Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday in the Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 15 June 2026 1 Kings 21:17-29 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 5:43-48
Photo by author, sunset at RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 10 June 2026.
Forgive us, God our loving Father, in continuing the story of Naboth's vineyard forcibly taken by King Ahab through his evil wife Queen Jezebel.
Most sad with this story that continues to our days is not only the greed and avarice of people with wealth and power; its tragedy that continues today is how there are people below them in stature, mostly the ones they abuse with a lot of help from supposed to be educated and middle class are so willing to support the modern King Ahabs and Queen Jezebels in their evil schemes employing fake news, willingly conniving, taking part in their chain of evil.
His fellow citizens – the elders and nobles who dwelt in his city – did as Jezebel had ordered a fast and placed Naboth at the head of the people. Two scoundrels came in and confronted him with the accusation, “Naboth has cursed God and king.” And they led him out of the city and stoned him to death (1Kings 21:12-13).
How tragic that until now, there are so many Naboths among us who are victims of a world governed by the rule of "an eye for an eye" where the powerful and corrupt take on what they want as they shamelessly crush the poor and the weakest; help us, Lord Jesus, to have the courage and humility to trust in you, to rely in you to have the strength in fighting the abuses of those in power; enlightening us of ways and approaches in opening the minds of the poor and supposed to be educated among us who blindly even rabidly support corrupt and evil men and women in the society, in politics.
Grant us patience to bear with the fools in our Senate holding on to power, who do not know what they are doing; enlighten the minds and hearts of those belonging to the majority to start following what is truly good and not their whims dictated by their bloated egos. Let your truth and charity prevail over us these days, Lord Jesus, so we can break the chain of evil in our country and society. Amen.
Photo by author, sunset at RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 10 June 2026.
Lord My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 14 June 2026
Photo by author, Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.
We just felt ourself in the ’80s with two of Depeche Mode’s 1984 hits, “Somebody” and “People Are People” while preparing our homily last week based on this Sunday’s gospel where Jesus was “was moved with pity” upon seeing the crowd “troubled and abandoned like a sheep without a shepherd”, telling his disciples that “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send our laborers for his harvest” (Matthew 9:36-38).
My dear friends, we are both the “abundant harvest” and the “laborers” referred by Christ: what we need in this world are people who care and understand others, people who are kind and understanding, most of all loving like him our Good Shepherd. See how Jesus asked us to pray for more laborers, not for more money or food or medicines. Not even gadgets and material things. What we need are persons willing to journey with us in this life, to accompany us especially when days are dark and stormy (https://lordmychef.com/2026/06/13/we-are-the-lords-harvest-and-laborers-too/).
First we remembered was Depeche Mode’s “Somebody” with its unique intro where you hear something that sounds like a heartbeat amid some noise of people or crowd until the vocals come in with that pulsating sound going on until the end. The mood is very intense and deeply intimate, composed and recorded by Martin Gore said to have gone naked in the studio recording of the song “to achieve a more intimate ambience.”
[Verse 1] I want somebody to share, share the rest of my life Share my innermost thoughts, know my intimate details Someone who'll stand by my side and give me support And in return, she'll get my support She will listen to me when I want to speak About the world we live in and life in general Though my views may be wrong, they may even be perverted She'll hear me out and won't easily be converted To my way of thinking, in fact, she'll often disagree But at the end of it all, she will understand me
Setting aside its romantic meaning, we find “Somebody” speaking to us the very thoughts of Jesus in praying for “laborers” not things to address the needs of people feeling troubled and abandoned. When people are down and lost in life, feeling troubled and abandoned, where do we focus more, to their woes and problems or their very person?
Try thinking of the people you consider as “heaven sent” who helped you in your darkest moments: they are that “somebody” like you who shared your brokenness and most of all brought out your giftedness as a person. Think of that “somebody” who have seen your being an “abundant harvest”, affirming your uniqueness and sharing in your imperfections.
From YouTube.com
As we tried to feel this lovely ballad, we could also feel inside the intensity of Depeche Mode’s other 1984 hit released from the same album with “Somebody” called “People Are People”.
Also written by Gore, “People Are People” is Depeche Mode’s greatest hit showcasing their genre as electronic synth-pop band.
Typical of most British bands of the 1980’s, Depeche Mode shared in this song their call for equality among peoples, directly opposing racism and discrimination, war and violence. Its music video features scenes from a battleship firing its cannons indicating their opposition to war and violence.
People are people, so why should it be? You and I should get along so awfully People are people, so why should it be? You and I should get along so awfully
So, we're different colors and we're different creeds And different people have different needs It's obvious you hate me, though, I've done nothing wrong I've never even met you, so what could I have done?
I can't understand What makes a man Hate another man Help me understand
Both songs by Depeche Mode, “Somebody” and “People Are People” remind us of the value of every person as God’s abundant harvest, each one of us a gift to be cherished and valued always. Likewise, both songs imply our being brothers and sisters entrusted to each one for God’s greater glory, not ours. Amen. Happy listening.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 14 June 2023 Exodus 19:2-6 ><}}}}*> Romans 5:6-11 ><}}}}*> Matthew 9:36-10:8
A very good friend in the States texted me the other night, requesting for prayers as she was about to go through an MRI; the following day, she texted me anew asking for more prayers because it seemed her cancer had recurred, this time attacking her liver.
I felt her fears and worries. And pain.
She told me how she wanted to call her parents that evening but had to wait until this weekend so that her younger brother would be home to be present especially by her mom’s side when she breaks to them that her cancer had metastasized. Despite her condition, she was thinking of her parents in their “empty nest”, thinking how they might react in receiving the bad news.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novlaiches, QC, March 2026.
This crucial factor is what is most missing in the agony of Ms. Rovelyn Baterbonia when her son Rene died Monday after drowning in the treacherous beach of Aurora during their varsity training.
We all felt her pain not only of losing a son but most of all the agony of being alone, perhaps even left out in the dark so far from her dead son with no one from the university nor basketball team immediately informing her of the circumstances of the accident.
It was so heartwrenching – nakakadurog ng puso – watching her grieved upon arrival at the airport, lamenting at how somebody texted her that Monday if they can call her: “Hindi naman siya tumawag. Ako na lang nag-tawag… tapos, nang tumawag na ako sabi niya, mam naaksidente po si Rene. Nalunod po…”. After that, she said she heard nothing from the people supposed to be with Rene. “Wala maski pictures sila send sa akin”, she complained.
This is the most crucial part of every misery and tragedy: is there someone present with those grieving, with those suffering?
At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send our laborers for his harvest” (Matthew 9:36-38).
Our Lady of Fatima University, February 2025.
We are the Lord’s “harvest” and his “laborers” too. Jesus reminds us today that the answer to all our problems and pains in the world is never found in material things, in money and gadgets, nor well-crafted statements and other publicities. We are the harvest and the harvesters too!
What we need are more people who care, who journey, who are present with majority of the population so lost like sheep without a shepherd. And that is where I felt the pain most when Ms. Baterbonia repeatedly said that “kahit mahirap kami, hindi ko papayagan anak ko mag-training ng ganun.”
She said it all – the harsh reality in our country, the most Christian nation in this part of Asia, where the poor remain neglected, forgotten, and taken for granted especially by those in the Church.
See how the poor have shied away from the church primarily due to so many collections in every Mass every Sunday while in the parish office, almost everything comes with a fee. They could not even get a free smile from some staff members often masusungit.
If Matthew were with us today, he would surely repeat with intensity his report that day of how “At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” because that is how our Church is today – sheep without a shepherd.
And where are the shepherds? Check their social media accounts and you find them most frequently in malls and hotels, traveling abroad via business class, unwinding on a yacht, communing with nature riding big bikes or their expensive mountain bikes. Go to any buffet and ribbon-cutting ceremonies of the newest Jollibee store or even gas station and you find more than two priests and a bishop present while the poor could not even have a decent funeral rite nor blessing for the burial of their dead because the priest is out, could not come to the slum area.
But of course, there are still more blessed and dedicated priests and bishops like Bishop Pabillo of Palawan who brave the seas and mountains just to celebrate the Mass and other Sacraments to the great number of their harvests in far-flung areas.
For Jesus, it is always the person who matters that is why his proposal has always been to send us another person, another companion, a fellow to accompany us in our brokenness and darkness. There is his move of gathering us, calling us, and sending us forth to a mission.
Jesus never taught us to ask for more money nor food nor gadgets to solve the problems of the world. Recall his temptation in the desert when he rejected the devil’s challenge to change stones into bread because man does not live by bread alone but with every word from God.
For the world, everything is a problem to be solved, including mysteries of God and of the human person. As we have reflected the past two Sundays, mysteries are not problems to be solved but non-logical realities we must embrace or even allow ourselves to be wrapped to discover the richness and meaning of this life like God and persons.
When people are down and lost in life, feeling troubled and abandoned, where do we focus more, to their woes and problems or their very persons?
Try thinking of the people you consider as “heaven sent” and helped you in your darkest moments. Are they not the ones who brought out our giftedness as a person, as a beloved child of God with Christ’s gospel?
A few months after his election as Pope in 2005, Benedict XVI heard of a bishop in Austria dying of cancer. He reportedly wrote that bishop, assuring him of his prayers as a brother priest, reminding him that “Jesus saved the world by suffering and dying on the cross, not with activities.” I remembered that news so well because what is mostly happening in our parishes and dioceses are activities. We have become program oriented than people oriented.
Worst is when some of us priests and bishops see the “abundant harvest” as business ventures of all sorts including churches and fiestas as tourist attractions. When economics become our major consideration in the church, how can “we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” as St. Paul reflected in the second reading?
Let us return to our “desert of Sinai” spoken of in the first reading, a reminder of our turning point in life and history when God called and sent us to be a “kingdom of priests, a holy nation” – his abundant harvest at the same time his laborers too. We are the new apostles called and sent by Jesus to others like us who are weak and tired, confused and lost, hurting and crying but also blessed and joyful! As God’s abundant harvest, each one of us is a gift to be cherished and valued always; but, at the same time, a brother and a sister entrusted to each one for God’s greater glory, not ours. Amen. Have a blessed week ahead.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 12 June 2026 Deuteronomy 7:6-11 ><}}}*> 1 John 4:7-16 ><}}}*> Matthew 11:25-30
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, March 2026.
You read it right. The title of our reflection on this Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the same title of The Smiths’ 1984 classic Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.
It is one of my all-time favorite songs, my theme song after graduating in 1986, landing on my first and only job as it captured my exact situation of the period:
I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour But Heaven knows, I'm miserable now I was looking for a job, and then I found a job And Heaven knows I'm miserable now
Since then, the song has remained relevant with me especially after learning how the young generation appreciate a lot The Smiths that I have used their other music in my spiritual conferences and recollections as a university chaplain. That’s why during our Sacred Heart Novena in our university chapel, the same song kept playing at the back of my mind especially while meditating on the second reading on this feast of the Sacred Heart.
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins (1 John 4:7-8, 10).
How lovely and simple is our second reading from the letter of the beloved disciple, John who gives us the deepest theological grounding of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: “God is love.”
Pope Benedict XVI used to say Christianity is the only religion is the world with that kind of declaration about God; it is not merely that God loves but that love is God’s very nature!
And what does it mean to us? The older I get, the more I realize and experience that I live because of God’s love: it is the reason I wake up and sleep; why I strive to be my best in everything despite my weaknesses and limitations; why I still love even if I am not loved or misunderstood and even maligned; why I still go in living even if I am sure one day I shall die.
We live because we are loved by God.
Simply loved because he is love himself.
Not because we are good or does something important or fulfills his divine will.
God loves because it is his very essence as Moses reminds us in the first reading, “It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. It was because the Lord loved you” (Dt.7:7-8).
Hence, John insists that in this is love – not that we loved God but that God loved us first. Our love for God and for one another is a response to his very love.
Would there be any difference at all to begin with God’s initiative rather than our own love?
Surely a lot. Even unthinkable to just rely on our own love and initiative because it is never enough for we humans are imperfect.
Human love is imperfect; only God can love us perfectly. That is why love is always initiated by God. We can’t love on our own. No matter how good and holy we may be. Mayroon palaging maisusumbat ating minamahal sa ating pagmamahal. Sa Diyos wala.
That is why I love the song Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.
We humans are so miserable in loving but because of our loving God who is love himself, we are able to love, to keep on loving despite and in spite of everything because to live is to love. Jesus came so that we can continue to love, to keep loving even if the world tells us it is foolish. Even if people don’t care at all for us and do not love us as Morrissey sang it so well in the chorus of Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now:
In my life, why do I give valuable time To people who don't care if I live or die?
Very true – fascinatingly – is Morrissey’s third chorus line because he openly brings out the usual thoughts we hide in dealing with people we hate or do not like:
In my life, why do I smile At people who I'd much rather kick in the eye?
Funny is it not? But very true! And that’s because of God’s love in us, of his grace that despite the many people who hurt us and do not love us, we still choose to be loving and kind, at least smile at them than stoop down to their low levels.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart of Jesus Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
The feast of the Sacred Heart is an invitation to look at the heart of God – at what God most desires for us and for our world. It is not a sentimental image but a radical one: a love that goes all the way to the Cross.
God knows how miserable we are these days when things like positions and power, fame and wealth have become more important than persons to be loved and cared for. Despite the many technological advances we have achieved that promised to make life easier, the opposite proved to be more true. Life has been reduced to mere lifestyle, persons have become objects to be possessed by companies and brands, even by schools!
Today’s celebration of the Sacred Heart feast invites us to go back to Jesus who knows fully well our miseries; songs like Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now can identify and express them to offer respite for a while but only Jesus can uplift and change us for he alone truly loves us because he is love himself.
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
Amid the many miseries we are all going through these days, let us take time today to respond to the love of Jesus Christ in the most honest and true ways that will make others experience his love. Many times, it is the simplest gesture of just being gentle with others in words and in deeds, of not adding to their many burdens in life. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like yours! Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle, 11 June 2026 Acts 11:21-26;13:1-3 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Matthew 10:7-13
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, Carigara Market, Leyte, June 2019.
Thank you, Lord Jesus for gift of being called and sent as your apostle like the Twelve in today's gospel; your call and sending continued after your Ascension up to these days as we celebrate the memorial of your St. Barnabas whose name means "son of encouragement"; teach us to be like him filled with the Holy Spirit and faith in God, searching for those in the worst situations in life like Saul at that time who was so ashamed to join the disciples because of his sinful past; like Barnabas, may we encourage others to hope and look forward to better days in you, Christ Jesus, to trust in your mercy and forgiveness, to take every moment a chance to be converted; how sad that in this world of a global village interconnected by the internet, more and more are getting discouraged than encouraged in life as the social media tend to present more of the dark, dismal side of life than its brighter and colorful and joyful realities found in you, Lord who is the kingdom of God right in our midst.
… and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart, for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith… Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch (Acts 11:22-24, 25-26).
We pray, dear Jesus that you send us more "Barnabas" or make us a "Barnabas" who rejoiced upon seeing your followers in Antioch whom you sent to Antioch where they were first called Christians; give us the courage like what Barnabas and Paul have when you have them set apart for a special mission; may we grow and move in your Spirit, Lord Jesus Christ, moving with you and moving to you, to follow your movement away from others we have been comfortable with in order to move where we may experience discomfort and be dislocated for the sake of your kingdom. Amen.
Photo by author, Ephesus in Turkiye, November 2025.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 10 June 2026 1 Kings 18:20-39 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Matthew 5:17-19
Photo by Ms. Analyn Dela Torre, Caypombo, Santa Maria, Bulacan, June 2024.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place (Matthew 5:17-18).
How funny it is, O god our loving Father long before all these gadgets came with its many apps needing constant updates, we have always been seeking "updates" on your laws too: your people turned away from you during the time of Elijah to follow Baal, a sort of "updating" themselves of the latest trends in life courtesy of the pagan queen, Jezebel.
And when her priests of Baal lost to the challenge of Elijah whose God can start fire on the offerings, the people fell and said, "The Lord is God! The Lord is God!"
Everyday we repeat that sin: we turn away from you to follow modern trends and beliefs but when troubles come, we then find your laws and teachings are indeed true and valid at all times; most of all, that salvation comes only from you in Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
Forgive us, Lord, in turning away from you, in allowing ourselves to be deceived and misled by modern thoughts and ways of the world that come to us like updates in that fix bugs in our gadgets and apps; you sent your Son Jesus Christ not to update us on your laws but to fulfill them because they are perfect. Let that sink in us today: God fulfills laws into love, man updates programs and apps to fix errors and shortcomings. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 09 June 2026 1 Kings 17:7-16 ><)))*> + ><)))*> + ><)))*> Matthew 5:13-16
Photo by author, Taal Lake from St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, D’Alta Tagaytay, 02 June 2026.
God our loving Father, we thank you for the gift of this brand new day especially for our brothers and sisters in GenSan and other parts of Mindanao struck by a powerful quake yesterday; may this calamity bring out the best among us as we try to rebuild lives and cities anew.
Your words today, dear God speak about "bringing out" - when Elijah came to Zarephath, he asked your "designated widow" to bring out for him "a cupful of water to drink... along a bit of bread" while in the midst of a widespread drought.
She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well; the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the Lord had foretold through Elijah (1 Kings 17:15-16).
Teach us to trust you more in Jesus Christ your Son who calls us today "salt of the earth" and "light of the world" - how lovely that both things are so commonly found in every home then and now that also do the same what the widow of Zarephath did in bringing out water and bread to Elijah; may we be like the salt that brings out the taste and flavor of food that brings delight and nourishment to everyone; likewise, may we be like the light that dispels darkness to bring out realities and things into sight.
God our loving Father, may we never lose the saltiness of the salt, the luminance of light we already have but have taken for granted, even traded for lesser things that have severely affected our relationships, work, and inner life; your Son Jesus Christ clearly called us to make our light "shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father" (Matthew 5:16).
May we be clarified always that being salt of the earth and light of the world is not self-promotion so common these days but God's glory exactly what Elijah and the widow of Zarephath did. Amen.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, D’Alta Tagaytay, 02 June 2026.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time, 08 June 2026 1 Kings 17:1-6 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Matthew 5:1-12
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, D’Alta Tagaytay, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
Today we begin to listen anew to your wonderful story of love for your people Israel during the time of your great prophet Elijah, during the reign of your unfaithful King Ahab who married the pagan Jezebel; on this gloomy Monday, the setting is so unsettling even for us as you pronounced a severe drought over Israel for turning away from you, in worshipping Baal.
God, our Father, it is a story we keep on repeating: we have so many baals these days - from gadgets to every kind of foreign beliefs to celebrities and people we idolize down to our very selves with ego so bloated by social media; forgive us for turning away from you.
Many times, when troubles happen, we easily blame you, Lord for being too far from us when in fact we are the ones who always turn away from you.
Make these drought and dryness in our lives as grace-filled moments; lead us back to you even if we have to go through a desert like Elijah; most of all, lead us back to your word like a stream quenching our thirst, washing away our dirt, filling us with life.
Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the god of Israel, lives, whom I serve, during these years there shall be no dew or rain except at my word” (1 Kings 17:1).
Let us re + member you always, Lord: inasmuch as you have made us back as your part in Christ Jesus, let us not forget to make you a part also of our lives; give us the "be attitude" to be poor and open for you, Lord so that we may find life and fulfillment anew. Let us be near to you again, Lord. Amen.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, D’Alta Tagaytay, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ-A, 07 May 2026 Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 3:14-16 ><}}}*> 1Corinthians 10:16-17 ><}}}*> John6:51-58
Photo from wikimedia.org of the nave with the classic altar of the Sta. Cruz Church in Manila.
Of the many churches I have been to, the Sta. Cruz Church in Manila remains my favorite. Since childhood, I have always loved its beautiful apse of Byzantine glass mosaic of a sacrificial lamb symbolizing Jesus Christ whose blood flows like a river to the tabernacle amid a setting of mango, banana and fire trees.
Photo from Pinterest.com.
The mosaic gives that feeling of the divine presence that may be a contributing factor too in keeping the solemnity of the many successive Masses celebrated there daily.
After leaving the high school seminary in 1982 while in college at UST, I still went to Sta. Cruz church by taking the Love Bus to Escolta after which I would walk across the street to my dad’s barber for a haircut then lunch at Panciteria Ramon Lee. It remained my refuge whenever I found myself deep into sins and troubles, with problems and difficulties, feeling lost and empty especially later in life while working.
It had played a significant role in my vocation story and that is why I remembered it while reflecting this Sunday’s gospel on the Solemnity of the body and Blood of Christ.
More than a gift offered to us individually in the Eucharist, Jesus intends his Body and Blood “for the life of the world” like that sacrificial lamb depicted at the apse of the Sta. Cruz church.
Jesus said to the Jewish crowds: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (John 6:51).
Photo by author, Chapel of St. Anthony De Padua, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, 02 June 2026.
On this Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, we are invited to reflect on the meaning of the Holy Eucharist in our lives where the mystery of God in Three Persons, the Blessed Trinity we celebrated last week is revealed and becomes most real.
Faith in God is faith in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ present to us in the Eucharist under the signs of bread and wine. But, what does it mean really for us especially in the light of today’s gospel where Jesus said “and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” How can our individual life contribute in giving the life of the world, Jesus Christ himself?
In his encyclical letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia issued in 2003, St. John Paul II beautifully expressed that if Jesus can transform the bread and wine into his Body and Blood in every Eucharistic celebration, then he can transform us into better persons too.
So true! That is why the bestest time to pray is right after receiving Holy Communion because that is when Jesus Christ, Body and Blood, is present in our own body – speak to him in your most natural way. If you want, complain to him. Magsumbong ka rin sa kanya. Pour your heart out to Jesus who is Body and Blood inside you.
However, make sure too that you listen intently to him. When we listen to Jesus, we then enter into a relationship with him as we make him part of our lives as we too become part of his very life. That is when we are filled with his life which we in turn share with others and thus, give life to the world.
In the first reading we heard Moses calling us to “remember” not only those forty years in the wilderness by the Israelites but our own journey in the many desert of this life.
The word “remember” is from the root word “member” which means “part” plus the prefix “re” meaning again; to re + member a person and an incident is to make them a part of the present moment again which is the very commandment of Jesus at the Last Supper, “do this is remembrance of me.”
Now look: every week we go through our many exodus like in the first reading. We remember them especially at the start of every week because life is a daily exodus, of coming out from sickness into health, of darkness into light, of slavery into freedom, of sin into grace, of death into life. Yes, our many desert experiences in life were painful but they were all moments of grace too because that is when we realized that we do not live by bread alone, by material things alone – that we need God.
Hence, the first step for us experience this life of Christ as life for the world is to go back to the church, go back to the Holy Mass. These online Masses must be stopped. COVID pandemic is long gone.
The Mass presupposes actual presence because Christ is truly present with us in every celebration. We must learn anew to desire Jesus more in the Eucharist especially on Sundays.
In the Mass, we re-member Jesus in our lives after a week of busy activities and work; as we make Jesus a part of our lives anew, we see also ourselves needing much needed rest and comfort too in Jesus! Inasmuch as we re-member Jesus into our lives, it is actually us being re-membered into Christ who is also our food and drink to nourish us in this daily exodus in life.
Notice how in verse 14 Moses reiterated his call to the people to “remember” but this time what he told them including us today is “do not forget the Lord”: every Mass as our exodus is a way of casting off the temptation to live one’s life without God.
When we come to celebrate the Mass, especially when we are well disposed and prepared, we realize that we are always poor before God who alone can satisfy all our longings and needs.
To forget this is the sure path to catastrophe as many of us would attest.
With God, life; without God, no life.
This we find so clear with the Corinthians during the time of St. Paul that is why he addressed them in the interrogative tone:
Brothers and sisters: The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf (1 Corinthians 10:16-17).
The Corinthians at that time were already well aware of how the Eucharist make the Church whose head is Jesus Christ. Hence, the need for a communion or “participation” which is the word used in our translation. St. Paul was reminding them of what they knew in faith, that is, a Holy Communion in Christ which they must put into practice. This communion among the Corinthians would be put into risk when quarrels and divisions plagued their community later that prompted St. Paul to write them a second letter.
As part of the Mass, the Communion is when we receive the Body and Blood of Christ; but, in a deeper sense, Communion is unity in charity. It is Jesus Christ becoming human like us in everything except sin so that we can become holy and divine like him. This mysterious exchange of ourselves with Jesus, in Jesus, and through Jesus happens in the Eucharist where we are nourished and filled with the life of Christ whenever we receive the Holy Communion. May we share this life we have gained in Christ with others by witnessing his Gospel to give life to this sick and dying world – like that sacrificial lamb at the apse of my favorite church in Sta. Cruz. Amen.Have a blessed week ahead.
Lord My Chef Wedding Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Homily for the Wedding of Luiz & Jana Aranda San Antonio de Padua Chapel, Alta D' Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City 02 June 2026
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
Congratulations, Jana and Luiz! Finally, the day has come which we all waited for two years since you announced your plans of getting married. And of all present here today in this lovely chapel, Jesus is the most joyful of all.
Yes, Jana and Luiz: Jesus set aside this date of June two, 2026 in all eternity, not last year or next year, yesterday or tomorrow. Jesus set this date apart for you Jana and Luiz to make you “part” of each other as husband and wife – magkataling puso, magkabiyak.
Our first reading from Genesis tells us how God after creating the first man said, “it is not good for man to be alone…. let us create a suitable partner for him.”
I love that word “partner” from the root “part” which we call as bahagi and kabiyak in Filipino. Every whole is made up of a part; without a part, there is no whole.
That is what marriage is all about. As a sacrament or visible sign of Christ’s saving presence, marriage is two people – a man and woman becoming one, becoming a whole in Jesus.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
Long before you met each other at 7-11 near Capitol Medical Center where you both worked as nurses, long before you were finally introduced to each other during a badminton game in 2017, when God created you Luiz, he said “it is not good for Luiz to be alone…let us create a suitable partner for him”.
And not just suitable partner, a very lovely one – Jana!
Of course, there are no perfect couples nor perfect marriage but every wedding like this is made in heaven because it is God who calls and brings together every man and woman to become husband and wife.
A couple becomes suitable partner for each other the moment they started dreaming of getting married, of spending one’s life someday with another person even they have not met yet. Any one who makes that vision of sharing his or her life with a beloved automatically becomes a suitable partner.
Kaya always have vision in life, Jana and Luiz.
Having a vision is looking beyond one’s self, looking beyond the present moment, and looking beyond material things. Most of all, having a vision is finding Jesus Christ in your lives always, Jana and Luiz because he was the one who really made ways for you to meet and finally become a part of each other in marriage.
Hindi ba Luiz?
Kaya nga walang kang isinama na iba nang manood kayo ng UST-FEU game noong 2017 UAAP season kahit na usapan ay magsama ka dapat ng ibang friends kasi noon pa lang feel mo na si Jana yung hinahanap mong maging part ng iyong sarili.
Kaya maski na ikaw ay FEU graduate, ipinadama mo kaagad kay Jana na graduate ng UST na part siya ng buhay mo kaya nag-cheer ka sa Tigers, hindi sa Tamaraw. At maski panalo kayo ng FEU sa game noon, pinili mong samahan ang pagdadalamhati ni Jana at marami pang taga-USTe para ipakita mo sa kanya na lalo’t higit sa gayong pagkakataon, ikaw ay bahagi – parte – sa kanyang kalungkutan.
At na-feel mo rin iyon, Jana.
At natiyak mo na si Luiz ang part ng buhay mo nang kahit hindi mo siya kaagad sinagot noon, hindi siya nagbago ng pagtingin at respeto sa iyo. Patuloy ka niyang niligawan, sinuyo at sinamahan sa lahat ngn pagkakataon upang madama mo na bahagi ka ng buhay niya. Palagi kang kasali hindi lang sa mga jokes at kuwento ni Luiz kungdi pati sa kanyang mga baon pagkain!
Hindi nagtagal, napasuko ng Tamaraw ang Tiger at naging kayo na noong January 2, 2018 matapos ninyong mag-usap pagkapanood ng “Coco.”
Hindi na ninyo maikaila pareho na kulang kayo kapag wala ang isa’t isa.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
Lalo ito naging maliwanag sa inyong dalawa nang mag-COVID pandemic noong 2020: noon mo nadama Jana na nabubuo ka lang kay Luiz na tunay namang ipinadama sa iyo na ikaw ay bahagi na ng buhay niya. At pati ng kanyang pamilya nang kupkupin ka niya na bahay nila lumagi sa gitna ng maraming panganib at hirap ng panahon ng COVID.
You have always been a part of each other, Jana and Luiz. As well as your moms and siblings. Then, in God’s mysterious ways, you both got accepted to work at UK at the same time and the more you realized and felt each other as a part of each one. Most of all, that everything is a part of God’s plan.
Don’t stop in being a part of each other.
Most of all, inasmuch as you invited Jesus into your wedding today, make him a part of your daily life as husband and wife. Remember that Jesus is in your midst always – not in front, not at the back. Between the two of you so that whatever you do to each other, you do it first to Jesus.
Like in our gospel today.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
How lovely to think that the first miracle of Jesus happened not in a temple nor a synagogue but in a wedding feast at Cana. the Sacrament of Matrimony is not everything and I assure you Jana and Luiz, a lot of difficulties would come along your way especially when you have children, when you get old and sick.
But, do not be afraid. You always have Jesus by your side to bless you and keep your love alive as you hurdle life’s many challenges.
Luiz when you work hard and stay faithful to Jana, you first work hard and stay faithful to Jesus. Same with you Jana: when you are loving and sweet to Luiz, you are first sweet and loving to Jesus. But, the moment you hurt each other with lies and infidelities, it is Jesus whom you first hurt.
Tuwing nagkakasal ako, mayroon akong tanong: sino ang unang babati kapag nag-away ang mag-asawa?
Sabi sa akin ng iba, iyon daw may kasalanan pero, mayroon kayang aamin sa dalawa ng kasalanan? Sabi naman ng karamihan, dapat daw lalake ang unang bumati pero hindi ba palaging sinasabi, ladies first?
I don’t want to put you on the spot, Luiz and Jana.
My take on this is simple: when couples and lovers have LQ or even friends have tampuhan blues, the one with most love to give is always the first to make the move for peace and reconciliation. Ang may higit na pagmamahal ang siyang unang babati.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
That is why, let me close this homily with a simple request to you Jana and Luiz: please “delete” from your mind, from your consciousness that concept of “dasurv.”
It seems our society these days is afflicted with this disease of asserting each one of “deserving” a reward for various reasons. The moment we assert that we “dasurv” this or that because we worked hard or whatever, that is the time we become selfish, self-centered, and conceited.
When we insist on deserving something more, we forget our being a part of the whole.
When a husband or a wife claims to deserve something more, he or she then forgets his or her part-ner. We do not deserve anything at all in this life. Whatever we have is because of Jesus who made us deserving as you have realized in your life journey, Jana and Luiz.
Thank you for inviting us all to be a part of your wedding day. For our part, we promise to pray for you always that God may bless you abundantly with his grace of love and joy, kindness and mercy. Amen.
Photo by author, Taal Lake from St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
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