Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday in the Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 16 June 2026 1 Kings 21:17-29 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]*> Matthew 5:43-48
Photo by author, Jordan, May 2019.
God our loving Father, grant me the grace to love you more, to follow you more closely, to be like you, "perfect" and "holy"; I feel so sad especially these days as I continue to grapple with your mystery, of your immense love for us all, even ton our enemies and oppressors.
Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father… So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:43-45, 48).
Photo by author, Jordan, May 2019.
What is most difficult for me, O Lord, is when your "anger" subsides, when your mercy prevails on those who do evil against us like King Ahab in the first reading; oh yes, Father, sorry but it is true, we enjoy you "castigating" evil doers like King Ahab; but, why Oh why, after he had realized his sins and be sorry, you suddenly change your mind?
Then the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me? Since he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his time. I will bring the evil upon his house during the reign of his son" (1 Kings 21:28-29).
Forgive me, Lord Jesus Christ when sometimes I see vengeance as a form of justice, forgetting your lesson yesterday; but, help me learn and realize to embrace fully your words that are so extravagant, asking far more than anyone might ever think possible not only in loving our enemies, or doing good to our persecutors but mystery of all mysteries is when perpetrators of evil seem to get away with their sins like King Ahab by simply being sorry?
But, on deeper prayer as peace and tranquility take over my anger, then I realize your call Jesus to be perfect like the Father is also a call for me to be vulnerable like him in offering kindness because he is a Father, not because of any worthiness of anyone among us for we are all sinners; indeed, we do not deserve anything at all but because of your love, you have made us deserving.
May we find your love
and kindness
and mercy in us, Jesus,
instead of look for these
on those who hurt us
for indeed,
what good is it really
if I can love only
those who love me
or hate those who hate me?
With you dwelling in my heart,
Jesus,
it's no good at all,
no good at all
for what is truly good
is to love like you:
help me Jesus
to bear witness
to your loving presence
in the world.
Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday in the Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 15 June 2026 1 Kings 21:17-29 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 5:43-48
Photo by author, sunset at RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 10 June 2026.
Forgive us, God our loving Father, in continuing the story of Naboth's vineyard forcibly taken by King Ahab through his evil wife Queen Jezebel.
Most sad with this story that continues to our days is not only the greed and avarice of people with wealth and power; its tragedy that continues today is how there are people below them in stature, mostly the ones they abuse with a lot of help from supposed to be educated and middle class are so willing to support the modern King Ahabs and Queen Jezebels in their evil schemes employing fake news, willingly conniving, taking part in their chain of evil.
His fellow citizens – the elders and nobles who dwelt in his city – did as Jezebel had ordered a fast and placed Naboth at the head of the people. Two scoundrels came in and confronted him with the accusation, “Naboth has cursed God and king.” And they led him out of the city and stoned him to death (1Kings 21:12-13).
How tragic that until now, there are so many Naboths among us who are victims of a world governed by the rule of "an eye for an eye" where the powerful and corrupt take on what they want as they shamelessly crush the poor and the weakest; help us, Lord Jesus, to have the courage and humility to trust in you, to rely in you to have the strength in fighting the abuses of those in power; enlightening us of ways and approaches in opening the minds of the poor and supposed to be educated among us who blindly even rabidly support corrupt and evil men and women in the society, in politics.
Grant us patience to bear with the fools in our Senate holding on to power, who do not know what they are doing; enlighten the minds and hearts of those belonging to the majority to start following what is truly good and not their whims dictated by their bloated egos. Let your truth and charity prevail over us these days, Lord Jesus, so we can break the chain of evil in our country and society. Amen.
Photo by author, sunset at RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 10 June 2026.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 12 June 2026 Deuteronomy 7:6-11 ><}}}*> 1 John 4:7-16 ><}}}*> Matthew 11:25-30
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, March 2026.
You read it right. The title of our reflection on this Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the same title of The Smiths’ 1984 classic Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.
It is one of my all-time favorite songs, my theme song after graduating in 1986, landing on my first and only job as it captured my exact situation of the period:
I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour But Heaven knows, I'm miserable now I was looking for a job, and then I found a job And Heaven knows I'm miserable now
Since then, the song has remained relevant with me especially after learning how the young generation appreciate a lot The Smiths that I have used their other music in my spiritual conferences and recollections as a university chaplain. That’s why during our Sacred Heart Novena in our university chapel, the same song kept playing at the back of my mind especially while meditating on the second reading on this feast of the Sacred Heart.
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins (1 John 4:7-8, 10).
How lovely and simple is our second reading from the letter of the beloved disciple, John who gives us the deepest theological grounding of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: “God is love.”
Pope Benedict XVI used to say Christianity is the only religion is the world with that kind of declaration about God; it is not merely that God loves but that love is God’s very nature!
And what does it mean to us? The older I get, the more I realize and experience that I live because of God’s love: it is the reason I wake up and sleep; why I strive to be my best in everything despite my weaknesses and limitations; why I still love even if I am not loved or misunderstood and even maligned; why I still go in living even if I am sure one day I shall die.
We live because we are loved by God.
Simply loved because he is love himself.
Not because we are good or does something important or fulfills his divine will.
God loves because it is his very essence as Moses reminds us in the first reading, “It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. It was because the Lord loved you” (Dt.7:7-8).
Hence, John insists that in this is love – not that we loved God but that God loved us first. Our love for God and for one another is a response to his very love.
Would there be any difference at all to begin with God’s initiative rather than our own love?
Surely a lot. Even unthinkable to just rely on our own love and initiative because it is never enough for we humans are imperfect.
Human love is imperfect; only God can love us perfectly. That is why love is always initiated by God. We can’t love on our own. No matter how good and holy we may be. Mayroon palaging maisusumbat ating minamahal sa ating pagmamahal. Sa Diyos wala.
That is why I love the song Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.
We humans are so miserable in loving but because of our loving God who is love himself, we are able to love, to keep on loving despite and in spite of everything because to live is to love. Jesus came so that we can continue to love, to keep loving even if the world tells us it is foolish. Even if people don’t care at all for us and do not love us as Morrissey sang it so well in the chorus of Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now:
In my life, why do I give valuable time To people who don't care if I live or die?
Very true – fascinatingly – is Morrissey’s third chorus line because he openly brings out the usual thoughts we hide in dealing with people we hate or do not like:
In my life, why do I smile At people who I'd much rather kick in the eye?
Funny is it not? But very true! And that’s because of God’s love in us, of his grace that despite the many people who hurt us and do not love us, we still choose to be loving and kind, at least smile at them than stoop down to their low levels.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart of Jesus Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
The feast of the Sacred Heart is an invitation to look at the heart of God – at what God most desires for us and for our world. It is not a sentimental image but a radical one: a love that goes all the way to the Cross.
God knows how miserable we are these days when things like positions and power, fame and wealth have become more important than persons to be loved and cared for. Despite the many technological advances we have achieved that promised to make life easier, the opposite proved to be more true. Life has been reduced to mere lifestyle, persons have become objects to be possessed by companies and brands, even by schools!
Today’s celebration of the Sacred Heart feast invites us to go back to Jesus who knows fully well our miseries; songs like Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now can identify and express them to offer respite for a while but only Jesus can uplift and change us for he alone truly loves us because he is love himself.
“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; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
Amid the many miseries we are all going through these days, let us take time today to respond to the love of Jesus Christ in the most honest and true ways that will make others experience his love. Many times, it is the simplest gesture of just being gentle with others in words and in deeds, of not adding to their many burdens in life. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like yours! Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle, 11 June 2026 Acts 11:21-26;13:1-3 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Matthew 10:7-13
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, Carigara Market, Leyte, June 2019.
Thank you, Lord Jesus for gift of being called and sent as your apostle like the Twelve in today's gospel; your call and sending continued after your Ascension up to these days as we celebrate the memorial of your St. Barnabas whose name means "son of encouragement"; teach us to be like him filled with the Holy Spirit and faith in God, searching for those in the worst situations in life like Saul at that time who was so ashamed to join the disciples because of his sinful past; like Barnabas, may we encourage others to hope and look forward to better days in you, Christ Jesus, to trust in your mercy and forgiveness, to take every moment a chance to be converted; how sad that in this world of a global village interconnected by the internet, more and more are getting discouraged than encouraged in life as the social media tend to present more of the dark, dismal side of life than its brighter and colorful and joyful realities found in you, Lord who is the kingdom of God right in our midst.
… and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart, for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith… Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch (Acts 11:22-24, 25-26).
We pray, dear Jesus that you send us more "Barnabas" or make us a "Barnabas" who rejoiced upon seeing your followers in Antioch whom you sent to Antioch where they were first called Christians; give us the courage like what Barnabas and Paul have when you have them set apart for a special mission; may we grow and move in your Spirit, Lord Jesus Christ, moving with you and moving to you, to follow your movement away from others we have been comfortable with in order to move where we may experience discomfort and be dislocated for the sake of your kingdom. Amen.
Photo by author, Ephesus in Turkiye, November 2025.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 10 June 2026 1 Kings 18:20-39 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Matthew 5:17-19
Photo by Ms. Analyn Dela Torre, Caypombo, Santa Maria, Bulacan, June 2024.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place (Matthew 5:17-18).
How funny it is, O god our loving Father long before all these gadgets came with its many apps needing constant updates, we have always been seeking "updates" on your laws too: your people turned away from you during the time of Elijah to follow Baal, a sort of "updating" themselves of the latest trends in life courtesy of the pagan queen, Jezebel.
And when her priests of Baal lost to the challenge of Elijah whose God can start fire on the offerings, the people fell and said, "The Lord is God! The Lord is God!"
Everyday we repeat that sin: we turn away from you to follow modern trends and beliefs but when troubles come, we then find your laws and teachings are indeed true and valid at all times; most of all, that salvation comes only from you in Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
Forgive us, Lord, in turning away from you, in allowing ourselves to be deceived and misled by modern thoughts and ways of the world that come to us like updates in that fix bugs in our gadgets and apps; you sent your Son Jesus Christ not to update us on your laws but to fulfill them because they are perfect. Let that sink in us today: God fulfills laws into love, man updates programs and apps to fix errors and shortcomings. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 09 June 2026 1 Kings 17:7-16 ><)))*> + ><)))*> + ><)))*> Matthew 5:13-16
Photo by author, Taal Lake from St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, D’Alta Tagaytay, 02 June 2026.
God our loving Father, we thank you for the gift of this brand new day especially for our brothers and sisters in GenSan and other parts of Mindanao struck by a powerful quake yesterday; may this calamity bring out the best among us as we try to rebuild lives and cities anew.
Your words today, dear God speak about "bringing out" - when Elijah came to Zarephath, he asked your "designated widow" to bring out for him "a cupful of water to drink... along a bit of bread" while in the midst of a widespread drought.
She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well; the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the Lord had foretold through Elijah (1 Kings 17:15-16).
Teach us to trust you more in Jesus Christ your Son who calls us today "salt of the earth" and "light of the world" - how lovely that both things are so commonly found in every home then and now that also do the same what the widow of Zarephath did in bringing out water and bread to Elijah; may we be like the salt that brings out the taste and flavor of food that brings delight and nourishment to everyone; likewise, may we be like the light that dispels darkness to bring out realities and things into sight.
God our loving Father, may we never lose the saltiness of the salt, the luminance of light we already have but have taken for granted, even traded for lesser things that have severely affected our relationships, work, and inner life; your Son Jesus Christ clearly called us to make our light "shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father" (Matthew 5:16).
May we be clarified always that being salt of the earth and light of the world is not self-promotion so common these days but God's glory exactly what Elijah and the widow of Zarephath did. Amen.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, D’Alta Tagaytay, 02 June 2026.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time, 08 June 2026 1 Kings 17:1-6 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Matthew 5:1-12
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, D’Alta Tagaytay, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
Today we begin to listen anew to your wonderful story of love for your people Israel during the time of your great prophet Elijah, during the reign of your unfaithful King Ahab who married the pagan Jezebel; on this gloomy Monday, the setting is so unsettling even for us as you pronounced a severe drought over Israel for turning away from you, in worshipping Baal.
God, our Father, it is a story we keep on repeating: we have so many baals these days - from gadgets to every kind of foreign beliefs to celebrities and people we idolize down to our very selves with ego so bloated by social media; forgive us for turning away from you.
Many times, when troubles happen, we easily blame you, Lord for being too far from us when in fact we are the ones who always turn away from you.
Make these drought and dryness in our lives as grace-filled moments; lead us back to you even if we have to go through a desert like Elijah; most of all, lead us back to your word like a stream quenching our thirst, washing away our dirt, filling us with life.
Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the god of Israel, lives, whom I serve, during these years there shall be no dew or rain except at my word” (1 Kings 17:1).
Let us re + member you always, Lord: inasmuch as you have made us back as your part in Christ Jesus, let us not forget to make you a part also of our lives; give us the "be attitude" to be poor and open for you, Lord so that we may find life and fulfillment anew. Let us be near to you again, Lord. Amen.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, D’Alta Tagaytay, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Solemnity of the Holy Trinity-A, 31 May 2026 Exodus34:4-6, 8-9 ><}}}*> 2Corinthians13:11-13 ><}}}*> John 3:16-18
Photo by author, Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul, Turkiye, November 2026.
“Life is a mystery.” It is the favorite expression of my Jesuit retreat master during our 30-day retreat in Cebu 1995, the late Fr. Arthur Shea. He would always tell me “life is a mystery” while touching his long, white beard whenever he could not answer my many questions about life and God.
After that retreat and 28 years later as a priest, it had become my favorite expression too not only when I could not find answers to my own questions but when people come to consult and ask me on almost everything.
Photo by author, Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul, Turkiye, November 2026.
And thank God for life’s many mysteries, especially his very own mystery of being one God in Three Persons as we celebrate this Sunday the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity.
The word mystery is from the Greek mysterion, something hidden but now revealed by God.
While it is true that a mystery is beyond human reason because it is divine, it may still be explained and understood though not fully. That is why it is described as non-logical or beyond reason but not illogical which lacks reason.
Most of all, a mystery is not a problem to be solved because it simply cannot be solved at all. In fact, we need to keep mysteries like secrets because mysteries give meaning and depth to our very existence, to our lives. In this age of social media when everyone thinks that everything needs to be shown to the point of being overexposed, life has become so artificial and hence, for many, empty of meaning. Unknown to many of us, the most wonderful things in life are those hidden and not seen by everyone like the mystery of God within us!
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life (John 3:16).
Photo by author, Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul, Turkiye, November 2026.
Our gospel this Sunday is very amusing like a mystery in itself; it is the shortest one we have in the entire year yet the most popular verse in the whole bible. But, how can it explain or enlighten us of God’s oneness in three persons?
As we have expressed at the very start, a mystery is not meant to be solved and explained but experienced. Our gospel is not even trying to prove to us about the existence of God because in our very being, it is already a given there is God. God does not prove himself but always shows himself.
Recall that it was taken from the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, a Pharisee who felt drawn to the Lord but was so ashamed to be seen by his fellow Jews that he came to visit him at night. We are all like Nicodemus “feeling” God so true deep within us but often afraid to accept it or even show it for fears of being called as old-fashioned and conservative or someone less scientific, less reasonable and less modern.
Photo by author, Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul, Turkiye, November 2026.
In that gospel scene, Jesus was inviting Nicodemus to enter into a relationship with him to fully experience God’s mystery because at that time, they tried explaining God like a concept to be learned and even memorized through their many laws and instructions. Unlike the Pharisees, Jesus simply taught Nicodemus that basic truth of God who “so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.“
Nicodemus eventually became a disciple of Jesus along with another Pharisee named Joseph of Arimathea who gave Christ’s burial site on Good Friday.
A mystery is a mystery because it is shared. It is nothing if it is merely in itself.
We are intrigued with stories and reports because they create relationships in us and with us. That is why God in himself as a mystery is a community of persons. Person implies relationship, taken from the Latin word persona which is the mask worn by stage actors/actresses to indicate their roles in a play or drama; hence, the term dramatis personae or list of actors in a play and their roles.
To a certain sense, there are three persons or personae, that is, “roles” in our God as we profess in our Creed: the Father as Creator of everything, the Son as the Savior, and the Holy Spirit as the Sanctifier. With God, his persona is eternal while ours like in drama or play, it is temporary.
The more we enter into relationships, the more we relate with other persons, the more we discover the many mysteries of this life and of God while realizing too in the process that we can only relate with persons and not with things nor even plants and animals. This is the gist of the similarly brief second reading from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, telling us to be close with one another as the Father’s children in Christ through the Holy Spirit. In sending us Jesus Christ his Son, God took the initiative to be closest to us as our breath in the Holy Spirit.
Photo by author, Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul, Turkiye, November 2026.
Every time we think of God, when we marvel at him and his creations, the more we find ourselves so different, even too distant from him while at the same time we also feel and experience in the most unique manner how closest we are to him.
Imagine this another great mystery of God that despite our sinfulness and worthlessness, he still so loved us and always caring for us. Like Moses in the first reading, we have experienced many times in life when God seemed to have actually walked beside us, even carried us during our lowest moments that in an instance we realized quickly the many “whys” he deals with us in life. We learn that God is so true and so close with us yet, remains the “All-Other” and the “Unknowable” whose mystery we cannot totally penetrate.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2026.
As we move on in life, we realize it is not about covering distances but going deeper within ourselves, of being transformed into better selves and persons like God, loving and merciful. Eventually we realize too that each one of us is in fact an indwelling of the Holy Trinity, an image and likeness of God himself. This we can easily learn through our most basic and simple prayer of all, the Sign of the Cross that many of us take for granted.
Every time we make the sign of the Cross properly, that is when we let God embrace us and wrap us with his mysteries.
In the sign of the Cross, God comes closest to us in our very selves, relating to us in our head being the Father who is over and above us always, the creator of everything; as the Son who became human like us born by the Virgin Mary passing through her womb, experiencing everything we went through except sin; and as the Holy Spirit on our shoulders giving us balance in this life. Next Sunday, we shall deepen this mystery of God in three Persons in ourselves with the solemnity of Christ’s Body and Blood we receive in the Holy Eucharist. Amen. Have a blessed week filled with God’s wonderful mysteries!
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Eighth Week, Memorial of St. Paul VI, Pope, 29 May 2026 1 Peter 4:7-13 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Mark 11:11-25
Photo by author, 05 May 2019, Jerusalem, Israel.
As we come to nearly closing the month of May, your Prince of Apostles, St. Peter leaves us with beautiful reminders so timely and appropriate in this period of darkness and evil:
Beloved: The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be serious and sober-minded so that you will be able to pray. Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins (1Peter 4:7-8).
How lovely, how powerful, and so true are your words to us today through St. Peter: we are living at the end of all things and still, here we are living as if there is no end, as if there is no death, as if there is no judgment.
We have become so bad, so dismal is the world like that fig tree you have cursed, Lord Jesus: so delightful in the eyes but fruitless like us, especially the rich and powerful among us like our lawmakers and public officials so affluent, dressed in fineries without any benefit at all for the society they have abused; oh yes, even our church is like the temple of Jerusalem that has become a den of thieves than a house of prayer when priests and bishops are more concerned with money and clout, with self, leaving You Jesus trapped inside the Tabernacle.
Teach us conversion, Jesus: give us strength and will to turn away from evil, to closely examine our selves for all our sins when we have refused to love; love can truly cover a multitude of sins because when we truly love, that is when we turn away from sin, when we return to You, Jesus found in the least and taken for granted among us; may our love for You through one another be constant because wherever there is love, there is God; when there is love, there is no sin.
May we be witnesses of Your love dear Jesus in this world so wounded by sins and evil; like your servant Pope St. Paul VI, may we witness Your love in our daily lives caring for those in the margins, for those sufferings and especially for those who are weak. Amen.
Photo by author, May 2017, in Ein Karem, Israel near the Church of the Visitation.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday after Pentecost, 28 May 2026 Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal High Priest Genesis 22:9-18 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Matthew 26:36-42
Photo by author, Dominus Flevit Church overlooking Old Jerusalem, May 2017.
Lord Jesus Christ, our Eternal Priest who calls and sends us daily to spread your Good News of salvation to everyone with our giving of self like You, bless us your priests in these troubled times: everywhere we find and hear selfishness and conceit, lies and dishonesty, infidelity and injustice; we say the world has gone mad and evil with all these darkness enveloping us...
And where are we, Your priests in the midst of all these?
Jesus went with the disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done.” (Matthew 26:36, 40-42)
Photo by author, Garden of Gethsemane, the Holy Land, May 2017.
Forgive, us dear Jesus, when we Your priests cannot keep up with You in prayer; oh, we are so busy watching the world going by, watching the corruption in government unfolding, watching the decay in our society but unfortunately, we cannot look squarely into our own mess in the Church - in our parishes and communities, in our ministry that has become more of a work often for performance and clout; worst of all, we have lost that intimacy in You, Jesus.
We no longer pray, Lord Jesus.
We can't stay with You even for an hour every day because we are busy with social media like everyone.
Help us find our way back to You, Lord Jesus: let us imitate Abraham who prefigured your own self-offering in giving his beloved son Isaac to the Father without any question at all; many times, we Your priests reason out with many excuses and alibis while at the other extreme, many of us disregard reasons at all in our mission and ministry.
Keep us in love with You, Jesus our Eternal Priest, especially our bishops supposed to have the fullness of priesthood but cannot lead nor guide us, much less inspire us; give us the grace of Abraham that we can always answer Your call with a firm and unwavering "Here am I." Amen.
“The Offering of Abraham” (c.1896-1902) painting by James Tissot, kept at the Jewish Museum in New York via moa.byu.edu
lordmychef.com 