The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday in the Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 07 August 2024 Jeremiah 31:1-7 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 15:21-28
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
Yes, a day will come when the watchmen will call out on Mount Ephraim: “Rise up, let us go to Zion, to the Lord, our God.” For thus says the Lord: Shout with joy for Jacob, exult at the head of the nations; proclaim your praise and say: The Lord has delivered his people, the remnant of Israel (Jeremiah 31:6-7).
How refreshing are your words today, God our loving Father; so upbeat with hope for the divided nation of Judah and Israel to finally be one just like us today: so divided recently with all the mockery and sacrilege in the Paris Olympics only to be united by Carlos Yulo's recent harvest of two gold medals; what a beautiful lesson in faith in You that is also hope itself; from being the least supported and known sport in the country, Yulo remained faithful filled with hope in You while persevering in gymnastics; like Yulo and Jeremiah's command, let us shout with joy to You, proclaiming your redemption that literally means "Hosanna" in Hebrew, the very shouts of joy when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is uyour faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour (Matthew 15:27-28).
Like that Canaanite woman who begged Jesus, even bantered with Him about dogs and puppies, bread and crumbs for mercy and healing to her sick daughter, help us realize that faith is hope; that hope is more than positive thinking of how things would get better but could even get worse yet still believe in God!
Thank you Jesus for always coming to "pagan" territories like Tyre and Sidon; keep our faith and hope burning to await You, to recognize You, to meet You coming in the midst of our many darkness and brokenness. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, 06 August 2024 Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 ><}}}}*> 2 Peter 1:16-19 ><}}}}*> Mark 9:2-10
Photo from commons.wikimedia.org of mosaic inside the Basilica of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor, Israel.
Thank you very much, Lord Jesus, "in taking us always with You, apart from others by ourselves like Peter, James, and his brother John to a high mountain” (cf. Mark 9:2); many times You set us apart from others amid many darkness like that night on Mount Tabor just to be with You, to experience You; how ironic in this age of so much light everywhere with a world running 24/7, the more we are plunged in darkness that we feel lost and empty. Continue to invite us to detach from so much worldly attachments that are so irresistible due to social media and the glamor that come with them.
And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them… Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him” (Mark 9:2-3, 7).
Like Peter, James, and John we also wonder at the meaning of your Passion and Death when You are the Christ? Why all the sufferings happening in us and among us with all the confusions and divisions going on?
Like Peter during the Transfiguration, we do not know what we are saying to you, Lord; whether we are filled with joy or burdened with sorrow, we speak without thinking much even if you know what is in our hearts. Open our hearts, dear Jesus, to always listen to You by remaining with You on the path to Your Cross; let us listen more than talk or click more without much reflections; two ears form the image of heart, never the mouth nor the lips. Let us heed Peter in his words today:
Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable. You will do well to be attentive to it, as to lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts (2 Peter 1:19).
Bring us back to your path of faith, Jesus; amidst all these noise and divisions of relativism and wokism, open our hearts by listening intently to your voice when all is dark and even dead or as it happens these days, blindingly so bright with artificial lights because for as long as we return to You, sin and failures become means for us to be changed and transformed - or transfigured when we rise in your Resurrection. Amen.
A 1311 painting of the Transfiguration by Italian artist Duccio di Buoninsegna from commons.wikimedia.org.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Eighteenth Sunday in the Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 04 August 2024 Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15 ><}}}}*> Ephesians 4:17, 20-24 ><}}}}*> John 6:24-35
Photo by author, Lake of Galilee, the Holy Land, May 2017.
We are now back in Capernaum where Jesus used to frequently teach in its synagogue during His ministry.
Remember last Sunday how Jesus fled from the crowd when He felt them wanting to take and make Him a king upon seeing His miraculous feeding of over five thousand people from five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish with a lot of leftovers. The people looked for Him and found Him in Capernaum, the setting of all of our gospel scenes these four Sundays of August.
There at Capernaum was a beautiful exchange in the conversation between Jesus and the people that eventually led to the Bread of Life discourse of the Lord in this sixth chapter of John’s gospel. Remember too that for John, the miracles Jesus performed were signs that pointed to Him as the Christ. Hence, this important reminder to the crowd who have sought Him that day as well as to us living in these interesting times today:
“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternalnlife, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent” (John 6:27-29).
Photo by author, tourists and pilgrims alike at the ruins of the Capernaum synagogue, May 2017.
“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”
Jesus knows very well the importance of work for us humans, of how hard we have to work to earn our daily bread, to buy and pay for things so needed in life. But, these earthly food we are all busy working for can sustain us only for a life timeas we very well know that we surely die one day.
There is another food that is more essential that “endures for eternal life” we can only receive from Jesus Himself – His words and His Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist which is the “summit of Christian life.”
Of course, we have to work for this food because it does not come on its own. We must receive and welcome this food as a gift of Jesus Christ whom the Father has sent. We have to work and exert efforts to pray and listen to God’s words, to wake up early and prepare ourselves for the Sunday Mass and other devotions we have. Hence, the second question of the crowd to Jesus:
“What can we do to accomplish to the works of God?”
Photo by Mr. Boy Cabrido, Quiapo Fiesta 2024.
Very striking here is their eagerness to know what they can do to have that food that “endures for eternal life.”
Are we not the same with our desire to really know things about religion and spirituality or just anything we heard to be so good?
It sounded so much like that same zeal displayed by a young man who approached Jesus and asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mk.10:17). Nothing is wrong with this attitude of openness to God but, the problem is when we expect the work to be given to us is something like a shortcut or easy access in having that “food that endures for eternal life” like that young man. Sometimes, we ask self-serving questions about faith and religion not only for the benefits we can have but also for fame like that young man who proudly declared to Jesus he had followed all commandments since childhood; but, when the Lord told him to go and sell his properties to give it to the poor and come follow him, his face fell and left sad. This eventually would become the scene in Capernaum as we shall see in the coming Sundays.
For now, let us reflect on Christ’s answer to the crowd’s question.
“This is the work of God of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”
Photo by author, Mass in Capernaum, May 2017.
This will be the start of the revelation of the true motives of the crowd who have come looking for Jesus. Last Sunday, we reflected how they have followed Jesus because of the many signs they have seen from Him like healing of the sick and raising to life the dead daughter of Jairus.
Slowly we see this Sunday the conceit and pride in their hearts, and perhaps within us too! Jesus is neither proposing new works to accomplish and fulfill in God’s name nor alter or change the commandments given through Moses. As the Christ or Anointed of God, Jesus is demanding complete faith in Him!
It was a most unique and unprecedented demand by Christ from the people then and now, asking us all to have total commitment in Him whom we believe. Whatever we want to do or do not want to do depends entirely in our imitation of Jesus Christ.
Like last Sunday, it is the very person of Jesus Christ that is being stressed here that unfortunately, even the closest disciples Philip and Andrew failed to “see” when they saw more of the problem with the crowd and the scarcity of bread and fish they have. They did not see Jesus despite their having witnessed and experienced His many miracles like us today.
Instead of being humble, the crowd asked Jesus for signs He can do so they would believe Him, even challenged Him with the works by Moses in the desert in feeding their ancestors with manna in their wandering. Like in resisting the temptations of the devil in the wilderness, Jesus declared the basic truth people often forget: the manna fed to the people was not the work by Moses alone but entirely and truly by God the Father in heaven!
This is something we must always remember: the work we have in this life is not ours but God’s so that in everything we do and say, it is God who is proclaimed and made known for He alone can fulfill us in Jesus who said today in closing our gospel scene, “I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst” (Jn.6:34).
Jesus is the bread from heaven sent down to us by God, prefigured by the manna in the first reading we have heard, the food who brings us to fulfillment in God expressed during the Last Supper that was confirmed the following Good Friday at His Crucifixion.
Life is a call from God for us to do our part in His work through Jesus Christ. We need to collaborate with Him, in Him and through Him as He had declared at the Last Supper to “do this in memory of me.” That is why it is so sad and deplorable how the people behind the opening show of the Paris Olympics made a mockery of the Lord’s Supper. (Even if we shall accept their explanations it wasn’t about the Last Supper, it was still a show so ugly and tasteless, an affront to any person.)
What is most undeniable is the pride of the people behind the Paris Olympics including their defenders who insist until now how everything is clearly about “what can we do” like the proud crowd with Jesus in Capernaum.
What was supposed to show the wonderful contributions and achievements of France to the world in terms of culture and intellectual advancements have all crumbled into a disgraceful display of what is now wrong in France and even the Western world. They have exaggerated the relative truths they hold on to exaggerate themselves. In their claims of being inclusive, they have become exclusive and divisive, so far from the “sign” of the Olympics. Very sad but still, may you all have a blessed week ahead. It is a Sunday, go celebrate Mass with your family and loved ones. Let us pray:
God our loving Father, thank you in giving us Jesus Christ your Son as our bread from heaven; remind us always not about what we can do or must do for we just do your work here on earth but to simply remember and keep in mind we are your children in Christ, to "stop living in the futility of our minds by putting away our old self of corrupted and deceitful desires renewed in the spirit of our minds, to put on our new self in Christ", created male and female "in your way in righteousness and holiness of truth" (Ephesians 4:17, 22-24) Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-01 ng Agosto 2024
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, bukang liwayway sa Lawa ng Galilea, Israel, Mayo 2019.
Unang araw sa buwan ng Agosto, buwan ng wika ako ay nakatunganga sa pagkamangha sa isang salita: PALIWANAG sa wikang Inggles, "explanation" at kung gagamiting pandiwa "to explain" ito ay magPALIWANAG.
Kay sarap namnamin
at damhin mga kataga
nitong ating wika
tulad ng PALIWANAG
nagsasaad ng pagbibigay
liwanag dahil mayroong
kadiliman minsa'y panlalabo
kaya nililinaw upang
matanaw, makita kahit man lang
maaninag upang matukoy, makilala.
Mahirap kasi mag-apuhap sa gitna ng kadiliman na kawalan ng katiyakan: ika'y nangangapa at nangangamba kung ano iyong mahawakan, makuha kaya nakakatakot sa dilim na wala kang nakikita dahil pati ikaw baka tuluyang mawala pa!
Inyong pagmasdan malaking kadiliman na sa ati'y bumabalot kamakailan kaya kay raming nagpapaliwanag naglilinaw dahil sa mga ginawa at ipinahayag na puro kaguluhan:
Waiter sa Cebu pinagpaliwanagan ng halos dalawang oras habang nakatindig sa harapan ng customer na tinawag niyang "Sir" na ibig ituring siya na "Mam"; kay daming paliwanag ni "Mam" pero malabo pa rin dahil malinaw pa sa araw maski sa mga larawan na siya ay Sir!
Hanggang ngayon nagpapaliwanag pa rin mga pasimuno ng paglapastangan sa Huling Hapunan ng Panginoon na lalong nababaon dahil maliwanag kanilang kasinungalingan na ang kadiliman ng kapalaluan at kasamaan kanilang pagpugayan taliwas sa layuning magkaroon ng pagbubuklod at kaisahan.
Hindi lang minsan ating narinig masabihang "ang labo mo naman" kaya kinakailangang magpaliwanag upang maunawaan at maintindihan na siyang daan sa magandang pagsasamahan.
Heto ngayon ating pagnilayan pagbulayan aking katanungan: nagPALIWANAG ba ang Panginoong Jesus sa Kanyang mga pangangaral? Maliban sa pagpapaliwanag ng mga talinghaga ng sarilinan sa mga alagad, walang ipinaliwanag si Jesus dahil maliwanag Siyang palagi at higit sa lahat Siya ang Liwanag ng Sanlibutan.
Madalas hindi Siya maunawaan, maintindihan at matanggap ng mga tao noon hanggang ngayon ngunit kailanman walang binawi na salita ang Panginoong Jesus dahil maliwanag ang lahat: "Ako ang daan at katotohanan" (Jn.14:6), "Ako ang muling pagkabuhay at ang buhay" (Jn. 11:25) "Ako ang pagkaing bumaba mula sa langit; ang kumakain ng aking laman at umiinom ng aking dugo ay may buhay na walang hanggan, at muli ko siyang bubuhayin sa huling araw" (Jn. 6:54).
Nang linisin ni Jesus ang templo sinabi sa mga tao na gibain iyon at kanyang itatayo sa loob ng tatlong araw; Siya ay pinagtawanan ng mga kalaban ngunit malinaw na sinasaad sa kasulatan nang muli Siyang mabuhay ay naunawaan ng mga alagad ang tinutukoy Niyang templo ay ang Kanyang Banal na Katawan (Jn. 2:18-22); maliwanag si Jesus ay palaging malinaw kaya kahit sa gitna ng kadiliman Siya ay maliwanag.
Lumapit tayo kay Jesus at hayaang liwanagan Niya kadiliman sa ating puso at kalooban katulad nina Nicodemo at Dimas na umamin sa kanilang kamangmangan at kasalanan kaya natamo ang liwanag at kaligtasan; hindi mahirap tuntunin katotohanan at liwanag ng Panginoon natin kung ating aaminin at aalisin mga piring sa ating paningin upang mabuksan puso at kalooban sa kagandahan at dangal ng kabutihan ng bawat nilalang hindi ang ipangalandakan sariling husay at kaalaman maging antas ng kalinangan!
Tandaan at panghawakan, tiyak na kaliwanagan ng mga salitang binitiwan ng Panginoon sa atin sana ay magpaalaala: "Ang nagpapakataas ay ibababa, at ang nagpapakababa ay itataas" (Mt.23:12)
A wedding homily for Sir Vicente R. Santos III & Ms. Jillian Bianca Carpio St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, 12 July 2024 Tobit 8:4b-8 >><}}}}*> + <*{{{{><< John 15:9-12
Photo by author in La Trinidad, Benguet, 12 July 2023.
Congratulations, Sir Teng and Mam Jill on your wedding day. Your decision to get married in the Church is an expression of love itself because love is a decision, not just a feeling. Making a decision to get married is a choice to be small, to be broken into pieces to be united, to be one with the other person, your beloved.
Every time we make that decision to love, we renounce our very selves, our selfishness. The truest sign that we love is when we are able to love somebody more than our self; and to grow in love is to always choose the other person by a daily renunciation of one’s self which Ben&Ben sang so well, “Mahiwaga… pipiliin ka sa araw-araw…”
Photo by author, Camp John Hay, 12 July 2023.
This we saw in our first reading in the beautiful prayer by Tobiah with Sarah on their honeymoon when he mentioned God’s original plan in Genesis in creating woman as a suitable partner of man.
The root word of “partner” is part. A part is always small that makes up the whole. Every whole is made up of small parts.
A part-ner means you are both a part of each other and you both have to be small in order to be whole as married couple.
In that beautiful story of Tobiah and Sarah, we find them choosing to become small in order to become part of the bigger whole, of each other, and of God.
Tobiah is the son of Tobit who lived in exile in Nineveh, the capital of Assyria that had conquered Israel in the Old Testament. Tobit used to be wealthy but had a reversal of fortunes later in life made worse with his going blind. He sent his son Tobiah to Media to collect a debt from a fellow Jew with hopes he could also find there a bride for himself among their kindred.
God then sent Archangel Raphael who disguised as a traveler to Tobiah who was so kind to welcome him as companion. On their way to Media, Tobiah was attacked by a large, strange fish while taking a bath at the Tigris River. Tobiah was able to subdue the creature while Raphael instructed him to take out its heart, liver and gall due to its medicinal properties. Tobiah obeyed Raphael and they proceeded to Media to collect the debt owed to his father. There he met and fell for a Jewish woman named Sarah.
But, there was a major problem with Sarah: she had been widowed seven times because the devil Asmodeus would always come and kill her husband just before their honeymoon!
Engraving of Raphael instructing Tobiah to gut the fish by Georg Pencz (1543) from en.wikipedia.org.
Raphael pushed Tobiah to still marry Sarah, teaching how to drive away the devil Asmodeus on their honeymoon by burning the heart and liver of the strange fish he had killed. Tobiah followed Raphael’s instructions and Asmodeus was finally driven away that is why we have this scene of them praying in thanksgiving for their marriage. (This is the reason St. Raphael is portrayed with a fish and why arbularyos burn fish intestines to drive away evil spirits.)
Tobiah returned home to present his wife Sarah to his parents in Nineveh; Raphael again instructed Tobiah to apply the dried gall of the fish onto the eyes of his father Tobit to regain his sight. Amid their celebrations for Tobit’s healing and Tobiah’s marriage, Raphael revealed himself as God’s archangel sent to them to bring their healing which is the meaning of the name Raphael, “God has healed”.
See how Tobiah and Sarah, as well as Tobit even Archangel Raphael chose to be small and humble before God and everyone, to play mere parts in the grand plan of God in their lives. They were all willing to be humble and small.
Photo by author, St. Michael Archangel Parish, BGC, Taguig City, 12 July 2024.
Sir Teng and Mam Jill, you were sent for each other by God like St. Raphael to Tobiah and Sarah and Tobit. Handle your life with prayer. Always invite Jesus into your life as a married couple just like today you when you invited Him to bless your wedding. Do not forget to celebrate Mass every Sunday, to pray daily, as much as possible together as husband and wife.
True greatness is in becoming small like a little child as Jesus Christ repeatedly told His disciples. In this world where we compete on being the biggest and most powerful, God tells us the key to fulfillment is in being small, being humble, to become a part of the whole. The greatness of every person depends on the measure of his or her ability to share because it is only in participating in the whole does one becomes truly great.
Marriage is becoming small to become one. Husband and wife cannot be one unless they let go of themselves first. Marriage is not a competition of who has more love to give and share but simply of loving and loving, giving and giving.
When you reflected Sir Teng on what to do with your life and realized you will never be complete without Mam Jill, that is being small, that is truly loving because you are willing to let go of yourself to be a part of Jill.
Remember, there’s no perfect husband nor perfect wife but you can be the ideal husband, the ideal wife by forgetting yourself through daily conversion in Jesus Christ who gave His total self out of love for us. And you do not have to die on the cross literally, Sir Teng and Mam Jill.
Sir Teng, the ideal husband is someone who is deaf. Bingi. You know how women are. They talk a lot as they remember everything in detail even from long, long time ago. The moment Mam Jill starts talking, play deaf. So you don’t quarrel or debate.
Mam Jill, the idal wife is someone who is blind. Bulag. Problem with women is you see everything, kahit wala naman, may nakikita pa rin mga babae. When you see something with Sir Teng, play blind. Wala yun. Mabait siya talaga.
You two were brought together by your love for the French language. Every language is made up of small parts called letters used to form words put together in a sentence to express a thought or a feeling so we can communicate.
But, “communication is more than the expression of one’s thoughts and feelings; at its most profound level, it is the giving of self in love like Jesus Christ on the Cross” (Communio et Progressio #11)… just like every husband and wife too.
So, be small, Sir Teng and Mam Jill for you to remain in love, to grow in love, and be great in love. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 18 July 2024 Isaiah 26: 7-9, 12, 16-19 <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Matthew 11:28-30
Your words today, O God, are so refreshing that I wish to pray like your Prophet Isaiah: "The way of the just is smooth; the path of the just you make level. My soul yearns for you in the night, yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you; For your dew is a dew of light, and the land of shades gives birth" (Isaiah 26:7, 9, 19).
Freshen us, O Lord, from our dirt and exhaustion from sin!
Refresh our thoughts and our feelings, make them crystal clear like the dew in the morning to see your kindness and mercy!
Gladden our hearts, uplift our souls with your presence in Christ Jesus who calls us daily to come to Him and have rest, because His yoke is easy, His burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).
Let us surrender to You in Jesus Christ for there is no salvation outside from You except in Him; so true are the words of Isaiah: "As a woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in pains, so were we in your presence, O Lord. We conceived and writhed in pain, giving birth to wind; salvation we have not achieved for the earth, the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth. But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise; awake and sing, you who lie in the dust" (Isaiah 11: 17-19).
Teach us to appreciate and value the little things in life we take for granted like the droplets of dew in the morning enough to set our face aglow again of new beginnings; in coming to us, Jesus taught us the value of being small, being little, being silent, being humble when life begins and regenerates always. Let us arise anew in Jesus from our deep sleep in sin through His dew of light, a glimmer of better days ahead. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 17 July 2024 Isaiah 10:5-7, 13-16 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Matthew11:25-27
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD in Infanta, Quezon 2020.
Praise and glory to You, God our loving Father who has the whole world in your hands; nothing happens by chance, all good things come from You and if ever something bad happens, You know it for sure; You never punish us for our sins and whatever bad happens to us is a result of our transgressions, of turning away from You; therefore, let us always hope and trust in You for You never abandon us your children especially in our times of trials and tribulations; in the same manner, let us not be so proud when we are in the height of our success believing we are the best because You have the final say in history; let us not be proud like Assyria of old:
“My hand has seized like a nest the riches of nations; as one takes eggs left alone, so I took in all the earth; no one fluttered a wing, or opened a mouth, or chirped!”
Will the axe boast against him who hews with it? Will the saw exalt itself above him who wields it? As if a rod could sway him who lifts it, or a staff him who is not wool! Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will send among his fat leanness, and instead of his glory there will be kindling like the kindling of fire (Isaiah 10:14-16).
Teach me, dear Jesus, to be small like a child, simple and trusting in You; feeling more than thinking more, kind and loving than analyzing and sizing up others, most of all, lowly and humble because You alone has the whole world in your hands. Amen.
It is very disappointing that the recent statement of the CBCP on divorce was so unusually soft, trying to balance everything like walking on a thin line, very cautious of not stepping on whoever’s feet or hurting their feelings.
What is most sad is how this statement so watered down unlike the bishops’ previous pronouncements in the last elections supporting a candidate. It is so frustrating for us Catholics when our bishops have repeatedly crossed boundaries getting into partisan politics supporting many election candidates when on this part of our nation’s history they are tepid in standing by the Lord’s flock under attack by fierce and intense pro-divorce lawmakers and supporters. This is the crucial moment when our bishops should rally us more in defending our stand against divorce being the last country where it is still illegal.
We shall have another piece on that later as we continue today our sharing of our past wedding homilies we hope can help you be clarified why we must oppose the divorce bill. Of course, we cannot impose our stand against divorce but we make it clear to everyone why we are against it. After all, it is an informed choice we make guided by the grace of God and the Holy Spirit.
Here is our homily at the wedding at the Manila Cathedral on January 16, 2006 of our very good friend from UST’s the Varsitarian, Dra. Chona T. Capulong and Mr. Stephen Kemp of Kansas.
Twenty three years ago and less than 50 pounds today, our friend and former managing editor Chona had a column at the Varsitarian called “Choice Cuts.”
I will never forget her column with its very catchy title, so well written and most of all, more than 20 years later today, the gospel she had chosen for her wedding speaks about choosing, about choices, Jesus told his disciples, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain…” (John 15:16).
Today we are so blessed to have been called and chosen by Chona and Stephen to be present in this most joyous day of their lives when they pledge their love for each other before God and His people. Let me stress on those words of Jesus saying how we are all “called and chosen to bear fruit.”
God calling and choosing us to bear fruit. The all-knowing God making a choice for us and should we be glad and grateful for that!?
When God calls and chooses us, He does not remove our freedom which is the ability to choose what is good, not simply whatever you want. What happens is that when God calls and chooses us, this gift of freedom is actually enhanced because the Ultimate Good shows us what’s best for us.
That God choosing us rather than us choosing Him is evidently true in friendships and marriage. Chona is from this city of Manila, thousands of kilometers from Wichita, Kansas where Stephen comes from.
How they have met and be in love is a long story; what matters is the choice made by God for them and how they cooperated in that choice.
Most often, whenever we make a choice, it is oriented towards success and triumph. We always make it a point that it would be advantageous for us and most of all, easy and convenient because as much as possible, we want lesser problems and lesser risks.
Being successful, whether in life or in marriage or in business is characterized and based on strength and powers, of how we are able to control situations and bend them to our own advantage. It is about power.
On the other hand, when God makes a choice for us, it is different.
When God makes a choice for us, it is always difficult and never convenient, slow and time-consuming. Most of all, God’s choice always entails sacrifices from our part because, it is so good that we have to be emptied first in order to receive such a beautiful gift like marriage.
When God makes a choice for us, it is always based on our weakness and vulnerabilities. God is not concerned with our being “successful” but more with being fruitful because in this life, especially in marriage, it does not really matter what or how much we have achieved but what have we become.
We may have all the wealth and power in the world, all the success but, what have we become?
Have we been more loving, more forgiving, more understanding, more generous, more honest, more faithful?
Bearing fruit is different from being successful in the sense that when God makes the choices for us, He makes us into better persons, becoming the best husband or best wife or the best person in the world. This He does by letting us come to terms with our own weaknesses and vulnerabilities, emptying ourselves of these impurities and being filled by God’s goodness and holiness.
Being fruitful in marriage means being able to understand and accept, even own because of love the shortcomings of a spouse or of those around us. Being fruitful in life or in marriage is being able to bear all the pains and hardships of life because like in gardening, it is the constant pruning of trees and plants that lead to more blossoms and fruits. It is being like Jesus Christ who willingly accepted His Cross because of His great love for us. He did not remove the Cross but made it holy instead.
Chona and Stephen, this wedding is already a fruit of that call and choosing by Jesus on you. After so many pains and hurts as well as sacrifices from both of you, this day had finally come for both of you to stand before the altar of God and offer yourselves to His plans and choices. This is not the end but the beginning of more pains and hurts and sacrifices.
I am not scaring you, Chona and Stephen; however, may this wedding be an assurance for for both of you that, although there would be more problems and difficulties and trials waiting for you along the way of your married life, be assured of the great glory and fruitful life ahead for both of you.
Continue to cooperate with God’s choices for you by leading a life of faith, hope and love rooted in prayers. Jesus had called and chosen you, Chona and Stephen; Jesus would always be with you because He knows what’s best for you. Amen.
Stephen died a few years ago before the COVID pandemic but our friend Chona had remained firm in her faith in God, raising their daughter into a lovely young lady she is now. Last week, Chona told me how proud and happy she is her daughter is going to take her college abroad, away from her!
So glad that despite her fears as a mother, she had allowed her daughter to study abroad, believing, of course, it is God’s choice for her to eventually become a better woman someday. May we be faithful not only in our duties and responsibilities but especially with the people entrusted to us by God whom He had chosen to become parts of our lives.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Doctor of the Church, 15 July 2024 Isaiah 1:10-17 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 10:34-11:1
Photo from The Valenzuela Times, 02 July 2024.
On this blessed Monday, your word "bring" invites me to examine what I bring:
“Trample my courts no more! Bring no more worthless offerings; your incense is loathsome to me” (Isaiah 1:13).
Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword” (Matthew 10:34).
Teach me, O Lord, to bring your peace and justice, to bring your truth and light so that I may bring that much-needed balance we are searching in life.
Like St. Bonaventure, help me to bring myself before You, dear God in prayers, to immerse myself in your words in the scriptures so that I may bring together the ideal and practical, the spiritual and material.
Many times, O Lord, we bring our very selves, it is our ego and pride we love to bring everywhere for everyone to see, forgetting that we must first bring You back into our hearts, bring You back into our minds, bring You back into our lives so that we can finally bring out the best worship of You. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 10 July 2024 Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 10:1-7
Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the Twelve Apostles are these… (Matthew 10:1-2).
Latin "discipulus" from "discere" which is to learn, is a follower, someone who learns from a teacher;
Greek "apostolos" from "apostello" is someone sent ahead out on a mission, deputed to disseminate the teaching of the master to others.
Lord Jesus Christ, teach us to patiently learn your lessons, following and obeying your instructions always as true disciples so that eventually, You could send us out like the Twelve Apostles to carry out your mission in this highly complicated and competitive world.
How sad the words of the Prophet Hosea are still happening these days among us: "Israel is a luxuriant vine whose fruit matches its growth. The more abundant his fruit, the more altars he set up" (Hosea 10:1-2).
Sad to say, O Lord, those You have sent have refused to learn, have ceased from being disciples because they too have been lured into the ways of the world; like yesterday, many disciples follow the calls of the world instead of God; that is why, we have no more Apostles who could be sent ahead of You, Jesus, to proclaim You; many of us have never learned truly from You, lacking discipline in prayer and discerning your will and plans; let us seek your face always, Lord, so we may do your will not the ways of the world; let us seek your face, Lord, among your people especially the weak and marginalized so we may be able to proclaim "the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." Amen.
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