The evil that is jealousy

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Week II, Year II in Ordinary Time, 20 January 2022
1 Samuel 18:6-9, 19:1-7   ><]]]]'> ><]]]]'> ><]]]]'>   Mark 3:7-12
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, 2018.

Saul was very angry and resentful of the song, for he thought: “They give David ten thousands, but only thousands to me. All that remains for him is the kingship.” And from that day on, Saul was jealous of David.

1 Samuel 18:8-9
God our loving Father,
today you present to us the
very familiar feeling of jealousy
we experience in our relationships 
when we feel and fear losing 
something or someone we already have; 
it is an unpleasant feeling that creeps 
into us when we think someone 
is trying to take what is already ours -
like Saul who felt David was trying
to steal the kingship from him.  
But what is most evil with jealousy
is how it makes us so obsessed with 
how we compare ourselves with others,
competing with people close to us
we perceive as rivals when they are not!
Teach us to be at home with our
true selves, with who we really are,
that we are good and adequate in ourselves; 
like Jesus Christ who was 
being pressed by people for his 
teaching prowess and power to heal,
give us the grace to always be ready
to go out to the sea to see our worth
before you our Father who loves us so
much in our very own uniqueness lest
our jealousies lead us to more harmful
evils and sins.  Amen.

When the fault is in us

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Week XX, Year I in Ordinary Time, 18 August 2021
Judges 9:6-15   ><]]]]*> ><)))'> ><]]]]*>   Matthew 20:1-16 
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, 2019.
Your words today, O God our Father
brought me back to my elementary days
when we read Aesop's fables and 
memorized lines from Shakespeare,
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our
stars/ But in ourselves that we are
underlings."  And how they both perfectly 
jibe together in your words!

So many times we are like the great
trees in the forest, so proud of our giftedness
and abilities that we cannot give our selves
to you and others to serve; we are so in love 
with our very selves, so proud or insecured 
that most often we uncannily put 
undeserving people to power
while we bear all the sarcasm in the end. 

“Then all the trees said to the buckthorn, ‘Come; you reign over us!’ But the buckthorn replied to the trees, ‘If you wish to anoint me king over you in good faith, come and take refuge in my shadow. Otherwise, let fire come the buckthorn and devour the cedars of Lebanon.'”

Judges 9:14-15
Most of the time, Lord, we know
the fault is in us - not in the stars
nor among others nor from you
who truly loves each of us perfectly
like the vineyard owner, always
giving the same perfect amount of
love and mercy to everyone;
cleanse our hearts and our minds
of selfish thoughts, of insisting on
what we believe, on what we want;
give us the grace of discernment
to see clearly your will so we may
choose wisely the options we have
to put your divine plan in place.
Loving Father,
make me grateful always to what I have;
most of all, let me focus more on what
you have given me, not on what others
have received for in the end,
it could very well happen that
"the last will be first,
and the first will be last." 
(Matthew 20:16)

And that, Lord, 
is something completely
our fault.  Amen.

Prayer against jealousy

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Thursday, Week 2, Year 2, 23 January 2020

1 Samuel 18:6-9; 19:1-7 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Mark 3:7-12

Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, Carigara, Leyte. 2019.

Praise and glory to you O God our loving Father in heaven!

Today, I just want to bask in your immense love for me, to let myself immerse in your love, in your grace, in your mercy.

Please, loving Father, let me be assured always of your love through your Son Jesus Christ.

As I prayed today’s readings, I realized that next to pride, the most sinister sin we have is jealousy that silently creeps into our being, making us forget your enormous love for each one of us. It is something we never outgrow that actually worsens as we age!

Saul was very angry and resentful of the song, for he thought: “They give David ten thousands, but only thousands to me. All that remains for him is the kingship.” And from that day on, Saul was jealous of David.

1 Samuel 18:8-9

Jealousy is more than an insecurity of being less worthy or fear that we are loved less.

At its worst, jealousy is something we have always “nurtured” within us, part of our lack of faith and belief that we are loved, that we are cared for.

That is why jealousy can easily arise within us because it is an enemy we “host” within us!

The Pharisees and the scribes were jealous of Jesus Christ because they have always lacked belief in themselves that is why they kept on quarreling among themselves, competing who would be most admired and accepted by the people.

But the people who came to follow Jesus, seeking healing from him, felt so assured of his love and mercy. No one among them was jealous of others being healed because they felt Jesus loved them all!

That is why I pray today, O Lord Jesus, to let me dispose of that inclination to be jealous always, of wrongly believing and fearing of being denied of your love that is boundless and immense for each one of us. Amen.