The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Doctor of the Church, 14 December 2022
Isaiah 45:6-8, 18, 21-25 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 7:18-23
Photo by author, 08 December 2022.
Glory and praise to you,
God our Father, for this lovely Wednesday!
We have Isaiah with all your wonderful words
of love and assurance from whom
all good things come from
for there is no other God but you
who "form light and create darkness...
designing earth to be lived in" (Is. 45:7, 18);
wherever there is a healing of the sick,
when "the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk, lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
the poor have good news
proclaimed to them" (Lk.7:22),
then, indeed, you are there!
Where there is love and everything that
is good, sincere and true,
like saints and holy people,
then it must be only, YOU, God
who had come to us;
like St. John of the Cross,
inflame us with your love
move us with your love
let us live in your love!
Let us never get tired walking in your love,
Lord, as expressed to us by St. John of the Cross:
"El alma que anda en amor,
ni cansa ni se cansa"
(The soul that walks in love
neither tires nor gets tired);
and if there is no love,
let us therefore put love
in order to find love.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles, 18 November 2022
Revelation 10:8-11 ><000'> + ><000'> + ><000'> Luke 19:45-48
Lord Jesus Christ,
as we celebrate today the
memorial of the Dedication of the
last two Basilicas in Rome -
St. Peter's in Vatican and
St. Paul's Outside the Walls -
you give us a "taste"
of what is to be your Church,
your Body,
and your accompanying mission.
I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and swallowed it. In my mouth it was like sweet honey, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then someone said to me, “You must prophecy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”
Revelation 10:10-11
Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ,
for the sweet taste,
for the sensation of being a Christian,
of listening to your words,
of being a Catholic,
of serving you,
of worshipping you,
of being loved by you.
Definitely so sweet indeed
to experience you in the Church!
But everything becomes sour
and bitter when we internalize
your words,
your call,
your mission
for that is when reality happens,
when we realize being your disciple
is a way of life in you,
a way of the Cross,
of giving one's self
to others like
the two pillars of your Church,
St. Peter and St. Paul.
Sometimes, Lord Jesus,
give us a taste of your anger
like when you cleansed the temple;
let us taste your strong words
when we make the church a den of thieves
literally speaking;
let us have a taste of your discipline
when we dirty your Body,
when we hurt your Body,
and worst,
when we mutilate your Body,
the Church with our lives so far from
your calling and mission
especially us your apostles.
Let us learn to love and accept
being Christian is savoring both
the sweet and sour tastes of
proclaiming your gospel
both in words and in deeds.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of St. Martin of Tours, Bishop, 11 November 2022
2 John 4-9 ><000'> + <'000>< --- ><000'> + <'000>< Luke 17:26-37
St. Martin of Tours, Patron of our hometown Bocaue in Bulacan.
Lord Jesus Christ,
today you confront us with
the two contrasting attitudes
we disciples should have,
walking in love and
walking in truth.
To walk in love is to live in love
which is to love one another
as you have loved us, Lord Jesus,
even to the point of giving our very selves
in love for another just like you.
Of course, we know it so well
and we have said so much about it
but have miserably failed in truly loving
like you because, O Lord, we have failed
to walk in truth; love and truth
always go together!
We cannot truly love when
we live in lies and falsehoods,
when we are not sincere and faithful;
most of all, when we choose to be
blind and deaf
to what is true and good.
For this is love that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, as you heard from the beginning, in which you should walk. Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh; such is the deceitful one and the antichrist. Anyone who is “progressive” as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son.
2 John6-7, 9
Grant us, Jesus, the grace of walking in love
and walking in truth like St. Martin of Tours,
a great Saint who taught us in his life
how these two contrasting attitudes
perfectly go together in witnessing your gospel.
Upon seeing a beggar on a cold winter night,
he cut his cape into two without hesitation
to share it with the beggar freezing in cold;
he was not yet baptized at that time that
you appreciated it Lord by appearing to him
in a dream with the other half of his cape.
After he was baptized, as a soldier of
the Roman army, he realized that war
and the gospel are incompatible that he
refused to fight in a battle by declaring
"I am a soldier of Christ; I cannot fight."
Threatened to be jailed for cowardice,
St. Martin volunteered to be sent unarmed
to the frontline when just before his
commanders challenged his offer,
their opponents sued for peace,
preventing any battle.
After his discharge from the Roman army,
St. Martin founded monasteries
and soon his holiness became known that
he was elected Bishop of Tours in France,
faithfully serving you Jesus by
walking in love,
walking in truth.
After his death,
his cult spread and was so popular
in Europe, proof that indeed,
"whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it,
but whoever loses it will save it"
(Luke 17:33).
St. Martin of Tours,
Pray for us!
Amen.
An icon of St. Martin giving the other half of his cape to a beggar; photo from blog.obitel-minsk.com.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop, 04 November 2022
Philippians 3:17-4:1 ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> Luke 16:1-8
Praise and thanksgiving,
God our loving Father
for the grace of your Son
Jesus Christ
who had come
to make us closer to you
more than ever,
making us "citizens of heaven"
(Philippinas 3:20).
Teach us, dear Jesus,
to be imitators of St. Paul
witnessing your Cross,
the only path to salvation
because it is our liberation from sin;
do not allow us to be
"enemies of the cross"
whose "God is their stomach;
their glory is in their shame.
Their minds occupied with earthly
things" (Philippians 3:18-19);
keep us faithful to your teachings
and example, Lord Jesus Christ
by living your paschal mystery.
Like St. Charles Borromeo
whose memorial we celebrate today,
give us the grace of determination
and perseverance in keeping us
true and faithful to you
by making things happen
like making Christ present
no matter how difficult and
unpopular it may be especially
when others especially our pastors
have forgotten to live in your footsteps,
when too much time and emphasis
are spent with outward appearances
forgetting internal reformation;
let us stop wishful thinking that
things may get better by being just idle,
simply awaiting for events to happen.
Like that shrewd steward in the gospel,
let us find ways, O Lord, in making
justice and mercy,
love and kindness
become realities
by making them happen
by standing firm in you
Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious, 03 November 2022
Philippians 3:3-8 ><]]]'> + <'[[[>< ~~ ><]]]'> + <'[[[>< Luke 15:1-10
Your words today, O Lord,
are so lovely,
so picturesque,
so fitting in our celebration
of the memorial of
St. Martin de Porres:
right away as I prayed
St. Paul's letter to the Philippians,
I felt your Spirit leading me to examine
my body, my skin, my very self.
Every time I am so absorbed
with my self, with my body and skin,
with my outward appearance,
of how people see me and
how I project myself to them,
there is that Paul in me,
that attitude of his kin
of feeling so good,
so special,
so worthy
and so entitled
in life and even to God.
…although I myself have grounds for confidence even in flesh, all the more can I. Circumcised on the eighth day, of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage, in observance of the law a Pharisee, in zeal I persecuted the Church, in righteousness based on the law I was blameless.
Philippians 3:4-6
How funny it is, dear Jesus,
that so often my skin is detached
from my soul, from my heart,
from my being and from you,
my root and essence;
more funny is that as I cling
to my skin color and outside appearances,
the more I turn away from you
just like "the Pharisees and scribes
who distanced themselves from you,
complaining at how tax collectors and sinners
were all drawing near to you" (cf. Lk. 15:1-2)!
Through the example of
St. Martin de Porres who was
rejected by his own father and
others because of his skin color,
teach me to look more inside
my heart and my soul
to find you in me and in others;
like St. Paul, open my mind
and my heart, my whole self
to you Christ Jesus
and "consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good
of knowing you my Lord" (Phil.3:8)!
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Solemnity of All Saints, 01 November 2022
Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14 ><}}}}*> 1 John 3:1-3 ><}}}}*> Matthew 5:1-12
Glory and praise to you,
O God our loving Father
in fulfilling your Promised Land
to us all in Jesus Christ
in heaven!
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the land.
Matthew 5:5
Thank you for the gift
of All Saints Day as we remember
and emulate those who have gone
ahead us into heaven,
the real Promised Land you
had promised since the beginning;
more than a piece of land nor a country
nor a continent nor a place in this planet,
your Promised Land dear God is heaven -
a sacred space within us where YOU and I,
Father, commune, live together as one in
Jesus Christ.
Heaven is the paradise Jesus
promised the thief on the Cross;
Heaven is when we live in communion
in Jesus Christ not only after we have died
but while we are still here on earth,
when we are meek and humble
bearing in you and with you
the pains and sufferings
of lovingly serving others,
of working for peace,
of hoping in eternity.
Inheriting the land, dear Jesus,
means orienting our goals into
striving to let your reign of peace
be a reality despite all the troubles
we have here on earth; after all,
history has shown us how the violent
and powerful conquerors have come
and go when it is always the humble
and lowly who remain and last longer
just like the Saints now in heaven.
Enable us dear Jesus
to alway listen and pray,
most of all abide in your words
like the Saints who have truly
lived out the Scriptures that they
have inherited heaven; like all the
Saints now in heaven, may we put
into practice the words of the Sacred
Scriptures no matter how we may
sound and look foolish like with the experiences
of St. Paul, St. Francis, and St. John Paul II;
the Saints are the best examples
of being meek to inherit the land
because in living out the Sacred Scriptures,
they have opened so many possibilities
of good things in life in the future,
not only in heaven but here on earth
as testified by their many works
and teachings still continuing to this day.
As we slowly return
to normal these days, Jesus,
may we humbly return to you
in our Sunday Masses when
you as Prince of Peace reigns
supreme in your words proclaimed,
in your offering of your Body and Blood,
when we also create a sacred space
for you in our hearts so that every Eucharistic
celebration becomes a dress
rehearsal of our entry into heaven.
Amen.
*Photo credits: from en.wikipedia.org painting by Fra Angelico called “The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs”.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop & Martyr, 17 October 2022
Ephesians 2:1-10 ><)))*> + <*(((>< + ><)))*> + ><)))*> + <*(((>< Luke 12:13-21
Photo by author, April 2021.
Praise and glory
to you, God our Father,
so "rich in mercy" and love
and "kindness in Jesus Christ"
(Ephesians 2:4,7); sometimes,
I wonder why can't we just be
like the trees and other plants
that keep on blooming with flowers
and fruits so delightful to sight
and tastes without any efforts at all
except to simply follow your flow
of seasons unlike us spending
our entire lives earning and
amassing wealth and things
that do not fulfill us but even
rob us of peace and joy!
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from your works, so no one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.
Ephesians 2:8-12
You have created everything,
everyone so beautiful by nature,
dear God, but here we are,
destroying earth and our selves
with our own "creations"
that do not last at all.
Forgive us, O God,
that in our pursuits to earn
for ourselves, we fail to learn
that the "bestest" things in life
come only from you - Jesus Christ
and his gifts of faith, hope and love
lived sincerely in our family and
friends and community.
Forgive us, Father,
in coming to you in prayers
like that "someone in the crowd"
asking for material favors and
treasures of this world not realizing
the most important which is to be
"rich in what matters to God"
(Lk.12:21).
May we heed and contemplate
the words of your great Saint,
Ignatius of Antioch,
Bishop and Martyr who
wrote the Christians in
ancient Rome:
"Do not talk about Jesus Christ
as long as you love this world."
Help us forget ourselves,
Lord, so we may love you
more through others.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of St. John XXIII, Pope, 11 October 2022
Galatians 5:1-6 ><000'> + ><000'> + ><000'> Luke 11:37-41
Photo by author, April 2022.
Brothers and sisters: For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
Galatians 5:1, 6
O dearest Jesus,
thank you for coming
to save us,
in setting us free
from sin
and most especially,
from the yoke of slavery
to externalities of
religion.
Keep us faithful
to you, Jesus,
by being more loving
to one another;
set our sights on
you and people
not on rules and
regulations,
rituals and traditions
as you have pointed out
in the gospel today.
Through the intercession
of your servant,
St. John XXIII who was
lovingly called as
"the good Pope"
and father of Vatican II,
give us the courage
to stand firm
and defend our faith in you
while being open to the winds
of change sweeping
the world today.
Make us free and faithful,
and loving too like him
who had said on the eve
of the conclave that would
elect him as Pope John XXIII,
"We are not here to guard a museum,
but to cultivate a flourishing garden
of life." Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest, 06 October 2022
Galatians 3:1-5 ><000'> + ><000'> + ><000'> Luke 11:5-13
Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 10 September 2022.
Remind us,
O Lord Jesus Christ,
that "while the world changes,
the cross stands firm",
that you alone,
Jesus Christ
is our salvation
and way to perfection
as the Carthusians
had held for almost
a thousand years.
Like St. Bruno
their founder and father,
let us "seek God
assiduously
to find God promptly
and to possess God
fully."
“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, the door will be opened.”
Luke 11:9-10
Stop our foolishness,
our being stupid like the
Galatians as St. Paul
called them in the first reading:
prayer is not an ATM
where we go to get cash
we need nor an apps
when we can just seek,
find and have whatever
we desire and need;
PRAYER IS EMPTINESS.
Teach us Jesus
to lay ourselves bare,
to strip ourselves
naked before you;
teach us to ask for YOU,
to seek YOU,
and to enter YOU.
How foolish we
have become
that we have been
misleading people
from you because
we teach wrongly
about prayer that
is centered on us
and our needs and
desires, making God
a Santa Claus
or even a genie.
Make us persevere
in emptying ourselves
of our pride
to be filled with your
humility and love,
to be an indwelling
of the Holy Spirit
so that we become more
like you, Jesus,
fulfilled and at peace.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, Religious, 04 October 2022
Galatians 1:13-24 ><000'> + <'000>< Luke 10:38-42
Photo by Fr. Gerry Pascual, bronze statue of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy, 2021.
Lord Jesus Christ: While I am so eager to recite the prayer for peace of your blessed St. Francis of Assisi today being his Memorial, thank you for making me realize in your words today that before St. Francis was recognized for his works that balanced everything in creation, help me first achieve balance in myself in prayer.
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
Photo by Fr. Gerry Pascual of the fresco at the Assisi Basilica, Italy, 2021.
Let me grow closer to you first,
Lord Jesus Christ by loving you
among the poor and suffering,
by spending precious moments
under your Cross on bended knees
like St. Francis.
Let me grow closer to you first,
Lord Jesus Christ by loving you
as I value life more than ever in this
age of materialism, by making known to
everyone the value of every person,
the value of human life especially
at its weakest stages of pregnancy and
infancy like St. Francis who set up the
first Nativity scene at Grecchio.
Let me grow closer to you first,
Lord Jesus Christ by loving you
in deep prayers like St. Francis who
befriended even Death he had called
"cousin" in his beautiful Canticle of the Sun.
Lord Jesus Christ,
long before St. Francis came
and all the other saints, you have
shown us personally that prayer is
life's primary balancer,
equalizer; like St. Paul in the first
reading, may we personally feel
your coming to us in prayers
and moments of contemplation and
meditation because the more we become
active in life, the more we need to be
contemplative; balance in life happens
when the more we pray, the more we work;
and, as we work more, let us pray more too!
Photo by Fr. Gerry Pascual, detail of fresco with St. Francis at the Basilica of Assisi, Italy, 2021.
Most of all,
through the example of
St. Francis of Assisi,
let us handle life with prayer:
may we study hard,
work harder,
and
pray hardest!
Amen.
Photo by Arch. Philip Santiago, Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi, Italy, September 2018.
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