Photo from catholicworldreport.com, “The Beheading of St. John the Baptist” (1869) by Pierre Puvis de Chevannes.
Your gospel today, O Lord, is so appropriate and timely: while we were busy, albeit foolishly discussing the novel coronavirus in every fora, a technical committee in the House of Representatives has approved three measures seeking to legalize divorce in the country.
We do not know what have really happened but it is so sad that no one among the Catholic and Christian lawmakers there made a solid stand against these measures like St. John the Baptist who was imprisoned on account of his objection to Herod’s taking of his brother’s wife Herodias.
So many times, Lord, we are so afraid and worried of what others might say against us when we make a stand for what is right and just, for what is proper and decent, for what is right and good, for what is your will.
Worst, O Lord, many of us are like Herodias who have prostituted our very selves in the service of the worldly allures of sex, fame, and wealth, choosing to be silent with all the many immoralities going on in government, in the society, and even in the church!
Give us the same courage, Lord, you have given your precursor St. John the Baptist to be prophets in this modern age, to be a voice in the wilderness, making a stand for what is holy, true, and just.
Like David, may we always seek your ways, ask for your grace to do your will against the giants and monsters of this world who ram into us every modern thought and idea that disregard the sanctity of life, the value of every person, as well as the sanctity of marriage.
Let us not be silent anymore with the growing impunity of many in their arrogant display of authority, throwing their weight around us with their cuss words and fallacious arguments that dignify their truncated egos and pride for the sake of progress and modernity. Amen.
The thing we dearly miss in Baguio is the beautiful scenery now marred by houses and buildings sprouting everywhere that pose grave risks to lives in case of calamities.
O God our Father, you are so loving and merciful. You have only one desire for each one of us to be fulfilled in life that you always insist on our obedience and fidelity to you.
One thing we fail to see is the reality of evil that is sin found actually within each one of us, not from without or outside of us. Worst part of sin is how we kind of “assert” its reality in the world through us!
In the first reading, you have given David three options to choose from as his punishment for his grave sin (again) in ordering a census of Israel; he chose pestilence than fall into the hands of his enemies as well as three years of pestilence in his kingdom.
But upon seeing the severity of the pestilence that happened during the wheat harvest, David felt so sorry for his people. Most of all, so guilty of his sin. Just like us whenever we commit grave sins, when we never think of its serious repercussions on others, especially those dearest to us.
When David saw the angel who was striking the people, he said to the Lord: “It is I who have sinned; it is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong. But these are sheep; what have they done? Punish me and my kindred.”
2 Samuel 24:17
In the gospel, we also find ourselves among the town folks of Jesus Christ who “took offense at him” (Mk.6:3) that he was not able to perform any mighty deed there because of their lack of faith.
Yes, Lord Jesus, the problem is with us, not with you.
We are the ones who always make life so miserable and unbearable for us and for others because of our sinfulness.
Forgive us, Lord, for those many times when we were so absorbed with our selves that we totally ignored those around us who have to suffer the consequences of our sins.
Today we pray for the gift of sensitivity and consideration for others. Amen.
Friday, St. John Bosco, Priest, Patron of the Youth, 31 January 2020
2 Samuel 11:1-4, 5-10,13-17 ><)))*> 0 <*(((>< Mark 4:26-34
Pilgrims waiting for their turn into the Ascension Chapel at the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem in Israel. Photo by author, May 2019.
On this last day of January 2020, we thank you God our Father for the grace of being alive and safe, for not forsaking us in this most trying first month of the year where we have seen and experienced many calamities here and abroad, deaths and sickness even among our relatives and friends as well people we look up to for inspirations.
It was a very trying month, Lord, that have sent many of us down into our knees in prayer and reflection, making us realize the many moments you have talked to us “in private” – the same way you did to your Apostles to explain the parables you have narrated (Mk.4:34).
How lovely are those words indeed, evoking a sense of kinship and intimacy with you and the Twelve. You know very well everything in our hearts, our innermost thoughts and feelings that you talk to us personally, in private.
What a shame, O Lord, when we commit despicable sins, believing we do them “in private” like David who had relations with Bathsheba and caused the death of her husband Uriah to cover up his sins.
So many times, Lord, we act like David as if nobody would ever know our sins and evil ways except us alone in private – “walang makakaalam kungdi ako lang” -as if you are not all-powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient), and ever-present (omnipresent).
It is so foolish of us, Lord! And we are sorry.
Remind us that our most private moments are in fact the time you are most present with us, and in us. That there is no other path to follow in this life except your path, O Lord. Walk us through, Lord.
Like St. John Bosco, instill in our hearts this beautiful lesson he had taught us with:
From twitter.com
Like St. John Bosco, may we “always have fun in life, but never sin”, thinking only the glory of heaven as the ultimate end of everything we do in life! Amen.
Daniel 7:2-14 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Luke 21:29-33
Praise and glory to you, O God! Thank for this blessed Friday, the last working day of November 2019. Most of all, thank you for keeping us safe always in your protection despite our sins and being stubborn.
Like the vision of Prophet Daniel in the first reading, so many “beasts” have tried destroying us. In fact, these “beasts” are so “horrible” that so many people have come to believe them, accepting them and all their lies and malice.
Red Wednesday 2019, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Bagbaguin, Santa Maria, Bulacan.
There are times that we lose hope, fearing that everything is going to nothing.
Sometimes, it is so difficult to find meaning in life at all amidst all the sufferings and miseries around us and even within us!
May we always trust in your Word, Jesus Christ who became flesh to be with us.
In the many trials and tribulations that come our way, may we always hold on to his assurance:
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
Thank you for our jobs, thank you for our schools, thank you for the food and clothes we have.
Thank you very much for the gift of self and most especially for the gift of others.
Unfortunately, O Lord, they are the ones we always hurt with our painful words, and yes, with all sorts of profanities.
If our words were like swords or clubs, or even at least like thorns of the cactus, everyone of us would be beaten black and blue or worst, mangled.
For wisdom is a kindly spirit, yet she acquits not the blasphemer of his guilty lips; because God is the witness of his inmost self and the sure observer of his heart and the listener to his tongue. For the spirit of the Lord fill the world, is all embracing, and knows what man says.
Wisdom 1:6-7
Bless us today, Lord, to be like St. Martin of Tours who always spoke with humility and gentility, full of wisdom and kindness to everyone. Most of all, bless us to be like him to see you Lord among everyone and treat them with respect and dignity always.
Fill us with your wisdom, Lord, especially our public figures that they may never let speak evil of anyone and be an occasion of sin as you warned in the gospel today.
Help us to bring back decency and kindness especially in our language for indeed, “from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Mt. 12:34).
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-28 ng Oktubre 2019
Mula sa Google.
Todos los Santos na naman at kay laking kabaligtaran naka-ugalian ng karamihan ipagdiwang mga aswang at katatakutan sa halip na mga banal at kanilang kabutihan.
Dati-rati nama'y hindi laganap sa ating kapuluan banyagang kaugalian pagdiriwang ng Halloween na nasira tunay na kahulugan sa kaisipan ng mga makamundong taga-kanluran.
Halloween ang taguring na nagmula sa pinagsamang "hallowed evening" na kahuluga'y "gabi ng mga banal" ngunit pilit binabalikan ng mga hangal maling paniniwala noon pa napasinungalingan.
Akala ng mga paganong Druids ng Scotland at Wales sa Bretanya noong unang-una lumilitaw sa lupa tuwing katapuasan ng Oktubre mga impakto at masasamang espiritu upang makabihag ng mga tao.
Nagdaramit sila at nag-aayos na nakakatakot parang multo, kamukha ng mga lamang lupa sa paniniwalang malilito mga impakto na sila'y kasamahan kampon ng kadiliman at kasamaan kaya sila iniiwan at hindi sinasaktan.
Maraming Kristiyano hindi ito nalalaman ni nauunawaan nakalimutan pangunahing katotohanan ating pinananaligan nang pumarito si Hesu Kristo, kanya nang tinalo kapangyarihan ng demonyo nang pumaroon siya sa dako ng mga yumao.
Nang mabuhay mag-uli ang Panginoong Hesu Kristo napanibago niya buong sangnilikha higit sa lahat, muli nating nakamukha Diyos Ama sa ati'y lumikha, tiniyak ating tahahanan sa piling niya sa kalangitan.
Bakit nga ba ikaw, Kristiyano ang siya pa ngayong lito at sadyong lilo mas ibig pag makamukha mga impakto at demonyo nakukuha pa ninyong matuwa at ikagalak mga anak ninyong mukhang tiyanak?!
Akala ba ninyo demonyo ang mga nalilito sa inyong pagbibihis at pag-aanyong multo? Hindi ba ninyo batid kayo ang nalilinlang sa pagdaramit at pag-aayos ng hunghang at magtataka pa kayo asal ng inyong anak parang animal?
Madalas kay hirap unawain mga gawi natin na katakutan kabutihan at katuwaan ang kasamaan; sadya nga bang atin nakalimutan dakilang karangalang tayo'y nilalang katulad at kawangis ng mabuting Maykapal?
Diyos ang kamukha natin kanyang liwanag sana'y mabanaagan din sa atin upang maghatid ng kagalakang bumubukal sa malinis at magandang kalooban lipos ng kabanguhan ng kabutihan at kadalisayan.
Photo by the author. Baguio City Cathedral, January 2019.
We have reflected last Sunday that prayer is an expression of our faith.
Where there is faith and prayer, there is always love.
And when we have prayer, faith and love, we have a relationship and community of two or three and more persons together as one, rooted in God.
Today we hear another parable by Jesus only St. Luke has, that of the Pharisee and the tax collector to show us another dimension of faith expressed in prayer.
Photo by the author at the Wall of Jerusalem, May 2017.
Like last week, St. Luke tells us anew the Lord’s purpose in narrating this parable:
Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.
Luke 18:9
Were you moved or affected in any way upon hearing our parable today?
Did you feel a silent but swift, sharp thud inside your heart while your mind tried to reason out that the parable is not meant for you?
Listen again and pause, let the Lord’s words sink deeper into your heart:
“Two people went to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous —- or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
Luke 18:10-13
If prayer creates a relationship, Jesus is teaching us today the right attitude we must have to keep this communion we have in faith and love. Any relationship is bound to fail, or would not even exist at all despite the formalities of having ties and links like what we see or even have in our various social circles where roles are just acted out.
We call it “plastic” or fake. Untrue!
Praying at the Garden of Gethsemane, May 2019.
Prayer to be efficacious like any relationship must always be true.
Here Jesus directs our attention in the “where” when we pray – not just the location or locus of our prayer but our “place” in that relationship first with God who is our very foundation.
When all we see is our self in prayer like in any relationship, there is always a problem. It is clearly a one way street, a monologue.
Worst of all, it is an indication of the absence of God or even others because the pray-er is so preoccupied with his or her very self!
The Pharisee was clearly not in God even if he were in front of the temple. His very self was very far from God and all he had was his bloated ego. He may be a very pious person but not really good at all for he has no space for God and for others. He is a very closed man without any room for others.
The tax collector, on the other hand, may be physically far outside the temple but was the one actually nearest to God with his self-acceptance and ownership of his sinfulness, of his need for God. He was closest to God because he was more open with God and with others by admitting his own sinfulness.
Again we find the key to tis Sunday’s parable towards the end:
(Jesus said) ‘I tell you, the latter (tax collector) went home justified, not the former; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.'”
Luke 18:14
Photo by Dra. Mai B. Dela Pena, Germany, 2016.
Prayer is more than entering a church or a prayer room, or finding our most suitable spot or space to pray.
Prayer is being one with God, of being suffused in God.
“Where” are we when we pray?
First, we become one with God, one in him in prayer when we first admit our sinfulness, when we confess our sins to him, and own them without any “ifs” and “buts”.
God always comes to those who truly open themselves to him by emptying themselves of their sins and inadequacies.
The tax collector was justified in his prayer more than the Pharisee because in confessing his sins, he admitted his need for God. He knew very well his place, so unlike the Pharisee who felt God owes him so much!
When Pope Francis granted his first media interview (to their Jesuit Magazine!), the first question asked of him was, “who is Jose Mario Bergoglio?”
The Holy Father quickly answered, “I am a sinner.”
No wonder when he was elected Pope on March 13, 2013 at the Vatican, he first asked for prayers from the huge crowd gathered before he bestowed his apostolic blessing to them. It clearly showed that despite his holding the highest post in the Church, he considers himself a sinner, so weak needing prayers from the people.
I always tell couples during weddings that when they have a quarrel, the first one to speak and make the move for reconciliation is the one with most love, the one who is most willing to bow to start anew.
Most often in life, friendships and relationships are kept when we are willing to take the lower stance, not necessarily admitting fault or guilt in any misunderstanding because being lowly indicates the person’s need for the other person and of one’s love to work on that relationship despite its fragility.
Ordination of deacons, Malolos Cathedral, 12 June 2019.
Second, we are in God and with God in prayer when we have that attitude and inner disposition of being poor and lowly. Being lowly or poor means having the conviction to leave everything behind and go down with God into the lowest point because one is so confident of the efficacy of prayer like what Ben Sirach tells us in the first reading.
Most of all, like Mary the Mother of Jesus during the Annunciation of the Christ’s birth.
The one who serves God willingly is heard; his petition reaches the heaven. The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal.
And thirdly, we are in God in prayer when there is an offering daily of one’s self to God.
It is not enough to be lowly and sorry for our sins in prayer. It has to be sustained because prayer is also a discipline like any sport. In the second reading, St. Paul calls us to persevere and endure until the end for Jesus Christ.
We need to be passionate with our prayer life, willing to go to all extent to offer everything for the Lord, to fulfill his will “who shall award us with the crown of righteousness in heaven.”
We are all sinners forgiven and beloved by God.
May we find ourselves in God and with God always both in our sinfulness and lowliness. Amen.
What a beautiful way to end the week of work and studies, O Lord, when you asked us to read the signs of the times.
Jesus said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately tat it is going to rain — and so it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot — and so it is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time? Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?”
Luke 12:54-57
In this age of social media where everything is being shown and seen by everyone, it is very unfortunate that we still fail to see beyond the physical realities.
In an age when everything and everyone is seen, we have become more superficial than ever and have refused to see more deeper than what appears to the eyes.
We look outside of us to explain everything like in the news and in the internet, at YouTube and Facebook, Google and Wikipedia.
Rarely do we look deep inside ourselves like St. Paul to realize the greater battle going on deep within each one of us between good and evil.
Teach us Lord to see more the spiritual meanings of the things happening in us and around us, to always look deep into our hearts to see and realize the need to be good and just, kind and loving.
Maybe if we can look more often into our hearts and look piercingly into the heavens to find you, perhaps we can have a better world with lesser crimes and hatred among peoples. Amen.
Tuesday, Memorial of St. Pope John Paul II, 22 October 2019
Romans 5:12. 15. 17-19. 20-21 ><)))*> Luke 12:35-38
From Google.
Praise and glory to you, O God our loving Father!
Thank you very much in giving us the great St. John Paul II.
When I think and remember him, the more I feel the reality of St. Paul’s words today:
Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 5:20-21
Yes, you made us experience your loving presence among us O God in Jesus Christ during the pontificate of St. John Paul II. He lived in our own time when there was so much sin and evil in the world that he courageously battled head on with his life and preaching.
How true were the words of St. Paul today: there is that part of our sinful humanity in Adam still thriving in the world with its “culture of death” as St. John Paul II would always say.
On the other hand, St. John Paul II showed us in his life, words and examples our redeemed humanity in Christ, especially when he would always insist we can only find fulfillment in you, O dear Jesus.
Reawaken within us O Lord today on this memorial of St. John Paul II his favorite quote from you when he was elected St. Peter’s successor on October 16, 1978 – “Be not afraid!”
Let us “gird our loins” to continue to proclaim you, Lord Jesus Christ into this new millennium the way St. John Paul II envisioned when we crossed into the great jubilee of 2000. Amen.
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”
Matthew 18:10
Almost all the religions in the world believe in the existence of guardian angels who guide people and protect them from harm.
From the Greek angelos that means “messenger”, angels are exactly that: messengers from God or “divine apps” who work like Messenger!
Last summer break, I have learned something “millennial” and at the same time very theological or spiritual when some of our former teachers in a school where I used to be assigned reprimanded me – even scolded me – for putting them always on “seen zone”. If you are a dinosaur like me, seen zone is when you send somebody a message (PM) and that person sees it but refuses to give any reply, to the extent of ignoring not only your message but most of all, you. I still have contentions against this but, that’s how most of people take a seen zone: a kind of disrespect, that you are not important.
What was so embarrassing with my new learning was the realization of how stupid I have been until recently when I would “seen zone” people with pathetic late response saying, “sorry just saw your message now”. How I wish I could turn back the time…
Anyway, I have learned my lesson so well that since May I have been very careful with “PM’s” as I tried to be more kind and gentle in Messenger.
But, there is something very interesting in this popular app in relation with our celebration today of the memorial of the guardian angels.
So many times, we give our guardian angel or God’s messenger with the “seen zone” like in Messenger. We ignore the angel’s admonition to avoid sin and do what is good. Like in Messenger’s seen zone, we totally ignore and disregard our guardian angel until we get into the “sin zone”.
Ignore what you have read in Messenger, you go into a seen zone that may be temporary and not really that serious at all. But, lo! worse is the “sin zone” when you ignore the Divine messenger because you ignore God who sent us his angels with his messages of love and mercy, peace and salvation!
Today we are reminded that inasmuch as we try to behave properly in social media where we interact virtually in real time, God and his angels do relate with us in real time but not in virtual but actual reality.
If we try hard doing everything not to hurt our friends with seen zone, all the more we must try to avoid the sin zone that have more serious repercussions up to eternal life. Amen.
lordmychef.com 