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The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot, 11 July 2023 Genesis 32:23-33 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 9:32-38
Your words today, O God, evoke of deep strength within us, so powerful it can only come from you to effect changes so radical, shaking our very roots.
Jacob was left alone there. Then some man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. When the man saw that he could not prevail over him, he struck Jacob’s hip at its socket, so that the hip socket was wrenched as they wrestled. The man then said, “Let me go for it is daybreak.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go until you bless me.” The man asked, “What is your name?” He answered, “Jacob.” Then the man said you shall no longer be spoken of as Jacob, but as Israel because you have contented with divine and human beings and have prevailed.”
Genesis 32:25-29
What a beautiful image of Jacob wrestling with you, O Lord, and prevailing over you not because he was stronger nor you were weaker; Jacob had always been so determined in life and with your grace, unknown to him, had always prevailed. Very often, you do the same with us; you invite us to wrestle with you as our trainer to make us stronger and more determined and matured in prayers, in openness, in oneness and unity in you.
In the gospel, O God, you have shown us in Jesus Christ the same inner strength when his heart was moved with pity upon seeing the crowds who were abandoned and troubled like sheep without a shepherd (Mt.9:36); it was more than a feeling, a determination within Jesus who had come to save us from sins and bring us to fulfillment in him; grant us the same grace, to be moved with pity, or literally, to stir our hearts into concrete actions for those lost and troubled.
Like St. Benedict whose feast we celebrate today, grant us the patience and perseverance to draw that inner strength from you, to wrestle with you in prayers, to wrestle with the Sacred Scriptures to hear you speak to us, to wrestle with one's self to be still and silent amid the world so wild and noisy; Jacob, Jesus, and Benedict all were stirred deep within, shaken to their very roots, have all prevailed in making this a better world through ora et labora. Amen.
