Some lessons from Emmaus

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 26 April 2020

This is for my brother priests and fellow communicators in the church who might be failing to recognize Jesus Christ along the way and sadly, stuck at Emmaus.

That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the tings that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
Luke 24:13-16

We live our faith today in a mass-mediated culture.

Media is all around us.

Vatican II tells us that these modern means of communications are gifts from God that are “necessary for the formation of Christians and for pastoral activity” (Inter Mirifica, 3).

Communication is a sharing in the power of God who created everything by just saying “Let there be…”. When this power to communicate is mishandled and eventually abused, sooner or later, it can blind us and prevent us from recognizing Jesus in our midst.

And sadly, it is already happening.

Even before the start of the enhanced community quarantine, many of us were already using the various platforms of social media proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.

But, are our hearts still burning deep inside in him and for him?

Is Jesus still the One we are proclaiming, or are we now trying to be like the so-called “influencers” of the secular world that we are more preoccupied and focused with gimmicks and antics, shows and bravaduras for the sake of followers and likes?

Are our hearts still burning with the Sacred Scriptures or the words of the world that we have made our ambos and altars like studios and stage complete with all the props to tickle the bones of people than build up their faith and experience Jesus?

On the road to Emmaus, after Cleopas had expressed their feelings and thoughts to Jesus, he and his companion fell silent and simply listened to Jesus explaining the Sacred Scriptures. No need to shout or mimic voices.

No need to keep on clapping hands like in a circus or even dance like Salome who later asked for the head of St. John the Baptist.

It is sad that on the road to Emmaus, it has become our monologue, our show that Jesus can no longer speak.

Remember that “in the beginning was the word, and the word became flesh”: God’s communication is always preceded by silence.

Even in the road to Emmaus, there was total silence when Jesus spoke that the two disciples were silent that they felt their hearts burning.

As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them…
Luke 24:28-33

The Mass and our Priesthood are both a mystery so unique especially for us. It is something beyond explanation without much physical descriptions but more of inner recognition.

Exactly like Easter: the moment we recognize Jesus in the Scriptures and in the Eucharist, he vanishes because he is more than enough than anybody or anything else in the Mass and in our ministry in general.

Even in our very own lives!

St. Mother Teresa asked us priests long ago to “always give (them) Jesus, only Jesus”. And that will always be valid until the end of time when Jesus comes again.

And here lies the great lesson for us from Emmaus: the more we try harder, insisting on giving “physical appearances” of Jesus in our celebrations with our showbiz kind of preaching complete with a song and dance number to the excessive use of modern means of communications like slide presentations during homilies to our “creative liturgies” that are very distracting to other trappings of overdoing everything called “triumphalism” — that is when we BANISH Jesus from the scene.

In Emmaus, Jesus vanished when the disciples’ eyes were opened.

In some Masses today, unfortunately, Jesus is banished and many eyes are not only left closed but sadly, even blinded.

We are priests called to preside the celebration of the Eucharist in persona Christi.

We priests do not own the Mass and we cannot insist on whatever we want to do, even if it is very pleasing and delighting to the senses of the people.

Do away wit all those “styles” and gimmicks.

Jesus saved us not with activities; Jesus saved us by dying on the Cross.

If all we are concerned with is to “feel good”, to tickle our bones and senses, our eyes – and those of the people we serve and bring closer to God would never be opened to recognize Jesus Christ.

Our Masses and other celebrations need only Jesus, always Jesus.

There is no need to put our pictures in every tarpaulin or announcement. Rest assured that every disciple of Jesus is always good-looking and handsome. Believe. And stop bragging it.

Let us have him always and let others recognize him from within. If there is no inner recognition of Jesus, maybe we have never met him at all. Neither in Emmaus nor in Jerusalem nor in our selves.

A blessed week ahead of you, my brother priests and fellow communicators of Christ, in Christ.

Stay with us, Lord

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe, Easter Week III-A, 26 April 2020

***Acts of the Apostles 2:14.22-33* ><)))> 1 Peter 1:17-21* ><)))> Luke 24:13-35***

Photo by author, sunset at Laguna de Bay (Los Banõs), February 2020.

I am sure all of us can identify with the two disciples going home to Emmaus on that evening of Easter. And surely, as we accept with a heavy heart the extension of this enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) until May 15, we pray like them, saying, “Stay with us, Lord.”

As they approached the village to which they were going, he (Jesus) gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts were burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Luke 24:28-32

From https://www.clarusonline.it/2017/04/29/i-discepoli-di-emmaus-andata-e-ritorno/

Jesus always walking with us, without us recognizing him

Once again we see the presence of darkness in this story of Easter found only in St. Luke’s gospel. And that is the beauty of Easter – like Christmas – showing us the immense love of God for us that he sent us his Son Jesus Christ in the darkest moments of our lives to lead us to light and life.

And it always happens when we least expect it like that Easter evening when Cleopas and his companion were on their way to Emmaus.

Jesus comes to us as a stranger and most of all, joins us in the “wrong direction” to bring us back to the right path we must take especially when things go against our plans and expectations.

Until now, we cannot still believe how these things are happening to us: the lockdown, the sufferings and uncertainty of life when everything is on a “wait-and-see” situation especially in business and education while houses of worship remain closed and mass gatherings prohibited to control the spread of COVID-19.

But, if we look back and see how we are today, do we not also feel our “hearts burning within” that despite all the sickness and deaths almost everywhere, we are still here, alive, forging on in darkness, and most of all, somehow being led by Jesus even though we do not recognize him right away to be always on our side?

Yes, we worry, we ache deep inside but, more than these, we hope, we love, we live because we firmly believe in the Risen Lord present in us, present among us.

Deep in our hearts we experience Jesus with us, feeling with us, listening to our cries and worries just like that Easter evening to Emmaus. As we would say in Filipino, “ah basta!” that means without doubt, we are certain of someone or something from deep within not visibly seen.

“Supper at Emmaus” by renowned painter Caravaggio. See the emotion depicted by Caravaggio with his trademark of masterful play of light and shadows. At the center is the Risen Lord blessing the bread that caught the two disciples who are seated in disbelief, one outstretching his arms and the others pushing back in his chair. The third character in the painting is the innkeeper unaware of the significance of the gesture of Jesus. It was at this instance that the two disciples recognized Christ as the travelling man with them to Emmaus.

Our inner recognition of Christ in the breaking of bread

Notice that in all resurrection stories, the followers of Jesus did not recognize him immediately. There is always that feeling within them, like what we feel when we see somebody and we try to recall where we have met him/her, trying to dig into our memories when and how did we get to know the seemingly not “stranger” before us.

It is a funny feeling that is finally resolved with a very simple memory of an instance long ago or a small detail that leads into an “inner recognition” of the person before us.

This is how the disciples of Jesus recognized him — not through his external appearances but more from within like when Cleopas and his companion invited him into their home in Emmaus or when the seven apostles led by Simon Peter met him by the shore of the lake when no one would dare ask who he is because deep within, they knew it was the Lord (Jn.21;12-14).

And this happens always in the context of a meal, a table fellowship when Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday evening before he was arrested to be crucified.

Here we find the mystery of this sign left to us by Jesus to be his very presence among us in his Body and Blood under the perceptible signs of bread and wine as well as the Sacred Scriptures proclaimed in every liturgical gathering: the more we do not see his outward appearances, the more we recognize Jesus!

Every time we celebrate the Mass and listen to the scriptures proclaimed, we realize within us like the people of Jerusalem in the first reading that this Jesus of Nazareth is a true person present in our lives fulfilling his works of salvation despite our sinfulness.

Like some people we meet, we recognize Jesus Christ not with the outward appearances but from within, from what we have experienced beyond explanations that gives us always a sense of awe because as St. Peter tells us in the second reading, “he had ransomed us from our futile conduct with his most precious blood” (1 Pt. 1:18-19) which is affirmed to us in every celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

The Easter mystery of recognizing Jesus when he vanishes

Every Sunday afternoon since this lockdown began due to COVID-19, we have been bringing the Blessed Sacrament around our Parish to remind the people of Christ’s presence among us.

And every Sunday, I am amazed at the faith of the people who would kneel on the side of the road, totally believing that it is Jesus himself who visits them in the Blessed Sacrament.

The sight is so moving with people from all walks of life bowing their heads or raising their hands, recognizing Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament as they pray in silence with others crying. The few motorists passing by stop at the side of the road to see Jesus and be blessed while others get near our truck for a blessing.

Here lies the great mystery of Easter: Jesus need not appear to us in person because as he vanishes in the Blessed Sacrament, that is when we recognize him!

In the most simple gestures of the Mass under the most simple signs of bread and wine, Jesus vanishes from our outward view and through this vanishing our interior or inner recognition opens up that we “see” him in the many instances he had touched us especially in our “heart-breaking” experiences in the past.

We know with certainty that “it is the Lord” – Dominus est – present in every breaking of bread because part of the Easter mystery tells us deep within that it is only in his vanishing that he truly becomes recognizable to us.

What a shame and a tragedy especially in these days of live television or internet Mass when priests do all the gimmicks and antics to wow the people as if they are audience in a show than faithful in a sacred gathering.

May we not forget this mystery of Easter that, the more Jesus vanishes, the more we recognize him because Jesus is more than enough than anybody or anything else especially in the Mass. And when we pray “Stay with us, Lord”, we actually ask for more faith to believe in him to see him in his vanishing. Amen.

A blessed week ahead to everyone! Stay safe, stay in the Lord.

Looking up to heaven, looking down within us for God

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Friday, Easter Week-II, 24 April 2020

***Acts of the Apostles 5:34-42* ><)))> + 0 + <(((>< *John 6:1-15***

Photo by Ms. Jo Villafuerte, Atok, Benguet, September 2019.

Praise and glory to you, O God our loving Father in heaven!

I have been taught since childhood that you dwell up in the sky and that is why like all the others, I always point up to you whenever we refer to your dwelling place, O God.

And I am certain, too, that you are indeed up there that every time we wake up, every time we feel happy or troubled, we always glance upwards like praying to you, calling to you, and looking for you.

Indeed, Gamaliel was absolutely correct when he cautioned his fellow Pharisees in the first reading to remind us too of this certainty:

“Fellow children of Israel, be careful what you are about to do to these men… But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.”
Acts 5:35, 39

Give us the gift of discernment of your Holy Will, Father, that we may always know what to do, that we may always decide according to your plan.

As we look up to you in the sky where believe heaven is, the more we also look down inside ourselves and everyone to find you among us in your Son Jesus Christ.

Yes, loving Father, you have sent us Jesus so that as we look up to you in the heavens, the more we shall search and probe our hearts, our lives, our situations, and our brothers and sisters to find you dwelling among us in Christ like there in the wilderness when he fed more than 5000 people.

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowds was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them?” He said this to test him because he himself knew what he was going to do.
John 6:1-6

What a lovely scene repeated to us daily, especially in this time of the quarantine!

Jesus raising his eyes, seeing a large crowd hungry, sick, afraid… and then talking to us where to find bread in order to test us — because he always knows what he is going to do….

If we could all be like that little boy who looked into himself, into what he had, no matter how little they may be like the five barley loaves of bread and two pieces of fish….

O Lord, keep us looking for you first within us, into whatever we have, and unto others so we may let you do your work in us to feed and heal the people locked in this quarantine.

Give us the grace, Lord, to always search and find you and follow you not only up in the heavens most especially down deep in our hearts, in the face of the people we meet, in our situation in this time of the corona virus.

It is in finding you in our hearts, on the face of one another, and in the situation we are into when we truly dwell in your house, O Lord. Amen.

Sunrise at the Sea of Galilee, Israel. Photo by author, May 2017.

Obeying God than men

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Thursday, Easter Week-II, 23 April 2020

***Acts of the Apostles 5:27-33* ><)))> 0 + 0 <(((>< *John 3:31-36***

Photo by author, Mt. St. Paul Spirituality Center, La Trinidad, Benguet, February 2020.

Yesterday Lord was so humid but it was a lovely sight while the sun was about to set, you sent some rains to quench the thirsty earth, to remind us you have never left us, that you are still with us in the midst of this lockdown due to corona pandemic.

Thank you, O Lord!

Give us the same fervor and attitude of Peter and companions after being arrested as they stood before the Sanhedrin in the first reading, so that like them we may boldly declare:

“We must obey God rather than men.”
Acts of the Apostles 5:29

How sad, O Lord, in this time of pandemic while so many are attesting and witnessing to your saving power, there are still some who refuse to recognize you, or even believe you.

On the other hand, there are those who ride on your goodness and kindness, taking upon themselves all your blessings, claiming everything in their name on the pretext of working for you, doing your work.

Lord Jesus Christ, please clear our minds and our hearts that the very reason why we should rather obey God than men is what you have told Nicodemus that night:

“For the one one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.”
John 3:34

Yes, dearest Jesus, you never ration your gift of the Spirit to us.

You always pour out unto us your many gifts that indeed, you have given us with so much and we have given so little.

And in spite of that, we still complain!

Please forgive us, Lord, when we feel so afraid, so unsure, even insecured to the point of being delusional that we might be forgotten that we choose to obey men than you. Amen.

One mind, one heart, one mission in Jesus

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe, Tuesday, Easter Week-II, 21 April 2020

***Acts of the Apostles 4:32-37* ><)))> +++ 0 +++ <(((>< *John 3:7-15***

Posted by Marivic Tribiana on her Facebook 18 April 2020 when a huge fire hit “Happyland” in Tondo district, Manila, leaving 450 families homeless with one fatality.

Artwork by Fr. Marc Ocariza using Digital Art Timelapse after seeing photo at left, claiming it was like seeing Jesus Christ carrying the old man as he contemplated the Divine Mercy that Saturday.

Glory and praise to you, O Lord Jesus Christ for coming to us, and continuing to come to us most especially amid this COVID-19 pandemic.

Increase our faith in you, awaken our being “born from above” in you in the Holy Spirit so that we may continue to find you and follow you in the ordinary things that happen to us.

It is not enough that we as a “community of believers be of one heart and mind, having everything in common” (Acts 4:32).

As a community united in you, Lord Jesus, keep us strong in fulfilling our mission from you.

Remind us always that we merely represent you in this mission.

We are not the ones who will change the world but you, O Lord.

Give us the grace to forget ourselves and carry our cross daily so we can follow you more closely every day.

Most of all, give us the courage to seek your ways and follow wherever your Holy Spirit leads us to so we can best serve you without ever thinking of our very selves or anything in return except that we are doing your most holy will. Amen.

The Facebook post by Marivic Tribiana that inspired Fr. Marc to make a digital representation of the scene amid the huge fire with thick, black smokes billowing above visible kilometers ahead in a city under an extended lockdown due to Covid-19.

He dubbed his artwork “Nag-aalab na Pag-Ibig” (Burning Love), an interplay between the raging fire in the area and the burning love of Jesus to the old man being carried.

That is why we need to be “born from above” to be able to understand teachings of Jesus about heavenly things on earth (Jn.3:12), remaining open to leading of the Holy Spirit to follow the Lord closely, not our selves, nor our plans, nor our personal agenda.

Bakas ng habag at awa ni Jesus

Lawiswis Ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-20 ng Abril 2020

Nakita lamang kita
kamakalawa sa balita
ng social media
karga-karga isang matanda
habang lumilikas mga nasunugan
sa gitna nitong lockdown
doon sa inyong tirahan
kung tawagi'y "Happyland"
sa Tondo na napakaraming tao.

Hindi ko sukat akalain
sa sumunod na pagtingin
naiba at nabago ang lahat sa akin
sa larawan ng naturang balita pa rin
matapos ito ay guhitan at kulayan
dahil kinabukasan ay kapistahan
ng Divine Mercy
at ikaw pala iyan, Jesus
aming Panginoon at Diyos.

Sa gitna ng naglalagablab na apoy
nag-aalab mong pag-ibig Panginoon
ang umantig sa pananalig
ng Iyong dibuhista at pari
Marc Ocariza kaagad nagpinta
gamit bagong teknolohiya
upang ipakita kakaiba niyang nadama
na sadyang tamang tama naman pala 
upang itanghal iyong Mabathalang Awa talaga.

"Panginoon ko at Diyos ko!"
ang panalanging akin ding nasambit
katulad ni Tomas na apostol mo
nang muli Kang magpakita sa kanila;
tunay nga pala
mapapalad ang mga nananalig
kahit hindi ka nakikita
dahil hindi itong aming mga mata
ang ginagamit kungdi aming pagsampalataya.

Nawa ikaw ang aming makita
mahabaging Jesus
sa gitna ng dilim nitong COVID-19
Iyong Dakilang Awa aming maipadama
sa pamamagitan ng paglimot sa aming sarili
 at pagpapasan ng krus upang Ikaw ay masundan
tangi Mong kalooban ang bigyang katuparan
upang Ikaw ay maranasan at masaksihan
ng kapwa naming nahihirapan.

Turuan mo kami, maawaing Jesus
na muling magtiwala sa iyo
kumapit ng mahigpit
hindi lamang kapag nagigipit
at huwag nang ipinipilit
aming mga naiisip at mga panaginip
na kailanma'y hindi nakahagip
sa ginawa Mong pagsagip at malasakit
upang kami ngayo'y mapuno ng Iyong kariktan at kabutihan! *

*Maraming salamat kay Marivic Tribiana (hindi ko kakilala) na nagpost sa kanyang Facebook ng unang larawan ni kuya pasan-pasan lolo niya sa kainitan ng sunog sa Happyland noong Abril 18, 2020.

At higit ding pasasalamat ko kay P. Marc Ocariza sa pagmumulat sa aking mga mata ng kanyang pagninilay at obra gamit ang Digital Art Timelapse na kanyang tinaguriang “Nag-aalab na Pag-ibig”.

Ang lahat ng ito ay para sa higit na ikadadakila ng Diyos na nagbigay sa atin ng Kanyang Anak “hindi upang tayo ay mapahamak kungdi maligtas” lalo ngayong panahon ng pandemiya ng COVDI-19.

At sa inyo, maraming salamat po sa pagsubaybay sa Lawiswis ng Salita.

Finding Jesus in Easter darkness

The Lord Is My Chef Recipe in the Octave of Easter, also Divine Mercy Sunday, 19 April 2020

***Acts 2:42-47* ><)))> 0 <(((>< 1 Peter 1:3-9 ><)))> 0 <(((>< *John 20:19-31***

Carrying around our parish the Blessed Sacrament every Sunday afternoon since lockdown began.

I have almost forgotten – and it is only now amid this extended lockdown – that I have realized the first Easter happened in darkness! We are in the same situation with the Apostles when Jesus rose from the dead.

What we need is to “quarantine” ourselves more, our heart and soul within to see and recognize our Risen Lord among us like during that first Easter.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
John 20:19-23

Stained glass at the back of our parish church depicting the appearance of the Risen Jesus with Thomas, aka, Didymus. Photo by author, 02 April 2020.

Jesus always comes in darkness to bring light of peace

In our reflection last Holy Wednesday, we have mentioned how Jesus was born during the darkest night of the year to bring us that light of hope and salvation. The same is true with Easter when he resurrected in the darkest part of the day just before dawn.

Jesus indeed is the light that bursts and pierces through the darkest darkness of the world and of our very lives, our sinfulness. This is the reason we also celebrate this Sunday the Feast of the Divine Mercy of God in Jesus Christ.

Through his Passion, Death and Resurrection, Jesus is the only one who can penetrate through whatever blockages and imprisonment we have or we are into like sin and evil, pains and hurts in the past that filled us with so much guilt.

In his Divine Mercy, Jesus had come to give us our life back complete with the gift of freedom that we have all lost to sin and evil.

And that is why on Easter, Jesus gave us his greatest gift of all which is peace or shalom in Hebrew that means wholeness or holiness. To be whole literally is to have a good relationship with one’s self, with others, and with God.

Vatican II asserts in its Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World:

Peace is more than the absence of war: it cannot be reduced to the maintenance of a balance of power between opposing force not does it arise out of despotic dominion, but it is appropriately called “the effect of righteousness” (Is.32:17). It is the fruit of that right ordering of things…
Gaudium et Spes, no. 78

Righteousness in the bible means justice that is also equivalent to holiness which is, to be filled with God, not necessarily to be sinless. That is why after greeting them with peace the second time, Jesus breathed on them the Holy Spirit, an imagery that reminds us of the story of creation when God breathed on the first humans to have life.

At Easter, we were breathed on again by the Risen Lord to renew our lives, to fill us again with God and be closest to him in our breath and thus enabling us to be free again from sin and evil, free for God and for others.

What a joy to read these days due to lockdowns worldwide that the Sierra Madres and Mt. Samat can be seen again from the metropolis or the Himalayas from India after 30 years due to clearer skies with less pollution. Or, the lions in Africa’s wildlife parks lazily sleeping without being disturbed by humans.

These are proofs that there is life indeed amid the darkness of this pandemic when Jesus restores life and balance, making everything new and alive again!

Peace and mercy, unity and mission

At his Supper before his arrest, Jesus prayed to God our Father that we may all be one – ut unum sint – like him and Father (John 17:21) are one. This would be partly fulfilled on Easter and eventually at the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost when the Church is eventually launched.

It is in our faith that we enter into communion with the Father in Jesus Christ and with one another as a community, as a church.

That is why it was a beautiful imagery of Thomas eventually joining them the following Sunday not because he lacked faith; he had faith that is why he came to see and experience Jesus. And that faith bloomed upon encountering Jesus again that according to tradition, Thomas preached the good news to India where he died a martyr by being skinned alive.

We have always said in our previous reflections that whenever and wherever there is faith, there is always union and unity with God and others.

Eventually, from every unity and community, there is always mission.

In our first reading today we have heard how the early Christians were one in their faith, always praying, that is, celebrating the Eucharist from which flowed out their mission.

All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need.
Acts 2:44-45

In his entire life, we have seen that Jesus had always been clear in his being sent, that the words he had spoken and things he had done were not all his but from and by the Father.

Watch closely John’s narration of after the Lord’s Resurrection:

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
John 20:19-21

After giving them the gift of peace and filling them with his breath of life to signify they have been forgiven for their sins and failures when they left him on Good Friday, Jesus is now drawing them into his great mission: As the Father has sent me, so I send you.

This is the defining and definitive characteristic of the Church, of any community of disciples in every age, most especially in this time of the corona virus pandemic.

Our mission continues in the darkness of COVID-19

Churches may be closed, public Masses are banned but the mission of proclaiming in words and in deeds the good news of the Risen Lord continues very loud and clear.

Detractors would always malign us, would spend for trolls just to ask “where is the Church in this time of crisis” but the people know best that we have never been remiss nor even flinched a single second whenever disasters strike anywhere in the world.

In the darkest moments of history in the past up to the present, the Church as a community of disciples of Jesus has always shine so brightly in Christ standing up for the poor and oppressed, the marginalized and forgotten, the sick and the hungry, those suffering in the most far-flung areas with its extensive networks of parishes and BEC’s.

This is also the reason why people always malign us in the Church about what we are doing amid the poverty and sufferings of the world: we work in silence because we are merely being sent by Jesus Christ. Like him our Lord and Master, whatever we say and do are not ours but the One who sent us, the Father in heaven.

We merely represent Jesus Christ who represents the Father and guided by the Holy Spirit, together we forge onto the darkness of this pandemic despite the many sufferings we go through, “tested by fire so that we may prove to be for the praise, glory, and honor of revealing Jesus Christ” (cf. 1 Peter 1:6-7).

This is who we are, disciples of Jesus sent to proclaim his love and mercy especially in the midst of all darkness.

This Sunday amid the darkness and threats of COVID-19, let us join the psalmist in his song, “Give thank to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting” (Responsorial Psalm , Ocatve of Easter).

A blessed week to everyone. Stay safe but keep working for the Lord! Amen.

Easter Vigil in our Parish, 12 April 2020.

Photos in the collage clockwise: Malolos Diocese Social Action Center, Inc. with Caritas Manila spearheading relief operations in Bulacan; Sisters from the Daughters of St. Anne walking through fields and mountains to reach out to our poorest of the poor; trays of thousands of eggs to be given away to fisherfolks in Binuangan, Obando by Fr. Ramon Garcia III; last two photos, beneficiaries of the 10-m Php worth of Gift Certificates given throughout Bulacan before Holy Week that included everyone even those from other faith and beliefs.

Celebrating in time of corona virus

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe, Saturday within the Octave of Easter, 18 April 2020

***Acts 4:13-21* ><)))> +++ <(((>< *Mark 16:9-15***

Mass in my parish without a congregation, except for two birds.

Praise and glory to you, O Lord Jesus Christ, our Eternal High Priest for this most joyous day of our lives with my six other classmates, our 22nd Presbyteral anniversary that coincides with the birthday of or fifth Bishop, the Most Rev. Dennis Villarojo!

In a few minutes I will be celebrating your Holy Sacrifice of the Mass alone – no congregation, no families and friends except for the birds keeping me company since last month.

First, it was my birthday last month; today, our presbyteral anniversary still in lockdown and on my third “self-quarantine” after exposing myself to some possible carriers. At first, I felt tired like the Simon Peter and the rest in yesterday’s gospel when I felt like going back to my old ways. But, the day dragged on without catching any fish at all when in the afternoon, a sudden burst of your light made me realize to search you more in this time of darkness. You taught us through St. Ignatius of Loyola in our 30-day retreat to always be positively indifferent to you, that I may be poor than rich, sick than healthy…

I do not complain, sweet dear Jesus, that we are still in a lockdown or in self-quarantine again. These are all part of my life in you and with you. Besides, I have no plans of great celebrations as it has always been slightly like this in the past 22 years. And maybe, this is one way of you telling us to be alone with you longer, more intensely.

Praying at the Garden of Gethsemane in the Holy Land, 2019. Photo by Atty. Polaris Grace Rivas-Beron.

What do I have to pray for today, Lord?

Nothing really but the usual things I ask you day in, day out: when I die, I will be with you in Paradise like that thief on the Cross. I have no desire of going anywhere or having anything more than what I need because only you suffice.

Make me your faithful servant that everyday I may know you more, love you more, and follow you more closely. May I do your holy will in every here and now in the way you would want it to be done, not mine. And always, give me the gifts of hiddenness, of stillness for this is not really about me at all but more of YOU.

You have given me with so much, Jesus, but I have given so little. Teach me to give more of my talents, more of my love, more of my patience, more of myself, and most of all, more of YOU to others.

In my prayers yesterday and last night, I saw myself somehow with Peter and John in the first reading…

Observing the boldness of Peter and John and perceived them to be uneducated, ordinary men, the leaders, elders, and the scribes were amazed, and they recognized them as the companions of Jesus.
Acts 4:13

Let me be recognized more than ever as your companion, Lord Jesus. I have nothing special to be chosen as your priest. It is all your love and grace freely given to me.

May I have the courage like that of Peter and John to be bold and daring to proclaim you are risen, you are alive, that you are the Christ especially in this time of quarantine.

Keep me faithful to your mandate to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mk.16:15).

Just be mine, LORD, for I am wholly THINE. Amen.

Remaining in Jesus in quarantine

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Friday within the Octave of Easter, 17 April 2020

***Acts of the Apostles 4:1-12* <(((>< +++ ><)))> *John 21:1-14***

Photo by Mr. Chester Ocampo in Catanduanes, 2019.

Dearest Jesus:

Today I am so tempted like your Apostles to go back to previous life, to do the usual old things amid the very trying times of this quarantine period.

Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garments for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea.
John 21:3-7

Like your Apostles, I am supposed to be happy, joyous because you have risen, Lord.

But, what happened that you are suddenly nowhere to be found?

Why, dear Jesus, in our joy of sharing you with others amid this quarantine period, problems arise, when we have to go back into self-quarantine, to be in total isolation to prevent the spread of this dreaded corona virus?

Why do people still lie, careless in their ways, particularly our leaders, our co-workers?

Help us to find you in all these things, Lord.

Open our minds as Peter and John later explained to the chief priests that it is you whom we must always find and see in every event in our lives, to always try to find the good things happening amidst the many dismal situation we are into.

Most of all, give us the grace of the sight of faith like your beloved disciple who immediately recognized you upon seeing the bountiful catch of fish. Amen.

Ang kinawawang Diyos ng kawawang tao

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-16 ng Abril 2020

Larawan kuha ni G. Raffy Tima ng GMA-7 News nang sumabog ang Bulkang Taal, Enero 2020.

Hindi lamang minsan
sumagi sa aking isipan
nakalulungkot nating kinagawian
Diyos ay ating kinakawawa 
kapag may masamang karanasan
Siya ating pinagbibintangang
tayo ay pinarurusahan
kulang na nga lang
lahat ng kasamaan inatang
lahat ng sisi sa Kanyang pangalan.

Kinakawawa natin ang Diyos
sa tuwing siya ang tinuturing pinagmulan
ng bawat kalamidad at kasawian;
madalas idahilan pa ng karamihan
sa pagaakalang mabuting katuwiran
na mga ito ay pagsubok lamang
ng Maykapal na hindi ibibigay  
kung hindi malalampasan
gayong Siya ay purong kabutihan
paanong ipaliliwanag iyan?

Kinakawawa natin ang Diyos
katulad noong kanyang kapanahunan
nilalapastangan at pinasasakitan
gayong tao ang may kasalanan
at palaging nagkukulang
katulad doon sa ilang nang tuksuhin ng diyablo
hinahamon Kanyang katuwiran
pati katarungan bakit Niya
pinababayaan mga kahirapan
at hindi pakinggan mga karaingan?

Ang mahirap maintindihan
Diyos ang laging tinatawagan
sa maraming pangangailangan
ngunit kapag napagkalooban
Siya ay kinalilimutan, tinatalikuran
habang ating inaangkin
lahat ng husay at galing
sa nakamit na katanyagan
at magandang kapalaran
na tila baga wala Siyang kinalaman?

Kay laking kabalintunaan
kakatwang kahangalan
at sukdulang kayabangan
nating mga nilalang
na Diyos ay kalimutan at talikuran
sa paniniwalang lahat ating makakayanan
pati kamatayan pilit iniiwasan
mga kamay ng orasan pinipigilan
habang hinahatulan sinong may karapatang mabuhay
sanggol sa tiyan at mga tinotokhang!

Lingid sa ating kaalaman
na pinalabo ng ating kapalaluan
sa bawat kalungkutan at kahirapan
pagtitiis at kabiguan
Diyos ang higit sa ating nasasaktan
sa pagpanaw ng maski isa lang
Siya ang labis nahihirapan
dahil sa ano mang ating kalagayan
Diyos ay palagi tayong sinasamahan
pilit naman nating iniiwan at sinusumbatan.

Sakaling tayo ay dumaraan
sa kahirapan at ano mang kagipitan
hindi ito nagmula sa Diyos
dahil Siya ang kabutihan;
gayon pa man ating maaasahan
lahat ng ating nararanasan 
Kanyang nalalaman
hindi Niya papayagang magwagi 
anumang dalamhati bagkus Kanyang titiyakin
mga ito ay humantong sa ating luwalhati.

Hindi ang Diyos ang kawawa
sa tuwing atin Siyang kinakawawa
sa salita at sa gawa
kungdi tayong kanyang mga tinubos
pagkatao natin ang nauubos
dangal nati'y nauupos
sa tuwing aasta tayong boss
gayong tayo ang nabubusabos
nitong kapalaluan nating lipos
na sana ay maubos, matapos kasabay ng corona virus.