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The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday, Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran, 09 November 2023 Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 ><)))*> 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17 ><)))*> John 2:13-22
Praise and glory to you, God our loving Father in choosing to dwell in us your people as your temple; how sad we have always desecrated ourselves and houses of worship with sin and evil yet you never stopped building us up over and over in Jesus Christ as your dwelling place.
Brothers and sisters: You are God’s building. Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
1 Corithians 3:9, 16
Please, come again, Lord Jesus; come more often to us your people especially to us your priests, to cleanse us of all filth of pride and conceit when we eject you from the Eucharist by making it our own celebration, making a mockery of your sacrifice we have turned into a carnival, a spectacle for entertainment in the name of money and fame; forgive us, Jesus, in misleading the people, using God like in the temple of Jerusalem; shame on us when we preach more of ourselves and interests than your words that free the people from bondage to sin and disease; cleanse us, O Lord, so that life may spring forth again from our parishes where people experience your love and mercy that "Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live, and there shall be abundant fish, for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh" (Ezekiel 47:9).
Come, Lord Jesus, bind us again like cords, whip us if necessary, awaken our pastors and bishops who have forgotten your call to shepherd your people, choosing to graze in the green pastures of the rich and powerful enclosed in their buildings and ivory towers bereft of your spirit and life; awaken your people too in the spirit of synodality to stand for what is true and sacred, to demand from religious leaders to give only you, Jesus, always you, Jesus. Amen.
