Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 23 July 2026 Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 13:10-17
Scars on the foothills of Mt. Guiting-guiting Natural Park in Sibuyan Island, Romblon caused by an alleged mining without permit perpetrated by a company owned by a political dynasty; from Facebook post of Atty. Wilfredo Garrido, 22 July 2026.
God our loving Father, we pray so hard for our country the Philippines that has become so much like your country of Israel at the time of the Prophet Jeremiah: we have not only destroyed one another as brothers and sisters with our rampant corruption in government but at the same time desecrated our paradise in this part of earth with environmental destruction.
Two evils have my people done: they have forsaken me, the souce of living waters; they have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water (Jeremiah 2:13).
From Iskolar ng Bayan FB post, 22 July 2026.
What is happening in our country like in other parts of the world is our complete violation of your first commandment, Father - of having strange gods, of worshipping the Baals of money and power and influence through technologies that at the start were meant to bring us together but have actually torn and set us farther apart; hence, even your wonderful gift of nature supposed to provide us with our needs in life is raped and molested without any respect for life at all by the greedy investors backed by rapacious politicians.
Open our eyes, open our hearts and strengthen our souls to fight these evils, Lord Jesus that we may see in the simple parables of ordinary and usual like our local folks and the nature around us as signs of your grace and love for us demanding us to care for them too because they are all yours not mine to have nor abuse; we pray for politicians and investors alike to see more life and persons not just money and profits in their endeavors. Amen.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul, 07 September 2025 Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C Wisdom 9:13-18 ><}}}}*> Philemon 9-10, 12-17 ><}}}}*> Luke 14:25-33
“Napasarap ang kuwentuhan” is how we would describe the scene last Sunday continuing to today’s gospel as Jesus pushed through in his journey to Jerusalem.
Recall Jesus dined at the home of a leading Pharisee last Sunday where “people observed him carefully” while “he noticed them” choosing seats of honor at the party that he told them a short parable on humility. One of the guests liked it that Jesus narrated another parable about coming to a banquet where everybody is invited. Many were impressed with his second parable that Luke now tells us great crowds followed Jesus after that dinner on a sabbath.
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciples. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish'” (Luke 14:25-30).
Photo by Mr. Jay Javier in Quiapo, 09 January 2020.
Keep in mind that Jesus “resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem” (Lk.9:51) to fulfill his mission of offering himself on the cross. This is the second time since he embarked on that journey that he had told those wishing to become his disciples must forget themselves, take up their cross and follow him.
During that time, the cross was the Roman empire’s worst punishment – most humiliating and excruciatingly painful leading to a slow death. Imagine how the audience of Jesus must have felt hearing his words about taking up one’s cross, whether in its literal or figurative meaning. Jesus completely changed that on Good Friday when he totally and freely offered himself to die on the cross because of his immense love for us and the Father. From being a sign of cruelty and shame, the Cross became the sign of love and honor as Jesus the Son of God became one of us in passion and death so that we may be like him in his glorious resurrection.
And that is what Jesus wants for us, to be holy like him that is why he invites us to do the same, “take up your cross and follow me” which we may call as the “Christ project” wherein destruction leads to new creation, death to life, and self-giving to true love.
Here we find the wisdom and gentle mastery of Jesus as a teacher in using a “building project” as an example of discipleship, a world apart from the shameless, scandalous ghost projects of DPWH with some contractors through manipulations by lawmakers stole billions of pesos from the poor people without doing any flood control facilities at all.
Photo by author, Church of St. Anne in Jerusalem, May 2017.
The Christ project is the most noble “building project” of all where everyone becomes God’s masterpiece: “Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish'” (Lk.14:28-30).
What is Jesus longing to “construct” in your life?
We have all been disciples of Christ since baptism but many times in life, we have taken for granted his call to follow him and journey in him, with him, and through him. See that in his two parables today, Jesus did not say that we have to be “like them” in preparing to build a tower or go to war; instead at the ending, Jesus said, “In the same way, anyone who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple” (Lk.14:33).
We are all disciples of Christ. It is an inescapable reality in life, an honor and a responsibility because whether we like it or not, our discipleship in Christ plays a major role in our life direction. Or lack of direction. If you are feeling lost, most likely you have veered away from Christ in life’s journey. When life is in a mess, Christ is missing.
The author of the Book of Wisdom tells us how God in his infinite wisdom slowly unfolds to us his grand plans for us as his disciples, his beloved children. See that our most meaningful and fulfilling moments in life were those we were closest to God – not really when we were drowning in wealth and fame and material things. See the simplicity and sincerity of the common folks betrayed by this system of corruption – they can look straight the camera lens without hiding not like the fake, empty fronts of the the well dressed senators, contractors and DPWH officials in the hearings.
Photo by author, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, September 2023.
All our lives we must become a disciple of Christ that is why we must constantly reflect on his demands not only to examine how far we have gone by looking in the past but most especially to renew our commitment to him so we can move forward, nearer to the Father and to one another in loving service. This is what St. Paul was asking Philemon in accepting anew his escaped slave Onesimus.
Jesus invites us this Sunday to stop and reflect about his plans, his project for us to be God’s masterpiece. Discipleship is a call to self-emptying, to daily crucifixion of forgetting one’s self, of always choosing Jesus, choosing what is true and good and just. Of course it is easier said than done but that is the way it is. Better to make the choice freely than wait later when it would be imposed on us by the circumstances.
This is the meaning of our Care for Creation celebration this Sunday when we are called to see the unity of everyone and everything in “Christ Jesus… the image of the invisible God… in him were created all things in heaven and earth, the visible and invisible… For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the Blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven” (Col.1:15, 16, 19-20).
Caring for creation and environment is discipleship in action as Pope Francis called on us in his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si of the need to have an inner change, an “ecological conversion” wherein we do our individual part of sacrifice and care for God’s creation. It is always easy to join the many green movements and environmental crusades but if deep in our hearts remain our own comfort and convenience, nothing would ever change in the world around us as we continue with our insatiable consumption of so much goods. What we need is a “shift” in our perspectives in life, to see it wholly as interconnected.
We require a new and universal solidarity. As the bishops of Southern Africa have stated: “Everyone’s talents and involvement are needed to redress the damage caused by human abuse of God’s creation”. All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents. (Laudato si’, #14)
Caring for creation is discipleship when we choose to follow Jesus in implementing his grand design and project for a better world where peace truly reigns in all creation. Amen. A blessed week ahead of everyone. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City (lordmychef@gmail.com)
Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA7 News in Batanes, September 2018.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 26 November 2024
Photo by author, Pulong Sampalok, DRT, Bulacan, 23 November 2024.
Since my mom’s passing in May, I have finally been more resolved in having days off and overnight breaks after some bouts with depression and grief. Last Friday I went to DRT – Doña Remedios Trinidad – the final frontier of Bulacan province where the Sierra Madres link us with Quezon and Rizal provinces.
The Retirement Home of the Dominican Sisters of St. Joseph at DRT.
Named after the mother of former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, DRT was a barrio or barangay of the town of Angat. When Mrs. Marcos separated Valenzuela from Bulacan province in the mid-70’s to create the Greater Manila Area (GMA) that became Metro Manila in the 1980’s, DRT was separated from Angat to become the last and youngest town of Bulacan.
It was actually a homecoming for me after 27 years when I chose to be assigned at Galilee Home, our diocesan rehab for drug dependents before our ordination as deacons in 1997 found at the opposite side of the Dominican Sisters’ House of Prayer where I stayed last weekend.
The Dominican Sisters of St. Joseph were so kind to welcome me to their spiritual center and had promised to join them there every fourth Saturday to celebrate their Mass by staying overnight for my much-needed rest or sabbath.
Indeed, it was a Sabbath to me, a return to Paradise, so close with nature where time seems to stand still or at least goes so slowly.
Those bamboo fences remind me so much of my childhood days in Bocaue; see how modernity represented by the electric meter competing with the countryside’s laid back atmosphere.
What I like seeing all the nature around me is when my memory is shuffled to those days as a promdi when like these kids we ruled supreme on the streets, never worried of being run over by vehicles so kind to stop if we were playing.
Lahat kasali – pati poste! Kids playing Chinese garter.
As my childhood memory sauntered, I realized it was truly another setting than the city when at 545PM I heard a mother shouting to her children, “kakain na… uwi na!” and the kids obediently went home.
Lovely sunset….
The following morning, as usual, I woke up at 5AM. Prayed and did my warm up exercises and shortly before 6AM, I went off to walk. My destination was the view deck of DRT where a giant statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary stands right after the welcome arch.
So peaceful… as if the whole world is yours!
Every time I walk around Valenzuela, I just bring about 200 pesos in my pocket and nothing else – no glasses which I hate so much and likewise, no cellphones. I find these as distractions.
But, that Saturday morning, I brought along my cellphone in order to shoot scenes and of course the sunrise.
Late did I realize on my way back that I should have brought my glasses for better focus especially with the abounding bird species in the area of Pulong Sampalok.
Oh, they were so many but I failed to catch them in my camera phone because I had no glasses…
Actually, not related to my not bringing of glasses, I got lost that morning.
Instead of turning right from the Damascus circle, I made a left.
Funny too while walking, I felt something was wrong with my t-shirt – it was baligtad!
Since nobody was around not even houses in the area, I changed my shirt and went happily in my walking.
Barrio folks have always believed that in order to find one’s way in the forest or anywhere, one has to change his/her shirt. Baligtarin ang suot na damit kontra sa tiyanak.
But, despite that act of pagbaligtad of my t-shirt, I still got lost and went onto high steeps that really challenged me so greatly.
Many times I had to stop to catch my breath. Even the cyclists I have met admitted it was a very steep climb while others opted to walk with their bikes.
All in all, I walked 6.69 kilometers without reaching the view deck but, God, I found so many views I never expected that truly refreshed me!
As I got lost walking nowhere, I realized life’s parable – that the most joyful and loveliest things are found in ordinary places like along the sides of the road like these plants and flowers as well as rock formations.
Many times in life, it is actually a grace to go nowhere, to get lost once in a while and simply keep on walking, trusting God for He would always find us a way to Him. Within.
Even met my former student in High School riding with his cousins to visit their lot in the area that Saturday!
What I like most as I have mentioned earlier are the natural fences people have in the countryside like these lovely garden at a store I passed by…
Even dogs seem to be most kind here… not a single dog barked at me despite my getting lost in their area!
Unfortunately, there have been a strong influx of settlers in DRT with presumably big people buying out large tracts of lands for future developments. What an ugly sight to see barbed wires in the mountain area.
And… whoa!
Or, is it the installation of the post that was wrong? Some misplaced priorities that destroy nature.
What kind of road construction is this?
Meanwhile… we are not sure if these are indicative of the climate change at all….
Join me next month in my “Friday I’m In Love” journey to cure my grief as I take you to Dumaguete City. Thank you for the visit! God bless!
I don't care if Monday's blue Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too Thursday, I don't care about you It's Friday, I'm in love Monday you can fall apart Tuesday, Wednesday, break my heart Thursday doesn't even start It's Friday, I'm in love (Friday I'm In Love by The Cure)
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-31 ng Oktubre 2024
Larawan kuha ni G. Jim Marpa, 2018.
“Say it with flowers” ang marahil isa na sa mga pinakamabisa at totoong pagpapahayag ng saloobin sa lahat ng pagkakataon. Wala ka na talagang sasabihin pa kapag ikaw ay nagbigay ng bulaklak kanino man. Ano man ang okasyon. Buhay man. O patay na.
Mababango at makukulay na bulaklak. Mas maganda at mas mahal, pinakamabuti lalo’t higit kung ibibigay sa sinisinta upang mabatid nilalaman ng dibdib ng isang mangingibig.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda sa Benguet, 12 Hulyo 2023.
Sa buong daigdig, nag-iisang wika at salita ang mga bulaklak na ginagamit upang ihatid ang tuwa at kagalakan sa sino man nagdiriwang ng buhay at tagumpay, maging ng kagalingan at lakas sa may tinitiis na sakit at hilahil. Sari-saring kulay, hugis at anyo, iisa ang pinangungusap ng bulaklak sa lahat ng pagkakataon, buhay at kagalakan at kaisahan ng magkakaibigan at magkasintahan, mag-asawa at mag-anak, magkaano-ano man.
Marahil kasunod nating mga tao, ang mga bulaklak na ang pinakamagagandang nilikha ng Diyos upang ipadama at ilarawan sa atin Kanya at maging atin ding katapatan at kadalisayan ng loobin at hangarin. Alalahanin paalala ni Jesus sa atin, “Isipin ninyo kung paano sumisibol ang mga bulaklak sa parang…maging si Solomon ay hindi nakapagsuot ng kasingganda ng isa sa mga bulaklak na ito, bagamat napakariringal ang mga damit niya” (Mt. 6:28, 29).
Larawan kuha ng may-akda sa Benguet, 12 Hulyo 2023.
Kapag ako ay nagkakasal, palagi kong ipinaaalala sa magsing-ibig ang kahulugan ng maraming gayak na bulaklak sa dambana ng simbahan na nagpapahiwatig ng larawan ng Paraiso.
Alalaong baga, bawat Sakramento ng Kasal ay “marriage made in heaven” – malayang ginawa at pinagtibay ng magsing-ibig sa harap ng Diyos at ng Kanyang Bayan sa loob ng simbahan. Kaya wika ko sa kanila, ipagpatuloy ang pagbibigay ng bulaklak sa maybahay kahit hindi anibersaryo, lalo na kapag mayroon silang “lover’s quarrel” bilang tanda ng “ceasefire”.
Kaya naman maski sa kamatayan, mayroon pa ring mga bulaklak na ibinibigay tanda hindi lamang ng pagmamahal kungdi ng pag-asa na harinawa, makapiling na ng yumao ang Diyos at Kanyang mga Banal sa langit. Gayon din naman, dapat katakutan ng sino mang buhay pa ang padalhan ng korona ng patay o bulaklak sa patay dahil babala ito ng masamang balak laban sa kanyang buhay.
Lamay ni Mommy noong Mayo 7, 2024; paborito niya ang kulay pink at bulaklak na carnation.
Dagdag kaalaman ukol sa mga bulaklak sa patay: isang dahilan kaya pinupuno ng maraming mababangong bulaklak ang pinaglalamayan ng patay ay upang matakpan masamang amoy ng yumao dahil noong unang panahon, wala pa namang maayos na sistema ng pag-eembalsamo maging ng mga gamot para ma-preserve ang labi ng yumao. Kapansin-pansin ngayon lalo sa social media kapag mayroong namamatay, ipinapahayag ng mga naulila na huwag nang magbigay o mag-alay ng mga bulaklak bagkus ay ibigay na lamang sa favorite charity ng yumao. Kundangan kasi ay malaking halaga ng pera ang magagarang bulaklak sa patay; kesa ipambili yamang malalanta rin naman, minamabuti ng mga naulila ng yumao na mag-donate na lamang sa favorite charity ng pumanaw nilang mahal sa buhay.
Marahil ay hindi ito matatanggap hindi lamang ng mga Pilipino kungdi ng karamihan ng tao sa buong mundo; higit pa ring napapahayag ang pakikiramay at pagmamahal sa namatay at mga naulila sa pamamagitan ng bulaklak dahil malalim na katotohanang taglay ng mga ito.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, 2018.
Tuwing Sabado Santo noong nasa parokya pa ako, gustung-gusto ko palagi sa aming umagang panalangin (lauds) na ipinahahayag iyong tagpo ng paglilibing kay Hesus.
Sa pinagpakuan kay Jesus ay may isang halamanan, at dito’y may isang bagong libingang hindi pa napaglilibingan. Yamang noo’y araw ng Paghahanda ng mga Judio, at dahil sa malapit naman ang libingang ito, doon nila inilibing si Jesus (Juan 19:41-42).
Inilibing si Jesus sa may halamanan, garden sa Inggles. Nagpapahiwatig muli ng Paraiso, hindi ba.
Kay sarap namnamin ng tagpo ng Pasko ng Pagkabuhay ni Jesus doon sa “halamanan” na muli ay paalala sa atin ng “return to Paradise”, “return to Eden” ika nga. Kaya nang lapitan ni Jesus si Magdalena nang umiiyak dahil wala ang Panginoon sa libingan, napagkamalan niya si Jesus bilang hardinero.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, halamanan sa St. Agnes Catholic Church, Jerusalem, Mayo 2017.
Noong Martes, sinabi ni Jesus sa ebanghelyo na ang paghahari ng Diyos ay “Katulad ng isang butil ng mustasa na itinamin ng isang tao sa kanyang halaman” (Lk.13:19).
Bawat isa sa atin ay halamanan ng Diyos, a garden of God. A paradise in ourselves.
Maraming pagkakataon pinababayaan natin ating mga sarili tulad ng halamanang hindi dinidilig ni nililinang. Kung minsan naman, hindi nating maintindihan sa kabila ng ating pangangalaga, tila walang nangyayari sa ating sarili, tulad ng halamanang walang tumubo o lumago, mamunga o mamulaklak sa kabila ng pagaasikaso?
Nguni’t maraming pagkakataon din naman na namumulaklak, nagbubunga tayo tulad ng halamanan dahil ang tunay na lumilinang sa atin ay ang Panginoong Diyos na mapagmahal!
Ilang araw pagkaraan ng Pasko nang kami’y magtanghalian ng barkada, 2023.
Noong Disyembre 2022, umuwi isa naming dating teacher at kaming magkakaibigan ay nagsama-sama para sa isa pang dati naming kasama sa ICSM-Malolos, si Teacher Ceh.
Umuwi siya mula Bahrain noong 2020 dahil sa cancer at sumailalim siya ng chemotherapy.
Dahil Pasko, niregaluhan ko siya ng orchid.
Enero 2023 namasyal kami sa Tagaytay at napakasaya namin noon. Gustung-gusto niyang pinupuntahan ang Caleruega tuwing umuuwi siya mula Bahrain kung saan siya nagturo matapos mag-resign sa aming diocesan school.
Ang akala namin ay papagaling na si Teacher Ceh at dadalas na aming pagkikitang magkakaibigan mula noong simula ng 2023. Pagkatapos ng huli niyang chemotherapy noong Setyembre, nabatid na mababagsik kanyang cancer cells at hindi nagtagal, pumanaw si Teacher Ceh noong ika-16 ng Oktubre 2023.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, 16 Oktubre 2024.
Isang araw bago sumapit kanyang babang-luksa, ibinalita sa amin ng kanyang Ate na umuwi mula Amerika na buhay at namumulaklak ang bigay kong orchid kay Teacher Ceh. Dinala niya ito nang magmisa ako sa kanyang puntod kinabukasan para sa kanyang ibis luksa.
Laking tuwa namin sa gitna ng nakakikilabot na pagkamangha nang makita naming magkakaibigan ang regalo kong orchids kay Teacher Ceh.
Isa’t kalahating taon pagkaraan naming huling magsama-samang magkakaibigan, isang taon makalipas ng kanyang pagpanaw, buhay at namulaklak pa rin ang orchid kong bigay sa kanya na tila nangungusap na masayang-masaya, buhay na buhay si Teacher Ceh doon sa langit!
Sa aking silid; bigay lamang po iyang halaman na iyan at di ko alam pangalan.
Ako man ay nagtataka. Kung kailan wala na aking Mommy, saka ako nakakabuhay ng mga halaman. Green thumb kasi si Mommy.
Kahit maliit lamang aming lupain, sagana siya sa pananim mula sa mga rosas at orchids, cactus at mga mayana, mga sari-saring halaman sa paso maging papaya, atis, langka, pati kamote at sili sa gilid ng bahay namin ay mayroon siya.
Ito yung flower vase ng mga napatay kong waterplant sa dati kong assignment; ayaw ko sanang dalhin sa paglipat dito sa Valenzuela pero awa ng Diyos, buhay pa halaman mula 2021.
Nakakatawa, ako hindi makabuhay ng halaman. Muntik pa akong bumagsak ng first year high school sa gardening kasi hindi ako makabuhay ng ano mang panananim maliban sa kamote. Sabi ni Mommy sa akin noon, kapag iyong kamote hindi ko pa nabuhay, ako ang talagang kamote!
Nang magkaroon ako ng sariling parokya noong 2011, nakakadalaw pa siya at simba sa amin noon tuwing Linggo. Ipinagyabang ko sa kanya mga alaga kong water plants sa kuwarto ngunit pagkaraan ng ilang buwan, namatay mga iyon. Sabi niya ulit sa akin, “ano ka ba naman anak, water plant na lang napapatay mo pa? Masyadong mainit iyong mga kamay,” aniya.
Hoya daw ito na nakuha ko noong aking personal retreat sa Sacred Heart Novaliches noong 2022; buhay pa rin hanggang ngayon sa aking banyo.
Isang bagay nakalimutan kong sabihin kay Mommy bago siya mamatay ay nakakabuhay na ako ng water plant sa kuwarto ko sa bago kong assignment sa Fatima Valenzuela.
Ako ay nagugulat sa sarili ko ngunit ngayon ko lamang napagnilayan nang makita ko ang orchids na regalo ko kay Teacher Ceh: apat na taon nang buhay aking mga water plant sa kwarto mula nang malipat ako dito noong 2021.
Hindi ko rin alam pangalan ng halamang ito na bigay sa akin pero nakapagpatubo na ako ng isa pa niyang sanga nasa aking office sa University; yung orchids bigay sa akin noong Abril, wala nang bulaklak pero buhayn pa rin. Himala!
Parang sinasabi sa akin ng mga alagang kong water plant na marahil, buhay na buhay at tuwang tuwa na rin si Mommy at nakabuhay ako ng halaman.
Kasi sabi niya kasi sa aking noong maliit pa ako, dapat daw marunong akong mag-alaga ng halaman at hayop dahil tanda raw iyon na makakabuhay na rin ako ng tao.
Siguro nga. Kaya ko nang mabuhay maski wala na siya, paalala marahil nitong aking mga halaman. Flowers for you, kaibigan.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 29 October 2024
Photo by author, entering the Nagsasa Cove in San Antonio, Zambales, 19 October 2024.
I have always imagined God must be like Jewish director Steven Spielberg. According to an article I have read long ago, Spielberg would always hide sets of important scenes to capture the real emotions of his actors and actresses during shooting. One example was the Raiders of the Lost Ark series where Harrison Ford’s expressions were very natural.
And that exactly was how I felt God in Nagsasa Cove on that lovely weekend of October 19.
Nagsasa’s white beach is actually lahar from Mount Pinatubo’s 1990 eruption that also brought those lush Agojo trees.
From the sea to the cove, I was already so enchanted, even enthralled with the scenery, the sparkling waters with its gentle breeze blowing, so clean and crisp. A taste of paradise.
After a few sips of wine in the warm waters of Nagsasa Cove, I ventured inland. Lo and behold! I immediately went back to our boat to get my cellphone as I told my companions how lovely is the river at the back. That was when Sir Benet Galang, owner of Agojo Beach, willingly joined to guide us deeper inland.
According to Sir Benet, some trekkers who have gone there told him the scene was like New Zealand which he could not verify because he has not been down there yet. One thing for sure, though, he has not seen any hobbits dwelling there except a few gentle Aetas in a settlement area who often guide hikers up the Pundaquit Mountain range.
I forgot to bring my slippers but what the heck! I have always loved walking on earth barefoot, so close to nature, so close with God, reminding me of the burning bush event of Moses when told to take off his sandals because he was on a sacred ground.
That’s Nagsasa Cove, a sacred ground.
The river is very stony but very clear. Water is warm on top but as you dip, it gets cold. Parang beer!
One realizes upon coming here is the great gift God has given our country, a gift so precious that we ought to take care. From here, one may hike to the mountain in about four hours with Aetas as guides.
A lot of greenery… and trees.
A young Agojo tree which is a variety of pine trees.
So many sights to behold, things one will never see in the city nor provinces these days.
I was fascinated with the mushrooms growing on this stump of an Agojo tree…
Again, I prayed this area would be spared of roads and big businesses to keep its beauty and charm intact. Residents are very organized, requiring vendors from outside to ensure they take back their waste and litter. During summer, each vendor of any goods is asked to fill a sack of litter to ensure the surroundings are well maintained.
If you are a nature lover, planning to have an entirely “me time”, I strongly recommend Nagsasa Cove.
No problem with food and accommodations there from simple tents to ones like this and air conditioned kubo…
Just come as you are and surely you shall come home filled with good memories and sights. Most of all, fulfilled in yourself.
Piso na lang, nasa langit ka na! Promise. See yah!
*All photos and videos taken by author using iPhone12. *Check FB page of Agojo Beach for details.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 25 October 2024
From left after me is Gic (Eric’s wife), her brother Allan with wife Mariel, Eric our host and Captain, and his sister Dra. Mayet.
After a sumptuous dinner and restful night that lovely Friday last week in Binictican Homes, we rose early the following morning, had a light breakfast and headed for Vasco’s port in Subic to await my kinakapatid Eric with his speedboat.
It was my first boat ride.
At the dockyard of Vasco’s Hotel in Subic.
Of course… I was scared because I do not swim; but, I have always loved the sea and it was a total bliss right after we have left port.
Immediately I felt an adrenaline rush within as we throttled our way into the open sea with Christopher Cross singing “Ride Like the Wind” in my head that felt being treated with a “natural” Japanese hair spa courtesy of the strong winds.
The ride and the sights were so relaxing.
The vast expanse of the sea was very calming and soothing, cleansing me of all negativities in my body, heart, and soul. Can’t contain my joy at that time as I felt all the free radicals in my system vanished.
It was so heavenly, so close with God and with nature. Life is so beautiful indeed that I kept thanking God for His gifts of life, of nature, and most especially, of good friends, so kind and loving.
The sea is so unique not only with the infinite horizon but most especially it is the only place on Earth where we do not leave any marks as in footprints. How I love those burst of waves and bubbles like saying goodbye to the past, looking forward to new day, new sights, new land.
After about 45 minutes from Subic, we reached Nagsasa Cove which is part of San Antonio, Zambales.
There are four other coves in the area: Agnain, Anawangin, Silanguin, and Talisayen. All are accessible only by boat. We hope and pray they remain that way, far from big businesses that always destroy nature.
All coves are self sustaining with abundant supply of mountain spring water, so much food on land and the sea so blessed with abundant fish. In fact, on our way home at about 3:30 PM, we chanced upon some fishermen and bought some of their catch!
Now I experienced first-hand Eric’s famed skill in fishing… with his magic bait, his wallet!
Nagsasa Cove is so lovely. And nakaka-in love really. Especially for those who want to touch base with Mother Nature, with one’s self. And with God very much present there.
Nagsasa Cove is a very “young” beach naturally reclaimed by Mount Pinatubo’s lahar flows in 1991.
According to our friend Mr. Benet Galang who owns Agojo Resort there, the actual beach was about 500 meters to the back that was actually rocky. Following Mount Pinatubo’s eruption in 1991, the beach was reclaimed by lahar (that’s why it is a white beach) along with its endemic tree called agojo.
I have been coming to Anvaya Cove the past three years courtesy also of Eric and another friend. I have come to love it that have brought my family too last summer. I felt at that time it was the best, even better than Boracay.
But now, my heart is already aching for Nagsasa Cove. So lovely, so peaceful. Perfect for “me time”.
The part of Nagsasa Cove for snorkeling.
Imagine watching the sunset here.
Imagine how it would look like when the glowing sun kisses the sea as it sets and at midnight or before dawn, the moon and the stars hugging the cove beneath them?
Whoa…!
More stories and photos as we explored the river and the mountains at the back of this paradise called Nagsasa Cove.
*All photos and videos by the author using iPhone 12. For those interested to visit Nagsasa Cove and Beach, check Agojo Beach Resort at Facebook. Very kind owner, Mr. Benet Galang, a true outdoorsman and nature lover.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, 04 October 2024 Job 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Luke 10:13-16
Photo by Fr. Bien Miguel, Diocese of Antipolo, 25 September 2024.
This is actually a rejoinder to our prayer earlier published today on the Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi. And how I love the first reading today, of God’s “speech” to Job’s lamentations that remind us all of the wonder and majesty of creation St. Francis of Assisi highly regarded in his life and teachings.
The Lord addressed Job out of the storm and said: “Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place for taking hold of the ends of the earth, till the wicked are shaken from its surface? Have you entered into the sources of the sea, or walked about in the depths of the abyss? have the gates of death been shown to you, or have you seen the gates of darkness? Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell me, if you know all” (Job 38:1, 12-13, 16-18).
How interesting too these words written about 2700 years ago in the Middle East are echoed in our own time in theme song of the Disney movie Pocahontas, “The Color of the Wind”:
Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned? Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
Like Job, who was a fictional character, Pocahontas went through a lot of great sufferings beyond explanations which is the aim of the authors of the Book of Job – to reflect on the mystery of human sufferings and misery amid a loving God.
It is easy to understand our sufferings in life when we are the ones who have caused them like making wrong choices and decisions or simply not exerting enough efforts to our endeavors or projects.
The most painful sufferings that are really bothersome are those we feel “undeserved” at all like getting a rare cancer and disease, being offended by someone close to us despite our being good to them, or like Pocahontas who was then living in peace and quiet until the English colonizers came to America who kidnapped and gang raped her.
I have never seen that Disney movie Pocahontas that is loosely based on the life of a native American Indian woman Pocahontas whose actual name was Matoaka; she was the daughter of the Chief of the Powhatan tribe in Chesapeake, Virginia during the early 1600’s.
According to historians, there was really no romance at all between Pocahontas and the British colonizer Captain John Smith as portrayed in the Disney movie. After getting pregnant from that gangrape, Pocahontas was forced to marry the English explorer John Rolfe as a condition for her release that only made her life filled with great sufferings and humiliations until her death.
Though a work of fiction but a fruit of prayerful reflections about life’s realities unlike the Disney movie Pocahontas, Job suffered severely when he lost his children, properties and livestock in a single day. Worst of all, he was stricken with a rare disease and left to the care of a “nagging” wife and three friends who wanted him to curse God or admit his guilt for a sin for which God was punishing him.
But Job’s conscience was clear, remaining faithful to God throughout all his sufferings. His complaints and cries were actually a voicing out of his inner pains to God, an expression of his trust in Him, “But as for me, I know that my Vindicator lives, and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust… And from my flesh I shall see God; my inmost being is consumed with longing” (Job 19:25, 27).
Job like us today was not seeking any answer nor explanation at all for his sufferings; he cries to God like us because we believe only God can save us. We do not cry or air our pains to someone we do not trust or believe in; the same is true why we cry and complain to God!
God’s response to Job’s laments remind us today of the need for us to see the whole picture we are into in this vast universe, of how everyone and everything is interconnected in God through His own Son Jesus Christ.
Notice how the author structured the speech of God of seeming opposites in life: commanding the morning and being shown the dawn in verse 12; sources of the sea and depths of the abyss in verse 16; and, gates of death and gates of darkness in verse 17. Jewish thought at that time was so structured that they saw everything distinctly different like morning and dawn, sea and abyss, death and darkness. That explains why they were so strict with the letters of the law that they eventually forgot the primacy of the human person which Jesus tried to emphasized to them in His teachings and healings. Jesus came to show us how everything and everyone in this whole creation is linked together, interrelated in God through Him.
This He did when He died on the Cross.
Photo by Fr. Gerry Pascual of the fresco at the Assisi Basilica, Italy, 2019.
It is sad that St. Francis of Assisi is often “romanticized” by many nature lovers even by some “new agers” for his love for nature and animals. More than sentimental reasons, St. Francis’ love and concern for nature and animals were all the result of his deep love and devotion to Jesus Christ crucified found daily in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.
St. Francis realized and experienced the interconnectedness of everything and everyone in his own sufferings and pains in life he humbly embraced and accepted as we see in that verse we pray at every Station of the Cross he had composed:
V. We adore You, O Lord Jesus Christ, and we bless you. R. Because by Your holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
For his love for the Cross and his own sufferings, Jesus blessed St. Francis with the stigmata, His five wounds at His crucifixion.
Photo by Fr. Gerry Pascual, Sculpture of the young St. Francis in Assisi, Italy, 2019.
After receiving those wounds, St. Francis was blinded as he went through severe sufferings after going through well-intentioned surgeries that went so bad. He was in his 40’s at that time and despite his great sufferings, it was during that period when he produced so many great writings we all cherish until now, notably the Canticle of the Sun where we find his famous expressions “brother sun, sister moon, and cousin death” – the very same things God expressed to Job in that speech out of the storm in our first reading today that is echoed by Disney’s Pocahontas in the theme “The Color of the Wind”.
But unlike that Disney movie that sugarcoats life’s realities of sufferings and pains, both Job and St. Francis of Assisi remind us today that the more we embrace our pains and sufferings in life like them, the more we see life’s wholeness, our oneness in God and the rest of His creations when seen in the light of the Cross of Jesus Christ.
When we see this oneness and interconnectedness in life, that is when we actually grow and mature, become fruitful as we find fulfillment in life despite the difficulties and pains we go through. Have a blessed weekend everyone! Happy feast day too to our Franciscan brothers and sisters!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Prayers in the storm and after the storm, 24-25 July 2024
Photo by author, Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City, 24 July 2024.
We did not sleep well Tuesday night, worried with the serious impact of heavy rains to our brothers and sisters living in shanties and low-lying areas. Electricity was cut off early yesterday as we received reports of widespread flooding in the Parish. Immediately, the Parish Priest with the Parish Pastoral Council gathered dry clothings, jackets, and blankets for the evacuees in a nearby school, sending some breakfast too. This was our prayer on that rainy Wednesday:
God our loving Father, we thank you for the rains we have long been waiting for to fill our dams, to water our fields and plants, to cool our climate; but because of our continued disregard for your creation and for one another, these blessed rains have brought many problems too especially floods that are getting worse every year; forgive us for we never learn to respect not only nature but especially one another; rich and poor alike failed to take care of each other thinking only of one's self. May these rains wash away our selfishness, cleanse our conscience to think more of others and enable us to finally take concrete steps in changing our lifestyle as Pope Francis had long called for in Laudato Si so that we may finally see our interconnectedness in this one home and planet we call Earth. Amen.
Photo by author, the Fatima image we use for procession after Sunday Masses at the Shrine taking cover from the strong rains and winds yesterday.
Rains heavily poured with a lot of thunders before noon yesterday; more parishioners sent help in kind and food for the 60 evacuees near the Shrine. This we composed for our noontime prayer during that thunderstorms:
God our Father, thank you for the midday rest on this stormy Wednesday; many of us are bearing with the discomfort of no electricity, of not being able to move around, of idly staying at home; forgive us for the complaints especially when we forget there are more who are going through severe tests and sufferings at this time: dilapidated and leaky homes with still more moving to evacuation centers; many people have nothing at all in their pockets for these rainy days; help us reach out to our poor brothers and sisters especially the children who haven’t have breakfast nor have rested at all since last night! Father, we pray for the daily wage earners who could not work today due to bad weather; we pray also for those living alone as well as those who could not come home. Bless every home, fill us with more love and kindness to keep warm everyone in this time of calamity. We ask this in Jesus Christ’s name with the Holy Spirit. Amen.
O blessed Mother Mary, our Lady of Fatima, Pray for us!
There was still no electricity and rains continued to pour in the afternoon with a handful people celebrating the 6PM Mass at the Shrine. Up in our rectory, our staff and PPC officers were busy preparing packed meals for the families evacuated in a nearby school. This was our prayer that afternoon:
God our loving and merciful Father, thank you for bringing us to the end of this day; thank you for the gift of life, for the selfless people who served in all rescue and relief efforts for those affected by the heavy rains that still continue; thank you and bless those who remained faithful to their call of duty especially those in the police and military, the journalists who risked their lives to keep us informed of the situations, our weathermen who tracked Carina and the habagat; most of all, we thank you for the doctors and nurses who came to hospitals as extensions of your healing hands in this time of calamity. Keep them all safe. Bring us all home safely tonight guided by your light of love and care in Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Mary our Mother, Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for us.
Photo by author, Blessed Sacrament in the Chapel of Angel of Peace, RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 26 June 2024.
Darkness enveloped the whole city of Valenzuela by nightfall as we remained without electricity but the good news of rains finally stopping with the ebbing of the floods were most welcomed news to bring joy to many among us. We continued with our prayers and this is what we shared:
Most loving Father, many of us will not sleep tonight: some are working overnight to ensure tomorrow we’ll have food and power while others are keeping watch for everyone’s safety and wellbeing; bless them, give them the strength to do their tasks and duties, and keep them safe. It has been a very long, cold, and wet day, Father; help us set aside our worries, to trust and hope in You that it is always after the rains and the storms leaves are greenest; it is after the floods when rich top soil are deposited, conducive for farming; it is during calamities when love and charity surprise us most. Amen.
Jesus, King of Mercy, we trust in You!
Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for us!
Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Valenzuela City after the storm this morning, 25 July 2024 with Our Blessed Virgin’s old statue reminding us of her motherly care.
Finally, we saw the sun at the start of this new day still with some rains and the heavy tasks of cleaning and clearing the debris left by the floods. Will we ever learn to respect nature which is actually an expression of our respect for each other too?
Our prayer after the storm:
Praise and glory to you, God our loving Father! Thank you for this new day, thank you for the gift of life, thank you for guiding us during these stormy days. Bless our doctors and nurses, the selfless volunteers and staffmembers of rescue and emergency units along with our police and military personnel as well as the weathermen who continue to work and serve us today after the storm. Help us to do better in responding to emergencies next time while we finally learn to change our lifestyles in caring for the environment and ultimately, for one another. Let us appreciate each one’s giftedness in Christ Jesus our Lord as we celebrate life in the Holy Spirit today. Amen.
Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for us! St. James the Great, Pray for us!
Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Marulas, Valenzuela City, 25 July 2024.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday in the Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 02 July 2024 Amos 3:1-8, 4:11-12 <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Matthew 8:23-27
Photo by author in San Juan, La Union, 25 July 2023.
Your words are weighty and terrifying today, O God as You left us with a warning - "prepare to meet your God, O Israel" (Amos 4:12); how must we prepare to meet You, O God, whom we have turned away from so often in the past? How must we prepare to meet You, O God, whose voice we have never heeded despite our hearing them?
Let us learn from nature who heeds your voice like the storm and the waves in the sea becoming quiet at Jesus Christ's command; let us learn to accept the simple laws of nature governing this world, of simply following the cause and effect pattern in everything instead of destroying it for in the end, it shall get upon us:
Do two walk together unless they have agreed? Does a lion roar in the forest when it has no prey? Does a young lion cry from its den unless it has seized something? Is a bird brought to a snare when there is no lure for it? Does a snare spring up from the ground without catching anything? If the trumpet sounds in a city, will the people not be frightened? If evil befalls a city, has not the Lord caused it? (Amos 3:3-6)
For so long, You have been most patient with us, Lord, letting us go on our own sinful ways despite all the love and graces You have showered us; You are all good, loving Father, full of mercy and forgiveness for our sins but lest we forget, there are so many sinful things we do with irreversible consequences that can unfree us, making us suffer from its dismal effects. This we pray we may realize so that when we meet You, O God, there may be justice still left for us. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 16 June 2024
Photo by Sarah-Claude Lu00e9vesque St-Louis on Pexels.com
We’re back with our featured music this Sunday that is both so close to our Mass readings and Fathers’ Day celebration: Joni Mitchell’s 1970 hit Big Yellow Taxi from her album Ladies of the Canyon.
Written, composed and recorded by Canadian Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi is known as an environmental song that was so popular during the early 70’s but its message remains so valid up to this time, of the folly of modern man destroying nature in the name of material progress. It is perhaps the main reason why the song has been covered repeatedly by other artists up until the turn of this century (Counting Crows featuring Ms. Vanessa Carlton in 2002).
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swinging hot spot
Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone? They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
They took all the trees and put 'em in a tree museum And they charged the people a dollar and a half to see them No, no, no
In today’s Sunday Mass first reading, we heard the Prophet Ezekiel announcing to the Israelites exiled in Babylon at that time how God would plant a Lebanon cedar on a mountain that would grow majestically with birds building nest on its branches. This prophecy was eventually fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Emmanuel or God-with-us who is like a big tree in our midst.
And that’s where we find Mitchell’s song very relevant to us when some people no longer care at all for God with their lack of concern for Mother Nature too. Mitchell perfectly captured that human stupidity of cutting trees to build parking lots (and malls in our time), then exhibit these trees in museums to charge people with fees just to see something freely given to us by God!
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, in Infanta, Quezon, April 2020.
According to an interview, Mitchell wrote this song after arrival in Hawaii for the first time. She was so impressed with the beautiful expanse of nature as viewed from her window but upon looking down from the same window, she saw a huge parking lot that made her felt so bad that she immediately wrote the song. Her heart further sank deeper in sadness after learning a living museum in Honolulu that kept rare and endangered plants and trees. What an irony indeed!
Another poet we have mentioned in our homily this Sunday who extolled the beauty of trees is the American Joyce Kilmer who wrote Trees in twelve lines that sound so much like a gospel too: “I think I shall never see//A poem lovely as a tree… Poems are made by fools like me//But only God can make a tree.” Kilmer’s poem was a staple in English classes during our elementary school days that we have memorized it by heart. Though apart by almost 3000 years, both Mitchell and Ezekiel exhorted us in a song and a prophecy respectively of a spirituality of trees worth reflecting (https://lordmychef.com/2024/06/15/poems-are-made-by-fools-like-me-but-only-god-can-make-a-tree/).
Towards the end of Mitchell’s song, we just realized lately that her Big Yellow Taxi is also a Fathers’ Day song:
Listen, late last night, I heard the screen door slammed And a big yellow taxi took away my old man Now, don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone? They paved paradise to put up a parking lot
According to some accounts, Mitchell could be referring to her lover or boyfriend taken by the Toronto Police whose mobile cars used to be painted yellow until 1986 while in some covers, that line clearly referred to their lovers leaving them by taking the yellow taxi.
Whatever may be the meaning behind that line, Big Yellow Taxi invites us all to reexamine our priorities in this life, including those that pertain to our nature and environment, and family life, especially fatherhood that is now in crisis. Here now is Ms. Joni Mitchell to help you in reflecting the points we have raised. Happy Fathers’ Day to all the great men and dads remaining faithful in their love and responsibilities!
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