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The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday in the Twenty-third Week of Ordinary Time, 05 September 2022 1 Corinthians 5:1-8 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 6:6-11
Your words today, O Lord our God are so amazing: in the first reading your speak of "clearing out the old yeast so that we may become a fresh batch of dough" (1 Cor.5:7) while in the gospel there was Jesus healing a man with a "withered hand" on a sabbath (Lk.6:6, 10).
Two beautiful images of death, of decay so prevalent among us even these days because we simply would not heed St. Paul's calls for us to discard our old ways of life in sins and evil, of praising decadence as progressive and liberal while at the same time our refusal to break free from our strict adherence to laws and traditions without seeing its whole meaning of finding God in the face of every person we meet and those in need.
Let us be aware, dear Jesus, of the need for us to keep in mind that holiness, being good and loving with others is not just a personal effort; let us realize that we as a community of believers have to witness to what is true and proper especially at this time when many with various agendas in life are getting organized to push for their wayward beliefs on abortions, divorce, same-sex marriage, including specific rights separated from human rights being pushed by some feminists and LGBTQ's.
Father, it has been a crazy world lately and sadly, those who are supposed to stand and voice out what is true and good, what is reasonable and proper are the ones now so silent and even timid like the Church, the academic and education sector as well as the media as vanguards of truth; stir the flame in us, grant us courage to celebrate and live life "not with the old yeast of malice and wickedness but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Cor. 5:8), always "stretching out our hands" to reach out to others in loving service like Jesus Christ in healing the sick (Lk.6:10). Amen.
