The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Sixth Week of Easter, 27 May 2022
Acts 18:9-18 ><}}}}*> + <*{{{{>< John 16:20-23
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa at Carigara Market, Leyte, 2018.
Today, Lord Jesus Christ,
you describe true joy in you,
scary yet so wonderful:
Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.”
John 16:20-21
Joy is like a woman in labor,
in anguish because her hour has arrived
but after giving birth to a child, she
remembers no more the pain because
of her joy of bringing forth a child into
the world!
I wonder, dear Lord, in this time
when childbearing has become a major
issue with some women insisting on
their rights, refusing to bear a child,
that less and less people are also
experiencing true joy; we have come
to trust ourselves more than God that
many are so afraid of having children,
thinking it would lead to more joy when
ironically it had led to fewer joys in
their lives!
Joy is completely trusting in you, God,
in your providence and protection like
St. Paul who was so fruitful - and surely,
joyful - at his stay in Corinth because of his
complete trust in Jesus; no harm really
ever happened to him! How sad these days
when those in the pro-choice movement
focus more on the minority having problems in
childbearing than on the majority who make it
through all the pains and joys of giving birth.
Joy is more than happiness; it is a complete
trust and confidence in you, dear Jesus
that even if things turn to worst,
you will never abandon us until the end
for you alone is our joy dwelling within us
in our hearts. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Sixth Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest, 26 May 2022
Acts 18:1-8 ><))))*> + <*((((>< John 16:16-20
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, Carigara Market in Leyte, 2018.
So, brethren, rejoice in the Lord, not in the world. That is, rejoice in the truth, not in wickedness; rejoice in the hope of eternity, not in the fading flower of vanity. That is the way to rejoice. Wherever you are on earth, however long you remain on earth, the Lord is near, do not be anxious about anything.
From a sermon by Saint Augustine, Office of Readings, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, 26 May
Thank you, dear God our Father
in giving us a joyful saint whose
feast we celebrate today, St. Philip Neri.
Of course, every saint must be a
joyful one but St. Philip exuded with
so much joy in serving you among
the poor and the sick that according
to stories, two of his ribs were found
broken after his death because his
heart grew with so much joy and
love for Jesus Christ among the
people he served!
Whatever that means, we believe
in the great joy you must have given
St. Philip Neri and all the saints in
serving you; as St. Augustine
mentioned in his homily, to rejoice
in you is to rejoice in truth not in lies
and wickedness; and to rejoice in eternal
life not in temporal that is momentary.
Much of the world has remained
the same, meaning we still have a
lot of work to do in your name; like
St. Paul, give us the perseverance,
and the sense of humor of St. Philip
Neri to keep preaching the gospel of
Jesus Christ most specially in places
and among people we least expect
to accept it for you yourself, O God is
filled with humor: who would have
thought except you, Lord, that the
sinful city of Corinth would become
one of the leading cities in the spread
of Christianity than the sophisticated
Athens?
Keep us faithful to you, dear Jesus,
never to lose your sense of humor
in doing your work for you always write
straight crooked lines! This is part of
your riddle to your disciples about your
coming Pasch and departure as well as
our coming situation, "you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices, you will grieve but your grief will
become joy" (Jn.16:20).
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-25 ng Mayo 2022
Larawan mula sa gettyimages.com at bbc.com.
Huwag sanang masamain
aking pagkagambala
pagkahumaling sa app
na kung tawagin ay TikTok;
batid ko ang maraming kabutihan
dulot nito sa pakikipagtalastasan
at ugnayan ngunit bakit tila
nauungusan ng mga kahalayan
at kabastusan makabagong laruan?
Nakakaaliw mga katatawanan
at kalokohang napapanood
ngunit nakakabagabag mga
kalaswaan nilalarawan at
napapakinggang usapang
natutungahayan sa munting screen
buong kamalayan ang winawasak,
murang isipan nalilinlang
habang oras at panahon nasasayang.
Hindi sa pagmamarunong
ibig ko ring itanong,
"kailangan pa bang picturan"
maski sa lansangan, dalampasigan
at may pampang mga pasiklaban
sa pag-giling ng katawan at
suot-suot ay kakapiranggot?
"Kailangan pa bang picturan"
ipangalandakan kagandahan ng katawan?
Kung ating babalikan
sariling kapanahunan
dekada ochenta mayroong
lathalain kung tawagin Tiktik Magasin,
mga kuwento at dibuho pulos
seksuwal at kabastusan
pinararaan sa panitikan
bilang pagsasalang-alang
sa karamihang tao na maselan.
Ang kahalayan saan mang
paraan ipahayag ay masagwa
at masama pa rin; ngunit may
higit na banta sa lahat, lalo samga bata
nababantad sa mahahalay na
panoorin lalo na sa TikTok at Youtube:
mga mura nilang kaisipan at kamalayan
nasisira at nalalason na tila ang buhay
ay puro palabas na lamang.
Kaya sana ay pagnilayan
makabagong teknolohiya
sa pakikipagtalastasan
ay biyaya ng Diyos upang
mga tao ay mapaglapit at
mabuklod sa kanilang ugnayan,
mapalawak ang kanyang kamalayan
sa kagandahan nitong buhay at
sariling dangal bilang kalarawan ng Maykapal!
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Sixth Week of Easter, 25 May 2022
Acts 17:15, 22-18:1 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< John 16:12-15
Photo by Mr. Chester Ocampo, springtime in Japan, 2017.
God our Father,
your words today are so
loving, so caring especially
for us who feel lost or at a loss,
simply could not find our bearing
and directions in life at the moment
for so many reasons like situations
and peoples so unfavorable to us.
St. Paul in the first reading perfectly
said it, we are groping for you in the
dark, dear God. Please help us
find our way back to you in Christ!
Then Paul stood up at the Areopagus and said: “The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything. Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything. He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us.”
Acts 17:15, 24-27
I know, dear God that you
are always at my side;
and I know very well that
always, we are the ones
who turn away from you,
we are the ones who get lost
and not you.
Thank you in sending us
your Son Jesus Christ who always
finds us when we are lost;
so many times in life we feel
it is us who find you, that we are
the ones searching for you
and eventually discovers you.
And we are grossly wrong.
It is you, O God in Jesus,
who finds us always.
Yes, it is true our heart is restless
until it rests on you but it is only you
who can move our hearts to desire you,
to search you, to look for you.
And we always find you because
you found us first!
Today I pray, dear Jesus,
that when life has so many lessons
to teach me and I could not bear it,
please send me quick the Holy Spirit
to enlighten my mind and my heart
to speak to me the things that are coming
while I forge on with life's many trials
until your glory is revealed. Amen.
Photo by Mr. Chester Ocampo, springtime in Japan, 2017.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Sixth Week of Easter, 24 May 2022
Acts 16:22-34 ><))))*> + <*((((>< John 16:5-11
Photo by Mr. Chester Ocampo, springtime in Japan, 2017.
Lord Jesus Christ,
today I pray for those in a dilemma
on whether they should stay
or they should go; on whether
they have to remain or leave
as your words today offer us
with so many leads when
we must stay and when
we must go.
In the first reading, it is very
interesting why Paul and Silas
who were both in prison in Philippi
decided to remain inside their cell
than leave and go after a strong
earthquake shook the city:
When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his word and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners has escaped. But Paul shouted out in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself; we are all here.” He asked for a light and rushed in and, trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved.”
Acts 16:27-31
Lord, teach us to be patient to
always wait for you in joyful prayers
like Paul and Silas to prevent us
from jumping into hasty conclusions
when opportunities come for us to
leave and go; let us remain especially
in trying and difficult situations where
you may have other plans for others
who need our presence in difficult situations
like the jailer of Paul and Silas.
How ironic that it was the jailer who had to
ask Paul and Silas what he must do
to be saved, to be set free when your
two servants were the ones imprisoned!
On the other hand,
dear Jesus, teach us when to
go and leave in you and for you
like what you told your disciples
at the Last Supper:
But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
John 16:7
There are times, Lord,
that we have to go like you
not for our own sake but for others;
we have experienced many times
when parents, friends and loved ones
have to go and leave us for our own good,
so we may grow and mature;
let us know when we must go, Jesus
when it is you to whom we are going,
when it is not for our own good
but for others.
Help us realize,
Lord Jesus that whether
we stay and remain or
go and leave, may our
primary consideration and
motivation is our love for you
alone and not our selfish motives;
most of all, either staying or leaving
is always for the good of others
and never for us as you surely
take care of us. Amen.
Photo by Mr. Chester Ocampo, springtime in Japan, 2017.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Sixth Week of Easter, 23 May 2022
Acts 16:11-15 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< John 15:26-16:4
Photo by author, sunrise at Bolinao, Pangasinan, 20 April 2022.
Praise and glory to you,
O God our loving Father in
giving us each day as a new
beginning, a fresh start in life
with every grace we need in Christ;
how amazing are your words today,
O Lord, that both speak of the
joys and perils of every beginning.
In the first reading,
we are inspired by the initial works
of St. Paul in that great city of Philippi
where he met and baptized Lydia, a gentile
convert in the Lord; it was the first European
city to listen and accept the Christian message,
the beginning of a glorious history that
transformed the continent not only in religion but
also in arts and culture.
What a beautiful example of St. Paul
being a "sower" of the gospel
so that others may "reap" its fruits
until now!
Teach us, Lord Jesus,
to be sowers of your word
to win more Lydias and most of all,
so that there would always be something
to reap in the future.
On the other hand,
your gospel today reassures us,
dear Jesus, of your presence and
defense in the Holy Spirit for the many
dangers we face in every beginning.
“I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God. They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me. I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you.”
John 16:1-4
Our work in you, O God, is never finished.
Let us continue to welcome each day as a new
beginning to sow your seeds of love and kindness,
mercy and salvation to make known to everyone
of you as our loving Father in Christ Jesus. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 22 May 2022
Photo by author, Bolinao, Pangasinan, 20 April 2022.
We are now in the penultimate Sunday of the Easter Season as Jesus reiterates in the gospel his commandment to love one another while giving us his precious gift of peace, two essential elements that keep him present among us as well our sources of joy amid the many difficulties in this life.
Right away, we thought of Marvin Gaye’s 1971 hit “What’s Going On?” as the perfect song this Sunday as it embodies both love and peace, two important realities in life we all wish and pray but afraid to work for (https://lordmychef.com/2022/05/21/love-peace-in-christ/).
From the eleventh studio album of the same title by Marvin Gaye, What’s Going On? is not only a commercial success but most of all critically-acclaimed for its superb music and lyrics so poetic with a message so Christ-like, always relevant for all time.
Mother, mother There’s too many of you crying Brother, brother, brother There’s far too many of you dying You know we’ve got to find a way To bring some lovin’ here today, yeah
Father, father We don’t need to escalate You see, war is not the answer For only love can conquer hate You know we’ve got to find a way To bring some lovin’ here today
Picket lines and picket signs Don’t punish me with brutality Talk to me So you can see Oh, what’s going on (What’s going on) What’s going on (What’s going on) What’s going on (What’s going on) What’s going on (What’s going on)
Right on, baby Right on, baby Right on
Mother, mother Everybody thinks we’re wrong Oh, but who are they to judge us Simply ’cause our hair is long Oh, you know we’ve got to find a way To bring some understanding here today
Right on, baby, right on Right on, baby Right on, baby, right on
What I like most in this song is the priority of love. See how Marvin Gaye mentioned the need for lovin’ first in stanzas 1 and 2, You know we’ve got to find a way, To bring some lovin’ here today, yeah before there can be understanding at stanza 3 after the chorus.
It is exactly what Jesus is asking us always, to have love as foundation and motivation of everything we do. It is from love that true peace can come from, the peace of Christ that is willing to suffer and sacrifice because it is rooted in God not in man nor in our selfish and personal interests.
Peace comes from within, not from outside. And it is very ironic that while What’s Going On? is considered as Marvin Gaye’s finest composition, it was also borne out of a lot of soul-searching within him, punctuated with depression and personal struggles with drugs and debts. He died on 01 April 1984 after being shot thrice on the chest by his own father in the course of a heated and physical argumentation at his parents’ home in Los Angeles. He was only 45 years old, always searching for love and peace all his life.
*We have no intentions of infringing into the copyrights of this music and its uploader except to share its beauty and listening pleasure.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sixth Sunday in Easter-C, 22 May 2022
Acts 15:1-2, 22-29 ><}}}}*> Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23 ><}}}}*> John 14:23-29
Photo by Ms. Danna Hazel de Castro, Kiltepan Peak, Sagada, Mountain Province, 2017.
We are now in our penultimate Sunday of the Easter Season as Jesus announces his Ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit “who would teach his followers everything and remind them of all he had told them” (cf. Jn.14:26).
Jesus was still having his heart-to-heart talk with his disciples at the Last Supper “after Judas had left”, teaching them two very important realities in life we all wish and pray for but always afraid to work for – love and peace. Keep in mind that during the Last Supper, Jesus was telling everyone about his coming departure from earth after going through his Pasch, making his disciples to worry and be fearful of what would happen to them when the Lord is “gone”. To assure them of his continuing presence among them when his departure happens, Jesus reiterated his commandment to love one another as he gave them his gift of peace, promising the sending of the Holy Spirit who would enlighten them to understand and remember everything he had taught them.
Photo by author, Bolinao. Pangasinan, 19 April 2022.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Whoever love me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him… The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You have heard me tell you, ‘I am going going away and I will come back to you. If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now, I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.'”
John 14:23, 26-29
Love & peace as deeper realities, not fancies
Jesus reminds us today like at the Last Supper how love and peace are essential to remain close to him after he had returned to the Father in heaven, making him present among us and in the world we live in filled with many sufferings and pains, trials and struggles.
From the love and peace we strive become also our sources of joy as we go through in life as followers of Jesus Christ. That is why Jesus insists in the gospel this Sunday that love and peace are not mere fancies nor emotions and feelings as the world presents them; love and peace in Christ demand the Cross. It is both a decision we have to keep and sustain through the Holy Spirit Jesus had promised to give us the courage and wisdom to truly love and work for peace.
Photo by author, Parish of St. John the Baptist, Calumpit, Bulacan, 02 May 2022.
Priority of love. See again Jesus teaching us today on the priority of love which must always be the foundation and motivation of our relationships with him and with one another. Recall how he told us last week of the “newness” of his commandment to love which is a radical commitment to Jesus, that in imitating his kind of love willing to sacrifice and die in one’s self, we remain one in the Father and with each other.
Love is the very foundation of our lives as image and likeness of God who is love himself. It is the kind of love that seeks to do the will of the Father like Jesus, willing to forget one’s own good, comfort and convenience. The Greeks call it agape, the very kind of love Jesus witnessed to us on the Cross, the same love he asked Simon Peter at the shores of Lake Tiberias after Easter.
It is humanly very difficult to love that is why the Greeks and Romans have thought of having gods and goddesses of love. It is the reason why Jesus became human so that we can love like God by asking us to keep his word so that he and the Father may dwell in us and enable us to do his works in us. Love is doable in Christ if we let him live in us. As the beloved disciple tells us, “No one has ever seen God. Yet if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us” (1Jn.4:12).
Photo by Ms. Jing Rey Henderson in Taroytoy, Aklan, 30 April 2022.
Motivated by love. If love is the foundation of our lives, then, love must also be the motivation of everything we think, say and do. It is easy to be rooted in the love of God but it can happen that we may be doing things for God not truly borne out of love but due to fears and even selfish reasons. Hence, our need of constantly purifying our love for God
To love like Christ is to do away with all of our ifs and buts, excuses and alibis but simply to love like him. This is the most challenging part of discipleship, making it so difficult to be a Christian especially at this time. The recent events happening in our country challenge us to examine the purity of our love in him as disciples that despite of what have transpired, of whatever have been said and done, we continue to truly love and serve in Jesus.
We heard in the first reading how love inspired the early Christians to meet at the Council of Jerusalem in year 50 to discuss and resolve the many differences they encountered that early in the Church. It was first severe test of the Apostles and early Christians from within and because of love, they have triumphed and has continued to remain until now!
There will always be differences among us especially fellow Christians but these are not meant to divide us but to become means to be one in Christ in love. It is a tragedy when we disciples of Christ who claim to always know what is true and good when in fact we become the obstacles to dialogue and understanding, to peace and unity.
Love leads to peace. Here we find how love leads into peace. Like love, peace is not an emotion nor a feeling, a mere absence of war and differences but more of a product of love that is willing to sacrifice and suffer.
Jesus made it clear during Last Supper that the peace he gives is not like what the world gives that is often due to compromises, to quid pro quo in exchange of some concessions. The peace Jesus gives us is first of all one that is motivated by love of God that calls for a deep faith and trust in the Father.
Photo by author, Bolinao. Pangasinan, 19 April 2022.
Peace does not depend on everything going right in our lives, when all is “silent and peaceful” as we would say. Peace sometimes comes most to us when we go through many trials in life as we trust in God more, in his goodness and in his plans for us.
The peace of Jesus Christ comes and is found within us, not outside us. That is why Jesus tells us to not let our hearts be troubled or afraid. When we trust Jesus and do whatever he asks us out of love, then we experience peace even if there are temporary setbacks to our efforts for ourselves or family or even nation. We just have to have faith in God and continue to love in Christ for in the end, good and truth prevail.
In the Hebrew language, peace is shalom which means finding order or good relationships with one’s self, with others and with God. Let us examine our hearts and our lives this Sunday to see areas within us needing order, where we lack love as foundation and motivation in doing things that peace remains elusive to us.
May the love of Jesus Christ shine in us and through us like in the vision of John of the new Jerusalem coming down that “had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rev. 21:23). Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fifth Week of Easter, 20 May 2022
Acts 15:22-31 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< John 15:12-17
Photo by Mr. Gelo Nicolas Carpio, January 2020.
Jesus said to his disciples,
"I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know
what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything
I have heard from my Father"
(John 15:15).
Lord Jesus, thank you very much
for this great honor of being called
your friend, for this great status of
being your friend, of having known
everything you have heard from the Father,
that we are loved, we are forgiven,
that we are cared for.
How sad, dear Jesus, so many times
I have not been a friend to you by
not believing your words, of refusing to
believe that I am loved by the Father,
that I am your friend.
There are times also, dear Jesus,
that I refuse to tell others how they
are cared for, how they are loved
and even looked up to; so unlike the
Apostles and presbyters who affirmed
Barnabas and Paul as co-workers with
the Lord, as his friends too when they
wrote the believers in Antioch, "we have
with one accord decided to choose
representatives and to send them along
with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 15:25-26).
How lovely were the Apostles and
presbyters here in recognizing the
labors of love for you by Barnabas and
Paul! Here they have shown their
intimate friendship in you, dear Jesus
and with Barnabas and Paul.
To be considered as your friend, Lord Jesus
means to consider others as my friends too,
especially fellow workers in your vineyard,
fellow shepherds of your sheep;
To be considered as your friend, Lord Jesus
means to recognize your friendship with
others not with me alone;
To be considered as your friend, Lord Jesus
means to tell everyone what you have told us
too about the goodness and dedication
of our fellow workers in you.
Teach me Jesus to truly love you
and to love like you, willing to forget
myself, to let go of all recognition and
honor because it is only when you are made
known and glorified that we truly experience
deep joy inside, when we have done your most
holy will. Amen.
Like many of you, the people I elected lost last May 9. Fact is, I felt the same sense of loss and sadness and disappointment – but not depression nor anxiety – many of you feel today as early as 2016 when not even one opposition made it into the Senate.
It was in the 2016 elections when I realized that our people would continue to be less discerning in electing their leaders, of how it would get worst before getting any better, not even in my lifetime. The following morning after Duterte was elected president in 2016, our kasambahay came to me during breakfast to apologize, saying, “sorry po Father… binoto ko po si Bung (Bong Revilla) kasi baka wala pong bumoto sa kanya.”
You see, I have been trying to educate Manang to be more discerning in choosing candidates since the start of the 2016 elections campaign period but no amount of explanations seemed to have convinced her. Hence, I just told her, “kakaawa mo sa kanya, hayun, naging topnother si Bong Revilla, ngayon kawawa ang bayan natin.” The same thing happened last week that we now have Robin Padilla as Senator of the Republic too.
However, I am still filled with hopes in our future. We are not a hopeless case of going to the dogs if we start learning the lessons of these 2022 elections that were similar with 2016’s if we priests return to our original mission of teaching and sharing Jesus, only Jesus and always Jesus. Enough with our political partisanship, of endorsements and campaigns for candidates no matter how worthy they may be.
Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images.
This may sound very simple, even simplistic. As a priest, I feel and fear we have forgotten Jesus in these recent elections. Even a week after, many have not stopped in their “fight”, making all those unChristian comments in social media that prove we have indeed lost Christ lately.
“Oh, men of little faith!” is how Jesus would probably exclaim at some of us priests and bishops in this post-elections period.
Instead of educating the people, some priests and bishops went too far into campaigning even at the pulpit for particular candidates that led to disillusionment than enlightenment. And now, we are into this mess – the second elections in a row since 2016 – when the people resoundingly rejected not only the clergy’s candidates but also the Church we represent as an institution. What is tragic is how we priests still do not get it, even that simple lesson in history that every time priests endorse candidates, they turn out to be kiss of death!
It is so disappointing how most of the priests and bishops were so quiet, not silent, in 2020 when the quarantine period was prolonged more than twice or thrice that kept our churches closed, denying the people much needed spiritual guidance and nourishment during the pandemic. Sadly when the campaign period for the elections started last year, many priests were suddenly out, vocal and filled with courage in joining rallies even on Saturdays and Sundays when they should be celebrating the Mass in their parishes, when they should be praying and reflecting on the gospel to nourish souls but were instead baffling the faithful if their pastors were leading them to heaven or hell.
The double standard cannot be denied: when Leny declared her candidacy last October, some priests and parishes posted on social media pictures of Gaudete and Laudete Sunday’s pink motifs but, when Red Wednesday came in November to honor those persecuted in the Church, the same priests and parishes issued clarifications that the liturgical red motif was not in any way political.
Of course, it has always been non-political until they started it! Unfortunately, the bad taste of insincerity was all over and no one felt ashamed at all. Which brings us to the many sanctimonious “sermons” – not homilies (they are different) – that followed during Lent, filled with self-righteousness and holier-than-thou attitudes as if there are no thieves and liars among us.
Photo by author, Stations of the Cross at the Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, March 2022.
The question being asked by the faithful – where is God? – following the results of the recent elections is an indictment of the priests who have abandoned Jesus and so believed in themselves and their candidates, denying Christ the chance to do that much-needed miracle we were all hoping for since the start of the campaign period.
A former student now based in Canada recently narrated how he and his wife told their eight year-old daughter the need to stand and defend the truth. I was impressed and touched that I congratulated him as I recalled those first 12 years of my priesthood teaching them in our diocesan school in Malolos City. I mentioned to him how it pained me that some of our graduates have joined the “dark forces” in politics with one notoriously grandstanding during the proceedings revoking the franchise of ABS-CBN.
We can only do as much but the most important thing is to remain focused in Jesus, in words and in deeds despite our weaknesses and unworthiness. When people experience and get to know Jesus, everything good follows. We called it in my former school assignment “Sanctitas in Sapientia” or “Holiness in Wisdom” – the more we get to know Jesus, the more we grow in wisdom and holiness becoming like him so that we also follow him and love him through others.
That is the challenge to us this post-election period: let us double time, spend our energies in bringing back the people, especially the young inside the churches not to the streets to learn more about Jesus in the Sacraments. Most of all, to reach out to those in the margins, the majority we love to bash in putting into office the same “unworthy” candidates as leaders of the nation.
A few days after the elections, we had the first Confession and first Holy Communion of our Grade III and IV students at the Basic Education Department of Our Lady of Fatima University in Valenzuela City. It was then when I got more convinced how in the past 24 years that priesthood is bringing Jesus to the people first through the meaningful celebrations of the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist where his words are proclaimed and cracked open to let Jesus touch the hearts of everyone.
Both in the parish and in the school, I have seen that Jesus is the One transforming people, the One who changes people, not us priests nor anyone. We are merely his instruments.
Photo by Mr. Paulo Sillonar, Basic Education Dept., Our Lady of Fatima University, 11 May 2022.
In the beautiful story of the feeding of 5000, we are told that when Jesus saw a large crowd coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do (Jn.6:5-6).
Jesus knows very well what he is going to do in every situation, especially elections. Our job is to listen to Jesus, to make Jesus present to everyone, to share Jesus.
Later after the feeding of 5000 in the wilderness, Jesus gave his bread of life discourse to the people who have followed him to Capernaum but they could not take his words that eventually, they left him along with the other followers of Christ. Only the Twelve remained with him whom he asked, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn.6:67-68).
Do we have the same faith and focus of Simon Peter in Jesus? Why worry after we have lost these elections?
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that all our affairs in this life and in this world must always be seen beyond its social and economic, even medical and political implications but always in the light of Christ and his Cross. This reality is perfectly captured by the Inquirer photographer last August 2021 when the chapel of the QC General Hospital was converted into a COVID ward during a surge. The photo speaks loudly and clearly of the one reality we always forget, especially us priests.
Again, my views may be simple, even simplistic, compared to the learned but so many times, that is how God works too. Thank you for taking time to read. Join me in praying:
Lord Jesus Christ, so many times we leave you behind, following ourselves and others instead of you alone who is "the way and the truth and the life"(Jn.14:6).Amen.
Have a blessed weekend!
Front page photo of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, 20 August 2021.
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