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The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the Twenty-fourth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 19 September 2024 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 ><))))*> + <*((((>< Luke 7:36-50
Praise and glory to you, God our loving Father! Thank you for your unending gifts of grace for us despite our many sins and our being undeserving. Truly like St. Paul, we too feel so small, "the least" for our so many sins yet you never denied us with that immense grace of mercy and forgiveness, redemption and new life in Christ Jesus our Lord that we so often forget. Let us affirm and be grateful by cultivating this great grace you have given us in Jesus be who we are in your sight, never making your grace "ineffective" like the Pharisees in today's gospel who could not stand the sight of Jesus interacting with a sinful woman, of Jesus speaking to a sinner, of Jesus forgiving so great a sin.
May we keep in our heart and mind your tremendous gift of grace to be near you, to be like you, to be filled with you by living out your grace in grateful witnessing of loving and joyful service to others.
Help us remember that like in the Annunciation to Mary, rejoicing and grace are always together: from the Greek words charis for grace and chara for rejoicing, rejoicing and joy are clearest signs of grace anywhere like that woman who washed and anointed the Lord's feet. Amen.
