The wonderful gifts of wisdom

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Thirty-Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 16 November 2023
Wisdom 7:22-8:1 <*(((>< + ><)))*> = <*(((>< + ><)))*> Luke 17:20-25

*Photo by Dra. Eunice Nikki A. Vergara, MD in Victoria, Laguna, 2020.*

Your words are so lovely
today, O God our Father,
citing to us your many attributes
as Wisdom, "a spirit intelligent,
holy, unique, manifold, subtle"
and some 30 others that beautifully
present to us your transcendence
and immanence not only around us
but most of all within us!
What I like most, O God,
are these:

For Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion, and she penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity. And she, who is one, can do all things, and renews everything while herself perduring; and passing into holy souls from age to age, she produces friends of God and prophets.
Wisdom 7:24, 27

You are so great and awesome,
dear God, yet so close to us your
mere creatures like our breath,
so personal indeed as a friend,
so loved and always forgiven,
renewed and made pure
in your presence.

Forgive us for those moments
when like the Pharisees in
the gospel continue to ask you
for visible signs of the Kingdom of God;
we just have to feel you inside us,
we just have to recognize your dwelling
in us in Jesus Christ,
we just have to open our selves,
our minds and our hearts
to your little comings
until we have grown so big
in you and your presence,
in your love and mercy.
Amen.

True authority leads to humility

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Doctor of the Church, 15 November 2023
Wisdom 6:1-11 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 17:11-19

*Photo by author, Jesuit Cemetery, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 21 March 2023.*

Thank you dear God
for the gift of authority,
a share in your authority 
to govern other people regardless
if they are a few or a handful of
loosely organized people like
family and friends
or a large number of subjects
in our work or organization,
community and the Church,
and the whole nation.

But most especially,
we pray for our civil and 
Church people of authority
to heed your counsel:

To you therefore O princes are my words addressed that you may learn wisdom and that you may not sin. For those who keep the holy precepts hallowed shall be found holy, and those learned in them will have ready a response. Desire therefore my words; long for them and you shall be instructed.
Wisdom 6:9-11

You have sent us your Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ as the
perfect example of authority figure,
who spoke with authority during his time
because his authority is a sharing
in your authority, Father,
an expression of his perfect 
obedience to you; 
let us realize that every authority 
must be lived in total obedience
to you, O God, like Jesus.

When authority is lived in obedience,
those in authority become humble,
getting closer to their subjects
especially those in the margins
like the weak and the sick;
the Samaritan leper was the only one
who returned to Jesus to thank him
because not only because 
he was the least of the ten
lepers being an outsider;
but, most of all, he humbly
and gratefully returned to thank Jesus
because he lived his obedience with
authority, Jesus whom he called Master.

Like St. Albert the Great
whose feast we celebrate today,
patron of scientists and a man
of learning and wisdom who held 
great authority in his Order
and in the Church in Germany 
during his time, may we always
live our authority in obedience
and live obedience with authority
to lead us all into humility
like Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Semper fidelis

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Thirty-Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 14 November 2023
Wisdom 2:23-3:9 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 17:7-10

*Photo by author, Ubihan Island, Obando, Bulacan, 31 December 2021.*

Your words today, O God,
remind me of your fidelity,
of your being always faithful
even beyond death.

How reassuring are your words
in the first reading of your great love
for us, "forming us to be imperishable;
the image of your own nature.  
But by the envy of the Devil,
death entered the world,
but the souls of the just are 
in the hand of God,
no torment shall touch them"
(Wisdom 2:23-24, 3:1).

From the very beginning,
you have assured us of 
grace and mercy;
keep us faithful to you always,
seeing everything we have 
is a blessing by living a life in faith
in Jesus Christ which is 
a life of love
too!  

What an honor to serve you,
dear Father, in love and fidelity;
like those servants in the parable,
may we seek only Jesus,
always Jesus so that
in the end of our lives,
we may truly know you
by being with you 
in Heaven in all eternity.
Amen.

The ones we miss most

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of St. Leo the Great, Pope & Doctor of the Church, 10 November 2023
Romans 15:14-21 ><]]]]’> + ><]]]]’> + ><]]]]’> Luke 16:1-8

*Photo by author, San Juan, La Union, July 2023.*

I just realized today,
God our Father,
how the word “miss”
has a variety of meanings:
as something we failed or
something or someone we remember
or, someone or something we
forget and neglected.

How sad that very often,
the people we miss - 
those we forget,
even taken for granted 
because they are common,
are those nearest to us like
family and friends,
those in our inner circles.

Thus I aspire to proclaim the Gospel not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on another’s foundation, but as it is written: Those who have never been told of him shall see, and those who have never heard of him shall understand.
Romans 15:20-21

Is it not so funny that the 
ones we meet inside the church
every day and every Sunday are
also the very ones who are 
like us - evangelized or simply
know Jesus and his teachings;
but, where are the rest?
the unchurched?
the ones we say who must hear the
good news?

Lord Jesus Christ,
teach us to be wise like 
that steward in your parable today:
to save face and himself, he went to
see his master’s debtors he himself
must have missed,
disregarded and never given any 
importance at all because they
were common, below him in stature;
let us realize like that shrewd steward,
like St. Paul to look for those we 
miss most because of proximity
and ordinariness; they could be our
family members who have stopped praying
or celebrating Mass 
or those living closest to our church
or chapel and have lost interest in the
sacraments and liturgy
or former colleagues in the ministry
who have lapsed in their practice 
of faith.

Let us go out today
to find them and make them
feel and experience they are 
loved,
they are missed most
in Christ Jesus.
Amen.

Cleanse us, O Lord!

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran, 09 November 2023
Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 ><)))*> 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17 ><)))*> John 2:13-22

*Photo by Arch. Philip Santiago, St. John Lateran in Rome, 2022.*

Praise and glory to you,
God our loving Father
in choosing to dwell in us
your people
as your temple;
how sad we have always 
desecrated ourselves and 
houses of worship with sin and evil
yet you never stopped 
building us up over and over
in Jesus Christ
as your dwelling place.

Brothers and sisters: You are God’s building. Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
1 Corithians 3:9, 16

Please, come again, Lord Jesus;
come more often to us your people
especially to us your priests,
to cleanse us of all filth of pride and conceit
when we eject you from the Eucharist 
by making it our own celebration, 
making a mockery of your sacrifice 
we have turned into a carnival, 
a spectacle for entertainment 
in the name of money and fame; 
forgive us, Jesus, 
in misleading the people,
 using God like in the temple of Jerusalem;
shame on us when we preach
more of ourselves and interests
than your words that free the people
from bondage to sin and disease;
cleanse us, O Lord, so that life 
may spring forth again from our parishes 
where people experience your love and mercy
that "Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can
multiply shall live, and there shall be
abundant fish, for wherever this water
comes the sea shall be made fresh"
(Ezekiel 47:9).

Come, Lord Jesus,
bind us again like cords,
whip us if necessary,
awaken our pastors and bishops
who have forgotten your call
to shepherd your people,
choosing to graze in the green
pastures of the rich and powerful
enclosed in their buildings and
ivory towers bereft of
your spirit and life;
awaken your people too
in the spirit of synodality
to stand for what is true and sacred,
to demand from religious leaders
to give only you, Jesus,
always you, Jesus.
Amen.

“I-love-you” means “I-O-U”

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Thirty-first Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 08 November 2023
Romans 13:8-10 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Luke 14:25-33

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2023.*

How can I not resist
by simply being silent,
O God our Father,
with your beautiful words 
spoken today by the great
St. Paul?

Brothers and sisters: Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Love does no evil to the neighbors; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 13:8, 10

But, what is really love,
according to St. Paul?
Since yesterday, 
he has been telling us
to love sincerely which is
to love like Jesus Christ 
who offered himself for us
on the Cross;
to love like Jesus as the 
fulfillment of the law is
to love without measure
because it is rooted in you,
dear God who is love yourself,
God who is both transcendent
and immanent!

In telling us to love one another,
Jesus clarified with his love that
you neither order nor command us to
love you, God, in the strict sense;
you ask us to love
because you love us,
because you are love, O God;
when we love, 
we fulfill your commandments,
enabling us to live in peace 
and harmony with one another
like in heaven;
"I-love-you" is the only "I-O-U",
the only debt never paid off
because the more we love,
the more we become like you
in Jesus Christ,
eternal and without end.
Amen.

Love sincerely

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Thirty-first Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 07 November 2023
Romans 12:5-16 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 14:15-24

God our merciful Father:
let us love sincerely
like your Son Jesus Christ
as St. Paul beautifully tells us
in today's first reading:

Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, and serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, and persevere in prayer.
Romans 12:9-12

Our loving Father,
let us love sincerely by loving in Jesus,
with Jesus and through Jesus,
not according to one's self nor 
with what the world knows that is
superficial, emotional, and temporary;
let us love sincerely without
pretensions but solely because
we find you in one another;
make us love sincerely
without thinking of our own
good and benefit but more of
the needs of others, especially
the poor and the needy;
let us love sincerely by making you
visible to others, making them
experience your love by bringing out
the giftedness of everyone around us, 
making them realize they are blessed, 
they are good in themselves,
that we need them in as much as we need
one another to grow and mature as persons;
let us love sincerely by avoiding instances
for hatred and envy and jealousy
to take shape within us and in our
relationships;
let us love sincerely by holding on
to what is good and true, 
never to what is false and evil
even if they may seem to be convenient
especially when one is untrue, unfaithful;
let us love sincerely by serving others
without expecting anything in return;
let us love sincerely by remaining
enthusiastic in life despite the sufferings
we go through, rejoicing in hope in you,
enduring afflictions and trials as we
handle life in prayer, together.

O Father, like Jesus Christ,
may we love sincerely by always
finding our place in your banquet table
(Luke 14:15-24)
among our brothers and sisters as
our equal, saying yes to your
every call to serve
in every here and now.
Amen.

*Photo by author, National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, 06 November 2023*.

Our great, wonderful God

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Thirty-first Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 06 November 2023
Romans 11:29-36 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 14:12-14

*Photo by author, St. Scholastica Retreat Center, Baguio City, August 2023.*

Dearest God our loving Father,
I join St. Paul today in praising
you through Jesus Christ your Son
who made us experience personally
your transcendence and 
immanence:

"Oh, the depth of the riches
and wisdom and knowledge 
of God!  How inscrutable 
are his judgments and how 
unsearchable his ways!
For who has known the mind
of the Lord or who has been
his counselor?  Or who has
given him anything that he may 
be repaid?
For from him and through him
and for him are all things.
To God be glory forever.
Amen."
(Romans 11:33-36)

*Photo by author, Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.*

Forgive me, O God,
in always trying to reduce you
to our human level when I try
to explain how and why things
are happening in my life,
in the world;
you are simply beyond and
transcendent, surpassing all
we can think about you -
the moment we realize a truth
about you, it is never enough;
at the same time, you are 
immanent, totally present in
everything you have made,
yet still, so close and so far
at the same time!

Deepen my faith in you,
Father through Jesus Christ;
let me trust you as St. Paul
assured us today that your gifts
and call are permanent and
irrevocable (Romans 11:29);
let me follow Christ's admonition
in the gospel to think more of
others than of myself especially
the poor, the crippled, the lame,
the blind and those who could 
never repay me (Luke 14:13);
let me realize that it is in
sharing your gifts to me with
others that I am truly enriched
not when I insist on my own interests.
Amen.

When silence is emptiness

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious, 03 November 2023
Romans 9:1-5 ><))))*> + <*((((>< Luke 14:1-6

*Photo by author, Camp John Hay, 12 July 2023.*

Silence is your language,
God our loving Father;
hence, silence is fullness,
not emptiness;
silence is when we listen 
to every sound to discern
and follow your voice within
because silence is within
not without.

How sad that people these days
are afraid of silence,
afraid of listening to your voice
that speaks what is true, good,
and beautiful;
that is why we muffle our ears
with pods and plugs and phones
not to hear your voice coming
from the silent screams and cries
of the sick and suffering;
forgive us, Father, when
we become silent for the wrong reason
of being empty and non-committed,
when we prefer not to speak nor
make a stand in moments we have to
respond to your voice,
remaining silent to ignore
you and those in pain.

Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and the Pharisees in reply, asking, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?” But they kept silent; so he took the man and, after he had healed him, dismissed him.
Luke 14:3-4

Lord Jesus Christ,
so many people especially
children and women are dying
these days while the world remains
silent of the atrocities and killings going on;
like St. Paul in the first reading,
"we have great sorrow and constant
anguish in our hearts" (Romans 9:2);
disturb our empty silence with your
voice and plans to alleviate
the sufferings of those caught 
in firefights and hostilities;
do not let our silence be empty
but be filled with you
and your courage and strength
to stand for the value of every life
like St. Martin de Porres who worked
in silence, lived in silence as he silently
listened and obeyed your voice
O Lord.
Amen.

Praying to always “re-member”

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, All Souls' Day, 02 November 2023
Wisdom 3:1-9 ><]]]]'> Romans 6:3-9 ><]]]]'> John 6:37-40

As we remember today
all our departed loved ones
awaiting entry into your holy presence
O God in heaven, 
we pray too that we may
always remember 
your call for us to be good,
for us to work for justice
and truth,
for us to always remember
there is death,
there is judgment.

We are beings of forgetfulness,
Lord, and what a wonderful gift you
have given us with "re-membereing" -
for making someone long gone
still a part, a "member again" 
of the present
when we who are living 
in the "here" and "now"
remember them in our
prayers and sacrifices,
most of all, in our good deeds
because love, after all,
can reach in the afterlife!

The best way to
remember is to live
in the present moment
in Christ Jesus 
who had assured us
of our salvation, that 
not one of us he would lose
but raise to life on the last
day (John 6:39);
while here on earth, 
may we start purifying ourselves
in your loving service, Lord,
to others, whether they are
in this life or in the afterlife 
inasmuch as our lives 
are connected with 
one another to eternity;
and so, we pray for them,
we hope for them,
because we love them
in YOU, Jesus,
with YOU, Jesus,
and through YOU, Jesus
as we hope it is never too late
nor is it in vain to touch
their hearts wherever
they may be.
Amen.