God sends us on a mission

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time, 20 July 2022
Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10 ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> Matthew 13:1-9

*Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 2021.*

"Talaga?
Is it really true, O God?"

These are the words that
came from my heart as I prayed
over your words today through
the prophet Jeremiah:

The word of the Lord came to me thus: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you… See, I place my words in your mouth! This day I set you over nations and over kingdoms, to root up and to tear down, to destroy and to demolish, to build and to plant.”
Jeremiah 1:4-5, 9-10

It is not that I do not believe you,
dear Father, but your words are so
comforting, so encouraging;
how wonderful indeed that I am no
accident, that I have a reason being here
because you have always have a plan
for me, for each one of us.

Thank you for believing in me, Lord;
thank you for sending me to a mission;
make me like a fertile ground, a rich soil
so that your seeds sown in me may grow
and mature and produce fruit;
in the name of Jesus your Son, 
open my ears and my heart to always
listen to your instructions, give me
the courage most especially to be your
prophet like Jeremiah, "comforting the
afflicted and afflicting the comfortable"
by giving witness to your truth and 
justice, mercy and charity at all times.
Amen.

Prayer in time of desolation

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time, 19 July 2022
Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Matthew 12:46-50

*Photo by author, Mt. Nebo in Jordan overlooking Israel, 2019.*

Lord God our Father,
show us your mercy and love
especially at this time we feel 
so alone and desolate like your
people who have just returned
to Israel from exile.

Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, that dwells apart in a wood land in the midst of Carmel. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old; as in the days when you came from the land of Egypt, show us wonderful signs.
Micah 7:14-15

It has been raining again,
Father, with the skies so dark 
and gloomy just like the lives
of many among us; we pray for 
the sick especially those with rare
diseases and undergoing constant
procedures like chemotherapy and
dialysis as well as those so poor 
who cannot afford treatment; we 
pray for those living in flooded areas
and for those with leaking roofs
when rains are pouring; likewise, we
pray dear God for those feeling 
lost and desolate, for those who 
could not find aim and directions in
life for various reasons; we pray for 
those grieving for losing a loved one.

In times like this of desolation, 
when the well runs dry within us
when we feel you are so far and 
not interested with us, let us be
faithful in our prayers to you; let us
hold on more to you, God, for who is
there like you, who removes guilt
and pardons sins, who does not 
persist in anger but delights in 
clemency (Micah 7:18-19)?

Let me hold on to you, O God,
when desolation comes; there are
times we seem to be far from you
like the mother and brothers of Jesus
in today's gospel who wished 
to see him outside; let me keep in mind 
that our ties with Jesus are based only
in doing your will, Father.  And so, 
in these dark days of storms in life,
let me strive to still do your will,
O God, to be more loving and 
caring especially to those with less
in life, for those hurting inside.
Amen.

If God tries us in “court”

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time, 18 July 2022
Micah 6:1-4, 6-8 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Matthew 12:38-42

*Photo by author, Tagaytay City, February 2022.*

Your words today, 
O God, are so reassuring
and most of all, refreshing;
I feel so blessed with you
as our Father, so loving and 
merciful!

I know that if ever
we are charged in court
for our sins against you
as expressed by your prophet
Micah today, we would all
end up guilty as charged;
we have no alibis nor excuses
to make except we have been
stubborn and so proud, and yes,
ungrateful to all your love and
blessings; no amount of any 
sacrifice and offering we can
give you will suffice to remove
our sins but here you are, God
and Father, full of love and tenderness
asking us only one thing:

You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8

Open our eyes,
open our minds,
open our hearts
to your presence,
to your coming 
in our Lord Jesus Christ;
let us not harden our hearts
to see your presence among
us most especially in the little
miracles you shower us daily
like waking up every morning
filled with life and love
in our family and friends.

Here I am, Lord, welcoming
you into my life as you make me
share in your life daily.
Let me not look for any other
signs for to be able to pray
to you in Christ is more than
enough proof of your love
and forgiveness.  Amen.

Liwanag ng pananalangin sa makulimlim na panahon

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-15 ng Hulyo, 2022

Tatlong linggo nang maulan,
makulimlim at mapanglaw ang
kalangitan habang dumaragsa naman
mga kahilingan ng pananalangin sa akin 
para sa maraming may sakit at karamdaman
ngunit, wala isa man sa kanila ang humiling 
na gumaling maliban sa pangalan nila ay
aking sambitin sa Panginoong butihin.

Madalas mga nagpapadasal
hiling lang naman ay panalangin -
hindi sinasabi kung para saan o
marahil ipinapalagay naunawaan na
kanilang ibig sabihin; gayon pa man,
sa aking paningin maganda itong gawain
tulad ng matutunghayan natin sa unang
pagbasa sa Misa kaninang umaga:

Noong mga araw na iyon, nagkasakit nang malubha si Ezequias, kaya siya’y dinalaw ni Isaias na anak ni Amoz. Sinabi niya sa hari ang utos na ito ng Panginoon: “Ipatawag mo ang iyong sambahayan at gawin mo na ang iyong mga huling habilin, sapagkat hindi ka na gagaling.” Pagkarinig nito, humarap siya sa dingding at nanalangin. “O Panginoon, alam mo kung paano ako namuhay sa iyong harapan. Naglingkod ako sa iyo nang tapat at ang ginawa ko’y pawang nakalulugod sa iyong paningin.” Pagkatapos, nanangis siya nang malakas.
Isaias 38:1-3

Pagmasdan at pagnilayan 
panalangin ni Haring Ezequias:
wala siyang hiniling na gumaling
maliban sa alalahanin ng Diyos
kanyang naging buhay na matapat
at masunurin sa mga banal na alituntunin
kaya siya ay pinagaling
pati buhay niya ay napahaba din!

Maraming biyaya ang Diyos 
na binibigay sa atin na hindi
naman natin hinihiling dahil
batid Niya ang mabuti sa atin
bukod sa alam niya ating saloobin;
sa pagdarasal hindi mahalaga ating
mausal kungdi maranasan Kanyang
kapanatilihan at mapakinggan Kanyang kalooban.

Batid ng Diyos 
lahat ng ating pinagdaraanan
lalo ng mga may sakit at karamdaman
kaya sa ating pananalangin
damhin natin Siya ay kapiling
sarili ay maihain, tanggapin ating sasapitin
dahil sa pagsuko ng sarili natin
doon nagsisimula ating pag-galing!

O Diyos Ama namin,
dama mo hirap at dusa namin
pati mga takot at pagaalinlangan
lalo na kapag may nagkakasakit sa amin;
tulungan po Ninyo kami sa Iyo
aming sarili ay maisuko,
manalig na kami ay hindi madaraig
dahil nagtagumpay na si Hesus sa
sakit at kamatayan upang kami ay
mabuhay magpakailanman.
Amen.

Putting on love

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop & Doctor of the Church, 15 July 2022
Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8 ><]]]'> + ><]]]'> + ><]]]'> Matthew 12:1-8

Praise and glory to you,
our loving God and Father
for another week that had passed,
we are halfway through July,
and most of all,
thank you for all the wonderful
gifts and blessings you
have given us without us even asking
you these.

Truly, that is how much you love us
which we fail to recognize, of how you
lavish us with blessings we never asked
for but so necessary, so important.
Teach us to be like you, God:  to be more
loving than precise in keeping tabs
with our obligations;
Teach us to be like King Hezekiah in
the first reading:  he never asked to be
healed of his sickness nor be given
another chance to live when told he
would die; he simply reminded you of how good
and kind he had been all his life, of "how faithfully
and wholeheartedly" he conducted himself in
serving you that you.

Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: “Go, tell Hezekiah: Thus says the Lord, the God of your Father David: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you; in three days you shall go up to the Lord’s temple; I will add fifteen years to your life.”
Isaiah 38:4-5

Forgive us, Father, 
when we get to focused with
the letters of your laws like 
the Pharisees that we forget its
aim which is for us to love you
more through the people we meet,
the people who come to us asking
for help.

May we love more than
obey your laws;
May we put more love
in our obedience to you
and your laws, Father;
Like St. Bonaventure, may
we seek answers to our many
questions in God's grace,
not in doctrine; in the longing
of the will, not in the understanding;
in the sighs of prayer, not in research;
and look not to the light but rather 
to the raging fire that carries the soul
to God with intense fervor and
glowing love.
Amen.

Light but not easy

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time, 14 July 2022
Isaiah 26:7-9, 11, 16-19 ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> Matthew 11:28-30

God our loving Father,
thank you for sending us 
your Son Jesus Christ to clarify
to us what is really to be "light" 
in this age when we always want
to have our cake and eat it too!
When we are so obsessed in being "light",
with everything that is "light" especially
food and drinks that would give us
the satisfaction minus the guilt
feelings of calories and sugar, fats and carbs.
For the world, being "light" means
being easy but Jesus tells us it is 
not true at all.

Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Matthew 11:28-30

Help us realize,
please enlighten our minds
and hearts that being "light"
still means carrying our 
cross but this time with you;
being "light" does not mean 
doing everything and anything
lightly without any sense of 
responsibilities like what the light
food and drinks try to portray 
that resulted to nothing as 
Israel had experienced when they
turned away from you, Lord.

As a woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pains, so were we in your presence, O Lord. We conceived and writhed in pain, giving birth to wind; salvation we have not achieved for the earth, the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth.
Isaiah 26:17-18

May we continue to learn from you,
Jesus our Lord and Teacher,
how to be a light leading others
to you by seeing you in us
through our love and sacrifices
the world sees as burdens
but in fact very light when done
in your most holy Name.
Amen.

Being small and powerless, God’s path to power

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, 13 July 2022
Isaiah 10:5-7, 13-16 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Matthew 11:25-37

*Photo by Mr. Red Santiago, January 2020.*

Your words today, O God our Father
remind us of your oft-repeated
wisdom and reality that the path
to real power and greatness is in
being small and powerless like children.

How foolish are we, Lord, 
since the beginning when our
common knowledge always taught
us that size does matter, that the 
bigger a nation and its army like
Assyria, the more powerful it is:
partly true for a moment because
you are always greater than anyone,
O God with every nation, every individual
surely in your mighty hands!

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 its, or a staff him who is not wood! Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will send among his fat ones leanness, and instead of his glory there will be kindling like the kindling of fire.
Isaiah 10:15-16

Your Son Jesus Christ himself
had revealed that in knowing
and discovering you, O God and your ways
it is not about being a genius nor of 
knowing all but in being simple, being
open and knowing less because everything
is God's work, not ours even if everything
seems to be clear and fixed with us and in
our points of view.

At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.”
Matthew 11:25

Lord Jesus, 
keep me simple,
let me rely only in you
for you have all the answers
in the world.
Amen.

Praying to keep strong

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time, 12 July 2022
Isaiah 7:1-9 ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> Matthew 11:20-24

*Photo by author, Camp John Hay, Baguio City, October 2019.*

When word came to the house of David that Aram encamped in Ephraim, the heart of the king and the heart of the people trembled, as trees of the forest tremble in the wind.
Isaiah 7:2

God our Father,
so many times in life 
our hearts tremble like
trees trembled in the wind,
almost falling because of 
so many fears in life:  fear of 
going hungry, fear of going poor,
fear of losing wealth, power and status;
fear of being conquered and
subdued by others stronger than us
BUT we never fear of losing you!

Forgive us, O Lord, for being like
the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida
who refused to believe in Jesus Christ
your Son despite the many marvelous 
things he had made in their towns;
despite your goodness and blessings,
we refuse to give ourselves to you; but,
when things go off hand, when trials come,
we call on you, demanding you to rush 
to our side and be quick to save us;
let us be "tranquil and do not fear" against
our enemies and every trial that come our
way by doing our part of having faith 
in you, of daring to go against the tide
to allow you do your work because after all, 
if ever things get worst, so often not because
you were helpless but because we kept you
out of our lives, we chose to break away 
from you, choosing our own destruction.

Uphold us your people, O God!
Amen.

Put Christ before everything

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot, 11 July 2022
Isaiah 1:10-17 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Matthew 10:34-11:1

*Photo by author, Church of St. Agnes, Jerusalem, Israel, May 2018.*

Your words today, O God
are not only disturbing but 
also puzzling; it is disturbing
for us who continue with all of
our fake religiosities that are more
of a show than an intimacy with you.
Your words through Isaiah
should awaken us to be more truthful,
to show more our love for you in our
actions that are just and fair to others.

“Trample my courts no more. Bring no more worthless offerings; your incense is loathsome to me. Your new moons and festivals I detest; they weigh me down, I tire of the load… learn to do good. Make justice your aim, redress the wronged; hear the orphan’s plea; defend the widow.”
Isaiah 1:13, 14, 17

Your words are also puzzling,
as spoken by Jesus Christ your Son
who declared:

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword.”
Matthew 10:34

Puzzling and disturbing are
your words, Lord, and we thank
you for disturbing us, for puzzling us:
may we have the courage to confront
our true selves, strip ourselves naked 
of our pretensions of being good and
faithful so we may be true to your call
to be holy and just, loving and merciful;
so many times, even in our religion and 
faith, it is not you whom we put first but
our very selves.

Through the prayers and examples of
St. Benedict, may we put Christ before
everything by thinking more of others
than of ourselves; may we always begin
our works by appealing to Jesus our Lord
to bring these to perfection and lead us to
everlasting life.  Amen.

St. Benedict, 
Pray for us!

Walking our talk

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, 08 July 2022
Hosea 14:2-10 ><]]]'> + ><]]]'> + ><]]]'> Matthew 10:16-23

*Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD in France, March 2022.*

Another week is closing,
another brand new week coming
but here I am, O God, still undecided,
dilly-dallying when to follow you,
when to change my ways,
when will I ever be true
in walking my talk; this time,
may I take with me my words
of contrition, of decision to turn
away from sin and follow your path
in Jesus Christ your Son.

Thus says the Lord: Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt. Take with you words, and return to the Lord, say to him, “Forgive all iniquity, and receive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.”
Hosea 14:2-3

Grant me, O Lord, 
the courage to be wise as the serpent 
and gentle as the dove in this world 
so filled with wolves and other
predators out for a kill with 
their seductive temptations
to rule and dominate; may I always
have the presence of mind to think
what is fair and just, true and good
that I may not be tempted to take 
shortcuts in life; inspire me to innovate
and be creative in proclaiming 
and living out the gospel of Jesus 
in this highly modern and complex
world; most of all, keep me faithful
to you, to always walk your path
for you are the way, the truth and 
the life.

Let him who is wise understand these things; let him who is prudent know them. Straight are the paths of the Lord, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them.
Hosea 14:10

There is no other way
to life, Lord, except you 
and this is the reason why
so many want to remove you,
to delete you from life, from
the world so that they can do
what is most pleasing to themselves
without realizing nor admitting
the collapse and slow death
they are experiencing.
Amen.