Tag: kindness

The kindness of God

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 15 October 2025
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Teresa of Avila, Virgin & Doctor of Church
Romans 2:1-11     <*{{{{><  +  ><}}}}*>     Luke 11:42-46
Photo by author, Mt. Arayat viewed from Angeles City, Pampanga, May 2022.
Your words,
O Lord Jesus 
are sobering...
and so liberating.

You, O man, are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment. For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same things… Or do you hold his priceless kindness, forbearance, and patience in low esteem, unaware that the kindness of God would lead you to repentance? (Romans 2:1, 4)

How lovely are your words
through St. Paul today,
Jesus: "You, O man, are without
excuse, everyone of you"...
whoever you are.
And that's all of us!
What a beautiful reminder
in this time that 
when it comes  to God's
judgment, not one of us
is any better than the other;
indeed, there is no partiality
in you, O Lord,
because you are so kind
to give each one of us
to have that chance 
to change for the best,
to be able to enter into
a communion in you
in prayer.
On this Memorial
of St. Teresa of Avila,
teach us to strive in prayers,
to learn her ways of discipline
and humility,
of openness and trust 
in you so that we may
enter into your very heart
O Lord where only you
would suffice.
Amen.

St. Teresa of Avila,
Pray for us!
Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Our Lady of Fatima University
Valenzuela City
(lordmychef@gmail.com)

Kindness of God

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 01 July 2025
Tuesday in the Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time
Genesis 19:15-29     ><)))*> + ><)))*> + ><)))*>     Matthew 8:23-27
Photo by Matheus Bertelli on Pexels.com
Praise and glory to you,
God our loving Father for
this brand new month of July,
for the blessed first half of 2025!
You have been most kind to us
this year with so much grace 
poured on us despite our being
undeserving while at the same time,
so merciful to have spared us from
many troubles we truly deserved
for our sins.
That is why, Father, 
I hate seeing those prayers
and wishes of many 
saying at the start of each month
to please be more kind to us;
you have always been kind and
generous more than enough to us
especially in giving us your Son Jesus
who have enabled us to cross many seas
and lands in this journey of life;
many times, there are storms in life
that we get so afraid like in the gospel
today....

Many times we feel 
so caught in the middle of a
"violent storm on the sea" of life
where we are "swamped by waves",
so terrified,
so lost,
feeling alone when deep in our hearts
Jesus is with us,
probably "sleeping".

Then in the nick of time,
he comes, rebuking the winds
and the sea when great calm
follows just like what the angels
did to Lot and his wife when you
destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah
in the frist reading.
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 14 May 2025.
Lord Jesus,
give me that gift of a sense
of "dead calm" in you;
to be at peace and still
in you while in the midst of
a great storm when I feel
like being flattened by waves;
let me seek your peace
and kindness amidst the
the cries and shouts
when I feel like sinking,
of perishing.

This brand new month of July,
I know you will fill me again with
your blessings;
let it be enough
for me to forge on
in this remaining six months
of the year,
to continue crossing
life's many seas
to bring you,
to share you,
and simply be with you.
Amen.
Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Our Lady of Fatima University
Valenzuela City

Lent is being consistently kind

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, First Week in Lent, 14 March 2025
Ezekiel 18:21-28     + + +     Matthew 5:20-26
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
God our loving Father,
as we end this first week
in Lent, teach us more on the 
need to be empty of ourselves,
empty of our pride
for us to be consistent
and most especially,
kind.
We have been so filled 
with the world that our
hearts burn with anger
and hate, totally disregarding
reason and morals
with so many parents
still in grief, crying for
their children mercilessly
killed on mere suspicions
while friends and neighbors
even family are caught 
in a huge web of lies
everyone believes;
worst, everyone sees
one's self being so right
while others so wrong,
even accusing you, O God,
of being "unfair" like during 
the time of Ezekiel.
How sad in this age of
boundless and instant 
communications,
our world had shrunk 
into little worlds and galaxies
of "me and mine and I";
teach us your way of kindness
in Jesus so we may see
everyone as a "kin" -
a kindred,
a one of us
filled with goodwill
for one another;
remind us always, Jesus,
that it is not enough that
we do not just kill anyone
but most of all has goodwill
with everyone right in our hearts
as a sign of true worship
for it is only when we see
each one as a kin 
that loving can begin
consistently.
Amen.
Photo by author, Northern Blossoms Farm, Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.

Led by the Holy Spirit

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Twenty-eighth Week of Ordinary Time Year II, 16 October 2024
Galatians 5:18-25     ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*>     Luke 11:42-46
Photo by author, Fatima Ave., Valenzuela City, 25 July 2024.
Lead and guide us,
O Most Holy Spirit;
set us free from "the works
of the flesh: immorality,
impurity, licentiousness,
idolatry, sorcery, hatreds,
rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury,
acts of selfishness, dissensions,
factions" (Galatians 5:19-20);
cleanse our nation now facing
the realities of the truth of what we
have long suspected of filth and evil
that have shrouded the past 
administration's drug war;
so many lives were lost
and destroyed not only by
the deaths but all the lies
that were glorified;
be the courage and strength,
O Holy Spirit, of those finally
given the chance to stand for what is true
so that never again such reign of
darkness and terror be repeated.
Woe to us
and everyone who continue
to overlook the good of others!

Let your Spirit, dear Jesus,
bear fruit in us with "love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control"
(Galatians 5:22-23); fills us with your
Spirit today, Jesus, so we may be
more loving, thinking always of the
good of others above all.
Amen.
Photo by author, Fatima Ave., Valenzuela City, 25 July 2024.

God has the whole world in His hands

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 17 July 2024
Isaiah 10:5-7, 13-16     ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*>     Matthew11:25-27
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD in Infanta, Quezon 2020.
Praise and glory to You,
God our loving Father
who has the whole world
in your hands;
nothing happens by chance,
all good things come from You
and if ever something bad happens,
You know it for sure;
You never punish us
for our sins and whatever bad
happens to us is a result of our
transgressions, of turning away
from You; therefore,
let us always hope and trust in You
for You never abandon us your children
especially in our times of trials
and tribulations;
in the same manner,
let us not be so proud when
we are in the height of our success
believing we are the best because
You have the final say in history;
let us not be proud like Assyria
of old:

“My hand has seized like a nest the riches of nations; as one takes eggs left alone, so I took in all the earth; no one fluttered a wing, or opened a mouth, or chirped!”

Will the axe boast against him who hews with it? Will the saw exalt itself above him who wields it? As if a rod could sway him who lifts it, or a staff him who is not wool! Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will send among his fat leanness, and instead of his glory there will be kindling like the kindling of fire (Isaiah 10:14-16).

Teach me, dear Jesus,
to be small like a child,
simple and trusting in You;
feeling more than thinking more,
kind and loving than
analyzing and sizing up others,
most of all,
lowly and humble because
You alone has the whole world
in your hands.
Amen.

Lent is facing rejection

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Second Week of Lent, 28 February 2024
Jeremiah 18:18-20     <*[[[[>< + + + ><]]]]*>     Matthew 20:17-28
Photo by author, Dominus Flevit Church in Jerusalem, 2017.
Lord God our Father, 
your words today are too heavy, 
so difficult to grasp 
as they seem to be totally 
unrelated with each other 
until they showed me 
a frightening reality -
that Lent is facing rejection,
of hearing our enemies
speak strongly against us.

The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem said, “Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah. It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests nor of counsel from the wise nor of messages from the prophets. And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue; let us carefully note his every word.”

Jeremiah 18:18
Photo by author, near the Dead Sea, May 2017.
Like Jeremiah, 
so many times 
we have cried to you 
his very same words, 
"Must good be repaid 
with evil that they should dig 
a pit to take my life?" 
(Jeremiah 18:20).
In the gospel today, 
the other ten disciples 
heard the mother of James 
and John asking Jesus 
to sit her sons on his right 
and his left in his kingdom,
making them "indignant"
of their fellow disciples 
baring their selfish plans 
before their faces
to supersede them, 
to outsmart them.
Photo by author, Benguet, 12 July 2023.
Many times, 
O Lord, 
it happens to us, 
when before us 
those we consider as friends, 
as colleagues have motives 
of getting ahead of us, 
of dominating us, 
of ruling over us.
It is painful and sickening 
of how people are preoccupied 
with themselves 
like the enemies of Jeremiah 
and the brothers James and John!
Remind us, Jesus, 
that we only share 
in your grace of being saved, 
of being redeemed 
as beloved children of the Father; 
when we hear harsh, 
nasty words against us; 
when people are so hard 
against us for whatever reasons; 
when people compete with us 
if there is no competition at all; 
when we are face-to-face with rejections, 
let us hold on more  to you, 
Lord; in your kindness, save us!
Photo by Ms. Jo Villafuerte in Atok, Benguet, 01 September 2019.
Help me, Jesus, 
to be your faithful servant, 
called to serve not to be served; 
called to ministry 
not to me-nistry of popularity; 
most of all, 
let me be anchored in your Cross, 
of being like you, 
obedient to the Father 
for his glory.  
Amen.

The kindness of God

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, 08 December 2023
Genesis 3:9-15, 20 ><}}}*> Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12 ><}}}*> Luke 1:26-38
Photo by Rev. Fr. Gerry Pascual of Iba, Zambales at Santuario di Greccio, Rieti, Italy in 2019.
God our loving Father,
we praise and thank you
on this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
for continuing to do your wondrous works
for our salvation, for our healing
for our good.
You are so kind to us, Father,
despite our sins and turning away from you,
you search us, you call us,
most of all, you still bless us
with your merciful presence in
Jesus Christ.
Teach us to be like Mary,
our Blessed Virgin Mother,
to be open always to your coming,
to your calls, to your grace;
teach us most of all to be
selfless, to be kind too
to your boundless kindness,
O God; many times, we are like
Adam and Eve with so many
alibis, always hiding from you,
evading you, not trusting you.
Teach us, O Lord, 
to imitate Mary to not seek
so many reasons and explanations,
to simply trust in you and say YES
to your will and plans always;
may we always keep in mind like Mary,
your sublime kindness O God
of always inviting us,
asking us,
never imposing on us
to freely choose him
and make Christmas possible
every day.
Amen.

Union of life & love

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of St. Alphonsus de Liguori, Bishop & Doctor of the Church, 01 August 2023
Exodus 33:7-11, 34:5-9, 28   ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'>   Matthew 13:36-43
Photo by author, March 2020.
God our loving Father,
as we enter the brand-new
month of August today, 
your words speak a lot of
"entering" too today:
of Moses entering your
tent and Jesus entering 
the house:

As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down and stand at its entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one man speaks to another.

Exodus 33:9, 11

Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

Matthew 13:36
But your entering 
in both instances speak
more of physical space
but a union  of life and love
made possible in Jesus Christ.
Every time we enter
a church and other places
of worship,
we enter you, God,
to dwell in you
who has been dwelling
in us too.
Like St. Alphonsus de Liguori
whose memorial we celebrate
today, transform our lives
in Jesus Christ, let it unfold
according to your Divine plan,
achieving equilibrium in morality
like you, "merciful and gracious
God, kind and forgiving
wickedness, crime and sin;
yet not declaring the guilty
guiltless" (Ex. 34:6, 7).
Amen.

Lent is for kindness

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Second Week of Lent, 10 March 2023
Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28   >> +++ <<   Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46
Photo by author, sunrise at Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.
Today O God you speak to us
of the most lovely virtue of kindness
which is more than being good to another
but precisely of treating others as a "kin" 
or a kindred; being "kind" is the most
Christian word because it refers to our
being one big family in you our Father
with each one a brother and a sister in
Jesus Christ.
How sad we have become more
unkind than ever, just like the sons of
Jacob, the brothers of Joseph:
They said to one another:  
“Here comes the master dreamer!  
Come on, let us kill him and throw him
 into one of the cisterns here;
 we could say that a wild beast devoured him.
  We shall then see what comes of his dreams 
(Gen.37:19-20).”
From petty jealousies among us,
our being unkind deteriorate further
into sinister plots right in our hearts
to destroy our own loved ones,
those closest to us; worst of all,
it happens in the midst of us recognizing
them as "our own flesh" like Judah
and yet still "sell" them!
Forgive us, dear Jesus, for being so unkind:
 “when the tenants saw the son,
 they said to one another, 
‘This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him 
and acquire his inheritance.’  
They seized him, 
threw him out of the vineyard, 
and killed him (Mt.21:38-39).”
Our responsorial psalm captures 
the reason why we must always be kind, 
“Remember the marvels the Lord has done.”
  Let us heed your warning against being unkind, 
“When the Lord called down a famine
 on the land and ruined the crop
 that sustained them, 
he sent a man before them,
 Joseph, sold as a slave 
(Ps.105:16-17).” 
Teach us to be kind with everyone because
 "the stone that the builders rejected
 has become the cornerstone;
 by the Lord has this been done, 
and it is wonderful in our eyes" (Mt.21:42);
 This season of Lent, 
let us bring back kindness in our hearts, 
in our words, 
in our thoughts
 and in our deeds 
even if others are not kind to us
because very often, 
kindness has a way of teaching us 
the importance of this virtue 
that may not always be kind at all.
Amen.