Time In A Bottle

Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, 27 September 2026
Ezsekiel 18:25-28 ><}}}}*> Philippians 2:1-11 ><}}}}*> Matthew 21:28-32

*Photo by Joshua Woroniecki on Pexels.com*

Yes, our Sunday reflection title is from that same 1972 Jim Croce classic, Time In A Bottle. It just popped out in my mind while praying for our Sunday homily – like last Tuesday when we remembered REM’s Everybody Hurts (https://lordmychef.com/2026/09/21/everybody-hurts/), Thursday Bob Dylan’s Blowing In The Wind (https://lordmychef.com/2026/09/23/blowing-in-the-wind-3/) and Friday with the Byrds’ Turn! Turn! Turn! (https://lordmychef.com/2026/09/24/turn-turn-turn-to-know-gods-time/).

It was a week of prayers aided by music I grew up with as it happens most of the time which I believe is part of my being old while unconsciously feeling fearful of the inevitable, death.

But, it isn’t morbid at all. I regard it as simply being realistic.

Like our liturgical calendar that is about to end in nine weeks on November 22 with the Solemnity of Christ the King followed the next Sunday after that on November 29 with the Season of Advent or the four Sunday preparation for Christmas!

Hence, all gospel accounts beginning this Sunday will focus on the coming end of time and the need for us to change our ways to make it to heaven, our final destination in this life.

Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people: “What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ He said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards he changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the father’s will.” They answered, “The first” (Mt.21:28-31).

*Photo by author, Jerusalem as seen from the altar of Dominus Flevit Church, May 2017.*

Jesus and his disciples have finally reached Jerusalem and this scene today is the day after Palm Sunday when he angrily drove away the traders and money changers in the Temple area that have prompted his enemies led by the elders and priests to come and questioned his authority.

Before giving his answer, Jesus asked them the origin of John’s authority to baptize, God or the people? They declined to answer because they have refused to recognize John’s baptism and that is why Jesus gave them a chance to change their minds and their hearts with this parable of the two sons. It was like Jesus telling them and everyone else including us today to obey follow God.

See now its link with last Sunday’s parable of the workers in the vineyard: Jesus continues to call us to come and work in his vineyard no matter how late; our work in his vineyard never stops and we need to keep doing what is good even if sometimes we fail and falter. Remember too that Matthew presents Jesus as always insisting the need to harmonize and blend what we believe with what we say and most of all, with what we do because “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Mt.7:21).

*Photo by author, Anvaya Cove, Bataan, 21 July 2026.*

What counts most for Jesus in this parable is not just what or who is in our hearts but what flows from our hearts. Do we walk our talk? There has to be a unity in our faith wherein what we believe is what we say and what we do and live by.

Like the younger son in the parable, we are invited today to be humble and accept our mistakes to do what is right, what is good, what is moral than become like the elder son who said yes to their father but did not obey at all. Many times despite our absolute belief in God, we still think more of ourselves, insisting our own ways and agenda even to our loved ones, unmindful of the disunity we cause in our relationships aside from the pains and hurts we inflict on them whenever our words of love and peace do not match our actions.

There is a saying that goes “A single act of kindness is better than the best intention.” So true! – because our actions prove the veracity and sincerity of our every intention. That’s what God did for us by not merely promising a Savior but fulfilled it in sending us Jesus Christ who died obediently on the Cross which St. Paul eloquently explained today in our second reading we also hear during Christmas and Easter Seasons.

*Photo by author, Anvaya Cove, Bataan, 20 July 2026.*

We are so blessed this Sunday not only because God fulfills his promises of love and forgiveness but he always gives us endless chances to change our ways, to continuously work things out for the best.

Every Eucharist is a celebration of God’s patience and mercy for us sinners who must be converted again and again and again to make it to His kingdom in heaven. We must always be on guard not to fall into the mistake of the laborers last week who were so focused on their work than on the goodness of the landowner as if they deserved something extra than others which the Prophet Ezekiel echoed in the first reading:

“Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair? When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die. But if he turns from the wickedness he has committed, and does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life” (Ezekiel 18:25-27).

God is not a store nor a credit card who gives “rebates” for whatever good points we “earn” for past purchases for he will judge us with our actions and not intentions. We simply have to strive in doing what is good like that second child in the parable.

Let me end this reflection with this funny story about the talking centipede.

A young man decided life would be more fun if he had a most unique pet. So he went to the pet store and told the owner about it. After some discussions, he finally bought a talking centipede, which came in a little white box to use for his house.

The guy took the box back home, found a good spot to place it with the centipede inside and decided he would start off by taking his new pet to church with him.

So he asked the centipede in the box, “Would you like to go to church with me today? We will have a good time.”

But there was no answer from his new pet.

This bothered him a bit, but he waited a few minutes and then asked again, “How about going to church with me and receive blessings?”

But again, there was no answer from his most unique pet. So he waited a few minutes more, thinking about the situation. The guy decided to invite the centipede one last time by putting his face up against the centipede’s house and shouted, “Hey, in there! Would you like to go to church with me and learn about God?”

Then suddenly, a little voice came out of the box, “I heard you the first time! I’m putting my shoes on.”

Smile everyone, God loves you so much! He knows that like the centipede, you have so many shoes to wear, so many shoestrings to tie but God is not in a hurry….just keep on putting on those shoes and keep walking on His path! Amen. Have a blessed end of September.

“Turn, Turn, Turn” to know God’s time

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 25 September 2026
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 9:18-22

*Photo by Vincenzo Malagoli on Pexels.com*

Once again,
O Lord,
your words right away
reminded me of another song
from the 1960's but this time
taken almost verbatim 
from our first reading:

To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together

To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace
A time to refrain from embracing

To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it’s not too late!

I really wonder, 
Lord, if you have "made
everything appropriate to its time,
and has put the timeless into 
their hearts,
without men's ever discovering,
from beginning to end,
the work which God has done"
(Ecclesiastes 3:11),
then what time is it now 
for me?

A time to weep or to laugh?
A time to mourn or to dance?
A time to scatter or to gather?
A time to be silent or to speak?
A time to love or to hate?

Despite our ingenuity
and intelligence,
we still could not figure out
what time it is, 
Lord, 
because we can never
know you God 
unless we let go
of ourselves,
unless we return to you.

And that is why
Pete Seeger and the Byrds
added those chorus lines
before each stanza
from today's first reading:

To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven

*Photo by author, Dominus Flevit Church outside Jerusalem, May 2017.*

Let me turn,
turn, turn to you
always to experience
your time, dear Lord;
let me turn,
turn, turn to you
so I may see you like
Peter as you are 
in today's gospel -
the Christ of God
(Luke 9:20),
the One who suffered
and died but rose again
for our salvation!

In your Passion and Resurrection
Jesus, 
you have shown us 
time is a dimension
for us to determine and measure 
the passing of moments, 
a reference point
to go back in the past,
to plan in the future,
to experience the present
that often escapes us;
may we learn from Richard Bach's
Jonathan Livingston Seagull the parting
words of the wise Chen after teaching
him how to fly higher than most seagulls:
"Friendships should depend on nothing
like time and space; remove time,
we have now, remove space, we have here;
don't you think between
now and here we could meet
once or twice?"

Teach us, 
Lord Jesus
to return to you,
to turn away from sins
and evil to experience fullness
of time in your coming
in every here and now.
Amen.

From YouTube.com

Wise to be a fool for Christ

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 28 August 2026
Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop & Doctor of the Church
1 Corinthians 1:1-9 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 24:42-51

*Photo by author, view from Antipolo City of the Ortigas Center, August 2022.*

Lord Jesus Christ,
help me to be wise like
St. Augustine whose feast
we celebrate today:
like him through your grace
O Lord, help me overcome
my worldly desires by 
lovingly embracing your Cross;
keep my heart aflame 
and restless with your love, Jesus,
lit with your truth and wisdom
ready to welcome you when you
return any moment.

Jesus said to his disciples: Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come (Matthew 24:42).

Make me wise enough,
Jesus to be foolish in following you,
in embracing your Cross;
keep me sensible like
the wise virgins lit with
your love and presence in my heart
sustained with that deep,
personal relationship rooted
in prayer like an oil
keeping the fire burning
in every lamp;
at the same time,
make me a fool like St. Paul,
a fool for you, O Christ,
believing and relying
in the power of your Cross.
Amen.

Mothers enriched in every way

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 27 August 2026
Memorial of St. Monica, Married Woman
1 Corinthians 1:1-9     <*((((><  +  ><))))*>     Matthew 24:42-51

*Photo of St. Monica from the cover of the book “St. Monica Club: How to Wait, Hope and Pray For Your Fallen-away Loved Ones” by Maggie Green, Sophia Institute Press, 2019.*

Today we pray 
Lord Jesus for all mothers -
especially those alone
and widowed,
the elderly and sick mothers,
those with disabilities,
young mothers,
single mothers,
those mothers silently
crying in pain due to 
unfaithful, irresponsible husband
or wayward children:
for all mothers praying hard
for their husband and children
like St. Monica...

How lovely are the words
of St. Paul today to the Corinthians,
so appropriate on this Memorial 
of St. Monica, 
mother of St. Augustine:

I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:4-7).

*Photo by author, Anvaya Resort, Morong, Bataan, 21 July 2026.*

Thank you, too,
Lord Jesus,
 for the gift
of our mothers,
in bestowing upon them
every spiritual blessing
as well as physical strength,
strong will,
and fighting spirit
who have guided us with their
enlightenment,
hard work
and perseverance;
for their immense love
and sacrifices beginning
in our life journey in their womb
up to our adulthood;
they have always been there
with us,
believing in us,
hoping we get better
physically,
mentally,
emotionally,
and spiritually
like St. Monica in her love
for St. Augustine and
his father.

Bless all mothers today,
Jesus:
like St. Monica
console them in experiencing
the transformation of their
children;
we pray also for all
departed mothers;
reward them with your
gift of eternal peace.
Amen.

St. Monica,
pray for us!

“The Way It Is” (1986) by Bruce Hornsby

Lord My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 23 August 2026

*Photo from Facebook post by Dr. Tony Leachon, “KLEPTOPIROSIS: When Corruption Becomes a Public Health Crisis”, 08 Agosto 2025.*

We go back to the year 1986 for our Sunday music we find so related with our gospel as well as situation in the country where we are literally inundated in government corruption and evil that have caused this massive flooding in various parts of the country.

Every year at this time when the rainy season comes, floods come in many parts of the country especially the city. It used to be normal but for the past decade, it has been getting worse every year. And suspicious until last year when it was uncovered at how officials from the Public Highways connived with lawmakers stealing billions of pesos – not to mention the life and future of countless citizens – through their mostly non-existent but paid flood control projects. (Sadly, it is until under investigation and no big fish had truly been jailed for their crimes.).

Back to our Sunday music – The Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby and the Range from their debut album of the same title released in July 1986….

It’s melody mainly in piano is one of those unforgettable soft rock tune wafting on breeze with lyrics so bitterly cold of the sad realities in life. It is actually a gospel in the truest sense because its lyrics are both challenging and disturbing set in a relaxing mood and melody like the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Its title could actually mislead anyone into thinking it as a feel-good music with its sophisticated piano introduction and accompaniment without paying attention to its lyrics and message.

It is not. Hornsby actually dares us even today to leave the comforts of our rooms to get truly examine how things are going on around us as if that’s just the way it is… It isn’t at all. Like poverty and unemployment as mentioned in the first stanza.

Standing in line, marking time
Waiting for the welfare dime
'Cause they can't buy a job
A man in a silk suit hurries by
As he catches the poor old ladies' eyes
Just for fun he says, "Get a job"

That's just the way it is
Some things'll never change
That's just the way it is
Ah, but don't you believe them

Most of all, an end to all forms of discrimination due to color and beliefs found in the fifth stanza.

Well, they passed a law in '64
To give those who ain't got a little more
But it only goes so far
'Cause the law don't change another's mind
When all it sees at the hiring time
Is the line on the color bar, no, no

The Way It Is is so very much like today’s gospel set in Caesarea Philippi where Jesus surveyed his disciples on what people were saying about him before directly asking them, “But who do you say that I am?”(Mt.16:15). Our personal answer to that question of Jesus leads us to our identity as beloved children of God, brothers and sisters in Christ who must be respecting each one other.

And the more we get to know Jesus, the more we also get to know who we are… This may sound simplistic: all these problems we have about school violence, degradation of our moral values as a nation that perpetuate in office corrupt and inept officials while destroying our environment with our disregard for proper disposal of waste and garbage, may be due to our disregard for who is Jesus to us.

The question who connects us with God and everyone. And with our very self. How sad that in this age of too much digitization, we have been so focused on techniques of doing like what and how, forgetting being, the focus of who. (https://lordmychef.com/2026/08/22/the-definitive-question-of-all/)

See the gospel’s relation with Hornsby’s incisive genius and values in the third and fourth stanzas where he challenges the situation we have been so accustomed to, “the way it is” as if challenging us to find Christ on the face of everyone we meet.

Said, "Hey little boy, you can't go where the others go
'Cause you don't look like they do"
I said, "Hey, old man, how can you stand to think that way?
Did you really think about it before you made the rules?"

He said, "Son
Well, that's just the way it is
Some things'll never change
That's just the way it is"
Ah, but don't you believe them
Mm, yeah

Many times in life, the simplest things are the most profound in meaning like the parables and this time the question of Jesus. And don’t forget, like modern music too that truly reflects the way it is in the world we are called to change into something more humane.

Here is Bruce Hornsby and the Range with their 1986 classic. Enjoy. And ponder too.

From YouTube.com.

Growing slowly & deeply in the Lord

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 24 July 2026
Jeremiah 3:14-17 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Matthew 13:18-23

*Photo by author, Balibago Tree flower, Anvaya Cove, Morong, Bataan, 21 July 2026.*

Help us return to you,
Lord, your rebellious children;
let us take this opportunity
of grace to be forgiven
to start anew
and to walk no longer in 
hardhearted wickedness
(cf. Jeremiah 3:14, 17).

It is our heart
that is always the problem,
not your word like the seeds
you scatter daily into our hearts,
Jesus; many times,
our heart are a mix of all kinds of
soil - the path, the rocky ground,
that among the thorns, and the 
rich soil; many times we are the
problem when we are hardhearted;
Lord Jesus,
continue to be patient with us,
watering us
cultivating us 
so that eventually your words
may grow and bear fruit in us.

In this age of instants
when even plants are instantly
made to bloom and bear fruits,
may we never forget that being
fruitful is what you desire most
than being productive;
like any good soil,
a seed can only grow into a 
fruitful plant, whether a crop or a tree
when there is openness to
the cultivator;
three things I ask you,
dear Lord as your soil:
patiently cultivate me
to open my heart in welcoming 
you into my life;
soften me as your soil,
Lord, that I may always be open
and welcoming to everyone
you sent to change the world,
and secondly, let me grow deeply
and surely in you Jesus
so that I may be fruitful not just
successful; being fruitful is the
more of what we have become
while successful is more of
what we have done and achieved.
Amen.

*Photo by author, Anvaya Cove, Morong, Bataan, 21 July 2026.*

Praying to “see” Jesus like Mary Magdalene

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II
Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, 22 July 2026
2 Corinthians 5:14-17     <*{{{{><  + ><}}}}*>     John 20:1-2, 11-18

*“Christ’s Appearance to Mary Magdalene”, painting in 1835 by Russian painter Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov now hanging at the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg; from en.wikipedia.org.*

"I have seen the Lord!"
(John 20:18)

What a joy must have been
for St. Mary Magdalene to 
proclaim to the Apostles your rising,
your appearance to her,
Lord Jesus.

Most joyous of all,
Lord is how you have called her
by name, "Mary!"

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken by Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus (John 20:1, 11-14).

Many times Lord Jesus
I feel like St. Mary Magdalene
on that very early morning
of Easter:
feeling lost or
distant from you
who seem to be missing
or taken away from me;
but so often,
like St. Mary Magdalene,
we fail to recognize you
with our eyes because
we picture you so differently
to who you really are.

Many times our
sight fails
that is why most often,
you call us
by name;
unfortunately in this age
of social media and so many
other distractions in life,
 we fail to hear nor even
listen to your voice
because we are afraid of silence
as we are so afraid
of the truth -
that you love us so much
that is why you have forgiven our sins.

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary of Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and then reported what he told her (John 20:16-18).

*“Noli me tangere” (touch me not) fresco in the Lower Basilica of St. Francis Assisi Church in Italy painted by Giotto de Bondone in the 13th century from commons.wikimedia.org.*

Everyday you
come to us,
Jesus,
calling us by name
like Mary Magdalene -
someone you personally know,
with all of our sins
and most kept secrets
in our hearts,
in our past.

If we could just be patient
like St. Mary Magdalene
in picking the pieces of our lives,
of converting daily,
of transcending the scars
of sins of our past,
then we shall hear
and joyously listen
to your voice
spoken in a whisper,
so sweet,
so reassuring
 of your real presence,
most of all
filled with tenderness
because you love us
immensely,
Jesus.

If we could just listen
to your voice, Jesus,
then like St. Mary Magdalene,
we can proclaim too
with joyful enthusiasm
to other disciples
"I have seen the Lord!"
spreading you love
and good news of salvation.
Amen.

*From Facebook, April 2021: “There is an urgency to announce the Joy, the joy of the Risen Lord!”*

Shepherd us your people, Lord

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 21 July 2026
Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 12:46-50

*Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, April 2023.*

"Shepherd us your people
with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
that dwells apart in a woodland,
in the midst of Carmel.
Let them feed in Bashan
and Gilead,
as in the days of old"
(Micah 7:14).

Bring us back into your fold,
merciful God and Father,
for you delight in exercising
forgiveness and mercy;
we have gone too far from you
as we have refused to love,
regarding each one as
different instead of as kins;
we have been more concerned 
with physical presence
without giving much attention
to the deeper ties of our
relationships in Jesus your Son;
like Mary his Mother,
let us listen to his words
and obey them always,
give them fulfillment in
our lives of witnessing.
Amen.

Praying not to “collapse”

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 10 July 2026
Hosea 14:2-10 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Matthew 10:16-23

Another week is closing,
let me not collapse in sin,
O Lord.

Thus says the Lord: Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt (Hosea 14:2).

Forgive me,
Lord,
for the times I have
been like Israel,
your beloved Ephraim
yet so far from you,
trusting myself,
trusting other gods
and idols,
so drowned in sin.

"Have mercy on me,
O God.
in your goodness;
in the greatness of your
compassion wipe out
my sin.
Thoroughly wash me
from my guilt
and of my sin
cleanse me"
(Psalm 51:3-4).

Keep me strongly
anchored in you, Jesus
as you send me like sheep
in the midst of wolves
doing your work,
speaking and fighting
for what is true and just
and good; in times of
persecution, let me not
collapse when handed over,
come and speedily rescue me.
Amen.

*Photo by author, Ephesus, Turkiye, November 2025.*

To see in the love of Christ

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Fifth Week of Easter, 04 May 2026
Acts 14:5-18     ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*>     John 14:21-26

*Photo by author, National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City, 25 February 2026.*

We begin today our novena to our Lady of Fatima whose feast falls on May 13, 109 years since the Blessed Virgin Mary first appeared to the three children at Cova da Iria in Fatima, Portugal. Two of the three visionaries are now saints, the siblings Francisco and Jacinta Marto while their cousin, the Venerable Sr. Lucia dos Santos who died in 2005 at the age of 97 is on the way to sainthood too.

The Fatima is one of the most significant Marian apparitions in modern time that continues to affect the world and our country particularly with its ever-relevant messages of prayer and conversion of the people.

And yet, until now, many are still skeptical of the Fatima apparitions especially the miraculous “dancing sun” of October 13, 1917 despite the great number of witnesses who attested to its veracity. Most of all, for many of us Catholics, it seems the Blessed Mother’s call for conversion in her Son Jesus Christ remains unheeded. Or even disregarded.

Because, as the former Catholic Anais Nin wrote in one of her journals, “we do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.”

This we see not only so true with the Fatima apparitions but even since the time of our Lord Jesus Christ when his very own people rejected him, even crucified him.

We wonder like the Apostle St. Jude why did Jesus not appear to His enemies and to more people after Easter at that time so that they would finally believe that He is the Christ?

Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, “Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “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 14:22-23).

Of the many healings performed by Jesus, the most amazing ones are those concerning the blind like Bartimaeus at the roadside and the man born blind He had healed on a sabbath on the way to Jerusalem.

Blindness in the bible especially in the healings of Jesus are not just physical in nature but more of spiritual in meaning. The American writer Helen Keller who was herself blind wrote, “The worst thing that could happen to anyone with sight is not to have a vision.”

True. Having vision is being able to look beyond not only into the future but most of all to see deeper realities that only the heart can see.

That is why Jesus did not have to appear to His enemies after Easter or even to more people then and today: His coming and appearing mean nothing unless we have His eyes of faith, His very love for us and for others especially the weak, the old, those not like us at all.

The more we love God, the more we see Him in ourselves and in others. When we love, when we care, when we share, when we truly pray, that is when the Father and Jesus dwell in us, enabling us to see Christ in others. Without that faith and love in Jesus and of Jesus, we will never see Him even if He suddenly appears today before us!

Truly, “we do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.”

If we are empty of Christ, we will never see Him who is “the way and the truth and the life” (Jn.14:6). And that is when we remain in darkness of sin and evil and ignorance. Even stupidity.

Just like now. How unfortunate that in spite our living in an age of images, of everything seen and shown and revealed, the more we still doubt the truth and worst, choose to believe and hold on what is false, what is fake!

Despite the glaring clarity of evils of corruption, lies, and so many other sins, some of us simply justify or have alibis and excuses when things do not match up with truth and reality. It is not that many cannot see the truth these days; what is most tragic is how so many refuse and choose not to see the truth and realities because they are self-centered, believing only in themselves, see themselves as the ideal and standard of everything. Or their gods.

Like the people at Lystra we heard in the first reading. After Paul had healed a crippled man, the people offered him and Barnabas with sacrifices, thinking they were Zeus and Hermes who have gone down to their city. Despite their tearing of their garments to show they were humans and their words proclaiming Jesus as the Christ, the people were not restrained from worshipping them (Acts 14:14-18).

*National Pilgrim Image of Fatima, National Shrine of Fatima, Valenzuela City, 25 February 2025.*

As we begin our Novena to our Lady of Fatima, the Blessed Virgin Mary invites us not only to open our eyes but most especially our hearts to Jesus, to finally feel Him in us, calling us to conversion so that He may reign in us, that we may be more loving, more kind, more just especially in this time of crisis.

Like the three children of Fatima, St. Francisco, St. Jacinta, and Venerable Sr. Lucia.

Or that Roman centurion at the foot of Christ’s Cross who declared after His death, “Truly, this was the Son of God” (Mt.27:54).

The Blessed Virgin of Fatima had seen 109 years ago the future – its errors and evils but she had also seen the grace and blessings unfolding upon us in Jesus Christ.

From the Annunciation until her Assumption, Mary had always lived in the love of her Son Jesus, seeing us always in the love of Christ. That is why she had returned in Fatima in 1917 because she loves us so much as our Mother.

Let us imitate her humility and fidelity in Christ her Son, living in His love so that we too may find Jesus ever present among us despite the many darkness looming around us. Amen.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.