The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year I, 04 July 2023
Genesis 19:15-29 <*(((>< <*(((>< + ><)))*> ><)))*> Matthew 8:23-27
Photo by author, November 2020.
Your words today, O God
our Father, are all about
chaos and destruction,
storms and calamities
in the sea and the land;
just like so many of us these days
who are in the "eye of the storm",
in the midst of great trials
and sufferings in life
due to their own making
or somebody else's sins and
wrongdoing, or simply
being in the wrong place
at the wrong time.
The whole world is yours,
O Lord; you have the whole world
in your hands and you know
everything that is happening.
Grant us the trust and confidence
in you of Jesus your Son
and the deep faith of Abraham
as you kept your promise to save
his nephew Lot and family
from the catastrophe that fell on
Sodom and Gomorrah.
As Jesus got into a boat, is disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves but he was asleep.
Matthew 8:23-24
When he (Lot) hesitated, the men, by the Lord’s mercy, seized his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughter and led them to safety outside the city.
Genesis 19:16
Keep us strong, O God,
in the face of trials and tribulations of life;
calamities inevitably happen,
it is how we face and deal with these
that truly matter;
cleanse us of our impurities,
of our stubbornness,
of our sins,
never to needlessly look back
like Lot's wife but instead move
forward in life learning your important
lessons of being morally upright and holy.
Amen.
Photo by author, Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, 16 June 2023
Deuteronomy 7:6-11 ><}}}*> 1 John 4:7-16 ><}}}*> Matthew 11:25-30
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD in San Antonio, Zambales, 05 June 2023.
My dearest Lord Jesus,
let me come to you
and rest in your
Most Sacred Heart;
you know very well my
countless labors
and heavy burdens in life;
ease my sufferings,
I do not ask to see
the distant shore nor
end of the tunnel,
just one step is enough for me
to forge on in you.
Despite my many tears
and laments in this life,
let me listen to your silence,
Lord Jesus;
let me feel your hug and embrace;
let me learn from you
to keep on serving lovingly,
to be always gentle and humble
of heart amid the many trials
and difficulties I face that are
often unknown to many
even to those dear to me.
O Jesus in your Most Sacred Heart,
let me be present in you
by leaving my past behind
and stop worrying of the future;
help me to let go
of my many disappointments
and frustrations to see
the many opportunities you offer me
in every here and now,
to finally take your yoke that is easy,
and your burden that is light
by living in every present moment
right in your heart,
here deep inside me.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Homily, Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, 16 June 2023
Deuteronomy 7:6-11 ><}}}*> 1 John 4:7-16 ><}}}*> Matthew 11:25-30
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 20 March 2023.
It has been two months since I celebrated by silver anniversary of ordination to the priesthood. Until now, I still continue to reflect and relish on this immense gift of priesthood, still asking with the same sense of awe and wonder since ordination day, “why me, Lord?”
As I reflected this week the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus which is dedicated for the sanctification of us priests, I have realized how I have remained the same sinful, insecure and fearful man ordained 25 years ago with my six other classmates. As I get closer to becoming a senior citizen in 2025, the more my past sins and stupidities, carelessness and vices are coming back like “Facebook Memory”, reminding me how I have them kept under control, that they could burst and be out in the open if I get careless.
But in the midst of all these darkness and weaknesses still in me, the more I feel so blessed and consoled, and overjoyed by the fact that I still have that same desire to proclaim Jesus Christ to everyone, of how beautiful this life is because of the Lord’s immeasurable love for each of us. Whenever I look back to my past with all my sinfulness and weaknesses amid my getting older, the more I am eager to make Jesus known to everyone while I am still strong and able. There is that feeling of being like St. Paul in saying, “To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for all what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things” (Eph. 3:8-9).
Or, like in our first reading, I could identify with the Israelites being reminded by Moses in the wilderness that “You are a people sacred to the Lord, your God; he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth to be his people peculiarly his own. It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. It was because the Lord loved you” (Dt.7:6-8).
Beautiful!
Love, love, and love!
That is the “inscrutable riches of Christ”, his immense love for us, dying for us, coming for us even if we are worth nothing at all. And it is because of that love of God for us that we have become so worthy that he gave us even his only Son, Jesus Christ.
That is the essence of this celebration of the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Love.
A reality we all experience and know but could not define for it has no limits. Love can only be described and best expressed in actions than in words.
See this Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus comes right after the Solemnities of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Most Precious Body and Blood of Jesus these past two Sundays. Both celebrations speak of love: the latter is about relationships based on love and the former is about giving of self in love.
Now that we are well into the Ordinary Time of our liturgical calendar, our celebration today tells us to remember throughout this year this most basic truth and reality of our faith – that we are so loved by God.
Beloved, let us love one another because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him.
1 John 4:7-9
Love is symbolized by the heart, the very core of every person. That is why I love the Spanish word for heart which is corazon, evocative of the core, of the deeper self. And of course, love is the very the person of God.
Of all the writers in the Bible, St. John is the one who most frequently used the word “love”, an indication of its centrality in his thoughts. Moreover, he clarified that this love is not human love because its origin, motives and effects are supernatural in nature who is God himself.
Being the very self and also the riches or wealth of Christ, love is for sharing, for giving. Never for keeping. Because of its supernatural nature, love is inexhaustible. The more you give it, the more you share, the more you have it!
In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.
1 John 4:10-12
Photo by Ms. April Oliveros, March 2023 at Mt. Pulag.
Let me repeat that last sentence, “if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.”
The more we love, the more we are able to see and recognize God and other people amidst the darkness around us. Likewise, the more we love the more we see our true selves too despite dark spots within us.
Love is the law of life. To love God by loving ourselves and others is not an obligation imposed from outside. It is the very proof of our faith and union with God in Jesus Christ.
Jesus makes this very clear to us today in the gospel that opens with him praising the simple people, those who were child-like who welcomed him and his preaching. They were the ones Jesus referred at his sermon on the mount, “Blessed are the poor” because love is not an intellectual structure or system to be learned or analyzed. Love is a call to be disarmed of everything we hold onto so we can totally love and follow Jesus Christ.
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus came to reveal to us God our Father. And to know the Father is not through the head or intelligence but through our heart that is like Christ’s, meek and humble, filled with love.
By becoming human like us in everything except sin, Jesus who is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15) enables us to feel and experience God now closest to us than ever. Most of all, we are able to love and still love especially when the going gets tough and rough.
Here Jesus shows us that love is not absence of sufferings. In fact, love is truest and noblest when there are sacrifices and sufferings as exemplified by Jesus in his life and death on the Cross.
There are times we feel grouchy, so sensitive when people seem to ask even demand so much from us.
From Facebook, 2021.
Sometimes we wonder why are we the ones always giving, always loving, always forgiving. Sometimes we even ask God why are we the ones going through all these trials in life, why are we the ones afflicted with this sickness, why are we given with a special child, why your child had gone ahead of you to eternal life?
So many whys, so many questions.
Rest today in Christ. Feel his embrace. Listen to his silence. Be filled with his love. As you ask Jesus with all those questions, realize that each cry, each lamentation is the “inscrutable riches of Christ”, his very love perfected in your labors and burdens. Amen.
Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
Make my heart like thine!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Sixth Week of Easter, 15 May 2023
Acts 16:11-15 ><)))*> + ><)))*> + ><)))*> John 15:26-16:4
Photo by author, Jesuit cemetery, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 21 March 2023.
Dearest Jesus,
this prayer is for those
who are about to quit,
for those who feel like giving up,
for those losing hope and
meaning in life because of
failures and disappointments,
of sickness and medical conditions,
of all kinds of brokenness.
Send them your Holy Spirit, Lord,
to touch their hearts and souls,
to enlighten their minds and their hearts
that they are loved,
that nothing happens in life without
your knowing,
and most of all, setbacks are temporary;
not all days are bright
and shiny!
Console, dear Jesus,
those at the edge of giving up
their dreams and goals,
of giving up in life;
let them see the beautiful journey
they have taken even though marred
and punctuated with losses
and defeats;
give them strength and courage
to move on, to forge on,
to persevere like St. Paul;
give them breaks to lighten their loads,
to put smiles on their lips,
and deep sighs of relief
with little moments of grace
and consolation.
For those undergoing different
forms of persecution in life,
keep them strong testifying
and witnessing to your truth, Jesus;
despite the many oppositions
and darkness we face in life,
let us still choose
love because it is stronger than fear,
life which is stronger than death,
hope that is stronger than despair;
let us choose you always, dear Jesus,
because it is always worth the risk
in following your Cross.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial, St. Pedro Bautista & Companions, Priests/Martyrs, 06 February 2023
Genesis 1:1-19 <*(((>< + ><)))*> + <*(((>< + ><)))*> Mark 6:53-56
Photo by author, 6:30 AM, 29 January 2023,in Bgy. Igulot, Bocaue, Bulacan
"In the beginning,
when God created the heavens
and the earth,
the earth was a formless wasteland,
and darkness covered the abyss,
while a mighty wind swept over
the waters" (Genesis 1:1-2).
Praise and glory to you,
God our loving Father,
in waking us up to a wonderful
morning, reminding us of
another beginning!
Though many of us have
the Monday blues,
whining and complaining
of great tasks ahead,
of the many problems still not
solved especially unpaid bills
while others are still sick with
some feeling lost and empty
for so many reasons;
forgive us in first seeing what we
do not have without seeing what
you have given us!
Awaken our senses, Father!
Awaken us to this great
reality of our daily "genesis" story:
of how in the beginning
there was nothing at all!
Help us appreciate how we
all started in the beginning
without the many things
we have today that despite
the gloom and darkness,
pains and hurts,
we are still better off today
than before when we were just
beginning in our career,
in our business,
inn our studies,
in our lives.
Let us keep that in mind
and heart, O Lord, that
in the beginning,
there was nothing until
you blessed us with everything
that is good.
Let us be filled with hope
in you that while everything
may be in chaos in every
beginning,
order soon follows
as you unfold your
wonderful plans
for us.
Your Son Jesus Christ
came to enable us to start anew
in daily life, to find every day
a new beginning, a genesis,
and go back to you, Father;
to be touched with your love
and mercy so that we too
may touch others to experience
new beginnings in life.
The great martyr-priests
of Japan led by St. Pedro Bautista
suffered greatly in bringing the faith
in the land of the rising sun;
their martyrdom may have ended
their lives but their faith in you
touched so many others that
brought new beginnings to life
here on earth; may we touch
others with your love and mercy,
dear Jesus today to start a new
beginning
for a new earth.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 30 January 2023
Hebrews 11:32-40 ><0000'> + ><0000'> + ><0000'> Mark 5:1-20
Photo by author, sunrise at Bgy. Igulot, Bocaue, Bulacan, 29 January 2023.
Thank you dear Jesus
for this Monday;
another "crossing over"
from Sunday rest yesterday
to working days beginning
today.
Today's gospel speaks
so beautifully of life's many
crossovers with you leading us,
joining us, coming to us to heal us,
to cleanse us, to forgive us:
Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the sea, to the territory of the Gerasenes. When he got out of the boat, at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him. The man had been dwelling among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain.
Mark 5:1-3
Many times, O Lord,
we have been bound by chains
of sins and shackles of vices
we have found comfort with;
like that man, some of us have
been living in tombs among
the dead and zombies;
but worst, dear Jesus,
were the people who drove you
away after you have cleansed
that man of his evil spirits,
giving more importance to the herd of
swine that perished than to the one
possessed person freed from evil.
Lord Jesus,
life is a series of crossing overs
from darkness to light,
from ignorance to wisdom,
from slavery to freedom,
from sin to grace;
let us not be afraid to cross
over to the other side to follow you,
to cross with you in faith;
let us lead others into crossing
over through the nights of life into
the day filled with your grace and
challenges; most of all, let us cross
over life with firm faith in you,
persevering even if we do not receive
"what had been promised" because
"God had foreseen
something better for us" (Heb.11:39-40).
Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-29 ng Disyembre 2022
*Isang tula bunsod ng nakatutuwa na awitin ng Mayonnaise.
Sino ka nga ba, Jopay?
Ako ay nakikisabay,
nakikibagay sa sayaw at ingay
pero pramis,
ang sarap sumakay
sa awit sa iyo ay alay!
Jopay,
gusto ko rin umuwi sa bahay
simpleng buhay
hawak lang pamaypay
sabay kaway kaway
maski kaaway!
Kung sino ka man, Jopay,
totoo sabi nila sa iyo:
minsan masarap umalis
sa tunay na mundo,
walang gulo -
pero wala ding tao!
Kaya kung ako sa iyo,
Jopay, kakanta na lang ako
sabay sayaw:
spaghetti pababa
spaghetti pataas
ganyan ang buhay, Jopay,
isang magandang sayaw
lalo na kung iyong kasabay
mahal sa buhay
mga kaibigan
hindi ka iiwan
maski kelan.
Mayroon tayong
isang kasabay
sa sayaw ng buhay, Jopay:
tunay ka kaibigan
huwag lang siya ang mawawala
tiyak ika'y matutuwa
sa hapis at lungkot
hirap at dusa
hindi mo alintana
mga ito'y nalampasan mo na
siya palagi mong kasama
hanggang sa bahay ng Ama!
Pasensiya ka na, Jopay
ako ma'y walang kasama
at kausap dito sa bahay
sa mundong magulo;
naisip ko lang tumula para sa iyo
at sa mga kagaya mo
palaging masaya sa paningin
pero maraming kinikimkim
saloobin at pasanin
kaya isang taus-pusong panalangin
aking alay sa inyo,
para lumigaya kayo!
*We have no intentions of infringing into the copyrights of this music and its uploader except to share its beauty and listening pleasure.
The Lord Is My Chef Simbang Gabi Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Saturday in the Fourth Week of Advent, Ninth Day of the Christmas Novena, 24 December 2022
2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 1:67-79
Thank you Lord Jesus Christ
for this Season of Advent,
for your words and presence
these past nine days of
Simbang Gabi.
Like King David in the first reading
and Zechariah in the gospel,
now I have seen clearly your light -
"In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
and shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace"
(Luke 1:78-79).
Help me see your light, Jesus;
let me distinguish the true light
that shines on the face of every person
I meet and serve, especially the weak
and lowly and forgotten;
let me be wary of lights I see only on my face
like King David that no matter how noble are
my plans, it is your light, O Lord, that I must follow
for your light leads to love and kindness,
mercy and compassion, acceptance and forgiveness;
let me search and follow only your light
that makes me accept and embrace and own my past,
especially if it is painful and hurtful
so I may see also the brighter future
you are leading me to.
Most of all, dear Jesus,
like John, fill me with your light
to lead people to you
not to me;
I do not ask your light to make me see
the distance scene but just enough to make
me step closer to you each day
especially when darkness of sin and evil abound.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Thirty-First Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 31 October 2022
Philippinas 2:1-4 ><}}}*> + <*{{{>< ~~ ><}}}*> + <*{{{>< Luke 14:12-14
Dearest Lord Jesus,
in this time of calamities
when so many people have died
and many others are still suffering
while we celebrate the lives of
All the Saints and those of our
dearly departed, teach me to be
like them in bringing joy and light
in the lives of others; teach me
to live in love for others as
St. Paul beautifully tells us today:
Brothers and sisters: If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interest, but also everyone for those of others.
Philippians 2:1-4
Many times,
quarrels and misunderstandings
cannot be avoided in our circles of
family and friends; there are times
others can be either so sensitive or
insensitive, always feeling the world
revolves around them; there are times
when people are simply not matured enough,
so selfish and self-centered;
in times like these,
teach me Jesus to think less of myself
and more of others, especially those
affected when the sensitive and insensitive
along with those not matured enough are
casting their spells of darkness;
let me brighten the lives of others
with your joy and kindness,
love and care.
Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-30 ng Setyembre 2022
Larawan kuha ng may akda, bukang liwayway sa Lawa ng Tiberias, Israel, Mayo 2019.
Kay sarap namnamin,
kaninang pagkagising
Iyong tugon Panginoon namin
sa mga tanong ni Job
na amin ding dinaraing
sa gitna ng maraming hirap at tiisin:
"Job,
nakalikha ka ba
kahit isang bukang liwayway?
Ang daigdig ba ay ang iyong
naigawa ng tanglaw?
Napunta ka na ba sa
pinagmumulan ng bukal?
Nakalakad ka na ba sa
pusod ng karagatan?
Alam mo ba kung saan nanggaling
ang liwanag, o and kadiliman,
kung saan nagbubuhat?
Ang mga ulap ba iyong mauutusan
sa lupa ay magbuhos ng malakas na ulan?"
(Aklat ni Job 38:12-13, 16, 19, 34)
Inyong ipagpaumanhin
Panginoong namin
kapangahasan Ikaw ay tanungin,
usisain kapag mabigat aming pasanin
kami ay patawarin
katulad ni Job iyong dinggin:
"Narito, ako'y hamak,
walang kabuluhan,
walang maisasagot,
bibig ay tatakpan
hindi na kikibo,
mga nasabi'y di na uulitin"
(Aklat ni Job 40:4-5).
Hinding hindi namin
makakayang sagutin
ni arukin kalaliman
nitong maraming lihim
ng buhay lalo't kung madilim;
sana'y Iyong dalisayin, Panginoon
aking mga paningin, upang Ikaw ay
malasin tulad ng kulay ng hangin!
Larawan kuha ni Bb. Jo Villafuerte, pagbubukang liwayway sa Atok, Benguet, Setyembre 2019.
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