Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 10 June 2026 1 Kings 18:20-39 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Matthew 5:17-19
Photo by Ms. Analyn Dela Torre, Caypombo, Santa Maria, Bulacan, June 2024.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place (Matthew 5:17-18).
How funny it is, O god our loving Father long before all these gadgets came with its many apps needing constant updates, we have always been seeking "updates" on your laws too: your people turned away from you during the time of Elijah to follow Baal, a sort of "updating" themselves of the latest trends in life courtesy of the pagan queen, Jezebel.
And when her priests of Baal lost to the challenge of Elijah whose God can start fire on the offerings, the people fell and said, "The Lord is God! The Lord is God!"
Everyday we repeat that sin: we turn away from you to follow modern trends and beliefs but when troubles come, we then find your laws and teachings are indeed true and valid at all times; most of all, that salvation comes only from you in Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
Forgive us, Lord, in turning away from you, in allowing ourselves to be deceived and misled by modern thoughts and ways of the world that come to us like updates in that fix bugs in our gadgets and apps; you sent your Son Jesus Christ not to update us on your laws but to fulfill them because they are perfect. Let that sink in us today: God fulfills laws into love, man updates programs and apps to fix errors and shortcomings. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 09 June 2026 1 Kings 17:7-16 ><)))*> + ><)))*> + ><)))*> Matthew 5:13-16
Photo by author, Taal Lake from St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, D’Alta Tagaytay, 02 June 2026.
God our loving Father, we thank you for the gift of this brand new day especially for our brothers and sisters in GenSan and other parts of Mindanao struck by a powerful quake yesterday; may this calamity bring out the best among us as we try to rebuild lives and cities anew.
Your words today, dear God speak about "bringing out" - when Elijah came to Zarephath, he asked your "designated widow" to bring out for him "a cupful of water to drink... along a bit of bread" while in the midst of a widespread drought.
She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well; the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the Lord had foretold through Elijah (1 Kings 17:15-16).
Teach us to trust you more in Jesus Christ your Son who calls us today "salt of the earth" and "light of the world" - how lovely that both things are so commonly found in every home then and now that also do the same what the widow of Zarephath did in bringing out water and bread to Elijah; may we be like the salt that brings out the taste and flavor of food that brings delight and nourishment to everyone; likewise, may we be like the light that dispels darkness to bring out realities and things into sight.
God our loving Father, may we never lose the saltiness of the salt, the luminance of light we already have but have taken for granted, even traded for lesser things that have severely affected our relationships, work, and inner life; your Son Jesus Christ clearly called us to make our light "shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father" (Matthew 5:16).
May we be clarified always that being salt of the earth and light of the world is not self-promotion so common these days but God's glory exactly what Elijah and the widow of Zarephath did. Amen.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, D’Alta Tagaytay, 02 June 2026.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time, 08 June 2026 1 Kings 17:1-6 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Matthew 5:1-12
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, D’Alta Tagaytay, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
Today we begin to listen anew to your wonderful story of love for your people Israel during the time of your great prophet Elijah, during the reign of your unfaithful King Ahab who married the pagan Jezebel; on this gloomy Monday, the setting is so unsettling even for us as you pronounced a severe drought over Israel for turning away from you, in worshipping Baal.
God, our Father, it is a story we keep on repeating: we have so many baals these days - from gadgets to every kind of foreign beliefs to celebrities and people we idolize down to our very selves with ego so bloated by social media; forgive us for turning away from you.
Many times, when troubles happen, we easily blame you, Lord for being too far from us when in fact we are the ones who always turn away from you.
Make these drought and dryness in our lives as grace-filled moments; lead us back to you even if we have to go through a desert like Elijah; most of all, lead us back to your word like a stream quenching our thirst, washing away our dirt, filling us with life.
Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the god of Israel, lives, whom I serve, during these years there shall be no dew or rain except at my word” (1 Kings 17:1).
Let us re + member you always, Lord: inasmuch as you have made us back as your part in Christ Jesus, let us not forget to make you a part also of our lives; give us the "be attitude" to be poor and open for you, Lord so that we may find life and fulfillment anew. Let us be near to you again, Lord. Amen.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, D’Alta Tagaytay, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ-A, 07 May 2026 Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 3:14-16 ><}}}*> 1Corinthians 10:16-17 ><}}}*> John6:51-58
Photo from wikimedia.org of the nave with the classic altar of the Sta. Cruz Church in Manila.
Of the many churches I have been to, the Sta. Cruz Church in Manila remains my favorite. Since childhood, I have always loved its beautiful apse of Byzantine glass mosaic of a sacrificial lamb symbolizing Jesus Christ whose blood flows like a river to the tabernacle amid a setting of mango, banana and fire trees.
Photo from Pinterest.com.
The mosaic gives that feeling of the divine presence that may be a contributing factor too in keeping the solemnity of the many successive Masses celebrated there daily.
After leaving the high school seminary in 1982 while in college at UST, I still went to Sta. Cruz church by taking the Love Bus to Escolta after which I would walk across the street to my dad’s barber for a haircut then lunch at Panciteria Ramon Lee. It remained my refuge whenever I found myself deep into sins and troubles, with problems and difficulties, feeling lost and empty especially later in life while working.
It had played a significant role in my vocation story and that is why I remembered it while reflecting this Sunday’s gospel on the Solemnity of the body and Blood of Christ.
More than a gift offered to us individually in the Eucharist, Jesus intends his Body and Blood “for the life of the world” like that sacrificial lamb depicted at the apse of the Sta. Cruz church.
Jesus said to the Jewish crowds: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (John 6:51).
Photo by author, Chapel of St. Anthony De Padua, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, 02 June 2026.
On this Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, we are invited to reflect on the meaning of the Holy Eucharist in our lives where the mystery of God in Three Persons, the Blessed Trinity we celebrated last week is revealed and becomes most real.
Faith in God is faith in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ present to us in the Eucharist under the signs of bread and wine. But, what does it mean really for us especially in the light of today’s gospel where Jesus said “and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” How can our individual life contribute in giving the life of the world, Jesus Christ himself?
In his encyclical letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia issued in 2003, St. John Paul II beautifully expressed that if Jesus can transform the bread and wine into his Body and Blood in every Eucharistic celebration, then he can transform us into better persons too.
So true! That is why the bestest time to pray is right after receiving Holy Communion because that is when Jesus Christ, Body and Blood, is present in our own body – speak to him in your most natural way. If you want, complain to him. Magsumbong ka rin sa kanya. Pour your heart out to Jesus who is Body and Blood inside you.
However, make sure too that you listen intently to him. When we listen to Jesus, we then enter into a relationship with him as we make him part of our lives as we too become part of his very life. That is when we are filled with his life which we in turn share with others and thus, give life to the world.
In the first reading we heard Moses calling us to “remember” not only those forty years in the wilderness by the Israelites but our own journey in the many desert of this life.
The word “remember” is from the root word “member” which means “part” plus the prefix “re” meaning again; to re + member a person and an incident is to make them a part of the present moment again which is the very commandment of Jesus at the Last Supper, “do this is remembrance of me.”
Now look: every week we go through our many exodus like in the first reading. We remember them especially at the start of every week because life is a daily exodus, of coming out from sickness into health, of darkness into light, of slavery into freedom, of sin into grace, of death into life. Yes, our many desert experiences in life were painful but they were all moments of grace too because that is when we realized that we do not live by bread alone, by material things alone – that we need God.
Hence, the first step for us experience this life of Christ as life for the world is to go back to the church, go back to the Holy Mass. These online Masses must be stopped. COVID pandemic is long gone.
The Mass presupposes actual presence because Christ is truly present with us in every celebration. We must learn anew to desire Jesus more in the Eucharist especially on Sundays.
In the Mass, we re-member Jesus in our lives after a week of busy activities and work; as we make Jesus a part of our lives anew, we see also ourselves needing much needed rest and comfort too in Jesus! Inasmuch as we re-member Jesus into our lives, it is actually us being re-membered into Christ who is also our food and drink to nourish us in this daily exodus in life.
Notice how in verse 14 Moses reiterated his call to the people to “remember” but this time what he told them including us today is “do not forget the Lord”: every Mass as our exodus is a way of casting off the temptation to live one’s life without God.
When we come to celebrate the Mass, especially when we are well disposed and prepared, we realize that we are always poor before God who alone can satisfy all our longings and needs.
To forget this is the sure path to catastrophe as many of us would attest.
With God, life; without God, no life.
This we find so clear with the Corinthians during the time of St. Paul that is why he addressed them in the interrogative tone:
Brothers and sisters: The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf (1 Corinthians 10:16-17).
The Corinthians at that time were already well aware of how the Eucharist make the Church whose head is Jesus Christ. Hence, the need for a communion or “participation” which is the word used in our translation. St. Paul was reminding them of what they knew in faith, that is, a Holy Communion in Christ which they must put into practice. This communion among the Corinthians would be put into risk when quarrels and divisions plagued their community later that prompted St. Paul to write them a second letter.
As part of the Mass, the Communion is when we receive the Body and Blood of Christ; but, in a deeper sense, Communion is unity in charity. It is Jesus Christ becoming human like us in everything except sin so that we can become holy and divine like him. This mysterious exchange of ourselves with Jesus, in Jesus, and through Jesus happens in the Eucharist where we are nourished and filled with the life of Christ whenever we receive the Holy Communion. May we share this life we have gained in Christ with others by witnessing his Gospel to give life to this sick and dying world – like that sacrificial lamb at the apse of my favorite church in Sta. Cruz. Amen.Have a blessed week ahead.
Lord My Chef Wedding Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Homily for the Wedding of Luiz & Jana Aranda San Antonio de Padua Chapel, Alta D' Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City 02 June 2026
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
Congratulations, Jana and Luiz! Finally, the day has come which we all waited for two years since you announced your plans of getting married. And of all present here today in this lovely chapel, Jesus is the most joyful of all.
Yes, Jana and Luiz: Jesus set aside this date of June two, 2026 in all eternity, not last year or next year, yesterday or tomorrow. Jesus set this date apart for you Jana and Luiz to make you “part” of each other as husband and wife – magkataling puso, magkabiyak.
Our first reading from Genesis tells us how God after creating the first man said, “it is not good for man to be alone…. let us create a suitable partner for him.”
I love that word “partner” from the root “part” which we call as bahagi and kabiyak in Filipino. Every whole is made up of a part; without a part, there is no whole.
That is what marriage is all about. As a sacrament or visible sign of Christ’s saving presence, marriage is two people – a man and woman becoming one, becoming a whole in Jesus.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
Long before you met each other at 7-11 near Capitol Medical Center where you both worked as nurses, long before you were finally introduced to each other during a badminton game in 2017, when God created you Luiz, he said “it is not good for Luiz to be alone…let us create a suitable partner for him”.
And not just suitable partner, a very lovely one – Jana!
Of course, there are no perfect couples nor perfect marriage but every wedding like this is made in heaven because it is God who calls and brings together every man and woman to become husband and wife.
A couple becomes suitable partner for each other the moment they started dreaming of getting married, of spending one’s life someday with another person even they have not met yet. Any one who makes that vision of sharing his or her life with a beloved automatically becomes a suitable partner.
Kaya always have vision in life, Jana and Luiz.
Having a vision is looking beyond one’s self, looking beyond the present moment, and looking beyond material things. Most of all, having a vision is finding Jesus Christ in your lives always, Jana and Luiz because he was the one who really made ways for you to meet and finally become a part of each other in marriage.
Hindi ba Luiz?
Kaya nga walang kang isinama na iba nang manood kayo ng UST-FEU game noong 2017 UAAP season kahit na usapan ay magsama ka dapat ng ibang friends kasi noon pa lang feel mo na si Jana yung hinahanap mong maging part ng iyong sarili.
Kaya maski na ikaw ay FEU graduate, ipinadama mo kaagad kay Jana na graduate ng UST na part siya ng buhay mo kaya nag-cheer ka sa Tigers, hindi sa Tamaraw. At maski panalo kayo ng FEU sa game noon, pinili mong samahan ang pagdadalamhati ni Jana at marami pang taga-USTe para ipakita mo sa kanya na lalo’t higit sa gayong pagkakataon, ikaw ay bahagi – parte – sa kanyang kalungkutan.
At na-feel mo rin iyon, Jana.
At natiyak mo na si Luiz ang part ng buhay mo nang kahit hindi mo siya kaagad sinagot noon, hindi siya nagbago ng pagtingin at respeto sa iyo. Patuloy ka niyang niligawan, sinuyo at sinamahan sa lahat ngn pagkakataon upang madama mo na bahagi ka ng buhay niya. Palagi kang kasali hindi lang sa mga jokes at kuwento ni Luiz kungdi pati sa kanyang mga baon pagkain!
Hindi nagtagal, napasuko ng Tamaraw ang Tiger at naging kayo na noong January 2, 2018 matapos ninyong mag-usap pagkapanood ng “Coco.”
Hindi na ninyo maikaila pareho na kulang kayo kapag wala ang isa’t isa.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
Lalo ito naging maliwanag sa inyong dalawa nang mag-COVID pandemic noong 2020: noon mo nadama Jana na nabubuo ka lang kay Luiz na tunay namang ipinadama sa iyo na ikaw ay bahagi na ng buhay niya. At pati ng kanyang pamilya nang kupkupin ka niya na bahay nila lumagi sa gitna ng maraming panganib at hirap ng panahon ng COVID.
You have always been a part of each other, Jana and Luiz. As well as your moms and siblings. Then, in God’s mysterious ways, you both got accepted to work at UK at the same time and the more you realized and felt each other as a part of each one. Most of all, that everything is a part of God’s plan.
Don’t stop in being a part of each other.
Most of all, inasmuch as you invited Jesus into your wedding today, make him a part of your daily life as husband and wife. Remember that Jesus is in your midst always – not in front, not at the back. Between the two of you so that whatever you do to each other, you do it first to Jesus.
Like in our gospel today.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
How lovely to think that the first miracle of Jesus happened not in a temple nor a synagogue but in a wedding feast at Cana. the Sacrament of Matrimony is not everything and I assure you Jana and Luiz, a lot of difficulties would come along your way especially when you have children, when you get old and sick.
But, do not be afraid. You always have Jesus by your side to bless you and keep your love alive as you hurdle life’s many challenges.
Luiz when you work hard and stay faithful to Jana, you first work hard and stay faithful to Jesus. Same with you Jana: when you are loving and sweet to Luiz, you are first sweet and loving to Jesus. But, the moment you hurt each other with lies and infidelities, it is Jesus whom you first hurt.
Tuwing nagkakasal ako, mayroon akong tanong: sino ang unang babati kapag nag-away ang mag-asawa?
Sabi sa akin ng iba, iyon daw may kasalanan pero, mayroon kayang aamin sa dalawa ng kasalanan? Sabi naman ng karamihan, dapat daw lalake ang unang bumati pero hindi ba palaging sinasabi, ladies first?
I don’t want to put you on the spot, Luiz and Jana.
My take on this is simple: when couples and lovers have LQ or even friends have tampuhan blues, the one with most love to give is always the first to make the move for peace and reconciliation. Ang may higit na pagmamahal ang siyang unang babati.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
That is why, let me close this homily with a simple request to you Jana and Luiz: please “delete” from your mind, from your consciousness that concept of “dasurv.”
It seems our society these days is afflicted with this disease of asserting each one of “deserving” a reward for various reasons. The moment we assert that we “dasurv” this or that because we worked hard or whatever, that is the time we become selfish, self-centered, and conceited.
When we insist on deserving something more, we forget our being a part of the whole.
When a husband or a wife claims to deserve something more, he or she then forgets his or her part-ner. We do not deserve anything at all in this life. Whatever we have is because of Jesus who made us deserving as you have realized in your life journey, Jana and Luiz.
Thank you for inviting us all to be a part of your wedding day. For our part, we promise to pray for you always that God may bless you abundantly with his grace of love and joy, kindness and mercy. Amen.
Photo by author, Taal Lake from St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Solemnity of the Holy Trinity-A, 31 May 2026 Exodus34:4-6, 8-9 ><}}}*> 2Corinthians13:11-13 ><}}}*> John 3:16-18
Photo by author, Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul, Turkiye, November 2026.
“Life is a mystery.” It is the favorite expression of my Jesuit retreat master during our 30-day retreat in Cebu 1995, the late Fr. Arthur Shea. He would always tell me “life is a mystery” while touching his long, white beard whenever he could not answer my many questions about life and God.
After that retreat and 28 years later as a priest, it had become my favorite expression too not only when I could not find answers to my own questions but when people come to consult and ask me on almost everything.
Photo by author, Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul, Turkiye, November 2026.
And thank God for life’s many mysteries, especially his very own mystery of being one God in Three Persons as we celebrate this Sunday the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity.
The word mystery is from the Greek mysterion, something hidden but now revealed by God.
While it is true that a mystery is beyond human reason because it is divine, it may still be explained and understood though not fully. That is why it is described as non-logical or beyond reason but not illogical which lacks reason.
Most of all, a mystery is not a problem to be solved because it simply cannot be solved at all. In fact, we need to keep mysteries like secrets because mysteries give meaning and depth to our very existence, to our lives. In this age of social media when everyone thinks that everything needs to be shown to the point of being overexposed, life has become so artificial and hence, for many, empty of meaning. Unknown to many of us, the most wonderful things in life are those hidden and not seen by everyone like the mystery of God within us!
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life (John 3:16).
Photo by author, Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul, Turkiye, November 2026.
Our gospel this Sunday is very amusing like a mystery in itself; it is the shortest one we have in the entire year yet the most popular verse in the whole bible. But, how can it explain or enlighten us of God’s oneness in three persons?
As we have expressed at the very start, a mystery is not meant to be solved and explained but experienced. Our gospel is not even trying to prove to us about the existence of God because in our very being, it is already a given there is God. God does not prove himself but always shows himself.
Recall that it was taken from the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, a Pharisee who felt drawn to the Lord but was so ashamed to be seen by his fellow Jews that he came to visit him at night. We are all like Nicodemus “feeling” God so true deep within us but often afraid to accept it or even show it for fears of being called as old-fashioned and conservative or someone less scientific, less reasonable and less modern.
Photo by author, Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul, Turkiye, November 2026.
In that gospel scene, Jesus was inviting Nicodemus to enter into a relationship with him to fully experience God’s mystery because at that time, they tried explaining God like a concept to be learned and even memorized through their many laws and instructions. Unlike the Pharisees, Jesus simply taught Nicodemus that basic truth of God who “so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.“
Nicodemus eventually became a disciple of Jesus along with another Pharisee named Joseph of Arimathea who gave Christ’s burial site on Good Friday.
A mystery is a mystery because it is shared. It is nothing if it is merely in itself.
We are intrigued with stories and reports because they create relationships in us and with us. That is why God in himself as a mystery is a community of persons. Person implies relationship, taken from the Latin word persona which is the mask worn by stage actors/actresses to indicate their roles in a play or drama; hence, the term dramatis personae or list of actors in a play and their roles.
To a certain sense, there are three persons or personae, that is, “roles” in our God as we profess in our Creed: the Father as Creator of everything, the Son as the Savior, and the Holy Spirit as the Sanctifier. With God, his persona is eternal while ours like in drama or play, it is temporary.
The more we enter into relationships, the more we relate with other persons, the more we discover the many mysteries of this life and of God while realizing too in the process that we can only relate with persons and not with things nor even plants and animals. This is the gist of the similarly brief second reading from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, telling us to be close with one another as the Father’s children in Christ through the Holy Spirit. In sending us Jesus Christ his Son, God took the initiative to be closest to us as our breath in the Holy Spirit.
Photo by author, Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul, Turkiye, November 2026.
Every time we think of God, when we marvel at him and his creations, the more we find ourselves so different, even too distant from him while at the same time we also feel and experience in the most unique manner how closest we are to him.
Imagine this another great mystery of God that despite our sinfulness and worthlessness, he still so loved us and always caring for us. Like Moses in the first reading, we have experienced many times in life when God seemed to have actually walked beside us, even carried us during our lowest moments that in an instance we realized quickly the many “whys” he deals with us in life. We learn that God is so true and so close with us yet, remains the “All-Other” and the “Unknowable” whose mystery we cannot totally penetrate.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2026.
As we move on in life, we realize it is not about covering distances but going deeper within ourselves, of being transformed into better selves and persons like God, loving and merciful. Eventually we realize too that each one of us is in fact an indwelling of the Holy Trinity, an image and likeness of God himself. This we can easily learn through our most basic and simple prayer of all, the Sign of the Cross that many of us take for granted.
Every time we make the sign of the Cross properly, that is when we let God embrace us and wrap us with his mysteries.
In the sign of the Cross, God comes closest to us in our very selves, relating to us in our head being the Father who is over and above us always, the creator of everything; as the Son who became human like us born by the Virgin Mary passing through her womb, experiencing everything we went through except sin; and as the Holy Spirit on our shoulders giving us balance in this life. Next Sunday, we shall deepen this mystery of God in three Persons in ourselves with the solemnity of Christ’s Body and Blood we receive in the Holy Eucharist. Amen. Have a blessed week filled with God’s wonderful mysteries!
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Eighth Week, Memorial of St. Paul VI, Pope, 29 May 2026 1 Peter 4:7-13 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Mark 11:11-25
Photo by author, 05 May 2019, Jerusalem, Israel.
As we come to nearly closing the month of May, your Prince of Apostles, St. Peter leaves us with beautiful reminders so timely and appropriate in this period of darkness and evil:
Beloved: The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be serious and sober-minded so that you will be able to pray. Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins (1Peter 4:7-8).
How lovely, how powerful, and so true are your words to us today through St. Peter: we are living at the end of all things and still, here we are living as if there is no end, as if there is no death, as if there is no judgment.
We have become so bad, so dismal is the world like that fig tree you have cursed, Lord Jesus: so delightful in the eyes but fruitless like us, especially the rich and powerful among us like our lawmakers and public officials so affluent, dressed in fineries without any benefit at all for the society they have abused; oh yes, even our church is like the temple of Jerusalem that has become a den of thieves than a house of prayer when priests and bishops are more concerned with money and clout, with self, leaving You Jesus trapped inside the Tabernacle.
Teach us conversion, Jesus: give us strength and will to turn away from evil, to closely examine our selves for all our sins when we have refused to love; love can truly cover a multitude of sins because when we truly love, that is when we turn away from sin, when we return to You, Jesus found in the least and taken for granted among us; may our love for You through one another be constant because wherever there is love, there is God; when there is love, there is no sin.
May we be witnesses of Your love dear Jesus in this world so wounded by sins and evil; like your servant Pope St. Paul VI, may we witness Your love in our daily lives caring for those in the margins, for those sufferings and especially for those who are weak. Amen.
Photo by author, May 2017, in Ein Karem, Israel near the Church of the Visitation.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday after Pentecost, 28 May 2026 Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal High Priest Genesis 22:9-18 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Matthew 26:36-42
Photo by author, Dominus Flevit Church overlooking Old Jerusalem, May 2017.
Lord Jesus Christ, our Eternal Priest who calls and sends us daily to spread your Good News of salvation to everyone with our giving of self like You, bless us your priests in these troubled times: everywhere we find and hear selfishness and conceit, lies and dishonesty, infidelity and injustice; we say the world has gone mad and evil with all these darkness enveloping us...
And where are we, Your priests in the midst of all these?
Jesus went with the disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done.” (Matthew 26:36, 40-42)
Photo by author, Garden of Gethsemane, the Holy Land, May 2017.
Forgive, us dear Jesus, when we Your priests cannot keep up with You in prayer; oh, we are so busy watching the world going by, watching the corruption in government unfolding, watching the decay in our society but unfortunately, we cannot look squarely into our own mess in the Church - in our parishes and communities, in our ministry that has become more of a work often for performance and clout; worst of all, we have lost that intimacy in You, Jesus.
We no longer pray, Lord Jesus.
We can't stay with You even for an hour every day because we are busy with social media like everyone.
Help us find our way back to You, Lord Jesus: let us imitate Abraham who prefigured your own self-offering in giving his beloved son Isaac to the Father without any question at all; many times, we Your priests reason out with many excuses and alibis while at the other extreme, many of us disregard reasons at all in our mission and ministry.
Keep us in love with You, Jesus our Eternal Priest, especially our bishops supposed to have the fullness of priesthood but cannot lead nor guide us, much less inspire us; give us the grace of Abraham that we can always answer Your call with a firm and unwavering "Here am I." Amen.
“The Offering of Abraham” (c.1896-1902) painting by James Tissot, kept at the Jewish Museum in New York via moa.byu.edu
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest, 26 May 2026 1 Peter 1:18-25 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Mark 10:32-45
Photo by author, somewhere in Batangas, 15 May 2022.
God our loving Father, as we slowly move into Ordinary Time in our Church calendar that began yesterday, delete from our thoughts, from our orientations, from our consciousness the idea of anything called "ordinary" as something less important, less in value because it is usual, plain and simple. Ordinary.
Make us realize the word "ordinary" implies orderliness and regularity, from the Latin root that literally means "rule."
Make us realize, O Lord, that the ordinary days, the ordinary people, and whatever we refer to as ordinary actually make up the bulk of our lives with You, O God, the Supreme Ordinary of our lives!
Make us realize that whoever or whatever we deem as ordinary is the rule of the day - so, let us stop taking them for granted like leading our lives in You, according to Your will, witnessing Jesus Christ who had come to show us the value and dignity of our being human because it is the path, the rule to fulfillment, to life and to meaning as St. Philip Neri realized early in his life in turning away from a life of ease and comfort by embracing then priesthood.
Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or land for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come” (Mark 10:29-30).
Photo by author, Cabo de Roca, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 15 May 2025.
Finally, teach me, dear Jesus, to have this regularity of life, of having order in my life that begins and ends in You because you have come to make me and everyone truly special by being closer to the Father through one another. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, 25 May 2026 Acts 1:12-14 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> John 19:25-34
Icon of Mary “Mater Ecclesiae” (Mother of the Church) in St. Peter’s Square from opusdei.org.
Praise and glory to you, God our loving Father in bringing us this far: it is almost June, half-way through 2026 as we begin Ordinary Time with the closing of Easter Season yesterday, Pentecost Sunday; thank you most of all to Jesus Your Son now seated at Your right in heaven in giving us His Mother the Blessed Virgin Mary whom we honor this Monday as Mother of the Church.
From the very beginning, from His birth to His public ministry until His Crucifixion, Mary has always been with Jesus so that when He sent the Holy Spirit as He had promised on that Pentecost Sunday in Jerusalem, Mary was present with the disciples praying in the Upper Room: "All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers" (Acts 1:12).
What a beautiful image of the church on its very first day, as Your Body, O Lord Jesus, gathered in prayer with Mary Your Mother whom You have entrusted to Your beloved disciple at the cross: "When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, 'Woman, behold your son.' Then he said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother'" (John 19:26-27).
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, March 2024.
As we resume today Ordinary Time, may we imitate Mary Your Mother, O Lord Jesus, in being a faithful disciple, open to welcome and accept You, saying "Yes" to Your will like at the Annunciation; let our faith in You be firm like hers at the wedding at Cana when she told You immediately how the newly-weds have ran out of wine, instructing the servants to do whatever "he tells you"; most of all, like Mary, let us remain intimate with You, Jesus in prayers, her most important trait as Your faithful and model disciple.
Teach us, dear Jesus, to be like Mary Your Mother, deeply absorbed in You in prayers; her standing at the Cross was not a result of a spur in the moment but the fruit of her long, vibrant prayer life centered in You her Son; unlike us, we come and pray to You only when we are going through trials and difficulties but when everything is going well in life, we hardly remember You, Lord, nor pray at all.
All her life, Mary lived in prayer, in communion and oneness in You, Jesus that is why when the Church was born on Pentecost, Mary was there. She has always been with us as our Mother and companion in mission, appearing many times like in Fatima, Portugal in 1917 to remind us to return to you, Lord Jesus Christ; let us be like Mary in her discipleship that is essentially a prayer life. Amen.
From cbcpnews.net, National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City, 13 October 2022.
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