Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Principal Patroness of the Philippines
12 December 2025
Zechariah 2:14-17     <*{{{{><  +  ><}}}}*>     Luke 1:39-47

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  first welcomed
and received him 
was also the first to share him
with others like her cousin
Elizabeth pregnant with his
precursor John the Baptist;
as the Mother of God,
you never had the season
of Advent itself for you were
an Advent in yourself
carrying the Christ,
sharing the Christ!
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
O Blessed Mother 
to appear
in the New World 
at that great period of discoveries, 
appearing in Guadalupe, Mexico 
to San Juan Diego proclaiming,
sharing Jesus Christ in their midst;
you must be so lovely
and most kind indeed
that they welcomed Jesus
through you you right away 
in Guadalupe!

Help us to imitate you,
O Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe
of being an advent of Christ
in this modern age so detached
from God,
so impersonal,
so relativistic and materialistic; 
teach us to be like you,
O Blessed Virgin 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.