The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin & Martyr, 13 December 2024 Isaiah 48:17-19 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Matthew 11:16-19
Photo by Dra. Mai Dela Peña, MD, in London, 2000.
Forgive us, Jesus, in refusing to make a stand in you, for being blind in recognizing you among our brethren, for being deaf to your words and dictates within us to be true and just, for being afraid of sufferings and discomfort, for choosing to be always in control: let us learn from you, Lord, about what is good and where we must go (Isaiah 48:17).
Many of us have become indifferent in this age so divided by so many labels and ideologies, thinking it is making a stand to be in the middle, to be blind and deaf and mute than dare to witness what is true and just.
Jesus said to the crowds: “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.'” (Matthew 11:16-17)
Grant us the courage of St. Lucia, who at a very young age stood for you, Jesus, for your gospel, for what is true and good and just; enlighten our minds and hearts to seek and follow you always, even to the Cross! Amen.
Painting of St. Lucy by Francesco del Cossa (c. 1436-1478), National Gallery of Art. According to tradition, the eyes of St. Lucia were gouged during the persecution of the early Church in Sicily, Italy around 300 AD.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday in the Thirty-first Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 06 November 2024 Philippians 2:12-18 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 14:25-33
Photo by author, Fatima Ave., Valenzuela City, 25 July 2024.
Grant me, dear Jesus the serenity and composure of St. Paul: so peaceful, so dignified, so free in the face of death.
Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life… But, even if I am poured out as a libation upon the sacrificial service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with all of you. In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me (Philippians 2:14-16, 17-18).
Many times O Lord the burdens are too heavy and unbearable, with pains and suffering so overwhelming that I really wonder if I would make any difference at all; but, you are always here present in the "nick of time" sending people reminding me of jokes I have long forgotten but still tickle them; or simple lessons I could not recall but they have kept and guided them through life; or music I made them listened to that have lingered in their heads; or books and poems that have opened their horizons.
Teach me, Jesus to renounce everything I have, empty me of my pride, of my self to be filled with you only so that I may truly shine like light in this world so at home and fascinated with neons and klieg lights that mislead them to darkness. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Memorial of St. Padre Pio, Priest, 23 September 2024 Proverbs 3:27-34 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 8:16-18
Photo by Mr. Jay Javier, 07 September 2024.
Jesus said to the crowd: “No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that hose who enter may see the light… Take care, then, how you hear. To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away” (Luke 8:16, 18).
God our loving Father, thank you very much in giving us a modern saint in San Pedro Pio who is so beloved not only for his miracles but most of all in his bringing your Son Jesus Christ's light into this dark modern world, listening always not only to You but to everyone so weighed down by sin and all forms of sufferings.
With your so many gifts to San Padre Pio especially the stigmata of Jesus, he remained so humble, witnessing to this modern world of excessive wealth and poverty in money and spirituality, San Padre Pio refused no one whatever good he could offer to those who came to him and continue to come to him for intercession.
Fill us, dear Father, with St. Padre Pio's same love of You and love of neighbor rooted in the meaningful celebration and deep love for the Holy Eucharist, always making your light shining brightly in our life of witnessing as we too listen intently to your words through Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday in the Twenty-third Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 10 September 2024 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]*> Luke 6:12-19
By Kay Bratt, Facebook, 13 December 2023.
Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ for continuing to call us to be your disciples and apostles, inviting us to get closer with You like the Twelve to share your light first of all to our fellow disciples and apostles who have lost their will to burn.
Now indeed then it is, in any case, a failure on your part that you have lawsuits against one another. Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather let yourselves be cheated? Instead, you inflict injustice and cheat, and this to brothers. Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the Kingdom of God? That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed , you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:7-9, 11).
Forgive us, Lord Jesus, when many times we live and act like the Corinthian Christians forgetting our new person in You received in Baptism, when we turn to the courts to get justice that often terribly end in bitterness and recriminations; instead of bearing your light of justice and mercy, love and equality, kindness and tenderness, we resort to the ways of the world, endlessly debating on technicalities that we forget the person and the wrongs and evil done; let us return to you, Jesus, the true Light of the world to dispel the darkness of sin and evil around us by being your witnesses of the good news of salvation as your new chosen people. Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-02 ng Agosto 2024
Larawan mula sa foxnews.com.
Hindi mawala sa aking gunita larawang bumantad sa balita tila isang punyal idinarak tagos pagkakasaksak baon na baon hanggang buto ang kirot at sakit nitong kasamaan at kasalaulaan doon sa France.
Pilit nilang ipinaliwanag paglapastangan sa Huling Hapunan hanggang kami pa ang hatulan ng kamangmangan at kawalan ng pakialam sa mga kakaiba ang kasarian; abot-abot kanilang pagpapaliwanag ngunit nabaon lamang sila sa balon ng kadiliman.
Heto ngayon ang larawan inyong pagmasdan: walang kinakailangang pagpapaliwanag sapagkat hindi kailanman magliliwanag ang kadiliman dahil ang maliwanag na katotohanan tanging babae at lalake lamang ang nilalang.
Sakali mang mayroon pumailang ang gawi ng katauhan o oryentasyon maliwanag sa katawan dalawa lamang ang kasarian kahit palitan nasa labas ang nasa loob kailanman hindi manglilinlang.
Tiyak marami silang sagot at mga paliwanag kaya namang tila baga itong Olympics ngayon ay hindi na tagisan ng husay at galing sa larangan ng pangangatawan kungdi ng isipan at paninindigan;
tanging hiling ko lang, muling pagmasdan itong larawan ano inyong nararamdaman? sa boksing pa na sukdalan ang karahasan doon pa matatagpuan natitirang liwanag at katinuan ng makabagong sangkatauhan?
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-01 ng Agosto 2024
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, bukang liwayway sa Lawa ng Galilea, Israel, Mayo 2019.
Unang araw sa buwan ng Agosto, buwan ng wika ako ay nakatunganga sa pagkamangha sa isang salita: PALIWANAG sa wikang Inggles, "explanation" at kung gagamiting pandiwa "to explain" ito ay magPALIWANAG.
Kay sarap namnamin
at damhin mga kataga
nitong ating wika
tulad ng PALIWANAG
nagsasaad ng pagbibigay
liwanag dahil mayroong
kadiliman minsa'y panlalabo
kaya nililinaw upang
matanaw, makita kahit man lang
maaninag upang matukoy, makilala.
Mahirap kasi mag-apuhap sa gitna ng kadiliman na kawalan ng katiyakan: ika'y nangangapa at nangangamba kung ano iyong mahawakan, makuha kaya nakakatakot sa dilim na wala kang nakikita dahil pati ikaw baka tuluyang mawala pa!
Inyong pagmasdan malaking kadiliman na sa ati'y bumabalot kamakailan kaya kay raming nagpapaliwanag naglilinaw dahil sa mga ginawa at ipinahayag na puro kaguluhan:
Waiter sa Cebu pinagpaliwanagan ng halos dalawang oras habang nakatindig sa harapan ng customer na tinawag niyang "Sir" na ibig ituring siya na "Mam"; kay daming paliwanag ni "Mam" pero malabo pa rin dahil malinaw pa sa araw maski sa mga larawan na siya ay Sir!
Hanggang ngayon nagpapaliwanag pa rin mga pasimuno ng paglapastangan sa Huling Hapunan ng Panginoon na lalong nababaon dahil maliwanag kanilang kasinungalingan na ang kadiliman ng kapalaluan at kasamaan kanilang pagpugayan taliwas sa layuning magkaroon ng pagbubuklod at kaisahan.
Hindi lang minsan ating narinig masabihang "ang labo mo naman" kaya kinakailangang magpaliwanag upang maunawaan at maintindihan na siyang daan sa magandang pagsasamahan.
Heto ngayon ating pagnilayan pagbulayan aking katanungan: nagPALIWANAG ba ang Panginoong Jesus sa Kanyang mga pangangaral? Maliban sa pagpapaliwanag ng mga talinghaga ng sarilinan sa mga alagad, walang ipinaliwanag si Jesus dahil maliwanag Siyang palagi at higit sa lahat Siya ang Liwanag ng Sanlibutan.
Madalas hindi Siya maunawaan, maintindihan at matanggap ng mga tao noon hanggang ngayon ngunit kailanman walang binawi na salita ang Panginoong Jesus dahil maliwanag ang lahat: "Ako ang daan at katotohanan" (Jn.14:6), "Ako ang muling pagkabuhay at ang buhay" (Jn. 11:25) "Ako ang pagkaing bumaba mula sa langit; ang kumakain ng aking laman at umiinom ng aking dugo ay may buhay na walang hanggan, at muli ko siyang bubuhayin sa huling araw" (Jn. 6:54).
Nang linisin ni Jesus ang templo sinabi sa mga tao na gibain iyon at kanyang itatayo sa loob ng tatlong araw; Siya ay pinagtawanan ng mga kalaban ngunit malinaw na sinasaad sa kasulatan nang muli Siyang mabuhay ay naunawaan ng mga alagad ang tinutukoy Niyang templo ay ang Kanyang Banal na Katawan (Jn. 2:18-22); maliwanag si Jesus ay palaging malinaw kaya kahit sa gitna ng kadiliman Siya ay maliwanag.
Lumapit tayo kay Jesus at hayaang liwanagan Niya kadiliman sa ating puso at kalooban katulad nina Nicodemo at Dimas na umamin sa kanilang kamangmangan at kasalanan kaya natamo ang liwanag at kaligtasan; hindi mahirap tuntunin katotohanan at liwanag ng Panginoon natin kung ating aaminin at aalisin mga piring sa ating paningin upang mabuksan puso at kalooban sa kagandahan at dangal ng kabutihan ng bawat nilalang hindi ang ipangalandakan sariling husay at kaalaman maging antas ng kalinangan!
Tandaan at panghawakan, tiyak na kaliwanagan ng mga salitang binitiwan ng Panginoon sa atin sana ay magpaalaala: "Ang nagpapakataas ay ibababa, at ang nagpapakababa ay itataas" (Mt.23:12)
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 18 July 2024 Isaiah 26: 7-9, 12, 16-19 <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Matthew 11:28-30
Your words today, O God, are so refreshing that I wish to pray like your Prophet Isaiah: "The way of the just is smooth; the path of the just you make level. My soul yearns for you in the night, yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you; For your dew is a dew of light, and the land of shades gives birth" (Isaiah 26:7, 9, 19).
Freshen us, O Lord, from our dirt and exhaustion from sin!
Refresh our thoughts and our feelings, make them crystal clear like the dew in the morning to see your kindness and mercy!
Gladden our hearts, uplift our souls with your presence in Christ Jesus who calls us daily to come to Him and have rest, because His yoke is easy, His burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).
Let us surrender to You in Jesus Christ for there is no salvation outside from You except in Him; so true are the words of Isaiah: "As a woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in pains, so were we in your presence, O Lord. We conceived and writhed in pain, giving birth to wind; salvation we have not achieved for the earth, the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth. But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise; awake and sing, you who lie in the dust" (Isaiah 11: 17-19).
Teach us to appreciate and value the little things in life we take for granted like the droplets of dew in the morning enough to set our face aglow again of new beginnings; in coming to us, Jesus taught us the value of being small, being little, being silent, being humble when life begins and regenerates always. Let us arise anew in Jesus from our deep sleep in sin through His dew of light, a glimmer of better days ahead. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious, 21 June 2024 2 Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< Matthew 6:19-23
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
On this Friday, Lord Jesus Christ, there are two things I pray: give me a pure heart and eyes like a lamp.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be (Mt. 6:19-21).”
Help me realize, Jesus, that to "store up treasures in heaven" is not just to pile up a lot of good works in heaven that will be to our credit in the next life for they too can be lost when we slide down into sin and evil; rather, like in your beatitudes, give me a clean or pure heart that is like yours, that is inclined to You always; a clean heart, O Lord, is not of "doing" but of "being" and "becoming" that truly becomes a treasure, something we value most.
How sad in this world so materialistic that many believe there is nothing money cannot buy, nothing money cannot solve even though this belief is proven false all the time!
Cleanse our hearts of pride and sins, fill it with your humility, justice and love, Lord Jesus! Dwell in our hearts, reign over us!
“The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be” (Mt.6:22-23).
Give us that light and vision, Jesus to see the most essential, the most valuable in life that are beyond wealth, fame, and power; free us from the darkness and blindness of not seeing beyond material things so we may discern the real treasures, what is most valuable in this life like You and others, love and peace and joy. Amen.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
The Lord Is My Chef Easter Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday in the Second Week of Easter, 10 April 2024 Acts 5:17-26 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> John 3:16-21
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this report, they were at a loss about them, as to what this would come to.
Acts 5:24
Your words, O Lord, from the first reading are very amusing: after discovering the jail securely locked with guards stationed outside but the apostles nowhere, they were the ones who felt at a "loss"; they who have imprisoned the Apostles were the ones LOST when they were supposed to control the situation.
How ironic so often in life when we feel to have been more in control of everything even people, when we feel we lord over everyone, that is when we feel more empty, and more at a loss.
And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.
John 3:19
Photo by author, Jesuit Cemetery at the Sacred Heart Novitiate.
Forgive us, Lord Jesus in choosing darkness of sin, darkness of pride, darkness of bitterness and of unforgiving that is why many times we are at a loss in life especially when we profess to believe in You, when we claim to be Your disciples; let us go toward Your light of truth and justice, Your light of loving service, Your light of mercy and forgiveness so that in our very selves, people may truly experience "God so loved the world." Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday After Ash Wednesday, 15 February 2024 Deuteronomy 30:15-20 +++ Luke 9:22-25
Photo from petalrepublic.com.
Our most loving and merciful Father, thank you for this new season of Lent, in giving us this most wonderful occasion to reflect on life's meaning we always confuse as outside of us, dependent on things, and most of all, perfect without pain and sufferings.
Life is Lent. It is the only season that begins not on a Sunday but on an ordinary day of the week, right in the midst of our many duties and worries because Lent is something within us, always asking us to make the right choices, of choosing life, not death; blessing, not curse.
Many times, Father, we are out of touch with ourselves, with life itself which we see as outside ourselves that we hardly live at all without experiencing life itself in its wholeness that includes all the beauty and scars, the lights and darkness, the glory and sorrows, the defeats and victories, the tears and laughter, the Good Friday and Easter.
If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve other gods, I tell you now that you will certainly perish; you will not live a long life on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy.
Deuteronomy 30:17-18
The way to life that you, Father, offers us through the life and example of Jesus Christ your Son is the exact opposite that the world proposes; help us realize that truth, clear us of all doubts and dilly-dallying, of making excuses and alibis that what the world sees as God's ways are limiting when in fact are liberating!
Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”
Luke 9:23-25
We have seen for ourselves many times how the way of the world of indulging in every desire and pleasure like wealth and fame, sex and drugs have actually led to destruction and death, sorrows and miseries than life and joy; clear our minds and hearts to make the right choice and decision of following Jesus to the Cross daily because that is what it means that life is lent, a daily journey to Good Friday that leads surely to Easter. Amen.
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