The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Andrew Kim Taegon & Companion Martyrs, 20 September 2023
1 Timothy 3:14-16 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Luke 7:31-35
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD at Tagalag, Valenzuela City, 13 September 2023.
Praise and glory
to you, God our loving
Father! As we celebrate
today the Memorial of Korea's first
priest martyr St. Andrew Kim Taegon
and his companion martyrs of over
100 others, we thank you too
for the vibrant Christian faith
in that part of the world.
How amazing are your
grace and works, O God
in that "land of the morning calm" -
Korea - where the seeds of faith
were primarily planted by
lay people touched by
the few missionaries
who have reached their
shores.
Undeniably great is the mystery of devotion, Who was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the spirit, seen by angel, proclaimed to the Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.
1 Timothy 3:16
Great
is their mystery of devotion
as St Paul put it;
grant us the same grace
of continuing fascination
to Christ's mystery among us
through prayers and studies
of your words and of the
Church's teachings;
let Jesus be manifested
in our lives of witnessing
as vindicated by the Spirit,
proclaimed and believed,
accepted and embraced
because it is so true
by everyone.
Grant us discernment,
dear God,
to always recognize
and follow you in the
various persons and
instances, no matter how
unusual they or these may be,
for you are a God of surprises.
Amen.
St. Andrew Kim Taegon
and companion martyrs
of Korea,
Pray for us!
St. Andrew Kim Taegon, first Korean priest with his lay associate St. Paul Chong Hasan with 113 other Koreans died as martyrs between 1839 and 1867.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Twenty-third Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 11 September 2023
Colossians 1:24-2:3 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 6:6-11
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 2017.
Dearest Father in heaven:
Is there really being at the
wrong place at a wrong time?
It has been 22 years since 9/11
when so many lives were lost,
many families and relationships
were broken by those terrorist attacks;
recently, over 2000 people perished
in a massive earthquake in Morocco;
everywhere, bad things happen to
many people because they were
at the wrong place at the wrong time,
Father?
I know, dear God,
life is not that simple
or simplistic, of being at the
wrong place at the wrong time;
if you are everywhere, Father,
how could there be
a wrong place and
a wrong time?
Brothers and sisters: I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his Body, which is the Church…
Colossians 1:24
NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: (SEPTEMBER 11 RETROSPECTIVE) Smoke pours from the twin towers of the World Trade Center after they were hit by two hijacked airliners in a terrorist attack September 11, 2001 in New York City. (Photo by Robert Giroux/Getty Images)
But as I prayed with St. Paul,
I realize something more deep,
more profound, even mysterious,
than our common excuse of
being at the wrong place at the
wrong time: every here and now
is always a right place and
right time in you, O God our
loving Father!
St. Paul was at the right place and
right time on that day on his way
to Damascus to persecute
the Christians to meet Jesus Christ;
all throughout his life, as he
completely surrendered to Jesus,
St. Paul found everything falling
into its right place in you, O God.
Many times,
people and nature
may seem to put us
at the wrong place
and the wrong time,
but you always ensure, O God,
in Christ Jesus that everything
will work out in our favor
like that man with a withered hand
planted by the scribes and
Pharisees at the synagogue
on a sabbath to see if Jesus
would heal him.
But he realized their intentions and said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up and stand before us.” And he rose and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than do evil, to save life rather than destroy it?” Looking around at them all, he then said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so and his hand was restored.
Luke 6:8-10
There are many ways of looking
at every situation in life,
either as a blessing
or a curse or a bad luck
as some would usually say;
but with you, dear Jesus
who had come to bring God
closest to us,
every time,
every place
is always the right one,
a blessed one.
Open our hearts
to your loving presence,
Father, in Jesus Christ
who suffered and died
to rise again for us
to experience life
amid death,
joy amid sufferings,
and light in darkness.
Amen.
Photo by author, Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infant, Quezon, 04 March 2023.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 08 September 2023
Romans 8:28-30 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Matthew 1:18-23
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2023.
Praise and glory to God
our loving Father in
choosing you, Most Blessed
Virgin Mary to be the Mother
of his Son, our Lord
Jesus Christ!
You are most unique
of us all not on your own
account but totally
on the goodness of God;
but, there lies your greatness
in teaching us that important
lesson of being open to God,
to his plan and will,
to always saying yes to him,
trusting him,
remaining faithful to him.
We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Convent, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.
You are the only exception,
dearest Mother Mary,
next to Jesus our Savior and
his forerunner St. John the Baptist
whose birthday we celebrate
to remind each of us
that we are born into this
world according to God's plan.
Let us keep that
ingrained in our hearts
and minds:
no matter what
are the circumstances,
sometimes too painful
and even unbearable
for some,
God our Father
has plans for us that
he gifted us with life
to be born,
to be alive
because he called us
according
to his purpose;
each of us
is a part of God's
grand design
and what an honor
and privileged
we are born!
Pray for us,
dear Mother Mary,
to be open to God,
to say yes
and act on his call
to us just like you
to fulfill his purpose;
pray for us,
dear Mother to have
that courage like you
to believe no matter what,
even amid the lack of
any understanding
of the implications of God's
plans for us;
pray for us,
dearest Mother
to be close to Jesus
especially at the Cross
just like you.
Thank you,
Blessed Mother Mary
in saying yes to God
to be the Mother of his Son,
to be the first among us
in being conformed
to the image of Jesus Christ,
from his birth to his death
and on to his resurrection
that you now enjoy
his promised glory
in heaven.
Amen.
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Convent, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Twenty-Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 07 September 2023
Colossians 1:9-14 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 5:1-11
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Convent, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.
God our loving Father,
I have been praying
for many things from you
for myself and friends
but today, I imitate
the prayers of St. Paul
for the Colossians:
…that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord…
Colossians 1:9-10
This is what we should first
pray for daily,
to be filled with knowledge
of your will, O God:
we do not have to be all-knowing
like you but be open
to discern your will,
to follow and do
what you ask us
without doubts
or apprehensions like
when Simon Peter
obeyed Jesus Christ's
order to cast their nets into
the deep despite their not
catching anything at all
the previous night;
forgive us, Father,
for many times we
feel and so believe
that we know so much,
the we know better
that anyone, including
you.
Fill us with knowledge
of your will, O God,
so we may have the
spiritual wisdom and
understanding to see our
sinfulness before you,
just like Simon Peter
after that miraculous catch
of fish when he fell at the
knees of Jesus, saying,
"Depart from me, O Lord,
for I am a sinful man"
(Lk.5:8).
Fill us with knowledge
of your will, O God,
so we may seek
meaning and fulfillment,
not just material things
and pleasures we can totally
abandon to follow Jesus
catching men and women
for him "to be delivered
from the power of darkness"
to have redemption.
Amen.
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Convent, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 27 August 2023
Isaiah 22:19-23 ><]]]]'> Romans 11:33-36 ><]]]]'> Matthew 16:13-20
Photo by author, Camp John Hay, Baguio City, 12 July 2023.
Nothing remains permanent in this world except change. And God who alone forever remains.
Though times change with new and unexpected situations that raise questions never thought of before, we are constantly challenged to make God present in Jesus Christ with our lives of witnessing as his disciples in every age.
That is why Jesus has been teaching us these past weeks of having faith in him alone, of nurturing that relationship with him especially in this time when many are deleting God not only from their lives but even in their history as a nation.
But, despite these human attempts since Adam and Eve to turn away from God, despite the many developments and advancements we have had, we humans still long for God in the end, eventually ending up searching for what is divine and holy, totally different and permanent who gives meaning to us and our existence.
Jesus shows us this Sunday the surest way of keeping our faith alive in these troubled times, in becoming his presence in the ever-changing world with its many shifting trends and paradigms.
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.”
Matthew 16:13-17
Photo by author, Caesarea in northern Israel near Tyre and Sidon in Syria, May 2019.
Jesus continues his journey into pagan territories, from Tyre and Sidon last week to Caesarea Philippi today. Of course, his journeys were not really geographical in nature but spiritual; nonetheless, Jesus this Sunday is teaching us something very important about discipleship which is to be in the world but never to be of the world.
Let us reflect on the two crucial methods used by Jesus.
First, he made a survey of the situation, of assessing and getting a clearer picture of what is happening at the ground level. I find this very “incarnational” in nature. It speaks so well of his very own kenosis, of becoming human like us in everything except sin. Jesus is so in touch with realities, so grounded with the people when he asked the Twelve, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Convent, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.
Jesus dared to ask to know the truth, unafraid of what people might be saying about him. So unlike of us who are afraid to hear and learn the truth about us especially if that could be painful. Until now, Jesus continues to be in the world, grounded and rooted in the realities of our lives, journeying with us without us being aware of him. The tragedy of our time is how so many of us believe and take social media and the internet as the reality, failing to distinguish reality from virtual-reality!
Look at how so many people live their lives these days as a telenovela, a mere show so that when reality bites, they collapse and cave in. Many are so far from life’s realities and thus become out-of-touch with themselves, with others, and the world. And that includes us in the Church that people find us irrelevant because we are out of sync with them in many aspects of life.
And that was the result of the Lord’s survey! People got it all wrong who he is because they got mixed signals from witnesses and his disciples themselves, including us in our own time! When we lack that deep and personal relationship with Jesus, the Christ we proclaim becomes far from the truth, a big lie from who he really is. These are grace-filled moments from God for us to open anew to him and most of all, to be able for us to level up in our existence.
Here we have Simon Peter as our example and model. See how he had greatly changed in God’s grace, from the proud and doubting fisherman last Sunday to a highly inspired disciple today, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.”
This is the high-point of our gospel this Sunday, of being in the world and not of the world. See at how Jesus categorically declared to the Twelve not only the precision and truth of Peter’s answer to the Lord’s question of who do you say that I am; more important here is the fact that such knowledge and wisdom can only come from God as a revelation which St. Paul expressed so lovely in our second reading, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! For from him and through him and for him are all things” (Rom. 11:33, 36).
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Convent, Baguio City, 23 August 2023.
The late Casey Kasem, host of the American Top 40 radio show used to sign off saying, “Keep reaching for the stars but keep your feet on the ground.”
What a beautiful reminder that for us to level up in our existence, we have to be grounded with God and reality, of being aware of the dirt and chaos in this world yet, we continue to strive to become better persons, to rise to the top as man as man in the image and likeness of God.
Here lies one of our problems in the Church these past years in our efforts to be “closer” with the flock when we simplified everything including our Masses that have become like variety shows with all the clapping and even dancing. Homilies have become stand-up comedies or rehash of news analyses or review of movies and mini-series. Focus has shifted on the pastor, forgetting Jesus Christ especially in the use of modern means of communications.
As a result, people were confused who is Jesus Christ because as we have removed the sense of sacred and holy in our celebrations and practices, came followed our lack of credibility as witnesses of the Lord with all kinds of clerical abuses that continue to plague us especially after Vatican II. Everything had become ordinary and worldly, or, of the world. All flesh and blood without the Father.
The first reading reminds us that God is the invisible hand always working for our own good, appointing credible and good people to lead us closer to him despite some despots and evil men and women who have plunged the world into chaos and darkness. Until now we can attest how in life we have seen and experienced more good people than bad ones.
Photo by author, Mirador Jesuit Villa, Baguio City, 24 August 2023.
Tomorrow, August 28, we celebrate the feast of the great St. Augustine who wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (Confessiones). There comes a time in our lives when after we have had everything, after all our searching and discoveries, after all our successes and failures in life, there is always that moment when we simply can’t get enough without God. There is always that emptiness within that only God can fill. The more we are rooted in this world, the more we realize we are not of the world too. That there are far more greater and nobler things in life we have to aspire for and become even while in this limited world marred by evil and sin.
The most truthful truths in life are learned while being on the ground, in the world where we are directed to level up in our views and existence; that is when we learn to detach ourselves from worldly things and start following Jesus, witnessing in his being the Christ, especially on the Cross. This we practice every Sunday by celebrating the Mass with our fellow disciples and cojourneyers in Christ to heaven. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of the Queenship of Mary, 22 August 2023
Isaiah 9:1-6 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Luke 1:26-30
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Spirituality Center, Baguio City, 22 August 2023.
YES. Perhaps the most sweetest word we all wish to hear but also the most difficult word for us to say. We want others always saying “yes” to our requests and questions but we are so afraid, so hesitant telling it to others. Very often, we hide our “yes” in cloudy expressions like maybe, will try, or simply not say it all. Especially with God.
How funny that every vocation story of any priest and religious started with that simple “yes” – a “yes, Lord”! Or, “opo, Panginoon, susunod ako”!
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Luke 1:38
How amazing that such a very simple word of three letters – yes – could be so powerful enough to change one’s life. Even history. And how could such a very short word with just one syllable be so difficult to say!
With every yes in life we hear, it becomes so sweet because we are affirmed. We feel valuable and precious when people say “yes” to us. However, we are very cautious in saying “yes” to others, especially to God and in the name or presence of God because when we say that “yes”, it becomes our very life.
Every “yes” becomes a commitment, a vow, a promise to keep. Not only for us priests and religious but everybody, especially husband and wife saying yes on their wedding day; doctors, lawyers and other professionals saying yes to uphold life, justice and freedom; children saying yes to obey their parents and teachers; everybody has to say a yes in different ways every day everywhere in many occasions and situations. Many times it looks so simple, sometimes it could mean life and death.
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Spirituality Center, Baguio City, 22 August 2023.
Every yes is precious and sweet because it is the beginning of love. That is why we need to affirm and stand with that yes day in, day out in our lives.
Like Mary, her “yes” to God did not happen just once but everyday in her life, reaching its highest point at the Cross when her Son Jesus Christ died. She must have had the most painful yet bittersweet yes too when she held Christ’s lifeless Body immortalized in Michaelangelo’s La Pieta.
But it was Mary’s yes that brought us Christmas and Easter, leading to Pentecost in the birth of our Church, and led her to heaven. That is why, we celebrate her Queenship today, a week after her Assumption.
O most Blessed Virgin Mary,
our Mother and Queen,
help us to say yes like you to God,
not once but every day in our lives;
pray for us to remain faithful in our yes
to him through our loved ones,
through his people and flock;
pray for us to keep our yes to God
simple like yours, trusting him always
even if our yes would lead us to the Cross
so that our yes would bring us also
to his presence in heaven.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sunday in the Nineteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 13 August 2023
1 Kings 19:9, 11-13 ><}}}}*> Romans 9:1-5 ><}}}}*> Matthew 14:22-33
Our gospel this Sunday speaks of winds and storms, something we have experienced recently that brought so much rains and caused widespread floods even in Metro Manila.
Storms and typhoons are categorized by the winds they pack that induce the heavy rains which result in floods. At the center of every storm and typhoon is called the “eye” which is its most calm part without winds at all, even with clear skies; however, all the hazards and dangers of a storm come from the wall of that eye of the storm that is why we have the expression “lull in the storm” – that moment of calmness before suddenly everything breaks loose as the storm passes or pummels an area.
Our first reading and gospel today imply something about this “eye of the storm” where God is found, where Jesus comes. Both readings tell us that it is not really in the raging storm where we find God but right in that eye of the storm, the peace and stillness of our heart within.
Photo by author, Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.
In the first reading, God told Elijah to wait for him at the entrance of the cave as he fled from soldiers of Queen Jezebel out to kill him. First came a strong wind, followed by an earthquake, then, fire, but God was nowhere.
After these shattering events, Elijah found God in a “tiny whispering sound” that followed. What a beautiful imagery of the prophet deep in prayers! It was in his serenity, in his complete trust in the Lord – in the eye of a storm – that he found God and had to cover his face with a cloak as a sign of respect. Imagine the stormy condition of Elijah at that time, of being hunted.
Here we find again the importance of prayer life, the eye of the storm, our communion with God in Jesus Christ. It is in prayer where God first comes and reveals himself to us. More than the recitation of traditional prayers, prayer is being one with God, of wrestling with him in our inner selves that is always in turmoil, always with a storm that makes us choose whether to stay or to leave, to wait for God or go ahead with what we believe and think. Prayer is wrestling with God like Jacob because deep within us is always a storm and typhoon going on, with an eye as its center where God is, where Jesus walks on water to save us when like his apostles we are in the middle of a storm at the darkest hour of the night.
Photo by author, sunrise at the Lake of Galilee, Israel, May 2017.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “come.” Peter got out the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”
Matthew 14:26-33
These two instances of Elijah in the cave and Jesus walking on water show us that God is always present in our lives. Whatever is happening around us does not determine God’s presence.
What matters most is that we pay attention to him alone in Jesus, our Emmanuel or God-is-with-us. Every time we cry out “where is God?”, it is us who have left him, it is us who have doubted like Peter who even in the middle of a storm was thinking more of himself than Jesus. See how doubtful was Peter that even after Jesus had identified himself by saying “It is I” which is actually “I AM” as God had called himself to Moses and the Israelites, he dared to say “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on water.” How funny that when Jesus gave in to his request, Peter sank because he still doubted the Lord. Just like us when we would dare God but when he plays our games, we chicken out, still unbelieving, still unconvinced.
Is it really God whom we are seeking especially in moments of storms in life?
Photo by author, San Juan, La Union, 24 July 2023.
If all we seek is fame, comfort and pleasure even amid the storms in life, paying attention only to our selves, we would surely miss the Lord who is always beside us. People, things, events can distract us and lead us astray at critical moments in life.
Hence, the need for us to remain focused in Jesus by looking right into the very “eye of our storm”, into what is disrupting us, seeking Christ like the psalmist in our responsorial psalm today who begged, “Lord let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.”
In this age with so many storms of distractions outside us in a world on a 24/7 mode with almost everyone in his/her own world listening/watching to their playlists and podcasts with eyes stuck on their gadgets or stuck in their ears, do we make time to find our “eye of storm”, our center of peace and calmness where God is?
See how St. Paul in the second reading was tormented or tortured in himself because of his fellow Jews’ refusal to accept the good news that Jesus is their awaited Christ. It was a perfect storm within him that saddened him but never bothered him because he was focused with God and his mission. He had no qualms in bearing many sufferings and facing death because amid all the storms in his life, he had found Jesus. This focus on God is the reason why Jesus remained behind to pray that night when he told the Twelve to go ahead to the other side of the lake. This is the first time Matthew tells us Jesus was praying. Two things I wish to share with you regarding prayer life as the eye of our storms in life.
First, the most difficult prayer is always the most meritorious. Prayer is not about feelings nor of feeling good and light but in giving one’s self to God wholly that even if nothing seems to happen, we remain in God, with God. Desire only God in prayer, asking him for courage to find and follow Jesus. Like the apostles in the boat, true prayer happens when we feel abandoned and isolated, so far from God. It is in our many trials in life when we pray that we learn how strong and faithful are we in God’s grace!
Second, there are no distractions in prayer. I have realized that most often, the distractions we consider during prayer periods may actually be from God, not from the devil as we usually believed. Recall how Jesus forced the 12 to go ahead to the other side of the lake perhaps to test them and face their inner distractions and storms. The people, things, and events that distract us in our prayers are from God as reminders of the issues we have to face and resolve in life so we may see him clearly.
Why do you see your enemies in your prayers? Maybe it is time to forgive them.
Why all these malicious thoughts happening during prayers? Maybe it is about time you stop watching porn and start respecting women as persons.
Why do our embarrassing moments keep on appearing in prayers? Maybe God wants us to forgive ourselves and move on with life.
They are not distractions but blessings that if we open ourselves to confront our inner storms, no strong wind from outside can topple us because we have Jesus inside us. Today is a Sunday. Go celebrate Mass in your parish. Forget all the noise and distractions you experience, be focused only on God. Find your eye of the storm in yourself and there you shall find God, loving you, comforting you, blessing you! Amen. Have a blessed week ahead.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-31 ng Hulyo 2023
Larawan kuha ng may akda sa Anvaya Cove, Bataan, 19 Mayo 2023.
*Ito ay tula na aking nakatha
dahil sa pagkamangha
sa mga katagang "Halika nga"
ng awiting "Habang Buhay"
ni Zack Tabudlo.
Halika nga!
Madalas sinasambit
upang tayo ay lumapit
upang makita at marinig
ng higit
tumatawag
o sumisitsit;
malimit
kapag nabanggit
hatid ay tuwa at galak
sa nakakarinig
lalo na kung
may kasabay na kaway
ng kamay at
pagngiti
ng labi!
Halika nga!
Kay sarap balikan
itong pagtawag
noon sa amin
ng mga magulang
na puno ng lambing
at pagmamahal;
kapag ito'y tutugunin
tiyak ikaw ay pupupugin
ng halik sa pisngi
tila sinasabing
ika'y nakaaaliw
kaya sana ay inyong
dinggin
kanilang pangangaral
at habilin.
Halika nga!
Iyan din ang
tawag sa atin
ng Diyos nating butihin
ngunit hindi natin
pinapansin.
Halika nga!
ang paanyaya
ng Diyos sa atin
upang ating pasanin
ay Kanyang pagaanin,
sa Kanya tayo pagpapahingahin.
Halika nga!
Tanging hiling
ng Diyos sa atin
huwag nang tumingin
sa iba, Siya lang
ang mahalin, sambahin
at sundin; huwag mahumaling
sa magaan at madaling
pamamaraan ng mundo
na siyang tukso at pangloloko
nitong diyablo
na sinungaling
at tuso!
Larawan kuha ng may akda sa Anvaya Cove, Bataan, 19 Mayo 2023.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 30 July 2023
Photo by author in San Juan, La Union, 26 July 2023.
Finally we’re back! Sorry for being silent with our Sunday music blog relating secular songs with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
For our return engagement since our last blog in June 11, 2023 with Stephen Bishop’s Parked Cars (https://lordmychef.com/2023/06/11/parked-cars-by-stephen-bishop/), we feature this Sunday one of our favorite local talents, Mr. Zack Tabudlo with his 2021 hit Habang Buhay from his album called Episode.
We can’t recall where and when we first heard this swinging OPM love song that sounds like from our era of VST & Co. Fact is, Tabudlo has other previous hits before Habang Buhay which struck us with two important things we find so close to our Sunday gospel.
First is its melodic upbeat tune teeming with profundity despite its being so light and refreshing to listening (and dancing). Though we find traces of influence from the late 1970 to1980’s disco era in Tabudlo’s music, Habang Buhay is so sincere with its Gen Z identity that is authentically so Pinoy especially with its shouts of Halika nga that is twice repeated.
Aking sinta, ano ba'ng mayro'n sa iyo?
'Pag nakikita ka na, bumabagal ang mundo
'Pag ngumingiti ka, para bang may iba
'Pag tumitingin sa 'kin, mapupungay mong mga mata
Wala akong takas sa nakakalunod mong ganda, ha
Halika nga (ha, ha, ha)
That shout of Halika nga is so typically Pinoy, so warm and genteel like Jesus Christ calling us to be open to his parables, to find God hidden in the most simplest things of ordinary life. Halika nga evokes those tender, loving calls of our Lola during summer vacation calling us to change clothes soaked in dirt and perspiration with a glass of Julep or Sunny Orange juice during those endless afternoons of fun and games.
Halika nga sometimes is an expression of playfulness masking as deeply serious. It is something we rarely hear these days because nobody seems to offer us with comfort and company, with love and concern anymore.
In Habang Buhay, Tabudlo is overjoyed, playfully or teasingly calling his beloved halika nga for them to bask and savor this wonderful love they have found. If we could just hear Jesus calling us too, telling us halika nga to stay with him to discover God as the only worthwhile love and treasure we could ever have in this life.
And where do we find that kind of love? In Christ’s dying for us on the Cross which Tabuldo had thought of as the true expression of his love that is faithful until the end.
Andito 'ko hanggang sa 'ting pagtanda
Mamahalin kita basta't 'pag nahulog
Nakahawak ako, 'wag ka lang bibitaw
Habang-buhay na ako'y iyo
Wala nang ibang nakagawa sa 'kin nang ganito
Kundi ikaw, nag-iisang diyosa ng buhay ko
'Wag ka nang matakot, 'wag kang mangamba
Andito ako 'pag ika'y mag-isa
Wala akong takas sa nakakalunod mong ganda, ha
Halika nga (ha, ha, ha)
This is the second thing that struck us in Habang Buhay, an amazing song that speaks of love that is pure and true, and most of all, willing to suffer and sacrifice. Like in the gospel today of the parables of the treasure buried in the field that prompted the farmer to sell all his possessions to acquire that property and of the fine pearl found by a merchant who also sold everything he had just to have it. The same is true with love, and with God: what are we willing to let go to have the love of our life?
It’s a rarity in this fast-paced world to hear from young people speaking about love in its deeper sense like the giving of self for a beloved, giving us deep sighs of relief that we’re leaving this world in good hands. Habang Buhay assures us not only of a love that is forever but invites us too to trust the next generation by witnessing to them Christ’s love found on the Cross. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 27 July 2023
Exodus 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20 <*{{{{><< + >><}}}}*> Matthew 13:10-17
Photo by author, Mt. Sinai in Egypt, May 2019.
You said it perfectly well,
Lord Jesus Christ,
our very own parable
of life
and of time:
"because they look but do not see
and hear but do not listen or understand"
(Matthew 13:13).
Why, O Lord,
despite the modern communications
meant to bring us closer,
the more we have actually
grown apart from each other?
Why, O Lord,
despite the great speed
of our communications,
the more we cannot be reached,
or slower we have become
in reaching out,
in coming to everyone
especially those in need?
Why, O Lord,
despite the clarity of signals
of communications, the more things
and persons are blurred,
including our relationships?
When you spoke
to your people in the Old Testament
with peals of thunder and lightning,
they were scared to death;
when your Son Jesus came
and lived among them,
speaking their language,
they found him too ordinary,
even a nobody;
today, you continue to speak
to us in nature and in person,
through our many experiences,
through the people we meet,
through the sacraments,
through many means and occasions
even right in our hearts
but still,
we neither see,
nor hear nor listen.
What a parable we live!
Open our hearts, O Lord,
so we may believe,
hear and listen,
allow ourselves to be surprised
and amazed by you with the
most simple things to make us
realize you are
true and so real
right within us.
Amen.
lordmychef.com 