40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the Fourth Week of Lent, 23 March 2023 Exodus 32:7-14 >>> + <<< John 5:31-47
Photo by author, 03 March 2023, Teresa, Rizal.
Forgive us,
God our merciful Father
for our forgetfulness and
thanklessness; more than
being forgetful, we are also
ungrateful like the Israelites at Sinai.
Many times in life,
we rarely appreciate what we have,
especially the little ones.
How unfortunate we recognize only
big things as important that we forget
everything in life which is the sum of
the littlest things put together -
the single steps of every journey,
the minute cells of our body,
the little efforts put together
by the little, ordinary people
who give us our meals, our daily needs,
the small acts of kindness like smiles,
hi’s and hellos we don’t even mind at all;
the little children who play or cry
to remind us of our beginnings…
So many other tiny,
little things and moments,
ordinary people we disregard
that prevent us from remembering and
thanking you and everyone
for the many joys and comforts
we enjoy in every moment.
Forgive us also,
loving Father,
of how we forget
and hence could not appreciate
to be grateful with the little
gifts we have within like
this life we have versus the
great moments of victory and fame we
choose to remember; the family and
friends you surround us daily
but take for granted as we prefer
big people like the rich and famous;
those little giftedness of ours like
simplicity, sense of humor,
even rich appetite to savor
and enjoy ordinary food shared
with common folks we forget
and become thankless for our gifts
of selves and uniqueness.
Bless us,
dear God to remember
and be reminded of the many
gifts we have but unaware
that make us thankless and forgetful,
tempting us to create our own idols
and golden calves to worship;
open our eyes to see your works
and majesty in Jesus who became like
us in everything except sin
so that we experience you more
in flesh in us and one another;
help us feel and enjoy life’s little joys
and blessings so we may remember
and never forget all good things
come from you, often in little
packages to be more appreciative
and grateful.
Amen.
More than any other prophet, O Lord,
Hosea is the one who tells us most
of your immense love for us all;
his writing moves like a beautiful
love story so unbelievable
yet exists, so true.
After so many harsh words
against us your people for our
infidelity like prostitutes,
here at the last part of his book,
Hosea tells us to never lose hope
because you love us so much.
Moreover, dear God our Father,
what I like most in Hosea's writings
is how you yourself reveals to us
how we must approach you
like a teacher coaching us
for the best answers so we may pass
your final exam.
Thus says the Lord: Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God, say to him, “Forgive us all iniquity, and receive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls
Hosea 14:2, 3
Please Lord, help us experience
your promises of "healing our defections,
loving us freely, becoming like dew
so we shall blossom like the lily,
our splendor be like the olive tree
and fragrance like the Lebanon cedar,
allowing us to dwell in your shade again
and raise grain, blossom like the vine,
and our fame be like the wine of Lebanon"
(cf. Hosea 14: 5-8).
Cast away our doubts of your love
and mercy for us, Father for as your Son
Jesus Christ had revealed, all the commandments
is summed in LOVE, your great love for us
as the very reason why we must love you
not because you need our love but
so that we can have more of your love
when we love.
May we love,
love,
and love!
Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Second Week of Lent, 09 March 2023
Jeremiah 17:5-10 >>> +++ <<< Luke 16:19-31
Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 2022.
God our loving Father,
let me come to you closer,
let me get nearer to you
in Jesus Christ present
among the sick and suffering,
among those we take for granted,
in those we have forgotten
in our family, in the church,
and in the society.
Jesus said to the Pharisees: “There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
Luke 16:19-21
Yes, O Lord Jesus,
your parable continues to
happen among us today
despite our many technologies,
we have grown more apart
from each other not only in
physical distance but worst
even in heart as being kindreds in you.
Indeed, what you had told Jeremiah
is most true even today,
"More tortuous
than all else
is the human heart,
beyond remedy;
who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9)
but you alone, O Lord!
Cleanse our hearts,
incline our hearts to you,
dear Jesus;
let us be nearer to you
than anyone or anything else;
let us trust in you alone
for it is in you only is
found life and its fullness
here and the hereafter.
Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Second Week of Lent, 08 March 2023
Jeremiah 18:18-20 >>> +++ <<< Matthew 10:17-28
Photo by author, sunrise at Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon 04 March 2023.
Many times you have
heard me O God our Father
asking the same question by
your prophet Jeremiah,
"Must good be repaid with evil
that they should dig a pit
to take my life?" (Jeremiah 18:20).
Many times too,
like with Jeremiah,
you have not answered
my questions directly
but consistently in my life
you have shown how much
you love me by giving me
the strength and courage,
the assurance to keep on
doing what is good
simply because
it is good,
it is right,
it is just,
it is your will.
Many times
even without
your clear answer
I just feel you
inside me,
beside me.
Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, O Lord, O faithful God. I hear the whispers of the crowd that frighten me from every side, as they consult together against me, plotting to take my life. But my trust is in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” In your hands is my destiny; rescue me from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.
Psalm 31:6, 14, 15-16
Your Son Jesus Christ
our Lord and Savior
had shown us that indeed
in this world, people are not
ready nor willing to accept
whatever is true and just;
hence, good is always repaid
with evil because many are
not on the side of what is
right and true.
Teach me, O Lord,
to forget all about
the perks of discipleship
if there is really any at all
but instead be simply
focused in remaining
faithful to you,
always sharing in your
sufferings and death
without desiring any
rewards;
most of all,
like St. John of God
and other saints,
let me be content in
asking you questions
that is a prayer
in itself because
it is always answered
in ways so different
from what I expected
until I find myself
totally giving myself
to you
for you alone
are my Lord,
my God,
my Teacher,
my Father.
Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Second Week of Lent, 07 March 2023
Isaiah 1:10, 16-20 >>> +++ <<< Matthew 23:1-12
Photo by author, sunrise at the Pacific from the coast of Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.
In this blessed
Season of Lent,
I pray to you,
dear God our Father,
to help me set things
right in my self,
in my life;
help me set things right
by "washing myself clean,
putting away my misdeeds,
ceasing from doing evil
and learning to do good
by making justice my aim,
redressing those I have wronged,
hearing the plea of the orphans,
and defending the powerless
among us" (Isaiah 1:16-17).
Let me set things right,
O Lord, by walking my talk,
by practicing what I preach,
by being humble without any
desires to be known nor admired,
nor be served by putting too much
burdens on others without my
lifting of my finger, seeking
places of honor and being
greeted by everyone (Mt. 23:1-7);
forgive me for those times
I thought that you are like me
when I recite your statutes and
profess your covenant with mouth
yet hate discipline (Ps. 50:16-17).
Let me set things right,
O Lord, in my life
my keeping in mind
YOU alone is our Master
and Teacher, that there
is no other Father but
God alone in heaven
(Mt. 12:7-10).
Let me set things right,
O Lord, in my life
by letting go of my
bitterness and unforgiveness,
of my painful and dark past;
help me set things right
in finally fulfilling that
promise I made to change
in myself, in finally making
peace with that person I detest,
in going back to you in
Christ Jesus.
Amen.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 06 March 2023
Photo by author, 03 March 2023, Teresa, Rizal.
Why are there so many songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions
But only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide
As a child, I have always heard many stories about rainbows from grownups telling me about the “pot of gold” at its end. I have never believed their stories because even at that young age, I have found them as total lies for if it were true, there would be no more poor people on earth as rainbows appeared daily or weekly.
Besides, I doubted stories about rainbows because no matter how hard I looked at them, I could not find the primary colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet in them as taught by my teachers. All I could identify until now are the colors red and blue with the third hue of pink which is not even part of the primary colors! The only truth about rainbows I have always accepted since elementary is the fact that it is caused by sunlight hitting the rains that cast such colorful display in the skies. Most often, I just thought binobola lang kami ng teacher namin para pagbigyan kung sino man itong si Roy G. Biv na may-ari ng mga rainbow!
Later, our elementary school principal Sr. Domitilla of St. Paul College Bocaue would tell us over and over again the story of Noah and the great flood, of how God promised him never to destroy earth again with floods by giving him the sign of the rainbow.
You bet! I did not believe her totally because growing up in Bocaue, I have experienced so many floods annually that destroyed many of our belongings like photos and vinyl records not to mention the hardships – pahirap in the real sense of cleaning after each flooding.
But all these changed only for me during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo by Ms. Anne Ramos, 22 March 2020, Bgy. Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.
It was the first Sunday of the lockdown, my 55th birthday, March 22, 2020. There were no public Masses. So I decided to start on that Sunday the weekly libot or motorized procession of the Blessed Sacrament around our parish in Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan. Seeing the people kneeling on the streets was so moving but what really brought me tears was the sight of a rainbow that afternoon.
We were on our way to the last sitio of our parish when it started to rain lightly. Our volunteers asked if we should go back to the parish as the clouds indicated heavy rains were coming our way. But as I held the monstrance, I told my companions to proceed because the people were waiting for Jesus.
Lo and behold! as we turned to our last sitio, a rainbow appeared and I remembered the story of Noah and the rainbow.
That’s when I cried and started believing in rainbows as I felt that very moment God assuring me of his protection from COVID-19. True enough, until I left in February 2021 my former parish of Parokya ni San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista had the lowest rate of COVID infections in our town. Most of all, me and our volunteers never had COVID except for one as we continued with our libot of the Blessed Sacrament that soon evolved into “drive-thru” and “door-to-door” communion after our online Mass on Sundays!
So we've been told and some choose to believe it
I know they're wrong, wait and see
Someday we'll find it
The rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me
Photo by author, August 2022, Parish of Holy Cross, Paco, Obando, Bulacan.
One of the best stories I have read about rainbows is from my favorite Pope, Benedict XVI. In one of his books in the series Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict explained how the rainbow of Noah’s time had become the arms of Jesus Christ outstretched on the Cross, the fullness of God’s promise to never destroy earth, of his immense love to save us through his Son. Furthermore, he explained how the rainbow as the outstretched arms of Jesus is also the same bow of arrow referred to in the Book of Psalms signifying God’s salvation.
It is so funny that after passing the age 50 that I started believing in rainbows! And what a sight indeed for me of the rainbow like a bow of an arrow shooting in the sky assuring us of God’s love and protection, of the arms of Jesus embracing us all in his love and mercy, kindness and forgiveness.
Photo by author, Teresa, Rizal, 03 March 2023.
Last Wednesday we celebrated Mass for the opening of our annual strategic planning in Our Lady of Fatima University (composed of six campuses) and Fatima University Medical Center (with two hospitals). In my homily, I shared that “lent is the time for us to start believing again” like Jonah in the first reading (Jon.3:1-10), of believing again in God, in others and in ourselves.
How I wished I have added that this is also the time to start believing again in rainbows because on our way to Katmon Nature Sanctuary and Beach Resort in Infanta, Quezon for the final day of our strategic planning, I saw again another rainbow during a stopover in a gas station in Teresa, Rizal. It was so beautiful with the arc, the bow, the arms of Jesus embracing us all symbolized by our coaster.
But the rainbows – or God – did not stop appearing there for us.
The following Saturday before we went home, I woke early to catch the sunrise at the beach that faces the Pacific Ocean. The sun was already up and I felt satisfied with all my photos and videos when it started to rain. As I ran back to our resort, another rainbow appeared, greeting me again that early morning.
Photo by author, 04 March 2023, Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon,
I've heard it too many times to ignore it
It's something that I'm supposed to be
Someday we'll find it
The rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me
Oh God! Praise and glory to you! I did not mind stopping in the morning rain that Saturday. It was the best morning prayer I ever had in years. Something very silent. So natural. So picturesque of God’s love, of his promise to bless us all in my new home, my new family, my new ministry – Our Lady of Fatima University (OLFU) and Fatima University Medical Center (FUMC).
It is here in OLFU and FUMC that God has started to unravel his other beautiful plans for me that at first I could not understand and even resisted at times. It is here I have come to embrace him more. And more tightly in ministering to students and faculty members alike, to doctors and nurses, patients and everyone especially our kind administrators.
Thank you for all your warm welcome, love and acceptance, OLFU and FUMC. And for your care beyond compare.
Glad to be with you in this very promising year assured by the rainbows. Let’s keep connected as we rise to the top!
Someday we'll find it
The rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me
Photo by author, 04 March 2023, Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon.
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.
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
Photo by author, 08 February 2023.
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.
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.
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.
lordmychef.com 