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The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday, Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, 14 September 2022 Number 21:4-9 ><}}}*> Philippians ><}}}*> John 3:13-17
With their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses (Numbers 21:4).
God our loving Father, grant us patience and perseverance in this journey of life, to never complain against you when things get difficult and dark, or uncertain sometimes; open our minds and our hearts to find you, to see you in Christ Jesus who had come to accompany us in this journey of life so we may be transformed into better persons who are more loving, more kind, and more like you, our dear Father.
Teach us, dear God, to imitate Jesus in emptying ourselves in order to be filled with your Spirit so that we may realize that the path to true greatness, to exaltation is opposite the direction of the world of adulations and affirmations, ease and comforts but through the Cross to encounter Christ deep down inside in all my weaknesses and sins and vulnerabilities because transformation happens only from within. Teach us, dear God, to imitate Jesus in emptying ourselves to have a space for others who are like us, weak and lost, needing you and one another to rise as better persons by forming a community, of establishing relationships that acknowledge you truly as the Emmanuel, God-with-us; how can we be raised up, O Lord, if we are all "up" in our false selves, false relationships and false securities?
Jesus said to Nicodemus, "No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life" (John 3:13,16).
Empty us. dear Jesus, of our pride and fill us with your humility, justice and love by joyfully taking our cross and being one with you in your people. Amen.
