The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious, 21 June 2024
2 Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< Matthew 6:19-23
On this Friday,
Lord Jesus Christ,
there are two things I pray:
give me a pure heart
and eyes like a lamp.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be (Mt. 6:19-21).”
Help me realize, Jesus,
that to "store up treasures
in heaven" is not just to pile up
a lot of good works in heaven
that will be to our credit in the
next life for they too can be lost
when we slide down into sin and evil;
rather, like in your beatitudes,
give me a clean or pure heart
that is like yours, that is inclined
to You always; a clean heart, O Lord,
is not of "doing" but of "being" and
"becoming" that truly becomes a
treasure, something we value most.
How sad in this world so materialistic
that many believe there is
nothing money cannot buy,
nothing money cannot solve
even though this belief is proven
false all the time!
Cleanse our hearts of
pride and sins,
fill it with your humility,
justice and love, Lord Jesus!
Dwell in our hearts,
reign over us!
“The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be” (Mt.6:22-23).
Give us that light
and vision, Jesus
to see the most essential,
the most valuable in life
that are beyond
wealth, fame, and power;
free us from the darkness
and blindness
of not seeing beyond material things
so we may discern
the real treasures,
what is most valuable
in this life
like You and others,
love and peace
and joy.
Amen.
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