Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Eighth Week, Memorial of St. Paul VI, Pope, 29 May 2026 1 Peter 4:7-13 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Mark 11:11-25
Photo by author, 05 May 2019, Jerusalem, Israel.
As we come to nearly closing the month of May, your Prince of Apostles, St. Peter leaves us with beautiful reminders so timely and appropriate in this period of darkness and evil:
Beloved: The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be serious and sober-minded so that you will be able to pray. Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins (1Peter 4:7-8).
How lovely, how powerful, and so true are your words to us today through St. Peter: we are living at the end of all things and still, here we are living as if there is no end, as if there is no death, as if there is no judgment.
We have become so bad, so dismal is the world like that fig tree you have cursed, Lord Jesus: so delightful in the eyes but fruitless like us, especially the rich and powerful among us like our lawmakers and public officials so affluent, dressed in fineries without any benefit at all for the society they have abused; oh yes, even our church is like the temple of Jerusalem that has become a den of thieves than a house of prayer when priests and bishops are more concerned with money and clout, with self, leaving You Jesus trapped inside the Tabernacle.
Teach us conversion, Jesus: give us strength and will to turn away from evil, to closely examine our selves for all our sins when we have refused to love; love can truly cover a multitude of sins because when we truly love, that is when we turn away from sin, when we return to You, Jesus found in the least and taken for granted among us; may our love for You through one another be constant because wherever there is love, there is God; when there is love, there is no sin.
May we be witnesses of Your love dear Jesus in this world so wounded by sins and evil; like your servant Pope St. Paul VI, may we witness Your love in our daily lives caring for those in the margins, for those sufferings and especially for those who are weak. Amen.
Photo by author, May 2017, in Ein Karem, Israel near the Church of the Visitation.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest, 26 May 2026 1 Peter 1:18-25 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Mark 10:32-45
Photo by author, somewhere in Batangas, 15 May 2022.
God our loving Father, as we slowly move into Ordinary Time in our Church calendar that began yesterday, delete from our thoughts, from our orientations, from our consciousness the idea of anything called "ordinary" as something less important, less in value because it is usual, plain and simple. Ordinary.
Make us realize the word "ordinary" implies orderliness and regularity, from the Latin root that literally means "rule."
Make us realize, O Lord, that the ordinary days, the ordinary people, and whatever we refer to as ordinary actually make up the bulk of our lives with You, O God, the Supreme Ordinary of our lives!
Make us realize that whoever or whatever we deem as ordinary is the rule of the day - so, let us stop taking them for granted like leading our lives in You, according to Your will, witnessing Jesus Christ who had come to show us the value and dignity of our being human because it is the path, the rule to fulfillment, to life and to meaning as St. Philip Neri realized early in his life in turning away from a life of ease and comfort by embracing then priesthood.
Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or land for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come” (Mark 10:29-30).
Photo by author, Cabo de Roca, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 15 May 2025.
Finally, teach me, dear Jesus, to have this regularity of life, of having order in my life that begins and ends in You because you have come to make me and everyone truly special by being closer to the Father through one another. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, 25 May 2026 Acts 1:12-14 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> John 19:25-34
Icon of Mary “Mater Ecclesiae” (Mother of the Church) in St. Peter’s Square from opusdei.org.
Praise and glory to you, God our loving Father in bringing us this far: it is almost June, half-way through 2026 as we begin Ordinary Time with the closing of Easter Season yesterday, Pentecost Sunday; thank you most of all to Jesus Your Son now seated at Your right in heaven in giving us His Mother the Blessed Virgin Mary whom we honor this Monday as Mother of the Church.
From the very beginning, from His birth to His public ministry until His Crucifixion, Mary has always been with Jesus so that when He sent the Holy Spirit as He had promised on that Pentecost Sunday in Jerusalem, Mary was present with the disciples praying in the Upper Room: "All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers" (Acts 1:12).
What a beautiful image of the church on its very first day, as Your Body, O Lord Jesus, gathered in prayer with Mary Your Mother whom You have entrusted to Your beloved disciple at the cross: "When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, 'Woman, behold your son.' Then he said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother'" (John 19:26-27).
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, March 2024.
As we resume today Ordinary Time, may we imitate Mary Your Mother, O Lord Jesus, in being a faithful disciple, open to welcome and accept You, saying "Yes" to Your will like at the Annunciation; let our faith in You be firm like hers at the wedding at Cana when she told You immediately how the newly-weds have ran out of wine, instructing the servants to do whatever "he tells you"; most of all, like Mary, let us remain intimate with You, Jesus in prayers, her most important trait as Your faithful and model disciple.
Teach us, dear Jesus, to be like Mary Your Mother, deeply absorbed in You in prayers; her standing at the Cross was not a result of a spur in the moment but the fruit of her long, vibrant prayer life centered in You her Son; unlike us, we come and pray to You only when we are going through trials and difficulties but when everything is going well in life, we hardly remember You, Lord, nor pray at all.
All her life, Mary lived in prayer, in communion and oneness in You, Jesus that is why when the Church was born on Pentecost, Mary was there. She has always been with us as our Mother and companion in mission, appearing many times like in Fatima, Portugal in 1917 to remind us to return to you, Lord Jesus Christ; let us be like Mary in her discipleship that is essentially a prayer life. Amen.
From cbcpnews.net, National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City, 13 October 2022.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 25 January 2026 Isaiah 8:23-9:3 ><}}}}*> 1 Corinthians 1:10-13.17 ><}}}}*> Matthew 4:12-23
Photo by author, sunrise at the Lake of Galilee, the Holy Land, May 2019.
More than a month ago at the Midnight Mass of Christmas we have heard this Sunday’s first reading, that beautiful prophecy by Isaiah fulfilled in Jesus Christ’s coming.
First the Lord degraded the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the end he has glorified the seaward road, the land west of Jordan, the district of the Gentiles. Anguish has taken wing, dispelled is darkness: for there is no gloom where but now there was distress. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone (Isaiah 8:23-9:1).
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled… (Matthew 4:12-14).
As we move forward into Ordinary Time, we hear anew one of the most beautiful promises in the Old Testament of how the coming of the Christ is the “breaking of dawn of salvation” as Zechariah sang in his Benedictus after naming his son “John” when light bursts forth to dispel the darkness that had enveloped us for a long time.
Photo by author, sunrise at the Lake of Galilee, the Holy Land, May 2017.
Notice that it is those who live and walk in darkness literally and figuratively speaking are always the first to come forward into the light like the people in Galilee at that time, especially the towns of Zebulun and Naphtali who were actually names of Jacob’s two other sons. Their tribes settled in that area of Galilee that was at the border with other pagan countries always subjected to wars and conflicts with foreigners. Their lands were literally in the dark, never at peace as if forsaken.
Here lies the good news of this Sunday: after hearing the news of John’s arrest, Jesus launched his public ministry. Notice how plain and simple was Matthew’s narration, “When Jesus heard that John had been arrested” – it was another period of darkness for the people with rampant violence and injustice. However, it was not totally dark at all: see how Jesus withdrew to Galilee; Christ’s “withdrawing” to Galilee was not something negative but actually more of a positive development. Jesus chose to begin his ministry in that forsaken province of Galilee to show his love and concern for the people long forgotten. Remember how at that time that Jerusalem was the center of everything, something like an “imperial Manila” we call these days.
Here we find again that imagery of Jesus like in his birth that happened during the darkest night of the year that 30 years later, he chose to go to the darkest region of Israel to bring light of salvation to everyone. Jesus comes to us most in moment of darkness in our lives! When we are troubled by sins and problems, never lose that spark within for Christ had come, is coming and continues to come to us! Matthew mentioned this prophecy of Isaiah of the great light shining in the land of gloom not really for his readers then and now to remember what God had done in the past but to make us all aware always that God continues to send us his Son Jesus in these dark moments of our lives. In telling us how Jesus began his ministry by withdrawing to Galilee in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, Matthew wants us to be aware of what God has done for us, of giving us Jesus, the true Light of the world right into the many darkness we are going through in life today.
More than the news overseas that we have heard like wars and the breaking apart of world peace and order with America suddenly flexing its muscles to remind everyone they are still great and powerful or the very frustrating corrupt lawmakers of the country, we are all in some form of being in the midst of darkness in our personal lives too like a sick loved one or a problematic brother or sister.
Photo by author, San Juan, La Union, 08 January 2026.
God has delivered us from slaveries of sin and selfishness in Christ’s coming and presence among us. Surely there would always be darkness and shadows in our lives this 2026 but Jesus is telling us today in his withdrawing to Galilee after hearing John’s arrest that we need to get out of our own darkness! There is no more darkness in Christ’s coming; it is us who have darkened our lives with our selfish interests like the quarrels and animosities against one another that St. Paul warned against in the second reading.
Every time we destroy our unity, our oneness, we plunge ourselves into darkness. Whenever we refuse to bow down, when we refuse to give way, when we refuse to forgive even forgo or let go of others inanities, we go back to darkness. Inasmuch as Jesus Christ is the great light who shone on the many darkness of our lives, he is calling us like the first four disciples to bring his light to others.
Was it really that easy for the brothers Simon and Andrew, especially brothers James and John to immediately leave behind their livelihood and father so easily for Jesus? Not really. Matthew need not go into details about their call and conversion because most likely, they went through the same stages we have gone through or going through right now as we pray and reflect about our life direction. Like us today, Simon and Andrew, James and John experienced burn out, searching for meaning in life that after listening to the words of Jesus, they felt and saw him as the light enlightening everything for them. They saw in Jesus their lives and very person getting clearer that they decided to follow him and become fishers of men.
How far are we willing to repent and be converted in the light of Christ to start anew living in the land of loving God, self, and others?
Photo by author, Bolinao, Pangasinan, 19 April 2022.
I have always loved sunrise. Though sunsets are more colorful and dramatic like a spectacular show called palabas in Filipino, sunrise is different: it is more of paloob, an inside movement that is subtle yet intense when light steals into shadows as the sun is gradually breaking open the darkness to reveal what is unseen.
That is why our Filipino term for sunrise is more evocative of its deeper meaning as pagbubukang liwayway which literally means breaking of dawn. Every morning person (madrugeño in Spanish) knows so well those feelings of being up before sunrise, of exactly catching the breaking of dawn that is always joyful and liberating with a certain kind of lightness and relief from deep within because another day is given us.
Maybe it is a carry over with my having worked for three years in the graveyard shift covering the police beat while still working at GMA News in the late 1980’s. But more recently, I feel that imagery of coming forward into the light resonates most after a good confession when we deeply realize God’s immense love, that God is not that really angry at all with us because of our sins, that there is a bright light to always look forward in this life amid all the darkness and shadows enveloping us.
Today is the National Bible Sunday. It is when we prayerfully read the Sacred Scriptures everyday that we see the light of Christ in our selves, in our lives. The more we pray the Scriptures, the more we are enlightened, the more we are filled with the light of Christ that enables us to see too his light on the face of those we meet daily. Let us step out of our darkness in life this Sunday and everyday to henceforth experience and share Christ. Amen. Have a blessed, enlightening week ahead!
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe, 06 July 2025 Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C Isaiah 66:10-14 ><}}}*> Galatians 6:14-18 ><}}}*> Luke 10:1-12
Photo by author, Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.
Finally, we hit the fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time with Luke as our guide after a month of Solemnities.
We are at the turning point in the gospel of Luke – chapter 9 and first half of chapter 10 – where Jesus was identified by Peter as the Messiah (9:20) while Jesus for the first time made known his coming pasch (9:22). From this point on, Luke tells us of how Jesus “resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem” (9:51) to fulfill his mission as they took a detour from a Samaritan town that had refused them passage (9:53). After this scene comes our gospel this Sunday.
At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household’… Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you and enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'” (Luke 10:1-5, 7-9)
First thing we notice about discipleship according to Jesus is that it is never easy, “behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.” Disciples need to be “resolutely determined” in the mission like Jesus, focused only on Jesus.
Early in his teachings during the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus enunciated in his Beatitudes the contradictions of his life and teachings to the ways of the world his followers have to imitate. Hence, his list of “do’s” and “don’ts” of discipleship in today’s gospel.
Do’s: greet peace every household they entered; stay in same house; eat and drink whatever is offered; cure the sick; and proclaim “the kingdom of God is at hand.”
Don’ts: no money, no sack, no sandals, no greetings along the way, and do not move about from one house to another.
Notice there are five do’s and five don’ts. And there are only two “do’s” that require speaking: to greet every household with peace and then the other is to proclaim to everyone the kingdom of God is at hand (10:5, 9) which is the sum of discipleship in Christ.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2025.
“Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household'”…
The only valuable we as disciples of Christ must have is peace that we have to offer generously to everyone.
Peace is the work of the Holy Spirit, a sign of the coming of the Kingdom of God as the angels proclaimed on Christmas, “on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Lk. 2:14). Most of all, peace is the fruit of Easter that the Risen Lord offered his disciples upon seeing them on that evening, “Peace be with you” (Jn.20:19).
Vatican II defined peace “is not merely the absence of war… but the fruit of love which goes beyond what justice can provide” (Gaudium et Spes 78). Peace is something we all have to work and strive for, entailing wounds and sacrifices for us to achieve it by cooperating with the grace of Jesus Christ in overcoming sin and evil. It is a process that never stops, calling for perseverance and daily conversion on our part.
Peace comes when we disciples are open for Christ, for others, and for change and transformation. That is why Jesus insisted us his disciples not to bring anything material that may influence our dealings with others, especially with those who are poor.
The great irony of our time is that the more we have grown affluent with wealth and material things, the more we have become empty in meaning and directions in life. So many are disturbed, longing for peace but could not have it because we the disciples are also lost in the things and the ways of the world.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2025.
“…cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'”
In the Luminous Mysteries of the Holy Rosary introduced by St. John Paul in 2002 is its third mystery, the proclamation of the Kingdom of God.
It is truly a mystery of light because Jesus is the Kingdom of God! To proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God is to proclaim the coming of Jesus Christ in our midst. When John the Baptist’s disciples asked Jesus if he was the One they were waiting for or had to wait for another, Jesus said in reply, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them” (Lk.7:22).
Where there is healing, there is new life, there is proclamation of the good news, there is Jesus Christ! Proclaiming the Kingdom of God is representing Jesus in our lives, in our mission.
From vaticannews.va
In the previous chapter and scenes before our gospel this Sunday, Jesus asked his disciples what people said about him, the very same gospel we have last Sunday during the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Recall how Jesus was mistaken for John the Baptist, Elijah and Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
That’s the problem we still have today: many followers of Jesus do not represent him well that people are lost at who he really is! And it first happens right in the Sunday Eucharist as noted by a Facebook group called Catholic Fortress in its series this past week.
Many reacted positively for the series that was really good and timely for us priests and ministers at the altar who have unconsciously abused the Mass, unknowingly deviating from Christ himself who could no longer be found and experienced by the people. Truly the Mass is about Jesus; but, when it becomes like a showbiz with so many ek-ek and palabas by the priest, the servers and ministers and the choir, then it leads us away from Jesus who is paloob or inside our hearts.
In 400 AD, St. Augustine wrote the first manual for catechism called De Catechizandis De Rudibus (On Instructing Beginners) detailing, step by step the many things to consider and lessons to teach people being prepared for Baptism. From a simple request by his deacon named Deogratias, St. Augustine came up with an entire book on how to catechize with a final lesson that is the heart of his book when he wrote, “Remember, the catechist is the lesson himself.”
The same thing is very true with us priests and altar ministers and every disciple of Jesus Christ! Do we have Jesus Christ or not especially in the celebration of the Holy Mass where we proclaim the Kingdom of God is at hand and share peace with everyone?
How can there be peace of Christ among us when priests fail to love first of all Jesus in prayers as reflected in his love for the people by preparing for the Mass so that the sick and the burdened may experience Jesus – not an actor or actress of a telenovela no matter how popular it may be?
Where is the Kingdom of God when people have to bear the tantrums and antics and hangups of their priest as they already have so much burdens in life? Or, when people have a hard time tightening their belts and the priest keeps on asking for collections without any reports?
Where is the Kingdom of God when priests play favorites among the parishioners and servers, when some support Pride Movement and corrupt officials?
How can there be peace when all we have in the Mass is clapping of hands that we never have time to listen to God speaking to us in silence?
Photo by author, St. Joseph’s Chapel of the Order of Friars, Tagaytay City, 17 January 2025.
This Sunday, Jesus invites us to examine our faith journey in him if we are still following him or somebody else.
Let us pray for that grace to represent Jesus well always in our lives as priests and laity alike that we truly become the Body of Christ, his presence on earth.
It is the relationships that we have with God that matters in discipleship which Isaiah likened to that of a mother and child in the first reading. This finds it fulfillment when like St. Paul in the second reading, it is Christ’s Cross that we carry in ourselves – not bags nor money nor self and fame. Amen. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday in the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 10 June 2025 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]*> Matthew 5:13-16
What a great way to resume the Ordinary Time this Tuesday, Lord Jesus Christ as your words today invite us to examine some of the most "ordinary" things in life we take for granted.
Brothers and sisters: As God is faithful, our word to you is not “yes” and “no.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed to you by us, Silvanus and Timothy and me, was not “yes” and “no,” but “yes” has been in him (2 Corinthians 1:18-19).
Many times in our answers of yes or no we cannot even make a clear stand in you, Jesus; like Paul, give us the strength and courage to mean "yes" in you, Jesus; let our "yes" to your gospel, to your love and justice, to your kindness and forgiveness be a resounding "Amen" in Christ, without any reservations, without ifs nor buts but a firm "yes, Lord!"
Teach to become the salt of the earth bringing out the flavor and goodness of every person like what salt does to our food; at the same time, let your light shine in us, Jesus, to bring out the light, the beautiful colors of every person around us with our witnessing to you, Jesus. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, 09 June 2025 Acts 1:12-14 <*{{{{>< <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> ><}}}}*> John 19:25-27
Painting by El Greco, “Pentecostes” (1597) from commons.wikimedia.org.
Praise and glory to you, Lord Jesus in inspiring the Church in its most recent celebration of the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church every Monday after Pentecost when we resume Ordinary Time; it is so right and fitting that after your return to heaven, you send us to the world to continue your work of salvation by being rooted in you in prayer, not just by ourselves but with Mary your Mother, your first disciple, the first doer of your word, the first to receive you, Jesus the Christ.
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet…Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers (Acts 1:12, 13-14).
Icon of Mary “Mater Ecclesiae” (Mother of the Church) in St. Peter’s Square from opusdei.org.
Since the very start of the Church, you have always been with her, truly her Mother being the Body of Christ your Son; all your life, you have devoted yourself into prayer as a communion in Jesus Christ which is essentially what discipleship is - prayer!
As we resume the Ordinary Time, teach us Mother Mary to remain in union with Jesus in prayer:
let us be one with Jesus your Son to make our joy complete not only in listening and receiving his word but most especially in doing his words;
let us be one with Jesus your Son for us to persevere in our sorrows by finding him always in every suffering by embracing his Cross;
let us be one with Jesus your Son so that glory and victory may not inflate our ego, realizing everything is for God's greater glory;
let us be one with Jesus your Son for us to remain in his light of the Holy Spirit in this time we are engulfed in darkness of sin and materialism, pride and power, vanity and self-centeredness.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 20 March 2025.
O most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, Mother of Christ and our Mother too, be our companion in this long journey in Ordinary Time, knowing Jesus, loving Jesus, following Jesus, always leading and pointing others to Jesus to be like Jesus. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday, Week I in Ordinary Time, Year I, 15 January 2025 Hebrews 4:12-16 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Mark 2:13-17
Photo by author, Northern Blossom Farm, Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.
therefore, he (Jesus) had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful priest before God to expiate the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested (Hebrews 2:17-18).
How lovely are your words today, dearest Jesus! They are so true! While others are still wondering, asking "what if God is one of us", we have always believed and have experienced God truly one of us, among us, and within us in you, Jesus Christ.
How sad that many of us humans are more inclined to believe in things and persons bigger than than ourselves, not realizing our greatness in being small that even you, O Son of God, chose to be like us, little and vulnerable so that we can be like you, divine and eternal.
Teach us to see more of your person, of your being one of us, dearest Jesus, for us to experience your authority and power; like Simon and Andrew, teach us to have that intimacy with you Lord that, "immediately" they told you about Simon's mother-in-law being sick; most of all, let me be one with my own brothers and sisters like you, Jesus, "approaching them, grasping them, and helping them rise up when they are down" (Mark 1:31) Amen.
Jesus Heals Peter’s Mother-in-Law, a mosaic in the Cathedral of the Assumption, Monreale, Sicily, from christianiconography.info.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, First Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 14 January 2025 Hebrews 2:5-12 <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Mark 1:21-28
Photo by author, Sakura Park, Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.
"Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority... All were amazed and asked one another, 'What is this? A new teaching with authority'" (Mark 1:21-22, 27).
When does a teaching sound new? When the teaching makes an impact on me. But how?
I have been wondering, Jesus, of being there with you in the synagogue that sabbath; what was so new with your teaching?
It was and still is the authority, and your authority comes not from your power nor position, Lord Jesus: your authority is so felt because you are one with us, you have always been with us.
What's new with your teaching, Jesus, is the authority that inversely makes us free, liberates us from fears and false presuppositions, never oppressive nor subjugating. A teaching is new when there is authority that does not impose but rather liberates others because it is the Truth (John 8:32) - Jesus himself who claimed "A am the way the truth and the life" (John 14:6).
More than words and power, teaching and authority are felt and become liberating in the real sense, ever new, so fresh that it is not subjugating because in the final analysis it is the person who loves and cares, wiling to sacrifice and suffer for another. Exactly like Jesus. This new year, O Lord, make me new a teaching so true as a person so loving and caring like you. Amen.
Photo by authoir, Northern Blossom, Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2025.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Week I in Ordinary Time, Year I, 13 January 2025 Hebrews 1:1-6 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Mark 1:14-20
Photo by author, Mt. St. Paul Spirutality Center, Pico, La Trinidad, Benguet, 04 January 2025.
Brothers and sisters: In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he spoke to us through the Son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe, who is the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being, and who sustains all things by his mighty word (Hebrews 1:1-3).
O how lovely and so deep, dear God are your words on this first day of Ordinary Time; they are so touching and personal yet very ordinary, common, and typical.
That is how we take the word "ordinary" so often - lacking in special or distinctive features that we take for granted anything ordinary because it is... ordinary.
Maybe this is the reason why we find it so hard to really believe in you, Father; when you sent us your Son, Jesus Christ, the "refulgence" or reflection of your glory and "imprint" of your being, we find him so ordinary because we wanted someone more, someone bombastic, someone so different from us, not so like us because we feel so ordinary.
It is so funny and silly of us, God, that we cannot accept you in Jesus who became human like us, who chose to be ordinary, preferring to be poor than rich, simple than complicated yet so kind, so very much akin to us in everything except sin; instead of being honored and grateful in your choosing to be ordinary like us, we rejected him and us in the process.
Open our minds and our hearts to your coming to us in Jesus like the brothers Simon and Andrew, James and John who left everything behind to follow Jesus whom they have found to be extraordinarily ordinary; may we find meaning in life in Jesus your Son in whom the ordinary is actually the orderly order of things in life with you Father always above all. Amen.
Photo by author, sunrise at Mt. St. Paul Spirituality Center, Pico, La Trinidad, Benguet, 06 January 2025.
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