Wait for one another

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Sts. Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs, 16 September 2024
1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 7:1-10

*Photo by author, Alfonso, Cavite, 21 April 2024.*

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another (1 Corinthians 11:33).

Lovely words, 
God our Father, 
for this lovely, 
cold Monday 
of overcast skies
most likely with a lot of
rains ahead.

Wash us clean, O God,
with your rains of mercy
and wisdom: 
it must be so easy to understand
what St. Paul meant that we
"wait for one another"
when we come to eat together
but that is exactly what has
become a rarity these days;
forgive us, Father,
for like the Corinthians
we have become like pagans,
so unChristian in our lives
especially at the Eucharist of
your Son Jesus Christ;
we no longer "wait"
for one another as in 
we do not celebrate as one
due to factions and selfishness
that come in all forms;
we no longer "wait" 
not serving each other
truly as brothers and sisters;
worst of all, we live for the 
present moment alone,
being so unwise like unfaithful
servants not "waiting" 
for Christ's return.

Let us "wait" for you,
Jesus, like the people in 
Capernaum:
the locals "waiting" for the
centurion as they "strongly urged" you
to help him because of his kindness
to Jews; lovely was how
the centurion "waited"
for you, sending emissaries 
asking you Jesus for the healing
of his slave; but, most wonderful of all,
was the centurion's faith in you, Lord
as he described how his slave
faithfully "waited" on him,
prompting him to tell you:

“Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; but say the word and let my servant be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one ‘Go’, and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (Luke 7:6, 7-8).

Indeed, dear Jesus,
to "wait" is to serve;
to "wait" is to be one
with others and with you;
to "wait" to find myself always
not worthy to receive you
but you chose to "wait" for us
in the Cross
with your words of mercy
and forgiveness
that we are all healed,
we are saved.

Pray for us,
holy martyrs Pope Cornelius
and Bishop Cyprian
who both waited faithfully
for their flock
especially those who have
lapsed in faith,
those who have sinned
and erred.
Amen.

New beginnings and mysteries

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Twenty-Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 06 September 2024
1 Corinthians 4:1-5 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 5:33-39

Thank you,
our loving Father
for another week about to close;
thank you dear God
for this first Friday
in September 2024:
despite the rains and the floods
and the inconveniences
these have brought,
thank you for a new beginning
today.
Let us celebrate this gift
of life you have given us
by putting on a new attitude,
a new disposition,
a new outlook in life
for you have made everything new
in Jesus Christ.

And he also told them a parable. “No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine must be pured into fresh wineskins” (Luke 5:36-38).

Make us your trustworthy
stewards of your mysteries, Lord;
make us truly your servants
who shall reveal your many
mysteries of life and death,
of joy and sufferings,
of poverty and wealth,
of fruitfulness and fulfillment,
of redemption and forgiveness
be known in our life of witnessing
without any regard for fame
nor popularity except that
we do your work in Jesus faithfully.
Amen.

Holiness in servanthood

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Holy Monday, 03 April 2023
Isaiah 42:1-7   >>> + <<<   John 12:1-11

*“Ecce Homo” painting by Vicente Juan Masip (1507-1579) from masterapollon.com*

How glorious and yet so
gentle of You, dear Jesus Christ
to be our Lord and Servant at
the same time!
This You shall show at the 
Last Supper when You knelt
and washed the feet of the Twelve,
reaching its highest point when
You offered Yourself on the Cross.

Give us the grace to be like You, Jesus:
may we work for justice,
not crying out,
not shouting;
help us to be gentle like You,
not breaking a bruised reed
nor quench a smoldering wick;
may Your light shine upon us, Jesus,
enabling the blind to see,
prisoners free and those in darkness
see light with our life of
witnessing Your servanthood
through our loving service 
to others
(cf. Isaiah 42:1-3, 7).

Do not let us serve You
only in lip-service like
Judas Iscariot in the gospel
when he commented how Mary's 
oil used to anoint You could have been
sold with proceeds given to the poor
(John 12:4-5);
in everything I do,
in everything I say,
let it all be in the spirit of
love and charity
based on my hope and trust
in You, Lord Jesus,
my light and my salvation.
Amen.

Praying for our critics

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Twenty-second Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 02 September 2022
1 Corinthians 4:1-5 ><]]]]'> +++ <'[[[[>< Luke 5:33-39

*Photo by author, Pater Noster Church outside Jerusalem, May 2019.*

Dearest Lord Jesus Christ:
today I pray for my critics,
the well-meaning among them
who truly think of my growth
and maturity in you as your servant
and steward; likewise, I pray for 
all the other critics who have
nothing else to do but criticize
me.

Praise and glory to you, Lord Jesus
that in the end, it is you who shall judge
me and everybody else, not our critics;
like Paul in today's first reading, I admit
my many shortcomings to you and your
people as your servant and steward; 
grant me the grace to be more trustworthy
by being more loving and understanding,
kind and caring, merciful and forgiving
but at the same time firm with what is
true and good in you.

People will always have something to say
about me and everyone, some may be
true, some may be false and even fake
but like the admonition of Paul, let no one
among us pass judgment on anyone;
keep us open, Jesus, to the leading of
the Holy Spirit; make us always like 
the new wine skins always flexible,
adjusting to new situations, to every
possibilities of your presence and coming.
Amen.