Category: relationships

“Maintain safe braking distance”

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, 03 July 2022
Isaiah 66:10-14 ><}}}*> Galatians 6:14-18 ><}}}*> Luke 10:1-12, 17-20
Photo by d0n mil0 on Pexels.com

One of the most repeated messages you see upon entering North Luzon Expressway in its electronic billboards is the call to “maintain safe braking distance” that, unfortunately, many do not observe, causing accidents daily that result into monstrous jams at the super highway.

That warning to “maintain safe braking distance” is what Jesus Christ is also telling us today in the gospel after the 72 disciples he had sent returned to him, rejoicing at their successes that even demons were subject to them because of the Lord’s name.

Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power to ‘tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon the full force of the nemey and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

Luke 10:18-20
From Facebook, April 2021: “There is an urgency to announce the Joy, the joy of the Risen Lord!”

Resolutely determined in the name of Jesus

We have seen last Sunday how Jesus was “resolutely determined” to go to Jerusalem, asking us with the same resolve in following him, imitating him, and doing his work for the people; but, being resolutely determined like him is not about powers but union with the Father.

The “harvest is always abundant” – there are so many things to be done but the most important thing of all is our oneness with God in Jesus Christ. What matters most in discipleship is not the accomplishments we have but relationships we keep with God and one another. St. Mother Teresa said it so well, “We are called to be faithful, not successful.”

That is why Jesus asked us to pray for more laborers, not budget nor gadgets nor things but persons to work in the abundant harvest that refers to the kingdom of God; hence, the Lord’s reminder to “do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” To have our names written in heaven is to be one with God because heaven is about relationship with God, an intimacy with God. Hell is separation from God.

Hence, a disciple can only share and give peace to others when the disciple himself/herself is in good relationships with one’s self, with others and with God.

Photo by Fr. Pop dela Cruz in San Miguel, Bulacan, 15 June 2022.

Peace happens when there is the gift of presence with self, others, and God, implying a loving relationship. This is the very essence of the second reading from Paul’s letter to the Galatians wherein the apostle explained the meaning of being justified in Christ through his Cross: we are saved, our names are written in heaven not by our own doing but by the Lord’s self-giving. Our task is to nurture and deepen these relationships effected by Jesus in his coming to us, in making us one again in the Father. It is very interesting how Paul ended his letter to the Galatians by using his standard greeting in letters:

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your sprit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

Galatians 6:18

Experts say that Paul could have employed a secretary in writing this letter who altered his style by placing his usual salutations to the ending. On the other hand, other experts believe there is a hidden meaning in the construction of the conclusion, that if we let the grace of Jesus in our relationships, the more we regard each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.

When Jesus decided to resolutely determined to go to Jerusalem, his focus was not the place but the people, always stopping to interact with everyone by teaching them, healing the sick and blessing the children.

Photo by author, 19 April 2022, Pangasinan.

As we mature in life, we realize and imitate Jesus in this journey by seeing it more as a direction than a destination. We have experienced how our journey and trips have become more fulfilling and enriching from the more fun and adventure we discover in our many stops and detours than going straight to our destinations. Life is more of seeking directions than fixation on a destination to be reached that becomes very rigid and bereft of meaning and sense that can be found only among fellow human beings, not things.

In the first reading, we find a hint of this direction than destination with the prophecy by Isaiah of the coming home of the exiles to Jerusalem. There is always the joy of coming home but, we cannot all go at the same time, the tension of already here but not yet of heaven. There is always the need of keeping and nurturing our relationships and presence, peace and oneness with one another in Jesus Christ amid the abundant harvest of heaven for us all.

Going back to our analogy of the NLEX reminder of maintaining a safe braking distance, entering the super highway assures us of many directions to take in our journey to Jesus, journey with Jesus. But we have to be alert and careful in our driving, be mindful of others using the roads. We need to be alert and careful in driving to avoid causing accidents and mishaps that could misdirect us to the hospital or, worst, six feet below ground!

In the same manner, we are already in the harvest time, in this time of Christ’s presence and oneness with the Father and with everyone of us. This Sunday, Jesus reminds us to maintain safe braking distance in our many pursuits and attention in our abundant harvests that in the process we have forgotten those dearest to us, those we love and who love us truly. Amen.

Have a blessed week ahead!

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

The other half of the sky

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 06 June 2022
Photo by author, Silang, Cavite, August 2020

While reflecting last night John’s gospel for today’s memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, the song “Woman” by another John – John Lennon – kept playing at the back of my mind as I prayed over the words of Jesus calling Mary her mother as “woman” (Jn.19:26).

It is the second time, and final one in the fourth gospel that Mary the mother of Jesus was at a scene with her Son; the other instance they were together in a scene in John’s gospel was at the wedding feast at Cana where Jesus did his first miracle by converting water into wine. In both events, John tells us Jesus addressed Mary as “woman” (Jn.2:4, 19:26).

In 1980, Lennon composed “Woman” as a tribute to his wife Yoko Ono. In that lovely song, we find two instances of how John, like the beloved disciple used the word “woman” very positively. First we hear Lennon quickly declaring right after the first few notes of the song, “For the other half of the sky” to refer to women; and secondly, by starting each verse of this song with the word “woman” which he never used in the chorus that is just “ooh-ooh, well-well”.

For the other half of the sky
Woman
I can hardly express
My mixed emotions at my thoughtlessness
After all, I’m forever in your debt
And woman
I will try to express
My inner feelings and thankfulness
For showing me the meaning of success
Ooh-ooh, well-well
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
Ooh-ooh, well-well
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
Woman
I know you understand
The little child inside the man
Please remember, my life is in your hands
And woman
Hold me close to your heart
However distant, don’t keep us apart
After all, it is written in the stars
Ooh-ooh, well-well
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
Ooh-ooh, well-well
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
Woman
Please let me explain
I never meant to cause you sorrow or pain
So let me tell you again and again and again
I love you, yeah-yeah
Now and forever
I love you, yeah-yeah
Now and forever
I love you, yeah-yeah
Now and forever
I love you, yeah-yeah
Now and forever
Photo by Ms. Jo Villafuerte in Atok, Benguet, February 2022.

How true were the confessions by Lennon, of our “thoughtlessness” and “childishness” in dealing with women, hurting them physically and emotionally without realizing how “indebted” we are to them in bringing us forth into this world, in nurturing us.

So true his words too that no matter how far we turn away from women, we cannot deny the fact we are always close with them, we long for them because we are meant for each other as “written in the stars”.

And most true which I like most is Lennon’s claim that women are “the other half of the sky”.

What a shame when we men think of the world as “us” and ours alone, as if the earth revolves around us, that we are not only the center of the universe but also the universe itself! No wonder we are always lost and at a loss in life.

Women as the other half of the sky tells us how we men and women complete the whole picture of reality, of how we need the feminine side and feminine touch to have a fuller grasp of life, its meaning, and its many mysteries.

This image of the woman as “the other half of the sky” I find so perfectly true with our Blessed Virgin Mary too, most especially when she stood at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ on Good Friday.

When John the beloved disciple chose to use the word “woman” for Mary as addressed by Jesus, it was the most wonderful effort to recognize the dignity and honor of women in the world especially at the very crucial moment of dying and separation of loved ones:

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple 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

It is a scene happening daily in our lives as individuals and disciples of Christ, of how Mary addressed as “woman” signifying the Church as the Body of Christ to which we belong and we must care for always; and, as Christians, at how we disciples must obey Christ’s commandment to love one another by respecting and accepting every woman.

Photo by author, 2018.

Both man and woman were created in the image and likeness of God, with equal dignity though different in order to complement each other in coping with life’s many challenges and trials.

See how at creation God entrusted woman to man to love and care for her, to protect her which Jesus repeated to the beloved disciple before he died on the Cross. In the Hebrew language, the word for woman and wife is “ishsha” which is a play from the word for man which is “ish”. Woman came from man, woman is a part of man. Without her, he is not complete and neither shall she also be complete without man. That is why, all these talks about the battle of sexes are all insanity for we are all created to love and care for each other!

The bible tells us many instances of negative views about women along with children that they were not even counted in the feeding of five-thousand by Jesus in the wilderness. Women were never considered as reliable witnesses that is why Jesus himself corrected this by appearing first to Mary Magdalene in the gospels. Women were never seen as holy too that is why the story of Visitation of Elizabeth by Mary was a most unique scene in the whole bible of two women together so blessed by God.

As we resume the Ordinary Time in our Church calendar this Monday with a memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, let us be more conscious from now on of the dignity of women, of finding Jesus in them by making constant efforts to change the persistent wrong impressions and ideas about women since time immemorial. Whenever you look up the sky, think of those other half of you staring at the heavens, then thank God for the women he had sent you to experience his loving presence especially in these trying times. Amen.

*We have no intentions of infringing into the copyrights of this music and its uploader except to share its beauty and listening pleasure.

Pag-ibig sa paglisan

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-03 ng Hunyo, 2022
Larawan kuha ng may-akda sa Bolinao, Pangasinan, ika-20 ng Abril 2022.

Habang tayo ay nagbulay-bulay sa pagpapala at biyaya ng bawat paglisan noong kamakalawang araw, noon din naman nag-trending sa social media ang hiwalayan ng mag-asawang Jason Hernandez at Moira dela Torre, dalawang sikat daw na mga mang-aawit na ni hindi ko alam ni kilala.

Sumabay din naman kinagabihan ding iyon ang desisyon ng korte pagkaraan ng anim na linggong hearing na sinubaybayan ng marami sa social media (ako po hindi) ang demandahan ng mas sikat na mga taga-Hollywood at dating mag-asawa na Johnny Depp at Amber Heard. Magandang pagkakataon ang dalawang naturang balitang showbiz upang suriin nating mabuti ating mga ugnayan o relationships at tingnan nasaan na nga ba ang pag-ibig sa isa’t isa.

Gaya ng ating napag-nilayan noong Miyerkules, ang bawat paglisan ay biyaya at pagpapala sa kapwa umaalis at naiiwan kapag ang pagpapasiyang lumisan ay napagnilayan at napagdasalang mabuti.

At higit na lumalalim ang ugnayan ng isa’t-isa at pag-ibig sa bawat paglisan kapag ito ay humahantong sa wakas ng buhay at kamatayan.

Kaya ang aking tanong na bunsod ng awit ni Bb. Cookie Chua noong dekada 90, sa bawat paglisan, sino nga ba ang may higit na pag-ibig, ang umaalis o naiiwan?

Larawan kuha ni Bb. Jing Rey Henderson sa Taroytoy, Aklan noong ika-30 ng Abril, 2022.

Palagi ko sinasabi sa bawat kinakasal ko na hindi paligsahan ang pag-ibig. Sino mang mayroong higit na pag-ibig, siyang dapat magmahal nang magmahal, umunawa at magpatawad, unang kumibo at bumati sakaling sila ay may di-pagkakasundo o tampuhan.

Hindi rin paligsahan sa pag-ibig ang aking nais mabatid sa aking naturang tanong kungdi ito’y sumagitsit sa aking puso at isip noong ilibing ng Martes kapatid ng yumao kong kaibigan.

Unang pumanaw noong Enero si Ate Priscilla sa sakit na kanser. Simple at tahimik na nakaibigan ko siya sa dati kong parokya na pinaglingkuran. Apat silang magkakapatid na mga dalaga na iniukol ang mga sarili sa mga pamangkin at simbahan. Nitong pagpasok ng 2022, nagkasakit si Ate Illa at ako pa ang nagkumbinsi sa kanyang pumasok na sa pagamutan kasi, ayaw niyang mahirapan sa pag-aalaga sa kanya at sa gastusin ang mga kapatid.

Kuha namin noong Enero 01, 2022 nang dumalaw sa akin si Ate Illa at mga kapatid. Hindi kasama si Ditseng Baby.

Ngunit huli na pala ang lahat.

Biglang lumala kanyang kalagayan at binawian ng buhay pagkaraan ng dalawang araw sa ospital. Noong kanyang lamay, palaging sinasabi ng nakababata niyang kapatid, si Ditseng Baby, na siya man ay ayaw nang pahirapan mga kapatid niya sa kanyang pagkakasakit din ng kanser. Halos magkasunod silang nagkaroon ng kanser bago mag-COVID pandemic. Hindi nga nagtagal, noong ika-27 ng Mayo, biglang inatake sa bahay si Ditseng Baby at pumanaw.

Kaya ako ay bumalik sa kanilang tahanan at simbahan upang siya naman ang Misahan at ihatid sa huling hantungan kamakailan.

Isa na namang paglisan na biglaan ngunit napaghandaan ng mga pumanaw.

Hindi naman natakot ang magkapatid na Ate Illa at Ditseng Baby sa buhay at kamatayan; katunayan sa aking pananaw, buong tapang nilang hinarap lalo ang kamatayan. Mas mahirap sa may katawan siguro ang maramdaman na ikaw ay papanaw at buong tapang itong tanggapin at sabihin.

Larawan kuha ni Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 2021.

Biyaya pa rin ng Diyos ang magkaroon ng gayong lakas ng loob sa gitna ng panghihina ng katawan. At ang pangunahing biyaya na binubuhos ng Diyos sa isang lumilisan ay pag-ibig, lalo na kung ito ay hahantong sa kamatayan. Pag-ibig ang dahilan kaya ayaw na nilang mahirapan pa mga kapatid nila sa pag-aalaga at gastusin kahit mayroon silang kakayahang magpagamot. Pag-ibig hanggang sa huling sandali ang kanilang handog at ibinahagi sa lahat.

Kaya nga kapag mayroong isang taong lumilisan – pansamantala man tulad ng pangingibang- bayan o panghabang-buhay tulad ng mga naghahabilin sa banig ng karadaman – higit ang kanilang pag-ibig na binibigay sa mga naiiwan o nauulila.

Mas marami silang pabaon na pag-ibig sa mga naiiwan kung titingnan.

"Kung ang buhay ay isang umagang nakangiti
At ikaw ay ang lupang sinusuyo ng bituin
Di mo man silip ang langit
Di mo man silip, ito'y nandirito pa rin

Kung ang lahat ay may katapusan
Itong paglalakbay ay makakarating din sa paroroonan
At sa iyong paglisan, ang tanging pabaon ko
Ay pag-ibig"
- Bb. Cookie Chua ng Color It Red, "Paglisan"
Larawan kuha ng may-akda sa Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 2016.

Sino man ang magpasyang lumisan batay sa maka-Diyos na pamantayan at konsiderasyon, nakatitiyak ako siya ang mayroong higit na pag-ibig dahil handa siyang iwanan ang lahat para sa mga minamahal.

Pang-apat sa walong pagpapala o beatitudes na ipinahayag ni Hesus sa kanyang sermon sa bundok ay mayroong kinalaman sa paglisan:

“Pinagpala ang mga nagdadalamhati, sapagkat aaliwin sila ng Diyos.”

Mateo 5:4

Kapag mayroon umaalis, tayo ay nagdadalamhati, lumuluha kasi masakit ang maiwan, pansamantala man o pangmagpakailanman.

Nasaan ang pagpapalang sinasabi ni Hesus kung tayo ay lumuluha, nagdadalamhati dahil naiwan ng isang lumisan o pumanaw?

Naroon sa pag-ibig!

Pinagpala ang mga nagdadalamahati kasi mayroon silang pagmamahal, sila’y nagmamahal kaya lumuluha sa lumisan na kamag-anak o kaibigan; subalit, higit ang kanilang pagpapala dahil sila ay minahal ng lumisan!

Higit pa rin ang pag-ibig ng lumilisan kung tutuusin.

Kaya tayong naiiwan ay umiiyak, nasasaktan.

Subalit, lahat ng kalungkutan ating mararanasan sa paglisan ay pagbabadya ng higit na tuwa at kagalakan. Wika din ni Hesus sa kanyang mga alagad noong Huling Hapunan nila na mas mabuti na siya ay lumisan upang sa gayon ay maisugo niya ang Patnubay o Espiritu Santo (Jn. 16:7).

Gaya ng ating napagnilayan noong Miyerkules, ito yung ikalawang mahalagang bagay dapat nating pakaisipin sa pagpapasya kung tayo ay mananatili o lilisan: ang ating kaganapan at paglago ng katauhan (https://lordmychef.com/2022/06/01/pagpapala-sa-paglisan/).

Muli, ating makikita ang higit na pag-ibig na bigay pa rin ng lumilisan dahil sa bawat pag-alis, naroon din ang pagkakataong lumago ang katauhan ng naiiwan gaya ng lumilisan.

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

Ganyan ang paraan paanong lumago ating pananampalatayang Kristiyano dahil sa paglisan ni Hesus, lalong nag-ibayo sa pagmamahal at pagsusumakit ang kanyang mga naiwan sa pagpapahayag sa salita at gawa ng ipinadama niyang pag-ibig para sa ating kaligtasang lahat.

Dahil sa pag-ibig na iyan ni Hesus, naging pagpapala ang bawat paglisan dahil hindi na lamang ito pagtungo sa isang dakong malayo kungdi pagpasok sa panibagong antas ng ugnayan. Wika nga ng mga kabataan, level up ang ating mga relationships.

Sa bawat paglisan, hindi tayo nababawasan o nawawalan kapag pag-ibig ang dahilan nito.

Kaya sana, ngayon pa lamang atin nang pakaingatan at pahalagahan bawat isa upang bawat paglisan ay maging makabuluhan. Nawa sa ating paglisan, bantayan at pagpalain tayo ng Diyos palagi. Mizpah (Gen.31:49)!

TikTok ngayon, Tiktik Magasin noon?

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-25 ng Mayo 2022
Larawan mula sa gettyimages.com at bbc.com.
Huwag sanang masamain
aking pagkagambala
pagkahumaling sa app 
na kung tawagin ay TikTok;
batid ko ang maraming kabutihan
dulot nito sa pakikipagtalastasan
at ugnayan ngunit bakit tila
nauungusan ng mga kahalayan
at kabastusan makabagong laruan?
Nakakaaliw mga katatawanan
at kalokohang napapanood
ngunit nakakabagabag mga
kalaswaan nilalarawan at
napapakinggang usapang
natutungahayan sa munting screen
buong kamalayan ang winawasak,
murang isipan nalilinlang
habang oras at panahon nasasayang.
Hindi sa pagmamarunong
ibig ko ring itanong,
"kailangan pa bang picturan"
maski sa lansangan, dalampasigan 
at may pampang mga pasiklaban
sa pag-giling ng katawan at
suot-suot ay kakapiranggot?
"Kailangan pa bang picturan"
ipangalandakan kagandahan ng katawan?
Kung ating babalikan
sariling kapanahunan 
dekada ochenta mayroong
lathalain kung tawagin Tiktik Magasin, 
mga kuwento at dibuho pulos 
seksuwal at kabastusan 
pinararaan sa panitikan 
bilang pagsasalang-alang 
sa karamihang tao na maselan.
Ang kahalayan saan mang
paraan ipahayag ay masagwa
at masama pa rin; ngunit may
higit na banta sa lahat, lalo samga bata  
nababantad sa mahahalay na 
panoorin lalo na sa TikTok at Youtube:
mga mura nilang kaisipan at kamalayan 
nasisira at nalalason na tila ang buhay
ay puro palabas na lamang.
Kaya sana ay pagnilayan
makabagong teknolohiya 
sa pakikipagtalastasan 
ay biyaya ng Diyos upang
mga tao ay mapaglapit at
mabuklod sa kanilang ugnayan,
mapalawak ang kanyang kamalayan
sa kagandahan nitong buhay at 
sariling dangal bilang kalarawan ng Maykapal!
Larawan mula sa pinterest.com.

“Sanaol”

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in Third Week of Easter, 04 May 2022
Acts 8:1-8   ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[><   John 6:35-40
Photo by author, ICSB in Malolos City, Summer 2021.
"Sanaol" - a wish and a prayer
that all may be blessed, 
that like the flowers of summer,
everyone may bloom in the Lord.
"Sanaol" was the good news
after that Pentecost when
Jesus Christ's good news of
salvation was proclaimed to all;
despite the persecutions that
began in Jerusalem and "all were
scattered throughout Judea and
Samaria, except the Apostles, 
there were great joy in that
city" (Acts 8:1, 8) because 
everyone was blessed, 
everyone was welcomed,
everyone was accepted.
"Sanaol", Lord Jesus,
would accept you in the 
Eucharist and eventually in
the person of everyone we meet;
it is you, dear Jesus, who brings
joy and fulfillment in everyone
of us whenever we receive and
welcome you in the Eucharist
and in every person we meet.

Jesus said to the crowds, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe.

John 6:35-36
What has happened to us,
Lord Jesus?
We have turned away from you 
and from each other, choosing to
believe in thoughts and ideas,
in personalities, and all the 
fancies around them from colors
to cults that have brought us 
divisions and even persecutions.

Let us seek you again, dear Jesus,
and listen more to your voice
than to all the noises barraging us
especially at this crucial time
of the elections.
"Sanaol" will listen to you again,
and find you anew in everyone. 
Amen.

He touches me

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 26 April 2022
From Google.

The word “touch” is a very touching one, connoting so many meanings while at the same time gives us a “feel” of what it really is. Its literal and figurative senses always go together with the most touching reaching deep down inside us that are also the gentlest and simplest.

We are touched by words and gestures, by sights and sounds, and literally speaking, we are touched most when touched by another person. Experts claim that a five second touch is equivalent to about 300 words of encouragement so that for us to be emotionally well, we need at least three hugs a day.

Photo by author, Mirador Jesuit Villa and Retreat House, Baguio City, January 2019.

Reflecting on the very few stories of the Easter appearances by Jesus to his disciples, we find how the gospel writers did not need to write so much details to convince us that the Lord had risen for it is not the number nor length of his appearances that matter but its inexpressible intensity. Especially in the fourth gospel, we notice – and we are touched, too like the disciples – the deep intensity of Christ’s appearances that resulted only in silence and adoration among them.

And that is one very true characteristic of Jesus – he touches us. Always. Even if we can not touch him nor see him. There is always that joy of Easter bursting forth within us in moments of prayers, of intimate conversations with loved ones and friends, or upon seeing a beautiful sight or experiencing nature.

It is Jesus Christ who touches us most that is why we believe in him even if we cannot explain how it all happened. It has always been like that since he rose from the dead. In fact, I doubt Thomas really touched Jesus when they met on the eighth day because he was so “touched” upon seeing the Risen Lord that he said, “My Lord and my God”, the most intense expression of faith in the bible!

See that nothing is said if Thomas indeed touched the wounds of Jesus for he was caught up in the experience and sight of the Risen Lord.

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

John 20:27-28
“The Incredulity of Saint Thomas”, a painting by Caravaggio from commons.wikimedia.org.

Like Thomas, Jesus touches us in the most personal and unique manner that deep inside us we also cry with intensity “my Lord and my God” to him. Though we can enumerate many reasons and persons who have led us into believing in Jesus, we also admit at the same time that there is no specifically single reason nor person for our faith in God except our very selves, of our personal conviction that transcends all proofs and logic because, we were so touched.

The gospels teem with so many stories of Jesus touching especially the sick when healing them and surprisingly, as we reflect on these stories, we too are touched, even by the Lord. And our perspectives and lives eventually change because we have experienced Jesus.

The same is very true with the many people we have known and met, the few perhaps we have befriended and loved: so many things in our lives have turned for the best simply because we were touched, literally and figuratively speaking.

When I was still teaching in our all-girls’ school in Malolos City, I used to remind my students in high school to never be fooled by a man’s looks and “porma”, to always look for a man who really loves you, respects you, and touches you as a person, as a woman. And they would always ask me how can they determine that? My usual response was they would “feel” that because a man or any person with integrity would always “touch” you.

Then I would play to them Lisa Stansfield’s 2004 He Touches Me:

He don’t bring me anything but love
He don’t bring me anything but love
If you offered me the stars I would decline
I don’t need ’em I got mine
I don’t know where to start
But I know what’s in my heart
So keep your silver and your gold 
’cause I got my man to have and hold

As our lives gradually return to some semblance of normalcy following the decrease in cases of COVID-19, it would be nice that we try to remember and recall those many experiences we have had since the start of the pandemic in 2020, the people who touched us.

One beautiful lesson this pandemic had taught us is that even if we practice social distancing, we can still be emotionally close with one another in so many ways and means. And even if we still have to maintain that social distance as minimum health protocol in this pandemic, there are so many occasions for us to touch one another to express our love and concern, our gratitude and apologies to any one who have touched us.

From QuotesGram.com.

It is about time that we touch base with them again, and this time, let us get in touch with one another in the most meaningful and loving way, with intensity, so that no matter what happens next, we may have that deep sense of joy and fulfillment of being truly human, of having experienced “the warmth of a loving face” as Camus expressed in The Plague.

Everyone is drained and exhausted by COVID-19, with many still out of touch following their many losses during the pandemic – loved ones, career, studies, goals and plans in life that were disrupted, permanently or temporarily.

Let us help each other to regain composure and directions in life by being kind with everyone. Most of all, let us touch one another with our simplest gestures of a smile or a wave of hand that here is another person – also struggling, also trying to pick up the pieces of life, moving on to start anew. Many times, the simplest things have the most lasting impact on us because they are also the most touching. And that is because, with our kindness, that is also when people feel being touched and loved by God most.

I hope you were touched… a blessed day ahead of you!

Photo by author, Puerto del Sol, Bolinao, Pangasinan, 19 April 2022.

Lent is keeping our ties in God

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Fifth Week of Lent, 07 April 2022
Genesis 17:3-9   <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*>   John 8:51-59
Photo by author, sunrise at the Lake of Galilee, Israel, 2017.
God our Father, 
on this blessed Thursday
as we come nearer to the closing
of Lent, we rejoice in that beautiful
truth about you proclaimed in our
responsorial psalm today, "The Lord 
remembers his covenant forever."

How lovely it is to recall that story
of how you called Abraham, not only 
in making a promise with him 
to be the father of all nations but 
in entering a covenant with him to
be our God forever with us your 
people; in doing so, you changed his
name from Abram to Abraham 
to show us that every relationship
is built in calling with names not with
shaking of hands nor with other signs
and gestures we are used to.
So many times we forget how 
all our relationships are based and 
rooted in you our Father because 
without you, all our ties as family
and friends will never last, will never
have meaning for we are all fragile 
and weak, very erratic and so
moody unlike you, always faithful
and true.
Remove the blindness that prevents us
from finding you in every person we meet
like the Pharisees debating with Jesus 
at the temple area, refusing to believe him
that "before Abraham came to be, I AM" 
(Jn.8:58); enable us to grow and mature
amidst the many tensions and frictions 
we experience in our relationships with 
you and others for it is in pains and
sufferings our love and fidelity are
purified and harnessed, just like when 
"Jesus hid and went out of the temple
area" (Jn.8:59) when his enemies tried
to stone him as they could not accept
him and his words.  Amen.

Lent is restoring our relationships

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Third Week of Lent, 22 March 2022
Daniel 3:25, 34-43   <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]*>   Matthew 18:21-35
Image from wallpaperuse.com.
Like your servant Azariah,
I praise and thank you today,
dear God our loving Father,
for delivering us always from many
dangers and trials, enabling us 
to make it through many fires -
still whole, still sane, still blessed.
Yes, like Azariah and his fellow Jews
exiled in Babylon at that time, we have
turned away from you with our many
sins and transgressions:

But with contrite heart and humble spirit let us be received; as though it were burnt offerings of rams and bullocks, or thousands of fat lambs, so let our sacrifice be in your presence today as we follow you unreservedly; for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame. And now we follow you with our whole heart, we fear you you and we pray to you. Do not let us be put to shame, but deal with us in your kindness and great mercy.

Daniel 3:39-42
It is not enough, O God, 
that we be sorry for our sins;
like in the parable and the very
example of your Son Jesus Christ
our Lord, penance and contrition are 
meant to fix and restore our many
broken relationships with you and with
one another, especially those dearest
to us, those closest to us we have hurt or
have hurt us with words and/or deeds.
Like you dear Father,
may we realize that forgiveness is
more than deletion of sins but
most of all, about reconciliation, 
of being one again as brothers and
sisters in Christ.  Amen.

Praying for someone with “anything against us”

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the First Week of Lent, 11 March 2022
Ezekiel 18:21-28   <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'>   Matthew 5:20-26
Photo by author, Chapel of the Holy Family, Sacred Heart Novitiate, 2017.
You, O God,
are indeed so good and loving!  
How true is our Responsorial Psalm 
as we close Lent’s first week, 
“If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, 
who can stand?” because nothing 
can be hidden from you; 
yet, so many times you pretend like 
a dumb - “nagtatanga- tangahan" po kayo - 
as if not knowing our sins and evil 
just because you love us like when 
Jesus said in the gospel, 
“if you bring your gift to the altar, 
and there recall that your brother 
has anything against you, 
leave your gift there at the altar, 
go first and be reconciled with your brother, 
and then come and offer your gift (Mt.5:23-24).”
When does 
a “brother has anything against us?”, Lord?
If you mean, dear Jesus,
that a brother/sister has something 
against us because of his/her wrongdoing, 
then we could never be able 
to offer anything at all to you
because we all have something 
against each other!  
But here, it is very clear, 
“a brother has anything against you” 
because we have done something wrong 
against somebody; the burden is on us 
that is why we are obliged, 
even ought to be 
“reconciled with him first then offer our gift” 
because we’re the guilty one.  
Forgive us, Jesus,
for always pretending to be 
the offended or aggrieved ones
when in fact, we are the offender,
the sinner who had done wrong 
to another that is why he/she
has anything against us".
We pray for those who have something
against us because of our own making,
of our own provocations; let us be real
with you, O God, to change our ways
beginning this Lent as you assure us
through Prophet Ezekiel, 
“When someone virtuous 
turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, 
and dies, it is because of the iniquity 
he committed that he must die.  
But if the wicked, turning from wickedness 
he has committed, does what is right and just, 
he shall preserve his life; 
since he has turned away from all the sins 
that he committed, he shall surely live, 
he shall not die (18:26-28).”
Amen.

Praying is a relationship

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the First Week of Lent, 10 March 2022
Esther C12, 14-16, 23-25  <*(((>< + ><)))*>  Matthew 7:7-12
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 2017.
In this season of Lent,
help us rediscover you, God
as our Father, one who truly 
relates with us your beloved
children; and as we rediscover
you God as our Father, may we
begin to realize more deeply that 
prayer is not about for asking 
never ending petitions from you
but an expression of our relationship
with you in Jesus Christ.
Forgive us, dear God,
when we pray only because
we need something from you;
may we absorb deeply the 
beautiful attitude of Queen Esther
to you on that grave situation when
she prayed to you, expressing her
total abandonment to you,
speaking more of her relationship
with you nurtured by her forefathers
through the Sacred Scriptures:

Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish, had recourse to the Lord. She lay prostrate upon the ground… and said: God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, blessed are you. Help me, who am alone and have no help but you, for I am taking my life in my hand. As a child I used to hear from the books of my forefathers that you, O Lord, always free those who are pleasing to you. Now help me, who am alone and have no one but you, O Lord, my God.

Esther 12, 14-16, 23
Create a clean heart in me,
God; give me that sense of
belonging to you, that experience
of personal relationship that
you are the very one whom I ask for
and seek first above all.  Amen.