Discipleship is hospitality in Christ

Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 28 June 2026
2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16 ><}}}}*> Romans 6:3-4, 8-11 ><}}}}*> Matthew 10:37-42

*Photo by author, Kennon Road, January 2020.*

Recent news in our country had gone worst this week, from dismal to very disturbing with that school shooting incident in Tacloban City leaving three dead, two critically wounded and about 20 others injured. It was the third school violence to have happened in the country in just seven days with two stabbing incidents in two different schools in Cavite province earlier.

And this Friday night while we were working on this blog, we saw raw videos uploaded in social media by some witnesses of a shooting incident at the Bocaue Toll Plaza southbound involving a white van and several police officers.

What is happening in our country, to our people especially to our youth, and to our much admired Filipino hospitality known worldwide?

The word hospitality is from the Latin hospes that means to welcome; hence, hospital where the sick are welcomed or hospitality business referring to hotels that welcome guests.

Very close in sound is its opposite word also in Latin – hostis which is to reject and turn away from which came our words hostile, hostility and hostage. It is the opposite of to welcome.

Discipleship is being hospitable, welcoming others in Jesus Christ. It is showing Christ to others and finding Christ in others too.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Whoever receives you, receives me, and whoever receives me, receives the one who sent me… And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because heis a disciple – amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward” (Matthew 10:40, 42).

Remember two Sundays ago (11th Sunday, June 14) how Jesus was moved with pity upon seeing the crowds following him, describing them like sheep without a shepherd, declaring “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Mt. 9:37-38). After that, he called his Twelve Apostles and sent them on their first mission with specific instructions on discipleship which continues this Sunday in our gospel.

We have to go back to that background where Jesus laid down one of the foundations of discipleship which is to care for people. Jesus never asked us to pray for more money or food or medicines; he said pray for more laborers, for more people who are person-oriented, people who take every person as a subject to be loved and cherished, not an object to be possessed or controlled.

We need people who welcome people, hospitable people. Not hostile ones.

*Our Lady of Fatima University students in their outreach for special children, February 2025.*

But, the opposite is happening made worse by social media that fan the hostilities among us with the spread of fake news. Due to its algorithm, we are not only divided but polarized too that we are grouped as alike in thinking and everything that we could no longer see the whole picture of the situation we are into.

Not until tragedies struck. First were the deaths in drowning of two athletes in basketball training held in a treacherous beach resort, then we have the school stabbings and shooting this week.

The more we give more importance and emphasis on material and created goods, the more we disregard God and everything spiritual that eventually leads to our disregard for humans and persons.

Thus, the world has become inhospitable. Lifestyle has replaced life with algorithms manipulating our lives to consume more for more profits, more honor, more votes – more of everything except of love and care, kindness and openness for others.

*Photo by author, Los Banos, Laguna, June 2022.*

See the beautiful story of the Prophet Elisha welcomed by a woman of influence in Shunem. At first he was merely invited to dine with the woman and her husband whenever he would pass by until eventually he was given a room where he could stay – complete with bed, table, chair, and lamp (2 Kgs.4:8-11).

The hospitable woman saw Elisha as a “holy man of God” that is why she welcomed him into her home. We are not given her name but she foreshadowed the women in the gospels who supported Jesus and his disciples with their generous hospitality. And that continues to these days with so many other people generously helping priests and lay missionaries.

Generosity as a hospitality in Christ is like a two-way traffic: first is the integrity and holiness of the disciples like priests and bishops. Are we like Elisha the prophet who witness the love of Christ above all?

*Photo by author, Morong, Bataan, June 2023.*

So sad when we hear complaints by parishioners of priests and bishops living in luxury – frequent trips abroad with some traveling business class, dining at expensive restaurants, driving high-end cars, so deep into gambling or so vain in clothing. Not to mention some having luxurious residences. Most embarrassing is how they flaunt these in social media, relishing their ties and closeness with the rich and powerful, even corrupt government officials.

Times have changed when people so eager to welcome their pastors whenever they came to visit because today, it means handing of envelops for endless donations for various projects. What’s the use of having beautiful churches and facilities with no good relationships among priests and parishioners?

See the attitude of Elisha: his simplicity in knowing that all those hospitality accorded to him is because of his being a man of God; his discretion to the private life of his hosts, maintaining a safe distance, no trace of abusive behavior at all; and his desire to express his gratitude to the generosity of the woman and her husband. Hindi puro kabig at the expense of liturgical practices.

On the other hand, we find also the other side of discipleship as hospitality in Christ with the woman of Shunem: her discretion to be not too “rubbing” or insisting on Elisha that she never overwhelmed the prophet with her admiration, her excessive attention, and other personal concerns that could lead to precarious and scandalous situations. Many times, lay people forget that they are also to be blamed when priests and bishops become abusive when parishioners have become “enablers” of clerical excesses. The truly hospitable parishioners are those who help their priests become holy and faithful in ministry by giving them the space and time to pray and rest.

Discipleship as a hospitality in Christ means having the love of Jesus taking possession of us in our dealing with one another. It is sharing the Christ in me, finding the Christ in you. It is what St. Paul is telling us in the second reading: we are called to the highest moral standards of witnessing the gospel by being “dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus” (Rom.6:11). Of course, we are all weak and still sinful but being a Christian is to have the love of Christ before all else which is what forgetting one’s mother and father or son and daughter by taking our cross is all about.

Hospitality in Christ is thinking more of God in Jesus than of one’s self so that others may have the space and chance to find and bring out Christ in them. Amen. Have a blessed, safe week ahead.

*Photo by author, St. Michael Retreat House, Antipolo City, 16 June 2026.*

From fear of the Lord to love of God and neighbors

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.*

What are you looking for?

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday before the Epiphany of the Lord, 04 January 2024
1 John 3:7-10 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< John 1:35-42

*Photo by author, La Mesa Forest Park at the back of Our Lady of Fatima University-Quezon City, January 2023.*

The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.”
John 1:37-39

Thank you very much,
dear Lord Jesus in helping us
find new directions in life
this fourth day of 2024;
 your question to Andrew
and his companion still echoes
to us in this time,
confronting us for an answer,
for a response.

Lord Jesus,
enlighten our minds and our hearts
with your Holy Spirit
this beginning of the year;
we are constantly in search
of so many things but mostly
not essential;
thank you in giving us Andrew
and companion as guide
on what to look for -
you and nobody else!

Teach me, dear Lord,
to always first ask that important
question what matters most to me
that I am looking for
because it reveals who I am,
where I stand before you, my Lord,
and before others.
Many times,
we merely follow you
but when the going gets tough
and rough, we leave
and stay behind;
many times,
we merely follow you
without truly searching
where you stay,
where can you truly be found,
Lord Jesus
because you are never idle
nor confined in a book nor a place
nor a kind of person;
very often,
you stay dear Jesus
where it is difficult,
even agonizing,
and disturbing.

Let us come to you,
and see you,
dear Jesus,
to personally experience you
even in the most surprising
ways for there is no
place nor person nor situation
where you cannot be found.
Amen.

Faith in God, faith in people

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sunday in the Twentieth Week of Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 20 August 2023
Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 ><}}}*> Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 ><}}}*> Matthew 15:21-28

Weddings are special occasions for me as a priest because they remind me so much of God’s presence in our time. Weddings gladden my heart as a priest because I find faith, hope and love still so vibrant in our own time when people seem to have turned away from God and spiritual values in exchange of material things. Weddings remind me that faith in God is also faith in one another.

Last Sunday we have reflected that outside forces like storms can never determine God’s presence in our lives. He is always present; problem is with us always absent, running away from him. In fact, our gospel this Sunday tells us how Jesus even dares to go to foreign territory just to find us, to heal us, and bring us back home to the Father.

At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus’ disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Matthew 15:21-24

*Photo by author, Caesarea in northern Israel near Tyre and Sidon in Syria, May 2019.*

What a beautiful scene presenting to us God’s love for each of us, of Jesus going into foreign and pagan territory to save us, to share us his good news of salvation. But, are we there to meet Jesus when we are in unusual circumstances in our lives?

Like what we have reflected last Sunday, we need to have that sacred space within us where we could be one with God in Jesus in prayer where we grow deeper in faith, hope and love. There is no doubt with the presence of God in our lives but are we attuned with him?

That day when Jesus withdrew to Tyre and Sidon, there were also many other people who were also sick or with sick family members but, it was only the Canaanite woman who had faith that she recognized Jesus as the Christ by calling him not just “Lord” but also “Son of David.” Though a pagan, she recognized Jesus as the promised Savior of the world, not just of the Jews! Many times in life we are that Canaanite woman, feeling so alone in a foreign territory or unusual situations with nobody to come to for any kind of help or even companionship except God alone. Hence, the need to cultivate a prayer life so we can have that sacred space within us for God, where Jesus comes and dwells.

*Photo by author, Camp John Hay, Baguio City, 12 July 2023.*

But, there is something else interesting in this scene not just the faith of the Canaanite woman in Christ but also with others. Our faith in God is expressed in our faith with others too. The depth and strength of our faith can be measured with our faith in one another especially those dearest to us.

See the Canaanite woman’s POV or “point of view” and contrast it with the apostles who begged Jesus to entertain her so that she would get out of their way. The apostles wanted to get rid of her because she was making a great commotion. Maybe they felt so ashamed, so jahi to the madlang people!

How sad that we act like the Twelve many times in our lives, with that great disparity between what we believe and what we live. This is the tragedy especially of those serving in the Church with us priests included. Do we believe others as the presence of God? What a tragedy when we categorize people as ones to keep and others to dismiss for whatever reason. Like the apostles, we feel suspicious of those asking Jesus or, us for help. Do they really believe her daughter was sick? Did they believe the Canaanite woman at all?

For us to get a clearer snapshot of the Canaanite woman’s faith and POV, let us return for a while why Jesus ignored her by reminding his disciples that, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Recall that was also his instruction to his apostles after naming them and sent them to their first mission not to go to pagan territories but look for the lost sheep of Israel.

But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it away to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.
Matthew 15:25-28

*Photo by author, Katmon Nature Reserve & Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.*

Their conversation about the bread and the dogs reminds us of the wedding feast at Cana when Mary approached Jesus to inform him that the newly-wed couples have ran out of wine. When Jesus told her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come” (Jn. 2:4), we find it echoing here in Tyre and Sidon when he told the Twelve, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Here now is the most beautiful part, the POV of the Canaanite woman who was very much like the Blessed Virgin Mary when she came and did homage to Jesus, begging “Lord, help me.”

I love that part of the Canaanite woman begging Jesus in the name of her daughter. When she finally had the attention of Jesus, she said “Lord, help me”, – not “Lord, help my daughter tormented by a demon”! It was her daughter in need of healing but the woman identified with her just like Mary when she told the servers, “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn.2:5).

What a lovely and amazing scene of faith in God and faith in others! Both Mary believing in Jesus passing on her faith to the servers and the Canaanite woman assuming into her the faith of her sick daughter. It was indeed a tough and deep faith she had professed to Jesus like the servers at the wedding in Cana: it was just a matter of time before something great happens. She felt it coming when she said even the dogs eat the scraps falling from their master’s table.

In life, like that Canaanite woman and the Blessed Virgin Mary, we have to assert even insist our faith while at the same time claiming whatever we believe is ours even if we have to wait. That is why St. Paul tells us in today’s second reading of the need to cultivate and deepen our faith even if God’s gifts and call are permanent and irrevocable (Rom.11:29) because we might fall into the same mistake of his fellow Jews who felt so secured in their beliefs and failed to recognize Jesus as the Christ.

Every Sunday, Jesus calls us to gather for the Eucharist. Everybody is welcomed, especially those feeling lost and alienated, or considered as outsiders because Isaiah prophesied in the first reading today, “my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Is.56:7). Jesus comes to us in his words, in his Body and Blood, in one another especially those nearest to us like our family, your spouse or wife, your children, our siblings, our parents.

It is a Sunday. Let us gather as one family in the house of Lord, to share in his table of the word and of the bread – believing, hoping, and loving. Amen.

When we are lost, then found

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 17 April 2023

*Photo by author, 08 February 2023, Taal Vista Hotel, Tagaytay City.*

We all know 
that feeling happening
more often lately
a foreboding of senility?
when we go like crazy
why can't we see suddenly
some things we have
held or kept momentarily
until we sound the alarm
and call everyone
to join in the search
but still nowhere to be found.

It could be the key
or the glasses or the phone
that in exasperation
we say begone
only to make us
forlorn figures
in our own home
or tiny room
but sometimes too soon
other times would take
too long, our lost 
things are suddenly found!

Is it part of the riddle
of that black hole they call
when missing things
suddenly appear
without being sought
much less thought?
But here is the thrill:
when things even persons
are missing,
are we not the ones 
who are lost
and waiting to be found?

More than the
naked shouts of eureka
is our profound joy
when missing things
even persons suddenly
appear because the truth
is, we were the ones lost
and could not be found
in our cluttered minds
and hearts shut and closed
by our fears and doubts, 
anxieties and insecurities.

In this life
far wider than the world
where planes still go missing
amid modern technologies
and endless searching,
could it be that we are 
missing our bearings
as beings, forgetting 
God and others when we are
lost to our own beliefs or
locked in our small world
of lies and prejudice?

To find those missing 
persons or things dear to us
it might help if we first lose
whatever is holding us
for the world is so wide
for anyone or anything 
to just disappear 
they surely must be here
awaiting for our hearts 
to be clear until we hear
that sweet voice
giving us peace within.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
John 20:19-20

*Photo by PhotoMIX Company on Pexels.com*

Bearing with one another

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Twenty-Ninth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 21 October 2022
Ephesians 4:1-6 ><000'> + ><000'> + ><000'> Luke 12:54-59

Another week is closing,
another week is beginning
and still, Lord Jesus,
as you have noticed,
we still can't interpret
the present time as
your very presence
in everyone of us.

Jesus said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain – and do it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot – and so it is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time? Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
Luke 12:54-57

St. Paul's admonition
to the Ephesians is most
timely even to us these days
when our season is in transition
but not our sensitivities to one another;
teach us to live in a manner worthy of
our calling as "Christians" - brothers and
sisters in you, dear Jesus and most of all,
your followers.

Teach us, dear Jesus, 
to "bear one another through love,
striving to preserve" our unity
as one family in one loving Father above;
so many times, we can read the weather
but not people, becoming callous
and numb to one another's presence
and needs, pains and hurts;
heighten our sensitivities so
we may be more compassionate
with everyone, be more consoling
and caring, most of all, understanding
and kind by seeing God's image and 
likeness in each one's face.
Amen.

We complete each other in Christ

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop, 04 November 2021
Romans 14:7-12 ><)))*> <*(((>< + ><)))*> <*(((>< Luke 15:1-10

Thank you dear Father
for the cold weather so 
refreshing these days;
keep us safe from COVID-19
and may its infection rate continue
to go down so we can slowly come
out and find each other again.
We have learned our lessons so
well, Lord, in this pandemic as
St. Paul reminds us today in the
first reading:

Brothers and sisters: None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
Romans 14:7-8

We are all relative, Father:
we are incomplete, always needing
somebody else to complete each
one of us in you, O God;
each one is important like the
lone missing sheep to complete
the 99 others or the woman's
missing coin to complete her
nine other coins.

Remind us dear God in Jesus
your Son that no one finds life's
meaning in oneself; we find our meaning
always in relation with others in YOU.

I admit that we are all weak, but if we want help, the Lord God has given us the means to find it easily… in meditation we find the strength to bring Christ to birth in ourselves and in other men.
St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop

May we learn to follow
 the examples of your great Pastor
 St. Charles Borromeo who left the
trappings of wealth and power
by finding fulfillment in Jesus our Lord
 living among his parishioners,
becoming your very presence among them.
Amen.

How the Cross makes all beautiful

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul
Monday, Week II, Year I in Ordinary Time, 18 January 2021
Hebrews 5:1-9     >><)))*> + >><)))*> + >><)))*>     Mark 2:18-22

Photo by author, Carmelite Monastery in Guiguinto, Bulacan, November 2019.

So many things are running through my mind after a very long, and heavy Sunday, Lord Jesus. First I went to celebrate the Mass at the 40th day of the passing of a young mother – so young that she had gone ahead of her mother and father at the age of 56. And when I got back in my parish, I heard the news of a much younger mother of two, the wife of my former student in her early 30’s finally going to your rest after a long battle with cancer too. What pains me, Lord, is how I have been praying for her and suddenly, she’s gone. Now, I have to pray for her husband recently diagnosed with a brain tumor and yes, I am afraid of what could inevitably happen next.

Please, Lord, give him a chance to live long and see their two children mature. Please….

Sometimes I really wonder, Lord, if ever a day can ever pass without anyone dying, without anyone crying, without anyone suffering, without anyone sad.

How I wish, sometimes.

But as a priest so exposed to these many sufferings and pains of others, I am so thankful to you, too, dear Jesus in allowing me to experience these all as your priest, as someone you have called to share in other’s pains and sufferings like you.

Amid the many deaths and many crying I witness and experience, I thank you Lord in teaching me how to find God in pain; that, instead of asking God to take them away, may I imitate you, Jesus to embrace every trial and little deaths that come my way.

Continue to enlighten me, dear Jesus, to appreciate this paradox in life that it is incomplete without pain and sufferings; that it is in their midst do we find life’s deeper meaning as we grow deeper in love and compassion, strength and maturity as well just like you!

Photo by author, Dominican Hills, Baguio City, January 2019.

Brothers and sisters: Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who said to him: You are my son; this day I have begotten you; just as he says in another place: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. In the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
Hebrews 5:1, 4-9

Teach me dear Jesus to see everything in the light and perspectives of your Cross, that I may shift in my approaches in dealing and looking at things to see more of your beauty than waste my energies whining and complaining. Amen.

Prayer to see more clearly

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II

Monday, Week XV, Year II in Ordinary Time, 13 July 2020

***Isaiah 1:10-17* <(((><< >0< >><)))> *Matthew 10:34-11:1***

Dearest Lord:

Today I pray to you so I may see more clearly your will, your plans for us amid this great darkness cast over us last Friday.

You have seen them all, Lord: they were all too much for me that I find so difficult to focus my sights this Monday as we embark for another week of work and studies, apostolates and ministries, prayers and reflections.

Until now, I am still overwhelmed by the fire that razed the historic Pandacan Church and that infamous death by 70 lawmakers to ABS-CBN’s bid to renew their franchise.

Though very painful and sad, I can take the Pandacan fire; in fact, it had strengthened my faith in you. The devotion and tears shed by responding firemen and supportive parishioners were so moving, positively giving me hope for the eventual rebuilding of the church.

But, totally different Lord was the ABS-CBN incident: it was so repulsive to have happened right before us on television’s daily news with men and women claiming to be “honorable” shamelessly handed a decision grossly unfair and unjust. Making things worst are those who rejoice at the victory of evil, unmindful and numb to the sufferings of more than 11,000 employees about to lose their jobs with the network’s going off the air.

I have been waiting for your inspiration, Lord, trying so hard to pray but my mind kept on wandering while my heart continues to cry because the issue here is more than the franchise of a broadcast network but our soul as a nation, as a community of your disciples.

Have you turned your back on us, Father?

When you spread out your hands, I close my eyes to you; though you pray the more, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood! Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.
Isaiah 1:15-17

Through your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, teach us O God our Father to look more inside ourselves, examine our priorities in life.

Let us look for you within us first before looking outside to see clearly those who need most our loving service in you — not just our family and loved ones or colleagues, or lords and masters in politics and business.

Let us look inside ourselves for you so we can truly find you in others. Amen.

We shall “pass over” in the Lord

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Friday, Wk. XV, Yr. I, 19 July 2019

Exodus 11:10-12:14 >< }}}> <{{{ >< Matthew 12:1-8

Sunset from Bgy. Dapdap, Tagaytay City, 03 July 2019.

Another Friday, another week passing, another new week coming. Thank you so much, O Lord and we are able to move on, to pass over so many challenges and trials.

Every day indeed, O Lord, is an Exodus – a passing over with you leading us, saving us, delivering us from darkness into light, from ignorance into knowledge and wisdom, from sinfulness into grace.

“It is the Passover of the Lord. For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every firstborn of the land, both man and beast, executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt – I, the Lord!”
Exodus 12:11-12

Keep us always ready to go with you, to follow you in every passing over from our Egypt of slavery into freedom of your Promised Land.

We pray, O God, for those among us who are like the Pharisees in the gospel today who see only your laws and rituals but not YOU.

Open our eyes that we may see the main distinction of your every pass over in us is mercy and love.

Come to us Jesus, the Lord of sabbath, and show us the true meaning of your sacrifice which is to find you more among our brothers and sisters.

Let us rediscover anew the beauty and value of life that comes only from you, especially the people around us regardless of their status, color, and creed.

We pray also for those who are struggling in life, those who find it so difficult to make ends meet, those who have to pass over great distances in life just to survive because we have refused to find you among them. Amen.