Surprise us with hope, Lord!

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Week XXX, Year I in Ordinary Time, 26 October 2021
Romans 8:18-25 ><)))*> + ><)))*> + ><)))*> Luke 13:18-21

Today we share in St. Paul's
outburst of joy in you, O God
our loving Father when he claimed
"the sufferings of this present time 
are as nothing compared with 
the glory to be revealed for us"
(Rom. 8:18).  Like Pope Emeritus
Benedict XVI, we are absorbed
in the reflection of St. Paul about hope:

For in hope we were saved. Now hope that see for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.
Romans 8:24-25

So true, indeed, loving Father:
we hope because while we do not see,
we still believe and we have faith
 in you through Jesus Christ
your Son and our Lord;
teach us to grow deeper in our
hope in you not just as a feeling
or a desire nor a wait-and-see
attitude but more as a conviction
in Christ that when worst comes to worst,
we hold on to you because only
you will remain even in the end,
loving us, believing in us,
transforming us.

Let us persevere in Christ with
our commitments no matter how hard
and even painful specially in this time
of pandemic and in moments of severe
trials and tribulations when people fail us;
like the mustard seed that grows into
a leafy plant providing branches for birds
and yeast that leavens a dough,
let us be surprised with your grace
of hope, Lord, by enabling us to see
light even in darkness,
life even in sickness and death
because to truly hope is to
trust and believe in you alone,
O God, who is our very life.
Amen.

The “wages of sin”

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Week XXIX, Year I in Ordinary Time, 21 October 2021
Romans 6:19-23 ><)))*> + <*(((>< Luke 12:49-53

But what profit did you get from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit what you have leads to sanctification, and its end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:21-23

In our modern way of living and
thinking, your words today O God 
our Father are difficult to grasp 
and accept because we are taught 
that any kind of slavery has to be rejected;
but, that is the irony of our time - we keep
on rejecting every form of slavery, 
insisting on our freedom to choose and
decide what we want in life that in the
process the more we are enslaved
to sin and powers of evil that lead
to death.

So many times in this modern way of living
we assert how each one of us is the captain
of my ship, free to determine my course in
life in the hope of finding meaning and fulfillment
that often end up with us getting lost and
alienated.

How ironic that it is actually in being 
a slave to your grace in Jesus Christ as
St. Paul had asserted that we become 
totally free to offer ourselves unconditionally
to you our loving and merciful God and Father;
it is in surrendering ourselves to you as your
servants and slaves when we are more alive,
more fulfilled, more joyful and most peaceful
because slavery to you dear God and your
goodness bring all the good effects in life!
It is only when we empty ourselves to you, O God
that we are filled with your holiness, becoming
like you who is perfect.  Grant us the grace
to stand for what is true and good always,
standing by your side even if it means death
for it is in losing that we gain and in dying that
we truly live.  Amen.

Slave of sin vs. slave of grace

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Week XXIX, Year I in Ordinary Time, 20 October 2021
Romans 6:12-18 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 12:39-48

*Photo by Ms. Nikki A. Vergara, 2020 in Victoria, Laguna.*

We are all slaves, 
born as your servants
O God our Lord and Master;
how sad that the more we refuse
to accept this reality, the more
we are enslaved to sin;
the more we assert our freedom
and decide to choose whatever
we want, the more we become unfree.

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, although you were once slaves of sin, you have become obedient from the heart to the patterns of teaching to which you were entrusted. Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness.
Romans 6:16-18

Jesus our Lord and Savior,
let us realize this truth applies to us all;
that although you have saved and
justified us with your offering on the Cross
that continues in our Sacraments like
Baptism and the Eucharist that have
brought us closest to you and the Father,
it is not something like a "magic"
that fixes everything, that automatically
brings us to heaven.
Let us be faithful and prudent stewards,
slaves of grace in you like in today's gospel
who faithfully await your return
with good works and deeds.
Let us keep in our minds and hearts that
the more we profess our faith in you, dear Jesus,
as your servants, the more we have to participate
in your grace to produce fruits of
the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Amen.

Claiming God’s grace

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Week XXIX, Year I in Ordinary Time, 19 October 2021
Romans 5:12, 15, 17-19, 20-21 ><)))*> + <*(((>< Luke 12:35-38

*Photo by Roberto Nickson on Pexels.com*

Praise and glory to you,
our loving God and Father
in giving us so much hope today,
inspiring us to be better, to be free
to choose and follow you,
to love and serve you in one another.

Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 5:20-21

Let us live in your Son
Jesus Christ, in the realm of grace
than live in Adam in the realm of sin
and death, enslaved to our passions
and selfish desires.
Let your Holy Spirit work within us,
dear Jesus, to allow us to live in a way
pleasing to God our Father.
Like the psalmist, enable us to proclaim,
"Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will."

Open our eyes to the reality,
O God, of the two kinds of humanity
pervading:  the sinful humanity and the
redeemed humanity in Christ;
how sad that so often, especially
in the news we read and follow,
it is always the humanity in solidarity
with Adam in sin that seems to prevail.
Let us claim your abounding grace,
"girding our loins and lighting our lamps"
to be focused more on our justification
found in your righteousness in Christ.
Amen.

Touched by Jesus, touching Jesus

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist, 18 October 2021
2 timothy 4:10-17 ><]]]]*> + ><]]]]*> + ><]]]]*> Luke 10:1-9

*Painting of “Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin” by Flemish painter Roger van der Weyden (1400-1464); photo from en.wikipedia.org.*

Of all your Evangelists, Lord Jesus,
Saint Luke is the most artistic of all,
giving us those rare glimpses with 
vivid details of your life and teachings
that began in the annunciation 
of the birth of your predecessor, 
John the Baptist to the birth and 
spread of your Church with unforgettable
characters and stories like the
Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan,
the Good Thief, and conversion of St. Paul.  
He wrote extensively like his teacher 
St. Paul, leaving us with
two volumes of your Gospel.

Though scholars could not ascertain
if St. Luke was indeed one of those 72
disciples you have sent out two-by-two
in today's gospel, his writings teem
with so many instances as if he was
with you in your preaching and 
journeys, Lord Jesus.

In his writings, you seemed to have
touched him as he narrated your
story that in the process, he appeared
like touching you all throughout!

It is not difficult to imagine that
because as St. Paul had told
Timothy today in the first reading,
it was only St. Luke who had remained
present with him in his darkest hours 
of imprisonment and trial in Rome.

Beloved: Demas, enamored of the present world, deserted me and went to Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Luke is the only one with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is helpful to me in the ministry.
1 Timothy 4:10-11

Indeed in his writings
and maybe in his paintings too,
St. Luke had shown us that true
"communication is more than the
expression of thoughts and
indication of feelings:
at its most profound level,
it is the giving of self in love"
like what you did on the Cross,
Lord Jesus Christ
(cf. Communio et Progressio, 11).

If we could just have that grace
and discipline to rediscover
the beauty of writing in this age
of electronic media
 when our communications are fleeting
 and superficial, always in a hurry,
mediated with many other things
like images and sounds,
teach us to rediscover writing letters,
journal writing, and even painting
so we may get in touch with our
inner selves to find you there
and eventually touch you too
for you have been touching us
for so long without us realizing it.
But most of all, like St. Luke,
give us the grace and courage
to write your Gospel
with our lives.
Amen.

The complicity of hypocrisy

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of St. Teresa of Avila, Virgin & Doctor of the Church, 15 October 2021
Romans 4:1-8 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 12:1-7

At that time, so many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot. Jesus began to speak, first to his disciples, “Beware of the leaven – that is, the hypocrisy – of the Pharisees. There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.
Luke 12:1-2

Dear God our Father,
as we remember St. Teresa of Avila
who bravely fought for what is true
and sublime, help us also to fight
hypocrisy that is so rampant
these days of mediated communications.

From the Greek word hypokritein
for "masks", we keep on putting 
fake fronts on ourselves thinking
we would look better to others and
the world when in fact we end up 
like actors and actresses,
or worst, as clowns making fun 
of our very selves.

Help us realize the evil that is
hypocrisy as your Son Jesus Christ
reminds us today in the gospel
of how it acts as an accomplice 
to every sin that leads us to the 
eternal fires of hell or Gehenna.

St. Paul explained it so well in 
continuing his exposition about your 
righteousness, O God, how you have
justified Abraham not with his works
but with his deep faith in you; that,
the more we believe, the more we 
obey you and your laws that Jesus
had summarized in the law of love.

Whenever we think of Christ we should recall the love that led him to bestow on us so many graces and favors, and also the great love God showed in giving us in Christ a pledge of his love; for love calls for love in return. Let us strive to keep this always before our eyes and to rouse ourselves to love him. For if at some time the Lord should grant us the grace of impressing his love on our hearts, all will become easy for us and we shall accomplish great things quickly and without effort.
St. Teresa of Avila, Office of Readings, 15 October

O most blessed
St. Teresa of Avila
who sought the truth of Jesus
Christ in deep prayers and works
of sacrifices, help us to be true;
teach us to take off our masks,
especially our religious hypocrisies
for nothing is concealed with God;
most of all, let us have a taste
of that sweet union in God
found in our being honest and true
to him always.
Amen.

Sharing the “vision of God”

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Week XXVIII, Year I in Ordinary Time, 14 October 2021
Romans 3:21-30 ><)))*> + ><)))*> + ><)))*> Luke 11:47-54

*Just a few minutes before the start of our Mass at a remote parish I helped last Sunday, these double rainbows greeted me as if God were smiling at me.*

Your words today, O Lord
are difficult to comprehend;
words like "righteousness" and 
"justification" are words we rarely use,
terms our generation have forgotten;
but, we are still deeply grateful
to you in sending us these gems
through the insightful writings 
of your great apostle Paul.

Brothers and sisters: Now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, though testified to by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faih in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God. They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus.
Romans 3:21-24

Though the language may be strange,
its underlying realities of your grace
which is your righteousness and 
love for us, O God our Father,
remain so true as expressed by your
Son Jesus Christ's self-sacrifice
on the Cross for our salvation (justification).

Let the teachings of St. Paul sink into
our hearts and minds that we are
utterly dependent on you, O God, 
for our salvation; that nothing can we
accomplish apart from your grace.

In a society where the self-made
person is so idolized and economic
status is the benchmark for success, 
help us to echo anew the teachings
of St. Paul on grace and salvation
in Jesus Christ; do not let us become
like the Pharisees and scribes and scholars
of the law who kept people away
from your "vision" of grace and salvation 
for everyone.

“Woe to you, scholars of the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.”
Luke 11:52

Lord Jesus, bless us your
priests and ministers to truly
serve the people in leading them
closer to you in our celebrations
and prayers and most especially
in our witnessing to your Gospel;
may we cast away mediocrity and
sloth, always seeking ways like St. Paul
in making known your wonderful plans
and vision for everyone, especially the
weak and the poor among us.
Amen.

Remembering our call

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Week XXVIII, Year I in Ordinary Time, 11 October 2021
Romans 1:1-7 ><]]]]*> + ><]]]]*> + ><]]]]*> Luke 11:29-32

Praise and glory to you,
O God our loving Father
who has called us through
Jesus Christ your Son 
to be your servants.
As we begin this brand new
week of work and school, 
let us be reminded
of this great honor from you
that we have taken for granted,
even forgotten and disregarded.
May we learn from St. Paul
to take pride in this calling
to be your servant.

Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an Apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God… among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:1, 6-7

In Baptism, we have been called
to be your servant and apostle,
most of all called to be holy
like you, God our Father;
help us recapture the beauty
and honor of this call from you;
enable us to activate this call in us
set apart as a people for a very special
mission especially in this time of the
pandemic.
Most of all, let us remember today
your call for us to witness to Jesus Christ
and his Gospel of salvation through the
particular circumstances of our lives
lest that day of judgment catch us by
surprise immersed in sin and evil,
forgetting the sign of Jonah 
and Nineveh (Lk.11:29-32).
Amen.

Miserere Friday

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Week XXVII, Year I in Ordinary Time, 08 October 2021
Joel 1:13-15, 2:1-2 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 11:15-26

*Photo by author, Franciscan Monastery on Mt. Nebo, Jordan, 2019.*

God our merciful Father,
thank you very much for this
wonderful and blessed Friday!
Everybody loves Friday
primarily because it is the weekend
to work and school leading to
Saturday and Sunday rest.
But for me and my brothers, 
we love this because it is 
"Miserere nobis" Friday
when we pray Psalm 51:
"Have mercy on me, God,
in your kindness.  In your compassion
blot out my offense.  O wash me
more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin."

Help us to cleanse our selves
most especially today in 
memory of your Son's
Good Friday; may we heed
the call of your prophet on a
daily basis to keep ourselves 
clean.

Gird yourselves and weep, O priests! Wail, O ministers of the altar! Come spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! The house of your God is deprived of offering and libation. Proclaim a fast, call an assembly; gather the elders, all who dwell in the land, into the house of the Lord, your God, and cry to the Lord!
Joel 1:13-14

So many are our sins against you,
O God, that people have not only turned
against us priests but most of all, they have
turned away from you largely because
we have misled and abused them.

Cleanse us with your mercy and
forgiveness in Jesus Christ your Son; 
exorcise us of our many demons
possessing us, allowing ourselves
to be overrun by evil and sin.

“When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’ But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.”
Luke 11:24-26

Let Jesus your Son
reign in our hearts and soul,
let him be the sole power within us
for he is the most powerful of all,
the only power there is;
let us welcome him inside us
to keep us clean
lest we sin more
and become worst
than before.
Amen.

Losing to win, lesson of Our Lady of the Rosary

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, 07 October 2021
Acts 1:12-14 ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> Luke 1:26-28

This feast of the Holy Rosary has its origin in the victory of Christian forces against the Ottoman Turks in the Battle of Lepanto Bay in 1571 that decisively stopped the Moslems from occupying Europe. The first Dominican Pope, St. Pius V attributed that victory to the recitation of the Holy Rosary. Popularity and devotion to the Rosary eventually grew and spread when subsequent other victories in various parts of the world, including the Philippines’ La Naval were attributed to our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary.

In our gospel today, we find the key behind every victory attributed to the praying of the Holy Rosary: it is when we “lose” that we actually “win”! After explaining to her the plan of God, Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed her (Lk.1:38). In a sense, Mary was a loser— she “lost” herself to God and eventually became an instrument for our victory in the salvation through her Son Jesus Christ. The Lord Himself was crucified, another “loser” in a sense but truly a victor because in dying on the cross, Jesus Christ resurrected on the third day and won over death and sin.

Sometimes it can happen we feel at a loss, when we have lost in some battles in life when later on, we find out we have actually won.

Some may have been bullied while in school. Or, sometimes we fail an exam or flunk a semester but eventually we graduated, now have a career, a wonderful family.

In business, sometimes investors and entrepreneurs may go bankrupt before hitting gold.

That’s how it is with life. Win or lose, in the end, it is always a win. Especially when we in God.

When we choose to be like Mary, to submit ourselves to the will and plans of God, we must be ready to endure so many sufferings and hardships in life that sometimes we feel like we are at the losing end. When we try to be patient, when we try to understand, when we forgive, when we bear all the pains because we love, that is when we win as we lose ourselves and begins to be filled with Christ Jesus like Mary in the gospel.

True, a lot often we lose so many battles when we try to stand for what is true and good but in the end, we actually win the war against evil. That is the greatest victory Christ had gifted us, first His Mother Mary: salvation. Hence, we find in Marian prayers and hymns the requests for the Blessed Mother’s prayer for us sinners to be saved from hell and be brought to her Son Jesus Christ in eternity. That’s the final victory we all hope for in praying and living out the Holy Rosary with Mary.

But first, lose yourself to Jesus.