Re-membering Jesus, Body & Blood

Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ, Cycle C, 22 June 2025
Genesis 14:18-20 ><}}}}*> 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 ><}}}}*> Luke 9:11b-17

*Photo by* FlickrBrett Streutker from catholic365.com.

From the highest truth of our faith last Sunday which is the Blessed Trinity in one God, we now celebrate in the resumption of Sundays in Ordinary Time the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

This feast highlights our faith in God who truly exists and had come to us in Christ Jesus, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. In Christ through the Sacrament of the Eucharist he established at the Last Supper, we are given the “taste” of heaven literally speaking under the signs of bread and wine that become his Body and Blood we share. This was his command on that Holy Thursday evening to always remember him as St. Paul tells us in the second reading, the oldest account of the institution of Eucharist:

Brothers and sisters: I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-25).

*Photo by MART PRODUCTION on Pexels.com*

Two words I wish to share with you on this Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ.

First is the word “remembering” or to remember. A very common word we use often but perhaps never aware of its deeper meaning from its root word “member” which means a part. Literally, to remember means “to make part again”. When we remember a person, an event in life, a thing from the past or long gone or not with us, we make them a part of the present moment.

The Eucharist is the highest form of remembering because literally speaking, we make Jesus a member of our present moment. When we re-remember Jesus in the Eucharist, he truly comes to us in Body and Blood! Truly present with us, in us after receiving him in the Holy Communion. Whenever we remember a loved one or a friend long gone or not with us at the moment, all we have is a memory. They become a member of the present but only in the mind unlike Jesus truly present with us, in us, and before us in his words, in his Body and Blood and in one another celebrating the Eucharist.

*Photo by author, Old Jerusalem seen from Church of Dominus Flevit, May 2017.*

It is not magic but a work of faith, a gift through and through from God in Jesus Christ. By his dying on the Cross and Resurrection at Easter, Jesus superseded and transcended time and space, sharing with us that sacred reality.

St. John Paul II beautifully called that “cosmic reality” when he described in his encyclical Ecclesia De Eucharistia how he felt transported in time and space when the temporal becomes divine because of God’s true presence anywhere he celebrated the Eucharist. We too experience the same cosmic reality in every Mass we celebrate when we are properly disposed, especially the priest and the servers.

That is why I always demand the highest order from priests and servers in celebrating most solemnly as possible the Holy Mass. I can stand kids playing inside the church but what gets to my nerves are servers talking or moving unnecessarily during the Mass and worst of all, when lectors proclaim the word of God incoherently and wrongly. Lest we forget also the choir members feeling so magaling forgetting they are in the Mass not in a concert that they make it a show, forgetting all about God and the people.

What a tragedy when we priests and liturgical ministers are the ones who forget to re-member Jesus in the Eucharist with our too much attention to ourselves. Exactly like the Twelve in our gospel!

As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve approached him and said, “Dismiss the crowd so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms and find lodging and provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.” He said to them, “Give them some food yourselves.” They replied, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people” (Luke 9:12-13).

Imagine that scene of how the Twelve have totally “forgotten” the more than five thousand people gathered there with them. They were just thinking of themselves because they were in a “deserted place”. What a disrespect!

Respect is lost and disregarded when there is no remembering of others, when we forget others. Respect is from two Latin words re (again) and specere (to look/see) from which the words spectacle and spectacular came from. Re + specere or “respect” means to look again in order to see!

The Twelve were just concerned with themselves, not only forgetting but without respect at all with the people they have failed or refused to recognize as humans too who get tired and hungry like them. As we have cited in earlier, this continues right in our eucharistic celebrations when priests and ministers celebrate unprepared, unmindful of the sanctity of the Mass.

Remembering is not merely “thinking” of others in our mind and memory.

Remembering is making others present in our very selves!

Remembering is making every-body a some-body by giving our very selves to them to be the Body of Christ. Unless we are able to truly share our very selves in person, in body and blood too, then every Mass will remain merely a rite or a ritual. Worst, an activity we just have to fulfill.

The Eucharist is the summit of our Christian life because of this aspect of remembering Jesus Christ that leads us into a true communion of sharing of persons and experiences, in our joys and sorrows, in our hopes and belief. When this happens, then every remembering becomes a thanksgiving too.

And that is our second word I wish to instill in you today – thanksgiving which is the meaning of the Greek word eucharistia.

When there is a real experience of each others’ presence in love and mercy, kindness and care, justice and fairness, gratitude flows naturally resulting in peace and harmony. It is the whole meaning of our first reading when the priest of God named Melchizidek who was also the king of Salem which means “peace” blessed Abram after winning in a battle.

This short scene is a story of remembering God’s goodness to Abram who thanked Melchizidek by giving him a tenth of everything he had won in the battle. In the Holy Mass, what do we really share from our very selves? Not just treasures but even our very time to give totally to Christ without texting.

Now we see the series and cycle of remembering and thanksgiving in sharing of gifts of self which the Body and Blood of Christ signify to us.

This coming Friday we shall celebrate the third consecutive Solemnity in the resumption of Ordinary Time with that of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, a reminder to us all to make Jesus present always in ourselves with others especially at this time the world has been deleting from its every aspect God.

Lord Jesus Christ,
transform me like the
bread and wine
into your Body and Blood
to be offered and shared
with others
especially those 
in most need.
Amen.

Sana dalawa ang puso…natin?

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sacred Heart Novena Day 4, 21 June 2025

*Detalye ng painting ng Sacred Heart of Jesus sa Visitation Monastery, Marclaz, France mula sa godongphoto / Shutterstock.*

Siguro napakanta kayo sa pamagat ng ating pagninilay ngayong araw na buhat sa 1992 hit ng yumaong si Bodjie Dasig at ng kanyang Law of Gravity na Sana Dalawa ang Puso Ko (ginawa din itong pelikula noong 1994 starring Dina Bonnevie, Alice Dixson at Rustom Padilla).

Usiginanga… kantahin nga natin:

Sana dalawa ang puso ko
Hindi na sana nalilito kung sino sa inyo
Sana dalawa ang puso ko
Hindi na sana kailangan pang pumili sa inyo

Maraming naging bersiyon ang kantang iyon kasi nga bukod sa maganda ang tono, e talaga namang paborito ng maraming “nalilito” sa pag-ibig kungdi sa kungdi sa buhay mismo.

Subalit ang mabuting balita ngayong ikaapat na araw ng ating Nobenaryo sa Kamahal-Mahalang Puso ni Jesus ay batid mismo ito ng Panginoon – ang ating kalituhan sa buhay na kanyang tinatalakay sa ebanghelyo ngayon.

“Walang makapagilingkod nang sabay sa dalawang panginoon sapagkat kapopootan niya ang isa at iibigin ang ikalawa, paglilingkuran nang tapat ang isa at hahamakin ang ikalawa. Hindi kayo makapaglilingkod ng sabay sa Diyos at sa kayamanan” (Mateo 6:24).

*Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Sacred heart Novitiate, Marso 2024.*

Ginamit na kataga sa English translation ng bahaging ito ng ebanghelyo ang orihinal na kataga na “mammon” – You cannot serve both God and mammon.

Kung tutuusin sabi ng mga dalubhasa sa bibliya, walang tiyak na translation ang “mammon” at naging pakahulugan na lang ang kayamanan at pera o salapi. Ayon sa kanila, malawak at kumplikado ang sinasaad ng “mammon” katulad ng ano mang labis (excess) at imbalance o kawalan ng balanse sa mga bagay-bagay na nagdudulot ng pagkakasakit at kawalan ng katarungan.

Alalaong-baga, ang “mammon” gaya ng ano mang labis at sobra ay nakakasama at nakakasira sa ating pagkatao. Maaring ituring ang pagkain at inumin o kahit anong bagay na mabuti ngunit sumasama kung sumosobra. Ang “mammon” ay ano mang bagay na nakaka-addict na ayaw na nating bitiwan hanggang sa malunod o malulong na tayo at malimutan natin ating sarili pati mga kapwa natin.

Totoo naman na kailangan natin ang pera upang makapag-aral, magkaroon ng damit at ng makakain ngunit kapag ito at iba pang mga bagay maging mga tao na ang ating pinapanginoon, ang mga ito ay nagiging mammon. At kung magkagayon, mas malamang na hindi malayo na tayo ay nagkakasala o namumuhay sa kasalanan. Kaya kailangang matukoy natin ang ating mga “mammon” bago maging huli ang lahat at masira na ating buhay sa kasalanan.

Gayon din naman, hindi pa rin sapat na matukoy lamang natin ang iba’t ibang “mammon” at mga kalabisan sa buhay natin. Mahalaga ring makita ang sitwasyon ng buhay ngayon na kung saan ang Diyos ay binabale-wala at ang mga turo ng Simbahan maging ano mang kabutihan ay pinagtatawanan.

Ito pinakamahirap sa ating panahon ngayon na namumuhay tayo sa gitna ng maraming makabagong teknolohiya na nagbubunsod ng mga kakaibang kamalayan at kaisipan kung saan ang lahat ay sinusukat na lamang sa pera at kapakinabangan. Hindi lamang nangingibabaw ang mga materyal na bagay at lahat ng uri ng “mammon” kungdi wala na rin ang Diyos sa usapan.

Tawag dito sa Ingles ay “dissonance” o mawala sa tono tulad ng sa musika. Hindi ba ganito ang buhay nating ngayon, wala sa tono?

Sa ating pagsisikap na mamuhay ayon sa ebanghelyo, lumago sa espirituwalidad at maging banal gaya ng panawagan ni Jesus sa ating lahat, kitang-kita at damang-dama natin na napaka-hirap nito. Palaging nakasalungat ating mga pahalagahan o values sa pinahahalagahan at patakaran ng mundo na ang gusto palagi ay maging mayaman at makapangyarihan, maging sikat at kilala, maging malaya sa maling paraan kayat ang panawagan ng marami ay diborsiyo at abortion, pati na rin same sex marriage.

*13th Day Devotion sa Our Lady of Fatima University CAS Chapel, Agosto 2023.*

Subukan mong ituro o magsalita ukol sa katapatan sa pag-aasawa, ang kamalian ng pakikipagtalik sa kapwa lalake o babae, ang karapatan ng mga sanggol sa sinapupunan at ikaw ay pagtatawanan, lalaitin at kukutyain habang pinagsasabihan ng lahat ng pangalan mula kosnerbatibo o makaluma, Pariseo, at nagmamalinis.

Balikan ating mga pagbasa nitong lumipas na isang linggo na ang mga paksa ay salungat sa gawi ng kasalukuyang daigdig tulad ng pagmamahal sa kaaway, pagiging bukas-palad, at pagdarasal tuwina.

Sa mundo ngayon, ang binibigyang halaga palagi ay kaginhawahan, kung ano ang madali at kalugod-lugod. Ultimo ang pagtanda ay tinitingnang kapintasan at sakit na kinatatakutan kaya lahat ay gustong manatiling bata.

Noon pa man ay napansin na ito ni San Pablo ngunit para sa kanya, walang saysay ang ipagyabang ating husay at galing bagkus dapat nating ikatuwa ang mga sakit at pagtitiis na pinagdaraanan sa ngalan ng Panginoon.

ganito ang kanyang (Panginoon) sagot, “Ang tulong ko ko’y sapat sa lahat ng pangangailangan mo; lalong nahahayag ang aking kapangyarihan kung ikaw ay mahina.” Kaya’t buong galak na ipagmamapuri ko ang aking kahinaan upang palakasin ako ng kapangyarihan ni Cristo. Dahil kay Cristo, walang halaga sa akin kung ako ma’y mahina, kutyain, pahirapan, usigin, at magtiis. Sapagkat kung kailan ako mahina, saka naman ako malakas (2Corinto 12:9-10).

Mismong ang Panginoong Jesus ito rin ang naranasan noong siya ay pumarito sa lupa. Hanggang sa Krus hindi siya tinantanan ng diablo sa panunukso, pilit na hinahati kanyang puso at kalooban upang talikuran ang Ama sa langit kasama na tayong mga tao.

*Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 Marso 2025.*

Subalit nanatiling matatag si Jesus. Ni minsan hindi niya naisip na sana dalawa ang kanyang puso sapagkat sa kanyang Kamahal-Mahalang Puso, iisa ang nanatiling tuon at laman.

Ngunit pagsumakitan ninyo nang higit sa lahat ang pagharian kayo ng Diyos at mamuhay nang ayon sa kanyang kalooban, at ipagkakaloob niya ang lahat ng kailangan ninyo (Mateo 6:33).

Nag-iisa lang ang ating puso dahil nag-iisa lamang tayo sa Puso ni Jesus. Bawat isa sa atin ay kanyang pinakamamahal.

Sa atin bang puso, si Jesus din ang ang pinaka-mamahal? O, nahahati na rin ang puso natin, namamangka sa dalawang ilog?

O Jesus na mayroong
maamo at mapagkumbabang Puso,
Gawin Mong ang puso nami'y
matulad sa Puso Mo!
Amen.

Ang tunay na kayamanan, nakikita ng mata, nakikilala ng puso

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sacred Heart Novena Day 3, 20 June 2025

Kamangha-mangang pakinggan mga obserbasyon ng Panginoong Jesus sa maraming bagay sa ating buhay na nagpapatunay na taong-tao nga siya katulad natin. Nakatapak siya sa lupa at dama lahat ng ating karanasan at pinagdaraanan katulad nitong pahayag niya sa ebanghelyo sa araw na ito na muling tumugma sa ating pagnonobena sa Sacred Heart.

Sinabi ni Jesus, “Huwag kayong mag-impok ng mga kayamanan dito sa lupa; dito’y may naninirang tanga at kalawang at may nakakapasok na magnanakaw. Sa halip, impukin ninyo ay mga kayamanan sa langit; doo’y walang naninirang tanga at kalawang, at walang nakakapasok na magnanakaw. Sapagkat kung saan naroon ang inyong kayamanan, naroon din naman ang inyong puso” (Mateo 6:19-21).

Higit pa sa isang obserbasyon, inaanyayahan at hinahamon din tayo ngayon ni Jesus na suriing mabuti upang matapat nating maamin sa sarili kung saan nga ba nakatuon ang puso natin. Ano o sino nga ba ang ating tanging yaman o tunay na kayamanan sa buhay?

Hindi pa rin mabura sa aking isipan isang katotohanang tumambad sa akin nitong nakaraang Christmas party sa opisina kung saan noong parlor game na “bring me” ay tinanong ng emcee kung “ano ang una mong hinahanap pagkagising sa umaga?”

Sagot ko ay salamin upang mabasa ko ang oras subalit laking gulat ko na ang tumpak na sagot daw ay cellphone!

Nagsurvey ako sa elevator hanggang sa Misa noong hapon na iyon sa chapel maging noong Simbang Gabi sa parokya at ang sagot ng bayan – cellphone pa rin!

Naisip-isip ko, wala bang naghahanap ng tsinelas o kape o ng asawa o ng anak man lang pagkagising kungdi cellphone?

Paano na ang Diyos, may naghahanap pa ba sa kanya tuwing umaga? Siguro kapag mayroon na lang krisis o matinding pagsubok ang tao sa kanyang buhay. Ngunit kung sagana at maayos ang pamumuhay, mga materyal na bagay ating inaatupag marahil, lalo na ang cellphone at social media.

Pagmasdan kung paanong halos sambahin ng mga tao ngayon ang cellphone na pirming dala-dala hanggang sa loob ng simbahan o palikuran. Sa mga sasakyan at tahanan at kung saan-saan, nakakagulat makita lalo mga bata nakasubsob ang ulo sa cellphone. Ang malungkot, isa sa mga unang inaalam ng karamihan ngayon ay kung anong cellphone ang gamit mo dahil dito na sinusukat ang pagkatao lalo na kapag gamit mo ay iPhone 16 Pro-Max! May nagtatanong pa nga kung “fully paid” daw ba iyong Pro-Max?

At hindi biro ang halaga ng mga cellphone ngayon kaya nga para tayong mga baliw hindi lang sa pagbili nito kungdi sa labis na pagpapahalaga. Pagmasdan kapag nawawala ang cellphone nino man – hindi mapakali at parang kiti-kiti sa pagkapkap ng buong katawan at pag-aapuhap sa kapaligiran para matagpuan nawawalang cellphone. Kay saklap na katotohanan subalit halos lahat tayo ay guilty, your honor.

*Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, 2015.*

Sa ikatlong araw din na ito ng ating nobenaryo sa Kamahal-Mahalang Puso ni Jesus, tayo man ay kanyang inaanyayahan na maging malinaw at matalas ating mga mata upang makita natin higit na mahahalaga sa buhay.

“Ang mata ang pinakailaw ng katawan. Kaya’t kung malinaw ang iyong mata, maliliwanagan ang buo mong katawan. Ngunit kung malabo ang iyong mata, madirimlan ang buo mong katawan. Kaya’t kung ang liwanag na nasa iyo ay kadiliman pala, napakadilim niyan!” (Mateo 6:22-23)

Kapag malabo ating mga mata, kapag mga bagay na materyal lang pinapansin at binibigyang halaga at ayaw nang tumanaw sa malalalim na katotohanan sa buhay, iba ang kahihiligan ng ating puso.

Mananatili tayong salat at dukha sa tunay na kayamanan sa Diyos na tanging sa kanya lamang matatagpuan sa pamamagitan ng ating mga ugnayan sa ating mga kapwa lalo na sa ating pamilya at mga kamag-anak pati na mga kaibigan. Sa ating pakikipag-ugnayan, doon lumalalim at yumayaman ating katauhan sa iba’t ibang karanasan ating napagdaraanan lalo na ng mga pagsubok at dagok sa buhay tulad ng hindi mahalin, tanggihan o talikuran at pagtaksilan, masaktan at mabigo, magkasakit at maghikahos sa buhay, maging mamatayan.

Iyan ang itinuturo ni San Pablo sa unang pagbasa: para sa kanya, ang ipinagmamalaki niyang higit ay ang kanyang mga kahinaan at kabiguan dahil doon nahahayag kapangyarihan at kadakilaan ni Jesus. Taliwas at salungat sa gawi ng mundo lalo ngayon na puro payabangan, pahusayan, pasikatan mga tao lalo na sa social media.

Subalit batid din natin naman ang masaklap na katotohanan na sa kabila ng maraming karangyaan at kayamanan, kapangyarihan at katanyagan, lalo namang naliligaw at nawawala mga tao sa ngayon. Kulang at kulang pa rin ating kagalakan at kaganapan o fulfillment sa buhay.

Wika nga ni San Agustin, “Ginawa mo kami para sa Iyo, O Panginoon, at hindi mapapanatag aming puso hanggat hindi napapahingalay sa Iyo” (You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you”).

Ngayong ikatlong araw ng ating pagsisiyam sa Kamahal-Mahalang Puso ni Jesus, buong kababaang loob tayo dumulog sa kanya at ilahad ating mga pusong dukha at salat sa tuwa at kagalakan, ang ating mga puso na taksil at puno ng kasalanan. Higit sa lahat, atin ding mga puso na sugatan sa maraming sakit at hapis na pinagdaanan. Hayaan nating linisin, hilumin at panibaguhin ni Jesus ating mga puso upang siya na ang lumuklok at manahan dito yaman rin lamang na Siya ang ating tanging yaman. Managing tayo:

O Jesus na mayroong
maamo at mapagkumbabang Puso,
Gawin Mong ang puso nami'y
matulad sa Puso Mo!
Amen.

Pangungusap ng Puso

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sacred Heart Novena Day 2, 19 June 2025

Nakatutuwa itong ating wika. Mabulaklak na kahit hindi ka isang makata minsa’y di sinasadya ika’y nakakatha ng kahit maigsing tula.

Madalas ating mabasa sa mga panitikan at mapakinggan saan man kuwentuhan na tila baga itong puso ay nagsasalita gayong wala naman itong bibig. Mismo ang Panginoong Jesus noon ay nagsabi na “ano man ang bukambibig, siyang laman ng dibdib” (Mt.12:34 at Lk.6:45) upang ipakita ang pagkakadugtong ng puso at bibig tulad ng kaisahan nito sa ating kamay batay sa pagninilay kahapon.

Samakatwid, nangungusap nga itong ating puso. At iyan ang ibig kong pagnilayan ngayong ikalawang araw ng ating pagsisiyam para sa Dakilang Kapistahan ng Kamahal-Mahalang Puso ni Jesus. Ito ang sinasaad sa ating napakinggan ngayong araw na bahagi ng pangangaral ni Jesus sa mga tao mula sa kanyang sermon sa bundok.

“Sa pananalangin ninyo’y huwag kayong gagamit ngn napakaraming salita, gaya ng ginagawa ng mga Hentil. Ang akala nila’y pakikinggan sila ng Diyos dahil sa dami ng kanilang salita. Huwag ninyo silang tutularan. Sapagkat alam na ng inyong Ama ang inyong kinakailangan bago pa man ninyo hingin sa kanya. Ganito kayo mananalangin: ‘Ama naming nasa langit, sambahin nawa ang pangalan mo'” (Mateo 6:7-9).

*Photo by Designecologist on Pexels.com*

Isa sa mga madalas na itanong sa akin ng mga mag-aaral dito sa Our Lady of Fatima University bilang kanilang chaplain ay alin daw ba ang dapat nilang pakinggan, sigaw ng puso o sigaw ng isipan?

Palagi kong tugon sa kanila ay ang pabirong paalala na unahin nilang pakinggan lagi ang sigaw ng kanilang mga magulang.

Pagkaraan ng ilang tawanan, saka ko binabalik sa kanila ang tanong sa ibang anyo naman: humihiyaw nga ba ang puso gayong ang pagtibok nito ay napakahina? Hindi kaya sa pakikipag-usap sa atin nitong ating puso, ang ibig nito ay taimtim na pakikinig dahil kung ito ay mangusap, madalas ay pabulong.

*Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Atok, Benguet, 27 Disyembre 2024.*

Mag-imagine tayo kunwari ay naroon tayo sa bundok sa sermon ni Jesus. Siguradong malakas ang tinig niya sa pangangaral ngunit sa aking pakiwari mayroong indayog ang kanyang pananalita na kung saan minsan-minsan marahil siya ay bumubulong katulad nitong sa pagtuturo niya kung paano tayo mananalangin. Mahigpit ang kanyang bilin na huwag tutularan mga Hentil na napakaraming sinasabi sa Diyos sa pakiwaring sila ay pakikinggan. Hindi natin kailangang maging maingay at daanin sa dami ng sinasabi ang Diyos bagkus higit na mainam ang pananahimik upang mapakinggan sinasabi sa atin ng Diyos. Sinabi na ni Jesus na alam ng Diyos ating pangangailangan bago pa man tayo dumulog sa kanya sa pagdarasal. Kaya tayo nagdarasal ay upang pakinggan kalooban ng Diyos.

Kaya gumagamit ng stethoscope mga duktor at nurse kasi nga mahina ang tinig ng puso natin. At yon ang unang kinakailangan sa pananalangin – katahimikan upang Diyos ay mapakinggan!

Kung ang puso man ay humihiyaw, marahil wala na tayong masyadong alitan at mga kaguluhan dahil tiyak ating maririnig at mapapakinggan bawat pintig ng puso na iisa ang sinasabi kungdi ang tayo ay magmahal nang tunay. Ito ang buod ng “Ama Namin” at lahat ng mga panalangin. Ang pag-ibig ng Diyos sa ating lahat na ating tinutugunan ng pagmamahal sa ating kapwa dito sa lupang ibabaw lalo na sa pagpapatawad sa kanilang pagkakasala sa atin.

Sa Kamahal-Mahalang Puso ni Jesus, doon ay malinaw na inihahayag ang dakilang pag-ibig ng Diyos sa ating lahat ngunit walang nakikinig dahil mas nahahalina ang marami sa malalakas at maiingay na tinig ng daigdig. Ito yung ikinalulungkot ni San Pablo sa mga taga-Corinto sa unang pagbasa ngayon dahil napakadali nilang nalinlang at napasunod sa mga kakaibang turo ng ibang nangangaral sa kanila. Katulad din natin ngayon na maraming nagpapaniwala at nahahalina sa mga kung anu-anong kaisipan ng mundo gaya ng new age at wokism at iba pang mga ideya na wala nang pakialam sa Diyos at moralidad gaya ng relativism na siyang sanhi ng paniniwala sa same sex marriage at abortion.

*Larawan kuha ng may-akda sa Liputan, Meycauayan, Bulacan, 31 Disyembre 2022.*

Imagine din natin na first time napakinggan ang panalanging “Ama Namin.” Malamang pabulong at marahang binigkas ni Jesus ang mga titik ng panalanging ito upang tumimo ng higit sa puso at kalooban ng mga tagapakinig.

Kakaibang kaisipan noon iyon sa mga Hudyo sapagkat ang Diyos sa pagkakaalam nila ay makapangyarihan at hindi maaabot doon sa langit. Ngunit kay Jesus, malapit ang Diyos tulad ng sino mang ama sa lupa. Isang personal at mapagmahal na parang tao ang Diyos na pinakilala ni Jesus sa kanila at maging sa atin ngayon kaya mas malamang ay malumanay na malumanay ang pagbigkas ni Jesus lalo ng “Ama naming nasa langit” dahil puno ng pagmamahal at pag-galang. Hindi ba noong una tayong ma-in love ay tahimik din tayo? Hindi natin pinagsasabi yung pers lab natin?

Ayon sa mga dalubhasa sa bibliya, mas mahaba ang tala ni San Mateo sa pagtuturo ni Jesus ng “Ama namin” kesa sa bersiyon ni San Lukas; layunin anila ni San Mateo na ituro ang ating disposisyon sa pananalangin habang si San Lukas naman ang tuon ay naroon sa laman ng ating dasal.

Sa madaling sabi, pagmamahal ang disposisyon nating dapat sa pananalangin di lamang ng “Ama namin” kungdi mismo sa ating pakikipag-ugnayan sa kapwa na siyang paghahayag ng ating ugnayan sa Diyos.

Ang Ama namin at lahat ng pananalangin ay paghahayag ng ugnayan kaya ang mga ito ay dinarama, nilalasap dahil ito ay isang karanasan na pinaninindigan at pinatutunayan sa mabubuting gawa.

Noong bata pa tayo at wala pang kamuwang-muwang sa mga kalokohan at kasamaan ng mundo, napakadali nating napapakinggan bulong ng puso na magmahal, makipag-bati, magsorry, magsabi ng please at thank you, at maging mabuting tao. Subalit sa ating pagtanda, atin nang tinuturuan ang puso natin ng sariling kagustuhan na dapat laging sundin at pakinggan. Magsinungaling kung kinakailangan.

Masaklap na bunga nito ang ating pagkakawatak-watak. Hindi maramdaman ang ating ugnayan dahil maraming ayaw nang magmahal, ayaw nang kilalanin bawat isa bilang kapatid at kapwa sa iisang Ama nating Diyos.

Ngayong ikalawang araw sa ating pagnonobena sa Sacred Heart, matuto tayong muli na manahimik at makinig sa tinig at pintig ng puso natin upang muli tayong makiniig sa Diyos na Ama natin. Kapag muli nating ninamnam ang katotohanang ito, mapagtatanto na rin natin ang ating kapatiran sa iisang Ama kay Kristong kapatid natin.

Sa ating panahong napaka-ingay at kay dami-daming nag-aagawan sa ating atensiyon upang pakinggan at sundin, marahil ay humihiyaw na nga itong puso natin ng pabulong dahil hirap na itong maiahon ang katotohanan ng pag-ibig na ating ibinaon. Pagmasdan paanong palaging kalakip ng debosyon sa Mahal na Puso ni Jesus ang pagtitika sa mga kasalanan at pagbabalik-loob sa Diyos at kapwa. Kasi nga, ang magkasala ay hayagang pagtanggi natin na magmahal. Iyon ang salita at pangungusap tuwina ng puso – magmahal, magmahal, at magmahal pa rin! Manalangin tayo:

O Jesus na mayroong
maamo at mapagkumbabang Puso,
Gawin Mong ang puso nami'y
matulad sa Puso Mo!
Amen.

Nasa puso, hindi sa mga kamay ang pagiging bukas-palad

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II 
Sacred Heart Novena Day 1, 18 June 2025

Tamang-tama ang ating mga pagbasa sa araw na ito ng Miyerkules ng ika-labing isang linggo sa Karaniwang Panahon na nagtutuon ng ating pansin sa ating puso sa unang araw ng nobena sa Kamahal-Mahalang Puso ni Jesus.

Ang mga aral ng Panginoong Jesus sa ebanghelyo na huwag maging pakitang-tao lamang ang ating mga gawa ng kabutihan kungdi magbukal mula sa kaibuturan ng ating mga puso ang siya ring nilalagom ni San Pablo sa kanyang sulat sa mga taga-Corinto at maging sa ating lahat ngayon:

Tandaan ninyo ito: ang naghahasik ng kakaunti ay mag-aani ng kakaunti, at ang naghahasik naman ng marami ay mag-aani ng marami. Ang bawat isa’y dapat magbigay ayon sa sariling pasiya, maluwag sa loob at di napipilitan lamang, sapagkat ang ibig ng Diyos ay kusang pagkakaloob. Magagawa ng Diyos na pasaganain kayo sa lahat ng bagay – higit pa sa inyong pangangailangan – upang may magamit sa pagkakawanggawa (2 Corinto 9:6-8).

*Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Marso 2023.*

Mas mainam ang salin sa Inggles ng ika-pitong talata, “God loves a cheerful giver.” Kailan ba tayo nagiging “cheerful giver” o galak na kusang loob sa pagbibigay?

Maraming pagkakataon sa buhay natin na madali tayong magbigay at magbahagi ng ano man mayroon tayo tulad ng salapi, pagkain, damit at iba pang gamit kapag tayo ay sagana sa mga bagay na materyal. Gayon din kung tayo ay panatag ang katayuan kapag walang problema at suliraning mabigat, kapag tayo ika nga ng mga kabataan ay chill-chill lamang.

Subalit, nangyayari din naman na maramot tayo maski tayo ay sagana sa buhay at panatag ang lahat. Para bang bad trip tayong tumulong maski alam naman nating mayroon tayong sapat para sa atin o walang gaanong alalahanin.

Sa kabilang dako naman, may mga pagkakataon na kahit tayo ay hindi naman saganang-sagana sa mga bagay at iba pang uri ng kayamanan ay mapagbigay pa rin naman tayo ng tulong maging ng ngiti at pakikisama. May mga panahon na napakagaan natin sa pagtulong at pagdamay kahit naman tayo mismo ay gipit ang kalagayan. At siyempre naman, hindi rin nating maikakaila na pinakamaramot at masungit tayo kapag tayo ay kapos at salat sa ano mang magaganda sa buhay.

Pagmasdang mabuti. Meron man o wala, maari tayong maging mapagbigay o madamot. Ibig sabihin, wala sa ating mga kamay o laman ng bulsa ang pagiging mapagbigay. Ito ay naroon sa ating puso!

Ang ating puso ang pinagmumulan, hindi ang ating mga kamay ang siyang dahilan at kakayanan ng ating pagiging bukas-palad bagaman ang palad ay bahagi ng kamay; sa lahat ng bahagi ng ating katawan, itong puso ang sentro ng lahat ng ating kilos at galaw maging ng pagpapasya kung kayat nasa puso ang ating buhay at sentro ng katauhan. Kapag namatay ang puso, tayo ay mamamatay. Kaya doon din sa puso nananahan ang Diyos sa atin kung saan bumubukal ating pananampalataya at pagtitiwala sa Kanya.

Magiging cheerful giver lamang tayo at generous o bukas-palad kapag buo tiwala natin sa Diyos na hindi Niya tayo pababayaan magbigay man tayo ng magbigay. At ito ay madarama lamang doon sa puso kung saan nananahan ang Diyos sa atin. Kapag buo ang ating pagtitiwala sa Diyos doon sa puso natin, wala tayong takot magbahagi at maging mabuti, magmahal sa kapwa maski tayo ay sakbibi ng mga sakit dahil panatag ating puso at kalooban sa Diyos na pinagmumulan ng lahat ng kabutihan.

Higit sa lahat, nagiging bukas-palad tayo at cheerful giver dahil malinaw sa atin na ano mang mayroon tayo sa buhay, ito ay sa Diyos pa rin. Ano mang pera o gamit o kabutihan ibigay natin sa iba, hindi ito mauubos ni masasaid dahil sa Diyos na walang hanggan naman ang lahat ng ito. Hindi magmumula sa kaisipan kungdi sa kaibuturan ng puso ang kaalaman at katiyakang ito.

Wika nga ni Papa Leo XIII sa kanyang sulat noong 1899 sa pagtatalaga ng sangkatauhan sa Kamahal-Mahalang Puso ni Jesus, doon aniya sa Sacred Heart natatagpuan ang tanda at larawan ng walang hanggang pagmamahal sa atin ni Jesu-Kristo kaya tayo man ay nakapagmamahal. Sino mang nagmamahal na tunay, siguradong siya ay mapagbigay ng kusa. Higit sa lahat, nagagalak palagi tulad ni Jesus.

Nawa sa unang araw na ito ng ating pagsisiyam sa Dakilang Kapistahan ng Sacred Heart sa isang linggo, suriin nating mabuti ang ating mga puso kung naroon ang pagtitiwala kay Jesus. Ating pagmasdang mabuti ating mga kamay kung ang mga ito ay naka-ugnay doon sa ating puso na siyang sentro at hantungan ng pagkakadugtong-dugtong di lamang ng ating mga kamay at braso kungdi ng lahat ng bahagi ng ating katawan. Hindi tayo makapagmamahal nang tunay, pati ating mga kamay ay tiyak titiklop at sasaradong parang galit na kamao kapag ang puso natin ay tumigas at namatay. Kaya ating idalangin:

O Jesus na mayroong
maamo at mapagkumbabang Puso,
Gawin Mong ang puso nami'y
matulad sa Puso Mo!
Amen.

Generosity & trust

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year I, 18 June 2025
2 Corinthians 9:6-11 ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

*Photo by the author, La Mesa Dam Eco-Park, QC, February 2023.*

What will it take 
for me to be a cheerful giver,
Lord?
Maybe, first I must have that
complete trust in you,
Jesus Christ;
no one can be generous 
unless one trusts completely
God the source and giver
of all good things in life.

Brothers and sisters: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingl, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Moreover, God is able to make very grace abndant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work (2 Corinthians 9:6-8).

St. Paul's words in 
today's first reading echoed
your teachings, Jesus
in today's gospel,
of the need to do everything
from the heart, 
not to please others,
but God alone;
to do anything from the heart
calls
demands
trust!

I have been through 
moments of abundance
when sometimes I was generous
and sometimes not generous at all,
when giving was "costly" despite 
still having a lot for myself.

Why?

It was not really of the abundance 
that I have in my hands that make
me generous, Jesus
but the abundance of faith and
trust I have in you in my heart;
teach me, Jesus
to be more trusting 
in you
in order to be more loving
so that I may be generous,
whatever I may have in my hands,
whether I have less or more.
Amen.

*Detail of a painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Visitation Monastery in Marclaz, France. (photo: godongphoto / Shutterstock)*

Why be perfect like God?

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 17 June 2025
2 Corinthians 8:1-9 ><]]]'> + ><]]]'> + ><]]]'> Matthew 5:43-48

*Photo by author, Archdiocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora De Guia, Ermita, Manila, 28 November 2024.*

Your words struck me hard
again today, Lord Jesus:
can we really be perfect
just as our heavenly Father
is perfect?
(Matthew 5:48)

Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:43-45).

When I recall your mercies,
Jesus as you spared me 
from the bad things I deserved
due to my many and repeated sins,
the more I must be loving 
and perfect like the Father;
when I think, O Lord, 
of your many graces poured 
upon me, of the many good things 
that are mostly I never asked 
and certainly I never deserved,
it is but natural that I must be loving
and perfect like the Father;
when I examine my life
and experience how you have filled
and blessed me, Jesus,
with all your mercy and grace
despite and in spite of who I am,
the more I am convinced 
of my need to be perfect
like the Father.

Dearest Jesus,
we are all undeserving of your
love and grace,
mercy and blessings
but you simply showered us with
these all because you love us;
let our love for you be genuine
with our concern for others
like you who became poor
for us so that we may become rich
for God through others
(2 Corinthians 8:9).
Start in me,
Lord Jesus,
a revolution of love
in tenderness
and kindness
in a world that has
become so harsh
and inhospitable.
Amen.

*Photo by author, sunflower farm, Benguet Province, 12 July 2024.*

Praying to be generous in Christ

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 16 June 2025
2 Corinthians 6:1-10 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Matthew 5:38-42

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2025.*

Your words today,
O Lord Jesus Christ
are very astonishing -
from the writings of St. Paul
to your teachings that literally
go against the ways of the world;
of course, you and your message
have always been against the ways
of the world but, how do we strike
a balance in the present conditions
happening today?

Jesus said to his disciples: “You ahve heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well” (Matthew 5:38-39).

You know very well,
dear Jesus our situation:
our country going into a great
showdown with all the maneuverings
of the evil forces in the Senate to
cover up a crime, a serious case of
corruption and abuse of authority
while in the Middle East, 
Israel and Iran are in a very
dangerous war that may spread
in the whole region; O Jesus,
we live in a world of "preemptive 
strikes" and "counterstrikes"
and your words seem impossibly
naive and optimistic?
Is it really possible?

Brothers and sisters: As your fellow workers, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says: In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you. Behold, now is a very acceptable time; now is the day of salvation (1 Corinthians 6:1-2).

Have mercy on me,
dearest Christ Jesus
in doubting the power of your
words and of your teachings;
have mercy on me,
dearest Lord when I think
in the ways of the world
than in the ways of God;
the balance I am seeking
is found only in YOU:
teach me to be generous like you,
like St. Paul, always in communion
with you through much endurance
in afflictions, hardships, constraints
and other sufferings (1 Cor. 6:4);
let me be centered in you always
Jesus, guided by the Holy Spirit
in "unfeigned love, truthful speech,
and power of God; with weapons of
righteousness through glory and dishonor,
insult and praise";
grant me the courage to be truthful
even when treated as deceiver,
to be acknowledged when
unrecognized, alive and living when
considered dead,
always rejoicing amid sorrows,
being poor to enrich many
and simply having YOU,
Jesus in having nothing
(1Corinthians 6:4-10).
Amen.

The God we delightfully await

Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Solemnity of the the Holy Trinity, Cycle C, 15 June 2025
Proverbs 8:22-31 ><}}}}*> Romans 5:1-5 ><}}}}*> John 16:12-15

*Photo by author, Hidden Spring Resort, Calauan, Laguna, 20 February 2025.*

We resume the Sundays in Ordinary Time with the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity today that is the highest truth in our Church teachings often referred to as a “mystery” or something so difficult to explain and understand.

We find this context of “mystery” right in our gospel this Sunday that takes us back again to the Last Supper scene as in the final Sundays of Eastertide.

Jesus said to his disciples: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming” (John 16:12-13).

What is the “more” Jesus has to tell his disciples that include us today which we cannot bear, that we need to be guided by the Holy Spirit?

“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.”

As we have learned in the scriptures especially during the Holy Week and Easter, Jesus was speaking at that time of his life and death prefigured by his Last Supper. He was preparing his disciples to do the same as he expressly said after washing their feet.

It is the same lesson Jesus teaches us every Sunday in the Holy Eucharist, of how we his modern disciples must learn to offer our lives with others which is what the Holy Trinity is all about – a sharing and giving of life of the Three Persons in One God. Unity happens only in the total union of one’s self-giving.

This is the mystery of our personal or relating God revealed to us slowly through time, from the Old Testament that reached its highest point in Jesus Christ in the New Testament that continues to these days because each one of us is a reality of the Holy Trinity.

This Holy Trinity sharing and mutuality of Persons in One God is an ongoing lesson we undergo as disciples of Jesus because like the Apostles, we too continue to cling to life, finding it so hard to let go and let God.

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, 20 March 2025.*

As we move on with life, we realize that life is not in clinging but in dying and letting go, in giving and sharing than having or taking or keeping. We realize as we age and mature that more than the wealth and recognition we all aspired for when younger were nothing but a waste in life because what really matters most is our relationships – with God and with others.

It is a lesson that unfolds to us every day, getting better as we age, when we look back to our past especially to our very roots like our parents with whom we find not only proximity and intimacy but most of all, delight and pride in being one with them. This is exactly what the first reading is telling us about Wisdom said to be the personification of Jesus Christ as the Second Person of the Trinity who is one with the Father:

Thus says the wisdom of God: “The Lord possessed me, the beginning of his ways, the forerunner of his prodigies long ago; from of all I was poured forth, at the first, before the earth… When the Lord established the heavens I was there, when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep… then was I beside him as his craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, playing before him all the while, playing on the surface of his earth; and I found delight in the human race” (Proverbs 8:22-23, 27, 30-31).

*Photo by Mr. Boy Cabrido, EDSA 1986 People Power Revolution.*

Life and man are all a mystery. Many times there are no easy answers to our many questions in life. There are times when our questions in life are actually answered in deaths like in the passing of our loved ones. Most of all, many questions in life can never be answered at all.

But, the joy of living is in still asking more questions. Man is known more in the questions he asks because the answers he gives are often wrong or off-tangent. When we ask the right questions, even if we do not arrive at the right answers, somehow we get a grasp or glimpse of the bigger realities and mysteries of life, of the things to come that Jesus tells us today.

I have always been curious as a child, always asking my father on the various things I heard from him and my mother or from the television and later from books I have read. After explaining things to me or passages I have read that I still could not understand, daddy would assure me that “pag-tanda mo maiintindihan mo rin yan.”

Those are my fondest memories of childhood with my father – the delight of learning, of discovering, of understanding. Now that I am a priest and a senior, there is still that deep joy and delight in searching and asking because like what Jesus said, there is so much more to learn in this life and in our very selves. There is that desire and attraction within that leads us outside our very selves to search for more meaning – like resulting from faith and hope in God as reflected by St. Paul speaks in the second reading wherein the Holy Spirit leads us to the glory of God.

*Photo by Ms. Ria De Vera in Delia, Alberta, Canada, 03 June 2025.*

A senator recently made a mockery of the Holy Spirit, claiming his move to dismiss the impeachment complaint as a leading of the Holy Spirit. Making things worst and most unbelievable is the fact that another senator, son of a founder of a local church and preacher played a real devil in quashing efforts to find the truth about the charges of corruption against the Vice President of the Republic.

Clearly, it was not of the Holy Spirit but more of the devil that is divisive and most untruthful, totally unmindful of our relationships as a nation.

The “more” that Jesus speaks of in sending us the Holy Spirit is for each of us to realize our being a Trinity in our very selves, our connectedness as one in God. It is sad that for many, the Blessed Trinity does not really matter that much for them to appreciate or even understand. For many, it is enough to believe in God just like the others in various religions and sects or worst, like those who do not care at all about God except that they “believe” in a Supreme Being.

As we resume the Sundays of Ordinary Time, this Solemnity of the Holy Trinity evokes the most concrete reality of God, that he is a Person like a Father who is the giver of life because he is life himself with whom alone we owe our lives. This we realize and experience in the Son Jesus Christ who became like us humans so we may become like him again as divine, with honor and dignity. It is the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity who guides us to more realities and truth of this loving God so immense, delighting us in awaiting our union in him. Let us pray:

Come, Holy Spirit!
Fill our hearts with that
desire to continuously await
God's coming in Jesus Christ,
as we delight in a life of
giving and sharing,
of caring and kindness,
of mercy and forgiving
until that day we shall be one
in the Father in heaven
in his love.
Amen.

Happy Father’s Day too!

Our treasures

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest & Doctor of Church, 13 June 2025
2 Corinthians 4:7-15 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 5:27-32

Your words today,
O Lord Jesus through
St. Paul are so refreshing,
so reassuring of our worth
and giftedness:

Brothers and sisters: We hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the Body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body (2 Corinthians 4:7-10).

How lovely 
are those words,
"we hold this treasure
in earthen vessels";
today as we come to close 
the week, we are reminded to
think of the "treasures" we hold
dear most in our lives;
many times we forget the many
treasures within us or in our
very lives God has given us
or shown us that have kept us
still standing all these years,
weathering the many storms that 
have come to batter us that eventually
made us more firm and strong,
most of all, fruitful; let us be mindful toda
of the many treasures you have
given us, Jesus.

Let us learn from our weaknesses
and failures, sins and mistakes
for life is always filled with many
struggles that serve not as
obstacles but opportunities
to become better
not bitter;
indeed,
life is difficult
as you have taught us
today in the gospel,
of the need to respect everyone
at all times and be faithful;
through the intercession of
St. Anthony of Padua who is invoked
for lost items,
help us find our treasures in you,
Jesus.
Amen.