Having love & having been loved

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The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of Sts. Martha, Mary & Lazarus, 29 July 2024
1 John 4:7-16     <*{{{{><  +  ><}}}}*>     John 11:19-27

If you have love in your heart, you have been blessed by God; if you have been loved, you have been touched by God (Anonymous author).

What a lovely Monday
You have given us today,
O God our Father
as we celebrate the Memorial 
of the friends of Jesus Christ,
the sisters St. Mary and St. Martha
with their brother St. Lazarus -
a beautiful 
and most powerful
reminder to us all 
that Jesus comes
first in our family
most especially 
among our siblings.

How sad, dear Father
are the growing number of couples
having only one child
or two the most 
with kids denied of this 
most wonderful experience
of kinship;
on the other hand,
there is the growing trend
of family disintegration
due to divorce and separation
of many couples
with children as main casualties;
likewise, of the growing trend
among young people to selfishly
pursue many things in life
in total disregard of others
beginning in their own family circle.

No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us (1 John 4:12).

Help us, dear Father,
to rekindle this love 
we first experienced 
in our homes, 
among our siblings
like Saints Mary,
Martha and Lazarus;
let us discover anew
the wonderful
and amazing gifts of
brothers and sisters
in the family
who remind us
of your blessing us
with so much love in our hearts;
let us feel and
experience again
your gift of love in our hearts
in the mere mention of
names of our own brother
and/or sister
who made us first experience
love next from our parents;
refresh our memories
of those times You touched us
with the selfless love,
the unconditional love
freely shared with us
by our brother
and/or sister.

We pray,
most merciful Father,
for all brothers
and sisters separated
from each other
due to misunderstandings,
jealousy,
betrayals and mistrust;
like St. Martha,
let us never lose faith
and hope for estranged
brothers and sisters
to rise anew from their
deaths into sin,
to find again that love
You have given them in their hearts
and most of all,
touch them
so they may remember
and miss anew
those experiences
of being loved by their
siblings in their childhood
to rebuild their ties again
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.