The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Twenty-Eighth Week of Ordinary Time, 10 October 2022
Galatians 4:22-24, 26-27, 31-5:1 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< Luke 11:29-32
Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD, in France, March 2022.
While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.”
Luke 11:29
I could feel your words,
Lord Jesus, today:
so strong,
so direct,
so true;
yes, dear Jesus,
your words are
meant for us
today.
What an evil generation
we are in still seeking
signs from you
for even those entrusted
to witness your presence,
your love and mercy
are nowhere to be found,
seeking signs of you
and worst,
creating so many conflicting
signs of you!
We have been so stubborn
like the Galatians;
we prefer going back to
old, evil ways
as we insist on what
we believe as true,
on what we have been used to
that until now so many of us
are still trapped
and enslaved to sins
of bigotry and prejudice,
refusing to find you
among everyone
especially the sick,
the poor,
and disadvantaged.
Bless us, dear Jesus,
and set us free from
our stubbornness;
soften our hardened hearts,
open wide our constricted
minds and perceptions
to find you present
in our lives daily,
both in our joys and pains,
in our ease and struggles,
and especially
with everyone we
meet each day.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, 09 October 2022
2 Kings 5:14-27 ><000'> 2 Timothy 2:8-13 ><000'> Luke 17:11-19
Photo by author, Egypt, May 2019.
Many times in life as we age and look back to our past, we find that our journeys are not geographical at all but more of spiritual ones. No matter how many places we visit or stay, our journeys actually happen within that lead us to our true selves, to others and finally, to God.
This is what St. Luke has been doing every Sunday as he guides us in following Jesus in his itinerary since he “resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem” last Sunday of June (Lk.9:51, 13th Sunday); the path we have been following is not really geographical but theological in nature.
As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And when he saw them, he said, “go show yourselves to the priests.” As they were going they were cleansed.
Luke 17:11-14
Photo by author, Egypt, May 2019.
Again, our gospel this Sunday is so brief with many layers of meanings found only in St. Luke. Imagine Jesus going through pagan districts like Samaria where his fellow Jews never dared to go. That is how immense is God’s love for us – even if we undeserving of his love, he sent Jesus to look for us sinners signified by the ten lepers he had healed.
In fact, some exegetes claim the wording for the “ten lepers” who met Jesus should have been “ten men with leprosy” for a more accurate translation of the Greek leproi andres. According to them, St. Luke was emphasizing here that no matter what weaknesses we are afflicted with, we are still the same persons and human beings loved by God. Very often in life, we categorize and define people by their sin and weakness or crime and worst, by illness and defects as seen in our penchant for bansag (Filipino for name calling) like Kardong mandurugas or si Putol or even tabachoy!
St. Luke wants us to see everyone first as a human being, a person so loved by Jesus; whatever weaknesses we have must come later. This I insist during confessions to penitents to never call one’s self as “thief” if you have stolen something nor “liar” if you have lied because we all remain God’s beloved children even if we have sinned.
Photo by author, 2018.
There is no doubt in God’s love for us despite our being “unworthy servants” and being afflicted with leprosy, or whatever. What matters to him is the fact we are his beloved children. That is why in the first reading, God healed Naaman through his prophet Elisha despite his being a pagan and unbeliever. And worst of all, an enemy of Israel being a Syrian army general! St. Paul beautifully expressed this truth about God’s love and mercy in Christ found in our second reading today:
This saying is trustworthy: If we have died with him we shall also live with him; if we persevere we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.
2 Timothy 2:11-13
What are the other diseases and ailments that make us cry “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us”? These are not literally a disease or sickness like leprosy but may have the same effects of alienation and depression with us like a vice too difficult to kick like drugs and alcohol or may be indifference and racism by others to us or our “self inflicted” ailments of arrogance, self-centeredness, and self-righteousness.
Many times, we hardly notice we are being healed slowly by Jesus of our many infirmities because our faith has never deepened and matured. The Samaritan noticed his healing because of the ten with leprosy, he was the only one truly faithful in awaiting Jesus Christ. He had faith in Jesus and though it was so small or too little, he had that faith nurtured that the moment he saw his skin cleansed, he remembered Jesus right away. As we have reflected last Sunday, faith is a relationship we keep, nurture and strengthen.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”
Luke 17:15-19
Photo by author, Caesarea, Israel 2017.
The scene is so lovely because the Samaritan healed of leprosy teaches us that grateful people are also faithful – and joyful ones! Faith is a relationship that is nourished by gratitude wherein we not only thank God and other people who have blessed us but also remain with them and in them; hence, we keep on coming back to thank them.
The more grateful we are to God and other people, the more we are blessed, the more we become joyful, and the more our faith is deepened! As we walk in faith in Jesus, experiencing those daily suffering and dying to self, we become more aware too of our rising to new life in him. That is when miracles happen as we return and stay in Jesus to praise and thank him like that Samaritan man healed of his leprosy. Or Naaman who asked to bring home some soil from Israel so he could worship God and nurture his relationship with him in the process.
Photo by author, 2021.
Faith, gratitude, and joy always come together. We experience them every Sunday in the celebration of the Eucharist that means “thanksgiving” in Greek.
The Eucharist is the expression of our faith in God in Jesus Christ that also expresses our gratitude to him for all the blessings he abundantly pours upon us. As the summit of our Christian life, the Eucharist defines our worship and living because it is the only way we can truly express our faith and gratitude to God who wishes only our salvation in his Son Jesus Christ.
In the Eucharist, it is not only the bread and wine that are changed into Body and Blood of Christ but even us who are made perfect in Jesus as his disciples and members of his Body, the Church.
In the Eucharist we experience the joys of being faithful, thankful and joyful because that is where we are saved as we encounter Christ in the most intimate and personal manner in his Body and Blood who slowly transforms us in him as we receive him.
Let us imitate that Samaritan healed by Jesus to always be grateful to Jesus, to finally go back to the Sunday Mass F2F, so that together we may all grow in faith and be joyful for being saved. Amen.Have a blessed week ahead!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, 07 October 2022
Galatians 3:7-14 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Luke 11:15-26
Photo by author, April 2022.
God our loving Father,
thank you in making us
experience your saving power
in the most unusual manner;
the imagery is most unique
like when Jesus used again
that Old Testament expression
"finger of God":
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, the the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
Luke 11:20
How lovely is that imagery of
"finger of God" as the power of
God to drive out demons; the
only other instances "finger of
God" was used were in the
Book of Exodus when the
Pharaoh's magicians admitted
the plagues were the works of
"the finger of God" and secondly
to describe how the Ten Commandments
were written by the "finger of God"
on two tablets of stone;
and now, Jesus described
his driving away of a demon
from a possessed man as work
of the "finger of God".
In all instances, O God,
your power so great is so
unlike of what we know
of worldly power that is
threatening and menacing;
was it coincidental, dear God,
that the most powerful prayer
instrument we now have is the
Holy Rosary that is literally found
on our fingers too?
As we pray the Rosary with our
lips and fingers, suffuse us
with your power that loves and
heals, forgives and cares;
may we "imitate" what the
mysteries of the Rosary "contain"
by following Jesus like Mary
in all his joys and sufferings,
glory and light.
Like during the time of Christ,
we are being attacked in all fronts
by many detractors who refuse
to acknowledge the Holy Rosary is
a Christocentric prayer that contemplates
the life of Jesus our Savior
through the face of Mary his Mother;
as we meditate the life of Christ
through the Rosary beads
with our fingers,
let us experience
your great power anew,
your power to love
and care especially
the sick and suffering,
the lost and forgotten
so that in the end,
may your power
triumph over the
evils of the world
expressed in dominance
and manipulations,
lies and character
assassinations,
and disrespect for
life and persons.
Amen.
Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary,
Pray for us!
Photo from canningliturgicalarts.com, painting of the Battle of Lepanto Bay with our Lady of Victory or Rosary.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest, 06 October 2022
Galatians 3:1-5 ><000'> + ><000'> + ><000'> Luke 11:5-13
Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 10 September 2022.
Remind us,
O Lord Jesus Christ,
that "while the world changes,
the cross stands firm",
that you alone,
Jesus Christ
is our salvation
and way to perfection
as the Carthusians
had held for almost
a thousand years.
Like St. Bruno
their founder and father,
let us "seek God
assiduously
to find God promptly
and to possess God
fully."
“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks the door, the door will be opened.”
Luke 11:9-10
Stop our foolishness,
our being stupid like the
Galatians as St. Paul
called them in the first reading:
prayer is not an ATM
where we go to get cash
we need nor an apps
when we can just seek,
find and have whatever
we desire and need;
PRAYER IS EMPTINESS.
Teach us Jesus
to lay ourselves bare,
to strip ourselves
naked before you;
teach us to ask for YOU,
to seek YOU,
and to enter YOU.
How foolish we
have become
that we have been
misleading people
from you because
we teach wrongly
about prayer that
is centered on us
and our needs and
desires, making God
a Santa Claus
or even a genie.
Make us persevere
in emptying ourselves
of our pride
to be filled with your
humility and love,
to be an indwelling
of the Holy Spirit
so that we become more
like you, Jesus,
fulfilled and at peace.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, Virgin, 05 October 2022
Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 11:1-4
Photo by author, Church of the Our Father outside Jerusalem, Israel, May 2019.
Thank you, dear Jesus,
in leading us always in life,
in teaching us how to pray like
you by being one with our Father;
empower us, O Lord,
to be firm in calling God our Father
by being faithful and true to your
one teaching,
one calling,
one Body that includes everyone
especially the poor and suffering.
Make us mindful always
of the many occasions we try
pleasing everyone, like St. Peter
whom St. Paul opposed "to his face"
when he disguised of not hurting the
feelings of some believers by following
the ways of former Jews that only those
circumcised would be saved; so often,
in our adoption of many defense mechanisms
and pretexts to hide our indecision in
standing for Christ, that is when we actually
mislead others from you, Jesus!
But when I saw that they were not on the right road in line with the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas in front of all, “If you, though a Jew, are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Galatians 2:14
Enlighten our minds
and our hearts through the Holy Spirit
to ensure that it is
only you, Jesus,
always you, Jesus
whom we share in
everything we say
and do.
Amen.
O most holy St. Sr. Faustina,
with whom the Lord revealed his
Divine Mercy,
pray for us to be faithful
and convinced and consistent
in Christ Jesus
our Divine Mercy.
Amen.
It was a Monday morning when rains started falling as I was about to complete my first round of walks when I saw an old lady with a cane tripped on the inclined pavement. I ran to help her but in her frantic efforts to rise, she had dragged down her caregiver too.
Upon reaching the old lady, I asked her to keep herself down and take deep breaths while I checked her for possible injuries. Thank God there was none except a broken cane and perhaps a bruised amor propio as tears were rolling from her eyes while telling me, “nakakahiya naman sa inyo, Father.” I told her not to worry as I invited her to have a seat near our gate but, she seemed so embarrassed and left.
When I resumed my walking in the rains, the scene kept flashing in my mind and had me musing…
When we fall,
when we are down,
just be still
to feel the earth beneath
then roll your eyes to see
the skies above everything
between.
When we fall,
when we are down,
do not rush to rise up
do not be ashamed
you slipped
or tripped
there is no trick.
When we fall,
when we are down,
it is better to cry
to shed some tears
surely there are pains
and aches deep within
we have not yet seen.
When we fall,
when we are down,
people standing on ground
would always offer a hand
to help us stand
shake off dirt from us
even clean our hands.
When we fall,
when we are down,
everyone will understand that
no one, nothing remains up
all must go down;
it is time for us to be calm
Jesus is coming, our Good Samaritan.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, Religious, 04 October 2022
Galatians 1:13-24 ><000'> + <'000>< Luke 10:38-42
Photo by Fr. Gerry Pascual, bronze statue of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy, 2021.
Lord Jesus Christ: While I am so eager to recite the prayer for peace of your blessed St. Francis of Assisi today being his Memorial, thank you for making me realize in your words today that before St. Francis was recognized for his works that balanced everything in creation, help me first achieve balance in myself in prayer.
The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
Luke 10:41-42
Photo by Fr. Gerry Pascual of the fresco at the Assisi Basilica, Italy, 2021.
Let me grow closer to you first,
Lord Jesus Christ by loving you
among the poor and suffering,
by spending precious moments
under your Cross on bended knees
like St. Francis.
Let me grow closer to you first,
Lord Jesus Christ by loving you
as I value life more than ever in this
age of materialism, by making known to
everyone the value of every person,
the value of human life especially
at its weakest stages of pregnancy and
infancy like St. Francis who set up the
first Nativity scene at Grecchio.
Let me grow closer to you first,
Lord Jesus Christ by loving you
in deep prayers like St. Francis who
befriended even Death he had called
"cousin" in his beautiful Canticle of the Sun.
Lord Jesus Christ,
long before St. Francis came
and all the other saints, you have
shown us personally that prayer is
life's primary balancer,
equalizer; like St. Paul in the first
reading, may we personally feel
your coming to us in prayers
and moments of contemplation and
meditation because the more we become
active in life, the more we need to be
contemplative; balance in life happens
when the more we pray, the more we work;
and, as we work more, let us pray more too!
Photo by Fr. Gerry Pascual, detail of fresco with St. Francis at the Basilica of Assisi, Italy, 2021.
Most of all,
through the example of
St. Francis of Assisi,
let us handle life with prayer:
may we study hard,
work harder,
and
pray hardest!
Amen.
Photo by Arch. Philip Santiago, Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi, Italy, September 2018.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Twenty-Seventh Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 03 October 2022
Galatians 1:6-12 ><000'> + ><000'> + ><000'> Luke 10:25-37
Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 10 September 2022.
Praise and glory
to you, O God our loving Father!
Thank you for this great
Monday, the first working
day of October!
Stir into flame your gift
to me, dear God, (2 Tim. 1:6),
fill me with zest
fill me with passion
fill me with life
to forge on amid all
the difficulties and trials
this day
this week
may bring to me.
Like the zeal
and enthusiasm
of St. Paul,
let me be firm
in asserting your
Good News of salvation
in Christ Jesus:
"If I were still trying
to please people,
I would not be a slave
of Christ" (Galatians 1:10c).
Keep me faithful to you,
Lord, and stop me from
pretending somebody
else, impressing people
by claiming to be your
disciple in all of its outward
signs without your Cross.
Keep me faithful to you,
Lord and stop me from
seeking attention,
perks and privileges
to be famous by claiming
to be your disciple but
afraid to suffer, afraid of
losing, afraid of failures.
Keep me faithful to you,
Lord, not to the cultic
signs and symbols we have
developed in deepening our
faith in you but, like the
priest and the Levite in
your parable today,
have totally disregarded
the wounded and sick,
the abandoned and
lost, the sinful and poor.
Deepen my faith,
strengthen my faith
to have passion in doing
your works, Lord;
forgive me, Jesus,
when I think and see more
of efficiency and programs
without meeting and
experiencing persons,
building relationships
in you, with you, and
through you.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, 02 October 2022
Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4 ><}}}}'> 1 Timothy 1:6-8,13-14 ><}}}}'> Luke 17:5-10
Photo by Ms. Ria De Vera, Christ the King Celebration in our former parish assignment, November 2020.
Our gospel this Sunday may be short and brief but so power-packed that can put us into a knock out. In fact, the scene is very disarming that can throw off all our previously held beliefs to give us fresher perspectives on discipleship and faith.
Recall how these past consecutive Sundays that Jesus taught us the importance of God and persons above material wealth like money and possessions. Notice how these lessons were directed by Jesus to the Pharisees and scribes who were known as so obsessed with money. Hardly did we hear any reactions from the Twelve – nor from most of us – until now when they asked Jesus to “increase our faith” (Lk.17:5).
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
Luke 17:5-6
Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 2021.
When we talk of faith,
it does not really matter how long
we have known each other,
or how much we have given and received,
or how much we have shared.
Faith is being one, being together,
of going the extra mile
because we believe, we trust, we love.
What elicited a reaction from the apostles? Or from us? Let’s admit the fact that many of us have felt the parables last two Sundays were not directly meant for us considering our professed “poverty” and “simplicity” in life. But, when Jesus spoke of the need to forgive those who sin against us every time they come saying sorry, the apostles realized that needed a lot of faith.
And rightly so.
When it comes to hurting our pride and ego, something deeper is at play, something so close to our person is involved than when we lose a material thing. Like the apostles, we have felt how much faith in God is demanded from us to forgive especially those who repeatedly offend us, that on our own we cannot do it.
Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 10 September 2022.
Hence, their request (that is also ours) to “increase our faith” because forgiving requires a lot of faith, a lot of love; however, faith is like love that cannot be quantified nor measured because like love, faith is also a relationship.
Our relationship with God and with one another is seen always in the kind of intensity we have for each other. My generation used to call it as “vibes” or vibrations, of how we are one with the other person, of how we are in communion or aligned and attuned with the other person. When we talk of faith, it does not really matter how long we have known each other, or how much we have given and received, or how much we have shared. Faith is being one, being together, of going the extra mile because we believe, we trust, we love.
This is the reason that Jesus followed up his answer to the Twelve’s request with a parable of the unworthy servants who came home after working from the field and still waited on their master at dinner; then, after fulfilling their tasks, they simply told their master “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do” (Lk. 17:10). There was no real relationship between the master and slaves except their job or task and responsibility. If it were a faith relationship, the servants would have done more than just waiting on their master because they would have believed in him!
When our faith is true, when our faith is burning like the reminder of St. Paul to Timothy in the second reading, it means we are focused with the object of our faith who are God and our loved ones. We need not be reminded of things to do, of our obligations; when there is faith in us, our focus is keeping the relationship alive and well that we go the extra mile in lovingly serving our loved ones which is discipleship is all about.
That is how faith as a relationship
may be described these days:
like an online class, an online meeting,
even online Mass when sometimes
you really wonder if there is somebody listening
or paying attention at the other side of the screen
but you just go on...
Photo by author, Makati skyline from Antipolo, August 2022.
People who are deeply in love are first of all one with their loved ones that they are able to do great things because of their intense and vibrant faith that keep them united. With a burning faith inside us, we are able to love the unloveable, forgive the most despicable, achieve what others claim as impossible.
Just think of the saints like St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta or the very young St. Therese of the Child Jesus. Or, the great martyrs of Auschwitz, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) and St. Maximilian Kolbe. There is no way of measuring how much faith they have in Jesus Christ and humanity but we can learn from their lives the intensity of their faith and love for God and others that they did the impossible!
Very interesting was the faith too of the late Mother Angelica who founded and started EWTN that is now the largest Catholic media organization in the world. She knew nothing about broadcasting yet, all she had was faith in God and in people that she was able to overcome every obstacle to make what EWTN right now.
Think of the big corporations and enterprises around you; they all started so small in material resources but so intense in faith and conviction that they have all grown to become the leading institutions in whatever field they are into. Sometimes, believers are described as visionaries because people with deep faith see beyond what others can perceive. Remember how Jesus would remind his apostles on different occasions to “believe so that you will see” that runs opposite what the world tells us with “to see is to believe”. People who are faithful, those who believe are the ones who can truly see, not the other way around. Faithful people have vision.
Photo by author, Pangsinan, April 2022.
Prayer is the primary expression of our faith as a relationship that we just keep on doing because we believe it is good even if it is so difficult especially when nothing seems to be happening at all. We just keep on praying, believing and hoping that God is with us, very similar to our online experiences these past two years of the pandemic when many times, we wonder if there is somebody listening or paying attention at the other side of the screen! But, call it faith and relationship that we just went on with our classes and work including prayers and Masses online because we believe someone, especially God, is at the other side, even beside us!
We have not seen God but we have all experienced his love and kindness, his mercy and forgiveness that even if nothing happens like Habakkuk in the first reading, we just keep on praying (and loving) because our relationship remains intact with God who is faithfully by our side.
When our faith is alive and vibrant, we get closer to God and with others, we become more loving and caring and kind, understanding and patient and forgiving, finding ways and means to love and serve God in others.
God knows what is best for us. He has gifted us with enough faith. Let us ask him not just to increase our faith but most of all, to deepen, strengthen, and perfect our faith so that our ties and bonds as family and friends and community of disciples be stronger in Jesus Christ, both in good times and in bad. Amen.
Have a blessed week ahead!
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Spirituality Center, Novaliches, QC, 2014.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-30 ng Setyembre 2022
Larawan kuha ng may akda, bukang liwayway sa Lawa ng Tiberias, Israel, Mayo 2019.
Kay sarap namnamin,
kaninang pagkagising
Iyong tugon Panginoon namin
sa mga tanong ni Job
na amin ding dinaraing
sa gitna ng maraming hirap at tiisin:
"Job,
nakalikha ka ba
kahit isang bukang liwayway?
Ang daigdig ba ay ang iyong
naigawa ng tanglaw?
Napunta ka na ba sa
pinagmumulan ng bukal?
Nakalakad ka na ba sa
pusod ng karagatan?
Alam mo ba kung saan nanggaling
ang liwanag, o and kadiliman,
kung saan nagbubuhat?
Ang mga ulap ba iyong mauutusan
sa lupa ay magbuhos ng malakas na ulan?"
(Aklat ni Job 38:12-13, 16, 19, 34)
Inyong ipagpaumanhin
Panginoong namin
kapangahasan Ikaw ay tanungin,
usisain kapag mabigat aming pasanin
kami ay patawarin
katulad ni Job iyong dinggin:
"Narito, ako'y hamak,
walang kabuluhan,
walang maisasagot,
bibig ay tatakpan
hindi na kikibo,
mga nasabi'y di na uulitin"
(Aklat ni Job 40:4-5).
Hinding hindi namin
makakayang sagutin
ni arukin kalaliman
nitong maraming lihim
ng buhay lalo't kung madilim;
sana'y Iyong dalisayin, Panginoon
aking mga paningin, upang Ikaw ay
malasin tulad ng kulay ng hangin!
Larawan kuha ni Bb. Jo Villafuerte, pagbubukang liwayway sa Atok, Benguet, Setyembre 2019.
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