Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of St. Scholastica, Virgin, 10 February 2026
1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30     ><]]]]’> + ><]]]]’> + ><]]]]’>     Mark 7:1-13

How true were the words
of your great King and Servant
Solomon, O God our mighty Father,
that nothing like "the heavens
and the highest heavens" 
can contain you 
much less the temple he had built
or anything that we have 
in this time;
yet, you have promised us
to hear our prayers when we come
to pray to you,
to call on you
in temples and churches
human hands have made
that are not enough to have you.

Forgive us, Lord,
when we try to "contain" you,
"keep" you in specific places
not just churches and temples
and oratories;
most of all,
forgive us, Lord,
when we lack 
the reverence and intimacy
we must have with you
when inside the church
and other sacred places;
Jesus' words in today's gospel
cuts us to the heart of our hypocrisies,
"This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teachings as doctrines human precepts"
(Mark 7:6).

O dear Jesus
present in the Blessed Tabernacle,
empty me of my pride
so that You may reign 
in my heart
always.
Amen.