The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday before the Epiphany of the Lord, 05 January 2023 1 John 3:11-21 <*((((>< + ><))))*> John 1:43-51
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, at Tagalag, Valenzuela City, 18 November 2023.
How wonderful on this fifth day of 2024, O God our Father, that you amaze us first on what is truly amazing...
"Do not be amazed, then, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you" (1 John 3:13).
Many times we are amazed at the evil men and women do; we are amazed and surprised in the negative sense like shocked, appalled, even embarrassed when others speak and act shamelessly against what is true, good, and beautiful; to be amazed in the negative sense makes us withdraw to examine our very selves if we too have become callous and shamelessly evil.
What is truly amazing, worth of our surprise is when we are amazed in the positive sense like Nathanael: "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see" (John 1:46).
Only what is truly good, very true, and really beautiful is amazing; nothing can make our hearts leap even in momentary disbelief and amazement like Nathanael to hear or see or experience something so good and all good; and that is YOU, O God, the most amazing of all now brought nearer to us in Christ Jesus; in him, we have realized and experienced that "God is greater than our hearts" (1 John 3:20) because you, O God, your love and your truth, your mercy and your kindness are all beyond our grasp; nothing can be so amazing, loving Father, for us to experience your love far beyond anything we could expect for ourselves; make us believe, let us be amazed in you. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday before the Epiphany of the Lord, 04 January 2024 1 John 3:7-10 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< John 1:35-42
Photo by author, La Mesa Forest Park at the back of Our Lady of Fatima University-Quezon City, January 2023.
The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.”
John 1:37-39
Thank you very much, dear Lord Jesus in helping us find new directions in life this fourth day of 2024; your question to Andrew and his companion still echoes to us in this time, confronting us for an answer, for a response.
Lord Jesus, enlighten our minds and our hearts with your Holy Spirit this beginning of the year; we are constantly in search of so many things but mostly not essential; thank you in giving us Andrew and companion as guide on what to look for - you and nobody else!
Teach me, dear Lord, to always first ask that important question what matters most to me that I am looking for because it reveals who I am, where I stand before you, my Lord, and before others. Many times, we merely follow you but when the going gets tough and rough, we leave and stay behind; many times, we merely follow you without truly searching where you stay, where can you truly be found, Lord Jesus because you are never idle nor confined in a book nor a place nor a kind of person; very often, you stay dear Jesus where it is difficult, even agonizing, and disturbing.
Let us come to you, and see you, dear Jesus, to personally experience you even in the most surprising ways for there is no place nor person nor situation where you cannot be found. Amen.
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
Photo by author, 25 December 2023.
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
Photo from crossroadinitiative.com.
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.
From GMA Films and GMA Public Affairs
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.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Feast of St. Stephen, First Martyr of the Church, 26 December 2023 Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-59 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Matthew 10:17-22
Photo by author, December 2017.
Every year, dear Jesus, you remind us a day after your birthday to always remember the Cross looming behind your manger in Bethlehem with the feast of our first martyr, St. Stephen; you remind us how in your coming life will be more challenging for us as your disciples.
“You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”
Matthew 10:22
Every year also, dear Jesus, on this day we remember and reflect on the many times life has been so difficult for us, especially in witnessing your Gospel in words and in deeds; but so often, we forget how we ourselves your disciples cause so much pains and sufferings among other disciples when we ourselves are the ones who "hand over" or betray out loved ones with our infidelities, jealousies, and greed; so often we forget how we your disciples "hand over" or betray our own family members to so much agony when couples are unfaithful to each other, when parents disregard thier children for their various pursuits in the guise of loving them, when children quarrel with each other, when children disobey their parents, and so many other sins that make our loved ones not be merry at all especially this Christmas.
For all our sins, of running away from your Cross, dear Jesus, in making others Christmas not merry, forgive us and have mercy. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, 25 December 2023
Photo by author, 2017.
Of course, that is the opening line of John Lennon’s 1971 song Happy Xmas (War Is Over) he wrote and recorded with his second wife Yoko Ono. It is actually a protest song against the Vietnam War.
It was not an LSS for me because I have not heard it played anywhere except inside my mind ever since the start of the Simbang Gabi when I was visiting our patients at the Fatima University Medical Center in Valenzuela City where I serve as a chaplain. Soon, even during my prayer periods, I would hear and later hum those lines even in my office, in my room, and in the elevator. That is why I thought of making it my homily this Christmas.
Most likely, aside from being a fan of John Lennon (and Paul McArtney and the Beatles), one reason I felt Happy Xmas (War Is Over) so strongly during Simbang Gabi was due to the war in Gaza which is a Palestinian territory like the West Bank where Bethlehem is located, the birthplace of Jesus Christ.
“So this is Christmas and what have you done? Another year over, a new one just begun… A very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, let’s hope it’s a good one without any fear.”
Photo by author, Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the Holy Land, May 2019.
I find those opening lines so powerful, searing one’s heart amid this cold season, probing deeply our very person, examining our sense of personal responsibility and accountability in the light of all the troubles going on in the world and in our selves.
Lennon reminds me of God’s question to Cain after he had killed his brother Abel, “What have you done! Listen:Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the soil!” (Gen. 4:10).
It is the same question God is asking us on this birthday of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: ”So, this is Christmas, what have you done?“
Have you been like Joseph thinking more of the welfare of Mary when he found her pregnant, choosing to “quietly divorce” her before being told of the whole story by an angel in a dream or, have you jumped into conclusions and spread lies especially in social media of certain stories of people you have not verified?
Have you been like Mary lovingly saying yes to God’s plans, trusting God through your parents and those above you or, have you been stubborn and rash in your decisions that have hurt so many other people in the process, only to find out you have been misled by your friends, and now abandoned by everybody else except by those closest to you like your family and friends who dared to speak the truth to you?
Have you been like Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, who chose to go into seclusion to be silent to pray more on the wondrous things done to her by God or one who refuses to be separated from all gadgets, living practically in media, without any concern for persons and nature?
Have you been like any of those innkeepers who refused to provide room for Mary and Joseph for the birth of Jesus Christ, becoming deaf and blind to the plight of the poor and marginalized around, thinking only of one’s self and welfare that despite your wealth and fame and everything, you still feel empty and unfulfilled inside?
Have you been like a Caesar Augustus or a Quirinus, acting like an emperor or governor today lording it over everybody else especially on the road madly raging against other motorists or, insisting on using the EDSA bus lane to get ahead of others or, simply having a power trip anywhere to impose your authority and superiority over others especially the weak, manipulating them for your selfish motives?
Have you been like those pretending to be the light of the world, influencing others with your false beliefs in the name of equality and freedom of expression you espouse on glossy pictures and illustrations, lively music and empty words and promises being liked and followed in social media?
Have you been like the shepherds living in the margins of the society, in the darkness of sins and evil who led others into the light of Bethlehem, listened to the calls of the angels from above to give peace a chance to look for the Mother and Child in a manger or, have you been a shepherd without any regard for your flock except your comfort and well-being?
Have you been like John the Baptist who made a stand for the weak and disadvantaged, who spoke the truth, tried to be simple and humble, most of all just and fair with everyone because with us always is the Christ whom we do not know?
I leave up to you, my dear friends, to continue the list of what have you done this Christmas.
“The Adoration of the Shepherds”, a painting of the Nativity scene by Italian artist Giorgione before his death at a very young age of 30 in 1510. From wikipediacommons.org.
And so this is Christmas (War is over) For weak and for strong (If you want it) The rich and the poor ones (War is over) The road is so long (Now) And so happy Christmas (War is over) For black and for white (If you want it) For yellow and red ones (War is over) Let's stop all the fight (Now)
Notice in this last stanza how Lennon – like Luke in his Christmas account – sounded in the present moment, in every here and now, challenging us to make Christmas happen even if it is not December 25.
Most of all, the will – if you want it – to keep Christmas and its message vibrantly alive amid the great darkness enveloping us.
It has been reported that Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem, the Lord’s birthplace, have been cancelled due to the war in Gaza. Though the news is very sad, there still some sparks of light bursting from the darkness there because only the festivities are cancelled but not Christmas.
Red Letter Christians partnered with artist Kelly Latimore of @kellylatimoreicons to create this new icon, “Christ in the Rubble,” which illustrates the prophetic message that if Jesus was born today, he would be born “under the rubble.”From Facebook 23 December 2023.
Christmas is never cancelled and can never be cancelled no matter how miserable our lives would be because that is also when it truly happens: Jesus came to bring us light and life, comfort and res, peace and mercy the world badly needs, then and now. Whether we do something or nothing, Christmas happens because Jesus will never leave us. That is has always been the truth as the fourth gospel tells us this Christmas:
All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:3-4
But, why not do our part like Joseph and Mary, the shepherds, including Zechariah and Elizabeth and their son John the Baptist – the ones who have done so much – to make Christmas truly a happy and merry one as God willed it so. Come and do something to share Jesus our light, especially where there is darkness and death, where there is war and rubble. Amen. Have a blessed Merry Christmas!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Saturday, Misa De Gallo VIII, 23 December 2023 Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24 <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Luke 1:57-66
Photo by author, Church of St. John the Baptist (birthplace) also in Ein Kerem, other side of Church of Visitation, May 2019.
We Filipinos always thought prophets are “fortune-tellers” who predict the future because “prophecy” is wrongly translated as “hula”; thus, when somebody says something would happen and becomes fulfilled, it is often described as “prophetic” because “nahulaan niya”.
But a prophet is neither a fortune teller nor someone who sees the future: a prophet is first of all a spokesman of God. The great prophets of Israel like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Elijah even Moses all spoke for God. It was in their task of speaking for God that they seemed like seers when everything they have spoken happened – but not because they saw the future but more because they made God’s words happened.
Being a prophet or prophetic is making things happen not seeing what is going to happen. This is the meaning of our sharing in the prophetic ministry of Jesus as baptized Christians when in our speaking and standing for the truth of the Gospel, we make Jesus present in the world.
Hence, in that sense, advent is actually making Christmas happen! And that is why John the Baptist is considered a prophet because in preparing the way of the Lord, he already made Jesus present in his time that he was mistaken to be the Christ.
When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
Luke 1:57, 59-60, 62-64, 66
Photo by author, apse of Church of St. John the Baptist also in Ein Kerem, other side of Church of Visitation, May 2019.
In our first reading, we have heard the prophet Malachi declaring the coming of the great prophet Elijah, later understood in the time of Jesus as a reference to John the Baptist, with all the functions of a precursor of the Christ.
Malachi is the last of the prophets in the Old Testament who showed us the transition into the New Testament through John the Baptist that Luke beautifully employed in presenting Zechariah and Elizabeth as links from the Old Testament like the patriarch Abraham and Sarah as well as Elkanah and Hannah, parents of another great prophet, Samuel.
Recall the annunciation of John’s birth that was reminiscent of the annunciation of the birth of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah while the Temple setting was very similar to the annunciation of Samuel’s birth to Elkanah and Hannah who then prayed in the Lord’s tent who was mistaken for a drunk by the chief priest of that time, Eli.
That is the artistry of Luke who portrayed to us this Old Testament links of John the Baptist so that in some Eastern churches until now you find above their entrance doors murals of the Baptist followed by the Blessed Virgin Mary at the middle and then Jesus to show how St. John marked the end of the Old Testament leading to the New Testament that started with Mama Mary when she accepted Jesus in her womb. It is the reason Jesus himself acknowledged John the Baptist as the greatest person ever born by a woman.
Photo by author, altar of Church of St. John the Baptist in Ein Kerem, shortly before its closure for restoration, May 2019.
We today are prophets too when we link the past with the present by continuing the work of Jesus Christ, making him present in this world. We are all bridges, linking and linked with one another in Christ.
Furthermore, the naming of John in itself was very prophetic because his parents made it happened to be fulfilled as God planned it wherein Elizabeth insisted to her neighbors “John” would be his name while Zechariah who was mute at that time affirmed his wife by writing “John is his name.”
That is our mission in this world – to be a prophet who makes things happen by fulfilling God’s plans for us. As prophets, we must be open always to God’s work among us, to always listen to his words in people and events so that we make his words realized. When we become prophetic, we shall hear people say what Luke noted at the end of our gospel today, All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him (Lk.1:66).
As we move closer to Christmas Day, the birth of John the Baptist reminds us of our prophetic role in this world of making that future a present reality by fulfilling God’s words and holy will in us.
If we would just persevere in our prayer life, of immersing ourselves in prayer, the more we become sensitive not only of God’s presence but also of everyone like this very short story I recently found on my friend’s wall in Facebook shared by a certain Therese Williams Hudson last December 15, 2023. She wrote….
"I heard my mother ask the neighbors for salt. But we had salt at home. I asked her why she asked the neighbors for salt. And she replied: "Because our neighbors don't have much money and they often ask us for something. From time to time I also ask them for something small and economical, so that they feel that we need them too. That way, they will feel more comfortable and it will be easier to keep asking us for everything they need.
And that's what I learned from my mother."
Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Valenzuela City, 08 December 2023.
Lovely, is it not? The author added at the end of her story these words: “Let’s build empathetic, humble, supportive children”. Let’s join her but not just to have emphatic, humble, supportive children but most of all, prophetic ones, those with heightened sensitivity of God and of others made possible only by a deep prayer life where we can all be a “JOHN”, a graciousness of God who makes his divine plans realized. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Misa De Gallo VII, 22 December 2023 1 Samuel 1:24-28 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]*> Luke 1:46-56
Photo by author, RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 13 December 2023.
As a chaplain of our university with six campuses and two medical centers, I have always emphasized to our deans and program coordinators that I strongly advocate a “one-party system” every December – just one Christmas party each day for me!
You know very well that we are really back to normal with the many parties going on since the start of December though, we are still strongly urged to take all necessary precautions for COVID is still with us.
Next to all the food and raffles in every party, there are always the singing and dancing that make these occasions so wonderful.
But I hope that amid all these fun and celebrations, we do not forget the other side of Christmas, of those in pain and suffering this season: those who are sick or taking care of a sick loved one, those grieving at the loss of a beloved, the poor and marginalized.
Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Valenzuela City, 13 December 2023.
That is why I cannot stop sharing with you too the beautiful gesture of our Administrators last Monday in hosting an Appreciation Dinner last Monday for our employees in their senior years, those 60 and above still working, still teaching. I was not able to join them but have heard feelings of fulfillment, deep joy, and gratitude with a lot tears rolling in the eyes of those honored for their service, dedication and passion all these years. They all felt so special that aside from our Christmas party last December 8, there was another party hosted in their honor.
I remembered how when I was still assigned in our diocesan school in Malolos 25 years ago how we taught our students to set aside a certain amount of their budget for their Christmas party so they can host a party too for students in some selected public schools, complete with gift-giving. We wanted to instill in them the spirit of love and charity by thinking always of others during this season.
While we are singing and dancing in our Christmas party, let us not forget those who could not even go to parties because of their poverty, sickness and other limitations. See how the Blessed Virgin Mary taught us this important aspect of sharing Jesus Christ concretely during this Christmas when she visited her cousin Elizabeth.
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day, all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of servant Israel, for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and to his children forever.”
Luke 1:46-55
Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Valenzuela City, 13 December 2023.
In a certain sense, the Visitation was like a Christmas party of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her cousin Elizabeth. There was great rejoicing in their getting together as we have reflected yesterday.
Today we heard Mary singing her praises to God in Magnificat as a response to the praises she received from Elizabeth on her Visitation. Notice that instead of returning Elizabeth’s gesture like most of us would do in our “mutual praise club” especially during parties, Mary praised God through her Magnificat his outpouring of love not only to her and Elizabeth but to the whole nation of Israel.
Actually, the Magnificat was composed by St. Luke he placed on the lips of the Virgin Mary. It is a part of his artistry, of putting songs on the lips of some of his Christmas characters like Zechariah after John’s circumcision and later on Simeon at the Presentation of Jesus in the temple.
Why? Because singing, like dancing, is the highest expression of our feelings to the one we love. Mothers sing lullabies to their infants, suitors compose and sing songs to their beloved, and we Filipinos sing and dance in whatever mood we are wherever we may be! There is always music in us from the simple gesture of washing the dishes, ironing of clothes to driving and taking a shower. When we sing and dance, we show what’s inside us as well as who we are.
Photo by author, 2019.
In singing the Magnificat which St. Luke patterned after a similar song by Hannah at the birth of her son the Prophet Samuel who’s story we heard in the first reading, the Blessed Virgin Mary expressed her joy and gratitude in the nearness of God among us not only with the coming birth of her Son Jesus Christ but also through her!
All those great things done by God to Israel as per the Magnificat – “mercy on those who fear him, showing the strength of his arm, scattering the proud in their conceit, casting down the mighty from their thrones, lifting up the lowly, filling the hungry with good things, sending the rich away empty, coming to the help of Israel, for he has remembered his promise of mercy” – happened not only in the coming of Jesus Christ but every time we share and proclaim him in words and in deeds like Mary.
The late Fr. Raymond Brown, one of the great biblical scholars of our time noted in his classic “Birth of the Messiah” that Mary as the first Christian is teaching us the essential task of every disciple of the Lord, that is, after hearing the word of God and accepting it, we must share it with others, not by simply repeating it but by interpreting it so that people can see it truly as the good news.
How are we interpreting the message of Christmas this Advent so that people would realize Jesus has come?
I hope this beautiful poem from another blog I have found a long time ago could help you sing and dance like Mary the Magnificat this Christmas.
Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Valenzuela City, 08 December 2023.
1 Corinthians 13 Christmas Style by Sharon Jaynes (https://sharonjaynes.com/1-corinthians-13-christmas-style/
If I decorate my house perfectly with lovely plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights, and shiny glass balls, but do not show love to my family – I’m just another decorator.
If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals, and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family – I’m just another cook.
If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home, and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family – it profits me nothing.
If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties, and sing in the choir’s cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.
Love stops the cooking to hug the child.
Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.
Love is kind, though harried and tired.
Love doesn’t envy another home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.
Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of your way.
Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return, but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.
Love never fails. Video games will break; pearl necklaces will be lost; golf clubs will rust. But giving the gift of love will endure.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Misa De Gallo IV, 19 December 2023 Judges 13:2-7, 24-25 <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Luke 1:5-25
Here’s another beautiful story I got from a blogger I recently followed from Spain at wordpress.com. It is actually an analogy which may sound simple but very true.
You are holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere. Why did you spill the coffee?
"Because someone bumped into me!!!"
Wrong answer. You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup. Had there been tea in the cup, you would have spilled tea. Whatever is inside the cup is what will spill out.
Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you - which surely happens all the time - whatever is inside you will come out. It's easy to fake it, until you get rattled. So, we have to ask ourselves, "what's in my cup?" When life gets tough, what spills over from me?
Photo by Mr. Boy Cabrido, Quiapo Church, Misa de Gallo, 17 December 2023.
My dear friends, we are now on the fourth day of our Misa de Gallo and I find that story/analogy so appropriate with our readings today.
How interesting that Zechariah with his wife Elizabeth – according to St. Luke – prayed so hard all their lives to have a child but when God was about to fulfill it, Zechariah doubted it despite being told by an angel from God. Like in that story/analogy we presented above, Zechariah was “rattled” by the angel’s good news. “What was inside Zechariah that he doubted the good news”?
Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the days these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”
Luke 1:18-20
Photo by author, Wailing Wall of Jerusalem, May 2017, the section of the remaining parts of the temple closest to the Holy of Holies where priests used to incense once a year.
Advent is the presence of God but sometimes when we are overburdened with so many things like anxieties and problems in life, frustrations and disappointments, sickness and death in the family, we become unaware of his divine presence even if we continue to pray and do our religious duties and devotions. Too often we lack the conscious awareness of God in our lives that we take him for granted, considering him more as a given than a presence and a reality.
This is exactly what we told you yesterday about some of us pretending to be real disciples of Christ when in reality we are merely dreaming in a sleepwalking existence. It is a kind of spiritual immaturity due to our lack of honesty and sincerity with one’s self and with God that we remain a spiritual dwarf. Like Zechariah who happened to be a priest who must be more attuned and rooted in God, we too hardly notice God’s coming or even doubt him and his powers because we want to hold on to our comfort zone or insist our own agenda.
God is never put off by our queries in life but what “irritates” him is when we question him, when we doubt him, when we ask about his character like Zechariah. That is a lack of faith in God, a lack of trust, and lack of personal relationship with him unlike St. Joseph in our reflection yesterday, truly a righteous man.
Contrast Zechariah with his wife Elizabeth who is presented by St. Luke in a better position despite her being barren. In the Bible, barrenness is a sign of lifelessness and absence of God’s blessings. Worst, it was seen as a punishment from God for one’s sins.
Yet in this opening scene of St. Luke’s infancy story beginning with the annunciation of John’s birth, we find God’s power at its fullest when we are most emptied which is exactly the imagery of Elizabeth being barren and old. She had nothing at all to be proud of unlike Zechariah who still had duties to perform as a priest.
As we have reflected yesterday too, we burst in great rejoicing actually in those moments filled with negativities, with a lot of “no” answers of rejections and failure. That was how Elizabeth felt after being pregnant with John.
After this time, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying, “So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others.”
Luke 1:24-25
Earlier, we asked what was inside Zechariah that he doubted the good news of the angel; now, we imagine what was inside the barren Elizabeth who welcomed the good news rejoicing by voluntarily going into a seclusion?
The story of the elderly couple Zechariah and Elizabeth finally being blessed by God with a child shows us God’s consistency not only in keeping his promises but most of all in working best even in our worst conditions, in the most unusual circumstances. In these two stories, one from the Old Testament and in the New Testament, we find the importance of being filled with God always.
Recall our story/analogy above. What is inside us that comes out when we are shaken? What spills over from our cup, is it joy, gratitude, and peace? Or, anger, bitterness, harsh words and reactions long festering within?
In starting his Christmas story with the annunciation of the birth of John the Baptist, St. Luke is telling us an important aspect in celebrating this blessed season – the need to fill ourselves with God.
See how Zechariah was forced to be silent and made mute so that he could spend more time listening and rediscovering God anew in his heart, of filling himself with God. On the other hand, Elizabeth opted to go into seclusion also to contemplate God already dwelling in her though she may have never known before that is why she wanted to listen more intently to his other plans with the gift of John. Similarly like her in the first reading was the wife of Manoah who remained silent and open when a man of God told her she would bear a son to be called Samson, saying that “I did not ask him where he came from” (Jgs.3: 6). Advent invites us to simply be still to be filled by God, with God.
The other day I joined my nieces and nephew for lunch. After dropping me off at the parish, they asked for a nearby Starbuck’s because my nephew had to buy a coffee mug for his exchange gift in their class. When I asked him why he had to give a Starbuck’s mug as gift, it turned out that is now the way it is in class Christmas party – your exchange gift partner can make a wish for the gift to receive for as long as it is within the agreed budget by the class.
Anyway, our life gives us the cup or the mug. We make the decision, the choice to fill it with coffee or chocolate or tea, in the same manner we fill ourselves with joy or bitterness, anger or serenity, gratitude or complaints. Or God.
Like Zechariah in the gospel today, we could be so tired already of doing so much, of banging our heads on the wall to solve everything, to answer everything. In this final stretch before Christmas, let us empty our cups or mugs of our selves and fill it with God who alone can truly fill us with life despite our dryness and barrenness. Amen.Have a blessed Tuesday!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Misa De Gallo III, Monday, 18 December 2023 Jeremiah 23:5-8 ><))))*> + <*((((>< Matthew 1:18-25
Photo by author, sunrise at the Pacific Ocean from Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.
“This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about” (Mt. 1:18). I love this opening line of our gospel this Monday. So simple and warm, even magical that we know the whole story it is about to tell not only by heart but because it is now fulfilled.
It evokes in us that scent of Christmas or amoy Pasko whatever that means to you.
Basta, you know that feeling of being so safe and secured that everything in life will be fine, just like with St. Joseph after being told by an angel in his dream of the coming of Jesus Christ.
Photo by author, San Fernando, Pampanga, November 2021.
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:20-21
Feel the solemn note of Matthew’s infancy account from the perspective of St. Joseph, the fulfillment of God’s promise that burned slowly through long years of waiting that burst into light with the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem more than two thousand years ago.
Every prophecy and dream and longings were finally fulfilled because “When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home” (Mt. 1:24).
As we enter the final stretch of the week leading into Christmas Day when Christmas rush tries to hijack our souls from its true essence, we are invited to go deeper, to be more intense in our prayers and reflections on the meaning of Christ’s coming to us.
Are we willing to be like St. Joseph?
Very often, St. Joseph is taken so lightly because of his silence. And amusingly, his being portrayed always asleep that God communicated to him at least four times in his dreams about the birth and safety of Jesus Christ.
For anyone fast approaching the senior year of 60 like me, you would exactly know the feeling and frustration of difficulty in having a good night sleep. If my alarm clock were a human, he would have long been fired from the job because I always wake up ahead before it alarms!
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 20 March 2023.
First thing we find with St. Joseph sleeping soundly in the midst of a major problem – in fact, a fiasco – which invites us to examine our faith in God.
Many times we find it hard to fall asleep not really because of our problems but with our indecisions.
Our failure to confront and solve our problems make us sleepless. If we can be firm in our decisions due to our deep faith and love for God like St. Joseph which is the meaning of his being a righteous man, we too can sleep soundly like him. Go back to the story and you will find how quickly St. Joseph had decided to divorce Mary quietly so as not to expose her to shame. In making that decision, we find St. Joseph’s selflessness and complete trust in God: primary in his consideration was Mary, his beloved. His love for her was the expression of his love for God too.
As we age, can we start our memoir with the similar lines of Matthew, This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about? Can we unabashedly telling everyone in all sincerity “this is how what I am today came about”? Can we wholeheartedly tell straight what really happened amid all the pains and disappointments we went through when God suddenly changed the course of our lives with his own plans? Would we have regrets or none at all like St. Joseph because he obeyed everything upon waking up?
Now, that is the more important part in Matthew’s short infancy narrative: nothing much was told after the St. Joseph awoke except that he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. The final sentence cemented everything with his total union with God that “He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.”
Here we are given a glimpse of the spiritual maturity and holiness of St. Joseph, his being open to God expressed in his taking of Mary as his wife that in doing so, Jesus Christ the Son of God came into the world. What a wonderful flow of events we too must have experienced in our lives when everything falls into its right places simply because we cooperated with God
According to St. John Paul II’s friend, the Orthodox Christian theologian Olivier-Maurice Clement, a lot often we pretend to be real disciples of Christ when in reality we are merely dreaming. He called it “sleepwalking existence”; my Jesuit spiritual director Fr. Danny Gozar calls it “spiritual dwarfism”. Both refer to our spiritual immaturity due to our lack of honesty with our self and with God.
Being righteous like St. Joseph is simply being holy, a spiritually matured person generous enough to confront and consider everything in one’s life with open mind and open heart to set them aside and give way to God’s greater plans. Sleepwalking existence and spiritual dwarfism happen when there are certain things we want to hold on to and pursue or keep even if we could feel it is not God’s will for us. Tendency is to fool ourselves that we delay any decisions as we claim we are not yet certain with God’s will when in fact we are simply hoping against hope God would change his mind.
Photo by author, San Fernando, Pampanga, November 2021.
The angelic annunciations to St. Joseph and to Virgin Mary may not be literal but we can be certain of one truth with God: he is most consistent in communicating his will to us even if he does not speak clearly and directly as humans or angels. Very often, the faintest voice within us that persists, the most ordinary things and events happening daily we take for granted, the simplest truths we realize and deem so little are God’s consistent communication of his will for us.
This Advent Season, let us try to wake up to life’s realities like St. Joseph in order to hear God’s voice in silence. To be silent is to be awake to life’s realities, to be able to listen and discern God from all other voices and noises. It is important that we are awake to life’s realities like St. Joseph because God’s voice may be the very words, silence, tears or smiles of those who love us most but we often take for granted. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Saturday, Misa de Galo 1, 16 December 2023 Isaiah 56:1-3, 6-8 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< John 5:33-36
Photo by author, Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City, 12 December 2023.
All roads lead today to churches for the start of Christmas novena more known with its many names that actually refer to the time of the Mass celebration.
Its generic name is Simbang Gabi that specifically refers to the night Masses that begin December 15 while Misa de Gallo and Aguinaldo Mass are the ones celebrated at dawn starting December 16. It is a tradition we got from the Spaniards via Mexico where it is a novena in honor of the the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Expectant Mother or Nuestra Señora dela Virgen Expectacion. It is also the reason why we use the Spanish terms Misa de Gallo for rooster or “gallo” that crows at dawn and Misa de Aguinaldo for present or gift as our “aguinaldo” or offering to Jesus by waking up very early for nine days until his birthday.
In our university and medical center where I serve as chaplain, we have Simbang Tanghali at 12 noon to enable our students and faculty members, doctors and nurses, and employees to make the traditional novena because most of them are too sleepy for Simbang Gabi and too tired to rise very early for Misa de Gallo.
Keep in mind, though, that the time when you go to celebrate the Mass is not important. What really matters is how sincere we pray and prepare ourselves spiritually during these nine days of Masses to meet and receive Jesus Christ into our hearts and lives. It is highly recommended we go to confessions this Advent Season so we may be cleansed of our sins, the true darkness within that needs illumination in Christ.
It is in this setting of darkness in celebrating the Christmas novena that we got the name Simbang Gabi. Both night and dawn evoke darkness not only in the world but most especially inside us due to sin when Jesus Christ our Savior comes. In fact, the darkest nights of the year occur between December 23-25, a beautiful reminder that Jesus comes to us in our darkest moments too for he is the only and true Light of the world.
Hence, Advent Season is illumination, a time when we are led to Jesus our light by other lights too who share his very light. Whatever light we must share is only Jesus, always Jesus. If it is not Jesus, then it is a dangerous kind of light that does not illuminate but actually darkens us and our lives, even the world. Any other light, no matter how bright it may be, if not from Jesus Christ is false and misleading from what is true and good.
How sad in our age that Christmas may be the most loved season but not for the right reason and person, Jesus Christ. Cities here and abroad are lit up at night during this time of the year with spectacular display of lights that delight our sights and other senses but, only on a superficial level. We just feel amazed but the sight never permeates our person because it is always mediated by the camera phone everyone is so busy using to take video and pictures without us experiencing the meaning of the wonderful interplay of light and darkness.
I am not against these light shows. I am just worried at how we could be missing the whole point of Christmas because these lights do not show Christ at all, misleading us like the Jews during the time of Jesus from the realities of God’s presence in our midst.
Photo by author, Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City, 12 December 2023.
In our gospel today, Jesus was questioned by the Jews for healing a man sick for 38 years on a sabbath day at Bethesda. They wanted to kill Jesus in equating himself with God whom he called as Father as he elaborated to them his mission of healing and salvation.
In this scene, Jesus insisted his being the Son of God, doing all the works of the Father as testified by his very acts and by John the Baptist whom they revered.
He (John the Baptist) was burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.
John 5:35-36
As the Precursor of the Lord, John the Baptist was very clear from the very beginning of his ministry that he was not the Messiah. All four gospel accounts are clear that John the Baptist shone brightly to illuminate others in order to see the true light, Jesus Christ.
The first disciple of Jesus as far as the fourth gospel is concerned was Andrew the brother of Peter who was a disciple of John the Baptist. After the baptism of Jesus by John at Jordan, Andrew and another companion left John to “come and see” Jesus. They eventually invited others to join Jesus whom they have identified as the Christ or the Messiah.
See how John as a “burning and shining lamp” showed the light of Christ to his disciples Andrew and companion who then led others to follow Jesus. In the same manner like John the Baptist, we are called especially tonight on this first Simbang Gabi to share the light of Christ, not to outshine Jesus.
Photo by author, Fatima Ave., Valenzuela City, 12 December 2023.
Light is meant to illuminate others and the streets so we would not fall or get lost; it is never meant to make us washed in lights to be seen. Unfortunately, it is the trend happening these days in social media and on our streets where everyone take pride in having the brightest lights on their vehicles that blind other motorists.
What a clear sign of everything gone wrong these days when we bathe ourselves in so much lights as everyone wants to shine and sparkle on one’s own, feeling so entitled that many have literally thrown their weight around in those road rage videos we see daily.
The worst of these blinding lights we find so glaring these days are the so-called “social influencers” who feel like superstars with some priests among them unfortunately who relish the title. And glamor – if there is really any – because, the fact remains that these so-called “social influencers” have not given any light at all to the world that may be considered as significant contributions for the betterment of lives except entertaining people. Or, titillate the many benighted souls among us.
When we obey God’s commandments and live according to his holy will as mentioned in the first reading from Isaiah today, we become lights leading to Jesus the true light. When we strive to lead holy lives, we illuminate others not for our own selves but towards Jesus.
Let me end this reflection with this beautiful story I got from a blog I follow of a grandchild having a conversation with his grandfather:
"Lolo, how did you live in the past without technology... without computers without Internet connection without mobile phones without cars without air conditioners without blue tooth without ATM's?"
And the grandfather replied: "Just as your generation lives today... no prayers, no compassion, no respect, no good manners and right conduct, no real education, poor personality, no kindness, no shame, no modesty, no honesty."
Sorry for the sarcasm but I love it. Besides, the sarcasm invites us to ponder the kind of lights we share with others. Very often, we complain of the young generation’s lack of depth or questionable value systems and attitudes but these are all due to the lights we have shown them.
On this first Simbang Gabi of the post pandemic period, let us pray to have the light of Christ anew to conquer the darkness of sin and evil in the world. Let us illuminate others and the world towards life and fulfillment by sharing the true light of the world, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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