Jesus openly speaking

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 15 September 2024
Isaiah 50:5-9 <*{{{{>< James 2:14-18 ><}}}}*> Mark 8:27-35

There is something very striking with the similarities and differences in our gospel last Sunday and today that greatly reveal to us the person of Jesus Christ whom we all imitate and follow as His disciples.

In Decapolis last Sunday, Jesus separated a deaf man – “took him off by himself away from the crowd” – to heal him by putting his fingers into the man’s ears, then spitted and touched his tongue as he groaned “Ephphatha” – be opened – and the man was healed as “he spoke plainly”.

Further up north of Decapolis which is the chief pagan city of Caesarea Philippi, the Apostle Peter took Jesus away from the crowd after the Lord spoke openly of His coming Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

But unlike the deaf mute healed when separated from the rest, Jesus rebuked Peter as He returned to the crowd as He continued to speak openly of His coming Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do” (Mark 8:31-33).

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

I love the contrast of these two events Mark tells us so succinctly without missing details that speak so well of God’s ways and man’s ways, of what is to think and act like Jesus and how the devil tricks us into its devious and insidious ploys.

See also how last Sunday the healed deaf-mute “spoke plainly” in Christ while today we are invited by Mark to “openly speak” like Jesus of life’s sufferings and death.

When God separates us from the rest of the people and our usual routines like what happened at Decapolis last Sunday, it is because He wants us to experience Him more closely, for us to be healed, and for us to touch base with Him anew who is the very root of our being. Like that nameless deaf man, we need to separate once in a while from the world for us to be healed of our many deafness so that we may listen more intently to God’s voice and words right in our hearts, in the scriptures, and in the cries of the poor and suffering among us.

Actually, Jesus was continuing in Caesarea Philippi His method last Sunday of “separating” when He first asked the Twelve “Who do people say that I am?” that prompted them to tell Him the many misconceptions about His identity. In a similar way with the deaf at Decapolis, Jesus took off the Twelve in Caesarea Philippi when He asked them the more specific question “But who do you say that I am?” and Peter rightly answered Him, “You are the Christ.”

Matthew has a similar story probably with some additions from other sources that we find Jesus praising Peter for his answer, entrusting to him the church, and promising him with the key to heaven. The rebuke of Peter would happen later in their journey.

Mark had none of that considering his gospel was Matthew’s basis. We find in Mark’s brief account of Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi Perhaps how often just as when we feel so close with God like Peter, it is the same moment when the devil comes to trick us to break away from God and follow our own ways, not His.

*Photo by author near ancient city of Caesarea Philippi, May 2017.*

The event at Caesarea Philippi gives us clearest sign to identify Jesus as the Christ, that is when Jesus speaks openly of His coming Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly (Mark 8:31-32).

Jesus never hides us from the realities of life as He speaks “openly” of His Pasch. From Caesarea Philippi, Jesus and the Twelve would head back south towards Jerusalem making a stop over on Mount Tabor for the Transfiguration where Christ’s glory was revealed to Peter, James and John.

It was during His Transfiguration that that Father and the Son made clear that Christ’s glory cannot be separated from the Cross. It was after Caesarea Philippi when Jesus announced thrice to the Twelve His coming Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

Notice too that qualifier “must” – that He “must suffer greatly”.

Just one word but so powerful, showing us the consistency of Jesus in speaking about His Pasch, the Cross, and later its relationship with discipleship, of the need for us to forget ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.

*Our motorized procession of the Blessed Sacrament in our previous Parish at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020. Photo by Ms. Anne Ramos.*

It saddens me when some priests and people in the Church shy away from talking openly about life’s many sufferings. We recognize their good intentions of not forgetting the beautiful and brighter side of being a Christian but to look at the Cross negatively and all its other implications is totally unChristian.

We cannot disregard the pains and darkness that come in being a disciple of Jesus; the Cross is the life of a disciple because it is the center of Christ’s person and teachings as expressed in yesterday’s Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. All these “health and wealth” style of many preachers even in the Church are red flags of the devil’s ploy, of Peter separating Jesus from the Cross.

We act like Peter rebuking Jesus in Caesarea Philippi whenever we try to soften or hide, even cover the corruption and abuses going on in the society and families, the Church and our communities. That is clearly thinking in man’s ways not in God’s ways.

We cannot arrive at the truth and beauty of life disregarding the falsehoods and negativities around us. That was the problem with the people in mistaking Jesus as one of the prophets who were seen more as miracle workers who instantly healed them of their sickness.

*Photo by author in my previous parish, 2017.*

And here lies the danger too to us that we will never be able to have a good answer to Christ’s question “But who do you say I am?” if we avoid the many passion and death of this life in Jesus.

To openly speak like Jesus and embrace the sufferings and death we must endure is our first expression of faith with works we heard in the second reading from James.

To openly speak like Jesus and embrace the sufferings and death we must endure is the fulfillment of the first reading’s Song of the Suffering Servant who is Jesus Himself.

When we openly speak and embrace life’s daily sufferings and deaths like Jesus is to trust completely in God like Him. Let us speak openly of the Cross, of love and mercy, of God like Jesus Christ! Let us pray:

Lord Jesus Christ,
let me continue to follow 
you closely by separating
from the rest often 
to hear you more,
to love you more,
to trust you more;
let me know you more clearly
so that I may love you more dearly
and follow you more closely
speaking plainly,
speaking openly
without sugarcoating your call,
your Cross.
Amen.

“Ephphatha!” – and he spoke plainly.

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 09 September 2024

And people brought to Jesus a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” – that is, “Be opened!” – And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly (Mark 7:31-35).

Come, Lord Jesus,
take me away from the
routines and ordinariness
of this life that has become
my comfort zone;
touch me again
and speak to me that word
"Ephphatha" 
so I may be opened 
to speak plainly again:
let me speak plainly of love
not with eloquent words
but with sincere gestures
of care and kindness for the
other person;
let me speak plainly of love
not with technicalities of the laws
and rituals but with mercy
and compassion for a sinner
and those who have gone wayward;
let me speak plainly of love,
dear Jesus, like you,
not with letters and punctuations
but full of tenderness for the 
weak and the sick;
let me speak plainly by
being open, giving all that I have
not only whatever is in excess;
let me speak plainly not with
advocacies so passionate
but simply doing what is right
and good to keep this world 
clean and just;
let me speak plainly, O Lord,
with a ready smile to anyone,
wide arms to hug and welcome
family and friends,
warmth and joy to inspire those
lost and about to give up;
let me speak plainly, Jesus,
like you that in the end of this
life the heavens may open
as I pray, "into your hands
I commend my spirit."
Amen.

*Photo by author, Chapel of St. Francis Xavier, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.*

Faith is hope

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 07 August 2024
Jeremiah 31:1-7 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 15:21-28

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

Yes, a day will come when the watchmen will call out on Mount Ephraim: “Rise up, let us go to Zion, to the Lord, our God.” For thus says the Lord: Shout with joy for Jacob, exult at the head of the nations; proclaim your praise and say: The Lord has delivered his people, the remnant of Israel (Jeremiah 31:6-7).

How refreshing are your words
today, God our loving Father;
so upbeat with hope
for the divided nation of
Judah and Israel to finally
be one just like us today:
so divided recently with all
the mockery and sacrilege
in the Paris Olympics
only to be united
by Carlos Yulo's 
recent harvest of two gold medals;
what a beautiful lesson in faith in You
that is also hope itself;
from being the least supported
and known sport in the country,
Yulo remained faithful
filled with hope in You
while persevering in gymnastics;
like Yulo and Jeremiah's command,
let us shout with joy to You,
proclaiming your redemption
that literally means "Hosanna"
in Hebrew, the very shouts of joy
when Jesus entered Jerusalem
on Palm Sunday.

She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is uyour faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour (Matthew 15:27-28).

Like that Canaanite woman
who begged Jesus,
even bantered with Him
about dogs and puppies,
bread and crumbs
for mercy and healing to her
sick daughter,
help us realize that faith is hope;
that hope is more than positive thinking
of how things would get better
but could even get worse
yet still believe in God!

Thank you Jesus
for always coming to "pagan"
territories like Tyre and Sidon;
keep our faith and hope burning
to await You,
to recognize You,
to meet You
coming in the midst of our
many darkness and brokenness.
Amen.

What we can do in the work of God

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Eighteenth Sunday in the Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 04 August 2024
Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15 ><}}}}*> Ephesians 4:17, 20-24 ><}}}}*> John 6:24-35

*Photo by author, Lake of Galilee, the Holy Land, May 2017.*

We are now back in Capernaum where Jesus used to frequently teach in its synagogue during His ministry.

Remember last Sunday how Jesus fled from the crowd when He felt them wanting to take and make Him a king upon seeing His miraculous feeding of over five thousand people from five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish with a lot of leftovers. The people looked for Him and found Him in Capernaum, the setting of all of our gospel scenes these four Sundays of August.

There at Capernaum was a beautiful exchange in the conversation between Jesus and the people that eventually led to the Bread of Life discourse of the Lord in this sixth chapter of John’s gospel. Remember too that for John, the miracles Jesus performed were signs that pointed to Him as the Christ. Hence, this important reminder to the crowd who have sought Him that day as well as to us living in these interesting times today:

“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternalnlife, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent” (John 6:27-29).

*Photo by author, tourists and pilgrims alike at the ruins of the Capernaum synagogue, May 2017.*

“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”

Jesus knows very well the importance of work for us humans, of how hard we have to work to earn our daily bread, to buy and pay for things so needed in life. But, these earthly food we are all busy working for can sustain us only for a life timeas we very well know that we surely die one day.

There is another food that is more essential that “endures for eternal life” we can only receive from Jesus Himself – His words and His Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist which is the “summit of Christian life.”

Of course, we have to work for this food because it does not come on its own. We must receive and welcome this food as a gift of Jesus Christ whom the Father has sent. We have to work and exert efforts to pray and listen to God’s words, to wake up early and prepare ourselves for the Sunday Mass and other devotions we have. Hence, the second question of the crowd to Jesus:

“What can we do to accomplish to the works of God?”

*Photo by Mr. Boy Cabrido, Quiapo Fiesta 2024.*

Very striking here is their eagerness to know what they can do to have that food that “endures for eternal life.”

Are we not the same with our desire to really know things about religion and spirituality or just anything we heard to be so good?

It sounded so much like that same zeal displayed by a young man who approached Jesus and asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mk.10:17). Nothing is wrong with this attitude of openness to God but, the problem is when we expect the work to be given to us is something like a shortcut or easy access in having that “food that endures for eternal life” like that young man. Sometimes, we ask self-serving questions about faith and religion not only for the benefits we can have but also for fame like that young man who proudly declared to Jesus he had followed all commandments since childhood; but, when the Lord told him to go and sell his properties to give it to the poor and come follow him, his face fell and left sad. This eventually would become the scene in Capernaum as we shall see in the coming Sundays.

For now, let us reflect on Christ’s answer to the crowd’s question.

“This is the work of God of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”

*Photo by author, Mass in Capernaum, May 2017.*

This will be the start of the revelation of the true motives of the crowd who have come looking for Jesus. Last Sunday, we reflected how they have followed Jesus because of the many signs they have seen from Him like healing of the sick and raising to life the dead daughter of Jairus.

Slowly we see this Sunday the conceit and pride in their hearts, and perhaps within us too! Jesus is neither proposing new works to accomplish and fulfill in God’s name nor alter or change the commandments given through Moses. As the Christ or Anointed of God, Jesus is demanding complete faith in Him!

It was a most unique and unprecedented demand by Christ from the people then and now, asking us all to have total commitment in Him whom we believe. Whatever we want to do or do not want to do depends entirely in our imitation of Jesus Christ.

Like last Sunday, it is the very person of Jesus Christ that is being stressed here that unfortunately, even the closest disciples Philip and Andrew failed to “see” when they saw more of the problem with the crowd and the scarcity of bread and fish they have. They did not see Jesus despite their having witnessed and experienced His many miracles like us today.

Instead of being humble, the crowd asked Jesus for signs He can do so they would believe Him, even challenged Him with the works by Moses in the desert in feeding their ancestors with manna in their wandering. Like in resisting the temptations of the devil in the wilderness, Jesus declared the basic truth people often forget: the manna fed to the people was not the work by Moses alone but entirely and truly by God the Father in heaven!

This is something we must always remember: the work we have in this life is not ours but God’s so that in everything we do and say, it is God who is proclaimed and made known for He alone can fulfill us in Jesus who said today in closing our gospel scene, “I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst” (Jn.6:34).

Jesus is the bread from heaven sent down to us by God, prefigured by the manna in the first reading we have heard, the food who brings us to fulfillment in God expressed during the Last Supper that was confirmed the following Good Friday at His Crucifixion.

Life is a call from God for us to do our part in His work through Jesus Christ. We need to collaborate with Him, in Him and through Him as He had declared at the Last Supper to “do this in memory of me.” That is why it is so sad and deplorable how the people behind the opening show of the Paris Olympics made a mockery of the Lord’s Supper. (Even if we shall accept their explanations it wasn’t about the Last Supper, it was still a show so ugly and tasteless, an affront to any person.)

What is most undeniable is the pride of the people behind the Paris Olympics including their defenders who insist until now how everything is clearly about “what can we do” like the proud crowd with Jesus in Capernaum.

What was supposed to show the wonderful contributions and achievements of France to the world in terms of culture and intellectual advancements have all crumbled into a disgraceful display of what is now wrong in France and even the Western world. They have exaggerated the relative truths they hold on to exaggerate themselves. In their claims of being inclusive, they have become exclusive and divisive, so far from the “sign” of the Olympics. Very sad but still, may you all have a blessed week ahead. It is a Sunday, go celebrate Mass with your family and loved ones. Let us pray:

God our loving Father,
thank you in giving us Jesus Christ
your Son as our bread from heaven;
remind us always not about 
what we can do or must do
for we just do your work
here on earth but to simply
remember and keep in mind
we are your children in Christ,
to "stop living in the futility of our minds
by putting away our old self 
of corrupted and deceitful desires
renewed in the spirit of our minds,
to put on our new self in Christ",
created male and female
"in your way in righteousness
and holiness of truth"
(Ephesians 4:17, 22-24)
Amen.

Age is just a number

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 24 July 2024
Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10 <*((((><< + >><))))*> Matthew 13:1-9

*Photo by Hatice Nou011fman on Pexels.com*

"Ah, Lord God!"
I said, 
"I know not how to speak;
I am too young."
But the Lord answered me,
say not, "I am too young."
To whomever I send you,
you shall go;
whatever I command you,
you shall speak
(Jeremiah 1:6-7).

I have always heard
that expression 
"age is just a number"
without really understanding
nor having a grasp of its real meaning
until recently after losing my mom
and be totally orphaned of our parents;
how different it is now to live without
our parents and quickly realize
time flies so fast indeed
because suddenly we are catapulted
into that state in life when we are
in the very same situations
of our parents when we were younger;
now I could feel we are never too young
nor too old to be called and entrusted
by God with a mission in life.

Life indeed is a parable,
dear Jesus:
You come to us daily
whether we are too young
or too old to sow your seeds;
keep us open to receive You
so that we may bear You
and share You.
Amen.

*“The Sower”, a painting by Van Gogh from commons.wikimedia.org.*

Rest is to be close with Jesus, close with others

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 21 July 2024
Jeremiah 23:1-6 ><}}}}*> Ephesians 2:13-18 ><}}}}*> Mark 6:30-34

*Photo by author, Katmon Nature Sanctuary &Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon March 2023.*

After being sent “two by two” last Sunday, the Apostles now return to Jesus, reporting “all they had done and taught.” What a beautiful gospel scene this Sunday, supposed to be our day of rest that begins in God and must be rooted in God.

The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place (Mark 6:30-32).

Last Sunday we were reminded to rediscover the family and friends sent with us “two by two” in this life while today the Lord wants us to be aware of our need to rest in order to rediscover Him first of all, then one’s self and others.

Unfortunately, many people today have entirely forgotten the meaning and importance of rest that we succumb to all kinds of sickness related with stress and fatigue. In fact, Filipino workers were recently ranked as the second worst in terms of work-life balance in a worldwide survey. One factor it cited is the lesser paid vacation leaves our workers have compared with their counterparts in other countries.

*Photo by author, Sonnenberg Resort, Davao City, 2017.*

Rest is not only stopping from work to be recharged like cellphone batteries; we are not things like robots and drones sent out simply for a task that once achieved, no more. We are inter-related persons meant to form bonds and unity, a family and a community. That is the result of our being sent on a mission to share God’s creative works leading to our union in Him with others.

God rested and made Sabbath holy after creation because He had completed all His works that were all good; we, on the other hand, merely participate in His creative works. That is why no matter how hard we push ourselves with our work, we can’t completely finish them as more things to do come along the way, making us bored or stressed out because we could no longer find life but simply routine. We have been so focused on accomplishing many things as if we are the savior of the world (messianic complex) that we feel so important, bloating our ego. That is when we start literally throwing our weight to those around us like in those reels of road rage. The sad part of this is how we eventually hurt the people we love and supposed to serve like the shepherds of the Old Testament that God through Jeremiah had accused to have “misled and scattered” the people of Israel (Jer.23:1).

*Photo by author, border between Jordan and Israel, May 2019.*

Today, Jesus is inviting us to “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while (Mk.6:31)” to remind us that in everything we do in this life, what matters most is not the task but us, the persons we love and care for, and Christ who is our only fulfillment in life.

Like the apostles, we have to return to Jesus precisely because our mission, our work is not ours but Christ’s. We need to return to Jesus every Sunday in the Eucharist when we are nourished by His words and strengthened by His Body and Blood to sustain us in our mission.

Rest is neither doing nothing like sleeping all day or doing anything we like that we forget God and in the process, our very self and others. Rest is a time of conversion when we lay aside our plans and agenda by returning to God so that we could have focus again in this life. Rest is actually to be filled with God, to be holy.

This we find expressed perfectly in our Filipino word for rest which is pahinga from the root hinga or breath that is spiritus in Latin. To rest in Filipino is mag-pa-hinga that literally means hingahan, to be breathed on. Genesis tells us how God breathed on man to be alive after creating him while in John’s Gospel we find Jesus breathed on His apostles after greeting them with peace twice on the night of Easter when He appeared to them at the Upper Room. From here we get that beautiful imagery of rest as being breathed on by God – mag-pa-hinga sa Diyos – which is to be closer with God!

Here now is the challenge and best part of the good news this Sunday: the more closer we get to God in Jesus and through Jesus especially on Sunday our day of rest, the more we must get closer with others. The more we pray, the more we rest in the Lord, the more we serve, the more we love.

Mark told us how Jesus invited the Twelve to “come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” but the people saw them and even got earlier to the other side of the lake!

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd and he began to teach them many things (Mark 6:34).

*Photo by author in the Holy Land, 2019.*

Rest is more than the amount of time spent “resting” but the disposition to be with the Lord, to be one with Him that we become holy like Him. That moment when Jesus led the Twelve to rest was already a “rest” for Him that resulted in serving more the people who have followed them.

Jesus being moved with pity for the people indicated His rest and communion with the Father expressed in His oneness with the suffering people who were like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus has always been one with the Father right from the very start until His death on the Cross where He declared “It is finished” and commended His total self to the Father.

The truest sense of us having a real rest, of getting closer with God is when we get closer with others especially those entrusted to our love and care like our loved ones and those who are poor and sick.

Problem these days among us priests including laypeople is our wrong idea about rest; we do not really rest at all but simply indulge in pleasures that are many times scandalous for being godless and unmindful of other people. True rest makes our hearts natural to be aware of the sufferings of others, to be one with them or at least take their plight into consideration in our rest.

We can only say “mission accomplished” to rest when we are one with God through others that St. Paul explains in the second reading at how Jesus Christ reconciled us all through the Cross, “putting an enmity to death by it” (Eph. 2:16). Next Sunday, this we shall see when after teaching and healing the people in that deserted place, Jesus would feed the crowd of over 5000 people from just a few loaves of bread and pieces of fish.

Let us rest in the Lord to prepare our hearts and souls as well as our tired body to be filled with God so we can fill others too with Him. Let us pray:

Lord Jesus Christ,
we live in a highly competitive world
of 24/7 wherein everyone is so busy
that we forget You and the persons 
You have entrusted to us;
remind us we are not the Messiah
nor a superhero to save the world;
we can only do as much in this life
as God had accomplished all for us
 in You, the Christ;
let us take two or three 
even five steps backwards 
to let You, Jesus,
do your work in us.
Amen.

Put life in order

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 19 July 2024
Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 12:1-8

*Photo by author, somewhere in Bgy. Kaysuyo, Alfonso, Cavite, 27 April 2024.*

When Hezekiah was mortally ill, the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him: “Thus says the Lord: Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you shall not recover. Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord… Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: “Go, tell Hezekiah: Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you: in three days you shall go up to the Lord’s temple; I will add fifteen years to your life” (Isaiah 38:1-2, 4-5).

God our Father,
help us
 to put our house in order;
give us the courage and
strength to put our lives
in order
by sincerely admitting our sins
with a firm resolve to turn away
from them and live the gospel
of Jesus your Son.

Let me put order
to my spiritual life by cultivating
the discipline to pray daily
keeping that relationship with You;
let me put order in my life
by seeking ways to be more
loving with others than
finding their faults;
let me put order in my life
by being less judgmental of others
to be more charitable and understanding.

Like Hezekiah
let me accept my fate,
let me accept death:
"In the noontime of life I must depart!
To the gates of the nether world
I shall be consigned
for the rest of my years" (Isaiah 38:10);
how wonderful that without praying
for his healing but for the grace
to accept your will,
You healed Hezekiah
and prolonged his life
to serve You more than ever.
Amen.

Firm faith, firm self

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 16 July 2024
Isaiah 7:1-9 <*((((>< M+ ><))))*> Matthew 11:20-24

*Photo by author, Holy Family Monastery of Our Lady of Carmel, Guiguinto, Bulacan 2019.*

Thank You, dear God our Father
to your reminder today through
your prophet,
"Unless your faith is firm
you shall not be firm!"
(Isaiah 7:9).

So many times I forget this truth
 as I try to do everything
 to make myself strong physically,
 mentally and emotionally;
  so many times I forget
 that everything is fleeting in this world
 especially my body, including my enemies;
  many times I forget
 that the path to real strength
 of my person is in having
 a firm faith in You
 because only You remain.

Everything passes in this world;
 nations and peoples,
 cities and states rise
 and fall but, not You, O Lord!
  You never stop speaking
 your words of wisdom
 into the silence of my heart,
 calling me to trust in You,
 to have faith in You
 as You find ways in saving me
 from my many problems and miseries.
  Give me the grace to repent
 and to harden not my heart
 when I hear Your voice
 in Christ Jesus with Mary
our Lady of Carmel.
Amen.

Marriage, a choice & a gift of Christ

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 15 July 2024

It is very disappointing that the recent statement of the CBCP on divorce was so unusually soft, trying to balance everything like walking on a thin line, very cautious of not stepping on whoever’s feet or hurting their feelings.

What is most sad is how this statement so watered down unlike the bishops’ previous pronouncements in the last elections supporting a candidate. It is so frustrating for us Catholics when our bishops have repeatedly crossed boundaries getting into partisan politics supporting many election candidates when on this part of our nation’s history they are tepid in standing by the Lord’s flock under attack by fierce and intense pro-divorce lawmakers and supporters. This is the crucial moment when our bishops should rally us more in defending our stand against divorce being the last country where it is still illegal.

We shall have another piece on that later as we continue today our sharing of our past wedding homilies we hope can help you be clarified why we must oppose the divorce bill. Of course, we cannot impose our stand against divorce but we make it clear to everyone why we are against it. After all, it is an informed choice we make guided by the grace of God and the Holy Spirit.

Here is our homily at the wedding at the Manila Cathedral on January 16, 2006 of our very good friend from UST’s the Varsitarian, Dra. Chona T. Capulong and Mr. Stephen Kemp of Kansas.

Twenty three years ago and less than 50 pounds today, our friend and former managing editor Chona had a column at the Varsitarian called “Choice Cuts.”

I will never forget her column with its very catchy title, so well written and most of all, more than 20 years later today, the gospel she had chosen for her wedding speaks about choosing, about choices, Jesus told his disciples, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain…” (John 15:16).

Today we are so blessed to have been called and chosen by Chona and Stephen to be present in this most joyous day of their lives when they pledge their love for each other before God and His people. Let me stress on those words of Jesus saying how we are all “called and chosen to bear fruit.”

So beautiful.

God calling and choosing us to bear fruit. The all-knowing God making a choice for us and should we be glad and grateful for that!?

When God calls and chooses us, He does not remove our freedom which is the ability to choose what is good, not simply whatever you want. What happens is that when God calls and chooses us, this gift of freedom is actually enhanced because the Ultimate Good shows us what’s best for us.

That God choosing us rather than us choosing Him is evidently true in friendships and marriage. Chona is from this city of Manila, thousands of kilometers from Wichita, Kansas where Stephen comes from.

How they have met and be in love is a long story; what matters is the choice made by God for them and how they cooperated in that choice.

Most often, whenever we make a choice, it is oriented towards success and triumph. We always make it a point that it would be advantageous for us and most of all, easy and convenient because as much as possible, we want lesser problems and lesser risks.

Being successful, whether in life or in marriage or in business is characterized and based on strength and powers, of how we are able to control situations and bend them to our own advantage. It is about power.

On the other hand, when God makes a choice for us, it is different.

When God makes a choice for us, it is always difficult and never convenient, slow and time-consuming. Most of all, God’s choice always entails sacrifices from our part because, it is so good that we have to be emptied first in order to receive such a beautiful gift like marriage.

When God makes a choice for us, it is always based on our weakness and vulnerabilities. God is not concerned with our being “successful” but more with being fruitful because in this life, especially in marriage, it does not really matter what or how much we have achieved but what have we become.

We may have all the wealth and power in the world, all the success but, what have we become?

Have we been more loving, more forgiving, more understanding, more generous, more honest, more faithful?

Bearing fruit is different from being successful in the sense that when God makes the choices for us, He makes us into better persons, becoming the best husband or best wife or the best person in the world. This He does by letting us come to terms with our own weaknesses and vulnerabilities, emptying ourselves of these impurities and being filled by God’s goodness and holiness.

Being fruitful in marriage means being able to understand and accept, even own because of love the shortcomings of a spouse or of those around us. Being fruitful in life or in marriage is being able to bear all the pains and hardships of life because like in gardening, it is the constant pruning of trees and plants that lead to more blossoms and fruits. It is being like Jesus Christ who willingly accepted His Cross because of His great love for us. He did not remove the Cross but made it holy instead.

*Photo by Joseph Kettaneh on Pexels.com*

Chona and Stephen, this wedding is already a fruit of that call and choosing by Jesus on you. After so many pains and hurts as well as sacrifices from both of you, this day had finally come for both of you to stand before the altar of God and offer yourselves to His plans and choices. This is not the end but the beginning of more pains and hurts and sacrifices.

I am not scaring you, Chona and Stephen; however, may this wedding be an assurance for for both of you that, although there would be more problems and difficulties and trials waiting for you along the way of your married life, be assured of the great glory and fruitful life ahead for both of you.

Continue to cooperate with God’s choices for you by leading a life of faith, hope and love rooted in prayers. Jesus had called and chosen you, Chona and Stephen; Jesus would always be with you because He knows what’s best for you. Amen.

Stephen died a few years ago before the COVID pandemic but our friend Chona had remained firm in her faith in God, raising their daughter into a lovely young lady she is now. Last week, Chona told me how proud and happy she is her daughter is going to take her college abroad, away from her!

So glad that despite her fears as a mother, she had allowed her daughter to study abroad, believing, of course, it is God’s choice for her to eventually become a better woman someday. May we be faithful not only in our duties and responsibilities but especially with the people entrusted to us by God whom He had chosen to become parts of our lives.

Words, words, words…

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 12 July 2024
Hosea 14:2-10 <*[[[[><< + >><]]]]*> Matthew 10:16-23

Thus says the Lord: Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt. Take with you words, and return to then Lord; Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity, and receive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls” (Hosea 24:2-3).

Loving Father,
let us "take words" with us
this Friday,
words of contrition for our sins,
words of true repentance,
words begging your mercy,
words that are sincere
not empty words;
many times in this world
of social media,
we multiply words,
we shout words,
we alter words
to give new meanings
that suit us;
many times our words
are mere words,
never bearing fruit,
could not even stand
because they are not true;
like Jesus your Son,
teach us to "enflesh"
our words,
let our words to You be
translated into realities of
conversion and loving service 
for one another.

When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:20).

Let us heed your words,
Lord Jesus Christ,
for us to be "shrewd as serpents
and simple as doves"
by learning to be silent
to let the Holy Spirit speak
through us;
in this noisy world
with so many competing 
words and sounds,
it has become indeed 
a persecution to be silent;
it is more difficult to be silent
to await your words, Lord;
it is always easier to speak
and add to the cacophony of
deafening and hurtful words
against each other
than to just listen to
our hearts,
to listen to your words
of love and mercy;
like the psalmist,
let my mouth
declare your praise
by awaiting your words
first, not mine.
Amen.