Troubles on the road to Easter

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sunday Recipe for the Soul, Lent II-B, 25 February 2024
Genesis 22:1-2, 9, 10-13, 15-18 ><}}}}*> Romans 8:31-34 ><}}}}*> Mark 9:2-10

*Photo by Ms. Analyn Dela Torre, 12 February 2024 in Bgy. Caypombo, Santa Maria, Bulacan.*

While praying our gospel this Second Sunday in Lent, the song Yesterday by the Beatles kept playing at the back of my mind, especially the first two stanzas that say:

Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away.
Now it looks as though they're here to stay.
Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be.
There's a shadow hanging over me.
Oh, yesterday came suddenly.

Written by Paul McCartney and recorded by the Beatles in 1965, Yesterday is a sad love song about break up that greatly changed the lost lover who was “Suddenly, I’m not half the man I used to be.”

Beautiful music, beautiful lyrics on this beautiful Sunday with another beautiful gospel as Mark leads us from the wilderness last week to Mount Tabor with Jesus Christ and his three disciples whose experiences were like the Beatles in Yesterday.

Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Mark 9:2-3

*Basilica of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor, Israel* from custodia.org.

See how the three apostles were overjoyed with the sight of Jesus transfigured, conversing with Moses and Elijah with Peter feeling so “high” that he offered to make three tents for them to remain there. It was the same experience of joy in the Beatles’ Yesterday when McCartney had that great feeling of being loved he thought would last forever.

But, both moments of joy were so brief with the transfiguration cut off immediately after Peter had spoken while McCartney felt his troubles came “suddenly”.

Like his account of Christ’s temptation last Sunday, Mark’s version of the transfiguration is so short unlike those by Matthew and Luke; however, Mark never lost attention to important details that showed the solemnity of the scene from start to finish despite a sudden shift in the mood as they went down the mountain.

As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant.
Mark 9:9-10

For Mark, the transfiguration of Jesus led the disciples to deepen their faith in Jesus amid his growing mystery especially in the light of his oft-repeated Passion, Death and Resurrection, as if telling us of the many troubles ahead on the road to Easter.

Hence, it is no coincidence that like the transfiguration, Mark ended abruptly his gospel account when Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome saw an angel who spoke to them inside the empty tomb of Jesus very early on Easter: Then they went out and fled from the tomb, seized with trembling and bewilderment. They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid (Mk. 16:8). Both in the transfiguration and in the Resurrection, the disciples were dared to reflect deeply on those events that later enabled them to make a firm response in their faith in Christ.

*Mosaic inside the Basilica of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor, Israel from commons.wikimedia.org..*

The same thing applies to us today. Many troubles lie ahead our lives, inviting us to follow Jesus more closely in prayers and reflections to find the meanings and lessons of life’s light and darkness, joy and sadness, triumph and defeat, even of death that keep on hovering above us, even enveloping us at times. We need to deepen our faith in God who had sent us his Son Jesus never stops doing to be our companion in this journey of life especially when we are passing through mountains and valleys, rivers and seas. In the song Yesterday, McCartney sang of our most common experience of having loved and lost yet taught us so much lessons in life. And music.

One thing was clear with the Apostles – and McCartney too – that even though troubles and problems were always with them along the way, they just lived through it and made the most out of them like the Church, including a classic love song!

How about us today, what is our faith response to the many darkness and light we have gone through in life’s journey?

*Photo by Roger Buendia/Presidential Museum and Library via esquiremag.ph.*

It is always easy to blame others for our many woes in life as we fail to see our own moments of transfiguration. Jesus gifts us with a personal transfiguration event to make us better to be like him but, do we welcome or, run away from them?

Today is the 38th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution when we must ask ourselves how we have personally responded to that great moment of grace from God, a transfiguration in itself, a pasch like the Lord’s. Have we truly valued EDSA 1986, until now?

How unfortunate that EDSA now stands for everything that is wrong with us, especially our wrong choices and wrong decisions in the past 38 years. EDSA invites us to examine our very selves as a Filipino and as a Christian, a disciple of Christ.

*Photo from iStockphoto.com of Mount Tabor in Israel where Jesus is believed to have transfigured.*

At his transfiguration, Jesus showed the inseparability of the mystery of the Cross and of his glory on Easter, the closeness of Mount Tabor with Golgotha. The mountain in the bible is always a coming to God, a communion in him.

Every nature lover knows very well the mountain is life itself, difficult to climb, easy to descend. Here now is the beautiful part of the gospel. And song Yesterday. Mountains surely change us but the choice is ours if we want to become better or bitter.

Set on what is believed to be Mount Tabor, the transfiguration was a passage, a foretaste of Christ’s pasch that not only brought him to his glory but transformed too the whole human race and the world itself. In the same manner, McCartney expressed poetically in Yesterday his transformation when “Suddenly, I’m not half the man I used to be.”

This is the good news of this Sunday: every mountain in life is a grace of transfiguration, of being better persons than before. We never come out – or down – the same persons every time we enter through whatever passages or climb any mountain in life. We are always changed, we always emerge different than who we were before after each passages we came through in life.

God gives us the grace and power to choose to be better and stronger, wiser and holier than bitter or resentful with every trials we hurdle in life. This was the experience of Abraham in the first reading when he completely trusted God who asked him to offer his son Isaac on a mountain. It was a very tough test for Abraham who waited in his old age to have a son only to be sacrificed later? But Abraham never doubted God that he still went up the mountain, and as he was about to sacrifice Isaac, an angel stopped him, telling him how God was so delighted with his faith and obedience that he was eventually blessed abundantly after.

Each of us is passing through different trials at this very moment. Many times we feel we suffer more than others, that our tests are tougher than the rest. It is useless and a waste of time to compare ourselves with others. One thing is clear: God does not stop doing something good for us in Jesus, ensuring we get better each day than yesterday. Let the words of St. Paul today assure us that “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not give us everything else along with him? (Rom. 8:31-32)” Have a blessed week ahead, fellow traveler in Christ! Let us pray:

God our loving Father,
thank you for the gift of 
this Season of Lent so we may
experience more your Son
Jesus Christ's coming to us
in this journey of life,
our companion amid the
darkness and light
and many troubles 
including the little deaths
we experience in life;
give us the faith and trust
of Abraham to offer you those
 dearest to us because 
if ever you ask something from us, 
it is to make more room in ourselves
for your abounding grace 
and gifts of transformation 
in Christ Jesus with Mary, 
our Lady of Fatima.
Amen.

*This Sunday, 25 February 2024, is also the Canonical Coronation of the National Pilgrim Image of Fatima here in Valenzuela City, the very image raised at EDSA in 1986. Photo from cbcp.net.*

Lent is seeing God in others

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the First Week of Lent, 19 February 2024
Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 ><))))*> + + + <*((((>< Matthew 25:31-46

*Photo by Mr. Jay Javier in Quiapo, Manila, 09 January 2024.*

Today I pray dear God
to your directive since the
Old Testament until the coming
of your Son Jesus Christ:
"Be holy , for I, the Lord your God,
am holy" (Leviticus 19:2).

But, what is really to be holy,
what is to be like you,
God?

Perfect.
Loving.
Kind.
Good.
Merciful.
Forgiving.
Caring.
Understanding.
Warm.
Open.

There are so many other
traits and characteristics I can think
of you as being holy,
O God,
that we have to imitate
to be like
you
that makes holiness
 so difficult,
elusive,
and impossible!

Who can really be like you
when we are so different from you?
But, thank you in sending us
Jesus who not only made it
possible for us to be holy
like you, God,
but also made it
simpler:

“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me… Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least one, you did not do for me.”
Matthew 25:40, 45

On this blessed season
of Lent,
teach us to fast 
and be empty of ourselves,
of our pride,
and of our sins
so we may be filled with YOU;
holiness is first of all 
being filled
with you, O God,
that we feel,
we see,
we think
of others like you,
that is, of seeing you
in each one of us.

When we begin to
realize and experience 
that you fill us, O God,
then we learn to be
generous in sharing
more of ourselves, 
of our time,
of our talent,
of our treasure,
and most of all,
of you dear God
dwelling in us
with others;
we can only be holy
not when we try being
like you but more of finding
you first in us
in order to find you
in others too!

Then, 
maybe we stop
fighting,
committing every sin
against each other
if only we can see you
dwelling,
filling 
each one of us.
Amen.

Lent is self-confrontation

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday after Ash Wednesday, 16 February 2024
Isaiah 58:1-9  + + +  Matthew 9:14-15

Thank you, dear Father
for this lovely season of Lent
when everything is in hue
of violets representing the future,
the imagination and dreams,
while spiritually calming
our emotions to attain 
spiritual enlightenment 
while at the same time
keeping us grounded in you, 
O God,
our very first love.

Give us the courage
in Christ Jesus your Son 
to confront our very selves, 
to accept who we 
really are before you 
minus all the pretensions
and alibis and excuses: 
forgive us, Lord
because very often we look so 
highly of ourselves,
unconsciously or consciously
playing god, 
keeping ourselves
as standard and measure 
of what is right and proper,
even of truth; worst, 
many times, we demand you 
to conform to us 
than we conforming to you.

Thus says the Lord God: Cry out full-throated and unsparingly, lift up your voice like a trumpet blast; tell my people their wickedness, and the house of Jacob their sins. They seek me day after day, and desire to know my ways, like a nation that has done what is just and not abandoned the law of their God; they ask me to declare what is due them, pleased to gain access to God.
Isaiah 58:1-2

Let us be your prophets
especially in this age when
we no longer fast nor abstain,
no longer praying individually
and communally,
so contented with online Masses,
so that we have forgotten not only
you, Father but even those
around us, both those nearest
to us in the family circle
and those outside our margins;
Father, in this age with
so much emphasis 
on individual rights,
we have forgotten about
others: we have refused to
see each others plight
and condition in life
because we have bloated
our egos,
has failed to look at the mirror
to confront our own dirt
and smudges,
questioning everyone
even you, O Lord,
except our very selves.
Amen.

God our foundation

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of Sts. Pedro Bautista, Paul Miki & Companion Martyrs, 06 February 2024
1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Mark 7:1-13

Dear God our Father,
thank you for being for us,
thank you for being with us, 
thank you for being in us;
you are our foundation,
our root, and our very life.
Everyday in nature you show
us your beauty and majesty,
but most of all, in all history,
you have allowed us to express
your might and power with
our magnificent buildings
of worship everywhere
that like King Solomon,
we pray and wonder:

“Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth? If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built! Look kindly on the prayer and petition of your servant, O Lord, my God, and listen to the cry of supplication which I, your servant, utter before you this day.”
1 Kings 8:27-28

Thank you dear God
for the gift of missionaries
who have come to build churches
and schools and hospitals
and towns that until now testify
to your being with us;
many of them have literally
given their lives for the gospel
of Jesus Christ your Son
like San Pedro Bautista
who worked only for nine years
in the Philippines but had transformed
lives from Bulacan to Camarines Sur;
he later joined the first Japanese martyr
and Jesuit priest St. Paul Miki and
other companions in Nagasaki
when rulers there became suspicious
of their missionary works
that have won so many converts.
May we remain faithful to you,
O God, as our sole foundation
in life even in death.

Forgive us, Father,
when many times we confine you
 in our churches,
in our beliefs and traditions
becoming more focused with
material foundations
than your divine foundation
like the Pharisees and scribes
in the gospel today;
let us continue to pursue learning
in the light of Christ's teaching,
sometimes relearning and
unlearning things we have been
used to by always going back to
you O God as our sole foundation
in this life.
Amen.

*Photo by author in Jerusalem’s via Dolorosa, 2017.*

We are God’s dwelling, praying for cancer patients

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin & Martyr, 05 February 2024
1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Mark 6:53-56

*Photo by Mr. Boy Cabrido, kids playing “piko” outside patio of the National Shrine of St. Michael & the Archangels in San Miguel, Manila, 04 February 2024.*

On this first working day of the week,
we pray to you dear Father,
may we share your loving presence
we experienced at the Sunday Mass
to everyone we shall meet today;
like Jesus your Son, 
may we "approach, touch and raise"
especially those who are down in
trials and tribulations in life;
dwell in our hearts, Lord, like when
your clouds envelop the temple built
by Solomon when they placed your
Ark of the Covenant at the Holy of Holies.

When the priests left the holy place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord so that priests could no longer minister because of the cloud, since the Lord’s glory had filled the temple of the Lord.
1 Kings 8:10-11

Dwell on us your people, Lord;
fill us with your grace of courage to
witness your love and truth among peoples
like St. Agatha who died remaining a virgin
for your holy name after enduring so much
pains from her torturers who cut off her breasts
but with the intercession of St. Peter the Apostle,
her wounds were healed, making her the
patron saint of those with breast cancer;
you know O Lord the pains and difficulties
those with cancer go through;
give them the strength to withstand the 
long process of treatments along with their
loved ones;
never let them lose hope in you through
Jesus Christ who never gets tired "crossing
the lake" to reach the sick;
have mercy on those with all kinds of cancer,
bless those who were healed and in remission,
and please accept the souls of those
who have died.
Amen.

*From en.wikipedia.org, painting of St. Agatha with her severed breasts that many thought to be loaves of bread that is why in some churches in Europe, breads are distributed during her memorial.*

Praying to see Christ, the true light

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, 02 February 2024
Malachi 3:1-4 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Luke 2:22-40

*Presentation in the Temple painting by Fra Angelico from fineartamerica.com.*

On this most joyous feast
of the Lord's Presentation in
the Temple, we pray, dear Father
for the same grace you gave 
your servant Simeon to see each day
the coming of your Son Jesus Christ,
the true light of the world,
the only light to guide our lives.

Grant us the grace, O God,
to persevere in our prayer life
like Simeon and Anna who spent 
much of their days at the temple,
praying and fasting that they became
attuned with your Holy Spirit.

How amazing that despite
the many couples coming to the temple
on that day, Simeon and Anna
recognized Jesus in the arms of Mary
with Joseph; many times in life,
we are so distracted with so many
other people we look up to,
we believe in so much
thinking them to be the light who will
guide us in this life;
there are times we look at new ideas
and novel thoughts and ways so bright
that we easily follow them as light
to dispel the many darkness in our life;
and there are times, O God, we simply lose
hope looking for your light,
waiting for your Son Jesus
that we leave your side to 
make our own light
because of many distractions
like failures and disappointments
within us.

Let us be focused in Jesus
only like Simeon and Anna for he
surely comes each day amid the hustle
and bustle of life's daily grinds;
do not let us be discouraged
by the many difficulties and
trials that come our way daily
for Jesus comes when we least
expect him, in instances we never
expect like Mary and Joseph 
despite having the Savior with them
still complied with the dictates of
the Law; most of all, Jesus came at
the old age of Simeon and Anna
when it was more easier to just
give up from waiting.

May we be able to pray every night
despite the darkness around us,
Simeon's Canticle:

“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”
Luke 2:29-32

Lord Jesus,
let us see you
so that we can make others
see you too in us
and through us.
Amen.

*Photo by author, surise at Anvaya Cove, Morong, Bataan, 2023.*

When God feels for us

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. John Bosco, Priest, 31 January 2024
2 Samuel 24:2, 9-17 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Mark 6:1-6

*Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD in Tanza, Navotas, Metro Manila, 17 December 2020.*

Your words today are very
intriguing, Lord;
both the first reading 
and gospel spoke of our 
pride and lack of trust in you
but, in both instances,
you were there,
the most merciful Lord,
"regretted the calamity"
imposed upon Jerusalem
while feeling "amazed for their
lack of faith".

But when the angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord regretted the calamity and said to the angel causing the destruction among the people, “Enough now! Stay your hand.”
2 Samuel 24:16

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Mark 6:4-6

How interesting that you,
O God, was presented to us like
humans with all emotions and feelings
but in the face of human 
hardness and disobedience,
you took the softer side of us humans:
you regretted sending pestilence
on Israel in punishment of David's
pride while your Son Jesus himself
only felt being "amazed" at the lack of faith
of the people in the synagogue;
if you have really acted as humans,
you have gone worst
in punishing David
and insulting the people
in Capernaum.

And that is how you deal with us
always in the face of our sinfulness:
you remain on our side,
choosing to be merciful than vengeful,
compassionate and understanding
than angry or mad,
simply be amazed at our incredulity
probably with a few chuckles
than insulting us,
nor lambasting us.
None of those human negativities
on your playing like us humans,
O God.

Most of all,
in the midst of our sins
and indifference, that is when
you raise and send us holy men
like St. John Bosco
who until now through his
Salesian priests and brothers
continue to make you present
in a world that loves to turn against you, God;
bless the Salesians all over the world
who form young people
into your image and likeness,
who witness to us
your most noble qualities
O God when you choose
to feel for us
at our worst selves.
Amen.

St. John Bosco,
pray for us!

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.

Call waiting

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the First Week of Ordinary Time, 10 January 2024
1 Samuel 3:1-10,19-20 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]*> Mark 1:29-39

Dearest God our Father:
I find it so funny these days
we have that feature in our phones
"call waiting" - when we can identify 
whoever is calling us, giving us
the easy choice to answer it
or not; if we have missed a call,
we still have a chance to call back
to return a missed call; 
with "call waiting", 
we cannot actually miss
a call. 
Ideally. 
Supposed to be.

But we not only ignore calls of
friends and relatives;
worst of all, 
we refuse 
answering your calls!

During the time young Samuel was minister to the Lord under Eli, a revelation of the Lord was uncommon and vision infrequent… Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect.
1 Samuel 3:1, 20

How interesting the author
noted that "revelation of the Lord
was uncommon and vision infrequent"
during that time of Eli as your priest;
most likely reason was nobody
was listening to you at all
until Samuel came.

Teach us, dear Jesus,
to never keep you waiting
for us in answering your calls;
like the brothers Peter and Andrew,
James and John
that we immediately speak to you,
most of all always listen to you.

This 2024,
let us not keep you waiting in
answering your call
for you never missed our calls;
let me be patient, O Lord,
in awaiting your words,
your calls
so that like Samuel
when we speak,
our words have effect
because we speak your
words alone.
Amen.

Our amazing God

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday before the Epiphany of the Lord, 05 January 2023
1 John 3:11-21 <*((((>< + ><))))*> John 1:43-51

*Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, at Tagalag, Valenzuela City, 18 November 2023.*

How wonderful on this fifth day
of 2024, O God our Father,
that you amaze us
first on what is truly 
amazing...

"Do not be amazed, then,
brothers and sisters,
 if the world hates
you"
(1 John 3:13).

Many times we are amazed
at the evil men and women do;
we are amazed and surprised
in the negative sense
like shocked,
appalled,
even embarrassed
when others speak
and act shamelessly
against what is true,
good, and beautiful;
to be amazed in the negative sense
makes us withdraw
to examine our very selves
if we too have become callous
and shamelessly evil.

What is truly amazing,
worth of our surprise
is when we are amazed
in the positive sense
like Nathanael:
"Can anything good come from Nazareth?"
Philip said to him,
"Come and see"
(John 1:46).

Only what is truly good,
very true, and really beautiful
is amazing; nothing can make
our hearts leap even in 
momentary disbelief 
and amazement like Nathanael 
to hear or see or experience 
something so good and all good;
and that is YOU, O God, 
the most amazing of all
now brought nearer to us
in Christ Jesus;
in him, we have realized
and experienced that
"God is greater than our hearts"
(1 John 3:20) because you,
O God, your love and your truth,
your mercy and your kindness
are all beyond our grasp;
nothing can be so amazing,
loving Father, for us to experience
your love far beyond anything
we could expect for ourselves;
make us believe,
let us be amazed
in you.
Amen.