Sirit na… Eat Bulaga!

Lawiswis Ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-21 ng Hunyo 2023

Nakatutuwang isipin noong araw na isa sa mga madalas naming sabihing magpipinsan at magkakalaro ay ang mga salitang “sirit na” at “bulaga”! Sirit kapag ikaw ay suko na sa palaisipan ng bugtungan habang bulaga naman ang pang-gulat lalo na sa mga sanggol at bata.

Wala na sigurong mas-shunga pa sa akin sa showbiz na hindi alam ang mga bagay-bagay na ito bunsod ng pamamaalam nina Tito, Vic, at Joey sa producer ng “Eat Bulaga” na TAPE Productions pagkaraan ng ilang linggo ding mga usap-usapan at intrigahan. Ako man ay nagtanung-tanong sa mga pamangkin at kaibigan kung ano ba iyong mga usapan sa social media tungkol sa “Eat Bulaga” at sina TVJ.

Nakatutuwa sa mga bata. Pero kung sa takbo ng mga usapan at paksa ngayon, nakakatawa at nakakaawa – pathetic ang sabi ng mga burgis – na mula pa noong katapusan ng Mayo hanggang ngayon, mula Aparri hanggang Jolo, umiikot ang buhay sa ating bansa sa “longest running noontime show” na “Eat Bulaga.”

Nakakatawa.

Hindi nakatutuwa.

At nakakaawa nga sa ating bansa, sa ating lahat.

Juice colored, wala na ba ibang mahalaga sa ating mga Pilipino kungdi mga katatawan nina TVJ at kanilang Dabarkads?

Hindi ko kinukuwestiyon kahalagahan ng paglilibang at pag-aaliw natin subalit, araw-araw na lamang mula Lunes hanggang Sabado?

Ano nga ba naging impact ng Eat Bulaga sa lipunang Pilipino maliban sa naaliw, naiyak, at pansamantalang naibsan mga paghihirap ng ilang kababayan? Marahil marami ring nabigyan ng pagkakataon lumago sa kanilang buhay nguni’t nabago ba antas ng ating tingin at pahalaga sa sarili at kapwa habang pikit-mata at nagbibingi-bingihang pinalalampas natin ilang mga eksena, karakter at pananalita alang-alang sa kasiyahan at katatawanan.

Wala po akong TV set dahil hindi naman ako mahilig manood maliban ng mga balita at dokumentaryo. Minsan-minsan ay nakakapanood ako ng “Eat Bulaga” at iba pang mga katulad na programa. Napapahanga din naman ako sa kanilang pagmumulat sa mga kababayan nating Pilipino sa ilang bagay ngunit sa tingin ko ay mas maraming hindi mabuti at kaaya-aya.

Isa sa mga hindi ko magustuhan sa mga palabas na iyan ay ang tila pinaglalaruan ang mga tao, ang kanilang kamang-mangan, karukahaan at sa maraming pagkakataon, pagkababae ng marami nating ate. Siya nga pala…

Akalain ba ninyo na noong May 31, 2023 nang kumalas mula sa TAPE ang TVJ bilang hosts ng “Eat Bulaga” matapos silang hindi payagang umere ng live, iyon din ang ika-38 taon ng pagpapakamatay ni Pepsi Paloma, May 31, 1985? Kung inyong matatandaan, inakusahan ni Pepsi Paloma sina Vic Sotto, Joey De leon at Ritchie d’Horsie ng diumano’y pang-aabuso sa kanya sa isang hotel noong June 21, 1982.

Minsan ang buhay nga naman ay mapagbiro at matalinghaga. At ganyan ang sitwasyon nitong mga noontime at iba pang variety shows, matalinghaga tulad ng tanong na kung alin ang nauna, itlog o manok?

Tama na sumusunod lamang ang telebisyon sa pintig ng mga mamamayan, sa sitwasyon ng lipunan. Alalaong-baga, sinasalamin ng telebisyon maging ng sining ang kinalalagyan nilang lipunan sa bawat panahon. Sabi ng marami, dahil sa TVJ at “Eat Bulaga” na ginaya ng maraming iba pa, nabigyan ng pagkakilala at tinig ang masang Pilipino. Tama rin naman. Hirap maka-relate noon sa mga burgis na hosts ng “Student Canteen”.

Totoo iyon at mabuti. Kaya lang, kulang.

Sa aking pananaw, sinamantala nila at ng iba pang mga palabas sa telebisyon ang kahinaan ng mga tao. Hindi nahimok ang mga Pilipino ng pagmamahal sa bansa, pagpapahalaga sa kalikasan, pagsisikap mapabuti ang kanilang buhay at paghahasa ng kaisipan at karunungan sa pamamagitan ng edukasyon. Ang lahat ay dinaan sa biruan at katatawanan maging kalokohan.

At naaliw naman ang bayan. Kaya hindi rin kataka-taka ilang ulit nahalal bilang senador si G. Tito Sotto na tanging dahilan ay ang kanyang pagiging komedyante at host ng “Eat Bulaga”. Ang malala, ginaya siya ng ibang artista na sumabak na rin sa pulitika na tanging kuwalipikasyon ay sikat. Kaya hayun, naging karnabal at perya ating Kongreso na puno ng mga mambabatas na pulpolotiko, artista, at ilang mga sadyang sira ulo o basag ang pula. Lahat dinaan sa entertainment kaya ang ating bansa ay malaking showbiz ngayon. Pati na rin simbahan!

Simple lang naman ibig kong sabihin. Sana pagsikapan ng mga nasa media lumago at lumalim pagkatao ng mga manonood upang mabuksan kanilang kamalayan sa mga higit na mahahalagang bagay sa buhay.

Sinabi ni Jesus sa mga tao, “Sa halip, mag-impok kayo ng kayamanan sa langit; doo’y walang naninirang insekto at kalawang, at walang nakakapasok na magnanakaw. Sapagkat kung saan naroroon ang iyong kayamanan, naroroon din ang iyong puso.”
Mateo 6:20-21

Totoo sinasabi na mahirap ang buhay at dapat ngang pagaanin. Ngunit hindi lamang mga tawanan at sayawan, biruan at harutan. Pagkatapos maaliw at tumawa, maski manalo ng ilang halaga ng pera, naroon pa rin problema ng mga tao. At kung susuriin, dumarami pa problema ng mga tao sa halip na mabawasan dahil sa mga noontime shows na ito. Yung iba nga nagkakagalit na at nag-aaway dahil sa lipatan na iyan ng mga noontime shows at hosts.

Hindi rin totoo sinasabi ng ilan na itong nangyayaring lipatan ng mga hosts at noontime shows ay makakabuti sa mga tao dahil anila magkakaroon ng higit na mainam at magandang programa. Sa tingin ko ay hindi iyon mangyayari dahil istasyon lang ng TV ang nababago, lumilipat lang mga shows at hosts. Sila pa ring mga artista dala kanilang mga dating gimik at patawa na sa kahuli-hulihan, iisang katotohanan ang nangingibabaw sa lahat ng ito – kuwarta, salapi, at pera.

Iyan ang tunay na bugtong nitong “Eat Bulaga”, TVJ kasama kanilang Dabarkads pati na rin ang It’s Showtime ni Vice Ganda: Sino ngayon ang natatawa at katawa-tawa?

Sirit?

Bulaga!

Postscript to Father’s Day

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 19 June 2023

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 20 March 2023.*

Forgive me for always having reservations in the celebration of Father’s Day as well as of Mother’s Day. I am not against these celebrations but often wary that being a secular observance, they often miss out the spiritual aspect of fatherhood (and motherhood) that are both gifts of God. In fact, the Ordo of the Mass, that little reference book we use in our daily celebrations of the liturgy, reminds us priests that Fathers’ Day celebration “should not diminish the primary focus of this Sunday as the celebration of the Paschal Mystery.”

Consider also the fact how religious celebrations like Christmas have been “corrupted” to mere commercialisms by our world so driven by consumerism and materialism; how much more a secular celebration like Father’s Day could end up that way too?

As we reel from yesterday’s celebrations with a lot of gifts, food and drinks to all the great dads, join me in reflecting on God as our Father which I have learned from one of my spiritual fathers, the late Msgr. Sabino S. Vengco Jr.

God is our Father because he is the giver of life. This is the first meaning of fatherhood: the father is the source of life. Genetically speaking, even though we inherit equal genetic materials from our parents that make us who we are, researchers say that we “use” more of the DNA from our fathers. Maybe this is the reason why we have that expression in Filipino, “Anak ka ng tatay mo”. Recall how St. Joseph had to marry the Blessed Mother, Virgin Mary when he had to stand as the “foster father” of the Savior by giving him the name “Jesus”. Likewise, being from the house of David, his being the “foster father” of Jesus fulfilled God’s promise in the Old Testament that our Savior shall come from the lineage of King David.

Unknown to many including priests, the rite of Baptism states that in the administration of the sacrament to the infant, it is the father who gives the name to the child being baptized because that child came from him!

But Dads as giver of life is more than in the biological sense. A father inspires and motivates his children to become better and matured persons. As a giver of life, the father shows the best examples of leadership, wisdom and prudence in dealing with life’s many complexities. It is the father who opens the minds and hearts of the children to become better citizens of the nation, not as burdens of the society in the future.

Cheers to all the Dads who have stood by their sons and daughters, working hard not only to provide food and clothing to their children but most especially a brighter future for them with their good examples of being responsible and committed fathers.

*Photo by author, St. John the Baptist Parish, Calumpit, Bulacan, 2022.*

God is our Father because he protects life. It is always easy to be a parent but not truly a father (or a mother). How sad these days many young men have become like rabbits, lacking the maturity of giving one’s self into marriage and commitments.

A father does not only give life but must also sustain and most of all, protect life. Having lived during those times of frequent brownouts, I have learned this sense of protecting from my dad who would always tell us to be still as he rose to get the flashlight or find the match and candles whenever lights suddenly went off in the middle of our dinner. I grew up with that certainty that dads are men of courage, the ones who would always go first into dangerous situations to protect the family like my dad. When the father is the first to be scared or to scream in the event of dangers, there is surely a big problem at home.

Moreover, I have also observed that though wives outlive their husbands as proof that the female species is stronger than us males, there is still something so noble about fathers as protectors of life and family. Dads are always the first to die because they are the first to go into the great unknown called eternal life in order to watch over us his family. So many times since my father died in year 2000, I have felt him by my side whenever I faced big problems and difficulties. Many times I talked to him in my prayers, asking him for clarifications when I have to make crucial decisions for the family or in my ministry. He would sometimes appear to me in dreams or would make “paramdam” as we call it in Filipino when he sends signs of his presence to convey something important. Even in eternal life, Fathers remain close to us to protect and keep us safe from harm. And perhaps, he goes ahead of us to prepare the welcome party when our turn to die comes.

*Rembrandt’s “The Return of the Prodigal Son” rom en.wikipedia.org.*

God is our Father because he brings back life when we lose it. This is the most beautiful imagery of God being a Father like that loving father of the prodigal son in Luke’s gospel. That is the height of fatherhood when children even wife lost life to wrong decisions, to sins, or anything that completely alters our way of living, it is always the father who assures us of how life would go on or continue, of how he would do everything to give us back our lives.

Have you noticed how despite being considered as the authority figure at home with their being strict and firm, fathers are actually more easier to approach than mothers when it comes to serious problems? A lot often, we tell our dads first of our major mishaps or accidents or misadventures because they are more calm and serene, always thinking ahead of finding solutions. Unlike mothers who are hyper ones, tending to nag and voice out their feelings inside. When I was in the seminary, a classmate borrowed my new tennis racquet. Unfortunately, he lent it to other seminarians until it was left behind at the tennis court that was picked by some outsiders who used to enter our compound after our recreation time. As vacation time approached, I prayed hard and told my dad if he could give me 300 pesos (that was quite a fortune in the early 1980’s) so I could get a new tennis racquet lest my mom would discover it was lost and I would be scolded, even spanked!

Many times, I have heard from many young people how it was their father who literally saved them by forgiving them and even helping them pick up the pieces of their lives when they got involved into teenage pregnancies. It seems those stories of fathers disowning their children especially the daughter for being disgrasyada is more of an exception than a rule, perhaps true only in telenovelas and movies.

During my final years in my seminary formation until my ordination to the priesthood in 1998, every time I would come home I would look intently at my father’s hands and face, observing his many wrinkles, burned and sagging skin. Whenever I would look at his hands and face, I thought of those days and nights and years when my dad would take the jeep and bus to work so we could have good food and good education, those many sacrifices he had to make for us to have some of the simple pleasures in life, of his fidelity to my mom and to us all that we are his only beloved and nobody else.

That is why when he died on the eve of Father’s Day on that third Sunday of June, the 17th in the year 2000 that coincided with my mom’s birthday, I felt a great part of me had gone too. It was very difficult. The pain has always remained but somehow, in his death, I have continued to feel his fatherhood with the great love he had showered us while still alive. That is why, unlike others, I choose to remain silent on Fathers’ Day, praying and reflecting fatherhood, a most precious gift of God whom Jesus revealed to us is also a Father. God bless all the fathers of the world! Amen.

*My dad at his dest at the Bureau of Forestry (later Forest Development), 1972.*

Promise ain’t enough

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 07 June 2023

*Photo by Mr. Paulo Sillonar, 07 June 2023.*

Celebrated Mass this noon in our Basic Education Department’s chapel with 19 students from our Grade 4-Visionary attending. They turned out to be the second batch of first communicants I have prepared since 2021 when I was assigned as chaplain of Our Lady of Fatima University (OLFU) in Valenzuela City.

While preparing them for our Mass, I was overjoyed when they still remembered most of the responses I have taught them more than a year ago that prompted me to promise them of treating them to ice cream after.

Naturally, the kids were so happy when suddenly, something flashed in my memory during my first year in the priesthood as prefect of discipline in our diocesan school in Malolos. During that time, I would go and visit our elementary students during their lunch break just to talk with them and see them. Many of them would invite me to join them to their table, even offering me their baon usually rice with adobo or hotdog. Of course, I would always tell them that someday, I would have lunch with them which I never fulfilled for a semester until a spunky girl told me, “Promise naman po kayo ng promise Father pero hindi naman nagkakatotoo.”

*Photo by Ms. April Oliveros at Mt. Pulag, March 2023*

Whoa! I felt like being kicked by a little Shaolin master on the face as I remembered it, forever etched in my memory in the early years of my priesthood that taught me to always have that palabra de honor in keeping my promises, no matter how simple and trivial it may be.

How sad that the saying “Promises are made to be kept, not to be broken” has become so ordinary like a cliche so memorized but never realized as nobody seems to fulfill their promises these days. Every day we read and watch of stories of unfaithful couples and lovers, of irresponsible leaders and officials betraying the people’s trust and worst, of clergymen not only disregarding but even prostituting their sacred vows of poverty, obedience and celibacy.

It all begins in childhood when we fail kids with our words to them no matter how simple these may be. Kids eventually grow up frustrated, disappointed and mistrustful because the grown ups never meant what they said, never keeping their promises. Thus becoming a vicious circle of children realizing promises are never meant to be kept that probably when they grow up, they take kids also for granted and never fulfilled their promises.

Promises have lost their sanctity, becoming a mere “carrot” to entice or appease even dupe everyone, from kids to grown ups into believing into something never meant to be kept and fulfilled. It is a very sad truth we have often made a reality when we carelessly promise things we are not bent on fulfilling or would simply forget.

Perhaps, it is not yet too late for us to strive daily in making true our broken promises, especially to the young like the children.

What moved most in fulfilling my promise to our Grade 4 students in giving them ice cream after our Mass this afternoon was when a little girl seated in front approached to inform me that they still have four other non-Catholic classmates who stayed behind in their classroom. She was so concerned they might not have a Cornetto later.

Ohhh… this time my heart melted just like ice cream in the sun.

First, again I realized how kids hold on to our promises. That girl in front must have been so convinced I would buy them Cornetto ice cream after. And secondly, I felt God touching me, consoling me, assuring me of a great future in the next generation represented by that little girl about nine or ten years old so concerned with her other four classmates left behind in their classroom!

Just an ice cream that would cost so little to me amounted to so much, maybe everything to that little girl. How amazing and lovely, is it not?

When I got to their classroom with four flavors of Cornetto, everybody was so glad I have fulfilled my promise, saying thank you as I handed each with an ice cream cone. And that was when I also asked them to promise they would be good, would study their lessons daily and would pray always. As I left their classroom amid their screams enjoying their ice cream, I felt humming this part of one of my favorite love songs by Daryl Hall and John Oates from 1997:

If a promise ain't enough
Then a touch says everything
Got to hold you in my arms
Till you feel what I mean
Know that my heart just tells me what to say
But words can only prove so much
If a promise ain't enough
Hold onto my love

What have you promised lately, to yourself and to others? Have a fulfilling evening ahead.

From YouTube.com.

Sino ang “special”?

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-30 ng Mayo 2023

*Larawan kuha ng may-akda, exhibit ng Sto. Nino sa Malolos Cathedral, Enero 2022.*

Kailan ko lamang napag-ukulan ng pansin – at pagninilay – itong isang bagay ukol sa mga tinagurian nating “special child”, yaong mga isinilang na mayroong iba’t-ibang kapansanan sa pangangatawan, pag-iisip at pandamdam (emotional).

Mabuti nga sa panahong ito ay “special” na ang tawag sa kanila kesa noong dating panahon namin na wala pang mga “sped” o special education. At least, hindi pa laganap lalo sa mga lalawigan. Noon basta hindi normal ika nga ang isang tao lalo na mga bata na ipinanganak na mayroong kapansanan na tinatawag na Down Syndrome, “mongoloid” ang tawag. Kaya naman ako noon sa mura kong isipan at katangahan, hindi ko mawari bakit siya kumain ng lapis o pencil na noo’y Mongol ang tatak?! Sorry po pero yun talaga naisip ko noong elementary ako lalo na nang biniro ng guro namin isang kaklase na palaging kagat-kagat ang lapis niya na magiging mongoloid siya sa ginagawa niya! Siyempre, ako man noo’y palaging kinakagat ang lapis at marahil kaya ako kung minsan ay parang special din.

Pero wala pong biro at mabalik tayo sa ating paksa, pansin ko lang sa pamilya ng mga kapatid nating mayroong mga naturang kapansanan na madalas at mabilis nila kaagad sinasabi na ang kanilang anak o kapatid ay “special”. Minsan mararamdaman mo rin kanilang lungkot marahil hindi sa ano pa man kungdi ang pag-aalala paano magiging buhay ng kanilang special child lalo na sa pagtanda nila.

Noong ako ay batang pari pa sa isang barrio na aking minimisahan ay mayroong special child na palaging nagsisimba. Masayang-masaya ang batang iyon sa pagsisimba at halos sumigaw sa pagsagot at pag-awit sa Misa. Napansin ko tumatahimik siya at masugid niyang tinitingnan ang lahat ng nangungumunyon.

Kinausap ko ang bata na siguro ay labing-limang taong gulang na noon. “Ibig mo ba na magkomunyon? Alam mo ba ko kung ano yun tinatanggap?” Sabi niya sa akin ay si Jesus daw iyong nasa Banal na Ostiya. Kaya kinausap ko kanyang magulang na di makapaniwalang pwede iyon. Inihanda ko ang special child at makaraan ang ilang linggo, siya ay binigyan namin ng “first communion”. Tuwang-tuwa ang bata at kanyang mga magulang. Hanggang ngayon siya ay masayang nagsisimba sa kanilang bisita.

Dati naman sa pinanggalingan kong parokya ay ipinahanap ko sa mga katekista ang lahat ng mga bata na sampung taong gulang pataas na hindi pa nakukumpilan. Isang teenager na special child ang kanilang natagpuan sa aming depressed area. Pinuntahan namin upang kausapain at himukin ang mga magulang ng special child na siya ay pakumpilan yamang libre naman. Nagulat ang ama na puwede daw palang kumpilan kanyang anak at noon siya ay naiyak nang ikuwento sa akin na kaya dalawa lang kanilang anak. Natakot daw siyang special muli ang ikatlong anak nila.

*Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Baguio Cathedral, 2018.*

Bakit nga ba tinatawag na special child mga batang isinilang na mayroong iba’t-ibang kapansanan at pangangailangan? Hindi ba kapag special dapat ay mahusay at magaling. Halos perfect, hindi ba?

Special child ang tawag sa kanila kasi sila ay espesyal sa Diyos. At higit na espesyal sa lahat ang kanilang mga magulang at kapatid na pinili ng Diyos upang ipagkatiwala sa kanila ang Kanyang mga special children. Sila lang marahil sa dami ng iba pang ama at ina at mga kapatid ang may higit na pagmamahal at malasakit upang arugain at palakihin ang special child ng Diyos.

Noong magbuntis ang kapatid ko sa kanyang ikatlong anak, siya ay nakunan. Malungkot na malungkot ang kapatid ko noon dahil hirap siya sa pagbubuntis. Ipinaliwanag sa akin ng kanyang doctora na kapag daw ang sanggol sa sinapupunan ng ina ay na-detect na magkakaroon ng kapansanan o sakit, mayroon daw mekanismo mismo yung baby na mag automatic shut off para di na siya lumaki at mabuhay pa. Kaya nakukunan ng baby.

Samakatwid, natural sa plano ng Diyos na lahat ng isisilang ay buo at walang kapansanan ngunit kung sakaling mayroong makalusot at mabuhay hanggang mailuwal ng kanyang ina bilang special child, ito ay kalooban ng Diyos. Siya ay biyaya ng Diyos. Regalo ng Diyos. Kaya sinasabi ng iba “suwerte” daw ang special child. Malaking biyaya ng Diyos ang bawat buhay, lalo na kung mayroong kapansanan dahil sila ay pinahintulutan niyang isilang at mabuhay para sa isang misyon para sa ating lahat. At ito iyon: espesyal bawat isa sa atin sa Diyos.

Noong isang linggo ay nagmisa ako sa pumanaw na kapatid na special child ng isang ka-opisina. Natapat noong araw na iyon ang ebanghelyo ay napakaganda sa wikang Inggles na ganito ang sinasabi:

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”
John 17:24

Kay sarap namnamin mga salita ni Jesus, “Father, they are your gift to me.” Sa Tagalog ay hindi ganoon ang pagkakasalin at hindi binanggit ang kataga na regalo o gift. Ito yung tagpo ng kanyang pananalangin para sa kanyang mga alagad matapos ang kanilang Huling Hapunan bago siya dakpin noong Huwebes Santo.

Sino ba tayo para ituring ni Jesus na regalo o gift sa kanya ng Ama?

Sa kabila ng ating maraming kapintasan, kakulangan at kasalanan, iyan ang katotohanan: regalo tayo ng Diyos Ama di lamang sa isa’t-isa kungdi maging sa Anak niyang si Jesus.

Tayong lahat ay regalo ng Diyos. Napakahalaga, lalo na yaong mga mayroong kapansanan at iba’t ibang kahinaan sa pangangatawan at buhay.

Sa bawat special child ay mayroong extra-special na ina at ama at mga kapatid. Kaya kung ibig mo ring maging extra-special sa Diyos, kaibiganin, tulungan, at pahalagahan mga special children at kanilang pamilya. Amen.

Pakikiramay at paglalamay bilang pagpapala

Lawiswis Ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-24 ng Mayo 2023

*Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Jesuit Cemetery sa Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 21 Marso 2023.*

Bago pa man ako naging pari ay madalas ko nang naririnig ang tanong ng karamihan na bakit nga ba tayo nagkikita-kita lamang kung mayroong namamatay? Bakit nga ba hindi tayo magkita-kita ng madalas habang buhay pa upang ipahayag ating pagmamahal sa kaibigan o kamag-anak kesa yung sila ay patay na?

Bakas sa mga katanungang ito ang malungkot na katotohanan ng buhay lalo na sa mga nagkaka-edad tulad ko. Minsan naroon din ang panghihinayang at pagiging-guilty na kung bakit nga ba hindi tayo nagsasama-sama habang malakas at buhay pa mga yumaong mahal natin sa buhay?

Pero ang nakakatawa sa ganitong mga usapan ay ang katotohanan na pagkaraan ng ilang buwan o taon, magkikita-kita muli tayo pa ring magkakamag-anak at magkakaibigan sa susunod na lamayan nang hindi pa rin nagkasama-sama habang mga buhay pa!

Ano nangyari? Hindi na nga ba tayo natuto sa aral ng mga naunang yumao, na magsama-sama habang buhay at malakas?

Sa aking palagay ay hindi naman sa hindi na tayo natuto kungdi ang totoo, higit pa ring mainam ang magkita-kita sa lamayan kesa saan pa mang pagtitipon dahil sa ilang mas malalim na kadahilanan.

“Kaunting panahon na lamang at hindi na ako makikita ng sanlibutan. Ngunit ako’y makikita ninyo; sapagkat mabubuhay ako, at mabubuhay rin kayo. Malalaman ninyo sa araw na yaon na ako’y sumasa-Ama, kayo’y sumasaakin, at ako’y sumasainyo.”
Juan 14:19-20

Una, sa ating pakikiramay buhay ang pinararangalan at hindi ang kamatayan. Nakikiramay tayo upang ipagdiwang mabuting pamumuhay at magandang pakikisama ng yumao. Wika nga sa amin sa Bulacan, ang lamay lang ang hindi ipinag-iimbita. Ito ang sukatan ng kabutihan ng isang tao na siya ay parangalan hanggang magkapuyatan. Ito ang dahilan kung bakit paulit-ulit sinabi ni Jesus sa kanyang mga alagad na maging handa palagi dahil hindi natin alam ang oras ng ating pagpanaw. Alalaong-baga, mamuhay tayo sa kabutihan.

Isa sa mga paborito kong pelikula ay ang The Last Samurai ni Tom Cruise. Sa huling bahagi ng pelikula bago siya bumalik ng Amerika, namaalam siya sa batang emperador ng Hapon na nagsabi sa kanya, “Tell me how did my samurai die.” Sumagot si Tom Cruise, “I will not tell you how he died but I will tell you how he lived.”

Kaya nga sa lamayan hindi naman pinag-uusapan kung ano at paanong namatay kungdi paanong namuhay ang mahal nating pumanaw. Narito ang malaking kaibahan ng mga pagtitipon ng buhay gaya ng mga handaan at party na nauuwi lamang sa kainan, inuman, at tawanan o kantahan hanggang magkalasingan at di matunawan sa kabusugan. Minsan nauuwi pa sa away mga ito.

Ang ibig ko lang sabihin ay ito: sa patay mayroon ding kainan at inuman kung minsan pero iba ang lalim ng usapan at kuwentuhan. Lalong higit ng pagsasalo-salo – walang nagbabalot! – kasi iba ang level ng pagtitipon sa lamayan. Mayroong rubdob. Nahirapan lang ako sa isang bagay na sadyang makabago at hirap pa rin akong tanggapin. Ang pagpapakuha ng litrato sa mga lamayan. Mula pagkabata kasi aking nagisnan ay seryoso ang lamayan at dahil noon ay wala pang mga camera phone kaya asiwa ako na pumorma o mag-pose sabay ngiti kasama mga naulila sa tabi ng mga labi ng giliw na pumanaw. Maliban doon, ito ang unang kagandahan at biyaya ng pakikiramay at paglalamay – ito ay pagdiriwang ng buhay hindi ng kamatayan.

Ikalawang biyaya ng pakikiramay at paglalamay sa patay ay ang pagpapahayag ng patuloy nating pagmamahal at pagpapahalaga sa ating ugnayan hindi lamang sa pumanaw kungdi pati sa kanyang mga naulila. Hindi lamang tayo nakikibahagi sa kanilang dalamhati na siyang kahulugan ng pakikiramay o pagdamay, kungdi higit sa lahat ay ang ating pagtitiyak sa kanila na kahit wala na ang giliw nating pumanaw, nananatili pa rin tayong kamag-anak at kaibigan.

Pinakamasakit na bahagi ng pagmamahal ang paghihiwalay, pansamantala man o pang-magpakailanman tulad ng kamatayan. Isa itong katotohanang ating naranasang lahat dahil walang permanente sa buhay na ito. Darating at darating ang sandali na tayo ay mahihiwalay sa ating minamahal kapag ang mga anak ay nagsipag-kolehiyo o kapag sila ay nagsipag-asawa upang bumuo ng sariling pamilya. At ang pinaka-masakit sa lahat ng paghihiwalay, ang pagpanaw ng mahal sa buhay.

Gayon pa man, naroon sa kamatayan ang pinakamatinding hamon ng pagmamahal na ating ipinahahayag at ipinadarama sa pakikiramay. Alalaong-baga kapag tayo pumupunta sa lamayan, ating pinagtitibay sa kanilang naulila ang ating ugnayan, na tayo ay magkakamag-anak pa rin, magkakaibigan pa rin. Kahit mawala ang isang kamag-anak o pamilya at kaibigan, hindi mawawala ating ugnayan. Sama-sama pa rin tayo hanggang sa kabilang buhay kung saan magiging ganap at lubos ating mga ugnayan sa Diyos kay Kristo Jesus.

Kitang-kita ang ugnayang ito na hindi kayang putulin ng kamatayan sa paraan ng ating pagpapaalam. Walang nagsasabing “aalis na ako” o “lalayas na ako” maliban kung siya ay galit. Kapag tayo nagpapaalam saan man, ating sinasabi palagi ay “mauuna na po ako” gayong wala namang susunod sa ating pag-alis. Atin ding sinasabi bilang pamamaalam ang “tutuloy na po ako” e lumalabas nga ang isang nagpapaalam paanong tutuloy?!

Ang mga ito ay tanda ng pagtimo sa ating katauhan ng katotohanan ng kamatayan at buhay na walang hanggan. Sinasabi nating mauuna na ako dahil batid natin lahat ang katotohanan na una-una lang sa kamatayan. Gayon din ang pagsasabi ng tutuloy na ako tuwing nagpapaalam kasi isa lang ating hahantungang lahat, ang buhay na walang hanggan sa piling ng Diyos sa kalangitan.

*Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Bolinao, Pangasinan, 19 Abril 2022.*

Kaya hindi rin kataka-taka minsan kung kailan pumanaw at nawala na ang isang mahal sa buhay saka lumalalim ating ugnayan. Iyan ang ikatlong biyaya ng pakikiramay at paglalamay, ang pananatili ng pag-ibig. Higit nating nadarama lalim ng ating pagmamahal kanino man kapag siya ay pumanaw na. Ito yung hiwaga ng aral ni Jesus sa bundok, “Mapapalad ang mga nahahapis, sapagkat aaliwin sila ng Diyos” (Mt.5:4).

Mapapalad ang nahahapis dahil una, sila ay nagmamahal. Sabi ni San Agustin, kaya tayo umiiyak kapag namatay ang isang mahal sa buhay kasi tayo ay nagmamahal. Masakit ang mawalan at hindi na makita ang isang minamahal.

Higit sa lahat, mapapalad ang nahahapis dahil silay ay minahal. Iyon ang pinaka-masakit sa pagmamahal. Matapos maranasan ikaw ay mahalin, saka naman siya mawawala sa piling. Ngunit iyon din ang pagpapala. Kaya masakit mamamatayn kasi nga tayo ay minahal. Sabi ng isang makata, “kung ikaw ay mayroong pagmamahal, ikaw ay pinagpala; kung ikaw ay minahal, ikaw ay hinipo ng Diyos.” Tuwing tayo ay nakikiramay, naglalamay, ating ipinahahayag ating pagmamahal gayun din ang biyaya na tayo ay minahal ng pumanaw.

Tama si San Pablo na sa kahuli-hulihan, lahat ay maglalaho at tanging pag-ibig lang ang mananatili (1Cor. 13:13). Gayon din ang inawit ni Bb. Cookie Chua sa Paglisan.

Kung ang lahat ay may katapusan
Itong paglalakbay ay makakarating din sa paroroonan
At sa iyong paglisan, ang tanging pabaon ko
Ay pag-ibig
Ay pag-ibig
Ay pag-ibig

Manatili sa pag-ibig ni Kristo! Amen. Salamuch po.

Roots

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 10 April 2023
A photo-reflection of our rootedness in God while at the Sacred Heart Novitiate last March 20-22, 2023.

In the lush rolling hills of Novaliches
that is now fast disappearing are
23 hectares of pastureland and mini forests 
inside the Sacred Heart Novitiate
of the Society of Jesus.

Thank God it had opened
anew its doors to retreatants like me
wishing to have a "vacare Deo"
or vacation in the Lord.

A retreat
or a vacare Deo
is a return to our roots,
God.

While preparing for the formal
start of my retreat last March 20,
I felt the roots of the many trees
speaking to me
 in this Bethel of mine
where like Jacob in
Genesis 28:10-19,
I met God.
Sometimes,
I wrestled with Him
like Jacob too
in Peniel/Penuel
(Gen. 32:23-33).

How interesting
the words "true" and "truth"
along with its cousin "trust"
came from the old English
"treowe"
for tree.

According to experts,
the Anglo-Saxons worshipped trees
they called "treowe"
because they evoked firmness
and solidness;
the more rooted is the tree,
the more firm does it stand.
Like truth.

Whatever that is true, firmly standing
like a tree or treowe always has extensive 
network of roots, creating linkages
and interconnections from which came
that image of the 
"family tree".

When there are interconnections,
linkages,
there are relationships.
People with the most
wonderful relationships
are also the truthful ones
because they are trustworthy.
Reliable.
Like God.
Our root.
Our rootedness
who connects us with
everyone.

When we are rooted
and grounded in God,
nothing can ever disturb us
like a big, big, tree.
We can withstand all storm,
bear the sun's heat
remaining firm
and aglow
 with God's majesty
in daytime and in darkness.

Lovelier than the tree,
thank God
for creating me.
Hallelujah!

A model disciple, a beloved disciple

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
The Seven Last Words, 03 April 2023

*Photo by author, Chapel of the Holy Family, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 2014.*

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
John 19:25-27

What a lovely scene we have at the foot of the Cross with our Lord Jesus Christ during His final moments, His Mother Mary, our “model disciple” and John, His “beloved disciple”. Both disciples standing for us all, Mary signifying the Mother Church, the Body of Christ, with us her children, each a beloved disciple of the Lord.

These words spoken by Jesus as He hung upon the Cross continue to be fulfilled in our own days in many concrete ways. These words are constantly repeated to both Mother and disciple, and each one of us today are called to relive them in our own life.

Every day we the disciples are called to take Mary as an individual and as the Church into our own home to carry out the Lord’s instructions by imitating her as a companion in the mission. Mary is actually the first disciple of the Lord because she was the first to welcome and receive Him at the Annunciation of His birth. Mary is also the first to truly believe in Jesus Christ when she “immediately” told Him how the newly-wed couple at Cana had ran out of wine. At the foot of the Cross, Mary is the first to remain in Christ, teaching us the most important aspect of discipleship which is intimacy in Jesus and with Jesus in prayer.

While preparing for this series, I wondered what was Mary really doing at the foot of the Cross of Jesus Christ? What were the thoughts running through her mind? What were the feelings and emotions forming, massing in her heart?

Notice the dignity of Mary in the face of extreme sorrow and suffering. She was standing firm, not seated, freaking out like crazy at the sight of her crucified Son. More than the tears and sorrow on her face as portrayed in arts, one can see this dignity of a woman and a disciples so absorbed in prayer, so united and close to Jesus our Lord!

How sad that many of us have forgotten this crucial aspect of discipleship Mary had shown us not only there at the Cross but from the very beginning until called to give birth to our Savior – a life centered on prayer which is more than reciting prayers but residing, dwelling, and communing in Jesus Christ.

Let us learn to be like Mary, to truly take her like the disciple whom Jesus loved by being intimate with Jesus and the Father in prayers. Keep in mind that her standing there at the foot of the Cross did not simply happen at the spur of the moment but a result, a fruit of her long periods of time spent in prayers, of communing with Jesus and in Jesus as the Mysteries of Light try to show us. Unlike most of us, we come only to Jesus at the Cross when we are in trials and difficulties but when everything is going on smoothly in life, we hardly prayed at all.

All her life, Mary lived in prayer. At the Pentecost, Mary was praying with the Lord’s disciples at the Upper Room in Jerusalem awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit. Mary is the most beautiful reminder next to Jesus that discipleship is essentially prayer, that whatever we do is borne out of prayer.

Let us pray with the Blessed Mother Mary:

Our Lady of Sorrows,
pray for us your children,
especially your priests
who are supposed to be 
the Lord's beloved disciples
to immerse ourselves in prayer
above all
because before all else came,
there was Jesus Christ who came first
calling us, sending us on a mission
to proclaim His Good News 
of salvation to everyone.
Amen.

*“Mater Dolorosa” also known as “Blue Madonna” (1616) by Carlo Dolci. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.*

On turning 58

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 21 March 2023

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, 20 March 2023, Novaliches, QC.*

Thank you for your birthday greetings. I have been on a silent retreat since Monday until Wednesday, my 58th birthday, at the Jesuits’ Sacred Heart Novitiate (SHN) in Quezon City. I usually go on retreats in June when my loads were lighter, when I feel so tired and exhausted, even burned out. Or when I have to make a major decision that I have to discern well.

For the first time, I went on this personal retreat not out of dire needs or even expediencies except that I miss God so much. This is the first time I went on a retreat without problems or issues to resolve. Most of all, without any complaints to God as I told my spiritual director, Fr. Danny Gozar, one of the Jesuits who facilitated our 30-Day Retreat in Cebu in 1995.

Sharing with you some of God’s consolations to me since Monday.

*Photo by author, 20 March 2023, Sacred Heart Novitiate, QC.*

It was the feast of St. Joseph last Monday because March 19 fell on the Fourth Sunday in Lent. Right away, God consoled me upon arrival here when the daily Mass was starting. The priest, the Australian novice master of the Jesuits said in his homily that St. Joseph’s mission to give the name “Jesus” to the Child to be born by the Blessed Virgin Mary is also our first task in life which is to witness that “God saves” which is the meaning of the name “Jesus”.

That is when I realized the silence of St. Joseph which is not just being quiet by shutting out all the noise; silence is fulness, trying to listen and discern the sounds within, the sounds that speak of love and kindness, of mercy and forgiveness, of the voice of God also the softest and faintest, telling us to trust him alone and not be bothered with what would happen next.

To be silent like St. Joseph is ultimately to be silent like Jesus on the Cross, wholly trusting the Father, loving us until the end.

After lunch, I caught sight of the beautiful statue of Our Lady of Banneux (Our Lady of the Poor) at the side garden. It is one of my favorite prayer spots in this 23-hectare spirituality center in Quezon City. It was a nice spot to think of the many things I am thankful for since 2020 in preparation for my actual prayer blocks later that afternoon. And I had so many things to thank God since the pandemic started. First is the gift of life, that I have survived COVID-19!

The beauty of prayer is how it opens us to so many things about us we were totally unaware of like the gifts God has given us, the blessings he has showered us, the immense love he has for us. I discovered 20 things to be thankful for which I never thought I had and had never even thanked God for them!

That is the giftedness also of the Blessed Virgin Mary as she sang her Magnificat that while all generations shall call her blessed, she remains God’s lowly handmaid (Lk.1:48), remaining poor, an anawim who relies only in the Lord.

Being poor like Mary is being simple and empty for God. May we always be poor in need of God!

Fr. Danny directed me to just pray that afternoon until evening Psalm 139:1-18, asking for the specific grace of Mystery, of God himself. And God answered me! I felt his presence and generally, there was the feeling of joy within as I prayed before the Blessed Sacrament.

“You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew; my bones were not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret…
Psalm 139:13-15

God confirmed my earlier reflections, the things I am thankful to him since 2020.

God designed me personally, he had a purpose in creating me and creating me this way which for so long I have not totally appreciated and liked, wishing I were somebody else, or endowed with so many other talents I so admire in others.

God made each of us so specially, not mass-produced.

He made us so well, almost perfect to reflect his glory. And along this is the need to take care of ourselves.

How can I be a sign of God's glory and majesty even though I am sinner?

After supper, I felt longing for God that I went back to the chapel for another hour of prayer. I was a bit distracted, even restless at the start. Indeed, the most difficult prayer is always the most meritorious as I felt a deep intensity in the following passage:

Lord, you have probed me, you know me; you understand my thoughts from afar. My travels and my rest you mark; with all my ways you are familiar. Even before a word is on my tongue, Lord, you know it all.
Psalm 139:1, 2-4

God knows everything about us! There is no hiding from him. But, even if he knows us so well, he does not impose himself on us. Many times, God allows us to open up to him in our own time. Not just in his time. Like when we go astray, when we turn away from him in sins.

"you understand my thoughts from afar."

Even if I am far from God in sin, he still loves me, he still relates with me, understanding me. Waiting for me. Because he knows too that even if we sin, we still long for him. No one among us is happy being in sin. God knows that we know he is our life, that we cannot stay far from him for long.

"My travels and my rest you mark."

Where are you leading me, Lord? Sometimes I wonder if I am the one following God or is it God following me, watching over me that I always find my way back to him?

I have realized in almost 25 years being a priest, priesthood is more of a direction than a destination. From the school in Malolos to UST and UP for sometime then to Radio Veritas and nine years in a parish, now I am a chaplain in a big university with six campuses and two hospitals. Really, we were not prepared for this, especially myself! But, you are always there, God, leading me, always surprising me that even if you ask me to go anywhere else, I would go even if I have to learn a new language or whatever.

Here I found one thing I have always been remiss with – the need for me to rest in the Lord. To stop like this retreat not only when I have problems or overburdened.

At the end of my first day, my main realizations were -in Filipino as they dawned on me – were, first,

"Mahal na mahal ako ng Diyos.
Hindi lang basta mahal.
Kungdi mahal na mahal."

Secondly, as I prepared to sleep that night with all the lights out, I realized

"Mas nakakatakot maniwala sa Diyos
kesa sa multo kase
ang Diyos ay totoo,
ang multo ay hindi totoo!"

Thank you for your bearing with me. May God touch you, bless you, and heal you! Amen.

Deaths in Lent

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 27 February 2023

Lent is my favorite season in our Church calendar: partly because of my melancholic tendencies and mostly, its closeness with the realities of life, of its daily “passovers” and exodus that eventually lead to Easter. That is why for me, life is a daily lent.

This became truest to me yesterday afternoon, the First Sunday of Lent when one of our elderly priests, Msgr. Vicente “Teng” Manlapig died past 3:00 PM at the Fatima University Medical Center in Valenzuela City where I serve as chaplain.

I am still in the process of gathering the many insights and realizations I have had these past three weeks when Mons. Teng was confined with the final five days in the ICU. What is so remarkable for me which dawned upon me yesterday is the fact that Mons. Teng is the second priest I had taken cared and died in the season of Lent. The first was the late Msgr. Macario Manahan in March 16, 2014, the Second Sunday of Lent at that time.

Yes, another monsignor I took care and died in the season of Lent. I was then assigned in San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista Parish in Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan when Mons Macario retired in an apartment with his adopted family in the next barrio to my parish. Like Mons. Teng, I gave him daily communion and anointing of the sick during his final stretch of about two or three weeks before death. The only difference is that Mons. Macario passed away in my presence that Sunday afternoon; I visited Mons. Teng Sunday morning before he expired in the afternoon.

I have been wondering what must be God’s message for me in making me directly involved with two elderly priests dying in the season of Lent.

It seems to me for now that Lent is the best time for us priests to die because it leads to Easter. It would be a great extra bonus perhaps for us priests to die on Easter Sunday like the Jesuit Father Teilhard de Chardin or on Divine Mercy Sunday of the Easter Octave like the great St. John Paul II or at New Year’s eve like Pope Benedict XVI recently.

In my 24 years in priesthood, I have found our life, and death, follow a certain pattern. That is another topic I intend to develop further but for the moment, here is God showing me a pattern in priestly deaths in Lent which is the season characterized by prayer, fasting, alms-giving and penance.

Thursday night, Mons. Teng he asked to me listen to his “story” which turned out to be a confession, his final one. And what a tremendous grace from God for it was a triumph against his final temptations by the devil. How wonderful that he died yesterday, the First Sunday of Lent when the gospel from Matthew was the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness. The hospital ICU is the modern wilderness of temptations where there is the macabre atmosphere of gloom and dead-seriousness, cold and lifeless with just the eerie beeps and whirring or humming of various machines accompanying patients in separate cubicles along with doctors and nurses garbed in overalls and masks like in those movie scenes of invasion by aliens or zombies.

I must confess that after witnessing another death of a senior priest this season of Lent with my ministry this past year being in the hospital, I actually feel more afraid than ever of getting old, of getting sick.

It seems to me for now 
that Lent is the best time for us priests 
to die because it leads to Easter.

I cannot say I am ready. No. The more I see myself afraid and so unprepared. It would be a big lie no fool would ever believe to claim I am ready to get sick and die. And even if I felt so tired and sleepy watching over Mons. Teng these past weeks, I could not pray in silence to God and ask him that he spare me those sufferings. Yes, the sense of entitlement crossed my mind many times like the thought “siguro naman, pwede na ako ma exempt, Lord” but no! I could not ask God. I feel so ashamed. It felt so bad on the taste-buds. Whenever such thoughts crossed my mind, there was always something or someone inside me preventing me from asking God for that privilege. Or grace? Because our suffering in sickness is precisely the very gift and grace of being one with Jesus Christ in the wilderness, fighting the devil’s temptations.

The gospel said it so well yesterday that after Jesus triumphed over his temptations, “the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him” (Mt.4:11). See that it was Thursday when I heard Mons. Teng’s final confession, Friday night was the last time he received the viaticum because Saturday morning he could no longer speak, could not eat that I had to consent into the insertion of an NGT for his feeding Saturday night until he slowly deteriorated Sunday morning after I had anointed him again with oil and died around the hour of the great Mercy of God at 3PM.

The same thing is true with Mons. Macario. For about two weeks, I would rush to his apartment mostly at night and midnight to anoint him, pray for him, and give him the viaticum. Once I even celebrated Mass for a peaceful death around midnight when we thought he was about to expire which eventually came a few days after he had met and presumably reconciled with a family member. It was the Second Sunday of Lent, March 16, 2014 when he died. The gospel was the Transfiguration of Jesus. If there is anyone who would truly experience the Cross of Christ on the way to transfiguration, it is surely us, his priests.

A few years ago a friend commented to me that he thought priests were exempted from sickness and other sufferings. He could not believe that we priests get cancer, suffer stroke and other debilitating sickness. In fact, I told him that suffering is our life. One of the priests with tremendous impact on me was our formator in high school seminary, Rev. Fr. Leopoldo Nazareno we called “Fr. Naz” who spent maybe 40 years of his life with Parkinson’s disease that was so rare at that time in the 80’s.

Am I afraid of getting sick, of dying? Yes. Very much! But, what can I do? Like Jesus in the the garden of Gethsemane, even if I pray that God would take away this cup, it is still his will not mine.

Maybe for a good reason, to suffer unto death is the ultimate gift of priesthood. Even in old age for us priests, there is still the essence of victimhood, of offering. It is when out deathbed becomes our eucharistic table and altar where we finally offer ourselves to God in union with Jesus our Eternal High Priest, no longer the bread and wine because we could not celebrate the Mass nor even receive Holy Communion. It would be very sad for a priest to die not a martyr, a witness of Christ on the Cross, loved and forgiven like the “good thief”.

That is what I have seen in these two deaths of priests in the season of Lent: the immense and immeasurable mercy and love of God for us all, especially us priests. Yes, we are sinners, even more miserable than others. But, still loved and forgiven by God. May we strive more to be holy priests, thinking more of the people than ourselves. Pray for us your priests, and help us fix our eyes unto God more clearly through you, the people, the sheep of his flock. May we your priests find that life is a daily Lent, a daily passover, a daily carrying of the Cross and Crucifixion in Christ that leads to Easter. Amen.

Paloob ang Kuwaresma, hindi palabas

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

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

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

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

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