Tag: prayer

Advent is listening

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Second Week of Advent, 15 December 2023
Isaiah 48:17-19 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Matthew 11:16-19
Photo by author, Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga, November 2022.
How funny, O God,
at this Season of Advent
we listen to every Christmas carol
over and over again
and yet miss your Son Jesus Christ
in the end?
Everyone loves the tune
and the voice of Bing Crosby
singing "Do you hear what I hear?"
yet we refuse to listen to the
Child born on that first Christmas day!

Jesus said to the crowds: ”To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”

Matthew 11:16-19
Dear Jesus,
please open our ears and our hearts
to truly LISTEN to you,
to HEAR you and follow you;
forgive us for listening only to us,
for hearing more the noise of the world
than your voice right there
in our hearts;
let us listen to you, Lord, 
once and for all to experience
"prosperity like a river,
vindication like the waves 
of the sea" (Isaiah 48:18);
harden not our hearts to 
follow you and imbibe
your words in our lives.
Amen.

The least yet, most blessed

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest & Doctor of Church, 14 December 2023
Isaiah 41:13-20   <*((((>< + ><))))*>   Matthew 11:11-15
Praise and glory to you,
God our loving Father,
for this wondrous day of 
Memorial of your great mystic
and servant, St. John of the Cross;
in his life and example attested by
his great writings exuding with
immense and intense love for you,
he had shown us how true were 
the words of Jesus your Son:

Jesus said to the crowds: “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

Matthew 11:11
Yes, dear God, almighty
yet so gracious and merciful,
you have blessed us to be witnesses
of your love and power in Christ Jesus;
let us listen to your words always,
let them sink into our hearts
so we may feel
and nurture
and share your love
to one another;
like St. John of the Cross
who, after going through so much
trials and sufferings in life asked,
"Who has ever seen people persuaded
to love God by harshness?"
How great indeed is your power
of love that despite the losses
and pains we go through in life,
the more we love,
the more we feel stronger,
the more we feel blessed!
You alone, O Lord, is our help,
our life, our strength despite our
being "worm" and "maggot" 
 like Israel (Isaiah 41:14);
let us accept our littleness
before you so Christ may come
and dwell in us to fill us 
with your love so we may 
imitate St. John of the Cross
who taught us,
"Where there is no love,
put love - and you will find love"
because "A soul that walks in love
 is never tired and never gets tried."
Amen.

Advent heals our fragmented life

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin & Martyr, 13 December 2023
Isaiah 40:25-31   ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[><   Matthew 11:11-15
Photo by author, Advent week II, Basic Education Department chapel, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela, 2021.
My dear Jesus:
despite the cold weather
and festive mood of this season,
there is this feeling inside me of
the world, even your church
being so fragmented and broken,
with so many divisions and 
competitions among us, 
the favoritisms and injustices 
by those above us that have
spawned in us so many feelings
of entitlement and privileges.

Why, O Jacob, do you say, and declare, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God?” Do you not know or have you not heard? The Lord is eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint nor grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny. He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound.

Isaiah 40:27-29
Thank you, dear Jesus,
for your coming to us,
for your Advent;
most of all, for your sublime
gentleness, calling us all to
"Come to me, all you who labor 
and are burdened, 
and I will give your rest"
(Matthew 11:28).

Heal our fragmented lives,
our fragmented society,
our fragmented Church;
open our eyes,
open our hearts
and our arms to embrace you
especially among those broken too
so we may finally forge anew that
bonding in you.
Amen.

Mary, an advent herself

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 12 December 2023
Zechariah 2:14-17   ><}}}}*>  +  <*{{{{><   Luke 1:26-38
The original “tilma” of St. Juan Diego at the New Basilica of the Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico City. Photo by Rev. Fr. Gerry Pascual of Diocese of Iba, Zambales, 2016.
What a joy for us, 
to have you, O Most Blessed Virgin Mary
 as our Mother too courtesy of your Son
our Lord Jesus Christ;
you who was the first welcome 
and receive him,
you never had the season
of Advent itself for you were
an Advent in yourself.

And your advent never stopped.

Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the Lord. silence, all mankind, in the presence of the Lord! For he stirs forth from his holy dwelling.

Zechariah 2:14, 17
How quick were you to appear
in the New World at that great period
of discoveries, appearing in Mexico to
Juan Diego to proclaim Christ's coming;
and they realized and experienced
so soon through you Christ's coming
and reign!
You have never stopped in reminding us
of the presence and coming of Jesus
in our own time; teach us to be like you,
O Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe,
always humble and simple, 
one with us,
looking like us,
walking with us in our own time
and milieu,
carrying Jesus,
sharing Jesus,
showing Jesus.
Amen.

Advent, our vindication in Christ

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Second Week of Advent, 11 December 2023
Isaiah 35:1-10   ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*>   Luke 5:17-26
Photo by author, Advent Sunday II, 2021, Basic Education Department chapel of Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City.
Thank you, dear God,
our loving Father for this 
Season of Advent,
a season of our vindication
in your Son Jesus Christ
our Lord;
what a joy to hear your words
on this Monday of the Second
Week in Advent through the 
Prophet Isaiah:

Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God: he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you.

Isaiah 35:3-4
Vindication, O God, 
is one word we miss so much
these days, an experience we long for
when finally we are proven right
or true, and most of all, justified;
it is a difficult mission from you,
dear Father, to always walk in your 
ways, to follow your will especially
in this world when being true and faithful,
honest and kind, loving and caring
are looked down upon as signs
of weakness;
it is so difficult to be good and holy,
 just like those men carrying 
that paralytic to enter the room
to get near to Jesus Christ.
Teach us to persevere always,
Lord Jesus like those men,
to never give up on you,
to always find ways even if
we have to climb our way up
just to go down to you
to experience your healing 
and mercy.
Most of all, your vindication.
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.

Advent is working silently in the Lord

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the First Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Ambrose, 07 December 2023
Isaiah 26:1-6   ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'>   Matthew 7:21, 24-27
Photo by author, San Fernando, Pampanga, November 2021.
Unlike Lent,
this Season of Advent
is always superseded by
too much ado and noise
of commercialism as Christmas
approaches; there is hardly a hint
not even among us in the church
of the need to be silent,
of the value of silence,
and essence of silence 
in life no matter what is the season.
Although our first reading
evokes in us a great feeling of
joyful celebrations following the
salvation of people, there is still
the underlying tone of silence in you
and with you, dear God our loving Father,
of silent witnessing to your justice and
righteousness.
How lovely that today we also
celebrate the Memorial of St. Ambrose, 
a great bishop and Doctor of the Church
whom St. Augustine deeply admired and 
converted him to Christianity; may we 
appreciate like St. Augustine the silence of
St. Ambrose:

When [Ambrose] read, his eyes scanned the page and his heart sought out the meaning, but his voice was silent and his tongue was still. Anyone could approach him freely and guests were not commonly announced, so that often, when we came to visit him, we found him reading like this in silence, for he never read aloud.

Confessions of St. Augustine
At that time, knowledgeable
and learned people read aloud
for everyone to be aware of their
presence but not St. Ambrose
who deeply moved St. Augustine
to notice it in his Confessions.
This Advent,
teach us O Lord to cultivate
the discipline and virtue of silence,
especially in doing what is good,
in witnessing Jesus Christ who warned us,
"Not everyone who says to me,
'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will
of my  Father in heaven"
(Matthew 7:21).

May our deeds speak louder
than our words
and beliefs.
Amen.

Advent is going back to God, our life

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the First Week of Advent, 06 December 2023
Isaiah 25:6-10   ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*>   Matthew 15:29-37
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Retreat House, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.
God our loving Father,
may we go back to you our very life;
forgive us who have easily forgotten
you especially after these difficult years of the pandemic;
now that COVID has waned and life is back to "normal",
we are back to our unholy ways.
May we always search you, Father, 
and dwell in you;
 destroy the “veil that veils all peoples, 
the web that is woven over all nations” (Is.25:7) 
that mislead and imprison us 
with false hopes in superficial relationships 
and materialistic briberies of this world.
Let us go "hungry and thirsty" 
to realize the most essential in life
 are you, dear God and the people who truly 
care for us and love us like our family and friends.
Like the crowd who have followed Jesus 
in the wilderness for three days 
with nothing to eat: 
they experienced advent, 
your coming, O God, 
when Jesus fed them 
after they were finally disposed 
to desire the longings 
of their soul than of their bodies; 
it was only then when Jesus fed them 
through the miraculous multiplication 
of the loaves of bread for the second time.
May the darkness and gloom 
that envelop us this season of Advent 
like the wars in Gaza and Ukraine
and other military show of force
by other nations and groups elsewhere,
the barbaric terror attack last Sunday in Marawi
and the frequent earthquakes we have been experiencing
along with our other personal crises 
dispose us to desiring you alone, 
God our Father, so we may finally enter 
your heavenly banquet in the Holy Eucharist
with “rich food and choice wines” (Is.25:6). Amen.

Advent is making the portrait of Christ a reality

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the First Week of Advent, 05 December 2023
Isaiah 11:1-10   ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'>   Luke 10:21-24
Praise and glory 
to you, God our Father
for this Season of Advent!

Indeed we are so blessed 
in your Son Jesus Christ
for "many prophets and kings
desired to see what you see,
but did not see it, and to hear
what you hear, but did not hear it"
(Luke 10:24).
How wonderful are your plans,
most merciful Father,
in making a shoot sprout from
the stump of Jesse and from its
roots a bud blossom (Isaiah 11:1),
Jesus Christ.
As we await his Second Coming,
help us realize, bring into reality,
his most beautiful portrait saw by Isaiah:
"Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.
Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the young lion shall browse together, 
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like ox.
The baby shall play by the cobras den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair"
(vv.5-8). 
Let us witness the gospel of Jesus
to effect peace that until now 
has eluded us 
because we have refused to
recognize Jesus,
follow Jesus,
be like Jesus.
Let us be like Jesus
who is just,
not judging by appearance
nor deciding by hearsay,
siding with the poor
not with the rich,
speaking always of
his truth and justice.
We are so blessed 
in Jesus Christ who had come,
who is come 
who will come again;
make us responsible enough
to see Jesus more clearly,
to understand his vision deeply,
to listen to his words acutely
so he may be found in us already.
Amen.

Walking in the light of the Lord

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the First Week of Advent, 04 December 2023
Isaiah 2:1-5   ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*>   Matthew 8:5-11
Photo by author, Basic Education Department, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 27 November 2023.
Advent is walking in your light,
O Lord, when we brave life's
many darkness that envelop us,
when we trust more in you, O Lord,
and dare to follow your will
even if it goes against
conventional wisdom.
How sad, dear God,
that as we reel from the effects
of the recent pandemic,
we begin our Christmas countdown
still in the midst of a grave war
right in the Holy Land;
help us find ways to fulfill
Isaiah's prophecy:
"In the days to come,
the mountain of the Lord's house
shall be established as the highest
mountain and raised above the hills.
They shall beat  their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
one nation shall not raise the sword
against another, shall they train for war again.
O house of jacob, come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!
(Isaiah 2:2, 4-5)
To walk in your light, O Lord,
especially this Advent is to
first of all admit how we have gone
astray from your path, O Lord;
of how we have relied more on
ourselves and technologies
that we have forgotten not only 
you O Lord but also one another;
to walk in your light O Lord is
to be in touch with our fellow humans,
to find you present in each one of us
despite our many differences
like that centurion who approached
you, Jesus, to heal his sick servant;
this Advent season as we walk
the streets with cool winds blowing
and sun rays touching our skins,
may we have time to go to your
house, O Lord, to pray,
to listen to your words,
to simply be present before you
and allow you to take us where
you want us to be.
Amen.