Category: Life in God

We are workers in the Lord’s vineyard

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sunday in the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 24 September 2023
Isaiah 55:6-9 ><}}}}*> Philippians 1:20-24, 27 ><}}}}*> Matthew 20:1-16
Photo by author, Church of Dominus Flevit, Jerusalem, May 2017.

We now come to the final installment in the series of teachings by Jesus Christ of what we described as delicate issues affecting even us today. Two Sundays ago it was about fraternal correction, last week was forgiving, and today, something about work and pay that are indeed very delicate for many of us, even ticklish.

Recall that love is the main motivation why we must correct those who sin and go wayward in life. It is also love that moves us to forgive those who repeatedly sin against us.

In today’s parable of the workers in the vineyard, Jesus is also teaching us about love that results when we learn to be just and generous with others because these two are the minimum requirements of love. It is in our field of work and in the issues of pay and wages when our being Christians are most tested when our senses of justice and generosity are blurred and worst, when we even forget God.

Photo by author, 2018, Davao City.

Like last Sunday, Jesus used another parable today to use a simple story of daily life that appeals to our common experiences. What is very interesting is how both parables of the Lord incited hearers to take sides and adopt positions. Last Sunday we too felt indignant against that servant who was forgiven of his loan so huge but could not let go of the debts of his fellow worker that was so little in amount.

But today’s parable has a different twist that we felt swept off by our feet when Jesus through the landowner reacted differently at the grumbling of those workers who worked longer in the vineyard and received same amount with those who worked for less hours yet paid equally.

“When those who have started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last workers worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat. He said to one of them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?'”

Matthew 20:9-16

Did we not feel surprised, even shocked? Did anyone cry unfair? How could the landowner – God – pay everyone the same amount when others worked so less than the rest?

How sad that when talks are about work and pay, we always insist on justice, especially if we feel the ones shortchanged. And worst, we used it also as our norm for salvation, for entering heaven with some openly declaring who would go to heaven and who would not!

And that is actually the context of the parable when Jesus said “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard” (Mt.20:1). This is not just about social justice and just wages but about the goodness of God. The vineyard is God, and heaven. Our salvation. Harvest time means judgment day as well as gathering of everyone in God to receive his blessings of love and salvation, healing and forgiveness.

Jesus Christ came to us like that landowner who never stopped looking and searching for us especially those lost and sinful. Truly a God so loving and merciful, he wants us all saved that as early as dawn and as late as 5 o’clock in the afternoon, he kept looking for workers to be blessed, to have something to bring home and share with their families and loved ones at the end of the day. What a beautiful imagery of God our Father who sent us his Son Jesus Christ so we could all come to him. Here we find the previous two parables still operating in the full sense wherein the landowner’s search for more workers into his vineyard was like Christ’s mandate for us to correct and forgive those who sin.

Photo by author, Church of St. Anne in Jerusalem, May 2017.

This Sunday, Jesus is telling us that each one of us is so loved by God who is overly generous, blessing us with everything we need, giving us all the chances in life to become better.

Therefore, let there be no room among us to own and box God and his blessings! Let us not usurp God’s power and generosity for others. We are all his children. Let no one assume to one’s self that he/she is more worthy to God nor he/she is more entitled much less a favorite of God! Please. Especially those who claim only they would enter heaven?

Today, Jesus is telling us we are all his servants, we are all his workers in his vineyard. Those workers hired at dawn were given a job because God is good. From his kindness, he gave them a silver coin for their wage. It is the same good and loving, kind and generous God who hired the other workers at 9am, noon, 3pm and 5pm with the usual salary. Therefore, it is very wrong for those hired at dawn – for anyone of us today – to complain to God of not receiving more than the others just because we have served longer than them. We have no right at all to command and direct God how he must give or dispense his blessings because whatever we receive from him is out of his goodness and never of our own merit.

Moreover, those workers hired at dawn should actually be grateful to God in giving them work while at the same time rejoice too that God had called others later to receive a decent pay to bring home. Here we find a similarity in the attitude of the elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son who also complained to their father the party thrown for the return of his younger brother (Lk.15:11-32).

We are all workers in the Lord’s vineyard, God’s beloved and forgiven children. What kind of workers, or children of God, are we then?

May we always remember St. Paul’s admonition two Sundays ago to “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another” (Rom.13:8). Like in the previous two Sundays, Jesus is inviting us today to imitate him and his ways, to shift_ our existence, our views, our person into higher levels in him, with him and through him. It is the same reminder by Isaiah in the first reading that we must let go of our human ways and thoughts to trust in God’s wisdom always. There are times emotions can run high with us sometimes especially when it comes to remunerations, whether material or spiritual but like the Philippians, we must trust that ultimately, everything in this life is the work of God, even the success of Christ’s gospel. All we need to do is trust in him, be like Jesus, merciful and forgiving. Most of all, generous and loving. Amen. Have a blessed new week!

From Facebook, Easter 2021: “There is an urgency to announce the joy of the Risen Lord.”

Mater Dolorosa & Alanis Morisette

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 15 September 2023
“Mater Dolorosa” also known as “Blue Madonna” (1616) by Carlo Dolci. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

I started praying about this blog last month after the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It just occurred to me on that day to greet some of my “girlfriends” – yes, God has blessed me with so many of them who are mostly women and ladies who have taught me and shared with me so many lessons and thoughts about life only women can see.

One of them is my former colleague at GMA-7 News, Kelly, widowed for six years since the passing of her husband Larry whom I have visited and anointed many times during his long battle with cancer. When I asked her how she has been doing since our last meeting before the pandemic, she was her usual self – candid yet a bit sardonic in her reply, “I’m good. I have health issues but I’m handling them, living a simple but contented life… alam mo naman ako, I’m so Alannis Morissette.”

I thought she was again speaking “gay” as in chorva when she described herself as Alannis Morisette. And before I could ask her the meaning of “Alanis Morissette”, she turned out to be speaking English – referring to the singer Alanis Morissette as she sent me lyrics of her 1995 song Hand in My Pocket. Immediately I checked it on Youtube and found it perfect too for today’s celebration of the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows or Mater Dolorosa as it speaks of every woman’s sacrifice and sufferings in this world that is sadly still dominated by male chauvinists.

Mary as Our Lady of Sorrows reminds us of every woman’s fidelity to God through her husband and children, family and loved ones as well as vocation. Her remaining at the foot of the Cross was her lowest and painful point in life to be with her crucified Son, Jesus Christ. She was so absorbed with his pain and sufferings that at Easter, she was in turn absorbed by the glory of our Risen Lord which culminated at her Assumption into heaven.

How was Mary able to keep her composure? Oneness in Christ her Son from whom all good things come even in the most trying times. When I look at her face as portrayed in the arts, it is not pity that I feel but her dignity, nobility and simplicity. Notice her praying hands, totally surrendering herself to God which began at the Annunciation when she told the angel, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk.1:38). There at the foot of the Cross of Jesus, her hands remained in praying position, entrusting everything to God, filled with faith, hope and love.

Alanis Morissette express almost the same faith, hope and love in the modern sense today with her 1995 Hand in My Pocket. A Canadian-American, Morissette grew up in a devout Roman Catholic family. Although she is now a practicing Buddhist, Morissette claimed repeatedly in some interviews that she owes her singing career to her Catholic faith. Her personal life is marked with so many pains and sufferings too, going through depressions and eating disorders as well as having been raped while 15 years old. It was from these experiences that she got all her inspirations in her many songs that strike chords in the hearts of many modern people, not just women, who strive to find meaning by hoping to brighter tomorrows amid the many hardships modern life has brought us.

I’m broke, but I’m happy
I’m poor, but I’m kind
I’m short, but I’m healthy, yeah
I’m high, but I’m grounded
I’m sane, but I’m overwhelmed
I’m lost, but I’m hopeful, baby
And what it all comes down to
Is that everything’s gonna be fine, fine, fine
‘Cause I’ve got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is giving a high five

We just have to remember our own mothers to realize and appreciate how our Lady of Sorrows and Alanis Morissette were able to bear all of life’s sufferings. It is in their hands. The praying hands. The hand in the pocket holding on to the present realities and the other hand up in the air hoping everything will be fine.

How ironic – pun intended as it is the title too of my favorite Morissette song – that despite all the great love women have offered and given us through our own mothers and sisters, aunts and grandmothers, teachers and nurses, not to forget the multitude of women who make our economy grow by laboring here and abroad plus the nuns who pray and run so many orphanages, women are still neglected and forgotten, even unloved, maltreated, and abused. Sadly, their fellow women are the ones who inflict those pains in this cruel and ungrateful world.

Starting today, be kind to women, especially those closest to you, those who have remained loving and kind despite your excesses and other idiosyncrasies.

Here is Ms. Alanis Morissette. Her music video is very interesting too, showing the many contrasts every disciple of Christ like Mary our Lady of Sorrows goes through in this life. Set in black and white, it evokes rawness yet at the same time brings out that eternal spring of hope within each one of us. Have a blessed rest day ahead!

From YouTube.com.

A lesson about prayer and storms

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 05 September 2023
The well-defined eye at the center of the storm Hurricane Florence seen from the International Space Station taken by astronaut Alexander Gerst in 12 September 2018, https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/staring-down-hurricane-florence.

Much of my 25 years in the priesthood were spent in the school ministry. My first assignment after ordination in 1998 was as a school administrator and teacher at our diocesan school in Malolos City until 2010. After a decade of parish ministry with a parish of my own, I was again sent to the school setting as chaplain of the Our Lady of Fatima University in Valenzuela City in 2021 to present.

As I celebrated Masses of the Holy Spirit in our six campuses amid the rains of the past two weeks, I told our students of the one important lesson they must first learn every school opening: there will always be storms in life. Literally and figuratively speaking. There are no ways of preventing storms and typhoons. Just like other calamities. Hence, the need for our students at a very young age to learn too the very important lesson of prayer.

Photo by author.

My dear students, prayers do not necessarily change situations like typhoons and calamities but prayers transform the person.

A man of prayer or a woman of prayer is like a gold bar or a diamond that even if it is thrown into the mud or sewage, it remains a gold or diamond. A person of prayer becomes strong and pure like gold and diamond or any precious stone.

So, have a prayer life.

Handle life with prayer so you will be able to weather every storm that comes to your life. Have that sacred space within you where you meet and commune with God, with Jesus Christ. Remember, God’s presence is never determined by outside forces like storms. God is always with us, even within us. Problem is we rarely notice nor recognize him because we are not attuned with him.

Experts tell us that every storm has an eye as its central part; however, the eye is the calmest part of every storm, always bright and sunny. It is its walls that are most dangerous where winds are most strongest and unpredictable. Having a prayer life, having a sacred space within us is like having that eye of the storm, our center of being that is always calm and peaceful because that is being rooted and grounded in God.

More than reciting prayers, having a prayer life is entering into a relationship with God in Jesus Christ, creating that sacred space within us where we experience his Divine presence whatever the season or weather is. It is being one with God. This relationship with God is reflected in our relationships with others, enabling you to make many friends and create wonderful relationships that enrich you as a person and eventually, after graduation, as a professional.

Photo by author.

The post-COVID period offers us with so many new ways of learning even amid class suspensions during storms. New methods, new technologies will emerge in the future making learning more enriching, more sustainable amid many outside factors like storms. But one thing remains very true in all our learning endeavors: we can only know so much, and there is only one who truly knows everything in this life – God. Know him first. And well.

This school year and every school opening until your graduation, remember these three things always, my dear students: study hard, work harder, and pray hardest. God bless!

True authority is solidarity

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Twenty-Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 05 September 2023
1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11   <*((((>< + ><))))*>   Luke 4:31-37
Photo by author, sunrise at Camp John Hay, Baguio City, 12 July 2023.
Praise and glory to you,
God our loving Father
for this wonderful day!
Please, we pray, for lesser
rains today,
for a better weather 
today for everyone
to make up for the
many losses we have
incurred since the 
rains and floods came
two weeks ago.
In this time of calamities,
we pray for those in authority;
enough with excessive display
of authority by anyone vested
with any kind of authority
by the law who throw their
weight around even in
public; help us realize,
dear God that authority
is not about having powers
that set them apart from us,
of those in the higher up;
authority is about being 
one with us below like
Jesus Christ your Son.

Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority. They were all amazed and said to one another, “What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.”

Luke 4:31-32, 36
Help us realize, 
dear Jesus, 
that to have authority like you
is being nearer your subjects,
that true authority is not power
but solidarity with those subject
to one's authority.

Authority is not power but
mercy and compassion with
subjects deep in miseries
and sufferings.

Authority is walking
and feeling the joys and pains,
sharing the hopes and desires
of the subjects to be liberated
and freed.

Authority is empowering
others to discover their giftedness
"encouraging one another
and building one another up"
(1 Thess. 5:11).
Amen.

True joy and gratitude

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Twenty-first Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 30 August 2023
1 Thessalonians 3:7-13   <*((((>< + ><))))*>   Matthew 24:42-51
Photo by author in Alfonso, Cavite, 2019.
Loving Father,
it is always good 
to be affirmed,
to be praised, 
to be accepted;
but, like St. Paul,
there is no greater joy
for me than to be your
servant and vessel 
of grace!

Keep me simple
and humble,
to desire nothing 
but to do your will
and bring people
closer to you,
not me.

And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly, that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us, you received it not as a word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe.

1 Thessalonians 2:13
Remind me always,
dear Lord, to share
only Jesus,
always Jesus;
let me learn to leave
the scene immediately
after I have accomplished
your will; most of all,
may the people I serve 
forget me to only remember
you alone.
Amen.

In the world but not of the world

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 27 August 2023
Isaiah 22:19-23 ><]]]]'> Romans 11:33-36 ><]]]]'> Matthew 16:13-20
Photo by author, Camp John Hay, Baguio City, 12 July 2023.

Nothing remains permanent in this world except change. And God who alone forever remains.

Though times change with new and unexpected situations that raise questions never thought of before, we are constantly challenged to make God present in Jesus Christ with our lives of witnessing as his disciples in every age.

That is why Jesus has been teaching us these past weeks of having faith in him alone, of nurturing that relationship with him especially in this time when many are deleting God not only from their lives but even in their history as a nation.

But, despite these human attempts since Adam and Eve to turn away from God, despite the many developments and advancements we have had, we humans still long for God in the end, eventually ending up searching for what is divine and holy, totally different and permanent who gives meaning to us and our existence.

Jesus shows us this Sunday the surest way of keeping our faith alive in these troubled times, in becoming his presence in the ever-changing world with its many shifting trends and paradigms.

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.”

Matthew 16:13-17
Photo by author, Caesarea in northern Israel near Tyre and Sidon in Syria, May 2019.

Jesus continues his journey into pagan territories, from Tyre and Sidon last week to Caesarea Philippi today. Of course, his journeys were not really geographical in nature but spiritual; nonetheless, Jesus this Sunday is teaching us something very important about discipleship which is to be in the world but never to be of the world.

Let us reflect on the two crucial methods used by Jesus.

First, he made a survey of the situation, of assessing and getting a clearer picture of what is happening at the ground level. I find this very “incarnational” in nature. It speaks so well of his very own kenosis, of becoming human like us in everything except sin. Jesus is so in touch with realities, so grounded with the people when he asked the Twelve, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

Photo by author, St. Scholastica Convent, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.

Jesus dared to ask to know the truth, unafraid of what people might be saying about him. So unlike of us who are afraid to hear and learn the truth about us especially if that could be painful. Until now, Jesus continues to be in the world, grounded and rooted in the realities of our lives, journeying with us without us being aware of him. The tragedy of our time is how so many of us believe and take social media and the internet as the reality, failing to distinguish reality from virtual-reality!

Look at how so many people live their lives these days as a telenovela, a mere show so that when reality bites, they collapse and cave in. Many are so far from life’s realities and thus become out-of-touch with themselves, with others, and the world. And that includes us in the Church that people find us irrelevant because we are out of sync with them in many aspects of life.

And that was the result of the Lord’s survey! People got it all wrong who he is because they got mixed signals from witnesses and his disciples themselves, including us in our own time! When we lack that deep and personal relationship with Jesus, the Christ we proclaim becomes far from the truth, a big lie from who he really is. These are grace-filled moments from God for us to open anew to him and most of all, to be able for us to level up in our existence.

Here we have Simon Peter as our example and model. See how he had greatly changed in God’s grace, from the proud and doubting fisherman last Sunday to a highly inspired disciple today, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.”

This is the high-point of our gospel this Sunday, of being in the world and not of the world. See at how Jesus categorically declared to the Twelve not only the precision and truth of Peter’s answer to the Lord’s question of who do you say that I am; more important here is the fact that such knowledge and wisdom can only come from God as a revelation which St. Paul expressed so lovely in our second reading, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! For from him and through him and for him are all things” (Rom. 11:33, 36).

Photo by author, St. Scholastica Convent, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.

The late Casey Kasem, host of the American Top 40 radio show used to sign off saying, “Keep reaching for the stars but keep your feet on the ground.”

What a beautiful reminder that for us to level up in our existence, we have to be grounded with God and reality, of being aware of the dirt and chaos in this world yet, we continue to strive to become better persons, to rise to the top as man as man in the image and likeness of God.

Here lies one of our problems in the Church these past years in our efforts to be “closer” with the flock when we simplified everything including our Masses that have become like variety shows with all the clapping and even dancing. Homilies have become stand-up comedies or rehash of news analyses or review of movies and mini-series. Focus has shifted on the pastor, forgetting Jesus Christ especially in the use of modern means of communications.

As a result, people were confused who is Jesus Christ because as we have removed the sense of sacred and holy in our celebrations and practices, came followed our lack of credibility as witnesses of the Lord with all kinds of clerical abuses that continue to plague us especially after Vatican II. Everything had become ordinary and worldly, or, of the world. All flesh and blood without the Father.

The first reading reminds us that God is the invisible hand always working for our own good, appointing credible and good people to lead us closer to him despite some despots and evil men and women who have plunged the world into chaos and darkness. Until now we can attest how in life we have seen and experienced more good people than bad ones.

Photo by author, Mirador Jesuit Villa, Baguio City, 24 August 2023.

Tomorrow, August 28, we celebrate the feast of the great St. Augustine who wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (Confessiones). There comes a time in our lives when after we have had everything, after all our searching and discoveries, after all our successes and failures in life, there is always that moment when we simply can’t get enough without God. There is always that emptiness within that only God can fill. The more we are rooted in this world, the more we realize we are not of the world too. That there are far more greater and nobler things in life we have to aspire for and become even while in this limited world marred by evil and sin.

The most truthful truths in life are learned while being on the ground, in the world where we are directed to level up in our views and existence; that is when we learn to detach ourselves from worldly things and start following Jesus, witnessing in his being the Christ, especially on the Cross. This we practice every Sunday by celebrating the Mass with our fellow disciples and cojourneyers in Christ to heaven. Amen.

Fables and parables

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, 23 August 2023
Judges 9:6-15   ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*>   Matthew 20:1-16
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Spirituality Center, 22 August 2023.
How lovely are your words
today, god our loving Father,
expressed in fables and parables
to remind us to remain true
to our self to be faithful to our calls.

Once the trees went to anoint a king over themselves. So they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ But the olive tree answered them, ‘Must I give up my rich oil, whereby men and gods are honored, and go to wave over the trees?’ Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come; you reign over us!’ But the fig tree answered them, ‘Must I give up my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees?’ Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come you, reign over us.’ But the vine answered them, ‘Must I give up my wine that cheers gods and men, and go to wave over the trees?'”

Judges 9:8-13
Heal us inside, Lord,
make us whole again
and regain our nature,
our identity,
of who we are
so we may do what we are
supposed to do;
many times we are divided inside
that we also divide those around us
and peace becomes elusive
precisely because we are
not at peace.
Let us be like you,
O God, in the parable 
of vineyard owner:
filled with love and justice,
fair and kind to everyone;
never preoccupied with
competition because 
everyone is regarded
as a beloved.
Amen.
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Spirituality Center, 22 August 2023.

That precious, sweet “Yes”

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of the Queenship of Mary, 22 August 2023
Isaiah 9:1-6   ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*>   Luke 1:26-30
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Spirituality Center, Baguio City, 22 August 2023.

YES. Perhaps the most sweetest word we all wish to hear but also the most difficult word for us to say. We want others always saying “yes” to our requests and questions but we are so afraid, so hesitant telling it to others. Very often, we hide our “yes” in cloudy expressions like maybe, will try, or simply not say it all. Especially with God.

How funny that every vocation story of any priest and religious started with that simple “yes” – a “yes, Lord”! Or, “opo, Panginoon, susunod ako”!

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:38

How amazing that such a very simple word of three letters – yes – could be so powerful enough to change one’s life. Even history. And how could such a very short word with just one syllable be so difficult to say!

With every yes in life we hear, it becomes so sweet because we are affirmed. We feel valuable and precious when people say “yes” to us. However, we are very cautious in saying “yes” to others, especially to God and in the name or presence of God because when we say that “yes”, it becomes our very life.

Every “yes” becomes a commitment, a vow, a promise to keep. Not only for us priests and religious but everybody, especially husband and wife saying yes on their wedding day; doctors, lawyers and other professionals saying yes to uphold life, justice and freedom; children saying yes to obey their parents and teachers; everybody has to say a yes in different ways every day everywhere in many occasions and situations. Many times it looks so simple, sometimes it could mean life and death.

Photo by author, St. Scholastica Spirituality Center, Baguio City, 22 August 2023.

Every yes is precious and sweet because it is the beginning of love. That is why we need to affirm and stand with that yes day in, day out in our lives.

Like Mary, her “yes” to God did not happen just once but everyday in her life, reaching its highest point at the Cross when her Son Jesus Christ died. She must have had the most painful yet bittersweet yes too when she held Christ’s lifeless Body immortalized in Michaelangelo’s La Pieta.

But it was Mary’s yes that brought us Christmas and Easter, leading to Pentecost in the birth of our Church, and led her to heaven. That is why, we celebrate her Queenship today, a week after her Assumption.

O most Blessed Virgin Mary,
our Mother and Queen,
help us to say yes like you to God,
not once but every day in our lives;
pray for us to remain faithful in our yes
to him through our loved ones,
through his people and flock;
pray for us to keep our yes to God
simple like yours, trusting him always
even if our yes would lead us to the Cross
so that our yes would bring us also
to his presence in heaven.
Amen.
Photo by author, St.

What – and who – is really “good”?

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of St. Pope Pius X, 21 August 2023
Judges 2:11-19   ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'>   Matthew 19:16-22
Photo by author, La Trinidad, Benguet, 11 July 2023.

It is nice to be back here in Baguio City, this time with my brother priests for our annual clergy retreat at the St. Scholastica Spirituality Center. As usual, we started our brief “vacare Deo” with the Holy Mass and the gospel brought me to the start of my vocation history in elementary school as I found myself in that young man asking Jesus almost the same question:

a young man approached Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments… If you wish to be perfect, go sell, what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Matthew 19:16-17, 21-22
Photo by author, Sacristy of the Manila Cathedral, 07 July 2023.

Indeed, there is only One good, God himself. Him is what we all seek in life. St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross – St. Edith Stein – said anyone who seeks the truth seeks God, whether or not he realizes it.”

That is easier. In fact, it is God who seeks and finds us always. Not us. Our own seeking for him is a pure grace from him.

The problematique is seeking what is good.

Especially after finding God.

And that is priesthood, which is to constantly affirm and and say yes to God.

More than just obeying his commandments, doing what is good is saying yes to God every day, choosing him above all things and even person, even one’s self! Many times, I must admit, I have been like the Israelites in the first reading: after having God’s immense blessings in life, I turn away from him with my many other new gods.

What is really good who is God is contrary to what is good according to the world like wealth and power, pleasures and comforts, fame and honor, adulations and recognition, and so many other things that exaggerate our bloated ego especially in this age of instant fame and glory. They are not really good because they wane and dissipate like every wealth the world offers. Worst, when gone, we are left empty.

Photo by author, St. Scholastica Spirituality Center, Baguio City, 21 August 2023.

There is only One good, God himself whom we must only have as our only wealth, our only treasure, our only valuable. And to have him, we must divest ourselves of our worldly riches, of everything that massages and inflates our ego.

How lovely is that scene when Matthew noted “A young man approached Jesus”.

That is the beauty of every retreat, of every sabbath break. We become young again, we go back to our beginning when we were so simple in seeking what is good. How sad that after finding God in Jesus, we become old not in age but in our face, in our heart because we have become sad and saddled with our many possessions that possess us!

Lord Jesus Christ,
thank you for this retreat,
thank you for making me young again,
for making me go back 
to those days of innocence,
of simplicity in seeking you,
in having you,
and being like you;
help me "divest" of myself,
empty me of my pride
and other "possessions"
to fill me with your humility,
justice and love.
Amen.

Faith in God, faith in people

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sunday in the Twentieth Week of Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 20 August 2023
Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 ><}}}*> Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 ><}}}*> Matthew 15:21-28
Photo by author, 2018.

Weddings are special occasions for me as a priest because they remind me so much of God’s presence in our time. Weddings gladden my heart as a priest because I find faith, hope and love still so vibrant in our own time when people seem to have turned away from God and spiritual values in exchange of material things. Weddings remind me that faith in God is also faith in one another.

Last Sunday we have reflected that outside forces like storms can never determine God’s presence in our lives. He is always present; problem is with us always absent, running away from him. In fact, our gospel this Sunday tells us how Jesus even dares to go to foreign territory just to find us, to heal us, and bring us back home to the Father.

At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus’ disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Matthew 15:21-24
Photo by author, Caesarea in northern Israel near Tyre and Sidon in Syria, May 2019.

What a beautiful scene presenting to us God’s love for each of us, of Jesus going into foreign and pagan territory to save us, to share us his good news of salvation. But, are we there to meet Jesus when we are in unusual circumstances in our lives?

Like what we have reflected last Sunday, we need to have that sacred space within us where we could be one with God in Jesus in prayer where we grow deeper in faith, hope and love. There is no doubt with the presence of God in our lives but are we attuned with him?

That day when Jesus withdrew to Tyre and Sidon, there were also many other people who were also sick or with sick family members but, it was only the Canaanite woman who had faith that she recognized Jesus as the Christ by calling him not just “Lord” but also “Son of David.” Though a pagan, she recognized Jesus as the promised Savior of the world, not just of the Jews! Many times in life we are that Canaanite woman, feeling so alone in a foreign territory or unusual situations with nobody to come to for any kind of help or even companionship except God alone. Hence, the need to cultivate a prayer life so we can have that sacred space within us for God, where Jesus comes and dwells.

Photo by author, Camp John Hay, Baguio City, 12 July 2023.

But, there is something else interesting in this scene not just the faith of the Canaanite woman in Christ but also with others. Our faith in God is expressed in our faith with others too. The depth and strength of our faith can be measured with our faith in one another especially those dearest to us.

See the Canaanite woman’s POV or “point of view” and contrast it with the apostles who begged Jesus to entertain her so that she would get out of their way. The apostles wanted to get rid of her because she was making a great commotion. Maybe they felt so ashamed, so jahi to the madlang people!

How sad that we act like the Twelve many times in our lives, with that great disparity between what we believe and what we live. This is the tragedy especially of those serving in the Church with us priests included. Do we believe others as the presence of God? What a tragedy when we categorize people as ones to keep and others to dismiss for whatever reason. Like the apostles, we feel suspicious of those asking Jesus or, us for help. Do they really believe her daughter was sick? Did they believe the Canaanite woman at all?

For us to get a clearer snapshot of the Canaanite woman’s faith and POV, let us return for a while why Jesus ignored her by reminding his disciples that, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Recall that was also his instruction to his apostles after naming them and sent them to their first mission not to go to pagan territories but look for the lost sheep of Israel.

But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it away to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.

Matthew 15:25-28
Photo by author, Katmon Nature Reserve & Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.

Their conversation about the bread and the dogs reminds us of the wedding feast at Cana when Mary approached Jesus to inform him that the newly-wed couples have ran out of wine. When Jesus told her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come” (Jn. 2:4), we find it echoing here in Tyre and Sidon when he told the Twelve, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Here now is the most beautiful part, the POV of the Canaanite woman who was very much like the Blessed Virgin Mary when she came and did homage to Jesus, begging “Lord, help me.”

I love that part of the Canaanite woman begging Jesus in the name of her daughter. When she finally had the attention of Jesus, she said “Lord, help me”, – not “Lord, help my daughter tormented by a demon”! It was her daughter in need of healing but the woman identified with her just like Mary when she told the servers, “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn.2:5).

What a lovely and amazing scene of faith in God and faith in others! Both Mary believing in Jesus passing on her faith to the servers and the Canaanite woman assuming into her the faith of her sick daughter. It was indeed a tough and deep faith she had professed to Jesus like the servers at the wedding in Cana: it was just a matter of time before something great happens. She felt it coming when she said even the dogs eat the scraps falling from their master’s table.

In life, like that Canaanite woman and the Blessed Virgin Mary, we have to assert even insist our faith while at the same time claiming whatever we believe is ours even if we have to wait. That is why St. Paul tells us in today’s second reading of the need to cultivate and deepen our faith even if God’s gifts and call are permanent and irrevocable (Rom.11:29) because we might fall into the same mistake of his fellow Jews who felt so secured in their beliefs and failed to recognize Jesus as the Christ.

Every Sunday, Jesus calls us to gather for the Eucharist. Everybody is welcomed, especially those feeling lost and alienated, or considered as outsiders because Isaiah prophesied in the first reading today, “my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Is.56:7). Jesus comes to us in his words, in his Body and Blood, in one another especially those nearest to us like our family, your spouse or wife, your children, our siblings, our parents.

It is a Sunday. Let us gather as one family in the house of Lord, to share in his table of the word and of the bread – believing, hoping, and loving. Amen.