What we must fear most…

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II
Memorial of the First Martyrs of Rome, 30 June 2026

*Rembrandt’s famous painting “The Storm on the Sea of Galilee” (1633) stolen from a museum in Boston in 1990 and still has not been found yet. From en.wikipedia.org.*

For the longest time,
Lord Jesus, 
I cannot understand
this episode in the gospel today:

As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith” Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm (Matthew 8:23-26).

You were more surprised
perhaps even astonished,
Jesus,
with your disciples' fears
than with the storm;
and it continues to happen
these days of so many storms
that siege us endlessly
not only as a Church but
also as individuals;
You are more surprised,
Jesus,
with our reactions to every
danger and terror that come our way
because those are the moments
we drift away from you,
when we distrust you,
when we rely more on our selves
or on others
than with you.

What must terrify us most
are not the violent storms that hit us
but when we doubt your presence
in our midst, Lord Jesus;
the most terrifying thing
in this life,
in this world
is when we play gods,
when we turn to other gods,
when we turn away from you
in sin and evil
like what Amos lamented
in the first reading:
"I brought upon you such upheaval
as when God overthrew Sodom
and Gomorrah:
you were like a brand plucked
from the fire;
yet you returned not to me,
says the Lord"
(Amos 4:11).

Like the first martyrs of
the Church in Rome,
may we remain faithful to you,
Jesus even to the point of death
for indeed,
the saddest plight
and worst tragedy
that can happen to anyone
is to turn away from you
who is life and fulfillment.
Amen.

*Painting of the First Martyrs of Rome executed on orders by Roman Emperor Nero in year 64 AD; image from Pinterest.com*

The problem with us…

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 18 August 2025
Monday, Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time, Year I
Judges 2:11-19     <*((((><  +  ><))))*>     Matthew 19:16-22

*Photo by Mr. Vigie Ongleo, Virginia, USA, August 2021.*

Your words today,
O God our Father
are so disheartening
not only because after 
a week of joyful stories of
Moses and Joshua and the
Israelites finally nearing the
Promised Land,
we begin work and classes
this Monday with the distaff
side of Israel's history,
of their low point of being
repeatedly attacked and 
defeated by their enemies.

But more sad
and disheartening is the fact
that low point in their history
was also their low point in their
faith in you -
it was all due to their repeated
falling into sin of idolatry,
of worshipping false gods
instead of you alone.

Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, he would be with the judge and save them from the power of their enemies as long as the judge lived; it was thus the Lord took pity on their distressful cries of affliction under their oppressors. But when the judge died, they would relapse and do worse than their ancestors, following other gods in service and worship, relinquishing none of their evil practices or stubborn conduct (Judges 2:18-19).

And that is the painful
truth of the story,
of the fact still true
among us today:
the problem,
the trouble
are all with us.

Yes, Lord,
many times we are like
your people during that
time of the judges:
you keep on saving us
from troubles of our own making
but once we are able to rebound
in life, we go back to our old ways
of sins and self-centeredness,
forgetting you and your love;
we do not have the false gods
of old like Baal 
but we keep on turning
away from you, Lord,
worshipping
fame and wealth,
power and control,
comfort and safety;
though through all these 
you keep on coming to save us,
giving us all the chances
to be better in Jesus Christ your Son,
we are like the young man
in the gospel who can't let go
of our many possessions,
choosing to leave sad
than follow Jesus empty
but filled with love and 
and meaning in life.
Help us fix this
trouble in us, Lord.
Amen.

Divine milieu

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious, 17 November 2023
Wisdom 13:1-9 <'[[[[>< <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> ><]]]]'> Luke 17:26-37

*Photo by author, St. Scholastica Retreat House, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.*

Arouse us, dear God,
our loving Father,
awake us from our sleep,
let us open our eyes,
our hearts,
our very selves
to your divine presence
around us and within us;
let us bask in this most
lovely divine milieu
so many have tried so hard
to negate and discard
as not true.

How true are your words
again this day from the
Book of Wisdom:

All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God, and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is, and from studying the works did not discern the artisan.
Wisdom 13:1

How foolish have we become
to reject you, to abandon you,
to not believe nor recognize
you, O God, who can be gleaned
from nature and creation,
most especially in our studies
and search for truth and meaning;
but twice foolish are those who 
believe only in themselves,
playing gods, worshipping their
body and beauty,
amazed with their strength and power
full of conceit and self-centeredness
(cf. Wisdom 13:2-4).

Keep us simple, Father,
to find you in little things,
in the unseen realities of this life
that point us to your divine milieu;
let us not wait for that sign
of gathering of vultures
when we lay wasted,
and dead to sin
and blindness.
Amen.

Killing the “goose that laid the golden eggs”

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of St. Ignaitus of Antioch, Bishop & Martyr, 17 October 2023
Romans 1:16-25 ><}}}}*> + <*{{{{>< Luke 11:37-41

*Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD, in Le Teich, France, 17 July 2023.*

God our Father,
today I felt you tickled my bone
in prayer as your words reminded
me of one of Aesop's famous fable,
"The goose that laid the
golden egg", 
of how often we are like
the husband and wife owners 
of that Goose who foolishly 
slaughtered the poor bird 
only to find its inside 
was just like any other other
without any gold at all inside!

In killing the Goose,
they have deprived themselves
of their fortune.

Is it not the same thing
St. Paul is telling us today
as he had told the Romans before?

While claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of immortal God for the likeness of a mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals of snakes. Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshipped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Romans 1:22-25

Forgive us, dear Father,
in "killing" you so often
in our unconscious subscription
to that most untrue and foolish
statement that "God is dead";
in continuously "crucifying"
Jesus your Son in exchange of
our perceived good like these
new, liberal thoughts about
sexuality and genders,
freedom and morals,
science and technology
that we so worship these days
than you!

We are like that Pharisee 
in today's gospel who pretend
to always invite Jesus into our lives
only to test him,
to catch lapses in his words
and teachings so we can lead
our lives the way we want it;
forgive us, dear Lord for
being so foolish!

Grant us the enlightenment
and courage you bestowed
upon St. Ignatius of Antioch
to remain faithful to you and your
Cross, Lord Jesus Christ,
bearing all pains and sacrifices
for the sake of your church unity
and for charity; let us heed his
words to the Romans before
dying at the Colosseum to 
"Do not talk about Jesus Christ
as long as you love this world."
Amen.

St. Ignatius of Antioch,
Pray for us!

What – and who – is really “good”?

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of St. Pope Pius X, 21 August 2023
Judges 2:11-19 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Matthew 19:16-22

*Photo by author, La Trinidad, Benguet, 11 July 2023.*

It is nice to be back here in Baguio City, this time with my brother priests for our annual clergy retreat at the St. Scholastica Spirituality Center. As usual, we started our brief “vacare Deo” with the Holy Mass and the gospel brought me to the start of my vocation history in elementary school as I found myself in that young man asking Jesus almost the same question:

a young man approached Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments… If you wish to be perfect, go sell, what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Matthew 19:16-17, 21-22

*Photo by author, Sacristy of the Manila Cathedral, 07 July 2023.*

Indeed, there is only One good, God himself. Him is what we all seek in life. St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross – St. Edith Stein – said anyone who seeks the truth seeks God, whether or not he realizes it.”

That is easier. In fact, it is God who seeks and finds us always. Not us. Our own seeking for him is a pure grace from him.

The problematique is seeking what is good.

Especially after finding God.

And that is priesthood, which is to constantly affirm and and say yes to God.

More than just obeying his commandments, doing what is good is saying yes to God every day, choosing him above all things and even person, even one’s self! Many times, I must admit, I have been like the Israelites in the first reading: after having God’s immense blessings in life, I turn away from him with my many other new gods.

What is really good who is God is contrary to what is good according to the world like wealth and power, pleasures and comforts, fame and honor, adulations and recognition, and so many other things that exaggerate our bloated ego especially in this age of instant fame and glory. They are not really good because they wane and dissipate like every wealth the world offers. Worst, when gone, we are left empty.

*Photo by author, St. Scholastica Spirituality Center, Baguio City, 21 August 2023.*

There is only One good, God himself whom we must only have as our only wealth, our only treasure, our only valuable. And to have him, we must divest ourselves of our worldly riches, of everything that massages and inflates our ego.

How lovely is that scene when Matthew noted “A young man approached Jesus”.

That is the beauty of every retreat, of every sabbath break. We become young again, we go back to our beginning when we were so simple in seeking what is good. How sad that after finding God in Jesus, we become old not in age but in our face, in our heart because we have become sad and saddled with our many possessions that possess us!

Lord Jesus Christ,
thank you for this retreat,
thank you for making me young again,
for making me go back 
to those days of innocence,
of simplicity in seeking you,
in having you,
and being like you;
help me "divest" of myself,
empty me of my pride
and other "possessions"
to fill me with your humility,
justice and love.
Amen.

Lent is for remembering & thanking

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Fourth Week of Lent, 23 March 2023
Exodus 32:7-14   >>> + <<<   John 5:31-47

*Photo by author, 03 March 2023, Teresa, Rizal.*

Forgive us, 
God our merciful Father
for our forgetfulness and
thanklessness; more than
being forgetful, we are also
ungrateful like the Israelites at Sinai.

Many times in life,
we rarely appreciate what we have,
especially the little ones.

How unfortunate we recognize only
big things as important that we forget
everything in life which is the sum of 
the littlest things put together -
the single steps of every journey,
the minute cells of our body,
the little efforts put together 
by the little, ordinary people
who give us our meals, our daily needs,
the small acts of kindness like smiles,
hi’s and hellos we don’t even mind at all;
the little children who play or cry 
to remind us of our beginnings…
So many other tiny, 
little things and moments, 
ordinary people we disregard
that prevent us from remembering and 
thanking you and everyone 
for the many joys and comforts
we enjoy in every moment.

Forgive us also,
loving Father,  
of how we forget
and hence could not appreciate 
to be grateful with the little 
gifts we have within like 
this life we have versus the
great moments of victory and fame we 
choose to remember; the family and
friends you surround us daily
but take for granted as we prefer
big people like the rich and famous;
those little giftedness of ours like
simplicity, sense of humor, 
even rich appetite to savor 
and enjoy ordinary food shared
with common folks we forget 
and become thankless for our gifts
of selves and uniqueness.

Bless us, 
dear God to remember
and be reminded of the many
gifts we have but unaware
that make us thankless and forgetful,
tempting us to create our own idols
and golden calves to worship;
open our eyes to see your works
and majesty in Jesus who became like
us in everything except sin
so that we experience you more
in flesh in us and one another;
help us feel and enjoy life’s little joys
and blessings so we may remember
and never forget all good things 
come from you, often in little
packages to be more appreciative 
and grateful.
Amen.