Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 18 August 2025 Monday, Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time, Year I Judges 2:11-19 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 19:16-22
Photo by Mr. Vigie Ongleo, Virginia, USA, August 2021.
Your words today, O God our Father are so disheartening not only because after a week of joyful stories of Moses and Joshua and the Israelites finally nearing the Promised Land, we begin work and classes this Monday with the distaff side of Israel's history, of their low point of being repeatedly attacked and defeated by their enemies.
But more sad and disheartening is the fact that low point in their history was also their low point in their faith in you - it was all due to their repeated falling into sin of idolatry, of worshipping false gods instead of you alone.
Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, he would be with the judge and save them from the power of their enemies as long as the judge lived; it was thus the Lord took pity on their distressful cries of affliction under their oppressors. But when the judge died, they would relapse and do worse than their ancestors, following other gods in service and worship, relinquishing none of their evil practices or stubborn conduct (Judges 2:18-19).
And that is the painful truth of the story, of the fact still true among us today: the problem, the trouble are all with us.
Yes, Lord, many times we are like your people during that time of the judges: you keep on saving us from troubles of our own making but once we are able to rebound in life, we go back to our old ways of sins and self-centeredness, forgetting you and your love; we do not have the false gods of old like Baal but we keep on turning away from you, Lord, worshipping fame and wealth, power and control, comfort and safety; though through all these you keep on coming to save us, giving us all the chances to be better in Jesus Christ your Son, we are like the young man in the gospel who can't let go of our many possessions, choosing to leave sad than follow Jesus empty but filled with love and and meaning in life. Help us fix this trouble in us, Lord. Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday, Fourth Week in Lent, 03 April 2025 Exodus 32:7-14 + + + + + John 5:31-47
Image from chabad.org
Forgive us, O God our most merciful Father for being so stiff-necked like your people in the wilderness; forgive us for easily forgetting you and your wondrous deeds in saving us; forgive us, Father in turning away from you so quickly, when something else - our golden calf - became an object of desire that felt greater than our desire for you; many times, we are so attracted and easily rejoiced in the lights of others not realizing of the more convincing light of your Son Jesus Christ.
Thank you, dear Father, for your great mercy and abounding forgiveness to our many and repeated sinfulness; teach us also to be like Moses interceding for others to relent in their anger especially these days when so many road rages are happening, with each one trying to assert one's power and superiority that leads to senseless killing and lost of life all because of adoration for our many a golden calf. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday in the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 12 June 2024 1 Kings 18:20-39 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Matthew 5:17-19
Photo from Colombo Plan Staff College, cpstech.org, 12 June 2020.
Praise and glory to You, God our loving Father for the gift of Independence, for the gift of a country and a nation, of culture and identity until now many of us continue to debate; forgive us, Father, for being like your people during the time of Elijah when we could not make up our minds on whether to follow and obey You or follow other pagan gods that still about these days. How sad, dear Father, when many of our supposed learned men and women are ashamed of our being the remaining nation faithful to You, making divorce illegal; doubly sad, O God, when some of our own countrymen laugh and insult the Spaniards who conquered our land to bring Christianity here.
Ahab sent to all the children of Israel and had the prophets assemble on Mount Carmel. Elijah appealed to all the people and said, “How long will you straddle the issue? If the Lord is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him.” The people, however, did not answer him.
Like the psalmist today, I pray that You "keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge, show me the path to life, fullness of joys in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever" (Psalm 16:1, 11); teach me the way to true freedom and independence of lovingly serving the weakest among us by protecting life in all its stages especially its basic unit, the family.
May we take into hearts Jesus Christ's words to bring into fulfillment the words of your laws into our own laws like the 1987 Constitution that had enshrined marriage as an "inviolable social institution" in Article XV; let us stop all these fantasies of legalizing divorce, of separating from your divine order of things that only enslave us to sin and evil. Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the Fourth Week of Lent, 14 March 2024 Exodus 32:7-14 <'[[[[[>< + ><]]]]]'> John 5:31-47
So true, O God our Father, that we are like your people in the desert – “stiff-necked” – who easily turned away from you to worship the golden calf while you conversed with Moses up on Mt. Sinai.
We can be easily carried away and distracted by the many other “golden calves” around us that we worship especially if they give us delight and answers to our needs and questions.
Forgive us, Father, in doubting your love for us, in doubting your fidelity to your promises to us, in doubting your powers despite the many blessings you have showered upon us; forgive us for our foolishness for not being convinced that we are your chosen people when we would rather get trapped with our daily worries in life and forget all your love and concern for us.
What a tragedy when we prefer to be second or even third rate people when in fact we are all your children, your beloved and forgiven children!
In this Season of Lent, help us to "level up" to you, O Lord, of not simply stopping with the prophets who were all like a “burning and shining lamp” to us when they were all your precursors.
Help us, O Lord, to desire you and nothing less for we are all special in your eyes. Amen.
Photo by Ms. April Oliveros, Mt. Pulag, April 2023.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious, 17 November 2023
Wisdom 13:1-9 <'[[[[>< <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> ><]]]]'> Luke 17:26-37
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Retreat House, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.
Arouse us, dear God,
our loving Father,
awake us from our sleep,
let us open our eyes,
our hearts,
our very selves
to your divine presence
around us and within us;
let us bask in this most
lovely divine milieu
so many have tried so hard
to negate and discard
as not true.
How true are your words
again this day from the
Book of Wisdom:
All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God, and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is, and from studying the works did not discern the artisan.
Wisdom 13:1
How foolish have we become
to reject you, to abandon you,
to not believe nor recognize
you, O God, who can be gleaned
from nature and creation,
most especially in our studies
and search for truth and meaning;
but twice foolish are those who
believe only in themselves,
playing gods, worshipping their
body and beauty,
amazed with their strength and power
full of conceit and self-centeredness
(cf. Wisdom 13:2-4).
Keep us simple, Father,
to find you in little things,
in the unseen realities of this life
that point us to your divine milieu;
let us not wait for that sign
of gathering of vultures
when we lay wasted,
and dead to sin
and blindness.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of St. Ignaitus of Antioch, Bishop & Martyr, 17 October 2023
Romans 1:16-25 ><}}}}*> + <*{{{{>< Luke 11:37-41
Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD, in Le Teich, France, 17 July 2023.
God our Father,
today I felt you tickled my bone
in prayer as your words reminded
me of one of Aesop's famous fable,
"The goose that laid the
golden egg",
of how often we are like
the husband and wife owners
of that Goose who foolishly
slaughtered the poor bird
only to find its inside
was just like any other other
without any gold at all inside!
In killing the Goose,
they have deprived themselves
of their fortune.
Is it not the same thing
St. Paul is telling us today
as he had told the Romans before?
While claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of immortal God for the likeness of a mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals of snakes. Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshipped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Romans 1:22-25
Forgive us, dear Father,
in "killing" you so often
in our unconscious subscription
to that most untrue and foolish
statement that "God is dead";
in continuously "crucifying"
Jesus your Son in exchange of
our perceived good like these
new, liberal thoughts about
sexuality and genders,
freedom and morals,
science and technology
that we so worship these days
than you!
We are like that Pharisee
in today's gospel who pretend
to always invite Jesus into our lives
only to test him,
to catch lapses in his words
and teachings so we can lead
our lives the way we want it;
forgive us, dear Lord for
being so foolish!
Grant us the enlightenment
and courage you bestowed
upon St. Ignatius of Antioch
to remain faithful to you and your
Cross, Lord Jesus Christ,
bearing all pains and sacrifices
for the sake of your church unity
and for charity; let us heed his
words to the Romans before
dying at the Colosseum to
"Do not talk about Jesus Christ
as long as you love this world."Amen.
St. Ignatius of Antioch,
Pray for us!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Thirteenth Week in OrdinaryTime, 06 July 2023
Genesis 22:1-19 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Matthew 9:1-8
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 20 March 2023.
God our loving Father,
teach me to offer to you,
to give up like Abraham
the most precious
and the best I have in life;
give me that same kind of
faith and trust in you, O God,
that in life, you are the only
most precious and best
I have in life.
So many times in life,
dear Father, I always question
your will,
your plans,
your instructions
to me;
worst, many times,
I even question and doubt
your goodness to me
and to others like those scribes
who questioned Jesus Christ's
authority to forgive sins.
We have strayed so far from you,
O God; we have believed
so much in ourselves,
in our beliefs,
in our technologies,
in our strengths
and achievements
as if we are gods like you!
Forgive us, merciful Father;
help us find our way back to you
in your Son Jesus Christ.
Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the Fourth Week of Lent, 23 March 2023 Exodus 32:7-14 >>> + <<< John 5:31-47
Photo by author, 03 March 2023, Teresa, Rizal.
Forgive us,
God our merciful Father
for our forgetfulness and
thanklessness; more than
being forgetful, we are also
ungrateful like the Israelites at Sinai.
Many times in life,
we rarely appreciate what we have,
especially the little ones.
How unfortunate we recognize only
big things as important that we forget
everything in life which is the sum of
the littlest things put together -
the single steps of every journey,
the minute cells of our body,
the little efforts put together
by the little, ordinary people
who give us our meals, our daily needs,
the small acts of kindness like smiles,
hi’s and hellos we don’t even mind at all;
the little children who play or cry
to remind us of our beginnings…
So many other tiny,
little things and moments,
ordinary people we disregard
that prevent us from remembering and
thanking you and everyone
for the many joys and comforts
we enjoy in every moment.
Forgive us also,
loving Father,
of how we forget
and hence could not appreciate
to be grateful with the little
gifts we have within like
this life we have versus the
great moments of victory and fame we
choose to remember; the family and
friends you surround us daily
but take for granted as we prefer
big people like the rich and famous;
those little giftedness of ours like
simplicity, sense of humor,
even rich appetite to savor
and enjoy ordinary food shared
with common folks we forget
and become thankless for our gifts
of selves and uniqueness.
Bless us,
dear God to remember
and be reminded of the many
gifts we have but unaware
that make us thankless and forgetful,
tempting us to create our own idols
and golden calves to worship;
open our eyes to see your works
and majesty in Jesus who became like
us in everything except sin
so that we experience you more
in flesh in us and one another;
help us feel and enjoy life’s little joys
and blessings so we may remember
and never forget all good things
come from you, often in little
packages to be more appreciative
and grateful.
Amen.
Lent is the season we fix our eyes to see clearly our selves, God, and others. It is the season where the dictum is “less is more” with no flowers allowed at the altar, only plants and leaves used as decorations. Ideally, images and icons inside the church are covered during these forty days when the Gloria and the Alleluia are also omitted in the liturgy because Lent invites us to look more inside our hearts than outside to find God.
Today’s first reading reminds us the problem with our eyes that lead us to falling into sin like the first woman who was tempted by the serpent into believing that eating the forbidden fruit would open her eyes to know what is good and evil like God. See the interplay of how the fruit was pleasing to the eyes and after they have fallen into the trap of the devil, “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked” (cf. Gen. 3:4-7).
A big part of our temptations to sin happens in how we “see” things, literally and figuratively speaking. In the wilderness during the temptations of Jesus, the devil showed us what he often “sees” that if we follow could lead us into sin. Let us see what Jesus “saw” during those moments of temptations and triumphed over evil.
Detail of mosaic “Temptations of Christ” at St. Mark Basilica, Venice, Italy. Photo from psephizo.com.
At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” He said in reply, “It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”
Matthew 4:1-4
First temptation of the devil is for us to see scarcity, to see nothing, to see too little, to see there are not enough that the tendency is for us to hoard and be selfish. But Jesus tells us today even in the barrenness of the wilderness where there was no food nor water, there is always plenty and abundance when we see God.
When we were in elementary school, we were told how food and water would run out in the future with worldwide hunger and thirst happening in apocalyptic proportions. It had never happened. Yes, our natural resources are depleting not because of our normal consumption but largely because of human greed. We see everything so few, not enough for everyone that our tendency is to get more, driving prices up with the poor left to fend for themselves of whatever is left behind.
What we see more is what we do not have, not seeing the beautiful and precious ones we have like family and friends, health and life itself as well as faith in God. There is always the temptation most especially in the midst of difficulties and trials to see everything as ugly and dismal like the first parents after the fall when “they realized they were naked” whereas before, “they felt no shame” because they were good.
Observe how the eyes and the mind are closely intertwined, of how wrong judgments result when our eyes are deceived by what we see or do not see. Look inside your heart when you feel like alone and abandoned or when in the wilderness of sickness and sufferings. See God in everything even in nothingness by reading and praying his words in the Sacred Scriptures and you shall find life and abundance.
Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you and with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
Matthew 4:5-7
Second temptation is when see more of power and entitlement that lead us to becoming like gods.
See the deception of the devil as he brought Jesus to the temple, the house of his Father, making him stand on the parapet to test his obedience and submission to God. It continues to happen to us these days, especially for us priests and bishops, those inside the church like its volunteers and servants, or those who see themselves as devout and pious Catholics who feel entitled here on earth and even in heaven!
No one, not even Jesus Christ claimed any entitlement for being the Son of God. In fact, in his being the Christ, he taught us the importance of submission and obedience always to the will of God our Father.
The first sin was not just pride and disobedience of Adam and Eve. It was a sin rooted in the heart, of feeling so special in paradise, daring to be like God. A feeling of entitlement, of manipulation and control to play like God.
The second temptation of Christ reminds us all supposed to be close to God, his servants to always look and examine our hearts if it is truly God whom we love and follow or just rules and commandments, rites and rituals that we forget the people we are supposed to lovingly serve and care for.
The sad reality in our church is how the devil’s temptation of Jesus is realized among us priests who are being served wrongly, even adored and worshipped by the many people so deceived of the temptation to get close to clergymen or the church. This is the reason why the poor and sufferings are still marginalized because they have remained outside our reach as we all tend to see ourselves being protected by the angels in our positions of power.
Let us all get down from our ivory towers of power, of pride and entitlement especially in the church to begin seeing the poor people on the ground and stop testing God if he would work miracles on them lest we have forgotten we are his arms and limbs.
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.”
Matthew 4:8-10
Third temptation is clearly idolatry, of self-worship, of vanity. See how Jesus told Satan to get away after this third temptation because this is the most insidious as far as Matthew is concerned (in Luke’s version, this is the second temptation).
This third temptation is also very surreptitious which Al Pacino as the devil described in “The Devil’s Advocate” opposite Keanu Reeves as “my most favorite sin.”
We may not be kneeling before strange gods and idols but as Simon & Garfunkel sang in the “Sound of Silence”, so many of us “bowed and prayed on the neon gods we made” with our obsession with signature and expensive things and gadgets, whether original or fake.
It is also the temptation of being famous with our obsession not only with all the beauty augmentations readily available and the fitness craze of some who practically live inside gyms but also with too much living in social media where some have gone crazy counting the likes and reactions they receive in their posts.
See how Jesus won against Satan in all his temptations including in this final one because his focus was on God alone. Jesus is telling us this Sunday as we embark on our Lenten journey to remain in God above all.
Our eyes can be easily deceived because they cannot see everything at one instance. It takes times for us to recognize what or who we are looking at. There are times we need to use instruments to see everything clearly like telescopes and microscopes.
Most of all, what we see may not even be true at all. That is why we have to close our eyes in order to see better, to experience better and understand better like when we are deeply in pain and sorrow or in ecstasy and bursting with joy.
How sad that when Adam and Eve sinned and their eyes were opened, they hid themselves and sewed figs to cover themselves. Today, people go out into the open, even taking pride and not troubled at all in filming or recording and uploading sinful scenes in their lives. And everyone is so glad to take a look on them without realizing how it could lead them into shame like Adam Eve.
Let us heed St. Paul’s invitation in the second reading to live in Jesus so we may show our new humanity in Christ, we who are so loved and forgiven by God and restored to grace. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus alone to fight temptations for we are no longer slaves to our passions and desires like Adam (Rom. 5:12, 17-19). Amen. Have a blessed first week in Lent!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of St. Roch, Healer, 16 August 2022
Ezekiel 28:1-10 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Matthew 19:23-30
Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD, near Lamon Bay, Polilio, Quezon, 15 August 2022.
"What about me?" and
"How about me?", are our two most
frequently asked questions to you, God
our loving Father and to everyone as well;
our Filipino expression is more "dramatic"
or "maarte" when we say "Paano naman ako?",
as if we are abused and
taken for granted when in fact,
like Simon Peter in today's gospel,
just feeling proud and entitled,
deserving to be rewarded or
making sure not to be forgotten
with the little sacrifices, charities and
services we have rendered to others.
Then Peter said to him in reply, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?”
Matthew 19:27
Forgive us, dearest Jesus,
when we count everything we
have given and shared without
realizing you have given more than
so much because whatever we give,
whether things or kindness, forgiveness
and love, they are all yours not ours
to brag or be proud of!
Many times we play like God
as the Father had told Ezekiel
in the first reading; many times
when everything is flowing and
going on so well in life, we claim
everything, every success as our
efforts and triumph; many times we
believe we are so intelligent and wise
that we know everything that
because of our wealth and power and
wisdom, our "hearts have grown haughty"
and have thought ourselves to "have the mind
of a god" (Ezekiel 28:5, 6).
Teach us, O Lord Jesus Christ,
to imitate St. Roch, who, upon contracting
disease while caring for the sick and the
dying, he never complained to you nor
anyone, preferring to go into the woods
to mend himself with his sickness,
trusting in your healing and care
that you provided through a dog that
brought his daily bread.
Indeed, as the psalmist proclaimed
today, it is you O Lord who deal death
and give life; make us realize first that you
alone is our God, our everything in life and in
death; and secondly, let our faith and trust in
you be firm that you will never abandon us nor
forsake us; and lastly, like St. Roch and all the
saints, following you is never easy but with you
everything is possible (Mt.19:26). Amen.
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