Jesus in the gospel today makes his first prediction of his coming pasch or Passion, Death and Resurrection but it was such a terrible “bad news” for Peter that he
… took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
Matthew 16:22-23
With Jesus, there is no such thing as “good news, bad news” because all is good news with him. The good news/bad news question is really a non-question to disciples of Christ because whatever suffering we go through and embrace in him is a sharing in his very life. The key is to think as God does, not as a human beings do as Jesus told Peter (https://lordmychef.com/2020/08/29/when-good-news-bad-news-do-not-matter-at-all/).
And that means avoiding being so vain.
That is why we have Carly Simon singing to us this Sunday her 1972 classic “You’re so Vain” that have left our generation guessing who was she referring to in this superb music and poetry. (Personally, I think there is something “genetic” about this guessing game on whomever Ms. Simon was referring to: it was a non-issue among us males even when I have gone working in a radio station for six years. It has been the women who have kept on raising the issue on who could be that man so vain Ms. Simon was narrating in her number one song. And even if Ms. Simon had already identified him as Warren Beatty 40 years after, I still do not care because the song is so good, filled with gospel values too.)
How many times in our being so vain have we refused to embrace pain and sufferings in life, preferring noise than silence, and popularity than hiddenness that are some of the ways of God taught us by Jesus Christ?
Oh, you had me several years ago When I was still quite naive When you said that we made such a pretty pair And that you would never leave But you gave away the things you loved And one of them was me I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee Clouds in my coffee, and
You’re so vain You probably think this song is about you You’re so vain (you’re so vain) I’ll bet you think this song is about you Don’t you? Don’t you? Don’t you?
About ten years ago, Al Pacino played the role of Satan in the movie “The Devil’s Advocate” where at the end after tempting the gullible small-town lawyer Keanu Reeves, he proclaimed “vanity… vanity is my most favorite sin.”
This Sunday, Jesus is telling us all is good news with him, no bad news and you can never lose in him. Just come to him with our true self, no matter how sinful and incomplete we are. A blessed week to everyone and happy listening!
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle, 24 August 2020
Revelation 21:9-14 >><}}}*> |+| >><}}}*> |+| >><}}}*> John 1:45-51
Photo by author, Subic, 2018.
Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus, the “Word who became flesh and dwelt among us” to reveal the Father’s immense love for us all. He was not contented in just telling the prophets of Old Testament how he loved us that He came and lived with us in you, Lord Jesus!
And that is why we also rejoice on this Feast of St. Bartholomew, a.k.a. Nathanael, who was introduced to you by another Apostle you have called earlier:
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” But Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.” Nathanael said to him, “How did you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
John 1:45-49
O dear Jesus, like St. Peter in the gospel yesterday and now St. Bartholomew, you are telling us anew to never be contented with mere words, with the “what” of who you really are, that we must always “come and see you” in order to experience your very person and truly know you.
I really wonder O Lord what your words meant that before Philip called Nathanael-Batholomew, you have seen him under the fig tree; however, I am so convinced that in your words, Nathanael-Bartholomew must have felt something deep inside him that he threw himself totally to you as your Apostle.
Most of all, teach me to remain simple and hidden in you, Jesus that like St. Bartholomew, despite the scarcity of stories and information about him except this little anecdote from the fourth Gospel, he remained faithful to you until his death by flaying reportedly in India.
May we imitate St. Bartholomew who had shown us that more than words, what matters is our oneness in you, Jesus, without any need for us doing sensational deeds, earning thousands of “likes” and “followers” in social media because only you, Lord, remains extraordinary above all. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 23 August 2020
Photo by author, Gospel book (Evangelare), January 2020.
Jesus is asking us today in the gospel like his disciples at Caesarea Philippi, “who do you say that I am?” (Mt.16:15). As we have mentioned in our Sunday reflection, things we say of another person can come from two perspectives, the “what” and the “how”.
“What” we say of a person usually comes from common knowledge, the basics like name and address that sometimes not so reliable as we have not actually and personally known. But, to say of a person based on “how” we have known him/her is deeper because it comes from our personal relationship with some degree of intimacy (https://lordmychef.com/2020/08/22/it-is-not-what-we-say-who-jesus-is-but-how-we-say-who-he-is/).
To know another person is always to enter into a relationship that leads to a deeper friendship.
That is why for this Sunday we offer you this almost surreal, dream-like 1981 music by Gary Wright, “Really Wanna Know You” that spent 17 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100, reaching highest spot of #16.
Really Wanna Know You speaks of that spiritual thing we experience when we meet someone who seems so special, creating some sparks in us that leads us to something deeper than mere acquaintance. Notice how the sounds of electronic keyboards with the blending voices create that strange, beautiful, and out-of-ordinary feelings like attraction or simply being drawn to the other person.
I don't mind being lonely
But I do mind if not being loved
Maybe you're feeling the same way too
You're ready to hold some one
I really want to know you
I really want to show you the way I feel
I really want to know you
I really want to show you the way I feel
Something about you is telling me
We're coming from the very same place
It's only just a notion I have
(But) I see it written over your face
I really want to know you
I really want to show you the way I feel
I really want to know you
I really want to show you the way I feel
And the good news is that Jesus feels the same way to us, always the first to reach out to us because he feels something so special with each one of us.
Take that chance and meet Jesus in prayers, in the Scriptures, and in others who love and care for us.
After showing us some glimpses of the person of the Lord these past three weeks, St. Matthew now leads us into the middle of his gospel where Jesus takes a U-turn in his ministry by revealing himself to the Twelve as he heads back to Jerusalem to fulfill his mission.
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” Then he strictly ordered the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Matthew 16:13-17, 20
St. Matthew told us last Sunday how Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon where he had healed the daughter of a Canaanite woman tormented by a demon. From there, they headed north to Caesarea Philippi, a pagan major city at that time.
It was a perfect setting for our gospel this Sunday – just like our present milieu that challenges us not only to be identified as a Christian but also to make a stand for Jesus as his true disciple at a time when faith and morals are disregarded, economics takes precedence over spirituality.
Who do people say I am: “what” I know of Jesus
The two questions posed by Jesus to his disciples while at Caesarea Phillip – and to us today – may sound very similar and even simple but are actually distinctly different and even worlds apart from each other.
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, 2019.
His first question “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” is straightforward, seems to demand not much critical thinking and introspection. A plain question with a plain answer like the usual news we hear and read called “straight reporting” in journalism that tells us the essential “who, what, where, and when” of the story.
So many times, we face this question without even being asked at all!
Through our words and actions we reveal “who do you say the Son of Man is?” in how we pray, what we pray for, the things we post on social media, especially those electronic chain letters that if you say “Amen” you will get money. And so many other things when we try to show everyone we know Jesus without really thinking and reflecting well. No wonder, people get so many wrong impressions about who Jesus is: “some say he is John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah” or one of those prophets of wealth and health who make life easier!
Telling who Jesus Christ from “what” we know and believe can always be dangerous and misleading because it is all in our heads that could often be wrong. Telling who Jesus Christ from “what” we know and believe cannot be so reliable because it is always mechanical, by the book, not actual and most of all, not real.
It is always easy to speak highly of Jesus from “what” we know and believe like those many preachers with fire and brimstone or modern apostles, a.k.a. vloggers complete with their “shock” preaching and antics and gimmicks who end up more popular with thousands of followers and likes. And wealthy, too! Jesus Christ? Forgotten and stuck in Facebook, the bible, and tabernacle.
But who do you say I am: “how” I know Jesus
On the other hand, the Lord’s second question is direct and personal, probing our heart and soul, asking not just for answer from our lips but from our total self: “But who do you say that I am?”
See the words of the Lord after Simon had answered he is the Christ, the Son of the living God:
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.”
Matthew 16:17
More than a play of words, here we find a deeper dimension of saying who Jesus Christ is: not just telling the what but most of all, the how that reveals more than what we know in our minds but how we have experienced Jesus, of how we have been living in him!
Photo by author, house at Jaffa (Jopa), Israel where Peter met some gentiles according to Book of Acts, May 2017.
For us to say who is Jesus Christ is always a how because it is a story of our relationship with him, it is a how we have grown deeper, how we have journeyed in him and with him.
It is the ability to see beyond structures and persons, excesses and sins, faults and misgivings because despite shortcomings, it is how we see Jesus as the foundation of our lives and of our Church.
See the ways of other religious sects, their pastors and members who spend so much time bashing us Catholics, insisting on the what of Jesus and the bible, never the how they live.
No wonder, they can raise their hands in prayers and still clap their hands while the President in maligning us Catholic priests and bishops in their gatherings.
To speak of who is Jesus is more than to tell what we know about him but how we have known him, how we have been since knowing him!
Anyone who can say who Jesus is from his how is always blessed like Simon because our answer is always the fruit of our life in Christ. We all become like Simon, another Peter or Rock whose very life and existence rests on Jesus our Lord. Despite our weaknesses and sinfulness, we are still blessed and entrusted with the keys of heaven because we have allowed Jesus to be our foundation of life. There is a process, a history always. Hence, it is a telling of the how.
In the first reading, we find God dismissing the master of the palace named Shebna to be replaced by Eliakim due to his infidelity. That is the meaning of the whole prophecy by Isaiah, of how the Lord will someday entrust his people to a trustworthy steward, someone who does not only know what God is but one who has truly known and experienced God.
Saying who God is, always a revelation from him
It is interesting that in the Jewish thought, to know another person is not knowing the what but of having a relationship or some degree of intimacy. Again, it speaks of the how we have been saying.
St. Paul shows us in the most beautiful manner in his many writings this saying of who Jesus is with his how, his very personal experience of the Lord in his life that has continued and deepened until his death. See the beautiful hymn he had composed for our second reading today:
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11:33, 36
Like St. Peter, we find here St. Paul so blessed despite his sins and sinfulness, of how he had experienced Christ not just a name or a man like any what he had known in his mind.
No one can ever write such great poetry with profound thoughts without any deep relationship with God. Whatever we know of God is always a revelation from him, too. When we speak of who God is, it is always borne out of how we have been relating with him our Lord which is called “spirituality”; it is deeper than religiosity or being religious that is always at the level of the head and more of our ego than of the reality of God.
Sometimes, we do not even have to speak and say who Jesus Christ is.
We simply have to live out that relationship we have in him and people would know who Jesus is. No need for elaborate and spectacular showmanships we have in our many rites and rituals, even in our liturgies now so maligned with our triumphalism.
Lest we forget, Jesus saved the world by suffering and dying on the Cross, not with activities and debates which would be his topic next Sunday. God bless everyone!
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-21 ng Agosto 2020
Larawan kuha ni G. Jim Marpa, 2019.
Ngayong panahon ng COVID-19
sumagi sa akin mga turo ng dalawang pari
na napakalapit at mabuti sa akin:
Una ay si Padre Nanding
malimit sabihin sa akin
"Pinakamasarap makasama
tao na mayroong panlasa";
"iyong iba," aniya,
"pakanin mo ng buong baka,
hindi pa rin masaya!"
Ikalawang paring butihin
ay si Padre Johann
madalas ako paalalahanan
"Biyaya ng Diyos ang ganang kumain
dahil ibig sabihin
wala kang sakit na dapat intindihin
di tulad ng ibang hindi makakain."
Nakatutuwang isipin at malayin
kung paanong noong panahon natin
mga mumunting butil ng pagkain
pinahahalagahan upang huwag sayangin;
ngayon naman ating alalahanin
itong ating panlasa at ganang kumain
mga biyayang hindi napapansin;
magdildil ka man ng asin o
maalat man o maasim ulam na inihain
huwag nang punahin o laitin
sapagkat iyong nalalasap pa rin
ang pagkain at walang COVID-19!
Sa hapag ng pagkain
mga samahan at ugnayan natin
nabubuo, tumatatag at tumitibay
kaya sa ating buhay
masarap kasabay
sa paglalakbay
mayroong panlasa
at maganang kumain,
basta huwag lang sasairin
at uubusin ang sinaing
baka iba hindi na makakain
dahil ikaw pala ay sakim!
Ito naman ang habilin na galing sa akin:
basta nakaka-amoy ng masarap na lutuin
maski hindi sa iyo ang pagkain
matuwa ka na rin, wala ka pang COVID-19;
gayun din naman,
iyo nang kalimutan hindi man kagandahan
ilong na ngayon ay natatakpan
makaamoy man ng alimuong
makalanghap man ng masansang
at masamang hangin ay mabuti pa rin:
nakakahinga ka ng malalim
wala kang COVID-19!
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 16 August 2020
Our parish on a lazy afternoon before the pandemic in January 2020. Photo by Mr. Angelo Carpio.
Our Sunday gospel today is so touching at how great is the love of Jesus Christ for us who knows no boundaries when he “withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon” to heal the daughter of a Canaanite woman “tormented by a demon” (Mt.15:21, 28).
Two Sundays ago we heard how Jesus fed more than 5000 people who have followed him to a deserted place from just five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish; last week, he walked on water to rescue his disciples in a boat caught in a violent storm at the middle of the lake at night.
Very clear in all his actions is the immense love of Jesus Christ for everyone, doing everything in love and for love.
And that is why we have Rock n’ Roll’s dynamic duo, Daryl Hall and John Oates singing their eighth #1 hit released in 2003 “Do It For Love” from their sixteenth studio album of the same title.
I have always considered Hall and Oates as my topmost favorite musicians standing side by side with the equally great tandem of Walter Becker (+) and Donald Fagen of Steely Dan fame.
Smooth and sophisticated with their characteristic Phillysound, Hall and Oates’ Do It for Love tells of how a man would go to great lengths to express his love for his beloved.
I would fly ten thousand miles In the pouring rain Just to see your face
I’d bare my soul to a total stranger Just to say your name And I’m not ashamed Just to love you into every morning
I would change my name And run away I won’t do it for money I won’t do it for pride
I won’t do it to please somebody else If it don’t feel right But I’ll do it for you And at least I’ll try
I don’t need any other reason Than I feel it deep inside I’ll Do It For Love
I have used it so many times in counseling single and married men having problems with their girlfriend and wife; and so far, it seems to have always worked with most of them still together and happily married!
Try it yourself this Sunday… with a lot of prayers and honest-to-goodness soul searching, miracles may still happen!
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Week XX, Cycle A in Ordinary Time, 16 August 2020
Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 >><}}}*> Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 >><}}}*> Matthew 15:21-28
Twilight at our parish by Ms. Ria De Vera, 12 August 2020.
For the third Sunday in a row, Jesus reveals a very wonderful side of him who goes out of his way to meet us and comfort us in the most difficult situations and places we are into. It is something we need so much in these days of Moderate Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) seen right away in the opening of today’s gospel.
At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her.
Matthew 15:21-23
Jesus goes out of his way to meet everyone
Israel is a very small country but always leaves a big impact on everyone who goes on a pilgrimage there. There is that sense of awe in every sacred site that until now continues to “speak” and evoke among pilgrims the presence and holiness of God and his saints.
Like what we have mentioned last Sunday, the proxemics or the non verbal communication of the places Jesus have visited convey to us deeper meanings than just mere sites. And that is more true during the time of Christ like the setting of this Sunday’s gospel, the region of Tyre and Sidon.
Now part of Lebanon found south of its capital city Beirut that was devastated by powerful explosions two weeks ago, Tyre and Sidon were gentile or pagan cities during the time of Jesus with a considerable Jewish population.
His going there shows us his fidelity to his mission of “searching for the lost sheep of the house of Israel” that partly explains to us why he never bothered to give the slightest hint of recognition to the Canaanite woman who had sought his help for her daughter “tormented by a demon”.
Photo by author, the Holy Land, May 2019.
And despite the lack of any explanation again by St. Matthew on the attitude by Jesus “snubbing” the pagan woman, we can safely assume that Christ surely knew that by going to Tyre and Sidon, gentiles would seek his healing as news of his fame had spread beyond Galilee at that time.
Here we find the great love and concern of Jesus for everyone, specially the rejected and marginalized in the society.
His “withdrawing to the region of Tyre and Sidon” was in itself a revelation of his universal love, a love without borders reaching out to those lost and feeling alone in life, those rejected, those discriminated for their color and beliefs, status and gender, sickness and diseases like AIDS and lately, COVID-19!
Inclusive Jesus, exclusive human
At the beginning of chapter 11 of St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans from which our second reading is taken today, the great Apostle starts by asking “has God rejected his people?” St. Paul emphatically said “no”, explaining at length the plan of God in Jesus Christ to save all peoples not just the Jews, beautifully telling us,
For the gifts and the call of God are (permanent and) irrevocable.
Romans 11:29
St. Paul’s reflections on God being “inclusive” as against our being so “exclusive” in sending us Jesus Christ to bring us all together as one sheds us some light on that extraordinary incident in the region of Tyre and Sidon involving the Canaanite woman.
Again, I invite you my dear reader to reflect on the many layers of meaning found in this episode so special like the feeding of more than five thousand people the other Sunday and Jesus walking on water last week.
First, notice the silence of Jesus. Keep in mind when the Lord is silent, it does not mean he is out or does not care at all to our needs and pleas. When there is silence – specially a deafening one – the problem is never with God but with us people.
And, true enough! See how the disciples asked Jesus to “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us” (Mt.15:23) — exactly the way we deal sometimes with those begging our help and attention, seeing them as a nuisance to be sent away? What a shame!
From Google.
Now, we go to the climax of this episode with the woman coming to Jesus, “paying him homage” for the healing of her daughter tormented by a demon. It was a scene similar with St. John’s wedding at Cana where the Blessed Mother also approached Jesus with a request when wine ran out during the feast.
In both episodes we find Jesus being a snub – suplado, as we say.
Most of all, in both scenes we find the remarkable faith in Jesus by his Mother at Cana believing he can do something to spare the newly wed couple of embarrassment from running out of wine while this Canaanite woman felt so sure only Jesus can cure her daughter.
See how she addressed Jesus like his disciples with not just “Lord” but also with the title “Son of David” to indicate her faith in him as the Messiah.
And it did not stop there as she engaged Jesus into a dialogue — indicating intimacy and trust, depth and communion that we refer in Filipino as “matalik na ugnayan” or “matalik na usapan”.
Sometimes in life, Jesus seems to have that longing for some “lambing” from us that he tries to be “pakipot” or hard to get in order to be intimate with us. Please take these Filipino traits positively to get what I mean from this unique scene of Jesus and the Canaanite woman in Tyre and Sidon.
Jesus said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.
Matthew 15:26-28
Photo by author, Church of All Nations beside the Garden of Gethsemane in the Holy Land, May 2019.
Brothers and sisters all in one God as Father
St. Matthew recorded this episode not to scandalize and shock us with those words coming from the Lord, referring to the Canaanite woman as one of the “dogs” that was the term used to designate pagans at that time.
For St. Matthew who was writing for Christians of Jewish origins, the episode was a reminder that the people of Israel were indeed the “children” of God to whom the coming Messiah and salvation – like bread or food – were first promised. St. Paul spent a great deal of explaining of this in his letter specially to the Romans .
Rigthly then, theirs was the “food” not right to be thrown to the “dogs” but, that fact does not exclude the “dogs” from partaking later from the leftover food of the children, as if telling Jesus, today we satisfy ourselves with crumbs, tomorrow we shall have bread!
The Canaanite woman clearly knew where to place herself before the Lord, proving to him her deep faith and amazing knowledge of God’s goodness and plans for everyone. For that, she was highly praised by Jesus for her faith. The only other person also praised by Jesus in having a tremendous faith in him was the centurion – another pagan – who begged the Lord for the remote healing of his servant.
Last Sunday afternoon I read the story of how a nurse was driven out of her boarding house after she tested positive for COVID-19 virus. The poor lady had nowhere to go to spend the night after being denied of any assistance by barangay officials, even by her own family in Batangas! Good enough, somebody reported her to the Philippine National Red Cross that sent an ambulance to take care of the nurse who was found crying by herself at the gutter of a street in Pasay City.
What a very sad and tragic reality happening among us these days of the pandemic.
Where is our love and concern for everyone, especially the weak and the sick, those in our own versions of Tyre and Sidon where no one would dare to go except Jesus, perhaps like the dorms and residences of our medical frontliners who are so tired and sick physically, emotionally, and spiritually during this pandemic?
In these past three weeks we have reflected how Jesus lovingly joined us, staying with us in the wilderness, in the storms of the dark sea, even at the pagan territories where nobody would ever want to go.
This Sunday, Jesus is inviting us to break all barriers and borders between us that separate us from each other. Let us animate our community with Christ’s love and mercy for us all amid our many differences so that slowly we fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy in the first reading that someday the house of the Lord shall be called “a house of prayer for all peoples” (Is.56:7). Amen.
A blessed and safe new week to you! And please do not forget to pray ten Hail Mary’s every 12-noon for national healing and end of the pandemic until September 15, 2020.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Memorial of Sts. Pontian and Hippolytus, Martyrs, 13 August 2020
Ezekiel 12:1-12 >><)))*> |+| >><)))*> |+| >><)))*> Matthew 18:21-19:1
Photo by author, Mt. St. Paul Spirituality Center, La Trinidad, Benguet, 2018.
Praise and glory to you, our merciful Father always waiting for us to come home to you. Thank you for being patient with us who always rebel against you, turning away from you to be on our own.
Sadly, whenever we rebel, it is not you whom we hurt and inflict pain with but those dearest to us like our family and friends who truly love us. We are like the people of Jerusalem who have become callous and indifferent, cold and distant from you, O God, who truly cared for them.
The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house; they have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house.
Ezekiel 12:1-12
So many times, loving Father, we have become like that debtor in Christ’s parable whose debts were written off by his master and yet could not do the same to a fellow debtor who owed him with a lesser amount.
Both that debtor in the gospel and the rebellious house of Israel in the first reading share the same sin and evil attitude of refusing to recognize your goodness and mercy you have given them that we are equally guilty of today.
So many times in our lives, Lord, this same attitude of being rebellious and unmerciful are the main reasons that destroy our many relationships because we have separated ourselves from others.
Teach us through Jesus Christ to always live grateful to your abounding love and kindness, mercy and forgiveness to us, Father, so we may always share these same blessings with others.
Touch our hearts like you have moved the first anti-pope, St. Hippolytus who sought forgiveness from the Pope he had earlier rebelled against, St. Pontian after they were both sent to hard labor on the island of Sardinia during the persecution by Maximus Thrax.
What a beautiful twist of fate that you still brought them together, Lord to share in witnessing to your truth and mercy.
We pray today for those who have rebelled against you, O God, uttering all kinds of blasphemies against your most Holy Name not realizing that the more they rebel against you, the more they have become distant from us the people they are supposed to serve.
Open their eyes and their ears so they may see and hear the sufferings of the people in this time of pandemic. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 09 August 2020
Photo by Fr. Gener Garcia, “El camino de santiago de compostela” in Spain, 2019.
Don’t you feel it is like a Good Friday on this gloomy and rainy Sunday in August? Problems and trials continue to come our way this year 2020 that we are like the Apostles together in a boat in the middle of the sea caught in a violent storm at night with Jesus nowhere in sight!
But, we know the rest of the story, of how Jesus rescued the Twelve by walking on water, calmed the storm upon joining them in their boat until they reached the shore.
Sometimes in life, we need to get away from our “comfort zones” and cross to the other side of the lake or sea like in our gospel especially when life becomes so artificial that we need to experience it in its “rawness” from deep within our souls until we desire and meet God anew wherever we may be (https://lordmychef.com/2020/08/08/meeting-jesus/).
And because of the storms that continue to rage in us and among us in this ghost month of August, we offer you with inspiring songs from two lovely female artists that we hope will uplift you and soothe your tired body and soul.
First in our double header is Ms. Pauline Wilson’s 1997 solo version of their 1979 classic “Follow Your Road” when she was the lead singer of their Hawaii-based jazz fusion band called the Seawind.
So enticingly warm, Follow Your Road teems with a lot of Christian teachings that have strongly influenced Ms. Wilson and partners who are also into Gospel music. The song invites us to reflect on our lives in order to find its meaning and direction – exactly what Jesus has been telling us to follow him especially when we are into storms and darkness in our lives.
We are all but travelers living in a foreign land Just trying to find our way – best as we can Looking for an answer, trying to find some light And though we have journeyed far, it’s not quite far enough.
Have you wondered where your road will lead you? Maybe to a song that needs singing, or a summer rain Or it might be you’re afraid to go, afraid to go But you’ve got to follow your road, or you’ll never know
Uploaded by caddxprt, 17 September 2008.
Our second song on this rainy Sunday is from another Gospel singer Ms. Oleta Adams who was nominated to the Grammy Award as Best Female Pop Vocal Performance the following year after releasing “Get Here If You Can” in 1990.
Ms. Adams first caught the world’s attention in 1989 when she was invited by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal of Tears for Fears to join them as singer and pianist for their 1989 “Seeds of Love” album from which came the hit single “Woman in Chains” with her singing a duet with Orzabal.
Get Here If You Can is a song putting to the test the love and fidelity of the song’s lover.
Faith, like love, is always an encounter, especially with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The experience of Peter sinking in water as he approached Jesus is a lesson in being focused with our love and faith in Christ despite the heavy storms and darkness that come into our lives.
There are hills and mountains between us Always something to get over If I had my way, surely you would be closer I need you closer
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-06 ng Agosto 2020
Larawan kuha ni Ezra Acayan ng Getty Images, Marso 2020.
Sa ating pananalangin,
turo ng Panginoong Hesus sa atin,
bago pa man kayo humiling,
batid na ito ng Diyos nating mahabagin;
at kung kayo ay mananalangin, wika Niya,
inyong sabihin: Ama namin...
Gayong batid pala ng Diyos kailangan natin,
tanong ng iba, bakit tayo mananalangin pa sa Kanya?
At ito ang hindi nalalaman ng karamihan
mahalagang katotohanang dapat tandaan:
sa pananalangin ang pinakamahalaga ay
mabatid natin ibig ng Diyos mula sa atin!
Kaya naman sa tagal nitong COVID-19
sa dami ng ating panalangin, tiyak noon pa man din
alam na ng Diyos kailangan upang wakasan
pandemyang malagim na bumabalot sa atin
kumitil at nagpatigil sa takbo ng buhay natin
dulot sa lahat ay hirap maging sa iba ay hilahil.
Marahil kailangan na nating baguhin
ating panalangin sa panahong ito ng COVID-19
sapagkat wala sa gamot at medisina
sa mga botelya at siringgilya ang sa atin magpapagaling
kungdi sa pagpapanibago nitong puso at kalooban natin
na siyang laging ibig naman ng Diyos mula sa atin.
Sa gitna nitong quarantine nabuking
masasamang pag-uugali maging mga gawi natin
na sa gitna ng kagipitan at kahirapan
marami pa rin ang nagsamantala
naging sakim at makasarili
ibig ang lahat ay kamkamin, kabigin at angkinin.
Pandaraya at panggugulang, hindi patas sa mga patakaran
marami sa pamahalaan at katungkulan naghari-harian
mga inaakalang kalaban hinigpitan
malayang pamamahayag pinigilan
mga karapatan at dangal ng mamamayan
niyurakan at tinapakan, lalo na mga walang pinanghahawakan.
Larawan kuha ni Bb. Anne Ramos, Marso 2020.
Kaya aking bayan
ating pag-isipan at pagnilayan
batid ng Diyos ating pangangailangan
ngunit hindi Niya ito kaagad pagbibigyan
dahil tanging paraan sa pagsugpo sa salot na ito
naroroon sa ating mga puso, wala sa nguso.
Harapin natin hindi ang COVID-19
kungdi ating sarili at pag-uugali na dapat gamutin
sa mga sakit na naglalayo sa Diyos at kapwa natin;
karunungang kinakailangan ibinigay na ng Diyos
noon pa man upang solusyunan virus mula Wuhan
tangi Niyang kahilingan mamuhay tayo sa kabutihan at katuwiran.
Mahigit limang buwan na tayong nagdarasal
ugali at asal nati'y makapal pa rin sa kasamaan
kaya marahil lalo pang magtatagal
pagdurusa sa pandemyang ito na nag-ugat
buhat sa puso ng tao na kung di magbabago
uulit at uulit sa iba't ibang anyo.
