boundless love & mercy

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 10 September 2026
1 Corinthians 8:1-7, 11-13 ><]]]]’> + ><]]]]’> + ><]]]]’> Luke 6:27-38

*Photo by author, San Juan, La Union, 08 January 2026.*

It is again that most difficult part 
of your gospel, 
Lord Jesus,
our least favorite
of your teachings -
“love your enemies.”

Forgive us, Lord
because the mere thought of
"enemies" turn us off right away;
it is wrong but human as we are,
there is always that 
feeling of revulsion,
of getting even with those
who have hurt us
or wronged us;
but, we realize too
how in the long run
it is pure foolishness
of keeping that grudge against
our enemies because
as St. Paul tells us also today,
"knowledge inflates with pride,
but love builds up."

Your teaching
for us to love
our enemies 
is not really
about our strength
and willpower,
Jesus but in our likeness
with God,
"Be merciful, 
just as also your 
Father is merciful."

Help us, 
Jesus, 
to pray more
intensely,
to surrender more wholly
to you so that we can
let flow towards others
the mercy you have
showered us.
Amen.

*Photo by author, Anvvaya Cove, Morong, Bataan, 21 July 2026.*

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 05 August 2026
Jeremiah 31:1-7 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Matthew 15:21-28

Glory and praise
to you O God our loving Father
with your boundless love
and mercy; your words today
are a beautiful reminder
of how wide is your love and
mercy: in the first reading,
Jeremiah continues to rally our
hopes of your coming redemption
and restoration of Israel
after its fall and conquest by
Assyrians due to their own sinfulness;
in the gospel, a Canaanite woman
who was both a foreigner
and pagan considered like a "house-dog"
among Jews persisted
in asking Jesus for the healing
of her daughter;
two stories about central
characters widely different
and divergent yet converged
in the mercy and love of God.

What a beautiful reminder
how our smallest cry in faith
is always heard by God
while our biggest sin
against him can still be forgiven
for as long as we are willing
to change our ways
and most of all,
be contented with scraps
in life.
Amen.

Tag: boundless love & mercy

Love your enemies

God’s boundless love and mercy