Easter is signs & Scripture together. Always.

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Easter Sunday of the Lord's Resurrection, 31 March 2024
Acts 10:34, 37-43 ><}}}}*> Colossians 3:1-4 ><}}}}*> John 20:1-9

A blessed happy Easter to everyone! The Lord is risen. Let us rejoice amid all the darkness and sufferings still hovering over our lives at this time as Easter gives meaning to these all, enabling us to experience God closest with us in Jesus Christ.

Let Christ’s assurance of deliverance, of salvation burst forth from your heart, from the depths of your soul that amid all these sufferings, we have already won in Jesus. It is in those darkness and emptiness where Jesus is found as the first disciples realized that first Easter morning.

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved… When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there… Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.
John 20:1-2, 6, 8-9

*Jesus Christ resurrection. Christian Easter concept. Empty tomb of Jesus with light. Born to Die, Born to Rise. “He is not here he is risen”. Photo from iStock/GettyImages.*

We can never experience the joy of Easter if we skip going through or deny the agonies and pains of Good Friday. See how in the glory of Christ’s Resurrection is found the empty tomb set in the darkness of dawn, evoking in us the realities of life.

The problem in our time is when people see life only as Easter without Good Friday like those who want to get rich by gambling without working hard or students who want to pass exams without studying. At the other extreme are those who see life only as all Good Friday without Easter, becoming indifferent to joy and life itself.

Absence of sufferings can happen only in heaven after we have died. In rising from the dead, Jesus enables us today to taste heaven, to have a glimpse of eternal bliss which Easter makes a reality within us. That is why all the 50 days of Easter beginning today until Pentecost Sunday are actually counted as one big day because we can never grasp the fullness of Christ’s Resurrection in just one day or one month. As we have reflected last Sunday, life is like the Palm Sunday in the Lord’s Passion, a daily movement from the Lord’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

Actually, every celebration we have in the Church, from Christmas to feasts of Mary and the saints are images of Easter, of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection, of His triumph and glory. This we find in that last line of our gospel account today:

Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.
John 20:8-9

*Crucifixion and Resurrection. He is Risen. Empty tomb of Jesus with crosses in the background and cinematic lighting. From IStock/GettyImages.*

Many times our life is an empty tomb with nothing inside except signs of Jesus. John used the word sign to refer to the Lord’s miracles, words and actions that point to Him as the Christ, the awaited Messiah. Hence, his gospel is also known as “the book of signs” with seven miracles and teachings by Jesus that signify Him as the Son of God.

Here at the last two chapters of his gospel we find John’s wisdom in using both explicitly and implicitly the word and concept of sign to point at Jesus as the Christ. The empty tomb itself is the sign pointing to Jesus who had risen; since He was not there, He must be somewhere alive! How do we prove it? Again with another signs, the burial cloths neatly folded inside the empty tomb that showed the body of Jesus was not stolen.

*From wikipedia.commons*, healing of a leper,

John have used this formula repeatedly in his gospel, slowly building up to prepare his readers for the great signs of Easter like the changing of water into wine at Cana, the many cures, the feeding of more than 5000 in the wilderness, the thrusting of lance into the Lord’s side while on the Cross from which flowed blood and water. All of these he consistently claimed as signs that he as “the other disciple” had seen or witnessed.

Whenever we prayerfully read and reflect John’s gospel, we too see and hear Jesus is the Christ in the signs he presents us until finally, we find Jesus present in the many experiences of our lives! John wants us to understand the interaction between signs and Scripture which Luke explained beautifully in the story of the road to Emmaus which is the gospel proclaimed on the evening of Easter Sunday.

For John and the evangelists which Vatican II stressed in Dei Verbum, the Scripture allows us to understand the signs that also lead to understanding the Scripture. If the Apostles have not learned from the Scriptures that Jesus must rise from the dead, the empty tomb would have remained a puzzle to them. Likewise, it was the sign of the empty tomb that led them to understanding fully the Scripture. And that has always been the case in our lives until now that is why it is so essential we cultivate a prayer life which is a relationship with God in Jesus not just a recitation of prayers or celebration of the Mass.

Easter invites us to enter into a relationship with God in Jesus, through Jesus and with Jesus through the many signs He joined us through our trials and tribulations in life so we can be one with Him in His Resurrection.

Detail of the Anastasis (Resurrection) fresco in the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora, in Istanbul, Turkey. It depicts Jesus’ descent into limbo to liberate Adam and Eve and all the righteous who have been waiting for him there. Photo and caption from Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation (slmedia.org).

How sad in this age when many people have stopped joining church celebrations and communal prayers when they choose to go on vacation during Christmas and Easter, totally unmindful of Jesus Christ’s outpouring of love for us.

How sad when many of us practically live in the media, so concerned with the palabas (the outside peripherals) than the inside, the more essential even in our spiritual celebrations.

How sad when people preferred to video the procession of the Blessed Sacrament on Holy Thursday than to kneel and pray in recognition of Christ’s real presence.

How sad for those who skip Masses on Sundays but would devoutly join the Good Friday processions that have become more of fashion show and picnic when people are busy talking, texting, taking videos or pictures, eating and drinking than praying and meditating the various scenes of the Lord’s Passion and Death.

How sad for those who have made their carrozas a pompous spectacle and display of family wealth than catechism and devotion. One would seriously wonder where is the dolor of Viernes Dolores or the grief and sadness for the Lord’s passion, death and burial depicted by the Holy Week processions. Not to mention the kabaduyan and ka-ek-ekan by priests at the repositories of Holy Thursday that after Visita Iglesia you hardly hear people talking how they were edified at the solemnity of the church they visited; people now talk more after Visita Iglesia of how they were awed by the decors and effects of repositories, not of Christ’s real presence.

Worst, the most crazy and foolish of all is how most Catholics end their devotions at Good Friday without realizing the most important of all celebrations is Easter which is the Mother of all feasts in our Church, the very heart of our faith.

This Easter, let us salvage the remaining gifts and grace God pours upon us in Jesus through this Season by opening our hearts, our minds, our total selves to the Risen Lord we encounter in the Scripture and many signs in our lives. Amen. Have a blessed Easter!

Great Silence

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Holy Saturday, 30 March 2024

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

Teach us to be silent today, 
God our Father, 
as we remember your Son 
Jesus Christ’s Great Silence – 
Magnum Silentium – 
when he was “crucified, 
died and was buried; 
he descended to the dead 
and on the third day 
he rose again.”

On this Holy Saturday, 
your whole creation comes to full circle. 
In the beginning, 
after completing your work of creation, 
you rested on the seventh day 
and made it holy (Gen.2:3). 

On the seventh day 
after completing his mission here on earth, 
Jesus Christ was laid to rest.

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, 19 March 2024.*

Silence and rest always go together.

Let us realize, Father,
that to be silent 
is not merely to be quiet 
but to listen more to Your voice 
coming from the depths of our being; hence, 
silence is not emptiness 
but fullness with You, dear God. 
It is in silence 
where we truly discover 
our selves and others too.

Likewise, 
to rest is not merely to stop work 
nor stop from being busy; 
we rest to reconnect with You 
to be filled with your Holy Spirit. 

You do not rest, O God, 
because you never get tired; 
it is us who need to rest 
so we may continue 
Your work of creation and, 
now of redemption 
and renewal by Jesus Christ.

When we rest, 
we return to Eden, 
like the garden where Jesus was buried:

“Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by” (Jn. 19:41-42).
John 19:41-42

How beautiful is that image, 
dear Father, 
of Your rest and silence in Eden 
and of Jesus laid to rest 
at a tomb in a garden: 
to rest in silence is therefore 
when we stop playing God 
as we return to You 
as Your image and likeness again!

God,
we are afraid of silence 
because we are also afraid
of the truth, of trusting You;
Jesus was crucified because
we have always been 
afraid to trust You 
and be truthful to You and 
ourselves.

Teach us to be like the women 
who rested on the sabbath 
when Jesus was laid to rest; 
like them, may we trust You more 
by being true to ourselves.

The women who had come from Galilee with him followed behind, and when they had seen the tomb and the way in which his body was laid in it, they returned and prepared spices and perfumed oils. Then they rested on the sabbath according to the commandment.
Luke 23:55-56

May your silence and rest reassure us that we shall rise with you again. Amen.

Praying & Dying with Jesus

The Lord Is My Chef Good Friday Recipe, 29 March 2024
Isaiah 52:13-53:12  > + <  Hebrews 4:14-16;5:7-9  > + <  John 18:1-19:42

*Photo by author, Chapel of the Holy Family, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, June 201*6.

The evangelists tell us that Jesus died on the Cross on a Friday at about 3PM. And they tell us too that our Lord died praying, exactly what most of the Seven Last Words expressed.

But from the gospel we have heard this afternoon written by the beloved disciple, we discover something very beautiful about the death of Jesus, that He was very calm and peaceful in His prayer unto death.

After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
John 19:28-30

When we are deep in suffering, in severe pain like Jesus on the cross, what do we usually pray? Most often, we pray that the terrible ordeal we are going through would finally end, would be finished.

And sometimes, due to desperation, we even pray for death, of how we wish God would finally end our life to be free from all the problems we are going to.

One of the things I keep telling to sick people I visit came from Meryl Streep who acted as mother of Winona Ryder in the 1990’s movie “House of Spirits” when she said, “Do not pray for death because death surely comes.” Sometimes in our desperation, we feel death is the solution to our problems and sufferings. But when Jesus died on the Cross, He made death an offering, a gift of self in love.

In the original Greek text, the word used to express Jesus Christ’s final prayer “It is finished” is tetelestai from the root word telos meaning the final end and direction. It is not just an ending but a direction too.

From the very start, Jesus was clear with His mission and how it would be accomplished. He has always been sure of Himself, of who He is. Notice how the beloved disciple repeated many times in his account of the Last Supper how Jesus was “fully aware” of everything that was going to happen to Him that He was actually in control and never left to the whims and powers of His enemies when He went through His Passion and Death.

Last night we heard how Jesus knew everything was coming to end that He washed the feet of His disciples after their supper. Most of all, Jesus was so composed and serene that He even gave bread to His betrayer Judas Iscariot during their meal. In fact in the washing of the feet of His disciples to His agony in the garden, Jesus calmly and courageously faced death that in the end, on the Cross, He had the upper hand that He was able to pray “It is finished” because He was never made under the power of death completely as He would rise again on Easter.

In praying “It is finished,” Jesus consecrated not only Himself but also all humanity to the Father so that we are able to bear and face death squarely like Him. Very notable in this part is how we find only in the fourth gospel how Jesus died by “handing over his spirit to the Father.”

Remember the verb to hand over is the literal meaning of the Greek word used paradidomi or betrayal. But here at the death of Jesus, handing over has no negative connotation but purely positive; Jesus never betrayed or handed anyone over to sufferings. He bore all sufferings and handed these over to the Father. That is true passion in the active sense when we let things happen not because we are helpless and resigned to the situation but we passively take everything in the positive sense because we have that firm faith and deep conviction that being silent, being patient, being persevering will eventually bear fruit for us like the death of Jesus that led to Easter.

Suffering and death thus are not resignation nor mere surrender but submission to the higher power of God to convert darkness into light, sadness into joy, and death into life. There on the Cross Jesus showed that true power is in weakness.

After the consecration of the bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood in the Mass, we proclaim “Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.” We call it as “the mystery of our faith” because when we say “Christ has died,” we admit that truly, the Son of God went through all kinds of sufferings in life we all go through like betrayal, rejection, loneliness, sickness, hunger, thirst, and yes, even death. And His sufferings continue as we suffer more in this world marred by evil and sins, making us cry, asking when would these end and be finished.

There lies the mystery of our faith on the Cross that led to Easter: when we look at Jesus Christ on His Cross, we see our own pains and agony as God’s pains and agony too. Jesus joined us in our anguish and death so that we could experience all the more His immense love for us. Without Jesus and His Cross, we would never be able to bear or even face the many deaths we go through daily. May we recognize God’s immense love for us again this afternoon when we venerate the Cross and see it as the merging point of human and Divine suffering. Keep praying with Jesus who has the final say with death in Easter. Amen.

*Photo by Ka Ruben, National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valezuela City, August 2022.*

Walking with Jesus

The Lord Is My Chef Holy Thursday Recipe, 28 March 2024
Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 > + < 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 > + < John 13:1-15

*Photo from wikipediacommons.org of Christ’s washing of feet of Apostles at Monreale Cathedral in Palermo, Italy*.

Tonight we start the Easter Triduum – the three holy days of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper and Washing of the Feet.

In our Mass tonight, there will be no dismissal after Holy Communion that is immediately followed by a short procession inside the church of the Blessed Sacrament to its repository that will be the focus of “Visita Iglesia” (not Stations of the Cross) when people “visit” at least seven churches to pray to the Divine Presence of Jesus. Tomorrow in most parishes is the “via Crucis” or Way of the Cross then in the afternoon after the Veneration of the Holy Cross is the Procession of the Burial of the Lord.

See how on these most holy days of the year, much of our activities involve a lot of walking – and rightly so because Jesus Christ was always walking even to His Crucifixion and after Resurrection.

Hence, on the night He was betrayed after Supper, He washed the feet of His disciples including us today because He had also known how difficult and tiring it is to always walk in this life.

“…fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.”
John 13:3-5

More than reenacting the washing of the feet, tonight we are reminded by Jesus of the journey ahead to his Crucifixion when – with apologies to Robert Frost – we still have to walk “miles to go before we sleep” by choosing the road less travelled “that made the difference.”

And here lies the problem of our time: with the advancement of technology, our modes of transportation like communication have greatly affected our relationships with others, for better and for worse. From being peripatetic persons, we have become more accustomed to riding, of getting fast and effortless to our destination that we no longer walk that much unlike before that has affected even our relationships with one another. How can we continue the work of Jesus when we no longer walk that much?

*Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News, 2020.*

Observe how it has become so difficult to ask for directions these days because nobody is walking anymore. Most of us are ensconced in our own vehicles that have become our own little world and tiny universe every time we travel even if it were just a “walking distance”. Aside from breaking apart from the rest of humanity, we have also become very impersonal in the sense that we now rely more with Google maps and other travel apps than with the ordinary “man on the street.” Worst, we rarely touch the ground with our bare feet that if ever we would walk, it has been relegated to mere physical fitness often done alone with earphones as companions. We have not only grown apart from others but have also lost touch with earth because we no longer walk that much like Jesus and His disciples.

Two weeks ago during my retreat, I walked around the vast grounds and mini-forests of the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches when I realized that priesthood is peripatetic in nature because it is a ministry that walks to reach out, search for the missing sheep as per instruction of the Lord. Jesus even added that in fulfilling our mission, we must carry nothing when we walk except a staff and sandals.

*Walking with our parishioners in the Via Crucis, 01 March 2024.*

Moreover, priesthood is a ministry of being companions as shepherds in the journey of the people. That is why Jesus is our Good Shepherd because He is the One who truly journeys with us in this life. He is the One who continues to walk with us in our many ups and downs, in the many dusty trails and harsh realities of life that no gadget or wealth or media platform could bring comfort and security to any weary traveler.

It is only in walking when we could truly journey with others in life to converse with them and listen to their doubts and frustrations like the two disciples walking back to Emmaus three days after Good Friday. It is only in walking can we truly meet the sick, the orphaned and the widowed, the blind and the lame, the sinners and the misfits the world had left behind or pushed onto the margins of the society, far from our superhighways.

Most of all, when we walk we touch ground, we feel the earth called “humus” in Latin, the origin of the words human and humility. Could it be that we have become less humble today partly because of our refusal to walk more often?

Forgive us your priests when we have refused to walk with you especially when you are troubled and lost. Forgive us your priests as we have ceased to be like Jesus who walked most of the time because we have been so obsessed riding and travelling most of the time in our cars and SUV’s as well as mountain bikes and big bikes that have insulated us from your cries and anguish. We have not only lost the art of walking but have totally forgotten about walking the extra mile to pray and commune with our Lord and Master Jesus Christ found among the poor and the sick, the marginalized peoples forgotten in our upwardly, mobile society.

We always hear the expression “life is a journey.” Our first reading tonight attested to this reality when God reminded the chosen people preparing for exodus from Egypt “to eat and dress like those who are in flight”(Ex.12:11).

The original concept of the restaurant is not just a place where people stop to eat during a long journey. Restaurants were truly “rest stops” where travelers could rest their feet by soaking them in warm water so that they could travel again to reach their destination.

The Holy Eucharist is a “sacred restaurant” where we eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ who nourishes us in our life journey. Most of all, in the Eucharist and Sacrament of Reconciliation, Jesus continues to wash our feet to cleanse us from our sins and burdens to make this journey of life lighter and easier. When we receive Him in the Holy Communion, we make Him our “companion” in life filled with darkness and pains, uncertainties and lack of direction. The word companion literally means “someone you break bread with” – a beautiful picture of the Eucharist described to us by St. Paul in the second reading.

In washing the feet of His disciples, Jesus Christ showed us in His humble gesture that He is indeed our Savior who went down so low even unto death on the Cross to express His immense love and mercy for each of us. Everything that transpired on the night He was betrayed prefigured the events of Good Friday which we make present every time we celebrate the Eucharist that is summed up in loving service for one another.

Do we still walk? And if we walk, who is our companion, the one we break bread with? Likewise, do we walk our talk of our faith?

May we never leave behind Jesus among our family and friends as we walk through this life. A blessed Holy Thursday to everyone. Amen.

Opening to God

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 28 March 2024

*Photo by author, sunrise at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.*

As we now enter the holiest parts of the Holy Week called the Sacred Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil beginning tonight with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, please find time to have some silent moments of prayer and reflections.

Do not let this Holy Week pass as one of those days so unique because of the great sights and sounds that have filled our cameras with so much photos and videos but have ironically left us empty inside. Don’t you notice the more we fill ourselves with photos and videos on the pretext and excuse of keeping memories and remembrances, the more we are left empty, lost and alienated because we have missed experiencing the moment itself?

The reason images are covered and no flowers adorn our church altars during Lent until Holy Saturday is for us to focus more inside ourselves than outside.

Lent and the Holy Week remind us that basic truth in life that what is most essential is the inside not the outside we aptly call in Filipino as palabas.

How ironic that despite all the technologies and comforts they have brought humans, we are more lost and empty these days than before with more suicides, more depressions, and more social problems and issues.

Lent invites us to return to our very first love of all, God who patiently awaits us always, right in our hearts. Pray as much as possible today to experience God and your very self this Holy Thursday. Just pray. Very often, the most difficult prayer is also the most meritorious.

And when you pray, I strongly recommend Jesuit Father Eduardo Hontiveros’ classic Buksan Ang Aming Puso, the most beautiful and touching church music that is a prayer in itself during this season of Lent and the Holy Week.

Buksan ang aming puso
Turuan mong mag-alab
Sa bawat pagkukuro
Lahat ay makayakap

Buksan ang aming isip
Sikatan ng liwanag
Nang kusang matangkilik
Tungkuling mabanaag

Buksan ang aming palad
Sarili'y maialay
Tulungan mong ihanap
Kami ng bagong malay

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 18 March 2024.*

I love its progression from opening of heart, then of mind, then of the hand which signifies our whole person.

Our hands is a microcosm of our very selves that is why we shake hands, with give high fives to signify the giving of our total selves in friendship. Fortune tellers read our palms because they signify our whole person. We Filipinos have a beautiful expression during pamanhikan when parents of the groom meet their future balae to ask for the hand of their daughter in marriage, “hihingin namin ang kamay ng inyong anak.”

What is in our hands?

Remember the word betrayal that literally means to hand over from the Greek word paradidomi? Again, our Tagalog translation renders its deepest meaning especially when we recall how Jesus was handed over by Judas to the soldiers who handed Him over to the Sanhedrin who then handed Him over to Pilate who finally handed Him over to the people to be crucified. That repeated handing over of Jesus – or betrayal – is perfectly said in our own expression of “pinagpasa-pasahan si Jesus.”

That is how dirty our hands are with sin and evil when we repeatedly hand over Jesus through our own family and friends whom we take as things to be passed on for something or someone else more useful.

Opening to God becomes complete, from the mind and the heart, when we are able to open our hands to Him, the only One we can really hold on in this life. When we die, we cannot hold and bring anything from this life. Like Jesus, we die with hands opened to God, praying, “Into your hands, I commend my spirit.”

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

You will notice this afternoon when you come for the Mass, the tabernacle is opened and empty. The Sacred Hosts we shall receive later in the Holy Communion are the ones to be consecrated during the Mass.

Are we also empty to receive Jesus? That is the beauty of Communion by hands when we hold nothing else, we open our hands positioned across our heart supposed to be clean to receive Jesus wholly and responsibly.

As you receive Jesus in the Holy Communion tonight, pray Buksan Ang Aming Puso and ask God to give you a new consciousness (bagong malay) that you are loved and forgiven so you can love and forgive others too.

Ask Jesus to empty your heart of pride so He would reign there to fill you with more of His humility, justice, and love.

Most of all, ask Jesus to dwell in your heart so that every decision you make may come from your heart not from the hatred and bitterness that have covered it all these years.

Be the new person tonight in Jesus as He wash you clean of sins. Amen.

*Usiginanga… you may open your phone to listen and pray Buksan Ang Aming Puso.

From YouTube.com

Paghahanda sa kamatayan ay pamumuhay ng ganap

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Ika-pitong Huling Wika ni Jesus, 27 Marso 2024

Nang mag-iikalabindalawa ng tanghali, nagdilim sa buong lupain hanggang sa ikatlo ng hapon. Nawalan ng liwanag ang araw; at ang tabing ng templo’y napunit sa gitna. Sumigaw ng malakas si Jesus, “AMA, SA MGA KAMAY MO’Y IPINAGTATAGUBILIN KO ANG AKING ESPIRITU!” At pagkasabi nito, nalagot ang Kanyang hininga.
Lukas 23:44-46

Mayroon ba kayong bucket list ng mga bagay na dapat gawain o mga lugar na puntahan o kaya ay pagkaing kainin bago mamatay? Usung-uso mga bucket list na iyan ng mga dapat magawa, marating, matikman o masubukan ng isang tao bago raw mamatay.

Ipagpaumanhin ninyo na hindi ako naniniwala sa mga bucket bucket list na iyan na pawang kaartehan. “Father, goal setting po iyon” madalas paliwanag sa akin ng mga nakakausap kong kabataan. Para daw yung mga dream car o dream house na pinapangarap mo balang araw.

Hindi ko sinasabing huwag tayong magkaroon ng mga pangarap at mithiin sa buhay. Kailangan at mahalagang mayroon tayong plano sa buhay para sa kinabukasan pero iba ang pakahulugan ng bucket list: ito ay mga dapat magawa bago mamatay. E, bakit hindi mo pa gawain na ngayon, puntahan na ngayon o tikman mo na ngayon habang may oras pa sapagkat malalaman ba natin kung kailan tayo mamamatay?

Iyon ang ayoko sa mga bucket list – isang pag-aaksaya ng oras at panahon na pinag-iisipan mga gagawin, pupuntahan o kakanin bago mamatay e kung pwede namang gawain mo na ngayon dahil baka ngayon ka na rin mamatay! Hindi po ba?

Lahat naman tayo ay tiyak na mamamatay. Ang tanong sa wari ko ay hindi ano pa ba ang dapat kong gawin bago mamatay kungdi ano ang magagawa ko sa ngayon para sa aking pagpanaw ay patuloy na magbunga ng mabuti aking naging buhay.

Siguradong mamamatay tayo nguni’t magiging maayos ba ating kamatayan? Will we die well?

*Larawan kuha ng may-akda, libingan ng mga Heswita sa Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Marso 2023.*

Ewan ko ba pero napansin ko lang habang tumatanda at nagiging totoong-totoo realidad ng kamatayan di lamang sa aking sarili kungdi sa mga malalapit sa akin na ang iba ay mga nangamatay na nga na kung tutuusin, ang ating kamatayan ang pinakamaganda at pangmatagalang regalo na maihahandog natin sa ating mga mahal sa buhay kung maiiwanan nating sila ng isang ganap at mabungang buhay.

Sa halip na pag-isipan natin kung ano pa yung magagawa natin sa nalalabing taon ng buhay natin na di nga nating alam kung hanggang kailan pa, ang dapat nating itanong sa sarili ay paano ako mamumuhay ng maayos at ganap upang sa gayon sa aking pagkamatay ay magbunga pa rin aking naging buhay sa aking mga maiiwan.

Huwag nating sayangin ang panahon sa pag-iisip sa hindi pa dumarating kungdi sa ano mayroon tayo ngayon sa sandaling ito. Sabi nga ng commercial ng Sprite, “magpakatotoo ka!” Get real by living fully in the present. Coming to terms with death is coming to terms with life. The moment we realize we shall die one day, that is when we start living authentically. And joyfully. Mamuhay tayo ng totoo at ganap gaya ng ating napagnilayan sa ika-anim na wika, ang mamuhay sa pagmamahal.

Namatay nang maayos si Jesus noong Biyernes Santo dahil naisuko o naitagubilin Niya ang lahat lahat ng sa Kanyang sarili sa Ama at para sa ating lahat sapagkat namuhay nga Siya ng ganap. Wala Siyang pinanghinayangang dapat ay nagawa o nasabi dahil nagawa at nasabi Niya mga mabubuting nararapat nang Siya ay buhay pa.

Tayo kaya? Linggu-linggo kitang kita ko sa mga pasyente at kanilang pamilya ang hapis at kalungkutan sa panghihinayang na sana ay naging mapagmahal sila, mapagpatawad, lahat na. Kay raming mga pasyente nakikiusap dugtungan pa kanilang buhay para magbago at iaayos kanilang sarili.

Iyon ang malungkot. Hindi nga natin alam kailan tayo magkakasakit o mamamatay kaya ang paghahanda sa kamatayan ay pamumuhay ng ganap. Mabuhay sa pagmamahal at kagalakan, habag at kapatawaran. Ipagdiwang palagi ang buhay, kumain ng masasarap kung kaya, mamasyal habang malakas, gawin kung ano man gustong gawin basta ba makabubuti. Totoo sinasabi ng marami, maigsi lang ang buhay para sayangin ito sa mga drama at pag-iisip.

Sa oras ng ating pagpanaw sa lupang ibabaw tulad ni Jesus noong Biyernes Santo, maibibigay kaya natin sa Diyos at mga mahal natin sa buhay ating sarili kalakip ng lahat ng pagmamahal, tuwa at kabutihan? Masasabi ba natin sa Diyos at kanino man na “itinatagubilin ko aking espiritu?”

*Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Kapilya ni San Francisco Javier, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, 20 Marso 2024.*

Manalangin tayo:

Panginoong Jesu-Kristo,
pagkalooban Ninyo ako ng biyaya
na maisabuhay ko itong buhay kong ito
sa Iyo at sa pamamagitan Mo
upang sakaling ako ay pumanaw
ano mang oras mula ngayon,
katulad Mo ay aking maitagubilin
sa Ama ang aking espiritu
ng walang sakit
panbghihinayang
maging kasalanan
bagkus puno ng
tuwa at pasasalamat
na pagyayamanin ng mga mauulila
ko hanggang sa magkasama-sama
kaming muli
kaisa Ka sa Iyong Paraiso.
Amen.

Salamuch po sa inyong pagsubaybay sa ating pagninilay sa Pitong Huling Wika ni Jesus. Maari ninyong balikan ang iba pang wika sa pagclick dito sa https://wordpress.com/view/lordmychef.com.

Nawa ay pagpalain kayong lagi ng Diyos sa ngalan ng Ama at ng Anak at ng Espiritu Santo tungo sa mabiyayang Pasko ng Pagkabuhay. Amen.

Spy Wednesday prayer for the Judas Iscariot among us & within us

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Holy Wednesday, "Spy Wednesday", 27 March 2024
Isaiah 50:4-9   +   +   +   Matthew 26:14-25

*Photo by author, dusk falls at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches, 20 March 2024.*

Today is "spy Wednesday"
for it was on this night when
Judas Iscariot struck a deal
with your enemies, Lord Jesus
to betray you;
tonight is said to be 
the night of traitors,
of betrayers.

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
Matthew 26:14-16

Oh how we hate, O Lord Jesus
to be called a traitor,
a betrayer,
a Judas Iscariot!
And yet,
too often,
it is so true of us
whenever we sin,
not only when we turn away
from you but most of all, 
when we "hand you over" -
the literal meaning of betrayal -
when we pass you over
for somebody better,
for something useful
and convenient.

Forgive us, Lord Jesus,
for having the same
Judas Iscariot within us,
in collaborating with the
Judas Iscariot among us
when we repeatedly
hand you over like a thing
or a tool for our own selfish ends
as we say in Filipino,
"pinagpapasa-pasahan" 
repeatedly passed on 
like a thing in exchange
of what or whom
we find better,
convenient and useful;
most sad part in betrayal
dear Jesus,
is how we disregard
the trust we have
with each other
and from each other.

*Same photo with preceding one this time with filters.*

Help me imitate you,
Lord Jesus Christ
like the Suffering Servant
according to Isaiah in the
first reading by being the person
who breaks the cycle of violence
and betrayal;
like the psalmist today,
let "zeal for your house consume me"
Lord, that is,
be filled with your Holy Spirit
so that I may act
and respond to others
from my heart where you dwell
not from my pains and hurts,
nor from the many
betrayals inflicted on me
by others.
Amen.

Pag-ibig at kaganapan ng buhay

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-26 ng Marso 2024
Ika-anim na Huling Wika ni Jesus

*Larawan kuha ni G. Chester Ocampo, kapilya ng Immaculate Conception Seminary, Guiguinto, Bulacan, 30 November 2015.*

May isang mangkok doon na puno ng maasim na alak. Itinubog nila rito ang isang espongha, ikinabit sa sanga ng isopo at idiniit sa Kanyang bibig. Nang masipsip ni Jesus ang alak ay Kanyang sinabi, “NAGANAP NA!” Iniyukayok Niya ang Kanyang ulo at nalagot ang Kanyang hininga.
Juan 19:29-30

Kung minsan ako ay nalulungkot tuwing Huwebes Santo kapag natutuon ang pansin ng mga tao sa rito ng paghuhugas ng pari sa mga paa ng ilang mananampalataya. Tunay na kakaibang eksena at karanasan iyon sa mga tao ngunit ang totoo, hindi naman talagang bahagi ng Misa ng Huwebes Santo ang naturang paghuhugas ng mga paa na puwede namang hindi ganapin.

Ang tunay na lundo ng Banal na Misa ng Huwebes Santo ay naroon sa bahagi ng Ebanghelyong nagsasaad ng diwa ng paghuhugas ni Jesus sa mga paa ng kanyang mga alagad:

Bisperas na ng Paskuwa. Alam ni Jesus na dumating na ang panahon ng kanyang paglisan sa sanlibutang ito upang bumalik sa Ama. Mahal niya ang kanyang mga tagasunod na nasa sanlibutan, at ngayo’y ipakikita niya kung hanggang saan ang kanyang pag-ibig sa kanila.
Juan 13:1

Hanggang saan nga ba ang pag-ibig sa atin ni Jesus?

Hanggang sa wakas. O, end sa Inggles. Ngunit kapag sinabi nating hanggang sa wakas, parang mayroong hangganan ang pag-ibig natin kaya ang pahayag na ginamit sa pagkakasalin ay “ipakikita niya kung hanggang saan ang kanyang pag-ibig sa kanila.”

Mas mainam ang pagkakasalin sa Inggles ng huling pangungusap na nagsabing “He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.” Mula sa salitang Griyego na telos ang katagang wakas o end sa Inggles. Nguni’t salungat sa madalas nating isipin ang “wakas” bilang hangganan dahil ang telos ay nagpapahiwatig ng direksiyon at hahantungan na kaganapan o perfection. Hindi lang pagtigil at paghinto ang wakas o end.

Kaya naman nang sabihin ni Jesus doon sa Krus na “naganap na”, ang pakahulugan Niya ay ang kaganapan ng Kanyang misyon na mahalin tayong lahat hanggang sa wakas na siyang tinutukoy ng pahayag sa simula ng kanilang Paskuwa, “at ngayo’y ipakikita niya kung hanggang saan ang kanyang pag-ibig sa kanila” sa paghuhugas ng kanilang mga paa na ang kaganapan ay sa Kanyang kamatayan sa Krus kinabukasan ng araw ng Biyernes.

Ipinamalas sa atin ni Jesus ng buong-buo at ganap sa Kanyang pagkamatay sa Krus ang pag-ibig ng Ama para sa atin batay sa Kanyang sinabi kay Nicodemus, “Gayon na lamang ang pag-ibig ng Diyos sa sanlibutan, kaya ibinigay niya ang kanyang bugtong na Anak” (Jn.3;16).

Kung tutuusin ay hindi naman kailangang mamatay si Jesus sa Krus upang tayo ay maligtas ngunit pinili pa rin Niya ito bilang tanda ng Kanyang pagmamahal sa ating lahat. Kaya naman dito rin nating makikita ang magandang kahulugan ng pagmamahal na hindi lamang basta pagtupad sa mga kautusan o pagiging mabuti sa kapwa. Sa kabuuan nito, ang pagmamahal ay pagiging-ganap ng ating buhay. Love is the perfection of life, ayon kay Thomas Merton, isang mongheng Amerikano noong araw.

Kapag tayo ay nagmamahal, tayo ay nagiging ganap tulad ng Diyos! Kaya, basta magmahal lang ng magmahal hanggang masaktan dahil hindi iyan mauubos tulad ng Diyos.

Mga minamahal, yamang gayon kadakila ang pag-ibig ng Diyos sa atin, dapat din tayong mag-ibigan. Walang taong nakakita sa Diyos kailanman, ngunit kung tayo’y nag-iibigan, nasa atin siya at nagiging ganap sa atin ang kanyang pag-ibig.
1 Juan 4:11-12

Mula sa unang sulat ding iyan ni San Juan, ating matutunghayan ang pahayag niya na ang Diyos ay pag-ibig na ayon sa dating Santo papa Benedicto XVI sa kanyang unang encyclical na Deus Caritas est, ito ang pinaka-malalim na pahayag tungkol sa Diyos na hindi matatagpuan sa ibang relihiyon maliban lamang sa Kristiyanidad.

Mga ginigiliw ko, Diyos lang ang makapagmamahal sa atin ng ganap. Tanging si Jesus lang ang makapagmamahal sa atin ng ganap na Kanyang pinatunayan doon sa Krus.

Palagi kong sinasabi, “human love is always imperfect” kaya hayaan nating punan ni Jesus, gawin Niyang ganap at buo ang ating pagmamahal na palaging kapos at kulang. Maari itong mangyari kapag tayo nagsimulang magparaya at magpatawad, magbigay ng walang hinihintay na kapalit, manahimik kesa kumibo at humaba pa usapan. Tanggapin natin at angkinin mga sakit at sugat natamo natin sa imperfect love ng pamilya at kaibigan o sino pa man.

Tularan natin si Jesus na nagpakasakit at naghandog ng buhay sa Krus dahil sa pag-ibig.

Manalangin tayo para sa mga minamahal natin at sa nagmamahal sa atin sa kabila ng ating mga imperfection:

Panginoong Jesu-Kristo,
sana makapagmahal din ako
tulad Mo hanggang kamatayan;
sana masabi ko rin sa wakas tulad Mo
"naganap na";
patawarin po Ninyo ako
sa maraming pagkakataon
na hindi pa rin tapos
at patuloy pa rin sa pagnanana
ng mga sugat kong natamo
sa imperfect na pagmamahal ng kapwa
kaya hindi ako maka-move on
dahil nilalamon akong buhay ng mga sugat
at alaalang ito kaya hindi ako lumago
at maging ganap sa Iyo.
O Kristo Jesus,
patawarin po Ninyo ako
at turuang magpatawad
dahil sa pagpapatawad
kami tunay na nagmamahal
ng ganap tulad Mo.
Amen.

Pinawi ni Jesus ating uhaw sa Krus

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 25 Marso 2024
Ikalimang Huling Wika ni Jesus

*Larawan kuha ni Dean Mon Macatangga ng Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela, 2023.*

Pagkatapos nito, alam ni Jesus na naganap na ang lahat ng bagay; at bilang katuparan ng Kasulatan ay sinabi niya, “NAUUHAW AKO!” May isang mangkok doon na puno ng maasim na alak. Itinubog nila rito ang isang espongha, ikinabit sa sanga ng isopo at idiniit sa kanyang bibig.
Juan 19:28-29

Ito ang ikalawang pagkakataon na si Jesus ay nauhaw na bukod tanging makikita lamang natin sa ikaapat na ebanghelyo. Unang nauhaw si Jesus nang Siya ay makiinom sa babaeng Samaritana sa balon ni Jacob sa bayan ng Sychar sa Samaria (Jn.4:7). Sa tagpong iyon naganap ang napaka-gandang usapan sa pagitan ng nauuhaw nating Panginoon at ng babaeng Samaritana nauuhaw sa Diyos, sa pag-ibig at habag.

Mahirap ang mauhaw. Hindi tulad ng gutom na maaring idaan sa tulog. Tiyan lang ang kumakalam kapag tayo ay gutom ngunit kapag tayo nauhaw, dama ng buong katawan ang panghihina. Ramdam na ramdam at nanunuot sa laman at buto ating pagkauhaw. Kaya naman, malalim ang kahulugan ng pagiging uhaw na maaring hindi lamang sa tubig kungdi sa iba pang mahahalagang bagay kailangan ng ating kalooban.

Pagmasdan at damang-dama pagkatao tulad natin ni Jesus nang sabihin Niyang “Ako’y nauuhaw” higit pa sa tubig kungdi ang Kanyang pagkauhaw sa ating pagmamahal at pansin.

Alalahaning sa Ebanghelyo ayon kay San Juan, ang tubig ang isa sa mga pangunahing tanda ni Jesus bilang Kristo. Doon sa kasalan sa Cana nang gawin alak ni Jesus ang mga sinalok na tubig sa banga una Siyang nakilala bilang Kristo. Pagkatapos nito ang sumunod na eksena ang pagbisita sa gabi ng Pariseong si Nicodemo kay Jesus na noon unang binanggit ang tungkol sa pagbinyag o pagsilang muli sa tubig at espiritu (Jn.3:5). Sumunod na eksena doon ang paghingi ni Jesus ng tubig sa babaeng Samaritan kung saan Siya ay nagpakilala bilang “buhay na tubig” (Jn.4:10).

Sa pagsasabi ni Jesus doon sa Krus na Siya ay nauuhaw, Kanyang ipinahahayag di lamang ang pagkauhaw sa tubig kungdi higit pa! Kay laking kahangalan nang bigyan Siya ng ordinaryong alak ng isang sundalong Romano upang mainom. At madalas ay ganoon din tayo kay Jesus na nangakong “ang uminom ng tubig na ibibigay ko ay hindi na muling mauuhaw. Ito ay magiging isang bukal sa loob niya, babalong, at magbibigay sa kanya ng buhay na walang hanggan” (Jn.4:14).

Maliwanag higit pa sa tubig kungdi pag-ibig at malasakit ang kinauuhaw ni Jesus doon sa Krus. Noon at hanggang ngayon.

Si Jesus ang nauuhaw na misis at ina sa pagmamahal at kalinga ng kanyang taksil na kabiyak at mga lapastangang anak na walang iniisip kungdi kanilang mga sarili.

Si Jesus ang nauuhaw na mister at ama na OFW nasa ibang bahagi ng mundo na walang inaasam-asam kungdi ang mga simpleng tawag at texts ng pamilya na papawi ng kanyang pagod at lungkot.

Si Jesus ang nauuhaw na lolo at lola na pakiramdam ay nag-iisa at nawawala dahil sa Alzheimer’s o sa stroke na walang pumpansin sa loob mismo ng kanilang tahanan.

Si Jesus ang nauuhaw na kabataan naghahanap ng panahon at malasakit ng magulang at mga kapatid upang magkaroon ng direksiyon ang buhay, higit pa sa mga binibigay sa kanilang mga gadgets, damit at mga salapi.

Si Jesus ang nauuhaw na maaring katabi mo ngayon naghahanap ng papansin sa kanya, na ngingiti sa kanya at magpaparamdam na siya ay welcomed at, masarap mabuhay!

Huwag nating tularan ang mga sundalong Romano o ang babaeng Samaritana na naghagilap ng mineral water para kay Jesus na naroroon sa bawat taong nakakasalamuha natin.

Ang pinakamainam at masarap na tubig nating maiaalok sa sino mang nauuhaw ay nanggagaling sa kaibuturan ng ating puso at kaluluwa kung saan nanahan si Jesus sa atin na puno ng habag at pag-ibig. Mauhaw tayo kay Jesus dahil tanging Siya lamang makapapawi at makatitighaw sa ating pagka-uhaw.

Manaling tayo.

Minamahal kong Panginoong Jesus,
patawarin po Ninyo ako 
kapag pinapawi ko aking pagka-uhaw
sa kung ano-anong alok ng mundo
na kadalasan lalo lamang ako
nauuhaw,
tuyot,
at hungkag;
punuin mo ako ng IYONG SARILI
upang higit KITA na maibahagi
sa kapwa ko nauuhaw
dahil IKAW lamang
ang makakapawi
sa aming pagkauhaw
sa kahulugan
at kaganapan
ng buhay.
Amen.

Hindi ka nag-iisa

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 24 Marso 2024
Ikaapat na Huling Wika ni Jesus

Mula sa tanghaling tapat hanggang ikatlo ng hapon ay nagdilim sa buong lupain. Nang mag-iikatlo ng hapon, sumigaw si Jesus, “ELOI, ELOI, LEMA SABACHTANI?” ibig sabihi’y “DIYOS KO, DIYOS KO, BAKIT MO AKO PINABAYAAN?”
Mateo 27:45-46

Sa tagpong ito ating mababanaagan kadakilaan ng pagmamahal sa ating lahat ng Diyos, Siya na ganap, walang kapintasan at kakulangan (perefect) ay piniling maging katulad nating hindi ganap (imperfect) bilang tao sa lahat ng bagay maliban sa kasalanan kay Kristo Jesus.

Pinili at mas inibig ng Diyos kay Kristo na maging tao upang maranasan hirap at sakit natin maging ang kamatayan, lalo’t higit ang magdusa at mamatay na nag-iisa at iniwanan ng lahat doon sa Krus.

Ano mang paghihirap at pagdurusa ay nagiging napakabigat kapag ika’y nag-iisa, na walang kasama ni karamay. Ito pinakamasaklap sa panahon natin ngayon maging sa ating bansa na dati rati’y walang mga bahay ampunan para sa matatanda ngunit nagyon ay naglipana na dahil sa maraming matatanda ang iniiwan, tinatalikuran di lamang ng mga kamag-anakan kungdi pati ng lipunan. Ito ang dahilan kung bakit si Santa Mother Teresa ay bumuo noon ng samahan na mag-aalaga sa mga tinaguriang “poorest of the poor” sa India nang makita niya maraming may-sakit sa Calcutta namamatay nang mag-isa. Hindi lamang ito totoo sa mga mahihirap na lugar kungdi maging sa mga mauunlad na lupain ay maraming matatanda ngayon ang namamatay na lamang ng mag-isa sa buhay.

*Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Baguio City, 2023.*

Iyan man ay pinagdaanan ni Jesus lalo na noong ipinako siya sa krus na halos iwanan siya ng lahat. Sa labingdalawang alagad niya, naghudas ang isa habang ang pinuno naman nila ay ikinaila siya ng tatlong ulit kaya’t nagtago noon kasama ang iba pang mga alagad. Tanging si Juan na minamahal na alagad ang nanatili sa paanan ng krus ni Jesus kasama ang kanyang Ina na si Maria at ilan pang mga kababaihan.

Nasaan ang mahigit limang libong tao na pinakain ni Jesus sa ilang? Wala din doon ni isa sa mga pinagaling niyang mga may-sakit. Nawala at naglaho ang lahat ng tao na tuwang-tuwang sumalubong kay Jesus noong Linggo ng Palaspas.

Ngunit kailan man ay hindi naramdaman ni Jesus ang pagiging mag-isa doon sa Krus. Tulad ng sino mang mabuting Judio, dinasal ni Jesus noon ang Salmo 22, ang awit ng panaghoy, ng pagpapakasakit at buong pagtitiwala sa Diyos.

Ito ang mabuting balita ng pagkamatay ni Jesus sa Krus: mula noon tayong mga tao ay hindi na mag-iisa sa mga hirap at tiisin nitong buhay maging kamatayan dahil kasama na natin ang Diyos kay Jesus.

Ito ang ating consolation o consuelo, wika nga.

Mula sa dalawang katagang Latin na con (with) at solare (alone) na ibig sabihin ay samahan ang nag-iisa, naging pinakamalapit at tunay na kaisa tayo ng Diyos sa tuwing tayo ay nasa gitna ng mga tiisin at hirap sa buhay maging kamatayan dahil sa pagdamay sa atin ni Jesus doon sa Krus upang sa gayon sa kanyang muling pagkabuhay tayo man ay kanyang makasama at makaisa.

Sapagkat siya ma’y tinukso at nagbata, kaya ngayo’y matutulungan niya ang mga tiutukso.
Hebreo 2:18

Sa tatlong taon kong pagiging chaplain sa Our Lady of Fatima University at Fatima University Medical Center, nakita ko at naranasan sa maraming pagkakataon paano mga tao – bata man o matanda, mahirap at mayaman, may sakit o karamdaman maging mga malalakas at malusog ang pangangatawan – ay nararanasan ang pangungulila at pag-iisa sa gitna ng kanilang mga paghihirap at pagdurusa sa buhay. Marami sa kanila ang mag-isang umiiyak kasi maraming ginagawa o nasa kung saan-saan kanilang mga mahal sa buhay. Maraming pagkakataon nga naitatanong ko na lang kung mayroon pa bang umuuwi ng bahay o nakatira sa kanilang tahanan? Is anybody still home?

*Larawan ng convolvulus tricolor mula BBC Gardeners World Magazine.*

Halina at ipagdasal ang bawat isa, lalo na yaong mga nahihirapan, nagtitiis ng mag-isa sa buhay:

Diyos Amang mapagkalinga,
ibinigay mo sa amin 
ang Iyong Anak na si Jesus
upang aming maranasan Iyong
pag-ibig at habag,
ang Iyong pagpapagaling at pagkandili,
ang Iyong kapanatilihan at kapayapaan
upang hindi na kami mag-isa pa sa buhay na ito;
maalala nawa naming palagi
na kung kami man ay dumaraan sa 
napakatinding pagsubok sa buhay
na tila nag-iisa at walang karamay,
naroon si Jesus pinakamalapit sa amin
dahil Siya ang unang nagpakasakit
at namatay doon sa Krus
para sa amin.
Amen.