Exaggerating the truth, exaggerating self, part 2

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!)

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.*

“Bring me”…

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Doctor of the Church, 15 July 2024
Isaiah 1:10-17 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 10:34-11:1

*Photo from The Valenzuela Times, 02 July 2024.*

On this blessed Monday,
your word "bring" invites me
to examine what I bring:

“Trample my courts no more! Bring no more worthless offerings; your incense is loathsome to me” (Isaiah 1:13).

Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword” (Matthew 10:34).

Teach me, O Lord,
to bring your peace and justice,
to bring your truth and light
so that I may bring that
much-needed balance
we are searching in life.

Like St. Bonaventure,
help me to bring myself before
You, dear God in prayers,
to immerse myself in your words
in the scriptures
so that I may bring together
the ideal and practical,
the spiritual and material.

Many times, O Lord,
we bring our very selves,
it is our ego and pride
we love to bring everywhere
for everyone to see,
forgetting that
we must first bring
You back into our hearts,
bring You back into our minds,
bring You back into our lives
so that we can finally
bring out the best
worship of You.
Amen.

Exaggerating truth, exaggerating self

Homily, Baccalaureate Mass, Senior High School
Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 05 July 2024

*Photo by olia danilevich on Pexels.com*

Congratulations, our dear graduates this academic year 2023-2024! As you mark the completion of your studies, may I ask you again why did you go to school? Why study at all?

As usual, we get those varied answers of going to school like to have a bright future by securing a better paying job or, as others would readily admit it, in order to get rich and a host of other reasons that are far from the truth because one does not need to earn a diploma to get a job or even get rich. Look around you.

Remember, my dear graduates, we go to school in order to become a better person, a better man, a better woman. That is what we mean with that slogan “Rise to the top!” here at Our Lady of Fatima University; that we may become “man as man”, truly human guided by our mottos, Veritas et Misericordia.

Problem in this age of too much social media is how people have become more lost than ever in themselves. So many have become so alienated with their true selves as they get confused with reality and with virtual reality. Puro tayo palabas, wala nang paloob as everything has become a show including our lives.

Look inside your hearts and find Jesus Christ for only in Him can we find fulfillment in life like Matthew in our gospel today:

As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him (Matthew 9:9).

After this Mass, check Google. Search Caravaggio’s painting, the call of St. Matthew. Caravaggio was the same artist who painted “The Incredulity of Thomas” when the Apostle met the Risen Lord Jesus Christ eight days after Easter.

One thing you will notice in Caravaggio’s paintings are the interplay of light and darkness that seem to converse with the onlookers. In the call of St. Matthew, Caravaggio painted the scene so typical of his own time with Matthew and other men inside his office wearing clothes of the Middle Ages while Jesus passing by at the other end of the painting dressed in exactly the way during His time. Jesus was portrayed in a side view, calling Matthew who was seated and surprised, asking Jesus if he was the one being called. You could read the face of Matthew asking Jesus, “who, me?” while Jesus was gently looking at him with firmness, saying, “yes, you Matthew. Follow me”.

First thing we learn from this painting is how Jesus continues to come to our own time and situation, right where we are seated like with Matthew. As Jesus pointed His finger to Matthew while calling him, Matthew pointed too his finger into his heart to ask Jesus if he was the one He was referring to. It is a lovely scene telling us how Jesus invites us daily to welcome Him in our hearts, telling us to take a look inside our heart to find Him. Tumingin tayo palagi paloob sa ating sarili, hindi palabas o sa labas gaya ng social media na dinaraan lahat sa likes at kung anu anong mga emoticons. Paramihan ng followers basta trending at viral maski pangit. Pagkatapos, wala na. Hungkag pa rin tayo. Walang laman. Empty.

Now, look at this photo uploaded last night by The Valenzuela Times after that flash flood yesterday afternoon in front of our medical center along McArthur Highway. You must have seen it too.

How did you react? Did you laugh at the man carrying on his back his girlfriend while crossing the flooded street?

How sad that many netizens laughed at it with many having pressed the LOL emoticons with some calling the “gurl” as OA, saying “naglakad na lang sana sila magka-holding hands, hindi pinahirapan yung guy”. At least, some were honest to admit their envy, saying, “sanaol”!

Why those negative reactions? Bakit pinagtawanan? (https://lordmychef.com/2024/07/03/crossings-the-cross/)

That is the sad reality in our time when people laugh at others doing something good like sacrificing or simply being honest. Have we forgotten all about God and others just like the message of the Prophet Amos 3000 year ago of how people turned into sin and evil, trampling on others especially the poor which continues to happen today?

Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land! “When will the new moon be over,” you ask, “that we may sell our grain, and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat? We will diminish the containers for measuring, add to the weights, and fix our scales for cheating! We will buy the lowly man for silver, and the poor man for a pair of sandals; even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!” (Amos 8:4-6).

*From cbcpnews.net, 13 May 2022, at the Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City.*

My dear Fatimanians, as you get closer to achieving your dreams, as you move on to the next phase of your studies and formation here in our University, remember always the lessons and life of our Patroness, the Blessed Virgin Mary as well as the three children to whom she appeared in Fatima, Portugal more than 100 years ago.

Mary remained faithful to her Son Jesus Christ, accompanying Him up to the Cross. The three visionaries of Fatima did the same, praying and sacrificing a lot to get the Blessed Mother’s message of conversion across. In their young age, they did not mind what others said about them from May 13 to October 13, 1917, remaining faithful to Jesus with Mary by being good and obedient children.

It is always easy to look good and kind in social media. It is always so easy to speak of so many lofty plans and ideals, of how we want to change the world but we forget to look inside our hearts, into our true selves. Like the Pharisees in the gospel today, they saw themselves as the best and the holiest whom Jesus should keep company with, not the sinners like the tax collectors that included Matthew.

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.

Heed the words of Jesus to the Pharisees, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Mt. 9:13).

It is not enough to know and get what we want but what does God desire for me? You will never go wrong in life when you follow God than men or women who could just be exaggerating themselves. Handle your life with prayer, my dear Fatimanians. As I have told you since I came here in OLFU, always remember to “study hard, work harder, and pray hardest.” God bless you all!

Praying to be prophetic

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
First Friday in the Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 05 July 2024
Amos 8:4-6, 9-12 <*((((><< + >><))))*> Matthew 9:9-13

*Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD in Infanta, Quezon 2020.*

Help us,
loving Father 
to be prophetic
in our lives, to speak
and live according to your
words and precepts,
witnessing your truth
and justice, boldly speaking
against the evil pervading among us.

How easy,
O God, 
for almost everybody today
to speak strongly about truth
without being prophetic at all
like the Pharisees who saw Jesus
dining with sinners and asked his
disciples: "Why does your teacher
eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
(Matthew 9:11); many of them are
still among us these days
who avail of every modern
communication platform aided
by the age-old tradition of corruption,
championing the truth everywhere
when in fact are subverting
decency, honesty and sincerity
because they are actually
a manipulator or what a song
labeled as "smooth operator"
"whose eyes are like angels 
but his heart is cold."

Forgive us, Father,
for the many times we have
joined these smooth operators
among us because we have
benefitted from their excesses,
trampling further the dignity of many
especially the poor and voiceless;
forgive us, Father,
for those times we pretended
to be prophetic, 
acting and speaking 
to be the virtuous ones 
as we project others as sinners
especially those not on our side.

Teach us to be like Amos,
Father, a prophet who spoke
and lived out your words 
like Jesus who confronted the
powerful and abusive among us,
insisting that being prophetic
is not what humans want
but what God desires always
which is mercy.
Amen.

*Can't resist sharing Sade's 1984 hit "Smooth Operator" that inspired us too in our prayer-reflection today.

From YouTube.com

“Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.”

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 16 June 2024
Ezekiel 17:22-24 ><}}}}*> 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 ><}}}}*> Mark 4:26-34

*Photo by author, Camp John Hay, Baguio City, 12 July 2023.*

While preparing this homily, I cannot resist thinking of this poem by Joyce Kilmer because of its similarities with the first reading from the Book of Ezekiel and partly with the parables of Jesus in the gospel.

Kilmer tells us in his poem that trees are God’s presence among us, a sign of His own majesty, a reminder of life’s mysteries, something many of us seem to have learned only recently after the scorching heat of last summer when everyone was posting on Facebook the need to plant trees!

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

*Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, April 2020 in Infanta, Quezon.*

In the first reading, the Prophet Ezekiel picturesquely imagined how God would plant a great Lebanon cedar on a mountain as a sign of His divine intervention for our salvation that was eventually fulfilled in Jesus Christ’s coming.

Ezekiel lived during the Babylonian exile, the lowest point in life of Israelites when they did not have a country, nor a temple, not even a future. They felt abandoned, punished by God due to their sins; hence, Ezekiel was sent to give them hope. Through this beautiful allegory of the future Israel, Ezekiel tells his countrymen including us today how God would eventually intervene in a very personal manner to fulfill His promise of salvation.

Thus says the Lord God: I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar, from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot, and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. It shall put forth branches and bear fruit, and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it, every winged thing in the shade of its boughs. And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, bring low the high tree, lift high the lowly tree, wither up the green tree, and make the withered tree bloom. As I, the Lord, have spoken, so will I do.
Ezekiel 17:22-24

That beautiful imagery of the cedar tree planted in Israel reminds us that in whatever state of life we may be – whether we are like a tall or a lowly tree, a green or withered tree – it is always God who has the final say in life because He is the very reason for our existence.

Jesus declared to us in one of the Sundays of Easter, “I am the true vine and you are the branches…without me you cannot do anything” to show that more than a giver of life, He is life Himself because He is the tree planted firmly by God in our midst.

Incidentally, the word “tree” which is treowe in Old English is the root of the word true which connotes something firmly rooted, steadfast and faithful. From the same word treowe came trust because the roots of a tree signify relationships or interconnectedness. That is why the Anglo-Saxons have always traced their ancestors and family by using the diagram of a tree from which came our concept of “family tree” today.

How lovely to imagine that tree planted by God in our midst is Jesus Christ, “the Way, the Truth and the Life”, the One we must trust always!

Hence, Mark invites us today to listen more attentively to the Lord’s teachings, asking us to not just sit beside or around Him but try to “get inside” Him by taking into our hearts His words like Mary His Mother as we have reflected last Sunday.

Again, Mark surprises us in his story of Jesus teaching the people about seeds and plants, and ordinary activities like sowing we take for granted but so rich in meanings. That is what a parable is – a simple story with deep meanings about life.

Our life itself is a parable wherein we find the most profound realizations in the most ordinary things and events in our lives. And that is where Jesus Christ comes too often. He is in fact the kingdom of God He spoke so often in His teachings and parables.

Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow he knows not how (Mk.4:26-27).”
Mark 4:26-27

This parable of the seed growing by itself tells us of that reality of God living among us, right with us in Jesus Christ. The seed is His word germinating in us if we cultivate it daily in prayer and good works. Just like the fecundity of the tiny seed planted in the field, God grows in us beyond all our hopes and expectations because He is never absent nor distant from us.

*Photo by Ms. April Oliveros on Mt. Pulag, 2023.*

Look back in your life this past week or past month, examine how many times you were blessed, of how you were pulled out and saved from a dire situation in the nick of time. Surely you can offer a lot of rational explanations but, when you come to think of it, there’s always an “Invisible Hand” saving you, guiding you.

That’s the point of the parable of the seed planted without the farmer knowing how it grows: God works best in our lives in silence.

This is the reason why St. Paul tells us to “walk in faith, not by sight” (2Cor.5:7): our life is a journey of faith wherein we cannot see everything clearly, cannot appreciate right away the extent of how God works His miracles in us daily.

Yesterday we celebrated the 40th day of my mom’s passing then tomorrow, June 17, is her 85th birthday which is also the 24th death of my dad. I told my sisters and brother that maybe that is the reason why dad died on mom’s birthday 24 years ago: so that it would not be difficult for us to visit their graves on June 17. Isang lakad at punta na lang para matipid!

But kidding aside, though it is so difficult and painful to be ulilang lubos (orphaned), I still feel so positive more than a month after my mother’s death because in those 24 years when my father died, God never abandoned us. With mom’s passing, I’m sure God will never forsake us too.

When I look back at how many times God has blessed us in the past, I also see that soon in the future, if we remain faithful to Him, Christ shall unfold in us and around us in ways we never imagined.

*Photo by Ms. Analyn Dela Torre, March 2024.*

Time flies so fast indeed these days; we are almost done with the first half of the year. In a short while we shall be hearing Jose Mari Chan singing again “Christmas In Our Hearts” as the Christmas countdown begins even before September first.

And that’s what I have noticed these past 20 years: with all the comforts in life, we have become impatient that we rush everything, even Christmas and holidays. We live in a world of instants that we cannot wait anymore like the farmer in the parable of Jesus. Or the Prophet Ezekiel imagining God coming soon.

We don’t have to discard the modern amenities we have in life today for most of these are gifts from God Himself. However, we must remember these are not everything, that many times in life despite all our careful planning, things still do not turn out as we expect.

There is only one thing we can be sure of, Jesus Christ silently in our midst. Look at any tree around you, the many years it had weathered all kinds of storm and heat. Still standing, still green, reminding us of Jesus. Let us pray:

God our Father,
teach us to be patient
like the farmer who sows seeds
to his field, not knowing at all
how these germinate and grow;
teach us to be faithful to You
in Christ Jesus, always open
to find Him and embrace Him
in the ordinary things in life;
teach us to have more of You,
God in Jesus through prayers
and Sacraments,
to have more faith than gadgets,
more hope than instant gratifications
and more love than social media.
Amen.

Of vows & commitment

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of Our Lady of the Way (Madonna Della Strada), 24 May 2024
James 5:9-12 ><))))"> + ><))))"> + ><))))"> Mark 10:1-12

*Photo by author, Santa Maria Della Strada Chapel, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.*

Lord Jesus Christ,
on this 24th of May,
I join the Society of Jesus
in honoring Your Mother
they have affectionately called
Santa Maria Della Strada,
Our Lady of the Way;
thank You for introducing me
to her last year, a wonderful
title of Mary reminding me always
of You, Jesus, who declared Yourself
as "the Way, the Truth, and the Life"
(John 14:6).

Help me, O Lord,
along the way, 
to be faithful to You, 
keeping in mind the reminders
of St. James today to
"not complain about one another...
to persevere like the prophets...
and do not swear, either by heaven
or by earth or with any other oath,
but let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes' and
your 'No' mean 'No'" (James 5:9, 11, 12).

How timely are Your words,
O Lord, in this world where promises
and oaths are made only to be broken;
make us more sincere in our words,
to really mean what we say,
to be committed and persevering
always in standing by who we are
as children of the Father,
called to love and be merciful 
like Him.

We pray for all couples
as well as priests and religious
having crises in keeping
their vows to You, Jesus,
to lovingly serve You among
the people You have entrusted us;
through Mary Your Mother,
our Lady of the Way,
may we find You always Jesus
in every turn and stop we make,
to persevere especially when the
path is so narrow and difficult,
never to turn away when we find
the Cross looming in sight.

Forgive us, dear Jesus,
for the "hardness of our hearts",
especially in those moments
we refuse to listen and even stifle
Your tiny voice of truth and
compassion in our hearts,
when we insist on following our
own ways of pride and power 
than Your ways of
peace and justice,
kindness and care;
take away our stony hearts, Lord,
and give us natural hearts
that beat with firm faith,
fervent hope and
unceasing charity and love
in You like Mary,
our Mother.
Amen.

We the Church, an image of the Holy Spirit

The Lord Is My Chef Easter Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Pentecost Sunday-B, 19 May 2024
Acts 2:1-11 ><]]]]'> Galatians 5:16-25 ><]]]]'> John 15:26-27, 16:12-15

Blessed happy birthday to everyone this Pentecost Sunday, the “birthday” or official coming out party of the Church! In the Ascension of Jesus last Sunday, we have an upward movement that was a “leveling up” in our relationships with God and one another, calling us to be light to rise.

Today’s Pentecost Sunday is opposite, a downward move that “presses” us to “spread” like in compressing a sandwich to make it wider or bigger, calling us to be small and be “dissolved” so we can be mixed or shared with others.

Sorry for sounding a recipe but that’s how we are all as the kingdom of God here on earth – the Body of Christ we His disciples make up as the Church in the power of the Holy Spirit whose very image is us.

When time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire hose in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
Acts 2:1-4

Pentecost is not just an event in the past but a daily reality calling us to be “dissolved” in ourselves, to be little and small so that we can be one with others to be united in Christ through the Holy Spirit.

Being a Christian is being united, being one in Jesus; remove “Christ” in the word Christian, we are left with the letters -ian that stand for “I-am-nothing”.

That is why we as the Church is the image or icon of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity promised by Jesus to come after His ascension. It is the principle of unity in the Trinity because the Holy Spirit is the love that exists between the Father and the Son. This union between the Father and the Son happens also among us, the community of believers despite our diversities and differences when we allow the Holy Spirit to empower us in our daily dying to ourselves that Jesus likened to the grain of wheat that falls to the ground in order to grow and yield bountiful harvest (Jn. 12:24-26). This is the reason why St. Paul calls us to live in the Spirit in the second reading:

I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want… Now those who belong to Christ have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit. Let us not be conceited, provoking one another, envious of one another.
Galatians 5:16-17, 24-26

Jesus is inviting us today to go through daily Pentecost by allowing the Holy Spirit to “burn” us with its fire, to dissolve our old selves to become new in Him. It is a process of conversion, of daily dying in our flesh in order to build up His Church.

Here we go back to one of the central theme of Jesus of becoming like a child, becoming small which is true greatness because that is when we no longer live but Christ in us as St. Paul experienced. Today he tells us some of the works of our old self we must turn away from like “immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like” (Gal. 5:19-21).

See how all his examples lead to disunity and divisions instead of unity that is happening today. Some people call for inclusivity but the opposite happens as we get divided so sharply that anyone who opposes them is accused of “gaslighting” or worst, end up being “cancelled”! So sad that some people are exaggerating truth when in fact they are exaggerating themselves as new standards of truth, insisting themselves and their beliefs on us.

Why change the rules of grammar or beauty pageants or genders just because they are different? Worst, they want to change even religious feasts like Santacruzan or the praying of the Our Father! Where is the unity in diversity if there is one group insisting on themselves? What happens is a repeat of the Tower of Babel, not of the Pentecost.

Losing ourselves in the Holy Spirit does not hinder our search for truth. The Holy Spirit actually leads us to the whole truth of Jesus revealed in His coming but He is too big to be grasped wholly that He continues to unfold, telling us we can only arrive at truth when we think in Him, with Him, and through Him in the Holy Spirit.

“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. 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 wht he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”
John 16:12-15

The key here is being small, being dissolved in the Holy Spirit to see the larger whole who is Jesus Christ found in the face of every person next to us. See how we find in the first reading the reality of the Church starting out big right away as “catholic” or universal when it began on Pentecost speaking all the languages of the world, uniting the peoples as one in the power of the Holy Spirit.

*Stained glass of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove as background of the Chair of St. Peter in the Vatican in Rome; photo from wikipedia.*

The Church never started small like a club spreading into federations to become one. We become a part of that big reality of the Church in Christ by becoming small, by being dissolved by the fire of the Holy Spirit by letting go of our selfish selves.

The Holy Spirit continues to come down to us in daily Pentecost explaining and revealing to us the truth of Jesus through the many events iand persons in our lives. When my mother was still alive, she was the only reason why I came home; but, after she had left us peacefully last week, I have realized I still have to come home for my family and relatives and friends. It is a process of dying in myself amid the pain of seeing her room empty, that she is gone.

Death, like the ascension of Jesus is not about replacing those who have left us but a Pentecost, of allowing the Spirit to come to make us smaller, to be one with those still with us to continue celebrating life. That is when we experience the “fruit of Spirit” like “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23). When that happens, then we have the Church as well as our own family as an image and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Let us pray:

Lord Jesus Christ,
make us aware of
the coming of the Holy Spirit
to us in our daily Pentecost;
keep us open and humble,
dissolve our selfishness,
our pride, our "flesh"
so that we may live in
the Holy Spirit
as the Church,
its very image
here on earth.
Amen. 
Have a Spirit-filled week ahead!

Perverting the truth

The Lord Is My Chef Easter Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Isidore Labrador, Farmer, 15 May 2024
Acts 20:28-38 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> John 17:11-19

*Photo by Ms. Ria De Vera, one summer morning during COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.*

Lord Jesus Christ,
"the truth, the way 
and the life",
today I pray to You
for more strength and 
perseverance in working in
Your vineyard,
in caring for Your flock;
You and St. Paul have rightly
warned us of the coming time -
which is today, 
in this time of ours -
when "savage wolves will come
among you, and they will not spare
the flock. And from your own
group, men will come forward
perverting the truth to draw the
disciples away after them"
(Acts 20:29-30).

So true, Lord Jesus,
when those among us,
supposed to be fellow disciples 
are "perverting the truth" 
which is more than creating
and spreading lies and falsehoods
but most of all are allowing evil
and sin to continue and prosper
in the name of mercy and consolation
to others, in the pretext of openness
and understanding in all aspects of
our faith and teachings, from simple
deviations in liturgical norms and
rubrics to relativism in morals.

Help us recover our 
"consecration to truth" 
You have made after Your Last Supper
by being faithful to Your words,
Lord Jesus Christ through the
centering of our lives to You
in the Eucharist like
Saint Isidore Labrador.
Amen.

*Photo of painting of St. Isidore with wife St. Mary Torribia with angels helping them in their farming. From MyCatholicLife.com.*

Remaining in Christ

The Lord Is My Chef Easter Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Fifth Sunday in the Easter Season, Cycle B, 28 April 2024
Acts 9:26-31 ><}}}}*> 1 John 3:18-24 ><}}}}*> John 15:1-8

From the Good Shepherd last Sunday, Jesus today declares himself as the “true vine”. Notice that qualifier true vine similar with last Sunday’s good shepherd because Jesus “lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn. 10:11, 17, 18); so we ask, was there an untrue vine?

Yes. Jesus was referring to Israel, God’s vineyard lavished with all his care but produced wild grapes as portrayed in Isaiah’s “Vineyard Song” that he vowed to take it away and plant a new vine fulfilled in Christ (Is. 5:1-7). Jesus as the true vine is an expression of his Incarnation, of how God in Jesus Christ became human like us in everything except sin so that we in turn would become like him, holy and divine. This can only be when keep that union intact by remaining in Christ.

Jesus said to his disciples: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.
John 15:1-4

*Photo by MART PRODUCTION on Pexels.com*

Our scene is now at the Last Supper, after the washing of the feet of the disciples. Judas had already left and Jesus began his series of discourses capped with his high priestly prayer after which they proceeded to Gethsemane for his betrayal and arrest.

Imagine the solemnity of the scene, of how Jesus had shown the Twelve the meaning of his being the good shepherd laying down his life by taking the bread and wine as his Body and Blood given to everyone. All these will have its fullness on Good Friday at the Cross while it would take some time after Easter and Pentecost when the disciples will finally grasp and understand its meanings.

We are not just going back to a past event, to what Jesus had done. In declaring himself as the true vine, Jesus reveals to us himself truly God and Risen from the dead, telling us how we can share in the joy and mystery of his Resurrection. And that is by remaining in Jesus first above all, “Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.”

*Photo by Dra. Carol Reyes-Santos, MD at Napa Valley, California, 2023.*

See how in eight verses, Jesus used the word “remain” eight times because it is not enough Jesus is the true vine in whom we are blessed and become fruitful; we must remain in him too.

There is no doubt of Jesus remaining in us which is what his being a true vine is all about; unlike Israel in the Old Testament that produced wild grapes, Jesus can no longer be uprooted because he is God himself who had become one in us. But, are we one in him and with him?

To remain is more than physical like to stay. A branch remaining, staying intact with the vine but had turned yellow and dried up is clearly not one with the vine. We can be inside the church but be detached with everyone and the celebration. We may be staying or residing in the same address and home but our heart and very self may be so far away from our siblings or parents, or from your wife or husband.

Remaining implies something more than physical presence. To remain is to have a relationship, a bonding that is deep and intimate. To remain is to be of one heart as GMA7 claims to be a kapuso which is more important than being a kapamilya or a kapatid. There is no sense of being a family (kapamilya) when there is no love in the family or at the other hand, a sibling (kapatid) is nothing if the brother or sister is your enemy. We remain with God and everyone when our hearts are attuned or inclined to God and with others in love which is the fruit of the vine, Jesus Christ.

We can only bear much fruit, be more loving, if we remain in Jesus Christ. It is an imperative, therefore in this life that we remain in Christ for without him, separated him, we can do nothing. Fruit and love are always together as shown in the institution narrative and on Good Friday.

Being fruitful is more than being successful that is often seen and measured in material things. Being fruitful, being more loving is spiritual in nature, can never be measured with what we have but what have we given. Most of all, being fruitful is depending, relying more in Jesus Christ than in one’s self. That is why remaining in Christ is a prerequisite to be fruitful.

We remain in Jesus in prayer when he said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you” (Jn. 15:7). But, prayer here as in most parts of the gospel does not mean asking God for anything; to remain in Jesus in prayer is to ask for God himself. It is only in having God we can truly love and experience joy and peace within despite the many trials and pains we go through in life.

In the first reading we have heard how Paul, still known as Saul arrived in Jerusalem and “tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple” (Acts 9:26). It must have been so difficult for Saul as well as for the early Christians too to welcome him! Saul must have a hard time convincing them he had really changed, that he had been converted in Christ while he must also understand the feelings of the Christians whom he persecuted before.

Let us keep in mind too that Saul’s conversion did not necessarily mean an end of their persecution; in fact, persecutions would turn more fierce later but it was during that time when the church grew so fast and wide too! That was because they remained in Christ who caused their efforts to bear much fruits no one expected.

Look back into our lives and see how when we remained in Christ and problems never stopped but that is when we are more fruitful, more fulfilled in life. Like our responsorial psalm this Sunday, “we praise the Lord in the midst of the assembly” to thank God from our hearts for all the blessings he bestows us like inner growth and maturity, feeling fruitful not just successful. Indeed, as the beloved disciple rightly noted in our second reading today, “God is greater than our hearts and knows everything” (1 Jn. 3:20).

This Sunday, Jesus is telling us “I am the true vine” to show us how God’s life is now in us through Christ and how our life is in God still through Christ. Let us remain in Jesus as he continues to reveal to us who he really is, our Lord and God, so we can share in the many joys and mysteries of his Resurrection. Let us pray:

Lord Jesus Christ,
let me remain in You;
let me stay in You
when things are so difficult
and let me still remain in You
when life is so beautiful;
let me be near  and close
to You as You are in me,
speaking Your words,
doing Your will;
in my remaining in You,
may I be fruitful by bringing
others closer to You so that
in the end, we all remain
one in You.
Amen.

Failure & Faith

The Lord Is My Chef Easter Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fourth Week of Easter, 26 April 2024
Acts 13:26-33     ><]]]]’> + ><]]]]]’> + ><]]]]’>     John 14:1-6

*Photo by author, Anvaya Cove, 15 April 2024.*

When Paul came to Antioch in Pisidia, he said in the synagogue: “My brothers… The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders failed to recognize him, and by condemning him they fulfilled the oracles of the prophets that are read sabbath after sabbath.
Acts 13:26, 27

Failure.
One of life's many mysteries,
next to pain and suffering
that has baffled us ever since.
Sometimes avoidable,
sometimes inevitable
but surely happens
most of the time.

Like the Apostles 
at the Last Supper,
I fear failures, Lord Jesus;
as much as possible,
I avoid or at least 
minimize failures
to maximize success
and victories.

But, dear Jesus,
it is not enough to avoid
and minimize failures;
You have taught me so many times
that like You, I have to embrace
even befriend failure 
which is part of our lives.
That is why You gifted us
with faith:

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places… I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:1-2, 6

More than a virtue
and a gift from Above,
faith is a relationship
with You
and in You,
dear Jesus;
it is in entering
into a personal
relationship with You
in faith,
through faith
that I can embrace
and befriend failure
so that it does not matter
anymore how I got lost
but how I have
remained in You my Way,
a Person and a revelation
of the Father's love,
not just a concept
in philosophy or technology
like the AI pretending
to lead me;
deepen my faith in You,
Jesus so that every communication
in You is true because it is a giving
of my self in love
like You at the Cross;
lastly,
let me grow in faith in You,
dearest Jesus so that
despite the many failures
that may come to me,
everything leads to eternity
because You alone is
life.
Amen.