The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Week XXXIII, Year I in Ordinary Time, 16 November 2021
2 Maccabees 6:18-31 ><)))*> + <*(((>< Luke 19:1-10
Photo by author, 2020.
Once again, O God our Father,
your words today are as timely as
the news headlines, perfect in
reminding us to remain faithful
and true to you, most especially
to be men and women of integrity,
resisting all forms of pretense, of
deceiving in purpose for whatever
reason.
Teach us to be firm like your
servant Eleazar who strongly turned
down offers to save his life by
pretending to eat pork as ordered
by their pagan conquerors;
he chose death than deceive
and mislead the people,
specially the young ones.
He (Eleazar) told them to send him at once to the abode of the dead, explaining: “At our age it would be unbecoming to make such a pretense; many young people would think a ninety-year-old Eleazar had gone over to an alien religion. Should I thus pretend for the sake of a brief moment of life, they would be led astray by me, while I would bring shame and dishonor on my old age. Even if, for the time being, I avoid the punishment of men, I shall never, whether alive or dead, escape the hands of the Almighty. Therefore, by manfully giving up my life now, I will prove myslef worthy of my old age.”
2 Maccabees 6:23-27
Teach us also to be like
Zacchaeus, who despite his
being a publican and a sinner,
made no pretense of being
good or holy before Jesus
when he passed by the city
of Jericho; he did not pretend to
be tall or of any stature that he
made the great effort to climb
a tree in order to see Jesus passing;
most of all, he shed all kinds of
pretense in himself when he vowed
to Jesus to repay people he had extorted
money from.
We pray, dear God, for our nation,
for our voters specially the young
people to closely examine the integrity
of every candidate running for office
so we may choose men and women
who are "models of courage" and
"unforgettable examples of virtue"
(2 Maccabees 6:31). Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Week XXXIII, Year I in Ordinary Time, 15 November 2021
1 Maccabees 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57,62-64 > + < Luke 18:35-43
Photo by author, August 2021.
Your words today, O God
our Father are so perfect
to what is happening exactly
in our country: politicians
busy entering into all kinds of
alliances just to have power
and control in the country.
What a pity, O Lord, that in
the name of politics and power,
they have forgotten all about
their dignity and honor, families
and the nation and ultimately,
you dear God.
The proposal was agreeable; some from among the people promptly went to the king, and he authorized them to introduce the way of living of the Gentiles. Thereupon they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem according to the Gentile custom. They covered over the mark of their circumcision and abandoned the holy covenant; they allied themselves with the Gentiles and sold themselves to wrongdoing.
1 Maccabees 1:12-15
Keep us faithful to you, Father
and to your ideals of justice,
mercy, and charity; let us choose
righteousness amid afflictions
and never give into the evil
ploys of the enemies for the
sake of convenience and power.
Let us imitate the blindman of
Jericho who persevered to get
near Jesus to be healed of his
blindness: we pray O God for
our politicians and most specially
voters blinded by power and
wealth, forgetting your laws
that value life and the human person.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 14 November 2021
Photo by Ms. Nikki A. Vergara, 2020 at Victoria, Laguna.
We go OPM (Original Pilipino Music) this Sunday with Color It Red’s 1994 single Paglisan from their Hand-Painted Sky album released that same year. Twice did we hear it played this week on two occasions as if accompanying us in our life journey: first was last Tuesday after a friend reminded me of our dinner the following day with her husband before they migrate to Canada and second at the funeral of a former classmate’s husband who suddenly died of a heart attack.
Paglisan perfectly matches our Sunday readings in preparation for the closing of our liturgical calendar two weeks from now. In the gospel we hear Jesus speaking of the coming tribulations and cosmic signs to signal the end of the world for his Second Coming when everything is finally made new in him, vanishing evil and sins on the face of earth. But it is not all destruction and end – it is actually a prelude to new beginnings in life in God.
Ms. Cookie Chua lends the most perfect voice and attitude to the song Paglisan that speaks about the death of a beloved or maybe a break up. So peaceful and serene with some birds chirping signaling the start of a new day, the song speaks of how everything must come to an end like a journey. And in every leaving and ending, there is always the love that remains and keeps us one with those who have left us.
Kung ang buhay ay isang umagang nakangiti At ikaw ay ang lupang sinusuyo ng bituin
‘Di mo man silip ang langit ‘Di mo man silip, ito’y nandirito pa rin
Kung ang lahat ay may katapusan Itong paglalakbay ay makakarating din sa paroroonan At sa iyong paglisan, ang tanging pabaon ko Ay pag-ibig
Sa pagbuhos ng ulan, sa haplos ng hangin Alaala mo ay nakaukit sa pisngi ng langit
‘Di man umihip ang hangin (ah) ‘Di man umihip, ika’y nandirito pa rin
Kung ang lahat ay may katapusan Itong paglalakbay ay makakarating din sa paroroonan At sa iyong paglisan, ang tanging pabaon ko Ay pag-ibig Ay pag-ibig Ay pag-ibig
The year is about to end. Let us be thankful for the people and experiences we have had this 2021 despite the pandemic. May we continue to do our part in working for a better future.
Have a blessed week ahead!
*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 Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sunday XXXIII-B in Ordinary Time, 14 November 2021
Daniel 12:1-3 ><]]]]'> Hebrews 10:11-14, 18 ><]]]]'> Mark 13:24-32
Photo by author, lantern store in San Fernando, Pampanga, 11 November 2021.
With nowhere else to go last Thursday during my day off, I headed north to the Christmas capital of the Philippines to check on the colorful lanterns or parol sold along the highway in San Fernando, Pampanga.
What a sight to behold, a refreshing break from two years of quarantine and a better alternative to the malls! Like the stars above they represent, these colorful lanterns are best seen at night, when darkness is all around us like when Jesus was born on first Christmas – the darkest night of the year – to be our light in the world. And that is his message on this penultimate Sunday in our Church calendar when we hear him teaching us about the end of time.
Jesus said to his disciples: “In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.”
Mark 13:24-27
With or without God, the “end of the world” has always been one of mankind’s preoccupation. We Christians are the most eager, having put on so much thoughts and efforts and concerns about the end of the world because it was spoken by Jesus Christ himself. However, it is not just an end of the world as portrayed in many Hollywood films that evoke fear with all the deaths and destructions happening.
When Jesus spoke of the tribulations and the darkening of the sun and the moon with stars falling, he was speaking in symbolic languages common at that time. It is a part of theology called escathology that deals with everything about the last things but, it is not all destruction. The end that Jesus spoke of to his disciples follows a certain direction towards the final end which is the eternal glory of God.
Hence, our faith about the end of the world at the Second Coming of Christ should not evoke fear in us because it will be the final fulfillment God’s plan that we shall all be with him in all eternity. On the contrary, Jesus speaking of the end of time should bring us hope and joy for better tomorrow. If it were so bad that everything would be destroyed and gone, how could he “come in the clouds with great power and glory”? Jesus was clearly speaking of good things than bad things here, of the passing of old to be replaced with new and better ones.
Photo by author, view of Jerusalem Temple from the Mount of Olives, 2019.
In fact, Jesus was encouraging the Twelve in this scene when they were by themselves on the Mount of Olives across the Temple. It was a very private moment when Jesus spoke of these things to the Twelve after Peter had inquired about the coming destruction of the Temple the Lord had told them after a disciple marveled at its magnificent stones.
Of course, we know nothing is permanent in this world, no matter how beautiful and sound it may be.
One thing we notice at the very start of Mark’s gospel is the presence of tribulations both in the time of Jesus and early Christians. Remember that in Mark’s account, the beginning of the “good news” of Jesus Christ is the story of the arrest of John the Baptist, a very bad news at that time (Mk.1:14). It was the “ending” of the preaching by John the Baptist but the beginning of the ministry of Jesus Christ.
When Mark wrote his gospel, the early Christians have already experienced persecutions and many sufferings like when Nero blamed them for the great fire that burned Rome in year 68. Although the Temple was still intact when Mark wrote his gospel account, there were already persistent rumors of the coming attack in Jerusalem by the Roman army which took place in year 70.
These teachings of the end of the world and Second Coming were meant by Jesus to strengthen and assure his disciples that include us in this time not to panic nor be shaken by trials and tribulations. So often in life, it is when we are sick or defeated, when we are down when we actually see the light clearer, when God begins to work his wonders in us and for us.
This Sunday, our first reading and gospel both tell us to never lose heart in the face of darkness and sufferings, encouraging us to remain faithful to God because he is coming, he has come and he is come inaugurating his kingdom right here in our hearts, among us (Lk.17:21).
Endings are new beginnings. Welcome every ending or closing in life. Most of all, be ready for no one knows the exact day nor time when it would come and happen.
“Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heave, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
Mark 13:28-32
Photo by author, Camp John Hay, Baguio City, 2018.
It is useless and impractical to know the date and time when all these things will happen because salvation and any other change will never be realized when they are determined. Instead of waiting for the date, do everything in every here and now so that we become more prepared how to act properly when faced with the Lord’s Second Coming and whatever emergencies in life. This is the meaning of the parable of the fig tree when we learn to read the signs of the times and other events in our lives in the spiritual sense and not just in human terms like this pandemic.
It is our task as a believer and as a community to decipher and discern their spiritual meanings because these are grace-filled moments for growth and maturity in the Lord. Jesus assures us that he is definitely coming. He is the God of history. This is the gist of the first reading where Daniel had seen in a vision mankind’s moving forward in history with all the ups and downs with just one assurance: “the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever” (Dan.12:3). This was eventually fulfilled in Jesus.
Every time we see and hear or even experience disasters and famines, pandemics and wars, coming of false prophets and despots, elections and other upheavals, they are harbingers of the coming of Jesus Christ. The more darkness and sufferings come, the more everything seemed to be ending or even lost, that is when surely the Lord is coming.
The second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews tells us how Jesus seated at the right hand of God in heaven awaits until all things on earth come to completion as planned while we stand vigilant, faithfully awaiting also that day when we shall be with him in all his glory. Let us do our part specially in this time of the pandemic which is a wake up call than a punishment for our sins because God does not punish at all.
This darkness above us calls us to deepen our faith, hope and love in God through one another that we become Christ’s loving presence. Jesus is definitely coming. Are we ready?
Have a blessed week ahead! Amen.
Photo by author, lantern store in San Fernando, Pampanga that shows us how in the darkness of this pandemic, slowly we can now see the beauty and light of God’s love and mercy (11 November 2021).
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr, 12 November 2021
Wisdom 13:1-9 ><)))*> + ><)))*> + ><)))*> Luke 17:26-37
Photo by author, Taiwan, 2019.
God our Father,
help us distinguish the
difference between finding
you in everything and making
anything as you, an object
of worship, an idolatry.
Fill us with your wisdom
to see you among the beauty
of nature, on each every person
we meet but at the same time
be wise to never stop at them
that we forget you totally.
For they search busily among his works, but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair. But again, not even these are pardonable. For if they so far succeeded in knowledge that they could speculate about the world, how did they not more quickly find its Lord?
Wisdom 13:7-9
It happens often with us, Lord, when we get so caught up with nature or people or with our very selves that we miss You as the very source and subject of our wonder! Open our eyes and minds and hearts to see you more.
Do not let it happen again
like what the people did with
St. Josaphat that they were so
blinded by their culture and faith,
by their convictions and failed to see
you speaking and working through
him, leading to his murder just like
Jesus Christ your Son; while it is true
the we live in a world where everything
is touched by you, let us not miss YOU
like in those days of Noah when the flood
came and destroyed the people who
have become so complacent with your
presence. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Memorial of St. Martin of Tours, Bishop, 11 November 2021
Wisdom 7:22-8:1 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< Luke 17:20-25
Photo by author, La Union, 2018.
Today O God I am so struck
by your words from the first reading:
"For Wisdom is mobile beyond all
motion, and she penetrates and
pervades all things by reason of
her purity. For she is an aura of
the might of God and a pure effusion
of the glory of the Almighty;
therefore, nought that is sullied
enters into her... Indeed, she reaches
from end to end mightily and
governs all things well"
(Wisdom 7:24-25, 8:1).
What a beautiful description
of Wisdom, of you, dear God!
Someone so fluid, so natural
like water: everything flowing
naturally in order - so subtle yet
powerful, hidden but evident and
felt that so often for those with
closed minds and closed hearts,
you seem to be so far, even
unrecognizable.
Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, “The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is’. For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.”
Luke 17:20-21
Teach me to be fluid, Jesus,
like St. Martin of Tours who
naturally cut his tunic into two
to share it with a poor beggar
one cold evening; his kindness was
instinctively filled with Wisdom, fluidly
finding you among the least of our
brethren; may we have the same grace
of St. Martin to find you among the needy
and most specially to look up to heaven
for our soul's journey back to you.
Amen.
St. Martin of Tours, Patron of my hometown Bocaue, Bulacan; photo from the Parish Commission on Social Communication.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-10 ng Nobyembre 2021
Larawan mula sa Parokya ni San Martin ng Tours sa Bocaue, Bulacan.
Mula pa sa aming kabataan
palaging nilalarawan kabutihan
ng Patron naming mahal
San Martin ng Tours sa France
kung paano niyang hinati
kanyang kapa upang damitan
at huwag malamigan dukhang
matanda nakasalubong sa daan.
Kinagabihan ay kanyang napanaginipan
Panginoong Jesus sa kanyang paanan
tangan-tangan kapang ibinigay sa
matandang tinulungan, kaganapan ng
kanyang katuruan na ano mang kabutihan
ang inyong gawin sa mga maliliit at
nahihirapan ay siya rin ninyong
ginagawa sa Kristo na sa atin nakipanahan.
Nguni't hindi lamang iyon ang hiwaga
ng kapa ng ating Patrong mahal
na dating kawal, sanay sa mga digmaan:
nang siya ay mabinyagan,
hinasa niya kanyang isipan upang matutunan
mga aral ng pananampalataya na kanyang
dinalisay sa taos-pusong pananalangin
kaya't lubos siyang napaangkin sa Panginoon natin.
Upang maging mataimtim
sa kanyang pananalangin,
nagtutungo si San Martin sa kagubatan
at hinuhubad suot niyang kapa upang
isampay at ibitin upang sakali man
siya ay kailanganin,
madali siyang tuntunin
tanging kapa niya ang hahanapin.
Mula sa "kapa" ni San Martin
na noo'y kawal sa France
nanggaling salita na "kapilya"
na mula sa "chapele" ng mga Pranses
na tumutukoy sa kanyang kapa na hinuhubad
tuwing nananalangin at ngayon gamit natin
sa munting pook-dalanginan upang tulad
ni San Martin taimtim din tayong makapanalangin.
Kay sarap pagnilayan at tularan
halimbawa ni San Martin ng Tours:
hinubad kanyang "kapa" ---
kapangyarihan at katanyagan
upang maramtan ng katauhan
ni Kristo-Jesus na "hinubad kanyang
pagiging katulad ng Diyos upang mamuhay
bilang alipin tulad natin" (Fil.2:7)!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Leo the Great, Pope, 10 November 2021
Wisdom 6:1-11 ><)))*> + ><)))*> + ><)))*> Luke 17:11-19
Photo by author, November 2020.
Glory and praise to you,
God our almighty Father
in making us share in your
great powers in this world.
Remind us always that whatever
power we have is all from you
meant to serve others and not
to hurt nor overcome them.
For the Lord of all shows no partiality, nor does does he fear greatness, because he himself made the great as well as the small, and he provides for all alike; but for those in power a rigorous scrutiny impends. To you, therefore, O princes, are my words addressed that you may learn wisdom and that you may not sin.
Wisdom 6:7-9
We are all leaders, O Lord,
whom you have tasked to care
for one another, be it a family
or a community, a nation or
an institution like the Church;
may we learn from the wisdom
of St. Leo the Great, a Pope
who early on realized his vast
powers were meant to uplift the
poor and the needy, to save cities
from destruction by the invading
barbarians, and most of all, to unite
peoples for peace and maturity.
Like St. Leo the Great, may we learn
to imitate Jesus in using his power from
you to empower others, to enable
the weak and the sick to "stand up
and go" (Lk.17:19) like the Samaritan
leper he had healed. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Feast of Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, 09 November 2021
Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 ><)))*> 1 Corinthians 3:9-13, 16-17 ><)))*> John 2:13-22
Photo by author, Jerusalem, 2017.
Glory and praise to you,
God our loving Father in heaven!
As we celebrate today the feast of
the dedication of the "mother and head
of all churches of Rome and the world" -
the Lateran Basilica - my thoughts
returned to Jerusalem where it all started
when your Son Jesus Christ cleansed
the Temple just before the Passover.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, “Zeal for your house will consume me”.
John 2:14-17
Fill us with your Holy Spirit
to be like Jesus, full of zeal for you,
O God and for our Mother Church;
let us come to the church like Jesus
on that day in all humility and simplicity
"riding a donkey", with nothing else
except the desire to praise and serve you
by cleansing and purifying our very selves,
putting things in order in the church
where at the very core are always the
poor and needy with whom Jesus identified
himself with.
Like that "whip out of cords" that Jesus used to
drive the traders in the temple area, bind us
together as one again, ready and willing
to suffer and die on the Cross with Christ
for the sake of our unity and communion
in him, with him and through him.
We pray for more zeal in us as we journey
together as a Church in the ongoing "synod on
synodality" in preparation for the most unique
Synod of Bishops called by Pope Francis beginning
this October until 2023; may it be a journey for us
all in the spirit of sharing, reflecting, and listening
for a "synodal Church of communion, participation
and mission". Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Week XXXII, Year I in Ordinary Time, 08 November 2021
Wisdom 1:1-7 ><]]]]*> + <*[[[[>< Luke 17:1-6
Photo by author, Israel, 2017.
Thank you dear Jesus
for the assurance of your
love and understanding
as well as the fair warning that
"Things that cause sin will
inevitably occur. It would be
better for him if a millstone
were put around his neck and
he be thrown into the sea than
for him to cause one of these
little ones to sin" (Luke 17:1-2).
I know, Lord, it is not an excuse
but a fact of life that we shall always
be fighting sins and evil while here
on earth as we strive to follow you;
but I know too well, dear Lord, of the
deep pains and sorrows, the widespread
anguish every kind of scandal brings
to our family and society, most
specially to the Mother Church.
Love justice, you who judge the earth; think of the Lord in goodness, and seek him in integrity of heart; because he is found by those who test him not, and he manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him. For perverse counsels separate a man from God, his power, put to the proof rebukes the foolhardy; because into a soul that plots evil wisdom enters not, nor dwells she in a body under debt of sin.
Wisdom 1:1-4
Forgive us, merciful Jesus,
strengthen us to live in wisdom,
keeping our hearts free from "perverse
thoughts" so that your Holy Spirit of
instruction may fill and guide us to
keep us from becoming a "skandalon"
or a rock that causes one to fall and sin.
Amen.
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