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The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin, 23 August 2022 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, 14-17 ><]]]'> + ><]]]'> + ><]]]'> Matthew 23:23-26
Praise and glory to you, God our loving Father! You know very well what our needs are especially in these busy days when many of us are into "panic modes": stress and anxieties are peaking again as classes begin with almost everyone overwhelmed with the many tasks to fulfill amid all the crowd and traffic, chaos and noise outside and within us like the early Christians of Thessalonica so bothered with Christ's Second Coming.
Teach us, dear Father, to slow down, to trust in you, and most especially, remove our focus on little things that are not essential like the Pharisees and scribes.
Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: Judgment and mercy and fidelity. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!”
Matthew 23:23, 24
Like St. Paul and St. Rose of Lima, through our witnessing of faith in you, through our examples of deep prayer life and loving service to others, may we "encourage hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word" (2 Thess.2:17).
May we be aware of your presence in Jesus Christ in every here and now, to chill and relax, not to overstretch ourselves trying to cover the whole world or even universe! Let us learn to focus on what is before us at the present moment which is to live out Christ's gospel, day in and day out, for the rest will take care of itself. Amen.
