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The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Memorial of St. John Paul II, Pope, 22 October 2024 Ephesians 2:1-10 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]*> Luke 12:35-38
Glory to You, O God our most loving Father for this blessed Tuesday as we celebrate the Memorial of one your great servants in modern time, Saint John Paul II, the Pope who truly worked so hard to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ our Savior, especially to children and young people, to the sick and suffering. Oh how we miss him so much most especially in his efforts to promote unity in the real sense without bending Church teachings and traditions like St. Paul who taught the unity effected by Jesus Christ:
So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:19-22).
Grant us through your Son Jesus Christ the grace to have Him always at the center of our lives and in our efforts to bridge people together despite their many differences so that we may truly build the Body of Christ here on earth.
Like St. John Paul II, let us be faithful servants, let us "gird our loins and light our lamps" awaiting your presence, Lord Jesus, of your coming among people who open themselves to building unity, to coming together in your name to promote peace and harmony not a unity for the sake of appeasing modern thoughts and trends, nor to win favors or be popular but truly standing firm in Jesus and His teachings because truly, as St. John Paul had taught us, "Unity not only embraces diversity, but is verified in diversity." Amen.
