The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fifth Week of Easter, 12 May 2023
Acts 15:22-31 ><)))*> + ><)))*> + ><)))*> John 15:12-17
Photo by author, Chapel of the Holy Family, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 2016.
As we come to close the week,
I tried reimagining your last supper,
that Holy Thursday before you were
betrayed, arrested and tried
then sentenced to death
the following Good Friday;
also known as Maundy Thursday
from the Latin word "mandatum, mandatus"
which is "commandment" because
it was on that evening you gave us
your only commandment.
Jesus said to his disciples: “This is my commandment: love one an other as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.”
John 15:12-15
Oh sweet Jesus!
Earlier after washing
your disciples' feet that evening,
you told them you were their
Lord and Master
even if you acted like their
slave in washing their feet;
but still in that scene came
these words, you calling them
and us --- as friends with whom
you have revealed everything
from the Father, and most of all,
friends for whom you offered
your very life for our salvation!
That evening, you have shown us,
dear Jesus, that love is our destiny;
to love like you is more than obeying
your commandment to love but
becoming like you who is love himself!
Is it not that is the goal of every love,
to become like the beloved?
You first showed us how is that possible
when you as the Son of God became human
like us, your beloved so that
we may become like you,
holy, our beloved.
Let us grow in that wonderful friendship
only you can offer us;
may we not be like those some early
Christians who insisted on imposing
their beliefs on others;
let us learn that to truly love like you
is to think less of ourselves,
of our beliefs
in order to see your face on
others not like us
so that we start becoming
like you, Jesus our beloved
found in others;
teach us, Jesus,
to be a friend
to others especially
those in the margins
who for the longest
time have been looking
at us from afar,
hoping they could be
like us too -
"upwardly mobile",
with access to education,
to clean water
and decent home.
Wash and cleanse
our eyes, Lord,
so we could also see
others wishing to be
your friends too
in us.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Fifth Week of Easter, 10 May 2023
Acts 15:1-6 <*((((>< + ><))))*> John 15:1-8
From Google.com
Thank you dear Jesus
for not just coming to us
but also in becoming human
like us in everything except sin,
in being planted here on earth
to be one with us
and we be one in you,
one with you.
Thank you dear Jesus
for being our true vine,
making us your branches;
many times we do not understand
and would even refuse your Father's
ways and methods of "pruning" us,
of purifying us so that we
may bear more fruit.
But, what fruit must we bear,
Lord Jesus?
“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5
Lord Jesus,
when you died on the Cross,
you bore only one fruit we
continue to savor and
enjoy today --- LOVE.
Thank you for the fruit
of love; we can only be
fruitful in love if we
remain in you,
when we are purified
and pruned.
Many times,
our pruning and
purification do not look
good at all like when there are
differences among us
that arise like with
the first Christians
when some insisted that
Gentile converts be subjected
to Mosaic laws like circumcision;
keep us intact with you, Lord,
so that we may see more
of you, our true vine than us
who are merely your branches;
keep us open to one another,
trying to find you, Jesus,
by being more kind,
more understanding,
more open to overcome
our differences
so that in the end,
without us even knowing,
we have become fruitful,
not necessarily successful
because we have become
abundant
in your love.
Amen.
Lawiswis Ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-09 ng Mayo 2023
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 20 Marso 2023.
Paano nga ba
pananaligan
panghahawakan
katiyakan sa atin
ni Jesus,
"huwag kayong mabalisa"
sa dami ng sakbibi
nitong buhay
walang katapusan
di malaman hahantungan?
Ngunit kung susuriin
pagkabalisa natin
ay hindi naman
mga bagay-bagay
sa labas kungdi yaong
nasa loob
mismong sarili
ang sumisinsay
upang manalig
at pumanatag.
Nababalisa
sa pagkakasakit
hindi dahil sa hirap
at sakit kungdi
sa panahon at pagkakataong
winaldas, lahat natapon
walang naipon;
nababalisa
sa kamatayan
hindi dahil sa di alam
patutunguhan kungdi
malabo pinanggalingan
at pinagdaanan,
walang kinaibigan
ni hiningan ng kapatawaran;
nababalisa hindi sa mga nangyayari
kungdi sa mga pagkukunwari
kapalaluan di matalikuran
gayong sukol na
sa sariling kapahamakan.
Hangga't wasak
at di buo ating samahan
at ugnayan
sa sarili,
sa Diyos at
sa kapwa
lagi tayong balisa
nanghihinayang at kulang
dahil sa kahuli-hulihan
sila ating kailangan;
iyan ang kahulugan
ng mga sumunod
na salitang binitiwan
ni Jesus na sa kanya
tayo ay manalig
upang siya at ang Ama
sa atin ay manahan
ating sandigan
tunay maasahan
magpakailanman.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Fifth Week of Easter, 09 May 2023
Acts 14:19-28 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> John 14:27-31
Photo by author, Jesuit Cemetery, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 21 March 2023.
Lord Jesus Christ,
today I feel it is not enough
that we simply pray for peace;
before we could pray for peace,
let us first understand
and embrace the peace
that you give.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.”
John 14:27
Dear Jesus,
in this time when the world
including our families
and very selves are beset
with tensions and conflicts,
the more we keep on praying
for peace but the more it
has become elusive; worst,
on many occasions, peace is
often used as a slogan just
for the sake of saying something
precious and important without
realizing the more peace is
cheapened and played at.
Let it be clear with us,
Jesus, that your peace is not
just the absence of war nor
of conflicts but the fruit of love
as our Church Fathers declared
at Vatican II; let it be clear with us
that your peace is not like what
the world gives based on transactions
that often favor the powerful;
let it be clear with us that your
peace entails sufferings,
of "undergoing many hardships"
(Acts 14:22) and most of all,
calls us to confront our true
selves because what troubles us
most are those moments and things
we insist more on ourselves than
surrender ourselves to you and
to others; many of our troubles
are rooted inside us making
peace improbable because
we have too much of ourselves,
without any room for others
and for you.
Teach us, Lord Jesus,
that to achieve your peace,
we have to be at home with
our true selves by accepting
our strengths and giftedness
as well as weaknesses in order
to be at home too with those
around us in their own imperfections
and talents so that in the end,
we all rely only on you, Jesus,
as we entrust ourselves to you,
our thoughts and feelings,
our plans and agenda
including our fears
so that we all
become at home
with you because
your peace
is being at home
with our true selves,
with others,
and with you.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fourth Week of Easter, 05 May 2023
Acts 13:26-33 ><)))*> + <*(((>< John 14:1-6
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 20 March 2023.
Thank you very much,
Lord Jesus Christ
for the assurance
"Do not to let
your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God;
have faith also in me.
In my Father's house
there are many dwelling places.
If there were not, would I have
told you that I am going
to prepare a place for you?"
(John 14:1-2).
Thank you,
thank you,
thank you, Lord Jesus!
We pray for those whose hearts
are so troubled these days:
those who will undergo surgery
especially in the heart and
in the brain; parents worried of
their sick children or children
who have gone wayward, lost
in life despite the love they
have showered them;
spouses taking care of their
sick husband or wife;
those of us going through
anxiety or panic attacks
for so many reasons that
are often not valid at all:
Lord, we are so troubled
with everything because
so often we do not dwell
in you, our true home!
Many times, we are troubled
because we do not abide
or dwell in you with each other
when some of us have suddenly
turned cold and distant,
unfaithful or feeling betrayed
and taken for granted.
Let us be present, Lord,
in you in others;
let us serve in love.
Loving God is a
continuous service
of being present
with others,
especially our family
and friends.
Help us renew our ties,
our dwelling in you,
Lord Jesus, God's
"begotten Son" (Acts 13:33)
by continuing this journey
of loving service in you
for you are "the way
and the truth
and the life" (Jn. 14:6).
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Fourth Week of Easter, 04 May 2023
Acts 13:13-25 ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> + ><}}}*> John13:16-20
O Lord Jesus Christ,
how lovely that you taught
us how to lovingly serve you in
others by washing the feet
of your disciples to show
that service is in the context
of a table gathering,
of a meal of family
and friends.
When Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet, he said to them: “Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master not any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.”
John 13:16-17
Service which is
ministerium or ministry
in Latin and diakonia in
Greek both connote
"table service",
serving in one's little
way at home (oikos),
an expression of your "dwelling"
Lord Jesus in the Father
and of your "dwelling" in us,
of our "dwelling" in God in you
with others;
how lovely, indeed,
that serving is directly
related with the table found
in home or dwelling so that,
therefore, to serve means to be
at home, to dwell in God,
to dwell with others in Christ;
furthermore, service is
to be rooted
in our home,
in our family
who is God himself
ultimately as St. Paul
explained today in the
first reading!
Help us realize this,
Lord Jesus, that to serve
is not to do something so big
for others, something so
spectacular for everyone to see;
to serve is simply to be present
with our loved ones, with others
in facing life's so many challenges;
to serve, O Lord, is to continually
dwell in you,
to find and recognize you
in each other as your
indwelling, your home
who must be respected
and honored as a person,
a brother and a sister
in you; being present
with another is service
in itself.
Of what use are all
our efforts in serving
those far if we cannot
even look at those near us
in their eyes
to recognize them
as your indwelling too?
Let us be at home in you
and with you, Jesus,
so we may be at home too
with others.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Feast of Sts. Philip & James the Less, Apostles, 03 May 2023
1 Corinthians 15:1-8 ><))))"> + ><))))"> + ><))))"> John 14:6-14
Photo by author, sunrise at Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.
Thank you, dearest Lord Jesus Christ
for the gift of two Apostles whose
feast we celebrate today,
St. Philip and St. James the Less;
thank you in giving us examples
to personally be near you,
to be one with you
and to be one in you.
How lovely it is to recall
when Philip along with Andrew
approached and asked you
where you stayed and you told them
to "come and see"; what they saw
and experienced must be so wonderful
that Philip was so convinced in
calling Nathanael to come and see you
whom he had recognized as the Messiah.
In being your apostles,
Philip and James remind us
of the need to be close
and familiar with you to
discover your true identity,
to enter into a personal contact
with you by listening, responding
and communing in you Jesus daily,
of the need to dwell in you always.
During your last supper,
you expressed clearly how
the word "dwelling" means -
intimacy and oneness in the Father
in you and with one another also
in you, dear Jesus.
Your cousin James who eventually
became the bishop of Jerusalem
practiced this meaning of dwelling
in you by working to resolve the
the tensions among the Jewish
and Hellenist converts to
Christianity; how beautiful that
the early Church lived in
harmony with each other,
rooted in you, Jesus,
our home,
our dwelling.
Amen.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 02 May 2023
Reflections on the occasion of my 25th year in the Priesthood
With our Bishop, Most Rev. Dennis C. Villarojo, DD after our anniversary and his birthday Mass in his private chapel; from left Fr. Romy Sasi, Fr. Arnel Camacho, Fr. Leonard Hernandez, the Bishop, Fr. Ed Rodriguez, and me. Not in photo was Fr. Joshua Panganiban who was sick and another classmate who had left the ministry more than five years ago. Photo by Fr. Leonard.
I first entered the seminary as a second year high school in 1979. When we were about to graduate in 1982, I was told to leave the seminary after failing admission to San Carlos Seminary due to the unfavorable results of my psychological exam. It was a very painful experience for me. It is only now on my 25th year of priesthood that I am coming to terms with that dark episode in my life. In fact, it is only now that I can admit it unashamed.
Making it doubly hard for me was when San Carlos Seminary Prefect of Discipline Msgr. Sunga refused to tell me the findings in my psychological exam except I would find it out as I moved on in life. And I think, I have found the reason. “It is the Lord!”
My classmates from UST AB Journalism class of 1986, from left, Lito Zulueta, Dante Santiago, Ellen Jurado-Cobarrubias, front Marie Ann, Luz Lopez Urquiola, Bel De Leon, beside me, Pia Pajarillo-Bantolo, Vilma Capellan, Rose Munoz-Landicho and Ross.
From that experience, I have realized that Christ comes to us even in the darkest moments of our lives. It is often when we have nothing, when we are empty that we are abundant in Christ. It is a mystery that continues to unfold until now! Difficult to explain fully. What was a setback and a dark spot for me before, that failure in my psychological exam has become more of a blessing later to me.
From the seminary, I went to the University of Sto. Tomas to pursue my first love, journalism. Everything happened so fast from UST where I had the chance to join the staff of the Varsitarian, covering the sports beat.
For my internship program, I trained at GMA-7 News to explore broadcast news. Immediately, I was amazed with the speed and timeliness of broadcast news with the constant clacking and ringing or sometimes whining of the UPI and PNA telex machines either from breaking news or when they ran out of newsprint reels. Luckily after graduation in 1986, I was hired by Ms. Tina Monzon-Palma as radio news writer for DZBB-AM and DWLS-FM.
With my co-staffers at the Varsitarian of UST, from left, Alane Ty, Jenny Bartolome, Sr. Gina Kuizon, Mother superior of RGS who was the assistant of Ms. Jesselyn G. Dela Cruz our Asst. Publications Director, Lito Zulueta of Inquirer, at the back are Romy the husband of Mam Jess and Jun Carnecer.
From a news writer in 1986, I became a reporter in 1988 covering the police beat on the night shift until 1990 when Ms. Jessica Soho recommended me to replace her in the the military/defense she used to cover after she was promoted to having a regular morning show, “Kape at Balita”.
I refused the position because I was so afraid of failing to measure up to Jessica’s stature but most of all, I felt not qualified of not having the voice for broadcast news. Yes, I have never wanted to be an “on-cam” reporter because I do not have the broadcast voice. Got no problem with that. That is why my application at GMA-7 was for a news writer. Again, it was the Lord I moved to become a police reporter at that time.
It is funny how I have always refused tasks that put me at the forefront since my GMA-7 days as a result of that “psych exam” in high school. Since college, I have found myself working best behind the scenes and behind the camera, working in hiddenness.
And yes, most of all, for lack of self-confidence. That is why I could not also believe when I felt God calling me to the priesthood again! And when I have become a priest, I have always wanted to be sent into the far-flung areas unnoticed but God would always bring me to major assignments like first, our diocesan school beside the Malolos Cathedral and now as chaplain of Our Lady of Fatima University with six campuses and two Medical Centers!
Me in our old newsroom filing my report after the graveyard shift 1989; photo by Mr. Jack Taylaran.
Going back to my vocation story… Every time I moved up in GMA-7 News, I would feel a reawakening or a resurging of my vocation. In the midst of the perks of the job plus the “celebrity” status, that was when I felt empty and unfulfilled! Something was missing in my life at the beginning I could not figure out. Tried to find fulfillment in everything including relationships but, I still felt empty. In fact, my vocation to the priesthood “pestered” me most when I was into relationships, feeling so praning with a voice within asking me “paano pagpapari mo?” As a result, I tried going back to prayers, then to Sunday Masses that slowly gave me some sense of fulfillment and peace within.
But after covering the December coup attempt of 1989 I felt something so strange deep within me: the more I felt empty within. Despite the adrenalin rush of covering the bloodiest coup attempt in our history, the thoughts of the priesthood would always cross my mind even without my thinking. It happened again the following year during coverage of the July 1990 earthquake. I was not feeling contented with my life. All I felt was a deeper longing for God and spiritual things like serving the people not just as a reporter. I felt God calling me to something more than covering the news but proclaiming the good news of Christ.
On my first day off after the July 1990 earthquake, I went to see my former minor seminary rector, Fr. Memeng Salonga for spiritual direction. He told me what I was feeling could be a vocation to the priesthood. My plan at that time was to wait for about five years before deciding for the priesthood. What if I were wrong again like what happened when I applied to San Carlos Seminary? Most of all, I had no more plans of becoming a priest. And I thought of running away from God like the Prophet Jonah, without realizing I ended up exactly like him!
It happened in January 1991 when it was my turn to join then Armed Forces chief Gen. Lisandro Abadia in his inspection of troops in northern Luzon. On our last stop at Laoag airport, one of the tires of our plane exploded upon landing!
It happened at the right side of the plane where I was seated near the window. Instinctively on seeing and hearing the explosion, I ducked my head down and braced myself for impact while deep inside me, I was frantically praying in silence to God, telling him, “magpapari na po ako, magpapari na po ako!”
That is why Jonah is my favorite character in the Old Testament as I felt like him inside the belly of PAF’s Fokker plane in 1991 trying to escape God’s call to the priesthood.
My GMA-7 colleagues, from left, JJ Jimeno, Jimmy Gil, Boy Sonza, Jun Fronda, Atty. Dan de Padua, Kelly B. Vergel de Dios, Marissa Flores, Jessica Soho, and Ben Cab of PNA.
When we got back to Manila late that afternoon, everybody was congratulating me, saying I could be the next Jessica Soho as I figured out in a near-fatal accident with the Chief-of-Staff. Behind my smiles was a firm resolve inside to finally follow Jesus. Weeks after Mt. Pinatubo spewed smokes in March, I gave my letter of resignation to Ms. Palma and simply told her, I was going back to the seminary to give my vocation a second chance. Mt. Pinatubo would finally erupt on June 12, 1991 when I was already inside the seminary.
My first year in the seminary, 1991, after resigning from GMA-7 News.
Life was not easy in the seminary. Temptations to leave the seminary and go back to work were most tempting during my first three years as I knew already where to go, what to do in life. Maybe about three times I have tried leaving the seminary while I was constantly warned of being sent out too!
The Portuguese have a saying that “God writes straight crooked lines.” True. Nine years after leaving the seminary in high school, I went back to the seminary in 1991 eventually being ordained in 1998. Now 25 years as a priest, I thank God for this most precious gift of priesthood. It is very difficult but most fulfilling.
As a priest and an individual, I have realized that if there are 8-billion people in the world, there are also 8-billion kinds of love God has specifically for each one of us. God loves us in the most personal manner. It is the greatest mystery in life we would never be able to solve because it is insolvable. We just have to live on it, be wrapped in his mystery that once in a while, like the beloved disciple amid the darkness of dawn, we would have glimpses of him, making us shout “It is the Lord!” Thank my dear friends for showing me always the Lord. Hope and pray you too have seen the Lord in me! God bless!
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 20 April 2023
Reflections on the occasion of my 25th year ordination to the Priesthood
Photo by Arch. Philip Santiago; to my left is our former Rector in Minor Seminary, Fr. Domingo Salonga and our Prefect of Discipline, Msgr. Albert Suatengco.
It is the Lord! And it has always been him. Will always be him. Thank you very much my dearest family and friends including you my readers of this blog for showing me the Lord, for leading me to the Lord all these years especially on the occasion of my 25th anniversary in the priesthood.
Been praying for this occasion since March when I went on a personal retreat when I turned 58 years old. One of the reflections assigned to me by my Spiritual Director, Jesuit Fr. Danny Gozar was to pray for all the grace and blessings God has given me that I am not aware of. One of the many blessings I “rediscovered” God has blessed me all these years were the people he had gifted me, from my family and relatives, classmates from elementary to college and the seminary, colleagues in work as well as students, and lately, some parishioners who have all become my friends.
It is the Lord whom I have seen in them. And I became a priest because of them. Maybe if I did not meet them, my life would have been different.
Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples.
John 21:1-2
Photo by Ms. Tita Valderama, my friends from GMA News, from left: JJ Jimeno, Jimmy Gil, Boy Sonza, Jun Fronda, Marissa Flores (former SVP of GMA News), Jessica Soho and Ben Cal of PNA; beside me is Atty. Dan de Padua, and Kelly B. Vergel de Dios.
Some of them are very prominent, from the who’s who of the country like those persons named in the gospel, Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee. It is a tremendous blessing from God I have come to know so many prominent people, big shots indeed in Philippine media and society who taught me so much about journalism and most especially about life. In them I experienced there are so many goodness in every person, even those we look up to. They are so human with the same joys and pains, dreams and aspirations like us ordinary people. They get tired and get sick, they love to eat and drink, watch movies and enjoy music. Most of all, they have high moral sense and deep faith in God.
One of them I have to mention is the one who really paved the way for me to reconsider my vocation, Atty. Dan de Padua who was then assigned to GMA-7 News Department when I was already a police reporter covering the night shift. He would join us in our coverage and sometimes, before our shift, we would have some drinks at Jazz Rhythms along Timog Avenue. We got to know his background and former work with a multinational corporation with mega buck deals. I asked him why did he leave that better paying job? His answer struck me. Like the beloved disciple in the gospel, all I could say was “It is the Lord”.
According to Sir Dan, “nahiya naman ako sa sarili ko na matapos mag-aral sa UP, nagtatrabaho ako para sa mga foreigners… umalis ako sa kanila para ibalik sa bayan binigay sa akin.” Wow! Yes, there are good and holy lawyers, especially from UP! And my former boss is one of them! His words never left me, giving me many occasions of introspection when alone, as a graduate of Catholic schools from elementary to college, do I have the same love for the Church, for God?
Napahiya ako sa sarili ko. Here is a man, a big shot lawyer, thinking about our country we love to make fun of even curse and there I was, thinking only of myself? Of course, there were still other realizations I had but that really started my journey back to Jesus and to the seminary until my ordination on April 18, 1998.
There were so many other people I met when I was still outside the seminary who have enriched me as a person with their friendships and professionalism.
Photo by Mr. Jong Arcano with his wife.
I am forever grateful to my former editor at UST’s The Varsitarian, Mr. Jong Arcano who trained me so well in writing, especially looking into the human aspects of the persons being covered. Along with Mr. Jimmy Gil of GMA News, they taught me the importance of looking into the “human-ness” of the people in the news. Mr. Gil also told me while discussing the dangers of coverages that the most important story in the world is “your life that is why as a journalist, think also of your safety because if you die, who would tell the story you have covered?” Later on as a priest, I realized it so true! As a priest, there is that certain distance we must keep with the people but always that closeness to get their story. Fr. Henri Nouwen wrote in one of his books, “what is most personal is most universal.”
Worth mentioning also is our former SVP for Operations in GMA but a newsman through and through, Mr. Tony Seva. He summoned me to his office one afternoon to bring clippings of the write ups of an actress of our soap drama who had died. At his office, he asked me to take down some notes but somebody had earlier borrowed my pen in the newsroom! He told me I could leave my dick at home but never walk without a pen! That is why I always have pen in my pocket long after I have left the news! Like our Latin teacher in the seminary, Mr. Seva taught me to never open my mouth unless I am sure of what I am saying. That’s precision.
There are so many other men and women with names and without names who have taught me so well and most of all, I am sure without them knowing, have led me to see Jesus to become a priest. I used to tell my students that friends are gifts from God; therefore, true friends lead us back to God too!
Did I say women? Of course! I must confess, it took me so long to decide to leave the news and enter the seminary to become a priest because of women. I was so afraid, until now, I might not be faithful to Jesus because, yun nga! Madali ako ma-attract at ma-in-love!
Will tell you my “love story” in my next blog, of how women have led me to Jesus. Maybe, I should write a song similar to Yvonne Elliman’s song in Jesus Christ Superstar to be called “I Don’t Know How to Love Her”.
Thank you for your prayers on my 25th year in the priesthood. God bless you all!
Photo by Mr. Jong Arcano with Ms. Tina Monzon-Palma before the Mass.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 17 April 2023
Photo by author, 08 February 2023, Taal Vista Hotel, Tagaytay City.
We all know
that feeling happening
more often lately
a foreboding of senility?
when we go like crazy
why can't we see suddenly
some things we have
held or kept momentarily
until we sound the alarm
and call everyone
to join in the search
but still nowhere to be found.
It could be the key
or the glasses or the phone
that in exasperation
we say begone
only to make us
forlorn figures
in our own home
or tiny room
but sometimes too soon
other times would take
too long, our lost
things are suddenly found!
Is it part of the riddle of that black hole they call when missing things suddenly appear without being sought much less thought? But here is the thrill: when things even persons are missing, are we not the ones who are lost and waiting to be found?
More than the
naked shouts of eureka
is our profound joy
when missing things
even persons suddenly
appear because the truth
is, we were the ones lost
and could not be found
in our cluttered minds
and hearts shut and closed
by our fears and doubts,
anxieties and insecurities.
In this life
far wider than the world
where planes still go missing
amid modern technologies
and endless searching,
could it be that we are
missing our bearings
as beings, forgetting
God and others when we are
lost to our own beliefs or
locked in our small world
of lies and prejudice?
To find those missing
persons or things dear to us
it might help if we first lose
whatever is holding us
for the world is so wide
for anyone or anything
to just disappear
they surely must be here
awaiting for our hearts
to be clear until we hear
that sweet voice
giving us peace within.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
lordmychef.com 