Like a father, like a mother

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 27 August 2025
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Monica, Married Woman
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]*> Matthew 23:27-32
Image of St. Monica from grunge.com
Praise and glory to you,
Lord Jesus Christ
for another set of
beautiful words from
your great Apostle Paul
of being like a "father",
a parent to the Thessalonians
like St. Monica whose feast we
celebrate today in her diligence
and patience to her son
St. Augustine whose feast comes
tomorrow.

As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his children, exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into his kingdom and glory (1Thessalonians 2:11-12).

In this time of great
trial and crisis in our country
when we are literally deep
in floods of evil and sin,
a deluge of apocalyptic proportion
that have submerged all three
branches of government -
the executive,
legislative
and judiciary
that have severely dampened
and loosened the morals
of our society,
teach us Jesus
to be like the mother of
St. Augustine,
the ever patient and
prayerful St. Monica
to exhort and encourage
everyone to still walk in a manner
worthy of God who calls us
to be fair and just,
tenacious with our faith
and hope in you and your gospel
minus the trappings of the
Pharisees and scribes of your time
who were like "whitewashed tombs
who appear beautiful on the outside,
but inside are full of dead men's bones
and every kind of filth"
(Matthew 23:27);
may the prayers of St. Monica
with her tears cleanse us
of everything wrong in our selves.
Amen.

Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Our Lady of Fatima University
Valenzuela City
(lordmychef@gmail.com)
St. Augustine with his mother St. Monica.

Facing evil

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 29 January 2024
2 Samuel 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13  <*((((>< + ><))))*>  Mark 5:1-20
An illustration of the healing of the Gerasenes demoniac from Pinterest.
On this final week of January
as we approach in two weeks the
Season of Lent,
you teach us today,
dear Father with many
lessons about "facing" evil;
at first, I felt evil is always
"confronted", something we always
fight head on but from the
two readings today,
your words tell me O Lord
there are times we just have
to stand firm against evil without
necessarily fighting it out right away
but not condoning it either.

But the king replied: ”What business is it of mine or of yours, sons of Zeruiah, that he curses? Suppose the Lord has told him to curse David; who then will dare say to, ‘Why are you doing this'” Then the king said to Abishai and to all his servants: ”If my own son, who came forth from loins, is seeking my life, how much more might this Benjaminite to do! Let him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. Perhaps the Lord will look upon my affliction and mae it up to me with benefits for the curses he is uttering this day.”

2 Samuel 16:10-12
Give me, O God, the same
patience of David to accept the
evils happening to me as I am guilty
of so many evils too;
like David, let me be mindful always
of my own evil ways and sins that
definitely will haunt me,
will chase me,
and will charge me later
in recompense for my own
sins too.
There are times, Lord,
that I must accept
how I deserve some evil to befall me
as a result of my own sinfulness
like David.
If ever the evils that come to me
are undeserved,
keep my cool and patience,
as well as goodwill
like Jesus Christ your Son
and our Lord;
after healing the Gerasenes demoniac,
he was driven out from the town
by the people;
many times,
people do not understand
anything at all when evils
befall us and others;
maintain my peace
within me, Lord,
that I may not react against
my accusers like you
especially when they all get it wrong;
let me tower over everyone else
with firm faith in you,
dignity in silence,
and clear conscience
when people wrongly
accuse me of deeds
I am not guilty of
for you alone is my
salvation.
Amen.