The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II First Friday in the Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 05 July 2024 Amos 8:4-6, 9-12 <*((((><< + >><))))*> Matthew 9:9-13
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD in Infanta, Quezon 2020.
Help us,
loving Father
to be prophetic
in our lives, to speak
and live according to your
words and precepts,
witnessing your truth
and justice, boldly speaking
against the evil pervading among us.
How easy,
O God,
for almost everybody today
to speak strongly about truth
without being prophetic at all
like the Pharisees who saw Jesus
dining with sinners and asked his
disciples: "Why does your teacher
eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
(Matthew 9:11); many of them are
still among us these days
who avail of every modern
communication platform aided
by the age-old tradition of corruption,
championing the truth everywhere
when in fact are subverting
decency, honesty and sincerity
because they are actually
a manipulator or what a song
labeled as "smooth operator"
"whose eyes are like angels
but his heart is cold."
Forgive us, Father, for the many times we have joined these smooth operators among us because we have benefitted from their excesses, trampling further the dignity of many especially the poor and voiceless; forgive us, Father, for those times we pretended to be prophetic, acting and speaking to be the virtuous ones as we project others as sinners especially those not on our side.
Teach us to be like Amos, Father, a prophet who spoke and lived out your words like Jesus who confronted the powerful and abusive among us, insisting that being prophetic is not what humans want but what God desires always which is mercy. Amen.
*Can't resist sharing Sade's 1984 hit "Smooth Operator" that inspired us too in our prayer-reflection today.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday in the Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 26 June 2024 2 Kings 22:8-1`3, 23:1-3 <*((((><< + >><))))*> Matthew 7:15-20
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
Keep us faithful to You, God our Father; keep us searching for You especially in the Sacred Scriptures to learn and listen to your words that are ever-present and true and relevant.
The high priest Hilkiah informed the scribe Shaphan, “I have found the book of the law in the temple of the Lord.” Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it. The scribe Shaphan also informed the king that the priest Hilkiah had given him a book, and then read it aloud to the king. When the king had heard the contents of the book of the law, he tore his garments and issued this command… “Go, consult the Lord for me, for the people, for all Judah, about the stipulation of this book that has been found, for the anger of the Lord has been set furiously ablaze against us, because our fathers did not obey the stipulations of this book, nor fulfill our written obligations” (2 Kings 22:8, 10-12, 13).
Your words, Your will, Your laws are always among us especially in Jesus Christ, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us; but, how sad especially in this decadent period and age despite our many advances in science and technology, we have morally retrogressed as many people who are also believers in You choose to believe the false prophets in our midst - influencers in the social media who peddle lies, massaging the minds of many people too lazy to think and pray, preferring to follow the many vogues and trends that lead nowhere but destruction; there are also the modern gnostics claiming to be progressive and liberal in their thinking espousing themselves as more fair and inclusive but actually followers of dictatorship of relativism who allow everything in the name of inclusivity without responsibility.
Teach us, O Lord Jesus, in the way of your decrees; most of all, let us look hard on the fruits of every prophet who promise to lead us to fulfillment and truth. Amen.
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