Category: Virgin Mary

Maria, Kaban ng Tipan

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-15 ng Agosto 2023
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, bukang-liwayway sa Camp John Hay, Baguio noong 12 Hulyo 2023.

Kamakailan ay naglathala ako dito sa aking blog na wala nang birthday pang ipinagdiriwang sa langit. Ito rin ang dahilan kaya tama ang mga tambay at tomador sa kanto sa kanilang awitin na “sa langit ay walang beer” kasi nga walang birthday sa langit!

Tunghayan aking paliwag, https://lordmychef.com/2023/07/26/may-birthday-pa-ba-sa-langit/.

Ito ang dahilan kaya ang kapistahan ng ating mga banal ay ipinagdiriwang sa kanilang araw ng kamatayan o kaya sa petsa kung kailan inilipat kanilang mga labi o bangkay. Ito rin ang dahilan kaya sa araw na ito, ika-15 ng Agosto ay ating ipinagdiriwang ang pag-aakyat sa langit sa Mahal na Birheng Maria bagamat hindi siya namatay na katulad ng ibang mga santo at santa o ng mga tao.

Ipinapahayag sa ating pananampalataya batay sa mga tradisyon at pagninilay, hindi dumanas ng “kamatayan” tulad ng ating nalalaman ang Birheng Maria. Sa ating kamalayan at kaalaman, nakakatakot ang kamatayan dahil ito ay mahirap, masakit at malagim. Iyan ay dahil sa ating kasalanan. Sabi ni San Agustin noon, kahit hindi nagkasala ang tao, daranas pa rin siya ng kamatayan ngunit hindi ito mahirap o masakit at malagim. Kumbaga, sa isang kisap-mata maaring mangyari ang kamatayan na walang kahirap-hirap.

Iyon ang dinanas ni Maria, nakatulog kaya sa Inggles ang tawag ay dormition of Mary.

Icon ng “Dormition” o Pagtulog ni Maria na iginuhit ni El Greco noong ika-16 na siglo mula sa en.wikipedia.org.

Gayon din naman, sa kanyang pagtulog, iniakyat ng Diyos si Maria sa langit katawan at kaluluwa upang maging kauna-unahan sa mga nilalang na magtamo ng kaganapan ng pangako ni Jesus na muling mabubuhay ang mga namatay sa wakas ng panahon. Dahil hindi naman “namatay” si Maria kaya hindi rin naagnas o nawasak kanyang katawan kaya siya naman ay kaagad na ring iniakyat ng Diyos sa langit. Ito rin ang ating sasapitin na siyang ating inaasam-asam balang araw sa wakas ng panahon kapag tayo ay papasok din ng langit, katawan at kaluluwa.

Larawan kuha ni Fr. Gerry Pascual sa Santuario di Greccio, Rieti, Italy, 2019.

Kaya naman sa araw na ito ay ipinaalala sa ating ng Dakilang Kapistahan ng Pag-aakyat sa langit kay Maria na ang landas patungong langit ay nagsisimula dito sa lupang ibabaw.

Pagmasdan kung paano sa ating Ebanghelyo ating napakinggan ang pagdalaw ni Maria sa kanyang pinsang Elizabeth na tuwang-tuwang at nagpupuri sa kanyang pagpapalang tinanggap sa Diyos. Sa halip na papurihan din niya si Elizabeth, ang pinuri ni Maria ay ang Diyos sa pag-awit ng Magnificat.

At sinabi ni Maria, “Ang puso ko’y nagpupuri sa Panginoon, at nagagalak ang aking espiritu dahil sa Diyos na aking Tagapagligtas. Sapagkat nilingaop niya ang kanyang abang alipin! At mula ngayon, ako’y tatawaging mapalad ng lahat ng salinlahi.”

Lukas 1:46-48

Dito pa lamang atin nang makikita kung paanong sa buhay ng Mahal na Birheng Maria ay magkatali at hindi mapaghihiwalay kanyang tuwa at galak sa pagliligtas ng Diyos at ang kanyang hapis sa paanan ng Krus ni Jesus.

Si Maria ang una at pangunahing alagad ni Kristo sapagkat siya ang unang tumanggang at tumalima sa Salita na naging tao, si Jesus. Sa buong buhay niya, si Jesus ang kanyang dinala at binahagi sa lahat maging sa pagsisimula ng Inang Simbahan nang kasama si Maria ang mga apostol na nananalangin sa silid nang bumaba ang Espiritu Santo noong Pentekostes.

Kaya naman tinagurian din si Maria bilang Kaban ng Tipan o Ark of the Covenant dahil siya ang nagdala ng Diyos Anak sa kayang sinapupunan.

Matatandaan na noong nasa ilang ang mga Israelita, nagpagawa ang Diyos kay Moises ng kaban upang doon ilagak ang dalawang tapyas ng bato na kinasusulatan ng kanyang Sampung Utos. Itinatago noon sa tolda o kubol ang Kaban ng Tipan bilang tanda ng kapanatilihan ng Diyos. Tuwing papasok si Moises sa tolda kung saan naroon ang Kaban ng Tipan, bumababa ang ulap ng Diyos tanda na naroon siya sa tolda kausap si Moises. Tanging mga pari mula sa lahit ni Levi (kaya Levita ang tawa sa kanilang pari) lamang ang maaring magpasan ng Kaban ng Tipan ng Diyos.

Nang mayari ang templo ng Jerusalem, doon inilagak ang Kaban ng Tipan kaya naman hindi lamang kapitolyo ng mga Hudyo ang lungsod na ito kungdi ito rin ang gitna ng sandaigdigan at maging ng kalawakan sapagkat naroon ang Diyos sa templo sa Jerusalem. Nang mawasak ang templo ng Jerusalem, nawala na rin ang Kaban ng Tipan. Iyong “wailing wall of Jerusalem” na dinarasalan ng mga Hudyo at mga peregrinong Kristiyano ang natitirang labi ng bahagi ng templo na pinakamalapit sa pinaglagyan ng Kaban ng Tipan ng Diyos. Banal na lunan iyon sapagkat iyon ang pinakamalapit sa pinaglagyan ng Kaban.

Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Jerusalem, 2017.

Ngayong Dakilang Kapistahan ng Pag-aakyat kay Maria sa langit ay maganda ring balikan ang litanya ng Birheng Maria na nagsasabi sa kanya bilang “Kaban ng Tipan” na siya ring nakita ni Juan sa kanyang pangitain ukol sa mga magaganap sa wakas ng panahon.

Nabuksan ang templo ng Diyos sa langit, at nakita ko ang Kaban ng Tipan.

Pahayag 11:19

Nakakatawang isipin na mula sa Hollywood sa pelikulang Raiders of the Lost Ark kung saan bida si Harrison Ford bilang Prof. Indiana Jones, kalaban niya ang mga Aleman noong ikalawang digmaang pandaigdig sa paghahanap sa Kaban ng Tipan dahil sa paniniwalang ito ang pinaka-mabisang sandata sa lahat dahil sa angking kapangyarihan.

Hindi na natin kailangan pang hanapin iyon o ano mang anting-anting upang maging makapangyarihan. Tularan lamang natin si Maria sa pagiging kaban o lagakan ni Jesus sa ating pagkatao ay sapat na. Wala tayong hindi mapagtatagumpayanan kung ang Diyos ang nananahan sa ating katawan at katauhan.

“The Assumption of the Virgin” ng Italian Renaissance painter na si Titian, ginawa sa isang simbahan sa Venice noong 1518. Larawan mula sa wikidata.org.

Sa Banal na Misa ang Diyos ay ating napakikinggan sa kanyang mga salita ngunit ito ba ay ating naisasabuhay tulad ni Maria?

Sa Banal na Misa ating tinatanggap si Jesus, Katawan at Dugo sa Banal na Komunyon ngunit siya ba ang nababanaagan sa ating sarili at pamumuhay, salita at gawa?

Sa panahong ito na lumalayo na at binabale-wala ng maraming tao ang Diyos, maging paalala sa atin nawa na maging katulad ni Maria sa pagiging Kaban din ng Tipan ng Diyos, tagapagdala at tagapaghatid ni Jesus sa mga tao hindi lamang sa salita kungdi sa gawa.

Nawa sa ating pagdiriwang ng Dakilang Kapistahan ng Pag-aakyat sa Langit kay Maria, masalamin din sa atin ang inaasam-asam nating buhay na walang hanggan sa langit sa pamumuhay natin sa mapagmahal na paglilingkod lalo sa mga may-sakit at nahihirapan. Sila nawa ay mabuhayan ng loob na magwawakas din kanilang pagdurusa at balang araw makakamit buhay na walang hanggan sa tulong at panalangin ng ating Mahal na Ina si Maria. Amen.

O Blessed Virgin Mary!

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 15 August 2023
Revelation 11:19, 12:1-6, 10 ><}}}*> 1 Corinthian 15:20-27 ><}}}*> Luke 1:39-56
“The Assumption of the Virgin” by Italian Renaissance painter Titian completed in 1518 for the main altar of Frari church in Venice. Photo from wikidata.org.
Glory and praise to you,
O God our loving Father
in calling the Blessed Virgin Mary
to be the Mother of your Son
our Lord Jesus Christ!
In calling her to bring into
the world Jesus Christ,
we are saved;
in calling her to be the Mother of Jesus,
we are given the chance to
bring Jesus too
by being like her.
Like the Virgin Mary,
let us cooperate with your grace
O Lord by being open, listening 
your word always;
likewise, may we also believe and act
on your word O Lord like Mary;
most of all, may we be one with you,
dear Jesus in your Passion and Death
on the Cross like Mary so we may join
you in your Resurrection too.
As we celebrate this
Solemnity of Mary's Assumption
Body and Soul into heaven,
may we keep in mind this is our lofty goal
in life, that while here on earth,
let our admiration and joy
for Christ's coming be inseparable
from his pains and sufferings;
O most blessed Virgin Mary,
truly the Ark of the New Covenant
as you entered heaven to share
in Christ's glory,
pray for us still on our earthly pilgrimage;
may we also be your Son's tabernacle
like you who visited Elizabeth
to affirm God's mission for us to make
him known and felt in this world
that has turned away from him
and from each other, 
choosing to believe more 
in science and technology;
may through our lives of holiness
like you, O blessed Mother Mary, 
may we show others
a glimpse of the heavenly glory
God assures us.
 Amen.

Our God of surprises

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 31 May 2023
Romans 12:9-16   ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*>   Luke 1:39-56
Photo by author, sunrise at Anvaya Cove, Morong, Bataan, 19 May 2023.
Glory and praise to you,
God our loving Father 
who had come and comes
daily in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Just like in this Feast of the 
Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
you always surprise us dear God
like Elizabeth.
Every visitation is always
surprising, especially when 
you are the one coming,
O God.

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. And how does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

Luke 1:41-43
Like Elizabeth,
we are so surprised
with your visitation in
Christ Jesus because
if ever there is anyone
who should be making 
the visit, it should be us -
or Elizabeth who should 
have visited Mary who was
pregnant with Jesus Christ.
What a beautiful anticipation
it was of Christ's mission through
his self-emptying or kenosis
when he said "The Son of Man
has come to serve and not to be
served" (see Mt.20:28, Mk. 10:45).
Keep us home,
keep us grounded in you,
Lord, like Elizabeth,
always ready to be
surprised with your visit,
to welcome your coming
in the Holy Spirit to shake us 
and examine our many beliefs,
traditions and conventions
that have prevented us from 
making Jesus more present among us
especially the poor and marginalized;
keep us home,
keep us rooted in you
like Elizabeth, Lord,
ready to be radical,
to go back to our roots
and rootedness so that only
what is most essential we must
keep - the person of
Jesus Christ himself
because many times,
we do not recognize your coming,
your visits as we are busy
"visiting" worldly concerns
than being focused in you
our Lord.
Come, Lord Jesus,
visit us like when you
visited Elizabeth and 
John through Mary your
Mother so we may imitate
her in bringing you to the
hungry and poor so that 
we may learn to practice
St. Paul's admonition,
"Let love be sincere:
hate what is evil, hold on
to what is good; love one
another with mutual affection;
anticipate one another in
showing honor" (Rom. 12:9-10).
Surprise us, Lord!
Amen.

Facing God again

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, 29 May 2023
Genesis 3:9-15, 20   ><)))*> + ><)))*> + ><)))*>   John 2:1-11
From google.com.
God our loving Father,
as we resume the Ordinary Time
this Monday, grant us the grace
your Son Jesus Christ had given
his Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary,
to "face" you again,
to be sincere and true before your
holiness and perfection,
power and might.
How sad that despite
the graces of his Cross
and Resurrection, we remain
too far from you, O God, because
we are still ashamed like Adam and Eve
to "face" you as we constantly turn away from
you in sins.
Remind us how on that
first miracle of Jesus at the
wedding in Cana when Mary
interceded for the newly-wed couple
that they have ran out of wine,
our worthless selves marred with
sins and imperfections like water
have been transformed into beloved
children of the Father,
so beautiful,
so lovely,
so noble 
like an excellent wine.
Amen.

Jesus, the basis of our relationships

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Saturday, Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima, 13 May 2023
Isaiah 6:19-11 ><}}}*> Galatians 4:4-7 ><}}}*> Luke 11:27-28
Praise and glory to you,
God our loving Father 
for the gift of your Son Jesus Christ
who gave us his Mother,
the Blessed Virgin Mary 
to be our Mother too
and model in discipleship!
On this Feast of our Lady of Fatima
on the occasion of the 106th year 
of her apparition in Portugal,
may be we reminded anew of her calls
to prayer, penance, and conversion
for peace in the whole world.

Most of all,
may we imitate Mary in always
listening, accepting, and doing your word:

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 keep your words, Jesus,
in our minds and in our hearts
that true blessedness is in
believing and doing your words;
most of all, that the basis of our
relationships is not blood nor belief
nor anything else except you, dear Jesus.

It is only when our relationships
are based on you, Jesus, that there can
be true prayer, penance and conversion
because you are the way and the truth and the life;
everything becomes clear when seen
in your light,
everything becomes acceptable and fair
when measured in your person,
everything becomes bearable
when taken in your love.
Help us, dear Jesus,
to know you more clearly,
to love you more dearly,
and to follow you more closely
so we may attain peace
which is the fruit of love and justice
in you.
Amen.

Ang “isa pang Maria”

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-13 ng Abril 2023
Larawan ng painting ni American painter Henry Osawa Tanner, “The Three Marys” (1910) mula sa biblicalarchaeology.org. 
Magkakatulad 
ang mga ebanghelista 
sa paglalahad 
ng mga kababaihang naiwan,
sinamahan si Jesus sa Krus
hanggang sa kanyang kamatayan;
tatlo sa kanila ating nakikilala
na sina Maria na Ina ni Jesus,
Maria Magdalena at 
Maria asawa ni Clopas.

Subalit, sino 
iyong "isa pang Maria"
na binabanggit sa ebanghelyo
ni San Mateo na kasama
ni Maria Magdalena
"nakaupo sa tapat ng
libingan" ni Jesus (Mateo 27:61)
na hindi naman niya kinilala
nakatayo rin sa paanan
ng Krus?

Kataka-taka sino nga ba
itong kasama ni Maria Magdalena
"Makaraan ang Araw ng Pamamahinga,
pagbubukang-liwayway 
ng unang araw ng sanlinggo, 
pumunta sa libingan ni Jesus 
si Maria Magdalena
at isa pang Maria" (Mateo 28:1)
na unang pinagpakitaan
ng Panginoong muling nabuhay?
Hindi na natin malalaman
tunay niyang pangalan
maliban sa "isa pang Maria"
na hindi kasing tanyag
 ni Magdalena,
 ni walang nakakakilala
ni pumapansin
bagama't matitiyak natin
hindi siya mahuhuli
 pagbibigay ng kanyang sarili
bilang tapat na alagad
ng ating Panginoon din!
Bawat isa sa atin
katulad ni Maria Magdalena,
dapat ipagpasalamat
 kasama at kaibigan
maituturing din na
  "isa pang Maria" - 
tahimik at walang kibo
subalit buo ang loob
tayong sinasamahan
saanmang kadiliman
basta patungo kay Kristo
na kapwa nating sinusundan!
Larawan ng painting ni French painter James Tissot ng “The Two Marys Watch the Tomb” (1894) mula sa paintingmania.com.

A model disciple, a beloved disciple

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
The Seven Last Words, 03 April 2023
Photo by author, Chapel of the Holy Family, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 2014.

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. 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 19:25-27

What a lovely scene we have at the foot of the Cross with our Lord Jesus Christ during His final moments, His Mother Mary, our “model disciple” and John, His “beloved disciple”. Both disciples standing for us all, Mary signifying the Mother Church, the Body of Christ, with us her children, each a beloved disciple of the Lord.

These words spoken by Jesus as He hung upon the Cross continue to be fulfilled in our own days in many concrete ways. These words are constantly repeated to both Mother and disciple, and each one of us today are called to relive them in our own life.

Every day we the disciples are called to take Mary as an individual and as the Church into our own home to carry out the Lord’s instructions by imitating her as a companion in the mission. Mary is actually the first disciple of the Lord because she was the first to welcome and receive Him at the Annunciation of His birth. Mary is also the first to truly believe in Jesus Christ when she “immediately” told Him how the newly-wed couple at Cana had ran out of wine. At the foot of the Cross, Mary is the first to remain in Christ, teaching us the most important aspect of discipleship which is intimacy in Jesus and with Jesus in prayer.

While preparing for this series, I wondered what was Mary really doing at the foot of the Cross of Jesus Christ? What were the thoughts running through her mind? What were the feelings and emotions forming, massing in her heart?

Notice the dignity of Mary in the face of extreme sorrow and suffering. She was standing firm, not seated, freaking out like crazy at the sight of her crucified Son. More than the tears and sorrow on her face as portrayed in arts, one can see this dignity of a woman and a disciples so absorbed in prayer, so united and close to Jesus our Lord!

How sad that many of us have forgotten this crucial aspect of discipleship Mary had shown us not only there at the Cross but from the very beginning until called to give birth to our Savior – a life centered on prayer which is more than reciting prayers but residing, dwelling, and communing in Jesus Christ.

Let us learn to be like Mary, to truly take her like the disciple whom Jesus loved by being intimate with Jesus and the Father in prayers. Keep in mind that her standing there at the foot of the Cross did not simply happen at the spur of the moment but a result, a fruit of her long periods of time spent in prayers, of communing with Jesus and in Jesus as the Mysteries of Light try to show us. Unlike most of us, we come only to Jesus at the Cross when we are in trials and difficulties but when everything is going on smoothly in life, we hardly prayed at all.

All her life, Mary lived in prayer. At the Pentecost, Mary was praying with the Lord’s disciples at the Upper Room in Jerusalem awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit. Mary is the most beautiful reminder next to Jesus that discipleship is essentially prayer, that whatever we do is borne out of prayer.

Let us pray with the Blessed Mother Mary:

Our Lady of Sorrows,
pray for us your children,
especially your priests
who are supposed to be 
the Lord's beloved disciples
to immerse ourselves in prayer
above all
because before all else came,
there was Jesus Christ who came first
calling us, sending us on a mission
to proclaim His Good News 
of salvation to everyone.
Amen.
“Mater Dolorosa” also known as “Blue Madonna” (1616) by Carlo Dolci. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

Stop hiding from God

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Saturday, Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, World Day of the Sick, 11 February 2023
Genesis 3:9-24   ><000'> + ><000'> + ><000'>   Mark 8:1-10
Photo by Arch. Philip Santiago in Lourdes, France, 2018.

The Lord God called to Adam and asked him, “Where are you?”

Genesis 3:9
Praise and glory to you,
O God our loving Father!
Until now, you never stop from
calling us,
asking us
like Adam after the Fall,
"Where are you?"
On this Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes
which is also the World Day of the Sick
we come to you,
presenting ourselves before you,
sinful and sorrowful,
weak and very sick,
hurt and aching inside,
lost and searching for meaning
in this life.
Have mercy on us,
dear God our Father;
your Son Jesus Christ
came to look for us
to bring us closer to you
by giving us his very self as
food and drink
in this journey of life.
Make us stop from
hiding from you,
from running away from you;
let us stop
to be with you,
to be healed,
to be consoled,
and most of all,
to be restored in you
in Christ Jesus
with Mary our Mother,
the Immaculate Conception.
Amen.
Photo by Arch. Philip Santiago in Lourdes, France, 2018.

Imitating, praying with Mary in 2023

The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Eighth Day in the Octave of Christmas, 01 January 2023
Numbers 6:22-27 ><}}}}*> Galatians 4:4-7 ><}}}}*> Luke 2:16-21

A blessed Merry Christmas everyone! Our Mass on this first day of 2023 is not for the new year but in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Mother of God because her Son Jesus Christ is true God and true Man. Of all human beings, she is therefore the best model for us to follow in welcoming every new year.

First thing we notice with Mary is her prayerful silence at the birth of Jesus Christ, the very new year in humanity when henceforth, time is reckoned in relation with his birth that is why we have those initials BC for “Before Christ” and AD for “Anno Domini” or “Year of the Lord”.

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

Luke 2:16-19

I come from the town of Bocaue in Bulacan known as the “fireworks capital” of the Philippines and I have never liked our manner of ushering every new year with a bang. Even the Chinese are ashamed at how we overdo our fireworks and firecrackers during the new year. What I hate most are the human lives lost every year because of pyrotechnics.

Life always begins in silence. Destruction comes in loud noises just like what we do every new year with fireworks and firecrackers. It is Jesus Christ who drives out the evil spirits from our lives and the world since he came to the world more than 2000 years ago and here we are, calling all the evil spirits back!

In my former parish, we used to have a Holy Hour after our Mass of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God in the evening of December 31. Like Mary, we pray in silence to Jesus to thank him for all that have happened the past year, for everything, whether good or bad.

Let Jesus come and dwell in our hearts tonight and tomorrow. Pray with your family and loved ones. Pray by yourself.

Secondly, like Mary, let us treasure all our memories of the past year in our hearts, both the good and the bad ones especially the people who have touched us and hurt us too.

Silence is the door through which God enters our heart and soul, enabling us to have that meaningful awareness of Jesus in us and among us, helping us to see the larger picture of life with its many realities. One of my favorite writers, T.S. Eliot wrote in his very long Four Quartets that “tragedy occurs when we have the experience but miss the meaning”. Very true!

Most of all, it is in silence where we grow deeper in faith, hope and love of God because silence is the domain of trust. That is why saints and monks and every holy person of high level of spirituality are lovers of silence. Silent people are the most trusting ones to God and to others.

I have been dwelling this week on that scene when the shepherds came with all their noises and talks while Mary sat in silence along with St. Joseph, the patron saint of silence.

What was Mary thinking or praying? Was she asking for a better year in their lives after all the trials and difficulties she and Joseph have in having Jesus?

I don’t think she prayed for a better year ahead like many of us wishing in Facebook that 2023 would be better.

If we have Jesus Christ in us like Mary, every year, every day is always the best. If I may say so, every today becomes the least joyous days of our lives in Christ. Read and pray the gospel to see how the lives of Mary and all the other disciples went through the most wonderful and spectacular experiences in having Jesus.

Like Mary after giving birth to Jesus, she never prayed nor wished for a better year despite her being the Mother of God because nothing is better than living each day in Christ our Savior.

It is useless and futile to get all those lucky charms nor consult fortune tellers on what is in store for us this 2023. Mary knew nothing at all what was in store for her in giving birth to Jesus, much less in following him as his foremost disciple. All she was certain at that time time was the name to be given to her child, Jesus that means “God is my savior”.

Jesus is still and will always be our only certainty in life – day in, day out in every year. Let us not lose Jesus. Like Mary, let us treasure him in our hearts where he dwells. Let us pray with Mary:

Lord Jesus Christ,
on this passing of 2022
as 2023 comes, make me silent
in you, trusting you like your Mother
and our Mother too, 
the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Thank you for everything; 
despite the many disappointments
and failures, trials and sufferings, 
hurts and pains amidst the more 
joys and laughters I have had from
people you have given me this 2022,
teach me to trust you more that everything
in the past year indicates more better days are ahead!
I pray only for one thing this new year
as your disciple, Lord:
like Mary, let me love and trust you more,
never let me leave you,
keep me at your side even 
at your Cross.  Amen.

Christmas is being grateful

The Lord Is My Chef Simbang Gabi Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Fourth Week of Advent, Seventh Day of Christmas Novena, 22 December 2022
1 Samuel 1:24-28     ><000'> + ><000'> + ><000'>     Luke 1:46-56

Christmas is a call for us to be grateful. Only a grateful heart can truly be emptied and be filled with Jesus Christ. A heart that truly praises God is first of all a grateful heart. Mary’s song, the Magnificat is a both a song of thanksgiving and gratitude to God for all his wondrous blessings to her and to mankind in general.

Yesterday we heard how Mary hastily went to visit her cousin Elizabeth in Judea to share with her the Good News she had received, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. After being praised by Elizabeth, Mary responded today not by praising her cousin as we would always do; she instead praised and thanked God.

Again, we hear today wonderful stories of women – not just two like yesterday but three! – who were so blessed by God, thanking and praising God for blessing them with sons: Hannah in the first reading for her son Samuel who became one of Israel’s greatest prophet, Mary pregnant with Jesus Christ while visiting her cousin Elizabeth who was sixth month pregnant with John.

See how Hannah as a sign of her gratitude to God through the priest Eli who promised to pray for her to conceive a son gave Samuel at a very young age to serve in the Lord’s altar. The same is true with Mary in singing the Magnificat when she reaffirmed her fiat to God, of being his ever-faithful handmaid doing his will always.

“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.”

Luke 1:46-49
Photo by Mr. John Ryan Jacob, 20 December 2022, Paco, Obando, Bulacan.

Gratitude is a virtue that works great wonders for everyone because it makes us live in the present moment. A grateful person is one who lives in the here and now, not in the past nor in the future. Look at the structure of Mary’s Magnificat that is in the present tense.

When our heart is filled with gratitude, we have no time to complain and nurse old wounds and pains in the past but simply learn from them and move on with life. Living in the present moment means making things happen, working hard on our dreams and aspirations to become a reality, exactly what the Magnificat is telling us! How are we going to continue God’s wondrous works like Mary? By remaining faithful to Jesus Christ all the way to his Cross on Good Friday.

People who refuse to be grateful in life are busy wishful thinking of how things should be or would be, always looking at the future as a fantasy that would just pop out of nowhere instead of working for it in the present moment.

Unknown to many, gratitude is the fount of all good vibes in life, enabling us to be more positive than negative. It helps us accept the reality we are into – whether it is good or bad.

And that is when we start growing and maturing as persons when we learn to accept our present realities.

Most of all, gratitude disposes us to more blessings and grace from God because a thankful heart is always the one that seeks relationships, with God and with others. See that Mary did not sing her Magnificat while with the angel Gabriel after announcing the birth of Christ nor after he had left, right in the comforts of her home. Mary went in haste to Judea to celebrate and thank God’s gifts with her cousin Elizabeth.

People who go out of their way to say thank you, 
to express gratitude are person-oriented. 
They see more the persons 
not just the kind deeds done to them 
and beautiful gifts given them.

Very often, people thank us priests especially for praying for them, enlightening and guiding them. That is why people lavish us with all kinds of gifts. Every time people thank me, I tell them, “kami po ang dapat magpasalamat sa inyo kasi lumalago kami kay Kristo!” In my 24 years as a priest, I have realized that the more faithful we are in serving God through his people, the more we are blessed and hence, the more we must be grateful!

People who go out of their way to say thank you, to express gratitude are person-oriented. They see more the persons not just the kind deeds done to them and beautiful gifts given them. When we say thank you, when we let others know of how grateful we are, we recognize their personhood that is why we reach out to them, trying to connect with them and befriend them. Or, to keep our ties alive and strong. As the old song says, “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.”

Remember the ten lepers healed by Jesus Christ on his way to Jerusalem?

Only one returned – a Samaritan – to thank Jesus. He was the only one who was “saved” when Jesus told him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you” (Lk.17:19).

Photo by Mr. John Ryan Jacob, 20 December 2022 in Paco, Obando, Bulacan.

Gratitude is a very practical virtue, “the parent of all virtues” according to the Roman scholar and statesman Cicero. It is the one virtue we need to recapture and reacquire in this time to make through the many challenges and trials this pandemic has brought us. Instead of complaining and being so sorry with the plight we are into due to COVID-19, let us start counting our many blessings in life to see the vast opportunities and lessons this crisis has given us. In fact, the more this pandemic has persisted, the more blessings we can find that we must be thankful too.

Because of the pandemic, we have learned to cherish more one another as we come to value persons and life again more than things. There are so many things we have to be grateful in life during this time of the pandemic, perhaps even more than the sufferings and trials we have gone through as it opened to us new views and perceptions about life itself.

Most of all, it had brought us back to the grounding of our being, to God who is life himself, the source of all good things we have long forgotten and now remember. And rightly praise and thank. That is why I keep on telling everyone, God willed Christmas 2022 falls on a Sunday so we may personally, face-to-face celebrate together. And thank him through the people he has given us! Let us pray:

My soul also proclaims 
your greatness, O Lord Jesus Christ
like Mary your Mother!
Thank you for the gift of life
with all of its pains and hurts
that have strengthened me,
for all the joys that have enriched me.
Most of all, for the call to serve you.
Who am I, O Lord, to be called
and visited by you?
Many times I have failed you
yet you keep on coming, still calling me,
still believing in me, still trusting me.
What else can I say except 
thank you from the bottom of my heart.
As your birthday approaches,
as my gift to you dearest Jesus,
enable me to remain faithful to you
like Mary your Mother and our Mother too
even up to your Cross.  
Here am I, Lord, send me.
Amen.
Photo by Mr. John Ryan Jacob, 19 December 2022 in Paco, Obando, Bulacan.