Easter is new existence in Christ

The Lord Is My Chef Easter Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Second Sunday in Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, 07 April 2024
Acts 4:32-35 ><))))*> 1 John 5:1-6 ><))))*> John 20:19-31

*Photo by author, Mirador Jesuit Retreat House, Baguio City, 2018.*

We celebrate today the Octave – eighth day – of Easter which coincides with the Feast of Divine Mercy. Both Christmas and Easter observe an octave signifying eternity because when you count from Easter Sunday to this Sunday, there are actually eight, not seven days. That is why there is no such thing as weekend for us Christians because the week never ends but continues on and on every Sunday.

And that is also the mystery, beauty and reality of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection that according to Pope Benedict XVI, “a life that opens up a new dimension of human existence” (Jesus of Nazareth, Part Two, p. 244).

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

From now on, nothing can hold us nor keep us locked in sadness and grief, suffering and misery as well as sin and death because in rising from the dead, Jesus had opened up for us new possibilities in the future not only in eternal life but right here on earth.

Like the apostles on that same evening of Easter, we also find it so difficult to grasp and understand, even believe and explain right away though we could feel and experience deep down within us that Jesus is risen.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
John 20:19-22

*Photo by author, dusk at Sacred Heart Novitiate, 20 March 2024.*

Since Sunday we have the prevalence of darkness and emptiness in our Easter stories, reminding us how often that it is in the darkness of our lives when we find light, when in the midst of emptiness when there is fullness.

This Sunday we find the presence of Jesus but still in an unusual manner. There was still darkness for it was night but more than that was the darkness within each disciple who locked themselves inside the Upper Room for fears from Jewish officials who might arrest and put them to death like Jesus.

Many times in life we feel locked in, imprisoned in some situations, feeling resigned as there is no way out from our troubles and miseries but through faith in Jesus, out of nowhere and without any explanation at all, we find ourselves extricated from our inescapable situations.

When my youngest sister was diagnosed with cancer the other year, she told me how she prayed on the eve of her surgery asking God to simply give her the grace to accept whatever the results of her tests would be. But after her surgery, it turned out her cancer was at its earliest stage that required no treatment at all except constant medical checkups! Last February on her major checkup again, doctors found no traces of cancer in her while her surgery had healed so well.

Hope is not positive thinking that things could get better; in fact, to hope is even to expect things to get worst like when the disciples were hiding in fear, expecting to be arrested too. Or my sister resigning to God her fate, just asking for the grace to accept she had cancer.

But it was in that darkness when Christ came and brought light to His disciples and my sister and our family. Strangely enough, it was after seeing the wounds of Jesus when they rejoiced because that proved that the Lord had risen. It was in my sister’s cancer we found ourselves together more in love and care for each other.

In life, our wounds will remain with us but most important of all for Easter to lead us into new existence in Christ, we must first remain in Him and with one another amid our wounds and darkness around us. And for us to remain or stay in Jesus with each other, we must first come.

Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst… Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands”… Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?”
John 20:26, 27, 28-29

*Caravaggio’s painting “The Incredulity of St. Thomas” (1602) from en.wikipedia.org.*

My dear friends, while praying over the gospel this week, this line by the Lord kept on echoing within me. And every time it would echo, the Lord shortened the sentence like these:

“Have you come to believe because you have seen me?”

“Have you come to believe because…?”

“Have you come to believe…?”

“Have you come…?”

Before we can stay and remain in the Lord, we must first come. Like Thomas.

What he had asked as proofs to believe in the Lord’s Resurrection were not really doubts to be taken negatively. John referred to him being known as Didymus for Twin. We were the ones who gave him that nickname Doubting Thomas. Like us, there are times we feel at a loss like Thomas with our faith and with ourselves when extraordinary things happen to us. It was not that he did not believe but in fact, he wanted to believe more. That is why he came the following Sunday.

Though I have always loved Caravaggio’s paintings, I don’t think Thomas ever touched the Lord’s wounds. Thomas must have been overwhelmed with the presence of Jesus that all he could say was “my Lord and my God” which we repeat during consecration of the bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood.

*Photo by Ka Ruben, Easter Vigil 2024, National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City.*

Easter leads us into community life centered in the Eucharist. See how since Sunday when Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, He instructed her to tell Simon Peter and others of His Resurrection; after appearing to Cleopas and companion on the road to Emmaus, they hurried back to Jerusalem to proclaim the good news of seeing the risen Lord at the breaking of bread; and while they were together which would be the gospel next Sunday, Jesus appeared to them again as a community.

In His rising to life, Jesus brought us together, fellow wounded healers to heal each other, to remain with each other amid our poverty and sufferings because together in Christ, that is when we open new dimensions in existence, in living as a community. We grow into an I-Thou person from the selfish ego. That is what the first reading is telling us in how “the community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possession was his own, but they had everything in common” (Acts 4:32).

It is the risen Lord who comes and stays among us in darkness and woundedness whenever we come and reach out to others like Thomas in the gospel. Even in our doubts, Jesus comes for us to believe more in Him. That is when great things start to happen, many so unbelievable and too deep for words. Basta.

That is why St. John Paul II rightly made the eighth day in Easter as the feast of Divine Mercy too because it is the love of God poured out to us in Jesus Christ’s suffering and death on the Cross when Blood and Water flowed out from His heart as an ocean of mercy for us. This is the love of God John was reflecting in the second reading that was too deep for words to explain except that it is the power that also “conquers the world” (1 Jn.5:3-4). Like St. Faustina in her Diary number 163, let us also pray:

"Help me, 
O Lord, 
that my heart may be merciful" 
by being more loving, 
by coming 
and remaining in Jesus 
among our brothers and sisters 
in their many darkness 
and emptiness
and wounds in life.
Like You, 
Lord Jesus,
let me come
to reach out
to those in doubts
to be Your very proof
of Your having risen
from the dead.
Amen.

Great Silence

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Holy Saturday, 30 March 2024

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

Teach us to be silent today, 
God our Father, 
as we remember your Son 
Jesus Christ’s Great Silence – 
Magnum Silentium – 
when he was “crucified, 
died and was buried; 
he descended to the dead 
and on the third day 
he rose again.”

On this Holy Saturday, 
your whole creation comes to full circle. 
In the beginning, 
after completing your work of creation, 
you rested on the seventh day 
and made it holy (Gen.2:3). 

On the seventh day 
after completing his mission here on earth, 
Jesus Christ was laid to rest.

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, 19 March 2024.*

Silence and rest always go together.

Let us realize, Father,
that to be silent 
is not merely to be quiet 
but to listen more to Your voice 
coming from the depths of our being; hence, 
silence is not emptiness 
but fullness with You, dear God. 
It is in silence 
where we truly discover 
our selves and others too.

Likewise, 
to rest is not merely to stop work 
nor stop from being busy; 
we rest to reconnect with You 
to be filled with your Holy Spirit. 

You do not rest, O God, 
because you never get tired; 
it is us who need to rest 
so we may continue 
Your work of creation and, 
now of redemption 
and renewal by Jesus Christ.

When we rest, 
we return to Eden, 
like the garden where Jesus was buried:

“Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by” (Jn. 19:41-42).
John 19:41-42

How beautiful is that image, 
dear Father, 
of Your rest and silence in Eden 
and of Jesus laid to rest 
at a tomb in a garden: 
to rest in silence is therefore 
when we stop playing God 
as we return to You 
as Your image and likeness again!

God,
we are afraid of silence 
because we are also afraid
of the truth, of trusting You;
Jesus was crucified because
we have always been 
afraid to trust You 
and be truthful to You and 
ourselves.

Teach us to be like the women 
who rested on the sabbath 
when Jesus was laid to rest; 
like them, may we trust You more 
by being true to ourselves.

The women who had come from Galilee with him followed behind, and when they had seen the tomb and the way in which his body was laid in it, they returned and prepared spices and perfumed oils. Then they rested on the sabbath according to the commandment.
Luke 23:55-56

May your silence and rest reassure us that we shall rise with you again. Amen.

Praying & Dying with Jesus

The Lord Is My Chef Good Friday Recipe, 29 March 2024
Isaiah 52:13-53:12  > + <  Hebrews 4:14-16;5:7-9  > + <  John 18:1-19:42

*Photo by author, Chapel of the Holy Family, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, June 201*6.

The evangelists tell us that Jesus died on the Cross on a Friday at about 3PM. And they tell us too that our Lord died praying, exactly what most of the Seven Last Words expressed.

But from the gospel we have heard this afternoon written by the beloved disciple, we discover something very beautiful about the death of Jesus, that He was very calm and peaceful in His prayer unto death.

After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
John 19:28-30

When we are deep in suffering, in severe pain like Jesus on the cross, what do we usually pray? Most often, we pray that the terrible ordeal we are going through would finally end, would be finished.

And sometimes, due to desperation, we even pray for death, of how we wish God would finally end our life to be free from all the problems we are going to.

One of the things I keep telling to sick people I visit came from Meryl Streep who acted as mother of Winona Ryder in the 1990’s movie “House of Spirits” when she said, “Do not pray for death because death surely comes.” Sometimes in our desperation, we feel death is the solution to our problems and sufferings. But when Jesus died on the Cross, He made death an offering, a gift of self in love.

In the original Greek text, the word used to express Jesus Christ’s final prayer “It is finished” is tetelestai from the root word telos meaning the final end and direction. It is not just an ending but a direction too.

From the very start, Jesus was clear with His mission and how it would be accomplished. He has always been sure of Himself, of who He is. Notice how the beloved disciple repeated many times in his account of the Last Supper how Jesus was “fully aware” of everything that was going to happen to Him that He was actually in control and never left to the whims and powers of His enemies when He went through His Passion and Death.

Last night we heard how Jesus knew everything was coming to end that He washed the feet of His disciples after their supper. Most of all, Jesus was so composed and serene that He even gave bread to His betrayer Judas Iscariot during their meal. In fact in the washing of the feet of His disciples to His agony in the garden, Jesus calmly and courageously faced death that in the end, on the Cross, He had the upper hand that He was able to pray “It is finished” because He was never made under the power of death completely as He would rise again on Easter.

In praying “It is finished,” Jesus consecrated not only Himself but also all humanity to the Father so that we are able to bear and face death squarely like Him. Very notable in this part is how we find only in the fourth gospel how Jesus died by “handing over his spirit to the Father.”

Remember the verb to hand over is the literal meaning of the Greek word used paradidomi or betrayal. But here at the death of Jesus, handing over has no negative connotation but purely positive; Jesus never betrayed or handed anyone over to sufferings. He bore all sufferings and handed these over to the Father. That is true passion in the active sense when we let things happen not because we are helpless and resigned to the situation but we passively take everything in the positive sense because we have that firm faith and deep conviction that being silent, being patient, being persevering will eventually bear fruit for us like the death of Jesus that led to Easter.

Suffering and death thus are not resignation nor mere surrender but submission to the higher power of God to convert darkness into light, sadness into joy, and death into life. There on the Cross Jesus showed that true power is in weakness.

After the consecration of the bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood in the Mass, we proclaim “Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.” We call it as “the mystery of our faith” because when we say “Christ has died,” we admit that truly, the Son of God went through all kinds of sufferings in life we all go through like betrayal, rejection, loneliness, sickness, hunger, thirst, and yes, even death. And His sufferings continue as we suffer more in this world marred by evil and sins, making us cry, asking when would these end and be finished.

There lies the mystery of our faith on the Cross that led to Easter: when we look at Jesus Christ on His Cross, we see our own pains and agony as God’s pains and agony too. Jesus joined us in our anguish and death so that we could experience all the more His immense love for us. Without Jesus and His Cross, we would never be able to bear or even face the many deaths we go through daily. May we recognize God’s immense love for us again this afternoon when we venerate the Cross and see it as the merging point of human and Divine suffering. Keep praying with Jesus who has the final say with death in Easter. Amen.

*Photo by Ka Ruben, National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valezuela City, August 2022.*

Krus ang pintuan sa langit

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-21 ng Marso 2024
Ikalawang Huling Wika ni Jesus sa Krus

*Larawan kuha ng may-akda sa Mirador Jesuit Retreat House sa Baguio City, Agosto 2023.*

Ang ikalawang wika ni Jesus sa Krus:

Tinuya siya ng isa sa mga salaring nakabitin, at ang sabi, “Hindi ba ikaw ang Mesias? Iligtas mo ang iyong sarili, pati na kami!” Ngunit pinagsabihan siya ng kanyang kasama, “Hindi ka ba natatakot sa Diyos? Ikaw may pinarurusahang tulad niya! Matuwid lamang na tayo’y parusahan nang ganito dahil sa ating mga ginawa; ngunit ang taong ito’y walang ginawang masama.” At sinabi niya, “JESUS ALALAHANIN MO AKO KAPAG NAGHAHARI KA NA.” Sumagot si Jesus, “SINASABI KO SA IYO: NGAYON DI’Y ISASAMA KITA SA PARAISO.”
Lukas 23:39-43

Muli ay ating namnamin ikalawang wika ni Jesus doon sa Krus pagkapako sa kanya. Nauna niyang sinambit ay kapatawaran; ngayon naman kanya itong sinundan ng pangako ng langit o paraiso.

At iyon ay agad-agad na, ora mismo! Wika nga ng mga bata, “now na”! Hindi mamaya pagkamatay nila ni Jesus o sa Linggo sa kanyang pagkabuhay. Malinaw na sinabi ni Jesus kay Dimas, “SINASABI KO SA IYO: NGAYON DI’Y ISASAMA KITA SA PARAISO.”

Tantuin ninyo mga ginigiliw ko na sa ebanghelyo ayon kay San Lukas, namutawi lamang sa mga labi ni Jesus ang pangakong ito ng paraiso noong siya ay nakabayubay sa krus at hirap na hirap. Wala siyang pinangakuan ng langit nang siya ay malaya at malakas na nakakagalaw, naglilibot at nangangaral.

Alalaong-baga, pumapasok tayo sa langit kasama si Jesus sa sandaling kasama din niya tayong nagtitiis, nagdurusa, nagpapakasakit dahil sa pagmamahal doon sa Krus!

Ang krus ang pintuan papasok sa langit o paraiso.

Madalas naiisip natin kapag nabanggit o narinig ang katagang langit at paraiso ay kagalakan, kawalan ng hirap at dusa. Basta masarap at maayos sa pakiramdam, langit iyon sa atin. Kaya mga addict noon at ngayon kapag sila ay sabog at nasa good trip, iyon ay “heaven” dahil wala silang nadaramang problema at hirap sa buhay.

Kaya hindi rin kataka-taka na ang gamot nating laging binibili ay pain killer – konting sakit ng ulo o kasu-kasuan, naka-Alaxan kaagad. Noong dati ay mayroong shampoo na “no more tears” dahil walang hilam sa mata.

Gayon ang pananaw natin sa langit. At tumpak naman iyon kaya nga sa pagbabasbas ng labi ng mga yumao, dinarasal ng pari, “Sa paraiso magkikitang muli tayo. Samahan ka ng mga Santo, kahit mayroong nauuna, tayo rin ay magsasama-sama upang lagi tayong lumigaya sa piling ng Diyos Ama. Amen.”

Nagmula ang salitang paraiso sa katagang paradiso na tumutukoy sa kaloob-loobang silid ng hari ng Persia (Iran ngayon) kung saan tanging mga pinagkakatiwalaang tao lamang ang maaring makapasok kasama ang royal family. Kaya nang isalin sa wikang Griyego ang mga aklat ng Bibliya, hiniram ang katagang paradiso ng mga taga-Persia at naging paraiso upang tukuyin ang langit na tahanan ng Diyos na higit pa sa sino mang hari sa mundo.

Ngunit, katulad ng silid na paradiso ng hari ng Persia, hindi lahat ay basta-basta na lamang makakapasok ng paraiso. Alalahanin nang magkasala sina Eba at Adan, pinalayas sila ng Diyos at mula noon ay nasara ang paraiso; muli itong nabuksan kay Kristo nang sagipin niya tayo doon sa krus na nagbunga sa pagwawalang-sala sa ating mga makasalanan. Dahil sa krus ni Jesus, tayo ay naging karapat-dapat patuluyin sa paraiso. Sa tuwing ating tinatanggap ang krus ni Kristo, tayo ay nagiging tapat sa Diyos sa pamamagitan ng pagmamahal at paglilingkod sa kapwa. Noon din tayo pumapasok ng paraiso.

Sa panahong ito na wala nang hanap ang karamihan kungdi sarap at kaluguran, ipinaaalala sa atin ni Jesus sa ikalawang wika na ibig niya tayong makapiling ngayon din sa paraiso kung tayo ay mananatiling kasama niya sa pagtitiis at pagpapakasakit sa ngalan ng pag-ibig sa Diyos at kapwa.

Sa panahong ito na dinidiyos masyado ang katawan at sarili upang maging malusog, malakas at kung maari ay manatiling bata at mura ang edad, pinapaalala ni Jesus sa kanyang ikalawang huling wika sa krus na sino mang nasa banig ng karamdaman pati na yaong mayroong kapansanan ay unti-unti na ring pumapasok ng langit ngayon din sa kanilang tinitiis na hirap at sakit.

Sa panahong ito na lahat ay pinadadali at hanggat maari iniiwasan ano mang hirap at dusa, pinapaalala ni Jesus sa kanyang ikalawang huling wika na sa ating pagsusumakit sa maraming tiisin at pasanin sa buhay na ito, noon din tayo pumapasok sa paraiso kahit na kadalasan ito ay nagtatagal sa paghihintay.

Noong pandemic, natutunan natin na hindi lahat ng tinuturing ng mundo na negatibo ay masama kasi noong mga panahong iyon, iisa ating dasal tuwing tayo ay sasailalim ng COVID test na sana ay “negative” tayo, hindi ba? Noon natutunan natin yung negative ay positive. At iyon mismo ang kahulugan ng krus ni Kristo!

Para sa atin, ano mang mahirap, masakit tulad ng krus ay negatibo ngunit kung tutuusin, ang krus ay hugis positibo o “plus sign” (+) at hindi minus (-); kaya, ano mang hirap at pagtitiis sinasagisag ng krus ay mabuti dahil hindi ito nakakabawas bagkus nakapagdaragdag sa ating pagkatao na naghahatid sa atin sa kaganapan at paglago. Sa suma total, eka nga, sa paraiso!

Ang mga tiisin at pagsubok sa buhay ang nagpapatibay at nagpapabuti sa atin upang maging karapat-dapat makapasok sa paraiso at makapanahan ang Haring magpakailanman – ngayon din, ora mismo, now na!

Kaya, manalangin tayo:

Panginoong Jesus,
bago pa man dumating
lahat nitong aming tiisin
at pasanin sa buhay,
nauna ka sa aming
nagtiis at nagpasan
ng krus noong Biyernes Santo;
nauna kang nagpakasakit
at namatay noon sa Krus
dahil sa pagmamahal sa amin;
kaya, patatagin mo ako sa aking
katapatan at pananampalataya
sa Iyo upang manatiling kaisa mo
sa krus ng kalbaryo ng buhay
upang ngayon din
Ikaw ay aking makapiling,
makasama sa Paraiso.
Amen.

On turning 59

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

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 19 March 2024.*

Salamuch to all your birthday greetings and prayers. You were all prayed for during my five day silent retreat here at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches, my “Bethel” and “Peniel” in the last ten years.

It was in Bethel where Jacob dreamt of a stairway to heaven that upon waking up realized “the Lord is in this spot, although I did not know it” (Gen.28:16, 19) while it was in Peniel where he wrestled with an angel that he was given the other name “Israel… because you have contended with divine and human beings and have prevailed” (Gen.32:29, 31).

*The newly reblocked tree-lined road of Sacred Heart Novitiate.*

God has been so kind to me to let me reach 59 – isang taon na lang may Senior Citizen Card na ako!

Last Sunday I had a long lunch with two of my former students in our girls’ high school in Malolos. It was a great feeling of being “reconnected” not only with Karen and Kweenie but also with myself.

God is our most important “connection” in life. To be connected, to reconnect with him is to be one, to be whole again with one’s self, with others and the rest of creation. And that is what a retreat is, a vacation with the Lord which is to reconnect with Him, to be healed and be whole again to find our other vital connections in life (https://lordmychef.com/2024/03/18/re-con-nect/). Here are some of my reflections; hope to help or guide you too to God.

*After sunset at the Sacred Heart Novitiate, 21 March 2024.*

If I say, “Surely darkness shall hide me, and night shall be my light” — Darkness is not dark for you, and night shines as the day. Darkness and light are but one.
Psalm 139:11-12

Very often, we feel disconnected from God and everyone, even from one’s self when there is darkness in life due to sins and failures or disappointments as well as when we are tired and feeling sad, even depressed, for varied reasons.

But, the grace of God is actually most bountiful when we are in darkness. And the irony of it all, it is in our darkness is also our light! It is the other side of that another irony I realized a few years ago that it is in emptiness when we are actually full. Kung kailan wala, at saka mayroon!

*From the refectory of Sacred Heart Novitiate, 18 March 2024.*

In His great silence, God never stops doing something in us and with us while we are groping in the dark. Many times, the very things we complain and cry about that brought us darkness are in fact the most beautiful things we can have and must have done in this imperfect world. Feel God tapping our shoulders, even thanking us that despite the darkness we are into, we remain faithful and committed, still caring and loving those entrusted to us, especially the children and the sick as well as those who hurt us or a burden to us.

Life is always difficult but many times we ignore this reality.

Have you sometimes wondered why life has become so complicated and competitive these days that even if you are not in the “rat race” itself especially when friends and family come to unburden themselves to us, we also get affected. That is when we overextend ourselves helping them, connecting them without realizing we are the ones getting disconnected too with our very selves and the realities of life.

When things are getting dark, stop and accept the fact we are tired or sad. That it is already night time and too dark to go out, that we need to stay inside or remain where we are. Let the darkness pass to avert disasters like breakdowns, feeling exhausted and depleted that we get sick physically and emotionally. When darkness comes, rest in the Lord and enjoy the stars and the moon above.

*The Novitiate abounds with calachuchi trees that one can smell the sweet scent of its flowers especially in the evening.*

I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew; How precious to me are your designs, O God; how vast the sum of them!
Psalm 139:14, 17

Why can’t I accept that I am good, so wonderfully created by God? What a shame at how I always tell people, especially students and youth, to always believe in themselves, that our main problem in life is self-rejection which I am also guilty of.

Lately I have been questioning myself if I am really good at all: “talaga ba akong magaling at mahusay o ma-papel lang?”

*Tranquil afternoon at the Sacred Heart Novitiate, 19 March 2024.*

It is funny that as I cross into the threshold of senior years, I still have many insecurities in life, still doubting my abilities, of who I am.

One thing God has revealed me this week of prayers is how self-rejection is a result of lack of gratitude to Him. It is only when we are truly grateful to God can we accept, then own our giftedness as a person.

Many times we thank God for his “material” gifts to us that include our family and friends, jobs and career, house and cars and gadgets. Not to forget money and wealth, including fame for some. We thank God for everything except our very gift of selves. We are the most precious gift of God we always forget to thank Him for – our giftedness as a person with all of our talents and abilities.

Being grateful to God means seeing myself as God sees me His beloved child. Not the way we see ourselves before God that would always be in extremes, either we are too good like the Pharisee in Christ’s parable (Lk. 18:9-14) or too bad almost like the devil.

The more I am grateful to God, the more I cherish my personhood that despite my many flaws and sins, I am still loved by God our Father.

Gratitude is more than being thankful; it is entering into a deeper relationship with God and with anyone good to us. Ungrateful people who could not say “thank you” are the ones who do not care at all to others and their kindness. Whenever we say “thank you,” it means we not only appreciate and acknowledge their gift but most of all, their personhood inasmuch as they have recognized us in the first place.

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

This morning in our Mass, I felt so touched by God that tears swelled in my eyes twice. First when we sang in the entrance hymn “Buksan ang aming plad, sarili’y maialay; turuan Mong ihanap kami ng bagong malay.”

I think that is one thing I need this year, a new consciousness about God, of myself, and my vocation. Lately, I have been “romancing” death. It is not being morbid but simply accepting that reality becoming more real as we age. But, sometimes, I must confess, any fascination with death is defeatist in nature like when we start thinking of retiring early. I have always believed the priesthood is always seeking new directions in the ministry, in serving God and others but lately with all the darkness in me and around me, I just feel like retiring early, of just waiting for the end, whatever that may mean.

Lord Jesus Christ,
bring back that fire and 
enthusiasm in me;
give me a new 
consciousness of You,
of me, 
and of my ministry.

*The beauty and majesty of God at the Sacred Heart Novitiate.*

Tears swelled in my eyes the second time during the Offertory in our Mass as we sang Take and Receive which is actually the surrender prayer by St. Ignatius. It was the last prayer I recited before the Blessed Sacrament last night as I closed my retreat with a Holy Hour. It is my most favorite prayer but also the one I rarely pray after realizing and feeling its “existential” meaning during our 30-day retreat in 1995.

Try contemplating its meaning and you feel scared praying it, as if telling God, “not yet, Lord, not yet”: “Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Thou has given all to me. To thee, O Lord, I return it. All is Thine, dispose of it wholly according to Thy will. Give me thy nlove and thy grace, for this is sufficient for me.”

As I closed my retreat last night, I felt praying it again with the same conviction in 1995 after our 30-day retreat, in 1997 for our diaconal ordination and in 1998 for our presbyteral ordination. Once in a while I pray it too in high moments with the Lord. Like last night and this morning.

Thank you, 
dearest Father
for the gift of life,
for the gift of personhood;
Lord Jesus Christ,
You have given me with so much
and I have given You so little;
teach me to give more of myself,
more of of Your love and mercy;
take whatever I still have 
so that I can give more of You
in the Holy Spirit.
With Mary, 
teach me to be poor 
in You.
Amen.

Thank you everyone for your love, for your gift of self, for your friendship.

Lent is keeping the ties that bind us

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Fourth Week of Lent, 13 March 2024
Isaiah 49:8-15     <*(((((>< + ><)))))*>     John 5:17-30

Until now I still relish in delight,
Father that expression
I realized this Monday:
Lent is God always "now here"
and us people "nowhere";
your words today are about
your abiding presence among us,
of remembering and not forgetting,
of the ties that bind us together
of we your beloved children
and you our loving Father in
Christ Jesus our Brother.

Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.
Isaiah 49:15

Jesus answered the Jews, “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work… Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the father doing; for what he does, the Son will do also. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed.
John 5:17, 19-20

How sad is the fact that
what we most often forget
and fail to remember is our
ties and relationships;
every sin,
every injustice,
every hurt
happens in the context
of our relationships disregarded:
with you God our Father,
we as brothers and sisters;
between husband and wife,
among siblings,
children with their parents,
parents with their kids;
persons of authority
with their subjects supposed
to protect and care for;
worst of all, Father,
we forget that marvelous truth
and reality of you always
finding ways to save us,
to free us,
to forgive us,
and to bless us
because we your beloved children!

Thus says the Lord: In a time of favor I answer you, on the day of salvation I help you; and I have kept you and given you as covenant to the people, to restore the land and allot desolate heritages, saying to the prisoners: Come out! To those in darkness: Show yourselves! Along the ways they shall find pasture, on every bare height shall their pastures be.
Isaiah 49:8-9

In this Season of Lent,
let us go back to our relationships
in you through Jesus with one another
for even if we forget our tasks and
responsibilities in life,
for as long as we remember 
the ties that bond us together
then, we shall never forget,
will always remember,
to be present like you 
"now here" never "nowhere"
filled with your love and
kindness for everyone.
Amen.

Nicodemus and James Taylor

Lord My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 10 March 2024

*“Nicodemus and Jesus” painting by James Tissot (1836-1902) from SuperStock/GettyImages via learnreligions.com.*

One of our favorite singer-songwriters James Taylor is coming next month for a one-night concert at the Mall of Asia Arena; hence, we are featuring two of his songs we find so related with the gospel message this fourth Sunday in Lent also known as Laetare or Rejoice Sunday.

But first, let us take a slight deviation from our usual manner of coming up with the music right away as we realized too the strong links between Nicodemus and James Taylor in their experiences.

Nicodemus belonged to the group of Pharisees, one of the enemies of Jesus at that time. But he admired and believed in Jesus that is why he chose to visit the Lord at night so that people would not notice. Eventually, Nicodemus became a disciple of Jesus after Good Friday after he and another Pharisee named Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Christ and buried him in a tomb (https://lordmychef.com/2024/03/09/lent-is-the-love-mercy-of-god-in-me/).

Nicodemus’ coming to see Jesus at night evoked his situation of being in the darkness of fears and confusions, trying to find directions in life which he found in Christ. It was similar with James Taylor’s plight he beautifully expressed in his 1970 hit Fire and Rain which is about the suicide of a childhood friend as well as his coping with his addiction and depression following his fame.

Just yesterday morning, they let me know you were gone.
Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you.
I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song,
I just can’t remember who to send it to.
I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain. I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end.
I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, but I always thought that I’d see you again.

Won’t you look down upon me, Jesus, You’ve got to help me make a stand.
You’ve just got to see me through another day.
My body’s aching and my time is at hand and I won’t make it any other way.
Oh, I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain. I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end.
I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, but I always thought that I’d see you again.

*From https://www.wildflowersprovence.fr/plant/convolvulus-lanuginosus/*

Many times, we find ourselves in situations like Nicodemus when everything is all dark like the night, or James Taylor going through fire and rain.

Now look, Jesus is most present with us when we are in the darkest darkness of the night, right in the middle of a raging storm. Many times we could not see him because he hugs us, embraces us to shield us from more harms.

When Jesus told Nicodemus about his coming crucifixion – “when the Son of Man is raised up” – it was an assurance to us all too that Christ is with us in our worst situation because he suffered first for us on the Cross. I am so glad that JT mentioned Jesus in his song, pleading to the Lord to “look down upon me and help me make a stand.”

That is why we rejoice this Sunday: in the midst of our troubles and sufferings, there are bursts of joy and relief from Jesus within us dwelling in our hearts. And that is why, we find JT’s 1976 hit, Shower the People, so related too with our gospel this Sunday.

When Jesus told Nicodemus how “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (Jn.3:16), it was also a call for us all to be the love and mercy of Christ in the world.

Nicodemus eventually became a disciple of Jesus while JT is still very much around, having weathered so many fires and rains or storms in his life, both telling us how God finds ways to save us, even extricate us from our worst situation. Hence, the need for us to become the presence of Christ’s joy and mercy to people especially those closest to us so that they may realize and experience that God so loved the world because of the way we shower them with love through us.

You can play the game and you can act out the part,
even though you know it wasn’t written for you.
Tell me, how can you stand there with your broken heart ashamed of playing the fool?
One thing can lead to another; it doesn’t take any sacrifice.
Oh, father and mother, sister and brother, if it feels nice, don’t think twice,
just shower the people you love with love, show them the way that you feel.
Things are gonna work out fine if you only will do as I say, just
shower the people you love with love, show them the way you feel.
Things are gonna be much better if you only will.

Here is our doubleheader from the “Sweet Baby James”. Have a blessed, lovely week ahead!

*Both materials are not ours without any intentions at all of infringing its copyrights.

From YouTube.com

From YouTube.com.

Lent is the love & mercy of God in me

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sunday Recipe for the Soul, Lent IV-B, 10 March 2024
2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23 ><}}}}*> Ephesians 2:4-10 ><}}}}*> John 3:14-21

*Photo of pink convolvulus from the Botanical Gardens of Jerusalem, flora.org.il.*

Many times during prayer periods I banter with God especially when I feel overwhelmed by his kindness and love. Like last Thursday on my way to the adoration chapel when I passed by a row of banks.

As I knelt before the Blessed Sacrament to pray, I just felt like asking God: “BDO (Banco De Oro) ka ba, Lord? Kasi…you always find ways.”

That, for me, my dear friends is the meaning of this fourth Sunday in Lent – God never stops in finding ways to reach out to us, to be with us, to make us experience his love and mercy, kindness and forgiveness despite the hardness of our hearts.

Our altars burst in shades of pink this Sunday called Laetare (Latin, rejoice) Sunday from the entrance antiphon that says, “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast.”

It is a misconception to see Lent as dull and drab due to its penitential nature; while there is the sober tone in our liturgy, let us keep in mind that it is also a season filled with joy and excitement for the coming Easter, the mother of all feasts in the Church.

And today we rightly rejoice because John reminds us in our gospel scene only him narrates – Nicodemus meeting with Jesus in the cover of the darkness of the night – of God’s immense love for us manifested in the dying of Jesus on the Cross.

Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”
John 3:14-16

John saw a deeper meaning, of a sign pointing to Jesus as the Christ in this conversation with Nicodemus at night. Nicodemus was a Pharisee afraid to come out in the open to show his admiration and belief in Jesus. He eventually joined the disciples on Good Friday with another Pharisee, Joseph of Arimathea when they buried Jesus in a tomb.

See the deep perception of John in this recalling by Jesus to Nicodemus of the bronze serpent raised by Moses in the wilderness (see Num. 21:4-9) as a prefiguration of his own crucifixion.

In the gospel of John, the “lifting up” of the Son of Man refers to Jesus on the Cross. After that scene with the woman caught committing adultery, Jesus declared, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM…” (Jn.8:28). Then on Palm Sunday while in the temple area, Jesus told the crowd “‘And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.’ He said this indicating the kind of death he would die” (Jn.12:32-33).

John’s gospel teems with other similar passages showing the inseparability of Christ’s Cross and glory. And so with our life, that is why in the middle of Lent, we rejoice this Sunday!

*Photo by author in Petra, Jordan, May 2019.*

Like last Sunday, here we find again early in the gospel of John how Jesus laid his vision-mission statement of coming to save us by dying on the Cross during his conversation with Nicodemus that night.

Jesus assured Nicodemus and us today that even while we are in the darkness of life’s many confusions and fears, problems and sufferings, we just have look up to him crucified lighting up our way to life and salvation. That night in their conversation, Jesus assured Nicodemus and us today that even in the worst situations in life when “darkness is our only light and hopelessness is our only hope” as T.S. Eliot wrote in his Four Quartets, God is in us, with us and for us in Christ. Just as when the world was covered in darkness on Good Friday when Jesus died on the Cross, it was the precise moment too of Christ’s glory when he conquered death and sin in obedience to the Father.

Yes, it is true these things are easier said than done but like Nicodemus, even in the darkness of the night we have to dare come close to Jesus, to speak to him and most of all, to hear and listen to him. As one poet had said, “only the brave who walk the darkness of the night shall see the brightness of the stars above.” Most of all, Jesus calls us today to be his love and mercy, his joy and light to the many other Nicodemus groping in the darkness of sin and evil.

In my three years as chaplain in a hospital, I have experienced personally and through others that truth so clear as crystal of God most closest with us in the worst days of our lives. Sometimes, we just sigh deeply as we feel him inside us, assuring us how everything is taken cared of, that everything would be fine.

Like the Israelites in the first reading, we too have to go through an “exile”, a kind of “punishment” not from God but as a result of own our sins and wrongdoing. Many times God let bad things happen to us because we insist on our ways; as God retreats to the back or sides of our lives, he never stops finding ways to save us, even “extricate” us from our imprisonment to sin and sufferings!

Indeed, as St. Paul had said in our second reading today, God is “rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us” (Eph.2:4). Let us not waste that gift. Even though God forgives every sin no matter how bad it may be, do not forget some of our sins have irreversible consequences we shall face and suffer. Of course, God would still be there to help and guide us but, why wait for that to happen?

There lies the joy and grace – and challenge – of this fourth Sunday in Lent: even while we are in our worst situations in life, in our darkest nights, Jesus is always there for us, in fact, the first to have suffered and died for us so that with him on Easter, we may rise again to new life.

Be the sower of his love and mercy. Be his presence. Be another Nicodemus in the night leading others to the light of Jesus. Let us, therefore, rejoice in the Lord as we pray:

Praise and glory to you,
dearest Father 
in giving us your Son 
Jesus Christ our Lord,
our light,
our life,
our joy;
make us, O Lord,
your love and mercy
in this world 
so everyone may experience
that indeed, God loves the world
that He gives us Jesus through me;
let your Holy Sprit enlighten 
my mind and my heart
like Nicodemus 
leading those in darkness
into the light of Christ.
Amen.

A joyful week to everyone!

Lent is reconciliation

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Memorial of Sts. Perpetua & Felicity, Martyrs, 07 March 2024
Jeremiah 7:23-28   ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*>     Luke 11:14-23

Your words today, O God,
are too strong,
that we are so bad
and, that is so true, too.

Thus says the Lord: When you speak all these words to them, they will not listen to you either; when you call to them, they will not answer you. Say to them: This is a nation which does not listen to the voice of the Lord, its God, or take correction. Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech.
Jeremiah 7:27-28

Though we are so bad,
you are still so good to us,
Father; you continue to speak to us
even if you know we do not listen
nor heed your voice.

What is worst,
even in the coming of your Son
Jesus Christ who offered himself
on the Cross, we still refused
to listen and heed his calls,
always asking for signs.

Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
Luke 11:15-17, 23

Lord Jesus Christ,
in your dying on the the Cross,
you have expressed to us
the Father's immense love for us;
indeed, your Cross until now remains 
a sign of contradiction in the world
as your calls to love and to forgive,
to be humble and be kind,
to give than to receive
remains a foolishness and weakness
for many of us; 
but you continue to speak to us
despite our being deaf and hard-hearted
because by your Cross,
you have shown us too 
it is the greatest sign of reconciliation, 
reminding us of the many
contradictions within and around us,
of the many contradictions
in the world that can be
reconciled and be made one
in your self-giving in love
we must imitate like your martyrs
Saints Perpetua and Felicity.

Reconcile us
in you, dear Jesus,
make us one in you
on the Cross!
Amen.

Paalala ng Kuwaresma

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-06 ng Marso 2024

Sa lahat ng panahon sa ating liturhiya ng Simbahan, bukod tangi ang Kuwaresma dahil ito lamang ang nagsisimula ng ordinaryong araw, ang Miyerkules ng Abo o Ash Wedensday at hindi araw ng Linggo.

Kapuna-puna ang nakaraang Ash Wednesday na pumatak ng Pebrero 14, Valentine’s Day na nangyari din noong 2018. Pinag-usapan ng marami sa social media kung alin ang pipiliing ipagdiwang, Valentine’s Day o Ash Wednesday?

Nakatutuwang isipin na marami pa rin ang sumagot sa survey na pipiliin nila ang mangilin sa araw ng pagpapahid ng abo kesa ang makipag-date sa Pebrero 14; iba ang ipinakita ng mga balita at ng social media kung saan panalo ang mga nagdiwang ng Araw ng mga Puso! At tila gayon nga ang nangyari o marahil, pinagsabay nating mga Pinoy ang dalawang pagdiriwang, di alintana mga panawagan ng Kuwaresma at Miyerkules ng Abo na manalangin, magtika ng mga sala, maglimos, at mag-ayuno.

Kaya nga taun-taon, ito ang laging tanong natin, ano nga ba ang kahalagahan ng Kuwaresma sa makabagong panahong ito na kung saan mga tao ay tila hindi na nag-aayuno, wala nang sakripisyo? Higit sa lahat, paunti nang paunti na mga nagsisimba.

Ang problema natin sa Pilipinas ay hindi pa naman katulad sa kanlurang Europa at hilagang Amerika na marami nang tao ang ayaw maniwala sa Diyos. Halos lahat pa rin ng mga tao sa ating bansa ay naniniwala sa Diyos ngunit naguguluhan marahil at hindi makita Kanyang kahalagahan at kaugnayan (relevance) sa buhay sa gitna ng makabagong panahon na wala nang hindi naiimbento at naso-solusyunan. Bagama’t sasabihan ng marami naniniwala sila sa Diyos, mas tiwala kadalasan ang mga tao sa panahong ito sa agham at teknolohiya.

Narito tatlong bagay na binibigyang-diin sa panahon ng Kuwaresma na makatutulong sa ating matagpuan muli at maranasan katotohanan, kahalagahan at kaugnayan ng Diyos sa ating buhay sa gitna nitong makabagong panahon.

*larawan kuha ni Walid Ahmad sa Pexels.com*

Hindi lahat ay nakikita. Sa panahon ng Kuwaresma, pinag-aayuno din kung baga ang ating mga mata upang ituon ating pananaw at pansin sa ating kalooban at sa mga bagay na hindi nakikita, unang una na ang Diyos.

Kaya walang dekorasyon ang mga altar sa panahong ito, walang mga bulaklak at hangga’t maari wala ring mga halaman. “Bare” wika nga sa Inggles ang altar. Pagdating ng Biyernes Dolores bago mag-Linggo ng Palaspas, tinatakpan o binabalutan ng telang lila ang mga imahen at larawan sa simbahan sa gayon ding kadahilanan – upang tingnan natin mga mas malalim na katotohan ng ating buhay.

Sa panahong ito ng social media, lahat na lang ay ibig ipakita at ipangalandakan maski kasamaan, kabastusan, at kasalanan. Bakit nga ba nang magkasala sina Eba at Adan, sila ay nagtago dahil sa kahihiyan samantalang ngayon ipinagmamalaki pa ng ilan kanilang ginawang kasamaan?

Hindi lahat ng bagay sa buhay na ito ay nakikita at lalo din namang hindi lahat dapat ay ipakita. Wika nga ng Munting Prinsipe o Little Prince ni Antoine de St. Exupery, “What is essential is invisible to the eye; it is only with the heart that one can truly see.”

Lahat na lamang sa mundo ngayon ay palabas, showbiz na showbiz ang dating upang ipagyabang mga kayang kainin at bilhin, puntahan at gawin. Ngunit, sadya bang nagbibigay ng kaganapan at katuwaan mga iyon? Hindi ba mas masarap pa ring namnamin mga sandali nating kapiling ang mahal sa buhay? Kung tutuusin nga, kadalasan o palagi, yaong mga bagay na natatago at hindi nakikita ang siyang pinakamakahulugan, pinakamainam sa buhay.

Katulad ng Diyos: “Walang taong nakakita sa Diyos kailanman, ngunit kung tayo’y nag-iibigan, nasa atin siya at nagiging ganap sa atin ang kanyang pag-ibig” (1 Jn. 4:12).

Sa buhay, mas mainam pa rin yung simple at nakukubli, mayroong pa ring misteryo o hiwaga na natatago kaya ang lahat ay nagtataka. At minsan-minsan ay namamangha.

*Larawan kuha ni Skyler Ewing sa Pexels.com*

Hindi lahat ay minamadali. Kaya tinatawag na Kuwaresma ang panahong ito ng paghahanda sa Panahon ng Pasko ng Pagkabuhay ay dahil sa bilang na kuwarenta o apatnapung araw mula Miyerkules ng Abo haggang Sabado bisperas ng Palaspas (bagama’t di naman eksakto palagi) na kung tutuusin ay limang Linggo bago ang mga Mahal na Araw. Samakatwid, mayroong paghihintay dahil kailangang makabuo muna ng apatnapung araw o limang linggo.

Ito ang isang bagay na nawawala na sa mundo ngayon, ang paghihintay. Lahat mainipin kaya siguro maiinit ang ulo ng lahat na ultimo mga bata ay stressed out. Minamadali ang lahat na hindi malaman ano at sino nga ba ang hinahabol natin. Lahat ay instant – hindi lang kape at noodles pati pagkakaibigan, pag-aasawa at pagkakaroon ng baby!

Dahil sa teknolohiya, pilit na minamanipula ng tao ngayon ang panahon na madalas ay minamadali kaya marami ang hindi na maranasan ang Diyos pati sariling pagkatao at mga kapwa-tao sa pagmamadali. Hindi kataka-taka, nawawala na rin mga mabubuting ugali ng paghihintay, pagtitiyaga, pagtitimpi at pagpipigil.

Ang lahat na pangyayari sa daigdig ay nagaganap sa panahong itinakda ng Diyos. Ang panahon ng pagsilang at panahon ng pagkamatay; Ang panahon ng pagtatanim at panahon ng pagbunot ng tanim… Ano ang mapapala ng tao sa kanyang ginagawa? Alam ko na ang itinakda ng Diyos sa tao. Iniangkop niya ang lahat ng bagay sa kapanahunan. Ang tao’y binigyan niya ng pagnanasang alamin ang bukas ngunit hindi binigyan ng pakaunawa sa ginawa ng Diyos mula sa pasimula hanggang sa wakas.
Ang Mangangaral (Qoheleth) 3:1-2, 9-11

Minsan-minsa’y matutunan nating maghintay, magrelax o mag-chill wika nga ng mga kabataan. Masyado na tayong abala sa mga bagay-bagay kaya hindi natin napapansin, namamalayan ang Diyos na nagmamahal sa atin ay kapiling natin. Ang Diyos kabaligtaran natin: maski buong buhay natin hinihintay niya tayong lumapit sa kanyang muli sakaling magpasya tayong iwanan ating mga kasalanan at maling pamumuhay upang sa kanya maranasan ang kapanatagan at kapaypaan. Tinuturuan tayo ng panahon ng Kuwaresma na tumigil at manatili sandali sa buhay, maghintay sa Diyos at kanyang biyayang nakalaan para sa atin.

*Larawan kuha ni Natalie Bond sa Pexels.com*

Katahimikan. Sa lahat ng mahahalagang aspekto ng Kuwaresma, ito ang pinakamahalaga sapagkat hindi tayo makapagdarasal, makapagninilay, o magsisi sa ating mga kasalanan ng walang katahimikan. Bahagi ng paghihintay ang pananahimik.

Naalala ko noong bata kami tuwing bakasyon sa halamanan ng aming Lola. Maraming tutubi noon at lahat kaming magpipinsan ang unahan sa paghuli habang nag-aasaran sa kantang “tutubi tutubi huwag magpahuli sa batang mapanghi!”

Wala ka talagang mahuhuling tutubi kapag ika’y malikot at maingay ngunit sa sandaling ikaw ay pumirmi at manahimik, kusa pang lalapit ang mailap na tutubi.

Iyon ang buhay, iyon ang Kuwaresma. Manahimik tayo upang higit nating mapakinggan ating sariling kalooban na madalas hindi natin pinakikinggan dahil bantad na bantad tayo sa iba’t ibang tinig at ingay sa atin nagdidikta ng nararapat. Kaya madalas tayong lito kasi sarili natin di natin pinapansin. Gayon din naman, sa sobrang pakikinig sa mga sabi-sabi, nag-aaway away tayo kasi hindi nating pinakikinggan kapwa natin. Ang pananahimik ay hindi pagiging bingi kungdi pakikinig na mabuti; ang katahimikan ay hindi kawalan kungdi kapunuan na kahit pinakamahinang tinig ay sinisikap nating pakinggan.

Tanging mga tao na kayang manahimik ang tunay na nagtitiwala sapagkat ang katahimikan ang tahanan at lunan ng pagtitiwala. Kaya ito rin ang tinig at wika ng Diyos. Sa ating pananahimik, tayo ay nagtitiwala, naghihintay maski wala tayong nakikita dahil batid natin kumikilos ang Diyos ng tahimik.

Kapag magulung-magulo ang ating buhay, tumigil tayo at manahimik. Pakinggan at higit sa lahat damhin ang sarili at buong kapaligiran upang maranasan kaganapan at katotohanan ng buhay mula sa Diyos na kadalasan ay tahimik na nangungusap sa atin. Madalas sa buhay natin, ang Diyos iyong pinakamahinang tinig na pilit bumubulong-bulong mula sa ating puso. Sikaping tumigil at manahimik, iyon ang pakinggan at sundin at tiyak, ikaw ay pagpapalain.

Sana ay huwag palampasin pagkakataon ng Kuwaresma upang Diyos ay maranasang muli at masimulan natin ugnayang kanyang matagal nang ibig para sa atin. Salamat po.