EDSA ’86, our Lenten experience

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 25 February 2026

Today we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution. For four days and four nights, from February 22-25, 1986, what was supposed to be impossible became a reality – a miracle for many of us when we finally deposed Marcos after 20 years of dictatorship through a peaceful, bloodless coup and transition of power into democracy.

Four decades since then, EDSA 1986 continues to reveal so many valuable lessons that perhaps many of us have forgotten, even disregarded as we were overtaken by its euphoria that eventually waned these last ten years especially in the 2016 election of the most decadent president of the republic only to be capped by the 2022 elections that brought back into Malacanang the deposed dictator’s son and namesake.

One key lesson many of us have forgotten and still disregard these days is the very nature of EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986: it was spiritual in nature, it was God intervening in our history in modern time. Since then, the late Cardinal Sin who was truly a prophet among us in those dark years of the dictatorship has been insisting on this truth: it was the work of God. And it shall continue to be the work of God who continues to call us to join in this journey of EDSA ’86. That is why I find its 40th anniversary slogan so perfect, “Tayo ang EDSA” – we the people of God He calls to be transformed first.

*Photo by author, National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City, 25 February 2026.*

I must confess that it is only now on its 40th year that I realized deeply the spiritual nature of EDSA ’86. February 25 always happens within the season of Lent, the 40 day journey in preparation for Easter.

More than that journey in time of 40 days, Lent is actually an internal journey within ourselves, into our hearts to be purified from its sins and evil inclinations to be one with God again. Today’s psalm said it so well, “A clean heart create for me, O God, and steadfast spirit renew within me” (Ps. 51:12).

The number “40” in the Bible is very significant, a perfect number closely linked with God and his works like the great flood of Noah that washed and cleansed earth for 40 days and 40 nights; the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years before entering the Promised Land; and every prophet fasting and praying for 40 days in the wilderness including our Lord Jesus Christ as we have heard in last Sunday’s gospel.

And that is EDSA@40 – an invitation to return to its very roots, God in Jesus Christ who delivered us led by his own Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

EDSA’86 is our daily Lenten journey of purification and cleansing as individuals and as a nation before we can enter into our “Promised Land” of a prosperous Philippines where justice and the rule of law prevail, where people have more equal opportunities in various aspects of life without the need to work abroad as servants while leaving their loved ones behind. Of course, heaven is the ultimate Promised Land but it is what the Vatican II had always hoped that we could help build a more just and humane society, especially in our country that is overwhelmingly Christian and Catholic in this world.

We ushered in the season of Lent last February 18 with Ash Wednesday and this early in our lenten journey just before our EDSA celebration is God reminding us of his loving presence among us, of his gift in EDSA: the pre-trial confirmation of charges against Duterte’s crimes against humanity started two days ago, exactly within the crucial dates of EDSA People Power. Another dictator, another time. Same benevolence of God to us his people.

Yes, a Marcos had gone back as President and even if I did not vote for him, we are impressed with his character and statesmanship especially with his recent trip to Naga City to meet with his presidential opponent, Mayor Leni Robredo. See how at the many occasions BBM never went down to the level of his detractors even by his sister, in the ways he had handled the many crises that have come his way. He was the one who dared to shake hard the legislative and executive branches about the rampant and shameless flood control scam.

These may be too small to recognize in the face of our gargantuan problems as a nation but these are nuggets of gold worth recognizing, reminding us of God working among us, in people we doubt and even take for granted.

Photo by Mr. Lorenzo Atienza, detail of the left panel of the new stained glass of the National Shrine of Fatima in Valenzuela City depicting the role of the National Pilgrim Image of Fatima in the EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986.

EDSA ’86 is still ongoing, unfolding. Forty years of wandering in the wilderness of political and national ups and downs have clearly been signs from God to remember Him, to return to Him but we have ignored.

I dare say that EDSA waned because we have forgotten God. And every time we forget God, it follows that we also forget others. That is why Duterte rose to power with his supporters relishing his jokes and speeches that smack human dignity especially of women. Even God he had cursed and the Pope, the Vicar of Christ. And the tragedy was how his supporters rejoiced in his insults and harsh words against God and people.

Sad to say too, many of us in the Church were intoxicated with the euphoria of EDSA ’86. Many priests and bishops have since then been identified closely even as enablers of the rich and powerful people of the country primarily the politicians who mostly exploited our people. How we sorely missed Cardinal Sin these last ten years who never turned his back from every attack in the dignity and value of human life and of the family.

EDSA@40 is a call to return to the journey in the wilderness, a call to sacrifice anew, to pray and get closer to God who is the true Spirit of EDSA. And here lies also the most beautiful aspect of EDSA ’86: the presence of the Blessed Virgin Mary as our guide and companion in the wilderness.

Unlike the Israelites who were led by the Ark of the Covenant that contained the two tablets of stones where God inscribed the Ten Commandments, in EDSA 1986 we have the “new Ark of the Covenant” as we pray in the Litany of the Rosary – Mary the Blessed Virgin.

Mary is the “Ark of the Covenant” because she carried in her womb our Savior Jesus Christ. More than the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament, Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant because she brought forth into the world the Son of God Jesus Christ.

That was exactly what Mary did at EDSA’86 and continues up to now!

*Photo by Mr. Lorenzo Atienza, 25 February 2025.*

Consider again the work of the hand of God in our history, in EDSA 1986: In 1967, St. Pope Paul VI blessed 50 statues of Our lady of Fatima for distribution around the world. For strange reasons, the one destined for the Philippines ended up in a parish in New Jersey that was kept in one of its rooms until 1984 when it was finally given to Cardinal Sin who brought it into the country to be crowned as the National Pilgrim Image of Fatima (NPI) during the launching of the National Marian Year on December 8, 1984. From then on, the image was brought to various cities in the country for the Marian Year and eventually for the spread of devotion to Our Lady of Fatima.

When Cardinal Sin called on the people to fill EDSA in the evening of February 22, 1986 to protect Enrile and Ramos from the loyalist forces of Marcos out to neutralize them, the very same image was brought to Camp Crame and the rest was history.

What a beautiful image of the Filipino people so loved by God led by the Mother of His Son, the new Ark of the Covenant in those four days of People Power Revolution. Tanks and guns were silenced, soldiers’ hearts melted in love and compassion for the people armed only with flowers and Rosary beads.

A lot of things have happened these past 40 years since EDSA People Power Revolution. For those feeling low, disheartened, disillusioned… come to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima and experience up close and personal the very image we have in EDSA ’86 who led us to victory. She is always here, always in our hearts, leading us closer to Jesus Christ her Son and our Lord especially when this journey in the wilderness of our nation’s history becomes so tiring and exhausting.

More miracles can still happen when we believe and live the Spirit of EDSA ’86 who is God himself in Jesus Christ. With His Mother and our Mother too! Viva La Virgen de Fatima! Long live EDSA People Power Revolution!

The ever-relevant sign of Fatima

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 13 October 2025
Monday, 108th Anniversary of Last Apparition at Fatima, Portugal
Romans 1:1-7   ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'>   Luke 11:29-32

We celebrate today the 108th anniversary of the final apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal that made it the most relevant proof in modern times of the existence of God and of his immense love for mankind through his Son Jesus Christ.

It was on this date, October 13, 1917 when the “Miracle of the Sun” happened at Fatima as the Virgin Mary appeared for the last time to Lucia Santos and her two younger cousins now Saints Francisco and his sister Jacinta Marto along with an estimated crowd of 70,000 made up of believers and unbelievers as well as skeptics and hecklers. They all witnessed the phenomenon that many verified with sworn accounts of how the Sun “danced” in the sky and then careened to Earth while emitting radiant colors that lasted for about ten minutes.

It was the sixth and last apparition of the Blessed Mother to the three children that began on May 13, 1917 and since then, devotion to Our Lady of Fatima grew which also boosted the praying of the Holy Rosary after the Blessed Virgin Mary introduced herself as the Lady of the Rosary. It was on that last apparition when the Blessed Mother told the children how World War I would soon end with a warning that “People must amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins. They must not offend our Lord any more, for He is already too much offended!”

Though the Fatima feast is officially set on May 13, many churches and devotees around the world still celebrate the October 13 apparition not only because of the dancing sun miracle but most of all of the ever-timely and relevant calls of the Blessed Mother for penance and conversion that echo the teachings of her Son Jesus Christ in today’s gospel:

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah… At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here” (Luke 11:29, 32).

*Procession of the National Pilgrim Image of Fatima at her National Shrine in Valenzuela, 13 May 2025. Photo credit to the owner.*

With the recent calamities and corruption scandals that have been rocking our nation these past four months, the Fatima apparition of October 13, 1917 remains significant especially for us in the Philippines today for three reasons.

First, we have to see the last apparition of October 13, 1917 not as the final one but the start or beginning of the unfolding of more revelations and realizations for us. In fact, Sr. Lucia continued to received private visions while in the convent as a nun in 1925 through the 1930’s. During her last interview in 1957 while already a cloistered Carmelite nun, Sr. Lucia revealed how during that last apparition to them (her two cousins have died in 1919 and 1920 during the flu pandemic), the Blessed Virgin Mary looked very sad and never smiled to indicate the gravity and seriousness of her messages to them.

The Blessed Mother must be looking more sad than ever with us Filipinos since July this year with the wholesale corruption by DPWH officials in connivance with some former and current lawmakers that have caused so many people to suffer with perennial flood. Most especially because those involved in the worst corruption we have so far are Catholics and Christians! Imagine the pain of the Blessed Mother who is surely crying, saying, “mahiya naman kayo!”

One problem with the common perception of many people even up to now with the last apparition of Fatima is to equate it with the end of the world, of worldwide catastrophe that have instilled more of fear and even controversies that included doubts of the Vatican allegedly not fully revealing the Third Secret despite assurances from the visionary herself, Sr. Lucia who said before her death in 2005 that all Fatima Secrets have been fully revealed.

If we take the Fatima apparitions as a whole, we find in it more of messages of hope and joy for us in the Philippines and the world. The Blessed Mother appeared in Fatima not to scare us but to inspire us to turn away from sins, to be converted and be holy so that the world may truly find peace in Jesus her Son.

The last things do not necessarily mean destruction like when we say in Filipino it is the end or “wakas”, it usually means “wasak” or destruction; normally, when there is wakas and wasak, there is “bago” or new being built or established to replace the old one.

Therefore, the last apparition at Fatima in 1917 is also the signal of new beginnings, new undertaking, new opportunities, new hope in Jesus Christ who is the ultimate sign of God’s loving presence among us amid the trials and difficulties like these calamities and corruption in the country. It is not being simplistic but we just have to trust Jesus and his Mother Mary that we be sorry for our sins, stop doing what is sinful and evil, be converted and lead holy lives. Repentance leads to true wisdom because it is only in doing what is right when things would be right in order.

At the last apparition in Fatima 108 years ago, it is very interesting how two elements prevailed on that day: rains and the sun. And these are our second and third points of reflection on the sign of Fatima.

According to official accounts, rains have soaked wet the people and the whole of Cova da Iria in Fatima, Portugal for two days, October 12-13, 1917 before the Blessed Mother’s final apparition. How wonderful is the plentiful sign of rains, of water that signify the call for inner cleansing and purification of our hearts and person.

And when the sun “danced” later, the people were astonished how they and their clothes where dried along with the whole surroundings as if it had not rained the previous day and night after witnessing the spectacular display of colors and light!

May we see more of the light of Jesus in our lives so we may be cleansed and ready to work for another day of conversion and holiness just like St. Paul in the first reading today who reminds us to be witnesses of Christ:

… but established as Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Bentiles, among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ (Romans 1:4-6).

As witnesses of Christ and pilgrims of hope, we are invited today more than ever in the light of the Blessed Mother’s last apparition at Fatima in 1917 to usher in new hopes for us to become better persons who build stronger families and more vibrant church communities.

At Fatima 108 years ago today, we are invited by the Blessed Mother to be focused more in revealing God’s will as experienced and prayed in the the Sacred Scriptures than taking sides in politics and going down to the worldly debates on abortion and divorce as well as gender issues beyond male and female.

How true indeed are the words of Jesus that “this generation is an evil generation seeking so many signs” to stretch its concepts of justice and equality, of rights and freedom without recognizing the need for humility and acceptance, responsibility and maturity as exemplified by the three children at Fatima. Let us make today the beginning of our conversion and transformation in Christ Jesus with the help of the Blessed Mother. Amen. Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for us. Fr. Nicanor F. lalog II, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City (lordmychef@gmail.com)

*From cbcpnews.net, 13 May 2022, at the Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City.*

Mabubura ba ang EDSA 1986?

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-27 ng Pebrero 2025

*Larawan kuha ni G. Lorenzo Atienza, detalye ng dulong kaliwa na bahagi ng stained glass sa National Shrine ng Fatima, Valenzuela City na nagsasaad ng EDSA People Power, 25 Pebrero 2025*.

Hinding hindi mabubura ninuman ang makasaysayang People Power Revolution ng Pebrero 1986. Ito ay kung hindi natin malilimutan at higit sa lahat kung ating lilinangin mga aral ng kauna-unahang mapayapang pag-aaklas sa buong mundo.

Katulad ng kalsadang EDSA na sagisag ngayon ng nabubulok nating bayan, malaki pa rin ang pag-asa na maaayos at mapatatatag ang diwa ng People Power 1986.

Kaya sa diwa nito, tama lamang at ipinag-adya na rin siguro ng Diyos na mayroong pasok ang mga tanggapan at paaralan tuwing Pebrero 25 mula noong isang taon sa ilalim ng Administrasyong BBM.

Bagaman ako ay nalungkot na hindi ito ginawang piyesta upisyal ng Pangulo, higit kong naunawaan kahapon ang magandang pagkakataon ibinigay pa nga ni BBM sa atin para sa EDSA 1986.

Nasobrahan tayo ng mga pagdiriwang noong sariwa pa ang EDSA 1986 hanggang sa naging palasak na lamang ito dahil sa pangingibabaw ng mga kasiyahan at mga kaartehan ng mga sumunod na taon. Sa isang banda, ang sarap ng EDSA Anniversary noong nakaupo pa si Tita Cory – yugyugan magdamag doon sa kanto ng EDSA at Ortigas.

At pagkatapos, lawa na. Logtu ng konti, sokpadoodle na sa otra kinabukasan.

Ano nangyari? Wala.

At ganun na lang ang EDSA Anniversaries nang mga sumunod na taon na mismo tayong mga beterano ay napagod na rin sa kawalan ng saysay ng mga programa at higit sa lahat, ng pagtataksil ng maraming pinuno noon na ipinaglaban, ipinagtanggol natin noon na iyon pala ay katulad lang din ng mga pinatalsik noong 1986.

Larawan kuha ni Pete Reyes kina Sr. Porfiria “Pingping” Ocariza (+) at Sr. Teresita Burias nananalangin upang pigilan mga kawal sasalakay sana noon sa mga rebelde sa Kampo Crame noong People Power 1986.

Pebrero 22 ng gabi ay nasa Aristocrat Restaurant kami sa kanto ng Quezon Ave. at EDSA para sa final deliberation ng mga hurado sa kauna-unahang USTetika Literary Contest ng Varsitarian ng UST.

Proyekto ng co-staffer namin at kaibigan na si G. Vim Nadera ang USTetika na mula sa salitang “aesthetic”. Bantog na guro at makata ngayon si Vim. Tuwang-tuwa ako noon na sinama niya ako hindi lamang para kumain at gumimik pagkatapos kungdi makadaupang-palad mga bigating pangalan sa panitikan tulad ng mga makata na sina Cirilo Bautista, Bienvenido Lumbrera, Alfredo Navarro Salanga na tunay ngang heavyweight, ang propesora naming si Ophelia Dimalanta na pangunahing babaeng-makata sa wikang Ingles at marami pang iba.

Nang malapit nang matapos ang pulong, binulungan kami ni Gng. Jesselyn Dela Cruz na umuwi na raw kami kaagad sabi ni Sir Felix Bautista na aming Publications Director sa Varsitarian at tagapagsalita noon ni Cardinal Sin. Malabo ang mga kuwento maliban sa kumalas na raw noon sina Enrile at Ramos kay Marcos. Yun lang. Baka raw magkagulo.

Siyempre, mga kabataang typical, wala kaming balak sumunod sa utos sa amin hanggang sa magulat kami nang aming baybayin ang Timog at Morato naghahanap ng club na sarado halos lahat habang dagsa mga sasakyan sa mga gasolinahan.

Hindi kami nabagabag kasi full tank ang kotse ng tatay ko noon kaya uminom pa rin kami nina Vim kina Dwight sa Sampaloc at saka umuwi. Kinabukasan pagkagising ko, araw ng Linggo, February 23, di ko malaman kung ako ay lasing sa mga balitang pinag-uusapan at napapakinggan sa radyo. Pagkaraan ng tanghalian, sumama kami ng kapatid ko si Meg na nooy second year college din sa UST sa mga kababaryo namin sakay ng isang trak ng bato papuntang EDSA para sumama sa People Power.

Dumating kami ni Meg at mga kasama sa EDSA bandang hapon. Parang sasabog sa tuwa aking dibdib na tila ako ay nanlalamig, naiiyak sa tuwa sa aking nakita: sarado EDSA-Cubao ilalim at puno ng mga tao hanggang sa abot-tanaw!

Ang saya-saya!

Walang bad trip noon! Peace man ang atmosphere. Dala namin ay mga pakwan para sa mga kawal. Doon kami pumuwesto sa gate ng Crame sa Santolan na Boni Serrano ngayon dahil kulang daw ang bantay doon.

Kinagabihan, dumating ang balita na baka raw kami salakayin ng mga tangke mula Malakanyang via Sta. Mesa direcho pa-Santolan. Tinipon kami ng mga law students ng UP at kinausap, binigyan ng numero sa telepono na maari naming tawagan kapag daw nagkadamputan.

Hala! Hinila ko sa tabi ko si Meg. Wag ka kako lalayo sa akin at naisip ko agad Daddy ko sa bahay. Mas takot ako sa kanyang galit kesa sa mga tangke ni Macoy!

*Larawan kuha ni G. Boy Cabrido, pagkakamayan ng mga kawal at mga madre at pari sa EDSA noong People Power Revolution ng 1986.*

Sa pagkaka-alala ko, walang natakot sa amin. Walang umatras habang pasa pasa kami ng bolpen at papel para nga sa mga numero na tatawagang mga abogado kapag kami nakulong.

Noon ko narinig biglang nagsalita at lumapit sa isang law student kapitbahay namin na suki ng mommy ko sa tindahan, si Mr. Tiongson.

Hindi ko matandaan pangalan niya pero kaibigan siya ng lola ko. Maginoong maginoo. Respetado sa aming barangay. Negosyante na gumagawa ng mga plastic art sa mga jeep na pampasahero noon. Palagi niya ako sinasama at ng mga anak niya sa pagbibisikleta sa mga looban ng Bocaue, Sta. Maria, at Marilao sa Bulacan noon.

Makisig at matipuno si Mr. Tiongson. Six footer siguro. Naka-salamin medyo kalbo ng konti pero balbas sarado. At malaki ang boses. Sabi ng lola ko, dati raw Huk na naging NPA si Mr. Tiongson pero tumiwalag na.

Sa gitna ng dilim ng gabi sa isang kalye sa Santolan, ito ang sinabi ni Mr. Tiongson sa mga taga-UP Law na tumayong mga namumuno sa amin sa kalyeng iyon: “ako na ang lulugar sa unahan. Laban namin ito na hindi na dapat umabot pa sa ganito kung kami ay nanindigan noon.”

Humanga ako sa mama lalo noon. Pero hindi ko naunawaan sinabi niya hanggang kahapon na lamang nang pumasok ako bilang chaplain dito sa Our Lady of Fatima University sa Valenzuela.

Larawan kuha ni G. Lorenzo Atienza, ang Canonically Crowned National Pilgrim Image of Fatima na tinanghal nina Ramos noon sa EDSA 1986 na nasa pangangalaga ngayon ng National Shrine of Fatima sa Valenzuela, 25 Pebrero 2025.

Bago ako magmisa sa aming kapilya kahapon habang nagdarasal, parang kislap ng liwanag na dumatal sa aking kamalayan mga sinabi ni Mr. Tiongson noong 1986 sa Santolan: hindi pa tapos ang laban ng EDSA 1986.

Laban natin ito. Kumupas man ito, bumaligtad at nagtaksil ang ilan, laban nating lahat ito na dapat ipagpatuloy, linangin at palalimin. Higit sa lahat, dalisayin sa panalangin dahil kulang ang EDSA 1986 kung wala sina Jesu-Kristo at kanyang Mahal na Ina, ang Birhen ng Fatima. Mula sa karanasan ni Mr. Tiongson na kapitbahay namin noon, hindi ko papayagan manghinayang ako sa huli na tinalikuran ko ang EDSA 1986 kaya balang araw ay malagay sa peligro mga susunod na saling-lahi.

Kahapon din ang unang guning-taon ng pagkaka-korona sa National Pilgrim Image ng Fatima na siyang imahen na tinanghal nina Ramos noong People Power sa EDSA ng 1986! Narito sa National Shrine of Fatima sa Valenzuela ang naturang imahen mula pa noong ika-17 ng Oktubre 1999, sa loob ng isang munting kapilya na maaring puntahan ng mga deboto at peregrino.

Tama lang mayroong pasok sa upisina at mga paaralan tuwing Pebrero 25 upang higit nating mapagnilayan muli ang diwa ng EDSA 1986, maisalaysay sa mga bata upang ipaunawa sa kanila ang kahalagahan at kahulugan ng tunay na kalayaan na batay sa pagtitiwala sa Diyos.

Hindi mabubura ang EDSA 1986 sa ating kasaysayan kung ipagpapatuloy natin ang kuwento at adhikain nito hanggang sa tayo ay magkaisa muli bilang sambayanan at mga alagad ni Kristo – kasama ni Maria, ang Birhen ng Fatima.

*Larawan kuha ni Ka Ruben, bagong stained glass ng National Shrine of Fatima sa Valenzuela, Oktubre 2024; makikita sa dulong bahagi sa kaliwa ilang tagpo sa EDSA 1986.*

Praying in time of storm

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Prayers in the storm and after the storm, 24-25 July 2024

*Photo by author, Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City, 24 July 2024.*

We did not sleep well Tuesday night, worried with the serious impact of heavy rains to our brothers and sisters living in shanties and low-lying areas. Electricity was cut off early yesterday as we received reports of widespread flooding in the Parish. Immediately, the Parish Priest with the Parish Pastoral Council gathered dry clothings, jackets, and blankets for the evacuees in a nearby school, sending some breakfast too. This was our prayer on that rainy Wednesday:

God our loving Father,
we thank you for the rains
we have long been waiting for
to fill our dams,
to water our fields and plants,
to cool our climate;
but because of our continued
disregard for your creation
and for one another,
these blessed rains have brought
many problems too
especially floods that
are getting worse every year;
forgive us for we never learn
to respect not only nature
but especially one another;
rich and poor alike failed
to take care of each other
thinking only of one's self.
May these rains wash away
our selfishness,
cleanse our conscience
to think more of others
and enable us to finally
take concrete steps
in changing our lifestyle
as Pope Francis had long
called for in Laudato Si
so that we may finally see
our interconnectedness in this
one home and planet we call
Earth.
Amen.

*Photo by author, the Fatima image we use for procession after Sunday Masses at the Shrine taking cover from the strong rains and winds yesterday.*

Rains heavily poured with a lot of thunders before noon yesterday; more parishioners sent help in kind and food for the 60 evacuees near the Shrine. This we composed for our noontime prayer during that thunderstorms:

God our Father,
thank you for the midday rest
on this stormy Wednesday;
many of us are bearing with
the discomfort of no electricity,
of not being able to move around,
of idly staying at home;
forgive us for the complaints
especially when we forget there are
more who are going through severe
tests and sufferings at this time:
dilapidated and leaky homes with
still more moving to evacuation
centers; many people have nothing
at all in their pockets for these rainy days;
help us reach out to our poor brothers
and sisters especially the children 
who haven’t have breakfast nor have rested
at all since last night!
Father, we pray for the daily wage earners
who could not work today 
due to bad weather; 
we pray also for those living alone
as well as those who could not come home.
Bless every home,
fill us with more love and kindness
to keep warm everyone in this time
of calamity.
We ask this in Jesus Christ’s name
with the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O blessed Mother Mary,
our Lady of Fatima,
Pray for us!

There was still no electricity and rains continued to pour in the afternoon with a handful people celebrating the 6PM Mass at the Shrine. Up in our rectory, our staff and PPC officers were busy preparing packed meals for the families evacuated in a nearby school. This was our prayer that afternoon:

God our loving
and merciful Father,
thank you for bringing us to the
end of this day;
thank you for the gift of life,
for the selfless people who served
in all rescue and relief efforts
for those affected by the heavy
rains that still continue;
thank you and bless those who remained
faithful to their call of duty especially
those in the police and military,
the journalists who risked their lives
to keep us informed of the situations,
our weathermen who tracked Carina
and the habagat;
most of all, we thank you
for the doctors and nurses
who came to hospitals as
extensions of your healing hands in this
time of calamity.
Keep them all safe.
Bring us all home safely tonight
guided by your light of love and care
in Jesus Christ
in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Mary our Mother,
Our Lady of Fatima,
Pray for us.

*Photo by author, Blessed Sacrament in the Chapel of Angel of Peace, RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 26 June 2024.*

Darkness enveloped the whole city of Valenzuela by nightfall as we remained without electricity but the good news of rains finally stopping with the ebbing of the floods were most welcomed news to bring joy to many among us. We continued with our prayers and this is what we shared:

Most loving Father,
many of us will not sleep tonight:
some are working overnight
to ensure tomorrow we’ll have
food and power while others are
keeping watch for everyone’s
safety and wellbeing;
bless them,
give them the strength to do their
tasks and duties,
and keep them safe.
It has been a very long,
cold, and wet day, Father;
help us set aside our worries,
to trust and hope in You
that it is always after the rains
and the storms leaves are greenest;
it is after the floods when rich top soil
are deposited, conducive for farming;
it is during calamities when love
and charity surprise us most.
Amen.

Jesus, King of Mercy,
we trust in You!

Our Lady of Fatima,
Pray for us!

*Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Valenzuela City after the storm this morning, 25 July 2024 with Our Blessed Virgin’s old statue reminding us of her motherly care.*

Finally, we saw the sun at the start of this new day still with some rains and the heavy tasks of cleaning and clearing the debris left by the floods. Will we ever learn to respect nature which is actually an expression of our respect for each other too?

Our prayer after the storm:

Praise and glory to you,
God our loving Father!
Thank you for this new day,
thank you for the gift of life,
thank you for guiding us
during these stormy days.
Bless our doctors and nurses,
the selfless volunteers and staffmembers
of rescue and emergency units
along with our police and military
personnel as well as the weathermen
who continue to work and serve us
today after the storm.
Help us to do better
in responding to emergencies
next time while we finally learn
to change our lifestyles in caring
for the environment and ultimately,
for one another.
Let us appreciate
each one’s giftedness
in Christ Jesus our Lord
as we celebrate life
in the Holy Spirit
today.
Amen.

Our Lady of Fatima,
Pray for us!
St. James the Great,
Pray for us!

*Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Marulas, Valenzuela City, 25 July 2024.*

Our Lady of Fatima, motherhood at its finest

The Lord Is My Chef Easter Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima, 13 May 2024
Isaiah 61:9-11 ><}}}*> Galatians 4:4-7 ><}}}*> Luke 11:27-28

We celebrate today the Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima when she first appeared there in Portugal on May 13, 1917. What a wonderful coincidence the eve of her Memorial was the Solemnity of the Lord’s Ascension that fell on the third Sunday of May, Mother’s Day.

What a wondrous alignment of celebrations this May – the Lord’s Ascension, Mother’s Day and Memorial of Fatima – as they all speak of love and belongingness despite the painful reality of separations we experience while in this life filled with sufferings and darkness due to evil and sin.

When Jesus ascended into heaven, it was not about His going up to a certain place or location in the universe but actually a leveling up of His relationships with the Father and with us. Though He had physically left earth, He is still very much present in the world. In fact, Jesus had to leave us physically to be with us at all time here in this life.

True to His promise of not totally leaving us, Jesus not only sent us the Holy Spirit to dwell in each of us to make us strong and holy but also gave us His Mother the Blessed Virgin Mary to be our Mother too in this world still filled with sufferings and darkness due to the seeming prevalence of sin and evil.

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
John 19:26-27

The Blessed Mother’s apparition in Fatima, Portugal more than 100 years ago was a resounding proof of the reality of God and His abiding love for mankind in this modern time when the world is more bent in denying His very existence.

How lovely that in reminding modern man of Himself to us, God used the most unique yet so common experience of everyone in every race – the mother. Everyone of us, including the most hardened criminals, always have two softest spots in our hearts, for children and our own mother. The umbilical cord with our mothers remain forever with us, even after they have died. This I realized yesterday on Mother’s Day.

While rehearsing my homily for the Mass, I had a hearty cry in my room when I came to the part of inserting the celebration of Mother’s Day. How can I speak of Mother’s Day when I am now “motherless”?

But hey…!!!

As I prayed and reviewed my prepared homily yesterday, I realized we are never “motherless” in this world!

Mothers are like Jesus Christ who ascended into heaven: when a mother dies, she remains a mother to us. Still so loving and caring.

Like Jesus who ascended into heaven, our mothers have to die and depart too to be with us more than ever. Those memories of our mother’s selfless love, from her singing of lullabies to make us fall into sleep to all her sacrifices we never saw and knew but so evident in her wrinkles and gray hair remain fresh until the end of our lives, assuring us of her and God’s love, that we shall get by in this life even when we do not see her like Jesus.

The Jews have a saying that God created mothers so that He can be everywhere. So true! That is why mothers are always lovely, “I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom bedecked with her jewels” (Is.61:10).

Mary’s apparition in Fatima is motherhood at its finest, non pareil in history and the world. She appeared at the most crucial moment when the world was in great transition in all aspects of life that tempted us to go on our own, bragging on our achievements and knowledge.

Just like what happens in most families when many leave their families behind, especially their mother, blinded by success and the limelight. Despite all the hurts, mothers are life’s most enduring proof of God’s mercy and love. Like most mothers appealing to their children to return to their father, to come home, Mary called us in Fatima to go back to the Father in Jesus through the three children of Fatima. Her calls were very similar with every mother’s appeal to her children – pray always and repent.

Mary at Fatima reminds us of our own mothers who would never sleep – and die – until she’s assured her children are safe back home. See how the recent turn of events in history in the last 50 years were still shaped or affected by the Fatima apparition that further bolstered it to be one of the most popular devotion and pilgrimage sites in the world today.

Fatima and Mother’s Day cannot be separated from each other primarily because of all the mothers, the Blessed Virgin Mary is the foremost of all mothers in all time, the model disciple of her Son Jesus Christ not because of her just giving birth to Him but most of all, being the first to believe in Him!

While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.
Luke 11:27-28

May we heed the calls of the Blessed Mother in Fatima. Most of all, let us be like her, a model disciple of Jesus Christ, be a “mother” to everyone, nurturing and inspiring others with our faithful witnessing of the gospel especially in this time when people in many parts of the world are at edge or actually in war already, forgetting we are all brothers and sisters in one Father in heaven.

Our dear Mother Mary of Fatima,
thank you for coming to us
to remind us 
of God's love,
to assure us
we are never motherless
in this world;
help us to share 
God's loving tenderness
and fidelity to promise
to never forsake us;
may our lives nurture
and inspire others to hope
and be open to God
in the midst of the seeming
meaningless world,
striving to do what is
true and good,
making Jesus present
in a humanity so often
absent to God.
Amen.

Our Lady of Fatima,
pray for us!

Reconciliation is commitment

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, 106th Anniversary of Last Apparition in Fatima, 13 October 2023
Joel 4:12-21 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 11:15-20

Praise and glory to you,
God our loving Father
in sending us your Son
Jesus Christ who gave us
his Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary
to be our Mother too!

As we remember today
the 106th year 
of her last appearance at
Fatima in Portugal,
we pray most especially anew
for her intercession
for peace in the world,
peace in our Church,
peace in our hearts.

Her apparitions at Fatima
were the most amazing
proofs of your love and mercy
to us in recent history, 
reminding us of the need
to reform our lives,
to be converted,
and be reconciled with you,
Father, 
through Jesus Christ.

Sadly, until now,
we have refused to heed 
her calls of true conversion
so there would be true
reconciliation among us
in Jesus with a new and
stronger commitment
to live our Christian life.

Every year at the start
of Lent on Ash Wednesday
we hear the same words of
your prophet Joel calling
on us today in the first reading
"to gird ourselves and weep and
fast for the day of the Lord is near"
(Joel 1:13-15) but we never heed
them; 106 years ago, the Blessed
Virgin Mary called on the same 
things from us and yet,
we have remained stubborn.

Forgive us, Father.
We have strayed so far
from you; our eyes feast on
the many wondrous deeds 
you continue to do in our lives
but our hearts are so far from you
like those people who tested Jesus
after he had driven out a demon
(Lk. 11:15-26);
how unfortunate and sad
when many of us today
believe more in the power of
the devil under so many
disguises in technologies
and modern thoughts
and lifestyles by
continuing to refuse 
to surrender
ourselves to your 
healing power 
in Jesus Christ.

Through our Lady of Fatima,
teach us humility and simplicity
like her visionaries in 1917,
the siblings St. Francisco 
and St. Jacinta Marto
and their cousin now declared
Venerable Sr. Lucia;
like them, help us put into our
hearts not just in our minds 
your calls of repentance
and conversion so there
will truly be reconciliation 
among us and be committed
in working for lasting peace.
Amen.

Fatima and the number “13”

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Homily for the 106th Anniversary of Last Apparition in Fatima, 13 October 2023
Isaiah 61:9-11 ><}}}}*> Galatians 4:4-7 ><}}}}*> Luke 11:27-28

Today – October 13, 2023 – is the 106th anniversary of the last apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima, Portugal when the “Miracle of the Sun” happened, witnessed by about 70,000 people. It was her sixth apparition to the three young children at Cova da Iria that started in May 13, 1917.

Except for the month of August when authorities jailed the three children on August 13 on their way to Cova da Iria to force them to recant their earlier statements of the apparition, the Blessed Mother appeared to them on August 19 at the nearby Valinhos where she repeated her calls for prayers and sacrifices as well as the request for them to come every 13th day until the coming October when she reveals herself after a great miracle.

What is significant with the 13th day of each month that Mary appeared in Fatima from May to October 1917 that we have continued with this 13th Day Devotion?

The Blessed Mother never explained to the three children, now St. Francisco and his sister St. Jacinta Marto and their cousin Sr. Lucia dos Santos why she appeared to them every 13th day of each month.

According to later interviews with Sr. Lucia who became a Carmelite sister and the last to die of the three children in 2005, she believed as the fruit of her prayers that the number 13 signified the Blessed Trinity. Sr. Lucia explained that number “13” illustrates to us that there is one (“1”) God in three (“3”) Persons (she was recently declared Venerable by Pope Francis to pave the way for her sainthood).

Here we find anew in the Fatima apparitions the consistency of truths found in our Church teachings and doctrines, specifically, the Blessed Trinity, that there is One God in Three Persons. Saints have also tried to explain the Blessed Trinity in simple analogies like the number 13 reflection of the Venerable Sr. Lucia.

In a 2022 article by Catholic author Joseph Pronechen that appeared in Soul magazine (see, https://www.bluearmy.com/the-significance-of-fatimas-13th-day/), he presented how the number “13” has many biblical foundations to be chosen by the Blessed Mother in Fatima as date of her apparitions. Foremost of this is found in the Old Testament Book of Esther.

Esther was among the Jewish exiles living in Persia after the Babylonian captivity. She was said to be so lovely and beautiful that the Persian king, Ahasuerus chose her to be his Queen among his many wives. Her uncle named Mordecai was the King’s most trusted adviser too that earned the jealousy among Persians in the royal court. Both Mordecai and Queen Esther remained faithful to God despite their royal positions. Esther then discovered a plot by some of the King’s men to exterminate all the Jews in Persia, especially her uncle Mordecai. It was at this instance that she prayed so hard to God for her to be able to warn her King of his men’s evil plot against the Jews even it could have cost her own life.

By the grace of God, Esther was able to muster all the strength and courage to speak to King Ahasuerus to foil the evil plot of his men set on “the 13th day of the twelfth month of Adar” (Esther 3:7).

The Persian king truly loved Queen Esther and ordered the arrest and execution of his aide (Haman) to prevent the murder of so many Jews. Queen Esther thus saved her fellow Jews on the 13th day of the Jewish month of Adar! And because of her intervention, King Ahasuerus ordered Jews in his kingdom to freely worship their God with assurance of protection from enemies.

Like Queen Esther, the Blessed Virgin Mary is also our Queen being the Mother of the King of kings, Jesus Christ. Every August 22 we celebrate her Queenship and in the Glorious Mysteries, we meditate her being Queen of heaven and earth.

Most of all, like Queen Esther, the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima intervened on October 13, 1917 to save the world from the ongoing WWI that began in 1914 and ended the following year in 1918. Sad to say, the world was plunged anew into the darkness of WWII that was more deadlier in 1939-1945 as predicted by our Lady at Fatima if the world would not heed calls for repentance and conversion of sinners. In recent history we have witnessed how our Queen Mother Mary saved St. John Paul II on May 13, 1981 – her feast day as our Lady of Fatima – from a deadly assassination attempt at St. Peter Square in the Vatican. Again, the world is in the darkness of deadly wars right in the Holy Land and in Ukraine by Russia whom the Virgin Mary had specifically mentioned in her October 13, 1917 apparition at Fatima.

When are we going to follow her maternal instructions of repentance and conversion, something which she merely repeated from similar calls by Prophets in the Old Testament and by her Son Jesus Christ in the gospels?

If we truly consider Mary is our Queen, why can’t we obey her and follow her instructions more than 100 years ago?

See how in today’s gospel Jesus underscored the importance of listening and following his words as main component of being part of his family. Mary was the first to listen and act on his word at the Annunciation and until now, she does the same thing so we may be saved from the wraths of evil caused by man’s inhumanity to one another.

*Page from Ilustração Portuguesa, 29 October 1917, showing the people looking at the Sun during the Fátima apparitions attributed to the Virgin Mary. From en.wikipedia.org.*

Going back to the Sacred Scriptures, we find more bases of the significance of number “13” used by the Blessed Mother at Fatima in 1917. In the Book of Acts, we find that when the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost, the 12 Apostles (Matthias replaced Judas Iscariot) were with “Mary the mother of Jesus” (Acts 1:14). Here we find 12 (Apostles) + 1 (Mary) = 13!

In the gospel accounts, we know Jesus Christ’s choice of 12 apostles was from the “12 tribes of Israel” or 12 sons of Jacob who was also called by God as “Israel”. Again, 12 + 1 = 13.

According to an interview by Pronechen of a Jewish rabbi, the meaning of number 13 in Hebrew is “bonding of many into one”. Every time we pray the Apostle’s Creed, we profess our faith not only in God in Three Persons but also to the Catholic Church that bonds us into Christ’s body who was born of the Virgin Mary. In Fatima on October 13, 1917, our Lady called on us to be one in God through Jesus in prayers, fasting and sacrifices, and commitment to live as true Christians.

Most of all, Pronechen explained that according to the Jewish rabbi he had interviewed, every letter in the Hebrew language has a numeric value. The word “love” which is ahava in Hebrew is connected with God with a numeric value of 13. Now, consider that when the Virgin Mary first appeared at Fatima on May 13, 1917, it was the original feast of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. Here we find another intimate link in our Lady of Fatima’s insistence in celebrating Mass and receiving Jesus in the Holy Communion often because the Holy Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love.

How wonderful to meditate that our Blessed Mother Mary appeared in Fatima 106 years ago today with that singular message and expression of God’s love for us all!

When are we going to listen to her call for us to truly live in the love of God expressed by Jesus Christ on the Cross? Amen. Have a blessed weekend everyone!