being small

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Third Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 30 January 2026
2 Samuel 11:1-4, 5-10, 13-17 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Mark 4:26-34

*Photo by author, Museo Valenzuela & the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City, 21 January 2026.*


Thank you Lord Jesus
for the Friday break,
the penultimate day of this month
of January 2026;
it was a heavy week 
and a very long month 
for most of us we thought
would never end.

We are thankful Lord
today because we are still
with you with many of us
struggling in our prayer lives,
persevering in being good
and everything like being king
and understanding and forgiving;
indeed, like your parable today,
everything good begins so small
like the seed scattered in the field
that sprout and grow while the farmer
sleeps and rises night and day
without really knowing how;
but that is how it is also with
sin and evil that always begins
so small, so subtle 
like in the experience of
David in the first reading: 
he had been complacent
in his life falling into temptations
of lust that led into murder.

Dear Jesus,
remind us always 
to never take little things
for granted -
whether small deeds that
lead to holiness or small
sins that may leave us stuck in 
a moment we can't get out of
according to Bono of U2:

You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment
And now you can't get out of it
Don't say that later will be better
Now you're stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it

We pray, Lord Jesus
for those feeling stuck in 
a moment or a sin or a vice
or a relationship that they can't
get out of;
give them the courage to quit
and return to you,
even little by little.
Amen.

*I know what you are thinking but this is a good piece from U2's 2000 album "All That You Can't Leave Behind"... it might help you pray better.

From Youtube.com

Lord Jesus Christ,
let me be like the mustard seed,
"the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full grown
it is the largest of plants"
(Matthew 13:32);
let me be like yeast
"that a woman took
and mixed with three measures
of wheat flour until the whole batch
was leavened"
(Matthew 13:33);
let me be small,
dear Jesus
in this world where
the rule is to be big,
to be loud,
to be noticed.

Let me be small
silent,
and hidden,
like the mustard seed
and the yeast
because life's fullness
lies in you, Jesus
who comes in emptiness
not fullness,
in darkness not klieg lights,
in silence not noise,
in poverty not wealth
and in simplicity
not popularity and fame;
true peace happens
only in your Kingdom, Jesus
not in the competing kingdoms
of the world.

When I look back in time,
I have realized how those
things I considered as small
and insignificant both
in my life and the world
were the things that have grown
into something that sustain
and shelter others,
of course with much faith,
hope and love in you!

Now I am older too,
I have realized the value
and benefits of bread
but bread cannot rise
to become nourishing
without the lowly yeast;
before I can become a bread
for others like you Jesus,
I need the grace to be
child-like,
to be little,
to decrease like the yeast
so that you increase,
Jesus.

Let me be small,
hidden and silent,
Jesus,
always patient
in waiting for you
unlike the Israelites in Sinai
who made a golden calf when
they became impatient with Moses'
meeting with God atop the mountain;
let me stop
comparisons so I remain
little and humble in you,
Jesus who has become human
and small like us to stir
us to true greatness
as beloved children
of the Father
to begin building
your kingdom.
Amen.

Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Our Lady of Fatima University
Valenzuela City
(lordmychef@gmail.com)

Category: being small

Praying with Bono and U2

Be small like mustard seed & yeast