Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 17 November 2025 Monday in the Thirty-Third Week of Ordinary Time, Year I Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious 1 Maccabees 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63 <*(((>< + ><)))*> Luke 16:35-43
Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" He replied, "Lord, please let me see." Jesus told him, "Have sight; your faith has saved you" (Luke 18:40-42).
What a touching story for this Monday as we quickly approach the end of our liturgical calendar, when Jesus likewise in the gospel is on his final journey before his Passion to Jerusalem.
"What do you want me to do for you?"
Honestly, Lord Jesus, I do not know what I really want in life; as I get older, it seems the more I get confused and afraid of many things as I start to feel my body ageing, getting weaker, forgetting a lot of things, feeling desperate at times like that blind man at the roadside.
And so, I cry out to you too like him with "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" This time I know what I want from you: like him, let me have sight; clear my mind and my heart and my soul of all doubts and fears, hesitations and mistrust that I too may leave the "roadside" to follow you closer on the road to Jerusalem like St. Elizabeth of Hungary, praying more, believing more, giving up more, and giving more of myself to you through others. Amen.
Today we also pray in a special way to all those having problems with their in-laws, those grieving the lost of a child, and widows: O St. Elizabeth of Hungary, you went all through these pains and sufferings, please pray for the many wives and mothers and widows going thrugh these. Amen.
Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Our Lady of Fatima University Valenzuela City
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 17 October 2025 Friday, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop & Martyr Romans 4:1-8 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Luke 12:1-7
Your words, O Lord Jesus this Friday are so lovely, so comforting especially in this time when many fear ageing, suffering, and death.
I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more. I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one (Luke 12:4-5).
How I wish I could hug you, Jesus, lean on you while relishing your calling us "my friends" not to be afraid of those who kill the body; more than trusting you, let me live in you, Jesus like Abraham as explained by St. Paul in the first reading who deeply trusted God in everything; deepen my consciousness as a senior citizen that life does not end in the grave because the soul persists even after death; thank you also for the gift of hair though it had thinned and turned gray, now sparse and perhaps easier for the Father to count and remember but most of all as signs of his love and care for me; let me not be afraid, Jesus, for I am worth more than the sparrows.
St. Ignatius of Antioch whose feast we celebrate today, pray for us modern people so afraid of pain and suffering and death: pray for us to be like you - to accept death, even pursue death which is our rebirth to new life. Amen.
Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Our Lady of Fatima University Valenzuela City (lordmychef@gmail.com)
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday in Fifth Week of Easter, 20 May 2025 Acts 14:19-28 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> John 14:27-31
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca Villas, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 14 May 2025.
Jesus said to his disciples, “Peace be with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27).
Come, Lord Jesus! Come and let me search peace in you, not in the world that is uncertain and always dependent, transactional in nature; you know it, Lord, how often like your disciples at the Last Supper, I look for peace in the world, in things and in what people say and approve that peace remains elusive; you know very well too, Jesus, my fears and anxieties that I give into the peace of the world that is quick and easier; give me courage, Jesus, to look for peace in you here in my heart, to trust in you, not afraid to love totally even to get hurt because it is the path to your peace.
Like Paul and Barnabas after being stoned and rejected by their fellow Jews, they never backed out from preaching your good news, Lord; instead, so true to your words at the Last Supper not to let our hearts troubled or afraid, they asserted, "It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).
Grant us, O Lord, the same faith and courage and trust in you in order to finally find your lasting peace. Amen.
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca Villas, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 14 May 2025.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Simbang Gabi-5 Homily, 20 December 2024 Isaiah 7:10-14 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 1:26-38
Photo by Mr. Boy Cabrido, National Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, QC, 16 December 2024.
Last Monday at the start of Simbang Gabi, one of our priests became viral when at the recessional of their Mass while the choir was joyfully singing “Pasko na! Pasko na!”, he sarcastically sang “Hindi pa! Hindi pa!”
Many people laughed at the viral video with some commenting that Father was right because it wasn’t Christmas yet while a liturgist advised choirs to check the many choices of Advent songs now available online. But, sad to say, the people missed the whole point of the incident.
What our brother-priest did was not funny at all in putting to shame his own choir members and most of all, in destroying the solemnity of the Mass.
And the problem was not really the choir at all but the priest himself. What the priest did at the end of the Mass was a self-indictment of his lack of formation for his choir members and of any dialogue at all.
Photo by author, Advent in previous parish, 2018.
Advent is a dialogue between God and humans that led to the presence of God among us in Jesus Christ on Christmas. It is a process that continues in our own time as we are all called to be open to God and with others for dialogue like Mary in the annunciation of Christ’s birth by Archangel Gabriel.
Dialogue is more than conversing to improve relationships among people in a community or organization but a way of being with others as opposed to a way of thinking through issues and problems only. Dialogue is being present with others, of giving one’s self to feel and listen and experience the other person.
Luke shows us in his second Christmas story today how this true meaning of dialogue between God and Mary happened.
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming of her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! Then Lord is with you.” But she was greatloy troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God… But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God” (Luke 1:26-30, 34-37).
“Cestello Annunciation” by Botticelli painted in 1490; from en.wikipedia.org.
See the artistry and genius of Luke as a storyteller. Yesterday he presented to us the annunciation of the birth of John the Baptist to his father Zechariah while incensing the Holy of Holies in the temple of Jerusalem.
Notice the great differences in the flow of conversations and dialogue in the two annunciations narrated by Luke. Both Zechariah and Mary were troubled at the coming of the angel. And who would not be in a such unprecedented event? However, there is one minute detail we find in Luke’s narration of the two annunciations that reveal something so big and deep in meaning.
According to Luke, “Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him” (Lk. 1:12) while Mary “was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be” (Lk. 1:29). Both were troubled which is normal but their reactions differed so great with Zechariah becoming proud while Mary was humbled.
I believe that it was more than their age and differences in social status that Zechariah was simply “troubled” while Mary was “greatly troubled” but it was largely due to their dispositions and openness to God.
Zechariah was proud of his stature and of his intelligence, trying to take hold and control of everything that is why he was seized with fear. When he told the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years” (Lk.1:18), Zechariah was troubled and fearful because he felt challenged as a priest much respected in the community, choosing to stand proud of his position and intelligence as if having a child is all an effort of man and woman alone! There was no dialogue as Zechariah was proud that is why he was made mute by the angel. He had forgotten all about God!
Photo by author, Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth, Israel, May 2019.
Compare Mary’s reaction to the annunciation, “But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.”
Luke always portrayed Mary as the listener and doer of the word, the one who ponders at the words spoken to her not only by the angel here but later at the birth of Jesus those spoken by the shepherds, then by Simeon at the Presentation and by Jesus Himself at the wedding in Cana. Mary has always been open to dialogue, to feeling the other person conversing with her. She was not concerned only with the news and information but with the persons involved.
In that sense, there is her remarkable humility and great courage at the same time. True humility is not really about being submissive but most of all being filled with courage, not with fear. Mary as the very young virgin from a poor family in a town nobody gave importance stood fearless before the angel as she took hold of herself to ponder on the words spoken to her. Despite the very unprecedented moment with an angel, Mary had that inner engagement with the words she had just heard without any violent reactions.
Photo by author, December 2018.
Unlike Zechariah, Mary was the one actually in control of herself and of her emotions. The Jedi Master Yoda of Star Wars said it so well, “fear leads to anger, anger leads to destruction”. Zechariah was afraid of losing power and control but Mary was not bothered at all. In fact, she faced the challenge head on, reflecting deep in her what is this going on? Am I awake, is this a dream would most likely be the words playing in her mind and heart. Mary had presence as she tried to feel the angel and later God that no wonder, Jesus came to her womb and we have Christmas!
The humility and courage of Mary became more evident when she said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”
She was not afraid at all to be become the Mother of God! There was already her willingness to submit, as if telling the angel, “OK let’s do it but tell me how?” whereas Zechariah was argumentative, trying to escape responsibilities? Such was the attitude too of Ahaz in the first reading, denying he won’t test God when in fact he had already aligned with other kings in the region as he feared the invading enemies near his borders.
It was at this moment when the good news became most closest to us through Mary when the angel explained of the coming of the Holy Spirit, of how the power of God would overshadow her, assuring her that nothing is impossible with God.
How wonderful is this scene for us to emulate Mary so that we experience Christmas daily in our lives, not only of God coming but being present in us and among us. Can we dare to be open before God like Mary? Have a blessed Friday!
Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Valenzuela City, December 2024.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday in the Thirty-Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 15 November 2024 Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop & Doctor of the Church 2 John 4-9 <*{{{{>< +++ ><}}}}*> Luke 17:26-37
Photo by author, 20 August 2024, St. Scholastica Retreat House, Tagaytay City.
Another short letter for our first reading today, Jesus but filled with wonder and power that impacts our daily life: help us to keep your love Lord! The words of your beloved disciple are strikingly so true to us these days:
Anyone who is so “progressive” as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son (2 John 9).
Forgive us, dear Jesus, with our so many excuses and alibis along with our endless arguments for the sake of being modern and progressive to be excused from your only law and command which is to love; let us love always for to love is live in your presence; without love, there is disorder and sin, and fear; with love, there is true freedom to be who we truly are as children of the Father.
Therefore, open our eyes that we may consider the wonders of your laws, O Lord (Psalm 119:18). Amen.
Photo by author, Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Dumaguete City, Negros Or., 07 November 2024.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 03 November 2024 Deuteronomy 6:2-6 ><}}}}*> Hebrews 7:23-28 ><}}}}*> Mark 12:28-34
Photo by author, river at the back of Nagsasa Cove, San Antonio, Zambales, 19 October 2024.
Jesus finally entered Jerusalem to fulfill His mission as we also enter the last four Sundays of our liturgical year before entering the season of Advent in preparation for Christmas.
Two Sundays ago we reflected the atmosphere of fear among the Apostles and the crowd following Jesus to Jerusalem after He had made known to them for the third time His coming Passion, Death, and Resurrection. This Sunday our readings invite us to look into that feeling of fear we often experience.
Fear can be negative in nature when we experience a threat to our safety whether there is a clear and present danger from a person or animal hurting us, or when our imagination runs wild with ghosts or a snake underneath the bed at night.
Positive fear is actually the reverence we experience due to a sense of awe often associated with our relationships like with our parents and relatives, teachers and superiors, or any person who seem to amaze us. We fear them not because they threatened us but actually inspired us with their presence, dignity and grace, intelligence and kindness among other things. This kind of fear we experienced in childhood then slowly matured and blended with trust, translated into adoration of the persons so unforgettable to us, influencing us in many ways that we have come to love them eventually, especially God. This is what the Bible and catechism books refer to as “fear of the Lord”.
Photo by author, Mount Sinai, Egypt, May 2019.
Moses spoke to the people, saying: “Fear the Lord, your God, and keep, throughout the days of your lives, all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you, and thus have long life. Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today” (Deuteronomy 6:2, 4-6).
This “fear of the Lord” that Moses and later the prophets instilled among the Israelites was expressed in faithfulness and obedience to the Laws so that for them, being holy or upright was obedience to the Laws.
This “fear of the Lord” is not about God overpowering man to keep him in bondage. In giving the Ten Commandments, God first entered into a relationship or covenant with the chosen people based on friendship, trust, and love. See here that positive aspect of fear, of reverence like our fear of parents and elders as well as those seemed larger than us including our crushes and first love when we revered them by showing them love and respect.
This “fear of the Lord” then becomes a passing from fear to love that leads us to maturity as persons. And believers. Then lovers and followers not only of those significant people in our lives but most especially of God!
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord your God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:28-31).
Photo of author, Mount Sinai, Egypt, May 2019.
Unlike the tricky questions posed by His enemies, this one from a scribe was so unique with his calm attitude that invites everyone including us to join in the discussion. One can feel his sincerity in seeking out the truth he felt (rightly so!) only Jesus can answer.
Many times, we feel the same way like that scribe so convinced in asking Jesus, ready to follow Him only if we are clarified which is the first to follow in life in order to mature from fear to love.
"Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Like that scribe, many times we feel confused in our lives, in our faith with the many laws and traditions we were told since childhood to follow; hence, we ask “which is the first of the commandments” that really matter most in life.
Such moments in our life is a grace from the Holy Spirit because in asking “the first of the commandments” is not to determine a hierarchy nor a list of which ones to be prioritized and dismissed; the “first” commandment means the absolutely capital that is always binding on all. The “first” commandment is the one to which all others are subjected without being cancelled or considered least nor optional. The “first” commandment is the very essence of all commandments present in each commandment. It is actually a search for the First Principle who is God Himself!
That is why Jesus quoted verbatim Deuteronomy 6:4-5, the opening words of their best known prayer Shema every pious Jew knows by heart, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
Similar to His manner of answering the question about divorce last month, Jesus did not answer the scribe’s question by making reference to a code of laws but instead recited the Shema that encapsulates maturity and deepening of faith in God who is One, with no other except Him. The Shema also shows how our personal God relates with us His people, bonding in a covenant like husband and wife that is reciprocal, exclusive, and total love “with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength.”
This “first” commandment is also a relationship that flows to our relationships with one another we rightly call as neighbors. See how Jesus added a “second” commandment not as in a hierarchy making it less important but as an expression of the essential “first” commandment of all the scribe understood well when he affirmed, “Well said teacher… and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mk.12:32, 33).
For the Jews, their neighbors were their fellow Jews and those aliens residing in their land as found in the Book of Leviticus; but, in this scene, we find Jesus bringing that whole notion of neighbors for everyone, regardless of color and status in life, or of gender, or beliefs.
Jesus makes known to us this Sunday His mission of salvation is for all, for everyone. Most of all, Jesus tells us this Sunday that He is the fulfillment of the Law that many during His time and sadly until now have misread as mere letters to be followed, failing to find the face of God in every law inscribed on every person.
Photo by author, view from Jerusalem Temple, May 2019.
How interesting that each face has two cheeks, both essential, both as the first commandment: love of God is love of neighbor. To profess and practice this faith in God that started in fear and matured into love finding Him in everyone as our neighbor is to be “not far from the kingdom of God” (Mk.12:34).
Friends, let us not fear asking Jesus which is the “first” of the commandments like that scribe.
Keep asking Him until we find Jesus “first” in our trials and tribulations, darkness and confusions, failures and emptiness.
Keep asking Him until we find Jesus “first” on those people who burden us, those who hurt us, those who judge us, those who refuse to listen to us, those who dictate on us.
Keep asking Him until we find Jesus even in programs and plans we could not understand or that are downright crazy.
That is what to truly love God and to love everyone. It is difficult but we have Jesus as our high-priest “who has passed through the heavens” leading us closer to the kingdom of God. Amen. Have a lovely November!
Photo by author, Pundaquit Mountains, San Antonio, Zambales off Nagsasa Cove, 19 October 2024.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the Eighth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 30 May 2024 1 Peter 2:2-5, 9-12 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Mark 10:46-52
Illustration from linkedin.com.
Teach us, Jesus, to be like Bartimaeus; let us admit our blindness to what true and good and beautiful that is YOU; teach us to be like Bartimaeus to cry out to You, Jesus, to wait for You always, to believe in You as the Only One who can heal us of our blindness; most of all, teach us, Lord, to leave the side of the streets, to come to You, Jesus to the middle of the road to follow You on the way to the Cross!
He threw his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Mark 10:50
Forgive us, dear Jesus for being so afraid, to confront head on the many ongoing debates and attacks against Your teachings we hold so dearly like the value of every person, the inviolability of human life, the sanctity of marriage; forgive us, Jesus when we hide in being "open" choosing to be silent just to accommodate the few noisy people advocating for too much rights without any responsibilities, speaking about equality without any regard at all for God and religion, spirituality and theology.
Let us be like Bartimaeus shouting louder than ever amid calls of some to be silent, to not insist Your teachings on others when it is indeed the only one true and just; let us be like Bartimaeus by affirming who we are - "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that we may announce Your praises who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9).
Have pity on us, Jesus, we want to see You and follow You. Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-09 ng Agosto 2023
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, mga puno ng balite sa Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 21 Marso 2023.
*Isang tula aking kinatha batay sa mga pagbasa at kapistahan
ngayong ika-siyam ng Agosto,
Aklat ng mga Bilang 13:31-14:1, 26-29, 34-35
at Mateo 15:21-28.
Itong ating wika
kay yaman ng mga salita
binibigkas pa lamang ng
dila naroon na sa puso
at isip ang kanyang diwa.
Halimbawa ang kasabihang
gumawa ka ng multo
na iyo ring kinatatakutan
na siya namang totoong-totoo!
Katulad nito isa pang kasabihan
para kang kumuha ng
bato na pinukpok sa ulo.
Madalas sa ating karanasan,
tayo may kagagawan
kaya tayo nahihirapan;
Diyos ay tinatanggihang
sundin at pagkatiwalaan
katulad ng karanasan
doon sa ilang nang gumawa
ng usapang mahirap sakupin
lupaing binibigay ni Yahweh
dahil anila mga higante naninirahan
doon, animo sila'y parang
mga tipaklong lamang.
Nagalit ang Diyos
sa kanyang bayan kaya
dinagdagan isang taon
kada araw ng kanilang paglalakbay
na puno ng pagrereklamo at
pagbubulungan upang umabot
ng apatnapung taon
sila doon sa ilang bago pumasok
sa kanilang lupang pangako,
ginawa nilang multo
naging totoo
sila mga naperwisyo!
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, mga puno ng balite sa Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 21 Marso 2023.
Anu-ano
mga gawa mong multo
at halimaw sa iyo nananakot
parang bangungot
maski ikaw ay gising?
Mga guni-guni
huwag linangin
bagkus manalig kay Kristo
lagi nating kapiling
lalo sa mga ilang na lupain
siya ay ating salubungin
at sambahin!
Pagmasdan
at pagnilayan pananalig
at tibay ng dibdib
ng babaeng Cananea,
pagano ngunit nagsumamo
kay Kristo upang palayasin
demonyong umaali
sa anak na babae;
sinubok ng Panginoon
kanyang pagpupursigi
hanggang makumbinsi at pinuri
matibay niyang pananampalataya!
Kay laking kabalintunaan
na sa ating panahong tinaguriang
makabago, lahat naiimbento
ngunit isip pa rin ng tao
ay litong-lito;
gumagawa pa rin ng
maraming multo
ilan ay nagkakatotoo,
lumalason sa isipan
mga kasamaan at kasalanan
takot mahirapan kaya Krus
tinatalikuran.
Ito ang pinabulaanan ni
Santa Teresa Benedicta dela Cruz;
isinilang na Hudyo sa pangalang Edith Stein
tumalikod sa Diyos sa sobrang dunong
di naglaon, bumalik sa Panginoon,
nagpabinyag sa Katoliko
at pumasok sa monasteryo;
namatay kasama mga kababayan
niyang Hudyo sa gas chamber ng
mga Nazi hanggang sa huli
pinanindigan Krus ni Kristo
kay inam nating huwaran
sa kasalukuyan na marami pa ring
kinatatakutan lalo na ang pag-gawa
ng kabutihan!
Sta. Teresa Benedicta dela Cruz,
Ipanalangin mo kami!
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Bgy. Bahong, La Trinidad, Benguet, 12 Hulyo 2023
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin & Martyr, 09 August 2023
Numbers 13:1-2, 25-14:1, 26-29, 34-35 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Matthew 15:21-28
Photo by author, sunrise at Camp John Hay, Baguio City, 12 July 2023.
How timely are your words
these past three days,
God our loving Father;
like your people in the wilderness
after their Exodus from Egypt,
we continue to grumble and
complain against you and your
plans for us through the people
you have sent to lead us
like our parents, siblings,
even friends and superiors
in work or in community.
Worst than our stubbornness
in defying your instructions through
the modern Moses you send us,
we have even created our
own monsters and ghosts
within us,
exacerbating the fears
we have in trusting you,
believing you,
and following you!
So they spread discouraging reports among the children of Israel about the land they had scouted, saying, “The land that we explored is a country that consumes its inhabitants. And all the people we saw there are huge, veritable giants (the Anakim were a race of giants); we felt like mere grasshoppers, and so we must have seemed to them.”
Numbers 13:32-33
Forgive us Father
for our outrageous foolishness
that have infected so many others,
paralyzing us to move
on in life,
to dare and dream
great things in life
that could proclaim
your majesty and mercy,
your life and love;
forgive us Father
for choosing mediocrity
than striving for the best
for us,
for others,
and for you;
forgive us Father
for not daring to venture
into the unknown
where Jesus Christ
goes, the Tyre and Sidon
of our lives that we fail
to meet him.
Grant us, O Lord,
the courage,
tenacity and faith
of the Canaanite woman
who begged Jesus
to exorcise her daughter;
most of all,
grant us the clarity
of mind and perseverance
of St. Teresa Benedicta
to seek and follow you,
and stand for you
even before the real monsters
of our time
like the gas chambers of
indifference and
the prison camps
of power and pleasures
that all negate the Cross
of Jesus Christ..
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 25 June 2023
Jeremiah 20:10-13 ><]]]]'> Romans 5:12-15 ><]]]]'> Matthew 10:26-33
The recent news this week of the implosion of the submersible “Titan” with the death of its five passengers trying to reach the Titanic wreckage at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean had elicited a lot of different reactions from various people around the globe.
While I wonder what’s really behind this obsession by some whites with the Titanic, they made me imagine the kind of courage those five men have to dare journey into the bottom of the sea on board their craft despite its highly questionable worth in safety and reliability. At least as I prayed over this Sunday’s gospel, OceanGate’s “Titan” passengers made me examine and contemplate my courage and fears in life both as a person and as a priest.
How much am I willing to risk in pursuing God, in serving his flock? Will I be able to give my life wholly like those five passengers in trying to see the wreckage of the Titanic that sank in 1912?
Jesus said to the Twelve: “Fear no one. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. So do not be afraid…
Matthew 10:26-28, 31
James J. Tissot, ‘The Exhortation to the Apostles’ (1886-94) from Getty Images.
Jesus chose his twelve Apostles last Sunday to proclaim his good news of salvation to “the lost house of Israel” after seeing them “tired and troubled, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt.9:36).
As he sent them to their first mission, Jesus gave them some important instructions which the gospel tells us today and next Sunday. And leading the list of those instructions is the need to take courage when he told them to “fear no one” and twice to “do not be afraid”.
But first, let us clarify that courage is not the same with bravery that often refers to being able to do great feats like those extreme sports we see in social media. Most often, bravery is closely associated with skills like bungee jumping, sky diving, and skateboarding. Courage is different. It is from the Latin word cor or corazon in Spanish, the heart. To fear no one and be not afraid are expressions of courage, of drawing strength from one’s inner core – the heart – where God dwells. To draw strength from the heart which is the core of every person means to give one’s total self, more difficult than just risking a part of ourselves like an arm or a leg that is often the case with bravery.
Secondly, when Christ told his Apostles that included us today to fear no one and do not be afraid, he was not only instructing us to have courage but most of all showing us too the contrast of fear of human beings and the world with the fear of God.
Photo by author, Anvaya Cove, 19 May 2023.
What do I mean?
Courage is not everything. True courage is still having fears – of being afraid of God, of not being able to follow him, not being able to stand by him, of turning away from him in sin as St. Paul reminded us in the second reading. There will always be fears within us but with courage, we face all fears because we realize in our own weaknesses and shortcomings, there is the power and love of God who values us so much than sparrows and knows the number of our hair (vv.29-31).
Most beautiful example is the Prophet Jeremiah who revealed in his book his weaknesses like his being inadequate in himself due to his being timid and hypersensitive. Read the preceding verses before our first reading today to see how Jeremiah could not resist God who had duped/seduced him that he chose to remain faithful despite the great pains and sufferings he had to face as God’s prophet (Jer. 20:7ff). More than the fears of men who were actually his compatriots bent on hurting him, there was still that greater fear of turning away from God who gives him so much strength to overcome his trials in life. Here we find true courage in Jeremiah when amid his great fears for his life, his trust in God becomes a song of praise:
“O Lord of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart, let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause. Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!”
Jeremiah 20:12-13
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD in San Antonio, Zambales, 05 June 2023.
What matters most in this life above all is God. Every pursuit we make, no matter how great are the dangers may be, may we have the courage to examine ourselves, our motives: is it for God or for myself? This is the essence of discipleship.
If what we pursue is for God, it would surely bring joy and fulfillment to people though it would entail sufferings and hardships, even death for us. By all means, go for it like Jeremiah and St. Paul and all the saints including the men and women of science and letters who toiled so hard amid great dangers and obstacles to serve God and people.
But, if our pursuit is for money or fame or position – for one’s self – it could bring only a little and fleeting joy, perhaps make a noise in the world or social media for a little while but we end up sorely losing everything, feeling disgusted and more fearful than ever in losing God.
May the Lord grant us the courage to be always true to him and his call. Amen. Have blessed week as you welcome July!
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