Category: contemplation

Masama magreklamo, pananalangin ang dumaing

Lawiswis Ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-7 ng Agosto 2023
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, takipsilim sa Tagaytay, ika-8 ng Pebrero 2023.

Madalas maitanong sa akin ng mga tao kung kasalanan daw ba, o masama, ang magreklamo sa Diyos? Bago sila sagutin, lagi kong hiling na liwanagin muna kung sila ba ay nagrereklamo o dumaraing sa Diyos?

Malaki pagkakaiba ng dalawang salitang ito na tila magkapareho lalo na kung ating uugatin ang kanilang pinagmulang wika na Latin, Pranses, Kastila at Inggles. Marahil dahil sa pagsasalin-salin ng mga salitang reklamo at daing, naiba kanilang kahulugan kaya mahalaga nating maunawaan upang makatulong sa ating wastong pakikipag-ugnayan sa isa’t-isa at sa Panginoong Diyos.

Hindi po ako dalubhasa sa linguistika o pag-aaral ng mga wika ngunit ibig ko na pagnilayan ang pagkakaiba ng reklamo at daing mula sa kanilang pinagmumulan o pinagbubuhatan. Ang reklamo ay mula sa isipan habang ang daing ay buhat sa puso at kaibuturan ng kalooban. Sa pagkakaibang ito ng kanilang pinagmumulan natin makikita kanilang kasamaan at kabutihan.

Larawan kuha ng may-akda mula sa Jordan tanawin ang ilang ng Israel noong Mayo 2019.

Masama ang pagrereklamo dahil ito ay sinasadya o wilfull sa Inggles. Mayroong malisya at masamang paglalayon bunsod ng maling pag-gamit ng kaisipan o intellect na kung saan pinangingibabawan ito ng kasamaan.

Sa pagrereklamo, mayroong pagpaplano at pag-aaral sa paglalahad ng hangad na hindi lamang maaksiyunan at solusyunan ang hinaharap na suliranin o katayuan kungdi maungkat pa ang ibang mga isyu ng nagrereklamo. Katulad lamang ito noong tayo ay mga bata pa na bubulung- bulong kapag masama ang loob kung nauutusan.

Sa pagrereklamo, naroon ang isang proseso ng kaisipan at hindi lamang bunga ng emosyon o damdamin na kapag naibulalas na ay tapos na. Naroon palagi ang paghahanap ng butas at kung anu-ano pang mga bagay na maaring isisi at ipula saan man at kanino man.

Kitang-kita ito sa karanasan ng mga Israelita doon sa ilang matapos sila ay hanguin ng Diyos sa pamumuno ni Moises mula sa pagkaalipin sa Egipto. Tingnan at suriin paanong nagreklamo mga Israelita noon kay Moises nang sila ay magutom at mahirapan sa paglalakbay.

Kaya, nagreklamo na naman sila. Ang sabi nila, “Kailan pa ba tayo makatitikim ng masarap na pagkain? Mabuti pa sa Egipto! Doon, isang hingi lamang namin ay mayroon na agad isda, pipino, pakwan, sibuyas, at bawang. Dito walang makain kundi manna.

Bilang 11:4-6
Ang eskultura ng ginawang ahas na tanso ni Moises sa tikin sa lugar kung saan mismo nangyari na ngayon nasa pangangalaga ng mga Paring Franciscano sa Jordan. Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Mayo 2019.

Pagmasdan ang masakit na bahagi ng bawat reklamo, masdan paanong magsalita mga reklamador na tila wala kang nagawang mabuti para sa kanila.

Kadalasan ang problema ng mga reklamador ay hindi lamang sa ayaw na ayaw nila ng hirap at tiisin sa buhay kungdi wala din silang tiwala sa kapwa kaya naman puno sila ng pangungutya at paghahamon. Dito natin mababakas ang malalim na kasamaan ng reklamo na isang uri ng manipulasyon at pambabraso upang maimaniobra at maipilit ang sariling kagustuhan na tanda ng kawalan ng pasensiya sa buhay at ng pagtitiwala sa iba lalo na sa Diyos.

Maraming pagkakataon ang pagrereklamo ay nagiging isang panunumbat, panunukat, at paghahamon maging sa Diyos na maaring ikabunga ng hindi maganda.

Mula sa Bundok ng Hor, nagpatuloy ang mga israelita patungong Dagat ng mga Tambo upang lihisan ang Edom. Dahil dito, nainip sila sa pasikut-sikot na paglalakbay na yaon. Nagreklamo sila kay Moises, “Inialis mo ba kami sa Egipto para patayin sa ilang na ito? Walang kaming makain ni mainom! Sawa na kami sa walang kwentang pagkaing ito.” Dahil dito, sila’y pinadalhan ni Yahweh ng makamandag na ahas at sinumang matuka nito ay nmamatay.

Bilang 21:4-6
Larawan kuha ng may-akda sa Mt. St. Paul, La Trinidad, Benguet noong 2017.

Sa kabilang dako naman, hindi masama, lalong hindi rin kasalanan ang dumaing sa Diyos. Kung tutuusin ay maituturing na isang pananalangin ang ating pagdaing sa Diyos!

Bakit?

Muli, makikita natin ang pinagmumulan ng ating pagdaing na walang iba kungdi puso natin.

Maraming pagkakataon, ang ating pagdaing ay bumubukal mula sa kaibuturan ng ating sarili dahil sa matinding hirap at pagtitiis. Wala kang mapagsabihan dahil labis na ang kawalan ng pagpapahalaga sa iyo ng ilang tao na dapat sana’y kumilala sa iyong mga pagpapagal at, hindi sa anu pa mang dahilan, ay tumanaw ng utang na loob man lamang sa iyong kagandahang-loob.

Kaya naman natural at hindi mo na rin mapigilan pag-uwal mula sa puso at kalooban mga nararamdaman lalo na sama ng loob maging pagtatampo sa ilang tao. At maski sa Diyos na tila baga walang pakialam sa iyo. Pero ganoon nga ba? Hindi!

Dumaraing tayo sa Diyos kahit tila pakiwari natin malayo siya o walang pakialam dahil wala na tayong ibang matakbuhan kungdi siya na lamang. Hindi masama na tayo ay dumaing sa Diyos at ihayag pagtatampo sa kanya dahil pagiging totoo ito sa sariling nararamdaman.

Dito sa nararamdamang ito rin nakatago ang kagandahan nitong pagdaing na isang panalangin din sapagkat sa bawat hinaing, naroon ang pagsusumamo sa Poong Maykapal na siya lamang ang mayroong magagawa sa atin. Hindi magagalit ang Diyos sa atin dahil batid niya kung baga tayo ay “naglalambing” sa kanya katulad ni Moises sa ilang pagkakataon.

Hindi kaila kay Moises ang iyakan ng lahat ng sambahayan na nakatayo sa pintuan ng kani-kanilang tolda. Nagalit nang labis ang Diyos, kaya nabalisa si Moises. Itinanong ni Moises kay Yahweh, “Bakit ninyo ako isunuong sa ganitong kalaking pasanin? Bakit ninyo ako ginaganito? May nagawa ba akong laban sa inyo? Ako ba ang nagsilang sa kanila? Hindi ko sila kayang alagaang mag-isa. Napakalaki ng gawaing ito para sa akin! Kung ganito rin lamang ang gagawin ninyo sa akin, mabuti pa’y mamatay na ako ngayon din kaysa maghirap nang matagal.”

Bilang 11:10-12, 14-15
Larawan kuha ng may-akda sa may St. Catherine Monastery, Mt. Sinai, Egypt, Mayo 2019.

Tayo ma’y nakapagdrama na rin siguro ng kung ilang ulit tulad ni Moises sa Diyos ng ganito. E, pinansin ba tayo ng Diyos? Siyempre hindi! Bagamat hirap na hirap tayo ngunit, heto pa rin tayo, buhay na buhay!

Ganoon kaganda ang pagdaing – maihinga lang ay naaayos na ang lahat sa atin, gumagaan ating pasanin dahil ang totoo dama natin ang Diyos sa piling natin.

Kapag tayo dumaraing sa Diyos, doon niya tayo tiyak dinirinig dahil doon tayo pinakamalapit sa kanya kay Kristo Jesus doon sa Krus. Tuwing tayo ay batbat ng hirap at sakit lalo na sa mga pula at reklamo ng mga taong tinutulungan at kinakalinga natin, doon tayo nakabayubay sa krus kasama si Jesus at katulad ni Jesus.

Kapag wala tayong narinig kungdi reklamo ng maraming tao sa kabila ng ating pagsisikap para sa kanila, doon tayo nagmamahal na tunay gaya ni Jesus.

Hindi tayo makareklamo kanino man maliban sa Diyos dahil sa ating kaibuturan, batid natin siya lang ating maaasahan. Hindi labi ang nangungusap sa atin kungdi puso at kalooban sa kapangyarihan ng Espiritung Banal gaya ng sinasaad ni San Pablo (Rom. 8:26-27).

Kayo kung ikaw ay pagod na sa bigat ng mga pasanin sa buhay, nabibingi na sa mga reklamo at patutsada ng mga “magagaling” na tao sa paligid mo, chill lang. Okey lang magbuntung-hininga tulad ni Jesus (tingnan Marcos 8:11-13) nang mapuno sa kakulitan ng mga kalaban.

Ibuhos iyong daing, pati luha, sa Diyos na tanging sa ating nakauunawa. Higit sa lahat, nagmamahal at natutuwa dahil sa kabila ng maraming reklamo ng iba, gumaganap tayo sa kanyang misyon at ipinagagawa. Amen.

Larawan kuha ng may-akda sa San Juan, La Union, ika-24 ng Hulyo 2023.

May birthday pa ba sa langit?

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-26 ng Hulyo 2023
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, takip-silim sa may Silang, Cavite noong Agosto 2020.

Sa araw na ito, ika-26 ng Hulyo ay ating pinararangalan ang mga nakatatanda sa atin bilang paggunita kina San Joaquin at Sta. Ana, mga magulang ng Mahal na Birheng Maria, Lolo at Lola ng Panginoong Jesus.

Sa aming pamilya, espesyal ito noon pa man dahil kaarawan ng aking yumaong ama na si Wilfredo na isinilang noong Hulyo 26, 1932. Pumanaw siya noong ika-17 ng Hunyo 2000, kaarawan ng aming Ina. Kaya mula noon hanggang ngayon ay parang drama ang aming buhay na magkakapatid tuwing sasapit ang mga buwan ng Hunyo at Hulyo dahil naroon ang magkahalong tuwa at lungkot sa birthday ng aming mga magulang gayon din ang pagpapanaw ni Daddy.

Dahil dalawang taon pa lamang ako na pari nang pumanaw aking ama, hindi pa ako nakapagmisa patungkol sa kanyang kaarawan tuwing ika-26 ng Hulyo. Gayun din sa aking ina. Dahil sa napakasakit niyang karanasan, hindi ko pa rin siya naipagmimisa nang patungkol sa kanyang birthday na death anniversary nga ng kanyang kabiyak ng puso at aming ama. Dangan din kasi ay mahigpit ang bilin ni Mommy nang mamatay si Daddy, hindi na siya magbe-birthday celebration.

Ang aking yumaong ama sa kanyang opisina, Bureau of Forestry, 1972.

Nakakatawang isipin, puwede nga bang hindi magbirthday dito sa lupang ibabaw? Bagaman palaging death anniversary ni Daddy ang aming pagdiriwang tuwing June 17 na birthday ni Mommy, mayroon pa rin kaming pansit o spaghetti, cake at ice cream para sa kanya!

Darating at darating ating birthday na parang kuliling ng tindero ng ice cream ngunit kapag tayo ay namatay, wala na tayong birthday celebration. Ang kamatayan natin sa lupa ang birthday natin sa langit kaya iyon ang higit nating dapat alalahanin!

Kaya sana po ay huwag ninyo masamain itong aking sasabihin: tigilan na po natin itong kalokohan at kahibangan ng pagbati ng “Happy Birthday in Heaven” sa mga yumao nating mahal na buhay.

Inaamin ko na ako man ay ilang ulit napatangay sa kamaliang ito ng pagbati ng happy birthday in heaven sa Facebook. Nguni’t simula ngayon na sana ay ika-91 kaarawang ng aking ama kung nabubuhay pa siya, hinding hindi na ako babati kanino man ng happy birthday in heaven.

Wala na pong birthday sa langit o kabilang-buhay dahil iyon ay kawalang hanggan na po.

Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Mt. St. Paul, La Trinidad, Benguet, Mayo 2017.

Noong mamatay ang aking ama sa kaarawan ng aking ina, iyon ang paliwanag ko sa kanya: ganyan po kayo kamahal ng Daddy; birthday niya sa langit, birthday po ninyo dito sa lupa.

Kaya nga ang kapistahan palagi ng mga banal ay ang petsa ng kanilang kamatayan o nang paglilipat ng kanilang labi. Bukod tangi lamang sina Jesus, Birheng Maria at San Juan Bautista ang ipinagdiriwang natin ang mga kaarawan ng pagsilang sa lupang ibabaw.

Ang kamatayan natin ang ating petsa ng pagsilang sa buhay na walang hanggan. Move on na tayo…

Sa dalawamput-limang taon ko sa pagkapari, isang bagay napansin ko na madalas ang mga petsa ng kamatayan ay sadyang makahulugan kesa petsa ng kapanganakan. Palagi mga petsa ng kamatayan ng mga mahal natin sa buhay malapit o may kinalaman sa mahalalagang petsa sa buhay natin. Sabi nga ng iba, madalas namamatay ang tao malapit sa petsa ng birthday nila.

Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Anvaya Cove sa Bataan, Mayo 2023.

Sa dati kong parokya, nagrereunion ang isang angkan tuwing araw ng Pasko, Disyembre 25 dahil iyon ang kamatayan ng kanilang Lola. Nang suriin ko, ipinanganak ang Lola nila ika-24 ng Marso! Sabi ko sa kanilang angkan ay napakaganda ng petsa ng kamatayan ng Lola nila bagamat masakit kung iisipin dahil araw iyon ng kasiyahan dapat. Nguni’t wika ko sa kanila, isinilang sa lupa inyong Lola sa bisperas ng petsa ng pagkakatawang-tao ni Jesus o Annunciation (Marso 25) habang isinilang naman Lola nila sa langit nang pumanaw siya ng ika-25 ng Disyembre. Tuwang-tuwa sila sa paliwanag ko kaya tuwing Pasko, ako ay pinamamaskuhan ng magkakamag-anak!

Pagmasdan ninyo mga lapida sa sementeryo: palagi naroon ang petsa ng kapanganakan at kamatayan. At pagkatapos ay wala nang kasunod kasi nga wala nang hanggan!

Noong wala pang social media lalo na iyang Facebook na dahilan ng pagkabobo nating mga tao dahil nga puro tayo palabas, kapag dumarating petsa ng pagsilang ng yumao nating mahal sa buhay, ang palaging sinasabi ay “nobenta’y uno na sana siya kung buhay pa ngayon” (he would have been 91 years old today had he not died).

Tingnang ninyo. Mas tumpak ang kaisipan at pananalita ng matatanda kesa sa atin ngayon. Kung araw ng kapanganakan ng yumaong mahal sa buhay, magpost na lang ng simpleng “naaalala ka pa rin namin” o “buhay kang palagi sa aking alaala” o “ikaw pa rin ang aking tanging mahal” na siyang tunay at totoo kesa “happy birthday sa langit” na isang kasinungalingan.

Inuulit ko, wala na pong birthday sa langit.

Huwag na kayong babati ng happy birthday in heaven. Ang birthday ay sa lupa lamang. Mag-level up na tayo ng pananaw, kaisipan at kamalayan katulad ng mga pumanaw na nasa kabilang buhay na. “Ang mga bagay na panlangit ang isaisip ninyo, hindi ang mga bagay na panglupa sapagkat namatay na kayo at ang inyong tunay na buhay ay natatago sa Diyos, kasama ni Kristo” (Col. 3:1-2).

Maraming salamat po at maligayang kapistahan sa mga Lolo at Lola muli!

Larawan kuha ng may-akda, takip-silim sa Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan, Hunyo 2020.

The riches of Christ

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Homily, Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, 16 June 2023
Deuteronomy 7:6-11 ><}}}*> 1 John 4:7-16 ><}}}*> Matthew 11:25-30
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 20 March 2023.

It has been two months since I celebrated by silver anniversary of ordination to the priesthood. Until now, I still continue to reflect and relish on this immense gift of priesthood, still asking with the same sense of awe and wonder since ordination day, “why me, Lord?”

As I reflected this week the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus which is dedicated for the sanctification of us priests, I have realized how I have remained the same sinful, insecure and fearful man ordained 25 years ago with my six other classmates. As I get closer to becoming a senior citizen in 2025, the more my past sins and stupidities, carelessness and vices are coming back like “Facebook Memory”, reminding me how I have them kept under control, that they could burst and be out in the open if I get careless.

But in the midst of all these darkness and weaknesses still in me, the more I feel so blessed and consoled, and overjoyed by the fact that I still have that same desire to proclaim Jesus Christ to everyone, of how beautiful this life is because of the Lord’s immeasurable love for each of us. Whenever I look back to my past with all my sinfulness and weaknesses amid my getting older, the more I am eager to make Jesus known to everyone while I am still strong and able. There is that feeling of being like St. Paul in saying, “To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for all what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things” (Eph. 3:8-9).

Or, like in our first reading, I could identify with the Israelites being reminded by Moses in the wilderness that “You are a people sacred to the Lord, your God; he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth to be his people peculiarly his own. It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. It was because the Lord loved you” (Dt.7:6-8).

Beautiful!

Love, love, and love!

That is the “inscrutable riches of Christ”, his immense love for us, dying for us, coming for us even if we are worth nothing at all. And it is because of that love of God for us that we have become so worthy that he gave us even his only Son, Jesus Christ.

That is the essence of this celebration of the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Love.

A reality we all experience and know but could not define for it has no limits. Love can only be described and best expressed in actions than in words.

See this Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus comes right after the Solemnities of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Most Precious Body and Blood of Jesus these past two Sundays. Both celebrations speak of love: the latter is about relationships based on love and the former is about giving of self in love.

Now that we are well into the Ordinary Time of our liturgical calendar, our celebration today tells us to remember throughout this year this most basic truth and reality of our faith – that we are so loved by God.

Beloved, let us love one another because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him.

1 John 4:7-9

Love is symbolized by the heart, the very core of every person. That is why I love the Spanish word for heart which is corazon, evocative of the core, of the deeper self. And of course, love is the very the person of God.

Of all the writers in the Bible, St. John is the one who most frequently used the word “love”, an indication of its centrality in his thoughts. Moreover, he clarified that this love is not human love because its origin, motives and effects are supernatural in nature who is God himself.

Being the very self and also the riches or wealth of Christ, love is for sharing, for giving. Never for keeping. Because of its supernatural nature, love is inexhaustible. The more you give it, the more you share, the more you have it!

In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. 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 4:10-12
Photo by Ms. April Oliveros, March 2023 at Mt. Pulag.

Let me repeat that last sentence, “if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.”

The more we love, the more we are able to see and recognize God and other people amidst the darkness around us. Likewise, the more we love the more we see our true selves too despite dark spots within us.

Love is the law of life. To love God by loving ourselves and others is not an obligation imposed from outside. It is the very proof of our faith and union with God in Jesus Christ.

Jesus makes this very clear to us today in the gospel that opens with him praising the simple people, those who were child-like who welcomed him and his preaching. They were the ones Jesus referred at his sermon on the mount, “Blessed are the poor” because love is not an intellectual structure or system to be learned or analyzed. Love is a call to be disarmed of everything we hold onto so we can totally love and follow Jesus Christ.

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus came to reveal to us God our Father. And to know the Father is not through the head or intelligence but through our heart that is like Christ’s, meek and humble, filled with love.

By becoming human like us in everything except sin, Jesus who is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15) enables us to feel and experience God now closest to us than ever. Most of all, we are able to love and still love especially when the going gets tough and rough.

Here Jesus shows us that love is not absence of sufferings. In fact, love is truest and noblest when there are sacrifices and sufferings as exemplified by Jesus in his life and death on the Cross.

There are times we feel grouchy, so sensitive when people seem to ask even demand so much from us.

From Facebook, 2021.

Sometimes we wonder why are we the ones always giving, always loving, always forgiving. Sometimes we even ask God why are we the ones going through all these trials in life, why are we the ones afflicted with this sickness, why are we given with a special child, why your child had gone ahead of you to eternal life?

So many whys, so many questions.

Rest today in Christ. Feel his embrace. Listen to his silence. Be filled with his love. As you ask Jesus with all those questions, realize that each cry, each lamentation is the “inscrutable riches of Christ”, his very love perfected in your labors and burdens. Amen.

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

Roots

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 10 April 2023
A photo-reflection of our rootedness in God while at the Sacred Heart Novitiate last March 20-22, 2023.
In the lush rolling hills of Novaliches
that is now fast disappearing are
23 hectares of pastureland and mini forests 
inside the Sacred Heart Novitiate
of the Society of Jesus.

Thank God it had opened
anew its doors to retreatants like me
wishing to have a "vacare Deo"
or vacation in the Lord.
A retreat
or a vacare Deo
is a return to our roots,
God.

While preparing for the formal
start of my retreat last March 20,
I felt the roots of the many trees
speaking to me
 in this Bethel of mine
where like Jacob in
Genesis 28:10-19,
I met God.
Sometimes,
I wrestled with Him
like Jacob too
in Peniel/Penuel
(Gen. 32:23-33).
How interesting
the words "true" and "truth"
along with its cousin "trust"
came from the old English
"treowe"
for tree.
According to experts,
the Anglo-Saxons worshipped trees
they called "treowe"
because they evoked firmness
and solidness;
the more rooted is the tree,
the more firm does it stand.
Like truth.
Whatever that is true, firmly standing
like a tree or treowe always has extensive 
network of roots, creating linkages
and interconnections from which came
that image of the 
"family tree".
When there are interconnections,
linkages,
there are relationships.
People with the most
wonderful relationships
are also the truthful ones
because they are trustworthy.
Reliable.
Like God.
Our root.
Our rootedness
who connects us with
everyone.
When we are rooted
and grounded in God,
nothing can ever disturb us
like a big, big, tree.
We can withstand all storm,
bear the sun's heat
remaining firm
and aglow
 with God's majesty
in daytime and in darkness.

Lovelier than the tree,
thank God
for creating me.
Hallelujah!

Imitating, praying with Mary in 2023

The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Eighth Day in the Octave of Christmas, 01 January 2023
Numbers 6:22-27 ><}}}}*> Galatians 4:4-7 ><}}}}*> Luke 2:16-21

A blessed Merry Christmas everyone! Our Mass on this first day of 2023 is not for the new year but in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Mother of God because her Son Jesus Christ is true God and true Man. Of all human beings, she is therefore the best model for us to follow in welcoming every new year.

First thing we notice with Mary is her prayerful silence at the birth of Jesus Christ, the very new year in humanity when henceforth, time is reckoned in relation with his birth that is why we have those initials BC for “Before Christ” and AD for “Anno Domini” or “Year of the Lord”.

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

Luke 2:16-19

I come from the town of Bocaue in Bulacan known as the “fireworks capital” of the Philippines and I have never liked our manner of ushering every new year with a bang. Even the Chinese are ashamed at how we overdo our fireworks and firecrackers during the new year. What I hate most are the human lives lost every year because of pyrotechnics.

Life always begins in silence. Destruction comes in loud noises just like what we do every new year with fireworks and firecrackers. It is Jesus Christ who drives out the evil spirits from our lives and the world since he came to the world more than 2000 years ago and here we are, calling all the evil spirits back!

In my former parish, we used to have a Holy Hour after our Mass of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God in the evening of December 31. Like Mary, we pray in silence to Jesus to thank him for all that have happened the past year, for everything, whether good or bad.

Let Jesus come and dwell in our hearts tonight and tomorrow. Pray with your family and loved ones. Pray by yourself.

Secondly, like Mary, let us treasure all our memories of the past year in our hearts, both the good and the bad ones especially the people who have touched us and hurt us too.

Silence is the door through which God enters our heart and soul, enabling us to have that meaningful awareness of Jesus in us and among us, helping us to see the larger picture of life with its many realities. One of my favorite writers, T.S. Eliot wrote in his very long Four Quartets that “tragedy occurs when we have the experience but miss the meaning”. Very true!

Most of all, it is in silence where we grow deeper in faith, hope and love of God because silence is the domain of trust. That is why saints and monks and every holy person of high level of spirituality are lovers of silence. Silent people are the most trusting ones to God and to others.

I have been dwelling this week on that scene when the shepherds came with all their noises and talks while Mary sat in silence along with St. Joseph, the patron saint of silence.

What was Mary thinking or praying? Was she asking for a better year in their lives after all the trials and difficulties she and Joseph have in having Jesus?

I don’t think she prayed for a better year ahead like many of us wishing in Facebook that 2023 would be better.

If we have Jesus Christ in us like Mary, every year, every day is always the best. If I may say so, every today becomes the least joyous days of our lives in Christ. Read and pray the gospel to see how the lives of Mary and all the other disciples went through the most wonderful and spectacular experiences in having Jesus.

Like Mary after giving birth to Jesus, she never prayed nor wished for a better year despite her being the Mother of God because nothing is better than living each day in Christ our Savior.

It is useless and futile to get all those lucky charms nor consult fortune tellers on what is in store for us this 2023. Mary knew nothing at all what was in store for her in giving birth to Jesus, much less in following him as his foremost disciple. All she was certain at that time time was the name to be given to her child, Jesus that means “God is my savior”.

Jesus is still and will always be our only certainty in life – day in, day out in every year. Let us not lose Jesus. Like Mary, let us treasure him in our hearts where he dwells. Let us pray with Mary:

Lord Jesus Christ,
on this passing of 2022
as 2023 comes, make me silent
in you, trusting you like your Mother
and our Mother too, 
the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Thank you for everything; 
despite the many disappointments
and failures, trials and sufferings, 
hurts and pains amidst the more 
joys and laughters I have had from
people you have given me this 2022,
teach me to trust you more that everything
in the past year indicates more better days are ahead!
I pray only for one thing this new year
as your disciple, Lord:
like Mary, let me love and trust you more,
never let me leave you,
keep me at your side even 
at your Cross.  Amen.

A Christmas prayer to be a Christmas to others too

The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Christmas Eve, 24 December 2022
Isaiah 9:1-6 ><}}}}*> Titus 2:11-14 ><}}}}*> Luke 2:1-14

Christmas is the busiest season for us priests. How ironic that as we keep on reminding the people to prepare more on the spiritual aspect of this most loved season, we priests are also caught in all the rush and busyness of Christmas, beginning with the Simbang Gabi and Misa de Gallo and other parish concerns.

But, God gives us the grace to hurdle all difficulties of sleeping late, rising early and in between, praying as we prepare for our homilies. Thank you too for your appreciation and prayers for us priests. Forgive us when sometimes we get too touchy this week for lack of sleep.

As usual, I woke up early today to pray and prepare for Christmas but unfortunately, I felt like waking up on the wrong side of the bed, feeling grouchy. Most of all, so dried in prayer. Yet, God is so merciful after being silent before him before noon, I just felt writing this prayer interspersed with my reflections of the scriptures which I have been praying over since Wednesday.

Dearest sweet Jesus:
I feel agitated.
Or excited?
So many things are coming
and filling me at this moment;
I could not be still to find you,
to experience you.
Come, Lord Jesus,
So that I may share you
with others!

Let me be your Christmas too
by being Your presence to others, 
myself as a gift and present especially
to those grieving for the loss of a loved one
during this difficult years of the pandemic;
let me be your Christmas and presence,
myself as a gift and present to those nursing
fresh wounds or wounds that would not heal
because they are so deep and painful;
let me be your Christmas to those with nothing
this Christmas Day except their very selves
with that firm faith and fervent hope in you, 
Lord Jesus, by being small and fragile like you
on the manger in Bethlehem.

How lovely is Luke’s presentation of the first Christmas, of Jesus Christ coming in a time of history that is so troubled, so inhospitable especially for children.

Just like today with this ongoing pandemic made worst by the many wars going on that have triggered so many other difficulties and sufferings, from poverty to homelessness. Yet, it is the most beautiful setting of Christ’s coming set at the background of many leaders feeling they are the savior of the world or of their country just like the Roman emperor at the time of his birth. In all their “larger than life” portrayal of themselves, there is Jesus Christ in the most ordinary yet powerful truth of God among us – coming as an infant, coming and starting small!

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of Bethlehem…with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luke 2:1-4, 5-7

We need not be famous nor have all the power and wealth to change this world. We all just have to be our true selves, little “earthlings” because in our being small when Jesus comes. We do not have to live in luxuries nor be in the cities or any country. Just be where we are, in our simplicity and humanity where Christ comes to fill us because he is God’s Firstborn in whom everything is created for him, with him and in him as St. Paul had noted.

Inasmuch as God believes in us by entrusting to us his Son Jesus Christ, let us believe also in God truly that he will work miracles in us, with us and through us! That is why Jesus came.

Let me be your Christmas to others, Jesus:
I may not be able to wrap any gift this Christmas,
let my arms and smiles wrap others in a hug
so they may experience your warmth and loving presence;
let me be your Christmas to others, Jesus,
by sharing food, and being the food myself to
those hungry and thirsty to give them strength 
not only in body but also in soul;
I do not know how to bake cookies 
and other goodies but, still make me your Christmas
to others by sharing your joy and kindness with them
so we could have memories of my love 
no matter how imperfect it may be;
most of all, dear Jesus, let me be your Christmas light
this Christmas for others especially those in the darkness
of sin and evil, depression and confusion,
helplessness and despair, isolation and alienation,
of festering anger and recurring painful memories.

We have been through a lot of so many things these past three years. It is God’s will that since the pandemic started in 2020 that this time, we celebrate Christmas face-to-face, which is what Christmas is essentially all about – the Son of God coming to us in flesh to experience Father personally.

Christmas is a story of encounters, of God meeting persons, real people like me and you.

Jesus came as a baby so that we could easily and lovingly receive him as he entrusts himself to our love and care and protection. So many things have happened to us since 2020 but hey, we are still alive, still here celebrating Christmas. Let us dwell in this joy of Jesus coming to us so we may also share him with others still sulking in all the negative vibes brought by COVID-19.

May we imitate his Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary who “kept all these things, reflecting them in her heart” (Lk. 1:19) for it is in our hearts where Jesus comes daily.

How sad that with all the experiences we have had these years of pandemic that we lose sight of its meaning that amid all the darkness and hostilities of this world, Jesus surely comes to save us! 

Dearest Jesus,
let me be your Christmas to others:
make me firm in my conviction and faith in you
"rejecting godless ways and worldly desires
by living temperately, justly and devoutly" (Titus 2:12);
let me be your Christmas,
be born in me every day as I strive
to follow you even to the Cross
so that "the people who walked in darkness
may see your great light to experience peace"
(Isaiah 9:1, 5) when I say your words
and do your works.  Amen.

A blessed Merry Christmas, everyone!

Be a Christmas to others too!

Advent is for soul-searching

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Third Week of Advent, 15 December 2022
Isaiah 54:1-10     ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> + ><}}}*>     Luke 7:24-30
Your questions today, O Lord Jesus,
are so disturbing, touching us to our very core:
"What did you go out to the desert to see ---
a reed swayed by the wind?
Then what did you go out to see?
Someone dressed in fine garments?
Then what did you go out to see?
A prophet?" (Luke 7:24, 25, 26)
What do we want to see this Christmas?
What are we expecting?
What aspect of life are we more
concerned with, the material or the spiritual?
Maybe, it is also about time
to examine ourselves and ask,
what do people see in us?
What do they expect from us,
especially us who are supposed to be
prayerful and religious?
I wonder, O Lord, when people see us,
will they rejoice like what Isaiah spoke of
in the first reading?
Do I reflect your presence,
your healing,
your salvation?
Lord Jesus,
empty me of my sins and pride,
fill me with your humility,
justice and love.
Amen.

Yakapin pagwawakas, salubungin pagsisimula

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-22 ng Nobyembre 2022
Larawan kuha ng may akda, 16 Nobyembre 2022 sa Pulilan, Bulacan.
Nakakatawang isipin
na palagi nating nararanasan
mga pagwawakas at katapusan
nguni't bakit lagi nating kinatatakutan?
Sa dapithapon naroon ang takipsilim,
ang lahat mababalot ng dilim
na kinasasabikan natin dahil
tapos na rin mga gawain at aralin;
batid natin, ano mang kuwento
maski Ang Probinsiyano
magwawakas din;
mahirap isipin, maski tanggapin
kapag mayroong mga gusali na gigibain
lalo't higit mga ugnayan at kapatiran
na puputulin at papatirin
dahil sa alitan at, kamatayan.
Mismo ang Panginoong Hesus
tumiyak sa atin lahat ay magwawakas
hindi upang tapusin kungdi
muling buuin buhay at mundo natin
na mas mainam kaysa dati.
Kaya huwag isandig sarili natin 
sa mga bagay ng daigdig na maglalaho rin
katulad ng dapithapon at takipsilim
bagkus ay ating yakapin 
bawat wakas na tiyak darating
upang salubungin pagbubukang-liwayway
ng bagong araw ng buhay, pag-asa
at pagpapanibago kay Hesu-Kristo
na sariling buhay man ay nagwakas din 
doon sa Krus upang muling mabuhay
at mabuksan Paraiso para sa atin --
ang tunay na katiyakang nakalaan sa atin!
Larawan kuha ni Bb. Danna Hazel de Castro, Sagada, Mt. Province, 2017.

When we fall, feeling down…

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 04 October 2022
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

It was a Monday morning when rains started falling as I was about to complete my first round of walks when I saw an old lady with a cane tripped on the inclined pavement. I ran to help her but in her frantic efforts to rise, she had dragged down her caregiver too.

Upon reaching the old lady, I asked her to keep herself down and take deep breaths while I checked her for possible injuries. Thank God there was none except a broken cane and perhaps a bruised amor propio as tears were rolling from her eyes while telling me, “nakakahiya naman sa inyo, Father.” I told her not to worry as I invited her to have a seat near our gate but, she seemed so embarrassed and left.

When I resumed my walking in the rains, the scene kept flashing in my mind and had me musing…

When we fall,
when we are down,
just be still
to feel the earth beneath
then roll your eyes to see
the skies above everything
between.
When we fall,
when we are down,
do not rush to rise up
do not be ashamed 
you slipped
or tripped
there is no trick.
When we fall,
when we are down,
it is better to cry
to shed some tears
surely there are pains
and aches deep within
we have not yet seen.
When we fall,
when we are down,
people standing on ground
would always offer a hand
to help us stand
shake off dirt from us
even clean our hands.
When we fall,
when we are down,
everyone will understand that
no one, nothing remains up
all must go down; 
it is time for us to be calm
Jesus is coming, our Good Samaritan.
Photo from cbcpnews.net, May 2020.