Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 03 July 2024
Photo from The Valenzuela Times, 02 July 2024.
Honestly… how did you react to this photo published yesterday afternoon after that flash flood at McArthur Highway in Valenzuela City? Do you find it funny? Did you hit the LOL emoticon? Why?
Am I that old and conservative, or prudish, or, is it merely a simple case of generation gap that I felt sad and surprised at how almost everyone in social media last night laughed at this photo? At least, some were sincere enough to admit being jealous as they exclaimed “sanaol” but, why all the laughter?
It is better expressed in our Filipino language – pinagtawanan (laughed at) which is a world apart from nakatutuwa (joyful sight).
What is so funny if a man would carry his girlfriend on his back for her not to get wet or soaked in the flood?
So gentlemanly in fact, hindi ba? Should we not be glad that there are still knights in shining armor these days?
Others simply described it as OA or “overacting”. Maybe…
The photo is a modern gospel, a good news in this age when chivalry is said to be dead. It is so much similar with last Sunday’s gospel that said “Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side” (Mk. 5:21), after they went through a turbulent squall crossing the Lake of Galilee the other week. What a beautiful story last Sunday of Jesus crossing again and again not only the treacherous lake but so often crossed the streets and valleys and mountains to reach out to those sick and lost and even dead to bring them all to the side of grace and life (https://lordmychef.com/2024/06/29/jesus-crossed-seas-streets-to-lead-us-to-the-side-of-life-again-again/).
My post last night…
I love that word “cross” from which came crossing; the former if spelled with a capital C refers to the Cross of Jesus Christ that also means our daily sufferings and difficulties in life we have to accept and embrace while the former refers to the street intersection where pedestrians cross.
Every day Jesus comes to help us cross the streets of this life filled with many pains and sufferings, trials and hardships. Jesus help us cross these busy and stressful streets of daily life for us to get to the side of life and fullness through those willing to suffer and sacrifice like this student in the photo.
How sad that when someone is willing to sacrifice for a loved one, when someone is willing to help others cross the street, whether it is flooded or not that people nowadays laugh at them, calling them OA.
We are not judging anyone.
Maybe we just have to reassess ourselves daily especially in our overexposure to social media and its gadgets that have alienated us from realities of life and from being human, being a person who is a subject to be loved and cherished than object to be possessed and laughed at.
How sad that with too much media, we no longer have that feel and experience of realities.
Go to any wedding or whatever kind of ceremony and parade to see how people are foolishly glued to their camera screens recording the events without experiencing the moment at all!
That gentleman carrying his girlfriend on his back is a good news for us today that Christ is still with us in this modern age. Unfortunately, it seems that like what happened 2000 years ago, there are still some who still want Him crucified for being good and kind, even OA, with others. Have a blessed day. We’d like to hear from you too… thank you!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday in the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 14 June 2024 1 Kings 19:9, 11-16 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 5:27-32
Photo by Mr. Vigie Ongleo, Sagada, Mt. Province, 2014.
O God, dear Father, how I have loved so much ever since today's story of Elijah fleeing from death at the hands of Jezebel's army; so many times I have felt like Elijah, so tired, fed up fighting, hoping for death when the going gets tough and rough; and so many times too, You have never forsaken me, Father like Elijah, asking me many times that question, "Why are you here?" (1 Kings 19:9, 13).
Very often, I get confused, Father,
if I am that zealous for You
like Elijah or just me so insistent
with what I believe,
with what I know,
with what I hold so dear
in You and for You;
many times I do not know
if I am still doing your will
especially when it is so difficult,
so uncomfortable and,
yes, I have asked You many times
why not just make me
an ordinary man,
instead of being your prophet....
Photo by Mr. Vigie Ongleo, Sagada, Mt. Province, 2014.
But your question remains, Lord, that I rarely face nor answer squarely: "Why are you here?"
You know me so well, Lord: like Simon Peter in Capernaum after your discourse on the bread of life, my favorite response to You is "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God" (John 6:68-69).
But most of all, I am here because like the psalmist, "I long to see your face, O Lord" (Psalm 27:7-8); and for me to see your face means to love more until it hurts me; to see your face, Lord, is to be still and silent amid the noise of this world for you are always there in our midst among the weak and voiceless, among those in the margins and underneath the heaps of scraps and garbage; to see your face, O Lord, is to remember always it is your work, not mine that I must accomplish.
Why am I here, Lord? Because You told me so. Thank you so much in bringing me here this far, no matter what for as long I feel getting closer with You. In that case, I shall always be here for You! Amen.
Photo by Mr. Vigie Ongleo, Sagada, Mt. Province, 2014.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 11 June 2024
From stillromancatholicafteralltheseyears.com, January 2022.
What is very sad in this ongoing debate against divorce in our country is how some people claiming to be graduates and professors of Catholic institutions insist on their many “intellectual reasonings” why divorce should be allowed while at the same time declaring it is wrong to profess we are against divorce simply because we are Catholics.
What a tragedy when those educated or teaching in Catholic schools and universities who are supposed to know more and better about Jesus Christ and His teachings are the ones favoring divorce. They cite so many studies and authors even theologians to support their stand in favor of divorce without ever mentioning Christ’s teachings found in the Sacred Scriptures that were explained by the Church in our Catechism as well as in so many other documents by the Popes and bishops.
We understand how journalists could err regarding names and other details that essentially do not effect the veracity of their news like the recent sakalan blues in Gagalangin, Tondo when the interview of a priest was ascribed to another; but, to be one sided in the presentation of a story is something else like Rappler’s “The Problem with I am Catholic, I say no to divorce”. There’s a reliable maxim in journalism that says “Opinions are free but facts are sacred.”
The main fact we have been holding on the sanctity and indissolubility of marriage for over 2000 years is our Lord Jesus Christ’s teaching against divorce that the pro-divorce everywhere have refused to accept.
Yes, we need to listen to different views about divorce but not to those views condemned by the Church because they are wrong.
Divorce cannot be isolated as merely a political issue to be resolved because marriage as a natural sacrament is spiritual in nature, a path to holiness.
Marriage is a gift and a call from God for men and women to live and work together in order to attain eternal life. This we achieve firstly by having a prayer life, a relationship with God expressed in our love for one another especially between husband and wife.
In arguing against divorce, we need to look for those couples who have made it through thick and thin in their marriage in order to inspire others in following the path of Holy Matrimony.
Joyce and Tony in 2019 with son Atty. JA and wife Kathleen with their two sons, and daughter Rosella.
As a contribution in our fight against divorce, I share with you my homily at the 40th wedding anniversary of my cousin Joyce Pollard to Tony Lopez in October 2019 which I titled as “Married life is a prayer”.
Oh what a joy to officiate weddings especially of relatives and friends!
Hope you find some lessons and inspirations on the beauty of marriage we have to keep.
As I prepared my homily for your anniversary, Joyce and Tony… “the moment I woke up and before your Mommy Fely put on her make-up, I said a little prayer for you.”
Of course that is not the theme song of Joyce and Tony. They haven’t met yet in 1967 when Dione Warwick recorded I Say a Little Prayer. But they were already married when it became one of the tracks in the movie “My Best Friend’s Wedding” starring Julia Roberts.
And since this is my “best cousin’s wedding anniversary” in this part of the city, I have thought of reflecting on married life as a prayer.
In our gospel we have heard Jesus Christ narrating the parable of the unjust judge and persistent widow to underscore “the necessity to pray always without becoming weary” (Lk. 18:1).
Prayer is an expression of faith.
When there is faith, there is also love.
And when there is prayer, faith, and love, what we have is a relationship, a community of believers who love each other.
People who love and believe with each other always talk and communicate. They make time to be with one another. And most often, that is what really matters with people who love and believe – simply to be together.
Even in silence.
Like prayer.
Prayer is more than asking things from God but most of all, prayer is a relationship with God expressed with others. That is the beauty of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony: husband and wife are bound together in marriage to become signs of the saving presence of Jesus Christ.
Marriage as a sacrament means it is a prayer as well, a relationship of a man and woman with God as its source and foundation.
I am sure, Joyce and Tony along with all the other married couples here today will agree that married life requires a lot of prayers. In fact, married life is a prayer, a very difficult one that is much needed.
Like in that movie My Best Friend’s Wedding, there are real forces of evil that are trying to destroy couples. So many couples have already fallen, going their separate lives after several years of being together while on the other hand, more and more couples are refusing to get married at all due to this reality of breakups and separations.
And that is why we are celebrating today Joyce and Tony’s 40th wedding anniversary! We are praying with them in expressing our faith and love for them in Christ Jesus. Prayers have kept them together, transforming them into better persons.
At the end of the parable of the persistent widow and unjust judge, Jesus posed a very crucial question for us, especially to every married couple here today: When the Son of Man comes again at the end of time, will he find faith on earth? (Lk.18:8)
And what shall be our response?
“Yes, Lord, you shall find faith when you come again in Joyce and Tony!”
Like Moses in the first reading, they both prayed hard with arms outstretched on many occasions as they battled life’s many challenges and struggles.
“Yes, Lord, you shall find faith when you come again in Joyce and Tony” because they have both proclaimed your word with persistence, whether it is convenient or inconvenient like St. Paul in his second letter to Timothy. They have weathered so many storms in the past 40 years and your words, O Lord, have kept them together, sharing these with their children and with everyone in their life of fidelity and love.
“Yes, Lord, you shall find faith when you come again in Joyce and Tony” now before your altar to renew their vows to love and cherish each other for the rest of their lives!
“Yes, Lord, you shall find faith when you come again” among the many couples gathered here who have remained faithful to each other despite their many sins and failures, weaknesses and shortcomings.
Joyce and Tony, you are not only a prayer of faith but also a homily of the Holy Matrimony, showing us the light and power of Jesus Christ to transform people in prayer and bring them to fulfillment.
Prayer does not change things like typhoons and earthquakes. We cannot ask God in prayer to spare us from getting sick or be exempted from life’s many trials and sufferings. Prayer cannot stop those from happening.
What prayer does is change us, change our attitude so we may hurdle life’s many blows and obstacles. Especially with couples who always find God in their lives, in good times and in bad.
Prayers transform us into better persons as children of God, especially couples who eventually look like brothers and sisters after living together in faith, hope and love.
Tony and Joyce, I am sure everyone in our family and among your friends here can attest to the many good things that have transformed you in the past 40 years.
You have changed to become the best for each other.
In the bible, the number 40 means perfect.
May God continue to perfect you, Tony and Joyce.
Keep us too in your prayers as we pray for you. Amen.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 09 May 2024
Our mother had always loved flowers and shades of pink, especially pink carnation her favorite.
It has been said death is the greatest equalizer. But with my mom’s recent passing, I realized too that death is the best explainer of life. Death is life’s final joke on us that answers, clarifies the many questions we have been asking in our lifetime.
Consider these:
Dad died on June 17, 2000, my mom’s 61st birthday; we celebrated his 40th day of death on his birthday, July 26, 2000. He died on a Saturday, the eve of Father’s Day.
Mommy died May 07, 2024 with her 40th day coming on June 15, two days before her 85th birthday and dad’s 24th death anniversary. This Sunday after her burial is Mother’s Day.
Ever since my father died, I have realized that death weaves a certain pattern in our lives, telling us a lot of things about us and our loved ones. And about life itself if we would have faith in God by setting aside our fears and superstitions.
Photo by author, somewhere in Bgy. Kaysuyo, Alfonso, Cavite, 27 April 2024.
See how Jesus spoke to His disciples about His coming death during their Last Supper:
“Now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you… But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.”
John 16:5-7, 13
It is always after someone had died when things and life itself become clearer for us. In every death comes an unfolding of truth in time, in persons. It is after a beloved had died when we realize how much we do not know of their goodness or kindness that often we are surprised at the outpouring of love by those who come to their wake. Many times, strangers know more of the brighter side of a person when he/she dies. Along this line of mystery of the person we find too how death happens on days that at first seem to mean nothing at all but at closer look, or later as we moved on in life after the demise of a loved one, we see how every death points to something about us and our family and friends!
Hence, we say death is not the end but the beginning of eternity. Actually, with the deaths of my father and now of my mom, I have found death is life. No wonder St. Francis referred to death as a person, calling him “cousin Death.”
This became more clear to me when I became a chaplain at the Fatima University Medical Center (FUMC) in Valenzuela City.
Last year I took care of an elderly priest, Msgr. Teng Manlapig when he was confined in our hospital for almost a month. Two days before he died on February 26, 2023, he asked me to hear his confession. It was a Friday and February 26 last year was the first Sunday in Lent when the gospel was the temptation of Christ in the wilderness.
It was on that Sunday evening after seeing Msgr. Teng for the last time before he was taken to the funeral parlor when I remembered another priest I had cared during his dying days, Msgr. Macario Manahan who died in front of me in his retirement home on March 16, 2014 – the second Sunday in Lent when the gospel was the Transfiguration.
What a tremendous gift from God for me to care until their deaths of two monsignori in the Season of Lent. From them I have realized that our final altar as priests are our deathbeds where even to the end, we celebrate Mass and the Sacraments. From that day on too, I have prayed to God to allow me to go home to Him not during Lent but on Easter. Or, preferably on Ascension Sunday when my time comes.
Have a blessed day celebrating life, finding its meaning and beauty in the prism of cousin Death in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-21 ng Marso 2024 Ikalawang Huling Wika ni Jesus sa Krus
Larawan kuha ng may-akda sa Mirador Jesuit Retreat House sa Baguio City, Agosto 2023.
Ang ikalawang wika ni Jesus sa Krus:
Tinuya siya ng isa sa mga salaring nakabitin, at ang sabi, “Hindi ba ikaw ang Mesias? Iligtas mo ang iyong sarili, pati na kami!” Ngunit pinagsabihan siya ng kanyang kasama, “Hindi ka ba natatakot sa Diyos? Ikaw may pinarurusahang tulad niya! Matuwid lamang na tayo’y parusahan nang ganito dahil sa ating mga ginawa; ngunit ang taong ito’y walang ginawang masama.” At sinabi niya, “JESUS ALALAHANIN MO AKO KAPAG NAGHAHARI KA NA.” Sumagot si Jesus, “SINASABI KO SA IYO: NGAYON DI’Y ISASAMA KITA SA PARAISO.”
Lukas 23:39-43
Muli ay ating namnamin ikalawang wika ni Jesus doon sa Krus pagkapako sa kanya. Nauna niyang sinambit ay kapatawaran; ngayon naman kanya itong sinundan ng pangako ng langit o paraiso.
At iyon ay agad-agad na, ora mismo! Wika nga ng mga bata, “now na”! Hindi mamaya pagkamatay nila ni Jesus o sa Linggo sa kanyang pagkabuhay. Malinaw na sinabi ni Jesus kay Dimas, “SINASABI KO SA IYO: NGAYON DI’Y ISASAMA KITA SA PARAISO.”
Tantuin ninyo mga ginigiliw ko na sa ebanghelyo ayon kay San Lukas, namutawi lamang sa mga labi ni Jesus ang pangakong ito ng paraiso noong siya ay nakabayubay sa krus at hirap na hirap. Wala siyang pinangakuan ng langit nang siya ay malaya at malakas na nakakagalaw, naglilibot at nangangaral.
Alalaong-baga, pumapasok tayo sa langit kasama si Jesus sa sandaling kasama din niya tayong nagtitiis, nagdurusa, nagpapakasakit dahil sa pagmamahal doon sa Krus!
Ang krus ang pintuan papasok sa langit o paraiso.
Madalas naiisip natin kapag nabanggit o narinig ang katagang langit at paraiso ay kagalakan, kawalan ng hirap at dusa. Basta masarap at maayos sa pakiramdam, langit iyon sa atin. Kaya mga addict noon at ngayon kapag sila ay sabog at nasa good trip, iyon ay “heaven” dahil wala silang nadaramang problema at hirap sa buhay.
Larawan kuha ng may akda, 2023.
Kaya hindi rin kataka-taka na ang gamot nating laging binibili ay pain killer – konting sakit ng ulo o kasu-kasuan, naka-Alaxan kaagad. Noong dati ay mayroong shampoo na “no more tears” dahil walang hilam sa mata.
Gayon ang pananaw natin sa langit. At tumpak naman iyon kaya nga sa pagbabasbas ng labi ng mga yumao, dinarasal ng pari, “Sa paraiso magkikitang muli tayo. Samahan ka ng mga Santo, kahit mayroong nauuna, tayo rin ay magsasama-sama upang lagi tayong lumigaya sa piling ng Diyos Ama. Amen.”
Nagmula ang salitang paraiso sa katagang paradiso na tumutukoy sa kaloob-loobang silid ng hari ng Persia (Iran ngayon) kung saan tanging mga pinagkakatiwalaang tao lamang ang maaring makapasok kasama ang royal family. Kaya nang isalin sa wikang Griyego ang mga aklat ng Bibliya, hiniram ang katagang paradiso ng mga taga-Persia at naging paraiso upang tukuyin ang langit na tahanan ng Diyos na higit pa sa sino mang hari sa mundo.
Ngunit, katulad ng silid na paradiso ng hari ng Persia, hindi lahat ay basta-basta na lamang makakapasok ng paraiso. Alalahanin nang magkasala sina Eba at Adan, pinalayas sila ng Diyos at mula noon ay nasara ang paraiso; muli itong nabuksan kay Kristo nang sagipin niya tayo doon sa krus na nagbunga sa pagwawalang-sala sa ating mga makasalanan. Dahil sa krus ni Jesus, tayo ay naging karapat-dapat patuluyin sa paraiso. Sa tuwing ating tinatanggap ang krus ni Kristo, tayo ay nagiging tapat sa Diyos sa pamamagitan ng pagmamahal at paglilingkod sa kapwa. Noon din tayo pumapasok ng paraiso.
Sa panahong ito na wala nang hanap ang karamihan kungdi sarap at kaluguran, ipinaaalala sa atin ni Jesus sa ikalawang wika na ibig niya tayong makapiling ngayon din sa paraiso kung tayo ay mananatiling kasama niya sa pagtitiis at pagpapakasakit sa ngalan ng pag-ibig sa Diyos at kapwa.
Sa panahong ito na dinidiyos masyado ang katawan at sarili upang maging malusog, malakas at kung maari ay manatiling bata at mura ang edad, pinapaalala ni Jesus sa kanyang ikalawang huling wika sa krus na sino mang nasa banig ng karamdaman pati na yaong mayroong kapansanan ay unti-unti na ring pumapasok ng langit ngayon din sa kanilang tinitiis na hirap at sakit.
Sa panahong ito na lahat ay pinadadali at hanggat maari iniiwasan ano mang hirap at dusa, pinapaalala ni Jesus sa kanyang ikalawang huling wika na sa ating pagsusumakit sa maraming tiisin at pasanin sa buhay na ito, noon din tayo pumapasok sa paraiso kahit na kadalasan ito ay nagtatagal sa paghihintay.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, 2018.
Noong pandemic, natutunan natin na hindi lahat ng tinuturing ng mundo na negatibo ay masama kasi noong mga panahong iyon, iisa ating dasal tuwing tayo ay sasailalim ng COVID test na sana ay “negative” tayo, hindi ba? Noon natutunan natin yung negative ay positive. At iyon mismo ang kahulugan ng krus ni Kristo!
Para sa atin, ano mang mahirap, masakit tulad ng krus ay negatibo ngunit kung tutuusin, ang krus ay hugis positibo o “plus sign” (+) at hindi minus (-); kaya, ano mang hirap at pagtitiis sinasagisag ng krus ay mabuti dahil hindi ito nakakabawas bagkus nakapagdaragdag sa ating pagkatao na naghahatid sa atin sa kaganapan at paglago. Sa suma total, eka nga, sa paraiso!
Ang mga tiisin at pagsubok sa buhay ang nagpapatibay at nagpapabuti sa atin upang maging karapat-dapat makapasok sa paraiso at makapanahan ang Haring magpakailanman – ngayon din, ora mismo, now na!
Kaya, manalangin tayo:
Panginoong Jesus, bago pa man dumating lahat nitong aming tiisin at pasanin sa buhay, nauna ka sa aming nagtiis at nagpasan ng krus noong Biyernes Santo; nauna kang nagpakasakit at namatay noon sa Krus dahil sa pagmamahal sa amin; kaya, patatagin mo ako sa aking katapatan at pananampalataya sa Iyo upang manatiling kaisa mo sa krus ng kalbaryo ng buhay upang ngayon din Ikaw ay aking makapiling, makasama sa Paraiso. Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-21 ng Pebrero 2024
Larawan mula sa forbes.com, 2019.
Ang demonyong cellphone tukso at ugat ng pagkakasala sa maraming pagkakataon; mga chismis, maling impormasyon kinakalat agad namang kinakagat ng marami sa pag-iisip at pang-unawa ay salat.
Ang demonyong cellphone hindi mabitiwan hindi maiwanan palaging iniingatan mga tinatagong lihim larawan at kahalayan ng huwad nating katauhan.
Ang demonyong cellphone istorbo at pang-gulo panginoong hindi mapahindian napakalaking kawalan kung hindi matandaan saan naiwanan, katinuan nawala nang tuluyan.
Ang demonyong cellphone winawasak ating katahimikan nawala na rin ating kapanatagan sa halip maghatid ng kaisahan pagkakahiwa-hiwalay bunga sa maraming karanasan pinalitan pamilya at kaibigan.
Ang demonyong cellphone lahat na lang ibinunyag wala nang pitagan ni paggalang sa kasagraduhan ng bawat nilalang ultimo kasamaan nakabuyangyang, pinagpipistahan.
Ang demonyong cellphone palagi nang namamagitan sa ating mga ugnayan atin nang nakalimutan damhin kapanatilihan pinalitan nitong malamig na kasangkapan pintig ng kalooban.
Sa panahong ito ng Kuwaresma iwanan at bitiwan ang cellphone dumedemonyo, nagpapagulo sa buhay nating mga tao; manahimik katulad ni Kristo sa ilang nitong ating buhay upang Siya ay makaniig at marinig Kanyang tinig ika'y iniibig!
Ang painting na “Temptation in the Wilderness” ni Briton Riviere (1840-1920) mula sa commons.wikimedia.org.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Sunday Recipe for the Soul, Lent I-B, 18 February 2024 Genesis 9:8-15 + + 1 Peter 3:18-22 + + Mark 1:12-15
Pope Benedict XVI eloquently described Lent in his first papal Lenten message in 2006 when he wrote, “Lent is a privileged time of interior pilgrimage towards Him Who is the fount of mercy. It is a pilgrimage in which He Himself accompanies us through the desert of our poverty, sustaining us on our way towards the intense joy of Easter.”
What a beautiful picture too of the short gospel from Mark we heard this first Sunday in Lent that briefly describes the temptation of Jesus so unlike the detailed versions by Matthew and Luke. Nonetheless, Mark’s terse account is loaded heavily in rich symbols and meanings.
The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him. After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of god is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:12-15
This scene comes right after the baptism of Jesus by John at the Jordan. It is sad that our liturgical texts have not yet adopted the new revised editions of major Catholic bibles wherein Mark noted how “immediately” or “at once” after his baptism, Jesus was tempted in the desert.
(At once) The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert tempted by Satan.
“Temptation in the Wilderness” painting by Briton Riviere (1840-1920) from commons.wikimedia.org.
Do we not experience the same thing daily in life when even right in the moment we are trying to pray, trying to become better when temptations come our way like when we decided to pray or go celebrate the Mass, something else would distract or prevent us from fulfilling it?
See how difficult it is to go on diet when suddenly mother cooks your favorite meal or somebody comes for a visit with burgers and sodas and cakes! Just when you have decided to quit a vice, at once the temptation comes to pick it up again, as we plea to make it our “last” cigarette or joint, last shot of alcohol, last look at pornography, last gamble and so many other lasts that never really ended! Recall those times we decided to finally embark on any religious or spiritual endeavor when at once we are intensely challenged by carnal and material desires.
It is a reality of life that Jesus faced too like us, being tempted immediately by Satan after his baptism when God identified him as his beloved Son with whom he is well pleased. Mark warns us today how Satan is bent on tempting us to abandon God, be lost and just be ordinary without meaning and fulfillment in life and existence. The five Sundays in Lent depict to us our internal pilgrimage and journey into God’s inner room to be with him in Christ Jesus. It is a pilgrimage as we return to our very root and grounding who is God. Let us not waste the grace of this blessed season to become like God again, truly his image and likeness marred by sin and evil.
Oh what a joy to be one with God again, to regain our true selves – contented and fulfilled in our very selves minus all the trappings of this world’s artificialities of fake selves with fake faces and skin, of fake lives glamorized in social media. It is a pilgrimage in the desert where we are invited to leave everything behind, to be bare and nothing for we solely need only God to truly see again our selves as true, good, and beautiful. Not with cosmetics nor food nor even modern thoughts and ideas pretending to be just and fair that deceive us and leave us more empty and lost.
He was among the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.
“Jesus Ministered to by Angels” painting by James Tissot (1836-1902) from commons.wikipedia.org.
Lent is an interior pilgrimage to God lived in the wilderness too, an invitation for us to go back to Paradise even in the midst of the chaos around us. This we do every Sunday in the Mass when we go back to God, to his Church and the sacraments.
This is why Lent is the time for more prayers, fasting and alms-giving as they all strengthen our spiritual resolve to become better persons, to become who we really are – beloved children of God with dignity, meaning and purpose found in him.
Despite the fall of Adam and Eve, God never abandoned us because he loves us so much that he sent us Jesus Christ his Son to accompany and show us how among the wild beasts around us, there are angels attending to our needs at all times. Everyone has a struggle, a problem dealing with. Nobody is without any crisis nor lives perfectly. That’s the imagery of the desert, a wilderness with the wildest beasts that are most ferocious and most poisonous.
Yet, God has assured us even right after the Fall that we are his most precious creation that he takes the initiative always to save us from every danger of sickness and death. Most of all, of sin like when Cain was so jealous of his brother Abel, the Lord said to him, “Why are you angry? Why are you dejected? If you act rightly, you will be accepted; but if not, sin lies in wait at the door; its urge is for you, yet you can rule over it” (Gen. 4:6-7).
In the first reading we heard how God acted like human, so fed up with our sinfulness that he sent a great flood to wipe the earth clean again. However, do not forget that before sending the great flood, God sent first Noah and his family. Again, that is exactly how our life is!
Unknown to us, long before any problem and sufferings come to us, there is always God preparing already a remedy, a solution, an exit plan for us in the first place like when he sent Noah and his family to ensure there would still be good people left after the flood. This reached its highest point in Jesus whom the Father sent to become the new rainbow of the sky when Christ stretched out his arms on the Cross to save us. Peter beautifully explained this truth in our second reading today, reminding us how the great flood at Noah’s time was a prefiguring of our baptism in Jesus Christ when we become the Father’s beloved and forgiven children.
Never lose hope when things seem to be so bad and miserable in life. Remember how the silver linings appear always after the heavy rains or how the leaves are greenest after the storm. Yes, life is like a desert, a wilderness with so many wild beasts that may times we could not escape temptations and fall into sins. But God is greater than our hearts, sending us more than enough angels even his only begotten Son so we may overcome temptations and sins, downfalls and defeats in life. Go back to God, go back to paradise in prayers and the Mass. Handle life with prayer, always PUSH, that is, Pray Until Something Happens.
After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."
This is the most unique feature in Mark’s brief account of the temptation of Jesus by Satan. Mark began his gospel just like the three other evangelists linking the life and mission of Jesus with John the Baptist; however, he abruptly removed John from this scene by simply saying “after John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God.”
“Ganun lang yon?” we might ask in Filipino. It would take five more chapters before Mark explains to us the fate of John the Baptist.
And yes, that’s the way it is with us too! We never stop with our mission like Jesus amid all the storms and darkness hovering above us. There will always be sufferings and trials coming and these in itself are the reasons for us to continue with our mission like Jesus.
Inasmuch as the lives and fate of Jesus and John are intertwined, so are our lives and fate as disciples of Christ with him! It is during trials and difficulties when our proclamation of God’s kingdom are loudest and most credible. Most of all, it is in our sufferings when we go back to our internal desert when we truly experience the time of fulfillment if we remain faithful to God like Jesus Christ.
Let us pray:
Dearest Jesus: accompany us on this first week of Lent into the Father's house; make us stop all whining and complaining on the many desert experiences we are going through for that is how life is - like a wilderness with many wild beasts! Let us never lose sight of your loving presence among us, Lord, of your angels ministering to us, assuring us of the colorful rainbow of life in the horizon if we remain faithful and true. Amen.
Photo by Ms. Annalyn Dela Torre, Bgy. Caypombo, Santa Maria, Bulacan, 14 February 2024.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday After Ash Wednesday, 15 February 2024 Deuteronomy 30:15-20 +++ Luke 9:22-25
Photo from petalrepublic.com.
Our most loving and merciful Father, thank you for this new season of Lent, in giving us this most wonderful occasion to reflect on life's meaning we always confuse as outside of us, dependent on things, and most of all, perfect without pain and sufferings.
Life is Lent. It is the only season that begins not on a Sunday but on an ordinary day of the week, right in the midst of our many duties and worries because Lent is something within us, always asking us to make the right choices, of choosing life, not death; blessing, not curse.
Many times, Father, we are out of touch with ourselves, with life itself which we see as outside ourselves that we hardly live at all without experiencing life itself in its wholeness that includes all the beauty and scars, the lights and darkness, the glory and sorrows, the defeats and victories, the tears and laughter, the Good Friday and Easter.
If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve other gods, I tell you now that you will certainly perish; you will not live a long life on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy.
Deuteronomy 30:17-18
The way to life that you, Father, offers us through the life and example of Jesus Christ your Son is the exact opposite that the world proposes; help us realize that truth, clear us of all doubts and dilly-dallying, of making excuses and alibis that what the world sees as God's ways are limiting when in fact are liberating!
Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”
Luke 9:23-25
We have seen for ourselves many times how the way of the world of indulging in every desire and pleasure like wealth and fame, sex and drugs have actually led to destruction and death, sorrows and miseries than life and joy; clear our minds and hearts to make the right choice and decision of following Jesus to the Cross daily because that is what it means that life is lent, a daily journey to Good Friday that leads surely to Easter. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Misa De Gallo IV, 19 December 2023 Judges 13:2-7, 24-25 <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Luke 1:5-25
Here’s another beautiful story I got from a blogger I recently followed from Spain at wordpress.com. It is actually an analogy which may sound simple but very true.
You are holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere. Why did you spill the coffee?
"Because someone bumped into me!!!"
Wrong answer. You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup. Had there been tea in the cup, you would have spilled tea. Whatever is inside the cup is what will spill out.
Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you - which surely happens all the time - whatever is inside you will come out. It's easy to fake it, until you get rattled. So, we have to ask ourselves, "what's in my cup?" When life gets tough, what spills over from me?
Photo by Mr. Boy Cabrido, Quiapo Church, Misa de Gallo, 17 December 2023.
My dear friends, we are now on the fourth day of our Misa de Gallo and I find that story/analogy so appropriate with our readings today.
How interesting that Zechariah with his wife Elizabeth – according to St. Luke – prayed so hard all their lives to have a child but when God was about to fulfill it, Zechariah doubted it despite being told by an angel from God. Like in that story/analogy we presented above, Zechariah was “rattled” by the angel’s good news. “What was inside Zechariah that he doubted the good news”?
Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the days these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”
Luke 1:18-20
Photo by author, Wailing Wall of Jerusalem, May 2017, the section of the remaining parts of the temple closest to the Holy of Holies where priests used to incense once a year.
Advent is the presence of God but sometimes when we are overburdened with so many things like anxieties and problems in life, frustrations and disappointments, sickness and death in the family, we become unaware of his divine presence even if we continue to pray and do our religious duties and devotions. Too often we lack the conscious awareness of God in our lives that we take him for granted, considering him more as a given than a presence and a reality.
This is exactly what we told you yesterday about some of us pretending to be real disciples of Christ when in reality we are merely dreaming in a sleepwalking existence. It is a kind of spiritual immaturity due to our lack of honesty and sincerity with one’s self and with God that we remain a spiritual dwarf. Like Zechariah who happened to be a priest who must be more attuned and rooted in God, we too hardly notice God’s coming or even doubt him and his powers because we want to hold on to our comfort zone or insist our own agenda.
God is never put off by our queries in life but what “irritates” him is when we question him, when we doubt him, when we ask about his character like Zechariah. That is a lack of faith in God, a lack of trust, and lack of personal relationship with him unlike St. Joseph in our reflection yesterday, truly a righteous man.
Contrast Zechariah with his wife Elizabeth who is presented by St. Luke in a better position despite her being barren. In the Bible, barrenness is a sign of lifelessness and absence of God’s blessings. Worst, it was seen as a punishment from God for one’s sins.
Yet in this opening scene of St. Luke’s infancy story beginning with the annunciation of John’s birth, we find God’s power at its fullest when we are most emptied which is exactly the imagery of Elizabeth being barren and old. She had nothing at all to be proud of unlike Zechariah who still had duties to perform as a priest.
As we have reflected yesterday too, we burst in great rejoicing actually in those moments filled with negativities, with a lot of “no” answers of rejections and failure. That was how Elizabeth felt after being pregnant with John.
After this time, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying, “So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others.”
Luke 1:24-25
Earlier, we asked what was inside Zechariah that he doubted the good news of the angel; now, we imagine what was inside the barren Elizabeth who welcomed the good news rejoicing by voluntarily going into a seclusion?
The story of the elderly couple Zechariah and Elizabeth finally being blessed by God with a child shows us God’s consistency not only in keeping his promises but most of all in working best even in our worst conditions, in the most unusual circumstances. In these two stories, one from the Old Testament and in the New Testament, we find the importance of being filled with God always.
Recall our story/analogy above. What is inside us that comes out when we are shaken? What spills over from our cup, is it joy, gratitude, and peace? Or, anger, bitterness, harsh words and reactions long festering within?
In starting his Christmas story with the annunciation of the birth of John the Baptist, St. Luke is telling us an important aspect in celebrating this blessed season – the need to fill ourselves with God.
See how Zechariah was forced to be silent and made mute so that he could spend more time listening and rediscovering God anew in his heart, of filling himself with God. On the other hand, Elizabeth opted to go into seclusion also to contemplate God already dwelling in her though she may have never known before that is why she wanted to listen more intently to his other plans with the gift of John. Similarly like her in the first reading was the wife of Manoah who remained silent and open when a man of God told her she would bear a son to be called Samson, saying that “I did not ask him where he came from” (Jgs.3: 6). Advent invites us to simply be still to be filled by God, with God.
The other day I joined my nieces and nephew for lunch. After dropping me off at the parish, they asked for a nearby Starbuck’s because my nephew had to buy a coffee mug for his exchange gift in their class. When I asked him why he had to give a Starbuck’s mug as gift, it turned out that is now the way it is in class Christmas party – your exchange gift partner can make a wish for the gift to receive for as long as it is within the agreed budget by the class.
Anyway, our life gives us the cup or the mug. We make the decision, the choice to fill it with coffee or chocolate or tea, in the same manner we fill ourselves with joy or bitterness, anger or serenity, gratitude or complaints. Or God.
Like Zechariah in the gospel today, we could be so tired already of doing so much, of banging our heads on the wall to solve everything, to answer everything. In this final stretch before Christmas, let us empty our cups or mugs of our selves and fill it with God who alone can truly fill us with life despite our dryness and barrenness. Amen.Have a blessed Tuesday!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Thirty-Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 16 November 2023
Wisdom 7:22-8:1 <*(((>< + ><)))*> = <*(((>< + ><)))*> Luke 17:20-25
Photo by Dra. Eunice Nikki A. Vergara, MD in Victoria, Laguna, 2020.
Your words are so lovely
today, O God our Father,
citing to us your many attributes
as Wisdom, "a spirit intelligent,
holy, unique, manifold, subtle"
and some 30 others that beautifully
present to us your transcendence
and immanence not only around us
but most of all within us!
What I like most, O God,
are these:
For Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion, and she penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity. And she, who is one, can do all things, and renews everything while herself perduring; and passing into holy souls from age to age, she produces friends of God and prophets.
Wisdom 7:24, 27
You are so great and awesome,
dear God, yet so close to us your
mere creatures like our breath,
so personal indeed as a friend,
so loved and always forgiven,
renewed and made pure
in your presence.
Forgive us for those moments
when like the Pharisees in
the gospel continue to ask you
for visible signs of the Kingdom of God;
we just have to feel you inside us,
we just have to recognize your dwelling
in us in Jesus Christ,
we just have to open our selves,
our minds and our hearts
to your little comings
until we have grown so big
in you and your presence,
in your love and mercy.
Amen.
lordmychef.com 