Lent is living in the present

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the First Week of Lent, 03 March 2023
Ezekiel 18:21-28     < + + + >     Matthew 5:20-26

*Photo by author, Tagaytay City, 08 February 2023.*

Praise and glory to you,
God our merciful Father!
You are so loving,
so forgiving to our sins.

"If you, O Lord, 
mark iniquities,
Lord who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered"
(Psalm 130:3-4).

Yes, there are times
that I also say like
the people of Israel
"The Lord's way is not fair!"
(Ezekiel 18:25) when in fact,
it is always me who has been
unfair to myself and to others,
ultimately to you!

Thus says the Lord God: “When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die. But if a wicked, turning from the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life, since he has turned away from all the sins which he committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
Ezekiel 18:26-28

You are most fair and just,
dear God; you do not derive
pleasure from the death of a wicked
but rather rejoices when one turns away 
from sins (Ezekiel 18:23);
for you, dear Father,
the person that you see is the person I am NOW,
what matters with you are my relationships
with you NOW with the past,
good or bad, forgotten;
let me not be anxious of my past
but let me guard against complacency
that I remain faithful and true to you
in every here and now.
Amen.

Lent is submission to God

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the First Week of Lent, 02 March 2023
Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25   > + + + <   Matthew 7:7-12

*Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 2022.*

God our loving Father,
let me desire only you in my life
so that it is YOU whom I always ask for
and receive,
YOU whom I seek and find,
YOU whom I knock for 
the door to be opened
(Mt. 7:7).

Thank you, Lord, 
for allowing
me to tell you my 
needs and plans,
thank you for listening
even if there is no need
because YOU know best
and that is why,
here I am to you
asking for your grace
of enlightenment to put on my lips
the words I must speak
and in my heart the grace of 
docility and surrender to
your holy will.

Thank you, O God,
for always answering my calls,
for building up strength
within me (Ps.138:3);
I am still learning
and struggling to pray,
of totally submitting myself
to you like Queen Esther 
in the first reading when she,
like Jesus your Son,
offered her very self 
in total submission
to you.
Amen.

Lent is believing again

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the First Week of Lent, 01 March 2023
Jonah 3:1-10   <*{{{{>< +++ ><}}}}*>   Luke 11:29-31

O loving Father,
teach us to believe again
during this blessed season of Lent;
help us rediscover our faith
to believe in you again amid our many
sins and guilt feelings;
help us to believe again in people
after so many betrayals by friends and family;
most of all, help us to believe again
in ourselves despite our failures
and weaknesses.

So many times we are like your
prophet Jonah, 
so reluctant in answering your calls,
so stubborn and hardheaded in our
biases and prejudices against others,
many times we resort to pessimism
and cynicism with how life in the world
is going, feeling lost and hopeless.

So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord’s bidding. Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,” when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.
Jonah 3:3-5

Help us in our unbelief, Lord!
Help us stop asking for many signs
except Jesus Christ present to us
in the Sacraments especially
the Eucharist and Confession
we often receive these days.
Help us to simply believe
and obey your words
like Jonah at Nineveh.
Amen.

Lent is God consoling us, assuring us

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the First Week of Lent, 28 February 2023
Isaiah 55:10-11   <'[[[[>< +++ ><]]]]'>   Matthew 6:7-15

*Photo by author, OLFU-QC, Basic Education Dept., 20 February 2023.*

Praise and glory to you,
O God our loving Father!
Thank you for this wonderful
gift of Lent, of being so close 
to us, consoling us in our
pains and disappointments,
assuring us of your love and
most especially of your plans 
for us!  Help us to be more open 
to your coming, to your presence, 
to your words.

Thus says the Lord: Just as from the heavens the rain and the snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:10-11

Your Son Jesus Christ taught us
to call you Father, Abba, 
for indeed, you are a Father to us
who taught us how to walk
and stand and fight in this life;
as a Father, you are so loving 
and caring, ready to rescue us 
in times of distress; let us come
to you, call you, and to listen to you;
let us rediscover the beauty
and value of silence this Lent
so we would hear and learn 
your plans for us because 
there is no need for us to speak to you  
as you know very well our thoughts;
what matters is that we hear
and learn your plans for us!

May we "look to you, O Lord, 
so we may be radiant with joy
in the midst of our brokenness
and rise from our crushed spirits"
(Ps. 34:6, 19) in order to bring 
your loving assurance
and consolation
to those burdened
and lost like us.
Amen.

Lent is being inclusive, not exclusive

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the First Week of Lent, 27 February 2023
Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18   ><)))*> + <*(((><   Matthew 25:31-46

We hear you speaking to us,
Lord God our Father,
telling us, "Be holy,
for I, the Lord your God,
am holy" (Lev. 19: 1-2);
we hear your voice daily
right in our hearts
as we feel your nearness
to us in your gift of life,
in your love,
in your holiness
that all fill us.
But unfortunately,
left unnoticed,
unrecognized,
even denied
when we refuse
to see your face
in everyone we meet
especially the poor,
the deaf,
the blind,
the weak, 
our own family
members
and neighbors.

Forgive us, Lord,
in being so exclusive
than being inclusive
like you for your holiness
encompasses us all;
teach us to love without
boundaries nor barriers,
to stop our evil ways
against one another;
let us embrace your law,
Lord, which is perfect,
refreshing the soul,
rejoicing the heart
(Ps.19:8, 9);
set our sights to
Christ's Second Coming
and judgment
which is happening now,
the acceptable time
and day of salvation;
may we love,
love,
and still love more
even those we do not
know who may be 
hungry and thirsty,
a stranger or naked,
sick or in prison.

O God, how great
and loving you are
that you chose us
to be your dwelling
and most of all,
be the reflection of your
holiness despite our
many imperfections.
Amen.

Fasting is making God present by creating a space within us for others

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday after Ash Wednesday, 24 February 2023
Isaiah 58:1-9   ><}}}}*> + <*{{{{><   Matthew 9:14-15

*Photo by author, Dead Sea oasis, Israel, 2017.*

Forgive us, O God,
merciful Father,
for refusing to grow up,
for refusing to mature in
your Son Jesus Christ
in loving you,
serving you,
relating with you.
Until now, O God, 
we choose to act immaturely,
believing in ourselves as if we
know everything very well,
even bragging to you of our
goodness and holiness;
like the people in the time of
Isaiah, we are so proud,
"seeking you day after day,
desiring to know your ways, 
like a nation that has done
what is just and not abandoned 
your law, O God, even asking you
to declare what is due to us,
pleased to gain access to you,
God" (cf. Is. 58:2).

Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits, and drive all your laborers. Yes, your fast ends i quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw… This, rather, is the fasting that I wish… then you shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
Isaiah 58:3b-4, 6, 9

Until now, 
we do not fast
and we refuse to fast,
citing so many reasons
and alibis because 
until now we have not
learned the essence
and importance of fasting;
help us grow,
help us mature in Christ!
Let us realize the essence
of fasting is creating a space 
within us for you, O God, 
through others whom we
lovingly serve in your name
to make you present among us
so that when we call, we hear
you say "Here I am!"

Help us grow deeper
in you, O God, in Jesus
who had come to us so
that our spirit of fasting
may come forth from within
us, not from outside that
make us focus more on what
to avoid; it is not the thing
outside that fasting is concerned
but of what is inside us
we are willing to surrender,
to forego, to give up
in order to have you
present among the least
and neglected.  Amen.

Lent is choosing God

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday after Ash Wednesday, 23 February 2023
Deuteronomy 30:15-20   ><000'> + ><000'> + ><000'>   Luke 9:22-25

Everyday you bless us,
O God, with that great power
to choose freely what we desire
best for us; but, many times, we make
the wrong choices that often lead us
to more pains and emptiness,
sadness and that feeling of being
lost.

Most of all,
we choose sin,
we choose evil,
than choosing good,
than choosing you, O God.

Moses said to the people: “I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land that the Lord swore he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
Deuteronomy 30:19-20

So many times
we make the wrong choices
when we insist on what we like
without really knowing what it is;
we make wrong choices
when we choose to disregard
you and your ways, Lord;
worst, we make the wrong choices
because we reject our very selves!

What a tragedy
when we ourselves refuse
to believe in ourselves,
in our worth,
in our possibilities
because we have lost all hope
in life, in you, and in others
due to failures or disappointments
or frustrations in life;
we choose wrongly when we
avoid pains and sufferings,
when we refuse to choose
the Cross not realizing
it is the one that truly leads
to life and prosperity
because every suffering,
every pain
leads to maturity
that make us better
and more open to
life and prosperity.

These 40 days of Lent,
let us choose you, Jesus
including your Cross;
let us choose people and
things outside of ourselves
because you have chosen to
care us and all our needs;
let us trust you 
so we may always choose you
because the times we choose
wrongly in life,
when we choose people
and things that are seemingly
favorable to us,
that is when 
we do doubt you,
when we do not 
trust you.
Amen.

Jesus,
King of Mercy,
we trust in you!

Paloob ang Kuwaresma, hindi palabas

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-22 ng Pebrero 2023

Paloob ang Kuwaresma
hindi palabas.
Katulad nitong ating buhay
na papaloob at hindi palabas.
Pagmasdan mga tanda
at kilos nitong panahon
habang Panginoon ang tinutunton
hinuhubad ating kapalaluan
upang bihisan ng kababaan,
sinasaid ating kalabisan
upang punan ng Kanyang 
buhay at kabanalan.

Paloob ang Kuwaresma,
hindi palabas.
Simula ay Miercules de Ceniza 
mga noo'y pinapahiran ng
abong binasbasan
paalala ng kamatayan
tungo sa buhay na walang-hanggan
kaya kinakailangan 
taos-pusong pag-amin 
at pagsuko ng mga kasalanan
talikuran at labanan 
gawi ng kasamaan.

Paloob ang Kuwaresma
hindi palabas.
Huwag magpapansin
tuwing mananalangin
hayaan saloobin at hiling
isalamin ng buhay natin;
pag-aayuno ay higit pa sa
di pagkain ng karne
kungdi mawalan ng laman
ating tiyan, magkapuwang
sa Diyos at sino mang 
nagugutom at nahihirapan;
ano mang kaluguran ating
maipagpaliban ay ilalaan
sa nangangailangan
buong katahimikan maglimos
tanda ng kaisahan
kay Hesus nasa mukha
ng mga dukha
at kapus-palad.

Paloob ang Kuwaresma
hindi palabas.
Sa gitna nitong panahon
ng social media na lahat
ay ipinakikita at ibig makita,
lahat ay pabongga
puro palabas;
ipinapaalala ng Kuwaresma
ang mga pinakamahalaga
pinakamaganda
at makabuluhan
ay hindi nakikita
nitong mga mata
bagkus ay nadarama
dahil sa paningin ng Diyos
ang tunay na mahalaga
ay yaong natatago,
napapaloob katulad Niya
na nananahan
sa ating puso at kalooban.

The joy of Lent, goodness of God

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Ash Wednesday, 22 February 2023
Joel 2:12-18 ><))))*> 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2 ><))))*> Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Our opening antiphon
of today's celebration of 
Ash Wednesday gives hint
of the joyful tone of our Lenten journey:
"You are merciful to all, O Lord,
and despise nothing that you have made.
You overlook people's sins,
to bring them to repentance,
and you spare them,
for you are the Lord our God."

Amid the shades of violet
to signify our confession of sin
and movement of repentance
is also a profession of our faith 
in your love, kindness and mercy,
O God our Father!
The joy of Lent is YOU,
O God our loving Father
who lavishes us with mercy
in Christ Jesus.

Thank you for calling us
to enter into this holy season
of Lent; let us not forget that
YOU are the center and focus
of this journey, never us despite 
the good works we all have to do
like praying, fasting and alms-giving;
YOU are the one whom we must please,
not people so they may return to you; 
YOU are not appeased by what we offer
and do; in fact, we are able to come to
you because you are "gracious and
merciful" - we have come to know you
by your concrete actions of love
and mercy, kindness and tenderness.

Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.
Joel 2:12-13

Rend our closed hearts, O Lord;
tear apart the hard coverings of
bitterness and rejection,
doubts and mistrust
so we may open ourselves
to your coming in Christ Jesus;
strengthen our hearts so we may
come back to you in genuine conversion,
to be reconciled to you, O God,
for "now is a very acceptable time,
the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 5:20, 
6:2).

Grant us the right attitude of heart,
take away our vanities and hypocrisies
that neither deceive you nor fool people;
let us get inside ourselves to meet you
right inside us where you dwell,
waiting for us
to console us,
to refresh us,
to comfort us.
Amen.

Our commitment to God

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 21 February 2023
Sirach 2:1-11 ><0000'> + ><0000'> + ><0000'> Mark 9:30-37

On this final day
of Ordinary Time
as we begin tomorrow
our Lenten journey into
Easter, we pray to you,
God our loving Father,
to give us the grace to stay
committed to you in your Son
Jesus Christ.
In this journey of life
which is characterized by the
40 days of Lent,
let us be focused on the words
and teachings, and life of your Son
Jesus Christ.
Let us stay committed in him,
in you like a child to his father.

They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest.
Mark 9:33-34

Like the psalmist today,
we pray that we may commit
our lives to you, Lord;
let us heed the teachings of
Ben Sirach to "prepare ourselves
for trials" by being "sincere of heart
and steadfast, listening to your words"
and most especially, to "wait on God
with patience, cling to him, forsake him not"
(Sirach 2:1-2, 3).

May we truly prepare ourselves
this day internally for tomorrow's
Ash Wednesday so that we may
focus more on God than on ourselves
and on the externalities of the
rich rituals of Lent
meant to touch our hearts
and soul in order to find
you in our brothers and
sisters.

Let that be our commitment
to you today
and always.
Amen.