Category: Truth

Following Jesus, our true Star

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe of the Epiphany of the Lord, 05 January 2020

Isaiah 60:1-6 ><}}}*> Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6 ><}}}*> Matthew 2:1-12

From Google.

A very blessed Merry Christmas to you, my dear reader and follower! As I have been insisting to you since January first, we are still in the Christmas Season as we celebrate today the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.

It is the third major celebration of Christmastime after the Nativity of the Lord (December 25) and Mary Mother of God (January 01).

In some parts of the country especially the countrysides, they regard Epiphany in equal standing with Christmas, calling it “Three Kings Sunday” known as “Pasko ng Magsasaka” (Christmas of Farmers).

So, please, do not cut the Christmas Season short and stop greeting others with a happy new year.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Matthew 2:1-3
From Google.

Jesus Christ is our one and only true Star

Epiphany is from the Greek word epiphanes that means revelation or manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ to the whole world symbolized by the “magi” or wise men from the East.

While there are many sources that confirm to us both in history and tradition that the magi were from Persia (Iran) who have truly paid homage to the Infant Jesus, evidence pointing to the reality of the star of Bethlehem are still scarce but slowly developing.

Though it is still important to establish the factual basis on the existence of the star of Bethlehem, we who believe in Jesus Christ need to focus more on the theology behind this detail from Matthew’s Christmas story which refers to the Lord himself.

We all search for a “star”, something great and noble in life.

It is a given, a gift that every person is capable of rising above one’s self for something lofty and greater than himself/herself.

Too often, we pursue stars that are so common and ordinary – perhaps low and dull ones – like wealth and fame. Eventually we mature that we follow bigger and more luminous stars that are higher and found deeper in space so to speak like wisdom and peace within.

But no matter what we search in life, whatever star we follow, the saints and our faith teach us how we all desire and long only for the one and only true star of all, Jesus Christ.

St. Benedicta dela Cruz (Edith Stein) said that “anyone who seeks the truth eventually finds God” while the great St. Augustine eloquently wrote in his Confessiones, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI beautifully said it in one of his books:

“The key point is this: the wise men from the east are a new beginning. They represent the journeying of humanity toward Christ. They initiate a procession that continues throughout history. Not only do they represent the people who have found the way to Christ: they represent the inner aspiration of the human spirit, the dynamism of religions and human reason toward him.”

Jesus of Nazareth, The Infancy Narratives (page 97)
Old Jerusalem, May 2017. Photo by author.

Lessons of the Magi

Last January first, we reflected how we must make that conscious decision to empty ourselves of our pride to be filled with the Holy Spirit so we can bring Jesus into the world today like Mary the Mother of God.

Today on this Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, we are invited to imitate the magi, to be wise men too in continuing the beautiful Christmas story by always seeking, following and submitting ourselves to Jesus Christ, our only true star in life.

There are three important lessons we can learn from the magi in being truly wise to seek and follow Jesus:

First, welcome darkness and chaos in life. The most life-changing and enriching moments we have are also the most adversarial ones. Remember the “AQ” or adversarial quotient experts are now proposing as true indicators of success in life?

More than success is fulfillment which we desire most when we are in desolation, when we are in the middle of a storm and trial in life, when we are in darkness.

Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and the thick clouds cover the peoples; but pon you the Lord shines, and over you appears his glory.

Isaiah 60:1-2

In the gospel, we have heard how “King Herod was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him” (Mt.2:3) upon hearing from the magi the birth of “the newborn king of the Jews” signified by the star they saw from the East.

Troubles and chaos are great motivators for us to seek better things like meaning in life!

Pilgrims entering through the narrow door of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, May 2019. Photo by author.

Second, dark moments in life are are an invitation to pray more, especially in meditating the Sacred Scriptures, the word of God.

Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, Herod inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet…

Matthew 2:4-5

The bible is the word of God and when we pray it, it is God himself who speaks to us directly. It is not enough to read and study the Sacred Scriptures like the scribes and chief priests summoned by King Herod.

They knew the book but refused to recognize the Author, God himself.

The scribes and chief priests got it right that the Christ was born in Bethlehem but were not wise enough to join the magi in paying homage to him.

Prayer is a call to communion with God that requires humility and total surrender of self which leads us to lesson number three in following Jesus our true star in life.

From Google.

Third and last but not least lesson from the magi is what are you willing to give in order to follow the Star, Jesus Christ?


The magi from the East were rightly called wise men because they knew very well the most important things in life, the most essential. They did not merely leave the comforts of their home and country to follow the star of Bethlehem.

They were willing to give up so many things just to find Jesus Christ!

This 2020, many of us are having new year’s resolutions, so many plans and dreams and aspirations in life.

It is always good to reach for the stars but we must always keep our feet on the ground as Casey Kasem would always say at the end of his American Top 40 program during the 80’s.

And keeping those feet on the ground is working hard for our dreams with a lot of sacrifices. Keeping feet on the ground is doing all the hard work and avoiding shortcuts.

The magi did not mind going into Jerusalem, asking around amid dangers of suspicions from the powerful, just to find Jesus Christ. Most of all, they have brought gifts with them, precious commodities of that time to signify their sincerity in finding and following Jesus.

How about us today, in this age that is marked with so may people feeling entitled to everything in life?

This early in his Epiphany, Jesus is already showing us the path we have to follow, the way of the Cross, of forgetting one’s self, of setting aside our ego, of letting go and letting God.

Unless we are able to forget our ego, we can never imitate the magi in being wise “to depart for their country by another way” (Mt.2:12) to avoid King Herod.

That is the ultimate indication of being wise, that after finding Wisdom, we change our ways, our lives and live in Jesus Christ, the Holy One. Amen.

Merry Christmas!

From Desicomments.com. Last line should be “Lift our eyes”, not “Life”.

Kunwari lang?

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-19 ng Nobyembre 2019

Larawan kuha ni G. Jim Marpa sa Carigara, Leyte, Setyembre 2019.
Kunwa-kunwari lang
mga salitang madalas mapakinggan 
nung tayo'y musmos pa lamang.
Walang katotohanan
sapagkat laru-laro lamang
kaya't huwag kabahan.
Sige-sige lang
parang Sputnik Gang
lahat ng kalokohan at harutan pinagbibigyan.
Ngunit hanggang sa pagtanda ba naman
tayo'y magkukunwa-kunwarian
na tila baga ang lahat ay laro lamang o biruan?
Larawan kuha pa rin ni G. Jim Marpa sa Carigara, Setyembre 2019.
Noong aking kabataan
ako'y natigilan sa aming inuman
sa paksa na di ko malimutan:
Sabi ba naman sa aming umpukan
ngayon ang buhay natin ay totohanan
at hindi na kunwa-kunwari lang.
Kampai! sabay taas ng kamay 
at tagay pero tila sablay
na totohanan lang ang buhay kapag naghahanap-buhay?
Paano mga pinagdaanan sa buhay
mga sakripisyong tiniis at inalay 
walang saysay dahil hindi tunay?
Larawan kuha ni G. Jim Marpa, 2017.
Hindi ba laging totohanan itong buhay
sa oras liwanag sa atin ay sumilay
kahit wala pa tayong ka-malay malay?
Kunwa-kunwarian ba ang buhay
gayong natikman hapdi ng masaktan o masugatan 
na tila di na huhupa pagluha?
Sabihin sa nagsusunog ng kilay
o maging sa istambay kunwari lang ang buhay
baka ikaw ay mapa-away!
Bawat saglit, totoo ang buhay
tigilan na malimit nating pagpipilit
ito'y kunwari upang mamuhay nang tunay.
Ang taong turing sa buhay
kunwa-kunwarian, dinadaan lahat sa biru-biruan
asahang walang pagpapahalaga sa buhay niya at ng iba.

The problem with “pretending”

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Tuesday, Week XXXIII, Year I, 19 November 2019

2 Maccabees 6:18-31 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Luke 19:1-10

Sunrise at Camp John Hay, Baguio City, November 2018.

While praying over today’s first reading, Lord, I wondered what if you were just pretending to be good? What if everything going on in our lives is a big act of pretending so as not to destroy the flow of life or throw everything off balance?

No, it cannot be, dear loving Father!

We are so sure you are real! And this life, our very selves are real.

The problem is with us when we always pretend, when we are afraid to show what is true, what is real, what we believe and what we feel.

So often we pretend you are not real, that you do not exist even if we are convinced of your love and presence.

The problem with pretending is that it is not true, it is a lie.

The problem with pretending is we never realize our true value.

Unfortunately, we still keep on pretending that pretending can work, that pretending is good.

Let us stop pretending, Lord, because we can never escape you, the Ultimate Truth.

Eleazar said: “Should I thus pretend for the sake of a brief moment of life, they would be led astray by me, while I would bring shame and dishonor on my old age. Even if, for the time being, I avoid the punishment of men, I shall never, whether alive or dead, escape the hands of the Almighty.”

2 Maccabees 6:25-26

Give us the courage to be truthful like the 90 year-old Eleazar and chief tax collector Zacchaeus of Jericho who never pretended about who they really were, of the truth about you, O God, that eventually they experienced your saving power in Christ. Amen.

All that glitters is not gold

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Friday, Memorial of St. Albert the Great, 15 November 2019

Wisdom 13:1-9 <*(((>< ><)))*> Luke 17:26-37

A street performer in Tamsui, Taiwan delights tourists and residents alike, January 2019.

How true are these words by Shakespeare and other men of letters: we have all to be careful because not all that is shiny and impressive is valuable.

Looks can always be deceiving that we must always probe deeper until we find the Ultimate Good, God.

For they search busily among his works, but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair. But again, not even these are pardonable. For if they so far succeeded in knowledge that they could speculate about the world how did they not more quickly find its Lord?

Wisdom 13:7-9
From Google.

May the Universal Doctor, St. Albert the Great, guide us and enlighten our minds and our hearts to seek first Jesus Christ in the most Holy Eucharist “because it bestows the fullness of grace on us in this life” (Breviary, November 15, commentary by St. Albert the Great on the gospel of St. Luke).

I also thank you Most Sweet Jesus on this day as we celebrate our 22nd anniversary of ordination as Deacons. I still remember the great fear and fright I felt thinking of the immense responsibilities as a Deacon in preparation to our ordination to the Priesthood.

And yes, Lord Jesus, there were many occasions since then until now when we are blinded by so many shining things in the ministry that are not really you nor the Father.

Send us your Holy Spirit that we may seek you always and follow you by lovingly serving others in your name. Amen.

Let your mystery, God, embrace me…

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Tuesday, Memorial of St. Josaphat, 12 November 2019

Wisdom 2:23-3:9 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Luke 17:7-10

Our altar at St. John Evangelist Parish, 12 Nov. 2019.

Let your mystery embrace me, Lord.

Better, let me be wrapped in your mystery, Lord!

So many times, I have always tried to analyze everything – myself, my life, including you, O God.

And I have realized that most of the time, this is because I cannot trust you completely.

I am afraid of being lost, of being hurt, of failing.

Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love; because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with his elect.

Wisdom 3:9

Dearest God, help me to live life, instead of analyzing it.

Reflect on its wonder and mystery but eventually, let me be wrapped in their beauty despite its incomprehensibility, knowing you will never abandon me.

Remind me always that I am just like “the unprofitable servants” of the Gospel today who does what we are obliged to do. No need to please or be affirmed by anybody for you alone is our life.

Give us the courage, Jesus, to be like St. Josaphat to strive working for unity in ourselves, in you and with one another. Amen.

St. Josephat (+1623) was an Orthodox bishop who worked hard to unify the Ukrainian Church and Rome for which he was attacked and shot to death by local fanatics while he was praying. We pray for his intercession this coming 2020 dedicated by the CBCP as the year of ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue in preparation of our 500th year of Christianization in 2021.

Ugat at batayan ng pinuno

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog, 26 Setyembre 2019

Larawan kuha ni G. Jim Marpa sa Carigara, Leyte, Setyembre 2019.





Kay sarap pagmasdan 
at maliliman lalo na sa gitna ng kainitan 
ng matayog na puno
may malalabay na sanga 
mga dahong luntian.





Mainam ding pagnilayan
talinghagang nababalot nitong larawan 
mga kahulugan at kaugnayan 
ng mga kataga na puno at pinuno
sa punong kahoy din naka-ugat.





Husay ng ano mang puno
ng tahanan at pamayanan,
tanggapan at paaralan,
simbahan at pamahalaan
natatagpuan sa kabuuan, walang kasiraan.





"Integrity" sa Inggles
hiniram sa wikang Latin, "integer" at "integritas"
na kahuluga'y "intact" o buo:
nakakabit, sama-sama
hindi sabog at kalat-kalat.





Ito ang tinaguriang integrity:
karangalan dahil buo ang pagkatao
nababakas sa kanya larawan at wangis
ng Lumikha na Siyang pinagmumulan
at pinag-uugatan ng ating katauhan at karangalan.





Sa isang pinuno, ito ang batayan
at ugat ng kanyang pamumuno
buo at hindi wasak, may kaisahan 
kanyang iniisip, sinasabi at ginagawa
kaya siya ay buo at mayroon karangalan.





Malalaman natin kung tunay
at hindi huwad ating pinuno 
kapag kanyang katauhan
ihalintulad sa punong kahoy
upang matukoy kanyang karangalan.





Malalim ba kanyang pagkakaugat 
sa katotohanan at kabutihan
hindi pumapanig at di mabubuwal
ng kasinungalingan?





Matuwid at matayog ba kanyang
mga pananaw at inaasam,
sinisikap matanawan, masundan 
kaliwanagan ng katotohanan at katuwiran?





Nagsasanga hindi ang dila
kungdi mga bisig upang abutin
di lamang langit kungdi iba pang sanga
upang lumabay at liliman sino mang kumakanlong?





Katulad ng puno ng kahoy
ikababagsak o ikatatayog ng 
sino mang puno ng sambahayan,
pamayanan, pamahalaan, at simbahan
ay nasa kayang kabuuan  o karangalan bilang nilalang.

	


	



			
				


			

			
Our dangerous God
		
	
	

		

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe, Week XX-C, 18 August 2019





Jeremiah 38:4-6. 8-10 ><)))*> Hebrews 12:1-4 ><)))*> Luke 12:49-53





Batanes sunset after a storm, 2018.  Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News.





Jesus continues with his “shock preaching” for the third consecutive Sunday today as “he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem” and face his death there.  





And his preaching is getting more shocking.





Unlike the previous two Sundays, it was easier to see why Jesus had to shake us with his teachings as he wants us to seriously consider the reality of death that comes “like a thief at night” (Lk. 12:39, Aug. 11).  Far from being morbid, Jesus is inviting us to be more concerned with things that last even after death because “life  does not consist of possessions” (Lk. 12:15, Aug. 04). 





This Sunday, Jesus gets bolder with his teaching of three provocative statements that challenge and motivate us in being like him who is “resolutely determined” in facing his passion and death by setting the world on fire, eagerly awaiting another baptism, and the most controversial, bringing division – not peace – among us his followers.  





Jesus said to his disciples:  “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!  There is a baptism with which I must be baptised, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!”
Luke 12:49-50





Sunset in Athens, Greece by Dra. Mai B. Dela Pena, 2016.





These first two pronouncements by Jesus go together like our expression “baptism of fire” to mean an initiation into something very new and life-changing or, as we say these days, a “game changer”.  





In St. Luke’s second book, the Acts of the Apostles, we find the Holy Spirit coming down as “tongues of fire” upon the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary on Pentecost, filling them with wisdom and courage to proclaim the Good News of salvation by Jesus Christ.  For St. Luke, this imagery of the Holy Spirit like fire is very important.





Fire gives heat, symbolising life itself.  Without heat, we become cold and die.





Fire also means energy that can move and propel anything including people, covering great distances.





Most of all, fire purifies, removing impurities in so many things including persons.   





Since June 30, we have been following Jesus as “he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem” (Lk. 9:51).  This is the baptism Jesus is so eager, his Passion and Death on the Cross that leads to Easter.  It is a path characterized by fire that emboldens us, purifies us, and most of all, illumines us of the more essential things in life!





From Google.





When we recall those trying moments in our lives, those many “baptisms of fire” we have gone through, there is always that sense of inner joy and gratitude in “passing over” through our little deaths that have made us stronger today.  Whether we have triumphed or failed in those many baptisms of fire, what matters most is we went through it, deepening our faith that made us more determined in life. 





And one very difficult lesson we have also learned in our little deaths is the painful reality of divisions among us. 





“Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?  No, I tell you, but rather division.”
Luke 12:51










In this age when sound reasoning is being pushed aside in making decisions on many issues and conflicts confronting us by following what is merely popular as “trending” and “viral” measured in the most number of “likes” or “followers”, we find ourselves plunging into more darkness than ever.  What used to be not normal has become normal today like obscenity and profanity.  Life is reduced to mere lifestyle with everybody insisting on one’s rights in total disregard of one’s responsibilities that anyone may use whichever toilet is preferred.  Death in its many masks has become a solution to many problems that has spawned more serious problems.  And worst, in the midst of these discussions that disregard morality, proponents of the Godless ways are the ones invoking the name of God!





Jesus tells us in the fourth gospel that “the peace I give you is not like the peace the world gives” (Jn.14:27) which is often more of appeasing one another, of compromises that eventually fails.  Peace is more than the absence of war but is appropriately called the effect of righteousness, of love and justice (Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes, #78).  And always, that path to peace is the Cross of Christ.  





Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com





Jesus wants us his disciples going through our little passion and deaths to illumine the world with the Holy Spirit as it is slowly being engulfed in the darkness of sin and evil.  And he knows it is not an easy task.  Like him, we have to grow in faith completely relying on the Father who vindicated him as he died on the Cross.  





 Brothers and sisters:  Let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.  In you struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.
Hebrews 12:1-2, 4





In 1945, the late Fr. Hans Urs Von Balthasar titled a chapter of his book “God is dangerous”, writing that





“He presents his victory over death as an example to be imitated, he draws us beyond our limits, into his adventure, which is inevitable fatal.” 
“Heart of the World” (Ignatius Press, 1980)





Yes, God is dangerous — too hot to handle and too difficult to resist.  We have all felt like Jeremiah bearing all the pains and sufferings because we have allowed ourselves to be “seduced and duped by God’s irresistible charm” (Jer. 20:7).  And despite this harsh reality, we choose to remain standing at the foot of our Master’s Cross because it is there we can see everything more clearly, where we experience real peace.  





Would you rather be in grave danger with God on your side or be safe for now with no one and nothing to hold on in the end? 





A blessed week ahead!  Amen.

	


	



			
				


			

			
Nasaan nga ba ang Katotohanan?
		
	
	

		

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-3 ng Hunyo 2019





Larawan mula sa Google.





Noong si Hesus ay nilitis
Ni Pilato na tingin sa kanya'y malinis,
Ano aniya ang katotohanan
Na hanggang ngayon ating tinatanong
Sa Panginoong lagi nating hinahamon. 





Sayang noon ay hindi tumugon 
Itong Panginoon sa naturang tanong
Upang sana'y maliwanag na sa ating ngayon 
Kahulugan ng katotohan na palaging naaayon
Sa kanya-kanya at sariling interpretasyon.





Ngunit kung ating paglilimi-limihan
Hindi sinagot ng Panginoon si Pilato noon
Dahil mali ang kanyang tanong: hindo "ano" 
Kungdi "nasaan" ang katotohanan upang kapag natunton
Ito'y maisasabuhay natin sa lahat ng pagkakataon. 





Mismong ang Panginoon nagsabi noon
Na siya ang daan, ang katotohanan, at ang buhay;
Alalaong-baga, itong katotohanan ay isang "person"
Kaya naman ang pagsuri sa katotohanan
Masasalalay palagi sa pagpapahalaga natin sa buhay.





Umiiral lamang ang kasinungalingan
Na siyang kabaligtaran ng katotohanan
Kapag katauhan ng kapwa hindi natin pinahahalagahan,
Binabale-wala at isinasantabi dangal ng kapwa
Kaya lahat ng masasabi ay malayo sa laman ng budhi.





Kung sisikapin lamang natin
Mapahalagahan bawat kapwa natin
Hindi tayo magsisinungaling o magmamagaling 
Dahil maliwanag di lamang sa isipan natin
Yaring katotohanang nananahan sa puso natin.





Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

	


	



			
				


			

			
Lent is embracing God’s truth
		
	
	

		

40 Shades of Lent, Wednesday, Week-IV, 03 April 2019





Isaiah 49:8-15///John 5:17-30










How lovely are your words for us today, O God our loving Father!  So refreshing, so reassuring especially at times when dark clouds loom above us, when we are in deep turmoils or when our pains hurt so much.





Thus says the Lord:  In a time of favor I answer you, on the day of salvation I help you, and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people, to restore the land and allot the desolate heritages, saying to prisoners:  Come out! To those in darkness, Show yourselves!  Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb?  Even should she forget, I will never forget you.
Isaiah 49:8-9, 15





What an amazing God indeed!  So close, so personal like anyone.





Yet, O God, how unfortunate that so often we are tempted to doubt your love, your truth, your presence!  So often we choose not to believe that we are loved by you or by those closest to us.





We keep on denying you have chosen to love us, preferring to live trapped in the many worries of this life.





Give us the grace of faith to embrace your truth, your love, especially Jesus Christ your Son who had come to make you closest to us as our breath.  Let us see your work continuing in Christ that may eventually continue them in us and among us.  Amen. 





A snapshot from the painting exhibit we viewed at the Davao City Museum, August 2018.  Too bad never had the chance to get artists and title of artworks.