The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog
Wednesday, Memorial of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, 07 October 2020
Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14 >><)))*> >><)))*> >><)))*> Luke 11:1-4
From Google.
Today, O God our Father, as we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, we hear one of the most beautiful requests from your Son Jesus Christ. Who else can teach us so well how to pray but him, the Son of God?
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come.”
Luke 11:1-2
In calling you “Our Father”, Jesus had taught us the basic truth and reality of every prayer that it is never alone nor solitary but always implies a community, a family — that we are all called and gathered to be one in you, O God.
And in giving us his own Mother to be our Mother too, Mary became our constant reminder of the importance and need to pray always to you God our Father, coming to us in our darkest moments like at the Battle of Lepanto Bay more than 400 years ago today.
By praying the Holy Rosary, may we learn through Mary to contemplate the face of Jesus Christ so we may be faithful to our call and mission specially in this 24/7 world of continuous action and noise that have left many of us empty and without meaning in life.
Photo by Fr. Gerry Pascual (Diocese of Iba, Zambales), Our Lady of the Rosary at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington DC, 2018.
The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. In a unique way the face of the Son belongs to Mary. It was in her womb that Christ was formed, receiving from her a human resemblance which points to an even greater spiritual closeness. No one has ever devoted himself to the contemplation of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary. The eyes of her heart already turned to him at the Annunciation, when she conceived him by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the months that followed she began to sense his presence and to picture his features. When at last she gave birth to him in Bethlehem, her eyes were able to gaze tenderly on the face of her Son, as she “wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger” (Lk2:7).
St. John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae (2002), paragraph 10
Through her intercession, may we all be like St. Paul “on the right road in line with the truth of the Gospel” (Gal. 2:14). Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Martha, 29 July 2020
1 John 4:7-16 >><}}}*> ))+(( <*{{{><< John 11:19-27
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 2018.
Thank you very much Lord Jesus Christ is sending us holy women like St. Martha whose Memorial we celebrate today. Seven days ago we celebrated the feast of her younger sister St. Mary Magdalene.
How nice of you coming to visit families, even calling brothers and sisters as your disciples like St. Peter and St. Andrew, St. James the Greater and St. John, and now, St. Martha and her siblings St. Mary and St. Lazarus.
What a beautiful reminder for us today so busy with other people like friends and clients and everybody else except family: that you always come first in the family, among husband and wife, parents and. children, and siblings.
Most of all, in the life of St. Martha, you remind us of the need to be present in you and with you every time you come for a visit.
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”
John 11:23-27
Many times, Lord Jesus, you come to us to be present with us but we are always absent from you like St. Martha.
Like her, so often we are working for you, doing for you, so busy because of you without realizing you prefer us to be doing your work by first being present in you.
There are times, we overthink of your words and of your thoughts we forget the present moment like when you told St. Martha that her brother Lazarus would rise again: we believe in our minds than in our hearts that we look more into the future than in the present moment when our departed loved ones can be truly present with us in you.
As we keep ourselves preoccupied with so many tasks here on earth, teach us also, sweet Jesus like St. Martha that in the resurrection of the dead, we shall all be present in you and with you as the one serving us all in the heavenly banquet. May we choose wisely what is most important like her sister St. Mary. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Week XVI, Year II in Ordinary Time, 21 July 2020
Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 >><)))*> ] + [ <*(((><< Matthew 12:46-50
Photo by author of sheep grazing at Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches, QC, 2018.
What a beautiful prayer today to you, O God our Father by your prophet Micah:
Shepherd 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; as in the days when you came from the land of Egypt, show us wonderful signs.
Micah 7:14-15
Shepherd us like a true father, God, the old fashioned and right way symbolized by your staff: strong and sturdy to discipline us especially when we wander far from you, and yet at the same time, so tender and forgiving – full of clemency as Micah mentioned – when we are lost or stuck in a cliff or a crevice.
This is probably the one combination we are terribly missing these days, discipline and tenderness, the cornerstone of formation in every family expressed in the adage from the Sacred Scriptures, “Spare the rod, spoil the child” which the modern society strongly objects and frowns upon:
St. John Paul II waves to well-wishers in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in 1978 when elected as Pope, holding his staff, symbol of his being a shepherd.
He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him takes care to chastise him.
Proverbs 13:24
Discipleship or being a disciple is primarily about discipline, of following not only the steps of the Lord and Master but also his ways.
From the word discipulos or to follow came the words follower and discipline alike.
Jesus Christ your Son perfectly said it in our gospel today when he rightly claimed that “whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Mt.13:50).
Give us the grace, O Lord, to take the right path anew of discipline to form our moral backbones tempered with your tenderness and mercy so we may truly work for a just and humane society here on earth so that your kingdom may finally come! Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe, Solemnity of the Pentecost-A, 31 May 2020
Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11 <*(((>< 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13 ><)))*> John 20:19-23
Pope Francis praying at an empty St. Peter’s Square 27 March 2020. Photo from cruxnow.com.
As I prayed over the readings this coming Pentecost Sunday, my thoughts kept going back to those powerful images when Pope Francis prayed at an empty St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican last March 27 when COVID-19 was ravaging the whole Italy with so many deaths.
Now more than ever, the Church badly needs the Pentecost – a new Pentecost that will heal and rebirth the world so wounded and altered by the corona pandemic this year 2020.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
John 20:19-20
Modern rendition of the Pentecost. From Google.
Holy Spirit, breath of life and cause of unity
The Pentecost is not just an event remembered in the past but a reality that happens daily when the Holy Spirit comes and is received by those attuned with its life and mission which is to bring peace through unity and healing.
Promised by Jesus Christ to his followers as their Advocate and Counsellor, the Holy Spirit descended on them during the feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem when Jews from all parts of the world gathered to remember the 50 days after their Passover in Egypt at the time of Moses.
It was the perfect setting for the Christian Pentecost – this time 50 days after Easter – to celebrate the new unity of mankind in Jesus he established on Holy Thursday evening at his Last Supper. Inasmuch as the Jews went home at that time to be one with their fellow believers in Jerusalem, on that day from the holy city comes forth the new solidarity of peoples in Jesus led by his followers gathered that day in the Upper Room.
Hence, the tradition of considering Pentecost Sunday as the birthday of the Church, too.
Though we have heard two different versions of its coming, what matters most is the Person of the Holy Spirit as the breath of life and the cause of unity among the followers of Christ.
In the first reading, Luke gives us an artistic presentation of the coming of the Holy Spirit showing the unity of the peoples: first of the followers of Jesus and later with the Jews gathered in Jerusalem on that day for their feast of Pentecost. Whereas the apostles were at first presented as timid and lacking in understanding, the Holy Spirit emboldened them on that day to go out and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Led by Peter, they were filled with life and wisdom and courage, converting thousands of people on Pentecost day despite their speaking in different languages, exactly the opposite at the Tower of Babel in the Old Testament.
In the gospel, John gives us the theological grounding of Pentecost when we find Jesus appearing to his disciples hiding from the Jews on the evening of Easter at the Upper Room where he breathed on them the Holy Spirit that filled them with joy upon seeing him risen and alive.
The scene was reminiscent of the many stories in the Old Testament of the “breath of God” giving life to the first human beings in the story of creation, the “breathing on” by Elijah on the nostrils of the widow’s dead son back to life (1Kgs.17:21), and the promise of God to Ezekiel to restore to life the many dry bones in their graves in the time to come (Ezek. 37:1-14).
These stories now take on deeper meanings in Jesus Christ its fulfillment. And not only were the disciples breathed on with new life in Christ but also the whole creation was renewed in the coming of the Holy Spirit that we pray, “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and you shall renew the face of the earth”.
Perennial Pentecost for peace and healing
Pentecost is an event that continues to happen daily especially when we are gathered as the body of believers of Jesus Christ tasked to realize its fulfillment. This coming of the Holy Spirit is not a one-shot deal that happened only in the past in Jerusalem more than 2000 years ago — it is something we as followers of the Risen Lord must always wait and make happen every day so as to continually bring life and renewal to this world especially at this time of the corona pandemic.
In giving us the Holy Spirit, Jesus not only renewed our lives as his disciples united in him but also conferred his own power without restrictions to accomplish our mission.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
John 20:21-23
The Chair of St. Peter at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome with the stained glass of the Holy Spirit above. Photo from dreamstime.com.
At the Vatican inside the great St. Peter’s Basilica is a beautiful stained glass of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove rising above as background to the Chair of St. Peter ( Feast is February 22) at the sanctuary area.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI described this beautiful work of art:
“It seems to me that a deep analysis of the essence of the Church lies hidden here, is contained here… It unites the Church with creation as a whole. It signifies through the dove of the Holy Spirit that God is the actual source of all light. But it tells us something else: the Church herself is in essence, so to speak, a window, a place of contact between the other-worldly mystery of God and our world, the place where the world is permeable to the radiance of his light… The Church is the place of encounter where God meets us and we find God. It is her task to open up the world closing in on itself, to give it the light without which it would be unlivable.”
Images of Hope, pp.29-31
Here we find part of our mission in collaboration with the Holy Spirit is the the healing of the world that can be achieved only through peace. See how Jesus had to repeat twice his gift of peace to his disciples because it is his greatest gift to us following his Resurrection.
Life thrives and blooms most where there is peace, where there are disciples of the Lord willing to work for it with love and patience.
But the peace from Jesus Christ always has a price that we must be willing to pay to achieve it.
See that after his first greeting of peace, Jesus showed his wounds — he was the first to pay the price for peace with his own life.
Bringing around our Parish the Blessed Sacrament during the lockdown, March-May 2020.
This is the meaning of the many sacrifices and sufferings we all have to go through in this quarantine period expected to continue until 2021: if we want to get out of this pandemic, aside from the need for a vaccine and medication, we all need to change our ways to make sure this will not happen again.
It is always easy to join so many advocacies and rallies calling for every kind of change in the society and the world but nothing had ever happened because whenever we come home, we do not change our own ways of living! Sayang (what a waste) were all the inspiration and energies of the Holy Spirit for our many causes that have not taken roots right in our hearts.
All the apostles of the Lord paid the price of peace with their own lives that led to the healing not only of individuals and families but even of nations and the world.
The second time Jesus offered his gift of peace, he breathed the Holy Spirit on his apostles and commissioned them to forgive all sins.
Peace is the fruit of love according to Vatican II.
As such, peace from the Holy Spirit leads to healing when there is dialogue, prayer and repentance, that lead to justice, love, and forgiveness. Peace and healing need hard work that is why they are fruits. They never come on a silver platter.
On Monday, most of the quarantine levels in the country are downgraded because it is hoped we have somehow controlled the spread of COVID-19.
As we eagerly await more freedom and mobility in this time of pandemic, what have we achieved during these three months of quarantine, said to be the longest in the world?
Have we resolved our family differences? Have we rediscovered our family members, getting more close than ever, more kind, more understanding?
How sad that all we can share as our quarantine stories are all about food and other pursuits we have undertaken forgetting the unity and life of our family and community.
How sad when we in the Church have all been preoccupied with the new communication media but failed at all to make any impact or dent in the lives of our faithful because we have not shared Jesus Christ at all, when all our “live streaming” and vlogs are powered by likes and followers, not by the Holy Spirit.
Pope Francis blessing the people last March 27 in an empty St. Peter’s Square during the height of COVID-19 in Italy that became the new epicenter of pandemic next to China. Photo from Vatican Media Office.
Jesus never takes back his gift of peace, his gift of healing, his gift of the Holy Spirit. He promised to never leave us orphans. Let us not leave the Holy Spirit behind and stop believing in our selves.
That’s the way we have been in the world and even in the Church.
That is why – to a large extent – we have this corona pandemic.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-29 ng Mayo 2020
Sa gitna ng aking pananalangin
minsa'y sumagi kung maari
itong alaala o gunita ay himayin
upang tukuyin at tuntunin
kailan nga ba nagsimula
tayo natutong manalig at sumandig
sa Panginoong Diyos natin?
Napaka-hirap alamin
simula ng pananampalataya natin
ngunit marahil kung ating tutuusin
bago ang lahat ay nalaman natin
unang naranasan higit sa lahat ay ang pag-ibig.
Ang Diyos ay pag-ibig
at kaya tayo nakapagmamahal
ay dahil una Niya tayong minahal;
kaya nga pag-ibig ang suma total
ng lahat ng pag-iral sapagkat
ito rin ang wika at salita ng Diyos
nang lahat ay kanyang likhain.
Bago nabuo kamalayan natin,
naroon muna karanasan ng pag-ibig
na siyang unang pintig sa atin ay umantig
sa sinapupunan ng ating ina
hanggang tayo ay isilang niya at lumago sa ating pamilya.
Bago tayo maniwala
nauna muna tayong minahal
kaya tayo ay nakapagmahal
at saka nanampalataya;
kung mahihimay man na parang hibla
ng isang tela itong ating buhay
natitiyak ko na sa bawat isa
ang tanging matitira
na panghahawakan niya
ay yaong huling sinulid
na hindi na kayang mapatid
sa atin nagdurugtong, naghahatid bilang magkakapatid.
Kaya palagi po ninyong ipabatid,
Panginoong Diyos ng pag-ibig
sa mga isipan naming makikitid at makalimutin
mga pagkakataon ng iyong bumabalong na pagmamahal
kailan ma'y hindi masasaid
habang bumubuhos sa bawat isa sa amin;
huwag namin itong sarilinin o ipunin
bagkus ipamahagi, ipadama sa kapwa namin.
Itong pag-ibig na ipinadama sa amin
ang siyang maaasahang katibayan
nagpapatunay mayroong Diyos na buhay at umiiral
na sa atin ay dumatal bago ang lahat, sa Kanyang pagmamahal.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Monday, Easter Week VII, 25 May 2020
Acts of the Apostles 19:1-8 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> John 16:29-33
Stained glass in our parish of the appearance of Jesus to Thomas Didymus. Photo by author, April 2020.
If you ask me Lord, or even anyone for that matter, I may never be able to answer completely and satisfactorily that question: what does it take to believe that you are God?
The disciples said to Jesus, “Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God.”
John 16:29-30
As I prayed on your words today, dear Jesus, I wondered on what was it that you must have told the apostles that they realized you knew everything that you do not need anyone to question you that finally convinced them to believe you came from God?
Could it be that as you neared your Passion and Death, the more they felt your love?
As I have told you, if you or anyone asks me how I have come to believe that you come from God, that you are the Son of God, I cannot give any precise answer except that I have felt your love.
Love is your only distinction that enables us to believe in you.
Before we believe, before we know, we first felt loved.
Love is your simplest language, Lord, because you are love.
You are able to love us all because you know everything.
And that is why you love.
So unlike us.
When we have known the other person, usually, we stop loving. But not you: the more you know, the more you love.
Mary Magdalene knows it so well, she from whom you have driven out seven demons!
For that great love, I thank you dearest Jesus, for loving me so immensely through my parents and siblings, my relatives and friends, through all the people you have sent me to experience your love.
Photo by author, 2019.
When you called me to the priesthood, the first I really felt was your love, of how much you love me that I felt so special.
Before priesthood came, there was your love first.
That continues to these days. That feeling of being loved despite my sins and shortcomings make me believe you are from God, dear Jesus.
I am sure when St. Paul laid his hands on some disciples in Ephesus to receive the Holy Spirit, what they must have really felt to be so inspired and energized in doing their mission is your immense love.
Give us the grace to remember, to recall these many moments you felt us your love that we usually take for granted or disregarded.
Once we have retrieved those loving memories in you, give us the courage Jesus to share this love you pour on us daily, especially at this time of the pandemic when all we long for is a little love from one another: a smile, a pat on the shoulder, an encouragement, a kind word, a sweet voice calling our name.
Teach is to be more loving on this last Monday of the Easter Season, Lord Jesus. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe, Easter Week V-A, 10 May 2020
Acts of the Apostles 6:1-7 ><)))*> 1 Peter 2:4-9 ><)))*> John 14:1-12
Photo by Ezra Acayan for gettyimages.com, 2020.
Our Sunday celebration today is a confluence of things that perfectly jibe with our situation during this pandemic – the quarantine call worldwide to “stay home, save lives”, Mother’s Day, and Jesus telling us in the gospel we are one family going “home” to the Father.
Jesus said to 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
Photo from istock.com
Home is where the heart is
One good thing with this COVID-19 pandemic is how it has driven home so hard one lesson modern man has forgotten: the importance of home, of family life.
It is hoped that during this quarantine period, we do not merely stay home to prevent spread of corona virus but most of all to build anew our relationships in our family that we have neglected in our pursuits of so many things in life.
A home is more than a house; it is about relationships, of love and acceptance, kindness and forgiveness.
From Google.
Our Filipino word says it all – tahanan, from the root tahan which is to stop crying.
Tahanan or home is where you stop crying because that is where you are loved and accepted, safe and secured from any harm or danger.
Jesus assures us today in the gospel that we have a home in heaven where there is a room for everyone. This is the reason the same gospel text is the favorite in funeral Masses.
But there is something more about heaven than being a house with many rooms.
It is good that our lectionary used the modern translation of the Greek word “monai” or rooms into “dwelling places” because Jesus in this passage is not merely referring to a place or location but more specifically of a relationship with him in the Father.
In fact, the word “monai” is used only twice in the New Testament, both in the fourth Gospel: at this part and later when Jesus reprimands Philip in verse 23, “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”.
Home and room are a dwelling — a relationship and a privilege of abiding in God’s presence!
Lent 2019 in our parish.
When Jesus said, “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”, he never meant it to be taken in the literal sense because if it were so, that would be the only thing he has been doing in heaven these past 2000 years!
What Jesus is telling us along with the Twelve at that time is that by his going to his Passion, Death, and Resurrection after their supper, we are able to dwell, to abide in the loving presence of the Father even here on earth in this very life.
Such was the immense love of Christ when he assured the Apostles, including us in this time of pandemic to “Do not let your hearts be troubled” because his pasch is for our own benefit as our passageway into being with the Father in Jesus when we join him at the Cross.
Remember our gospel last week of Jesus as the “gate of the sheep” because he is “the way and the truth and the life” that now comes into full circle in the Last Supper.
It is in our sharing in his sufferings and pains on the Cross we enter heaven, we dwell in his loving presence that he also becomes manifest in us in this life.
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, 2019.
Mothers know best
Connecting now our quarantine slogan of “stay home, save lives” and Sunday gospel with Mother’s Day celebration today, we are reminded of the importance of ties and relationships that we keep especially in this period of pandemic.
In the Old Testament, God is revealed to us like a mother because she is the epitome of fidelity:
“Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget I will never forget you. See, upon the palms of my hands I have written your name.”
Isaiah 49:15-16
How unfortunate that again, the song based on this part of Isaiah “Hindi Kita Malilimutan” (I Will Never Forget You) has become a favorite song in funeral Masses when in fact it is best sung in weddings because it is a pledge of love and fidelity by God who is like a mother.
The mother is the premiere homemaker also referred as the “light of the home” who seem to always have that magic touch in everything, in turning out little things, even scraps, into something lovely and beautiful, and delicious!
Her love and dedication can never be measured and nothing can ever make her happy except the abiding love and presence of her husband and children.
Photo by author, painting of “Our Lady of the Grotto in Bethlehem”, May 2019.
And we all know of our mother’s presence that transcends time and space, not to mention their intuition that defies logic but always true!
No wonder, there is a Jewish saying that “God created mothers because he cannot be everywhere”.
When we are sick, when we feel low, mothers know them all. Nothing can be hidden or kept secret with our moms because they are a home, a dwelling place for each of us all.
In the first reading we have heard the “ordination” of the first seven deacons of the church whose primary task was to take care of the widows as the Apostles were busy proclaiming the Gospel.
Eventually, it paved the way for the many services and ministries in the church that have become the clearest signs of God’s presence in the world. There is no need to publicize the countless efforts of the Church in reaching out to all the marginalized sectors of the society in the whole world that is truly a sign of her being a mother to all.
Now more than ever, in this time of the corona pandemic, we in the Church are challenged to continue being the signs of the living and loving presence of Jesus Christ in the world that has become so materialistic, less humane, even loveless and so unkind.
Let us be a mother, a living and loving presence of God so that people may find a home in us in Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Amen.
A blessed happy Mothers’ Day to all moms!
Photo by author of the entrance to the original chapel of Our Lady of Grotto in Bethlehem, May 2019.
What have you been praying for since the start of this Holy Week amid the threat of COVID-19? Aside from being spared by this dreaded corona virus, what have you been praying for?
For almost a month, I have always been praying to God for one special thing: that we may all go back to our “normal lives” soon.
Since the first Sunday of our lockdown last March 22 that happened to be my 55th birthday, until after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, I have been going around our parish with the Blessed Sacrament and Santo Entierro on Good Friday mounted on a truck to bless the people.
And every time I would go around – with strict orders on the people to observe social distancing – I have strongly felt how they were so hungry and thirsty for Jesus, kneeling along the highway, some with lighted candles while others have their little altar in front of their homes.
Photo by Mr. Randy Cajanding, 09 April 2020.
Except for some few people, almost everyone would make the sign of the Cross, take a bow or raise their hands, asking for blessings, praying silently in their hearts.
I really wonder what they were praying for.
Photo by Ms. Ria De Vera, 22 March 2020.
Photo by Ms. Anne Ramos, 10 April 2020.
Me?
Next to the request that we may all be spared of the corona virus in our parish, I always prayed silently to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and in his Santo Entierro, to please, “bring us back to our previous normal lives Lord… I am will to sacrifice everything, to bear all these pains and hardships… just bring us back to our previous normal lives… magbalik lang kami sa dating normal naming buhay, Lord, lahat titiisin ko po.”
Photo by Ms. Anne Ramos, 10 April 2020.
Easter is moving forward to new life, never a going back
But early this Holy Saturday morning as I prayed, I realized God is not going to answer that special prayer of mine.
God will never bring back our previous normal lives before this time of the corona virus when we take control of everything because Easter is leaving the past behind, the old misconceptions, the old sins, the old ways of life far from God.
Easter is moving forward to Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus.
Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.”
Matthew 28:5-7
After this time of the corona virus in the year 2020, we shall never go back to our previous normal lives because Easter is a call to renewal, to going back to God, to going back to love and kindness.
Easter is going back to God, centering our lives anew in him because he is our life!
Entrance to our church during our Easter Vigil, 11 April 2020. Photo by Ms. Ria de Vera.
Jesus is inviting us on this Easter 2020 in the time of COVID-19 to come to him in his new life, to leave the previous normal lives when we spend Sundays on our own, when we just pray and celebrate Mass on special occasions or when we have problems or when going through calamities and disasters.
Jesus is inviting us on this Easter 2020 in the time of corona virus to come to him in his new life to renew our ties with our family and friends, to forgive and bridge gaps among us because life is too short, so fragile.
Jesus is inviting us on this Easter 2020 in the time of COVI9D-19 to come to him in his mercy and justice, to leave our previous lives when we take people for granted, especially those in the health sector like nurses or ordinary folks we call like janitors and garbage collectors.
Easter is rediscovering anew the more essential in lives like the value of each person, the value of health and education, the value of wisdom and sound judgement and decisions.
Jesus is demanding us on this Easter 2020 in the time of the corona virus to never go back to our “normal lives” of before when it was normal to be corrupt, to use foul language, to lie and malign others, to kill and disregard human life, to use violence and force.
Never again must we be silent when people and nature are taken for granted.
Jesus is inviting us on this Easter 2020 in the midst of COVID-19 to never go back to our old politics of trapos and vote buying, to rediscover how blessed is our country with great, talented people equally blessed with a country rich in natural resources ravaged by greedy politicians.
Jesus is inviting us on this Easter 2020 in the time of the corona virus to come to him in his new life by working for justice and truth, speaking against violence and disregard for lives, fighting corruption, rejecting the normal things of life of deception and lies in government, in the church, in school, and in our own families.
Photo by author, 02 April 2020.
If you have listened to our readings, from the story of the creation to the time of Abraham and Moses and then Jesus, people were blessed materially and spiritually because they never went back to old ways of lives but always moved forward in God, in selfless giving of self in service to others.
Without any doubt, Holy Week 2020 is the most unforgettable – even unbelievable we have ever had in our lifetime or even in recent history. And with the extension of the ECQ until the end of April, that makes our Holy Week 2020 as the longest one too!
But, it is not that bad at all.
Holy Week is “Mahal na Araw” in Filipino: mahal means valuable that is why it is the same word we use for expensive. Most of all, mahal is the root of pagmamahal or love because to love is to value another person.
Extended lockdown, extended Holy Week means longer “Mahal na Araw” — that is, more time to love God, others, and self.
So, it is still a blessed Easter to everyone!
Photo by Ms. Ria De Vera, Easter Vigil in our parish, 11 April 2020.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-01 ng Abril 2020
Pamangkin.
Ibig sabihin ay "para namang akin":
mga anak ng iyong kapatid
kaya para mo na ring
anak sila kung ituring.
Pinsan.
Ibig sabihin ay "kapisan"
sa higaan o sa banig
doon sa bahay na matanda
dahil magkakapatid inyong mga magulang.
Kapatid.
Ibig sabihin ay "kadugtong"
na kung wala ang isa
ikaw ay "patid"
at tiyak nag-iisa.
Kabutihan din sa COVID-19
mayroon tayong quarantine
kaya't asikasuhin pamilya natin
linangin at buhayin
pagsasamahang nakalimutan na yata natin.
40 Shades of Lent, Wednesday, Solemnity of the Annunciation, 25 March 2020
Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10 +++ Hebrews 10:4-10 +++ Luke 1:26-38
Mosaic of the Annunciation to Mary at San Giovanni Rotondo Church, Italy. Photo by Arch. Philip Santiago, 2019.
Glory and praise to you, O God our Father as we celebrate today the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Birth of Jesus Christ to Mary. What a celebration so appropriate in this time of COVID-19 amid the ongoing lockdown not only in our country but in many parts of the world.
You know how I am not into any countdown whatsoever, Lord; in fact, I do not even keep tabs of how many days we have been locked down except that I really miss my parishioners, the normal grind of each day.
But as I prayed on this Solemnity, the first thing that I realized is that we are nine months from Christmas!
Jesus is coming, Jesus has come, Jesus is never gone — especially in this lockdown!
Photo by Ms. Ria De Vera during our procession of the Blessed Sacrament in our Parish, 22 March 2020.
What an honor and grace, O Lord, that despite our sinfulness and failures, you continue to offer us salvation, of starting all over again, of picking up the pieces of our lives, of hoping for that great day when all these lockdown and pandemic are gone.
We pray for all the health workers who sacrifice their very lives in saving the sick and all the other unsung heroes who do their share in helping us unburden the heavy crosses we are carrying following COVID-19’s wrath.
Thank you for the many among us who have opened like Mary to receive Jesus and share Jesus in these trying times.
But we also pray, O Lord, for those many of us who remain closed and cold to you and to others.
The people who continue to ignore “social distancing” and those who have remained spiritually and emotionally distant from family members, friends, and neighbors.
We pray most especially for our officials in the government who continue to bring more shame and dishonor to themselves to the detriment of the people.
The leaders who think more of themselves, who regard themselves as more important than others. The modern “King Ahaz” of our time who rely more on their own power, on their alliances with their foreign and local lords and masters.
Have mercy on them, Lord.
Come quickly and save us.
Open our hearts, teach us humility to be able to say to you like Mary, “Be it done unto me according to your word.” Amen.
Photo by author of the site where Mary received the Good News of Christ’s coming from Archangel Gabriel beneath the Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth, 2019.
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