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.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II First Sunday in Lent-A, 22 February 2026 Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7 + Romans 5:12-19 + Matthew 4:1-11
Photo from earth.com.
We now live in a world so noisy with many voices competing for our attention. Everybody is talking including cars and elevators, phones and gadgets and apps with names Siri and Alexa. So often, it is from these competing voices come our temptations in life, too.
In his first Lenten Message, Pope Leo XIV invites us to listen more to the word of God in order to be converted anew to Him. He said it so well that “The willingness to listen is the first way we demonstrate our desire to enter into a relationship with someone.”
Very true! And the question this first Sunday in Lent asks us is, whose voice do I follow? Because the voice we listen most is likely the one we prefer or love most – in fact, it could be the voice of the one we keep a relationship with!
That is the tragic truth of the story of the fall of Adam and Eve in the first reading today – they listened more to the voice of the devil signified by the serpent than to God who warned them not to eat the forbidden fruit.
And that continues to happen every day in our lives! That is why to sin is not merely to turn away from God but actually a refusal to love because sin is rejecting a relationship with God to whom we must listen to. This we see today in Matthew’s version of the temptations of Christ in the desert.
At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” He said in reply, “It is written: One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:1-4).
Detail of “The Temptation of Jesus According to St. Matthew” on the wall of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice, Italy. Photo from psephizo.com.
Right at the start, Jesus made it clear by quoting the Sacred Scriptures, the word of God, that “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”
Jesus, the Word who became flesh to live among us tells us clearly today that same truth. God’s word is life when He created everything by just speaking. Any voice that leads to destruction is from the devil, the father of fake news. And the devil’s biggest lie we must always avoid is making and having things easily. See how until now every fake news is always about “instants” like instant food and health, instant solution to everything without realizing its sinful effects as well as side effects that may actually harm us more.
Listening is an art because it teaches us to be patient, to wait and most of all, to persevere which leads us to perfection and excellence. Haste always makes waste. When we listen, we become patient, choosing to wait than take shortcuts or get instants that avoid difficulties and hardships like gambling to be wealthy without working, or cheating to pass exams without learning as well as freedom without responsibilities.
Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on then parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command is angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'” Jesus answered him, “Again, it is written, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test” (Matthew 4:5-7).
Photo by author, Domiican Hills, Baguio City, January 2019.
More than an art, listening is a virtue because it demands silence which is a fullness wherein we are able to listen and distinguish every voice and sound so that we may choose which to listen to and follow.
The word “listen” is the palindrome of “silent” – we listen best in silence to hear God, others and our very selves.
When we learn to be silent, we also become more trusting because when we trust, we speak less and listen more. The most silent people are the also the most trusting. When we trust, we wait and avoid shortcuts and instants.
The voice of God stirs our inner self, not just our senses because His voice leads us to deeper realities and meanings in life. Remember that Jesus eventually fed more than five thousand people from just five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish when He saw them already prepared inside their hearts and soul; when Jesus felt them more open to God than to the world, then He gave them bread and fish for their stomach.
Notice how the devil’s temptation to Jesus continues among us with those voices calling us to overly assert ourselves, to be influencers and clout chasers or content creators to be praised and followed by everyone when actually is all about wealth and money, and of course, power. It is the voice of control and manipulation. How sad that many of us gobble their lies completely, consuming everything, filling ourselves even with trash.
The voice of God calls us to sacrifice, to bear pains and sufferings not to be overburdened in life but for us to see God especially among those mostly in need like the poor and marginalized. Often, the voice of God is the softest and tiniest in our hearts calling us to simply trust Him by doing the simplest things like smiling to strangers, easing the pain of those lonely and sad, giving bread to the poor and hungry. Listening to the silence of God enables us to trust Him more that we learn to share and forget ourselves. Then, we grow and mature truly as persons.
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, “All these I shall give you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.” Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him (Matthew 4:8-11).
Again, we go back to Pope Leo XIV’s Lenten Message about listening as “the first way we demonstrate our desire to enter into a relationship with someone.”
Don’t you feel sad at the sight of today’s everyday life where everyone has something in their ears, whether the tiny earpods or the headset/headphone?
What used to be insane like talking by one’s self has now become a status symbol as everyone looks crazy speaking by themselves through modern devices amid a crowd while walking or seated anywhere conversing to somebody at the other end of their lines unmindful, oblivious of the persons around them. May sariling mundo.
Many these days have created their own worlds and universe with them at its center through our new Baal, the cellphone – the very first thing everyone is looking for after waking up and the last thing in everyone’s hand before sleeping. How sad many among us today practically live in social media. What is most tragic is that all these modern means of communications were invented to bring us closer together when in fact, the more we have grown apart from each others! We are not only polarized as people but even separated from God.
The third temptation of the devil to Jesus continues with us today with all those voices telling us to forget God and morality and truth so that we become popular by being viral and trending. It is the biggest scam and fake news of all by the devil – of us being the “master” to rule and have world with all of its luxuries and power. The voice seems harmless, as if asserting our true selves but actually destroys our being and relationships with God, with others and eventually with our very selves.
Lent is an inside journey into our hearts, of finding Jesus anew inside our hearts where He dwells. St. Paul tells us in the second reading how Jesus brought us back to God, to grace and salvation.
Lord Jesus Christ, help us not to harden our hearts today so that we may listen anew to Your voice within us to find our way back to God, to peace and to fulfillment in ourselves and in one another.Amen. Have a blessed week ahead!
Photo by author, Carmel of the Holy Family Monastery, Guiguinto, Bulacan, 22 January 2026.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 11 August 2025 Monday, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin Deuteronomy 10:12-22 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 17:22-27
Photo by author, Sonnen Berg Mountain View, Marilog, Davao City, August 2018.
What a beautiful way to start our first day in school and work this week examining our attitudes with our rights and privileges vis-a-vis your example of compassion and solidarity, Lord Jesus.
Moses said to the people: “For the Lord, your God, is the God of gods, the Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who has no favorites, accepts no bribes… So you too must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 10:12, 17,19).
You play no favorites, indeed, Lord but many times your love and blessings get into our heads that we not only forget others but even you in the process; we forget what we have gone through, we disregard our wounds especially how you saved us that we think more of our rights and privileges than of our responsibilities that come with every good gift from you.
When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes,” he said. When he came into the house, before he had time to speak, Jesus asked him, “What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?” When he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the subjects are exempt. But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you” (Matthew 17:24-27).
What a shame, Lord Jesus! In this world where everyone insists on each one's rights and privileges, so many are maligned, and much more are misled by some people specially in media with bloated egos; in this world that had shrunk into a global village, many brains have shrunk too with hearts turned into stone without any compassion and sense of true solidarity at all!
Instruct me, dear Jesus, like Peter to drop in a hook to catch the first fish that comes up for surely, many times I have missed finding a "coin" inside its mouth worth than what we are required; many times, I see only myself, my rights and my privileges that I forget to be compassionate and be one with others; teach me to be like you: totally "indifferent" in a positive sense in whatever the world offers choosing only the Father's will for God's glory. Amen.
Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Our Lady of Fatima University Valenzuela City (lordmychef@gmail.com)
Photo by author, Sonnen Berg Mountain View, Marilog, Davao City, August 2018.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Third Week in Lent, Cycle C, 23 March 2025 Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15 + 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12 + Luke 13:1-9
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 17 March 2025.
Thank you very much for all your birthday greetings yesterday, my 60th. Until now my heart overflows in joy from your expressions of love to me that confirmed God loves me so much in the most personal manner. Hence, my firm resolve in these senior years of my life to be able to love like God, to desire always the Cross for the love of our Crucified Lord Jesus Christ.
Yes, it is very ambitious, too idealistic but, that is God’s love for each one of us! Jesus became human like us so we may finally experience God’s immense love for each of us. And that is the invitation of Lent to us – that we go back to God, our very first love. Very often, we experience that very personal love of God for us in the desert of our lives when we are in darkness and emptiness like Moses in today’s first reading.
Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There an angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed (Exodus 13:1-2).
Fire is a very powerful sign not only in the Holy Bible but in every culture for the warmth it generates and the light it illuminates the surrounding. Fire signifies power because of its unique abilities to cleanse, purify and transform materials into something better. It is history’s most significant discovery of all time, facilitating our growth and development as peoples and nations with the advent of cooking that gave us food that delights and nourishes us.
That is the fiery love God has for each one of us we often find when we least expected like Moses in the first reading. Moses ended up in the wilderness tending sheep after fleeing from Egypt when he learned it was widely known that he had murdered an Egyptian maltreating a Hebrew slave.
What a beautiful image here of God’s love so fiery yet not burning us! In the burning bush, God revealed Himself as the omnipresent One always with us we are rarely aware of. There in the burning bush, God also reminded Moses and us today how this whole planet Earth is a sacred ground, His dwelling-place that we keep on desecrating with our sins.
And there lies the great paradox of our lives where God lighting us, straightening our crooked path to help us find our way back to Him, to life and to meaning. God is the fire burning the impurities in us without us knowing in many instances while He prevents us from being consumed like the burning bush. In fact, many times unknown to us, the fires of our failures and disappointments, pains and trials have actually brought out the best in us. Unconsciously to us, we are like the burning bush aflame with God’s fiery love that transforms us into better persons and more committed disciples of Christ.
Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus said to them in reply, “Do you think that because those Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all the other Galileans? by no means! But I tell, if you do not repent, you will perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them – do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will perish as they did!” (Luke 13:1-5)
How timely is our gospel today, reminding us to go deeper into our very selves, into those dark places in our hearts to realize too God’s message to us in the light of recent turn of events in the country.
What a mess we are now into that we easily blame on others except us. We have become so divided as a nation that we have refused to find the face of God, choosing to remain in the level of personalism and worst, of politics.
Sin is not just a turning away from God nor a breaking of any law but a complete refusal to love. When there is no love, there is no trust, there is no other person, there is no God. Just one’s self. Sin, therefore, is selfishness, the thinking more of one’s self, not of others.
That was the very sin of the people after the exodus when they refused to love one another, grumbling against Moses and even God most of the time. St. Paul has a grim reminder to each of us this Sunday as he recalled that desert experience of the Israelites when he wrote:
I do no want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea… Yet God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert. These things happened as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil things, as they did. Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take not to fall (1 Corinthians 10:1, 5-6, 12).
Five years ago I celebrated my birthday on a Sunday, the fifth in Lent just before Palm Sunday. That was very memorable to me because it was the first Sunday during the COVID lockdown when public Masses were prohibited.
That afternoon, I decided to go on a motorized procession of the Blessed Sacrament around my parish with a handful of our parish volunteers using a borrowed F-150 truck of a generous parishioner. Oh how the people knelt while lining up the main highway and inner streets as we passed by with the Blessed Sacrament.
Halfway through our libot, it started to rain but I instructed my companions to still go on even if it there would be a downpour. As we approached the last purok of our parish, I saw a rainbow. And cried as I felt God telling me at that moment like Noah after the floods that He would not forsake us in that time of COVID.
God kept that promise until I left Parokya ni San Juan Ebanghelista in Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan that was the least affected barangay by COVID in the whole town during my term.
Reflecting on that scene of Moses before the burning bush, I remembered that rainbow during my 55th birthday at the start of the COVID pandemic and lockdown. God often comes to us in many disguises, enlightening us to see the present situation we are into especially when it is all dark. It is the time we look inside our hearts to find God and experience His love; if we can’t find God or feel His love, let us be converted. Let us do penance as Jesus told the people in the gospel. Only with a contrite heart that one can truly find love again because being sorry for one’s sin is the beginning of loving.
That is the surest sign of God’s love for us – when everything especially us and our relationships become visibly clear , no matter how slowly it may be, one step at a time. The more we experience the love of God, the more we resolve to love; that is when this life and world become brighter. Let us love like God by returning to Him in His love. Amen. Have a blessed week ahead.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Simbang Gabi-9 Homily, 24 December 2024 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 1:67-79
Photo by author, Advent 2022.
Finally! This may be the word and expression today, the 24th of December. Finally, a lot of you would be bragging about having completed the nine-day novena to Christmas. Finally, it would be Christmas day. And finally, we could sleep longer.
But then, finally what?
When Zechariah’s tongue was loosened after naming his son John in fulfillment of the angel’s instruction to him, it was not the word “finally” that came from his mouth but “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel!”(Lk.1:68). After being mute for nine months, Zechariah’s silence became praise with gratitude and wonder giving him the voice to speak again.
Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David. Through his prophets he promised of old that he would save us from our enemies, from the hand of all who hate us, He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hand of enemies, free to worship him without fear (Luke 1:67-74).
Photo by author, birthplace of St. John the Baptist underneath the church dedicated to him in Judah.
We have reflected last Thursday that Advent and Christmas is a journey that begin in the church, in the celebration of the Mass as Luke opened his Christmas story with the annunciation of John’s birth to Zechariah during their Yom Kippur at the Jerusalem Temple.
Luke’s artistry and mastery in weaving stories brought us right into every scene leading into Christmas – from Jerusalem to Nazareth then to the hill country of Judah in the home of Zechariah until John’s birth where our scene remains today. Tonight and tomorrow, he will be leading us along with Matthew and John to Bethlehem for the birth of the Lord.
But this journeys Luke recounted to us were not only about places but most of all an inner journey into our hearts. As we all know, the destination does not really matter but the journey, the trip. It is most true with our Simbang Gabi too – it is not about completing the nine-day novena that matters most but what have we become!
After tonight and tomorrow’s Masses, our churches would be empty again, only to be filled up on Ash Wednesday, and then Palm Sunday and Holy Thursday. How tragic that on Easter which is “the Mother of all feasts in the Church”, people are miserably absent because they are out in the beach and resort enjoying summer. In fact, more people come to Christmas (Pasko ng Pagsilang) than with Easter (Pasko ng Pagkabuhay) when it is actually the very foundation of our faith.
With our students after Simbang Tanghali last year at the Medicine Lobby of Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City.
So, what have we become after these nine days of waking up early or staying up late at night, praying, listening and reflecting on the word of God, sharing our material blessings in the collections and gift-giving if we stop going to Mass the whole coming new year?
American Trappist monk Thomas Merton wrote that seeking God is not like searching for a “thing” or a lost object because God is more than an intellectual pursuit or a contemplative illumination of the mind. Merton explained that God reveals Himself to us in our hearts through our communion and fellowships in the Church.
We come to church to celebrate the Mass and pray with the whole community to express our communion with one another in Jesus Christ. It is in this communal aspect of prayer we become holy, when we are transformed and as Zechariah prophesied, we are “set free” by Jesus Christ who is the main focus of his Benedictus.
Who are those enemies Zechariah mentioned twice in his Benedictus? Who are those enemies we have to be set free for God and free to love?
Photo by author, Church of St. John the Baptist, Israel, May 2019.
Again, look at this minute detail Luke used in composing Zechariah’s Benedictus when he spoke twice of the word “enemies”: first of “saving us from our enemies, from the hand of all who hate us” (Lk.1:71) and then, the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham “to set us free from the hand of enemies, free to worship him without fear” (Lk.1:74).
Surely, those “enemies” were not just the Romans and other pagans around Israel at that time nor the Pharisees and scribes, the priests and Sadducees of the temple who had hands in Christ’s death for they are now gone. The gospel accounts were written in the past but remain true and relevant at all time in history, especially now more than ever in our own time.
Are we the “enemies” within who think only of our selves even in our religious and spirituality, manipulating God, controlling God?
A friend asked me last week if their priest was right in saying that the Simbang Gabi is the most effective means to obtain special favors from God. I emphatically told her “no”, adding that their priest’s claim is misleading. We cannot dictate God. God blesses everyone, including sinners who do not even go to Mass. We do not need to multiply our prayers as Jesus warned us because God know’s very well our needs before we pray. Then, why pray at all?
We pray and most especially celebrate the Mass especially on Sundays to know what God wants from us because we love God. Period. And that love for God must flow in our loving service and kindness with others. If gaining favors is the main reason we go to Mass or even pray, then, we are the “enemies” who prevent ourselves to freely worship God!
Mr. Paterno Esmaquel of Rappler rightly said it in his Sunday column:
“We are a society obsessed with achievement and success, command and control… Even we who try to complete the Simbang Gabi can plead guilty. During the Simbang Gabi, for example, we are tempted to focus on achieving all the nine days and succeeding for another year. By fulfilling this tradition, we can then ask God (or “command” God, like a genie) to grant our wishes. We can therefore wield greater control over life that is otherwise unpredictable (https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/the-wide-shot-missed-simbang-gabi-found-christmas-grace/).
And who are feeding all these misleading and erroneous thoughts on the people? We your priests and bishops!
How sad as we have mentioned last week when many priests have totally lost any sense at all of the sacred in the celebration of the Mass. Some of them not only come unprepared for the celebration without any homily, even so untidy and shabbily dressed and worst of all, make fun of almost everything and everyone that the Mass has become a cheap variety show. Online Masses continue not for evangelization for “shameful profits” in the Sacrament through “likes” and “followers” that some priests are now more concerned in finding ways to be trending and viral instead of how to effectively evangelize the people with our good liturgical celebrations flowing into our witnessing of life.
Yes, we priests and bishops are the enemies right here in the church when we align more with the rich and powerful, when we have no qualms asking/receiving gifts and favors from politicians and still, would want to collect more money and donations from people with our endless envelops that have totally alienated the poor from the church. The poor are the ones who suffer most, paying for the corruption of the politicians who help the clergy in their projects for the poor. Poor Jesus Christ!
Perhaps, on this last day of our novena to Christmas, let us all force ourselves – especially us priests and bishops – to go into silence to identify, to weed out those enemies within and outside us that prevent us from welcoming Jesus Christ in our hearts.
Let us pray to God that He may set us free from these enemies within us, around us so we can be like John the Baptist who will “go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation.” Amen.See you tonight or tomorrow, Christmas in the Holy Mass!
Photo by author, Dumaguete City Cathedral, November 2024.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday in the First Week of Advent, 04 December 2024 Isaiah 25:6-10 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Matthew 15:29-37
Photo by author, Pulong Sampalok, DRT, Bulacan, 22 November 2024.
Praise and glory to You, God our loving Father for this gift of Advent Season: thank you in bringing us to this brand new day of salvation, of freedom, of new life in Jesus; most of all, thank you for ending death in Christ's advent.
On this mountain he will destroy he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces… (Isaiah 25:7-8).
Come to us this Advent, dear Jesus and take away all kinds of veils of selfishness that cover and make us unloving, unkind, unmerciful, unhappy... set us free, Jesus, free to love and serve especially the sick and hungry; set us free, Jesus, this Advent to open our hearts to bring out those treasures You have filled us with like goodwill and care for others like the disciples in today's gospel. Amen.
Photo courtesy of Our Lady of Fatima Tribune, 27 November 2024.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 20 October 2024 Isaiah 53:10-11 ><}}}}*> Hebrews 4:14-16 ><}}}}*> Mark 10:35-45
The Jewish Cemetery of Mount of Olives facing the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem where the Messiah is believed would pass through when He comes, exactly where Jesus entered on Palm Sunday over 2000 years ago (photo by author taken in May 2019).
Jesus Christ’s three predictions of His coming Passion, Death, and Resurrection punctuate Mark’s narration of the Lord’s journey to Jerusalem. They were already fast approaching Jerusalem when Jesus revealed His third prediction of His Pasch to His followers.
According to Mark, the Twelve and the crowd were “amazed and were afraid” after hearing for the third time Christ’s coming Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
Photo by author, Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, April 2017.
And this was the prevailing mood among the followers of the Lord as they approached Jerusalem; beginning today and next Sunday, Mark reminds us of the need to have a clear sight and understanding of Jesus and His mission so that we may not be blinded by fame and glory in following Him like the brothers James and John:
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” He replied, “What do you wish me to do for you?” They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking… but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared” (Mark 10:35-38, 40).
Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking."
Photo by author, Betania Tagaytay, 2018.
Whoa…! We might all exclaim with some indignation like the other ten Apostles upon hearing this request by James and John, two of the most intimate friends of Jesus with Simon Peter.
Were they trying to ease their worries and fears that they made the request without thinking it so well, a case of mema, me masabi lang? Or, do they really understand nothing at all of the Lord’s teachings especially last Sunday of the need to let go of our possessions to enter eternal life?
Whatever may be the reason, we could just imagine the treachery of the two who left the group behind, trying not to be noticed by the ten, and approached Jesus who was walking ahead. They have both belittled Jesus who reads the minds and the hearts of everyone. And most sad is the fact that many times, we too act like James and John.
Oh yes! We know so well of the sufferings and trials, of the “cup we have to drink and baptism we have to undergo” Jesus told the brothers. Very much like the two, we also know Christ always triumphs! Jesus never fails!
And that’s the crux of the matter here not only with James and John but with us: we bet on Jesus like in gambling casinos for we know Jesus wins all the time, hoping for some rewards following His glory.
James and John like us today believed so much in Jesus that despite His coming Passion and Death, they knew as we do that He would rise again and be King. Long before the Passion of Jesus had begun, still far from entering Jerusalem, James and John were already betting on the success and glory of Christ because they wanted a guarantee of a reward. It was a sort reminding Jesus they have always been with Him since the beginning like Peter last Sunday who bragged about having left everything to follow Him.
Are we not like them? It is the same attitude found among many of us not only in politics and government but even at home, in school and offices, or the church! Be the first to register to make it known how well qualified we are for commendations and rewards simply because of being in the company of every journey or advocacy or struggle.
It is the tragedy that happens even in our faith journey as Christians when we are blinded by so many worldly things about Jesus whom we see merely as a miracle-worker or worst, an ATM who never runs out of cash. We believe in Jesus as the Son of God, all-powerful and merciful who can do everything, especially the impossible as He had assured us last Sunday but many times, we do not know what we are asking like James and John.
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be with so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you you will be slave of all. For the Son of God did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:41-45).
Photo by author, wailing wall of Jerusalem, May 2019.
Jesus clarifies today with us that His glory has nothing in common whatsoever with those things we gain here on earth by claiming our rights or resorting to undue favors, by competing with others to get the better of them or even push them away or step on them to crush them for us to be on top.
We cannot be Christ’s disciples if we are preoccupied with rewards. We serve Jesus because we love that we want to be with Him in eternal life. And in loving Him, we serve lovingly others without expecting anything in return simply because we love.
See how in calling together the Twelve, Jesus reminded them and us today of His central teaching of becoming like a child, confidently entrusting everything into the Father’s hands, exactly like Him, the Suffering Servant of God referred to by the Prophet Isaiah in the first reading who “gave his life as a ransom for many” (Mk.10:45).
Photo by author, 2021.
Jesus reminds us this Sunday that love alone – like His self-sacrificing love on the Cross – is the basis of our relationships with each other, unlike the world where relations are based on power and domination.
Noteworthy too is the reminder of the author of the Letter to the Hebrews today about Jesus our High Priest who entered the sanctuary of heaven through the Cross so that we may be saved and receive mercy from the Father.
What else do we want Jesus to do for us when He had done everything for our salvation? Let us pray for a clearer vision of Jesus, to always see and find Him in our lives so that we desire only Him and share only Him. And follow Him like the blind Bartimaeus next Sunday. Amen. Have a blessed week ahead!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday in the Twenty-eighth Week of Ordinary Time Year II, 16 October 2024 Galatians 5:18-25 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 11:42-46
Photo by author, Fatima Ave., Valenzuela City, 25 July 2024.
Lead and guide us, O Most Holy Spirit; set us free from "the works of the flesh: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions" (Galatians 5:19-20); cleanse our nation now facing the realities of the truth of what we have long suspected of filth and evil that have shrouded the past administration's drug war; so many lives were lost and destroyed not only by the deaths but all the lies that were glorified; be the courage and strength, O Holy Spirit, of those finally given the chance to stand for what is true so that never again such reign of darkness and terror be repeated.
Woe to us and everyone who continue to overlook the good of others!
Let your Spirit, dear Jesus, bear fruit in us with "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23); fills us with your Spirit today, Jesus, so we may be more loving, thinking always of the good of others above all. Amen.
Photo by author, Fatima Ave., Valenzuela City, 25 July 2024.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Memorial of St. Teresa of Avila, Virgin & Doctor of the Church, 15 October 2024 Galatians 5:1-6 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 11:37-41
Photo by author, somewhere in Pampanga, August 2024.
What a wonderful Saint You have gifted us today, dear Jesus in St. Teresa of Avila; what a wonderful saint we need so much these days to guide us in your Church, one who has "faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6).
In this time when people laugh at our traditions of old, when liberalism is so adored, modern thoughts highly praised and so embraced that many of us are so concerned in "cleansing the outside of the cup and dish while inside us are filled with plunder and evil" and pride, so highly speaking of freedom, inclusivity and sensitivity that in the process we forget You, Jesus; like St. Teresa of Avila, lead us back to our faith working through love that seeks You in deep prayer by detaching ourselves from the trappings of this modern world like social media's very alluring style of story-telling that's empty inside because of all outside as "palabas" - one big show, a circus.
We pray to You, Jesus, through St. Teresa of Avila for the grace of a contemplative spirit in a world so active that frees us from the slavery of one's own passions and fantasies so that we can be more free to become a loving person who sees You in others we must serve. Amen.
Photo by author, 21 August 2024, St. Scholastica Spirituality Center, Tagaytay City.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 23 July 2024
Photo from sunstar.com.ph of that viral incident between a Cebu personality addressed as a “Sir” by a waiter in a mall last Sunday.
It is a classic case of “brouhaha” in the real sense, especially if we consider our Tagalog word buruha or bruha: a waiter was told to stand for more than an hour to be “lectured” on gender sensitivity by a Cebu personality belonging to the LGBTQ community after being addressed as a “Sir”.
Well, at least, the issue had been settled amicably with an apology by the celebrity after a deluge of negative reactions from netizens. Likewise, we can now sigh with some relief that there are no plans among the LGBTQ community to imitate their sistah from the Queen City of Cebu, proof that there are more sane and kind LGBTQ who have better things to do than make a big fuss about themselves or the rainbow. Imagine if every LGBTQ will lecture everyone of us just on how to address them in Metro Manila alone, life would be disrupted and paralyzed, worst than what we went through during the lockdowns during COVID-19!
But kidding aside, what makes that incident disturbingly sad is how it had shown again the sad plight of the poor in our country. Bawal maging mahirap, maging dukha sa Pilipinas. So sad. Even in the church it is very true. We do not have to look far to see how this is so true among us. Kawawa palagi ang mga maliliit.
How do we treat our house helpers and drivers, delivery personnel, janitors and janitresses, even professionals doing not so glamorous tasks like nurses. And security guards, of course. (Kudos to our alma mater, the Faculty of Arts and Letters of UST who had their security personnel joined the march of their recent graduates!)
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, 2018.
The very sight of a waiter standing in front of a customer immediately caught my attention while scrolling my Facebook, asking myself, “what happened?” Gut feelings told me something was very wrong and surely, the guy must have been so disadvantaged.
For addressing that celebrity customer as “sir”, the waiter had to endure the humiliation of standing before him like in a trial. Even if it was just between the two of them. Even if he did not scream or yell at the waiter. What’s the big deal? Iyon lang?
His ego, his femininity more valuable than the very person of the waiter? It is the new pandemic among us spreading these last 20 years. The malady of entitlement, of never making the mortal sin to address some people as Doctor or Attorney or even Father. We have lost touched with our humanity, our being a human being, a person, a tao first of all.
Good thing there was a good soul around that mall who came to the waiter’s rescue.
What we have here is a classic case of “exaggeration of truth, exaggeration of self” – a phrase I have found years ago in one of the many writings of Pope Benedict XVI. It was my parting shot to our graduates of Senior High School last July 05, 2024 during our Baccalaureate Mass.
Many times in this age of so many platforms of communications, we tend to exaggerate the truths, of clamoring for so many things like inclusiveness everywhere when in the process, they have actually become so exclusive! Many times, people exaggerate the truth presenting themselves as disadvantaged and victimized when in fact it is far from reality. Many people are advancing so many things these days when in fact they are actually promoting themselves. Many are exaggerating the truths when they are actually exaggerating themselves (https://lordmychef.com/2024/07/10/exaggerating-truth-exaggerating-self/)
The tragedy of our time characterized by affluence and upward mobility so splattered across social media daily, is how so many among us who have lost touch with our humanity. Everything has become a show – a palabas we say in Filipino. We forget that inside – the loob – as more essential.
And what is inside each one of us?
Our dignity as image and likeness of God or pagkatao that is best seen and expressed in our being small, being little like the children, the very core of Jesus Christ’s teaching.
Look outside even in the countryside now invaded by those giant tarpaulins – why have we become like those tarpaulins, thinking and feeling we are larger than others?
Truth in Greek is aletheia that literally means an opening, of not being concealed like the blooming of a flower.
Simply be yourself. And don’t forget everyone as they are.
God bless everyone!
Photo by Dra. Mai B. Dela Pena, MD at Deir Al-Mukhraqa Carmelite Monastery in Isarel, 2014.
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