Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga & Companions, 03 June 2025 Acts 20:17-27 <*((((>< + ><))))*> John 17:1-11
Photo by author, St. Paul Retreat House, Pico, La Trinidad, Benguet, 06 January 2025.
Dear Jesus, help us your disciples in this modern age to be like St. Paul who never "shrinked" in boldly standing for your gospel values; how lovely in today's first reading that St. Paul twice mentioned he never "shrink" from telling and proclaiming God's plan for everyone.
“and I did not at all shrink from telling you what was for your benefit, or from teaching you in public or in your homes… for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God” (Acts 20:20, 27).
How lovely that on this day too we celebrate the memorial of Uganda's first martyrs led by St. Charles Lwanga and companions never shrink before their king to engage in homosexual and other pervert sexual acts; they stood firm in your teachings of the sanctity of the human body as temple of your spirit.
How true are your words, Lord Jesus at the end of your great discourse and prayer for your disciples at the Last Supper that indeed, "Father, the hour has come" (John 17:1): the hour has come when people are so proud with their wrong sense of "pride" in rejecting your gift of sexuality and human body; how sad that these days, our country despite being the only Christian nation in this part of Asia is now the "trans" capital in the region; for the longest time too, our country has been one of the top users of online pornography; and worst of all, we have the most irreconcilable situation of being a nation deeply religious yet with a government so corrupt that we have always lagged in development as a country where much of its human resources have to work abroad to earn decently.
The hour has come, Jesus, that we too make a stand for what is true and just, that we do not shrink in doing and teaching your gospel values; grant us the courage as well as clarity of mind and magnanimity of spirit and heart in not shrinking for you in the face of so-called modernity and wokism. Amen.
St. Charles Lwanga and companion martyrs of Uganda, Pray for us!
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday in the Seventh Week of Easter, 02 June 2025 Acts 19:1-8 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> John 16:29-33
Photo by author, mountains of San Antonio, Zambales from the side of Anawangin Cove, 2024.
Lord Jesus, teach me and help me understand you.
I really wonder if the disciples truly understood you on that Last Supper:
The disciples said to Jesus, “Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe” (John 16:29-31)?
Oh how easy it is to claim I have understood you Lord Jesus when in fact more often I misunderstand you when difficulties and sufferings come my way that I complain a lot; when pains and disappointments happen I lose interest in following you; when frustrations come because I cannot know fully what is to come after following you.
There are times mediocrity seeps in me that I become lackluster making no effort to learn more, to be more daring, and to be a better person and disciple in following and imitating you, Lord.
To understand you, Jesus means to experience peace always in you, to keep on choosing you still no matter what because that is when we truly enter in your presence with nothing else important but do your will.
Understanding you Jesus is being open and ready not to understand everything about you and still believe you and trust you. Amen.
Photo by author, mountains of San Antonio, Zambales from the side of Anawangin Cove, 2024.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, Cycle C, 01 June 2025 Acts 1:1-11 ><}}}}*> Hebrews 9:24-28;10:19-23 ><}}}}*> Luke 24:46-53
Photo by author, Atok, Benguet, 26 December 2025.
We all have experienced dreams so real where we met friends and relatives even strangers that we described as “totoong-totoo” that we woke up crying or simply joyful and feeling so light. The clothes even the scent and ambiance were so real that we tried going back to sleep to continue the dream!
This is what we call as the dynamic of “presence in absence” when loved ones long dead or gone or simply far from us we still feel near and close too. It is the same familiar kind of relationship that we have with God whom we feel also as too near yet so far like what Luke described to us in the Ascension of Jesus Christ:
As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God (Luke 24:51-53).
Photo by Mr. Sean Pleta in Melbourne, March 2015.
When Luke said that Jesus “As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven”, he was describing to us Christ’s new and higher kind of relationship with all his disciples that include us today.
Jesus did not merely enter a physical reality that the author of the Letter to the Hebrews tells us in the second reading; he actually entered into a new level of relationship with us and everyone. This “leveling up” in our relationships that no longer require physical presence is the dynamic of presence in absence. We don’t have to be physically present because there are deeper ties that bind us with God and with others, both the living and the dead.
Recall how since Easter we have been reflecting on this aspect of new level of relationship with Jesus who told Mary Magdalene at their first meeting to “touch me not” because of the need for a higher level of relating with him no longer bound by time and space. This Jesus showed when on the evening of Easter he entered the locked doors where the disciples were hiding. And Luke tells us that beautiful account of Jesus walking to Emmaus with two disciples who did not recognize him but upon reaching home after the breaking of bread, the two disciples recognized Jesus who immediately disappeared from their side. It was always a case of presence in absence!
Note also that in all appearances of Jesus after Easter to his disciples, there was always joy that continued even after his Ascension when “they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God.” Normally, there is sadness after every separation and goodbye. But not with the disciples of Jesus including us!
How can you explain that even if Jesus does not seem to answer our prayers, we just keep on praying to him? Why do we remain in Jesus despite his apparent absence? That’s because deep in our hearts we are certainly sure he is always with us, that he loves us so much, that eventually, he will answer our prayers though he does answer our prayers always but not in the way we wanted it to be.
That is why we need to make that effort to deepen and cultivate our relationship with Jesus to always see his presence in his absence like what the angel told the disciples in the first reading after his Ascension, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
Do not look up or anywhere but look inside our hearts where Jesus dwells as he had told us last Sunday if we keep his words and love one another. We need to level up in our relationship with God through prayers and good works.
We need to see more with our heart than with our eyes because the deepest truths and realities in life are seen with the heart and soul. The ancient Persian sage and poet Rumi said it so beautifully, “Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul, there is no such thing as separation.”
Since Easter, we have been reflecting on the profound difference of Christ’s Resurrection with his birth on Christmas filled with external signs and symbols. Easter is characterized by absence like darkness and emptiness where we find the presence of Jesus and his light.
This presence in absence is also the reality we have in those we refer to as “low-maintenance” friendships where we have some people who do not demand anything from us nor we demand much from them. We meet when time allows and chat once in a while yet we remain the bestest friends because of the love and respect we have for each other. Basta, alam na this!
That is also the reality of our relationship with God. Do we experience the same joys in his presence in absence? Are we at home with our relationship with Christ found in darkness and emptiness, present in his apparent absence? Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, let us rise up in our relationships with you with others; let us be more loving and faithful, kind and understanding, fair and just even without seeing you and one another. Amen.
Photo by author, Anvaya Cove and Resort, Morong, Bataan, 25 May 2023.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday in the Sixth Week of Easter, 30 May 2025 Acts 18:9-18 <*((((>< + ><))))*> John 16:20-23
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 14 May 2025.
In a few days you are going to "leave" us, Jesus; this Sunday is your Ascension, your physical departure from us and you described so well our situation:
Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, as she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you” (John 16:20-23).
What has been "born" in me in your Rising from the dead? What is that joy like a woman in the pangs of childbirth suddenly becoming a joy so incomparable?
Oh, it is that joy of having you in my heart, Jesus: I have found joy more in my heart than outside of me; your joy is that assurance you are with me always no matter what, as certain as the rising and the setting of the sun, as lovely as the blooming of flowers, soothing like the hush of the wind or the gushing of water in a river or the rush of the waves to the shore.
Keep that joy in my heart, Jesus that no one can take away; a joy in my heart that even if I do not receive the things I ask in prayer, I still believe, I still hope, I still rejoice in you.
Sorry, Jesus, I still question you on anything despite that joy of knowing you, of having you but many times I wonder why all the pains and sufferings with me and those close to me; there are times, Lord that I lose my heart that I could not feel that joy of you when you don't answer my prayers.
But, to still keep on praying even if it not answered at all is already pure joy in you, Jesus!
Like peace, true joy is so difficult and elusive when not found in you, Jesus that we always have to wait for you, feel you, suffer and cry with you and sometimes die in you so that joy shall be born in us again and again and again. Amen.
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 14 May 2025.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-29 ng Mayo 2025
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, St. Scholantica Retreat House, Tagaytay City, Agosto 2024.
Ito ay pagsang-ayon sa ginawang pagninilay kamakalawa ni P. Ritz Darwin Resuello ukol sa nalalapit naming lipatan ng mga pari. Malaman ang kanyang mga sinulat. At nakatutuwa ang kanyang pamagat na mayroong halong salya at padyak: GUMUGULONG LANG BA ANG ROLETA? ISANG PAGNINILAY SA NALALAPIT NA LIPATAN.
At iyon nga ang punto de vista nitong ating pagninilay din: gumugulong lang ba ang roleta sa lipatan ng mga pari?
Nakakatawa. Kasi totoo lalo nitong mga lumipas na panahon. Kung minsan nga parang hindi lang roleta kungdi tila bolang kristal na rin ang ginagamit sa lipatan.
Larawan kuha ng may akda noong Misa ng Krisma, 2025.
Hindi natin kinukuwestiyon ang pagpapasiya ng Obispo na siyang may final say ngunit gaya ng nilahad ni P. Ritz, napakinggan ba ng “may pag-galang at pag-unawa ang tunay na pangangailangang pastoral” ng parokya?
a. Pakikinig nang may paggalang at pag-unawa sa tunay na pangangailangang pastoral ng parokya: Mahalaga pong lumikha ng malugod na kapaligiran para sa lahat ng boses, lalo na sa mga direktang naapektuhan ng lipatan na ito – ang mga pari, at higit sa lahat, ang mga parokyano. Ang mga hinaing, ang mga natatanging katangian ng isang komunidad, at ang kanilang kasalukuyang pastoral na sitwasyon ay lubhang mahalaga. Ang espirituwal na kapakanan ay manatili nawang pangunahing priyoridad. Gaya ng idiniin ni Papa Francisco, ang diyalogong ito ay hindi lamang tungkol sa pagdinig kundi tungkol sa pagpapatibay ng isang tunay na pagpapalitan ng mga ideya kung saan tayo ay natututo nang sama-sama at kung saan ang bawat atas ay malinaw na tumutugon sa kung ano ang tunay na kinakailangan sa parokya (P. Ritz, aka Heinrich Atmung sa FB post, 27 mayo 2025, 8:30 ng umaga).
Noong ako ay nasa ICSB Malolos, dumating ang ilang panauhin namin na mga lingkod layko ng parokya sa UP-Diliman na pawang mga propesor sa naturang pamantasan.
Hindi tungkol sa agham at edukasyon aming naging paksa sa hapunan kungdi ang kanilang tanong: paano ba kami tinuturing at tinitingnan ng mga pari sa pagbibigay ng aming mga pastol?
Pakiramdam nila kasi na tila hindi tiningnang mabuti kanilang katayuan sa buhay bilang mananampalataya nang bigyan ng pastol na palaging naroon sa mga rally kesa nasa parokya. Bagama’t anila maraming nagrarally sa UP, hindi nila kailangan ng isa pang ralliyistang pari kungdi isang nananatili doon upang kanilang masangguni sa maraming bagay sa buhay nila ng pagtuturo at pakikisalamuha sa mga mag-aaral na mayroong natatanging pangangailangang espiritwal.
Nadarama nga ba naming mga pari ang pintig ng mga tao sa parokya? Hindi tuloy nila maiwasang magtanong bakit tila sila ginagawang “tapunan” sila ng mga paring may problema.
Iba na ang mga tao ngayon. Mulat at handang makipag-usap at suriin hindi lang mga homilya kungdi mga desisyon ng kanilang pari. They deserve nothing less, ika nga dahil nga naman sa tagal ng pag-aaral at paghubog ng mga pari bago maordenahan, pagkatapos ay puro pagpalakpak at telenovela lang kuwento sa Misa? Hinubog ang mga pari upang maging mahuhusay at masisipag sa paglilingkod kaya kawalan ng katarungan na ipapasan sa mga tao lalo na kung ituring silang maliit na parokya na puwede nang pagtiyagaan mga pari na may problema sa iba’t-ibang aspekto tulad ng pananalapi, pag-uugali, at seksuwalidad.
Kuha ng may-akda, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 Marso 2025.
Nasaan ang diwa ng sinodo o sama-samang paglalakbay kung saan ay nakikinig ang lahat ng panig lalo’t higit ang mga nag-aasign ng pari? Maraming parokya nasisira dahil hindi isinaalang-alang kapakanan ng mga mananampalataya kasi nga naman yung mahusay nilang kura pinalitan ng tamad at walang pakialam o makasarili. Lahat ng pagsisikap ng naunang pari ay pilit binubura at winawasak ng sumunod na kapalit dahil sarili ang inuuna at hindi ang mga kawan. At mayroong pari na hindi maka-move on, hindi maiwanan dating parokya dahil pakiwari sa sarili ay Mesiyas!
Problema ito sa buong Simbahan maski sa ibang bansa dahil marahil sa isang pinag-uugatan: ang pagturing sa mga parokya bilang maliit o malaki, mayaman o mahirap. Hindi totoong may pangit na parokya; nasa uri ng pari iyon. Mayroong mga munting pamayanan na napapayabong ng ibang pari na tingin ng iba ay imposible.
Panahon na upang alisin sa talasalitaan ng mga pari ang label na maliit at malaki o mahirap at mayamang parokya dahil bawat pamayanan ay katipunan ng mga alagad ni Kristo. Higit sa lahat, bawat parokya ay pinanahanan ng Espiritu Santo bilang Katawan ni Kristo na dapat palaging pahalagahan ano man ang katayuan. Kung tutuusin batay sa turo ng Panginoong Jesus, iyon ngang hirap na parokya at tila pinagtampuhan ng panahon ang dapat bigyang halaga ng mga pari gaya ng mga nasa kabundukan at liblib na pook. Hindi ko malilimutan ang salita noon sa amin sa seminaryo ng dating naming Obispo na Arsobispo Emerito ng Naga, ang Lubhang kagalang-galang Rolando Tria-Tirona, “those who have less in life should have more of God.”
Ito ang sinasaad ng katagang sinodo, ang katagang palasak na ngayon ngunit hindi pa rin maramdaman dahil wala namang nakikinig at nagbibigay halaga sa bawat isa.
Kuha ng may-akda, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 Marso 2025.
Usiginga… kailan nanaig kalooban ng mga kawan kesa sa kura? O ng karamihan ng mga pari kesa sa Obispo at iilan niyang upisyal?
Totoong walang demokrasya sa Simbahan sa larangan ng chain of command dahil ito ay isang hierarchy, na mayroong hanay ng mga upisyal sa pamumuno ng Santo Papa katuwang mga Obispo na kinakatawan ng mga Kura sa bawat Parokya.
Subalit, hindi ito nangangahulugang diktadura ang Simbahan. Kung tutuusin nga ay sa Simbahan dapat matagpuan ang tunay na diwa ng kalayaan na kung saan ay masinsinang tinatalakay ng lahat ang higit na makabubuti sa karamihan batay sa kalooban ng Diyos. Ito ang dahilan kaya nagpatawag ng sinodo ang yumaong Santo Papa Francisco.
Dito makikita din natin ang isang malinaw na problema ng Simbahan na hindi namin matanggap – na kaming mga pari mismo ang problema ng Simbahan. At sa Simbahan. Ngunit saka na natin iyan pag-usapan at balikan ang pagninilay ni P. Ritz na ating pinagtitibay. Wika niya muli sa kanyang FB post noong Mayo 27:
b. Pagyakap sa maagap na pastoral na karunungan: Mahalaga pong isaalang-alang kung paano nakatutulong ang bawat “assignment” sa paglago ng isang pari sa ministeryo at nagpapayaman ng kaniyang mga karanasan, laging naghahanap ng balanse sa pagitan ng mga pangangailangan ng mga parokya at ng paglago ng indibidwal na mga pari.
Mula sa cbcpnews.com.
Matalik na kalakip ng diwa ng sinodo ang kapatiran ng mga pari. Ngunit kapansin-pansin tuwing lipatan ang problema ng aming mga tampuhan at mga reklamo sa assignment. Totoo namang mayroong mga pari na namimili at mareklamo sa assignment ngunit hindi sila ang problema sa lahat ng pagkakataon tuwing may lipatan.
Ang problema ay ang sistema at patakaran – o kawalan ng mga ito.
Masakit sabihin ngunit aking pangangahasan sa pagkakataong ito na sa dalawamput-pitong taon ko sa pagiging pari, mas maayos ang lipatan at mga assignment noon kesa ngayon. Problema na rin naman noon din ngunit mas malala ngayon ang pananaw ng hindi pagiging patas o unfair sa pagpili ng mga assignment.
Hindi matatapos ang mga reklamo at hinaing sa bawat lipatan hanggat hindi naiibsan ang pananaw na ito. Hindi po salapi ang problema ng mga pari. Hindi rin naman babae o mga pogi. Ito palagi ang problema at daing natin – ang hindi patas sa maraming aspekto at pagkakataon.
Dito pumapasok ang maruming kahulugan ng “politika” sa Simbahan tulad ng barkadahan at favoritism. Mayroong napaparusahan, mayroong pinalalampas. Mayroong pinag-iinitan at mayroong kinukunsinti. Ang malungkot, mayroong mga pinangingilagan kaya pinagbibigyan lahat ng kagustuhan. Bato-bato sa langit, tamaan sapul!
Gayon pa man, on a positive note, dito makikita ang mabuti at malalim na kapatiran ng mga pari kung saan mayroong ilang maninindigan upang kausapin ang lahat kung kinakailangan alang-alang sa ilang bagay na nakakaligtaan o ayaw tingnan ng ilan sa mga kapatid naming naka-kahon na hindi makaahon sa kabila ng kanilang pag-amin at pag-ako ng kanilang pagkakasala at pagkakamali. Problema ng stigma.
Tanging hiling lang naman ng mga pari ay kausapin sila upang mapakinggan kanilang kalagayan at kalooban sa pagbibigay ng assignment. Ito yung pinupunto ni P. Ritz sa kanyang pitak. Sadya bang nasuring mabuti ang lahat ng paraan upang mapalago ang sino mang pari sa kanyang destino? Wala namang pari na likas na masuwayin kungdi ang ibig rin ay sariling ikapapanuto. Sa kabutihang-palad, mas marami pa rin ang mga paring masunurin at nagpapahalaga ng pangako ng obedience kaya sana ay naroon palagi ang fairness.
Hindi mawawala mga inggitan at siraan sa lipatan ngunit huwag mawawala ang “sense of fairness” dahil dito nakasalalay mabuting samahan at ugnayan. Susunod at susunod pa rin mga pari sa lipatan alang-alang sa obedience at faith in God ngunit palaging uusok ang isyu ng lipatan parang isang takore ng kumukulong tubig. Pakinggan natin ang sipol ng kumukulong tubig sa takore, yung tinatawag sa Inggles na tempest in teapot. Diyan pumapasok ang ikatlong punto ni P. Ritz:
c. Pagpapatibay ng malinaw at mapagmalasakit na komunikasyon: Kung posible po, ang pagbibigay ng napapanahon at “transparent” na impormasyon tungkol sa lipatan ay maaaring makapagpapagaan ng mga alalahanin at makapagpadali ng mas maayos na pagsasaayos para sa lahat – ang mga pari, kawani ng parokya, at ang mga mananampalataya. Ang isang maikli ngunit napag-isipang paliwanag ay maaaring lubos na makapagpatibay ng tiwala sa loob ng ating pamilya sa diyosesis.
Mula sa vaticannews.va.
Ang Simbahan ay komunikasyon. Kaya naman sa mga dokumento nito lalo mula nang Vatican II, sinasaad na sa Simbahan dapat masaksihan ang pinakamainam at pinakamataas na antas ng pagtatalastasan.
Ngunit taliwas palagi. Maraming pagkakataon sa mga pari kulang ang komunikasyon. Ni walang formal communication sa mga lipatan. Mayroong mga pari na atat nang lumipat na akala mo ay makikipagpalit lang ng tsinelas! Juice colored…! Kaluluwa ang pinag-uusapan habang ang antas ng aming usapan ay parang paglipat lang ng bahay kung saan ang pananaw ng ilan ay mag-impake lang ng mga gamit at damit. Kapirasong text o sulat hindi pa magawa kung hindi kayang tawagan o personal na kausapin sa mga balakin.
Kaya nga babalik tayo sa tanong ng mga tao: ano nga ba turing natin sa kanila tuwing maglilipatan kasi ang sagot dito ay siyang sagot sa tanong ano nga ba turingan naming mga pari sa isa’t isa? Hangga’t walang maayos na sagot sa mga katanungang ito, mananatili ang pananaw at paghahalintulad sa roleta na gamit sa perya ang lipatan. O bolang kristal ng mga manghuhula.
Sa diwa ng sinodo at kapatiran bilang sama-samang naglalakabay na Simbahan, patuloy tayong manalangin para sa mga pastol at kawan. At huwag din mag atubiling makilahok sa mga talakayan at usapan na ang tanging mithiin ay hanapin at sundin ang kalooban ng Diyos upang higit Siyang mapaglingkuran at masalamin dito sa lupang ibabaw. Salamuch po.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Chapel of the Angel of Peace, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, Marso 2025.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 28 May 2025
Photo by author, Cota da Cabo, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 15 May 2025.
Salamuch for the very positive response to our blog Praying to “do no harm” where we underscored the need for more sensitivity among us to be able to respond to those being pushed to the limits in life (https://lordmychef.com/2025/05/27/praying-to-do-no-harm/) .
Sensitivity is the condition of a person (or thing) being sensitive that in the positive sense means someone who is quick to detect and appreciate other’s feelings while in the negative sense, one who is easily hurt or delicately affected by other’s feelings and attitudes.
For this sharing, we refer to the positive sense of the need for sensitivity especially in these days when it has become more of a rarity as more and more people seem to becoming numb and even callous. It is maybe a sign that points to one reality we have been seeing but refused to acknowledge these years – the dwindling number of people praying these days.
Prayer is more than reciting certain formal prayers we have learned by heart since childhood or reading novena prayers to a host of our devotions and practices. Prayer is primarily a relationship we keep with God. We pray because we love God.
Photo by author, Cota da Cabo, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 15 May 2025.
This is the reason that in prayer, it does not really matter we are able to say or tell God everything because He knows them so well even before we asked Him (Mt.6:8). What really matters most in prayer as St. John Paul II used to say is that we are able to hear and listen to what God wants from us. That we surely do not know at all that is why we need to pray.
Just like in our relationships with others when we simply have to be sensitive with their presence when each one’s presence is more than enough. Or in fact, is everything!
When we pray more and cultivate a prayer life – a relationship with God – it is our sensitivity that is most heightened. The more we become sensitive of our ourselves and surroundings, we become more aware of God’s presence in us and among us. The more we become sensitive of ourselves and of God, then, we become sensitive of others too. Then our relationship with God flows naturally into our relationship with others which becomes the fruit of our prayers: have we become more kind and understanding, more loving and forgiving, more just?
Another beautiful thing with prayer that heightens our sensitivity is the gift of being proactive when we are able to “predict” the future without really predicting it! Our Filipino expression of magdilang-anghel says it so well that whatever we say happens or turns out to be true because we can feel everything and everyone with our heightened sensitivity.
Photo by author, Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Dumaguete City, 07 November 2024.
Prayerful people are always sensitive in the positive sense. They are the ones most in touch with the realities of life, literally and figuratively speaking. They are always “present” like God who calls Himself “I AM WHO AM” – the perfectly present. Without sensitivity, there can be no presence at all.
See how kids these days do not mind at all nor pay respects or at least recognize anyone – whether family member or guests – when they are engrossed in their computer games or watching movies or simply scrolling their cellphones. Sorry as I find many of these kids are growing disrespectful as in, bastos.
Experts have long been warning us of the dire effects especially to children of these gadgets and social media itself that make us insensitive, numb and callous practically with the world around us.
How sad and sickening to see young people literally so absorbed and immersed as in subsob in their cellphones, wired with those pods stuck in their ears living in a world of their own, unmindful of the sounds and commotion, of the people and everything happening around them.
Going back to that beautiful scene after an earthquake shook the prison cell of Paul and Silas in yesterday’s first reading, see how the apostle’s sensitivity and presence saved and converted their jailer.
The crowd in Philippi joined in the attack on Paul and Silas… After inflicting many blows on them, they threw them into prison and instructed the jailer to guard them securely. About midnight… there was suddenly such a severe earthquake… When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted out in a loud voice, “Do no harm to yourself; we are all here” (Acts 16:22, 23, 25, 26, 27-28).
Speaking of earthquake, I just found it quite amusing how some students did not feel at all the “jolt” when the 5.1 earthquake struck us before noon yesterday. After we have evacuated our building, I met some students who were laughing at themselves to have not felt at all the earthquake, saying they were caught by surprise when the alarm went off that signaled the evacuation.
Sorry and please excuse us as this may be extending too much the earthquake this noon but, it isn’t funny anymore when we are jolted by news of some people we hardly know taking their lives for various reasons. We wonder and even search our souls wondering what happened they “harmed” themselves until we realize that partly because, we were not there at all when they most needed us.
Photo by author, Cota da Cabo, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 14 May 2025.
This is why we need to recover our vanishing sensitivity through prayers to be aware, to notice and feel others around us, especially those silently screaming for help when many are so absorbed in their own little worlds. Every time we become sensitive of God’s presence and reality, we become sensitive of ourselves and of others too. Let us pray:
Forgive us, Jesus for being far from those in pain and sufferings, for being insensitive to those crying in silence, for being indifferent to the realities of mental health and total well-being of everyone.
Give us a chance, Jesus to be like Paul and Silas of saving one life from doing no harm to one's self by first being sensitive to your presence in prayers because the more we pray, the more we become sensitive of you and of others. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday in the Sixth Week of Easter, 27 May 2025 Acts 16:22-34 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> John 16:5-11
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2025.
Let me begin this prayer Lord Jesus with the call of St. Paul to their jailer, "Do no harm to yourself; we are all here" following the many sad news of people harming themselves and others because of so much pains and sufferings.
The crowd in Philippi joined in the attack on Paul and Silas… After inflicting many blows on them, they threw them into prison and instructed the jailer to guard them securely. About midnight… there was suddenly such a severe earthquake… When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted out in a loud voice, “Do no harm to yourself; we are all here” (Acts 16:22, 23, 25, 26, 27-28).
These are the words most precious these days, Lord: "Do no harm to yourself."
Do no harm to yourself even if you have failed for you are more precious than grades and achievements.
Do no harm to yourself despite the pains and hurts there must be a better way to stop the beatings.
Do no harm to yourself because we are here... but, alas, Lord! We can only cry those words after they have harmed themselves and others. Worst, we call only those words "Do no harm to yourself" when they are gone.
Forgive us, Jesus for being far from those in pain and sufferings, for being insensitive to those crying in silence, for being indifferent to the realities of mental health and total well-being of everyone.
Give us a chance, Jesus to be like Paul and Silas of saving one life from doing no harm to one's self by first being sensitive to your presence in prayers because the more we pray, the more we become sensitive of you and of others. Amen.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2025.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 26 May 2025
Photo by author, Northern Blossoms Farm, Atok, Benguet, 26 December 2024.
Human love is imperfect; only God can love us perfectly.
Many times we get disappointed with our loved ones for not loving us enough or not loving us at all when in fact, they do love us! They come in different forms like strict parents or teachers, an OFW who has to leave his/her loved ones behind for better earnings so the children can go to good schools or an eager-beaver colleague who sometimes gets to our nerves for the things he/she does for us not to irritate us but to help us actually. And yes, parents who give away their children in the belief they can have a better future if they grow up not with them.
We all want to love perfectly or be loved perfectly but that is not possible because we humans are not perfect. We err, miscalculate situations and misjudge persons. Many times, we do not understand nor comprehend situations for we cannot know everything right away nor at all.
The good news is, the more we realize the imperfections of our love, that is when we are perfected, when we become better persons, when we actually become more loving with others by being patient and understanding, kind and forgiving. Our efforts to love though imperfect shall perfect us.
Photo by author, Northern Blossoms Farm, Atok, Benguet, 26 December 2024.
It is in our imperfect love we also learn how to sacrifice and let go because we love. The beloved disciple of Jesus wrote that “No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us(1 John 4:12). Every time we are bothered, when we feel guilty of not loving much or not being loved, chill. Be patient. And wait for everything to clear up. There must have been a breakdown in communication or too much presumptions on anyone’s part. Be open. Most of all, even if you felt not loved or no one loves, keep loving. For as long as we love, we grow. We mature.
Love, love, love!
It is the most potent force in the universe. We came into being because of love. We live to love. For as long as there is love, we shall not perish.
Stop loving, then we die.
Photo by author, Sakura Farm, Atok, Benguet, 26 December 2024.
When we do not love, that is when we perish because we no longer hope and believe in anyone nor anything. That is the end.
St. Paul said it perfectly, “So faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13). After we have died, only love remains in heaven: we do not need faith nor hope because love is everything we believe and hope. Even those we leave behind will just keep on loving that life will continue until we all come together in eternity. Still loving.
Hence, love cannot be defined. Love is infinite and can only be described. And though it is imperfect in human terms, our expressions of love has no limits. That is why, “tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all” (Lord Alfred Tennyson in 1849). Bow. To love.
Photo by author, Angels’ Hills Retreat and Spirituality Center, Tagaytay City, 18 April 2025.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday in the Sixth Week of Easter, 26 May 2025 Acts 16:11-15 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> John 15:26-16:4
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2025.
Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:26-27).
Thank you, dear Jesus in sending us the Holy Spirit as our Advocate who empowers us to speak also of the truth he tells us; most of all, to abide with you and your gospel truth.
Remind us, Lord Jesus that being an advocate for you, witnessing your gospel need not be dramatic at all like that chance meeting of Paul with some women at a river in Philippi where he spoke about you and your good news of salvation; forgive us, Jesus when in this age of instant and widespread communications, we balk and even feel ashamed of speaking about you and your teachings, even ashamed of proudly making the sign of the Cross.
Forgive us, Jesus when we are inhibited for many reasons from speaking about our faith in you, when even the powers of the Advocate we doubt.
Give us a joyful heart like that of St. Philip Neri always opened to your loving presence most especially in prayerful moments in you. Amen.
Lord My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 25 May 2025
Photo by author, Angels’ Hills Retreat and Spirituality Center, Tagaytay City, 18 April 2025.
We shift this Sunday into jazz with Earl Klugh’s sophisticated Living Inside Your Love to slow cool down our simmering summer and to feel more the meaning of the Mass readings today as we enter the penultimate week of Easter.
We were already in our early teens when we discovered Earl Klugh along with other jazz greats with the opening of the country’s first and only jazz radio station 101.9 WK-FM in the late 70’s. Maybe it was part of growing up when we experimented on a lot of things for more adventures that I found myself venturing into jazz from rock and pop music, switching from RJ to RT and then WK.
For me, Earl Klugh was the jazz version of rock’s Eric Clapton or Carlos Santana. Klugh has that certain touch or pluck in his guitar that can make you be in love, not necessarily be in love with anyone. It is a nakaka-in love ma-in love na feeling! That is why we remembered his Living Inside Your Love piece from his second studio album released in 1976 by the legendary Blue Note Records and Liberty Records produced by another jazz great, Dave Grusin.
Actually, we just realized today Living Inside sounds like a prelude to the turn of the century’s new age music where Klugh’s masterful playing of the guitar taking the centerstage of a great symphony backed up with cool vocals repeating just a few lines and stanzas of simple verses over and over that is similar with the vision of John in this Sunday’s second reading from the Book of Revelation when he saw and experienced the “new heaven, new earth” in the great luminous light of God who is himself the temple in the city (https://lordmychef.com/2025/05/24/easter-is-god-dwelling-in-us/). See how Klugh inserted the vocals into his great guitar music enhanced by a symphony like John’s vision of heaven:
Can't get over the feeling Living inside your love I never want to lose the feeling Living inside your love
Baby, you made my life so free Living inside your love You're just where I want to be Living inside your love
Baby, you made my life so free Living inside your love You're just where I want to be Living inside your love
Very interesting with his wonderful guitar music, Klugh’s lyrics – though sparse and repetitive – were loaded in meaning. Consider the line “living inside your love” which is exactly what Jesus said at the Last Supper, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (John 14:23).
“Living inside one’s love” is what we call as “Divine indwelling”, that is, our home is in God – and with any one we love!
Moreover, consider also Klugh’s first line in his next stanza, “Baby, you made my life so free/ Living inside your love/ You’re where I want to be/ Living inside your love.”
When we love, we enter a relationship that becomes our dwelling, our home where we become free – free to love more, free to be faithful. When we truly love like Christ, the more we find ourselves more free to love, more free in everything because being free is choosing always what is good. We believe that more than a stroke of genius, it was also a kind of divine inspiration about true love that made Klugh at put at the end of this 1976 classic the longer stanza that actually repeated inn order to stress the truth of his first two stanzas.
Can't get over the feeling Living inside your love I never want to lose the feeling Living inside your love Can't get over the feeling Living inside your love I never want to lose the feeling Living inside your love I can't get over the feeling Living inside your love I never want to lose the feeling Living inside your love I can't get over the feeling Living inside your love
Here is Earl Klugh’s lovely Living Inside Your Love. Have a lovely Sunday and week ahead.
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