When ordinary is extraordinary

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the First Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 10 January 2023
Hebrews 2:5-12     ><000'> + ><000'> + ><000'>     Mark 1:21-28

Today we begin the Ordinary Time
in our liturgical calendar; please do not
let us be misled, O God our Father, 
taking these days for granted,
of thinking ordinary as bland,
or usual
or nothing special;
make us realize that ordinary
means something about order,
of being orderly,
of being the rule
and ordo.

Make us see like the psalmist
the beauty of what is ordinary:
"O Lord, our Lord, 
how glorious is your name 
over all the earth!
What is man that you should be
mindful of him, or the son of man
that you should care for him?
You have made him little less 
than the angels, and crowned him
with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over 
the works of your hands, 
putting all things under his feet"
(Responsorial Psalm 8:2, 5, 6-7).

Our loving God,
you have made Jesus your Son
and our Lord so ordinary like us
to be one with us in our sufferings
and pains, even death, so that in his
resurrection we may share in his
extraordinary glory; Jesus is able to
help us because he has become ordinary
like us that is why, let us embrace
wholeheartedly our humanity
including our frailty
to be one in Jesus.

Cleanse us, dear Jesus,
of our impurities,
of our sins,
of our narrow-mindedness
and biases that make us
resist your holiness found
in ordinariness like that
unclean spirit possessing
a man in the synagogue;
let us not stop in just admiring,
of being astonished with your
words and works and wonders;
let us submit ourselves to your
authority, Lord Jesus, beginning
with the most ordinary things in life
like listening and putting into practice
your words and teachings so we may
experience your extraordinary
healing and presence.
Amen.