The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of Dedication of St. Mary Major in Rome, 05 August 2024
Jeremiah 28:1-17     <*((((><  +  ><))))*>     Matthew 14:13-21

God our loving Father,
teach us to appreciate bad news
that comes our way because
most often from it comes too
the good news;
like in the life of your prophet Jeremiah
who spoke always of bad news,
of gloom and doom to the people of Judah
so that they would repent and be converted;
but they chose to listen to the good news
of Hananiah you have not authorized
to speak on your behalf,
greatly misleading them
with false hopes of liberation
from the Babylonians that
actually worsened as Jeremiah
had told them.

Truth hurts
but we must always hear
and accept it so that we may
grow and mature like the Apostles
when Jesus told them,
"There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves"
(Matthew 14:16);
from that bad news,
the Apostles were able to surrender
themselves and their loaves of bread
to Jesus who multiplied them to
satisfy the great crowds with
so many leftovers!

The construction and 
dedication of St. Mary Major in Rome
happened during those problematic
years of the fourth century Church
with many bad news like 
Nestorianism that denied Christ's divinity;
in accepting all the bad news at that time,
the church of St. Mary Major
was miraculously built
and finally named in honor
of Mary, Mother of God
after resolving the heresy of Nestorianism.

In this time of so many bad news
especially when immorality and decadence
seem to prevail and govern lives these days,
help us dear Jesus to hold on more to you,
to implore the Holy Spirit to
enlighten our minds and our hearts
in seeking, following and standing 
by your truth
to finally win over people
back to sanity
and deceny.
Amen.