Pentecost, death & “re-membering”

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 22 May 2024

I have reflected last Sunday that Pentecost is not just an event in the past but a daily coming of the Holy Spirit upon us, enlightening us of so many things in life we used to take for granted. Like the value of every person, especially when there is a death of a loved one.

In fact, death is a Pentecost when the Holy Spirit comes to remind us that we never – and can never – replace our departed loved ones. Every person is irreplaceable, especially family members. The sooner we realize this, the better for us to avoid those guilty feelings later that we should have been more loving and kind, that we should have said “I love you” more often because we never know for how long we can be with our loved ones. One thing is for sure: we do not replace our deceased loved ones but simply re-member them.

Photo by author, *Bgy. Kaysuyo, Alfonso, Cavite, 27 April 2024.*

The word “remember” is very interesting.

It is from the root word “member” or “part”. When we put the prefix “re” which means “again”, “remember” means to make a part again of the present moment.

Every time we remember a person or an event, we make them part of our present moment. And they are most real, most present when our re-membering happens in the context of a family or a community. Re-membering someone by one’s self surely does happen a lot but very often, it is more of looking back to the past, recalling the days we used to be together. But when we remember somebody as a family or a community, the one we remember is indeed re-membered in our present, becomes real in everyone around celebrating his/her memory. Something concrete happens and the joy is more intense, leading to freedom from past, from pains and hurts of losing a loved one.

That is when death becomes a Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit came down upon the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary in Jerusalem 50 days after Easter, the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity did not come to replace Jesus. The Holy Spirit is a distinct Person of the Trinity in whose power all the followers and believers of Christ have been empowered to make Him present until now in our collective re-membering of Him in the Church and the Sacraments. In the Holy Spirit who comes to us daily, we overcome and transcend every death we go through in life, enabling us to re-member our departed loved ones by being a member of those left behind.

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 18 March 2024.*

Since mommy’s death, I have gone home thrice already. How I loved to walk inside her room, trying so hard to get those feelings or vibes when she was still alive I miserably miss most as the days moved on.

One thing I have noticed, though, is that strange feeling of our home suddenly so empty as in “kakalog-kalog” as we say in Tagalog. Mommy ko lang nawala sa amin pero parang nawala ang lahat sa bahay?

Now I know better why the mother is the light of the family or “ilaw ng tahanan” because after she had died, her light in our home was turned off that seemed to have made our home so dark, so light and hollowed. However, when we gathered as siblings together with our nieces and nephew and relatives, the warmth of our home returns as if mommy is with us , still with us.

That is when the Holy Spirit comes amid the darkness of every death. A Pentecost when we are reminded of those still with us who must band closer together to make our departed more present in our collective re-membering. No wonder, it was also the final instruction of Jesus to His disciples at their Last Supper when He told them as He gave them the chalice to “Do this in memory of me” or “in remembrance of me”. In Greek, it is called anamnesis which is more than remembering or recalling but making present, making a reality.

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.*

And the reality is this – every person is valuable beyond measure.

So fragile too! Because we can easily lose them in a snap.

We realize and feel this most true in death when we experience deeply “someone like me” whom I love, whom I care for is gone because in every death of a beloved, a part of us dies too. Even if he/she is an enemy or somebody we are not in good terms with, we feel a loss within because for better or worst, the deceased made us feel our humanity.

It is said that “one life is too many.” Very true. Today God gives us the gift and power to re-member those not with us by connecting with those still living with us. Make that connection now and soon you too shall see the face we sorely miss together. Have a blessed remaining half-week!

Coming home, going home

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 10 May 2024

*Photo by Veejay Villafranca/Bloomberg via Getty Images*

My most vivid image of mommy’s love for me is from June 1979 when I bid her goodbye in her sari-sari store on my way to the high school seminary. That was the last time I felt I was a kid, her child, when she hugged me tightly, then held my head and kissed me as she fixed by combed hair, telling me “magpapakabait ka doon, anak.”

She had always been against my entering the seminary, saying I was too young to know about the priesthood. She did all the scare tactics to me: “hindi ka mag-aasawa, isda at tuyo araw-araw ang ulam ninyo, hindi masarap pagkain doon…” She finally allowed me to enter the seminary on second year high school I believe after my dad had silently persuaded her.

It was funny because on my fourth year before graduation, I felt I was not ready yet for the major seminary that was eventually confirmed by the results of my entrance exam (psychological tests actually) to San Carlos Seminary that it was suggested I better leave the seminary.

*My mother Corazon before their wedding in 1964.*

Tama nga si mommy.

It was from then on when we had that kind of not so smooth mother-son relationship. I felt far from her as she would always say something to my plans and decisions. She was not really a contravida but more of an oppositionist. That is why when I felt my vocation anew later in 1988, I never told her about it until I was about to go back to the seminary. That time, there was no more hugging and kissing maybe because I was already an adult, a man bigger and stronger than her.

But what was most memorable for me now that she is gone was the scene every time I would go back the seminary and later to my assignments as a priest.

Whenever I would tell her “mommy, uuwi na po ako”, she would say while smiling, “e nasa bahay ka, paano ka pa uuwi?”

That happened so often that she sounded so corny but still, thank God, I never tired explaining to her, “uuwi sa seminaryo” later to Malolos then to Bagbaguin and now to Fatima. She never failed to banter with me with her dry humor and stroke during those moments of my leaving home. I think she was telling me in those every good bye of ours that my home would always be her, my family. That is why after her body was taken from her room last Tuesday morning, the scene that struck me most on her death was her empty room, vacant big bed.

As I left home pauwi sa Fatima, the morning sunshine were so lovely as it softly brightened mommy’s empty room as she is now “home” in heaven with daddy.

Overall, I feel so joyful and grateful in my mother’s demise. She left so peacefully in her sleep as I have prayed to God daily. The outpouring of love and sympathies and friends are beyond our expectations or imaginations. But, there is that fear, a dread in me about coming home, finding her room empty, telling me she is gone.

Mommy’s room is now empty but our hearts are so full of her love, of her memories, of her gift of self.

During the pandemic, I begged God not to take my mom yet. I told God I was not ready because she was primarily the reason I “go home”. As I reflect on the meaning of that image of her empty room, I realized that it is not about going home but coming home. We go home to the house and place but we come home to persons, to family and friends.

Pag-uwi in Tagalog which is literally coming home. Not going home. Because when we leave, we say uuwi also as we come home to our new home.

We Filipinos express both our kinship and Christian faith in our goodbyes.

Our professor in liturgy Msgr. Andy Valera used to tell us we never say aalis na ako or “I am leaving” because that means we are angry. It is very rude and should never be said when saying goodbye in any Filipino gathering. Instead, we say next to uuwi na ako either tutuloy na ako or mauna na ako. But, how can we make tuloy which is to enter when we are in fact leaving? And why say mauna na ako which means I’ll go ahead when nobody is going with you?

According to Msgr. Andy, our coming home indicates our theology of heaven: we all come home, uwi to heaven our true home that is why when we leave our gatherings we say tutuloy na ako because in the end, we enter heaven. Most of all, we say mauna na ako because nobody knows who is next to die.

What a beautiful lesson I just realized now after mommy had died; even if she’s gone and her empty is room, I will still come home to my sisters and brother, nieces and nephew, relatives and neighbors.

How lovely that despite the pain and emptiness death creates in us here on earth is also the grace of God to fill each others heart with His loving presence and joy as we await our final coming home to Him with our departed loved ones in heaven.

Jesus told his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.”
John 14:1-3

The best way to come home to heaven is to come home often to our family and friends not only to dine and celebrate but most of all, to praise and thank God in prayers, especially the Sunday Mass. God bless everyone!

We never get used with death

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 07 May 2024

*My favorite photo of my mom and dad, so candid, “silang-sila talaga”; now, they are together in heaven.*

Yes. It is true. I just realized today that we never get used to any death because every death is different as the person who dies. And most especially, now I have realized, every death is always a blessing from God.

I was preparing for our 630AM Mass today when my youngest niece called me, crying, and the only word I understood she was saying was “Mamu”, referring to my mother. I then asked my brother priest to take over my Mass as I headed home. In less than half an hour, I was anointing my mom for the final moment, said prayers and blessed her body with Holy Water with my sisters and only brother.

I knew this day was coming, even approaching.

In 2020 during the COVID pandemic, I begged God to keep us all safe, not to take any one from my family, especially Mommy who had a stroke in 2005. June last year she had another stroke but refused to stay in the hospital, begged me not to have her confined, “Father, huwag mo ako ipa-ospital…tama na… ayoko na.” What can I do but obey my mother. Last January, she had permanently been bed-ridden, been sleeping for days, and had refused to eat on several days. But one thing we noticed she had always been bubbling with joy, cracking jokes whenever she would wake up.

*Mommy would always say the day she married my dad was the happiest day of her life.*

Every week, I would visit her, anoint her with Holy Oil and bring her Holy Communion. Since January this year, I have been praying to God to give my mother a peaceful death. I did not ask for her happy death because I felt how happy she has been this past year. Lord, just make it peaceful. No more pain because she had gone through many pain in her life since her childhood as she used to tell me. That is why she insisted on us to all finish our studies because she never had the chance to even reach high school because of that dictum in those years “mag-aasawa lang ang babae…”

And she died peacefully. Definitely, happily early today. My sister said she was supposed to give her medications before 6AM when mommy did not move or even twitch a little. She was still warm, my sister said but unusually still unlike before. That was when they called me.

Like when my dad suddenly died on mommy’s birthday, June 17, 2000, I could not cry hard enough. I feel very sad. But there is that inner joy and peace within me. Especially with my mom’s passing. I thought I would be used to her dying, having prepared for this day, having through dad’s sudden death 24 years ago.

By the way, my homilies since Sunday have always revolved around mommy:

Love in every turn

God bless all women!

What “joins” us?

I never knew mommy would “join” daddy today in heaven.

Iba pa rin pala. God is so good. That’s all I feel at the moment. God is so good. He listens and grants our deepest prayers. All praise to Him. Kindly pray for my mother, Corazon. God bless you too and thank you.

Family life is sacred

The Lord Is My Chef Easter Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker, 01 May 2024
Colossians 3:14-15, 17, 23-24 >>> + <<< Matthew 13:54-58

*“Childhood of Christ” painting by Gerard von Honthorst, franciscanmedia.org*.

Praise and glory to You,
God our Father in entrusting
Your Son Jesus Christ to the most
noble and holiest of men,
St. Joseph who came from the
lineage of King David.

Though he never spoke a word
in the Gospel, St. Joseph's obedience
in doing everything as You had
commanded him (Mt. 1:24) proved
his being a model disciple too 
of Jesus like his wife,
the Blessed Virgin Mary.

On this first day of May
when we celebrate his memorial as
St. Joseph the Worker,
our beloved Patron shows us how
family life is so sacred as part
of Your Divine plan, O gracious
Father in heaven.

St. Joseph worked as a carpenter,
a provider to the Holy Family who must
have also experienced every dad's problem
of never making enough for Mary and Jesus;
most likely, the Holy Family he headed
did not live a perfect idyllic life, 
living through scandals and gossips 
as our gospel today showed when 
the people of Nazareth rejected 
the adult Jesus Christ,
taking offense at him by asking,
"Is he not the carpenter's son?"
(Mt. 13:55, 57).

*Photo by author, site of St. Joseph’s carpentry shop beneath St. Joseph’s Church in Nazareth, Israel, May 2017.*

Dear God,
grant us the same grace
You gave St. Joseph who lived
through scandal and gossip in a 
righteous way, just like what St. Paul
had told us in the first reading,
"And over all these put on love, 
that is, the bond of perfection"; 
help us to be like St. Joseph 
who "let the peace of Christ 
controlled his heart" (Col.3:14-15)
in everything to show us that holiness
in life is not a poster card
but one lived in the ambiguity
and complexity of this world
rooted in Jesus our Lord.
Amen.

St. Joseph,
Protector of the Child Jesus
and Mary,
Pray for us!

Real power empowers

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 04 February 2024
Job 7:1-4, 6-7 ><}}}}*> 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23 ><}}}}*> Mark 1:29-39

*Photo by The Good Brigade/Digital Vision/Getty Images via cnn.com.*

There’s another “war” happening that had actually started a long time ago but only now recognized by the powerful US Senate in Washington DC when they summoned last week the owners of big tech companies to a hearing on the harmful effects of social media.

It is a war that at first seemed to have been neglected or even unrecognized when parents and experts have long been complaining about the ill effects of social media. Finally, authorities are doing something about it.

*“Great power comes with great responsibilities.”- Spiderman.* *Photo from peakpx.com.*

Though the issues at hand are very contentious because of the many benefits too of social media, the US Senate hearings are a big step in demanding more social responsibilities from tech owners who have become so powerful with their products’ wide reach and influence.

Of course, much responsibilities are also in the hands of parents and users of social media but one thing has always been clear these past 20 years when experts and ordinary folks have been raising the red flag on social media being so impersonal in nature where persons are often considered as objects than subjects to be loved and respected.

Our ability to communicate is a sharing in the power of God, a sharing in his authority meant to foster union among peoples as persons. Despite the efficiency of social media, it cannot and must not replace the human person in every communication. This we have seen last Sunday when people were “astonished” and “amazed” one sabbath as Jesus spoke with authority in their synagogue in Capernaum. From there, Jesus moved into the home of Simon Peter, staying for a while in Capernaum before moving on to other locations to continue his ministry of teaching and healing.

On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.
Mark 1:29-31

Photo by author, ruins of the neighborhood around the synagogue of Capernaum where Jesus used to preach; underneath the Church are believed to be the ruins of the home of Simon Peter where Jesus healed his mother-in-law.

It was still the day of sabbath and we could feel the great joy and pride of the four disciples with Jesus that they “immediately told him” about Simon’s mother-in-law who “lay sick with a fever.”

Notice Mark’s detailed report on the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law by Jesus: He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them. In this continuation of a slice in the life of Jesus last Sunday, Mark is presenting us again another important aspect of Christ’s authority and power that is personal which empowers others.

To empower means to raise up a person from one’s lowliness in order to restore his/her well-being. To empower means to make a person whole again as he/she discovers and experiences anew his/her giftedness in God and as a person.

Now, imagine this in the light of the powers of social media made possible by the internet through various devices: Jesus could have healed anybody who was sick within a 100 or 200 meter radius from the synagogue of Capernaum with his great powers being the Son of God. He could have just sent off signals like a router to heal more sick people instead of making them flock to the home of Simon Peter. Even today, perhaps, we could just come to the church, stay in a specific spot like the confessional to get connected to Jesus and voila – get healed!

But, Jesus never did that kind of healing and would never do it. Recall how Jesus would always approach and touch, speak and meet the sick before healing them. When a woman was healed of her hemorrhages after touching his clothes while they were in a crowd, Jesus stopped and searched for her to have a personal relationship. Unlike the internet, Jesus came in order to personally connect with us and connect us with the Father in the most personal manner.

In every healing by Jesus, there is always something deeper than restoration of one’s health which is salvation, a personal encounter with the Christ who leads us to fulfillment as persons. In every healing of body, there is the forgiveness of sins in one’s soul and being. Healing is more wholistic in nature than being being relieved of headache or any discomfort. Many times, our sickness can leave us deformed, disabled and even invalid without any cure at all yet deep inside us we still experience freedom and joy. That is healing because we are assured of being loved and cared for by another person and most of all by Jesus, personally.

So unlike the powers of any human or professional nor even by the social media so much around us that may be indeed so strong and efficient with its great speed but could never uplift us or restore our well-being. For sometime, they can offer us with relief but the deep longings and emptiness within us lingers on. Why? St. Augustine expressed it perfectly when he wrote in his Confessions, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

This Sunday, Mark is telling us that Jesus comes to us daily right in our hearts where our home is, always “approaching us, grasping our hands, helping us up” from all our burdens and pains, sufferings and miseries. Are we present to meet Jesus? Do we “immediately” tell him our problems like Simon Peter when his mother-in-law had fever?

The only essential and vital connection we must keep and maintain in this life is our personal connection with God in Jesus Christ who exemplified this well at the end of this Sunday’s gospel when “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed” (Mk. 1:35).

Last Friday we celebrated the Feast of the Presentation where Simeon and Anna showed us too how they remained personally connected with God in their daily prayers and fasting at the temple so that when Joseph and Mary came with the Child Jesus, both were led by the Holy Spirit to meet them. Imagine the crowd at the temple at that time plus Simeon and Anna being both old with the usual woes but were both never distracted in their focus on God and his promise of salvation in Christ before dying.

*Photo by Vigie Ongleo in Virginia, USA, 02 February 2024.*

There will always be suffering in life as the first reading reminds us. Like Job, we go through many setbacks in life, making us wonder all the more at the mystery – and scandal – of human sufferings, of how it could befall us if we have a powerful and loving God. St. Paul meanwhile tells us in the second reading how imperfect our world is when we sometimes have to make sacrifices to keep the unity of our family and community.

Both Job and St. Paul in their sufferings and sacrifices remained connected with God, bore everything in silence to become “all things to all men” (omnia omnibus) by sharing God’s power and authority in their weaknesses even in death that have empowered countless men and women through the ages including us in our own time.

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus Christ,
our true healer of all sickness
in body, heart, mind and soul:
keep us connected in you
especially in moments of trials
and difficulties so that we may
be filled with your personal powers
as we too empower others
when they are weakest.
Amen.

A blessed weekend to everyone!

Jesus makes every family holy – even Firefly the movie!

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Feast of the Holy Family, Sunday in the Christmas Octave-B, 31 December 2023
Genesis 15:1-6, 21:1-3 ><]]]'> Hebrews 11:8, 11-12, 17-19 ><]]]'> Luke 2:22-40

After the birth of the Christ in Bethlehem and the visit of the shepherds, Luke tells us how the Child was circumcised on the eighth day and given with the name Jesus. A short while after that, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to God in the temple.

And that was when more exciting and wonderful things continued to happen to Mary and Joseph when two elderly people filled with the Holy Spirit, Simeon and Anna, took the Child Jesus and spoke great things about him to his astonished parents.

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them… There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple… And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
Luke 2:33-34, 36-38

See again the artistry of Luke in showing to us in this scene how Jesus Christ makes every family holy. In narrating to us the story of Christmas, Luke had earlier shown us that Jesus comes first in every family, in every husband and wife and their children.

Clearly we see Luke’s consistency in telling us that in this season and beyond, our focus must always be centered on the person and mission of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, our Savior who makes every family holy like his! How they unfolded through Mary and Joseph is worth reflecting this Sunday.

I have always been amazed since our 30-day retreat in 1995 with this gospel scene of the presentation of Jesus at the temple. The situation of the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus was simply an ordinary one with hundreds of other families making the same journey to the temple with nothing unusual happening.

Then all of a sudden, the unforeseen and unforeseeable take place amid all the crowds in the temple on that day. A great revelation by God not only for people at that time but also for us today is made known which allowed us too to perceive the hidden Jesus coming daily in our lives. See the obedience of Mary and Joseph to their Laws and customs. Most of all, their continuing openness to the many revelations still unfolding about their child Jesus.

*Photo by author, Nazareth, Israel, May 2019.*

It was not a case of exceptional grace to exceptional couple of Joseph and Mary nor to individuals like Simeon and Anna whom I always wondered how were they able to recognize Jesus as the Christ being offered on that day in the temple.

Again, we are invited to be attuned and opened always to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, of keeping that spark of faith within us like Abraham in the first reading who “put his faith in the Lord, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). Here we find how God guides us in our steps and those of others in our long and often circuitous journeys in life to have faith in him in finding Jesus the light of our salvation and fulfillment. But faith is more than simply putting ourselves blindly in the hands of God, just moving on with life with a bahala na attitude.

Faith is more than believing and trusting God and persons. It is entering into a communion, a bond with God as our Lord and Master or anyone we love so dearly like our family. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews stressed this aspect of faith as a communion and a bond in our second reading which we find not only in Abraham but also in Joseph and Mary as well as in Simeon and Anna, too.

Recall those moments when you felt like Abraham who was already too old, when you felt it was already “game over” for our plans in life, the end of your rope or when you felt everything is down the drain that you simply accepted it as the reality when suddenly, because of that firm faith and union in God, something happens like a twist or a turn when everything in your life just falls into its right places!

Remember those moments in the past when we dared to walk in the right direction of Jesus – full of humility amid the pains and sufferings of his Cross – when we find later on how his words jibed perfectly with our experiences, so intertwined with our dreams and aspirations along with other people especially with our family that eventually get fulfilled – if not in us, in those next to us. This is the gist of the beautiful movie Firefly.

*From GMA Films and GMA Public Affairs.*

Firefly is one exceptional film in every aspect. Everything is so good. Watching it convinced me of a renaissance in Filipino film industry. It is a fantasy movie everyone must see this Season because it is a Christmas story, a Christ-film in fact.

Its main character is a small child named Tonton who lost his mother at a young age and embarked on a long journey to bring his mother’s ashes to her birthplace in an island in Bicol said to be inhabited by fireflies.

All Tonton had was faith and love for his mother played by Alessandra de Rossi. His map was actually his scrapbook of his colorful illustrations of the story narrated to him by his mother. Along the way, he met three individuals living in the darkness of their past, uncertain of their future: an ex-convict heading home, doubtful if he would be accepted by his wife and son; a broken-hearted man cheated by his girlfriend at a loss what to do with her name tattooed on his bicep; and a lovely lady on a backpack trip with a camera and some envelops she used to scam money from people for her supposed outreach programs for kids.

They all found the light of life through the life and words of Tonton whom they helped reached his mother’s home island where he too eventually came to terms with his own ghosts of the past.

I won’t tell you any details any more. Do watch the movie and be enthralled with its attention to details, the many symbolisms, most of all, of the good news about the beauty of this life made manifest by the Child who opened our eyes to see the light of love and life. Amen. Have a blessed family in Christ Jesus this new year of 2024!

A short poem I wrote after watching Mallari and Firefly:

Two fantasy movies, 
One so scary
The other a thing of beauty!

The best in cinematography
Indeed is Mallari: 
How they sew together seamlessly
Fiction into a true story so eerie 
Of the evil reality
But sadly sank deeply
In vicious circle of sin
And infamy.

But if you have to see
A movie do not miss Firefly
Everything is about beauty
Despite the ugly reality
Of life we all see;
The slum by the sea
The kid and his bullies
The story of his mommy
Led him into a journey
Intertwined with a many
Treading blankly from each one’s past
Into their present 
afraid of what will be
Only to see through this kid’s story
That many times a fantasy
Is in fact the reality
We refuse to believe
That is why we can’t see;
How lovely is the movie
Though not about history
Or social malady
But deep theology
Of how a child brought
Fire and light 
And made us see
We are loved so immensely 
So that someday 
We too can rise and fly
High to the sky.

True belonging

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Twenty-fifth Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 26 September 2023
Ezra 6:7-8, 12, 14-20 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 8:19-20

*Dome of the sanctuary of the Malolos Cathedral.*

God our loving Father,
thank you for the gift
of the sense of belonging;
every one of us long 
to be one with others,
to belong and
be accepted
in one's own family,
circle of friends,
and in various
groups and clubs
that help us grow and
mature as persons.

Sad to say,
many times our sense
of belonging is hinged
on its physical and
outside appearances.

The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join because of the crowd. He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.” He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”
Luke 8:19-21

More than our
blood relationships
and other basis of
ties as family and friends,
as peoples and a nation,
make us realize 
dear Father that our
belongingness is more
in our hearts;
true belonging is
when our hearts 
are linked together
feeling and believing
in you through
Jesus Christ.

Teach us the same
lessons learned by your
people who were exiled
and have to rebuild the 
temple of Jerusalem upon
their return:  nothing indeed
is permanent in this world
except change; only you,
O God, who does not change!

May we continue
to change into a better
person, a more loving
and kinder fellow,
more understanding
and faithful to 
family and friends
in you through Christ;
we pray for our beloved
family and friends
whose hearts have been
far from us because
of hurts and misunderstandings
in the past; we pray for those 
physically present with 
everyone yet
emotionally
and spiritually absent,
living so far away
from those by their side.

Enable us to open
our hearts anew to your
Holy Spirit that we may
be healed of our hurts
and begin to feel one 
again with others
in faith,
hope and
love in Jesus.
Amen.

Twice lost, twice found. In Baguio II.

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 17 July 2023

*Photo by author, sunrise at Camp John Hay, 12 July 2023.*

If there is one thing I have truly learned and finally got convinced more than ever, never trust “media”: what you see and hear especially in social media are not true at all. I have known it all along having worked there. Have been teaching it too for so long. But sometimes, just because I was with the bagets and younger siblings who all relied with WAZE and Tiktok while listening endlessly to Spotify, sigue na nga, maniwala na nga ako sa media.

*Photo by author, Camp John Hay, 12 July 2023.*

And so, we got lost again on our final day in Baguio City.

But, still thankful for the experience, the fun and new discoveries not only outside but inside ourselves as siblings, as a family.

Went to bed earlier the night before hoping I could sleep longer in the city of pines. Unfortunately, I was already up before 5am, as usual, the following morning.

Sad to say, too, the weather is no longer that cold anymore in Baguio as before. Though the temperature readings indicated 19 degrees, I could hardly feel it except at about 2am.

Walked a kilometer with my only nephew Tommy and his mother, my sister Meg who enjoyed identifying the various plants and flowers with her phone app. She’s the only one among us four who had inherited our mother’s green thumb, a certified plantita as she would prove later in our misadventure.

*Admiring the “naturally” thriving flowers on a street near the Good Shepherd Convent in Baguio, 12 July 2023.*

After a sumptuous breakfast at the Manor House and endless pictorials, we packed our things to check out half an hour before 12 noon for the second most important itinerary of any Baguio vacation: Good Shepherd and Mines View Park shopping for pasalubong!

Traffic was not heavy when we went there, a Tuesday and Wednesday. And Baguio’s new traffic scheme with many “one ways” seem to be working well, even better than before the pandemic period.

We were supposed to visit the Living Gifts Nursery also in La Trinidad town but, WAZE and Google Maps seem to be at a loss where that is located that we ended up at the Bahong Sunflower Garden.

I was already getting impatient after several misses and turns, refreshing Google map over and over when on our third try, we saw signs to a tourism office and the Bahong Sunflower Garden.

That was when we decided to forget the Living Gifts Nursery as we convinced ourselves it had changed its name to Bahong Sunflower Garden after the TikTok reel was uploaded.

Maybe next time, TikTok should also incorporate a GPS app for its featured destination spots for directions. Or, I better stop acting as navigator at all.

*Photo by our youngest niece, Catherine Darla Lalog.*

There’s an entrance fee so minimal, not less than 100-pesos but again, the sights are worth all the efforts. And patience.

*Photo by our birthday celebrator, Bing-Bing.*

Of course, first thing we looked for upon arrival was the “CR” that was “comfortable” enough to make us smile and laugh in enjoying each other with nature made better by its cool, sometimes chilly, breeze.

*Photo by author, still at Bahong Sunflower Garden, 12 July 2023.*

We left Bahong Sunflower Garden after an hour with a lot of fond memories as a family. Shortly before boarding our car, Meg could not contain herself not buying a plant from there. And the more she became insistent after finding out what she wanted cost only 300 pesos which according to her could easily fetch a price of over 3000-pesos in Bulacan.

Despite protests from her kids that there was no more space for her second plant, like my mom, Meg found a way of arranging everything at the back of her Innova with still some space – just in case – like additional pasalubong along the way.

*Photo by author, still at Bahong Sunflower Garden, La Trinidad, Benguet, 12 July 2023.*

How true indeed that once in a while, it is good to get lost in our trips. After all, it is the journey that matters most and not the destination. Most especially, the company you keep. Primary of them is our own family.

Being the eldest in the family, there were times I wished I have an Ate, an elder sister, someone I could turn to in times of difficulties. Someone to look up to. Hindi yung ako lang palagi tinitingala nila especially after Dad had passed away in 2020.

But, up there in La Trinidad, I have realized that in life, it is not really about looking up and looking down. The only time we ought to look up is to God who is above all else and everything. Our semper major. The rest, in my view, is not about looking up nor looking down but of seeing more each one as a person, a beloved. Life is about seeing – not looking – to find the giftedness of everyone that has always been ever present.

Truly, “persons are gifts of God to me, that come all wrapped so differently” as we used to sing in our daily Masses in the high school seminary. This was most true as we left the garden when we have to ascend.

It was our only nephew Tommy who was most gracious and kind, and strong enough, to pull us up from the steep and sometimes slippery pathways.

Along the way, he found these plants which he called as nature’s “chocolate batirol”.

Despite his denials, he seemed disappointed when Camp John Hay’s Chocolate de Baterol was still closed when we walked there earlier.

We shall definitely go back to Baguio City to relax and unwind. And get lost again.

Thank you for joining us in our trip. God bless everyone! May you also have a great vacation soon! Amen.

Twice lost, twice found. In Baguio. Part I

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 13 July 2023

*Photo by author, Lemon and Olives Greek Taverna, Outlook Drive, Baguio City, 11 July 2023.*

We heard today the lovely story of the reunion of Joseph, a.k.a. the Dreamer, with his brothers who have sold him as a child because of jealousy to traders to Egypt only to find out he had become a minister of the Pharaoh years later in charge of granaries during a great period of drought and famine in the region.

Imagine the shame of the ten sons of Jacob or Israel in the unforgettable scene:

“Come closer to me,” he told his brothers. When they had done so, he said: “I am your brother Joseph, who you once sold into Egypt. But now do not be distressed, and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here. It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you.”
Genesis 45:4-5

*Photo by author, Bgy. Alno, La Trinidad, Benguet, 11 July 2023.*

Sometimes, it is good to get lost. Literally and figuratively speaking. It is when we are lost that our faith is put to test and strengthened, when we pray hardest to God, becoming honest with our true selves that we summon all the goodness within and among us to finally find our way back on course in our journey and life.

And along the way, God shows us the other sides of life, of every destination filled with wonder and awe. Assuring us of his love and protection, beauty and majesty.

Exactly what we experienced in our recent vacation in Baguio City to celebrate my sister Bing-Bing’s birthday. It was our first time to be back in Baguio since 2020, except for Bing-Bing who still wanted to explore the charming city of pines again.

After a hearty lunch at Lemon and Olives Greek Taverna in the city, we proceeded to the Forest Lodge and left our youngest brother Will while we went to look for Rocky Mountain Adventure Resort.

Everyone in the car – my sister Meg who was at the wheel, Bing-Bing, my two nieces Dymphna and Darla, and only nephew Tommy have their total trust with Waze. I prefer Google Maps but as much as possible, I hate using these apps for the simple reason I hate talking and worst, obeying machines. I would rather “communicate” with persons for directions than rely on the voice in the apps no matter how lovely it may be.

Most of all, these apps lack dynamism. Totally passive without any room for mistakes especially from dinosaurs like me who know nothing at all with apps and gadgets. As I was typing our destination Rocky Mountain Adventure Resort, Google Map “suggested” Rocky Mountain Resort which I pressed!

It turned out to be a swimming pool atop the mountains of Bgy. Alapang in La Trinidad, Benguet! Who would swim late afternoon at 19 degrees?

After we have left the wrong resort in silence as it was getting dark, we asked around for the way out and ended up in rows and rows of rose fields in Bgy. Alno to the delight of everyone.

Though not everyone was able to get down from the car due to narrow streets, all fears and apprehensions disappeared as we imagined the hand of God still guiding us, comforting us with the beautiful sights.

After much prayers and laughters, we headed home, dropping by the famous strawberry fields that was already closed by the time we arrived. Fortunately, there were still some sorbetero left selling the famous strawberry ice cream advertised as “pampatibay ng relasyon”.

We all had ice cream to cap Bing-Bing’s birthday, praying for stronger ties as family as we found ourselves together laughing, and praying when lost briefly.

Will tell you our second misadventure next week.

Here is a video on our way to the wrong resort.

Our sins, our relationships

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
The Seven Last Words, 01 April 2023

*Photo by author, Chapel of the Holy Family, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 2014.*

When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
Luke 23:33-34

Such is “the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of Christ’s love for us all” (Eph. 3:18-19) that right upon His crucifixion, Jesus begged God for our forgiveness. And that was not only for those who nailed Him on the cross on that Good Friday but also for us today who continue to crucify Him whenever we destroy our relationships.

In the Jewish thought, “to know” is not just of the mind but of the heart because to know is to have or enter into a relationship with others. Hence, Jesus begged first for our forgiveness when crucified because if there is something we must “know” above all is the fact that we are brothers and sisters in Him, one family in God our Father.

Every time there is a breakdown in our relationships, when we destroy our ties with one another, that is when we sin and know not what we do. And crucify Jesus anew.

We sin and know not what we do when we hurt those dearest to us – our mom and dad, sisters and brothers, relatives and friends – when we speak harsh words to them, calling them names, denigrating their persons as things.

We sin and know not what we do when we betray the trust of those with whom we promised to love forever, keep their secrets and protect them like your husband or wife, your children, your BFF, your student, your ward.

We sin and know not what we do when we lose hope in persons around us, choosing to do them evil because we thought they could no longer change for better, that they could never learn and overcome life’s pains and tragedies, that they could no longer get well from an illness or, sadly, because they are old and dying.

We sin and know not what we do when we cheat on those true to us, when we hide from those open to us, when we back stab those who believe and support us.

We sin and know not what we do when we abuse and use those people we are supposed to serve and protect, when we regard persons as objects to be possessed even if we do not know them personally.

Is there anyone whom you might have hurt in words or in deeds which you might not be aware of?

Who are the people who cause you pains and sufferings, who do not know what they are doing?

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus Christ,
I am sorry in crucifying You again,
when I know not what I am doing
like hurting the people You give and send me
to experience your love and mercy,
your trust and confidence
your kindness and fidelity;
I pray also for those who make me
suffer physically and emotionally,
those who do not know what they are doing;
help us build again 
our many broken relationships;
make us humble and true;
let us believe in Your love
expressed by our family and friends
and by everyone who cares for us.
Amen.