Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 17 October 2025 Friday, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop & Martyr Romans 4:1-8 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Luke 12:1-7
Your words, O Lord Jesus this Friday are so lovely, so comforting especially in this time when many fear ageing, suffering, and death.
I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more. I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one (Luke 12:4-5).
How I wish I could hug you, Jesus, lean on you while relishing your calling us "my friends" not to be afraid of those who kill the body; more than trusting you, let me live in you, Jesus like Abraham as explained by St. Paul in the first reading who deeply trusted God in everything; deepen my consciousness as a senior citizen that life does not end in the grave because the soul persists even after death; thank you also for the gift of hair though it had thinned and turned gray, now sparse and perhaps easier for the Father to count and remember but most of all as signs of his love and care for me; let me not be afraid, Jesus, for I am worth more than the sparrows.
St. Ignatius of Antioch whose feast we celebrate today, pray for us modern people so afraid of pain and suffering and death: pray for us to be like you - to accept death, even pursue death which is our rebirth to new life. Amen.
Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Our Lady of Fatima University Valenzuela City (lordmychef@gmail.com)
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 12 August 2025 Tuesday in the Nineteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year I Deuteronomy 31:1-8 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
Photo by author, the Grotto in Baguio City, February 2019.
How I love your words today, Lord Jesus Christ; we all remain little children after all; though like the Twelve we often debate on "who is the greatest", in the end, we remain that little child you called and placed in their midst.
Yes, Jesus, we remain like children - weak and fearful especially in old age when we prefer to remain in our "comfort zones" yet, like Moses in Jordan, time catches on us when we have to go - whether for good or not - with our many transitions in life.
Then Moses summoned Joshua and in the presence of all Israel said to him, “Be brave and steadfast… It is the Lord who marches before you; he will be with you and will never fail or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:7, 8).
Lord Jesus, as I age and get old and weak, the more I doubt, the more I am afraid than ever; indeed, we all remain like little children before you; fill me with more courage to step forward in you when my sight grows dim, my muscles ache and joints weaken in life's journey; teach me to trust more the younger generation as they take charge from us in this life; let me be more silent and deeply aware of your presence in life's many transitions that continue to happen as we advance in age; deepen our faith and hope in you, Lord for you march ahead of us, never forsaking us, nor failed us. Amen.
Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Our Lady of Fatima University Valenzuela City (lordmychef@gmail.com)
Photo by author, Tam-Awan Village in Baguio City, February 2019.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday in Fifth Week of Easter, 20 May 2025 Acts 14:19-28 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> John 14:27-31
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca Villas, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 14 May 2025.
Jesus said to his disciples, “Peace be with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27).
Come, Lord Jesus! Come and let me search peace in you, not in the world that is uncertain and always dependent, transactional in nature; you know it, Lord, how often like your disciples at the Last Supper, I look for peace in the world, in things and in what people say and approve that peace remains elusive; you know very well too, Jesus, my fears and anxieties that I give into the peace of the world that is quick and easier; give me courage, Jesus, to look for peace in you here in my heart, to trust in you, not afraid to love totally even to get hurt because it is the path to your peace.
Like Paul and Barnabas after being stoned and rejected by their fellow Jews, they never backed out from preaching your good news, Lord; instead, so true to your words at the Last Supper not to let our hearts troubled or afraid, they asserted, "It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).
Grant us, O Lord, the same faith and courage and trust in you in order to finally find your lasting peace. Amen.
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca Villas, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 14 May 2025.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Simbang Gabi-5 Homily, 20 December 2024 Isaiah 7:10-14 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 1:26-38
Photo by Mr. Boy Cabrido, National Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, QC, 16 December 2024.
Last Monday at the start of Simbang Gabi, one of our priests became viral when at the recessional of their Mass while the choir was joyfully singing “Pasko na! Pasko na!”, he sarcastically sang “Hindi pa! Hindi pa!”
Many people laughed at the viral video with some commenting that Father was right because it wasn’t Christmas yet while a liturgist advised choirs to check the many choices of Advent songs now available online. But, sad to say, the people missed the whole point of the incident.
What our brother-priest did was not funny at all in putting to shame his own choir members and most of all, in destroying the solemnity of the Mass.
And the problem was not really the choir at all but the priest himself. What the priest did at the end of the Mass was a self-indictment of his lack of formation for his choir members and of any dialogue at all.
Photo by author, Advent in previous parish, 2018.
Advent is a dialogue between God and humans that led to the presence of God among us in Jesus Christ on Christmas. It is a process that continues in our own time as we are all called to be open to God and with others for dialogue like Mary in the annunciation of Christ’s birth by Archangel Gabriel.
Dialogue is more than conversing to improve relationships among people in a community or organization but a way of being with others as opposed to a way of thinking through issues and problems only. Dialogue is being present with others, of giving one’s self to feel and listen and experience the other person.
Luke shows us in his second Christmas story today how this true meaning of dialogue between God and Mary happened.
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming of her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! Then Lord is with you.” But she was greatloy troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God… But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God” (Luke 1:26-30, 34-37).
“Cestello Annunciation” by Botticelli painted in 1490; from en.wikipedia.org.
See the artistry and genius of Luke as a storyteller. Yesterday he presented to us the annunciation of the birth of John the Baptist to his father Zechariah while incensing the Holy of Holies in the temple of Jerusalem.
Notice the great differences in the flow of conversations and dialogue in the two annunciations narrated by Luke. Both Zechariah and Mary were troubled at the coming of the angel. And who would not be in a such unprecedented event? However, there is one minute detail we find in Luke’s narration of the two annunciations that reveal something so big and deep in meaning.
According to Luke, “Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him” (Lk. 1:12) while Mary “was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be” (Lk. 1:29). Both were troubled which is normal but their reactions differed so great with Zechariah becoming proud while Mary was humbled.
I believe that it was more than their age and differences in social status that Zechariah was simply “troubled” while Mary was “greatly troubled” but it was largely due to their dispositions and openness to God.
Zechariah was proud of his stature and of his intelligence, trying to take hold and control of everything that is why he was seized with fear. When he told the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years” (Lk.1:18), Zechariah was troubled and fearful because he felt challenged as a priest much respected in the community, choosing to stand proud of his position and intelligence as if having a child is all an effort of man and woman alone! There was no dialogue as Zechariah was proud that is why he was made mute by the angel. He had forgotten all about God!
Photo by author, Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth, Israel, May 2019.
Compare Mary’s reaction to the annunciation, “But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.”
Luke always portrayed Mary as the listener and doer of the word, the one who ponders at the words spoken to her not only by the angel here but later at the birth of Jesus those spoken by the shepherds, then by Simeon at the Presentation and by Jesus Himself at the wedding in Cana. Mary has always been open to dialogue, to feeling the other person conversing with her. She was not concerned only with the news and information but with the persons involved.
In that sense, there is her remarkable humility and great courage at the same time. True humility is not really about being submissive but most of all being filled with courage, not with fear. Mary as the very young virgin from a poor family in a town nobody gave importance stood fearless before the angel as she took hold of herself to ponder on the words spoken to her. Despite the very unprecedented moment with an angel, Mary had that inner engagement with the words she had just heard without any violent reactions.
Photo by author, December 2018.
Unlike Zechariah, Mary was the one actually in control of herself and of her emotions. The Jedi Master Yoda of Star Wars said it so well, “fear leads to anger, anger leads to destruction”. Zechariah was afraid of losing power and control but Mary was not bothered at all. In fact, she faced the challenge head on, reflecting deep in her what is this going on? Am I awake, is this a dream would most likely be the words playing in her mind and heart. Mary had presence as she tried to feel the angel and later God that no wonder, Jesus came to her womb and we have Christmas!
The humility and courage of Mary became more evident when she said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”
She was not afraid at all to be become the Mother of God! There was already her willingness to submit, as if telling the angel, “OK let’s do it but tell me how?” whereas Zechariah was argumentative, trying to escape responsibilities? Such was the attitude too of Ahaz in the first reading, denying he won’t test God when in fact he had already aligned with other kings in the region as he feared the invading enemies near his borders.
It was at this moment when the good news became most closest to us through Mary when the angel explained of the coming of the Holy Spirit, of how the power of God would overshadow her, assuring her that nothing is impossible with God.
How wonderful is this scene for us to emulate Mary so that we experience Christmas daily in our lives, not only of God coming but being present in us and among us. Can we dare to be open before God like Mary? Have a blessed Friday!
Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Valenzuela City, December 2024.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday in the Thirty-Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 15 November 2024 Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop & Doctor of the Church 2 John 4-9 <*{{{{>< +++ ><}}}}*> Luke 17:26-37
Photo by author, 20 August 2024, St. Scholastica Retreat House, Tagaytay City.
Another short letter for our first reading today, Jesus but filled with wonder and power that impacts our daily life: help us to keep your love Lord! The words of your beloved disciple are strikingly so true to us these days:
Anyone who is so “progressive” as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son (2 John 9).
Forgive us, dear Jesus, with our so many excuses and alibis along with our endless arguments for the sake of being modern and progressive to be excused from your only law and command which is to love; let us love always for to love is live in your presence; without love, there is disorder and sin, and fear; with love, there is true freedom to be who we truly are as children of the Father.
Therefore, open our eyes that we may consider the wonders of your laws, O Lord (Psalm 119:18). Amen.
Photo by author, Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Dumaguete City, Negros Or., 07 November 2024.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 03 November 2024 Deuteronomy 6:2-6 ><}}}}*> Hebrews 7:23-28 ><}}}}*> Mark 12:28-34
Photo by author, river at the back of Nagsasa Cove, San Antonio, Zambales, 19 October 2024.
Jesus finally entered Jerusalem to fulfill His mission as we also enter the last four Sundays of our liturgical year before entering the season of Advent in preparation for Christmas.
Two Sundays ago we reflected the atmosphere of fear among the Apostles and the crowd following Jesus to Jerusalem after He had made known to them for the third time His coming Passion, Death, and Resurrection. This Sunday our readings invite us to look into that feeling of fear we often experience.
Fear can be negative in nature when we experience a threat to our safety whether there is a clear and present danger from a person or animal hurting us, or when our imagination runs wild with ghosts or a snake underneath the bed at night.
Positive fear is actually the reverence we experience due to a sense of awe often associated with our relationships like with our parents and relatives, teachers and superiors, or any person who seem to amaze us. We fear them not because they threatened us but actually inspired us with their presence, dignity and grace, intelligence and kindness among other things. This kind of fear we experienced in childhood then slowly matured and blended with trust, translated into adoration of the persons so unforgettable to us, influencing us in many ways that we have come to love them eventually, especially God. This is what the Bible and catechism books refer to as “fear of the Lord”.
Photo by author, Mount Sinai, Egypt, May 2019.
Moses spoke to the people, saying: “Fear the Lord, your God, and keep, throughout the days of your lives, all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you, and thus have long life. Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today” (Deuteronomy 6:2, 4-6).
This “fear of the Lord” that Moses and later the prophets instilled among the Israelites was expressed in faithfulness and obedience to the Laws so that for them, being holy or upright was obedience to the Laws.
This “fear of the Lord” is not about God overpowering man to keep him in bondage. In giving the Ten Commandments, God first entered into a relationship or covenant with the chosen people based on friendship, trust, and love. See here that positive aspect of fear, of reverence like our fear of parents and elders as well as those seemed larger than us including our crushes and first love when we revered them by showing them love and respect.
This “fear of the Lord” then becomes a passing from fear to love that leads us to maturity as persons. And believers. Then lovers and followers not only of those significant people in our lives but most especially of God!
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord your God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:28-31).
Photo of author, Mount Sinai, Egypt, May 2019.
Unlike the tricky questions posed by His enemies, this one from a scribe was so unique with his calm attitude that invites everyone including us to join in the discussion. One can feel his sincerity in seeking out the truth he felt (rightly so!) only Jesus can answer.
Many times, we feel the same way like that scribe so convinced in asking Jesus, ready to follow Him only if we are clarified which is the first to follow in life in order to mature from fear to love.
"Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Like that scribe, many times we feel confused in our lives, in our faith with the many laws and traditions we were told since childhood to follow; hence, we ask “which is the first of the commandments” that really matter most in life.
Such moments in our life is a grace from the Holy Spirit because in asking “the first of the commandments” is not to determine a hierarchy nor a list of which ones to be prioritized and dismissed; the “first” commandment means the absolutely capital that is always binding on all. The “first” commandment is the one to which all others are subjected without being cancelled or considered least nor optional. The “first” commandment is the very essence of all commandments present in each commandment. It is actually a search for the First Principle who is God Himself!
That is why Jesus quoted verbatim Deuteronomy 6:4-5, the opening words of their best known prayer Shema every pious Jew knows by heart, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
Similar to His manner of answering the question about divorce last month, Jesus did not answer the scribe’s question by making reference to a code of laws but instead recited the Shema that encapsulates maturity and deepening of faith in God who is One, with no other except Him. The Shema also shows how our personal God relates with us His people, bonding in a covenant like husband and wife that is reciprocal, exclusive, and total love “with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength.”
This “first” commandment is also a relationship that flows to our relationships with one another we rightly call as neighbors. See how Jesus added a “second” commandment not as in a hierarchy making it less important but as an expression of the essential “first” commandment of all the scribe understood well when he affirmed, “Well said teacher… and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mk.12:32, 33).
For the Jews, their neighbors were their fellow Jews and those aliens residing in their land as found in the Book of Leviticus; but, in this scene, we find Jesus bringing that whole notion of neighbors for everyone, regardless of color and status in life, or of gender, or beliefs.
Jesus makes known to us this Sunday His mission of salvation is for all, for everyone. Most of all, Jesus tells us this Sunday that He is the fulfillment of the Law that many during His time and sadly until now have misread as mere letters to be followed, failing to find the face of God in every law inscribed on every person.
Photo by author, view from Jerusalem Temple, May 2019.
How interesting that each face has two cheeks, both essential, both as the first commandment: love of God is love of neighbor. To profess and practice this faith in God that started in fear and matured into love finding Him in everyone as our neighbor is to be “not far from the kingdom of God” (Mk.12:34).
Friends, let us not fear asking Jesus which is the “first” of the commandments like that scribe.
Keep asking Him until we find Jesus “first” in our trials and tribulations, darkness and confusions, failures and emptiness.
Keep asking Him until we find Jesus “first” on those people who burden us, those who hurt us, those who judge us, those who refuse to listen to us, those who dictate on us.
Keep asking Him until we find Jesus even in programs and plans we could not understand or that are downright crazy.
That is what to truly love God and to love everyone. It is difficult but we have Jesus as our high-priest “who has passed through the heavens” leading us closer to the kingdom of God. Amen. Have a lovely November!
Photo by author, Pundaquit Mountains, San Antonio, Zambales off Nagsasa Cove, 19 October 2024.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the BVM, 19 March 2024 2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16 ><}}}*> Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 ><}}}*> Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2023.
How lovely, O God our Father that after reflecting yesterday on connections and reconnecting,* we celebrate today the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the most chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary who gave the name Jesus to your Son in fulfillment of your promise to David; always regarded not only as chaste but most of all with gifted with the virtue of silence the world needs so badly these days, St. Joseph witnessed in his holy life that it is in silence when we make the strongest connections with one's self, with others, and with you, O God because silence is the domain of trust; The most trusting people like St. Joseph are also the most trusting.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream…
Matthew 1:19-20
In this world so filled with many voices including those spoken by machines and robots that compete for our attention, the more we have become fearful of silence because we are afraid of the truth!
To be silent is to be truthful like St. Joseph who embraced and welcomed the whole truth, Jesus Christ; grant us the same grace, Lord, you gave St. Joseph to silently in face and embrace the truth that can be discomforting especially when it it is contrary to our plans and desires; let us not hide in silence our festering anger that sooner or later may explode that could scatter all our plans and relationships. Amen.
St. Joseph, pray for us!
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2023.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 28 January 2024 Deuteronomy 18:15-20 ><}}}}*> 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 ><}}}}*> Mark 1:21-28
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, an orange-bellied flowerpecker (Dicaeum trigonostigma) somewhere in the Visayas, December 2023.
The gospel makes us wonder anew this Sunday on the mystery of Jesus, on what was with his person and speech. Remember how we wondered the other Sunday on what he had told Andrew and his companion who “went and see” Jesus at his dwelling at “four in the afternoon” (Jn. 1:39) that they realized he was indeed the Messiah, the Christ.
Reading further in that portion of the fourth gospel, we find how Andrew and companion brought two others to Jesus, Simon Peter and Nathanael to become disciples too. This Sunday as we return to Mark’s gospel, the evangelist tells us the start of Jesus Christ’s public ministry on a sabbath in the synagogue of Capernaum with his first four “fishers of men”:
Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
Mark 1:21-22
Photo by author of ruins of parts of the synagogue at Capernaum where Jesus taught, May 2017.
Every time we hear the word “authority” especially among us Filipinos, it often evokes the sense of power, of superiority over persons and things. In Tagalog, we translate it as “power” or kapangyarihan, kakayanan mapangyari ano mang bagay.
But, Jesus is now telling us something deeper about true authority. People compared his kind of authority with their scribes, men of power and authority in their time along with the priests and Pharisees who were considered experts in scriptures being learned men, highly regarded and feared. Their authority flowed only from their position and name, from the outside and not from within.
Jesus shows us today that real authority flows from within, from a person’s inner self, from one’s heart, not from designations nor positions. True authority is felt even without the titles nor any forms of externalities. True authority comes from people who “walk their talk” so to speak.
Photo by author, tourists and pilgrims at the ruins of the synagogue at Capernaum where Jesus taught, May 2017.
People of true authority “actualize” their words and their thoughts, making them a “reality” that everyone not just notices but even feels their authority. True authority creates a certain sense of aura, of positive vibes (arrive or “dating”) and a lot of mysteries that even in just reading Mark’s account of Jesus in the synagogue, we too could feel it and be astonished with the people there 2000 years ago!
What is most amazing here is that Mark did not tell us what Jesus spoke of nor what he taught nor even described how he spoke. What was so unheard of from Jesus that people and even us today are astonished with his words?
Keep in mind how Mark narrated this scene in the context of the synagogue on a sabbath – a beautiful reminder to us of Jesus continuing the Jewish tradition that had come into fulfillment in him. Recall also that at the start of Mark’s gospel After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: ”This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk.1:14-15).
Photo by author in May 2019 of a signage at the entrance of the ruins of the synagogue in Capernaum where Jesus taught more than 2000 years ago.
In the synagogue, Jesus continued this preaching. He claimed what he proclaimed for he is in fact – his very person – is the kingdom of God who had come as we reflected last Sunday.
People felt God in him as he spoke, very similar with the experience of the chosen people in the wilderness with Moses in the first reading. There in the synagogue on that sabbath day, Mark presents to us how Jesus is indeed the “Word who became flesh” that people felt God in him because he claimed what he proclaimed. As the first reading from Deuteronomy reminds today, the surest criterion for recognizing a prophet is being a spokesperson of God like Moses now fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
We all share in this prophetic ministry of Christ when we were baptized but, are we rooted in God’s words that we speak only God’s words like Jesus?
Can we claim what we proclaim that after celebrating the Sunday Mass, people experience Christ’s authority within us when we go home and go back to work and school because we actualize, we make God real in ourselves in our words and deeds?
How sad that we – especially us your priests – speak more of our selves and of the world, making the Mass a videoke and a variety show rolled into one that God is hardly felt by the people except be entertained.
The second time Mark mentioned the people being amazed with Jesus in his speaking with authority in the synagogue on that sabbath day was when he exorcised a man with an unclean spirit.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit… Jesus rebuked him and… And the unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud voice came out of him. All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.
Mark 1:23, 25, 26-28
The surest sign of God speaking through us or anyone is when healing and repentance happen just like in the synagogue on that sabbath day. Notice how Mark recorded the words of the people about Jesus, “A new teaching with authority.”
In John’s gospel during the Last Supper we heard Jesus telling his disciples about his new command or teaching too which is to “love one another as I have loved you” (13:34).
True authority is about love and healing, kindness and compassion, mercy and forgiveness. Definitely not about subjugation nor manipulation nor use of force as we always experience from those with authority who display their powers and literally throw their weight around even amid heavy traffic with their security escorts blaring with sirens.
People were amazed at Jesus in healing the man with unclean spirit and called it a new teaching with authority because they felt God present among them because there was healing and exorcism which only God can do.
Most of all, the people in the synagogue felt God with them because Jesus was one of them unlike the scribes and other people of authority who were above them, detached from them.
The same thing is most true with us these days. Whatever authority we have is to help and comfort people, not to scare them nor burden them. We are most moved by people in authority – whether at home or in school, at work or in the community and in the church – when they are kind and approachable, caring and understanding.
Photo by author at the shore of the Lake of Galilee in Capernaum, Israel, May 2017.
Jesus teaches us today that true authority is making God present in us by offering comfort and consolation to those suffering like the poor and the weak who merely survive as they try to make ends meet daily.
True authority is being prophetic, making God and his words our very own, becoming ourselves his presence and his healing hands with our loving service to everyone, offering hope and inspiration to those down in sins and miseries.
True authority leads to salvation and liberation from sins. This begins with our communion in God through Jesus Christ in our personal and communal prayers, especially the Sunday Mass.
We are all blessed with the same kind of authority of Jesus Christ. Let us claim it by being free from all anxieties in this life (second reading) by joining Jesus in his journeys like the four disciples with him in the synagogue in Capernaum. Amen. Have a blessed week ahead.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-09 ng Agosto 2023
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, mga puno ng balite sa Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 21 Marso 2023.
*Isang tula aking kinatha batay sa mga pagbasa at kapistahan
ngayong ika-siyam ng Agosto,
Aklat ng mga Bilang 13:31-14:1, 26-29, 34-35
at Mateo 15:21-28.
Itong ating wika
kay yaman ng mga salita
binibigkas pa lamang ng
dila naroon na sa puso
at isip ang kanyang diwa.
Halimbawa ang kasabihang
gumawa ka ng multo
na iyo ring kinatatakutan
na siya namang totoong-totoo!
Katulad nito isa pang kasabihan
para kang kumuha ng
bato na pinukpok sa ulo.
Madalas sa ating karanasan,
tayo may kagagawan
kaya tayo nahihirapan;
Diyos ay tinatanggihang
sundin at pagkatiwalaan
katulad ng karanasan
doon sa ilang nang gumawa
ng usapang mahirap sakupin
lupaing binibigay ni Yahweh
dahil anila mga higante naninirahan
doon, animo sila'y parang
mga tipaklong lamang.
Nagalit ang Diyos
sa kanyang bayan kaya
dinagdagan isang taon
kada araw ng kanilang paglalakbay
na puno ng pagrereklamo at
pagbubulungan upang umabot
ng apatnapung taon
sila doon sa ilang bago pumasok
sa kanilang lupang pangako,
ginawa nilang multo
naging totoo
sila mga naperwisyo!
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, mga puno ng balite sa Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 21 Marso 2023.
Anu-ano
mga gawa mong multo
at halimaw sa iyo nananakot
parang bangungot
maski ikaw ay gising?
Mga guni-guni
huwag linangin
bagkus manalig kay Kristo
lagi nating kapiling
lalo sa mga ilang na lupain
siya ay ating salubungin
at sambahin!
Pagmasdan
at pagnilayan pananalig
at tibay ng dibdib
ng babaeng Cananea,
pagano ngunit nagsumamo
kay Kristo upang palayasin
demonyong umaali
sa anak na babae;
sinubok ng Panginoon
kanyang pagpupursigi
hanggang makumbinsi at pinuri
matibay niyang pananampalataya!
Kay laking kabalintunaan
na sa ating panahong tinaguriang
makabago, lahat naiimbento
ngunit isip pa rin ng tao
ay litong-lito;
gumagawa pa rin ng
maraming multo
ilan ay nagkakatotoo,
lumalason sa isipan
mga kasamaan at kasalanan
takot mahirapan kaya Krus
tinatalikuran.
Ito ang pinabulaanan ni
Santa Teresa Benedicta dela Cruz;
isinilang na Hudyo sa pangalang Edith Stein
tumalikod sa Diyos sa sobrang dunong
di naglaon, bumalik sa Panginoon,
nagpabinyag sa Katoliko
at pumasok sa monasteryo;
namatay kasama mga kababayan
niyang Hudyo sa gas chamber ng
mga Nazi hanggang sa huli
pinanindigan Krus ni Kristo
kay inam nating huwaran
sa kasalukuyan na marami pa ring
kinatatakutan lalo na ang pag-gawa
ng kabutihan!
Sta. Teresa Benedicta dela Cruz,
Ipanalangin mo kami!
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Bgy. Bahong, La Trinidad, Benguet, 12 Hulyo 2023
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin & Martyr, 09 August 2023
Numbers 13:1-2, 25-14:1, 26-29, 34-35 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Matthew 15:21-28
Photo by author, sunrise at Camp John Hay, Baguio City, 12 July 2023.
How timely are your words
these past three days,
God our loving Father;
like your people in the wilderness
after their Exodus from Egypt,
we continue to grumble and
complain against you and your
plans for us through the people
you have sent to lead us
like our parents, siblings,
even friends and superiors
in work or in community.
Worst than our stubbornness
in defying your instructions through
the modern Moses you send us,
we have even created our
own monsters and ghosts
within us,
exacerbating the fears
we have in trusting you,
believing you,
and following you!
So they spread discouraging reports among the children of Israel about the land they had scouted, saying, “The land that we explored is a country that consumes its inhabitants. And all the people we saw there are huge, veritable giants (the Anakim were a race of giants); we felt like mere grasshoppers, and so we must have seemed to them.”
Numbers 13:32-33
Forgive us Father
for our outrageous foolishness
that have infected so many others,
paralyzing us to move
on in life,
to dare and dream
great things in life
that could proclaim
your majesty and mercy,
your life and love;
forgive us Father
for choosing mediocrity
than striving for the best
for us,
for others,
and for you;
forgive us Father
for not daring to venture
into the unknown
where Jesus Christ
goes, the Tyre and Sidon
of our lives that we fail
to meet him.
Grant us, O Lord,
the courage,
tenacity and faith
of the Canaanite woman
who begged Jesus
to exorcise her daughter;
most of all,
grant us the clarity
of mind and perseverance
of St. Teresa Benedicta
to seek and follow you,
and stand for you
even before the real monsters
of our time
like the gas chambers of
indifference and
the prison camps
of power and pleasures
that all negate the Cross
of Jesus Christ..
Amen.
lordmychef.com 