40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, First Week in Lent, 11 March 2025
Isaiah 55:10-11 + + + Matthew 6:7-15
How lovely,
dear Jesus that every time
I receive a plant or flower from anyone,
automatically I offer them to you
on my prayer altar;
and here now,
my newest plant "abloom"
with my prayer today!
Thus says the Lord: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to him who sows and bread to him who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I send it (Isaiah 55:10-11).
In a few days
I am turning 60 years old
and in a month,
I shall have been a priest for 28 years;
in all those years, Lord,
it is prayer that has sustained me,
that has nourished me,
that has always been my life
even many times I never
knew it;
you have nurtured me in prayers
that at first was like a chore
taught to me by my parents
that later like a rain -
sometimes an outpour,
many times a drizzle,
and most often just a dew
to keep me moist.
Keep me fertile like
the soil, Jesus,
and keep my leaves green
even without flowers
or fruit;
just keep me soaked
in your words,
gently, subtly and
intimately to quench
my thirst for you,
for meaning,
for life
that in the end,
I come and open myself
daily to God in your prayer,
saying,
"our Father".
Amen.
lordmychef.com 