Every year we await our birthdate to celebrate life. But more than that we await most Christmas without really realizing why.
Yesterday afternoon at five we entered your Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. After more than three hours waiting in line, we reached your birthplace.
Thank so much for the grace to touch your birth site. We were so touched because we touched base with our very selves too. We felt your love for us, the joy of being alive,
Most of all, like the joy of being born, of being brought forth into the world that is dark and very cold – hostile like the apostles crossing Tiberias in today’s gospel without you in sight – your still come.
You actually stay in us, among us, and with us.
Teach us like the Eleven apostles to concentrate praying your word as we serve the needy. Let us stay in you, stay with you. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Friday, 03 May 2019 Feast of Sts. Philip and James, Apostles
Praise and glory to you O Lord Jesus Christ for this first Friday in your Holy Land!
Yesterday we visited and prayed at the various sites of your ministry around the shores of the beautiful Lake of Galilee.
Here you called your first Apostles and later nearby the others who followed you like Philip and James whose feast we celebrate today.
Like us, they were seeking direction in life. That, they found in you alone, Lord Jesus – something we are rediscovering in a wonderful way these days during our pilgrimage.
So many times due to many concerns in life, we forget you are the Gospel – the Good News – who saved us all (1Cor.15:1).
So many times we forget like Philip that you and the Father are one, that whoever had seen you has seen the Father too (Jn.14:9).
Lord Jesus Christ, visiting “mensaChristi“, your table where you had breakfast with your apostles after Easter, we realized the most important thing of all of being a Christian – to be in love with your first and above all Lord!
Let us love you more deeply Lord Jesus as you well know how weak we are. Amen.
Photos by the author: above is the shore at the back of Capernaum where Jesus preached and last photo is back of church near shore where the Lord asked Simon thrice, “Do you love me?”.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 02 May 2011
As I was telling you since the eve of our departure Sunday… this is my third pilgrimage to the Holy Land, my first as a chaplain guiding 23 other pilgrims.
The word pilgrim entered the English language during the Holy Wars of 1100’s courtesy of the French Crusaders. But its root can be traced to the Latin noun “peregrinus”, the combination of the words “per” or through and “ager” for land. Literally speaking, a peregrinus or pilgrim is one who walks through the land. A pilgrim is a wayfarer as the Hebrews would claim that we have “no lasting city” on earth. We are merely passing through this earth on the way back home to God who is also our origin.
So, what is a pilgrim?
A pilgrim is a follower or a seeker of God. In our age when traveling is a way of life not only in one’s own country but to various parts of the world, a pilgrimage to a holy site is different from a tour primarily because of God himself.
In a pilgrimage, it is God who calls us to follow him or seek him in the Holy Land and other holy sites. It is God who gives us the strength – physically, emotionally, and spiritually – to follow or seek him in a holy site. It is God himself who plans our itinerary for any pilgrimage we undertake! Believe me, every sacred site has a calling and no matter how much you have heard about it that you want to visit but God has others plans for you, you’ll never make it.
It is not superstition. Just today we were prevented from going to Mt. Tabor which we failed to visit in 2017; first time I went there was in 2005. I just don’t know why Jesus is keeping me away from his mount of transfiguration. I just feel deep inside it is not meant for me again. In 2017 I came to visit anew the tomb of King David but it was only then I realized that above it is the Upper Room of Christ’s Last Supper.
Every pilgrimage is an invitation from God. Does he play favorite why not everyone is invited especially in this age of frequent traveling?
God is not playing favorite among us when it comes with pilgrimages. It is more about the question of who is truly serious in following or seeking him for a more intimate relationship through a Holy Land or holy site pilgrimage. And this is because a pilgrim goes through the land to meet himself first. Unless we have come to terms with our very selves, we shall never come to terms with life. Or death. And ultimately with God.
A pilgrim is a serious follower or seeker of God.
A pilgrim walks through the land in order to meet himself or herself. The time and distance or destination do not really matter that much. The goal of any pilgrim is to experience and find God by discovering himself or herself. From being a journey, life then becomes a pilgrimage because a pilgrim is someone who keeps on going through the land, going through all the pains and sufferings to find himself or herself more in order to be with God always.
Ultimately, a pilgrim is someone who willingly enters into a relationship with God to follow Him and be with Him in any direction to reach His home, our final destination which is heaven.
Listen. The Lord must be calling you too to be a pilgrim. Follow Him.
All photos by the author. From the top: Mt. Nebo monastery where God gave Moses the chance to see the Promised Land; statue of Jesus sleeping on a bench in Capernaum; travelling through the desert highway in Jordan; and, morning boat ride at the Lake of Galilee.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Thursday, Easter Week II, 02 May 2019
O Lord Jesus Christ, grant us the courage you gave Peter before the Sanhedrin to boldly proclaim “We must obey God than men.”
So often in this modern world, modernity masked in relativism has become our new religion. We are more concerned with what people would say or think about us if we stand by your truth respecting life.
In the name of political correctness and human rights, we choose to be silent or tolerable with so many thoughts that run contradictory to the values of family, sanctity of marriage, sexuality, identity, and life itself.
Let us reflect on your words to Nicodemus “The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is above all” (Jn.3:31).
The beautiful churches and rich culture of Madaba and Mt. Nebo in Jordan reflect these things “of the above”. Let us always look up to you and be healed and saved. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe
Feast of St. Joseph the Worker
01 May 2019 in Amman, Jordan
Dearest God our loving Father:
Thank you very much for the wonderful experience yesterday at Petra. Thank you in giving us a glimpse of your majesty, of the spectacular work of your hands.
Thank you for taking care of us here in Jordan. Continue to guide us, keep us and protect us as we head for your Holy Land.
So nice of you that as we celebrate today the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, we head for his native town of Bethlehem in two days. And his workshop in Nazareth.
Cleanse us and purify our hearts that everything we say and do may be all out of love.
You called us into this pilgrimage.
Like the ancient people of Petra, though they did not know you or recognized you, they believed in eternal life with their great burial sites.
Like them, may we do things always in love, “the bond of perfection” (Col.3:19).
May “the peace of Jesus Christ control our hearts, the peace into which we were called in one Body. And be thankful” (Col.3:15). Amen.
Tuesday, Easter Week II, 30 April 2019, Amman, Jordan
We are all pilgrims on this earth, Lord God Almighty.
May we be like the early followers of Christ, “one heart and mind” in you. Let us keep in our hearts and minds that everything here on earth is yours to be shared with one another.
Let us seek more of the things of the above like Nicodemus.
Let us follow your directions in Christ through the Holy Spirit like the wind that blows.
Bind us all your children – fellow pilgrims -that we may care for this beautiful planet earth as we walk home to you O God our Father. Amen.
Photos on our way to Petra this morning via the King’s Highway or the ancient desert way.
Lord Jesus Christ, today we leave for a pilgrimage to your Holy Land. Your people there claim it is also our land, everybody’s land. Thank you very much for coming to us, walking on earth, being like us in everything except sin.
Most of all, thank you very much in bringing us not only closer to the Father through you but most of all, making us experience you in the Holy Land.
Today’s first reading tells us how you have sent the Holy Spirit upon your Apostles and followers after Peter and John were released from prison in Jerusalem.
As they prayed, the place where they were gathered shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
Acts 4:31
Our group of pilgrims are not that many to shake the Holy Land, Lord; but, we pray that in our prayers and sacrifices during these days especially in your holy sites, shake our hearts, shake our inner selves, move us closer to you and with one another in faith, hope and love.
Some of us are coming with some darkness within us, but most of us shall be praying for loved ones going through so many trials and difficulties, so fearful like Nicodemus who came to visit you at night.
Bless us going on a pilgrimage and those everyone on a journey with you in their work and studies, at home, in their sickbeds, everywhere… that we may experience to be born from above, to be filled with the Holy Spirit to become new persons in you. Amen.
A view outside the western gate of Old Jerusalem, April 2017.
Early morning view of the modern side of Jerusalem taken in April 2017.
My dearest followers, relatives and friends:
Tomorrow early morning we are leaving for the Holy Land. It is the only place here on earth that the Lord had blessed me to visit thrice. It is what I call in my homily today as an “a basta!” experience — there is something deep within me that make me confess like the Apostles that “Jesus is risen! Jesus is alive!” , and, “I have seen the Lord!”.
A basta! is all I can tell people why they have to visit the Holy Land even once in their lifetime. And the biggest surprise I have experienced the second time I went there in April 2017 courtesy of my friends from GMA-7 News, even if you visit again the same places you have seen before, Jesus has always something different for you. Very true.
With my three friends who are not only great news women who turned GMA-7 News to what it is today but great “prayer-warriors” too. Since my ordination to the priesthood in 1998, they have never failed to always ask me for prayers not only for themselves and loved ones but also for everyone in the news — as in everyone even form other news organizations who are sick or going through trying moments in their lives. This photo was taken after praying at the Wailing Wall of Jerusalem.
I am not sure if I could blog from there during these next two weeks as I have to lead a large group of pilgrims mostly from our parish. I have always considered myself as a “dinosaur” when it comes to new technology. But since June last year, I have overcome my fears with new technology that I feel I have grown in learning so many things about life and the world through the amazing internet and computers. As a priest, I have found a new calling from the Lord in blogging to reach out to more people with my prayers and sharing of the good news of Jesus Christ.
I shall be praying for you my dear followers, relatives and friends in a very special way during this pilgrimage. Do pray for me too and for my fellow pilgrims. Will surely share with you our experiences – and blessings – from the Lord in this journey in his Holy Land.
God bless you all!
fr. nick
At the sacristy of the Church of Dominus Flevit (The Lord Wept) with a painting of the historic meeting of St. Pope Paul VI and the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem in 1970’s.
We Filipinos have an expression that best captures the faith of Easter experience, something very close with the universal expression “aha!”. It is what I call as the “a basta!” experience.
From the Spanish word “basta” which means “enough” like what St. Teresa of Avila said in her poem, “Solo Dios basta” (Only God is enough/suffices), our “a basta!” expression is often used to insist on something to be accepted as true. Its closest English equivalent is “that’s it” to show that the issue at hand is settled because I have confessed it so.
On this octave of Easter which means eternity (because there are only seven days in a week but if you count the days since Easter, this Sunday is the eighth, an octave), the beloved disciple reminds us that Jesus said other things not recorded in his book; and most likely, he had had other appearances too not recorded simply because they are impossible to do. According to John, these were all written so we may all believe Jesus is the Christ and have eternal life in him. Moreover, there is no need for him to go into so many details about the appearances of Jesus after his Resurrection because what really matters most is the intensity of his presence. It is from that intensity of his presence we derive that “a basta!” experience of him. To be open to accept such intense moments of Christ’s presence leads us to deeper faith in him and eventually, to a relationship with him and in a community.
Thomas meets the Risen Jesus. From Google.
Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
John 20:26-
“Do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Last Sunday we have reflected how the Easter stories are always set in darkness like in the early morning, at sunset, and in the evening: the joy of Easter always comes bursting in the darkness of our lives, when we are down and suffering, sick or feeling lost, and fearful. It is during those dark moments of our lives when Jesus silently comes to us even in locked doors and windows. Problem is the moment Jesus comes to us, that is when we doubt him like Thomas! We could not believe Jesus is really alive though deep inside us, we do believe if only there could be be something within us that could give that final big push for us to say “a basta!”.
A week after his first appearance to his disciples at night, Jesus appeared anew today despite locked doors, darkness, and shadows of doubts within Thomas. When Jesus told him to “do not be unbelieving, but believe” , the Lord was not reproaching him but actually exhorting him to believe. And that is likewise addressed to us today: believe!
To believe is first to accept the gift of faith from God who opens himself to us, inviting us to a relationship with him. To believe in God is to meet him who always comes to meet us, to be with us. To believe in God is most of all to enter into a relationship with him so that that more we believe, the more we “see” him, the more we experience him. Most of the time we learn and get so many proofs of the existence of Jesus Christ in our prayers, studies, and experiences. Through time, we also grow in our personal conviction and acknowledgment of the Risen Lord, surpassing all proofs and logic until eventually even if we can enumerate our many reasons for believing, in the end, we admit that not even one of them is the very reason for our faith in Jesus Christ. And that is when we give that burst of “a basta!” – – – Jesus is alive! Then we learn to confess like Thomas, “My Lord and my God.”
From Google.
The Resurrection of Jesus is both historical and beyond history that made so much impact in human life, affecting us in the most personal manner. Sometimes we really wonder like the Apostle Jude Thaddeus who asked the Lord during the Last Supper why he would only manifest to them and not to everyone (Jn.14:22) so as to cast out all doubts and set the record straight that there is God indeed. When we examine our life journey, we find there is really no need for Jesus to appear at all for everyone to believe his existence, that he had risen from the dead, that there is God.
The Easter stories show us how God works silently in our midst, always slowly and surely, gradually through history and in our personal life. It is not really his appearances that matter but the intensity of his presence felt only in silence when we learn to trust more and believe more. How wonderful that on this eight day of Easter we also celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday that invites us to trust more than ever Jesus Christ our salvation. May we entrust ourselves to Jesus anew like Thomas, touching his wounds, confessing “My Lord and my God” or “Jesus, King of Mercy, I trust in You.” Amen.
While praying your words today O Lord Jesus Christ, I remembered your servant Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI who explained the great importance of professing “I believe in God”.
It is a fundamental affirmation, seemingly simple in its essence, but it opens on to the infinite world of the relationship with the Lord and with his mystery. Believing in God entails adherence to him, the acceptance of his word and joyful obedience to his revelation… The ability to say one believes in God is therefore both a gift — God reveals himself, he comes to meet us — and a commitment, it is divine grace and human responsibility in an experience of conversation with God who… speaks to us, so that, in faith and with faith, we are able to enter into communion with him.
General Audience, 23 January 2013
Since then until now, believing in you Jesus to have risen from the dead, to be from God the Father has always been a problem because we have always refused to accept your opening to us. We always want to manipulate everything, especially God.
The problem with believing is we have refused to live by God, always leaving him behind because we feel he is outdated, old-fashioned and too conservative for our modern thoughts and perceptions of how life should be lived.
The problem with believing God then and now is we have stopped recognizing God as the foundation of our lives that like the chief priests and elders in the Acts of the Apostles, we would rather be blind from the glaring truth of your loving presence before us. Like the Apostles too during Easter, we have refused to believe others in proclaiming your rising from the dead because of many reasons and one of these is the hardness of our hearts.
Lord Jesus Christ, take away our stony hearts and give us with a natural heart that beats with firm faith in you, fervent hope and unceasing charity and love. Amen.
Choir loft of Parish Church of the Holy Family in Taipeh. Photo by author, January 2019.
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