Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga & Companions, 03 June 2025 Acts 20:17-27 <*((((>< + ><))))*> John 17:1-11
Photo by author, St. Paul Retreat House, Pico, La Trinidad, Benguet, 06 January 2025.
Dear Jesus, help us your disciples in this modern age to be like St. Paul who never "shrinked" in boldly standing for your gospel values; how lovely in today's first reading that St. Paul twice mentioned he never "shrink" from telling and proclaiming God's plan for everyone.
“and I did not at all shrink from telling you what was for your benefit, or from teaching you in public or in your homes… for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God” (Acts 20:20, 27).
How lovely that on this day too we celebrate the memorial of Uganda's first martyrs led by St. Charles Lwanga and companions never shrink before their king to engage in homosexual and other pervert sexual acts; they stood firm in your teachings of the sanctity of the human body as temple of your spirit.
How true are your words, Lord Jesus at the end of your great discourse and prayer for your disciples at the Last Supper that indeed, "Father, the hour has come" (John 17:1): the hour has come when people are so proud with their wrong sense of "pride" in rejecting your gift of sexuality and human body; how sad that these days, our country despite being the only Christian nation in this part of Asia is now the "trans" capital in the region; for the longest time too, our country has been one of the top users of online pornography; and worst of all, we have the most irreconcilable situation of being a nation deeply religious yet with a government so corrupt that we have always lagged in development as a country where much of its human resources have to work abroad to earn decently.
The hour has come, Jesus, that we too make a stand for what is true and just, that we do not shrink in doing and teaching your gospel values; grant us the courage as well as clarity of mind and magnanimity of spirit and heart in not shrinking for you in the face of so-called modernity and wokism. Amen.
St. Charles Lwanga and companion martyrs of Uganda, Pray for us!
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-29 ng Mayo 2025
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, St. Scholantica Retreat House, Tagaytay City, Agosto 2024.
Ito ay pagsang-ayon sa ginawang pagninilay kamakalawa ni P. Ritz Darwin Resuello ukol sa nalalapit naming lipatan ng mga pari. Malaman ang kanyang mga sinulat. At nakatutuwa ang kanyang pamagat na mayroong halong salya at padyak: GUMUGULONG LANG BA ANG ROLETA? ISANG PAGNINILAY SA NALALAPIT NA LIPATAN.
At iyon nga ang punto de vista nitong ating pagninilay din: gumugulong lang ba ang roleta sa lipatan ng mga pari?
Nakakatawa. Kasi totoo lalo nitong mga lumipas na panahon. Kung minsan nga parang hindi lang roleta kungdi tila bolang kristal na rin ang ginagamit sa lipatan.
Larawan kuha ng may akda noong Misa ng Krisma, 2025.
Hindi natin kinukuwestiyon ang pagpapasiya ng Obispo na siyang may final say ngunit gaya ng nilahad ni P. Ritz, napakinggan ba ng “may pag-galang at pag-unawa ang tunay na pangangailangang pastoral” ng parokya?
a. Pakikinig nang may paggalang at pag-unawa sa tunay na pangangailangang pastoral ng parokya: Mahalaga pong lumikha ng malugod na kapaligiran para sa lahat ng boses, lalo na sa mga direktang naapektuhan ng lipatan na ito – ang mga pari, at higit sa lahat, ang mga parokyano. Ang mga hinaing, ang mga natatanging katangian ng isang komunidad, at ang kanilang kasalukuyang pastoral na sitwasyon ay lubhang mahalaga. Ang espirituwal na kapakanan ay manatili nawang pangunahing priyoridad. Gaya ng idiniin ni Papa Francisco, ang diyalogong ito ay hindi lamang tungkol sa pagdinig kundi tungkol sa pagpapatibay ng isang tunay na pagpapalitan ng mga ideya kung saan tayo ay natututo nang sama-sama at kung saan ang bawat atas ay malinaw na tumutugon sa kung ano ang tunay na kinakailangan sa parokya (P. Ritz, aka Heinrich Atmung sa FB post, 27 mayo 2025, 8:30 ng umaga).
Noong ako ay nasa ICSB Malolos, dumating ang ilang panauhin namin na mga lingkod layko ng parokya sa UP-Diliman na pawang mga propesor sa naturang pamantasan.
Hindi tungkol sa agham at edukasyon aming naging paksa sa hapunan kungdi ang kanilang tanong: paano ba kami tinuturing at tinitingnan ng mga pari sa pagbibigay ng aming mga pastol?
Pakiramdam nila kasi na tila hindi tiningnang mabuti kanilang katayuan sa buhay bilang mananampalataya nang bigyan ng pastol na palaging naroon sa mga rally kesa nasa parokya. Bagama’t anila maraming nagrarally sa UP, hindi nila kailangan ng isa pang ralliyistang pari kungdi isang nananatili doon upang kanilang masangguni sa maraming bagay sa buhay nila ng pagtuturo at pakikisalamuha sa mga mag-aaral na mayroong natatanging pangangailangang espiritwal.
Nadarama nga ba naming mga pari ang pintig ng mga tao sa parokya? Hindi tuloy nila maiwasang magtanong bakit tila sila ginagawang “tapunan” sila ng mga paring may problema.
Iba na ang mga tao ngayon. Mulat at handang makipag-usap at suriin hindi lang mga homilya kungdi mga desisyon ng kanilang pari. They deserve nothing less, ika nga dahil nga naman sa tagal ng pag-aaral at paghubog ng mga pari bago maordenahan, pagkatapos ay puro pagpalakpak at telenovela lang kuwento sa Misa? Hinubog ang mga pari upang maging mahuhusay at masisipag sa paglilingkod kaya kawalan ng katarungan na ipapasan sa mga tao lalo na kung ituring silang maliit na parokya na puwede nang pagtiyagaan mga pari na may problema sa iba’t-ibang aspekto tulad ng pananalapi, pag-uugali, at seksuwalidad.
Kuha ng may-akda, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 Marso 2025.
Nasaan ang diwa ng sinodo o sama-samang paglalakbay kung saan ay nakikinig ang lahat ng panig lalo’t higit ang mga nag-aasign ng pari? Maraming parokya nasisira dahil hindi isinaalang-alang kapakanan ng mga mananampalataya kasi nga naman yung mahusay nilang kura pinalitan ng tamad at walang pakialam o makasarili. Lahat ng pagsisikap ng naunang pari ay pilit binubura at winawasak ng sumunod na kapalit dahil sarili ang inuuna at hindi ang mga kawan. At mayroong pari na hindi maka-move on, hindi maiwanan dating parokya dahil pakiwari sa sarili ay Mesiyas!
Problema ito sa buong Simbahan maski sa ibang bansa dahil marahil sa isang pinag-uugatan: ang pagturing sa mga parokya bilang maliit o malaki, mayaman o mahirap. Hindi totoong may pangit na parokya; nasa uri ng pari iyon. Mayroong mga munting pamayanan na napapayabong ng ibang pari na tingin ng iba ay imposible.
Panahon na upang alisin sa talasalitaan ng mga pari ang label na maliit at malaki o mahirap at mayamang parokya dahil bawat pamayanan ay katipunan ng mga alagad ni Kristo. Higit sa lahat, bawat parokya ay pinanahanan ng Espiritu Santo bilang Katawan ni Kristo na dapat palaging pahalagahan ano man ang katayuan. Kung tutuusin batay sa turo ng Panginoong Jesus, iyon ngang hirap na parokya at tila pinagtampuhan ng panahon ang dapat bigyang halaga ng mga pari gaya ng mga nasa kabundukan at liblib na pook. Hindi ko malilimutan ang salita noon sa amin sa seminaryo ng dating naming Obispo na Arsobispo Emerito ng Naga, ang Lubhang kagalang-galang Rolando Tria-Tirona, “those who have less in life should have more of God.”
Ito ang sinasaad ng katagang sinodo, ang katagang palasak na ngayon ngunit hindi pa rin maramdaman dahil wala namang nakikinig at nagbibigay halaga sa bawat isa.
Kuha ng may-akda, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 Marso 2025.
Usiginga… kailan nanaig kalooban ng mga kawan kesa sa kura? O ng karamihan ng mga pari kesa sa Obispo at iilan niyang upisyal?
Totoong walang demokrasya sa Simbahan sa larangan ng chain of command dahil ito ay isang hierarchy, na mayroong hanay ng mga upisyal sa pamumuno ng Santo Papa katuwang mga Obispo na kinakatawan ng mga Kura sa bawat Parokya.
Subalit, hindi ito nangangahulugang diktadura ang Simbahan. Kung tutuusin nga ay sa Simbahan dapat matagpuan ang tunay na diwa ng kalayaan na kung saan ay masinsinang tinatalakay ng lahat ang higit na makabubuti sa karamihan batay sa kalooban ng Diyos. Ito ang dahilan kaya nagpatawag ng sinodo ang yumaong Santo Papa Francisco.
Dito makikita din natin ang isang malinaw na problema ng Simbahan na hindi namin matanggap – na kaming mga pari mismo ang problema ng Simbahan. At sa Simbahan. Ngunit saka na natin iyan pag-usapan at balikan ang pagninilay ni P. Ritz na ating pinagtitibay. Wika niya muli sa kanyang FB post noong Mayo 27:
b. Pagyakap sa maagap na pastoral na karunungan: Mahalaga pong isaalang-alang kung paano nakatutulong ang bawat “assignment” sa paglago ng isang pari sa ministeryo at nagpapayaman ng kaniyang mga karanasan, laging naghahanap ng balanse sa pagitan ng mga pangangailangan ng mga parokya at ng paglago ng indibidwal na mga pari.
Mula sa cbcpnews.com.
Matalik na kalakip ng diwa ng sinodo ang kapatiran ng mga pari. Ngunit kapansin-pansin tuwing lipatan ang problema ng aming mga tampuhan at mga reklamo sa assignment. Totoo namang mayroong mga pari na namimili at mareklamo sa assignment ngunit hindi sila ang problema sa lahat ng pagkakataon tuwing may lipatan.
Ang problema ay ang sistema at patakaran – o kawalan ng mga ito.
Masakit sabihin ngunit aking pangangahasan sa pagkakataong ito na sa dalawamput-pitong taon ko sa pagiging pari, mas maayos ang lipatan at mga assignment noon kesa ngayon. Problema na rin naman noon din ngunit mas malala ngayon ang pananaw ng hindi pagiging patas o unfair sa pagpili ng mga assignment.
Hindi matatapos ang mga reklamo at hinaing sa bawat lipatan hanggat hindi naiibsan ang pananaw na ito. Hindi po salapi ang problema ng mga pari. Hindi rin naman babae o mga pogi. Ito palagi ang problema at daing natin – ang hindi patas sa maraming aspekto at pagkakataon.
Dito pumapasok ang maruming kahulugan ng “politika” sa Simbahan tulad ng barkadahan at favoritism. Mayroong napaparusahan, mayroong pinalalampas. Mayroong pinag-iinitan at mayroong kinukunsinti. Ang malungkot, mayroong mga pinangingilagan kaya pinagbibigyan lahat ng kagustuhan. Bato-bato sa langit, tamaan sapul!
Gayon pa man, on a positive note, dito makikita ang mabuti at malalim na kapatiran ng mga pari kung saan mayroong ilang maninindigan upang kausapin ang lahat kung kinakailangan alang-alang sa ilang bagay na nakakaligtaan o ayaw tingnan ng ilan sa mga kapatid naming naka-kahon na hindi makaahon sa kabila ng kanilang pag-amin at pag-ako ng kanilang pagkakasala at pagkakamali. Problema ng stigma.
Tanging hiling lang naman ng mga pari ay kausapin sila upang mapakinggan kanilang kalagayan at kalooban sa pagbibigay ng assignment. Ito yung pinupunto ni P. Ritz sa kanyang pitak. Sadya bang nasuring mabuti ang lahat ng paraan upang mapalago ang sino mang pari sa kanyang destino? Wala namang pari na likas na masuwayin kungdi ang ibig rin ay sariling ikapapanuto. Sa kabutihang-palad, mas marami pa rin ang mga paring masunurin at nagpapahalaga ng pangako ng obedience kaya sana ay naroon palagi ang fairness.
Hindi mawawala mga inggitan at siraan sa lipatan ngunit huwag mawawala ang “sense of fairness” dahil dito nakasalalay mabuting samahan at ugnayan. Susunod at susunod pa rin mga pari sa lipatan alang-alang sa obedience at faith in God ngunit palaging uusok ang isyu ng lipatan parang isang takore ng kumukulong tubig. Pakinggan natin ang sipol ng kumukulong tubig sa takore, yung tinatawag sa Inggles na tempest in teapot. Diyan pumapasok ang ikatlong punto ni P. Ritz:
c. Pagpapatibay ng malinaw at mapagmalasakit na komunikasyon: Kung posible po, ang pagbibigay ng napapanahon at “transparent” na impormasyon tungkol sa lipatan ay maaaring makapagpapagaan ng mga alalahanin at makapagpadali ng mas maayos na pagsasaayos para sa lahat – ang mga pari, kawani ng parokya, at ang mga mananampalataya. Ang isang maikli ngunit napag-isipang paliwanag ay maaaring lubos na makapagpatibay ng tiwala sa loob ng ating pamilya sa diyosesis.
Mula sa vaticannews.va.
Ang Simbahan ay komunikasyon. Kaya naman sa mga dokumento nito lalo mula nang Vatican II, sinasaad na sa Simbahan dapat masaksihan ang pinakamainam at pinakamataas na antas ng pagtatalastasan.
Ngunit taliwas palagi. Maraming pagkakataon sa mga pari kulang ang komunikasyon. Ni walang formal communication sa mga lipatan. Mayroong mga pari na atat nang lumipat na akala mo ay makikipagpalit lang ng tsinelas! Juice colored…! Kaluluwa ang pinag-uusapan habang ang antas ng aming usapan ay parang paglipat lang ng bahay kung saan ang pananaw ng ilan ay mag-impake lang ng mga gamit at damit. Kapirasong text o sulat hindi pa magawa kung hindi kayang tawagan o personal na kausapin sa mga balakin.
Kaya nga babalik tayo sa tanong ng mga tao: ano nga ba turing natin sa kanila tuwing maglilipatan kasi ang sagot dito ay siyang sagot sa tanong ano nga ba turingan naming mga pari sa isa’t isa? Hangga’t walang maayos na sagot sa mga katanungang ito, mananatili ang pananaw at paghahalintulad sa roleta na gamit sa perya ang lipatan. O bolang kristal ng mga manghuhula.
Sa diwa ng sinodo at kapatiran bilang sama-samang naglalakabay na Simbahan, patuloy tayong manalangin para sa mga pastol at kawan. At huwag din mag atubiling makilahok sa mga talakayan at usapan na ang tanging mithiin ay hanapin at sundin ang kalooban ng Diyos upang higit Siyang mapaglingkuran at masalamin dito sa lupang ibabaw. Salamuch po.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Chapel of the Angel of Peace, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, Marso 2025.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday in the Sixth Week of Easter, 26 May 2025 Acts 16:11-15 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> John 15:26-16:4
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2025.
Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:26-27).
Thank you, dear Jesus in sending us the Holy Spirit as our Advocate who empowers us to speak also of the truth he tells us; most of all, to abide with you and your gospel truth.
Remind us, Lord Jesus that being an advocate for you, witnessing your gospel need not be dramatic at all like that chance meeting of Paul with some women at a river in Philippi where he spoke about you and your good news of salvation; forgive us, Jesus when in this age of instant and widespread communications, we balk and even feel ashamed of speaking about you and your teachings, even ashamed of proudly making the sign of the Cross.
Forgive us, Jesus when we are inhibited for many reasons from speaking about our faith in you, when even the powers of the Advocate we doubt.
Give us a joyful heart like that of St. Philip Neri always opened to your loving presence most especially in prayerful moments in you. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the Third Week of Easter, 08 May 2025 Acts 8:26-40 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> John 6:44-51
God our loving Father, our Cardinals have started their election process for the successor of Peter, the Vicar of Christ your Son here on Earth; send them your Holy Spirit to enlighten their minds and their hearts to seek and follow your will in Christ Jesus.
Help them choose a good shepherd who is also a good teacher like your Son Jesus Christ imitated so well by the deacon Philip with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, that is, the queen of Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury, who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home. Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him (Acts 8:27-28, 30-31).
Your Servant, himself a former Pope too St. Paul VI wrote us in December 1975 "Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, #41); send us true and good, teachers who are witnesses of the Gospel; give us more teachers like Philip who taught clearly of the essential truth in this life which is about Jesus the Christ.
Next week we shall choose our new leaders to govern us; take away our blindness as teachers ourselves that we may elect into office who are also good teachers who stand for what is true and just, not corrupt and liars; send us more teachers who will awaken in us your Divine Presence to bring out in everyone each one's own giftedness as a person.
At the same time, we pray for our professional teachers from the public school who will work at the polling places next week; give them strength not only in body but also in mind, heart, and soul to keep our elections clean and honest, not to be swayed by corrupt candidates who poison the society and keep people away from Christ and one another.
Let us not forget, Lord Jesus that as we share in your prophetic mission, we are all teachers like you; keep our hearts and minds open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to go wherever we are needed most for your greater glory. Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, First Week in Lent, 10 March 2025 Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 + + + Matthew 25:31-46
Photo by author, view of Metro Manila from balcony of Timberland Highlands Resort, San Mateo, Rizal, 08 March 2025.
Then the righteous will answer him and say, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?" (Matthew 25:37-39)
How I long and pray I would someday be asking this same question to you, Lord, totally surprised, wondering what happened when all I did was do something naturally as second nature, without much thinking and ado in being kind and charitable, in responding to anyone who is hungry or thirsty, stranger or naked, ill or in prison.
You are so great, dear Jesus in teaching us not to think of kindness and being Christian as a list to be kept and checked always but simply a way of life in doing what is right, what is good for we are all your kin in one God and Father who is Lord of all (first reading).
Photo by author, same view taken later that night,Timberland Highlands Resort, San Mateo, Rizal, 08 March 2025.
Then they (the accursed) will answer and say, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?" He will answer them, "Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me" (Matthew 25:44-45).
Forgive us, Jesus when our being Christian is more on duties and tasks like a code of ethics; teach us to be utterly different from others as your followers reflecting the Father and his love in a whole new way especially in this time when everyone seems to be so cold and numb even callous with others around them; animate us with your warm presence of joy and love to everyone for them to realize there is one true Lord God above all. Amen.
Photo by author, same view taken with different exposure,Timberland Highlands Resort, San Mateo, Rizal, 08 March 2025.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 07 March 2025
Photo from nationalshrine.org of Prophet Isaiah at the crypt church inside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC.
While praying last night the first reading this Friday after Ash Wednesday, my attention was drawn to the Prophet Isaiah’s very strong words declaring, Thus says the Lord God: Cry out full-throated and unsparingly, lift up your voice like a trumpet blast; tell my people their wickedness, and the house of Jacob their sins” (Is. 58:1-9).
Immediately my imaginations ran high with images of Formula cars racing full-throttle on tracks with their deafening sound waxed by the odorous burning of their tires that segued into the cool, opening synth music later with drums and bass of Tears of Fears’ 1984 hit Shout.
Whoa! It was really a rock and roll moment with the Lord last night that was suddenly punctuated with an emergency sick call in the ICU of our hospital where I serve as chaplain. After half an hour when I got back in my room, I finished my prayer and listened to more music by Tears for Fears that I realized Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith are modern Isaiahs!
But first, the Prophet Isaiah who is one of the four major prophets of the Old Testament.
Photo from nationalshrine.org of Prophet Isaiah at the south entrance of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC.
While in third year high school seminary in the early 80’s, our religion teacher Msgr. Narsing Sampana assigned me to report this great prophet. I thought it was a punishment because the Book of Isaiah is one of the longest and most difficult in the whole Bible. But looking back as I would always tell Msgr. Narsing, I learned a lot from him that after nine years of leaving the seminary, I have always loved Prophet Isaiah and his book that eventually helped me rediscovered my priestly vocation later in life.
It was Isaiah who prophesied the birth of the Messiah by the Blessed Virgin that he is widely read during the Advent Season as he warned the people too of the coming judgment of God for their sins; hence, his frequent reading in this season of Lent.
It was from his book that the lyrics were taken in one of the most loved Filipino Church music Hindi Kita Malilimutan by Jesuit Father Manoling Francisco that came out on the year we graduated in high school, 1982.
Isaiah was a very bold prophet who spoke strongly against evil and sins particularly injustice among the Israelites of his time, including of their king. He minced no words in speaking for God like today when he said “Cry out full-throated” which is to express confidently through shouting, with strong feeling and without limits.
That was Isaiah, a bold speaker yet also spoke with words filled with hope in God’s love and mercy on us. He is the kind of witness we need these days when many Christians especially Catholics disturbingly quiet about the many issues going on like wokism pretending to be for equality and justice through the social media.
In the Church, we need an Isaiah with some bishops and priests selectively silent in disciplining the clergy so immersed in abuses not only sexual in nature but also pertaining to finances and even our liturgy. How sad when bishops and priests attack government officials and politicians for their corruption but keep their eyes and mouth shut with clerical abuses in all forms. These rampant abuses within the Church is manifested in the ever growing abuses of the liturgy itself. Check your social media feeds to see how some priests contradicted the very spirit of Lent with their pompous novelties in imposing ashes on the faithful two days ago. No wonder, even those in other sects and cults came out in the streets with their “own” kind of Ash Wednesday rituals as if it is kanya-kanya lang style like what some priests did.
An Isaiah is what we really need in the Church in this time of synodality that sadly this early could end up as another set of documents to gather dust in parish bodegas.
Photo from bbc.com 2022 before the release of Tears for Fears “The Tipping Point”, their first since 2004.
This is where we find the enduring duo of Orzabal and Smith who make up Tears for Fears a modern Isaiah with their prophetic songs.
With everybody wanting to rule the world – pun intended – their Shout is so Lenten in nature. It is exactly what Isaiah meant 2800 years ago when he said “cry out full-throated” that Tears for Fears perfectly first sang in 1984:
Shout Shout Let it all out These are the things I can do without Come on I'm talking to you Come on
Shout Shout Let it all out These are the things I can do without Come on I'm talking to you Come on
In violent times You shouldn't have to sell your soul In black and white They really, really ought to know
Those one track minds That took you for a working boy Kiss them goodbye You shouldn't have to jump for joy You shouldn't have to jump for joy
Shout Shout Let it all out These are the things I can do without Come on I'm talking to you Come on
They gave you life And in return you gave them hell As cold as ice I hope we live to tell the tale I hope we live to tell the tale
From imdb.com.
From their second album Songs from the Big Chair, Shout is Tears for Fears second biggest hit after Everybody Wants to Rule the World released in 1985. Orzabal admitted on many occasions that Shout was a “simple song about protest”.
Their lyrics are clearly prophetic, a witnessing of their very lives since the 80’s until now. We are so glad that Tears for Fears have rereleased Shout recently with both of them still having the energy and conviction in playing this song despite their shorter and white hair. Being prophetic is witnessing or walking our talk like Orzabal and Smith. Like a good wine, they sound better in their latest music videos with their song taking a life of its own that gladly many young people have embraced too like us 40 years ago.
Let us join Tears for Fears shouting and standing for the same calls for justice they first shouted in 1984 that was also shouted full-throated by Isaiah in 800 BC. Have a blessed weekend, everyone!
Here’s Tears for Fears original music video for Shout for your rock and roll reflection this first Friday of Lent 2025.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday after Ash Wednesday, 07 March 2025 Isaiah 58:1-9 + + + Matthew 9:14-15
Photo by author, Hidden Springs Valley Resort, Calauan, Laguna, 20 February 2025.
I love your words today, Lord God our Father through the Prophet Isaiah:
Thus says the Lord God: Cry out full-throatedand unsparingly, lift up your voice like a trumpet blast; tell my people their wickedness, and the house of Jacob their sins (Isaiah 58:1-9).
So strong was the word your great prophet had used, "full-throated" which is to express confidently, with strong feeling and without limit; to shout our loudly in no uncertain terms; to mince no words, to emphatically declare what it really is.
Photo by author, Hidden Springs Valley Resort, Calauan, Laguna, 20 February 2025.
O God forgive us, as a nation and as a church, as a community of your disciples for being so soft, so disturbingly quiet and selectively silent in denouncing injustice and abuses happening not only around us but even by those among us; we have been so lax, overly lenient, always trying to please everyone that we have forgotten to stand for you in Christ Jesus that so many among us your priests have abused your worship, your prayers, your liturgy.
Teach us to be like your tall trees, so magnificently imposing minus the pride and airs many of us exude; simply rooted and grounded in you, O Lord, firm and unshakeable, truly a presence in Christ.
Photo by author, Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.
Let us take the challenges of the Prophet Isaiah to see fasting not just as refraining from food and drink but about how our behavior affect others; let us empty ourselves first of the bonds of wickedness that bind us so that in our fasting we set the oppressed free by breaking every yoke (Is.58:6); let us be one with the hungry and homeless by realizing our nakedness in you, that more essential than food and things are those of the Spirit to experience you among the poor like the hungry and the homeless (Is.58:7); let us be your presence in this world by shouting full-throated not just with our voice but most especially with our actions and witnessing of your justice and love.
Loving Father, you have given us with so much and we have given so little if not nothing at all; teach us the essence of fasting which is to give more of ourselves with others and to give more of you and your love, and kindness, and mercy, and joy and life. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop & Martyr, 03 February 2025 Hebrews 11:32-40 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Mark 5:1-20
Photo by author, Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.
Thank you, dear Father in heaven for making me feel your proverbial pat on the shoulder this Monday: while the author of the Letter to the Hebrews wrote of the heroes and heroines of Old Testament to remind us of their incredible deeds, great hardships and sufferings that led to their giving up their lives for the sake of their faith, you remind me too, dear God, of my own sufferings and trials in life far more greater and fulfilling than theirs not on my own account but in Jesus' name.
The world was not worthy of them. They wandered about in deserts and on mountains, in caves and in crevices in the earth. Yet all these, though approved because of their faith, did not receive what had been promised. God had foreseen something better for us, so that without us they should not be made perfect (Hebrews 11:38-40).
You have rewarded so well all those great men and women in the Old Testament but they have to wait until Jesus Christ's coming for the fulfillment of your promise to them in his life, death, and resurrection; in Jesus, every simplest deed of self denial and sacrifice lead to fulfillment like in his exorcism of that possessed man in Gerasenes who "had been dwelling among the tombs, and no one would restrain him any longer, even with a chain" (Mark 5:3); only Jesus was able to restore him to fullness in life, just like with everyone of us today.
Every miraculous healing by any saint, any martyrdom is a celebration of Christ's power over sin and evil, a proverbial pat on our shoulder for letting God, and letting go. Amen.
St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, Pray for us.
Photo by author, Mt. Olis, Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, 26 January 2025 Nehemiah 8:2-4, 5-6, 8-10 ><}}}*> 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 ><}}}*> Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21
Doctors tell us that prolonged periods of sitting can lead to many health issues like increased risks of heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, obesity as well as depression. They have been sounding the alarm for several decades with the rise of “couch potatoes” and now had worsened as we get tied to our seats due to continuous use of computers and other gadgets.
Along with this worsening scenario of our prolonged sitting is the growing “competition” among us these days – consciously or unconsciously – for our places of seat in jeepneys and buses or airplanes, in classrooms and offices, on dining tables, in meeting rooms and in churches. People are so concerned where to be seated not realizing that what really matters in life is where we stand than where we sit!
The verb “to stand” evokes firmness and stability not only in the physical sense but also emotionally and spiritually speaking. Very close to it is the word “stance” that indicates our “stand”, of where we “stand” with our beliefs and convictions regarding issues. Before the coming of social media where we often make our stand while seated, there were placards calling us to “make a stand”.
In this age when most people prefer to sit than to stand as well as kneel to pray, our Sunday readings today are very timely as they teem with the words and images of standing for God.
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written… (Luke 4:16-17).
“Jesus Unrolls Book In the Synagogue” painting by James Tissot (1886-1894), brooklynmuseum.org
We now dive into the Sunday Ordinary Time with Luke giving us a glimpse of how Jesus spent a typical sabbath day proclaiming the word of God by first “standing to read.”
It was not the first time Jesus stood to read as He always stood teaching and preaching to the people. Jesus was a man who literally stood for the Father, stood for what is true and good, stood for what is just and fair. Most of all, He stood for all of us that He died on the Cross.
This Sunday as He launched His public ministry in His hometown Nazareth in Galilee, Jesus made it clear that He is the “word who became flesh” as He stood to read the scripture, claiming what He proclaimed from the Prophet Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19).
Imagine present there. More than being spellbind, there must have been that feeling of fulfillment, of the true reality unfolding as Jesus clearly stood by the word of God because He is the word who became flesh.
Our Filipino word paninindigan evokes it so well like in Pinanindigan ni Jesus ang kanyang ipinahayag (Jesus stood by what He proclaimed). From its root tindig which is “to stand” in English, paninindigan is conviction. Jesus spoke with such conviction and authority that those in the synagogue were amazed with Him. Interestingly, our Filipino synonym for paninindigan is pangatawanan which is from the root katawan or “body” in English. Pangatawanan ang salita is to stand by one’s word, like Pinangatawanan ni Jesus ang Kanyang sinabi (Jesus stood by what He said).
See how our readings this Sunday are so interesting, so beautiful especially for us in the Philippines because the words of “standing” and “body” are related, capturing in our own language discipleship in Christ, our standing for Jesus and His gospel.
“Jesus Unrolls Book In the Synagogue” painting by James Tissot (1886-1894), brooklynmuseum.org
At the end of this scene in the synagogue, Luke told us how Jesus declared as He sat that His words were “fulfilled in your hearing” which amazed the people because Christ “walked the talk” even before this took place.
Anyone wishing to have any kind of fulfillment in life has to first make a stand for whatever he believes in. To walk the talk, one has to stand first. Nothing gets fulfilled by sitting. We have to make a stand for everything and everyone we care and love most.
Like Jesus, we can only bring glad tidings to the poor by standing by their side, standing with them to uplift them. In the same manner, liberty for captives and recovery of sight to the blind can only happen standing, by actually being present with them and never remotely from a distant office or setting where we are comfortably seated. The oppressed can only go free as we proclaim a jubilee like this 2025 when we stand for justice and truth instead of simply affixing our “like” to some posts “standing” for whatever causes.
Photo by author, ambo in our Chapel of the Angel of Peace, RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 25 December 2024.
In the first reading we find the priest Ezra standing as he proclaimed the words of God from a book recovered after their exile from Jerusalem.
Ezra convinced the people so well in his proclamation of the scriptures that people cried and bowed their heads before finally prostrating themselves to God because they felt and experienced the Scriptures as so true.
The words “standing” and “stood” were repeated thrice to underscore not only the physical posture taken by Ezra and Nehemiah but most of all to indicate their emotional and spiritual bearings.
Going back to our gospel scene, see how before narrating to us Jesus in the synagogue, the Church had rightly chosen to include for this third Sunday the prologue of Luke where he laid down the reason for writing his gospel account – so that we “may realize the certainty of the teachings” about the Christ. In writing his prologue, Luke naturally sat but in mentioning that word “certainty”, he tells us a lot of standing he had to make in completing his two-volume work, the gospel and the Acts.
Here we find that like all the evangelists and saints for that matter, they spent much time standing than sitting, second only perhaps to kneeling or praying.
There is a beautiful prayer attributed to St. Teresa of Avila called “Christ has no body” which goes this way, “Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours.”
Can we make a stand for Jesus, stand with Jesus, and stand like Jesus to be His body as St. Paul explained to us in the second reading?
“Brothers and sisters: As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ… Now the body is not a single part, but many” (1 Corinthians 12:12, 14).
Photo by author, Chapel of Angel of Peace, RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzueal City, June 2024.
As we embark into this long journey of Ordinary Time with Luke as our guide every Sunday, may we do the work of Jesus by standing along with our fellow believers and disciples.
Together let us make that collective stand for truth and justice, for decency and reason in this time when people are so fragmented, held captive by so many thoughts and beliefs propagated from the arrogant chairs of entitlement by some lazy minds influencing the world remotely. Together we stand and experience life as it is in Jesus Christ, even at His Cross.Amen. Have a blessed week ahead as we close January 2025!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Simbang Gabi-9 Homily, 24 December 2024 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 1:67-79
Photo by author, Advent 2022.
Finally! This may be the word and expression today, the 24th of December. Finally, a lot of you would be bragging about having completed the nine-day novena to Christmas. Finally, it would be Christmas day. And finally, we could sleep longer.
But then, finally what?
When Zechariah’s tongue was loosened after naming his son John in fulfillment of the angel’s instruction to him, it was not the word “finally” that came from his mouth but “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel!”(Lk.1:68). After being mute for nine months, Zechariah’s silence became praise with gratitude and wonder giving him the voice to speak again.
Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David. Through his prophets he promised of old that he would save us from our enemies, from the hand of all who hate us, He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hand of enemies, free to worship him without fear (Luke 1:67-74).
Photo by author, birthplace of St. John the Baptist underneath the church dedicated to him in Judah.
We have reflected last Thursday that Advent and Christmas is a journey that begin in the church, in the celebration of the Mass as Luke opened his Christmas story with the annunciation of John’s birth to Zechariah during their Yom Kippur at the Jerusalem Temple.
Luke’s artistry and mastery in weaving stories brought us right into every scene leading into Christmas – from Jerusalem to Nazareth then to the hill country of Judah in the home of Zechariah until John’s birth where our scene remains today. Tonight and tomorrow, he will be leading us along with Matthew and John to Bethlehem for the birth of the Lord.
But this journeys Luke recounted to us were not only about places but most of all an inner journey into our hearts. As we all know, the destination does not really matter but the journey, the trip. It is most true with our Simbang Gabi too – it is not about completing the nine-day novena that matters most but what have we become!
After tonight and tomorrow’s Masses, our churches would be empty again, only to be filled up on Ash Wednesday, and then Palm Sunday and Holy Thursday. How tragic that on Easter which is “the Mother of all feasts in the Church”, people are miserably absent because they are out in the beach and resort enjoying summer. In fact, more people come to Christmas (Pasko ng Pagsilang) than with Easter (Pasko ng Pagkabuhay) when it is actually the very foundation of our faith.
With our students after Simbang Tanghali last year at the Medicine Lobby of Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City.
So, what have we become after these nine days of waking up early or staying up late at night, praying, listening and reflecting on the word of God, sharing our material blessings in the collections and gift-giving if we stop going to Mass the whole coming new year?
American Trappist monk Thomas Merton wrote that seeking God is not like searching for a “thing” or a lost object because God is more than an intellectual pursuit or a contemplative illumination of the mind. Merton explained that God reveals Himself to us in our hearts through our communion and fellowships in the Church.
We come to church to celebrate the Mass and pray with the whole community to express our communion with one another in Jesus Christ. It is in this communal aspect of prayer we become holy, when we are transformed and as Zechariah prophesied, we are “set free” by Jesus Christ who is the main focus of his Benedictus.
Who are those enemies Zechariah mentioned twice in his Benedictus? Who are those enemies we have to be set free for God and free to love?
Photo by author, Church of St. John the Baptist, Israel, May 2019.
Again, look at this minute detail Luke used in composing Zechariah’s Benedictus when he spoke twice of the word “enemies”: first of “saving us from our enemies, from the hand of all who hate us” (Lk.1:71) and then, the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham “to set us free from the hand of enemies, free to worship him without fear” (Lk.1:74).
Surely, those “enemies” were not just the Romans and other pagans around Israel at that time nor the Pharisees and scribes, the priests and Sadducees of the temple who had hands in Christ’s death for they are now gone. The gospel accounts were written in the past but remain true and relevant at all time in history, especially now more than ever in our own time.
Are we the “enemies” within who think only of our selves even in our religious and spirituality, manipulating God, controlling God?
A friend asked me last week if their priest was right in saying that the Simbang Gabi is the most effective means to obtain special favors from God. I emphatically told her “no”, adding that their priest’s claim is misleading. We cannot dictate God. God blesses everyone, including sinners who do not even go to Mass. We do not need to multiply our prayers as Jesus warned us because God know’s very well our needs before we pray. Then, why pray at all?
We pray and most especially celebrate the Mass especially on Sundays to know what God wants from us because we love God. Period. And that love for God must flow in our loving service and kindness with others. If gaining favors is the main reason we go to Mass or even pray, then, we are the “enemies” who prevent ourselves to freely worship God!
Mr. Paterno Esmaquel of Rappler rightly said it in his Sunday column:
“We are a society obsessed with achievement and success, command and control… Even we who try to complete the Simbang Gabi can plead guilty. During the Simbang Gabi, for example, we are tempted to focus on achieving all the nine days and succeeding for another year. By fulfilling this tradition, we can then ask God (or “command” God, like a genie) to grant our wishes. We can therefore wield greater control over life that is otherwise unpredictable (https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/the-wide-shot-missed-simbang-gabi-found-christmas-grace/).
And who are feeding all these misleading and erroneous thoughts on the people? We your priests and bishops!
How sad as we have mentioned last week when many priests have totally lost any sense at all of the sacred in the celebration of the Mass. Some of them not only come unprepared for the celebration without any homily, even so untidy and shabbily dressed and worst of all, make fun of almost everything and everyone that the Mass has become a cheap variety show. Online Masses continue not for evangelization for “shameful profits” in the Sacrament through “likes” and “followers” that some priests are now more concerned in finding ways to be trending and viral instead of how to effectively evangelize the people with our good liturgical celebrations flowing into our witnessing of life.
Yes, we priests and bishops are the enemies right here in the church when we align more with the rich and powerful, when we have no qualms asking/receiving gifts and favors from politicians and still, would want to collect more money and donations from people with our endless envelops that have totally alienated the poor from the church. The poor are the ones who suffer most, paying for the corruption of the politicians who help the clergy in their projects for the poor. Poor Jesus Christ!
Perhaps, on this last day of our novena to Christmas, let us all force ourselves – especially us priests and bishops – to go into silence to identify, to weed out those enemies within and outside us that prevent us from welcoming Jesus Christ in our hearts.
Let us pray to God that He may set us free from these enemies within us, around us so we can be like John the Baptist who will “go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation.” Amen.See you tonight or tomorrow, Christmas in the Holy Mass!
Photo by author, Dumaguete City Cathedral, November 2024.
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