Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-15 ng Setyembre 2026
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Morong, Bataan, 21 Hulyo 2026.
Sa gitna ng kadiliman bunsod ng brownout ng gabing kasagsagan ng pag-ulan noong isang buwan ay aking binalikan, pinakinggan at sinabayan "Himig Natin" ng Juan Dela Cruz Band wala lang, trip trip lamang pero ngayon aking muling ninamnam titik at musika hindi lang ito rak en roll kungdi akma sa ating panahon ngayon.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda brownout sa kasagsagan ng habagat noong 29 ng Agosto 2026.
Ako’y nag-iisa At walang kasama Di ko makita Ang ating pag-asa
Hindi ba ito ating nadarama ngayon, nag-iisa, walang kasama at di makita ating pag-asa?
Mga taga-San Jose sumigaw ng tubig! tubig! sa gitna ng larong basketball doon sa Minuyan ngunit sila'y sinumbatan, pinagsabihan ng kanilang Mayora sa tinagurian niyang pambabastos at kawalang-hiyaan gayong mga gripo ilang buwan nang tigang, walang tubig; kanino sila dudulog sino gagawa ng solusyon sa gayong kalaking problema ng taong-bayan?
Bukod sa lubak-lubak na mga daanan mga taga-Bulacan di na nawalan ng baha na ayaw nang bumaba taun-taon lumalala habang ang punong lalawigan iginigiit maski saan na wala siyang alam sa bilyun-bilyong piso na halaga ng flood control sa lalawigan nakalaan sukat naglaho sa scam ng mga damuhong kababayan sa DPWH na nakipagsabwatan sa mga makapangyarihan: sino nga ba dapat nakakaalam ng higit para sa kapakanan ng taong-bayan kung mga inaasahan iginigiit wala silang alam marahil dahil wala ding pakialam!
Kung ganyan lamang katuwiran at tugon ng mga nanunungkulan sa tuwing mapupuna kanilang kapabayaan at kakulangan di lamang sa kaaalaman kungdi pati malasakit at pakialam, sawimpalad talaga itong ating bayan bakit nga ba sila pa ang napili at inihalal?
Ang himig natin Ang inyong awitin Upang tayo’y magsama-sama Sa langit ng pag-asa
Ito ang himig natin dapat nating awitin tutulan labanan kalabisan at kawalanghiyaan ng mga nasa kapangyarihan; panagutin mga mandarambong huwag nang ibalik sa puwesto mga mangmang at walang alam na ring napatunayan sa pamamahala at kaunlaran ng kabuhayan.
Higit sa lahat, huwag na silang pagtiwalaan ng katungkulan, huwag na huwag nang iboboto maging mga kaanak ibigay ang pagkakataon sa mayroong paninindigan at malasakit lalo sa maliliit at nahihirapan.
Iyan ang himig natin dapat nating awitin mula sa ating puso at kalooban pagbabago ng kaisipan at kamalayan may pananagutan sa kapwa mamamayan ngayon at sa kinabukasan.
Larawan kuha ni Bb. Bernadette Reyes ng GMA News, Sto. Domingo, QC, 29 Agosto 2026.
Ako’y may kaibigan At s’ya’y nahihirapan Handa na ba kayong lahat Upang s’ya’y tulungan
Sino nga ba ating mga kaibigan maaring pagkatiwalaan kapag tayo ay nahihirapan? Wala kungdi tayong maliliit kanilang ginigipit! Napakasakit isipin na sa halip pag-usapan sa larangan ng agham at buhay ng mga naninirahan sa lugar ng ginagawang paliparan bilyunaryong negosyante nagbigay ng pabuya isang milyong piso sa makapagsusumbong sa kanya ng mga sumasalungat sa proyektong sinira na maraming kalikasan at buhay doon.
Sino ang ating kaibigan maaring sulingan sa panahon ng kagipitan kung kanilang kaagapay mga makapangyarihan ng lipunan taglay di lamang salapi kungdi pangalang nagkukubli sa higit na maraming kasamaan kesa nagawang kabutihan sa nakaraan? Mayroon pa bang natitirang taong marangal pagpapahalaga sa buhay at katauhan kesa salapi at huwad na kaunlaran?
Pakinggan sabayan at namnamin ang awiting nagsimula ng Pinoy rock noong dekada sitenta; katulad ng mabuting uri ng alak, lalong sumasarap habang tumatagal, sa tuwina ay napapanahon itong himig natin.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, 15 September 2026 Hebrews 5:7-9 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> John 19:25-27
Photo by the late Mr. Noli Yamsuan, Manila Cathedral, 15 July 2012.
A day after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, we celebrate the Memorial of our Lady of Sorrows or Mater Dolorosa, the grieving Mother Mary at the foot of the Cross of Jesus Christ.
For a better appreciation of the scene, I recalled the one particular detail provided by Matthew, Mark, and Luke at how the area was enveloped in darkness from noon to three in the afternoon situating it in John’s most unique element of the Crucifixion:
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home (John 19:25-27).
Photo of painting from stswithuns.org.uk.
As I prayed over this scene, the expression “good grief” came to my mind.
Good grief is an expression so similar with the second Beatitude of Christ taught at his sermon on the mount, “Blessed are those who mourn (grieve), for they will be comforted” (Mt.5:4).
What is blessed with mourning or good with grief when you have lost a loved one or in pain and suffering? Or, when things are not going well with one’s self and life?
As we reel from the recent monsoon rains or habagat, grieving cleanses out eyes and whole body system like the rains that wash away all dirt and trash in the surroundings. Though grief and storms inconvenience, even immobilize us for some time, overall crying and rains enable us to reassess our priorities and directions in life like the painful lessons the floods have taught us, if we have indeed learned.
There at the Cross, John noticed and presented us this most moving scene before the death of Jesus to show us the new reorientation also in our lives as disciples led by the first and model disciple of all, Mary with the beloved disciple. Clearly here we find a new direction in their lives and eventually in the life of the Church Jesus had founded.
Grief is good and blessed because it leads us to God, to self, and to others as both Mother Mary and the beloved disciple exemplified in their lives.
Grief is the default browser of faith, enabling us to hold on to God when everything and everyone slip from our grasps, when we realize God looming over us despite the darkness that envelops us like during the Crucifixion. Imagine the tremendous faith the Blessed Virgin Mary and the beloved disciple both have during that most crucial moment when they were the only ones who have remained with Jesus while all the other disciples have gone hiding in fear.
In the many artistic depictions of the Crucifixion, we can find that like Mary and the beloved disciple, we are are most human when in the face of grief because that is when we accept and affirm our weakness as a person – whether we are the one grieving or comforting someone grieving. Grief is good because that is when God calls us most to be his very presence in the darkest hours of sufferings and pain.
Lady of Sorrows from a triptych by the Master of the Stauffenberg Altarpiece, Alsace c. 1455; photo from fraangelicoinstitute.com.
In my 28 years as a priest, I have comforted and grieved with so many people, family and friends, even strangers. And it seems that of all the things I have said and done as a priest and an individual, it was those moments of grieving with those who have lost a loved one or going through difficulties are what people most remembered of me because I have realized too with the deaths of my dad and mom, grieving is the pathway to home – to ourselves, to our beloved and to God. John tells us how since that day on the beloved disciple took Mary into “his home.”
Our Filipino word for home literally came from crying and grieving – tahanan which is from “tahan na” or stop crying. We stop crying or tahan in our own home, tahanan because that is where we feel loved and cared, safe and accepted no matter what.
During funerals, I tell people to simply grieve and please, do not ask anybody to stop crying or tahan. When we allow those in pain to cry and grieve, eventually in the process they stop when they finally find a reason to moving on and start living.
“Mater Dolorosa” also known as “Blue Madonna” (1616) by Carlo Dolci. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.
It is here where we find too the goodness in the good grief of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Lady of Sorrows: she was deeply in pain minus the theatrics of some during funerals. It was purely good grief for Mary because at that most crucial moment, she must be lovingly praying.
That is the beautiful reminder to us of this memorial of Mater Dolorosa: the more we must handle life with prayer in order to believe more and love more when everything is dark and even dead. At the Crucifixion, we find the words of the author of the Letter to the Hebrews so fulfilled and true not only in Jesus but also with those who stood with him like his Mother Mary and beloved disciple:
In the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him (Hebrews 5:7-9).
Amid all the hardships and difficulties many of us are facing these days of rains and floods, of corruption among our officials and leaders as if we are again standing at the foot of the Cross of Jesus Christ, it is a most opportune time of “good grief” for us to stand for what is true and good, fair and just, honorable and honest. Like our Lady of Sorrows the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us draw out faith and strength and courage from Jesus Christ who had won over death and sin on the Cross. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, 14 September 2026 Numbers 21:4-9 ><}}}}*> Philippians2:6-11 ><}}}}*> John 3:13-17
Photo by author, Basilica of Our Lady of Manaoag, Pangasinan, 09 January 2026.
Today’s celebration of the Feast of theExaltation of the Cross started in the fourth century with the miraculous discovery of the True Cross by Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, on 14 September 326, while she was on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Being the queen Mother, she ordered through her son the emperor the building of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre that was dedicated nine years later with a portion of the True Cross placed inside it on September 13, 335. The following day, the Cross was brought outside of the church to be venerated by the clergy and the faithful.
In the year 627, during the reign of the Emperor Heraclius I of Constantinople, the Persians conquered the city of Jerusalem and removed a major part of the Cross from its sanctuary. The emperor then launched a campaign to recover the True Cross which he regarded as the new Ark of the Covenant for the new People of God.
Before embarking into war, Emperor Heraclius went to church wearing black as a sign of penance, then prostrated himself before the altar and begged God for courage. His prayer was granted as he won the war and recovered the Cross from the Persians. He brought the Cross back to Jerusalem in 641 amid great celebrations by carrying it on his shoulders. Upon reaching the gate leading to Calvary, the emperor could not go forward! Heraclius and his retinue were astonished and could not understand what had happened until the Patriarch Zachary of Jerusalem told him, “Take care, O Emperor! In truth, the imperial clothing you are wearing does not sufficiently resemble the poor and humiliated condition of Jesus carrying His cross.”
Upon hearing those words, the emperor removed his shoes and bejewelled robes, put on a poor man’s clothing and was eventually able to proceed to Calvary and replaced the Cross inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where a number of miracles happened during the occasion: a dead man returned to life, four paralytics were cured, ten lepers were healed, 15 blind men were given their sight, with several possessed people exorcised and many sick people totally healed!
Photo by author, inside the upper chapel of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where the site of Crucifixion is believed to be located, May 2017.
Very notable in this story were the words of the Patriarch of Jerusalem to Emperor Heraclius: it was only after he had taken off his royal clothings and put on those of the poor was he able to carry the Cross into Jerusalem.
It is the same thing that is asked of us today: it is so easy to display the cross inside our homes and cars, or wear it as a jewelry or even as a tattoo on our skin and mean nothing at all unless we have the cross inside our hearts, our very being. More than the many signs of the cross and imaginary drawing of its lines we draw on our chest is the need for us to empty ourselves of our pride and sins so that we can be filled by Jesus Christ.
Photo by author, Chapel of St. Francis Xavier, Sacred Heart Novitiate, QC, March 2024.
Brothers and sisters: Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:6-8).
Called kenosis in Greek, self-emptying is the way of the Cross of Christ. It is choosing love and mercy than self-centeredness and self-righteousness; sacrifice than satisfaction; fairness and justice than greed and possession; bearing all the pains and perseverance than complaining and whining about difficulties and trials in life like the Israelites in the wilderness (first reading); and, thinking more of others than of one’s self.
The recent COVID-19 pandemic had taught something very beautiful and amazing about the positivity of being negative, when negative was actually positive – healthy and COVID free! Remember how during those days when we would always wish we would yield negative results in our swab tests for COVID?
When we look at the sign of the cross (+), it is a positive sign, a plus sign. Though the cross calls us to let go, to be detached and dispossessed, it is actually an invitation to have more of God, of life and fulfillment!
For us to rise, to go up, we must first go down that is contrary to the ways of this time of affluence when everything is practically easily available even fame and wealth. Today’s feast reminds us that like the Cross of Christ, life is more of letting go and of giving than of having like God who “so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that he who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (Jn.3:16). St. Francis of Assisi said it perfectly why the Cross is an exaltation, a triumph:
For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen. Have blessed week ahead!
Photo by author, St. Paul Spiritual & Renewal Center, Alfonso, Cavite, 19 August 2026.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 13 September 2026 Sirach 27:30-28:7 ><}}}}*> Romans 14:7-9 ><}}}}*> Matthew 18:21-35
Photo by a friend in Seabrook, Washington, 06 September 2026.
You must have heard that quote so often, “To err is human, to forgive is divine” from the English writer Alexander Pope’s 1711 poem An Essay on Criticism where he originally wrote “To err is human, to forgive, divine.”
For many it has become a cliche because it is so difficult to forgive. Especially if it has to be done repeatedly. It is among the hardest teachings of Jesus Christ along with the love of enemies, of doing good to those who hate us, and lending without expecting anything back.
In a sense, forgiving is the twin teaching of fraternal correction which Jesus taught us last Sunday; the more difficult it becomes when the wrong done is against us that we feel much like Peter in asking Jesus how many times must we forgive:
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not even seven times but seventy-seven times (Matthew 18:21-22).
NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: (SEPTEMBER 11 RETROSPECTIVE) Smoke pours from the twin towers of the World Trade Center after they were hit by two hijacked airliners in a terrorist attack September 11, 2001 in New York City. (Photo by Robert Giroux/Getty Images)
Like fraternal correction, forgiving is a major concern in this modern time when the means and forms of evil have become sophisticated like terrorism and online scams that unfortunately happen not only on the world stage but right into our personal lives and relationships too.
We have all experienced being pushed to the limits as our patience is exhausted when a beloved is the one sinning against us that is both unacceptable and most unkind of all especially if the sin is committed repeatedly, prompting us to ask God like Peter how many times must we forgive our brother or sister. The figure “seven times” given by Peter is not the literal number but refers to the very many times we have forgiven somebody to wear out our patience.
What Peter was asking was a freedom from calculation of repeatedly forgiving one who repeatedly sins because that kind of forgiveness does not come naturally to any of us humans. Repeatedly forgiving someone who repeatedly sins is most difficult because it abuses our very person, our being Christian.
And there lies the bigger problem and difficulty about repeatedly forgiving someone who repeatedly sins who most often is dearest to us like your husband or wife, our parents or one of your children or a sibling.
The truth is, inasmuch as we ask like Peter so often how many times we must forgive our loved ones, the crux of the problem in forgiving is actually deep inside our hearts we still love them that we just forgive and forgive them. That is the mystery, the most baffling of all: why do we keep on forgiving somebody who keeps on sinning. Recall St. Paul’s words last Sunday “to owe no one except the debt of love” so that the more we love, we realize we can love like Jesus after all because forgiving is actually the work of God in us, with us, and through us in Christ.
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount… Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount… Instead, he had him in prison until he paid back the debt. His master summoned him and said to him, “You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you? Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart” (Matthew 18:22-24, 27-28, 30, 32-35).
St. John Paul II meeting and forgiving his assassin Mehmet Agca in prison two years after the failed assassination attempt to his life at St. Peter’s Square, 13 May 1981.
Jesus explains in his parable that forgiving is actually a work of God, divine in nature as Alexander Pope tells us in his famous line “to err is human, to forgive, divine.”
We forgive because we are forgiven beloved. Jesus grounds this teaching not in willpower but in being like God the master in his parable, “Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?”
Jesus knows us so well as humans, sinful and weak who could not generate forgiveness and mercy out of nothing; it is very clear in his parable that we simply have to let flow towards others something of the forgiveness and mercy we have already received from the Father through him. Ben Sirach stressed this in our first reading, reminding us that our own capacity to receive forgiveness from God is bound up with our willingness to forgive those who have sinned against us.
Worthy of keeping in mind too that Jesus tells at the onset of his parable that forgiving is about the kingdom of heaven, not of this world wherein our debt to God is beyond measure like that servant. While we may argue that we are better than those criminals in jails or those corrupt officials now either sick to stand trial or have fled, it is pointless to compare and “measure” our sins because every sin is not only against another person but to God himself – the Perfect One who is love himself.
Photo from Pinterest.
When we forgive, that is when we level up our existence, when we live in Christ as St. Paul says in the second reading because our lives belong to God and to one another, not as the world tells us to control our lives and be masters of the universe. It is when we forgive that we are truly a church, a body of believers Jesus founded on Peter in Caesarea Philippi because that is when we live and die in Christ, becoming his vessels of mercy and forgiveness.
Most of all, it is in forgiving that we become truly free as a human, when we break free from the past hurts and grievances that pin us down, preventing us from moving forward in life. When we refuse to forgive those who have wronged us, we actually yield to their power and control. Hence, in all practicality, it is always best to forgive.
But there is something most deep and true about forgiving which clearly manifests our own mortality and rootedness in God who is our origin and end, “Remember your last days, set enmity aside; remember death and decay, and cease from sin!” (Sir. 28:6)
This Sunday, we are reminded to check and be aware of any resentments and anger we may still be carrying as we refuse to forgive lest we end like that unforgiving servant. Take this time to forgive for life is really too short to waste in keeping those grudges. Amen. Have a blessed week ahead!
Photo by a friend in Seabrook, Washington, 06 September 2026.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 11 September 2026 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-27 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 6:39-42
NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: (SEPTEMBER 11 RETROSPECTIVE) Smoke pours from the twin towers of the World Trade Center after they were hit by two hijacked airliners in a terrorist attack September 11, 2001 in New York City. (Photo by Robert Giroux/Getty Images)
It has been twenty-five years, Lord Jesus, when the beginning year of the new century was marred by senseless deaths from terrorist attacks in various US cities; more than the images are the indescribable pains and hurts that still remain not only among friends and families of those who have died but also for the whole world that has ever been more in precarious situations ever since; today, we are stunned by news from tech experts of how AI could actually wipe out the human race in the next ten years like in the movies?!
Photo by a friend in Washington State, 28 July 2026.
Twenty-five years into the new millennium, peace and fulfillment remain elusive not only for the world but for each of us humans because we have gone astray from you, O Lord; we have worshipped the new gods of technology - gadgets and social media that leave us more empty and lost and enslaved by our endless wants and make-believe realities.
Now more than ever we need to imitate St. Paul, to be with discipline, with virtues and principles not with algorithms:
Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we, an imperishable one. Thus, I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:25-27).
Believed to be the best photo of the tennis season, Alexander Eala in Wimbledon photographed by WTA’s Robert Prange, a.k.a. Jimmie48.
Teach us to be truly your "disciples" - followers, ones who follow, ones with discipline not whims nor impulses; it is only with discipline can we truly look and confront our true selves to become better persons than seeing what's wrong with others; teach us discipline, Jesus, that we may strive to trust you more and reach out to you for help and grace because we are weak in ourselves; let our soul and heart yearn only for you, Lord, for in you we find true peace and fulfillment. Amen.
Photo by author, St. Michael Retreat Center, Antipolo City, 21 July 2026.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday, Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 10 September 2026 1 Corinthians 8:1-7, 11-13 ><]]]]’> + ><]]]]’> + ><]]]]’> Luke 6:27-38
Photo by author, San Juan, La Union, 08 January 2026.
It is again that most difficult part of your gospel, Lord Jesus, our least favorite of your teachings - “love your enemies.”
Forgive us, Lord because the mere thought of "enemies" turn us off right away; it is wrong but human as we are, there is always that feeling of revulsion, of getting even with those who have hurt us or wronged us; but, we realize too how in the long run it is pure foolishness of keeping that grudge against our enemies because as St. Paul tells us also today, "knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up."
Your teaching for us to love our enemies is not really about our strength and willpower, Jesus but in our likeness with God, "Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful."
Help us,
Jesus,
to pray more
intensely,
to surrender more wholly
to you so that we can
let flow towards others
the mercy you have
showered us.
Amen.
Photo by author, Anvvaya Cove, Morong, Bataan, 21 July 2026.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday, Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time, Year II Memorial of St. Peter Claver, SJ, Priest, 09 September 2026 1 Corinthians 7:25-31 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 6:20-26
Photo by a friend from Swan Island Dahlia Farm, Canby, Oregon, 29 August 2026.
The rains have not stopped, the sun remains hidden and dark clouds continue not only above us but even in our lives these days; many are so hard pressed in life - displaced from homes due to floods, some could not work and earn with barely nothing to keep them warm and fed while others are depressed, fearful, uncertain of what is next:
I pray for them all, Jesus; speak to them directly like today in the gospel; let them hear, move them and stir their hearts to life and animation, to realize they are loved and cared for, to never lose hope in this life, to let go of their past sins and mistakes, to simply not worry and trust you by being grateful for your many blessings.
“Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of god is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satistifed. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man” (Luke 6:20-22).
You are speaking directly to each one of us, Jesus; may those going through difficulties these days hear and feel your blessings, Jesus; it is hard and so difficult to listen and accept being called blessed according to your gospel, Jesus because many of us are going through it!
May your beatitudes comfort us, dear Jesus, find consolation in you like your Jesuit Saint Peter Claver who offered his life to those enslaved in Colombia, choosing to live among those despised than among those comfortable; help me find blessedness Jesus in solidarity with those suffering, for those in the margins, for those forgotten for those suffering in silence. Amen.
Photo by a friend from Swan Island Dahlia Farm, Canby, Oregon, 29 August 2026.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time, Year II Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 08 September 2026 Romans 8:28-30 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Matthew 1:18-23
Photo by author, St. Paul Spiritual & Renewal Center, Bgy. Tanyawak, Alfonso, Cavite, 19 August 2026.
It is the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary but your words, O Lord Jesus, spoke more about St. Joseph your foster father.
Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream…. (Matthew 1:18-20).
Thank you, dear Jesus for being like us, for coming like us in all of our human vulnerabilities: birth is always a grace from the Father lest we forget; in your coming to us, Jesus, you have showed how Mary and Joseph faced not only their toughest tests but most of all their vulnerabilities they gladly embraced that you finally came among us!
Mary humbly submitted to being your Mother, entrusting everything to God who sent an angel to explain everything to Joseph so Christmas would happen; how amazing that Mary's pregnancy was revealed to Joseph while he was asleep, when he was most vulnerable, without full control; Mary on the other hand submitted her full control to God when your birth was announced - what a beautiful lesson for us to remember on her birthday on the need for us to embrace our vulnerabilities because as St. Paul assured us, "We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).
O blessed Mother Mary, pray for us to be more trusting in your Son Jesus, submitting ourselves wholly to his will by embracing our vulnerabilities, becoming fully human and blessed to share Christ like you and Joseph. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time, Year II Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 08 September 2026 Micah 5:1-4 ><]]]]*> + ><]]]]*> + ><]]]]*> Matthew 1:18-23
“The Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary”, a 1305 painting by Renaissance artist Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy. The two babies depicted are both the Virgin Mary: below is Mary upon birth wrapped in swaddling cloth and washed by attendants and then above being handed to St. Anne her mother. Photo from en.wikipedia.org.
Feasts of saints are often based on the date of their death when they enter eternal life; sometimes it may also be the date when their remains were transferred for proper burial.
There are only three birthdays we celebrate in our liturgy, two are of the highest order as a Solemnity, our Lord Jesus Christ on December 25 and his precursor St. John the Baptist on June 24; the third is that of the Blessed Virgin Mary which is a rank lower as a Feast, falling on this date, eighth of September which is nine months after her Immaculate Conception.
In this age of social media when every platform has its unique way of alerting everyone of someone’s birthday so that nobody can no longer hide to celebrate silently one’s birthday, the Blessed Mother’s nativity offers us a beautiful opportunity to reflect on the significance of a birthday always seen in relation with Jesus Christ’s birth and coming. St. John Paul II perfectly expressed this in his 1995 Encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), declaring that “Every birthday is a small Christmas because with the birth of every person comes Jesus Christ” (sorry I can’t recall the citation).
What makes that so true with every birthday beginning with the Blessed Virgin Mary is God’s great mystery of becoming small, of being “insignificant” in the birth of his Son Jesus Christ which we find even in his birthplace prophesied by Micah:
“You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose origin is from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:1).
Photo by Ar. Philip Santiago, Angels’ Field Chapel in Bethlehem, October 2025.
And if we go further, this true greatness of Jesus Christ in being small is found also in his Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary who came from the obscure town of Nazareth, the only place in the New Testament never mentioned in the Old Testament.
Recall how Nathanael or Bartholomew the Apostle belittled the Lord’s hometown after being told by Philip that they have found the Messiah from Nazareth, saying, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (Jn.1:46) because Nazareth was totally unknown during that time.
And so was Mary!
That is why it is so disappointing and sad when many Catholics unfortunately led by some priests have the misimpression of portraying Mary as a “beauty queen” with flawless skin and Western features when she is clearly Middle Eastern woman. Worst of all is the pomp and pageantries we have in the recent fads of processions and coronations in many dioceses and parishes.
Photo by author, St. Paul Spiritual & Renewal Center, Bgy. Tanyawak, Alfonso, Cavite, 19 August 2026.
How sad we have missed the Blessed Virgin Mary as the model disciple of Jesus was the first to embody his teaching of being small like little children with her simplicity and humility so very well expressed in her 20th century apparitions in Fatima, Portugal and Banneux, Belgium.
Enough with the extravagant sometimes imeldific celebrations of Marian feasts and events that have become egregious display of wealth and power.
Being simple and small like Mary, both as a child and as an adult, enable us to see again the value of life and of every person.
Aside from the lack of any account on the birth of Mary, we heard proclaimed today the birth of Jesus to teach us that truth expressed by St. John Paul II that in every person Jesus actually comes. The more simple and true we are like Mary and Joseph, the more Jesus is seen and experienced in us!
That is why when we greet somebody a “happy birthday”, what we really mean telling him/her is “I love you, I thank you for making me who I am today.” Through one’s simplicity and littleness in Christ, we are transformed into better persons because we are able to have glimpse of God’s love and kindness.
The true joy of celebrating a birthday is not found in the externalities of gifts and parties and guests with all the fun that come along but in the silent, prayerful reflection of our life’s beginning and direction into eternal life. See how there are still people who only celebrate Mass on two occasions each year – on their birthday and on Christmas, a clear recognition of our origin and direction in Christ in life.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, March 2023.
In the birth of Jesus Christ, we are reminded by every birthday that life is precious because it is so fragile – any infant and every person can be easily hurt and harmed, be sick and eventually die.
Like Mary and Joseph, the little Child born in Bethlehem asks us, even begs us to take care of him found in everyone among us.
Let us be more loving and kind, understanding and caring, even merciful and forgiving with one another especially in this time of calamities.
Such is the wisdom of God in making life small and fragile so that we may care and value it because there lies also its greatness. The best birthday greeting we can express to the Blessed Mother Mary today is to start being small and simple like her to share Jesus with everyone. Not with those many cakes we buy and “offer” – tayo rin naman kakain!Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 07 September 2026 1 Corinthians 5:1-8 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 6:6-11
Long before that became a bestseller, you, O Lord Jesus and the Saints who followed you like St. Paul not only preached but lived out that courage to be disliked; teach me this Monday to muster enough courage to be disliked, to be free to choose you, to be free to be faithful and true to your teachings the world had always rejected or circumvented which many of us are so afraid to stand by because they are not popular; teach us, O Lord, to stretch out our hands according to your instructions and will, not minding what others may say about us; let us have the courage to do what is good than what is sinful, the courage to be kind than unkind, the courage to be Christian than be unChristian not like some Corinthians who refused to make a stand against a prevailing immorality among them.
Your boasting is not appropriate. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough? Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough inasmuch as you are unleavened… Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).
Oh how I admire
and long to be like St. Paul,
Lord, filled with
courage and wisdom,
so free to be himself,
so free to be for you,
so free from pressures
of others;
throughout his life,
St. Paul had the courage
to be disliked even by
his fellow apostles
not just fellow Jews
because he was so convinced
of your love
and gospel,
Lord Jesus;
in this age of social media
where external pressures
like acceptance and popularity
are given more emphasis,
so many of us have become
so dependent on others' validations
of our actions and decisions
that leave us more lost,
alienated,
and so unfree
like that man with a
withered hand;
give me the humility,
Jesus to accept those
many parts in me
that are withered
and dry
that make me so afraid
to stand for you,
for what is true and good.
Amen.
lordmychef.com 