The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 09 July 2024 Hose 8:4-7, 11-13 ><))))*> + <*((((>< Matthew 9:32-38
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to sent out more laborers for his harvest” (Matthew 9:38).
Lord Jesus, teach us to examine again the meaning of your words "the harvest is abundant" - how do we look at, what do we see at this abundant harvest of your people, "troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd"?
What do we see at your flock, at your people?
Forgive us, Lord Jesus, when we are like the wayward kings of Israel of Hosea's time who misled the people away from God; what an abundant harvest laid to waste by corrupt and sinful laborers some of whom were never sent by God while others turned away from God.
Forgive the laborers among us who see the abundant harvest more as a business venture, a shameful tourist attraction for the display of our delusions of grandeur; forgive us, Lord when some of us your laborers label others as troublemakers, as oppositionists, even daring to call declare others using the power of the devil like You!
Nothing much had changed since the time of Hosea and your time, Lord Jesus: your abundant harvest wasted by selfish laborers who see only themselves and their well-being instead of seeing your people as a gift and a responsibility entrusted to our care; help us, O Lord, to value your abundant harvest meant for your greater glory not ours. Amen.
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.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 18 September 2023
Photo by author, Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infant, Quezon, 04 March 2023.
It was my mother who taught us how to pray early in childhood. Beginning with the Sign of the Cross, she taught us also to be more specific in our prayers by mentioning our names to God as well as everything we need.
We were still two siblings then, with me as the eldest. After instructing us how to put on our kulambo with its long lines of cord tied to nails on the walls because our beds have no posts, Mommy would always ensure that me and my sister pray as she tucked us in our respective bed which went like this:
Thank you very much God for today;
please bless my Daddy Will and my Mommy Cory,
my sister Meg, and I, Nick. Amen.
Later on came my second sister Bing-Bing and she was added to our list of names to mention in prayer every night. When Bing-Bing was learning to speak and her turn to learn to pray, Mommy added another prayer just for her, had to learn to pray, “God, give me patatas” because she loved potatoes found in our favorite nilaga, pochero, afritada, even the little cubes of menudo!
I still pray this prayer that had automatically added the names of new members of our family, from our bunso my only brother Willy born in 1973 to my brother-in-law when Meg got married, all my four nieces and only nephew, Mommy’s two yayas, along with other relatives and friends that include some of my parishioners as well as brother priests in the ministry all kept in a list in my breviary. Lately, I have been praying that God would bless my nieces and nephew with good marriage partners so I can already have apo, and I don’t mind mentioning their names in my future prayers!
With my two sisters and three pamangkins in a recent Baguio vacation.
The only other person next to my mother who had taught me to pray mentioning the names of the people I pray for is my Jesuit spiritual guide Fr. Arthur Shea (RIP). During our 30-day retreat in 1995 before our third year in theology, Fr. Shea asked us to always mention the names of the people we pray for, whether still living or already dead because according to him, that makes our prayer truly personal. He assured us that something beautiful happens within us when we mention the names of the people we pray for. And I believed him 100%!
Now I am 58 years old and 25 years as a priest, I have realized that the most effective prayer is always those most personal when we specify the people with their names and the intentions we pray for.
Prayers change and transform people, not situations; when people are transformed, relationships improve, peace and harmony happen among us. Mentioning the name of people we pray for is practical as it lessens the anger and negativities we have against any person. Most of all, it is difficult to pray for people we hate and thus, mentioning their names not only make our prayers effective but also affective.
Even if we do not mention the names of people we pray for, at least when we specify the kinds of people we are praying for produce the same results, both effective and affective. One of the beautiful prayers I have learned in high school seminary was praying for specific people we hardly know but who affect us directly or indirectly like those working overnight to deliver us goods we need the following morning such as drivers and delivery men, market vendors, and bakers. Also included in our night prayers then were those traveling overnight that they may reach their destinations safely and for prisoners languishing in jail especially the innocent ones. It was in those prayers where I learned to think more of other people, to see more outside of myself and search for those in the margins and forgotten whom God loves so much.
Call me crazy or funny, I pray also for our local and world leaders by mentioning their names even if they do not know me or did not elected them at all! When I was in first year theology in 1993, I was so overjoyed that I submitted as my reflection in one of our subjects the historic meeting in Oslo, Norway of Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin (later assassinated) and the late PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat; I have been praying for the peace process in Israel since I re-entered the seminary and I felt God answered my prayer with that historic meeting between the leaders of two bitter enemies. I just felt so good inside that God heard my prayer, convincing me that God answers prayers of his children, no matter how simple or complicated it may be. That Oslo Accord led to the 2000 Camp David Summit hosted by American President Bill Clinton between Israel and the PLO. Though peace remains elusive in that part of the world, I still pray for the people especially after I had visited the Holy Land thrice.
Of course, God knows everything and what is needed in this world not only in our lives. For sure, he knows us all by name too! But, when we pray for one another as St. Paul tells Timothy, that is when we begin to identify everyone and find our relationships with them as brothers and sisters whom we must love and respect to make this world a better place to live in.
Photo by author, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela, 13 September 2023.
Beloved: First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity.
1 Timothy 2:1-2
It all begins in our hearts when we pray. When we make a space in our hearts for other people by mentioning their names or simply identifying them in particular needs and situations, that is when God truly comes to fill us with his Spirit. Everything then follows like peace and harmony as we have seen in today’s gospel account of the healing the centurion’s servant by Jesus (Lk. 7:1-10).
See how the Jews “approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, ‘He deserves to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.’ And Jesus went with them” (Lk.7: 4-6). Jesus answered their prayers by coming with them already! He must have been so surprised too with their attitude toward the pagan because finally, they saw not differences but similarities as persons believing in God. When we mention names of people, that is when we recognize them as one of us too, making our prayers effective and affective as change and miracles begin to happen. Amen. Have a blessed Monday!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 14 June 2023
2 Corinthians 3:4-11 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Matthew 5:17-19
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 2020.
Lord Jesus Christ,
as we approach the Solemnity
of your Most Sacred Heart,
we pray today for your flock
and their shepherds,
we your priests.
How lovely if we
your priests could only
speak boldly like St. Paul about
our ministry, our priesthood
in you made manifest in our
own sufferings and sacrifices,
in our efforts to reach out to everyone,
especially the weak and the sick,
the marginalized and forgotten,
in our being one with you in your
Cross, Lord Jesus.
Brothers and sisters: Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that of ourselves are qualified to take credit for anything as coming from us; rather, our qualification comes from God, who has indeed qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter brings death, but the Spirit gives life.
2 Corinthians 3:4-6
Keep us, your priests,
faithful to your new covenant,
Jesus; let us bring fulfillment
to the many laws we have
by being a leaven for your people
to grow in faith, hope, and love;
set us free from the chains
of legalisms and rubrics
that forget you in every person.
Most of all, let us not forget
to lovingly serve your flock,
your people, O Lord;
may we always be present with
them especially in moments of
their trials and weaknesses,
when they are seeking directions,
when they are lost and could not
find you.
May they be transformed into your
image, Lord Jesus Christ,
so that like St. Paul we may also
tell our parishioners,
"You are our letter,
written on our hearts,
known and read by all" (2 Cor. 3:2)
when the works we have done as
your minister, Lord,
speak for itself.
Amen.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 20 April 2023
Reflections on the occasion of my 25th year ordination to the Priesthood
Photo by Arch. Philip Santiago; to my left is our former Rector in Minor Seminary, Fr. Domingo Salonga and our Prefect of Discipline, Msgr. Albert Suatengco.
It is the Lord! And it has always been him. Will always be him. Thank you very much my dearest family and friends including you my readers of this blog for showing me the Lord, for leading me to the Lord all these years especially on the occasion of my 25th anniversary in the priesthood.
Been praying for this occasion since March when I went on a personal retreat when I turned 58 years old. One of the reflections assigned to me by my Spiritual Director, Jesuit Fr. Danny Gozar was to pray for all the grace and blessings God has given me that I am not aware of. One of the many blessings I “rediscovered” God has blessed me all these years were the people he had gifted me, from my family and relatives, classmates from elementary to college and the seminary, colleagues in work as well as students, and lately, some parishioners who have all become my friends.
It is the Lord whom I have seen in them. And I became a priest because of them. Maybe if I did not meet them, my life would have been different.
Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples.
John 21:1-2
Photo by Ms. Tita Valderama, my friends from GMA News, from left: JJ Jimeno, Jimmy Gil, Boy Sonza, Jun Fronda, Marissa Flores (former SVP of GMA News), Jessica Soho and Ben Cal of PNA; beside me is Atty. Dan de Padua, and Kelly B. Vergel de Dios.
Some of them are very prominent, from the who’s who of the country like those persons named in the gospel, Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee. It is a tremendous blessing from God I have come to know so many prominent people, big shots indeed in Philippine media and society who taught me so much about journalism and most especially about life. In them I experienced there are so many goodness in every person, even those we look up to. They are so human with the same joys and pains, dreams and aspirations like us ordinary people. They get tired and get sick, they love to eat and drink, watch movies and enjoy music. Most of all, they have high moral sense and deep faith in God.
One of them I have to mention is the one who really paved the way for me to reconsider my vocation, Atty. Dan de Padua who was then assigned to GMA-7 News Department when I was already a police reporter covering the night shift. He would join us in our coverage and sometimes, before our shift, we would have some drinks at Jazz Rhythms along Timog Avenue. We got to know his background and former work with a multinational corporation with mega buck deals. I asked him why did he leave that better paying job? His answer struck me. Like the beloved disciple in the gospel, all I could say was “It is the Lord”.
According to Sir Dan, “nahiya naman ako sa sarili ko na matapos mag-aral sa UP, nagtatrabaho ako para sa mga foreigners… umalis ako sa kanila para ibalik sa bayan binigay sa akin.” Wow! Yes, there are good and holy lawyers, especially from UP! And my former boss is one of them! His words never left me, giving me many occasions of introspection when alone, as a graduate of Catholic schools from elementary to college, do I have the same love for the Church, for God?
Napahiya ako sa sarili ko. Here is a man, a big shot lawyer, thinking about our country we love to make fun of even curse and there I was, thinking only of myself? Of course, there were still other realizations I had but that really started my journey back to Jesus and to the seminary until my ordination on April 18, 1998.
There were so many other people I met when I was still outside the seminary who have enriched me as a person with their friendships and professionalism.
Photo by Mr. Jong Arcano with his wife.
I am forever grateful to my former editor at UST’s The Varsitarian, Mr. Jong Arcano who trained me so well in writing, especially looking into the human aspects of the persons being covered. Along with Mr. Jimmy Gil of GMA News, they taught me the importance of looking into the “human-ness” of the people in the news. Mr. Gil also told me while discussing the dangers of coverages that the most important story in the world is “your life that is why as a journalist, think also of your safety because if you die, who would tell the story you have covered?” Later on as a priest, I realized it so true! As a priest, there is that certain distance we must keep with the people but always that closeness to get their story. Fr. Henri Nouwen wrote in one of his books, “what is most personal is most universal.”
Worth mentioning also is our former SVP for Operations in GMA but a newsman through and through, Mr. Tony Seva. He summoned me to his office one afternoon to bring clippings of the write ups of an actress of our soap drama who had died. At his office, he asked me to take down some notes but somebody had earlier borrowed my pen in the newsroom! He told me I could leave my dick at home but never walk without a pen! That is why I always have pen in my pocket long after I have left the news! Like our Latin teacher in the seminary, Mr. Seva taught me to never open my mouth unless I am sure of what I am saying. That’s precision.
There are so many other men and women with names and without names who have taught me so well and most of all, I am sure without them knowing, have led me to see Jesus to become a priest. I used to tell my students that friends are gifts from God; therefore, true friends lead us back to God too!
Did I say women? Of course! I must confess, it took me so long to decide to leave the news and enter the seminary to become a priest because of women. I was so afraid, until now, I might not be faithful to Jesus because, yun nga! Madali ako ma-attract at ma-in-love!
Will tell you my “love story” in my next blog, of how women have led me to Jesus. Maybe, I should write a song similar to Yvonne Elliman’s song in Jesus Christ Superstar to be called “I Don’t Know How to Love Her”.
Thank you for your prayers on my 25th year in the priesthood. God bless you all!
Photo by Mr. Jong Arcano with Ms. Tina Monzon-Palma before the Mass.
The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Christmas Eve, 24 December 2022
Isaiah 9:1-6 ><}}}}*> Titus 2:11-14 ><}}}}*> Luke 2:1-14
Christmas is the busiest season for us priests. How ironic that as we keep on reminding the people to prepare more on the spiritual aspect of this most loved season, we priests are also caught in all the rush and busyness of Christmas, beginning with the Simbang Gabi and Misa de Gallo and other parish concerns.
But, God gives us the grace to hurdle all difficulties of sleeping late, rising early and in between, praying as we prepare for our homilies. Thank you too for your appreciation and prayers for us priests. Forgive us when sometimes we get too touchy this week for lack of sleep.
As usual, I woke up early today to pray and prepare for Christmas but unfortunately, I felt like waking up on the wrong side of the bed, feeling grouchy. Most of all, so dried in prayer. Yet, God is so merciful after being silent before him before noon, I just felt writing this prayer interspersed with my reflections of the scriptures which I have been praying over since Wednesday.
Dearest sweet Jesus:
I feel agitated.
Or excited?
So many things are coming
and filling me at this moment;
I could not be still to find you,
to experience you.
Come, Lord Jesus,
So that I may share you
with others!
Let me be your Christmas too
by being Your presence to others,
myself as a gift and present especially
to those grieving for the loss of a loved one
during this difficult years of the pandemic;
let me be your Christmas and presence,
myself as a gift and present to those nursing
fresh wounds or wounds that would not heal
because they are so deep and painful;
let me be your Christmas to those with nothing
this Christmas Day except their very selves
with that firm faith and fervent hope in you,
Lord Jesus, by being small and fragile like you
on the manger in Bethlehem.
How lovely is Luke’s presentation of the first Christmas, of Jesus Christ coming in a time of history that is so troubled, so inhospitable especially for children.
Just like today with this ongoing pandemic made worst by the many wars going on that have triggered so many other difficulties and sufferings, from poverty to homelessness. Yet, it is the most beautiful setting of Christ’s coming set at the background of many leaders feeling they are the savior of the world or of their country just like the Roman emperor at the time of his birth. In all their “larger than life” portrayal of themselves, there is Jesus Christ in the most ordinary yet powerful truth of God among us – coming as an infant, coming and starting small!
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of Bethlehem…with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:1-4, 5-7
We need not be famous nor have all the power and wealth to change this world. We all just have to be our true selves, little “earthlings” because in our being small when Jesus comes. We do not have to live in luxuries nor be in the cities or any country. Just be where we are, in our simplicity and humanity where Christ comes to fill us because he is God’s Firstborn in whom everything is created for him, with him and in him as St. Paul had noted.
Inasmuch as God believes in us by entrusting to us his Son Jesus Christ, let us believe also in God truly that he will work miracles in us, with us and through us! That is why Jesus came.
Let me be your Christmas to others, Jesus:
I may not be able to wrap any gift this Christmas,
let my arms and smiles wrap others in a hug
so they may experience your warmth and loving presence;
let me be your Christmas to others, Jesus,
by sharing food, and being the food myself to
those hungry and thirsty to give them strength
not only in body but also in soul;
I do not know how to bake cookies
and other goodies but, still make me your Christmas
to others by sharing your joy and kindness with them
so we could have memories of my love
no matter how imperfect it may be;
most of all, dear Jesus, let me be your Christmas light
this Christmas for others especially those in the darkness
of sin and evil, depression and confusion,
helplessness and despair, isolation and alienation,
of festering anger and recurring painful memories.
We have been through a lot of so many things these past three years. It is God’s will that since the pandemic started in 2020 that this time, we celebrate Christmas face-to-face, which is what Christmas is essentially all about – the Son of God coming to us in flesh to experience Father personally.
Christmas is a story of encounters, of God meeting persons, real people like me and you.
Jesus came as a baby so that we could easily and lovingly receive him as he entrusts himself to our love and care and protection. So many things have happened to us since 2020 but hey, we are still alive, still here celebrating Christmas. Let us dwell in this joy of Jesus coming to us so we may also share him with others still sulking in all the negative vibes brought by COVID-19.
May we imitate his Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary who “kept all these things, reflecting them in her heart” (Lk. 1:19) for it is in our hearts where Jesus comes daily.
How sad that with all the experiences we have had these years of pandemic that we lose sight of its meaning that amid all the darkness and hostilities of this world, Jesus surely comes to save us!
Dearest Jesus,
let me be your Christmas to others:
make me firm in my conviction and faith in you
"rejecting godless ways and worldly desires
by living temperately, justly and devoutly" (Titus 2:12);
let me be your Christmas,
be born in me every day as I strive
to follow you even to the Cross
so that "the people who walked in darkness
may see your great light to experience peace"
(Isaiah 9:1, 5) when I say your words
and do your works. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, Priest, 27 September 2022
Job 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23 ><000'> + ><000'> + ><000'> Luke 9:51-56
Photo by author, Makati skyline from Antipolo, August 2022.
Thank you again,
dear God our loving Father
in keeping us safe from the
powerful super typhoon that
hit us Sunday evening;
most of all, thank you in giving
us that faith within us like Job
when we go through storms in
life, sometimes so violent and
devastating like the real ones.
Bless us, O God, to be like Job:
to have that grace of crying out
our hearts, of venting out our pains
and even anger when like him,
we curse the day but never you:
Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. Job spoke out and said: Perish the day on which I was born, the night when they said, “The child is a boy!” Why did I not perish at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?
Job 3:1-2, 3
Help us realize, dear Father,
these little "deaths" we go through
daily in life like sickness and loss of
loved ones are the realities of life
itself that prepare us for our eternal
union in you that would surely come
on our Death with a big D;
we are indeed "being-towards-death"
beginning on the day of our birth when
we have to cry out loud and kick hard
to be alive!
It is through our pains and sufferings
that we become truly human,
when we feel with others in
empathy and sympathy,
when we stay with others
in consolation,
when we strive to be like
Jesus in raising up others
by being "resolutely determined
to journey to Jerusalem" (Lk.9:51)
to face death that have inspired saints
like your servant Vincent de Paul
who worked so hard for the sick,
the abandoned, and the poor,
inspiring other saints in the
process!
We pray for everyone
going through darkness,
battered by storms in life
to keep their faith,
that it is okay to cry and
complain because it is really
difficult; most of all,
remind us, Jesus, that
without pains and
sufferings in this world,
then this life would be
so dull, even meaningless
because that is when we
are totally by ourselves,
utterly selfish because we can
only find life's meaning in others,
never in our selves.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle-C, 18 September 2022
Amos 8:4-7 ><}}}}*> 1 Timothy 2:1-8 ><}}}}*> Luke 16:1-13
Photo by author, sunrise at Lake Tiberias, the Holy Land, May 2019.
Our first reading this Sunday from the Book of Amos sounds like coming from a recent publication denouncing the corruption and social decadence in most countries these days, of the rampant injustice and exploitation of the poor, of how hypocrisies thrive among the rich and powerful and religious too!
Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land! “When will the new moon be over,” you ask, “that we may sell our grain, and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat? We will diminish the ephah, add to the shekel, and fix our scales for cheating! We will buy the lowly for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals; even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!”
Amos 8:4-6
How sad that long before the coming of Jesus Christ and more than 2000 years after his birth with all the civilization and religion all over the world, nothing has really changed at all: greed for power and money continue to divide peoples and nations, causing many losses of lives from crimes and wars that have ensued.
"Everything has a price,
everything has to be summed up
that sadly in the process,
God and people are commodified
while things are personified! "
Photo by Mr. Jay Javier, April 2022.
Throughout history, we have never learned and perhaps, have continued to refuse to learn from God, beginning from his prophets like Amos down to his own Son Jesus Christ, the important lesson of giving more value to him and to one another. We have always put more premium and value on things that perish than on those of true value that remain even to eternity, none other than God and one another.
“If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Luke 16:11-13
True wealth vs. dishonest wealth
Jesus continues his journey to Jerusalem, intensifying his teachings on discipleship with two parables this Sunday and next week to deepen our knowledge and relationship with him and others as disciples.
We have heard today his parable of the wise steward who reduced the debts of his master’s creditors to ensure he could find employment in them when fired from his job. Jesus did not approve of his wily scheme but praised him and those like him of the world in finding ways to “win hearts” of people with their pakikisama as we call in Pilipino which is often a wrong sense of camaraderie when people help each other even in shenanigans and other corrupt practices.
(Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)
If we could just find means in truly helping each other in life with the same ardor, we could probably have a better and more humane society where we value persons more than things. That is the kind of discipleship Jesus is teaching us today with his sayings after narrating this parable — of having God and one another as our true wealth in life, not dishonest wealth of money, power and fame that feed on our pride and ego. Having God and others as our true wealth means valuing them most in our lives through Jesus Christ.
Problem happens when we value things like money and fame more than God and persons like in the time of Amos that continues to this day as we focus more with how much we shall earn, of what’s in store for us in terms of profits and returns without giving the slightest concern for people and God. Everything has a price, everything has to be summed up that sadly in the process, God and people are commodified while things are personified!
Sorry to say this but the clearest example of our commodification of God is this online Mass when we make him like a canned good or a video on-demand like in Netflix we take out to watch and consume when we just have a feel for it. No relationship at all. Just like that, as in ganun lang… in case of an emergency, we take out God like a life vest tucked under the plane seat.
In the same manner, we commodify people when we see them in utilitarian perspectives, in their usefulness for us in attaining our selfish goals. We commodify people when we totally disregard them as “no body”, as if they do not exist that we do not recognize them at all, not caring for them as “some body” like in next Sunday’s parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
Even us in the Church contribute in this commodification of God and of people long before the advent of online Masses in the way we regard parish assignments. How do we priests look at the people and the parish, really?
What a shame at how we priests persist that unChristian frame of mind in distinguishing parishes as “big parish” and “small parish” in reference to their income and collections, never in terms of population or number of souls and their pastoral needs! This results in the tragic mire we are stuck called careerism fueled by the never-ending competition among priests for parish assignments, forgetting altogether our sense of service and mission.
Sad. Very, very sad.
"True wealth and riches are God and people.
We live to love. Let us put an end to restrictions on whom to love, whom to value for we are all brothers and sisters in Christ..."
Photo by author, 12 August 2022.
This Sunday, Jesus is blessing us with the grace and challenge of examining deeply in our hearts what and who do we value most?
If we consider material things as riches, then, we have not moved away from the time of Amos; we are still living in ancient time of decadence and immoralities despite the sophistications we now have like hi-tech gadgets we use for cheating others as we hide in our fine clothes and air conditioned homes, offices, and vehicles.
True wealth and riches are God and people. We need more people, more children, more family, more friends to share and celebrate life with. Not more money nor more houses and cars we cannot use at the same time; we do not need more food nor more clothes for we live not to eat.
We live to love. Let us put an end restrictions on whom to love, whom to value for we are all brothers and sisters in Christ as St. Paul reminds us in the second reading today. Most of all, the great apostle tells us to value everyone, from our leaders down to the common tao we meet everywhere, praying for one another for it is God’s design that in the end, we shall all together dwell in him in heaven, the true wealth and riches we must all aspire. Amen.Have a blessed weekend everyone!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, 36th Anniversary of the EDSA People Power, 25 February 2022
James 5:9-12 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Mark 10:1-12
Photo by Roger Buendia/Presidential Museum and Library via esquiremag.ph.
Forgive me, Lord,
a veteran of EDSA 1986
for having lost these past
years the joy and fervor in
celebrating your miracle at
the world's first
"People Power Revolution";
I really had no plans of praying today
so as not to remember the
February Revolution of 1986
because I have always felt
betrayed by our so-called
"EDSA heroes" who turned out
to be modern Judas Iscariots
who have used us for
their personal interests and
prostituted the People Power Revolution.
I have long felt within this pain, this anger,
frustration and disappointment at
how our supposed leaders
have wasted the victory and
most importantly, the lessons of
EDSA '86; oh how my stomach
burns in acid, making me belch
and throw up whenever I would
see or remember those traitors, Lord!
Photo from en.wikipedia.org.
But, as I prayed today and see
our nation's precarious situation,
I felt ashamed, Jesus, at how I have
acted like Judas Iscariot,
not so much in betraying EDSA '86
in some ways too
but in losing hope in you,
the giver of that precious gift of
freedom and democracy
now under threat again from the
same people who enslaved us,
aided by these traitors.
Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another, that you may not be judged. Indeed, we call blessed those who have persevered… let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No,” that you may not incur condemnation.
James 5:9, 11, 12b
Take our hearts so
hardened with bitterness,
frustrations and disappointments;
and yes, also of personal desires
not met after 1986 and give us
natural hearts that beat with
firm faith, fervent hope
and unceasing charity and love
for you and our Motherland.
EDSA is not just a clogged
highway of vehicles;
EDSA was first of all a sea
of humanity who have banded
together to stand for what is true,
for freedom and democracy
all meant to bring back each
person's dignity, created in your
image and likeness.
You are the God of history, Lord,
bring us back to the spirit
and ideals of EDSA '86
to claim again its grace
and promise of a matured nation
you have gathered and joined
together to become one
in Jesus your Son with his Blessed
Mother Mary who is our Mother too.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop & Doctor of the Church, 13 September 2021
1 Timothy 2:1-8 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]*> + ><]]]]'> Luke 7:1-10
Photo from Google.
Your words today, O God our Father
through St. Paul are so difficult,
so hard to accept:
Beloved: First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:1-4
You know very well
the kind of leaders and
people in authority that we have;
however, you know so well too
how they came to power through
our ignorance and/or arrogance.
Yes, Father, the fault is in us
and that is why we pray also
today that we may be gifted with
"holy hands that pray without
anger or argument" as St. Paul
instructed Timothy.
Cleanse our hands through
your Son so we may imitate
the centurion in humility,
admitting before Jesus
that he is not worthy
to have him enter under his roof
that is why he never bothered
to come near him too; but,
with clean and holy hands,
he asked Jesus to only say the word
and his servant shall be healed
and it was granted him! (Lk.7:6-7)
Through the intercession of
St. John Chrysostom whom you
have gifted with "golden mouth"
to speak what is true
following long hours of prayer,
cleanse us of our sins so
we may pray to you with holy hands
and holy lips, without anger or argument
for our leaders.
Amen.
lordmychef.com 