Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday in the Third Week of Advent, 15 December 2025 Number 24:2-7, 15-17 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 21:23-27
Photo by author, Malolos Cathedral, December 2019.
When Jesus had come into the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him as he was teaching and said, "By whose authority are you doing these things? And who gave you the authority"? (Matthew 21:23)
Lord Jesus Christ, forgive me, forgive us for the many times we ask you the same question about your authority; so many times we do it so subtly by trying to ask it out of curiosity and fear, resistance and defiance, or a desire to understand more; whatever the reason, Lord, many times I find my questioning of your authority leads me more into myself, into my pride and ego.
As we get closer to your birthday, I ask for the grace of this Advent Season to be more open to your authority, Lord Jesus; teach me to trust always your silent authority in myn life; like Balaam in the Old Testament, grant me Jesus the grace to be faithful to your voice, to your manifestations, to submit myself to your authority speaking only your words and doing your will. Amen.
A painting by early Christians in the catacombs of Rome depicting Balak the King of Moab asking Balaam on his donkey to curse the Israelites before a battle; the Lord appeared on the skies to Balaam, commanding him to bless instead the Israelites who won over the Moabites.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the First Week of Advent, 04 December 2025 Isaiah 26:1-6 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 7:21, 24-27
Photo by author, Malolos Cathedral, December 2019.
On that day they will sing this song in the land of Judah: "A strong city have we; he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us. Open up the gates to let in a nation that is just, one that keeps faith" (Isaiah 26:1-2).
Like most cities, O Lord our God, I lay in ruins: physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually; feeling lost, almost collapsing, trembling in so many fears and concerns; but my faith in you assures me of being "a strong city" with "walls and ramparts" that protect me; I may not see them now but "open the gates" of my heart to trust in you, in your continuing work in me so mysterious that leads to victory eventually.
Give me patience and perseverance; enliven my hope in you, Jesus Christ who comes to me daily, dwelling in me to be my "everlasting rock".
Jesus said to his disciples: “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rains fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock” (Matthew 7:24-25).
Keep me faithful in you, Lord Jesus as I rejoice in your works, in your comfort, in your presence and coming. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 08 October 2025 Wednesday in the Twenty-Seventh Week of Ordinary Time, Year I Jonah 4:1-11 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 11:1-4
Photo by Mr. Nicko Timbol, Chapel of Angel of Peace, OLFU-Valenzuela, 03 October 2025.
Lord Jesus, teach me... not only to pray but most of all teach me to grow in you, to reorder my life in you by reshaping my will and desires with yours, to desire what you desire for me and for others, to open my heart than twist your arm to what I want, to know and seek what brings life, what builds community, what reflects your love and mercy.
Lord Jesus, teach me to be angry positively like you when you cleansed the temple, not like Jonah.
Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry that God did not carry out the evil he threatened against Nineveh…But the Lord asked, “Have you reason to be angry?” Then Jonah asked for death, saying, “I would be better off dead than alive.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you have reason to be angry over the plant?” “I have reason to be angry,” Jonah answered, “angry enough to die.” Then the Lord said, “You are concerned over the plant which cost you no labor and which you did not raise; it came up in one night and in one night it perished. And should I not be concerned over Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot distinguish their right hand from their left, not to mention the many cattle?” (Jonah 4:1, 4, 8-11)
Lord Jesus, teach me to pray so that I may trust you more, so that I may be transformed into the beloved child of the Father like you. Amen.
Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Our Lady of Fatima University Valenzuela City (lordmychef@gmail.com)
Photo by author, Carmel of the Holy Family Monastery, Guiguinto, Bulacan, 25 September 2025.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 18 August 2025
Photo by author, pilgrims awaiting their turn inside the Ascension site of Jesus outside Jerusalem, May 2019.
It has been a month since I have taken a break from my daily walking following that fall in our garage when I hurt my left knee that still aches to this day. But as I rested my onehod (twohod if both knees), I have realized in prayers that there are just two important steps we have to take for a fuller life instead of those 10,000 steps daily.
The first is to always step back one or two steps backwards and stop to make a space for God and for others in our life. Though life is a constant moving forward, it is essential that once in a while we step back and stop to see everything in ourselves and around us. Let God direct you because life is more of adjusting to the many shiftings and transitions that happen every day (https://lordmychef.com/2025/08/11/god-in-our-many-transitions/). Stepping back is being flexible in life.
Since turning 18, we have all been taking charge of our lives, each of us demanding a driver’s license, but, as we approach the age of 60, our interest in driving wane that we prefer more to be a passenger than being on the steering wheel. I have semi-retired from driving last year as I leave my car behind six days a week to take ride-hailing and ride-sharing services. Aside from reasons of convenience, taking a Grab car makes me more productive and most of all, relaxed in getting to my destinations and back home.
When life is so confusing, so dark and you feel so lost, step back and stop. Many times in life what really happens is that we unconsciously eject God from our lives as we go on with our responsibilities and projects even apostolates and ministry thinking we are doing the work of God. The moment things go wrong, when failures and problems happen, we then question God where he is or why did he allow bad things to happen with us. Truth is, God never left us, has always been with us but we never recognized him because we were so busy. Hence, the need to step back and stop to meet him. Finally.
Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the headland of Pisgah which faces Jericho, and the Lord showed him all the land… The Lord then said to him, “This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give to your descendants, I have let you feast your eyes upon it, but you shall not cross over.” So there, in the land of Moab, Moses, the servant of the Lord, died as the Lord had said (Deuteronomy 34:1, 4).
See how Moses was portrayed in the first readings last week, slowly stepping back from the daily scene among the Israelites in the wilderness as he passed leadership to Joshua his successor. It is perhaps the earliest account in the Bible of the virtue of “ageing gracefully” in the Lord by Moses.
It is a virtue so needed these days in modern time that Pope Benedict XVI taught us in 2013 when he resigned, taking that bold step backward to stop from his active duties to spend the rest of his life in prayers. That move proved beyond doubts the true humility and holiness of Pope Benedict XVI who peacefully died right at the transition of the year on December 31, 2022.
Not only successions proceed smoothly when we learn to step back and stop as seen in Moses and Pope Benedict. Stepping back to stop and allow God to do his work among us strengthen and make better our human relationships often strained by those into sin and evil. See these as the steps proposed by Jesus in his instructions when one commits sin:
Jesus said to his disciples: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone… If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church. If he refuses to listen even to the Church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector” (Matthew 18:15,16-17).
Relationships are shattered when we “overstep” on family and friends into sinful situations where stepping backward is the more prudent choice to take. Stepping backward allows us to learn more the situation and avoid making rash judgments against anyone that often starts, then gets aggravated in social media. Stepping back is not just being circumspect at all but simply trying to be more fair and accurate where social media is filled with inaccurate and totally false reports or fake news.
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 2023.
The second important step that literally brings us closer to God and others is taking that first bold step into water. Yes. Stepping on water is the other special step we need to learn and make for a fuller life in God.
Recall whenever you go swimming at the pool or the beach. There is always that someone in the family or among friends or even our very self so timid or wary of the cold water who would ask that stupid question, is the water cold?
Of course – you will never know how cold the water in the pool or the sea until you take that plunge! It may sound simple but, many times we are afraid to take the first step forward into any body of water or even the shower due to the chills that quickly follow. But we also know very well from experience the great feelings that come after every plunge into water!
The spiritual value of making this crucial step forward into water is found in the first reading last Thursday at the crossing of the Jordan River by the Israelites into the Promised Land under Joshua. Leading them were the priests carrying the ark of the covenant who took the first steps on the banks of Jordan River that caused it to part and enabled the people to cross into the other side, reminiscent of the crossing of the Red Sea during their exodus from Egypt with Moses (https://lordmychef.com/2025/08/14/praying-to-step-forward-in-christ/).
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, 2019.
The people struck their tents to cross the Jordan, with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant ahead of them. No sooner had these priestly bearers of the ark waded into the waters at the edge of the Jordan…than the waters flowing from upstream halted, backing up in a solid mass for every great distance indeed… while those flowing downstream toward the Salt Sea of the Arabah disappeared entirely. Thus the people crossed over opposite Jericho (Joshua 3:14-15, 16).
Water is life but it also evokes death at the same time. Too much water can drown and kill us that is why we are afraid to take the first step forward into the river or the sea. We fear, we doubt even mistrust God, others and our self in taking the first step forward into water without realizing how that step could be the only thing left for us to move on in life. Stepping into water and allowing our feet to get wet in order to cross a stream or a river is one of the boldest moves we can make in life because that could be the very moment when God is actually making a way for us when our usual routes are impassable.
That is why I tried linking that first reading with the story of the saint of that day, St. Maximilian Kolbe (August 14) who “stepped forward” to their prison guards to take the place of a married man to be executed as a punishment following the escape of a prisoner at Auschwitz. Like the priests of Joshua, St. Maximilian carried the ark of the covenant – Jesus Christ – inside the gas chambers that ignited the flames of courage and faith in God to other prisoners at that time.
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, 2019.
These days, we need more men and women of faith, hope and love in God willing to step forward into waters that can be dark and murky, even lethal with unknown substances like the modern miseries of human trafficking, substance abuse, sex slavery, extreme poverty and other systematic inhuman conditions that now afflict mankind. Taking that bold step into water carrying Christ across the river is enabling the others to pass through from death to life, from grief to joy, and from hopelessness to love.
Pray for us your priests in the Diocese of Malolos as we go on retreat today until Thursday that we may truly step backwards and stop these days to let God take charge of our lives and ministry anew. Most of all, that we may have the grace of fervor and courage to carry and follow Jesus in crossing the many rivers and streams of life when the usual routes are impassable due to sickness and other miseries. Amen. Have a fulfilling week ahead.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Memorial of St. Alphonsus de Liguori, Bishop & Doctor of the Church, 01 August 2025 Leviticus 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34-37 <*(((>< + ><)))*> Matthew 13:54-58
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, 2018.
Thank you, dear Father for the past seven months as we welcome August on our final five months of the year; forgive us that we keep watch of the changing of seasons without seeing or even remembering you present; you have set the changing seasons through rains and sunshine, snows and darkness in some places, falling of leaves and spring everywhere as reminders of your loving presence among us as you had instructed Moses of the different festivals to remember you in the Book of Leviticus.
Photo by Fr. Gerry Pascual, the Swiss Alps, August 2019.
More sad dear Father is when your Son Jesus Christ came to live among us so we can truly experience you, the more we have turned away from you; until now that incident in Nazareth continues in many places in the world most esepcially right in our hearts.
Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?” And they took offense at him (Matthew 13:54-57).
Lord Jesus Christ, forgive me when sometimes I make it difficult, even challenging to believe in you; please be patient with me. Help me in my unbelief especially when you are so near so real so true to celebrate you always. Amen.
Photo from Fatima Tribune, Red Wednesday, Angel of Peace Chapel, RISE Tower, OLFU-Valenzuela City, 27 November 2024.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 16 July 2025 Wednesday, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Exodus 3:13-20 ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> Matthew 11:25-27
Photo by author, Sonnenberg Mountain View, Davao del Sur, August 2018.
Today, O Lord your words bring us to the mountain as we celebrate too the Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel; in the first reading you brought Moses to your mountain in Horeb to see you in the burning bush while the Memorial of our Blessed Mother today reminds us of the early monks who banded together to pray at Mount Carmel.
When the Lord saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.” “Come, now! I will send you you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He answered, “I will be with you; and this shall be your proof that it is I who have sent you: when you bring my people out of ??Egypt, you will worship God on this very mountain” (Exodus 3:4-5, 10-12).
How lovely was your conversation, Lord with Moses, so similar with our conversations when we would readily answer your call with the declaration "Here I am" that suddenly when you hand us our mission, we balk and question you, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?"
Many times we are like Moses - while showing humility with some fears in our quick response to your call, we suddenly doubt ourselves upon learning the mission you entrust us with whereas you simply assure us of your presence, of being our companion with your simple statement "I will be with you." Such is your simplicity, Lord.
Teach us to be like Mary your Mother, dear Jesus Christ, simple and childlike filled with humility, always open to God and his plans; after all, you call us first of all for a relationship with you not with a task to be achieved.
May the Brown Scapular given by Mary to St. Simon Stock be a reminder of our relationship with God in Christ with Mary; always open to his will but most of all faithful and obedient to his call of communion and oneness. Amen.
Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Our Lady of Fatima University Valenzuela City
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 15 July 2025 Tuesday, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop & Doctor of the Church Exodus 2:1-15 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Matthew 11:20-24
Photo by Ms. Jo Villafuerte, Atok, Benguet, 03 September 2019.
Sometimes I wonder O God how it feels to be in front of you, of what to feel when you are so like us humans - sadly frustrated, exasperated.
Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes” (Matthew 11:20-21).
Forgive us, dear Jesus when we are so callous and numb before you, not feeling you at all because we are so absorbed in our own pride and foolishness, justifying our sinful ways that we hardly feel you, because we could not feel others nor ourselves as our bloated egos numbed our humanity; we have lost our sense of sinfulness and could no longer appreciate what is good and beautiful, right and orderly; we have become like those two Hebrews Moses caught fighting each other that instead of feeling his care and concern for them, they felt separated he would kill them like the Egyptian officer.
How true were the words of our Saint for today, the most pure Bonaventure who wrote, "If you do not know your own dignity and condition, you cannot value anything at its proper worth."
Help us realize Jesus how once mighty cities like Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum remains in ruins to these days, never to have recaptured their old glory days because since your time, they never saw their dignity and condition as your beloved ones; let us not fall into ruins too because of our unrepentance for our sins. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday in the Fifth Week of Easter, 21 May 2025 Acts 15:1-6 <*((((>< + ><))))*> John 15:1-8
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca Villas, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 15 May 2025.
Let me abide in you, Lord Jesus for you are the true vine and we are your branches, having life and sustenance only in you and through you; Let me remain in you like the branches of the vine so I may remain fruitful, not just successful that is based only on my efforts that are never good enough; Let me abide with you, Lord especially when no one else can truly be relied on for you alone remains unchanged in love and mercy.
Jesus said to his disciples, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit… Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me” (John 15:1-2, 4).
There are so many things in me that need to be pruned and removed especially those blocking my growth in you as a person and a disciple; so many parts of my life need your nourishing presence Lord like my temper and anxieties that make me hurt many people around me; prune me of my old vices and new ones that I have acquired that prevent me from totally giving myself to you in prayer and charity; cleanse my heart and my mind to see the other "branches" that link me to you our true vine like the Apostles and the presbyters in the early Church (Acts 15:6) by being open to meet with others and discuss the many issues that divide and separate us from each other by focusing alone in you dear Jesus. Amen.
Exactly a week before a I turn 60 this Saturday, I was told to join our management committee in their team-building seminar in Batangas. As chaplain of the University, I had to lead the prayers and of course celebrate the Mass the following Sunday.
For the second time since I came to our University, our university officials and administrators had me included in the games that capped the talks in the morning. What a big surprise when finally I was able to decode an experience I have always had with students since my ordination in 1998 whenever I would prepare kids for their First Communion. There has always been this one recurring problem whether in a Catholic school, public school or non-sectarian school – the usual confusion of many children on how to make the Sign of the Cross properly.
Kids are first confused with their left and right hands, on which to make the Sign of the Cross; and their second confusion is where to place the finger(s) for each Person of the Trinity. Even if I have explained we use our right hand with the index and middle fingers together in making the Sign of the Cross, the children are confused at the actual execution because when I face them, they always tried imitating me by instinctively raising their left hand to imitate my movement; everything breaks loose when we make the Sign of the Cross, saying “In the name of the Father” with the fingers on the forehead, and “of the Son” with fingers on their navel and the most confusing part, when they say “and of the Holy” placing their fingers on right instead of left shoulder as they saw me … “Spirit” on the left instead of the right shoulder.
But when I stand beside them, when I am with them as we all face the same direction to the front, children easily learn and follow the Sign of the Cross: no problem raising the right hand because we are all side by side with each other. Most of all, easier to follow the “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” because we are all on the same side. They can easily follow and imitate me.
More than the point of view (POV) in praying, kids realize my perspective better on how I see the Blessed Trinity with the Father up in heaven (forehead), the Son born by the Blessed Mother (navel) and the Holy Spirit as our guide (shoulders).
Very often, POV and perspective are used interchangeably but they are actually worlds apart. And that’s where most confusions arise.
A point of view refers to who is telling the story as a first person, second person, or third person. Perspective is deeper than a POV – it is how the speaker sees the world, it is the interplay of the speaker’s inner dynamics based on one’s beliefs and experiences as well as background. Many times, our perspective colors our POV so much that we presume everything is understood like what the youth would claim as, alam na this! when in fact, hindi nga pala!!!
Our perspectives lead us to what we call “curse of knowledge” when we presume everybody knew what we knew or everybody understood what we have understood. I should have known this long ago while working in radio and television when we were taught to never assume the listener or the viewer knows anything. That is why the TV is called an “idiot box” – because viewers are deemed idiots, a perspective not seen by many viewers because those writers are so good in influencing our perspectives!
Back to our games last weekend in Batangas…
In the second to the last activity we had, ten members of each group were blindfolded, with each holding a string attached to a garter band as its center that would be used to “catch” or “hold” a tennis ball from the ground. One member acts as a leader – in our group it was I! – who gave the instructions and commands to either pull or release one’s string to open or close the garter to hold the tennis ball that had to be brought around a cone without dropping it until the group returns to their starting point. Everything depended entirely on the instructions of the leader and we lost the game miserably because my instructions were not clear enough because it was affected by my perspectives: if I told them to move to my right, it was actually the left of others and vice versa!
That’s when I realized that not everyone sees what we see at the same time. Our perspectives, the way we see things are different that when people tell us something from a different perspective like me in that game, I felt so easy to turn to either left or right because I could see everything but not those blindfolded.
It was very much like in teaching grade three students preparing for their First Communion: when I stood beside them, there was no confusion in using the right hand in making the Sign of the Cross unlike when I just merely faced them, instructing them something that looked so different when executed.
Many times I have been complaining why young people these days have to be “spoon-fed” with everything because we older ones presume they know and understand everything like us! They don’t even know what Cortal is!
Our problem these days is not the generation gap which is actually not a problem but a situation we can easily grasp if we widen our perspectives in life and about other people by being one with them, by being open to them like a friend.
“Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow; Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead; Walk beside me, just be my friend” (Albert Camus).
When we are fixated with our own perspectives, we tend to assume a lot, then fail to consider others’ perspectives even points of view that lead to breakdown in communication, confusions and misunderstanding then failures.
Many times, we may have the same POV with the same situation but widely different in perspectives. It is impossible to explain or even grasp and feel our hugot for our perspective but by being open, being a friend to others can greatly improve our relationships and productivity. By being more focused with a goal, with an ideal, despite our diverse perspectives, we can still move forward and work together. Best examples were the Twelve Apostles of Jesus who were all of different perspectives in life due to their contradicting backgrounds but were able to achieve the impossible in the grace of God.
Perspectives have to be formed and refined. Like architects and other artists in drawing their “perspectives” of a building or any project, they undergo years of intensive studies and practice to produce things of great beauty. But more than what they know, it is mostly what and how they feel being with other people in trying to see their perspectives which they blend with theirs to create their masterpiece like office buildings and homes, a fashion clothes and jewelries, sculptures and poetry.
Beautiful things happen when there is a blending of peoples’ different perspectives. That is why God became human to finally show us in Jesus Christ his perspective of holiness and goodness, of love and mercy that make us truly a human person, his image and likeness. Jesus did that when he suffered and died on the Cross to be one with us in our sins and mortality so that we may be one with him in his holiness and eternity, blending and uniting our perspectives.
Hope you find this perspective enlightening. Have a blessed day.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday, First Week in Lent, 12 March 2025 Jonah 3:1-10 + + + Luke 11:29-32
Photo by author, Timberland Highlands Resort, San Mateo, Rizal, 08 March 2025.
Fill me, O God, with wonder and awe for you like Jonah! Surprise me always of your goodness among your peoples; help me in my unbelief!
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you.” So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord’s bidding. Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,” when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth (Jonah 3:1-5).
Loving God our Father, you are so great and awesome, more wide than the great city of Nineveh yet so mysterious that Jonah himself could not believe what he had seen: the people of Nineveh believed in you and repented a mere half day yet when he proclaimed your message to them!
Many times in life, we are like Jonah - very reluctant in following you, in obeying you because your ways are so different, even beyond comprehension yet so real; many times, we feel we know more than you know; most of all, most of the time, we insist our own even to you. Sorry, Lord.
Photo by author, Hidden Valley Springs Resort, Calauan, Laguna, 20 February 2025.
In this Season of Lent, banish our evil thoughts, banish the many reasons and explanations we have to open our minds and our hearts to your mysteries so we may read your many signs of presence and power, love and mercy for us even in this time in the world when it has become more difficult to believe in you due to modern trends, most especially of our own stubbornness; grant us that same disposition you gave Jonah who finally believed and obeyed you in doing your work in the way you want it done. Amen.
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