Category: Virgin Mary

Tenderness of God, sweetness of Mary

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 31 May 2024
Romans 12:9-16     ><]]]]'> + >>]]]]'> + >>>]]]]'>     Luke 1:39-56
Photo by author, statues of Mary and Elizabeth at the Church of the Visitation in ein-Karem, the Holy Land, May 2017.

What a lovely way to end the month with this feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Visitation of her cousin Elizabeth after starting off May on its very first day with another feast, St. Joseph the Worker that remind us of God’s coming to us in Jesus Christ.

Visit and visitation may seem to be one and the same, sharing the common Latin root word of the verb vide, videre “to see” from which came the word video.

But, a visit is more casual and informal without intimacy at all. We say it so well in Filipino, napadaan lang or just passing by which is more concerned with the place or location and site, not the person there. Napadaan lang ako kaya dinalaw na rin kita (I was just passing by and decided to see you). There was really no intention in seeing the other person there.

Photo by author, Church of the Visitation, Ein-Karem, Holy land, May 2017.

Visitation is more intentional. Mr. Webster described it as a more formal visit commonly used in church language like when bishop and priests come to see their parishioners. This explains why we refer to a chapel as a visita which is actually a small church in remote places that missionaries used to visit for the sacraments. Likewise, visitas became venues too for catechism classes and other religious even social gatherings in places far from the town itself where the parish is usually situated too.

Thus, visitation connotes a deeper meaning because there is an expression or implication at least of care and concern among the people, a kind of love shared by the visitor like Mary to the one visited, Elizabeth.

Visitation is more of entering into someone’s life and personhood as reported by Luke in Mary’s visitation of Elizabeth when “Mary entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth” (Lk.1:40). There was a communion and sharing of their common experience of being blessed with the presence of God in their wombs.

Visitation is a sharing, a oneness in the joys and pains of those dear to us. The word becomes more meaningful when we examine its Filipino equivalent pagdalaw from the root word dala or something you bring like food or any gift when visiting relatives and friends. What you bring or dala is called pasalubong from the root salubong that literally means “meeting” or “encounter”. When the visitor and ones visited meet, they salubong.

Here it becomes more colorful and meaningful because more than the gifts we bring or dala in our visitations, we bring our very selves as a gift of presence. In every visitation, it is our very selves we gift, we share with those we visit, offering them our time and talent, joys and sadness and ears and heart to listen to their stories and absorb their woes and whatever they may have to unload upon us.

Photo by author, 2019.

That was what Mary did exactly in her visitation of Elizabeth with an extra gift, the most precious pasalubong to share with everyone, Jesus Christ in her womb, right in her very self and body!

We too are invited every day to be like Mary, a bringer or taga-dala of Jesus Christ to everyone we meet, the best pasalubong we can share with everyone. If we can only be like Mary in our dealings with others, trying to make every encounter a visitation that is a willful bringing and sharing of Christ with others, then we also bring with us God’s tenderness and mercy for this dark world that admires toughness and roughness.

How sad are those news of daily road rages happening almost everywhere, many times resulting in the loss of lives like the recent fatal shooting of a family driver in Makati.

Through the Blessed Mother’s humility and obedience before God, Christ came into the world to make us experience the Father’s tenderness in the many healings and miracles He performed. This tenderness of God in Jesus we saw too in Mary His Mother in the Visitation: Mary visited Elizabeth because she knew and felt her many wounds who for a long time bore no child, living in “disgrace before others” as she had claimed (Lk.1:25). A tender person like Jesus and Mary is one who comes to comfort and heal the wounds of those hurt in life, trying to lullaby the restless and sleepless, never adding insult to injuries.

Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.

One last thing about the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. One of the best things we can experience from visitations and visits of family and friends like during wakes and funerals is that quality of sweetness.

Sweetness always goes with tenderness.  It is the essence of God who is love.  Anyone who loves is always sweet that always comes naturally from within, bringing out good vibes.  It is never artificial like Splenda, always flowing freely and naturally that leaves a good taste and feeling to anyone. 

In the Hail Holy Queen, Mary is portrayed as “O clement, O sweet Virgin Mary” to show her sweetness as a Mother. Recently I have seen some posts making a meme (?) of the Hail Holy Queen’s part that says “to you do we cry poor banished children of Eve”. I have not really dealt it with much attention because too often, there are a lot of generation gaps in many posts in social media; I really cannot relate much to the young perhaps due to my age. I just hope that post on the Hail Holy Queen is not derogatory. Back to our reflection…

Tenderness and sweetness are the most God-like qualities we all have but have unconsciously buried deep in our innermost selves, refusing them to surface because of our refusal to love for fears of getting hurt and left behind or lost. When Mary heard Elizabeth’s pregnancy, she simply followed her human and motherly instincts that in fact so Godly that she went in haste to hill country of Judah. How lovely!

Tomorrow it is already June, reminding us all we are halfway through the year. And it would be surprisingly quick that soon, it is already Christmas again! This feast of the Visitation reminds us of Mary’s great role in making Christmas a reality when God almighty became human, little and vulnerable like us to experience His sweetness and tenderness in Jesus Christ. Through Mary.

Let us pray:

God our loving Father,
thank for coming to us,
for staying with us,
not just visiting us;
help us imitate Your Son
Jesus Christ's Mother,
the Blessed Virgin Mary
whose "love is so sincere",
loving one another like Elizabeth
with "mutual affection,
showing honor,
fervent in spirit,
serving the Lord;
help us imitate Mary
to always rejoice in hope,
endure afflictions and
most of all, persevere in prayer"
(cf. Romans 12:9-12)
so we may always bring 
Jesus Christ with everyone
we meet.
Amen.
From cbcpnews.net, 13 May 2022, at the Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City.

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

Mary, Mother of the Church, our model disciple & companion in the mission

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, 20 May 2024
Acts 1:12-14     ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*>     John 19:25-34
Icon of Mary “Mater Ecclesiae” (Mother of the Church) in St. Peter’s Square from opusdei.org.
What a wonderful way 
of assuring us today, dear Jesus,
at the resumption of Ordinary Time
of Your presence and guidance
throughout this year in giving 
us Your Mother the Blessed Virgin Mary
as "Mater Ecclesiae",
Mother of the Church.
From the very beginning,
during Your public ministry
until Your death on the Cross,
Mary Your Mother has always
stood by Your side, Jesus;
when You sent the Holy Spirit
on that Pentecost day in Jerusalem,
Mary was also present with
Your disciples praying in the
Upper Room: "All these
devoted themselves 
with one accord to prayer,
together with some women,
and Mary the mother of Jesus,
and his brothers" (Acts 1:12).
What a beautiful portrayal
of the Church on its very first day
as Your Body, O Christ, 
gathered in prayer with Mary 
whom You have given to us through
Your beloved disciple at the Cross:
"When Jesus saw his mother 
and the disciple there whom he loved,
he said to his mother, 'Woman,
behold your son.' 
Then he said to the disciple,
'Behold, your mother'" (John 19:26-27).
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
As we resume today
Ordinary Time,
may we imitate Mary
Your Mother, O Lord,
in being a faithful disciple,
open to welcome
and accept You, Jesus,
saying "Yes" to Your will
like at the Annunciation;
let our faith in You be firm
like hers at the wedding at Cana
when she told You immediately
how the newly-weds have ran out
of wine, instructing the servants
to do whatever "he tells you";
most of all, like Mary,
let us remain intimate with You,
Jesus in prayers,
her most important trait
as Your faithful and model disciple.
Teach us, dear Jesus,
to be like Mary,
deeply absorbed in You
in prayers;
her standing at the Cross
was not a result of a spur in the moment
but the fruit of her long, vibrant prayer
life centered in You her Son;
unlike us, we come and pray
 to You only when we are
 going through trials and difficulties
but when everything is going well
in life, we hardly remember You, Lord,
nor pray at all.
All her life,
Mary lived in prayer,
in communion and oneness
in You, Jesus
that is why when the Church
was born on Pentecost,
Mary was there.
She has always been
with us as our Mother
and companion in mission;
let us be like Mary
in her discipleship that
is essentially 
a prayer life.
Amen.
Photo by author, Della Strada Chapel, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.

Our Lady of Fatima, motherhood at its finest

The Lord Is My Chef Easter Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima, 13 May 2024
Isaiah 61:9-11 ><}}}*> Galatians 4:4-7 ><}}}*> Luke 11:27-28
From cbcpnews.net, 13 May 2022, at the Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City.

We celebrate today the Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima when she first appeared there in Portugal on May 13, 1917. What a wonderful coincidence the eve of her Memorial was the Solemnity of the Lord’s Ascension that fell on the third Sunday of May, Mother’s Day.

What a wondrous alignment of celebrations this May – the Lord’s Ascension, Mother’s Day and Memorial of Fatima – as they all speak of love and belongingness despite the painful reality of separations we experience while in this life filled with sufferings and darkness due to evil and sin.

When Jesus ascended into heaven, it was not about His going up to a certain place or location in the universe but actually a leveling up of His relationships with the Father and with us. Though He had physically left earth, He is still very much present in the world. In fact, Jesus had to leave us physically to be with us at all time here in this life.

True to His promise of not totally leaving us, Jesus not only sent us the Holy Spirit to dwell in each of us to make us strong and holy but also gave us His Mother the Blessed Virgin Mary to be our Mother too in this world still filled with sufferings and darkness due to the seeming prevalence of sin and evil.

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

John 19:26-27

The Blessed Mother’s apparition in Fatima, Portugal more than 100 years ago was a resounding proof of the reality of God and His abiding love for mankind in this modern time when the world is more bent in denying His very existence.

How lovely that in reminding modern man of Himself to us, God used the most unique yet so common experience of everyone in every race – the mother. Everyone of us, including the most hardened criminals, always have two softest spots in our hearts, for children and our own mother. The umbilical cord with our mothers remain forever with us, even after they have died. This I realized yesterday on Mother’s Day.

While rehearsing my homily for the Mass, I had a hearty cry in my room when I came to the part of inserting the celebration of Mother’s Day. How can I speak of Mother’s Day when I am now “motherless”?

But hey…!!!

As I prayed and reviewed my prepared homily yesterday, I realized we are never “motherless” in this world!

Mothers are like Jesus Christ who ascended into heaven: when a mother dies, she remains a mother to us. Still so loving and caring.

Like Jesus who ascended into heaven, our mothers have to die and depart too to be with us more than ever. Those memories of our mother’s selfless love, from her singing of lullabies to make us fall into sleep to all her sacrifices we never saw and knew but so evident in her wrinkles and gray hair remain fresh until the end of our lives, assuring us of her and God’s love, that we shall get by in this life even when we do not see her like Jesus.

The Jews have a saying that God created mothers so that He can be everywhere. So true! That is why mothers are always lovely, “I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom bedecked with her jewels” (Is.61:10).

Photo by author, December 2023.

Mary’s apparition in Fatima is motherhood at its finest, non pareil in history and the world. She appeared at the most crucial moment when the world was in great transition in all aspects of life that tempted us to go on our own, bragging on our achievements and knowledge.

Just like what happens in most families when many leave their families behind, especially their mother, blinded by success and the limelight. Despite all the hurts, mothers are life’s most enduring proof of God’s mercy and love. Like most mothers appealing to their children to return to their father, to come home, Mary called us in Fatima to go back to the Father in Jesus through the three children of Fatima. Her calls were very similar with every mother’s appeal to her children – pray always and repent.

Mary at Fatima reminds us of our own mothers who would never sleep – and die – until she’s assured her children are safe back home. See how the recent turn of events in history in the last 50 years were still shaped or affected by the Fatima apparition that further bolstered it to be one of the most popular devotion and pilgrimage sites in the world today.

Fatima and Mother’s Day cannot be separated from each other primarily because of all the mothers, the Blessed Virgin Mary is the foremost of all mothers in all time, the model disciple of her Son Jesus Christ not because of her just giving birth to Him but most of all, being the first to believe in Him!

While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.

Luke 11:27-28

May we heed the calls of the Blessed Mother in Fatima. Most of all, let us be like her, a model disciple of Jesus Christ, be a “mother” to everyone, nurturing and inspiring others with our faithful witnessing of the gospel especially in this time when people in many parts of the world are at edge or actually in war already, forgetting we are all brothers and sisters in one Father in heaven.

Our dear Mother Mary of Fatima,
thank you for coming to us
to remind us 
of God's love,
to assure us
we are never motherless
in this world;
help us to share 
God's loving tenderness
and fidelity to promise
to never forsake us;
may our lives nurture
and inspire others to hope
and be open to God
in the midst of the seeming
meaningless world,
striving to do what is
true and good,
making Jesus present
in a humanity so often
absent to God.
Amen.

Our Lady of Fatima,
pray for us!

God’s will be done.

The Lord Is My Chef Easter Recipe by Fr. NIcanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, 08 April 2024
Isaiah 7:10-14, 8:10 ><}}}}*> Hebrews 10:4-10 ><}}}}*> Luke 1:26-38
Photo by author, Our Lady of the Poor, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
You ended it, 
O blessed Mother with
"Behold, I am the handmaid 
of the Lord.
May it be done to me
according to your word"
and it all set us to an
ever new beginning 
happening daily 
with your Son Jesus Christ's 
coming!
God and man 
too far apart from each other
before because of the Fall
are now so close
and near with each other
when you,
O blessed Virgin,
said yes 
to His Holy Will
so that the promise of old
is fulfilled.

Brothers and sisters: It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats take away sins. For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said… “behold, I come to do your will, O God.” By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 10:4, 7, 10
Chapel of Della Strada, Sacred heart Novitiate.
Pray for us,
our Mother Mary
that like you
we may be open
always to God's will,
intently listening to His voice
and most of all
obeying His word
so that like you,
we may bring Jesus Christ
to this world,
be enfleshed
in us to become His presence.
Amen.

Ulirang alagad, Minamahal na alagad

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-22 ng Marso 2024
Ikatlong Huling Wika ni Jesus sa Krus
Larawan kuha ng may akda, 2019.

Ang ikatlong wika ni Jesus sa Krus:

Nakatayo sa tabi ng krus ni Jesus ang kanyang ina at ang kapatid na babae nitong si Maria, na asawa ni Cleopas. Naroon din si Maria Magdalena. Nang makita ni Jesus ang kanyang ina, at ang minamahal niyang alagad sa tabi nito, kanyang sinabi, “Ginang, narito ang iyong anak!” At sinabi sa alagad, “Narito ang iyong ina!” Mula noon, siya’y pinatira ng alagad na ito sa kanyang bahay.

Juan 19:25-27

Napakagandang eksena ang ating natunghayan sa ikatlong wika ni Jesus doon sa krus, sa gitna ng kanyang paghihirap at pagtitiis ilang oras bago siya mamatay. Naroon kapiling niya si Maria na kanyang Ina, ang “ulirang alagad” at si Juan, ang “minamahal na alagad.”

Kapwa tumatayo noon sa paanan ng krus ang dalawang naturang alagad para sa ating lahat ngayon: si Maria na sumasagisig sa Inang Simbahan, ang Katawan ni Kristo na ating kinabibilangan bilang kanyang mga anak, bawat isa ay minamahal na alagad ni Jesus.

Ngunit, nababatid kaya natin ang karangalang ito sa ngayon na wala nang halos nagsisimba ni nagdarasal at walang pakialam sa paghihirap ng kapwa lalo ng mga magulang?

Hindi ko po napanood (at walang balak panoorin) yaong viral na namang video diumano ng isang guro na kinunan ng kanyang mga mag-aaral habang nagbibitiw ng masasakit na salita dahil sa matinding galit. Maraming guro ang dumamay sa kanya at hiniling sa mga tao na huwag siya husgahan.

Sang ayon po ako doon. Nakakalungkot, nakakadismaya at nakakahiya maraming tao ngayon lalo mga nakababata tulad ng mga mag-aaral na wala nang kahihiyahan at pakundangan sa hirap at malasakit ng kapwa. Masyadong entitled na nga yata mga tao ngayon na tila baga umiikot at umiinog ang mundo sa kanila.

Ngayon ko lang nadama ng husto bilang chaplain ng Fatima University Medical Center ang pagkatakot at balisa, pagluha at pagtangis ng isang ina para sa kanyang iniluwal na sanggol na kailangang ipasok sa ICU dahil sa sakit at suliraning pangkalusugan. Hindi biro ang makakita ng bagong silang na sanggol na maraming nakasaksak na mga munting tubo para lang mabuhay. Pagkatapos paglaki ay lalapastanganin mga maglang at matatanda? Kung nalalaman lang sana nila pagmamal at malasakit sa kanila noong sila’y mga sanggol na may sakit!

Larawan ng “Lady of Sorrows” sa triptych ng Master of the Stauffenberg Altarpiece, Alsace c. 1455; mula sa fraangelicoinstitute.com.

Ang mga salitang binigkas ni Jesus doon sa krus para sa kanyang Inang si Maria at sa minamahal niyang alagad na si San Juan ay patuloy niyang sinasabi sa atin ngayon upang tularan ang dalawang naturang alagad niya. Araw-araw ay hinihimok tayo ni Jesus na sariwain kanyang ikatlong huling wika doon sa krus sa pagmamalasakit at pagmamahal natin sa bawat kapwa lalo na yaong mga nahihirapan at nabibigatan sa buhay.

Si Maria ang unang alagad at ulirang alagad ng Panginoong Jesus dahil siya ang unang tumanggap sa kanya at nagsabuhay ng Ebanghelyo. Si Maria ang unang nanampalataya kay Jesus kaya naganap ang una niyang himala sa kasalan sa Cana, Galilea nang mamagitan si Maria na tulungan ang mga bagong kasal na naubusan ng alak. Nanalig si Maria kay Jesus kaya inutusan niya ang mga tagapag-silbi noon na gawin ano mang sabihin ni Jesus. Higit sa lahat, si Maria ang unang nanampalataya na muling mabubuhay si Jesus kaya sa kanya rin unang nagpakita ang Panginoon noong Pasko ng Pagkabuhay.

Sa lahat ng ito, itinuturo sa atin ng Mahal na Birheng Maria ang kahalagahan ng kaisahan o union kay Jesus sa pamamagitan ng matalik na ugnayan o intimacy sa Panginoon bilang kanyang kasama o companion sa misyon. Kaya kung tutuusin, si San Juan ay katulad din ni Maria sa pagiging ulirang alagad ni Jesus kaya naman tinagurian din siyang minamahal na alagad. At iyon din tayo sa paningin ng Panginoon!

Damahin natin ang tagpo doon sa krus. Pagmasdan ang marangal pa ring itsura ng Mahal na Birheng Maria sa gitna ng matinding hapis. Nakatindig siya (nakatayo) at hindi naglulupasay o nagwawala sa lapag. Buong-buo kanyang sarili tulad ni Jesus sa kabila ng matinding hapis.

Ang “Blue Madonna” na Mater Dolorosa (1616)ni Carlo Dolci. Mula sa Wikimedia Commons.

Ito ang pinakamagandang katotohanan sa tagpong ito: mahigit pa sa mga luha at hapis sa mukha ni Maria, hindi maikakaila ang kanyang pagiging ulirang alagad ni Jesus sa kanyang taimtim na pananalangin. Pagmasdan na walang ibang ginagawa marahil doon ang Mahal na Ina maliban sa pagdarasal. Tingnan kung paanong magkaisa silang mag-ina sa hirap at dusa maging sa pag-asa at pananalangin kaya naman sila rin unang nagkita sa luwalhati ng muling pagkabuhay!

Sikapin natin ngayong panahon ng Kuwaresma at Semana Santa na muling malinang ating buhay panalangin upang katulad ng Mahal na Birheng Maria, magkaroon tayo ng kaisahan o komunyon kay Jesus na kung saan hindi lamang tayo nag-uusal ng dasal sa bibig kungdi namumuhay at nananahan kay Kristo. Tantuin nating mabuti na ang Dapat pagtayo ni Maria doon sa paanan ng krus ni Jesus ay hindi basta-basta lamang nangyari; ito ay bunga ng matalik niyang pakikipag-ugnayan at pagsunod kay Jesus na dinalisay ng buhay panalangin. Madalas tayo mga tao ngayon naisipan lang magdasal at magsimba kung mayroong problema.

Buong buhay ng Birheng Maria ay ginugol niya sa pagdarasal kaya noong bumaba ang Espiritu Santo noong Pentekostes, naroon din siyang nagdarasal kasama ng mga alagad ni Jesus. Si Maria ang pinakamagandang paalala pangalawa kay Jesus na ang pagiging alagad ay nagsisimula at nakabatay sa buhay ng panalangin, ng kaisahan sa Diyos kung kayat bawat pasya, bawat kilos natin ay bunga ng pagdarasal at kaisahan kay Kristo Jesus!

Manalangin tayo:

Panginoong Jesus,
tulungan mo kaming maging
katulad ng iyong Ina,
ang Mahal na Birheng Maria
sa pagiging iyong ulirang alagad;
O Birheng Maria,
ipanalangin mo kaming iyong mga anak
lalo na kaming mga pari na dapat
sana ay katulad ng minamahal na alagad
na nakababad, nakalublob sa 
buhay panalangin;
nawa katulad mo at ni San Juan,
manindigan kami kasama ng 
maraming nahaharap sa mga 
pagsubok at pagdurusa;
nawa masamahan namin ang
marami pang iba nagtitiis ng mag-isa,
walang kasama.
Amen.

A song & a movie with Mary into 2024

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, 01 January 2024
Numbers 6:22-27 ><]]]]'> Galatians 4:4-7 ><]]]]'> Luke 2:16-21
Photo from Tetra Images/Getty Images, mosaic of Virgin Mary and Jesus in the Haghia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey.

Just like this Christmas, we start our new year reflection with another song, also controversial for some Catholics in the US, composed by two Protestant songwriters in 1994 that had become a hit this 2023 following a cover by Pentatonix. 

The song is Mary Did You Know with these following lines that say:

Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy
Has come to make you new?
This child that you delivered, will soon deliver you

Before Vatican II, January first being the octave of Christmas was the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus when he was circumcised and given with that name as instructed by the angel both to Mary and to Joseph.

Yes, Mary was not totally unaware, that she knew some things about Jesus, his identity as Son of God, as the Savior and Messiah. But, she knew nothing really in particular or details like what the song says in Mary Did You Know that is why we find it so appropriate in today’s celebration of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

Photo by author, St. Scholastica Retreat Center, Baguio City, August 2023.

The only thing Mary clearly knew about her child born on Christmas Day was the name to be given him, Jesus which means “God saves”. Aside from that, there was nothing else she knew. 

She never knew how Jesus would die, that he would be betrayed by one of his own apostles. She never knew Jesus would perform all those miracles like feeding thousands of people from five loaves of bread or healing the sick, restoring sight of the blind, or bringing back to life the dead. 

Mary did not know Jesus would walk on water nor change water into wine. All she knew was Jesus is the Messiah. And she believed with all her heart that she followed him all throughout his ministry until his death on the Cross, one of the only three followers of Jesus who remained with him when the rest fled.

After the Ascension, Mary remained with the Apostles in praying and serving, being present with them during the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost day.

Like the Blessed Mother Mary when Jesus was born, we know nothing at all of what will really happen to us this 2024. It is totally useless and insane – even sinful – to consult fortune tellers and go with all those superstitious practices every new year to make it a favorable and auspicious one for us.

Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, March 2023.

Hence, we celebrate every January first not the New Year but the Motherhood of Mary to commemorate the Blessed Virgin’s role in cooperating with God’s plan in putting into action the mystery of salvation in the Incarnation of his Son Jesus Christ.

Like Mary as modern disciples of Christ, we are called first to cultivate within us that intimacy with Christ, of immersing ourselves in his words in a prayer life reflected in our lives. Luke said it perfectly:

And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

Luke 2:19

It was not the first time that Mary “kept” things and words in her heart. First was at the Annunciation when she simply yes said to the angel and then at the Presentation when Simeon spoke of the coming mission of Jesus and her own suffering too as a consequence. 

Mary remained silent and kept all those words in her heart. And when Jesus was 12 years old after he was lost and later found in the temple, Mary did not understand his words but simply kept them in her heart, reflecting very well on their meanings, trying to find God’s will and her role to play in the mission of Jesus. 

“The Finding of the Savior at the Temple” painting by William Holman Hunt (1860) from en.wikipedia.org.

I love that expression of Luke, of Mary reflecting in her heart. In this age of modern technology like cellphones, we have forgotten the fact that our hearts are the best and most reliable “memory bank” in the world. 

Instead of keeping pictures and videos and voices in our phones and other gadgets including iclouds, let us keep things in our hearts by savoring our experiences, reflecting on their meanings that will surely enrich us as persons and most of all as disciples of Christ. 

No matter how big are the storage capacities of our gadgets, they are all prone to corruption and lost. But those stored in our hearts are guaranteed to stay, even if our brain cells suffer short circuits due to Alzheimer’s and other disorders that impair our memory because what can never be erased nor deleted in us are the memories of being loved.

We will never know everything in life ahead but we can all be assured we are loved by God. The more we experience Jesus Christ like Mary, the more we find God indeed is our loving Father – Abba as St. Paul said in the second reading. Again, please forgive me, for mentioning the movie Firefly.

From GMA Films & GMA Public Affairs.

Yesterday in the Feast of the Holy Family, I reflected on how the child named Tonton became the Christ-figure in that movie who showed the light of life and love to his three co-journeyers to the fantasy island; today let us reflect on his mother Elay played by Ms. Alessandra de Rossi.

After seeing her performance in Firefly, I am now convinced Ms. Rossi is in indeed an actress. A very good one.  

I first saw her in the comedy romance Kita Kita about ten years ago maybe. In Firefly, Ms. Rossi’s performance was truly impressive that one could feel her presence in the whole story even in those parts of her narrations. It is amazing how the movie remained faithful to the story line and graphics of the award-winning children’s story book that made it so appealing. 

Like Mary, Elay did not know everything from the very start, especially after she had killed in self-defense her abusive husband in their former home in the island when Tonton was still a child (sorry). They went to Tondo to begin anew in her life with Tonton in a place I believe we used to call when I was still a reporter as Isla Puting Bato, a protruding land into Manila Bay and home to thousands of informal settlers – the poorest of the poor who could not even afford electricity. 

The genius and artistry of the film is found in how in the dark realities of the life of Elay and Tonton – she stricken with breast cancer, so poor in the slum area while he a favorite of the bullies – still looked so light, so promising not only with the great cinematography and effects but most of all of that deeply ingrained love of mother to her child.

Parang anak talaga ni Elay si Tonton sa Firefly kaya nakakaiyak. 

From GMA Films & GMA Public Affairs.

She warned Tonton that in life, it is inevitable that separation could happen like death. But, what would keep us all together even after death is love. At the end of the film, when Tonton already an adult about to receive an award for his short story, a butterfly appeared, presumably his mother Elay. He then discarded of his prepared speech and spoke instead from his heart of the great love for him by his mother.

It is the kind of motherhood of Mary to Jesus and to us today, she still appearing to remind us of going back and being converted to her Son our Lord, of being faithful, of being loving.

In celebrating this Solemnity of Mary Mother of God at the start of the New Year, we are reminded to be like Mary to faithfully and lovingly bring forth Christ into this world so badly needed these days. In this celebration, may we imitate Mary in lovingly serving others, of being the face of God (first reading) especially to those who have never known him because they have never felt being loved at all.

Like Mary, we do not know what will happen this 2024 but we all know, and we are so sure, that God loves us that he had given us his Son Jesus Christ so that not one among us shall perish but gain eternal life. Amen. A blessed new year and still, a merry Christmas to you!

The songs we sing, the music we dance

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Misa De Gallo VII, 22 December 2023
1 Samuel 1:24-28 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]*> Luke 1:46-56
Photo by author, RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 13 December 2023.

As a chaplain of our university with six campuses and two medical centers, I have always emphasized to our deans and program coordinators that I strongly advocate a “one-party system” every December – just one Christmas party each day for me!

You know very well that we are really back to normal with the many parties going on since the start of December though, we are still strongly urged to take all necessary precautions for COVID is still with us. 

Next to all the food and raffles in every party, there are always the singing and dancing that make these occasions so wonderful.

But I hope that amid all these fun and celebrations, we do not forget the other side of Christmas, of those in pain and suffering this season: those who are sick or taking care of a sick loved one, those grieving at the loss of a beloved, the poor and marginalized. 

Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Valenzuela City, 13 December 2023.

That is why I cannot stop sharing with you too the beautiful gesture of our Administrators last Monday in hosting an Appreciation Dinner last Monday for our employees in their senior years, those 60 and above still working, still teaching. I was not able to join them but have heard feelings of fulfillment, deep joy, and gratitude with a lot tears rolling in the eyes of those honored for their service, dedication and passion all these years. They all felt so special that aside from our Christmas party last December 8, there was another party hosted in their honor.

I remembered how when I was still assigned in our diocesan school in Malolos 25 years ago how we taught our students to set aside a certain amount of their budget for their Christmas party so they can host a party too for students in some selected public schools, complete with gift-giving. We wanted to instill in them the spirit of love and charity by thinking always of others during this season.

While we are singing and dancing in our Christmas party, let us not forget those who could not even go to parties because of their poverty, sickness and other limitations. See how the Blessed Virgin Mary taught us this important aspect of sharing Jesus Christ concretely during this Christmas when she visited her cousin Elizabeth.

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my savior.  For he has looked upon his lowly servant.  From this day, all generations will call me blessed:  the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.  He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation.  He has shown the strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit.  He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly.  He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.  He has come to the help of servant Israel, for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and to his children forever.”

Luke 1:46-55
Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Valenzuela City, 13 December 2023.

In a certain sense, the Visitation was like a Christmas party of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her cousin Elizabeth. There was great rejoicing in their getting together as we have reflected yesterday. 

Today we heard Mary singing her praises to God in Magnificat as a response to the praises she received from Elizabeth on her Visitation.  Notice that instead of returning Elizabeth’s gesture like most of us would do in our “mutual praise club” especially during parties, Mary praised God through her Magnificat his outpouring of love not only to her and Elizabeth but to the whole nation of Israel.  

Actually, the Magnificat was composed by St. Luke he placed on the lips of the Virgin Mary. It is a part of his artistry, of putting songs on the lips of some of his Christmas characters like Zechariah after John’s circumcision and later on Simeon at the Presentation of Jesus in the temple.

Why? Because singing, like dancing, is the highest expression of our feelings to the one we love. Mothers sing lullabies to their infants, suitors compose and sing songs to their beloved, and we Filipinos sing and dance in whatever mood we are wherever we may be! There is always music in us from the simple gesture of washing the dishes, ironing of clothes to driving and taking a shower. When we sing and dance, we show what’s inside us as well as who we are.

Photo by author, 2019.

In singing the Magnificat which St. Luke patterned after a similar song by Hannah at the birth of her son the Prophet Samuel who’s story we heard in the first reading, the Blessed Virgin Mary expressed her joy and gratitude in the nearness of God among us not only with the coming birth of her Son Jesus Christ but also through her! 

All those great things done by God to Israel as per the Magnificat – “mercy on those who fear him, showing the strength of his arm, scattering the proud in their conceit, casting down the mighty from their thrones, lifting up the lowly, filling the hungry with good things, sending the rich away empty, coming to the help of Israel, for he has remembered his promise of mercy” – happened not only in the coming of Jesus Christ but every time we share and proclaim him in words and in deeds like Mary.

The late Fr. Raymond Brown, one of the great biblical scholars of our time noted in his classic “Birth of the Messiah” that Mary as the first Christian is teaching us the essential task of every disciple of the Lord, that is, after hearing the word of God and accepting it, we must share it with others, not by simply repeating it but by interpreting it so that people can see it truly as the good news. 

How are we interpreting the message of Christmas this Advent so that people would realize Jesus has come?

I hope this beautiful poem from another blog I have found a long time ago could help you sing and dance like Mary the Magnificat this Christmas.

Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Valenzuela City, 08 December 2023.
1 Corinthians 13 Christmas Style
by Sharon Jaynes 
(https://sharonjaynes.com/1-corinthians-13-christmas-style/             
If I decorate my house perfectly with lovely plaid bows, 
strands of twinkling lights, 
and shiny glass balls, 
but do not show love to my family – I’m just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, 
baking dozens of Christmas cookies, 
preparing gourmet meals, and arranging 
a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, 
but do not show love to my family – I’m just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, 
carol in the nursing home, 
and give all that I have to charity, 
but do not show love to my family – it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce 
with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, 
attend a myriad of holiday parties, 
and sing in the choir’s cantata 
but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn’t envy another home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of your way.

Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return, 
but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

Love never fails.  Video games will break; pearl necklaces will be lost; golf clubs will rust.  
But giving the gift of love will endure.

Amen. May you have and share Jesus Christ always.

Blessed are the women

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Misa de Gallo VI, 21 December 2023
Zephaniah 3:14-18 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Luke 1:39-35
Photo by author, bronze statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Elizabeth, Church of the Visitation at Ein-Karem, Israel, April 2017.

For the third straight day since Tuesday until Saturday morning at the end of our Christmas novena, all our gospel readings will be from St. Luke, the only evangelist with the most “comprehensive coverage” of the first Christmas following his extensive research on Jesus Christ’s life and teachings (cf. Lk.1:1-4).

Hence, his gospel has the most stories and parables than the gospel accounts of Mark and Matthew. Most of all, St. Luke’s gospel account has two distinctive characteristics that showed Jesus always at prayer while at the same time gave special emphasis on women like the Blessed Virgin Mary. You must have noticed this by this time since Tuesday when we began listening to his infancy narrative.

Mary set out in those days and travelled to the hill country in haste to a town in Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.  When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”

Luke 1:39-42
Photo by author, mural on the apse of the Church of the Visitation at Ein-Karem illustrating the Visitation (left panel) and how the angel helped St. Elizabeth hid the infant St. John the Baptist after King Herod ordered the murder of all children aged two and below.

It is rare in the Bible to find two women presented positively together in a single scene. Very often especially in the Old Testament, there is always a sort of animosity among them due to the prevailing patriarchal points of view of the time. 

The only instance two women were presented together in good terms in the Old Testament is in the Book of Ruth that still hinted some sense of superiority of Naomi over her daughter-in-law Ruth who was like her a widow but childless.

Therefore, this scene of the Visitation only St. Luke has is a gem in itself as it speaks eloquently of the important place of women in God’s plan of salvation. It beautifully portrays to us the joy of two great women filled with God and humble before him, affirming and acknowledging the two great men in their wombs about to change the course of human history: Elizabeth with John the Baptist who would prepare the way of the Savior, Jesus Christ in the womb of Mary. 

Photo by Mr. Boy Cabrido, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, QC, Misa de Gallo, 18 December 2023.

The story of the Visitation reminds us how God works mysteriously in everyone without exceptions by linking or interconnecting us with each other in Jesus Christ our great Mediator and Savior. How lovely to see in this instance how John and Jesus already performing their mission even while in the womb of their mothers, of bringing together people. What a wonderful illustration of women as God’s vessels and carriers!

In both Mary and Elizabeth, we now “shout for joy” as Zephaniah prophesied in the first reading at how God saved us when he “removed the judgment against you, he has turned away your enemies; the Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior, who will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love… so that no one may recount your disgrace” (Zep. 3:14,15,17, 18).

Do we truly share in this shout for joy for the women of the world, for the women among us? How sad that until now women continue to suffer from all kinds of abuses not only from men but even from their fellow women. 

Some spiritual writers say God is more like a woman because whatever was lacking in man, God put it in her. Perhaps that is why it is the woman who completes every man – including with us priests! But sadly, as we speak a lot about synodality in the Church these days, it is often among us priests with whom women are often taken for granted, and worst, abused.

One problem directly related today with how we regard women is the great number of people especially the youth trapped in the insidious effects of pornography due to prevalence of social media. At its core, the problem and evil with pornography is the failure of so many to recognize the lack of respect for women who are created equal with men in the image and likeness of God. 

St. Joseph showed us the other day that true holiness is expressed in the way we respect women. According to an article by Papal Preacher Cardinal Cantallamessa I have read two decades ago where he cited a Dominican biblical scholar who’s name I could not recall, “the way we treat and regard women is a reflection of our relationship with God”.

That is very true.

When I review my life, I have found God making so many ways to lead me into the priesthood through the many women I have met and known, and many of them have remained my “bestest” friends like the three former executives of GMA-7 News Department who asked me to guide them in their Holy Land pilgrimage in Easter 2017.

Photo by author, Church of the Visitation, Ein Karem, Israel, April 2017.

It was my second Holy Land pilgrimage but my first time to visit the beautiful Church of the Visitation in Ein Karem. 

Outside that lovely church are two bronze statues of Elizabeth and Mary conversing on how God had blessed them with sons under unique circumstances:  Elizabeth was too old and barren while Mary was too young, a virgin, not yet married with Joseph. 

What a beautiful reminder of God coming to us through women!

While there at Ein Karem, I prayed for all the women I have loved and have loved me before, all the women who have blessed me and have taken care so well of my vocation to the priesthood.  I thanked God for the women like Elizabeth who have blessed me in believing that what was spoken to me by the Lord would be fulfilled in the priesthood.  Blessed are the women who like Mary have helped me see the women’s perspectives that made my priesthood more complete especially in dealing with feminine issues.  The women who taught me how to respect differences, to feel the society’s bias against them, and most especially feel their deep pains when they shared with me their ordeals of abuse and rape.

Let me end this reflection with an unforgettable anecdote at the funeral Mass for the mother of our late Bishop Jose F. Oliveros in Quezon province about ten years ago when he recalled how his mother held his right hand while still a child, and taught to make the sign of the Cross.  On her deathbed, it became his turn, as a priest and a bishop, to hold his dying mother’s hands to make the sign of the Cross. 

Hail to all women and mothers in the world who bring life into this dying world with their joy and perseverance, artistry and simplicity, warmth and presence of God almighty. May this story of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Visitation of St. Elizabeth teach us to always respect women for they are the carriers of God to us. Amen.

At the wailing wall of Jerusalem, April 2017.

God comes any where, any time

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Misa De Gallo V, Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Isaiah 7:10-14 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 1:26-38
Photo by author, flower garden outside the Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth, Israel, May 2019.

Experts tell us that much of human communications are non-verbal in nature. And most often, people rely more to our non-verbal than verbal communication because it is more truthful by nature as actions speak louder than words. 

For our reflection this fifth day of our Christmas novena, let us examine the two kinds of non-verbal communications employed by St. Luke to portray God’s immense love for us as well as his sublime uniqueness as perfect communicator. These are proxemics or the communication of spaces, of how places are designed or designated to convey something special and profound. The second i which is the use of time in non-verbal communication like time perceptions of punctuality, willingness to wait, and, “timing”.

Photo by author, Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth, Israel, May 2019.

See how St. Luke extensively employed these modes of non-verbal communications in his infancy narrative to show us that God is everywhere, any time.

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.

Luke 1:26-27

Right away St. Luke established here the direct correlation between John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, of how their respective mission are directly linked with each other that our Lord was conceived six months after his Precursor’s conception.

More than the time frame conveyed by the six month difference in their births, we find behind it a deeper meaning about their differences as well in stature and nature wherein John was completely human flowing with time while Jesus is both human and divine with God directly intervening in our time. John was born June 24, the summer solstice when days are longer and brightest while Jesus was born December 25 when nights are longest and darkest!

The chronemics and proxemics are undeniably hinting on something deep, of how our eternal God entered through our temporal time so that within we can have that cosmic experience of “the here and not yet” when time seems to stand still because we are being wrapped in God’s eternal embrace of love made possible by Christ’s birth, passion, death and resurrection. This we can see at the contrasting circumstances between the advent of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ where we find God most unique, immensely loving us.

Photo by author of the site of the Annunciation at the basement of the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, Israel, May 2019.

First, Zechariah was a priest while Mary was a commoner. It was natural for God to work through his ministers but in choosing Mary an ordinary woman was something else not because of any special quality she had but simply because God is good. The angel clearly told this to Mary, “you have found favor with God”.  God does not call the qualified but he qualifies the call! Today, God is telling us Jesus is coming through us, no matter who we are or what we have gone through and did in life.

Second, God used the setting of the Temple of Jerusalem in yesterday’s account because that is where he is supposed to dwell but today, everything happened in a very simple house in Nazareth, the only place of significance and importance in the New Testament never mentioned in the Old Testament. It was a place looked down upon by many like St. Bartholomew asking Philip, “can anyone good come from Nazareth?” 

The word “Nazoraios” or Nazarene mentioned by Matthew refers to the overall designation of Jesus by the prophets as the hope and fulfillment of God’s promise that there shall come forth a “shoot from the stump of Jesse” (Is. 11:1). Shoot in Hebrew is from the word nezer which is also the context used by Isaiah in chapters 7 and 9 found in Isaiah 11:1 cited by Matthew. Therefore, Jesus being called a Nazarene or Nazorean is more than a reference to his place of origin but most of all his very essence – a shoot from God, someone totally consecrated to God.

And that is also who we are! St. Paul’s letters teem with this beautiful theme of us being called and justified in Christ by God.

Today, God is telling us to never lose hope in life, to never give up because he will never give up on us because we are from him, we are his. For as long as we are alive, God will make a way to make a shoot or nezer bud forth from a stump to bring us back to life. 

Yesterday, it was the imagery of barrenness of Elizabeth, of her being fruitless and therefore empty. Many times, that is just what God needs from us, an entry point, an opportunity when we are so weak so he can mightily work with his powers.

One of my hopes after Christmas is to celebrate Mass at the Quiapo Church, to cultivate a devotion to Jesus Nuestro Padre Nazareno. I just feel drawn to him as I have personally met so many people including non-Catholics with devotion to the Nazareno of Quiapo after granting them their almost impossible petitions and prayers.

Photo by Mr. Boy Cabrido, Quiapo Church, Misa de Gallo, 17 December 2023.

Third, there was a major feast going on, the Yom Kippur, with a lot of people present when Zechariah was informed of the birth of John; Mary was alone in her house when the angel came to announce to her the birth of Jesus on the sixth month after going to Zechariah. Again, here we find both the place and time conveying something deeper than mere locations and settings. This is what the Church has always been insisting, most especially lately after the lockdown during pandemic when people got the wrong impression that online Masses are enough or can replace actual participation in our Eucharistic celebrations especially on Sundays.

Yes, God comes to us personally as individuals but with Jesus Christ, we have been more interconnected than ever as we have seen how his birth was linked with John’s birth too. Faith and worship, life itself can never be relegated to just a personal matter. There is always the communal aspect of our faith and of life itself because man is a social being, created by God to relate which is what communication is all about.

Photo by author of a Filipino painting of the Annunciation scene on the facade of the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, Israel, May 2017.

In the first reading we found Ahaz refusing to ask for a sign on the pretext he did not want to offend God but actually because he did not want to show his faith like some people these days who try to see everything on the practical side, on the material side and most of all, the personal side.  This is the tragedy of our time even in our Church that has become secularized in certain aspects.  See those different guidelines of every diocese and archdiocese about the Simbang Gabi, with others allowing anticipated Masses we have long tried educating people that it is an oxymoron. Many times, we in the Church have overextended or over-interpreted many of our rubrics and traditions just to accommodate others in the name of inclusiveness and other woke ideas.

On this fifth day of our Simbang Gabi, the Annunciation of the birth of Christ invites us to ask ourselves how do we show others that the Lord is with us like Mary? If God is every where, all the time, how come so many have lost him or could not find him? Maybe we no longer have him. Let’s ger him back again today! Amen. Have a blessed Wednesday!

Photo by author, Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth, Israel, May 2019.