The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Memorial of Sts. Joachim and Anne, Parents of the BVM, 26 July 2024 Jeremiah 3:14-17 <*((((><< + >><))))*> Matthew 13:18-23
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 19 March 2023.
As we reel from the aftermath of the recent storms that caused widespread floods and affected so many lives, Your words today Lord Jesus Christ direct our thoughts to our roots and rootedness in God and with one another especially our grandparents.
The seed sown on the rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away (Matthew 13:20-21).
How lovely that on this Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and grandparents of our Lord Jesus Christ, the gospel invites us to go back and nurture our roots; like any good tree planted firmly that provides shades and food as well as holds water when rains come, roots evoke a sense of interconnectedness, of trust with each other, of our grounding in life and mission that give direction for us in life; without the root, we not only wither and die but lose sense and meaning in life; it is in the root we find our identity and mission; in the root is found our true selves; it is the root that holds us to remain whole despite the many blows we encounter in life. That is why the Prophet Jeremiah invites us in the first reading to go back to God, to be converted always. It is not difficult to find out what kind of people were Saints Joachim and Anne because when we study and reflect the writings we have about the Blessed Virgin Mary and her Son Jesus Christ, the more we discover their roots must be so good indeed.
God our Father, let us be rooted in You always, finding You among the people You gift us beginning with our family and friends; let us realize our roots extend beyond people but also with all your creation so that we may love and care for the blessed environment You have given us called Earth. Amen.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 19 March 2023.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Prayers in the storm and after the storm, 24-25 July 2024
Photo by author, Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City, 24 July 2024.
We did not sleep well Tuesday night, worried with the serious impact of heavy rains to our brothers and sisters living in shanties and low-lying areas. Electricity was cut off early yesterday as we received reports of widespread flooding in the Parish. Immediately, the Parish Priest with the Parish Pastoral Council gathered dry clothings, jackets, and blankets for the evacuees in a nearby school, sending some breakfast too. This was our prayer on that rainy Wednesday:
God our loving Father, we thank you for the rains we have long been waiting for to fill our dams, to water our fields and plants, to cool our climate; but because of our continued disregard for your creation and for one another, these blessed rains have brought many problems too especially floods that are getting worse every year; forgive us for we never learn to respect not only nature but especially one another; rich and poor alike failed to take care of each other thinking only of one's self. May these rains wash away our selfishness, cleanse our conscience to think more of others and enable us to finally take concrete steps in changing our lifestyle as Pope Francis had long called for in Laudato Si so that we may finally see our interconnectedness in this one home and planet we call Earth. Amen.
Photo by author, the Fatima image we use for procession after Sunday Masses at the Shrine taking cover from the strong rains and winds yesterday.
Rains heavily poured with a lot of thunders before noon yesterday; more parishioners sent help in kind and food for the 60 evacuees near the Shrine. This we composed for our noontime prayer during that thunderstorms:
God our Father, thank you for the midday rest on this stormy Wednesday; many of us are bearing with the discomfort of no electricity, of not being able to move around, of idly staying at home; forgive us for the complaints especially when we forget there are more who are going through severe tests and sufferings at this time: dilapidated and leaky homes with still more moving to evacuation centers; many people have nothing at all in their pockets for these rainy days; help us reach out to our poor brothers and sisters especially the children who haven’t have breakfast nor have rested at all since last night! Father, we pray for the daily wage earners who could not work today due to bad weather; we pray also for those living alone as well as those who could not come home. Bless every home, fill us with more love and kindness to keep warm everyone in this time of calamity. We ask this in Jesus Christ’s name with the Holy Spirit. Amen.
O blessed Mother Mary, our Lady of Fatima, Pray for us!
There was still no electricity and rains continued to pour in the afternoon with a handful people celebrating the 6PM Mass at the Shrine. Up in our rectory, our staff and PPC officers were busy preparing packed meals for the families evacuated in a nearby school. This was our prayer that afternoon:
God our loving and merciful Father, thank you for bringing us to the end of this day; thank you for the gift of life, for the selfless people who served in all rescue and relief efforts for those affected by the heavy rains that still continue; thank you and bless those who remained faithful to their call of duty especially those in the police and military, the journalists who risked their lives to keep us informed of the situations, our weathermen who tracked Carina and the habagat; most of all, we thank you for the doctors and nurses who came to hospitals as extensions of your healing hands in this time of calamity. Keep them all safe. Bring us all home safely tonight guided by your light of love and care in Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Mary our Mother, Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for us.
Photo by author, Blessed Sacrament in the Chapel of Angel of Peace, RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 26 June 2024.
Darkness enveloped the whole city of Valenzuela by nightfall as we remained without electricity but the good news of rains finally stopping with the ebbing of the floods were most welcomed news to bring joy to many among us. We continued with our prayers and this is what we shared:
Most loving Father, many of us will not sleep tonight: some are working overnight to ensure tomorrow we’ll have food and power while others are keeping watch for everyone’s safety and wellbeing; bless them, give them the strength to do their tasks and duties, and keep them safe. It has been a very long, cold, and wet day, Father; help us set aside our worries, to trust and hope in You that it is always after the rains and the storms leaves are greenest; it is after the floods when rich top soil are deposited, conducive for farming; it is during calamities when love and charity surprise us most. Amen.
Jesus, King of Mercy, we trust in You!
Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for us!
Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Valenzuela City after the storm this morning, 25 July 2024 with Our Blessed Virgin’s old statue reminding us of her motherly care.
Finally, we saw the sun at the start of this new day still with some rains and the heavy tasks of cleaning and clearing the debris left by the floods. Will we ever learn to respect nature which is actually an expression of our respect for each other too?
Our prayer after the storm:
Praise and glory to you, God our loving Father! Thank you for this new day, thank you for the gift of life, thank you for guiding us during these stormy days. Bless our doctors and nurses, the selfless volunteers and staffmembers of rescue and emergency units along with our police and military personnel as well as the weathermen who continue to work and serve us today after the storm. Help us to do better in responding to emergencies next time while we finally learn to change our lifestyles in caring for the environment and ultimately, for one another. Let us appreciate each one’s giftedness in Christ Jesus our Lord as we celebrate life in the Holy Spirit today. Amen.
Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for us! St. James the Great, Pray for us!
Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Marulas, Valenzuela City, 25 July 2024.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday in the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 24 July 2024 Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10 <*((((><< + >><))))*> Matthew 13:1-9
"Ah, Lord God!" I said, "I know not how to speak; I am too young." But the Lord answered me, say not, "I am too young." To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak (Jeremiah 1:6-7).
I have always heard that expression "age is just a number" without really understanding nor having a grasp of its real meaning until recently after losing my mom and be totally orphaned of our parents; how different it is now to live without our parents and quickly realize time flies so fast indeed because suddenly we are catapulted into that state in life when we are in the very same situations of our parents when we were younger; now I could feel we are never too young nor too old to be called and entrusted by God with a mission in life.
Life indeed is a parable, dear Jesus: You come to us daily whether we are too young or too old to sow your seeds; keep us open to receive You so that we may bear You and share You. Amen.
“The Sower”, a painting by Van Gogh from commons.wikimedia.org.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday in the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 23 July 2024 Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Matthew 12:46-50
Restore us, O god our savior, and abandon your displeasure against us. Will you be ever angry with us, prolonging your anger to all generations? Will you not instead give us life; and shall not your people rejoice in you? Show us, O Lord, your kindness, and grant us your salvation (Today’s Responsorial Psalm 85:5-8).
It has been raining for almost a week in many parts of the country of the world with images of floods everywhere, many are perennial ones but many are so unusual and unheard of; everybody is complaining, everybody is blaming everyone for the disaster except one's self.
That is why I love the psalmist's prayer today: "Restore us, O God our savior"; it has so many meanings and applications so relevant these days of rains and floods - repair and renovate the many roads and homes destroyed; but most of all, bring us back to You, O God; let us return to You by finding each one a family as Jesus taught us in today's gospel, "For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Matthew 12:50).
Like the remnants of Israel the Prophet Micah spoke of in the first reading, keep me faithful, standing before You, O Lord in these trying times of natural and human disasters. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, 22 July 2024 Song of Songs 3:1-4 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> John 20:1-2, 11-18
“The Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene” painting by Alexander Ivanov (1834-1836) at the Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia from commons.wikimedia.org.
We rejoice today, Lord Jesus, for this most wondrous Feast of your friend St. Mary Magdalene: in her we find hope and joy that like her, we who are sinners are assured of a grace-filled future, of a trustworthy friend in You, and abounding love and mercy also in You.
We are, dear Jesus,
the modern Mary Magdalene:
sinful and worldly,
perhaps so vain with our
outside appearance and bearing
in public, sometimes on the brink
of giving up in life because nobody seem
to care at all for us;
many times like Mary Magdalene,
we walk alone in darkness
searching for You, Lord Jesus;
many times we wonder too
how we could move the huge
and heavy stone of past sins,
weaknesses and failures,
addictions and vices
that cover us and prevent us
from moving forward, finding You;
many times, O Lord,
we mistake You for somebody else
like Mary Magdalene when she mistook
You to be the gardener at the tomb
because we are so preoccupied
of many things in life.
But, You assure us today
on this Feast of St. Mary Magdalene
our fears and assumptions are not
true at all; help us to stop clinging
to our many past for You are not there,
Jesus; You are always in the here and now,
in the present moment, personally calling us
in our name like Mary!
The Bride says: On my bed at night I sought him whom my heart loves – I sought him but I did not find him. I will rise then and go about the city; in the streets and crossings I will seek him whom my heart loves. I sought him but I did not find him. The watchmen came upon me as they made their rounds of the city. Have you seen him whom my heart loves? I have hardly left them when I found him whom my heart loves (Song of Songs 3:1-4).
Like that lover, the Bride in the first reading, we are Mary Magdalene in search of love and meaning in this world; in search of You, Jesus, our Lord and Savior; so often, we seek You in this world, in its loud noise of too much self bragging as well as in the midst of the world's riches and powers; the more we seek You, the more elusive You have become until You came when like Mary Magdalene we have believed in You, we have listened to You. we have become silent and attentive to You, Lord Jesus; thank You for coming, thank You for finding me, thank You for calling me like Mary to proclaim You are risen to others who believe in You, searching You, waiting for You. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 21 July 2024 Jeremiah 23:1-6 ><}}}}*> Ephesians 2:13-18 ><}}}}*> Mark 6:30-34
Photo by author, Katmon Nature Sanctuary &Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon March 2023.
After being sent“two by two” last Sunday, the Apostles now return to Jesus, reporting “all they had done and taught.” What a beautiful gospel scene this Sunday, supposed to be our day of rest that begins in God and must be rooted in God.
The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place (Mark 6:30-32).
Last Sunday we were reminded to rediscover the family and friends sent with us “two by two” in this life while today the Lord wants us to be aware of our need to rest in order to rediscover Him first of all, then one’s self and others.
Unfortunately, many people today have entirely forgotten the meaning and importance of rest that we succumb to all kinds of sickness related with stress and fatigue. In fact, Filipino workers were recently ranked as the second worst in terms of work-life balance in a worldwide survey. One factor it cited is the lesser paid vacation leaves our workers have compared with their counterparts in other countries.
Photo by author, Sonnenberg Resort, Davao City, 2017.
Rest is not only stopping from work to be recharged like cellphone batteries; we are not things like robots and drones sent out simply for a task that once achieved, no more. We are inter-related persons meant to form bonds and unity, a family and a community. That is the result of our being sent on a mission to share God’s creative works leading to our union in Him with others.
God rested and made Sabbath holy after creation because He had completed all His works that were all good; we, on the other hand, merely participate in His creative works. That is why no matter how hard we push ourselves with our work, we can’t completely finish them as more things to do come along the way, making us bored or stressed out because we could no longer find life but simply routine. We have been so focused on accomplishing many things as if we are the savior of the world (messianic complex) that we feel so important, bloating our ego. That is when we start literally throwing our weight to those around us like in those reels of road rage. The sad part of this is how we eventually hurt the people we love and supposed to serve like the shepherds of the Old Testament that God through Jeremiah had accused to have “misled and scattered” the people of Israel (Jer.23:1).
Photo by author, border between Jordan and Israel, May 2019.
Today, Jesus is inviting us to “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while (Mk.6:31)” to remind us that in everything we do in this life, what matters most is not the task but us, the persons we love and care for, and Christ who is our only fulfillment in life.
Like the apostles, we have to return to Jesus precisely because our mission, our work is not ours but Christ’s. We need to return to Jesus every Sunday in the Eucharist when we are nourished by His words and strengthened by His Body and Blood to sustain us in our mission.
Rest is neither doing nothing like sleeping all day or doing anything we like that we forget God and in the process, our very self and others. Rest is a time of conversion when we lay aside our plans and agenda by returning to God so that we could have focus again in this life. Rest is actually to be filled with God, to be holy.
This we find expressed perfectly in our Filipino word for rest which is pahinga from the root hinga or breath that is spiritus in Latin. To rest in Filipino is mag-pa-hinga that literally means hingahan, to be breathed on. Genesis tells us how God breathed on man to be alive after creating him while in John’s Gospel we find Jesus breathed on His apostles after greeting them with peace twice on the night of Easter when He appeared to them at the Upper Room. From here we get that beautiful imagery of rest as being breathed on by God – mag-pa-hinga sa Diyos – which is to be closer with God!
Here now is the challenge and best part of the good news this Sunday: the more closer we get to God in Jesus and through Jesus especially on Sunday our day of rest, the more we must get closer with others. The more we pray, the more we rest in the Lord, the more we serve, the more we love.
Mark told us how Jesus invited the Twelve to “come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” but the people saw them and even got earlier to the other side of the lake!
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd and he began to teach them many things (Mark 6:34).
Photo by author in the Holy Land, 2019.
Rest is more than the amount of time spent “resting” but the disposition to be with the Lord, to be one with Him that we become holy like Him. That moment when Jesus led the Twelve to rest was already a “rest” for Him that resulted in serving more the people who have followed them.
Jesus being moved with pity for the people indicated His rest and communion with the Father expressed in His oneness with the suffering people who were like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus has always been one with the Father right from the very start until His death on the Cross where He declared “It is finished” and commended His total self to the Father.
The truest sense of us having a real rest, of getting closer with God is when we get closer with others especially those entrusted to our love and care like our loved ones and those who are poor and sick.
Problem these days among us priests including laypeople is our wrong idea about rest; we do not really rest at all but simply indulge in pleasures that are many times scandalous for being godless and unmindful of other people. True rest makes our hearts natural to be aware of the sufferings of others, to be one with them or at least take their plight into consideration in our rest.
We can only say “mission accomplished” to rest when we are one with God through others that St. Paul explains in the second reading at how Jesus Christ reconciled us all through the Cross, “putting an enmity to death by it” (Eph. 2:16). Next Sunday, this we shall see when after teaching and healing the people in that deserted place, Jesus would feed the crowd of over 5000 people from just a few loaves of bread and pieces of fish.
Let us rest in the Lord to prepare our hearts and souls as well as our tired body to be filled with God so we can fill others too with Him. Let us pray:
Lord Jesus Christ, we live in a highly competitive world of 24/7 wherein everyone is so busy that we forget You and the persons You have entrusted to us; remind us we are not the Messiah nor a superhero to save the world; we can only do as much in this life as God had accomplished all for us in You, the Christ; let us take two or three even five steps backwards to let You, Jesus, do your work in us. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 19 July 2024 Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 12:1-8
Photo by author, somewhere in Bgy. Kaysuyo, Alfonso, Cavite, 27 April 2024.
When Hezekiah was mortally ill, the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him: “Thus says the Lord: Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you shall not recover. Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord… 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 38:1-2, 4-5).
God our Father, help us to put our house in order; give us the courage and strength to put our lives in order by sincerely admitting our sins with a firm resolve to turn away from them and live the gospel of Jesus your Son.
Let me put order to my spiritual life by cultivating the discipline to pray daily keeping that relationship with You; let me put order in my life by seeking ways to be more loving with others than finding their faults; let me put order in my life by being less judgmental of others to be more charitable and understanding.
Like Hezekiah let me accept my fate, let me accept death: "In the noontime of life I must depart! To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned for the rest of my years" (Isaiah 38:10); how wonderful that without praying for his healing but for the grace to accept your will, You healed Hezekiah and prolonged his life to serve You more than ever. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 18 July 2024 Isaiah 26: 7-9, 12, 16-19 <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Matthew 11:28-30
Your words today, O God, are so refreshing that I wish to pray like your Prophet Isaiah: "The way of the just is smooth; the path of the just you make level. My soul yearns for you in the night, yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you; For your dew is a dew of light, and the land of shades gives birth" (Isaiah 26:7, 9, 19).
Freshen us, O Lord, from our dirt and exhaustion from sin!
Refresh our thoughts and our feelings, make them crystal clear like the dew in the morning to see your kindness and mercy!
Gladden our hearts, uplift our souls with your presence in Christ Jesus who calls us daily to come to Him and have rest, because His yoke is easy, His burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).
Let us surrender to You in Jesus Christ for there is no salvation outside from You except in Him; so true are the words of Isaiah: "As a woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in 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. But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise; awake and sing, you who lie in the dust" (Isaiah 11: 17-19).
Teach us to appreciate and value the little things in life we take for granted like the droplets of dew in the morning enough to set our face aglow again of new beginnings; in coming to us, Jesus taught us the value of being small, being little, being silent, being humble when life begins and regenerates always. Let us arise anew in Jesus from our deep sleep in sin through His dew of light, a glimmer of better days ahead. Amen.
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.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 16 July 2024 Isaiah 7:1-9 <*((((>< M+ ><))))*> Matthew 11:20-24
Photo by author, Holy Family Monastery of Our Lady of Carmel, Guiguinto, Bulacan 2019.
Thank You, dear God our Father to your reminder today through your prophet, "Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm!" (Isaiah 7:9).
So many times I forget this truth as I try to do everything to make myself strong physically, mentally and emotionally; so many times I forget that everything is fleeting in this world especially my body, including my enemies; many times I forget that the path to real strength of my person is in having a firm faith in You because only You remain.
Everything passes in this world; nations and peoples, cities and states rise and fall but, not You, O Lord! You never stop speaking your words of wisdom into the silence of my heart, calling me to trust in You, to have faith in You as You find ways in saving me from my many problems and miseries. Give me the grace to repent and to harden not my heart when I hear Your voice in Christ Jesus with Mary our Lady of Carmel. Amen.
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