distorted views on life

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 10 June 2026
1 Kings 18:20-39 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Matthew 5:17-19

*Photo by Ms. Analyn Dela Torre, Caypombo, Santa Maria, Bulacan, June 2024.*

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place (Matthew 5:17-18).

How funny it is, 
O god our loving Father
long before all these gadgets
came with its many apps
needing constant updates,
we have always been seeking
"updates" on your laws too:
your people turned away from you
during the time of Elijah to follow
Baal, a sort of "updating" themselves
of the latest trends in life courtesy of
the pagan queen, Jezebel.

And when her priests of Baal lost
to the challenge of Elijah whose 
God can start fire on the offerings,
the people fell and said, 
"The Lord is God! 
The Lord is God!"

Everyday we repeat that sin:
we turn away from you to
follow modern trends and beliefs
but when troubles come, 
we then find your laws and teachings 
are indeed true and valid at all times;
most of all,
that salvation comes only
from you in Jesus Christ
your Son our Lord.

Forgive us, Lord,
in turning away from you,
in allowing ourselves to be
deceived and misled by modern
thoughts and ways of the world
that come to us like updates in
that fix bugs in our gadgets
and apps; you sent your Son
Jesus Christ not to update us
on your laws but to fulfill them
because they are perfect.
Let that sink in us today:
God fulfills laws into love,
man updates programs and
apps to fix errors
and shortcomings.
Amen.

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Third Week in Ordinary Time, Year I, 27 January 2025
Hebrews 9:15, 24-28 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Mark 3:22-30

Lord Jesus Christ,
take away our colored lenses
that prevent us from seeing
the real pictures in the world
and of life; many times,
our lenses are not only colored
but even defective
that make us see distorted images
as the realities when they are not.

Like the Pharisees,
we wear different lenses
that prevent us from seeing
your true self as full of good,
of love and mercy;
like the Pharisees,
our views of others are
distorted because we see
only ourselves as better
while at the same time,
still like the Pharisees,
we debate truth because we could
not accept others as better than us,
leaving us all trapped in self-condemned
state of sinning that make us see
everything as hopeless,
worst, nothing is good at all
in the world even in our
very selves which is the sin
agains the Holy Spirit.

Make us see through
your loving and merciful
lens our selves,
others,
the world around us,
and most especially YOU;
give us your lenses
to see we have been saved
and most of all,
worth saving because
we are loved by
YOU and the Father
in heaven.

Let us rejoice and
relish your saving power,
Lord, when You as the Christ,
"Offered once to take away
the sins of many,
will appear a second time,
not to take away sins
but to bring salvation
to those who eagerly await
Him"
(Hebrews 9:28).
Amen.

Tag: distorted views on life

God fulfills, man updates

Our colored lenses