Category: martyrs

God our foundation

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of Sts. Pedro Bautista, Paul Miki & Companion Martyrs, 06 February 2024
1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30  <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]'>  Mark 7:1-13
Photo by author, Jerusalem 2017.
Dear God our Father,
thank you for being for us,
thank you for being with us, 
thank you for being in us;
you are our foundation,
our root, and our very life.
Everyday in nature you show
us your beauty and majesty,
but most of all, in all history,
you have allowed us to express
your might and power with
our magnificent buildings
of worship everywhere
that like King Solomon,
we pray and wonder:

“Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth? If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built! Look kindly on the prayer and petition of your servant, O Lord, my God, and listen to the cry of supplication which I, your servant, utter before you this day.”

1 Kings 8:27-28
Thank you dear God
for the gift of missionaries
who have come to build churches
and schools and hospitals
and towns that until now testify
to your being with us;
many of them have literally
given their lives for the gospel
of Jesus Christ your Son
like San Pedro Bautista
who worked only for nine years
in the Philippines but had transformed
lives from Bulacan to Camarines Sur;
he later joined the first Japanese martyr
and Jesuit priest St. Paul Miki and
other companions in Nagasaki
when rulers there became suspicious
of their missionary works
that have won so many converts.
May we remain faithful to you,
O God, as our sole foundation
in life even in death.
Forgive us, Father,
when many times we confine you
 in our churches,
in our beliefs and traditions
becoming more focused with
material foundations
than your divine foundation
like the Pharisees and scribes
in the gospel today;
let us continue to pursue learning
in the light of Christ's teaching,
sometimes relearning and
unlearning things we have been
used to by always going back to
you O God as our sole foundation
in this life.
Amen.
Photo by author in Jerusalem’s via Dolorosa, 2017.

We are God’s dwelling, praying for cancer patients

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin & Martyr, 05 February 2024
1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13  <*((((>< + ><))))*>  Mark 6:53-56 
Photo by Mr. Boy Cabrido, kids playing “piko” outside patio of the National Shrine of St. Michael & the Archangels in San Miguel, Manila, 04 February 2024. 
On this first working day of the week,
we pray to you dear Father,
may we share your loving presence
we experienced at the Sunday Mass
to everyone we shall meet today;
like Jesus your Son, 
may we "approach, touch and raise"
especially those who are down in
trials and tribulations in life;
dwell in our hearts, Lord, like when
your clouds envelop the temple built
by Solomon when they placed your
Ark of the Covenant at the Holy of Holies.

When the priests left the holy place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord so that priests could no longer minister because of the cloud, since the Lord’s glory had filled the temple of the Lord.

1 Kings 8:10-11
Dwell on us your people, Lord;
fill us with your grace of courage to
witness your love and truth among peoples
like St. Agatha who died remaining a virgin
for your holy name after enduring so much
pains from her torturers who cut off her breasts
but with the intercession of St. Peter the Apostle,
her wounds were healed, making her the
patron saint of those with breast cancer;
you know O Lord the pains and difficulties
those with cancer go through;
give them the strength to withstand the 
long process of treatments along with their
loved ones;
never let them lose hope in you through
Jesus Christ who never gets tired "crossing
the lake" to reach the sick;
have mercy on those with all kinds of cancer,
bless those who were healed and in remission,
and please accept the souls of those
who have died.
Amen.
From en.wikipedia.org, painting of St. Agatha with her severed breasts that many thought to be loaves of bread that is why in some churches in Europe, breads are distributed during her memorial.

Killing the “goose that laid the golden eggs”

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!

When God speaks

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Andrew Kim Taegon & Companion Martyrs, 20 September 2023
1 Timothy 3:14-16   ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*>   Luke 7:31-35
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD at Tagalag, Valenzuela City, 13 September 2023.
Praise and glory
to you, God our loving
Father!  As we celebrate
today the Memorial of Korea's first 
priest martyr St. Andrew Kim Taegon
and his companion martyrs of over
100 others, we thank you too
for the vibrant Christian faith
in that part of the world.

How amazing are your
grace and works, O God
in that "land of the morning calm" -
Korea - where the seeds of faith
were primarily planted by 
lay people touched by 
the few missionaries
who have reached their
shores.

Undeniably great is the mystery of devotion, Who was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the spirit, seen by angel, proclaimed to the Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.

1 Timothy 3:16
Great 
is their mystery of devotion
as St Paul put it;
grant us the same grace
of continuing fascination
to Christ's mystery among us
through prayers and studies
of your words and of the
Church's teachings;
let Jesus be manifested 
in our lives of witnessing
as vindicated by the Spirit,
proclaimed and believed,
accepted and embraced
because it is so true
by everyone.
Grant us discernment,
dear God,
to always recognize 
and follow you in the 
various persons and 
instances, no matter how
unusual they or these may be,
for you are a God of surprises.
Amen.
St. Andrew Kim Taegon
and companion martyrs
of Korea,
Pray for us!
St. Andrew Kim Taegon, first Korean priest with his lay associate St. Paul Chong Hasan with 113 other Koreans died as martyrs between 1839 and 1867.

What God wants from us

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr, 14 August 2023
Deuteronomy 10:12-22   ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'>   Matthew 17:22-27
Photo by author, Bolinao, Pangasinan, April 2022.

Glory and praise to you,
God our loving Father,
for speaking to us again today
through Moses in the first
reading; for the first time,
he finally gave us the important
question we never ask,
we always avoid,
and take for granted:

"And now, Israel, 
what does the Lord,
your God, ask of you?"
(Deuteronomy 10:12).
Forgive us, dear Father,
for never asking this important
question of "What do you ask of us?"
because very often we are so
occupied with our selves, with all
of our pursuits for fame and power,
wealth and security;
we rarely ask this question because
we are afraid of commitments,
we are afraid of sharing,
we are afraid of serving,
we are afraid of being true
and just, fair and honest,
most of all, of finding you
in our neighbors!
Forgive us, Lord our God,
for playing god like you,
lording it over your whole creation
destroying earth as we exploit
its resources for more power
to dominate others and worst,
in deciding who must live,
 who must die;
teach us to be like
St. Maximilian Kolbe,
the Patron Saint of Our Difficult Century
who gave his entire life serving
you through modern means of
communications to spread your truth
and good news that is why he was 
imprisoned by the Nazis in Auschwitz
where he eventually gave up his life
for another man about to be executed.
Help us O Lord to always
keep in mind you alone is our God
whom we must serve in those in need,
for those neglected,
the poor and the sick;
like St. Maximilian Kolbe,
may we ask always
what you want from us
and strive by your grace,
to fulfill your will.
Amen.
St. Maximilian Kolbe,
Pray for us!

Seeing Jesus

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon & Martyr, 10 August 2023
2 Corinthians 9:6-10   <*[[[[><< + >><]]]]'>   John 12:24-26
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 2017.
God our loving Father,
help us to see and follow Jesus
your Son like your servant
St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr.
Though there may be less
persecutions these days
of Christians, the call to be 
Christ's witnesses is more
compelling today as we live
in world that tries to forget you
and negate you.
Like the Greek visitors in
Jerusalem who asked help 
from Philip and Andrew 
to see Jesus, we too want
to see him.

“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
To see you, O Lord Jesus
is more than laying one's eyes
on your image
or your Blessed Sacrament;
to see you like St. Lawrence
is to have an insight,
to penetrate your inner mind
of self-sacrifice,
of losing one's self like
the grain of wheat that falls
on the ground to die, disintegrate
and be transformed
as new wheat bearing
much grain to feed more people.
Like St. Lawrence,
let us see that reality
to have the courage to offer
ourselves to you through others
in a life of service and sacrifice
so we may inspire more to serve you,
most especially see you too.
Let us not count the costs
of what we give up for they have
all been paid for by Jesus;
like St. Lawrence,
let us consider everything
as a pure grace from you
meant to be shared
for indeed, "you love a cheerful giver";
may we keep in mind and heart
that "God is able to make every grace
abundant for us,
so that, always having all we need,
we may have an abundance
for every good work"
(2Cor.9:8).

In this world of affluence
amid the ironic poverty of so many,
may we emulate St. Lawrence
in learning and living Christ's teaching
that true wealth is found
not in having things for ourselves
but in sharing and giving
with the others the gifts
we have received.
Amen.
St. Lawrence,
Deacon and Martyr,
Pray for us!

On the right path amid difficulties

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Feast of St. James the Greater, Apostle, 25 July 2023
2 Corinthians 4:7-15   ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*>   Matthew 20:20-28
Photo by Fr. Gener Garcia, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, 2019.
Praise and glory to you, O God,
on this wondrous feast of
St. James the Greater,
the first of the Apostles to
follow the Cross of Jesus Christ
during the persecution of Christians
in Jerusalem by King Herod Agrippa
(Acts 12:1-2). 
Together with his brother St. John,
St. James the Greater's path in
loving and following Jesus Christ
up to the Cross was not an easy one;
from a very materialistic and selfish
perception of the kingdom of God as
we heard in today's gospel,
St. James eventually journeyed
inside himself to become the first
to drink the chalice of the Lord's passion
after being present both at the
Transfiguration and the Agony in the Garden.

St. James the Greater
eventually realized that 
even in difficulties,
we are on the right path 
in Jesus Christ,
with Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters: We hold this treasure in earthen vessels that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.

2 Corinthians 4:7-10
St. James the Greater,
Pray for us!
Amen.

Praying for perseverance

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop & Martyr, 05 June 2023
Tobit 1:3, 2:1-8   ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*>   Mark 12:1-12
Photo by author, Anvaya Cove, 05 January 2023.
Glory and praise to you,
God our loving Father
for enabling us to cover
this first half of 2023!
Grant us the grace 
of perseverance like Tobit
in the first reading who
kept on doing what is good
despite the many beatings,
literally and figuratively speaking,
he had had in helping his countrymen
in a foreign land.

I, Tobit, have walked all the days of my life on the paths of truth and righteousness. I performed many charitable works for my kinsmen and my people who had been deported with me to Nineveh, in Assyria… Once the neighbors mocked me, saying to one another: “He is still not afraid! Once before he was hunted down for execution because of this very thing; yet now that he has escaped, here he is again burying the dead!”

Tobit 1:3, 2:8
Teach us to persevere,
Lord, to have the endurance
and stamina in surviving the
toughest conditions to 
emerge better persons,
better disciples
who help those in need
and neglected like Tobit 
and his son Tobias.
Or like St. Boniface who,
despite his so many successes
in Germany insisted in returning to 
Frisia in the Netherlands where
he had first failed as a missionary
only to be massacred later with
his disciples.

Many times,
death awaits perseverance
like your Son Jesus Christ,
the heir of the vineyard owner
in today's parable.
But still, O God,
perseverance in you pays
so well if not for the ones
persevering but most
especially for those their
efforts are directed.

Most of all,
perseverance teaches
us to never give up,
to never quit,
for every effort
in your glory
matters so much.
Amen.

Faith is relationship with God

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of Sts. Marcellinus and Peter, Martyrs, 02 June 2023
Sirach 44:1.9-13   ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'>   Mark 11:11-26
Photo by author, January 2023.
Praise and glory to you,
God our loving Father,
for this first Friday of June;
your words are very interesting
with Ben Sirach calling us to
recall and remember the faithful
men and women who have lived'
and gone ahead of us while Mark
combined two stories in our
gospel scene today.

Now I will praise those godly men, our ancestors, each in his own time. But of others there is no memory, for when they ceased, they ceased. And they are as though they had not lived, they and their children after them. Yet these also were godly men whose virtues have not been forgotten.

Sirach 44:1, 9-10
So true indeed are his words
until now!  There are many great
people we remember their names
for their great faith and but there 
are still far more than them whom we
know remain unnamed having served
God so well among his people;
may we try to remember today 
our simple folks whose faith
have inspired us to be more
faithful and charitable like
Ben-sirach.
On the other hand, 
Mark combines two stories
in the life of our Lord Jesus 
to instill in us the importance 
of faith not just as a belief
nor a system of theology
we must learn but a relationship
we must keep with God through
our brothers and sisters.
Forgive us, Jesus,
for those times our faith
bore no fruit and withered 
so dried like the fruitless fig tree;
forgive us, Jesus,
when we make religion
an economic enterprise 
like what happened to the
temple of Jerusalem during
your time; cleanse us of our 
selfish motives that faith
has become more of a means
for social mobility than for
spiritual growth through
meaningful relationships
with God and with others.
Grant us, Jesus,
the courage and fidelity
of Sts. Marcellinus and Peter
to be firm in our faith in you.
Amen.

In the beginning

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial, St. Pedro Bautista & Companions, Priests/Martyrs, 06 February 2023
Genesis 1:1-19   <*(((>< + ><)))*> + <*(((>< + ><)))*>   Mark 6:53-56
Photo by author, 6:30 AM, 29 January 2023, in Bgy. Igulot, Bocaue, Bulacan
"In the beginning,
when God created the heavens
and the earth, 
the earth was a formless wasteland,
and darkness covered the abyss,
while a mighty wind swept over 
the waters" (Genesis 1:1-2).
Praise and glory to you,
God our loving Father,
in waking us up to a wonderful 
morning, reminding us of 
another beginning!
Though many of us have 
the Monday blues,
whining and complaining
of great tasks ahead,
of the many problems still not
solved especially unpaid bills
while others are still sick with
some feeling lost and empty
for so many reasons;
forgive us in first seeing what we
do not have without seeing what
you have given us!
Awaken our senses, Father!
Awaken us to this great 
reality of our daily "genesis" story:
of how in the beginning
there was nothing at all!
Help us appreciate how we
all started in the beginning
without the many things
we have today that despite 
the gloom and darkness,
pains and hurts,
we are still better off today
than before when we were just
beginning in our career,
in our business,
inn our studies,
in our lives.
Let us keep that in mind
and heart, O Lord, that 
in the beginning,
there was nothing until 
you blessed us with everything
that is good.
Let us be filled with hope
in you that while everything 
may be in chaos in every
beginning,
order soon follows
as you unfold your 
wonderful plans
for us.
Your Son Jesus Christ
came to enable us to start anew 
in daily life, to find every day 
a new beginning, a genesis,
and go back to you, Father;
to be touched with your love
and mercy so that we too
may touch others to experience
new beginnings in life.
The great martyr-priests 
of Japan led by St. Pedro Bautista
suffered greatly in bringing the faith
in the land of the rising sun;
their martyrdom may have ended
their lives but their faith in you
touched so many others that
brought new beginnings to life
here on earth; may we touch 
others with your love and mercy,
dear Jesus today to start a new
beginning 
for a new earth.  
Amen.