The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin & Martyr, 22 November 2023
2 Maccabees 7:1, 20-31 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 19:11-28
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, in Tagalag, Valenzuela City, 13 September 2023.
Praise and glory to you,
God our loving Father!
Today I pray to you for
the gift of a "noble spirit"
like that courageous mother
of seven brothers who died on
the same day before her as she
extolled them to resist temptations
and remained faithful to you:
"Filled with a noble sprit that
stirred her womanly heart with
manly courage" (2 Maccabees 7:21).
What a beautiful description of that
woman's great courage and faith
in you, dear God!
Give us a noble spirit, Lord,
a selfless soul that thinks more
of others than one's self especially
in this age when we are so self-conscious
and conceited with our bloated egos
always on the take, as if the world
revolves around us; a soul that is
not selfish and other centered
because of deep faith and trust
in you, Father.
Stir your noble spirit in us, Lord;
let us find anew our moral compass,
our moral grounding in you and your
laws especially in this age when
"everything and anything goes"
regardless of morals and virtues,
an age that glorifies every person as
a universe in himself,
crowning himself as god,
yet so afraid of the truth,
so ignorant of freedom,
without any idea of
the real meaning of living
and loving that in the end,
could not accept death.
Like that courageous woman
and St. Cecilia, stir the noble spirit
within us, Lord Jesus,
to embrace wholeheartedly
our being human,
our being finite,
our being-towards-death
so that we may start living
as you have taught us by
giving and sharing ourselves
and everything we have
in order to be fulfilled,
by facing death so that
we may live in you.
Amen.
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