The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, 09 January 2023
Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 ><}}}}*> Acts 10:34-38 ><}}}}*> Matthew 3:13-17
Photo by author, September 2022.
God our loving Father,
thank you for this most wonderful
Monday when we close
the Christmas Season
with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord,
we also celebrate the feast
of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo
which is the most popular
devotion in our predominantly
Catholic nation.
As you opened the heavens
with your outpouring of love
and life upon us today like
what happened at the baptism in Jordan,
open our minds and our hearts, Father,
to recognize Jesus as your Anointed One;
most of all, may our double celebrations
this Monday remind us of the need for us to mature
in our faith in you.
Photo from flickr.com by Mark S. Abeln, Resurrection Cemetery in Affton, Missouri, USA, 16 November 2010.
Fix our eyes on your Chosen One,
Jesus Christ, upon whom you have
put your Spirit who brought forth
salvation to us all,
not crying out,
not shouting,
not breaking a bruised reed
nor quenching a smoldering wick;
let us imitate the gentle humility
of your Servant, our Lord Jesus Christ
in whose person you have made your
covenant, a light for the nations,
healing us of our infirmities of
body and most especially of soul,
not yielding to anyone nor anything
because you and him are one
(cf. Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7).
Let us continue the teaching of Peter
in the house of Cornelius with our own
experiences and meditations, with our
own witnessing "of how God anointed
Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good
and healing all those oppressed
by the devil, for God was with him"
(Acts 10:38).
Photo by Mr. Jay Javier, Quiapo, 09 January 2020.
God our loving and merciful Father,
let us see Christ's presence and
coming in our lives daily,
his coming out of Jordan
with your mission to save us,
to journey with us in this life;
most of all, let us heed your voice,
Father, to be one in Jesus in all
sufferings and trials, standing
and fighting for truth and justice
even to the point of death on the
Cross because he is your beloved Son
with whom you are well pleased
(Matthew 3:16, 17).
Lord Jesus Christ,
our Nuestro Padre Nazareno,
make us realize that more than
the devotions and panata,
more than that lovely robe of your
royalty as King of kings,
help us penetrate your dark skin
in Quiapo to realize your being
called "Nazarene" does not only mean
your origin, Nazareth, but most of all,
from the Hebrew word "nezer" or shoot -
that you are, O Lord Jesus is the "shoot
from the stump of Jesse" (Is.11:1),
the one completely consecrated
to God from your mother's womb
until your death on the Cross.
Make us realize this, Jesus Nazareno,
that we too, in our baptism, are
consecrated to God: let us manifest
your love,
your justice,
your humility,
your healing,
your mercy
in our lives.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, 08 July 2022
Hosea 14:2-10 ><]]]'> + ><]]]'> + ><]]]'> Matthew 10:16-23
Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD in France, March 2022.
Another week is closing,
another brand new week coming
but here I am, O God, still undecided,
dilly-dallying when to follow you,
when to change my ways,
when will I ever be true
in walking my talk; this time,
may I take with me my words
of contrition, of decision to turn
away from sin and follow your path
in Jesus Christ your Son.
Thus says the Lord: Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt. Take with you words, and return to the Lord, say to him, “Forgive all iniquity, and receive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.”
Hosea 14:2-3
Grant me, O Lord,
the courage to be wise as the serpent
and gentle as the dove in this world
so filled with wolves and other
predators out for a kill with
their seductive temptations
to rule and dominate; may I always
have the presence of mind to think
what is fair and just, true and good
that I may not be tempted to take
shortcuts in life; inspire me to innovate
and be creative in proclaiming
and living out the gospel of Jesus
in this highly modern and complex
world; most of all, keep me faithful
to you, to always walk your path
for you are the way, the truth and
the life.
Let him who is wise understand these things; let him who is prudent know them. Straight are the paths of the Lord, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them.
Hosea 14:10
There is no other way
to life, Lord, except you
and this is the reason why
so many want to remove you,
to delete you from life, from
the world so that they can do
what is most pleasing to themselves
without realizing nor admitting
the collapse and slow death
they are experiencing.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday within the Octave of Easter, 20 April 2022
Acts 3:1-10 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< Luke 24:13-35
Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD in Lourdes, France, March 2022.
I have been walking all my life
but it was only recently, O Lord Jesus,
have I really started walking consciously,
along with others trying to keep healthy
by making 10,000 steps daily.
How funny that most of the times,
we have taken walking for granted,
without really minding at all where we
have been to and where we are heading
for; we just walk, walk, and keep on walking
in this life even at the opposite directions...
That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
Luke 24:13-16
Thank you, dearest Jesus
in walking with us even in the
opposite directions we take,
when grief and failures and
disappointments drive us back
to our old ways, old destinations;
thank you in walking with us to
the many Emmaus we go to only to
bring us back to your Jerusalem.
Open our eyes, Lord Jesus,
to recognize you and know you
so that we may follow you more
closely in walking and following your
path of peace and joy, of self-giving
and love; make us conscious of your
presence in every walk we take to
seek and follow your new directions
for us in serving others and doing your work.
As we walk closer with you, Jesus,
let us imitate Peter in sharing
you with those who are lost and
paralyzed in this life; in your most
holy name and power, let us empower
our fellow journeyers in life to rise and
walk in you, with you. Amen.
lordmychef.com 