The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday in the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 24 July 2024 Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10 <*((((><< + >><))))*> Matthew 13:1-9
"Ah, Lord God!" I said, "I know not how to speak; I am too young." But the Lord answered me, say not, "I am too young." To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak (Jeremiah 1:6-7).
I have always heard that expression "age is just a number" without really understanding nor having a grasp of its real meaning until recently after losing my mom and be totally orphaned of our parents; how different it is now to live without our parents and quickly realize time flies so fast indeed because suddenly we are catapulted into that state in life when we are in the very same situations of our parents when we were younger; now I could feel we are never too young nor too old to be called and entrusted by God with a mission in life.
Life indeed is a parable, dear Jesus: You come to us daily whether we are too young or too old to sow your seeds; keep us open to receive You so that we may bear You and share You. Amen.
“The Sower”, a painting by Van Gogh from commons.wikimedia.org.
The Lord Is My Chef Easter Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle, 14 May 2024 Acts 1:15-17, 20-26 ><)))'> + <'(((>< John 15:9-17
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
Dearest Jesus, please pardon me in telling You how it saddens me when I hear of so many stories of Judas Iscariots among us especially in our ministry; why You chose and called them is a total mystery, and I am so sorry how they came out to be; I have no claims to holiness nor being perfect but I thank You, Jesus, for this feast of St. Matthias whom You have called to replace Judas Iscariot to show us how much You love us, most of all, believe in us and trust us even if You know so well we could be unfaithful to You and Your call like Judas Iscariot.
I pray, therefore, O Lord, for the gift to be faithful always to Your call, to fully participate in Your choices, in Your choosing me to Your mission despite my sins and weaknesses; let me keep in mind and heart it was You who chose me and not me who chose You:
“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.”
John 15:16
How lovely, O sweet Jesus, to find in St. Matthias Your choice to replace Judas Iscariot, a reminder from You of that fact that while there is no lack of unworthy and traitorous Christians everywhere like unfaithful spouses, corrupt officials, callous and self-centered priests and bishops, You still call each of us to counterbalance the evils they have done with our faithful witnessing to You, our Eternal Priest, Lord and Savior.
Like St. Matthias,
let us value Your call, Jesus
to continue Your mission
so maligned and destroyed
by the many Judas Iscariots
among us; like St. Matthias,
let us nourish Your choice
by remaining in You, Lord,
by keeping our choices
according to Your
holy will; in making choices
in this life, help me, Jesus
to be discerning,
to be most prayerful
like the Apostles.
So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.”
Acts 1:23-24
Lastly, I pray today on this feast of St. Matthias for people having difficulties praying to finally realize Your choices for them; for those afraid to accept Your choices; for those who keep looking for other options despite Your clear choice for them; please enlighten their minds and fill them with courage and trust in You, sweet Jesus. Amen.
Photo by author, Sacred heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday in the First Week of Ordinary Time, 10 January 2024 1 Samuel 3:1-10,19-20 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]*> Mark 1:29-39
Photo by author, 2020.
Dearest God our Father: I find it so funny these days we have that feature in our phones "call waiting" - when we can identify whoever is calling us, giving us the easy choice to answer it or not; if we have missed a call, we still have a chance to call back to return a missed call; with "call waiting", we cannot actually miss a call. Ideally. Supposed to be.
But we not only ignore calls of friends and relatives; worst of all, we refuse answering your calls!
During the time young Samuel was minister to the Lord under Eli, a revelation of the Lord was uncommon and vision infrequent… Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect.
1 Samuel 3:1, 20
How interesting the author noted that "revelation of the Lord was uncommon and vision infrequent" during that time of Eli as your priest; most likely reason was nobody was listening to you at all until Samuel came.
Teach us, dear Jesus, to never keep you waiting for us in answering your calls; like the brothers Peter and Andrew, James and John that we immediately speak to you, most of all always listen to you.
This 2024, let us not keep you waiting in answering your call for you never missed our calls; let me be patient, O Lord, in awaiting your words, your calls so that like Samuel when we speak, our words have effect because we speak your words alone. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle, 30 November 2023
Romans 10:9-18 <*(((>< + ><)))*> + <*(((>< + ><)))*> Matthew 4:18-22
Photo by author, Lake of Galilee, Israel, May 2019.
I have always wondered, Lord Jesus,
what was there in your lodging
to which Andrew "came and saw"
that he followed you right away?
What was there, or not there,
in the vast Lake of Galilee that
Andrew along with his brother Peter
that "Immediately they left their boat
and their father and followed you",
Jesus (Matthew 4:22)?
It seems to me, dear Jesus,
it was not the thing outside
that Andrew saw and did not see
that he promptly followed you;
his promptness in following you
was a result of something he both
found inside and did not find
within himself - that is YOU!
Teach me to be prompt in responding
to your call, dear Jesus, by admitting
the emptiness within me only YOU can
fill and make complete;
many times, I keep on looking for something
and somebody else in life when it is YOU
whom I should first search within me;
many times, I keep on coming and seeing
somewhere else when it is always YOU, Jesus,
who come first to me to see
and experience in the most ordinary,
even routinary circumstances of
daily life.
Dear Jesus,
teach me to be like St. Andrew
to keep that desire within to never
be contented, to constantly seek and
promptly follow you so
that I may proclaim you
more boldly.
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 I, 06 November 2023
Romans 11:29-36 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 14:12-14
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Retreat Center, Baguio City, August 2023.
Dearest God our loving Father,
I join St. Paul today in praising
you through Jesus Christ your Son
who made us experience personally
your transcendence and
immanence:
"Oh, the depth of the riches
and wisdom and knowledge
of God! How inscrutable
are his judgments and how
unsearchable his ways!
For who has known the mind
of the Lord or who has been
his counselor? Or who has
given him anything that he may
be repaid?
For from him and through him
and for him are all things.
To God be glory forever.
Amen."
(Romans 11:33-36)
Photo by author, Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.
Forgive me, O God,
in always trying to reduce you
to our human level when I try
to explain how and why things
are happening in my life,
in the world;
you are simply beyond and
transcendent, surpassing all
we can think about you -
the moment we realize a truth
about you, it is never enough;
at the same time, you are
immanent, totally present in
everything you have made,
yet still, so close and so far
at the same time!
Deepen my faith in you,
Father through Jesus Christ;
let me trust you as St. Paul
assured us today that your gifts
and call are permanent and
irrevocable (Romans 11:29);
let me follow Christ's admonition
in the gospel to think more of
others than of myself especially
the poor, the crippled, the lame,
the blind and those who could
never repay me (Luke 14:13);
let me realize that it is in
sharing your gifts to me with
others that I am truly enriched
not when I insist on my own interests.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle, 21 September 2023
Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Matthew 9:9-13
Photo by Mr. Virgie Ongleo in Singapore, 2021.
God our loving Father,
on this feast of your Son's
Apostle St. Matthew who used
to be known as Levi, a tax collector,
I pray for all the men and women
who work hard to provide food,
shelter, and clothing for their
families; through St. Matthew,
Jesus Christ had shown us
you love so dearly every working
man and woman who toil and labor
under the most harsh conditions
trying to earn a living.
As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.
Matthew 9:9
St. John Chrysostom rightly
noticed how the gospels mentioned
the work of some Apostles called
by Jesus: Peter, James and John were
fishing while Matthew was collecting
taxes; oh how perceptive were the eyes
and tongue of St. John Chrysostom!
Because fishing was seen as a lowly job
during that time while the taxman was
the most despicable person for Jews
and yet, Jesus called them!
Lord Jesus,
grant your mercy and comfort,
consolation and help to all workers
so hard pressed in this life,
especially the forgotten who strive
to earn money decently like our
farmers and fishermen,
drivers and vendors,
maidservants and nannies
who working abroad
to care for other families as they
left their own families behind;
bless the cops and traffic enforcers,
our government workers
and officials who live in the darkness
of sin, trapped in the lures of wealth
and money; in calling St. Matthew,
Jesus showed us his daily passing
and calling of everyone of us,
people of all social classes while
they go about their ordinary,
daily work.
Grant us the strength
and courage, dear Jesus,
to be like St. Matthew
to immediately rise up and
follow you, to leave everything
behind especially sin and evil,
to be detached and to finally
stop activities that are not
compatible in following
you, Lord; like St. Matthew,
may we "write" your gospel
with our very lives of holiness,
making known to everyone
your Divine Mercy.
Dearest Jesus,
open our hearts to
intently listen to St. Matthew's
voice and message
so we may learn to
rise and stand
then follow you,
Lord,
with determination.
Amen.
St. Matthew,
pray for us!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time, 07 July 2023
Genesis 23:1-4, 19; 24:1-8, 62-67 ><]]]'> + <'[[[>< Matthew 9:9-13
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, in France, 2022.
O God our Father,
your words today are so
beautiful and amazing,
proving to us how you move
in so mysterious ways!
Open our eyes and
our hearts to your movements,
Lord, like Abraham and his steward:
make us trust in your ways and
instructions, to be patient and
persevering in your actions
even if it could take time
and would even involve
long distances to cover.
“Never take my son back there for any reason,” Abraham told him. “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my kin, and who confirmed by oath the promise he made to me… he will send his messenger before you, and you will obtain a wife for my son there.”
Genesis 24:6-7
Grant us the wisdom and prudence,
O God, to balance and find your
holy will and presence especially
in this age of relativism at one end
and fundamentalism at the other extreme;
let us heed your Son Jesus Christ's
instruction, "Go and learn
the meaning of the words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the righteous
but sinners" (Mt. 9:13).
In everything,
may we bring your soothing
balm of solace and comfort
among those suffering and lost
for meaning in life like Matthew,
especially those grieving
like Isaac over the death
his mother Sarah.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle, 25 January 2023
Acts 22:3-16 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Mark 16:15-18
Praise and glory
to you, O God our Father
for this glorious day of
celebration of the Feast of
Conversion of St. Paul,
the 13th Apostle of Jesus Christ!
He is the perfect example of
your boundless mercy in Christ,
that every sinner can always be
a saint, that every sin can be
forgiven for your love is more
immense and vast than all the evils
that men do!
While St. Luke tells us of the vision
that led St. Paul to conversion,
the great Apostle himself tells us
it was more of an illumination
when God's light "has shone in our
hearts to bring to light the knowledge
of the glory of God on the face of
Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 4:6); moreover,
St. Paul claimed conversion
was a revelation and a vocation
in the encounter with Jesus Christ
that began "from my mother's womb"
when God "had set me apart and
called me through his grace,
was pleased to reveal his Son to me,
so that I may proclaim him
to the gentiles" (Gal. 1:15-16).
If we could just realize this most
wonderful truth like St. Paul
that you have called us too
while we were in our mother's womb
because you have a beautiful plan for us
in this world, in this life;
that we all have a special mission,
an important role,
and noble purpose in being
alive,
in being here
in this world!
Therefore, Lord Jesus,
let us not delay our own
conversion in the same manner
that Ananias told St. Paul after
regaining his sight in Damascus
that "The God of our ancestors
designated you to know his will,
to see the Righteous One,
and to hear the sound of his voice;
for you will be his witness before
all to what you have seen and heard.
Now, why delay? Get up and have
yourself baptized and your sins
washed away, calling upon his name"
(Acts 22:14-16).
Most of all, dear Jesus,
like St. Paul, may we put you
at the center of our lives so that
our identity is marked by our
encounter with you,
by communion in your Person
and with your Word; help us reach
that wonderful stage of conversion
when like St. Paul we begin to see everything
considered as value is just a loss and refuse
(Phil. 3:7-10) because you, O Lord,
is the only essential, the most precious
one we can ever have in this life; hence,
place all our energy and being
at your service, dear Jesus and your Gospel
so that eventually, we may truly be
your Apostle, becoming
"all things to all men" or
"omnia omnibus"
(1 Cor. 9:19-23).
Amen.
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