Photo from catholicworldreport.com, “The Beheading of St. John the Baptist” (1869) by Pierre Puvis de Chevannes.
Your gospel today, O Lord, is so appropriate and timely: while we were busy, albeit foolishly discussing the novel coronavirus in every fora, a technical committee in the House of Representatives has approved three measures seeking to legalize divorce in the country.
We do not know what have really happened but it is so sad that no one among the Catholic and Christian lawmakers there made a solid stand against these measures like St. John the Baptist who was imprisoned on account of his objection to Herod’s taking of his brother’s wife Herodias.
So many times, Lord, we are so afraid and worried of what others might say against us when we make a stand for what is right and just, for what is proper and decent, for what is right and good, for what is your will.
Worst, O Lord, many of us are like Herodias who have prostituted our very selves in the service of the worldly allures of sex, fame, and wealth, choosing to be silent with all the many immoralities going on in government, in the society, and even in the church!
Give us the same courage, Lord, you have given your precursor St. John the Baptist to be prophets in this modern age, to be a voice in the wilderness, making a stand for what is holy, true, and just.
Like David, may we always seek your ways, ask for your grace to do your will against the giants and monsters of this world who ram into us every modern thought and idea that disregard the sanctity of life, the value of every person, as well as the sanctity of marriage.
Let us not be silent anymore with the growing impunity of many in their arrogant display of authority, throwing their weight around us with their cuss words and fallacious arguments that dignify their truncated egos and pride for the sake of progress and modernity. Amen.
Thursday, Memorial of St. Pedro Bautista and companion priest-martyrs, Week 4, Year 2, 06 February 2020
1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12 ><)))*> 0 <*(((>< Mark 6:7-13
Our merciful God and Father, on this memorial of your great priest-missionaries and martyrs – St. Pedro Bautista, St. Paul Miki and companions who have also worked in the Philippines – we pray today in a very special way for our dearly beloved mentor and brother priest, the Rev. Fr. Danny Bermudo.
We are not complaining, Lord, but year 2020 is a very tough year for many of us, right into January that continues to this month of February with many deaths and sickness, problems and trials not only in our own circles of family and friends but also in our country and the whole world in general.
We trust in you, O God, and can clearly see now in your readings especially that essentially, in life and in death, we are commissioned only to one thing — be faithful to you and your instructions, Lord.
While nearing his death, King David perfectly said it to his son and heir to the throne, Solomon:
“I am going the way of all flesh. Take courage and be a man. Keep the mandate of the Lord, your God, following his ways and observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees as they are written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in whatever you do, wherever you turn…”
1 Kings 2:2-3
In a similar manner, at the start of his ministry, Jesus said the same thing while sending the Twelve two by two with authority over unclean spirits: leave everything behind in life and solely be focused on you, Lord, so we may fulfill your work and mission.
Photo by author, 2019.
Thank you, O God, for the gift of Fr. Danny who taught us in his classes and most especially in his personal way of being our seminary formator to always be faithful to you and your laws; to always be good and holy like you, our Heavenly Father.
In words and in deeds, in life and in death, Fr. Danny lived out his life totally for you, Lord, dying after fulfilling his mission and ministry of celebrating the Eucharist.
Bless Fr. Danny, O Lord, and may we carry on his lessons until our death like him. Amen.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 04 February 2020
Photo by author, St. Paul Spirituality Center, Mt. Pico, La Trinidad, Benguet, 04 February 2020
My life may be rife
with so many strifes
causing me to struggle,
be pained leading into fruition
making life golden.
When I reviewed my life and see
the past so vast and also fast,
then I realize my life
is not all mine but His, Divine.
Here in my life
I can see within
where it is going;
calming, assuring and so promising
the Divine leading me to final joining
for my life is really in HIM.
Amen.
Photo by author, St. Paul Spirituality Center, Mt. Pico, La Trinidad, Benguet, 04 February 2020
2 Samuel 18:9-10, 15, 24-25, 30-19:3 ><)))*> <*(((>< Mark 5:21-43
Photo by author, Mt. St. Paul Spirituality Center, La Trinidad, Benguet, 03 February 2020.
Thank you very much, Lord Jesus Christ, for this gift of rest in you. Thank you for reminding us last Friday how you would always explain everything about your parables “in private” to your Twelve apostles (Mk.4:34).
Today I feel that if there is one thing you would really want to ask each one of us is to have some private, personal time with you.
We have always been so busy with so many things in life except with you, Lord.
Like that woman in today’s gospel afflicted with hemorrhages for 12 years seeking to touch even your clothes to be healed, many of us still feel so alone, even alienated in the midst of the crowds, of so many friends and followers in social media and of all kinds of BFF’s.
Many of us have forgotten that of all the bestest friends we can ever have in life is no one but you, Lord. And that’s the good news!
You are always here for us, Lord Jesus, always looking for us, searching us, wanting to enter into a personal relationship with us that is vibrant and alive.
Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?’ But his disciples said to him, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you asked, ‘Who has touched my clothes?'” And he looked around to see who had done it.
Mark 5:30-32
Photo by author, Mt. St. Paul Spirituality Center, La Trinidad, Benguet, 03 February 2020.
After meeting the woman you have healed, people came to inform Jairus that his sick daughter had died, that he should no longer bother you. But, you assured Jairus that his daughter was asleep and has not died, asking him to just have faith in you. Again, you asked him for some private time with you:
Then Jesus put them all out. He took along the child’s father and mother and those who were with him (Peter, James, and John) and entered the room where the child was.
Mark 5:40
Give us O Lord Jesus the grace to make that precious moment to spend time with you in private to experience your healing and loving presence.
May we always keep in mind that in the beginning when God created the first man, it has always been your desire that we be alone with you, first of all. Amen.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 03 February 2020
Detail of the Presentation painting by Italian artist Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506) with Mary handing the Child Jesus to Simeon at the temple of Jerusalem (man at the middle Mary’s husband, Joseph).
As we come to close today’s Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, I wish to share with you a Quiet Storm brewing within me which I call “the Nunc Dimittis experience”.
Nunc dimittis is the Latin opening line of Simeon’s Canticle that says “Now you dismiss” when he was filled with joy by the Holy Spirit upon meeting our Lord and Savior on his presentation at the temple.
According to St. Luke’s account, God had promised Simeon that “he would not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord” (Lk. 2:26). Hence, the overflowing joy of Simeon when he finally met the Child Jesus at the temple 40 days after Christmas!
Part of St. Luke’s artistry in his Christmas story is to put songs on the lips of some of its important characters to express their profound joys in their unique experiences of the coming of Christ.
The Nunc Dimittis is the fourth canticle in the Lucan Christmas story: first is Mary’s Magnificat when she visited her cousin Elizabeth who was six months pregnant with St. John the Baptizer; second is the Benedictus by Zechariah when he regained his speech after naming his son John; and third is the Gloria sang by the angels when Christ was born in Bethlehem.
Of these four canticles recorded by St. Luke, Simeon’s Nunc Dimittis sounds the highest level of all, the fulfillment of time within each one of us when we personally recognize and meet Jesus the Christ our Savior like Simeon.
And so often, when we are overjoyed in experiencing Jesus Christ, that is also when we feel like saying “now I am ready to go, ready to die” exactly like Simeon because we have met the Lord.
That is why I call it “the Nunc Dimittis experience”: real joy can only come from that experience and intimacy with Jesus Christ, when we feel so close with him. It does not really matter whether we experience him here in this life or hereafter. What matters most is we feel so close with him, as if embracing him, here and now.
This may be a religious experience like after listening to a homily that really touched us, or after a good confession, or while attending a wonderful retreat or recollection. It may also happen when we feel so loved and accepted, when we are vindicated, or when assured of support and trust and confidence while going through difficult trials in life.
Our Nunc dimittis experience always comes at the end of each day, when we feel despite our failures and shortcomings, we are in God’s loving presence.
Simeon’s Canticle, our Night Prayer
Since the early sixth century during the time of St. Benedict, the “Nunc Dimittis” has been sung in the monks’ night prayer or “compline” from the Latin completorium or completion of the working day. Eventually, it was adopted into the Liturgy of the Hours or the prayers of the Church usually recited by priests and religious. (St. John Paul II had suggested in his encyclical Novo Millennio Innuete after the Great Jubilee of 2000 that the lay faithful also pray the Liturgy of the Hours.)
After the praying of the psalms and meditation of the Sacred Scriptures, there is a Responsory that declares, “Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.” Like Jesus before he died on the Cross, we offer to God our very selves. This is takes on a beautiful dimension especially if we have done a good examination of conscience at the start of the compline, before the psalms and readings.
Then, we recite the antiphon that introduces the Nunc dimittis: “Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.”
The antiphon in itself is already a prayer!
It is after the antiphon that we chant or recite Simeon’s Canticle:
Lord, now you let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people: a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.
From the Compline of the Breviary
The antiphon is repeated and immediately followed by the Closing Prayer.
The cross atop our parish church at night with the moon above taken with my iPhone camera, 02 February 2020.
Capping the compline is the blessing at the end that says: “May the all-powerful Lord grant us a restful night and a peaceful death. Amen.”
Usually, a hymn to Mary is sung, then all the lights are turned off and the great silence (magnum silencium) begins until the morning prayers or lauds (Latin for praise).
See how our night prayer or the compline is oriented towards meeting God, or to put it bluntly, towards death.
Yes, it is always easy to say we are ready to die. It is a lot whole different when we are already face to face with death itself.
But, when we come to think of it, we realize that indeed, in death, “there is nothing to fear but fear itself”.
When we die, everything happens so fast. We may not even feel anything at all. And unknown to us, every night when we go to sleep, we rehearse our death, so to speak!
And what a tremendous joy to keep in mind how every night, the Lord fills us with joy and faith within us even if we often forget him. Every night when we sleep, it is automatic within us to entrust everything to God “unconsciously” without even thinking we may never wake up!
It is a “Nunc Dimittis” experience too because most of us go to bed filled with joy, full of hope the following morning would be a better day than today. And that is Jesus still coming to us at the end of the day to assure us of his love and concern, never bothering us at all of this tremendous grace gratuitously given to us.
Next time you sleep, remember how blessed you are to have come to the end of another day, blessed and loved.
Pray, and start experiencing Jesus more from the beginning to the end of each day and forevermore. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music, 02 February 2020
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, Bohol, 2019.
Welcome, followers and readers to this Sunday edition of our The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music as we feature a double-header from singer-composer Todd Rundgren: his first solid hit “I Saw the Light” and “Hello It’s Me” that are both from his 1972 album Something/Anything?
We are featuring two songs today because both are related with our celebration of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord which falls on February second.
And besides, Todd’s music has always been my favorite while growing up in the 1970’s.
First, we choose I Saw the Light because it is very close to our liturgical feast today also known as Candlemass or Candelaria with Jesus Christ being the Light of the world. St. Luke tells us when Joseph and Mary brought the child Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem 40 days after Christmas, an old man of God named Simeon carried him in his arms and sang:
“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory of your people Israel.”
Luke 2:29-32
Jesus is the Light of the world, the only one who can dispel all darkness in our lives.
In I Saw the Light, Todd tells us the story of a young man probably groping in some darkness in his relationship – actually a fling according to the song – with a girl and he does not know if that is really love.
Though we had our fling I just never would suspect a thing ‘Til that little bell began to ring in my head In my head But I tried to run, though I knew it wouldn’t help me none ‘Cause I couldn’t ever love no one, or so I said But my feelings for you were just something I never knew ‘Til I saw the light in your eyes
But I love you best It’s not something that I say in jest ‘Cause you’re different, girl, from all the rest In my eyes And I ran out before but I won’t do it anymore Can’t you see the light in my eyes
Meanwhile, in our second song Hello It’s Me, we find another man so in love with a woman who is also into some darkness.
Like in I Saw the Light, there is no recognition and hence, no meeting here in Hello It’s Me.
Hello, it’s me I’ve thought about us for a long, long time Maybe I think too much but something’s wrong There’s something here that doesn’t last too long Maybe I shouldn’t think of you as mine Seeing you, or seeing anything as much as I do you I take for granted that you’re always there I take for granted that you just don’t care Sometimes I can’t help seeing all the way through It’s important to me That you know you are free ‘Cause I never want to make you change for me
Both songs show us the important lesson taught to us by the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord: like anyone else, Jesus also comes but we on our part have to cultivate a relationship with him in order to always recognize him and eventually meet him to be one with him.
Just like the people we love.
Have a wonderful Sunday of prayer, food and drinks, and good music.
Friday, St. John Bosco, Priest, Patron of the Youth, 31 January 2020
2 Samuel 11:1-4, 5-10,13-17 ><)))*> 0 <*(((>< Mark 4:26-34
Pilgrims waiting for their turn into the Ascension Chapel at the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem in Israel. Photo by author, May 2019.
On this last day of January 2020, we thank you God our Father for the grace of being alive and safe, for not forsaking us in this most trying first month of the year where we have seen and experienced many calamities here and abroad, deaths and sickness even among our relatives and friends as well people we look up to for inspirations.
It was a very trying month, Lord, that have sent many of us down into our knees in prayer and reflection, making us realize the many moments you have talked to us “in private” – the same way you did to your Apostles to explain the parables you have narrated (Mk.4:34).
How lovely are those words indeed, evoking a sense of kinship and intimacy with you and the Twelve. You know very well everything in our hearts, our innermost thoughts and feelings that you talk to us personally, in private.
What a shame, O Lord, when we commit despicable sins, believing we do them “in private” like David who had relations with Bathsheba and caused the death of her husband Uriah to cover up his sins.
So many times, Lord, we act like David as if nobody would ever know our sins and evil ways except us alone in private – “walang makakaalam kungdi ako lang” -as if you are not all-powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient), and ever-present (omnipresent).
It is so foolish of us, Lord! And we are sorry.
Remind us that our most private moments are in fact the time you are most present with us, and in us. That there is no other path to follow in this life except your path, O Lord. Walk us through, Lord.
Like St. John Bosco, instill in our hearts this beautiful lesson he had taught us with:
From twitter.com
Like St. John Bosco, may we “always have fun in life, but never sin”, thinking only the glory of heaven as the ultimate end of everything we do in life! Amen.
2 Samuel 7:4-17 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Mark 4:1-20
An oasis near the Dead Sea, Israel. Photo by author, May 2017.
God our Sower, every good seed is from you.
Thank you very much in giving us the best seed of all, your Son Jesus Christ, the “Word who became flesh”, himself the very fruit of the “seed” you promised to King David long, long ago.
That night the Lord spoke to Nathan and said: “Go, tell my servant David, ‘The Lord also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you. And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his Kingdom firm. It is he who shall build a house for my name. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.'”
2 Samuel 7: 11-13, 16
Cultivate us, O Lord, to become good soil who will be open to receive your seed to make it sprout and grow and bear fruits.
So many times in our lives, we choose to be like the “path” where seeds fall and we do not mind at all. Likewise, we sometimes choose to be like the rocky ground who joyfully received Jesus for a while but when trials come, we give up on him because we have not taken him into our hearts to take root in us.
There are those among us, O Lord, who choose to be among the thorns, who choose to believe in science and technology, in materialism that choke the word in us until it dies out and bear no fruit.
In all instances, the problem is with the soil, never with the seed that is so good if given a chance to grow on rich soil would surely be fruitful.
Teach us to be a rich soil, one who is patient and still, willing to wait for your coming each day sowing us the good seed who value silence, and most of all, who uphold the sanctity of life itself so that YOU, O Lord will grow in us, be nurtured by us, be loved and embraced by us.
Show us anew the beauty of your words, O Lord, so we may immerse ourselves in you, be still in your presence to receive and digest your words as food that delights us and strengthens us. Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-28 ng Enero, 2020
Larawan mula “nappyafro”, 27 Enero 2020
Gaya ng karamihan
ako ma'y nagulantang
nang mabalitaan
biglang pagpanaw ni Kobe Bryant.
Hindi makapaniwala
tumutulo mga luha
pilit inuunawa
malagim na balita.
Aking binalikan
kahusayan at kagalingan
nitong si Kobe Bryant
hindi lamang basketball tatak na kanyang iniwan.
Larawan mula sa theplayerstribune.com
Hindi ko maubos maisip noon
nang siya'y paratangan
pang-aabuso ng isang babaeng
kawani ng hotel na kanyang tinuluyan.
Sadyang narumihan kanyang pangalan
kaya't sinikap niyang iyon ay lampasan
pumili ng bagong pangalan - Black Mamba -
taguri sa kanyang katauhan.
Ngunit mga kaguluhan
hindi siya nilayuan
pagkatalo ng kanyang koponan
pati kanyang kasal nalagay sa alangan.
Larawan mula sa we the pvblic.
Ngunit sadyang mahusay lumaro sa buhay itong si Kobe Bryant
kanyang mga salita pinatunayan, pinangatawanan
na ano mang negatibo, kaguluhan o kahirapan
daan at pagkakataon ng pagbangon.
Nang siya ay mamatay
makulimlim daw ang panahon
kadiliman muli siyang sinundan
upang bumangon sa piling na ng Panginoon.
Sa kanyang paglisan wala siyang sinabi ano man
at marahil kaya tayo nasaktan at luhaan
kanyang mga aral ay ginintuang katotohanan
tagos sa ating puso at kalooban.
Larawan mula sa The New Yorker
Pamilya at mga kaibigan
pahalagahan at mahalin ng lubusan
sapagkat itong buhay walang nakaaalam
kung hanggang kailan.
Gayun din naman
sa buong buhay ni Kobe Bryant
malinaw niyang sinabuhay
itong katotohanan:
Sa buhay palaging mayroong kadiliman
ngunit nasa ating mga kamay pagpapasya
kung mananatili sa kapanglawan o
tatahakin landas ng kaliwanagan!
Tuesday, St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church, 28 January 2020
2 Samuel 6:12-15, 17-19 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Mark 3:31-35
What else shall I say to you, O Lord our loving God? With this beautiful prayer by your “Angelic Doctor” St. Thomas Aquinas whose feast we celebrate today, we borrow not only his prayer but most of all, his attitude and disposition in seeking you always, serving you, loving you.
He had taught us that it is at the foot of the Cross of Jesus Christ where we can best learn about love, patience, humility, and obedience (Office of Readings).
Please us that desire always to seek you right there at the foot of your Son’s Cross, Lord.
Like King David, let us get near you O God represented at that time by the Ark of the Covenant but today in Jesus Christ, your Emmanuel present among us in the Holy Eucharist St. Thomas had loved so much with his hymns and prayers composed.
Like King David who danced before your Ark of the Covenant, may we give our selves totally at your service, Lord.
Help us do your will, Father, after praying at the foot of the Cross for that is when we truly become the “mother and brother and sister of Jesus” (Mk.3:35).Amen.
Photo by Mr. Jasper Dacutanan, 19 January 2020, our parish altar.
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