Category: Priesthood

Kuwentong tag-ulan: kasal ng tikbalang?

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-10 ng Agosto 2026
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Isang linggo na akong masayang nagpapaulan sa aking araw-araw na walking dito sa amin.

Natutuwa ako dahil kay dami kong naaalala masasayang karanasan ng paliligo sa ulan noong bata pa kami tulad ng pagtatampisaw sa tubig, pagtapat sa mga alulod ng lahat ng mga bahay at ngumanganga ng nakatingala sa langit para inumin ang ulan.

Mula sa Instagram.

Isa sa mga sumagi sa aking alaala na paksa ng usapan naming magpipinsan tuwing umuulan at tirik din ang araw ay kung totoo nga na mayroon daw kinakasal na tikbalang – isang uri ng halimaw na parang tao kung maglakad ngunit mukha at anyong kabayo.

Ngayong matanda na ako, napag-isipan ko na totoo nga ito at hindi lang basta kalokohan. Nabatid ko na lamang iyan ngayong tag-ulan nang ilang ulit na umulan habang mainit ang sikat ng araw.

Unang tikbalang na tingin kong kinakasal kapag umuulan habang umaaraw ang mga local officials natin gaya ng mga mayor, tapos ang mga senador, kongresista, at mga upisyal ng DPWH. Yung mga sangkot sa ghost project flood scam noong isang taon.

Halimaw ang mga iyon.

Siyempre, sigurado mayroon ding mga tikbalang sa iba pang mga sangay at ahensiya ng pamahalaan na nagpapasasa sa kaban ng bayan habang hindi alintana hirap at pagdurusa ng mga mamamayan lalo na kapag umuulan.

Kundangan naman kasi, marami sa ating mamamayan mahilig mag-alaga at makipagkaibigan sa mga tikbalang, yung mga nakikinabang na negosyante at contractor.

Higit sa lahat, mga mamamayan mismo na bumoboto sa mga corrupt na upisyal.

Sila ang mga kabiyak – asawa – ng mga tikbalang na iyan. Partner in crime. Eka nga, it takes two to tango. Marami sila. Asawa at bisita. Ang iba ninong at ninang.

Nakakasawa nang manood ng mga reels at posts ng mga binaha at pa-shout out shout out pa kay mayor. Puro hinagpis sa social media kesyo palala ng palala na raw ang baha sa kanilang lugar, walang ginagawa mga mayor.

Ang tanong ay, ano nangyari bakit kada eleksiyon binoboto nila mga bulok na yan? Taun-taon pala silang pinahihirapan tuwing tag-ulan tapos minsan sa anim na taon tuwing eleksiyon nakakalimutan kawalanghiyaan at kawalang-silbi ng mga iyan?

Kasalan sa binaha na Simbahan ng Barasoain, kuha ni G. Aaron Favila ng Associated Press, 22 Hulyo 2025.

Walang kinakasal na mag-isa. Tayong mga mamamayan ang asawa, ang kabiyak ng mga tikbalang!

Karamihan din kasi sa atin ay tikbalang. Takot mag-isip, takot manindigan sa tama at katotohanan. At ang hirap sa atin, palaging humahanap ng ibang masisisi maliban sa sarili.

Katulad ng isang matandang ginang na kabatian ko kasi tuwing umaga sa aking paglalakad nadaraanan ko siya sa harapan ng kanyang apartment.

Photo by Ravi Kant on Pexels.com

Noong Huwebes ng umaga sa gitna ng ulan habang ako ay naglalakad, sabi niya sa akin bakit daw ako nag-eexercise pa umuulan na?

Kumaway lang ako sa kanya at hindi na sumagot kasi nagdidilig siya noon ng halaman gamit ang lagadera.

Kawalan naman ng galang kung sinagot ko siya ng bakit po kayo nagdidilig ng halaman e umuulan?

Kulang sa pagninilay at pag-iisip? Mas malamang.

Ganyan tayo mga Pinoy, mema. Memasabi lang kadalasan na hindi pinag-iisipan.

Pero maganda at nakatutuwa sinasabi sa isang post sa Facebook buhat sa news report na nabawasan na pagbaha sa Marikina dahil sa mahusay na flood control projects doon ng lokal na pamahalaan pagkaraan ng tatlong taon.

Marami nang lungsod at bansa nagpatunay na maaring maibsan pinsala ng baha kung sadyang pag-aaralan at tunay na hahanapan ng lunas ng mga matitinong tao na may malasakit sa kapwa. At takot sa Diyos. Mangyayari lamang iyan kung boboto tayo ng mga upisyal ng pamahalaan na mayroong malasakit sa paglilingkod. Hindi suwapang. Hindi tikbalang.

Pansin ninyo, puro tayo smart watch, smart phone pero stupid person?

Sa kabila ng mga makabagong teknolohiya, parang nabobobo mga tao ngayon: noong bata kami basta signal number 2 ang bagyo, automatic wala nang klase sa elementary at high school.

Bakit gayon na lamang ang pag-asa at pagtutok lalo ng mga magulang sa LGU kung may pasok o wala?

Sapantaha ko diyan ay mas grade conscious ngayon mga magulang kesa mga anak nila na tuwang tuwa naman tuwing suspendido ang klase.

Pakiwari ko tuwing umuulan, maraming tao natatakot maninindigan na pati pagpasok sa paaralan ay inaasa sa mga kinauukulan. Kaya ang gulo ng buhay ngayon!

Noong Martes wala palang klase pero pumasok ako;kinabukasan wala ulit pasok kaya nagpaulan ako at naisip ko magkapareho ang LGU at carwash: kapag nag-announce ng walang pasok mga mayor dahil sa masamang panahon, kadalasan umaaraw, maganda ang panahon. Magpa-carwash ka, pagkaaalis na pagkaalis mo, papatak ang ulan!

Sa tuwing umuulan doon nasusubok ating pananampalataya sa Diyos at kapwa, nahahasa ating kakayanang magpasya ng wasto sa pamamagitan ng masusing pag-iisip at pagninilay ng mga bagay bagay. Higit sa lahat, sa tag-ulan lumalabas likas nating kabutihan. O kawalan nito. Walang pakialam sa iba. Kung saan-saan tinatapon mga basura. Palaging iba may kasalan liban sa sarili.

Hanga ako doon sa mga nagpapacarwash maski umuulan. Wala silang pakialam sa lagay ng panahon kungdi sa lagay ng kanilang sasakyan!

Iyon ang dapat: tingnan natin at suriin ating sarili hindi lagay ng panahon o ibang tao labas sa atin. Siguradong babagyo at uulan na kasabay nito ang mga pagbaha. Bakit tila nagugulat at nagugulantang pa tayo kapag nangyari na mga ito? Pagmasdan: kung gaano katagal sina mayor sa puwesto, ganoon katagal na rin ang baha. Kailangan pa bang i-memorise yan? Parang basura yan – babalik sa atin!

Kuha ng may-akda, Huwebes Santo, umuulan habang umaaraw sa Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan, 09 Abril 2020.

Balikan natin yung kasabihang mayroong kinakasal na tikbalang tuwing sabay na umuulan at sumisikat ang araw. Natukoy natin mga tikbalang, sino kanilang kabiyak o asawa, pati ninong at ninang hanggang sa mga bisita.

Heto ngayon: hindi ba kapag may kasalan, palagi mayroong pari?

Sino ang tumatayong pari kapag may kinakasal na tikbalang?

E di mga pari din. Mga kasama at kapatid naming pari. Ilan lang naman sila.

Noong isang taon ko pa ito gustong sabihin pero sinasaalang-alang ko aking pagkapari at mga kapatid sa kaparian. Pero, kailangang sabihin.

Isang taon makalipas pumutok ang ghost project scam sa mga flood controls na ang epicenter ay lalawigan ng Bulakan, mismong sa lungsod ng Malolos, hindi maikakaila Katoliko karamihan ng mga tikbalang.

At mga paring Katoliko nagkakasal sa kanila. Mayroon din ilang mga pastor at ministro nagkakasal sa mga tikbalang tuwing umuulan habang umaaraw. May ibang sekta nga nag-aalaga talaga ng mga tikbalang.

Larawan mula sa Facebook post ni Dr. Tony Leachon, “KLEPTOPIROSIS: When Corruption Becomes a Public Health Crisis”, 08 Agosto 2025.

Ilan ang mga pari na humingi ng donasyon sa mga corrupt na upisyales para sa kung anu anong mga pagawain sa simbahan? Hindi ba iyan ay malinaw na pakikipag-kaibigan at kung tutuusin pakikipag-sabwatan sa mga tikbalang?

Ilang parokya pulitiko pinageermano sa kanilang pista kahit hindi taga-roon sa kanila dahil lang sa konting halaga?

Katulad ng malawakang pagbaha, hindi nating kailangang tumingin sa malayo. Lalo na kaming mga pari at lingkod sa simbahan. Kasama kami at kung tutuusin napakalaki at napakabigat ng pananagutan namin lalo sa Diyos na kasama kami sa kasal ng mga tikbalang na iyan.

Gayon pa man, mas marami pa rin sa aming mga pari ang tunay na lumalaban, naninindigan sa katarungan at katotohanan na hindi kailanman nagpauto sa mga tikbalang at kanilang mga galamay sa simbahan.

Sa susunod na umuulan kasabay na sikat ang araw, subukan nating magpaulan at hayaang dumampi sa ating bumbunan, sa ating mukha ang patak ng ulan upang mapaalalahanang mayroong Diyos na higit na makapangyarihan dapat nating sundin at paglingkuran lamang. Hindi mga tikbalang.

At sinabi niya sa kanila, “Kung gayon, ibigay ninyo sa Cesar ang sa Cesar, at sa Diyos ang sa Diyos” (Mateo 22:21).

Sa kahuli-hulihan, ano man ang panahon, higit pa rin palagi ang Panginoong Diyos sa lahat na siyang tanging pinagmumulan ng lahat ng ating kinakailangan at pagpapala. Ito palagi dapat naming panindigang mga pari, umulan man nang umaaraw. Amen.

Larawan kuha ni Michael Varcas ng Philippine Star sa Hagunoy, Bulacan sa isinagawang rally ng mga taga-Parokya ni Sta. Ana sa pangunguna ng kanilang Kura Paroko P. Rodel Ponce laban sa flood control scam noong Setyembre 2025.

Our incurable wound, grievous bruise

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II
Memorial of St. John Mary Vianney, Priest, 04 August 2026
Jeremiah 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22     <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*>     Matthew 15:1-2, 10-14
Photo by a friend in Washington. 28 July 2026.
Your words today, 
O Lord sound harsh
but I do not mind at all
because you speak as an
honest friend who truly loves
and cares for me;
you speak the truth always
that hurts us because every 
mess we are into this life is
a result of our own making,
of our pride and sinfulness
like Israel and Judah 
conquered and banished 
from their own country
by the Assyrians and the Babylonians:

Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Incurable is your wound, grievous your bruise; There is none to plead your cause, no remedy for your running sore, no healing for you. All your lovers have forgotten you, they do not seek you. I struck you as an enemy would strike, punished your cruelly; Why cry out over your wound? Your pain is without relief. Because of your guilt, your numerous sins, I have done this to you (Jeremiah 30:12-15).

Today we also celebrate the feast
of our Patron Saint,
John mary Vianney,
your most holy priest
who bore so much pains
and sufferings not because
of his sins but by the sins of many
around him; we your priests,
O God, have sinned a lot
against you, O God,
through your people,
the flock you have entrusted 
to us: we have hurt them so bad
their wounds are incurable,
their bruise so grievous with some
leaving the Church; 
forgive us, Lord for being too
far from the heart of your Son
Jesus, the Good Shepherd;
cleanse our hearts and make us
realize priesthood is victimhood
like Jesus; let us bear the wounds
inflicted to us by the sheep rather 
than us wounding them.
Deep within your harsh 
words today, Lord,
we feel your deep desire
to heal us,
to free us,
and to renew us;
cleanse our hearts,
Lord, your priests,
purify us to bear all pains
for your people,
to be truly prophetic
so that your people may
realize you are in their midst
and eventually be like you
in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
Photo by author, 2012.

We are the Lord’s “harvest”. And “laborers” too.

Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 14 June 2023
Exodus 19:2-6 ><}}}}*> Romans 5:6-11 ><}}}}*> Matthew 9:36-10:8
Photo by Giuseppe Russo on Pexels.com

A very good friend in the States texted me the other night, requesting for prayers as she was about to go through an MRI; the following day, she texted me anew asking for more prayers because it seemed her cancer had recurred, this time attacking her liver.

I felt her fears and worries. And pain.

She told me how she wanted to call her parents that evening but had to wait until this weekend so that her younger brother would be home to be present especially by her mom’s side when she breaks to them that her cancer had metastasized. Despite her condition, she was thinking of her parents in their “empty nest”, thinking how they might react in receiving the bad news.

Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novlaiches, QC, March 2026.

This crucial factor is what is most missing in the agony of Ms. Rovelyn Baterbonia when her son Rene died Monday after drowning in the treacherous beach of Aurora during their varsity training.

We all felt her pain not only of losing a son but most of all the agony of being alone, perhaps even left out in the dark so far from her dead son with no one from the university nor basketball team immediately informing her of the circumstances of the accident.

It was so heartwrenching – nakakadurog ng puso – watching her grieved upon arrival at the airport, lamenting at how somebody texted her that Monday if they can call her: “Hindi naman siya tumawag. Ako na lang nag-tawag… tapos, nang tumawag na ako sabi niya, mam naaksidente po si Rene. Nalunod po…”. After that, she said she heard nothing from the people supposed to be with Rene. “Wala maski pictures sila send sa akin”, she complained.

This is the most crucial part of every misery and tragedy: is there someone present with those grieving, with those suffering?

At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send our laborers for his harvest” (Matthew 9:36-38).

Our Lady of Fatima University, February 2025.

We are the Lord’s “harvest” and his “laborers” too. Jesus reminds us today that the answer to all our problems and pains in the world is never found in material things, in money and gadgets, nor well-crafted statements and other publicities. We are the harvest and the harvesters too!

What we need are more people who care, who journey, who are present with majority of the population so lost like sheep without a shepherd. And that is where I felt the pain most when Ms. Baterbonia repeatedly said that “kahit mahirap kami, hindi ko papayagan anak ko mag-training ng ganun.”

Photo by Oscar Millu00e1n on Pexels.com

She said it all – the harsh reality in our country, the most Christian nation in this part of Asia, where the poor remain neglected, forgotten, and taken for granted especially by those in the Church.

See how the poor have shied away from the church primarily due to so many collections in every Mass every Sunday while in the parish office, almost everything comes with a fee. They could not even get a free smile from some staff members often masusungit.

If Matthew were with us today, he would surely repeat with intensity his report that day of how “At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” because that is how our Church is today – sheep without a shepherd.

And where are the shepherds? Check their social media accounts and you find them most frequently in malls and hotels, traveling abroad via business class, unwinding on a yacht, communing with nature riding big bikes or their expensive mountain bikes. Go to any buffet and ribbon-cutting ceremonies of the newest Jollibee store or even gas station and you find more than two priests and a bishop present while the poor could not even have a decent funeral rite nor blessing for the burial of their dead because the priest is out, could not come to the slum area.

But of course, there are still more blessed and dedicated priests and bishops like Bishop Pabillo of Palawan who brave the seas and mountains just to celebrate the Mass and other Sacraments to the great number of their harvests in far-flung areas.

For Jesus, it is always the person who matters that is why his proposal has always been to send us another person, another companion, a fellow to accompany us in our brokenness and darkness. There is his move of gathering us, calling us, and sending us forth to a mission.

Jesus never taught us to ask for more money nor food nor gadgets to solve the problems of the world. Recall his temptation in the desert when he rejected the devil’s challenge to change stones into bread because man does not live by bread alone but with every word from God.

For the world, everything is a problem to be solved, including mysteries of God and of the human person. As we have reflected the past two Sundays, mysteries are not problems to be solved but non-logical realities we must embrace or even allow ourselves to be wrapped to discover the richness and meaning of this life like God and persons.

When people are down and lost in life, feeling troubled and abandoned, where do we focus more, to their woes and problems or their very persons?

Try thinking of the people you consider as “heaven sent” and helped you in your darkest moments. Are they not the ones who brought out our giftedness as a person, as a beloved child of God with Christ’s gospel?

A few months after his election as Pope in 2005, Benedict XVI heard of a bishop in Austria dying of cancer. He reportedly wrote that bishop, assuring him of his prayers as a brother priest, reminding him that “Jesus saved the world by suffering and dying on the cross, not with activities.” I remembered that news so well because what is mostly happening in our parishes and dioceses are activities. We have become program oriented than people oriented.

Worst is when some of us priests and bishops see the “abundant harvest” as business ventures of all sorts including churches and fiestas as tourist attractions. When economics become our major consideration in the church, how can “we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” as St. Paul reflected in the second reading?

Let us return to our “desert of Sinai” spoken of in the first reading, a reminder of our turning point in life and history when God called and sent us to be a “kingdom of priests, a holy nation” – his abundant harvest at the same time his laborers too. We are the new apostles called and sent by Jesus to others like us who are weak and tired, confused and lost, hurting and crying but also blessed and joyful! As God’s abundant harvest, each one of us is a gift to be cherished and valued always; but, at the same time, a brother and a sister entrusted to each one for God’s greater glory, not ours. Amen. Have a blessed week ahead.

“Here am I.”

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday after Pentecost, 28 May 2026
Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal High Priest
Genesis 22:9-18     <*{{{{><  +  ><}}}}*>     Matthew 26:36-42
Photo by author, Dominus Flevit Church overlooking Old Jerusalem, May 2017.
Lord Jesus Christ,
our Eternal Priest 
who calls and sends us
daily to spread your Good News
of salvation to everyone
with our giving of self like You,
bless us your priests in these 
troubled times:
everywhere we find and hear
selfishness and conceit,
lies and dishonesty,
infidelity and injustice;
we say the world has gone mad
and evil with all these darkness
enveloping us...

And where are we,
Your priests in the midst of all these?

Jesus went with the disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done.” (Matthew 26:36, 40-42)

Photo by author, Garden of Gethsemane, the Holy Land, May 2017.
Forgive, us dear Jesus,
when we Your priests
cannot keep up with You in prayer;
oh, we are so busy watching
the world going by,
watching the corruption in government
unfolding,
watching the decay in our society
but unfortunately,
we cannot look squarely into our
own mess in the Church -
in our parishes
and communities,
in our ministry that has become
more of a work
often for performance
and clout;
worst of all,
we have lost that intimacy
in You, Jesus.
We no longer pray,
Lord Jesus.
We can't stay with You
even for an hour every day
because we are busy
with social media
like everyone.
Help us find our way back
to You, Lord Jesus:
let us imitate Abraham who
prefigured your own self-offering
in giving his beloved son Isaac
to the Father
without any question
at all;
many times,
we Your priests reason out
with many excuses and alibis
while at the other extreme,
many of us disregard reasons
at all in our mission
and ministry.
Keep us in love with You,
Jesus our Eternal Priest,
especially our bishops
supposed to have the fullness
of priesthood but cannot lead nor
guide us, much less inspire us;
give us the grace of Abraham
that we can always answer
 Your call
with a firm and unwavering
"Here am I."
Amen.
“The Offering of Abraham” (c.1896-1902) painting by James Tissot, kept at the Jewish Museum in New York via moa.byu.edu

Christ comes in the Mass

Lord My Chef Simbang Gabi Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Simbang Gabi-IV, 19 December 2025
Judges 13:2-7, 24-25     <*((((><  +  ><))))*>     Luke 1:5-25
View of a decorated Christmas tree and tower of the Franciscan Monastery of St Saviour locally also known as San Salvador monastery in the Christian Quarter Old city East Jerusalem

From Matthew, we now shift to Luke’s account of the story of Christmas which is the most complete and detailed of all gospel accounts. In fact, most artistic renditions of Christmas were inspired by Luke’s gospel.

Very surprising in his Christmas story, Luke started it with the annunciation of the birth of John the Baptist to his father Zechariah who was then serving at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, a beautiful reminder to us all these days that Christ comes in our Holy Mass.

And I wonder – what if I imitate Zechariah in the gospel on this Simbang Gabi: come out late in the altar… totally silent, unable to speak?

Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute. Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home (Luke 1:21-23).

Photo by author, December 2023.

A priest recently posted on Facebook an appeal to us all priests to truly pray and reflect to have a good homily this Simbang Gabi and Christmas Season because the people deserve more than jokes, hugot lines and gimicks during these ten days of celebrating the Mass.

And we totally agree with him!

Let us accept the fact that majority of Catholics in the world – not only in the Philippines – celebrate Mass only on Christmas. At least in our country, there is the Simbang Gabi when many Catholics try to complete its nine-days of Masses plus the Christmas Day itself and, that’s it for them – ten consecutive days in December and absent every Sunday from January to November with a few who would return to Mass on Palm Sunday, fiestas and birthdays. Especially these days, most people have no qualms at all of skipping Sunday Masses while there are still some who wrongly believe the online Mass suffices.

The challenge and call for us priests this season is indeed very true when we are able to pray and prepare well our homilies to catechize the once-a-year-Catholics so that they may experience the love and mercy of God in Jesus Christ who had come and continues to come during our celebrations of the Mass and other sacraments.

Problem is, very often we priests are indeed so much like Zechariah on that day when he doubted the good news of John’s birth announced by an Angel. Not only are many priests notoriously late in their Mass schedule, worst of all as the people complain, either they have nothing or too much to say during their homily!

Photo by Ar. Philip Santiago, Jerusalem, October 2025.

Like the people awaiting Zechariah during that important feast, people are amazed today why some priests could not say anything substantial at all except to continuously ask people to clap their hands and praise God with such cues as “God is good…” and “all the time…” and soon enough what’s next, collection, then after communion special collection!

On the other hand, like the people awaiting Zechariah during that feast, people are also amazed when their priests speak a lot without any sense at all. Worst, many times, the priests are like Jollibee – puro pabida either by converting the altar into a stage for his stand-up jokes and entertainment or turn the sanctuary into a videoke bar because Father is so bilib in his voice.

Sorry, my brother priests. Let’s listen to what people are saying. Let’s listen especially to God when he speaks to us. Or, do we have time to listen to him in prayers?

One truth we priests could not admit or refuse to admit despite its glaring realities is that many of us have become just like politicians – so corrupted that we simply entertain people, keep them ignorant of the more essential things in life and about God because many of us do not pray or are not even interested of going to heaven at all.

Maybe like Zechariah, many priests have been burned out not only of the tasks and living in near isolation but also due to the long wait for answers to our prayers coupled with the many pains and hurts that came along with the ministry that has become more of duties than relationship with the Caller, Jesus Christ.

Photo by Lara Jameson on Pexels.com

In telling us this story of the annunciation to Zechariah, Luke had touched on something very timely and sensitive among us priests including the faithful in this age of social media: we have been so detached from God and the divine, many times so impersonal with one another, and, worst of all, so attached with material and worldly things.

As a result, many people have stopped looking up to some priests as models and inspiration for upright living because we have become so much like them in almost every aspect from clothing to speaking and even thinking!

“Pari pala yun!” is what some people often remark these days when they find priests making tambay dis oras ng gabi in almost every cafe or worst, in places we should not even go like casinos and bars, whether with GRO’s or macho dancers.

A growing concern among us these days is the complaint of lay faithful who feel lost and could not guidance like find definitive answers from their pastors about moral issues so blurred by the modern technologies and Western thoughts like wokism. Imagine a Catholic school allowing gay pride festivities? Or relativistic priests to issues of abortion and contraceptives, sex change and gender manipulations, even cases of pornography and other modern addictions. A growing number of laypeople openly express their disappointment at how lately priests have become so lenient with sins that they are already confused on what to confess!

Photo by author, March 2024.

Zechariah and us priests today face the same problem before God: we talk too much and pray so little that perhaps, we need to be silenced too in order to pray more, to listen more to God, his words, his plans and his people as envisioned by synodality now in oblivion.

Imagine all his life as a priest, Zechariah had been praying for a son but when it was finally answered by God, he refused to believe it. Suddenly, he was so lost at what he was supposed to be an expert like spirituality and prayer, most of all, of God’s goodness.

What happened to Zechariah?

And that is what our gospel is asking us priests today, what happened Father?

In the first reading we have heard of the wife of Manoah who felt “a man of God” approached and told her of the good news of the birth of a son (Samson); how lovely if people could feel the same way like in the old days of their priests as “man of God”!

It is very sad when laypeople complain their priests have become so “ordinary” without any sense of holiness or at least of the holy, from simplest wearing of clerical shirt and proper Mass vestments to good grooming and tidiness.

Maybe because we priests have been so concerned so much with palabas than of paloob, when like the social influencers, many among us are so carried away by media chasing content than substance, especially theology.

Photo by author, Jerusalem, May 2017.

One of the most painful cuts in the ministry today that hurts so bad is when priests striving to be holy, speaking and doing what is right and proper would then be called as pharisaical. This is very evident in the celebration of the Mass as some priests would belittle even insult those who follow rubrics as well put on proper vestments.

Luke invites us today, both ordained priests and laypeople who share in the priestly office of Jesus in their baptism, that we look into ourselves, into our hearts amid our worship of God like Zechariah in the very presence of God in the Holy of holies: are we present in the Lord?

Do others feel Christ’s coming in our presence especially in the word and later in our life of witnessing and loving service to them?

Let us strive to have meaningful celebrations of the Mass and other communal worship not only this Advent and Christmas because people await from us ministers of the altar like Zechariah of old the good news of the coming of Christ in every Mass we celebrate with them. Help us your priests, our dear lay faithful by giving us the chance to pray more and serve more instead of inviting us in your activities and other affairs we are not needed. Amen. Have a blessed Friday!

Priesthood is face of Christ

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Second Week of Advent, 10 December 2025
Presbyteral Anniversary Homily of former parishioner and students
Isaiah 40:25-31     <*{{{{><  +  ><}}}}*>     Matthew 11:28-30
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Advent is seeking the face of God – and so is the priesthood. The joy of our priesthood to a large extent is our continuous seeking for the face of God. It is part of human nature that we always seek and associate a face behind every name and voice.

When we were called to the priesthood, we first heard a “voice” that led us into the high school seminary. That’s why priesthood is a vocation, a call from the Latin verb “voco, vocare, vocavi”.

But, we pursued further our vocation into the major seminary, some had to leave for a while while others were sent out in order to see the face behind this voice, this call because the most essential in priesthood is the Caller Jesus Christ, not really his call.

In our search for Jesus and his face, it is hoped that eventually we as priests become the face of Jesus to everyone, speaking to them those same gentle words to “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt.11:28).

Thank you very much for inviting me again to speak to the three of you – Fr. RA, Fr. LA, and Fr. Howard. (Can we call you as Fr. HA so that your name finally rhyme with the two as in “Hahahaha”?)

Sixth Presbyteral Anniversary of Fr. Ra, Fr. LA, and Fr. Howard, 10 December 2025, ICS Chapel.

Congratulations on your sixth presbyteral anniversary. They say the first five years of priesthood is the “honeymoon stage”; so now, you enter the reality stage when many times you will be disillusioned in the ministry, especially with your brother priests who are supposed to be the face of Christ – but not!

That is why the readings for today on your sixth presbyteral anniversary are so appropriate as they offer the Advent message of comfort and encouragement, and a promise of salvation – the message every priest needs to hear these days when our leaders in government and yes, even in the church seem to be so weak and without direction, far from Jesus our Eternal Priest.

The Lord invites us through the Prophet Isaiah to look up and pray – to see the stars in the heavens, the bright constellations that form objects and animals like “faces” on the dark skies of the night.

Photo by author from the Dominus Flevit Church overlooking Jerusalem, May 2017.

“To whom can you liken me as an equal? says the Lord” (Is.40:25).

Do we still pray and reflect on the mystery of God’s power and care? Or are the priorities of the day a constant distraction? 

We shall never see the face of Christ in ourselves nor in the people we serve no matter how dedicated we are if we do not pray. It is our prayer life, especially those intense moments of silence before the Blessed Sacrament that will show us the face of Christ. According to Abp. Fulton Sheen, the more we pray before the Blessed Sacrament, the more we look like Jesus. Before Pope Benedict XVI died, he wrote that all these sex scandals that have rocked the Church in the past decades are largely due to fewer priests making time for Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

Before our ministry came, there was Jesus first calling us to be with him, to be one in him in prayers. Palagi nating unahin si Jesus higit sa lahat. Our efforts find meaning only in Christ as Isaiah tells us, “Though young men faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall, they that hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar with eagles’ wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint” (Is.40:30-31).

It is funny that when you invited me last month Fr. RA and Fr. Howard, I asked you if it is the anniversary of our GC? Yes, these three crazy men keep a GC, just the three of them and to make it more like a group, they included me into their folly.

First Mass of Fr. RA in our Parish in Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan six years ago.

That is the landscape of our Church today when we live our faith in a mass-mediated culture where we find images especially faces so prominent more than ever as in Facebook. There lies hidden the hidden schemes of the devil to mislead us priests in exposing more our faces than being the face of Christ.

A friend in media recently asked me if those priests in that grand procession are really priests as she wondered why they wear those elaborate vestments they look like Poon and imahen.

I felt what she was driving at – rampa pa more! Isn’t she right?

Except for the Nazareno in Quiapo and Sto. Nino in Cebu, most of our Church processions have all turned into pageantries with all the pomp and gaiety of a show, a palabas.

Puro palabas na tayo, wala nang paloob which is the deeper meaning of the “face”: not as something outside o panglabas but more of the inside. Face is image and likeness, that thing that identifies us. Our identification or ID is Jesus Christ. That is the reason the new Ratio in seminary formation had renamed the theology department as “configuration” stage.

Be the face of Jesus to the people you serve, Fr. RA, Fr. LA and Fr. Howard.

First priest of St. John Evangelist Parish in Bagbaguin; actually second after Bp. Bart Santos who was ordained when Bagbaguin was still under La Purisima.

Be the face of Christ too to us priests because these days, many priests follow and show other faces than Christ’s. As I used to tell you, kapag ang pari mabuti sa kapwa pari, tiyak na mabuting tao siya; pero kapag ang pari kahit anong bait (hindi buti, ha) sa mga tao pero masama sa kapwa pari, hindi yan mabuting tao.

St. John the Evangelist, the Patron Saint of Fr. RA in Bagbaguin wrote in one of his letters that “No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us” (1Jn.4:12).

So beautiful! It is when we truly love, especially like Jesus our Eternal Priest, that we become the face of Christ, when we see the face of Christ. Amen. And cheers to six years in priesthood!

The heart of the priest

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 04 August 2025
Monday, Memorial of St. John Baptiste Marie Vianney, Priest
Numbers 11:4-15     <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*>     Matthew 14:13-21
St. John Baptiste Marie Vianney from https://liturgiadashoras.online/.

People complain and ask me why our patron saint, St. John Baptiste Marie Vianney is always portrayed “unattractive” as old, balding and so thin who seemed to be so tired, even sad. Para daw hirap na hirap.

Usually I smile at them because when I entered the seminary, I felt the same way too upon seeing his images. But as I learned about his life and teachings, the more I realized St. John Baptiste Marie Vianney is actually one of the original “rock star” saints of the Church with his white, balding hair so much like Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin!

There is something so deeply within him when we try to feel and observe his portrayals in the arts as more than images but a reality and experience of a man deemed weak yet so strong with an intensity of a Michael Jordan in his life and ministry. He was another St. Paul who had truly let “Christ lived in him” (Gal. 2:20), “strongest when weakest” (2Cor.12:10) who declared with conviction that “the priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus.” Hence in my prayers last night and today, I asked Jesus to give me a heart “so big, so wide to welcome everyone and life’s many challenges” (https://lordmychef.com/2025/08/03/praying-with-our-patron-saint-john-baptiste-marie-vianney/).

Detail of a painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at Visitation Monastery, Marclaz, France from godongphoto / Shutterstock.

The readings this Monday of the eighteenth week in Ordinary Time perfectly jibed the celebration of the Memorial of St. John Baptiste Marie Vianney as they spoke of the heart of the priest.

In the first reading we heard of Moses lamenting to God of the difficulty in dealing with his people who were so stubborn and refused to recognize God’s immense love for them, so similar with us priests in many occasions when we feel so frustrated and sad when parishioners fail to see the good things we are doing for them.

When Moses heard the people, family after family, crying at the entrance of their tents, so that the Lord became very angry, he was grieved. “Why do you treat your servant so badly?” Moses asked the Lord. “Why are you so displeased with me that you burden me with all this people?”… I cannot carry all this people by myself, for they are too heavy for me. If this is the way you will deal with me, then please do me the favor of killing me at once, so that I need no longer face this distress” (Numbers 11:10-11, 14-15).

Many times, we priests feel like Moses who cannot voice out problems with the people who would never understand it at all. Worst, people would even blame us priests why we work so hard or why do we bother at all with their lives. “Pabayaan na lang ninyo kami…sanay na kami” are what they often say. It can be frustrating when people refuse to match the fire and ardor of their priests.

In this scene, we find one of the many instances in the life of Moses that was centered on God in prayers. The heart of the priest is a heart in prayer. The attitude of Moses in the first reading conversing with God in prayer shows us that in our life and ministry, there is no one to turn to except God alone with whom we can be our most personal self, even dare God to “take us” or “kill us” when we are so fed up. The good news is, God never took those words seriously as he knew Moses and the prophets including us who spoke to him that way never knew what we were saying at all.

There is a saying that goes, “if you can’t bear the heat, leave the kitchen”; but, it cannot be applied with the priesthood that is neither a profession nor a job one can easily walk out from and start into another venture or career. Priesthood is a call or a “vocation” from God; however, priesthood is more of the Caller than the call. It is a life centered on prayer to become like Jesus Christ who alone feels and understands and appreciates all our ups and downs in the ministry. The more we get closer to Jesus in the Cross, the more we experience fulfillment that we would never dare to trade it for anything or anyone else, not even the prettiest woman on earth.

Photo by author, Chapel of St. Francis Xavier, Sacred Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, March 2024.

Priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus that continues to be wounded and hurt by sins of men and women in this modern age so selfish and materialistic. Thus, every priest is called to be a “wounded healer” too like Christ who in his woundedness healed the wounds of others. We remind people of the paradox and scandal of the Cross of Jesus, of life itself by taking into heart Christ’s teaching, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Mt. 16:25).

Let us now reflect on our gospel.

When Jesus heard of death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. the crowds heard of this and followed him on for from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick (Matthew 14:13-14).

Observe the brevity of Matthew in narrating the situation at the scene without losing its very soul and meaning especially for us priests: Jesus did not have any intentions to go after Herod nor to challenge him for his execution of John the Baptist who spoke the truth.

Instead, Jesus sought solitude. Like Moses in the first reading, Jesus turned to God in his grief and anguish of the death of John the Baptist. He crossed the lake to pray and be one with the Father to pour out his sadness and most of all, to reflect on what to do next after John’s death.

Jesus shows us in this scene of his going into solitude that our low points in life as priests are also our high points like Christ’s Transfiguration. Every prayer moment is a transfiguration moment because that is when we get closest with Jesus. It has been consistently proven in our collective and personal experiences as priests verified by studies that crises in the priesthood happen when we stop praying because that is detaching from Jesus Christ, our Caller.

Priesthood is not only difficult but very difficult starting with the vestments we have to wear. What a shame when priests prefer to do away with the proper vestments as well as wearing of shoes during celebrations of the Mass and other sacraments because the weather is so hot. What then are we going to bear if the weather is already a big issue for us? One of the teachings of St. John Vianney that I have always followed is the value of putting on good vestments in the celebration of Sacraments because they are a homily in themselves, proclaiming the glory and love of God for us all.

Photo by FlickrBrett Streutker from catholic365.com.

Many times, people forget priests have personal concerns and problems too, that we get hurt, get lonely, get sick and grieve at the death of family and friends. Despite all these lows in our life as priests, we go and follow the Caller Jesus Christ when people come and ask for our help and service. Woe to our brother priests who forget this and think more of themselves especially of their comfort!

See how when Jesus was praying in solitude and the crowd followed him, it was not difficult for him to forget his own worries that his heart was moved with pity upon seeing them disembarked from their boats. Despite his sadness at the death of John, Jesus taught the crowd who have followed him and healed the sick among them. And when the Twelve told him to drive away the crowd to search for their own food and lodging, Jesus told them to give them food themselves. What followed was the great miracle of the feeding of over five thousand people from five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish. It was the event that prepared the Twelve and the people to the Last Supper of the Lord and the road to Emmaus where Jesus was recognized at his “breaking of bread”.

The whole life of St. John Baptiste Marie Vianney was a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God in Christ’s priesthood. He had a heart so big and wide, hearing confessions daily up to 16 hours! Pray for us your priests to have big hearts too to bear all the wounds and hurts because only the heart that suffers, that is “broken” can truly sing of the joys and pains of living, of the sense and meaning of serving to the point of being emptied, and of the healing and transforming power of Christ’s love and mercy. Amen. Pray for us your priests. Salamuch. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City (lordmychef@gmail.com).

 have not been to France nor do I know French but while searching for images of St. John Marie Vianney, I found this from the French website, https://www.notrehistoireavecmarie.com/; it is perhaps the depiction of the new pastor speaking to the young Antoine whom he asked for directions to Ars.