Praying for gratitude

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Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II
Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest, 14 July 2026
Isaiah 7:1-9     ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*>      Matthew 11:20-24

I feel hurt,
ashamed,
and very sad
with today's gospel,
Lord Jesus when you said:

Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes” (Matthew 11:20-21).

I feel hurt,
ashamed,
and sad Lord because
I could feel you still
lamenting these days:
we have been so numb
and callous,
indifferent or cynical,
or miserably ungrateful
in recognizing your love
and mercy,
kindness and generosity
for all the blessings 
your pour upon us
through our parents
and siblings and family,
teachers and classmates,
and everybody around us;
even the hardships
and trials that have come
our way you have used
for our own good,
by which we have grown
and matured.

How sad indeed
that we have failed to
recognize and meet you,
Jesus in your coming to us
with all your blessings 
in our lives; instead,
we complain and 
focus more on what
we do not have
than on what we have.

Grant us the grace
of gratitude, Jesus:
to see our own limitations
that we have to look up to
you always and trust you,
to find you among the sick
and lowly like St. Camillus;
grant us also the grace
to desire to begin anew,
to find you in our lives,
to go back to you,
to thank you,
to follow you,
to love you.
Amen.