Category: Lent/Kuwaresma

Lent is arising, not being afraid

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Second Sunday in Lent-A, 05 March 2023
Genesis 12:1-4 >+< 2 Timothy 1:8-10 >+< Matthew 17:1-9
Photo by author, sunrise at Taal Lake, 08 February 2023.

Something so personal has happened with me this past week. It is something that is still unfolding, making me realize so many things in my life and ministry that as I continue to reflect on the death last Sunday of our elderly priest, Msgr. Vicente Manlapig, at the Fatima University Medical Center where I serve as its chaplain.

I was out when told about Msgr. Manlapig’s passing shortly before 3PM. It was the First Sunday of Lent. After saying a prayer for him, it suddenly dawned upon me that he was the second elderly priest I had taken cared of who also died in this blessed Season of Lent. The first was Msgr. Macario Manahan who died 16 March 2014, the Second Sunday of Lent at that time. I was with him when he died that afternoon as he lived very near my former parish assignment.

What a tremendous blessing God has given me to have attended to their spiritual needs preparing them for their deaths, of how life indeed is a daily Lent preparing for Easter when we have to go through many difficult series of temptations and sufferings that lead us to our transfiguration (https://lordmychef.com/2023/02/27/deaths-in-lent/).

It is the very path of life and death of every disciple of Jesus, from temptations in the wilderness to transfiguration on the high mountain. It is something we all have to go through in Christ, with Christ and through Christ.

Jesus took Peter, James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here…” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Matthew 17:1-4, 5-9
Photo from commons.wikimedia.org of mosaic inside the Basilica of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor, Israel.

Unlike Luke’s account that was set in the context of a prayer, Matthew’s version of the transfiguration of Jesus Christ illuminates the Lenten pilgrimage of the Church that is the tragedy of the Cross being seen always in the perspective of the Easter radiance. It is the oneness and inseparability of Christ’s divinity and glory with the Cross through which we get to know Jesus correctly.

Recall that the transfiguration happened after Peter’s confession of Jesus as “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” at Caesarea Philippi (Mt.16:16) where Jesus also made the first prediction of his passion, death and resurrection. From that day on, Jesus began instilling into the Twelve his conditions of discipleship, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me” (Mt. 16:24). It was a very difficult lesson for them to learn and accept that triggered Judas to betray Jesus. The remaining disciples would only fully appreciate it after the Easter event with the help of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

That is why the transfiguration was actually some sort of a “teaching aid” for this most difficult lesson of his disciples when Jesus gave Peter, James and John a glimpse of his coming glory after his pasch. See that very clearly, Matthew recorded Christ’s instruction not to tell the “vision” to anyone until Easter; the transfiguration did happen and was seen by everyone there as Matthew used the word vision to describe it.

Like the three disciples, many of us are given with this unique privilege by Jesus to have a glimpse and vision of Easter, of glory when we join him on the Cross with our own sufferings and trials and when we accompany those in severe tests in life like the sick and dying.

Photo from iStockphoto.com of Mount Tabor in Israel where Jesus is believed to have transfigured.

Amid the pain and hurts we go through or see in others, we “see” Jesus, we feel Jesus, we experience Jesus.

Many times like Peter we speak and do things without really thinking well about them because we are overwhelmed by the experience as well as the vision and sight.

And most of the time, the sight and experiences are very frightening when God speaks to us, telling us to listen to Jesus his Son, to simply obey him and trust him.

Here we have a deepening of our reflection last Sunday of the need to fix our eyes on Jesus son that we may not fall into temptations and sin. Many times we do not see everything clearly but if we close our eyes and have faith in Christ, things get clearer until it is him alone do we see with us especially after passing over a turmoil or a test in life. Like the first man and woman, our eyes are misled by so many things that look so good but not good at all. In fact, there are things that look bad that could really be good after all like pains and sufferings in life!

In the second reading, St. Paul tells us through St. Timothy to “bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God” (2 Tim. 1:8) which matches directly the instruction in the voice heard during the transfiguration, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Mt. 17:5). After the transfiguration, everything that Jesus would tell his disciples and everyone that include us today is his coming passion, death and resurrection as well as the conditions of discipleship we mentioned earlier. God wants us to listen and follow his Son Jesus Christ to the Cross in order to join him in the glory of Easter.

We are transfigured and transformed into better persons by our pains and sufferings. That is the irony and tragedy of this age: we have everything like gadgets and money and other resources to make lives easier and comfortable but we have become more lost and alienated, empty and no direction in life. There cannot be all glory without sorrow; no Easter Sunday without Good Friday.

Lent is a journey back home to God who wants us all to share in his glory through Jesus Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. It is a blessed season we are reminded to always arise in Christ, to have courage and be not fearful of failures because right now, we are already assured of victory and glory in Jesus. Let us ascend with him the high mountain of sacrifices and hard work, of prayers and patience, mercy and forgiveness to be transfigured and glorified like him. Let us imitate Abraham in the first reading to respond to this call by God with faith and hope, obedience and perseverance. Amen. Have blessed and transformative week ahead.

Photo from custodia.org of Basilica of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor, Israel.

Lent is living in the present

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the First Week of Lent, 03 March 2023
Ezekiel 18:21-28     < + + + >     Matthew 5:20-26
Photo by author, Tagaytay City, 08 February 2023.
Praise and glory to you,
God our merciful Father!
You are so loving,
so forgiving to our sins.

"If you, O Lord, 
mark iniquities,
Lord who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered"
(Psalm 130:3-4).
Yes, there are times
that I also say like
the people of Israel
"The Lord's way is not fair!"
(Ezekiel 18:25) when in fact,
it is always me who has been
unfair to myself and to others,
ultimately to you!

Thus says the Lord God: “When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die. But if a wicked, turning from the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life, since he has turned away from all the sins which he committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

Ezekiel 18:26-28
You are most fair and just,
dear God; you do not derive
pleasure from the death of a wicked
but rather rejoices when one turns away 
from sins (Ezekiel 18:23);
for you, dear Father,
the person that you see is the person I am NOW,
what matters with you are my relationships
with you NOW with the past,
good or bad, forgotten;
let me not be anxious of my past
but let me guard against complacency
that I remain faithful and true to you
in every here and now.
Amen.

Lent is submission to God

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the First Week of Lent, 02 March 2023
Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25   > + + + <   Matthew 7:7-12
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 2022.
God our loving Father,
let me desire only you in my life
so that it is YOU whom I always ask for
and receive,
YOU whom I seek and find,
YOU whom I knock for 
the door to be opened
(Mt. 7:7).
Thank you, Lord, 
for allowing
me to tell you my 
needs and plans,
thank you for listening
even if there is no need
because YOU know best
and that is why,
here I am to you
asking for your grace
of enlightenment to put on my lips
the words I must speak
and in my heart the grace of 
docility and surrender to
your holy will.

Thank you, O God,
for always answering my calls,
for building up strength
within me (Ps.138:3);
I am still learning
and struggling to pray,
of totally submitting myself
to you like Queen Esther 
in the first reading when she,
like Jesus your Son,
offered her very self 
in total submission
to you.
Amen.

Lent is believing again

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the First Week of Lent, 01 March 2023
Jonah 3:1-10   <*{{{{>< +++ ><}}}}*>   Luke 11:29-31
Photo by author, 08 February 2023.
O loving Father,
teach us to believe again
during this blessed season of Lent;
help us rediscover our faith
to believe in you again amid our many
sins and guilt feelings;
help us to believe again in people
after so many betrayals by friends and family;
most of all, help us to believe again
in ourselves despite our failures
and weaknesses.
So many times we are like your
prophet Jonah, 
so reluctant in answering your calls,
so stubborn and hardheaded in our
biases and prejudices against others,
many times we resort to pessimism
and cynicism with how life in the world
is going, feeling lost and hopeless.

So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord’s bidding. Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,” when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.

Jonah 3:3-5
Help us in our unbelief, Lord!
Help us stop asking for many signs
except Jesus Christ present to us
in the Sacraments especially
the Eucharist and Confession
we often receive these days.
Help us to simply believe
and obey your words
like Jonah at Nineveh.
Amen.

Lent is God consoling us, assuring us

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the First Week of Lent, 28 February 2023
Isaiah 55:10-11   <'[[[[>< +++ ><]]]]'>   Matthew 6:7-15
Photo by author, OLFU-QC, Basic Education Dept., 20 February 2023.
Praise and glory to you,
O God our loving Father!
Thank you for this wonderful
gift of Lent, of being so close 
to us, consoling us in our
pains and disappointments,
assuring us of your love and
most especially of your plans 
for us!  Help us to be more open 
to your coming, to your presence, 
to your words.

Thus says the Lord: Just as from the heavens the rain and the snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:10-11
Your Son Jesus Christ taught us
to call you Father, Abba, 
for indeed, you are a Father to us
who taught us how to walk
and stand and fight in this life;
as a Father, you are so loving 
and caring, ready to rescue us 
in times of distress; let us come
to you, call you, and to listen to you;
let us rediscover the beauty
and value of silence this Lent
so we would hear and learn 
your plans for us because 
there is no need for us to speak to you  
as you know very well our thoughts;
what matters is that we hear
and learn your plans for us!
May we "look to you, O Lord, 
so we may be radiant with joy
in the midst of our brokenness
and rise from our crushed spirits"
(Ps. 34:6, 19) in order to bring 
your loving assurance
and consolation
to those burdened
and lost like us.
Amen.

Lent is being inclusive, not exclusive

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the First Week of Lent, 27 February 2023
Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18   ><)))*> + <*(((><   Matthew 25:31-46
We hear you speaking to us,
Lord God our Father,
telling us, "Be holy,
for I, the Lord your God,
am holy" (Lev. 19: 1-2);
we hear your voice daily
right in our hearts
as we feel your nearness
to us in your gift of life,
in your love,
in your holiness
that all fill us.
But unfortunately,
left unnoticed,
unrecognized,
even denied
when we refuse
to see your face
in everyone we meet
especially the poor,
the deaf,
the blind,
the weak, 
our own family
members
and neighbors.
Forgive us, Lord,
in being so exclusive
than being inclusive
like you for your holiness
encompasses us all;
teach us to love without
boundaries nor barriers,
to stop our evil ways
against one another;
let us embrace your law,
Lord, which is perfect,
refreshing the soul,
rejoicing the heart
(Ps.19:8, 9);
set our sights to
Christ's Second Coming
and judgment
which is happening now,
the acceptable time
and day of salvation;
may we love,
love,
and still love more
even those we do not
know who may be 
hungry and thirsty,
a stranger or naked,
sick or in prison.
O God, how great
and loving you are
that you chose us
to be your dwelling
and most of all,
be the reflection of your
holiness despite our
many imperfections.
Amen.

Lent is for fixing our “eyes” on God

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
First Sunday of Lent-A, 26 February 2023
Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7  +  Romans 5:12, 17-19  +  Matthew 4:1-11
Photo by Noelle Otto on Pexels.com

Lent is the season we fix our eyes to see clearly our selves, God, and others. It is the season where the dictum is “less is more” with no flowers allowed at the altar, only plants and leaves used as decorations. Ideally, images and icons inside the church are covered during these forty days when the Gloria and the Alleluia are also omitted in the liturgy because Lent invites us to look more inside our hearts than outside to find God.

Today’s first reading reminds us the problem with our eyes that lead us to falling into sin like the first woman who was tempted by the serpent into believing that eating the forbidden fruit would open her eyes to know what is good and evil like God. See the interplay of how the fruit was pleasing to the eyes and after they have fallen into the trap of the devil, “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked” (cf. Gen. 3:4-7).

A big part of our temptations to sin happens in how we “see” things, literally and figuratively speaking. In the wilderness during the temptations of Jesus, the devil showed us what he often “sees” that if we follow could lead us into sin. Let us see what Jesus “saw” during those moments of temptations and triumphed over evil.

Detail of mosaic “Temptations of Christ” at St. Mark Basilica, Venice, Italy. Photo from psephizo.com.

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” He said in reply, “It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”

Matthew 4:1-4

First temptation of the devil is for us to see scarcity, to see nothing, to see too little, to see there are not enough that the tendency is for us to hoard and be selfish. But Jesus tells us today even in the barrenness of the wilderness where there was no food nor water, there is always plenty and abundance when we see God.

When we were in elementary school, we were told how food and water would run out in the future with worldwide hunger and thirst happening in apocalyptic proportions. It had never happened. Yes, our natural resources are depleting not because of our normal consumption but largely because of human greed. We see everything so few, not enough for everyone that our tendency is to get more, driving prices up with the poor left to fend for themselves of whatever is left behind.

What we see more is what we do not have, not seeing the beautiful and precious ones we have like family and friends, health and life itself as well as faith in God. There is always the temptation most especially in the midst of difficulties and trials to see everything as ugly and dismal like the first parents after the fall when “they realized they were naked” whereas before, “they felt no shame” because they were good.

Observe how the eyes and the mind are closely intertwined, of how wrong judgments result when our eyes are deceived by what we see or do not see. Look inside your heart when you feel like alone and abandoned or when in the wilderness of sickness and sufferings. See God in everything even in nothingness by reading and praying his words in the Sacred Scriptures and you shall find life and abundance.

Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you and with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”

Matthew 4:5-7

Second temptation is when see more of power and entitlement that lead us to becoming like gods.

See the deception of the devil as he brought Jesus to the temple, the house of his Father, making him stand on the parapet to test his obedience and submission to God. It continues to happen to us these days, especially for us priests and bishops, those inside the church like its volunteers and servants, or those who see themselves as devout and pious Catholics who feel entitled here on earth and even in heaven!

No one, not even Jesus Christ claimed any entitlement for being the Son of God. In fact, in his being the Christ, he taught us the importance of submission and obedience always to the will of God our Father.

The first sin was not just pride and disobedience of Adam and Eve. It was a sin rooted in the heart, of feeling so special in paradise, daring to be like God. A feeling of entitlement, of manipulation and control to play like God.

The second temptation of Christ reminds us all supposed to be close to God, his servants to always look and examine our hearts if it is truly God whom we love and follow or just rules and commandments, rites and rituals that we forget the people we are supposed to lovingly serve and care for.

The sad reality in our church is how the devil’s temptation of Jesus is realized among us priests who are being served wrongly, even adored and worshipped by the many people so deceived of the temptation to get close to clergymen or the church. This is the reason why the poor and sufferings are still marginalized because they have remained outside our reach as we all tend to see ourselves being protected by the angels in our positions of power.

Let us all get down from our ivory towers of power, of pride and entitlement especially in the church to begin seeing the poor people on the ground and stop testing God if he would work miracles on them lest we have forgotten we are his arms and limbs.

Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.”

Matthew 4:8-10

Third temptation is clearly idolatry, of self-worship, of vanity. See how Jesus told Satan to get away after this third temptation because this is the most insidious as far as Matthew is concerned (in Luke’s version, this is the second temptation).

This third temptation is also very surreptitious which Al Pacino as the devil described in “The Devil’s Advocate” opposite Keanu Reeves as “my most favorite sin.”

We may not be kneeling before strange gods and idols but as Simon & Garfunkel sang in the “Sound of Silence”, so many of us “bowed and prayed on the neon gods we made” with our obsession with signature and expensive things and gadgets, whether original or fake.

It is also the temptation of being famous with our obsession not only with all the beauty augmentations readily available and the fitness craze of some who practically live inside gyms but also with too much living in social media where some have gone crazy counting the likes and reactions they receive in their posts.

See how Jesus won against Satan in all his temptations including in this final one because his focus was on God alone. Jesus is telling us this Sunday as we embark on our Lenten journey to remain in God above all.

Our eyes can be easily deceived because they cannot see everything at one instance. It takes times for us to recognize what or who we are looking at. There are times we need to use instruments to see everything clearly like telescopes and microscopes.

Most of all, what we see may not even be true at all. That is why we have to close our eyes in order to see better, to experience better and understand better like when we are deeply in pain and sorrow or in ecstasy and bursting with joy.

How sad that when Adam and Eve sinned and their eyes were opened, they hid themselves and sewed figs to cover themselves. Today, people go out into the open, even taking pride and not troubled at all in filming or recording and uploading sinful scenes in their lives. And everyone is so glad to take a look on them without realizing how it could lead them into shame like Adam Eve.

Let us heed St. Paul’s invitation in the second reading to live in Jesus so we may show our new humanity in Christ, we who are so loved and forgiven by God and restored to grace. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus alone to fight temptations for we are no longer slaves to our passions and desires like Adam (Rom. 5:12, 17-19). Amen. Have a blessed first week in Lent!

From bible.com.

Fasting is making God present by creating a space within us for others

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday after Ash Wednesday, 24 February 2023
Isaiah 58:1-9   ><}}}}*> + <*{{{{><   Matthew 9:14-15
Photo by author, Dead Sea oasis, Israel, 2017.
Forgive us, O God,
merciful Father,
for refusing to grow up,
for refusing to mature in
your Son Jesus Christ
in loving you,
serving you,
relating with you.
Until now, O God, 
we choose to act immaturely,
believing in ourselves as if we
know everything very well,
even bragging to you of our
goodness and holiness;
like the people in the time of
Isaiah, we are so proud,
"seeking you day after day,
desiring to know your ways, 
like a nation that has done
what is just and not abandoned 
your law, O God, even asking you
to declare what is due to us,
pleased to gain access to you,
God" (cf. Is. 58:2).

Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits, and drive all your laborers. Yes, your fast ends i quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw… This, rather, is the fasting that I wish… then you shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

Isaiah 58:3b-4, 6, 9
Until now, 
we do not fast
and we refuse to fast,
citing so many reasons
and alibis because 
until now we have not
learned the essence
and importance of fasting;
help us grow,
help us mature in Christ!
Let us realize the essence
of fasting is creating a space 
within us for you, O God, 
through others whom we
lovingly serve in your name
to make you present among us
so that when we call, we hear
you say "Here I am!"
Help us grow deeper
in you, O God, in Jesus
who had come to us so
that our spirit of fasting
may come forth from within
us, not from outside that
make us focus more on what
to avoid; it is not the thing
outside that fasting is concerned
but of what is inside us
we are willing to surrender,
to forego, to give up
in order to have you
present among the least
and neglected.  Amen.

Lent is choosing God

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday after Ash Wednesday, 23 February 2023
Deuteronomy 30:15-20   ><000'> + ><000'> + ><000'>   Luke 9:22-25
Everyday you bless us,
O God, with that great power
to choose freely what we desire
best for us; but, many times, we make
the wrong choices that often lead us
to more pains and emptiness,
sadness and that feeling of being
lost.
Most of all,
we choose sin,
we choose evil,
than choosing good,
than choosing you, O God.

Moses said to the people: “I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land that the Lord swore he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Deuteronomy 30:19-20
So many times
we make the wrong choices
when we insist on what we like
without really knowing what it is;
we make wrong choices
when we choose to disregard
you and your ways, Lord;
worst, we make the wrong choices
because we reject our very selves!
What a tragedy
when we ourselves refuse
to believe in ourselves,
in our worth,
in our possibilities
because we have lost all hope
in life, in you, and in others
due to failures or disappointments
or frustrations in life;
we choose wrongly when we
avoid pains and sufferings,
when we refuse to choose
the Cross not realizing
it is the one that truly leads
to life and prosperity
because every suffering,
every pain
leads to maturity
that make us better
and more open to
life and prosperity.
These 40 days of Lent,
let us choose you, Jesus
including your Cross;
let us choose people and
things outside of ourselves
because you have chosen to
care us and all our needs;
let us trust you 
so we may always choose you
because the times we choose
wrongly in life,
when we choose people
and things that are seemingly
favorable to us,
that is when 
we do doubt you,
when we do not 
trust you.
Amen.

Jesus,
King of Mercy,
we trust in you!