Growing slowly & deeply in the Lord

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 24 July 2026
Jeremiah 3:14-17     ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*>     Matthew 13:18-23

Help us return to you,
Lord, your rebellious children;
let us take this opportunity
of grace to be forgiven
to start anew
and to walk no longer in 
hardhearted wickedness
(cf. Jeremiah 3:14, 17).

It is our heart
that is always the problem,
not your word like the seeds
you scatter daily into our hearts,
Jesus; many times,
our heart are a mix of all kinds of
soil - the path, the rocky ground,
that among the thorns, and the 
rich soil; many times we are the
problem when we are hardhearted;
Lord Jesus,
continue to be patient with us,
watering us
cultivating us 
so that eventually your words
may grow and bear fruit in us.

In this age of instants
when even plants are instantly
made to bloom and bear fruits,
may we never forget that being
fruitful is what you desire most
than being productive;
like any good soil,
a seed can only grow into a 
fruitful plant, whether a crop or a tree
when there is openness to
the cultivator;
three things I ask you,
dear Lord as your soil:
patiently cultivate me
to open my heart in welcoming 
you into my life;
soften me as your soil,
Lord, that I may always be open
and welcoming to everyone
you sent to change the world,
and secondly, let me grow deeply
and surely in you Jesus
so that I may be fruitful not just
successful; being fruitful is the
more of what we have become
while successful is more of
what we have done and achieved.
Amen.