The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 07 September 2022
1 Corinthians 7:25-31 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 6:20-26
Photo by author, Makati skyline from Antipolo, 12 August 2022.
Thank you,
God our loving Father,
for this brand-new day;
in a few days, the week will
be over again as we move
closer to another week,
to another month,
and on to another year!
There is no denying that the world
indeed is passing away as St. Paul
reminds us today in the first reading:
I tell you, brothers, the time is running out. From now on, let those having wives act as not having them, those weeping as not weeping, those rejoicing as not rejoicing, those buying as not owning, those using the world as not using it. For the world in its present form is passing away.
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Like what the psalmist
says today, let me listen to you,
dear God, let me see and bend
my ear to experience and realize
that far more better than this life is
heaven awaiting us where we shall
enjoy your presence eternally!
Let us be on guard against that
great temptation that there is still time,
that we have plenty of time to spare,
not realizing that it is not really time that
passes by but us who are passing by
when we live in lavish wealth and luxury,
when we eat and drink without satiety,
when we laugh unmindful of the miseries
around us, and when we relish and enjoy
the accolades and praises of others.
Grant us the grace and courage
to choose you always in Jesus Christ
who had come to us as poor and hungry,
weeping and hated by everyone,
insulted and denounced for standing for
what is true and good.
Lord, let us see in every
beginning the end of our lives
in you. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Lawrence, Deacon & Martyr, 10 August 2022
2 Corinthians 9:6-10 ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> John 12:24-26
God our loving Father,
just this Monday I have prayed,
telling you how I sometimes wished
to find you in strange visions like
your prophet Ezekiel; today, as we
celebrate the Memorial of your
great Saint, Lawrence, the gospel
speaks so well of finding you
when some Greeks approached Philip,
asking him to help them see Jesus
while in Jerusalem:
Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”
John 12:24
Lord Jesus, so much have changed
in this world in terms of freely worshipping you
unlike during the early centuries of Christianity
when your followers shed blood witnessing you;
today, there are no more lions to devour us
nor executioners to crucify or decapitate us
or roast us on gridiron like St. Lawrence;
but your call for martyrdom remains.
Give us the courage to "let go and let God"
in our lives which is to become fruitful
like the grain of wheat to see you
by allowing you dear Jesus to make us become
everything you want us to be, that is,
a bread produced by grains of wheat
grounded and disintegrated to become
food for others.
“Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.”
John 12:25
Help us realize, dear Jesus,
that to see you means to think more
of eternal life than of this present life
that is passing; that we own nothing at all
in this world, not even our very lives;
like St. Lawrence who faithfully served
the poor and disadvantaged the world refuses
to recognize until now as your presence
and "life" because "life" has always been
seen in glitz and glamor revolving around one's self
as the center of everything;
help us realize that we cannot find meaning of life
in ourselves, by being self-centered;
it is in finding you in others, in valuing them too
that we find life and its meaning!
“Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.”
John 12:26
Finally, finding you dear Jesus
and the Father is entering into your very person,
getting into a communion that "it is no longer I
who live but you, O Christ, lives in me"
(Gal.2:20);
let me welcome you, Jesus into myself,
let me embrace you and your Cross,
join you in your Passion and Death to be
one in you more than ever in your Resurrection.
Pray for us, most blessed
St. Lawrence that like you,
we may generously offer our lives
to God and inspire others
to experience and see Jesus Christ
present in this world so blinded
by vanities and fantasies.
Amen.
“Martyrdom of St. Lawrence, Deacon” by Hipolito de Rioja (16th c.) from commons.wikimedia.org
The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday after the Epiphany, 04 January 2022
1 John 4:7-10 ><)))*> + ><)))*> + ><)))*> Mark 6:34-44
Photo by author at Liputan Island, Meycauayan, Bulacan, 31 December 2021.
By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already very late. Dismiss them so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” He said to them in reply, “Give them some food yourselves.”
Mark 6:35-37
What a very moving moment,
Lord Jesus of how your heart
was moved with pity for the people,
of how it is to truly love one
another as taught by your beloved
disciple John in the first reading.
To love is to remain with someone
when it is already late and dark;
to love is to stay with someone
in a deserted place, accompanying
others despite the many dangers;
to love, most of all, is to give others
with food to eat even while in darkness
and in a deserted place!
O dear Lord, the numbers of COVID
infections are rising again; dark clouds
are looming above us again; people
are back into panic buying while
many are back to worrying where to
find their means of livelihood amid
another series of restrictions to control
the spread of the pandemic.
In this another surge of COVID infections,
may we be an epiphany of your love to
others by practicing health protocols,
being mindful of the well being of others
so that the love of God may be revealed
in us. Amen.
It is another rainy, heightened season of quarantine measures here in Metro Manila this Sunday with all religious gatherings being banned again while other business establishments especially like the spa are allowed with limited access by the public.
It is a crazy set up. While we believe there has to be some health protocols needed to control the spread of COVID-19, we find it so baffling since last year when religious gatherings continue to be at the bottom list of essentials in this predominantly Christian country.
And the more crazy is how every time our public Masses are restricted, the more people troop to churches to pray and worship!
That is why we have chosen the British neo soul band Jungle with their 2018 “Casio” for our featured music this Sunday that speaks of heartbreak and dysfunctional relationship. It is aptly called Casio because it speaks of a relationship so utilitarian like a Casio watch wherein the woman is just using the guy for her own advantage like the people who have followed Jesus to Capernaum in today’s gospel in order to have food again like last week (https://lordmychef.com/2021/07/31/beyond-when-and-what/).
Casio, playing on my heart just like a Casio
Breaking it apart so you can let it go
Wait another year that's not original, or cynical
Alright, let's go now
When all your dreams are gone
And you're still holding on
You waited far too long
Don't say
I know, you know it's over
We discovered this electronic band last year at the height of the pandemic and since then have been hooked with their funky sound that is characteristically British – intelligent and no non-sense. You have to see the music video for Casio we find so groovy and savvy, perfect for a quarantine Sunday with family.
In an interview at San Francisco’s KEXP, Jungle members explained how in their latest album For Ever (2018) they explored themes – “to shake off their shallow self-doubt” by making “more vulnerable songs” that gave “new directions where they were going in the soul.”
The band is clean cut like most Brits and hip, they really rock so well with their depth and simplicity – exactly what Jesus is asking in today’s gospel so we would desire things of higher levels that “lead to eternal life than food that perishes”.
*We have intentions of copyright infringements to the following music video except to share its good vibes and wonderful music and message.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Week XVI, Year I in Ordinary Time, 21 July 2021
Exodus 16:1-5, 9-15 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< Matthew 13:1-9
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, 2018.
Every day God,
we pray to you
"Our Father in heaven
hallowed be thy name...
Give us each day
our daily bread"
without realizing the daily bread
you give us that truly nourishes us:
your words of truth and of life
that became flesh in Jesus Christ.
On that day, Jesus went out of the house
and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables.
(Matthew 13:1-3)
Thank you very much, dear God
for listening to our prayers,
in giving us the food we need
to nourish our bodies
and your words that sustain us
especially in these trying times.
May we hunger more
for this daily bread from heaven,
listening attentively,
fulfilling your words as you willed them so.
Then the Lord said to Moses,
"I will now rain down bread
from heaven for you.
Each day the people are to go out
and gather their daily portion;
thus will I test them,
to see whether they follow
my instructions or not."
(Exodus 16:4)
But most of all, O God
teach us to be like you: to be more
selective in our listening,
to be more circumspect with what
to hear and process wherein
we listen more on essential things
that matter most than on trivial
and mundane words that are
divisive, preventing our growth
and maturity in our relationships.
If you would listen and act
on everything we say, especially
our grumblings and complaints,
no one among us would still be alive;
but you are kind and understanding,
unlike us who listen more on petty
than essential things said by others.
May we be like the good soil
that is open to listen and nurture
words that build and give life. Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-14 ng Hulyo, 2021
Larawan mula sa inquirer.net, 11 Hulyo 2021.
Isang katatawanan na hindi malilimutan
sa taong 2021 nang pagdiskitahan ng ilan
pagkain ng bayan
patunay na marami sa pamunuan
hindi ramdam pintig ng mamayan
lalo na ang kalam ng tiyan.
Unang katatawanan
bunsod ng kayabangan nang
paratangan na ang lugaw
ay non-essential
pagkaing hindi mahalaga
kaya buong bayan nag-alma.
Heto na naman
mga henyo sa kalakalan
ibig nama'y magtakda ng batayan
sa pagluluto ng mga paboritong ulam ng bayan;
ngunit anumang paliwanag
kanilang sabihin
walang kabuluhang pakinggan
mga pinag-iisip nila'y walang katuturan
patunay lamang na manhid at mga payaso
mga tao ngayon sa gobyernong ito.
Maari bang itakda ninuman
mga sangkap na ibig malasap,
sarap at linamnam na ibig namnamin
ng bawat kumakain?
Alalahaning hindi lamang laman ng tiyan
ang pagkain kung ating susuriin
inihahain pa nga lang, lasap na natin
diwa at katauhan nagigising
ng maraming alaala at kuwento
ng pagkaing bumusog sa atin.
Suriin bawat kalinangan
nasasalamin sa lutuin at pagkain
dahil doon sa mesa nagsisimula
lahat ng ating kapatiran at kaisahan:
walang kumakain kasama ang kaaway,
ano mang kasunduan ay may handaang kasabay,
higit sa lahat, sa pagdulog sa hapag
doon nagaganap tunay na pagdadaop-palad
dahil sa tuwing tayo ay mayroong piging,
sarili ang ibinabahagi natin sa anyo ng pagkain at inumin.
Maging ang Panginoong Hesus natin
pinili ay pagkain at piging
upang gamitin tanda ng kapanatilihan
niya sa atin: kanyang itinatag
hapag ng Eukaristiya
doon sa mesa ng Banal na Misa.
Tangi niyang tagubilin
tinapay na walang lebadura gagamitin
sa bawat pagdiriwang ng piging
kung saan pinapaging-ganap natin
pagmamahal niya sa atin
nang ihandog sarili bilang ating pagkain.
Kaya, huwag nang pag-isipan
ng mga nagmamagaling
paano lutuin mga paboritong pagkain
bagkus kanilang isipin
paano mapapakain
mga nagugutom na kapatid natin.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Third Week of Easter, 23 April 2021
Acts 9:1-20 ><)))'> ><)))"> ><)))'> John 6:52-59
Photo by Dr. Yanga’s Colleges, Inc. in their “community pantry” in Bocaue, Bulacan, 21 April 2021.
Praise and glory and thanksgiving to you, God our loving Father in heaven for this amazing movement sweeping our country called “community pantry” started by a young lady in a quiet neighborhood last week in Quezon City.
Your ways, O God, are indeed strange, filled with so many extraordinary turn of events.
Who would have thought how this community pantry will awaken the whole nation to suddenly see one another as brother and sister, sharing according to one’s abilities and taking according to one’s needs that for over a week, we have never ran out of food with a lot of smiles and tenderness that delight the hearts and souls of everyone?!
You are so amazing, O God that I feel like Jesus your Son rejoicing while filled with the Holy Spirit, giving you praise, Father, “for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike” (Lk.10:21).
Full of confidence in your power, I believe you can still win over the hearts of many of our generals and government officials to be converted like St. Paul on the road to Damascus to persecute Christians; how ironic, dear God, are the similarities of that story with how our government and military officials malign the people behind the community pantry movement!
Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the high priest and asked him for letters to synagogues in Damascus,
that, if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way,
he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains.
On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus,
a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"
The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do."
(Acts 9:1-7)
Please, Lord, despite the malicious words some government and military officials have said about the people behind the community pantry movement, we still believe they can still be converted like what happened at EDSA in 1986.
Come, Jesus our Lord and Savior, blind us with your light of truth and humility so we may imbibe the true meaning of the Eucharist which is more than the sacramental partaking of your Body and Blood but, most of all, meeting and being one with you always in our daily lives, becoming the very food for others like you.
We pray also most specially for the well-being of Ms. Ana Patricia Non and her followers. Bless them and keep them, O Lord, and may they continue to inspire others in seeing everyone as a brother and sister in you. Amen.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 22 April 2021
The beauty of this community pantry
that have sprouted all over the country
in just a week exactly
is not found only in the wide variety
of food to the needy but most of all
for food that enrich so many souls:
kindness and tenderness are aplenty
with everyone considered a family.
It was the Lord Himself
who gave us the first community pantry
intended for soul when he said:
"All you who are thirsty,
come to the water!
You who have no money,
come, receive grain and eat;
Come, without paying and without cost,
drink wine and milk!
Why spend your money for what is not bread;
your wages for what fails to satisfy?
Heed me, and you shall eat well,
you shall delight in rich fare.
Come to me heedfully,
listen, that you may have life."
(Isaiah 55:1-3)
What is so amazing now happening in the country
is how those with least to offer
are always the ones with most to share
like that widow praised by Jesus in her poverty
gave her all in the temple treasury:
for the community pantry
there was so much camote
coming from hard pressed farmers
from Paniqui and another load from Mindoro
shared by the child of a Mangyan aged nine
while an elderly man peddling chicharon for a living
asked for two cans of sardines
leaving the pantry with a precious smile of gratitude
with a plenitude of goodwill,
donating two packs of his precious chicharon.
Like manna in the wilderness
the community pantries were heaven-sent;
like the feeding of five-thousand in the wilderness
the community pantries of sharing was the miracle;
like Jesus Christ at the Last Supper,
the community pantries have taught us
to be the bread ourselves, broken and shared
if only to prove there is enough for everyone's needs.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-21 ng Abril 2021
Mula sa Facebook ni Jean Palma noong ika-18 ng Abril 2021 na nilagyan niya ng caption: “All these community pantries in four days, and counting. What a powerful movement.” #CommunityPantry
Tila magpapasko, presko at mahangin ang panahon noong Lunes ng umaga dito sa Pambansang Dambana ng Birhen ng Fatima sa Valenzuela.
Natutuwa ako noon sa napakabuting balita ng paglaganap nitong tinaguriang mga “community pantry” na nagsimula sa kalye Maginhawa sa Quezon City noong a-kinse lang ng Abril. Wala pang isang linggo ay kumalat na sa buong kapuluan ang kilusan na kung isasalin sa ating sariling wika ay “paminggalang pampamayanan”.
Sa mga kagaya ko na inabot ang singko sentimos na de bote ng Cosmos, bago dumating ang pridyider ay paminggalan ang puntahan ng lahat lalo na sa bahay na matanda kung saan nakatira ang mga impo at lola.
At ang turo sa aming mga bata noon, maaring kumuha ng pagkain sa paminggalan pero huwag uubusan ang ibang kasama sa tahanan.
Higit sa lahat, magsabi lagi upang mapalitan o mapunan sakaling mauubusan lalo na ng kape at asukal.
Kaya naman napakagandang makitang muli itong mga paminggalan hindi na sa tahanan kungdi sa lansangan na tila baga bawat pamayanan naging isang malaking pamilya pinamamayanihan ng pagkakapatiran.
Iyon ang pinaka-buod at kahulugan nitong mga paminggalang pampamayanan na siya rin namang ipinahayag ni Bb. Ana Patricia Non: hindi aniya ito pagkakawanggawa o “charity” kungdi pakikipagkapwa-tao o mutual aid upang matulungan ang bawat isang nangangailangan.
Sa Banal na Kasulatan ay ating natunghayan kamakailan paglalarawan ng pamumuhay ng mga unang Kristiyano:
At nagsasama-sama ang lahat ng sumasampalataya at para sa lahat ang kanilang ari-arian. Ipinagbibili nila ito at ang pinagbilhan ay ipinamamahagi sa lahat ayon sa pangangailangan ng bawat isa.
Mga Gawa ng Apostol 2:44-45
Larawan mula sa inquirer.net.
Isinaysay sa atin ni San Lucas ang naturang bahagi sa buhay ng mga unang Kristiyano upang muling mahimok sa atin ang pagkakapatiran, ang magising ating mga kaisipan at kamulatan na sa buhay hindi pinag-uusapan at batayan ang ano mang kakayahang gawin kungdi ang pagkakakilala sa bawat isa bilang ka-patid, ka-dugtong, at ka-putol. Alisin mo ang unlaping “ka”, ika’y patid at putol. Hiwalay at nag-iisa, walang karugtong.
Kapatiran, samahan ng magkakapatid, hindi ng mga gawain.
Kung babalikan natin yung tagpo matapos mag-ayuno at manalangin ang Panginoong Hesus sa ilang, ang unang panunukso sa kanya ng demonyo ay gawin niyang tinapay ang mga bato.
Ganyang-ganyan pa rin ginagawa ng diyablo at kanyang kampon sa ating panahon na ang palaging tanong ay “ano ba ang nagawa mo?” o “mayroon ka bang naambag?”: para sa kanila, pinakamahalaga yung nagagawa kesa makipag-kapwa.
Hindi nila batid na ang sino mang tunay sa pakikipag-kapwa, laging kasabay ang gumawa ng mabuti.
Kaya hindi rin kataka-taka sa kanila na ang mga addict at kriminal ay patayin dahil para sa kanila walang nagagawang mabuti mga ito sa lipunan.
Isang magandang pagkakataon itong pag-usbong
ng maraming paminggalang pampamayanan
na muli nating mapagtanto dangal ng bawat tao
na dapat mahalin at igalang bilang larawan
at wangis ng Diyos na lumikha sa tanan.
Larawan mula sa Dr. Yanga’s Colleges Inc. sa kanilang “community pantry” sa Bocaue, Bulacan, 20 Abril 2021.
Isang magandang pagkakataon itong pag-usbong ng maraming paminggalang pampamayanan na muli nating mapagtanto dangal ng bawat tao na dapat mahalin at igalang bilang larawan at wangis ng Diyos na lumikha sa tanan.
Inyong pagmasdan, madalas mga taong mapagbilang at mapaghanap ng mga nagawa ay siya ring mga mapanaghili, binibilang mga gawain na tila lahat dapat tumbasan o mayroong kapalit.
At ang pinaka-masaklap, sila din yaong mga wala ring ginagawa, puro salita kaya sila’y katawa-tawa parang sirang plaka katulad ng kanilang pamumula at “red tagging” sa mga nasa likod ng paminggalang pampamayanan o community pantry.
Ayaw nila sa paminggalang pampamayanan dahil doon ang batayan ay pagtuturingan bilang magkakapatid; walang ganid at sakim, nasa isip palagi ang kapwa na maaring mas kawawa kaysa sarili.
Kaya heto ang aking awit na handog sa mga nagpasimuno at nagpapalaganap nitong community pantry.
Kasama na rin ang mga hindi naniniwala, namumula.
At, sumasalaula.
Humuhuni ang ibon
Nagsasayaw sa hangin
At laging masaya
Bakit kaya ang tao may isip at talino
Nalulungkot pa siya
Matutuhan lang ng bawat nilikha
Ang umibig sa tao't daigdig
Lungkot nila'y mapapawi ligaya'y ngingiti
Pagibig at pag-asa
Ang damdaming gigising sa taong mahimbing
Ang tunay na ligaya sa ating puso
Muling magniningning
Ikaw at ako
Hindi man magkalahi
Ay dapat matutong magmahal
Ituring mong tayong lahat ay magkakapatid
(New Minstrels, 1980)
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Third Week of Easter, 20 April 2021
Acts 7:51-8:1 <*(((>< + ><)))*> John 6:30-35
Posted by Jean Palma on Facebook, 18 April 2021 with the caption: “All these community pantries in four days, and counting. What a powerful movement.” #CommunityPantry
Praise and glory to you, O God our loving Father in heaven! Thank you in sending us your Son Jesus Christ our Bread of life who taught and showed us how to be a food ourselves to one another by giving and sharing our very selves in loving service especially in times of crisis like this pandemic.
Thank you very much for the grace and inspiration by the Holy Spirit for the people behind this movement fast spreading called “Community Pantry” teaching us to see one another as a brother and a sister who needs to be helped, that each can be of help to anyone in need.
So many times, in our search for food that perishes like wealth and power, we get more focused on “doing” than “being” and “becoming” like those people who have followed Jesus in Capernaum after being fed with bread and fish at the wilderness last week.
The crowd said to Jesus:
"What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?"
(John 6:30)
Forgive us, Father, when until now we still ask the very same question to you and one another, “What can you do?” like the devil’s first temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread” (Lk.4:3).
Make us aware of this ploy of the devil to keep us doing everything, to claim everything as our work in order to forget you or even discredit you.
How sad that we are so concerned with doing than with being and becoming, forgetting the value of every person, asking more of “what you can do” than “who are you?” which is more essential because we are all from you, O God our Father, our image and likeness.
No wonder, we have become like the members of the Sanhedrin addressed by Christ’s first martyr, St. Stephen during his trial:
"You stiff-necked people,
uncircumcised in heart and ears,
you always oppose the Holy Spirit;
you are just like your ancestors."
(Acts 7:51)
We have never grown and matured in our relationships because we have refused to see each one’s worth as a person, measuring our value in what we can do than in who we really are as your beloved children. As a result, we continue to refuse surrendering ourselves to the Holy Spirit for you to do your work in us. Unfortunately, as we keep on doing everything, the results are always miserable. And the more we get into bigger mess in life.
Teach us, especially our leaders in government, to open their minds and their hearts to what your prophets are saying from the various sectors of the society, especially the masses involved in the Community Pantry movement.
May our government officials led by the President realize that ever since this pandemic started, what we have been saying has always been for the good of one another as brothers and sisters, valuing life above all, and not for any achievement nor fame at all that they are so intent on having.
How sad that the more government officials dare and insult people with what they can do, the more it becomes truer that they cannot do anything good at all. Amen.
Photo by Toots Vergara, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 16 April 2021.
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