Author: lordmychef

And God said… get real, man!

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Cycle A, 07 June 2020
Exodus 34:4-6, 8-9 ><)))*> 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 ><)))*> John 3:16-18
Our empty church at the height of the lockdown in March-April 2020.

Two young ladies attended our 4:00 PM Mass last Sunday. Just before the Lamb of God, the other lady collapsed and fell on the floor. Thank God she suffered no injury; later after the Mass I checked on her to see if she was sick or maybe hungry that caused her to collapse.

She said she could find no other reason for feeling dizzy and later collapsing except that they have walked two kilometers from their home under the intense heat of the sun that afternoon to celebrate Mass in the parish. She added that sometimes they also ran so as not to be late.

Then, they told me something that really touched me and broke my heart: “sawa na po kami magsimba sa Facebook Live kaya po kami nagpunta sa Parokya para magsimba” (we are fed up joining Facebook Live Masses that we decided to celebrate Mass at the parish).

As I prayed this week, reflecting on this Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, that story from my two parishioners kept on echoing in my head because that is the reality of God in the Holy Trinity: a God who loves because he keeps on giving, without taking anything in return.

The reality of God in the Holy Trinity

Beginning this Sunday as we resumed Ordinary Time in the liturgy, we are celebrating three solemnities successively: Trinity today, Body and Blood of Christ or Corpus Christi next Sunday and Friday after that, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

In a sense, these three solemnities remind us that God is with us always; hence, on this Sunday as we celebrate his being God in three Persons, he is also telling us to “get real” with him especially in this age of virtual realities and media manipulations.

Getting real with God is like my two parishioners who walked two kilometers under the sun just to celebrate Mass in the parish because they were fed up with online Masses that cannot capture entirely the experience of God in an actual Mass.

Photo by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images, Baclaran Church, 09 February 2020.

When we come to think of it, God does not need to prove himself to us. He simply shows us himself. That is why those two parishioners were willing to sacrifice walking two kilometers because they must have received something, must have experienced something from this God who is so personal, relating and so real that they wanted to experience him personally in the actual Mass.

The same must be true with us all who miss going to actual Masses, who continue to pray at home.

Why do we pray, why do we praise God, why do we ask him for mercy and forgiveness for our sins, why do we ask him for so many things, and the list can go on with one essential question: why do we come to God?

Is it not because he comes first to us? He makes himself known to us by giving himself to us, showering us with many blessings both material and spiritual, surprising us with so many wonderful things and sights like sunset and nature that we praise him? Most of all, he is so kind and loving that we feel sorry when we are mean with others, when we choose to do wrong, when we are not that good like him?

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

John 3:16

That is the essence of God, a personal and relating God who gives everything because he loves us. Only God can adequately “speak” of him to show us he exists in ways so marvelous we cannot even dissect yet jump into conclusion right away that “it is the Lord!” like Peter in Lake Tiberias.

When we speak of a Trinity, of Persons, we speak of relationships that presuppose giving and loving. That is God in himself that he poured out this love in him by first creating everything (Father), then giving us his Son to save us after we have turned away from him, and to ensure that we never get lost again and find our way back to him, gave us the Holy Spirit as Advocate and Counselor.

Here we find God is more than a concept or an abstract and structure in our minds that we have construed or created. He has always been there. He has no need of proving himself to us, unlike us who always have to prove ourselves with others.

God is the giver and the gift himself because he is perfect and complete unlike us who can only give gifts and things as representations of our very selves.

And there lies more the mystery of the Holy Trinity — in his being both the gift and the giver, God remains perfect and one even if he keeps on giving and giving without taking anything for himself, a mystery he shares with us by asking us to be like him in giving so we would remain full like him.

Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa at Carigara, Leyte, 2019.

Something’s got to give

This mystery of the Trinity, of a relationship of persons that only gives yet never depleted or exhausted reveals to us what we must can and must always do as created image of the loving God.

Time and time again we have proven in history and in ourselves that it is only in giving when we truly receive, when we are truly human, truly loving.

This pandemic is telling us in no uncertain ways that our lifestyle of having and gaining has led us to more wanting and more wasting, more destruction and more separation.

God is telling us in the midst of this pandemic that we get real — learn to give and forgive, to let go and let God!

We are all linked together as one, a community of beloved, saved and forgiven though imperfect and sinful. On Mount Sinai Moses saw for himself this God giving everything despite his people being so stubborn, that he asked God to accompany them in their journey.

Since then God has always accompanied us in our journey in life though we always turn away from him, wandering off in the wilderness, following other paths that we end up more lost, more tired.

What are we willing to give up in this life to experience fullness in God and with others?

Getting real is giving up ourselves so we may be filled by God so we may experience life’s fullness in him and in our relationships with others and even with nature. Amen.

Our closed church but open hearts willing to give, willing to sacrifice will enable us to go through this crisis, more complete, more fulfilled.

Beneath the surface


The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Saturday, Week IX, Year II of Ordinary Time, 06 June 2020
2 Timothy 4:1-8 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Mark 12:38-44
Photo by author, Sonnen Berg Mountain View, Davao City, 2018.

Imagining and praying this whole scene at the temple, Lord, is so chilling, demanding each of us to examine our being your disciple especially in this time of social media when every good deed being presented is no good at all.

There you are, Lord, warning us against doing every piety and religiosity for a show:

“Beware of the scribes , who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers.”

Mark 12:38-39

Forgive us, dear Jesus and have mercy for those moments we think more of getting famous, of getting known, of having more likes and more followers, when everything is done for the sake of setting a trend and becoming viral.

How sad that we miss the more important that is always beneath the surface, of what is in our hearts.

Photo by author, Church of St. Anne in Jerusalem, May 2017.

As I prayed on your next scene when you “sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury”, that’s when the veracity of our prayers and deeds are proven, when what is in our hearts are trul poured out.

If anything is done not coming from the heart, nothing can truly come out from the heart!

Grant us, Jesus, the same gift of selflessness of St. Paul that at the end of each day, we can sincerely pray to you,

“I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.”

2 Timothy 4:7

If possible, Lord, teach me today to be like that poor widow to draw from my inmost being what is most precious to give and offer you. Amen.

St. Paul in time of Covid-19: need to be focused more on Jesus

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 05 June 2020
Ceiling of the main altar and dome of the Malolos Cathedral, 12 June 2019. Photo by Mr. Lorenzo Atienza.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the most severe test the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines has ever faced, striking on the final year of her preparations for the quincentenary of the coming of Christianity in the country.

Making things worst is the “unfriendly” Administration whose policies contradict almost every known Church teaching, from the most basic GMRC and decency to the sanctity of human life.

In this three-part series of reflections, I wish to share with you my brother priests and lay partners in our ministry some lessons I have found in the life and teachings of St. Paul the Apostle that is centered on the person of Jesus Christ.

He never gave specific instructions and answers in dealing with the many issues and problems that confronted the early Church that may help us in the present generation; but, he had taught us to be always centered on Christ, measuring everything in him and his Cross.

Now I am reminding you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you… Through it you are also being saved… For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: the Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures.

1 Corinthians 15:1-3
A sculpture of St. Paul the Apostle upon the entrance to the Malolos Cathedral by the renowned ecclesiastical artist Mr. Willy Layug. Photo by Mr. Lorenzo Atienza, 12 June 2019.

The gospel thrives most in hostile environment

St. Paul lived in a time very similar with ours when great developments and changes were overtaking the world with the usual problems of poverty and inequalities due to growing materialism, and persecution of the Church.

Instead of seeing them as problems, St. Paul saw them as opportunities to spread the Gospel because his sole focus was the Lord Jesus himself and his Cross.

In fact, all who want to live religiously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But wicked people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. But you remain faithful to what you have learned and believed…

2 Timothy 3:12-14

When the former Mayor of Davao City assumed the presidency and started lashing out us priests and bishops with his profanities and vitriol including blasphemies against God and Pope Francis, we all expressed our indignation and opposition.

And rightly so! – even in fighting for Kian and those fallen by tokhang as well as the victims of injustice and fake news.

As days moved into months and years, with more vulgarities and lies dished out by the man at Malacañang, there also appeared some silver linings over Pasig River but many of us in the clergy have refused to see and admit— that some of his accusations are true. Although these are more of the exception than the rule, there are indeed some priests leading inauthentic lives far from their vows of poverty and celibacy with others pretending to be shepherds of souls who do not smell like their sheep because they are more keen in amassing wealth and gaining fame and popularity.

Worst of all are those who have sold their souls to politicians for some petty favors and a taste of power, of being seen with the rich and famous.

I am not putting down our priests. There are more good and holy priests working faithfully and silently not only in our country but everywhere in the world.

What I am trying to say since our “persecution” by the present Administration began, this is a wake-up call for us priests to shape up and regain our bearings in Christ.

Actually, it had been coming since the previous Administration, too. For the longest time we have been lording it over the people with our abuses and excesses hiding in the excuse as “alter Christus” but, now the changing times have finally caught on us, demanding more transparency and honesty on our part.

Like with the experience of St. Paul, these situations of “persecution” with a pandemic are calls for our conversion in Christ anew, something that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has been insisting that we priests go back to Jesus, especially in the Blessed Sacrament.

Photo by Mr. Lorenzo Atienza, ordination to the diaconate at the Malolos Cathedral, 12 June 2019.

Like St.Paul, priests are first a witness of Jesus Christ

This time of crisis due to COVID-19 and the continued “persecution” by an unfriendly administration that has continued to keep our churches closed for no sane reason at all can be a grace-filled moment for us if we allow Jesus Christ to shine in us by bringing hope and inspiration to our people saddled with so much burdens due to COVID-19 and the government’s inconsistencies in managing the pandemic.

It is here where we are most expected by the people to be at the forefront but – unfortunately – we have been silent in asserting our religious freedom to worship within the rules and protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Only Bishop Pabillo of Manila had spoken against the “laughable policy” of allowing only five and ten people inside the church in areas under ECQ and GCQ, respectively.

Making matters worst was how the CBCP issued its statement reminding us priests and bishops to follow the directives and guidelines set by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases regarding the celebration of the Mass! Instead of supporting the lone voice championing our rights to celebrate Mass in public, the CBCP just repeated the same situation when Jesus saw the crowd who have followed him to the wilderness, “sheep confused and lost without a shepherd” (Mt.9:36).

How sad we have given up the fight so easily to have our churches opened in the transition from ECQ to GCQ.

More sad now are the bishops and priests again in the news – filled with fire and courage – speaking out loudly against the anti-terror bill recently passed by Congress.

No problem fighting oppressive measures by any administration but to miss out that same fervor and zeal for our own rights and duties to provide the essential spiritual nourishment of our people at this time is something disturbing, something St. Paul would not allow to happen.

Yes, it is part of our priesthood to fight for people’s rights but always in the light of Jesus Christ.

St. John Paul II had shown us in recent history what it is when while still a priest and later as bishop in Poland, he spoke only of the words of God in the scriptures and fruits of his prayer that he was able to tore down the Iron Curtain his homeland and eventually throughout Europe.

St. Paul never played partisan politics like our Lord Jesus Christ, considering how they have lived at a time rife with occasions to be politicized. He never missed addressing social issues in the light of the gospel as he wrote one of his friends – presumably rich and influential – regarding a slave named Onesimus:

To Philemon, our beloved and co-worker… Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother, beloved especially to me, but even more so to you, as a man and in the Lord.

Philemon 1, 15-16

How sad when we priests speak of so many things like current events and other trends without giving the people the Word of God.

It is even a scandal when we priests are more busy with social advocacies forgetting we are first of all a “man of the Word” according to Vatican II.

Let us not forget St. Paul’s reminder that though we are in the world, we are not of the world:

Do not conform yourself to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:2

The gospel of Christ thrives most in hostile environment and situations but that does not mean going out like activists with clenched fists and raised voices walking the streets. We are not going to change the world; Jesus will — if we can proclaim him in words and in deeds.

The other week as we neared the conclusion of the Easter Season, one of the first readings on weekdays touched me so much, wondering if we priests can also say with all sincerity St. Paul’s words at Miletus when he spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus before sailing to Jerusalem for his trial:

So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day, I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears… I have never wanted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You know well that these very hands have served my needs and my companions. In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus…

Acts of the Apostles 20:31, 33-35

According to St. Luke, after those words, the people wept loudly as they threw their arms around St. Paul and kissed him. He was so loved by the people because of Jesus Christ, not of his very self.

Surely, like Jesus, St. Paul stretched out his arms and hands more to pray over people after hearing their confessions and problems, spent longer hours praying in silence or writing his letters to the various churches he founded, strengthening and inspiring them in Christ than be out on the streets seething with anger against any despot and regime.

On Monday our second part in the series, Fighting our detractors like St. Paul in time of COVID-19.

St. Paul saying goodbye to Ephesians at Miletus on his way to Jerusalem to face trial.

What delights us is finding Jesus in our hearts


The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
First Friday, Week IX, Year II in Ordinary Time, 05 June 2020
2 Timothy 3:10-17 ><)))*> 000 + 000 <*(((>< Mark 12:35-37
Photo by author, Sleeping Sto. Niño, January 2020.

I wonder, dear Jesus, what delighted the people of your time when they heard you teach at the temple area, telling them:

“How do the scribes claim that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said: The Lord said to my lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies under your feet.’ David himself calls him ‘lord;’ so how is he his son?”

Mark 12:35-37

What delights me these past few days still in quarantine, still by myself, still uncertain when our churches would be opened?

As I prayed, O Lord, I realized YOU are the only one who delights me in these past days and weeks, even months since the pandemic and this quarantine.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like thine!

Despite the loneliness, the fears of getting sick, the insecurities of where to get so many things, the lack of concern and care from some people I care for, when I think of you, when I feel you inside my heart, that is when I am delighted like those people you taught at the temple.

I am delighted, Lord, because no matter what happens to me, you are always here with me, loving me, caring for me, forgiving me, accepting me most especially when persecution comes as St. Paul warned us in the first reading.

How is the Lord called by David as lord is his son?

That’s the wonder of you, sweet Jesus! You have allowed yourself to be small, to be weak, to be human like us so you can be in us and be with us.

Dwell in my heart, sweet Jesus, now and forever. Amen.

When words are not enough

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Week XIX in Ordinary Time, Year II, 04 June 2020
2 Timothy 2:8-15 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Mark 12:28-34
Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News, 02 June 2020

Remind people of these things and charge them before God to stop disputing about words. This serves no useful purpose since it harms those who listen.

2 Timothy 2:14

Dear God:

For today I just wanted to be silent before you in prayer.

But, you spoke a lot in that silence. Or, did I?

You know very well, Lord, how we have been silent since the start of this quarantine period due to COVID-19 pandemic. We bore everything in silence as much as possible, giving our government officials and lawmakers a chance to redeem themselves.

After all, we are in this mess because of their refusal to listen what others have been saying for the safety of the country, speaking of diplomacy and friendships among the originators of COVID-19, not knowing two of them have been infected with corona while here visiting. One eventually became the first fatality of COVID-19 outside China.

Photo by author, our altar decor with a snake on first week of Lent, 2020.

Those in government have always been doing all the talking that has always been non-sense and rubbish. They thought that the more words they used, the more things get clearer.

That is the problem, Lord: those in government like many of us your people are not aware that your silence always precedes your speaking; that your words are full of power, full of life, the fullness of meaning because every word comes from silence.

We humans, especially our elected officials, are all speaking out of noise and void, not from silence which is fullness.

We keep on talking in the hope and belief that the more we talk, the more our words become meaningful.

Lately, it is the opposite that is happening: the more our government officials speak, the more their words become empty while their tongues get sharper like swords, inflicting more pain and causing more shame.

They speak of lies after lies after lies hoping they become true if repeatedly said but the more they are lost.

They speak so tough, complete with warning against violators of quarantine rules but they are the ones who fall into their own pit, becoming like dogs eating what they have spit.

They speak of opening shops and offices, but they are closed to the plight of the commuters.

Worst and most unkind of all, they speak shamelessly of blaming the people for all their woes in this time of pandemic quarantine while they were busy silencing us the people, closing ABS-CBN and just this week, surreptitiously passing the anti-terror bill that silences all critics of this administration mired in profanities, lies, and insincerity.

They make so many laws, using so many words, and yet not a single word proved to be good like the scribe who asked Jesus:

“Which is the first of all the commandments?”

Mark 12:28
Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News, commuters at start of lockdown, March 2020.

Lord God of power and might, you are the only we have always count on for our protection and salvation.

You know what is in our hearts and you know very well what we are willing to do if you just say so.

For the sake of peace in our country, let our leaders eat their words or at least, keep their mouths shut to stop all their shows and start to listen, accept and love.

Thank you, Lord.

Will be more silent next time as you speak more.

Amen.

“Mga damuho sa gobyerno”

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-03 ng Hunyo 2020
Larawan kuha ni G. Raffy Tima ng GMA-7News, 02 Hunyo 2020.
Nakapanlulumo, napakasakit
dibdib ko'y nagsisikip 
sa sobrang hirap at pasakit
sinapit marami nating kapatid
dahil sa makitid na pag-iisip
nitong mga namumuno sa atin;
Niluwagan ang quarantine
mga mall at tanggapan pinabuksan
upang ekonomiya ay buhayin,
pananalapi ay paikutin.
Bukod tanging pinahalagahan
kayamanang napawalan sa lockdown
kanilang tingin nasa salaping kikitain
sadyang tinalikuran pampublikong sasakyan,
hirap ng mga mamamayan, wala silang pakialam.
Ni hindi sila naantig sa mga tanawin
at nang makarating na sa kanilang pandinig
napakaraming daing at hinaing
sa halip na unawain,
mga sisi at kasalanan sa kanila pa ibinaling!  

Ano nga bang katauhan mayroon
mga namumuno na puro mga damuho?
Mga manhid at hindi na naaantig
sa pintig ng pulso ng bayan?
Hindi man nila naranasan 
at marahil kailanma'y di pagdaraanan
mga hirap na tinitiis ng karamihang mamamayan
wala ba silang kamalayan ng malaking
kaibhan ng hirap at kaginhawahan?
O marahil naisangla na kanilang mga kaluluwa?
Larawan kuha ni G. Raffy Tima ng GMA-7 News, 02 Hunyo 2020.
Noong Linggo ng hapon,
dalawang kabataang dalaga nagsimba
kaya ako'y nagalak nang makita silang kasama;
pagkaraan ng Ama Namin, nahilo at nagdilim
paningin ng isa hanggang himatayin.
Nang aking tanungin baka siya ay gutom
o mayroong iniindang karamdaman,
aking nalaman dalawang kilometro
kanilang nilakad sa kainitan 
makapagdiwang lamang sila muli sa Simbahan
na hanggang ngayon ayaw pabuksan
sa kabila ng kahalagahan ng espiritwal na pangangailangan.
Kaya nga napakalaking kahangalan
itong ating nasasaksihan sa gitna ng ating kahirapan
mga pinuno at upisyal kay raming pinag-aralan,
makapangyarihan at karamihan ay nakaririwasa
ngunit katauha'y nakalublob sa pusali ng kapalaluan;
mga batas dapat nilang ipatupad, kanilang niyurakan 
walang iningatan kungdi kanilang pangalan;
mga tindahan at tanggapan pinabuksan, 
wala namang mga pampublikong sasakyan,
malamang sila'y nagkahawahan sa katangahan
o mayroong ibang pinangingilagan at kinatatakutan
maliban sa mabangis na virus mula sa Wuhan?
Sana'y dumating ang panahon
muling maalala ng mga damuhong namumuno ngayon
mayroong Diyos sa atin ay hahatol 
dahil siya lamang ang Panginoon at Hukom.
Hindi na ako nagtataka 
ekonomiya kanilang pinahahalagahan
kapwa tao'y kinalilimutan, tinatalikuran
mga bahay-dalanginan ayaw nilang mabuksan
dahil walang pitak sa kanilang kalooban 
Diyos na makapangyarihan
kaya naman mukha Niya ay hindi nila mabanaagan
lalo na sa mga kapwa na aba at nahihirapan.
Larawan kuha ni G. Raffy Tima ng GMA-7 News, 02 Hunyo 2020.

	


	



			
				


			

			
Timely reminders from St. Paul in this time of pandemic
		
	
	

		

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II





Wednesday, Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga and Companion Martyrs, 03 June 2020





2 Timothy 1:1-3, 6-12     ><)))*>   +   <*(((><     Mark 12:18-27





Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News, April 2020.





We thank you, most loving God our Father, for the grace of perseverance and patience in this time of the pandemic.  We thank you for the gift of trusting in your love and mercy despite all the sufferings and hardships our people have been going through amid the callousness and insensitivity of our leaders in government who have allowed to open offices, factories, and malls without providing adequate transportation while keeping all houses of worship closed.





May they heed, O Lord, the reminders of St. Paul to Timothy:





“I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.  For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.”
2 Timothy 1:6-7





We pray for more courage for our leaders in government so they may not cower in fear to the threats of COVID-19 when there are so many measures to control its spread which they should have taken long time ago but have failed to do so for reasons only they know.  





Give them courage to stand up to their superiors, to admit their faults and failures instead of being so concerned in building their image as strong and capable that deceive no one.





Remind us all, O Lord, that we own nothing in this life.  Everything is yours even the power and authority we have that must be tempered with genuine love and concern for the people and most especially with self-control.





How sad, O Lord, that until now, there are people who insist on possessing persons like the Sadducees who cannot accept resurrection of the dead because they are stuck into the belief couples “own” each other: 





“At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be?  For all seven had been married to her.”
Matthew 12:23





From ShareCatholic.com





One of those who thought of owning people was the pedophile King Mwanga of Uganda who persecuted the Christians in 1885-1887.





Inspire us, Lord, with the examples of St. Charles Lwanga and companion martyrs who remained pure and chaste, choosing tortures and death than to give in to the sexual perversions and immoralities of King Mwanga. 





Their martyrdom became the seeds for the growth of Christianity in Uganda.





Help us to lead holy lives, Lord, amid the many sufferings we have to endure especially at this time of pandemic worsened by those who do not seem to care at all about you and spirituality, of the elderly and the sick, of the poor and needy among us. 





Keep us all strong and let us not be perverted by the corrupt among us, always bearing our share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from you, O God.  Amen. 

	


	



			
				


			

			
What is amazing?
		
	
	

		

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Tuesday, Week IX, Year II, 02 June 2020





2 Peter 3:12-15, 17-18   <*(((><   ooo 0 ooo   ><)))*>   Mark 12:13-17





Sunrise at our Parish.  Photo by Ms. Ria De Vera, May 2020.





Sometimes, Lord, I refuse to use the word “amazing” for it is not totally something about good and beautiful.  Though, the word is truly amazing, most often what amazes us can often vary depending on our focus and orientation.





Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech.  They came and said to him, “Teacher…Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”  Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, “Why are you testing me?  Bring me a denarius to look at.”  They brought one to him and he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”  They replied to him, “Caesar’s.”  So Jesus said to them, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”  They were utterly amazed at him.
Mark 12:13-17





What and why were they amazed at you, Lord Jesus?





Was it because of your brilliant answer to their question they have thought so tricky enough to catch you?  If that were so, it was not really so amazing because your answer did not stop them from seeking other ways of ensnaring you.





Different things amaze people.  And most often, what amazes us are not necessarily good and could even be sinister of something deeper and darker than what it seems to be on the surface.





What was more amazing for me, Lord – this time in a negative sense – was for them to even ask you that question.  





Photo by author, Mt. St. Paul Spirituality Center in La Trinidad, Benguet, February 2020.





Did they not realize the answer before, which they already knew and have already been practicing before:  paying the census taxes as subjects of the Caesar and giving contributions to the temple as faithful children of God?





If that were so, Lord, I am more amazed today that it is still happening in our own time when our government officials have refused anew our request to partially open churches and other houses of worship for the spiritual nourishment of the people.





How amazing that until now, there are people who prefer to look after the material well-being of others than their spiritual needs especially at this time of the pandemic.





How amazing, Lord, that they would rather open stores and shops to stimulate economic growth, forgetting that more important is the spiritual nourishment people are so hungry and thirsty these days.





Is it more amazing, Lord, when we continue to take you for granted even at critical moments like this as if we have never learned in history?





Help us, Jesus, to “grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.  to him be glory now and to the day of eternity.” (2 Peter 3:18).





Teach us, O Lord, that what is truly amazing is to always find you as the most important even in the most minute details of our lives.  Amen.

	


	



			
				


			

			
At home with Mary our Mother
		
	
	

		

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Mary, Mother of the Church, 01 June 2020





Genesis 3:9-15.20   ><)))*>   ><)))*>   ><)))*>   John 19:25-34   





Mary Mother of the Church.  From Google.





Dearest Lord Jesus Christ:





Today is a very crucial period in our life as a Church here in the country moving into transition from Enhanced Community Quarantine to the lower case of General Community Quarantine.  Some businesses and industries are slowly being allowed to open and operate.





Except our churches.





Today our Church leaders are meeting with the government to continue their talks for the opening of our churches to allow the faithful to celebrate the Holy Mass as a community.





We pray for the Holy Spirit to enlighten the minds and hearts of our officials in their meeting to see the importance of spiritual nourishment in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic.





We pray for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary your Mother and our Mother too whom you have entrusted to your beloved disciple to care for us your Body here on earth.





Thank you very much Lord Jesus in giving us Mary your Mother to be our Mother too.





On this first day of the resumption of Ordinary Time, a day after Pentecost Sunday when we celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit to launch the Church, we also offer this day in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Mother of the Church.





Indeed, inasmuch as she had stayed by your side at the foot of the Cross, Mary has always been with us in our journey as your Mystical Body here on earth.  She has always been home for us, taking care of us, looking after us, and reminding us of our mission in you.





Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal.





It is so unfortunate that we have always taken her granted.





Worst, some people have maligned and derided her important role in cooperating with all your plans for the Church.





May her charity and fidelity to you, Lord, inspire us to work further for the mission of the Church to make you present in the world now in pandemic, seeking the best ways to pick up the pieces and start anew their lives.





May the world be ready now to listen to the teachings of Mary your Mother to return to you and turn away from sins and evil.  Amen.

	


	



			
				


			

			
Mission of healing
		
	
	

		

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe, Solemnity of the Pentecost-A, 31 May 2020





Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11   <*(((><   1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13   ><)))*>   John 20:19-23





Pope Francis praying at an empty St. Peter’s Square 27 March 2020.  Photo from cruxnow.com.





As I prayed over the readings this coming Pentecost Sunday, my thoughts kept going back to those powerful images when Pope Francis prayed at an empty St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican last March 27 when COVID-19 was ravaging the whole Italy with so many deaths. 





Now more than ever, the Church badly needs the Pentecost – a new Pentecost that will heal and rebirth the world so wounded and altered by the corona pandemic this year 2020.  





On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”  When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.  The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.  
John 20:19-20





Modern rendition of the Pentecost.  From Google.





Holy Spirit, breath of life and cause of unity





The Pentecost is not just an event remembered in the past but a reality that happens daily when the Holy Spirit comes and is received by those attuned with its life and mission which is to bring peace through unity and healing.





Promised by Jesus Christ to his followers as their Advocate and Counsellor, the Holy Spirit descended on them during the feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem when Jews from all parts of the world gathered to remember the 50 days after their Passover in Egypt at the time of Moses.





It was the perfect setting for the Christian Pentecost – this time 50 days after Easter –  to celebrate the new unity of mankind in Jesus he established on Holy Thursday evening at his Last Supper.  Inasmuch as the Jews went home at that time to be one with their fellow believers in Jerusalem, on that day from the holy city comes forth the new solidarity of peoples in Jesus led by his followers gathered that day in the Upper Room.





Hence, the tradition of considering Pentecost Sunday as the birthday of the Church, too.










Though we have heard two different versions of its coming, what matters most is the Person of the Holy Spirit as the breath of life and the cause of unity among the followers of Christ.





In the first reading, Luke gives us an artistic presentation of the coming of the Holy Spirit showing the unity of the peoples:  first of the followers of Jesus and later with the Jews gathered in Jerusalem on that day for their feast of Pentecost.  Whereas the apostles were at first presented as timid and lacking in understanding, the Holy Spirit emboldened them on that day to go out and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Led by Peter, they were filled with life and wisdom and courage, converting thousands of people on Pentecost day despite their speaking in different languages, exactly the opposite at the Tower of Babel in the Old Testament.





In the gospel, John gives us the theological grounding of Pentecost when we find Jesus appearing to his disciples hiding from the Jews on the evening of Easter at the Upper Room where he breathed on them the Holy Spirit that filled them with joy upon seeing him risen and alive.  





The scene was reminiscent of the many stories in the Old Testament of the “breath of God” giving life to the first human beings in the story of creation, the “breathing on” by Elijah on the nostrils of the widow’s dead son back to life (1Kgs.17:21), and the promise of God to Ezekiel to restore to life the many dry bones in their graves in the time to come (Ezek. 37:1-14).  





These stories now take on deeper meanings in Jesus Christ its fulfillment.  And not only were the disciples breathed on with new life in Christ but also the whole creation was renewed in the coming of the Holy Spirit that we pray, “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and you shall renew the face of the earth”. 





Perennial Pentecost for peace and healing










Pentecost is an event that continues to happen daily especially when we are gathered as the body of believers of Jesus Christ tasked to realize its fulfillment.  This coming of the Holy Spirit is not a one-shot deal that happened only in the past in Jerusalem more than 2000 years ago — it is something we as followers of the Risen Lord must always wait and make happen every day so as to continually bring life and renewal to this world especially at this time of the corona pandemic.   





In giving us the Holy Spirit, Jesus not only renewed our lives as his disciples united in him but also conferred his own power without restrictions to accomplish our mission.





Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
John 20:21-23





The Chair of St. Peter at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome with the stained glass of the Holy Spirit above.  Photo from dreamstime.com.





At the Vatican inside the great St. Peter’s Basilica is a beautiful stained glass of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove rising above as background to the Chair of St. Peter ( Feast is February 22) at the sanctuary area. 





Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI described this beautiful work of art:





“It seems to me that a deep analysis of the essence of the Church lies hidden here, is contained here… It unites the Church with creation as a whole.  It signifies through the dove of the Holy Spirit that God is the actual source of all light.  But it tells us something else:  the Church herself is in essence, so to speak,  a window, a place of contact between the other-worldly mystery of God and our world, the place where the world is permeable to the radiance of his light… The Church is the place of encounter where God meets us and we find God.  It is her task to open up the world closing in on itself, to give it the light without which it would be unlivable.” 
Images of Hope, pp.29-31





Here we find part of our mission in collaboration with the Holy Spirit is the the healing of the world that can be achieved only through peace.  See how Jesus had to repeat twice his gift of peace to his disciples because it is his greatest gift to us following his Resurrection.





Life thrives and blooms most where there is peace, where there are disciples of the Lord willing to work for it with love and patience.





But the peace from Jesus Christ always has a price that we must be willing to pay to achieve it.  





See that after his first greeting of peace, Jesus showed his wounds — he was the first to pay the price for peace with his own life.





Bringing around our Parish the Blessed Sacrament during the lockdown, March-May 2020.





This is the meaning of the many sacrifices and sufferings we all have to go through in this quarantine period expected to continue until 2021:  if we want to get out of this pandemic, aside from the need for a vaccine and medication, we all need to change our ways to make sure this will not happen again. 





It is always easy to join so many advocacies and rallies calling for every kind of change in the society and the world but nothing had ever happened because whenever we come home, we do not change our own ways of living!  Sayang (what a waste) were all the inspiration and energies of the Holy Spirit for our many causes that have not taken roots right in our hearts.





All the apostles of the Lord paid the price of peace with their own lives that led to the healing not only of individuals and families but even of nations and the world.





The second time Jesus offered his gift of peace, he breathed the Holy Spirit on his apostles and commissioned them to forgive all sins.





Peace is the fruit of love according to Vatican II.





As such, peace from the Holy Spirit leads to healing when there is dialogue, prayer and repentance, that lead to justice, love, and forgiveness.  Peace and healing need hard work that is why they are fruits.  They never come on a silver platter.





On Monday, most of the quarantine levels in the country are downgraded because it is hoped we have somehow controlled the spread of COVID-19.





As we eagerly await more freedom and mobility in this time of pandemic, what have we achieved during these three months of quarantine, said to be the longest in the world?  





Have we resolved our family differences?  Have we rediscovered our family members, getting more close than ever, more kind, more understanding?





How sad that all we can share as our quarantine stories are all about food and other pursuits we have undertaken forgetting the unity and life of our family and community.





How sad when we in the Church have all been preoccupied with the new communication media but failed at all to make any impact or dent in the lives of our faithful because we have not shared Jesus Christ at all, when all our “live streaming” and vlogs are powered by likes and followers, not by the Holy Spirit.





Pope Francis blessing the people last March 27 in an empty St. Peter’s Square during the height of COVID-19 in Italy that became the new epicenter of pandemic next to China.  Photo from Vatican Media Office.





Jesus never takes back his gift of peace, his gift of healing, his gift of the Holy Spirit.  He promised to never leave us orphans.  Let us not leave the Holy Spirit behind and stop believing in our selves.  





That’s the way we have been in the world and even in the Church.





That is why – to a large extent – we have this corona pandemic.





A blessed week to everyone.