Back to Normal is Back to You, Lord

49343012_2024145807682044_4537657116004974592_n

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Monday after the Epiphany of the Lord, 07 January 2019

1 John 3:22-4:6///Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25

Almost everybody is feeling heavy today, Lord Jesus Christ: students, workers, employees are complaining Christmas break is over, it is back to normal. Many are so wary of today’s traffic and other woes when everything returns to normal.

And what is normal for us Lord? The daily grind of waking up early, working for a living, pursuing our goals, keeping up with our obligations and responsibilities in life. It is as if we have not met you this Christmas which is after all, just a break from our normal, ordinary routine.

Give us the grace of integration Lord. Give us the grace to “test the spirits to see whether they belong to God because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 Jn. 4:1). Fill us with your Holy Spirit Lord to always live with the spirit of truth, the spirit of life.

Make us realize Lord that going back to normal is our life being with you, leaving our comfort zone of Nazareth to retreat to “Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Napthali” (Mt. 4:13). Going back to normal is staying in Galilee, the province where you did most of your preaching and miracles, where you first proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom of heaven, where your first lesson is to repent.

There will always be trials and tribulations in our lives like in the arrest of John the Baptist (Mt.4:12) but let us remain in you, following you, believing in you, always cleansing ourselves of our impurities and imperfections so that you may dwell in us to make your kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven. AMEN. Fr.Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

*Photo of a painting by Bulakenyo artist Aris Bagtas of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the sufferings of the people in her mind, perhaps a normal slice in her daily life with Jesus. Used with permission.

Epiphany: New Beginnings in Christ

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe

Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, 06 January 2019

Isaiah 60:1-6///Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6///Matthew 2:1-12

Metro Manila’s main thoroughfare is called EDSA for Epifanio delos Santos Avenue. Its namesake is a famous scholar from the province of Rizal whose name means “manifestation” or “appearance” from the Greek epiphanes. EDSA today may be considered as the epiphany of everything that is wrong in the country, from government inefficiency to people lacking in discipline and patriotism. Mention the word EDSA and you feel sad and gloomy all of a sudden. On the other hand, the Epiphany we celebrate today brings joy and jubilation because it is the manifestation of the universal kingdom of Jesus Christ to the pagans symbolized by the magi from the East. After the octave of Christmas, it is celebrated within this joyous season to remind us that while deep within each one of us is a natural search or inclination for God, it is actually God who looks for us and eventually finds us. Though it is God who appears to us or “epiphanies” to us, we have to be like the magi who must look and find Him as well as lead others to Him too!

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” (Mt. 2:1-2)

It takes a wise person to search for Jesus – and a wiser person to lead others to Him! How sad that so many people today feel so lost and could not find the right directions to Jesus because as we have reflected last Christmas, there are so many of us who pretend to be the Christ. When somebody comes to us, seeking comfort or counsel or simply company, do they find the newborn King in us? When people come to our homes, do they experience Jesus in our family? When people come to pray and celebrate the sacraments in our parish or chapel, do they find Christ present there among the people and the place itself? How sad that so many churches are desecrated in the name of finding Christ among the people that we have allowed everything and everyone to disregard their sanctity with so much pomp and pageantry that tend to manifest more the pride and ego, or insecurities of those in charge of these sacred places. People continue to search for that Bethlehem where they could find rest and comfort, solace and consolation in the newborn king Jesus Christ. The Epiphany of the Lord reminds us that Christ came to the world to be the fulfillment of everyone and He had become human like us in everything except sin so we can find Him easily. There are many symbolisms that may be gleaned from these wise men representing us today.

They are sometimes called as kings as attested from our first reading, “Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you… Nations shall walk by your light; kings by your shining radiance. Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; all from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the Lord” (Is.60:1, 4, 6). From this part of Isaiah’s prophecy we also got that picture of the three wise men travelling as kings from the farthest parts of the world of that time riding on camels to show that even the most powerful men of the world recognize Jesus as the King of Kings. In our responsorial psalm today, we heard ancient places that extend from the extreme west like Tarshish which is in Tartessos, Spain up to the isles off the coast of Africa and the Middle East which is part of Asia to represent rulers of the world who would come to worship Christ. Notice how these places mentioned in Isaiah and Psalms refer to the three continents known during that time, namely, Africa, Asia, and Europe symbolizing the whole world coming to Christ. Some Church Fathers even preached that the three kings symbolize the three stages of our life where Christ leads and guides us: youth, maturity and old age. In whatever state or stage of life we are, true wisdom and peace can only be found in Christ Jesus regardless of our differences.

But above all of these we find that with the wise men coming from the East where the sun rises is that they show us the Epiphany as a new beginning in our lives. The magi represent our inner journey in life to find and follow Jesus Christ. Last year, I have dwelt a lot in that realization that life is more of a directional than a destination. What matters most in life is that we keep on following Jesus Christ our light, our star. That is direction, where He is leading us. It never stops. We just keep on following Him until we reach our final destination in heaven for we are all “coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph. 3:6). This direction we have to follow in life never stops for the discovery of God is not the end but the beginning of a journey. And in this journey in Jesus Christ, we do not simply go as followers but are expected to eventually become believers too. Matthew noted at the end of the gospel today how the magi“departed for their country by another way” (Mt. 2: 12), meaning they have become believers eventually of Christ. Their lives have changed and must have never been the same as before after finding Jesus because they have believed. That is their big advantage and difference with Herod and the experts of Jerusalem who knew everything about the Messiah being born in Bethlehem but refused to believe Him. This is the danger with us today: many Christians today are mere followers but not wise enough to be believers of Christ.

Like those young people aspiring to follow their stars at GMA-7’s talent search program “StarStruck”, we also need to dream, believe,and survive. We all dream to be fulfilled in life. And every lofty dream is always from above, from God as Matthew told us this Christmas the dreams of Joseph and now the dream of the magi. It is said that those who dream with their eyes wide open are the real dreamers, the trailblazers who change the world. That is because they did not only believe in their dreams and with themselves but most of all, they believed in God. On this Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, He is inviting us to dream and believe so that we may live fully in Him. Every day is a new beginning to search and follow and believe Jesus Christ our light. Today we are given with over 350 days to begin anew in Jesus. Be wise. Search Him. Follow Him. Believe Him. Happy Epiphany of the Lord! AMEN. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan

*Photos from Google.

starstruck

Let the Light of Christ Shine In You

43952316_242429459768328_4194146430534811648_n

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 02 January 2019

I come from the fireworks capital of the country, Bocaue in Bulacan about 25 kms. north of Manila. Unlike most of my town mates, I have always advocated for the total ban of manufacture and sale of fireworks and firecrackers long before I became a priest. My first reason is because I have seen firsthand how many lives were lost in the manufacture and use of these products meant to bring good luck and more life. My second reason is simply because it is a pagan practice. What an irony it is so widespread in our country considered to be the only Christian nation in this part of the world! The best way to welcome every New Year is to pray in silence to thank God for all the graces of the past year and to ask Him to keep us anew and to guide us through 2019.

My third reason why fireworks and firecrackers must be banned is the fact these destroy and damage our already fragile environment. While many are rejoicing that firecracker injuries are down by 68% this New Year celebrations, air quality almost everywhere remained dismal and even hazardous especially for the sick and elderly people. Coming home to my parish after midnight of January 01, I thought my staff members have forgotten to turn on the lights outside the church or worst, there was a brownout because our whole neighborhood was so dark. It turned out that thick smokes from the fireworks and firecrackers lit earlier to brighten our lives this 2019 have actually darkened our whole surroundings! The scene was very surreal that spoke a lot of our inconsistencies and stupidity as a nation and most of all, as Christians. How crazy that we as Christians are not only imitating the pagans in welcoming the New Year in the hope to better our lives when in fact we are destroying life itself in damaging the environment!

Jesus Christ was born more than 2000 years ago during the darkest night of the year at winter primarily to be our light. This is what Christmas reminds us at the end of each year as we usher in the new one that we have no other light but Christ alone. And the light of Christ shines not from any bright star or comet up in the sky but right from the faces and hearts of every believer to whom Jesus is born within. This is the daily challenge we all face that we must let the light of Christ shine in us so that people are illumined by His light not by our selfish, bloated ego projected by our supposed to be bright ideas. How sad that even in the Church and among us priests, what we really project is our own light not Christ’s. We cannot have the humility of John the Baptizer to admit that we are not the Christ because like during the first Christmas, so many modern day Caesars and Herods continue to claim these days that they are the Messiah or Savior of the world, even in the name of Jesus.

To be a light of Christ in the world requires us His disciples to first withdraw from the limelight and go back to Jesus in prayer and meditations. We are now living our faith in a mass-mediated culture but it does not mean we have to immerse into social media and other modern forms of communication. We in the Church, both the clergy and the lay people have to realize and understand that while these modern communications are a gift from God, we do not have to allow it to overwhelm us that eventually, unknown to us, become our guide replacing Jesus Christ. What a pity that many churches today look like conference halls with giant TV screens everywhere, tarpaulins covering every wall even the altar that people could no longer feel the sense of the sacred. See how some priests have become as entertainers even clowns with all the jokes and antics without delivering any homily at all. Or act like marketing agents using power points to deliver homilies without any point at all. There are churches that have become ballrooms in total disregard of the sanctity of the place complete with all kinds of lights for dramatic effects with giant ceiling fans hovering above that do not necessarily complement the interiors. People are rightly complaining of the commercialization of some churches that have become to look like a giant birthday cake than a house of worship due to so many decorations that are mostly cheap and kitschy. Worst of all are those churches that have become like a perya (fair) with all gimmicks and publicity stunts that fool people by heightening their feeling levels only to get more collections but never to share Jesus Christ.

What a shame! People come to church for Jesus, only Jesus and always Jesus. And they would always come because that is something natural within each of us, even unbelievers. The Church does not need public relations as advertisements for media mileage because we offer only Jesus Christ alive within each one of us. I have always believed that there are only two essential things needed to share Jesus Christ and let His light shine in a parish: meaningful liturgy and true charity and service to everyone. Our dignified worship and celebrations of the sacraments along with our loving service and kindness to everyone who comes to our parish are more than enough to be the presence of Christ, to beam His light. Stop making the church and everything in it a spectacle or a show we call palabas because Christ came in silent simplicity of the darkness of the night to be felt more deep inside by the heart not to be feasted on by the eyes. The late German-born thinker Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy who converted into Christianity from the Jewish faith after World War II said that “A Christian is a person to whom Christ speaks. The body of Christ is those who listen to him.” How beautiful! All we really need is Jesus Christ alone, not so much of things and gadgets, gimmicks and publicity stunts for He alone is our light who gives life. The beloved disciple said it so well last Christmas Day, “through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (Jn.1:4-5). Bring out that light of Christ in you this New Year!

*Photo by Dra. Mai Dela Pena, from a church in Sydney, Australia many Christmas ago. Used with permission.

“Bagong Taon, Bagong Panahon”

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II

Ika-01 ng Enero 2019

Maraming pong salamat

Mga ginigiliw kong tagatangkilik

Nitong dati kong panaginip

Maisatula aking mga tilamsik ng pag-iisip.

Madalas tuwing bagong taon

Sa pagharap natin sa mga paghamon

Lagi nating tugon ay new year’s resolution

Na kalauna’y mga pangakong nababaon.

Hindi tayo makakasulong taun-taon

Kung parati mayroon tayong mga rason

Alibi at mga dahilan para bigyang katwiran

Iba’t ibang sitwasyon kaya tayo hindi makaahon.

49548159_10157026686917996_7763111631847948288_n

Bagong taon, bagong panahon

Bawat pagkakataon ay isang paghamon

Ng pagpapakatotoo sa ating pagkatao

Kung ibig nating lumago, iwanan nakaraan,

Mamuhay sa kasalukuyan, pag-aralan mga dating kamalian;

Mga sugat nating kinasaktan, huwag nang takpan

Bagkus pahanginan sa kasalukuyan upang tuluyang gumaling

Para ating maibaling mga paningin sa mga dapat gawin at ayusin.

Bagong taon, bagong panahon

Pumalaot sa mga dakong di nasusubukan o napupuntahan

Magsagwan kung kinakailangan

Sa gitna nitong ilog ng buhay na walang katiyakan

Maliban sa tahakin landas ng kabutihan at kababaan

Tulad ng pananalangin sa awa at habag ng Maykapal;

Hindi magtatagal lahat ng ating pagpapagal

Sa ati’y dadatal mga dasal nating inuusal.

*Larawan ay obra ng Bulakenyong pintor na si Aris Bagtas; pinili ko ang larawang ito upang maipakita ang pakikibaka ng may tuwa sa bagong taon ng 2019. Ginamit ng may kapahintulutan.

Meeting Jesus in 2019 with Mary

49114007_268477453833709_8702178554349092864_n

The Lord Is My Chef New Year Recipe

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, 01 January 2019

Numbers 6:22-27///Galatians 4:4-7///Luke 2:16-21

One of my favorite sayings came from the waiting the room of our former family dentist Dr. Eddie Calalec of Meycauyan, Bulacan that says, “Time is fast for those who rush; Time is slow for those who wait; but, Time is NOT for those who love.” We all complain of time being so fast. Everybody is always in a hurry. According to an elderly man I have talked to a couple of years ago, time moves so fast these days because people are always busy. He explained that before, time was so slow because after farming earlier that day, they just waited for sunset and for time of harvest. Life was so laid back at that time that truly time was so slow. But life is not about time being fast or slow but of love. The Church rightly celebrates today not the New Year which is time; remember that we celebrated the new year in the Church calendar last first Sunday of Advent. Today we are celebrating the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God to celebrate her great love for Jesus that we hope to emulate this 2019.

Mary embodies the whole meaning of that saying “TIME is not for those who love” as she presents to us not only the first but the perfect disciple of Jesus who loves Him so much. St. Paul beautifully expressed in the second reading when time is not because of love which is “the fullness of time” (Gal.4:4). When we love, there is fullness of time as if everything is suspended in animation, everything is frozen. Every man who had courted any woman knows this very well of how time freezes when conversing with a beloved, not realizing the passing of time. Old couples experience the same thing and so are good friends who could “waste” time together doing nothing, saying nothing to one another that after a few hours are all surprised at how long we have been together. Time and space cease to bound people who truly love. And that is why“if you want to be eternal, then, love” like God.

People who love are always in haste not to do things or accomplish tasks but to be with their loved ones. Luke tells us how “The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger” (Lk.2:16) after a heavenly host of angels proclaimed to them the good news of the birth of Jesus Christ. We also heard from Luke during our Simbang Gabi after the annunciation of the birth of Jesus when “Mary set out and travelled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah” (Lk.1: 39). This is the kind of haste – to come quickly to meet God, to be with a beloved, dear one – that is slowly fading away among us in this crazy world always on a mad race. Everybody is rushing, running around, multitasking to accomplish so much that deplete us of energy even of time to be with our loved ones. Many parents are guilty of this who turn nights into days making money to send their kids into expensive schools because of love; yet, when you ask them to attend a school meeting, to get the card of their children, they send the grandparents or nannies because they are busy at work. More so with God as seen in the steady decrease of Mass attendance with people coming in late and then rushing to leave for meals and other things. And admittedly, this is partly because so many priests are also in a rush to celebrate more masses and sacraments sadly for the wrong reasons and most of all, many of us could not share Jesus in homilies because we could not even come to Him for prayers. It is simply a case of lack of any concern for God despite professions of faith or belief in Him. Would we be like the shepherds if a host of angels appear tonight or today to tell us where Jesus Christ is? Would we go in haste to find God, to meet God? Would we be in haste to be with our loved ones, really?

In this age of instant connections and social media via modern communications, actual meetings and coming together person to person have been replaced by mediated interactions. We hardly experience anyone’s presence anymore that relationships have become superficial without any depths and meaning at all. There is always the TV and the gadgets to entertain everyone, forgetting the tremendous blessing of everyone’s presence. In the first reading we heard how God instructed Moses and Aaron to bless the people whenever they gather because every human presence is a blessing, a gift or a present. And the highest blessing we can all have is the presence of God among us in Christ Jesus! Mary as the Mother of Jesus is teaching us today that God is always present within us and with one another. Let us not waste our time rushing for so many things that we only realize the giftedness of everyone most especially of our very selves when we are already old or sick. Mary as the Mother of God and our Mother too shows us the need to always be in haste to meet Jesus right here inside us for He is here to stay with us, to be with us for the next 365 days of 2019, come rain or shine, no matter what. AMEN. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

Photo of another painting by Bulakenyo visual artist Aris Bagtas depicting Mary with the child Jesus in lively colors, going out perhaps to meet the rainy new year. Used with permission.