Christ, the Sign of Contradiction

PhilipLourdes — The Cross of Christ atop the church of our Lady of Lourdes in France. Photo by my former student Philip Santiago during his pilgrimage, September 2018.

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe

03 February 2019, Week IV, Year C

Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19///1Corinthians 12:31-13:3///Luke 4:21-30

We had a rare weekend yesterday in the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord that wonderfully complemented our gospel on this Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Recall that last Sunday we were told how Jesus went home to Nazareth, entering the synagogue on a day of rest. Everybody was amazed with His “gracious words” in proclaiming the word of God that we ended the gospel with a very positive note when Jesus declared “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk.4:22). Our gospel today repeated this line as its take off point to continue the story of Jesus at the synagogue but, this time Luke tells us of a twist from the very positive “all spoke highly of him” to their skeptical “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” (Lk.4:22). The mood deteriorated further after Jesus had spoken so that “the people at the synagogue were filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong” (Lk.4:28-29)!

What and how did this sudden turn of events happen? Here we find the complementing Feast of the Presentation yesterday based on the infancy narratives of Christmas by St. Luke when Simeon told Mary the mother of Jesus, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted – and you yourself a sword will pierce you – so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Lk.2:34-35). See how Jesus at the inauguration of His ministry at their Nazareth synagogue last week proclaiming the word of God would now start to be seen as a sign of contradiction among His people as prophesied by Simeon to His mother yesterday. That would reach its highest point 33 years later in Jerusalem where He was presented to the Temple 40 days after Epiphany after resolutely going there to offer or present Himself to the Father on the Cross. This explains why Jesus merely “passed through the midst of them and went away” when the people at the synagogue tried to hurl Him down headlong because His time of final offering had not yet come. But very clearly here at the synagogue of Nazareth, Christ is indeed the sign of contradiction not only to His people but also to us in this generation when we would also speak highly of Jesus, shouting Amen with clapping of hands and suddenly hit people near us with harsh and nasty words or even brutal force. Most of all, like the Lord, we too have experienced being a sign of contradiction when people would speak highly of us then suddenly or over time, turn against us and speak ill of us, betraying us like what Judas did to Jesus on Holy Thursday.

My dear friends in Christ, it is our calling and our life too in living out the word of God through our life of witnessing His immense love in service and mercy for those in the margins. Every time we gather for the Sunday Mass like when Jesus entered the synagogue of Nazareth on a day of rest, He invites us to follow Him to be a prophet by entering Him more than merely the church building. Being a sign of contradiction like Jesus is our prophetic mission in Him. So unlike what most people think, a prophet is not a fortune teller or a seer of the future. As the spokesperson of God, a prophet is one who makes God’s word happen or fulfilled in every here and now. Keep in mind that one feature of Luke’s gospel is the pre-eminence of “listening and doing” the word of God like when he reported how Jesus declared Isaiah’s prophecy fulfilled in their hearing that led into the sharp and sudden shifting in the reaction of people against the Lord, from approval to rejection.

First of all, those reactions were most evidently from His claiming to be the Messiah referred to in Isaiah’s prophecy on whom the “Spirit of the Lord rests upon.” He was the one who proclaimed the word and if we have truly immersed ourselves into this beautiful scene in the synagogue on that Sabbath day, we would really feel Jesus is in fact the one Isaiah is speaking of as being “anointed to bring glad tidings to the poor, liberty to captives, sight to the blind, freedom to those oppressed, and to usher in a year acceptable to the Lord” (Lk.4: 18-19). Salvation decisively begins in Christ and through Christ whenever we enter Him in His words. That “today” in Nazareth synagogue is also the today of our own time that continues to provoke astonishment among others when we try to be Christ’s witnesses of authentic love for others. That is perhaps the sad reality of these days when it becomes big news when people do something genuinely good and beautiful like the woman who impulsively rented 20 hotel rooms in Chicago so the homeless could escape the deep freeze this week in the US Midwest; her deed snowballed into other strangers doing the same! That is essentially the meaning of Paul’s lofty words on love being the greatest of all gifts because it makes God most present in our midst. To truly love like Christ is essentially being a sign of contradiction in this world where the norm is selfishness and self-centeredness often masked in different in lofty terms and ideals bereft of any love at all.

Along this line of self-centeredness we find Luke reminding us in this scene at the Nazareth synagogue of the persisting problem self-entitlement among people then and now when we prophetically live out our mission of making Christ present. People always look down and frown upon those who try to be good and holy by striving to do what is right and just while the holier-than-thou sanctimoniously feel they are the only ones anointed to do such things because they are entitled. They are the modern Gnostics according to Pope Francis in his latest encyclical about holiness in our modern time (Gaudete et Exsulatate)” who feel as the only ones gifted in knowing what is right or wrong, true and good as if they are God. Like those people at the synagogue in Nazareth, they refused to accept Jesus of being more knowledgeable because He is the son of Joseph who was a carpenter. Jesus would strike at the very core of their self- entitlement when He told them “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his native place” (Lk.4:24), citing how Elijah and Elisha of the Old Testament days were both sent by God to help pagan peoples and not the Jews who have turned away from Him exactly like them. That filled them with fury against Jesus, wanting to hurl Him down the hill headlong. It is the same feeling those people around us experience like our relatives and friends who could not accept we are better than them that they start spreading all kinds of lies and nasty talks against us as they see their self-entitlement slowly eroding. Such is our life as a prophet like Jeremiah, always going against the flow of the people, choosing Christ to be a sign of contradiction and give way to the fulfilment of God’s word among us. Amen. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

Meeting Christ, the Light of the Nations

presentationtemple — 14 Giotto Presentation of Christ in the Temple 1310s Fresco North transept, Lower Church, San Francesco, Assisi….Web Gallery Of Art

The Lord Is My Chef Special Recipe, 02 February 2019

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord at the Temple

Malachi 3:1-4//Hebrews 2:14-18//Luke 2:22-40

Here’s good news to those who have not yet removed their Christmas decors: today’s Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is the actual end of Christmas Season when the Child Jesus was presented at the Temple in Jerusalem 40 days after Epiphany. According to this tradition, it is also on this day when the Vatican removes its giant Christmas tree at the St. Peter’s Square. And so, after this day and you still have your Christmas tree and other decors hanging, then you must be a certified slob or simply one who refuses to move on to meet Jesus Christ.

Today’s feast has many names because it has many facets. This was first celebrated in Jerusalem in the early year 300 as “the Feast of Presentation at the Temple” based on the Gospel account of St. Luke we have heard earlier. The Syrians adopted the feast 300 years later, reaching the seat of the Eastern Church in Constantinople where it came to be known as “the Encounter” or Ypapante in Greek, emphasizing the “meeting” of the Savior and the two elderly people, Simeon and Ana. At about that same time in Rome, Pope Sergius I adapted the same feast from Jerusalem with a procession of lighted candles to show Jesus as the “light for revelation” to Simeon and everyone. When it reached France in the year 800, the French adapted it further with a new designation as “Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary” or“Chandeleur” which came to be known as “Candlemass” in English-speaking countries and “Candelaria” in Spain and her colonies like the Philippines. Over a thousand years later in 1969 during the Vatican II reform of the liturgy, the Church decreed it to be known in its original name, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.

That’s the beauty of our Catholic faith when certain feasts evolved depending on the various emphases of the many periods in history yet remaining true to its very essence who is Jesus Christ our Savior and Son of God. Anyone who truly meets or encounters Jesus is always enlightened by Him to meet Him among other peoples. Recall how we started the celebration with the paschal candle also at the entry to our church. It is the same paschal candle we have lighted and blessed during the Easter Vigil last year to symbolize the risen Christ lighting our path of salvation. Today in our procession, the light of Candlemass announces that paschal candle: inasmuch as we celebrate today the presentation of Jesus at the Temple by His parents, 33 years later or a little more than two months from now, Jesus would be back in Jerusalem to offer – or present – Himself to the Father in fulfilling His pasch or Passion, Death, and Resurrection. This is the meaning of Simeon’s beautiful canticle we all sing at bedtime: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in sight of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel” (Lk. 2:29-32).

Jesus is the light of the nations – lumen gentium – or light of men or peoples because He enables us to see the face of every human being as a brother and a sister in Him. How sad that this human face has so often been disfigured, trying to hide or even remove the face of Christ in whose image we have all been created. Imagine how Simeon and Anna were able to recognize Christ among the many infants being offered that day at the Temple in Jerusalem because both have always been opened with God. We can never meet God unless we also meet others as brothers and sisters. Remember during our Simbang Gabi how we reflected about true holiness through St. Joseph who always found God in everything so that upon learning Mary’s pregnancy, he decided to divorce her silently so as not to put her into shame. But upon learning from an angel in a dream the circumstances about her pregnancy, St. Joseph took her as wife and Christmas happened with him standing as the Lord’s legal father. When Joseph saw God in Mary, Jesus came; when he saw Jesus coming, Joseph accepted Mary. That is the light of Candlemass when we are able to see God in each one’s face – most especially among our senior citizens.

In a society where old age is seen like a disease with ads telling everyone to “arrest ageing”, giving so much premium on being young and looking young so glorified in media, we all fail to see the significance of this stage in life. Worst, we abhor it, refusing to talk about it as if it is a curse. Wrong! Actually, most of the people God called for His mission in the Old Testament were mostly old people starting with Noah and Abraham as well as Moses who all performed great wonders for Him in their advanced ages! Today’s gospel is no exception as it invites us to see Christ among our elderly brethren in the church and community, especially in the family whom we often take for granted. See how St. Joseph and Mary shared Jesus with Simeon and Anna. In 1999, St. John Paul wrote a letter to his fellow elders, saying that “The line separating life and death runs through our communities and moves inexorably nearer to each of us. If life is a pilgrimage to towards our heavenly home, then old age is the most natural time to look towards the threshold of eternity (14).”

Today’s Feast of the Presentation of the Lord at the Temple reveals to us the mystery of every encounter with God is often preceded with an encounter with another person, even strangers. Every encounter with God is often verified by our encounter with others because through them, we experience that “invisible line” that seems to bind all of us as one big family. And this is most true when we encounter the elderly people, especially those who have “aged gracefully” who often confirm with us the presence of God in our lives which they have already started to experience. Every encounter with an elderly is an encounter with Jesus Christ because it is a prelude to our final encounter with Him in eternity. And all these encounters are made possible by the grace and light only of Jesus Christ. Remember: the moment we are able to recognize the face of the person next to us as the face of a brother and sister in Jesus Christ, then we are sure that darkness has ended and day has begun. Amen. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

Photos from Google.

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The Sword of St. Paul

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Friday, 25 January 2019, Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul

Acts 22:3-16///Mark 16:15-18

Today we thank you O Lord for your gift of St. Paul whom you converted from being a persecutor of the early Christians to becoming your “Thirteenth Apostle” who stands at equal footing with St. Peter in the growth of your Church.

What made him truly great and effective as an apostle, O Jesus, is not his brilliant rhetoric and sophisticated strategies but his willingness to suffer so much for you and your gospel. He had shown us the essence of discipleship which is to live one’s life completely in you alone – “I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20).

St. Paul was able to accomplish this by showing us true conversion that we always misunderstand as something like changing into another person completely like turning around a shirt, from being proud and violent to becoming meek, or from being so shy to becoming daring or being impulsive to almost timid. While his letters teem with so many gems in teaching us how he was converted into loving you until the end, his imposing images with his sword remain his most beautiful symbol of conversion.

All his life as his images rightly portray him everywhere, he had kept that sword: when still called Saul, he had that sword to express his zeal and fire for the Law that he persecuted Christians; but on the way to Damascus, you called him and after a period of prayers and studies, he picked up again his sword to preach your gospel with the same fire and zeal that eventually in the end, he willingly accepted death by the sword in your name. From the sword that inflicted pain on others, it became a sword that slew his defects until later at the end of his life in Rome, it caused his martyrdom.

Help me Lord to keep my sword – my weaknesses and shortcomings – not for their own sake but because that’s me, that’s my personality. Help me to change my ways not my heart by using this same sword to slay the defects within me without extinguishing that fire for you and your gospel. Let these defects I have remind me always like St. Paul that “whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ… everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil 3:7-8). Let me fight, O Lord, for your gospel, for your Spirit as I fight pride and other sins within me. Amen. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

*Photo from Google, statue of St. Paul in front of the Major Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the- Walls, Rome.

Vacation and Vocation: A Reflection on the Caller, the Call, and the One Called

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 24 January 2019

Vacation and vocation are two important realities for us priests. In fact, the two are closely related because both are rooted in God. Problems happen when we priests totally forget God both in our vacation and in our vocation. And this has always been our problem because we have refused to go back, get closer and enter God Himself.

Both vacation and vocation came from Latin: the former is from the word “vacare” that means to be emptied or vacant while the latter has its roots in “vocare” which is to be called. Every vacation is a sabbath, a resting in God who calls us to this priestly vocation. This concept is beautifully expressed in our Filipino word “magpahinga” that literally means to be breathed on by God. When we priests go on vacation, the more we are able to serve people better with joy because that is when we are filled with God. Every vacation is a path leading us closer to God that is why priests are encouraged to go on sabbatical leaves, whether the usual weekly breaks or the yearly longer vacations. This past week we have heard from the gospels in our daily Masses how the enemies of Jesus missed this important aspect of sabbath when they would always question His healings on days of rest, prompting Him to ask them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than destroy it?” (Mk.3:4). God is always bigger than Sabbath because “Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath” (Mk.2:27-28). Even laypeople have fallen into this trap of emphasizing sabbath more than God Himself that we make many excuses of not going to Sunday Masses because bonding with family and friends is more important. Every year, less and less people are going to Church celebrations of the Holy Week and Easter because they would rather take the opportunity to go on vacation as they try hard to convince themselves that God would perfectly understand them anyway.

This problem with vacation takes on its most unfortunate turn when we priests deal with our vocation. In my 20 years in the priesthood with the last seven years spent in direct interactions with seminarians as teacher and spiritual director, I have found something so wrong now becoming a trend that is probably one of the reasons why we are plagued with all kinds of problematic priests in the Church. It is a new kind of idolatry when we have come to worship and adore more our vocation and priesthood than God Himself. We have forgotten the great distinction between the call and the Caller. When the one being called, whether a priest or a seminarian, gets so focused with the call forgetting the Caller, problems arise and not too far from the scene are evil and sin.

“Brothers and sisters: Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who said to him: You are my son; this day I have begotten you” (Heb.5:1,4-5).

Priestly vocation is always a gift and a call from God to be closer and be one in Him and with Him in Christ. Vocation is the call of God but not God. The Caller is always above and distinct from the call. The one being called is meant to end with the Caller and not with the call. It is a terrible problem when a seminarian insists on being ordained as if it is a right simply because he is called even if the seminary fathers do not see him responding properly to his priestly calling. It becomes a tragedy when priests insist with their own beliefs and perceptions of things as part of their responding to their vocation, forgetting or even totally disregarding Christ as well as the norms and teachings of the Church, His visible presence (sacrament) on earth. The sex scandals that continue to rock and deeply hurt the Church stem from this erroneous perception by some priests who cling to their vocation, unmindful of the Caller we all need to imitate in holiness so we can also embrace children and uplift women like Him in love and respect. See how some of our churches have become like birthday cakes, malls and even dance halls when pastors pretend to be bringing the people closer to God with all their pomp and pageantry when in fact are just massaging unconsciously their bloated egos. When priests get busy more with church constructions, fund raising and other social events without any time for prayer to be with God and His flock, they worship the call, not the Caller. The height of this idolatrous worship of the vocation by priests is when we make up so many alibis and excuses to justify our various preoccupations like luxurious living, vanities that include too much sports and body-building, vices in all forms like addiction with telenovelas, engaging in businesses, frequent travels that Pope Francis had branded as “scandal of the airports”and yes, even adopting children!

I wrote this not to put down my brother priests and students in the seminary but to contribute in whatever way that we can grow closer with Jesus Christ who calls us to be one in Him. I am also a sinner, “a worthless servant of the Lord who tries to do my duty” as His priest (Lk.17:10). Lately in our daily Masses as well as this coming Sunday we shall hear in the gospel of how Jesus would enter their synagogue in Capernaum on a sabbath. It is a very simple scene but filled with meanings, asking me whether I simply enter the church or do I enter God? How sad that until now there are people like the Magi from the East asking “where is the newborn king of Israel?” while inside our churches that have merely become a building but never the Body of Christ because what we only have is the call, or maybe just the echo of that call without the Caller.

*Photo by the author, chapel of Holy Family, Sacred Heart Novitiate and Retreat House, Novaliches, Quezon City, June 2015.

The Presence of Jesus

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Thursday, 24 January 2019, Week II, Year I

Hebrews 7:25-8:6///Mark 3:7-12

Sometimes Lord I envy your apostles, the people who have lived during your time and have actually met you, heard you, and most of all touched you.

Of course it is a useless and even a non-sense wishful thinking or daydreaming because as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews explains to us today, you have not really left us. In your great sacrifice on the Cross as our High Priest, you have become present with us always.

“The main point of what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up” (Heb.8:1-2).

And that is the challenge for us today: rather than imagining we were present during your time, what we must always think and reflect upon is making you present today, like your disciples who looked for boats where you preached and healed people. Now more than ever as you sit at the right hand of the Father, every moment is your presence of love and mercy, healing and growing.

Make us realize O Lord Jesus that you are communication yourself, your giving of self in love on the Cross is the most perfect communication of all. More than an expression of your thoughts and feelings for us, Lord, your crucifixion became the most profound level of your communication, actualizing your love and mercy for us even today.

Help us communicate your love and mercy to others not only in words but most of all in deeds. Give us the same grace you have given St. Francis de Sales in ensuring our every communication make you present. Amen. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

Quotes from Google.

quote-have-patience-with-all-things-but-first-with-yourself-never-confuse-your-mistakes-with-saint-francis-de-sales-84-98-98

Entering God

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Wednesday, 23 January 2019, Week II, Year I

Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17///Mark 3:1-6

“Jesus entered the synagogue” (Mk.3:1).

Lord Jesus Christ, your gospel today is so simple and so meaningful, making me wonder why would you even bother to enter the synagogue when you are the Lord of Sabbath, the Son of God, our Eternal High Priest in the line of Melchizedek?

How wonderful is that imagery of you always entering the synagogue to remind us of something deeper than praying and obeying your laws and that is the need to enter more the person of God. To enter the synagogue like you Jesus is to enter the Father and be one with Him in His love and mercy.

So sad that too often, we enter only your thoughts and calling, your words and your laws that have all come to replace your very Person within us. We have worshiped things about you but never yourself! No wonder so many of us choose to remain silent than answer your question “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath than to evil, to save life rather than destroy it?” (Mk.3:4) when facing real life situations between what we believe and what we feel as a person.

To enter the synagogue is to first of all enter you, God – and be one with you in your love and mercy. When we fail to enter you God our Father, then we also fail to enter our very selves that we are detached from others and from life itself. To enter God is to enter our hearts and to feel one with others, especially the sick and the suffering. To enter God is to be like you, Jesus, our priest forever in the line of Melchizedek who is full of holiness and peace. Amen. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

*Photo by the author, Jerusalem, April 2017.

“Magpa-hinga sa Diyos”

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II

Ika-22 ng Enero 2019

“Goodbye bakasyon, hello baon!”

Nakakatawang sinulat ng aking sacristan

Sa kanyang Facebook matapos ang Bagong Taon

Na tila baga pinaglulubag kanyang kalooban

Sa bakasyong papatapos na noon.

Maraming tao ngayon kapag bakasyon

Batid lamang ay puro selebrasyon

Na hindi nauunawaan diwa ng okasyon

Kaya di maglaon lumilipas lamang ito ng gayon.

Itong salita na bakasyon ay ating hiniram

Sa wikang Inggles na vacation na ang ugat ay Latin

Na ang ibig sabihi’y walang laman o kaya’y sairin

Upang ma-vacate o mabakante kalooban natin.

Kaya naman ang salin nito sa sariling wika natin

Ay mas malalim at nakahiling sa loobin ng Diyos natin

Noong matapos Niyang likhain lahat sa daigdig natin

Namahinga Siya at tinakda Niyang itong tawagin Sabbath.

Kaya nga kung tutuusin itong pamamahinga

Ay hindi lamang pagtigil sa maraming tungkulin at gawain

Kungdi upang sairin itong kalooban natin

At punuing muli ng hininga ng Diyos na Siyang buhay natin.

Mula nang ang tao ay palayasin sa Paraiso

Dahil sa pagkakasala ng mga ninuno natin

Sariling paningin ay pumangit din kaya’t sa Diyos

Ay nagtago matapos kagatin bawal na bunga sa hardin.

Kaya nga yaring araw ng pamamahinga ay biyaya para sa atin

Dahil kapag ito ay ating ipinangingilin nagbabalik tayo sa Eden

Diyos ay nakakapiling at muling nakakamukha natin

Dahil Espiritung pumupuspos sa atin ay Kanyang hininga rin.

Huwag sana nating limutin di lamang kahalagahan

Kungdi pati kahulugan nitong bakasyon na tayo ay hingahan ng Diyos

Upang mapuno ng Kanyang buhay na siyang gagabay

Sa ating paglalakbay hanggang sa Kanya ay humimlay habangbuhay.

*Unang larawan ay kuha ng makata sa Assumption Sabbath sa Baguio; ang ikalawa ay kuha ni G. Raffy Tima ng GMA-7News sa Sampaloc Cove, Subic, Zambales.

What a Loving God We Have

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Tuesday, 22 January 2019, Week II, Year I

Hebrews 6:10-20///Mark 2:23-28

O God! You are so loveable and so loving!

You are the truest lover of all… so “nakaka-in-love” and so “kilig” as we say. You are so undeniably real, so personal, always my loving Dad, the only one who truly knows me and would always do things just to let me rest and have a break from all my worries and burdens in life.

As I prayed today’s readings, I could feel your strong presence that made me wonder what the author of the Letter to the Hebrews must have experienced when he wrote “God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones” (6:10).

What he had written has always been true. So many among us at this very moment or past days are feeling so low, crying in silence, grappling with anger within while bearing all the pains of the continuing lack of love and respect, kindness and concern, even civility by some of those around us who feel so entitled in this world. Then out of nowhere, you are suddenly here beside me, coming like a lover, embracing me, hugging me, or simply touching me softly or just tenderly glancing at me full of love and affirmations.

Sometimes like the Twelve we get so tired and hungry following Jesus that we would pick the heads of the grain while passing through a field on the Sabbath when the holier-than-thou people around us would object like the Pharisees saying that is unlawful to do on a Sabbath (Mk.2:23-24). But Jesus would readily defend us because you are “not unjust so as to overlook our work and the love we have demonstrated for your name by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones” (6:10).

Thank you, dear God. Thank you. Help us to persevere in doing what is good in your sight, in fulfilling your will no matter how difficult it may be. Let us never doubt that you can never be outdone in kindness and generosity. Amen. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

Photo from Google. During my prayer period, I remembered the song “Like a Lover” that partly inspired me in writing this prayer. Good morning vibes and hope you love it!

Refresh Us, O God

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Monday, 21 January 2019, Week II, Year I

Hebrews 5:1-9///Mark 2:18-22

Loving Father, lately I was again hurting deep inside, feeling alone and forgotten, even taken for granted but, after praying and remembering the immense love of your Son Jesus for me, for us all, I felt so consoled because I am no longer alone. I felt relieved and lighter at how your Son Jesus who is sinless bore all our sins by suffering and dying on the Cross to renew forever our relationship with you, opening for us a fount of constant joy and comfort within us.

“In the days when he was in the Flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Heb.5:7-8).

Remind us always to remember this great truth, of how you have made Christ your Son as our sole mediator, designating Him our eternal High Priest who offered for us the most perfect sacrifice for our salvation. Make us your new piece of cloth, your new wineskin so others may experience your refreshing presence in the world today where many of us have become technical rather than personal, hiding in traditions and rituals long renewed in Jesus Christ, always asking “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” (Mk.2:18).

Give us the courage O Lord like St. Agnes to be firm in our faith, vibrant in our hope in your presence among us in Christ. Refresh us in your abiding love so we may be renewed as a people, as disciples. Amen. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

Photo above by the author, Dominican Hill, Baguio City, 18 January 2019.

St. Agnes image from Google.

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“Better Days” by Dianne Reeves (1987)

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The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music, 20 January 2019

It is still Christmas this Sunday here in the Philippines as we celebrate today the Feast of the Child Jesus known as Señor Sto. Niño. The feast reminds us of the most central teaching of Jesus Christ which is to be like a child for He said that “unless you become like children, you shall never inherit the kingdom of heaven.”

One distinct quality of being a child like Jesus Christ is to be always filled with love for everyone. In this age of modern technologies, how sad that we have become more technical than personal that slowly, real love has become so rare among us. Too often love is not only abused and misused but also misunderstood as mere feelings alone. No! Love is always a decision, a choice we make after the interplay of our mind and heart that leads to growth and maturity. And the more we stand on that decision and choice to love, the more it is deepened and perfected in God. So often, love is symbolized by the heart but its truest meaning can only be found in the great sign of the Cross of Jesus where we can find the perfect expression of Christian “childlikeness” and Christian maturity when we choose whatever is more painful and more difficult because we have found someone to love more than our self.

This is the child-like love that Dianne Reeves tells us in her 1987 crossover hit “Better Days” also known as the “Grandma Song” where she spoke of her grandmother not only teaching her but making her experience love that leads to better days. We find in the song her grandmother somehow portraying to us what we have said as Christian “childlikeness” and Christian maturity so that in the end, she peacefully joined God because she had always been faithful and loving as a child of the Father like Christ. That is also the challenge to us of this Feast of the Sto. Niño: to remain children of God even as adults like Jesus Christ. Or Dianne’s grandmother. If only we can be child-like like Jesus or Dianne’s Grandma, we can be assured of better days too not only here but in eternity.

Photo by the author, Dominican Hill, Baguio City, 18 January 2019.