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The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Week XVII, Year II in Ordinary Time, 27 July 2020
Jeremiah 13:1-11 >><)))*> >>><)))*> >><)))*> Matthew 13:31-35
Photo from Google.

What a great way to start our last week of work and studies in July with your sense of humor, O God! Your words are so witty and funny but with a strong punch. Hard-hitting, so biting. And so revealing.

For, as close as the loincloth clings to a man’s loins, so I had made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the Lord; to be my people, my renown, my praise, my beauty. But they did not listen.

Jeremiah 13:11

You really got me, Lord.

What can I say?

Our underwear, that is, the loincloth of Jeremiah’s time, is our most intimate clothing, always in contact with our very selves, in that part of our body that we always guard and keep to ourselves.

But, what happens when we “dirty” ourselves with sins, when we put on all those filth in ourselves, we also feel the same way inside, no matter how clean and crisp our clothes are but when deep down our loincloth – underwear – is rotted and good for nothing?

We can always hide it from others and they will never know the kind of underwear we have but we cannot deceive ourselves of how dirty we are with sins and evil.

And so far from you, O God.

Forgive us when you are supposed to be the closest to us, the one we are always in contact with but we have totally disregarded because of our many sins, when we thought we can always have our own ways without you, denying the fact it simply cannot be for indeed, you have made us to be that closest to you.

Forgive us in your Son and our Lord Jesus Christ. Renew us inside, cleanse us and refresh us to be in close contact with you again, O God.

Help us to remain good and clean inside like the little mustard seed so we may grow to have leafy branches for birds to come and dwell in us.

In your mercy, cleanse us of our sins and be our yeast to mix with us again to leaven into a dough to make your kingdom come here on earth. Amen.

Photo by Life Of Pix on Pexels.com

All in God’s hands

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Week XII, Year II in Ordinary Time, 26 June 2020
2 Kings 25:1-12 >>)))*> >>)))*> >>)))*> Matthew 8:1-4
Photo by author, Assumption Sabbath, Baguio City, 2019.

When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately.

Matthew 8:1-3

Nothing happens in this life without you fully knowing all about it, Lord God almighty. From the air that we breathe, to the rising and the setting of the sun, to everything —- you fully know them all, Lord and you choose to let them work in our favor despite our turning away from you in sins.

Praise and glory to you, God, and we thank you for your goodness to continue to will what is best for us despite our sinfulness.

May we keep this always in our minds and hearts that nothing escapes you; that sometimes, you just let us go on with our lives so we can finally have a taste of what we choose in this life.

And we seem to never ever learn as we continue to be proud before you, refusing to be humble that until the end, we are forced by our wrong and sinful decisions to eat us up, to shame us like Jerusalem that was almost annihilated by the Babylonians after her fall.

You never punish your people; you only will what is good for us — to be healed, to be cleansed, to be saved in Jesus Christ your Son!

May we always come to you, Lord, asking your will and plans for us, as we readily submit to you. Amen.

Lobby of the Assumption Sabbath in Baguio City, 2019.

How ugly sin can be

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Week XI, Year II in Ordinary Time, 16 June 2020
1 Kings 21:17-29 <*(((>< <*(((>< ><)))*> ><)))*> Matthew 5:43-48
Photo from Google.

O God our heavenly Father, we come to you today begging for your mercy, for more enlightenment, for prudence and for self-control amid all the things going on in our land and elsewhere abroad while still under threats with this COVID-19 pandemic.

Every day we are beginning to see how ugly sin can be, often expressed in so many forms of injustice to one another; its ugliness can be seen in the “punishments” King Ahab shall suffer following the death of Naboth whose vineyard he had so desired to own.

Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me out, my enemy?” “Yes,” he answered. “Because you have given yourself up to doing evil in the Lord’s sight, I am bringing evil upon you: I will destroy you and will cut off every male in Ahab’s line, whether slave or freeman, in Israel. When one of Ahab’s line dies in the city, dogs will devour him; when one of them dies in the field, the birds of the sky will devour him.”

1 Kings 21:20-21, 24

Help us to turn away from sins, Lord, and cleanse our hearts and our hands of our many sins of dishonesty and insincerity, of lies and injustices, of pride and power tripping.

All these things happening to us today are largely due to our past sins that until now we refuse to admit and confess to you.

Give us the grace of honesty within, of confronting our true selves and admit our guilt, confess our sins to you to start anew like King Ahab towards the end that moved you, merciful God, to let go of your wrath in him.

May we find the wisdom and the immense beauty and power of your love as preached by Jesus to us in the gospel today.

Inspire us to be perfect, to be holy today just like you, our Father, is holy, perfect, and beautiful.

Holiness is not being sinless, Lord; fill us with your Self, O God so we may be strong enough to ward off sins and evil and be truly a reflection of your image and likeness in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Photo by author, January 2020, Pulilan, Bulacan.

Lent is for “debugging”

40 Shades of Lent, Friday, Week-I, 06 March 2020

Ezekiel 18:21-28 +++ 0 +++ Matthew 5:20-26

Photo by author, Parokya ni San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Bagbaguin, Santa Maria, Bulacan, Lent 2020.

Once again, our loving Father, I take the computer as my point of comparison for my prayer reflection on this second Friday of Lent.

Thank you in giving us this blessed season of Lent when we are able to “debug” our “internal hard drive” – the heart – to be cleansed of bugs and virus as well as unnecessary materials that slow us down to be holy and perfect like you.

Your words are very reassuring of how you want us to be “fixed” always, to be in good condition, filled with life and holiness.

Thus says the Lord God: “Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of a wicked?” says the Lord God. “Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way that he may live? Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair? When someone virtuous man turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniqity he committed that he must die. But if the wicked, trning from the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life; since he has turned away from all the sins that he committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.”

Ezekiel 18:23, 25-28

Educate our hearts, O Lord.

Help us “surpass the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees” in Jesus Christ who have come to perfect the laws in himself, in love.

May your purifying love, sweet Jesus, cleanse us of our sins, delete our painful memories that continue to hold us back, preventing us to move forward and forgive others and especially our very selves.

Make us rejoice, O Lord, in your immense love and share it with others so that we may grow more in holiness in you. Amen.

Faith in the time of COVID-19

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Friday, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, 21 February 2020

James 2:14-24.26 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Mark 8:34-9:1

Photo by Mr. Jay Javier, Traslacion 2020, Quiapo, Manila.

Praise and glory to you, O Lord Jesus Christ, for standing by our side through all the trials that have poured upon us this early 2020. In fact, since December you have been keeping us, blessing us, protecting us from all the problems we have been going through in the family and in the world.

You have never left us, Lord, with many of us now moving on with our lives since losing our beloved earlier this year while war between Iran and the US was averted. Thank you, Jesus, the alert level of Taal Volcano had gone down and despite the continuing threats from the new corona virus, things seem to be improving.

Except us, your people who are supposed to be “faithful”.

The words of St. James since Monday have been shaking us down into our very core, reminding us to get real and do away with all the pomp and pageantries of being your faithful disciples.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

James 2:14, 17, 19, 24-26

Continue to purify us, teach us how to truly “deny one’s self, take up one’s cross, and follow you, O Lord” (Mk.8:34).

How sad, O Lord, that as we approach your holy season of Lent, we are more preoccupied with how ashes should be distributed on Ash Wednesday.

What an “overkill” Lord in dealing with this disease when we have forgotten the more essential cleansing of our hearts, of our minds and conscience that flow into maintaining cleanliness and hygiene inside our churches.

Faith in this time of the new corona virus is proving to be a very crucial test of our being Christ-ians indeed through our genuine works of love and mercy for others.

Give us the same courage of St. Peter Damian in reforming not only your church but most especially our very selves. Amen.

Spiritual decluttering and tidying

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Wednesday, Week V, Year II, 12 February 2020

1 Kings 10:1-10 ><)))*> 0 <*(((>< Mark 7:14-23

Photo by author, Baguio Cathedral, January 2019.

Thank you for coming to us, Lord Jesus Christ, to save us, to cleanse us of our sins. What a tremendous grace and gift from you who are sinless to own up and wash away our sins!

Long before Mari Kondo had come advocating decluttering and tidying our homes, you were there first, O Lord, spiritually cleansing us, our inner selves in order to experience your peace and wisdom like King Solomon.

What must have impressed the Queen of Sheba in meeting King Solomon was more of his inner peace and stability, sincerity and honesty in answering all her questions: he was not hiding anything negative inside himself as he exuded with positive vibrations.

Precisely what Jesus was telling the people of his time and us today:

“Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile… From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”

Mark 7:14-15, 21-23
From Google.

Cleanse our hearts, our inner selves, Lord Jesus Christ.

Please do some spiritual “Mari Kondo-ing” into our souls to discard all filth and negative vibes we have been senselessly keeping, even nurturing, holding on in the hope of avenging for the wrongs done against us.

Cleanse us inside, Lord, so we may be filled with your light of reason and sparks of joy. Amen.