your comfortable seat or wherever you are, Jesus is asking, “where do I see myself in this wide picture and chain of events?” What have I done with the “word”, the “seed” Jesus had sown in me?

In this age of relativism worsened by social media that have blurred reality with algorithms manipulating the way we see and understand truth and reality, the more we have become empty and alienated from one’s self and one another despite the abundance of material things.

How sad that despite the worldwide connections we now have, the more we have been detached from each other, even from one’s self and ultimately from God so that indeed, many of us “look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand” (v.13) because we have taken life in the ordinary things for granted. We live in Facebook or social media where everything has to be spectacular, even “imeldific” or at least, enhanced if not AI-generated. This Sunday, let’s get real. Enough with fakes and AI’s. Amen. Have a blessed, fruitful week ahead everyone!

Praying not to “collapse”

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 10 July 2026
Hosea 14:2-10 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Matthew 10:16-23

Another week is closing,
let me not collapse in sin,
O Lord.

Thus says the Lord: Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt (Hosea 14:2).

Forgive me,
Lord,
for the times I have
been like Israel,
your beloved Ephraim
yet so far from you,
trusting myself,
trusting other gods
and idols,
so drowned in sin.

"Have mercy on me,
O God.
in your goodness;
in the greatness of your
compassion wipe out
my sin.
Thoroughly wash me
from my guilt
and of my sin
cleanse me"
(Psalm 51:3-4).

Keep me strongly
anchored in you, Jesus
as you send me like sheep
in the midst of wolves
doing your work,
speaking and fighting
for what is true and just
and good; in times of
persecution, let me not
collapse when handed over,
come and speedily rescue me.
Amen.

*Photo by author, Ephesus, Turkiye, November 2025.*

Father & son, Master & disciple

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 09 July 2026
Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 10:7-15

*Photo by Mr. Vigie Ongleo in Colorado, 03 June 2026.*

I have not really known you,
Lord my God;
grant me the grace of intimacy,
like that of a son and a Father
as my life and my mission;
You have nurtured me, O God
as your own son
but I did not recognize you
that later in life,
I followed my doubts,
my false securities
and negatives thoughts
than you.

Thus says the Lord: When Israel was a child I loved him, out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the farther they went from me, sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, who took them in my arms; I drew them with human cords, with bands of love; I fostered them like one who raises an infant to his cheeks, yet, though I stooped to feed my child, they did not know that I was their healer (Hosea 11:1-4).

Forgive me,
merciful Father;
though I pray always
while striving to be holy,
the more I stray from you
because my love for you is
superficial as seen too in my
skin-deep interpersonal relationships
because your love experiences
are forgotten as I give more 
emphasis on my shortcomings,
expectations,
and "returns".

Let me get closer to you,
Father in the love of your Son
Jesus Christ so that my
brokenness may be healed;
set me free from my many
imprisonment with sin
so that I can go
make the proclamation
that "the Kingdom 
of heaven is at hand"
by letting me 
"cure the sick,
raise the dead,
cleanse lepers,
and drive out demons"
(Matthew 10:7-8);
remind me always of your immense
love for me poured by 
Christ on the Cross 
so that I may "give 
without cost"
(Matthew 10:8)
except that I am doing
your most Holy Will;
and lastly, let me
trust you completely
so that I am not bothered
with so many things for
the journey
except Jesus,
only Jesus,
always Jesus.
Amen.

Getting involved

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II
Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Matthew 9:32-38

*Daily scene of commuters in Metro Manila; photo by Veejay Villafranca/Bloomberg via Getty Images, 2024.*

Your words today,
O Lord are very inspiring
and challenging,
inviting me to get involved with
those in the margins,
with those suffering,
for those "troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd"
(Matthew 9:36).

Give me the wisdom
and charity to be involved
with the voiceless in your
holy name, Jesus,
for the sake of your Kingdom
and not for any self-interests
like those in Israel in 
the first reading who "appointed
kings without God's approval,
making idols out of their gold
and silver, making altars
that became occasions for their sins"
(Hosea 8:4, 11).

Grant me courage,
Jesus to get involved with your
poor little ones who sometimes
would even reject our efforts
but most especially when others
brand us as rebels,
as diabolic.

But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons” (Matthew 9:34).

Teach me, Jesus,
the proper way to respond to
your invitation to get involved
with the poor and suffering,
that I may grow in love
and compassion
for those in need.
Amen.

Human gestures made divine

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 06 July 2026
Hosea 2:16,17-18, 21-22 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 9:18-26

*Photo by Mr. Vigie Ongleo somewhere in Colorado, 03 June 2026.*

So many things are happening
in your gospel passage today,
Lord Jesus, involving three key
persons you have healed with 
crowds at the background;
what I like most,
dear Jesus 
are the gestures involved:

the official came forward
and knelt before you
and you rose
 and followed him;

the sick woman
came up behind you
and touched your cloak
you turned around
to declare her
her faith had saved her;

in the official's home,
you drove away the crowd
making a commotion,
then you came to take
his daughter's hand
 laying dead on her bed
and she was brought back to life.

How amazing
Lord Jesus
that you never fail
 to respond positively
 to our human gestures
of coming forward to you,
of coming behind you,
and being still before you;
in you, Jesus,
our human gestures
have become so divine,
the ordinary
so sublime
like the sharing of meal
in your name.

While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward, knelt down before him, and said, “My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. A woman suffering hemorrhages for twleve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured. When Jesus arrived at the official’s house house and … When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by hand, and the little girl arose (Matthew 9:18-21, 25).

Bless us, 
Lord Jesus,
to follow you in
the desert of emptiness
to be able to listen to you
and most especially respond
to you "in right and justice,
in love and mercy,
in fidelity" (Hosea 2:16, 21)
that we may remain 
in your loving
relationship 
always.
Amen.

Learning from Jesus

Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time-A, 05 July 2026
Zechariah 9:9-10 ><}}}}*> Romans 8:9, 11-13 ><}}}}*> Matthew 11:25-30

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.*

What a refreshing gospel we have today with Jesus asking us to come to him to find rest, four weeks after being moved with pity at the sight of the crowd who were like sheep without a shepherd that he called and sent his Twelve Apostles to bring them his good news of salvation (June 14).

The following two Sundays he taught us of our work in harvesting the abundant harvest by being brave and gracious, and hospitable (June 21, 28).

This Sunday, Jesus wraps up his teachings on our work after he himself was rejected by his own folks because he knows very well ours is a difficult mission (June 21) as he praised the little ones who have accepted him like the poor and marginalized.

At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones… Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:25, 28-30).

What are the lessons Jesus is asking us to learn from him, especially in these troubled times of ours when the corrupt and idiots reign supremely simply because they are more in number?

See how difficult it is to be a Christian these days when you hear and see all over social media all kinds of inanities and stupidities happening everywhere like callous politicians acting as clowns with a massive crowd of idiots parroting the words of their cult leaders masquerading as religious men. Or the two couples who climbed atop the Empire State Building in New York for a performance of unfurling a banner calling for more love in the world, with the man pretending to propose to the woman who turned out to be his wife for several months already.

Haynaku! Juice colored!

Everything is so exhausting. The only good news we have these days is again our very own Alex Eala “smoking” the grass at Wimbledon. And perhaps the President going to Vancouver to inaugurate the newest Jollibee there with the Canadian Prime Minster enjoying a more joyful chicken joy. Sanaol!

But, amid all these dismal happenings, Jesus is here with us calling us to his side, to experience his warmth, to learn from him how we can feel light amid all these heavy burdens around us.

Notice how with the social media all over us with its bad news that it has become so easy to feel lumbered with all the contradictions in our lives plus see the various needs we feel missing in our relationships that it has become our past time to worry and feel so burdened most of the time.

Jesus promises us this Sunday that following him brings lightness not heaviness of compulsion and duty as most people would think of his demands. However, it is not a kind of R&R we all aspire every weekend at the beach or a mountain resort.

Christ calls us today to come to him and learn from him on how to have a steady, realistic, day-to-day approach to life lived in his company.

First lesson Jesus is teaching us to learn from him today is to rejoice always.

Being joyful is more than being happy; to rejoice is to have our heart smiling because deep down inside we are assured that no matter what happens in life, even if worse comes to worst, Jesus remains with us and would never ever abandon us. That’s because he is not like a stern master without any love and concern for his slaves.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the first reading calling us to rejoice because he is the king who had come, “a just savior is he, meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass” (Zec.9:9).

Recall Jesus Christ’s triumphant entry to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday riding an ass so that he could be at eye-level with everyone in the city unlike riding a horse that is so high and even menacing in stature.

Imagine the setting of this Sunday gospel: Jesus was lamenting at how his fellow Jews have rejected him despite his many miracles but at the same time, he was rejoicing, praising the Father in sending him the poor and outcasts of their society as his first believers and followers. Yes, Jesus was hurting for being rejected but he found more reasons to rejoice than sulk. Why waste energy on the negative when there are a lot of good things happening?

Rejoicing means looking beyond the physical and temporal things; rejoicing is being a visionary who sees opportunities behind every problem and issues at hand. Rejoicing is seeing grace than curse, focusing more on Christ than the problems. Indeed,“every gising is a blessing” because every morning we wake up, God assures us of his immense love for us, that he believes in us, and is sending us on a mission to share that joy of living. And believing in him!

Second lesson Jesus is teaching us to learn from him this Sunday is to surrender, to set aside our personal agenda so that we can take up his yoke that is easy and burden that is light.

One reason we cannot rejoice is our refusal to give up our many yokes and burdens that are mostly much ado about nothing at all.

Let go and let God!

Surrendering is daily dying to one’s self to rise to new life in Christ which leads us to the third lesson Jesus wants us to learn from him this Sunday:

Live in solidarity with Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit as St. Paul tells us in the second reading.

Brothers and sisters: You are not in the flesh; on the contrary you are in the spiritr, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Consequently, brothers and sisters, we are not debtors to the flesh to live according to flesh. For if you ive according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live (Romans 8:9, 12-13).

Solidarity with Christ is the opposite of solidarity with the old humanity with Adam enslaved to sin which is not just body versus soul nor should flesh be understood as sexual immorality; solidarity with Christ is life in the Holy Spirit that results in eternal life in God. It is a choice we make daily, of whether we shall heed Christ’s call to come to him and learn from him who is meek and humble of heart. Solidarity with Christ is living in the love of Christ.

The good news is, Jesus gives us all the grace we need to love and choose him, to learn from him even if many times we fall and stumble because of our heavy burdens due to sin. This Sunday and every day, make the right choice. Choose Jesus, chose love to be light, choose life. Amen. Have a blessed, light and joyful week ahead.

Probing the “dark places” within us

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II
Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle, 03 July 2026
Ephesians 2:19-22     <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*>     John 20:24-29

*Photo of painting by Caravaggio, “The Incredulity of Thomas” via wikipedia.commons.org.*

Thank you,
dear Jesus 
for this first Friday in July 2026,
the feast of your Apostle Thomas
called Didymus:
some say due to his having
the twin of faith and doubt
but most likely also our
very own twin because
like him,
deep within us
are many "dark places"
that need to be enlightened
by your light.

Thomas called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. so the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Now a week later, disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:24-28)

Every day 
you also come to us,
Lord Jesus
amid the many darkness
around us,
often in our locked doors 
of doubts and disbelief,
cynicism and pessimism, 
grief and hopelessness;
many times we think
we infer
we rationalize
that your Resurrection
and presence are just too good
to be true!

So many things within us
resist a faith too easy to claim
or put into effect just to believe
you; enlighten the many "dark places"
within us that we have become 
so skeptical these days:
our government and church
are just like so similarly plagued
with corruption and evil
that are sadly allowed
or tolerated,
justice utterly lacking with
evil doers seem to be more
favored than law-abiding ones
with all these persisting because
many are oblivious to the 
darkness and disorder going on.

Where are you,
Jesus in all of our mess
in life as individuals,
as a nation,
as a church,
as a family
that we most often
doubt than believe?

Guide my hand,
lead my finger into your
wounds, 
dear Jesus
that I may experience 
you Risen;
let me experience your 
coming and loving presence
amid our darkness
and woundedness;
let me not seek you
Jesus in spectacular things
in feel-good situations
but like Thomas
in touching your wounds
in that dark room
be enlivened with your
inner light of peace
and assurance that
more than your miracle 
of rising from the dead
is the reality of living,
of life coming out 
from real death.

Grant me that spark of
faith like in Thomas 
while touching your wounds,
Lord Jesus
so that a glimmer of hope
within me may finally glow
and grow as I follow you,
my Lord and 
my God.
Amen.

The burdens we carry.

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 02 July 2026
Amos 7:10-17 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Matthew 9:1-8

*Illustration from parentandchildbiblereading.com.*

Dearest Lord Jesus,
today I pray for the many among us
carrying so much weight on their
shoulders,
those depressed,
those feeling unforgiven
or worthless -
heal them, Lord.

Make them realize there is
always a chance to change for
the better in you.

Clear their minds
and hearts of doubts
and mistrust on others
especially those who genuinely
love and care for them but
they feel are against them.

Like that paralytic,
relieve those still carrying 
the burden of past mistakes and sin
that have paralyzed them,
trapped them that they could
not move on with life.

May they have the courage 
to stand up
and walk free.

How amazing,
dear Jesus,
that you noticed the man lying 
on the mat was the one burdened with
past sins; so lovely to realize how
nothing escapes you, Jesus:
the friends of the paralytic 
were the ones carrying,
exerting effort to bring the paralytic
yet you knew for sure it was
actually the paralytic burdened
not his friends.

Likewise,
we pray for the countless
family and friends of those paralytics
overburdened with sin and worries
who patiently carry them;
shower them with blessings in
their perseverance in putting up with
a loved one like that paralytic -
unappreciative of other's care and 
concern for them
so that one day,
they may look at their message
of love and understanding
and not see them as enemies.
Amen.

*Photo by author, Cabo de Roca, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 15 June 2025.*

Seek good, not evil

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 01 July 2026
Amos 5:14-15, 21-24 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Matthew 8:28-34

*Photo by author, Hidden Valley Springs Resort, Calauan, Laguna, January 2025.*

"... then let justice surge like water,
and goodness like an unfailing stream."
(Amos 5:24)

Your words,
O God are so timely:
how sad nobody seems to care
anymore with each one's welfare;
worse of all,
even religion is twisted
and bent by some to fool a great number
of followers so bent on evil too,
blinded from truth
and justice;
when are they going to think
of the good of the ordinary folks?
when shall they think more of the little
ones trying to make ends meet?
when shall they care for those
looking after their sick family members?
when shall they ever start truly worshipping
God by seeking him who is all good,
not evil?

Lord Jesus Christ,
help us to have the
same grace and confidence
you have in confronting the demoniacs
in Gadarenes for there are too many demons
these days in our streets like EDSA;
they are so violent and insanely
volatile, without any sense of sanity and
reason at all;
like the swineherds in the gospel,
they give more importance to "pigs"
than to persons,
to their cult leaders
than to Jesus Christ.

May we always seek you,
Jesus
in the simplest things
and occasions
and people
so that we avoid evil.
Amen.

What we must fear most…

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II
Memorial of the First Martyrs of Rome, 30 June 2026

*Rembrandt’s famous painting “The Storm on the Sea of Galilee” (1633) stolen from a museum in Boston in 1990 and still has not been found yet. From en.wikipedia.org.*

For the longest time,
Lord Jesus, 
I cannot understand
this episode in the gospel today:

As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith” Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm (Matthew 8:23-26).

You were more surprised
perhaps even astonished,
Jesus,
with your disciples' fears
than with the storm;
and it continues to happen
these days of so many storms
that siege us endlessly
not only as a Church but
also as individuals;
You are more surprised,
Jesus,
with our reactions to every
danger and terror that come our way
because those are the moments
we drift away from you,
when we distrust you,
when we rely more on our selves
or on others
than with you.

What must terrify us most
are not the violent storms that hit us
but when we doubt your presence
in our midst, Lord Jesus;
the most terrifying thing
in this life,
in this world
is when we play gods,
when we turn to other gods,
when we turn away from you
in sin and evil
like what Amos lamented
in the first reading:
"I brought upon you such upheaval
as when God overthrew Sodom
and Gomorrah:
you were like a brand plucked
from the fire;
yet you returned not to me,
says the Lord"
(Amos 4:11).

Like the first martyrs of
the Church in Rome,
may we remain faithful to you,
Jesus even to the point of death
for indeed,
the saddest plight
and worst tragedy
that can happen to anyone
is to turn away from you
who is life and fulfillment.
Amen.