Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday, Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 08 October 2026 Galatians 3:1-5 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 11:5-13
Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima, GMA News, Batanes, October 2018.
Your words today, O Lord through St. Paul speak directly to us in this time too:
O stupid Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus was publicly portrayed as crucified? (Galatians 3:1)
O how we your people hate to hear those words these days because they are hurtfully true - it is plain stupidity on our part to abandon all your teachings to adopt all these strange ideas about life that overstretch our rights without any regard to what is true and good; to insist that only matter matters without accepting the fact that the most profound realities in life are those felt than seen; and, to believe more in ourselves than in you, Lord Jesus Christ.
We have been so bewitched, enthralled, and amazed by new ideas and beliefs that are clearly self-serving and untrue, "budol" or fake in every sense, totally forgetting how you have never left nor abandon us all these years through thick and thin, doing only what is best and good for us only to follow the fascinating special effects of those trash peddled in social media, fabricated by AI.
Awaken us, dear Jesus to the realities of your loving presence in us, in our lives, to follow our hearts where we find peace and joy despite pains and sacrifices than follow our flesh and whims of pleasures and convenience so temporary, ephemeral, most of all superficial; ignite our hearts to seek and follow you in a life of prayer that changes primarily us, not the situations. Amen.
Photo by a friend at Seabrook, Washington, 06 September 2026.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, 14 September 2026 Numbers 21:4-9 ><}}}}*> Philippians2:6-11 ><}}}}*> John 3:13-17
Photo by author, Basilica of Our Lady of Manaoag, Pangasinan, 09 January 2026.
Today’s celebration of the Feast of theExaltation of the Cross started in the fourth century with the miraculous discovery of the True Cross by Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, on 14 September 326, while she was on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Being the queen Mother, she ordered through her son the emperor the building of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre that was dedicated nine years later with a portion of the True Cross placed inside it on September 13, 335. The following day, the Cross was brought outside of the church to be venerated by the clergy and the faithful.
In the year 627, during the reign of the Emperor Heraclius I of Constantinople, the Persians conquered the city of Jerusalem and removed a major part of the Cross from its sanctuary. The emperor then launched a campaign to recover the True Cross which he regarded as the new Ark of the Covenant for the new People of God.
Before embarking into war, Emperor Heraclius went to church wearing black as a sign of penance, then prostrated himself before the altar and begged God for courage. His prayer was granted as he won the war and recovered the Cross from the Persians. He brought the Cross back to Jerusalem in 641 amid great celebrations by carrying it on his shoulders. Upon reaching the gate leading to Calvary, the emperor could not go forward! Heraclius and his retinue were astonished and could not understand what had happened until the Patriarch Zachary of Jerusalem told him, “Take care, O Emperor! In truth, the imperial clothing you are wearing does not sufficiently resemble the poor and humiliated condition of Jesus carrying His cross.”
Upon hearing those words, the emperor removed his shoes and bejewelled robes, put on a poor man’s clothing and was eventually able to proceed to Calvary and replaced the Cross inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where a number of miracles happened during the occasion: a dead man returned to life, four paralytics were cured, ten lepers were healed, 15 blind men were given their sight, with several possessed people exorcised and many sick people totally healed!
Photo by author, inside the upper chapel of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where the site of Crucifixion is believed to be located, May 2017.
Very notable in this story were the words of the Patriarch of Jerusalem to Emperor Heraclius: it was only after he had taken off his royal clothings and put on those of the poor was he able to carry the Cross into Jerusalem.
It is the same thing that is asked of us today: it is so easy to display the cross inside our homes and cars, or wear it as a jewelry or even as a tattoo on our skin and mean nothing at all unless we have the cross inside our hearts, our very being. More than the many signs of the cross and imaginary drawing of its lines we draw on our chest is the need for us to empty ourselves of our pride and sins so that we can be filled by Jesus Christ.
Photo by author, Chapel of St. Francis Xavier, Sacred Heart Novitiate, QC, March 2024.
Brothers and sisters: Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:6-8).
Called kenosis in Greek, self-emptying is the way of the Cross of Christ. It is choosing love and mercy than self-centeredness and self-righteousness; sacrifice than satisfaction; fairness and justice than greed and possession; bearing all the pains and perseverance than complaining and whining about difficulties and trials in life like the Israelites in the wilderness (first reading); and, thinking more of others than of one’s self.
The recent COVID-19 pandemic had taught something very beautiful and amazing about the positivity of being negative, when negative was actually positive – healthy and COVID free! Remember how during those days when we would always wish we would yield negative results in our swab tests for COVID?
When we look at the sign of the cross (+), it is a positive sign, a plus sign. Though the cross calls us to let go, to be detached and dispossessed, it is actually an invitation to have more of God, of life and fulfillment!
For us to rise, to go up, we must first go down that is contrary to the ways of this time of affluence when everything is practically easily available even fame and wealth. Today’s feast reminds us that like the Cross of Christ, life is more of letting go and of giving than of having like God who “so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that he who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (Jn.3:16). St. Francis of Assisi said it perfectly why the Cross is an exaltation, a triumph:
For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen. Have blessed week ahead!
Photo by author, St. Paul Spiritual & Renewal Center, Alfonso, Cavite, 19 August 2026.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 20 August 2026
How amazing, O Lord Jesus that when it is already evening, when darkness is all around us, that is when you are actually inside us, if we could just open our hearts and eyes of faith then we shall see you truly our Light glowing within, bringing warmth and joy.
Many times in our darkness we lose sight not only of you, Lord Jesus but also of our self that away from you we lose our identity and let our job and tasks define us or worst, our possessions and achievements as well as pains and hurts; we cave into our darkness within not seeing your wounded handed touching me holding me unmindful of your holding me, loving me.
When things get dark and we can’t see anything teach me Jesus to listen to your silence to feel your presence sense your movements follow your steps waiting trusting self-emptying.
Most of all, Jesus, help me emulate your Mother our Mother too, Mary most holy, to remain focused on you cusping you in my palms when all is dark holding on to your words believing they shall be fulfilled when I remain and stay with you there on the Cross. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II Ezekiel 28:1-10 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Matthew 19:23-30
Photo from tidycasa.com, KonMari Method of Decluttering.
How wonderful for the second straight day your words, O Lord, are still about "losing", about the radical question of what I still lack in this life to have fulfillment!
We still have a long way to go to really learn how to lose, how to let go of so many things even persons so we may finally realize what we still lack.
Foremost of this is losing, letting go of our pride.
The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre: therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have thought yourself to have the mind of a god, therefore I will bring against you foreigners, the most barbarous nations. They shall draw their swords against your beauteous wisdom, they shall run them through your splendid apparel. They shall thrust you down to the pit, there to die a bloodied corpse, in the heart of the sea. Will you then say, “I am a god!” when you face your murderers? No, you are a man, not a god, handed over to those who will slay you (Ezekiel 28:1-2, 7-9).
Like the king of Tyre, many times our ego gets bloated by our success and achievements that we believe so much in ourselves as if we are gods; many times when we are on top of everything because of our talents and abilities, even of our goodness, we forget you, God and think we are the Lord.
Such was the sinister pride in Peter when he dared to tell you Jesus, "We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?" (Matthew 19:27); remind us always, Jesus, that no matter goodness we have done, it was still purely from your grace, and not really ours alone.
Truly, Lord Jesus Christ, "it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle that for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:24); help us, therefore, to be poo in you, Lord Jesus; help us to give up whatever we still keep in us that we believe we have given up like any iota of pride. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon & Martyr, 10 August 2026 2 Corinthians 9:6-10 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> John 12:24-26
Photo by author, Anvaya Cove, Morong, Bataan, 21 July 2026.
Lord Jesus, teach me to be a cheerful giver: teach me to be like St. Lawrence your deacon and martyr we honor today who gave himself totally and cheerfully to you because he felt strongly the overflowing abundance of your grace and blessings to him; many times we are reluctant to give our time, treasures, and talents because we feel always lacking; open our very selves to find you and your blessings within so that we freely give and share whatever we have to continue serving in your name; most of all, teach me to give more of myself like a grain of wheat that dies and produces much fruit in you. Amen.
St. Lawrence, Martyr and Deacon, pray for us!
“Martyrdom of St. Lawrence, Deacon” by Hipolito de Rioja (16th c.) from commons.wikimedia.org
Lord My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 12 July 2026
Photo by Dra. Eunice A. Vergara, MD, in Victoria, Laguna 19 October 2021.
It’s a gloomy, cold “bed weather” following the exit yesterday of typhoon Inday that had spawned these rains flooding us in various parts of Metro Manila this Sunday. Gone were the days when rains meant farmers going out to their fields during this rainy season to plant and tend their crops. What we now have are commuters stranded everywhere!
How sad that our farmers are dwindling in number with their fields converted into malls and subdivisions, a very clear sign of how we have really missed the very parable of life of God’s superabundance amid our interconnectedness as persons with the environment that Matthew presents us in this Sunday’s gospel (https://lordmychef.com/2026/07/11/our-interconnectedness-in-gods-abundance-the-parable-of-life/).
And that is why we also remember the British duo Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal more known as Tears for Fears with their 1989 hit Sowing the Seeds of Love from their third studio album “The Seeds of Love” as the perfect match to this Sunday’s gospel.
Orzabal reportedly got the inspiration in writing Sowing the Seeds of Love while listening to a radio program about British folk song collector Cecil Sharp who had heard a gardener named Mr. John England singing a traditional English song called “The Seeds of Love” that eventually sparked an English folk song revival. Orzabal mentioned him – “Mister England” – in the ninth stanza “sowing the seeds of love”.
According to Orzabal, Sowing the Seeds of Love is their “most overtly political song” ever recorded. It came out two years after Margaret Thatcher had won in 1987 her third consecutive term in office as Britain’s Prime Minister, referring to her in the third stanza as the “Politician granny with your high ideals, have you no idea how the majority feels?”
Coincidentally in the same third stanza, Orzabal took a dig with his fellow musician Paul Weller with the line “Kick out the style, bring back the jam” as he felt Weller had abandoned his working class political outlook after leaving The Jam in October 1982 to form the The Style Council.
Actually, Sowing the Seeds of Love is “the gospel according to Tears for Fears”, just like their two other songs from that album “The Seeds of Love” – Woman in Chains and Advice for the Young at Heart we hope to feature someday in relation with our Sunday gospel reflections.
Sowing the Seeds of Love is an invitation like the Lord’s Parable of the Sower for us to open ourselves like the fertile ground to receive the “seed” – the Word – proclaimed daily in every Mass celebrated worldwide.
The “seeds of love” Jesus the Sower sowed in the parable are all good – fecund – and most of all, efficacious. Because it is from God, it surely bears fruit always if nurtured and cultivated well. If ever the seeds do not grow and not yield fruits, the problem is with the receiver, with the person who receives or rejects these seeds of love.
How amazing that Tears for Fears follow this line of thought even without mentioning (understandably) the name God in their song, inviting us to “open ourselves” to the seeds of love so that these may germinate and grow, eventually yield a harvest of peace, love and harmony among peoples in the world today.
But opening ourselves to the seeds of love does not merely mean receiving these idly; opening to the seeds of love calls for a lot of self-discipline and hard-work like forgetting one’s self by “Swallowing your pride” and ending “need and politics of greed with love” – exactly like what Jesus taught us these past weeks about discipleship, of forgetting one’s self to carry one’s own cross. Hence, we find too the song Sowing the Seeds of Love not only a gospel but also a parable in itself that mentions a lot of ordinary things we take for granted yet teach us a lot about the meaning of life.
Feel the pain, talk about it If you're a worried man, then shout about it Open hearts, feel about it Open minds, think about it Everyone, read about it Everyone, scream about it Everyone Everyone, yeah, yeah Everyone read about it, read about it Everyone Read it in the books, in the crannies and the nooks, there are books to read for us
Sowing the seeds of love Sowing the seeds of love We're sowing the seeds Sowing the seeds Sowing the seeds of love We're sowing the seeds Sowing the seeds of love Sowing the seeds of love Mr. England sowing the seeds of love
Time to eat all your words Swallow your pride Open your eyes Time to eat all your words Swallow your pride Open your eyes
High time we made a stand Time to eat all your words And shook up the views of the common man Swallow your pride And the love train rides from coast to coast Open your eyes Every minute of every hour I love a sunflower Open your eyes And I believe in love power Open your eyes Love power Love power Open your eyes
Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love Sowing the seeds Sowing the seeds of love, the seeds of love Sowing the seeds Sowing the seeds Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love Sowing the seeds of love, sowing the seeds Sowing the seeds
An end to need And the politics of greed With love
Let’s get real this week, start working, sowing the seeds of love to experience Christ’s peace and loving presence among us. Amen. A blessed lovely week ahead of everyone!
Lord My Chef Wedding Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Homily for the Wedding of Luiz & Jana Aranda San Antonio de Padua Chapel, Alta D' Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City 02 June 2026
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
Congratulations, Jana and Luiz! Finally, the day has come which we all waited for two years since you announced your plans of getting married. And of all present here today in this lovely chapel, Jesus is the most joyful of all.
Yes, Jana and Luiz: Jesus set aside this date of June two, 2026 in all eternity, not last year or next year, yesterday or tomorrow. Jesus set this date apart for you Jana and Luiz to make you “part” of each other as husband and wife – magkataling puso, magkabiyak.
Our first reading from Genesis tells us how God after creating the first man said, “it is not good for man to be alone…. let us create a suitable partner for him.”
I love that word “partner” from the root “part” which we call as bahagi and kabiyak in Filipino. Every whole is made up of a part; without a part, there is no whole.
That is what marriage is all about. As a sacrament or visible sign of Christ’s saving presence, marriage is two people – a man and woman becoming one, becoming a whole in Jesus.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
Long before you met each other at 7-11 near Capitol Medical Center where you both worked as nurses, long before you were finally introduced to each other during a badminton game in 2017, when God created you Luiz, he said “it is not good for Luiz to be alone…let us create a suitable partner for him”.
And not just suitable partner, a very lovely one – Jana!
Of course, there are no perfect couples nor perfect marriage but every wedding like this is made in heaven because it is God who calls and brings together every man and woman to become husband and wife.
A couple becomes suitable partner for each other the moment they started dreaming of getting married, of spending one’s life someday with another person even they have not met yet. Any one who makes that vision of sharing his or her life with a beloved automatically becomes a suitable partner.
Kaya always have vision in life, Jana and Luiz.
Having a vision is looking beyond one’s self, looking beyond the present moment, and looking beyond material things. Most of all, having a vision is finding Jesus Christ in your lives always, Jana and Luiz because he was the one who really made ways for you to meet and finally become a part of each other in marriage.
Hindi ba Luiz?
Kaya nga walang kang isinama na iba nang manood kayo ng UST-FEU game noong 2017 UAAP season kahit na usapan ay magsama ka dapat ng ibang friends kasi noon pa lang feel mo na si Jana yung hinahanap mong maging part ng iyong sarili.
Kaya maski na ikaw ay FEU graduate, ipinadama mo kaagad kay Jana na graduate ng UST na part siya ng buhay mo kaya nag-cheer ka sa Tigers, hindi sa Tamaraw. At maski panalo kayo ng FEU sa game noon, pinili mong samahan ang pagdadalamhati ni Jana at marami pang taga-USTe para ipakita mo sa kanya na lalo’t higit sa gayong pagkakataon, ikaw ay bahagi – parte – sa kanyang kalungkutan.
At na-feel mo rin iyon, Jana.
At natiyak mo na si Luiz ang part ng buhay mo nang kahit hindi mo siya kaagad sinagot noon, hindi siya nagbago ng pagtingin at respeto sa iyo. Patuloy ka niyang niligawan, sinuyo at sinamahan sa lahat ngn pagkakataon upang madama mo na bahagi ka ng buhay niya. Palagi kang kasali hindi lang sa mga jokes at kuwento ni Luiz kungdi pati sa kanyang mga baon pagkain!
Hindi nagtagal, napasuko ng Tamaraw ang Tiger at naging kayo na noong January 2, 2018 matapos ninyong mag-usap pagkapanood ng “Coco.”
Hindi na ninyo maikaila pareho na kulang kayo kapag wala ang isa’t isa.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
Lalo ito naging maliwanag sa inyong dalawa nang mag-COVID pandemic noong 2020: noon mo nadama Jana na nabubuo ka lang kay Luiz na tunay namang ipinadama sa iyo na ikaw ay bahagi na ng buhay niya. At pati ng kanyang pamilya nang kupkupin ka niya na bahay nila lumagi sa gitna ng maraming panganib at hirap ng panahon ng COVID.
You have always been a part of each other, Jana and Luiz. As well as your moms and siblings. Then, in God’s mysterious ways, you both got accepted to work at UK at the same time and the more you realized and felt each other as a part of each one. Most of all, that everything is a part of God’s plan.
Don’t stop in being a part of each other.
Most of all, inasmuch as you invited Jesus into your wedding today, make him a part of your daily life as husband and wife. Remember that Jesus is in your midst always – not in front, not at the back. Between the two of you so that whatever you do to each other, you do it first to Jesus.
Like in our gospel today.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
How lovely to think that the first miracle of Jesus happened not in a temple nor a synagogue but in a wedding feast at Cana. the Sacrament of Matrimony is not everything and I assure you Jana and Luiz, a lot of difficulties would come along your way especially when you have children, when you get old and sick.
But, do not be afraid. You always have Jesus by your side to bless you and keep your love alive as you hurdle life’s many challenges.
Luiz when you work hard and stay faithful to Jana, you first work hard and stay faithful to Jesus. Same with you Jana: when you are loving and sweet to Luiz, you are first sweet and loving to Jesus. But, the moment you hurt each other with lies and infidelities, it is Jesus whom you first hurt.
Tuwing nagkakasal ako, mayroon akong tanong: sino ang unang babati kapag nag-away ang mag-asawa?
Sabi sa akin ng iba, iyon daw may kasalanan pero, mayroon kayang aamin sa dalawa ng kasalanan? Sabi naman ng karamihan, dapat daw lalake ang unang bumati pero hindi ba palaging sinasabi, ladies first?
I don’t want to put you on the spot, Luiz and Jana.
My take on this is simple: when couples and lovers have LQ or even friends have tampuhan blues, the one with most love to give is always the first to make the move for peace and reconciliation. Ang may higit na pagmamahal ang siyang unang babati.
Photo by author, St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
That is why, let me close this homily with a simple request to you Jana and Luiz: please “delete” from your mind, from your consciousness that concept of “dasurv.”
It seems our society these days is afflicted with this disease of asserting each one of “deserving” a reward for various reasons. The moment we assert that we “dasurv” this or that because we worked hard or whatever, that is the time we become selfish, self-centered, and conceited.
When we insist on deserving something more, we forget our being a part of the whole.
When a husband or a wife claims to deserve something more, he or she then forgets his or her part-ner. We do not deserve anything at all in this life. Whatever we have is because of Jesus who made us deserving as you have realized in your life journey, Jana and Luiz.
Thank you for inviting us all to be a part of your wedding day. For our part, we promise to pray for you always that God may bless you abundantly with his grace of love and joy, kindness and mercy. Amen.
Photo by author, Taal Lake from St. Anthony de Padua Chapel, Alta D’Tagaytay Hotel, Tagaytay City, 02 June 2026.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday after Pentecost, 28 May 2026 Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal High Priest Genesis 22:9-18 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Matthew 26:36-42
Photo by author, Dominus Flevit Church overlooking Old Jerusalem, May 2017.
Lord Jesus Christ, our Eternal Priest who calls and sends us daily to spread your Good News of salvation to everyone with our giving of self like You, bless us your priests in these troubled times: everywhere we find and hear selfishness and conceit, lies and dishonesty, infidelity and injustice; we say the world has gone mad and evil with all these darkness enveloping us...
And where are we, Your priests in the midst of all these?
Jesus went with the disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done.” (Matthew 26:36, 40-42)
Photo by author, Garden of Gethsemane, the Holy Land, May 2017.
Forgive, us dear Jesus, when we Your priests cannot keep up with You in prayer; oh, we are so busy watching the world going by, watching the corruption in government unfolding, watching the decay in our society but unfortunately, we cannot look squarely into our own mess in the Church - in our parishes and communities, in our ministry that has become more of a work often for performance and clout; worst of all, we have lost that intimacy in You, Jesus.
We no longer pray, Lord Jesus.
We can't stay with You even for an hour every day because we are busy with social media like everyone.
Help us find our way back to You, Lord Jesus: let us imitate Abraham who prefigured your own self-offering in giving his beloved son Isaac to the Father without any question at all; many times, we Your priests reason out with many excuses and alibis while at the other extreme, many of us disregard reasons at all in our mission and ministry.
Keep us in love with You, Jesus our Eternal Priest, especially our bishops supposed to have the fullness of priesthood but cannot lead nor guide us, much less inspire us; give us the grace of Abraham that we can always answer Your call with a firm and unwavering "Here am I." Amen.
“The Offering of Abraham” (c.1896-1902) painting by James Tissot, kept at the Jewish Museum in New York via moa.byu.edu
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion, Cycle A, 29 March 2026 Isaiah 50:4-7 +++ Philippians 2:6-11 +++ Matthew 27:11-54
From influencemagazine.com.
We begin today the Holy Week with Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion. Its long name is derived from the two celebrations that developed separately in Jerusalem and Rome during the first one thousand years of Christianity, one of the oldest in our liturgy.
As early as the fourth century, Christians in Jerusalem celebrated Palm Sunday at the city gate with a procession led by its bishop followed by people holding palms reenacting Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. Meanwhile in Rome, the Pope ushered the Holy Week with the proclamation of the long gospel account from the Lord’s Supper to his Passion, Death and Burial. Eventually in the 12th century, Jerusalem’s practice of a palm procession with the blessing of palms added by the French in year 800 reached Rome and was celebrated separately. After more than a 1600 years, it was only in Vatican II when the two celebrations from Jerusalem and Rome were merged into one that we now have its official designation as Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion.
From vaticannews.va
It is a beautiful story of how two distinct practices in Jerusalem and Rome, of two contrasting liturgies mirrored our different and unique journeys into the mystery of God in Jesus Christ’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
And I love that contrast because our life is filled too with many contrasts that make it so beautiful and meaningful.
Contrast is when we compare differences between two or more things in order to highlight distinctive features like light and shadows, or pains and joys that make us see life fullest. Contrasts many times are a grace from God when he works in disguise among us, within us, as he writes straight crooked lines in our lives that eventually lead us to him and be fulfilled.
All our readings today present us with many contrasts that enable us to find and welcome Jesus coming to us like that Sunday in Jerusalem in the midst of our pain and sufferings, joys and fears. Three things I wish to reflect this Sunday.
Photo by author, Hagia Sophia, Turkiye, November 2025.
First contrast we find is the wisdom of God and the folly of man.
Read the longer version of the gospel from Matthew 26:14-27:66 and you find the many contrasts presented by the evangelist to highlight God’s wisdom in Jesus and man’s folly among the Jewish people led by their priests and elders, Pontius Pilate, and even with the prince of Apostles, Simon Peter!
At his trial before the Sanhedrin at the house of the high priest Caiaphas, Jesus was so comp-composed, silently listening to the many false accusations against him, and then shocked when he admitted amnd declared his being the Christ indeed (Mt.26:57-68)! And while all these were going inside the house of Caiaphas, outside was Peter denying Jesus thrice when asked of his being a disciple (vv.69-75)!
Again we see this glaring contrast of God’s wisdom in Christ and man’s folly in Pilate as Jesus remained silent during trial, answering briefly only when necessary that have put his enemies at the defensive posture (Mt.27:11-14). And how foolish they were in choosing to set free a known criminal in order to crucify the Christ (vv.21-26) which continues to these days in our own country as we keep on electing corrupt and inept people into office.
The most tragic of all is how some people while professing to be Christians are like those mob in Jerusalem still defending a known murderer now facing trial for crimes against humanity who had cursed God several times, made fun of women including those raped and under whose administration happened rampant and shameless corruption and decadence.
How sad that despite our supposed to be many advancements in science and technology that have completely altered our way of living and way of thinking, we have actually become more lost and empty than ever. Like Pilate and the Jewish people of that time with their elders, the more we assert our supposed to be superior knowledge on everything, the more we sink into emptiness and meaninglessness.
Let us not be blinded with our intelligence that have sent men to space and moon and shrunk the globe into a village but have made us grow more apart from each other; open our eyes and our hearts in Jesus Christ who is the truth because he is the only way in life.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2026.
Second contrast we find is that true power is in weakness not in strength.
Everybody at the trial and crucifixion of Jesus were at their own kind of “power play” especially the soldiers with the Jewish leaders and their cabal of followers (Mt.27:27-44). Imagine the very act of stripping Jesus or anyone for that matter of clothes – it is the most brazen display of power over someone. Not contented with that, they mocked Jesus while unconsciously recognizing him truly as king with the sign placed above his head, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews” (v.37). They would confirm this later at the death of Jesus when they declared “Truly, this was the Son of God!” (v.54).
At his trial and sentencing until his crucifixion, Jesus showed that true power lies in weakness and surrender as St. Paul eloquently expressed in the second reading today, “Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather he emptied himself” (Phil.2:6-7).
How sad the whole world is now plunged into a great disaster without any clear sight of an end in the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran. Who’s really winning? Despite the sophisticated and powerful weapons of the US and Israel, how come Iran still continues to launch many missile attacks against its neighbors and worst of all, control a supposed to be tiny strait that had sent fuel prices beyond reach of Tomahawk missiles!
Let’s look into our own lives, in those moments we “power tripped” against others: what happened? Have we really won over them or, are we now suffering its dire consequences, even paying the price of our too much pride and display of power and strength? Jesus shows us in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem until his Passion and Death, true power is in weakness and surrender. It is the only path to Easter because it is the path of life and love which we shall see next.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2026.
Third contrast we have seen in the passion of the Lord: life symbolized by blood is for love and caring, not for vengeance nor convenience. Not even a solution to a problem.
At the trial of Jesus, when Pilate felt at a loss that he could not set Christ free, he decided to wash his hands to free himself of any responsibility for his death: “I am innocent of this man’s blood. Look it to yourselves.” And the whole people said in reply, “His blood be upon us and upopn our children” (Mt.27:25-26).
It was the height of human arrogance and pride, of folly and insensitivity that sadly happens right in our homes, in our schools and offices, in the society and even in the church maybe.
Instead of using technology and the sciences for the care and preservation of human life symbolized by blood, these have actually objectified persons into things, from contraceptives to abortions, genetic manipulation and gender redefinition. We have become so impersonal that people are seen more in economic andn utilitarian terms especially infants and children as well as the sick and elderly, the most vulnerable ones among us. Worst, criminals and others labeled as misfits are disposed like things either through judicial or extrajudicial killings. So heartless.
See the contrast presented by Matthew in this aspect when at the Last Supper, Jesus “took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins'” (Mt.26:27-28).
Life is precious because it is vulnerable that is why God became human in Jesus Christ like us in everything except sin. Right after his birth, he faced the murderous threats of a king and now an adult, he offered himself freely to die on the Cross because he loved us so much so that we too may finally be able to love again like him as willed by God since the beginning.
Isaiah’s Song of the Suffering Servant in the first reading showed this contrast of Yahweh’s servant fulfilled in Christ Jesus of how he valued life so much, of bearing all pains and hurts because of love.
In his triumphal entry into Jerusalem up to his Passion and Death, Jesus showed us so many contrasts for us to see the bigger picture of life itself, of one another as brother and sister, of God who loves us so much. Take time to examine every contrast in life for God is surely in there, even sometimes in disguise. Amen. Have a blessed Holy Week ahead!
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday, Second Week in Lent, 04 March 2026 Jeremiah 18:18-20 + + + Matthew 20:17-28
Photo by author, Ephesus, Turkiye, November 2025.
How lovely is our scene today, Lord Jesus, of you walking towards Jerusalem: it must have been so dusty and dirty at that time; I won't be surprised at all at how everybody must be thinking of reaching home, finding a place for comfort and ease but here you are, Lord, reminding the Twelve and us today of your coming passion, death and resurrection.
How amazing, Jesus that as we follow you, walking with you in this journey and mission, you remind us of our own sufferings but unfortunately, thoughts of glory seep into our minds like that day when the mother of James and John made that request of honor and prestige by your side; the same thing is very true during the time of Jeremiah the Prophet: he was there in the heat and dirt of the city of Jerusalem, proclaiming God's words of conversion and there, just like today, are the voices and thoughts of us thinking of doing away with pain and suffering, of insisting on our own thoughts and desires for fame and glory without realizing the more essential realities in life.
O dear Jesus, let me continue to walk your path of the Cross, let me remain in your journey of Lent, of life by your side, forgetting my self, taking my cross, and following you alone.
You have given me with so much, Jesus and I have given so little; take whatever I still keep to myself when I thought I have surrendered completely to you; let me see what you see, love whom you love, care for those you care as we continue together in this road to Jerusalem. Amen.
Photo by Ar. Philip Santiago, Jerusalem, October 2025.
