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The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Martyr, 09 August 2024 Nahum 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 16:24-28
Lord Jesus Christ, yesterday You reprimanded Peter for "thinking not as God does, but as human beings do"; today, You tell us what is to think as God does by choosing your path of the Cross:
Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25).
Forgive us, dear Jesus, for always choosing the path of humans, thinking of one's self, taking and grabbing whatever is available, unmindful of others; give us the courage of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross known as the philosopher Edith Stein: born to a family of means and comfort, one of the first women to study and teach in university before World War II in Europe who became an atheist only to discover the truth of God upon meeting a good friend filled with joy despite the death of her husband; she eventually converted to Catholic faith and when war was raging in Europe as Hitler ordered the extermination of Jews, St. Benedicta remained despite her many chances of leaving safely to Switzerland or South America only to be imprisoned later at Auschwitz where she died a martyr in 1942, described by one survivor of the Holcaust as a "Pieta without the Christ."
In this life of affluence, of noise and glamor, St. Benedicta of the Cross taught as of the beauty of poverty, of silence and of simplicity, of choosing your ways, O Lord Jesus for indeed, "what would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?"
Sadly, it is happening now, Lord, it is happening: families so divided because of fame and wealth, friendships destroyed because of ideologies, a nation, a culture going down the drain because of modern thoughts so far from your ways, Jesus. St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Pray for us to see and follow the light of Jesus Christ. Amen.
