Pagbabalik-loob vs. pagbabago

Lawiswis Ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Kapistahan ng Pagbabalik-loob ni San Pablo, Ika-25 ng Enero, 2024
Gawa ng mga Apostol 22:3-16 ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> Marcos 16:15-18

*Painting ng “The Conversion of St. Paul” ni Luca Giordano noong 1690 mula sa wikipedia.org.*

“Magbago ka na!” Iyan ang mga salitang madalas nating marinig at sinasabi sa mga tao na alam nating mayroong masamang pag-uugali at gawain. Madalas bitiwan mga salitang iyan tuwing Bagong Taon at mga Mahal na Araw.

Ngunit, maari nga ba talagang magbago ng pag-uugali o ng pagkatao ang sino man? Ibig bang sabihin yung dating iyakin magiging bungisngis o dating madaldal magiging tahimik? Iyon bang matapang kapag nagbago magiging duwag o dating palaban magiging walang kibo at imik?

Kung isasalin sa sariling wika natin ang salitang “conversion”, nagpapahiwatig ito ng pagbabago tulad ng na-convert sa ibang relihiyon o sa ibang anyo o gamit. Ngunit sa bawat pagbabago, mayroong higit na malalim na nababago na hindi namang ibig sabihin ay nag-iiba o naging different.

Kasi iyong sinasabing conversion ni San Pablo o ng sino pa mang tao ay hindi naman pagbabago ng pagkatao kung tutuusin; sa bawat conversion, hindi naman nababago ating pagkatao talaga kungdi ating puso na naroon sa ating kalooban.

Kaya tinatawag itong pagbabalik-loob, di lamang pagbabagong-buhay.

Binabalikan natin ang Diyos na nananahan sa puso natin, doon sa kalooban natin.

Higit na malalim at makahulugang isalin ang conversion sa katagang “pagbabalik-loob” dahil ang totoo naman ay bumabalik tayo sa Diyos na naroon sa loob ng ating sarili.

Dito ipinakikita rin na likas tayong mabuti sapagkat mula tayo sa Diyos na mismong Kabutihan. Kailangang pagsisihan mga kasalanan, talikuran at talikdan kasamaan na siyang mga balakid sa ano mang pagbabalik-loob at saka pa lamang mababago ating pamumuhay.

Katulad ni San Pablo, sino man sa atin na makatagpo sa liwanag ng Diyos, nagiging maliwanag ang lahat kayat atin nang hahangarin ang Diyos na lamang at kanyang kalooban. Nananatili ating katauhan at pag-uugali ngunit naiiba direksiyon at pokus.

Kapansin-pansin na bawat nagkakasala wika nga ay malayo ang loob sa Diyos na ibig sabihin ay “ayaw sa Diyos” gaya ng ating pakahulugan tuwing sinasabing “malayo ang loob”. Ang nagbabalik-loob ay lumalapit, nagbabalik-loob at pumapaloob sa Diyos.

*Pangangaral ni San Pablo sa Areopagus sa Athens (larawan mula sa wikipedia.org).*

Isang magandang paalala sa ating lahat itong Kapistahan ng Pagbabalik-loob ni San Pablo na hindi malayo at hindi rin mahirap maabot, bumalik sa Diyos sa pamamagitan ni Kristo Jesus. Maari itong mangyari sa gitna mismo ng ating sira at maruming sarili.

Hindi nabago pagkatao at pag-uugali ni San Pablo kung tutuusin: nanatili pa rin siyang masugid, matapang at masigasig. Nabago lamang ang direksiyon at pokus o tuon ng kanyang pag-uugali at pagkatao. At siya pa rin iyon. Inamin niya sa ating unang pagbasa ngayon na siya ay “isang Judio, ipinanganak sa Tarso ng Cilicia ngunit lumaki rin sa Jerusalem. Nag-aral kay Gamaliel at buong higpit na tinuruan sa Kautusuan ng mga ninuno at masugid na naglilingkod sa Diyos” (Gawa 22:3).

Nanatiling masugid sa Diyos si San Pablo ngunit naiba na ang batayan na dati ay sa mga Kautusan at tradisyon ngunit sa kanyang pagbabalik-loob, si Jesu-Kristo na ang batayan ng kanyang pananampalataya. Personal niyang naranasan si Jesus kaya gayon na lamang kanyang pagiging masugid na alagad. Sinasabing kung hindi siya nadakip at nakulong hanggang sa patayin marahil ay umabot siya sa Africa sa pagpapalaganap ng Mabuting Balita.

Hindi rin nabawasan kanyang tapang; bagkus pa nga ay higit pa siyang tumapang. Lahat ng hirap tiniis niya at hinarap gaya ng pambubugbog sa kanila, ma-shipwreck sa isla, mabilanggo ng ilang ulit at ni minsan hindi umatras sa mga balitaktakan at paliwanagan sa mga Judio at maging kay San Pedro ay kanyang kayang salungatin at pagsabihan kung kinakailangan.

Gayon na lamang ang malasakit ni San Pablo sa Panginoong Jesu-Kristo at kanyang Mabuting Balita kaya naman sabay ang pagdiriwang ng kanilang Dakilang Kapistahan ni San Pedro tuwing ika-29 ng Hunyo dahil magkapantay kanilang kahalagahan sa pagpapatatag, pamumuno at pagpapalaganap ng pananampalataya at Simbahan.

*Ordinasyon sa pagka-diyakano sa Katedral sa Malolos, ika-12 ng Hunyo 2019.*

Alalaong-baga, katulad ni San Pablo, ano man ating pagkatao at pag-uugali siya pa ring mga dahilan kaya tayo tinatawag ng Panginoon upang maglingkod sa kanya; ililihis at ihihilig lamang niya mga ito ayon sa kanyang panukala at kalooban.

Kaming mga pari kapag inordenahan ay ganoon pa rin naman pagkatao at pag-uugali ngunit nababago direksiyon at tuon sa bagong estado ng buhay at misyon.

Gayun din ang mga mag-asawa. Lalabas at lalabas tunay na pagkatao at pag-uugali ngunit hindi iyon mga sagwil upang lumago at lumalim sila sa pagmamahalan at pagsasama bilang mag-asawa.

Wika nga sa Inggles, “God does not call the qualified; he qualifies the call.” Maraming pagkakataon tinatawag tayo ng Diyos maglingkod sa kanya di dahil sa tayo ay magagaling at mahusay; madalas nagugulat pa tayo na mismong ating kapintasan at kakulangan ang ginagamit ng Diyos para tayo maging mabisa sa pagtupad sa kanyang tawag.

Madalas at hindi naman maaalis na sumablay pa rin tayo at sumulpot paulit-ulit dating pag-uugali. Kaya naman isang proseso na nagpapatuloy, hindi natatapos ang pagbabalik-loob sa Diyos. Araw-araw tinatawagan tayong magbalik-loob.

*Larawan kuha ni G. Jim Marpa sa Dabaw, 15 Enero 2024.*

Gaya ni San Pablo nang siya ay ma-bad trip kay Juan Marcos na iniwan sila ni Bernabe sa una nilang pagmimisyon. Batay sa kasulatan, ibig pagbigayn pa ni San Bernabe na muling isama si Juan Marcos sa pangalawang pagmimisyon nila ngunit mariin ang pagtanggi at pagtutol ni San Pablo kaya’t sila ay naghiwalay ng landas bagamat nanatili silang mga alagad ni Kristo. Sa bandang huli naman ay nagkapatawaran sila.

Ganoon din tayo, hindi ba? Walang perfect. Ang mahalaga araw-araw nagbabalik-loob tayo sa Diyos dahil araw-araw lumiligwak din tayo sa ating maling pag-uugali at mahunang pagkatao.

Higit sa lahat, sa ating patuloy na pagbabalik-loob, doon lamang magiging maliwanag sa ating ang kalooban ng Diyos na palagi nating inaalam sapagkat batid nating ito ang pinakamabuti para sa atin. Ang kalooban ng Diyos ang magtuturo sa atin ng tamang landas na tatahakin upang ating buhay ay maging ganap at kasiya-siya.

Subalit kadalasan tayo ay nabibigo, naguguluhan kung ano ang kalooban ng Diyos dahil akala natin para itong tanong na isang pindot ay malalaman kaagad ang sagot tulad ng sa Google. Mahirap mabatid kalooban ng Diyos kung tayo ay malayo sa kanya dahil sa mga kasalanan. Kaya tulad ni San Pablo, idalangin natin sa Ama sa pamamagitan ni Jesu-Kristong Anak niya na magpatuloy tayo sa pagbabalik-loob upang manatili tayong nakapaloob sa Diyos. Amen. San Pablo, ipanalangin mo kami!

Sowing the seeds of love

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial, St. Francis Sales, Bishop & Doctor of the Church, 24 January 2024
2 Samuel 7:4-17 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Mark 4:1-20

*“The Sower at Sunset” by Vincent Van Gogh, oil on canvas painted in June 1888 from wikimedia commons.*

Lord Jesus Christ,
as you narrated to us today
the parable of the sower,
I wonder what were the other
seeds you have sowed 
aside from your word?

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, “Hear this! A sower went out to sow.”
Mark 4:1-3

We are not just the different
kinds of soil where your seeds
fell, Lord Jesus;
like you, may we also be 
sowers of your word and teachings,
sowers of your love and mercy,
sowers of compassion and kindness,
sowers of your light and life,
sowers of your hope and healing,
sowers of your very presence.

When God told David not to build
him a temple as he promised to raise 
a house for him from whom 
shall come the Christ,
that was when the Father also
sowed the seeds of redemption 
and fulfillment in you,
Lord Jesus!

On this feast of St. Francis Sales,
patron of Catholic journalists and 
media practitioners,
we pray for all communicators
to sow unity and peace,
not division
nor misunderstanding,
nor animosities;
we pray for all journalists
of different platforms
to sow understanding
and clarity,
to sow justice and equality
among peoples,
and to sow respect for life
at all times because every
communication must promote
first of all the dignity
 of every person.
Amen.

Being “in”, being “out”

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Third Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 23 January 2024
2 Samuel 6:12-15, 17-19 <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Mark 3:31-35

*Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, 15 January 2024 in Davao.*

How timely are your
words today, O God,
for us always checking
on what is trending
and viral,
on who's in,
and who's out:

The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house. Standing outside they sent word to Jesus and called him. A crowd seated around him told him, “Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you.” And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
Mark 3:31-32, 34-35

Remind us,
dear Jesus that being in
and being out with you
is not physical nor spatial
but spiritual in nature;
even with one another!
How sad
many of us these days
 are preoccupied in being in,
being hip,
being included
and accepted
for the sake of status
and fame;
being in
being out
is being close,
being far
from the beloved's heart.

Help us,
dear God to imitate
King David
though he was inside
the circle of those
carrying your ark
to Jerusalem,
his heart, his mind,
his very self was in you
totally!
Amen.

God’s Kingdom is for children

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Feast of the Sto. Niño, Cycle B, 21 January 2024
Isaiah 9:1-6 ><}}}*> Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-18 ><}}}*> Mark 10:13-16

*Photo by Ms. Anne Ramos, 22 March 2020 in Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria,Bulacan during our “libot” of the Blessed Sacrament at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown.*

Our Lord Jesus Christ’s attitude to children is perfectly clear in our gospel this Sunday, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it” (Mk 10:15).

Being like a child is actually the main teaching of Jesus Christ who came to us precisely as one. Right at his infancy like most babies these days, Jesus faced a lot of great risks of being harmed or even getting killed.

See how Jesus insisted in all his teachings on this need to become like a child, to go back to one’s beginnings in order to get into God’s kingdom which is actually him, his very person. Keep in mind that the kingdom of God is not a territorial domain but the very person of Jesus Christ himself. It is from this fact we realize that being a child as taught by Jesus is a mystery that can never be explained nor solved in our minds and mental faculties. This we find in that occasion when Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to Jesus hiding in the darkness of the night to discuss the kingdom of God. When Jesus told him of the need to be born from above (or, be born again in earlier translations) which is to become like a child, he thought it to be in the literal manner.

Jesus chided Nicodemus by saying, “You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?” (Jn. 3:9-10). It was not sarcasm nor an insult by Jesus but a clarification to everyone including us today that being a child to enter the kingdom of God is a mystery we have to embrace and experience and feel in the heart not deduced in the mind.

And this is exactly what the Feast of the Sto. Niño is all about that we celebrate every third Sunday in January.

The Vatican has given us this special celebration as an extension of the Christmas season in recognition of the great role played by the image of Sto. Niño Magellan gifted Queen Juana of Cebu in 1521.

After leaving our shores after Magellan was killed in Mactan, the Spaniards returned in 1565 under Miguel Lopez de Legazpi to claim our islands for the King of Spain. Upon their arrival in Cebu, they found the Sto. Niño enshrined in a house of worship prominently displayed as the main God of the natives along with their other idols and gods. Historians say the people of Cebu during those years between 1521 to 1565 have found the Sto. Niño as the most powerful and effective in granting their prayers for children (fertility), rains and bountiful harvests that rightly it was the Sto. Niño who actually conquered the Philippines that we have become the only Christian nation in this part of the world. In those 44 years after Magellan and his men left the Philippines, the Sto. Niño had remained and stayed with the natives keeping them safe and secured all those years until the Spaniards returned to be colonized through Legazpi.

What a beautiful imagery of the Sto. Niño staying behind with our forefathers conquering them not with swords nor force but with love and mercy, and youthfulness of the Child Jesus!

*Photo from https://santoninodecebubasilica.org/chronicles/viva-pit-senor-viva-senor-santo-nino/*

Recall how last Sunday we have reflected the words stay and remain when Andrew asked Jesus where he was staying: to stay, to dwell mean more than its spatial nature as a place or location but also in a deeper sense, a communion. It is in dwelling in Jesus who is the kingdom of God that we belong, we become a part of that kingdom.

When Jesus spoke of “being born from above” to Nicodemus, he was not only referring to the Sacrament of Baptism but to the very fact how he as the Christ from the very start has always dwelled and remained in the Father.

Three days after being found in the temple in Jerusalem when Jesus was 12 years old, he told Mary his Mother, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”(Lk.2:49). What a beautiful expression of that union in “being in my Father’s house” to show us this mystery of Jesus being like a child, the Son of God who has remained the Father’s beloved One into his adulthood because he had always been in union with the Father. Jesus is inseparable from the Father because he himself takes abode and dwelling in God.

*“The Finding of the Savior at the Temple” painting by William Holman Hunt (1860) from en.wikipedia.org.*

When Jesus was approaching his Passion and Death, he repeatedly told everyone how everything he had said and done were not his but his Father’s to indicate his communion and union in him. Ultimately there on the Cross, his final words expressed the same truth that he is the Son of God obedient unto death especially when he called out, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Lk.23:46).

Therefore, to accept and welcome a child in Jesus’ name is not just an act of charity nor of a simple finding of Jesus among children. It is ultimately being one, of remaining in the Father because Jesus also said “whoever welcomes such a child in my name, welcomes me” (Mt 18:5).

That is why the kingdom of God is for those who are like children always one with God like Jesus.

To be a child is to remain in God, to always love expressed in kindness and care for others especially the weak, being forgiving and merciful and compassionate with those lost like the Father.

To be like a child is being a light who brightens the life of others just like a babies whose very sight and smiles can ease our pains and sorrows, giving us the much needed boost to forge on in life. We are filled with hope whenever we encounter or see infants because they remind us too of God dwelling in them, of a God who assures and ensures us with s bright future.

This the reason we have in our first reading that part of the Book of Isaiah we heard proclaimed on Christmas day to remind us that Jesus is the light born on the darkest night of the year to illumine our lives and the world darkened by sins and evil like wars, poverty, and diseases. We see light in being like a child because that is when we are one in the Father too in being like a child.

Let me cite again that beautiful movie Firefly where the main character, the child named Tonton loved his mother so much that he totally believed her stories that sent him into a journey to search for the magical island filled with fireflies. Tonton dwelled in his mother’s love that he eventually found the magical island with the many fireflies that in the process also brought light into the darkness within the three adults he befriended in the bus going to Bicol.

Many times in my ministry as chaplain in our hospital, I have seen the great powers within every child – of how a sick baby, a sick child could send his/her parents to summon all their faith in God to heal them, to save them.

Listen to the stories of those who join the Traslacion every year in Quiapo: most of them had their panata borne out of answered prayers for their sick children. Every parent knows it so well how they have moved mountains and did the most extraordinary for the sake of their infants and children.

That is the mystery of the kingdom of God belonging to children when God gives us every spiritual blessing we need to achieve the impossible (second reading) to become like children by remaining in God as the only power and salvation in this life.

Be with a child, stay with a child and you shall find God’s kingdom.

Be like a child and you shall experience the kingdom of God! Amen. Have a blessed week ahead!

Praying to overcome personal differences

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. NIcanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 19 January 2024
1 Samuel 24:3-21 <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Mark 3:13-19

*Photo by Ms. April Oliveros on Mt. Pulag, March 2023.*

Dearest Lord Jesus:
today I imagined myself
one of your twelve Apostles
you have called and appointed;
I also imagined myself like
David in the first reading,
stealthily cutting off an end
of King Saul's mantle while 
inside a cave in pursuit of him
to kill him!

In my prayers,
I felt one desire,
one important thing
I need in the moment:
the grace to overcome
personal differences
especially with my co-workers
in your vineyard,
with those above me
as superiors.

Teach me, O Lord,
to overcome differences
with others like your Apostles
who came from various backgrounds
with temperaments and attitudes
even poles apart
like Matthew the former tax collector
and collaborator with the Romans
working with Simon the Cananean
also referred to as the Zealot;
teach me to focus more on you,
to always find you,
most of all,
to bring you and share you
in every dealing with others
I have differences with.

Grant me the grace 
to be centered in you alone
than be overtaken by our many
differences that ruin 
the mission you have entrusted to us.

Likewise,
teach me the virtue of respect
that literally means to look
again and again (re specere);
when differences become so
deep, even would cause us
to fight others like David and
King Saul,
let me still focus on you,
O Lord,
to respect the person
and their office
and designation
in order to avoid hurting
and dividing your precious Body,
the Church.
Amen.

Prayer against jealousy

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 18 January 2024
1 Samuel 18:6-9, 19:1-7 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Mark 3:7-12

Photo by author, *sunflower farm in La Trinidad, Benguet, 12 July 2023.*

"In God I trust; I shall not fear."

Let those words of the psalmist
today be my prayer too, dear Father
especially when jealousy slowly
creeps into me,
when people around me do better,
when they seem to be more
loved or liked or accepted;
like King Saul in the first reading
today, there are times I am filled
with insecurities
with my own self,
with my strengths
and abilities,
most especially,
with your love.

Jealousy arises easily in our hearts… When we truly enjoy God’s unlimited generosity, we will be grateful for what our brothers and sisters receive. Jealousy will simply have no place in our hearts.
Fr. Henri Nouwen

How true were the words
of the late Fr. Henri Nouwen;
jealousy arises easily
in our hearts;
sometimes they just come
without us even
thinking about it;
problem is,
many times we entertain
and let it take over us,
feeling we are a victim
of something,
 like King Saul,
or the elder brother in
the parable of the prodigal son,
or those early workers
in the parable of the vineyard
who felt they should be paid more
than those late workers
who were paid with same wage
as theirs.

When good things happen
to others,
teach me to rejoice
with them,
let me be thankful
too for their being blessed
by you;
let me not be jealous
of whatever they have
for you never fail to bless me
too with so many things
they do not have;
let me be more trusting
in your generosity,
O God,
to never have fear of you
running out of blessings
and other good things 
for each one of us
according to our own abilities;
let me rejoice
when other people
are blessed like in the gospel today
because whatever good things
that happen around us
are signs
you are with us
in Christ Jesus.

Instead of looking on what
others have,
let me look what I have,
and always,
let that be YOU
in Christ Jesus!
Amen.

Doing the work of God

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 17 January 2024
1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51 <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Mark 3:1-6

*Guillaume Courtois, “David and Goliath,” 1650-1660. Oil on canvas. Image via* Wikimedia Commons.

Dear God:
Bring out in me 
the youthful faith and confidence 
of David your servant
who slew the giant Goliath
in your most holy name;
many times in life I get so afraid
of the many trials in life
 that come my way -
sickness and death,
problems and difficulties,
sufferings and pains,
failures and rejections,
sins and evil situations
that enslave me.

Many times,
 you know how I wanted 
to give up the fight,
to just quit and leave
but thank you for that spark
of faith in you from within
that reminds me of you,
of your abiding love and presence
like David before Goliath:

“All this multitude, too, shall learn that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he shall deliver you into our hands.”
1 Samuel 17:47

Most of all, 
let me hold on to that truth
that you sent us your Son
Jesus Christ "to do everything
that is good than evil,
to save life than destroy it"
(Mark 3:4);
let me do always your work,
dear Father,
in the way you would want me 
to do it.
Amen.

To see as God sees

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 16 January 2024
1 Samuel 16:1-13 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Mark 2:23-28

*Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD in Infanta, Quezon, 2020.*

Is it really possible,
dear God,
that we shall be able to see
and look at persons and things
like you?

But the Lord said to Samuel: ”Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because he sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.”
1 Samuel 16: 7

If that is the case, O God,
then, to see like you is
most of all to feel,
to listen
to experience another person;
to see and look at persons and things
like you, O God,
is to feel the vibes
or vibrations, the spirit
of another person or of a thing;
to see like you, O God,
is to be like Jesus
mindful always of your
will and plan,
to you wait for your voice
before deciding,
before acting.

To see like you,
therefore, dear God,
is first of all to be one
in you,
with you
in Christ Jesus.
Amen.

Ka-patid

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-15 ng Enero 2024

Kapatid.
Mula sa salitang ugat
na "patid" ibig sabihi'y
putol at hiwalay,
nag-iisa at walang 
buhay ni saysay;
sa unlaping -ka,
nababago kahulugan,
nagkakaroon ng kasama 
nabubuo ugnayan
di lamang sa pamilya
at tahanan kungdi
saanmang samahan.

Kapatid.
Ito ang tawagan
natin sa isa't-isa
na pinagbubuklod di
lamang ng dugo
kungdi higit sa lahat
ng puso at isipan
na kung mawawala
ang ka-patid,
nawawala katuturan 
at saysay nitong buhay
kaya lahat handang
ialay habang may buhay.

Kapatid.
Turingan at diwa
di kayang mapatid
kahit ng kamatayan
dahil ugnayan
magpapatuloy
magpakailanman
di kayang putulin
o tabunan ng libingan
dahil batid natin sa pagpanaw
buhay di nagwawakas
samahan at ugnayan
nananatiling wagas.

Kapatid.
Kaputol.
Ng sarili.
Ng buhay.
Ng mithiin at adhika.
Kadugtong
ng tuwa
pati ng luha
tunay na pagpapala
ng Diyos na may likha
sa ating mga kapatid
at kaibigan upang tayo
ay samahan,
alalayan,
at abangan
sakali man
maunang pumanaw
upang maging ating
 pisi at lubid sa langit
na hindi mapapatid.

*Rest in peace, Dindo (larawan kuha ng kanyang ika-60 kaarawan, Marso 09, 2018).*

Paalam, aking kinakapatid
Fernando "Dindo" R. Alberto Jr.;
ikumusta mo ako sa langit
sa mga pumanaw nating 
idolo sa musika,
kami na lamang ni 
Toby magdiriwang ng birthday
tuwing Marso dito
habang kayo at ang Ninong
magkasama na 
sa buhay na walang hanggan.

Innovation vs. Novelty

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 15 January 2024
1 Samuel 15:16-23 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Mark 2:18-22

God our Father,
teach me to be innovative
in witnessing you,
in proclaiming you,
in making you present 
in this fast changing world
but at the same time 
still rooted in you,
obedient to you;
how sad that in our Church 
today with so many efforts 
in the guise of "creativity"
that led only to empty novelties
pretending to be attuned with the time,
many have slowly desecrated
our liturgy, our celebrations
and worst, put into question
the relevance of our 
long held beliefs and teachings 
on faith and morals; 
while we have to embrace 
change happening in the world
and in the Church,
may we not forget it is YOU,
dear Lord, whom we seek,
whom we desire,
whom we aspire 
not the social influencers
nor rock stars nor
any celebrities;
teach us to innovate in our ways
that are still rooted in you
and your precepts 
not with technology nor
with new thoughts;
may we learn to understand
your Son Jesus Christ's words
in today's gospel:

“No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”
Mark 2:21-22

Forgive us, dear God,
for all the novelties we have
brought even into our worship
and teachings that have detached
us more from you
and one another;
instead of fostering
openness and inclusivity,
the opposite had happened
because to win more people
is first of all to remain faithful
and obedient to you
which King Saul of Israel
had forgotten:

But Samuel said: ”Does the Lord so delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the Lord? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams.
1 Samuel 15:23

This New Year,
lead us back to you,
God, through our leaders
in the Church
who are faithful to you
in prayers,
in liturgy,
in teachings;
innovative 
like Jesus Christ
who fulfilled your 
Laws of Old
in the New settings.
Amen.