When winning means losing

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 05 November 2026
Philippians 3:3-8 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 15:1-10
Photo by author, a man lost in prayer inside Our Lady of Pillar Cathedral, Imus, Cavite, 27 October 2026.
"Win some, 
lose some"
is how gamblers
view life,
not just gambling;
but, unlike gambling,
Jesus assures us that to
bet everything in him,
to lose everything in him
is always a sure win.

But whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (Philippians 3:7-8).

So Jesus addressed this parable to them, “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert to go after the lost one until he finds it?” … “Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it?” (Luke 15:3-4, 8)

Lord Jesus,
teach me to learn to let go,
to lose some or even a lot,
to let go of what I have
in order to have you
in those persons and things
the world regards as the least
for indeed, it is in losing
when we truly gain,
in letting go
that we truly have,
and in dying
that we live
in you.
Amen.
Photo by author, same man leaving fulfilled, gaining God after getting lost in prayer, Our Lady of Pillar Cathedral, Imus, Cavite, 30 October 2026.

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