Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a barren bush in the desert that enjoys no change of season, but stands in a lava waste, a salt and empty earth" (Jeremiah 17:5-6).
Forgive us, merciful Father for turning away from you, and turning away from our neighbors especially the sick many other Lazarus we ignore at our doorsteps; forgive us in believing more in ourselves, in our science and technology, ideologies and philosophies that stretch our rights and freedom forgetting all about our responsibilities; how foolish, O God, that we insist on our beliefs and misplaced trust in ourselves, in everything that is passing and temporary for as long as it is self-serving that we become like a barren bush or shrub in the desert, drying up, dying, hoping for the rains that would never come. Awaken us, Lord from this foolishness and let us arise to return to you until there is time.
Photo by author, Hidden Valley, Laguna, February 2025.
Thus says the Lord: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord. He is like a tree planted beside waters that stretches out its roots to the stream; it fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit" (Jeremiah 17:7-8).
Let me find my way back to you, God our Father; let me be like that tree planted beside the stream, beside you, in you, trusting you alone; let me be rooted in you, Father, filled with life and meaning; deepen my roots in you, Father, listening more to your voice of wisdom and truth that are inconvenient in this age of instants comfort.
Photo by author, Malagos, Davao City, 18 August 2018.
Lord Jesus Christ, you have given me with so much and I have given so little; let me give more of myself to you so I can give and share you more with others; keep me rooted in you as I surrender myself to you, doing your most holy will. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 04 February 2026 2 Samuel 24:2, 9-17 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Mark 6:1-6
Photo by author, Sakura trees in Taiwan, February 2019.
God our loving and merciful Father: teach us today to have the courage and most of all the maturity not only to say sorry when we have sinned and erred but most especially to admit and own our sins and mistakes like King David in today's first reading.
When David saw the angel who was striking the people, he said to the Lord: “It is I who have sinned; it is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong. But these are sheep; what have they done? Punish me and my kindred” (2 Samuel 24:17).
Teach us to grow in Jesus, dear Father because for as long as we are blinded by our greatness we measure in our stature and income, accomplishments and accolades, we shall always be like King David in the first reading believing only in our selves, hiding in so many ways like census the subtle arrogance that rules our lives, forgetting or disregarding your grace and mercy in our achievements in life that when things go wrong, we blame others and point fingers at everyone except our selves.
Let us be true and sincere dear Jesus today to find where we put our security in our day to day living so that we may also find where you, O God, sad to say, "fit" into our lives due to our lack of faith in you. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday, First Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 15 January 2026 1 Samuel 4:1-11 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Mark 1:40-43
Photo by author, Basilica of Our Lady of Manaoag, 09 January 2026.
Your words since Monday at the start of Ordinary Time are so amazing and lovely, O God our Father; I love, O Lord, the contrasts presented between the first reading and the gospel just like today that is so unique with the striking differences in approaching you, dear God.
The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated; every man fled to his own tent. It was a disastrous defeat, in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead (1 Samuel 4:10-11).
A leper came to him (Jesus) and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean (Mark 1:40-42).
Until now, many of us are still like those Israelites who brought the Ark of the Covenant to the battlefront as if it were an "anting-anting" in fighting the Philistines who overwhelmingly defeated them; the recent Traslacion that many still continue to defend is something we ought to rectify or recalibrate by deepening our faith to put order and solemnity in a supposed to be religious activity; show us the way in witnessing to others the proper approach to you, Lord, is like that leper full of trust and surrender to your will, not in insisting our personal desires and "panata" that in the process we forget to imitate your Son Jesus in being loving and charitable. Amen.
Photo by author, Basilica of Our Lady of Manaoag, 09 January 2026.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac & Companion Martyrs, 24 November 2025 Daniel 1:1-6, 8-20 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 21:1-4
Photo by Mr. Chester Ocampo, UST-SHS, 04 November 2019.
Lord Jesus Christ, give me a new perspective today on this final stretch of November and of our liturgical calendar; let me see this too familiar scene with you at the temple with new eyes:
When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood” (Luke 21:1-4).
Every day,
dear Jesus I witness
a similar scene
but never bothered myself
to search for you,
to find you there,
also sitting,
looking,
observing
how we put our
offerings not only to
the treasury but to each day;
teach me to suspend every
judgment so I may see truly
the poor and the rich among us;
open my eyes and let me
move away from everything familiar
to converse and share moments
with that woman,
perhaps share a meal with her
and ask her,
"why give
all those
two small coins?"
I feel you, Lord
speaking also to me:
teach me to be content
and grateful with whatever
I have like that poor widow;
teach me to believe more,
to trust more in you;
most of all,
teach me to have less
for myself,
less of myself
in order to have more
of you.
Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 19 November 2025 Wednesday in the Thirty-Third Week of Ordinary Time, Year I 2 Maccabees 7:1, 20-31 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 19:11-28
Lady of Sorrows from a triptych by the Master of the Stauffenberg Altarpiece, Alsace c. 1455; photo from fraangelicoinstitute.com.
What a lovely phrase, dear Jesus for today for us all especially mothers and all women: "womanly heart, manly courage."
At this time when a wayward daughter and sister viciously attacks her own brother in total disregard of our family values and tradition, not to mention the need for decency and respect as well as a little sanity too, here comes out in the open the nobility of many women and mothers as well as men still intact; in this time like during the Maccabean Revolt when many sold their souls to evil for the price of comfort and ease, there are still more like that mother who dare to go against the tide of insanity and folly, indecency and disrespect, most of all, of idolatrous worship through religious leaders of the many sects and cults who use God's name in vain and shameful profit too.
Keep us strong inside, Jesus, to be not afraid in venturing into finding ways of serving you most than being idle in keeping your gifts and talents; teach us anew the virtue of obedience, of docility to authority whether at home and family or in the society in general and in other civil institutions.
Lastly, we pray dear Jesus for all mothers crying in silence these days for the many pains they bear inside their hearts especially those who have lost a child, those betrayed by their own husband or children, those separated from their families due to work and employment, those nursing a sick loved one, those forgotten even by families and societies; grant them a "womanly heart" filled with faith in God and a "manly courage" trusting in you alone. Amen.
Now more than ever, we are proven right: the past administration is the most decadent in our history with its utter lack of respect for life and for women; that its war on drugs was totally a lie. May they “who have contrived every kind of affliction not escape the hands of God” (2 Maccabees 7:31).
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 17 October 2025 Friday, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop & Martyr Romans 4:1-8 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Luke 12:1-7
Your words, O Lord Jesus this Friday are so lovely, so comforting especially in this time when many fear ageing, suffering, and death.
I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more. I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one (Luke 12:4-5).
How I wish I could hug you, Jesus, lean on you while relishing your calling us "my friends" not to be afraid of those who kill the body; more than trusting you, let me live in you, Jesus like Abraham as explained by St. Paul in the first reading who deeply trusted God in everything; deepen my consciousness as a senior citizen that life does not end in the grave because the soul persists even after death; thank you also for the gift of hair though it had thinned and turned gray, now sparse and perhaps easier for the Father to count and remember but most of all as signs of his love and care for me; let me not be afraid, Jesus, for I am worth more than the sparrows.
St. Ignatius of Antioch whose feast we celebrate today, pray for us modern people so afraid of pain and suffering and death: pray for us to be like you - to accept death, even pursue death which is our rebirth to new life. Amen.
Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Our Lady of Fatima University Valenzuela City (lordmychef@gmail.com)
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 04 September 2025 Thursday in the Twenty-Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year I Colossians 1:9-14 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 5:1-11
Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA7 News in Batanes, September 2018.
Today's gospel story of your first meeting with Simon reminds me of how your presence made a difference in my life when I finally said "yes" to your call to give my vocation to the priesthood a second chance in 1991 when I resigned from my job to enter the seminary again; it was pure joy at first that later became more intense, more deep and wonderful as the going got tough and rough; it was never easy following you, Jesus but you have never forsaken me since then until now though many times I have balked and even backed out from you as you kept telling me those same words you told Simon, "Do not be afraid" (Luke 5:10).
Fill me, Jesus, "with the knowledge of God's will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work bearing fruit nd growing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:9-10); teach me to trust you more by surrendering, giving up my total self to you so that I may continue casting my net into the deep; though I have given up a lot, I still feel I have not given up that much of myself to you - take away from me, Jesus whatever I still hold on deep inside, help me surrender myself to you totally so that I may know you more clearly, love you more dearly, follow you most closely daily for it is in your presence when I am most fulfilled. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 12 August 2025 Tuesday in the Nineteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year I Deuteronomy 31:1-8 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
Photo by author, the Grotto in Baguio City, February 2019.
How I love your words today, Lord Jesus Christ; we all remain little children after all; though like the Twelve we often debate on "who is the greatest", in the end, we remain that little child you called and placed in their midst.
Yes, Jesus, we remain like children - weak and fearful especially in old age when we prefer to remain in our "comfort zones" yet, like Moses in Jordan, time catches on us when we have to go - whether for good or not - with our many transitions in life.
Then Moses summoned Joshua and in the presence of all Israel said to him, “Be brave and steadfast… It is the Lord who marches before you; he will be with you and will never fail or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:7, 8).
Lord Jesus, as I age and get old and weak, the more I doubt, the more I am afraid than ever; indeed, we all remain like little children before you; fill me with more courage to step forward in you when my sight grows dim, my muscles ache and joints weaken in life's journey; teach me to trust more the younger generation as they take charge from us in this life; let me be more silent and deeply aware of your presence in life's many transitions that continue to happen as we advance in age; deepen our faith and hope in you, Lord for you march ahead of us, never forsaking us, nor failed us. Amen.
Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Our Lady of Fatima University Valenzuela City (lordmychef@gmail.com)
Photo by author, Tam-Awan Village in Baguio City, February 2019.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 21 July 2025 Monday in the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year I Exodus 14:5-18 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 12:38-42
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 15 May 2025.
It is a rainy, gloomy Monday, God our Father; like your people who have left Egypt led by Moses, suddenly we are again facing life's realities of work and struggles, of health and sickness, of challenges and problems bigger than us.
Pharaoh was already near when the children of Israel looked up and saw that the Egyptians were on the march in pursuit of them. In great fright they cried out to the Lord. And they complained to Moses, “Were there no burial places in Egypt that you had to bring us out here to die in the desert? Why did you do this to us? Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did we not tell you this in Egypt, when we said, ‘Leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians? Far better for us to be the slaves of Egyptians than to die in the desert.'” But Moses answered, “Fear not! Stand your ground, and you will see the victory the Lord will win for you today… The Lord himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still” (Exodus 14:10-14).
Keep me still, Lord; let me stand my ground in you before my adversaries - primarily my self when I doubt you, when I lose hope, when I am disillusioned, when I am afraid, when I complain a lot when the realities of life start to kick in making me realize of your invitation and calls for me to welcome you into my life, to believe you, to trust you.
O dear Jesus, many times in the wilderness of this life I waste precious time and efforts like the Pharisees asking you for signs when each day, each waking from sleep is like me being a Jonah coming out alive from the belly of the whale; help me live your paschal mystery, Jesus, one day at a time. Amen.
Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Our Lady of Fatima University Valenzuela City
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 16 July 2025 Wednesday, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Exodus 3:13-20 ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> Matthew 11:25-27
Photo by author, Sonnenberg Mountain View, Davao del Sur, August 2018.
Today, O Lord your words bring us to the mountain as we celebrate too the Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel; in the first reading you brought Moses to your mountain in Horeb to see you in the burning bush while the Memorial of our Blessed Mother today reminds us of the early monks who banded together to pray at Mount Carmel.
When the Lord saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.” “Come, now! I will send you you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He answered, “I will be with you; and this shall be your proof that it is I who have sent you: when you bring my people out of ??Egypt, you will worship God on this very mountain” (Exodus 3:4-5, 10-12).
How lovely was your conversation, Lord with Moses, so similar with our conversations when we would readily answer your call with the declaration "Here I am" that suddenly when you hand us our mission, we balk and question you, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?"
Many times we are like Moses - while showing humility with some fears in our quick response to your call, we suddenly doubt ourselves upon learning the mission you entrust us with whereas you simply assure us of your presence, of being our companion with your simple statement "I will be with you." Such is your simplicity, Lord.
Teach us to be like Mary your Mother, dear Jesus Christ, simple and childlike filled with humility, always open to God and his plans; after all, you call us first of all for a relationship with you not with a task to be achieved.
May the Brown Scapular given by Mary to St. Simon Stock be a reminder of our relationship with God in Christ with Mary; always open to his will but most of all faithful and obedient to his call of communion and oneness. Amen.
Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Our Lady of Fatima University Valenzuela City
lordmychef.com 