40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday in the Third Week of Lent, 04 March 2024 2 Kings 5:1-15 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 4:24-30
How amazing it is, God our loving Father, that Lent is often portrayed in shades of violet that signify "modesty" and "humility" - or, simply put, s-i-m-p-l-i-c-i-t-y.
May we rediscover in this Season of Lent the beauty and fulness of simplicity, of just being by our true self, without the ifs and buts, lovingly embracing our weaknesses and shortcomings, contented with our finite humanity you created as good.
Many times, we are like Naaman: despite our feelings of inadequacy deep within in contrast with our stature following our many accomplishments, we still insist on what is complicated, extraordinary and difficult which we often take as more grand and therefore, better.
With this, he (Naaman) turned about in anger and left. But his servants came up and reasoned with him, “My father,” they said, “if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would not have done it? All the more now, since he said to you, ‘Wash and be clean,’ should you do as he said.” So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
2 Kings 5:12b-14
Keep us simple, Lord, so we may believe more, trust more, dare more, and achieve more!
The world has gone so complicated even with life and relationships we have made into something like our technologies that accomplish so much but still empty; the world has gone so complicated and competitive that unfortunately, we take pride in being so even though deep within us we know it isn't good at all, for you, O God, is perfect because you are first of all simple. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 18 January 2024 1 Samuel 18:6-9, 19:1-7 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Mark 3:7-12
Photo by author, sunflower farm in La Trinidad, Benguet, 12 July 2023.
"In God I trust; I shall not fear."
Let those words of the psalmist today be my prayer too, dear Father especially when jealousy slowly creeps into me, when people around me do better, when they seem to be more loved or liked or accepted; like King Saul in the first reading today, there are times I am filled with insecurities with my own self, with my strengths and abilities, most especially, with your love.
Jealousy arises easily in our hearts… When we truly enjoy God’s unlimited generosity, we will be grateful for what our brothers and sisters receive. Jealousy will simply have no place in our hearts.
Fr. Henri Nouwen
How true were the words of the late Fr. Henri Nouwen; jealousy arises easily in our hearts; sometimes they just come without us even thinking about it; problem is, many times we entertain and let it take over us, feeling we are a victim of something, like King Saul, or the elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son, or those early workers in the parable of the vineyard who felt they should be paid more than those late workers who were paid with same wage as theirs.
When good things happen to others, teach me to rejoice with them, let me be thankful too for their being blessed by you; let me not be jealous of whatever they have for you never fail to bless me too with so many things they do not have; let me be more trusting in your generosity, O God, to never have fear of you running out of blessings and other good things for each one of us according to our own abilities; let me rejoice when other people are blessed like in the gospel today because whatever good things that happen around us are signs you are with us in Christ Jesus.
Instead of looking on what others have, let me look what I have, and always, let that be YOU in Christ Jesus! Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday in the Twenty-Seventh Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 10 October 2023 Jonah 4:1-11 Luke 11:1-4
Photo by author, sunflower farm, La Trinidad, Benguet, 12 July 2023.
Today I pray dear God
our loving Father for all
my fellow worriers who are like me,
always anxious of everything,
afraid of chaos and disorder,
afraid of failing,
lacking in complete trust in you.
Like Martha in today’s gospel,
we are anxious snd worried of many things
because we forget that only you,
O God,
is the only one needed.
Many times I am like Jonah your prophet who believes more in myself, judgmental of others without realizing that whatever mission you send us to is all your work, using us only as your mouth to speak, hands to care and reach out to those weak and sick, feet to stand for what is true, just and good.
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord’s bidding. Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed” when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
Jonah 3:3-6
When we worry so much,
we hurt others too because
that is when we underestimate them,
when we put them in a box
with categories removing
every chance to become better
like how Jonah perceived the Ninivites
or Martha with Mary.
How wonderful
that every time this happens,
you surprise us Lord with
the most unexpected happening
like when the Ninevites proclaimed
a fast and put on a sackcloth,
when Jesus praised Mary in
choosing him over everything
and everyone.
Keep us simple
and humble, Jesus,
with a lot of humor
like Jonah even if your joke
is always on us so that
we may let go
of life's many
trials and difficulties.
Amen.
A video I have taken using my iPhone during our visit to this sunflower farm in La Trinidad, Benguet last 12 July 2023.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 17 July 2023
Exodus 1:8-14, 22 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 10:34-11:1
Photo by author, Camp John Hay, 12 July 2023.
Monday, middle of July,
first day of work,
I thank and praise you O God
like the psalmist with similar words,
"Had not the Lord been with us
when men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive,
when their fury was inflamed against us.
Blessed be the Lord,
who did not leave us
a prey to their teeth.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth"
(Ps. 124:2-3, 6, 8).
So many times these past weeks
many of us felt like giving up,
some have actually quit
but many are willing to go back today
to follow you.
Grant us your grace and blessings
to forge on in your mission.
Photo by author, La Trinidad, Benguet, 11 July 2023.
As I looked back to the past weeks,
I recall dear God how like your people
in ancient Egypt when "the more they were
oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread"
(Exodus 1:12), the same thing happened with us:
more the challenges we have faced,
the more we have become stronger
in your grace and mercy;
the more we assert your word and teachings
so unpopular these days,
the more we experience peace within;
the more our goings get tough and difficult,
the more we are fulfilled,
the more we feel blessed.
Photo by author, La Trinidad, Benguet, 12 July 2023.
Keep us faithful in Jesus Christ,
learning to let go of ourselves to you,
completely trusting in taking up our crosses
to follow him, cognizant of our fellow
disciples going through the same
trials and tribulations.
Amen.
A Wedding Homily for a Nephew, Raymond Immanuel Alonzo & Charlene Patricia Moya
The Manila Cathedral of the Basilica Minore of Immaculate Conception, 07 July 2023
Ephesians 5:25-31 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< John 15:12-17
All praise and thanksgiving to God our loving Father for this day, Immi and Pat! This is the day God had set to be your wedding day. Not last year, not next month nor any other day except this seventh day of July 2023.
Jesus Christ said in our gospel today, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you” (John 15:16).
Surprised? Yes, Immi and Pat, you have both felt God surprising you many times since you met each other, mysteriously weaving your lives seamlessly together that today you are before him at his altar to pledge your love for each other.
Photo by Ms. Jo Villafuerte, Atok, Benguet, 01 September 2019.
That is what I wish to share with you this afternoon: keep that element of surprise in your lives together, Immi and Pat. Never lose that sense of wonder because it is when we are surprised that we start to believe; when we believe, we get closer and then we love. The more we love, the more we are surprised and the more we believe until that love matures into more than feelings but a decision and commitment to love until death.
Hindi ba, Immi and Pat, that is why you are here today because you have finally decided to grow together in this love because you believe in each other and most of all in God?
There were many occasions you were both surprised at the twists and turns in your lives as individuals, beginning at how you got to know each other in the office.
Hindi naman love at first sight iyon. Hindi nga kayo magka-type pareho kaya nag-aasaran kayo palagi.
You were opposites but the more you were surprised in discovering new things about each other, the more you gravitated to each other, the more you believe in each other, surprisingly realizing that actually, you are not opposites but share a lot in common.
That’s when you became good friends caring for each other, conversing more often with topics getting deeper like plans and views in life until one day, Pat had so much of these surprises as she juggled many things in her life and asked to speak with you, Immi, to avoid confusion and complicate things further in your friendship.
Wala pa siyang sinasabi maliban sa “mag-usap tayo” and you just told her, “Let’s go out on a date”.Iyon na yun! Kayo na! Dehins na hangout, date na. Wow, tamis!
The problem in our time is that everything, everyone is exposed. Even overexposed!
With social media all around us, everything is shown and displayed for all to see, leaving no room at all for surprises.
Many people these days want everything to be certain. Lahat segurista na ngayon.
No more surprises, no more faith because many of us have stopped believing. Remember, “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). That is why, when we are surprised, then we believe. Then as we believe more and get surprised more, we love.
Immi and Pat, always have faith, believe and be surprised with each other and with God.
The world tells us, “to see is to believe” but our faith teaches us, “believe so that we would see.” Remember when Jesus told Thomas a week after Easter, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed “(John 21:29b).
Keep that childlike attitude in you of being surprised always, of having that sense of awe and wonder. That is why kids believe and trust always.
Photo by Ms. Jo Villafuerte in Atok, Benguet, 01 September 2019.
Being surprised is being open with the simple realities of life, of the joys of being alive and sharing this life with a special someone in love. Being surprised is being open to getting hurt because we believe there is that special someone who would always take care of us, with whom we can be our true selves no matter what. Being surprised is being open to the realities and ecstasy of loving and of being loved in return. Being surprised is believing in God who is a God of surprises because he loves us so much.
In the Book of Genesis, we find Jacob falling asleep at Bethel with a stone as his pillow, dreaming of a stairway to heaven. It was so good because he saw God and his angels ascending and descending the stairway to heaven that upon waking up, Jacob had that sense of wonder and awe, “Truly the Lord is in this spot, although I did not know it!” (Gen.28:16). Jacob was surprised. Then he believed. And loved and served God. In 1971, we heard Jimmy Page and Robert Plant singing, “makes me wonder” over and over in their hit Stairway to Heaven.
But, Edith Piaf said it best in 1946, of how she was surprised in finding love with her classic song La vie en rose. No, I will not sing it but will just read it to remind you God’s many surprises for you, Immi and Pat.
I thought that love was just a word
They sang about in songs I heard
It took your kisses to reveal
That I was wrong, and love is real
Hold me close and hold me fast
The magic spell you cast
This is la vie en rose
When you kiss me heaven sighs
And though I close my eyes
I see la vie en rose
When you press me to your heart
I'm in a world apart
A world where roses bloom
And when you speak, angels sing from above
Everyday words seem to turn into love songs
Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be
La vie en rose.
Immi and Pat, God has a lot of surprises for you. Remain faithful with each other, remain faithful to Jesus Christ who have called and chosen you. Have Christ always between you in your relationship. Pray, believe and have trust in him so you both would see more surprises, more life, more love in your married life. God bless you, Immi and Pat! Amen.
For those wishing to listen and perhaps use this classic piece, here is its English version.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year I, 04 July 2023
Genesis 19:15-29 <*(((>< <*(((>< + ><)))*> ><)))*> Matthew 8:23-27
Photo by author, November 2020.
Your words today, O God
our Father, are all about
chaos and destruction,
storms and calamities
in the sea and the land;
just like so many of us these days
who are in the "eye of the storm",
in the midst of great trials
and sufferings in life
due to their own making
or somebody else's sins and
wrongdoing, or simply
being in the wrong place
at the wrong time.
The whole world is yours,
O Lord; you have the whole world
in your hands and you know
everything that is happening.
Grant us the trust and confidence
in you of Jesus your Son
and the deep faith of Abraham
as you kept your promise to save
his nephew Lot and family
from the catastrophe that fell on
Sodom and Gomorrah.
As Jesus got into a boat, is disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves but he was asleep.
Matthew 8:23-24
When he (Lot) hesitated, the men, by the Lord’s mercy, seized his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughter and led them to safety outside the city.
Genesis 19:16
Keep us strong, O God,
in the face of trials and tribulations of life;
calamities inevitably happen,
it is how we face and deal with these
that truly matter;
cleanse us of our impurities,
of our stubbornness,
of our sins,
never to needlessly look back
like Lot's wife but instead move
forward in life learning your important
lessons of being morally upright and holy.
Amen.
Photo by author, Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Sixth Week of Easter, 18 May 2023
Acts 18:1-8 ><)))*> + ><)))*> + ><)))*> John 16:16-20
Photo by author, sunrise in Tagaytay, 08 February 2023.
Praise and glory to you,
Lord Jesus Christ!
You never fail to surprise us
with your goodness and
generosity as your invisible hand
guides us through this life.
How wonderful that
very often in life,
we find fulfillment and
realization of our dreams
and plans in places we never
find conducive for any kind
of success; but your invisible hand
proves us otherwise, like Paul
finding rejection and resistance
in the sophisticated city of Athens yesterday
only to find acceptance and affirmation
in the seedy and immoral
city of Corinth where ironically
your gospel took roots!
Many times, Jesus,
we are baffled with your ways
and your words like your
apostles in the gospel today;
like them, we are so afraid
to ask you even for clarifications
because we surely do not
know much!
There are times, Lord,
even the person we take for
granted turn out to be the
one who would help us
in our needs.
Indeed, your invisible hand
is always present guiding us,
leading us Lord to green pastures,
to fulfillment; many times
your invisible hand pats our
backs and shoulders to comfort
and assure us; sometimes,
your invisible hand spank
us, reprimanding us in times
we turn away from you;
let us remember that
whether you are patting our
shoulders or slapping us,
it is always your loving
and graceful
invisible hand,
Lord,
Amen.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 10 April 2023
A photo-reflection of our rootedness in God while at the Sacred Heart Novitiate last March 20-22, 2023.
In the lush rolling hills of Novaliches
that is now fast disappearing are
23 hectares of pastureland and mini forests
inside the Sacred Heart Novitiate
of the Society of Jesus.
Thank God it had opened
anew its doors to retreatants like me
wishing to have a "vacare Deo"
or vacation in the Lord.
A retreat
or a vacare Deo
is a return to our roots,
God.
While preparing for the formal
start of my retreat last March 20,
I felt the roots of the many trees
speaking to me
in this Bethel of mine
where like Jacob in
Genesis 28:10-19,
I met God.
Sometimes,
I wrestled with Him
like Jacob too
in Peniel/Penuel
(Gen. 32:23-33).
How interesting
the words "true" and "truth"
along with its cousin "trust"
came from the old English
"treowe"
for tree.
According to experts,
the Anglo-Saxons worshipped trees
they called "treowe"
because they evoked firmness
and solidness;
the more rooted is the tree,
the more firm does it stand.
Like truth.
Whatever that is true, firmly standing
like a tree or treowe always has extensive
network of roots, creating linkages
and interconnections from which came
that image of the
"family tree".
When there are interconnections,
linkages,
there are relationships.
People with the most
wonderful relationships
are also the truthful ones
because they are trustworthy.
Reliable.
Like God.
Our root.
Our rootedness
who connects us with
everyone.
When we are rooted
and grounded in God,
nothing can ever disturb us
like a big, big, tree.
We can withstand all storm,
bear the sun's heat
remaining firm
and aglow
with God's majesty
in daytime and in darkness.
Lovelier than the tree,
thank God
for creating me.
Hallelujah!
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fifth Week of Lent, 31 March 2023
Jeremiah 20:10-13 >>> +++ <<< John 10:31-42
Photo by author, 20 March 2023, Sacred heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City.
God our loving Father,
I am a sinner;
forgive me for always turning
my back from You,
for refusing to love
like Jesus Your Son;
but, despite my being a sinner,
You know very well how I love you,
You know everything about me,
how I strive repeatedly
because I trust in You.
I believe in You!
Like the psalmist,
I sing this day,
"I love you, O Lord,
my strength...
In my distress I called
upon the Lord
and cried out to my God;
from his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him
reached his ears"
(Psalm 18:2, 7).
Like Your prophet Jeremiah,
I could hear people,
even those closest to me,
denouncing my efforts to be
just and loving,
living Your precepts;
I could hear their whispering,
"on watch for any misstep of mine"
(Jeremiah 20:10).
Worst,
like Jesus Christ,
some have tried harming me
with their words and deeds!
Sometimes, I feel so low,
so sad how good would be
rewarded with evil by some.
But I trust in You,
dearest Father;
let me witness
Your love and mercy,
justice and kindness
despite my sinfulness
and weaknesses.
Be my strength and
my surety.
Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Fifth Week of Lent, 30 March 2023
Genesis 17:3-9 >>> +++ <<<. John 8:51-59
Photo by author, 2017.
Your words today,
dear God our Father
remind me of my venial sins,
the most common sins I take for granted
because they are "small", too little and
not fatal like mortal sins.
Unfortunately, there is something sinister
with venial sins being the most common of sins,
repetitious to the point we get discouraged
and even depressed of the need for
conversion,
to break free from
our cycle of venial sins.
"For what?"
"Para que?"
"Ganun din naman, uulit din!"
Abraham was already 99 years old
when You, O God, formalized with him
Your covenant to become the father of all nations;
how good he was not discouraged
to the point of being depressed,
giving up Your plans, Father,
waiting for Isaac's birth
because he was very old,
perhaps even sinful.
Merciful Father,
forgive me when I act like
the people who tried stoning Jesus
when He said "before Abraham came to be,
I AM" (John 8:58); don't let me get to that
point that whatever You say would mean nothing
to me because of my repetitious venial sins;
do not let me be discouraged, God,
because discouragement indicates
I trust more myself than You, O Lord.
Amen.
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