Miserere Friday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On the path of holiness with Mary

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, 07 October 2021
Malachi 3:13-20 <*(((>< + ><)))*> Luke 11:5-13

Glory and thanksgiving
to you God our loving Father
in fulfilling to us your promise
to the Prophet Malachi in
sending us Jesus Christ, our Light
of healing and wholeness born 
by the Blessed Virgin Mary.

But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.
Malachi 3:20

But, still, times and people have
not truly changed that much since the time
of Malachi as many of us are easily tempted
to seek the easier way to the good life
through evil and sins; many of us choose
to simply pay lip service to calls of faith,
going through external religious observances,
and worst of all, still refuse to pray and 
reach out to be one with you, O God.

Teach us to rediscover prayer through 
the beauty and efficacy of the Holy Rosary 
of the Blessed Virgin Mary that has guided
nations and history for almost 2000 years,
enabling us to contemplate the face of Jesus
your Son through Mary his Mother.

Yes, it is a Marian prayer method but
strongly Christ-centered because it is
Mary who truly knows Jesus so well
that through her Holy Rosary, we are able
to enter into the Lord's very life expressed
in its Mysteries that hopefully help us to
become like him through Mary.

Most of all, open our eyes
to the wonder and joy of praying,
of coming to you, loving Father,
that is pure grace from the Holy Spirit
who enables us to call you in
Jesus Christ your Son; in the Rosary,
"we plead to you with Mary, the 
sanctuary of the Holy Spirit, interceding
for us before you Father who filled her
with grace and before the Son born
of her womb, praying with us and
for us" (St. John Paul II, Rosarium 
Virginis Maria, #16).

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
Luke 11:9-13

On this day of remembering
the intercession of our Lady of the
Holy Rosary at the Battle of Lepanto Bay,
we praise and thank you Father
for this unique grace of praying
to be like Jesus Christ your Son
victorious over sin and evil at his Cross
where he gave us his Mother Mary
to be our teacher in following and
imitating him our Lord and Master.
Amen.

Anger & Prayer

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Week XXVII, Year I in Ordinary Time, 06 October 2021
Jonah 4:1-11 ><)))*> + ><)))'> + ><)))*> Luke 11:1-4

Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry that God did not carry out the evil he threatened against Nineveh. He prayed, “I beseech you, Lord, is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I fled at first to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, rich in clemency, loathe to punish. And now, Lord, please take my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.”
Jonah 4:1-3

O God, our loving Father!
How I love your prophet Jonah
for many times, I am so like him!
Do I really have a reason 
to be angry with you,
when I knew very well 
how your kindness and mercy
would always prevail over people
I think deserve your wrath and
punishment?  How many times I felt
my judgment better than yours but,
like Jonah, I let your will prevail and then,
I complain.  Have mercy on me, Lord!

“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 and hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot distinguish their right hand from their left, not to mention the many cattle?”
Jonah 4:9-11

Now, you can no longer hide from me
your laughter, O God, to my folly of
being angry with you over simple things
I have no total control at all when I refuse
to do something on things I am capable
of affecting and changing for good 
like caring for people and persons 
more important above all. 
Like Jonah, I can see my problem
with anger lies deep within me when
I cannot accept that I am wrong,
that should have listened and followed you.

Teach me to tame my anger,
teach me to pray through your Son
Jesus Christ who taught us to call you
"Father" so I may learn to entrust 
myself to you fully and let go of the
many angers within that drive me to errors.

How lovely it is to contemplate the
sight of you, Lord Jesus at prayer:  so
peaceful and gentle, stable and sure 
in the Father that prompted your disciples
to ask you to teach them how to pray. 

Teach me to pray, loving Jesus,
to cleanse myself of impurities that
drive me to anger and hate so I may be 
filled with your Holy Spirit; like St. Bruno 
who founded the strictest order of
contemplative men - the Carthusians - 
may "I seek God assiduously, 
to find God promptly,
and to possess God fully".  Amen.

Jonah & Martha in the Divine Mercy of God

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of St. Sr. Faustina Kowalska, 05 October 2021
Jonah 3:1-10 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]*> + ><]]]]'> Luke 10:38-42

My Lord and my God, Jesus:
as we celebrate today the memorial
of your modern saint, Sr. Faustina Kowalska
whom you have chosen to deliver 
to the modern world your message 
of Divine Mercy which is as old as eternity, 
I have realized too how I have not
fully grown nor matured in you -
in prayer and in spirituality;
like our readings today, I can see myself
so clearly both in the persons of 
Jonah in the first reading and 
Martha in the gospel.

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 a sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
Jonah 3:4-6

Forgive me, Jesus,
for being like your prophet Jonah
in so many times and occasions:
always running away from you,
always reluctant to proclaim your words,
and always thinking of myself;
like Jonah, I pray but as much as
possible, I cannot let go of myself,
of the things I know and feel so much
that I cannot let you control 
everything in me, including me!

The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
Luke 10:41-42

Forgive me again, Jesus,
for being like your friend Martha
in so many times and occasions:
always busy working for you
without really doing your work,
always looking at the shortcomings
of others without seeing mine,
and always complaining to you
of having my hands filled with 
things I believe you want me to do;
like Martha, I love having you in my life,
always welcoming your coming to me,
but always forgetting the most important
of all, YOU.

Lord Jesus Christ,
help me shed off the Jonah
and Martha in me; let me be like
St. Sr. Faustina to give not from
my wealth but from my want:
too often, I just give you some
of my time, some of my money,
some of my talents, some of myself,
keeping more to maintain my security;
teach, Lord, to give more of my time,
more of my money, more of my talents
 and more of myself so that
I may truly give you the chance
to show me and let me experience
your boundless love, your Divine Mercy.
It is only in totally surrendering
myself to you can I truly pray,
"Jesus, King of Mercy,
I trust in YOU."
Amen.

Who is my neighbor vs. am I a neighbor?

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, 04 October 2021
Jonah 1:1-2:1-2, 11 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< Luke 10:25-37

*Painting by Giotto of St. Francis preaching to birds from integratedcatholiclife.org.*

Glory and praise to you,
O God our loving Father
on this wonderful Monday
as we celebrate the Memorial
of your well-loved St. Francis of Assisi;
thank you in giving us a great
saint in him for us to emulate
especially in this time when we
are so alienated from Mother Nature
and most especially from each other;
Give us the grace, dear God,
of true devotion than of just mere
novelty and fad in appreciating
St. Francis of Assisi.

Let your words today guide us
in following the footsteps of 
St. Francis in the same manner
your very words inspired him to
leave everything behind and
totally dedicate himself to your service.

Let us be open and obedient
to your words, O Lord,
 unlike Jonah in the first reading
 who tried to escape you when
told to preach in Nineveh;
you know, Lord, how so many times we
label each other to "box" them
into stereotypes especially when
they are so unlike us in many ways.
And that is one of the beautiful lessons
 you have taught us through St. Francis:
  that we are all one,
brothers and sisters
in Jesus Christ who had come to
suffer and die for our sins.
Help us realize that it is not a question
of who is my neighbor but more of
a question if I act as a neighbor to everyone.

“Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Luke 10:36-37

Dearest Jesus,
you so loved St. Francis that 
you shared with him your wounds
at the crucifixion, enable us like him
to be more kind and loving to everyone
and most of all be simple and humble 
in our lives so we can always have room
for you among the sick and the poor.  Amen.

The “Little Way” to God

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin & Doctor of the Church, 01 October 2021
Baruch 1:15-22 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]*> + ><]]]]'> Luke 10:13-16

Glory and praise to you,
God our loving Father in heaven
who opens so many ways for us 
to be with you, to experience heaven
while here on earth; Tuesday you showed us
the path of martyrdom of St. Lorenzo Ruiz 
and companions; today, we celebrate
your Little Flower, St. Therese of the Child Jesus
who taught us her "Little Way" to you 
with her writings, prayers and short life.

But we all know that whether 
it is the "big" way of martyrs or the "little way" 
of St. Therese, it is always one and the same path 
of Jesus Christ our Lord who is "the way and 
the truth and the life" (Jn.14:6) that we implore
you dear Father through him your Son
that we may be gifted with docility and trust
in you like that of a child.

Most of all, may our obedience and trust 
in you dear God be rooted in that love for you
which you have sowed ever since in our heart
and soul if we could only be humble enough like
St. Therese to admit:

“Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love.”
St. Therese of the Child Jesus

O merciful God our Father,
in this age of social media where
everyone is vying for exposures
and shots to prominence,
make us realize that life is not a show
to perform but a gift to cultivate and
nurture in our relationships with you
through others; give us the sense of
sinfulness to be ashamed of our arrogance
and pride before like Baruch and St. Therese:

During the Babylonian captivity, the exiles prayed, “Justice is with the Lord, our God; and we today are flushed with shame, we men of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem… We have neither heeded the voice of the Lord, our God, nor followed the precepts which the Lord set before us… but each one of us went off after the devices of our own wicked hearts, served other gods, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God.”
Baruch 1:15, 18, 22

May this pandemic period
be a purifying process for us, O God,
that in the midst of sufferings and
hardships like St. Therese we rediscover
and realize your loving presence
in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Rejoicing in the Word of God

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Memorial of St. Jerome, Priest & Doctor of the Church, 30 September 2021
Nehemiah 8:1-4, 5-6, 7-12 ><]]]]*> + ><]]]]*> + ><]]]]*> Luke 10:1-12

Photo by author (2017), mosaic at the Chapel of St. Jerome beneath the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem where the saint had lived and died in 420; many years later, his bones were transferred to the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

What a blessed Thursday 
you have given us today, 
our dear loving God the Father
as we celebrate the Memorial 
of St. Jerome who taught us that
"ignorance of the scriptures is
ignorance of Jesus Christ".

In him we find hope and consolation
to tame our cantankerous attitudes
in this age of too much means of 
communication that lead to more  
quarrels and division than peace and unity;
give us the grace, O Lord
that like St. Jerome we may assiduously
pray, study, and most of all, live 
the Sacred Scriptures so we may be emptied 
of our many impurities to be filled with
your humility and kindness.

How wonderful that on this day
the first reading describes to us the 
great joy your words have brought to
your exiles upon their return to Jerusalem;
let us give the proper respect due to your
words, dear God, for they are life!

Then Nehemiah, that is, His Excellency, and Ezra the priest-scribe and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all the people: “Today is holy to the Lord your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep,” for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. He said further: “Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared; for today is holy to our Lord. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength!”
Nehemiah 8:9-10

Bless us your priests, Father,
who are supposed to be men of the Word
according to Vatican II that we may
"enflesh" your holy words like Jesus
the eternal Word who became flesh
so that indeed, as your Son had said 
in today's gospel, people would pray
for more laborers in the field than
anything else to feed their hunger
and thirst for meaning in this life.
Amen.

Becoming a messenger of God

The Lord Is My Chef Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Feast of Archangels Michael, Gabriel, & Raphael, 29 September 2021
Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> John 1:47-51

*Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 2020.*

Praise and glory to you, O God
our loving Father!  Thank you for sending
us your Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and
Raphael for your special messages of
protection, love and healing for us all
though we are not always available.
But most of all, we praise and thank you
for sending us your Son Jesus Christ whom 
we may consider as the "Archangel"
of archangels - your ultimate Messenger
of your truth and love for us.
Through him, You O God had come to us;
through him, with him and in him, we are 
able to come to you, dear Lord.

A surging stream of fire flowed out from where he sat; thousands upon thousands were ministering to him, and myriads upon myriads attended him. The court was convened, and the books were opened. As the visions during the night continued, I saw one like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven. When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, he received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and people of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.
Daniel 7:10, 13-14

Help us in our unbelief,
in our little faith in you, dear God;
through Jesus, open your heaven
for us and let us be like your Archangels
in these troubled times of the pandemic:
amid the many occasions of sins
and the seeming reign of evil,
let us be like Archangel Michael
fighting satan in your name
 to ward off his devious attacks
that fragment our relationships;
let us be like Archangel Gabriel
delivering your messages of
faith, hope and love to so many
people awaiting salvation;
and last but not least, Father,
let us be like Archangel Raphael
bringing healing to the many ailments
and diseases that afflict not only our bodies
but most especially our hearts and souls
that prevent us from becoming truly free
and faithful to love and serve you.
Amen.

The way to God

The Lord Is My Chef Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Feast of St. Lorenzo Ruiz and Companion Martyrs, 28 September 2021
Zechariah 8:20-23 ><)))*><*(((>< + ><)))*><*(((>< Luke 9:51-56

Thus says the Lord of hosts: There shall yet come peoples, inhabitants of many cities; and the inhabitants of one city shall approach those of another, and say, “Come! Let us go to implore the favor of the Lord;” and, “I too will go to seek the Lord.”
Zechariah 8:20-21

Thank you, dear God our
loving Father for continuing to lead us
to your holy city, your holy presence:
more than the ancient Jerusalem,
all we want is to make to your presence
that we beg you to continue to guide
us in this journey.

We know it is dangerous,
filled with many obstacles and
difficulties like peoples and
situations that try to let us lose
focus on you our destination.

When the days for Jesus being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.
Luke 9:51

Through your Son Jesus Christ
give us the courage and strength
to be "resolutely determined
to journey to Jerusalem" by defusing
hostilities among peoples, showing them
the path of peace that calls for witnessing
to your love and care for everyone.
May we never lose sight of the reality
that the path to you, God our Father
is Jesus Christ himself who said
 "I am the way and the truth and the life";
bless us in imitating St. Lorenzo Ruiz
and his companion martyrs in Japan
who followed Jesus to his martyrdom
on the cross, shedding their blood
to witness to your truth and glory.

In this modern age when such
cruelties are a thing of the past,
the challenge remains the same
for us to lead people to you, O God;
how sad that many people today
are "leaving" your city, 
never coming back
because they could no longer see you
in us, in our lives and examples;
open our minds and hearts
that like St. Lorenzo, may we
examine ourselves closely to see
what changes we need to live out
Christ's gospel so that even if we are
given with a thousand lives
we would still offer it all
to you.  Amen.

*Photo from thecatholictalks.com, 2019.*

Inclusive and jealous God, exclusive and selfish people

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, Priest, 27 September 2021
Zechariah 8:1-8 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 9:46-50

It is so baffling, a great mystery
indeed dear God our Father that you
our source and direction in life is
inclusive and jealous while we your
children are exclusive and selfish.

The word of the Lord of hosts came: Thus says the Lord of hosts, I am intensely jealous for Zion, stirred to jealous wrath for her. Thus says the Lord: I will return to Zion, and I will dwell within Jerusalem; Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain.
Zechariah 8:1-3

When you brought back home
the exiles from Babylon,
you were so filled with joy
hoping they have learned 
their lessons very well:
that you are a jealous God who demands
total fidelity for there is no other God;
you bless everyone with good things
and yet they still look somewhere else
to worship and adore aside from you.

On this memorial of St. Vincent
de Paul your servant among the poor
and needy, teach us to rely on you
alone, God our Father; teach us to be 
humble and open before everyone, 
not selfish nor exclusive, sharing your
blessings to everyone, finding your Son
Jesus Christ among the least of the 
society.  Amen.