40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday in Second Week of Lent, 01 March 2024 Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28 ><)))*> + <*(((>< Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46
Thank you, dear God, for this first day and Friday of March; teach us to learn anew this blessed season of Lent the virtue of respect from two Latin words, re + specere that literally mean "to look again"; many times, we fail or choose not to respect others because we refuse to look at them again, and again, that they are our kin, a brother and a sister in Jesus Christ; many times we see them but do not recognize them as one of us that we look at them with suspicions, jealousies, and mistrust.
So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan. They noticed him from a distance, and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him. They said to one another: “Here comes that master dreamer! Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here; we could say that a wild beast devoured him. We shall then see what comes of his dreams.”
Genesis 37:17-20
Father, instill in our minds and hearts through Jesus your Son, that we own nothing in this world, that we are your stewards, your tenants of the vineyard; how sad and tragic when we lay claim to everything in this world even our very own life and those of others as ours alone, a private matter we alone can decide on who is to live and die; or, too much stress on privacy that this is my body that I alone can decide what to do with my body.
Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’ They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
Matthew 21:37-39
Forgive us, O Lord Jesus! So many times we have acted like those evil tenants who lacked any respect for you and others when from afar, even if we knew, we are mere stewards, we insist and poison others into thinking we can claim ownership of everything including this most precious life.
Forgive us, Lord Jesus, for our lack of respect to you and to one another; how sad that in our rampant disrespect, unknown to us, we have lost respect to our very selves too. Help us regain respect this Lent. Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the Second Week of Lent, 29 February 2024 Jeremiah 17:5-10 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 16:19-31
Photo by author in Tam-Awan Village, Baguio City, March 2018.
Teach us, Father, to realize anew our priorities in life this Lent; make us begin anew in this holy season to prioritize on you and spirituality than material things especially wealth.
Probe our hearts, O God, and remove our many attachments to things that pass and fade, that hinder us from growth and maturity, preventing us from experiencing fulfillment in you.
Thus says the Lord: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a barren bush in the desert that enjoys no change of season, but stands in a lava waste, a salt and empty earth. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit.
Jeremiah 17:5-8
When you become the priority in our lives, God, then we become more responsible with our neighbors too; we become concerned with everyone, especially the poor and those in need, we become our brother's keeper, thinking about the good of others unlike the rich man in today's parable; grant us the grace in Jesus Christ to have a heart that feels the hunger and thirst of the poor, the pains and anguish of the sick and dying, enabling us to do good in others. Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-28 ng Pebrero 2024
Larawan kuha ni G. Red Santiago ng kanyang anak, Enero 2020, Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.
Pangunahing hiling ng mga tao sa aming mga pari ay panalangin, na sila ay ipagdasal sa kanilang iba’t-ibang mga pangangailangan. Ito ay dahil inaasahan – at dapat lamang – na kaming mga pari ay palaging nananalangin.
Kaugnay nito ay madalas din silang magtanong paanong magdasal at marami pang iba’t-ibang bagay ukol sa pananalangin. Kaya sa diwa ng panahon ng Kuwaresma kung kailan tayo hinihikayat linangin ating pananalangin, narito ilang mga pagmumuni-muni ko tungkol sa pagdarasal na aking napagtanto at natutunan mula nang pumasok ako ng seminaryo noong 1991 hanggang sa maging pari ng 1998 hanggang sa ngayon.
Una, walang maituturing na dalubhasa o eksperto sa pagdarasal. Tunay nga sinabi ni San Pablo, “tinutulungan tayo ng Espiritu sa ating kahinaan. Hindi tayo marunong manalangin nang wasto, kaya’t ang Espiritu ang lumuluhog para sa atin, sa paraang di magagawa ng pananalita” (Rom. 8:26).
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela, Nobyembre 13, 2023.
Kaya naman totoo kasabihang sa oras na ikaw ay nanalangin, sinagot na rin ng Diyos iyong mga dasal kasi ikaw ay nagdarasal. Kapag tayo nagdasal, tumugon tayo sa Diyos tawag niyang makaisa Siya. Noong kami ay high school sa seminaryo, iyon unang tinuro sa amin ni Fr. Danny Delos Reyes, aming Rektor: “Prayer is talking to God who has always been speaking to man.” Kaya sa oras na tayo ay nagdasal, purihin ang Panginoon dahil tumalima tayo sa Kanya!
Higit itong totoo kapag ating binabasa at pinagninilayan ang Kanyang mga salita sa Banal na Kasulatan. Sa Banal na Kasulatan, personal nakikipag-usap sa atin ang Diyos gamit ang salita ng tao. Kaya sino mang ibig na tunay lumalim sa buhay panalanign at buhay espiritwal, kinakailangang magkaroon ng personal na bibliya at daily bible guide upang masundan mga pagbasa. Sabi ni San Geronimo, ang kamangmangan sa Banal na Kasulatan ay kamangmangan kay Kristo.”
Ikalawang katotohanang nabatid ko sa pagdarasal ay kaugnay nito: hindi tayo ang susukat at susuri ng ating pananalangin kungdi Diyos. Madalas kasi maranasan natin lalo na sa mga nagsisimula pa lamang manalangin na ikumpara ating mga pagdarasal sa bawat araw kapag ating sinasabi “bakit dati madali at magaan pakiramdam ko”, “bakit ngayon parang hirap ako magdasal” o “parang walang saysay aking pananalangin”.
Hindi madaraan sa damdamin o feelings ang pagdarasal.
Malaking pagkakamali na akalain nating mga oras na tayo ay tuwang-tuwang o masarap ang pakiramdam sa pagdarasal ay tama at wasto ang pananalangin na samakatwid ay kinasihan ng Diyos ating pagdarasal. Hindi po totoo iyan.
Magugulat pa tayo na ang katotohanan ay kabaligtaran niyan dahil kung kailan tayo hirap magdasal, mas malamang naroong tunay ang Diyos! Sabi ng aking Heswitang Spiritual Director noon sa Cebu si Fr. Shea, The most difficult prayer period is actually the most meritorious. Kapag tayo ay dumaranas ng hirap sa pagdarasal na kung tawagin ay “spiritual dryness” na parang hindi tayo pansin ng Diyos o kaya hirap lumapit sa kanya, ito ay palatandaan ng paglalim sa pananalangin. At maaring tanda ng pagkilos ng Diyos na tayo ay inaakay sa mas matalik na ugnayan sa Kanya sa larangan ng pagdarasal.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Oktubre 2022.
Ikatlo, ang pananalangin ay pakikipag-isa sa Diyos o communion. Kaya hindi naman mahalaga masabi natin lahat ng ibig natin sa Diyos kungdi higit na mahalaga ay ating mapakinggan sinasabi sa atin ng Diyos.
Kaya tayo nagdarasal hindi upang humingi ng humingi sa Diyos ng kung anu-ano kungdi upang Siya ay makaisa, malaman kanyang kalooban para sa atin. Kung tutuusin, hindi na nating kailangan pang humingi sa Diyos ng kung anu-ano dahil alam na niya pangangailangan natin.
Sapagkat alam na ng inyong Ama ang inyong kinakailangan bago pa ninyo hingin sa kanya. Ganito kayo manalangin: “Ama naming nasa langit…”
Mateo 6:8-9
Samakatwid, ang pananalangin ay upang higit nating makamit ang Diyos mismo! Siya ang dapat nating hangarin palagi sa pagdarasal, hindi mga bagay.
Kapag mahal mo sino mang tao, palagi mo siyang kinakausap, sinasamahan upang makapiling. Siya ang ibig mo, hindi gamit o pera o kayamanan niya. Ganoon din sa pananalangin – kung mahal nating tunay ang Diyos, mananalangin tayo palagi sa kanya upang sa tuwina Siya ay makapiling.
Larawan kuha ni Bb. JJ Jimeno sa Holy Sacrifice Parish, UP Diliman, QC, Mayo 2019.
Ikaapat, ang mga bumabagabag sa ating pagdarasal ay hindi tukso mula sa demonyo kungdi mas malamang, mga tulong at gabay ng Espiritu Santo tungo sa higit na mabungang pagdarasal.
Napansin ko iyan noong dati na kapag ako ay bagabag o aligaga sa pagdarasal, kung anu-anong pumapasok sa aking isipan, kadalasan ang mga iyon ay isyu sa aking sarili na pilit ko iniiwasan o binabale-wala; sa pagdarasal, lumalantad mga iyon na tila baga sinasabi ng Diyos sa atin, harapin mga isyu natin sa sarili bago Siya matatagpuan.
Hindi istorbo ang pagsagi ng sino mang kaaway sa iyong pagdarasal kungdi paanyaya na ayusin inyong di pagkakaunawaan. Kung palaging laman ng iyong isipan ay kahalayan o karangayaan o ano pa man, ang mga iyan ay isyu na dapat mong pagdasalan upang maharap at malunasan.
Hindi nating mararanasan ang Diyos nang lubusan sa pagdarasal habang tayo ay puno ng maraming bara sa espiritu at kaluluwa tulad ng mga tao na mayroon tayong problema, mga nararamdamang poot at galit, kahalayan at iba pang mga pagnanasa. Alisin muna mga bara sa ating espritu at kaluluwa, maginhawang dadaloy biyaya ng Espiritu Santo sa ating sarili at buhay.
At ikalima, ang pananalangin ay disiplina. Dahil ang pagdarasal ay pagpapahayag ng ating ugnayan at relasyon sa Diyos, kailangan nating maging tapat sa pakikipagtagpo sa Kanya.
Tulad ng mga magsing-ibig, magkaroon ng regularidad na pakikipagtagpo sa Diyos sa panalangin. Huwag humanap ng panahon bagkus gumawa ng panahon gaya ng ating gawi sa mahal natin sa buhay. Iyon ang nawika ng lobo sa Little Prince na kung regular silang magtatagpo tuwing alas-4:00 ng hapon, alas-3:30 pa lamang ng hapon aniya ay mananabik na siya!
Nasa ating sarili kung anong oras tayo makapagdarasal. Ang mahalaga ay kaya nating pangatawanan ano mang oras ating itakda para sa Panginoon.
Pati ang lunan din ay mainam na regular. Napansin ko ito nang maging pari ako, ilang ulit ako bumalik sa Jesuit Retreat House sa Cebu kung saan kami nag-30 day retreat noong 1995 bago magthird year sa theology. Pinilit kong magdasal sa ibang bahagi ng retreat house na hinangad kong pagdasalan noon pero hindi ako napalagay. Ngunit nang manalangin ako sa dating mga lugar na kung saan ako nagdasal noong 1995, sadya namang “mabunga” ika nga sa ilang ulit na balik ko doon noong 2002, 2003 at 2004. Ganoon din karanasan ko nang lumipat ako sa Sacred Heart Novitiate sa Novaliches para sa taunang personal retreat ko mula 2015.
Alalaong-baga, mayroon tayong isang “Bethel” tulad ni Jacob kung saan nagpakilala sa kanya ang Diyos nang tumatakas siya noon sa kanyang kapatid na si Esau (Gen. 28:10-22) at naiman na manatali doon hanggat hindi tayo inaaya ng Panginoon sa ibang lugar.
Hangga’t maari tungkol sa lunan ng pananalangin, piliin yaong tahimik at angkop sa pagdarasal tulad ng simbahan o adoration chapel kung saan maaring magdasal sa harapan ng Santisimo Sakramento.
Bilang pangwakas, alalahaning palagi na personal nakikipag-ugnayan sa atin ang Diyos kaya personal din tayo tumugon sa Kanyang paanyayang makipag-ugnayan tulad ng ginagawa natin sa sino mang kapwa natin.
Sa lahat ng ugnayan mayroon tayo, bukod tanging ang sa Diyos ang pinakamabuti sa lahat dahil kailanman hindi Niya tayo iiwanan at tatalikuran. Diyos lang tanging nagmamahal sa atin ng tunay kaya binigay Niya sa Atin bugtong Niyang Anak na si Jesus na naglapit sa atin sa Kanya sa pamamagitan ng Espiritu Santo. Sana nakatulong mga ito sa inyong pagdarasal. Kung hindi naman, ay huwag nang pansinin. Sumulat kayo sa akin dito o sa aking email para sa karagdagang mga katanungan o paliwanag (lordmychef@gmail.com).
Patuloy manalangin at yumabong sa Panginoon natin! Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday in the Second Week of Lent, 28 February 2024 Jeremiah 18:18-20 <*[[[[>< + + + ><]]]]*> Matthew 20:17-28
Photo by author, Dominus Flevit Church in Jerusalem, 2017.
Lord God our Father, your words today are too heavy, so difficult to grasp as they seem to be totally unrelated with each other until they showed me a frightening reality - that Lent is facing rejection, of hearing our enemies speak strongly against us.
The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem said, “Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah. It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests nor of counsel from the wise nor of messages from the prophets. And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue; let us carefully note his every word.”
Jeremiah 18:18
Photo by author, near the Dead Sea, May 2017.
Like Jeremiah, so many times we have cried to you his very same words, "Must good be repaid with evil that they should dig a pit to take my life?" (Jeremiah 18:20).
In the gospel today, the other ten disciples heard the mother of James and John asking Jesus to sit her sons on his right and his left in his kingdom, making them "indignant" of their fellow disciples baring their selfish plans before their faces to supersede them, to outsmart them.
Photo by author, Benguet, 12 July 2023.
Many times, O Lord, it happens to us, when before us those we consider as friends, as colleagues have motives of getting ahead of us, of dominating us, of ruling over us.
It is painful and sickening of how people are preoccupied with themselves like the enemies of Jeremiah and the brothers James and John!
Remind us, Jesus, that we only share in your grace of being saved, of being redeemed as beloved children of the Father; when we hear harsh, nasty words against us; when people are so hard against us for whatever reasons; when people compete with us if there is no competition at all; when we are face-to-face with rejections, let us hold on more to you, Lord; in your kindness, save us!
Photo by Ms. Jo Villafuerte in Atok, Benguet, 01 September 2019.
Help me, Jesus, to be your faithful servant, called to serve not to be served; called to ministry not to me-nistry of popularity; most of all, let me be anchored in your Cross, of being like you, obedient to the Father for his glory. Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday in the Second Week of Lent, 27 February 2024 Isaiah 1;10, 16-20 <*[[[[>< + + + ><]]]]*> Matthew 23:1-12
Praise and glory to you, God our Father, for this Season of Lent! Though it is characterized with sobriety due to the the spirit of penance, you have ensured it not to be dull nor drab with the joy of Easter we all anticipate. And so, what a joy to listen to your words today of the bursts of reds you promised to cleanse and turn into white as snow.
Come now, let us set things right, says the Lord. Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool.
Isaiah 1:18
Your words make me wonder, Lord, why sins be like scarlet and crimson? Could it be because both shades evoke power we humans always abuse that consciously or unconsciously, we draw blood that in the process take life of others because of our sinful desires and schemes; forgive us, O Lord, for our hypocrisies that have killed others literally and figuratively.
In Jesus' name, help us, O God to "set things right", to be true and humble before you for "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:12); let us set things right by being fair and just especially to those weak and marginalized; let us set things right by giving back what we have stolen from others; let us set things right by being concerned with others through love and good works that uplift people physically, morally, and spiritually. Amen.
Photo by Ms. Ria De Vera in Calgary, Alberta, 21 February 2024.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday in the Second Week of Lent, 26 February 2024 Daniel 9:4-10 <*((((>< + + + ><))))*> Luke 6:36-38
Thank you, Lord, "great and awesome God" (Daniel 9:4) for another month about to end as we entered the second week in Lent; by this time, let us feel more your mercy and forgiveness, your immense love despite our repeated sins that have actually habitual to many of us.
Like Daniel your prophet, make us "shamefaced" before you instead of being shameless.
Justice, O Lord, is on your side; we are shamefaced even to this day: we, the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel, near and far, in all the countries to which you have scattered them because of their treachery toward you. O Lord, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers, for having sinned against you.
Daniel 9:7-8
Before we can be merciful as you are merciful dear Father according to Jesus Christ, let us be shamefaced first of all for our sinfulness; many of us have lost that sense of sinfulness, becoming shameless and so thick-faced that saying it in Tagalog is best, "makapal ang mukha".
This Lent, teach us to be ashamed of our sins and iniquities; teach us to let go of our many excuses and alibis that only make our face grow thicker like the soles of our feet; make us realize the more shame we put on our selves when we feel so self-righteous that we have no room to be kind and understanding, even caring and forgiving of others.
This Lent, let us start being shamefaced, of having a healthy mistrust of our selves so that we begin to trust you more, O Lord, and become like you, loving and merciful, and eventually a vessel of your blessings for others. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 25 February 2024
Photo from petalrepublic.com.
It is the last Sunday in February, the second in the Season of Lent and most likely, everybody is feeling like “suddenly” the month is over with everything happening so fast just like in the song Yesterday by the Beatles.
Released in 1965 from their album Help!, Yesterday was actually written by Paul McCartney after a dream while staying with his former girlfriend, Jane Asher. It is a sad love song that speaks, as usual, of break-up.
The lyrics and music are simple that McCartney had to research for sometime if he had copied its melody from an existing music at that time. But, its simplicity and eloquence caught so many generations then and now as the song speaks so well of everyone’s experience. Yesterday one of the most covered songs of all time, being interpreted by almost every artist in all continents over 2000 times since its release!
What I wish to share with you this lovely Sunday is my realization that aside from old music getting better with age as it takes on a life of its own, there is also a simultaneous change and maturity among us listeners and fans of our favorite artists and bands of their music.
I practically grew up listening to the music of the Beatles, being born in 1965, the same year Yesterday was released. I have never understood all their songs but growing up at that time surrounded by their music, I have also fallen in love with the sound of Beatles like most of my generation.
And now, I just felt everything so “suddenly” too, of how fast time flies that indeed, “I’m not half the man I used to be”!
Yesterday all my trouble seemed so far away Now it looks as though they're here to stay Oh I believe in yesterday
Suddenly I'm not half the man I used to be There's a shadow hanging over me Oh yesterday came suddenly
It was that line that actually moved me to link Yesterday with the transfiguration of Jesus, “Suddenly I’m not half the man I used to be.”
The lesson is very simple but many times, it could take us a lifetime learning or realizing. Most of all, accepting and owning.
Like the road to Easter, our lives are always marked with so many light and darkness, failures and triumphs, tears and laughter, even little deaths. Jesus tells us in his transfiguration that the scandal of the Cross cannot be removed from the glory of his Resurrection. There can be no Easter Sunday without Good Friday.
The good news is that in every passages in life we go through, every difficulty we hurdle, every pain and sufferings we endure, we always emerge a different person after – not half the man I used to be.
Of course, it still depends on us if we become better or bitter with every pain we go through. But, like the song Yesterday that went through a long process of ups and downs even before being recorded and released, it had emerged a very great music, a classic in our own time.
How consoling to think that great men and women, like McCartney and all the other artists we look up to went through a lot of troubles in life and have emerged better and wiser as persons.
And that’s because Jesus Christ was there first to suffer and die for us so that when he rose again from the dead, we too shall rise with him. Have a blessed week ahead, folks!
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Sunday Recipe for the Soul, Lent II-B, 25 February 2024 Genesis 22:1-2, 9, 10-13, 15-18 ><}}}}*> Romans 8:31-34 ><}}}}*> Mark 9:2-10
Photo by Ms. Analyn Dela Torre, 12 February 2024 in Bgy. Caypombo, Santa Maria, Bulacan.
While praying our gospel this Second Sunday in Lent, the song Yesterday by the Beatles kept playing at the back of my mind, especially the first two stanzas that say:
Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they're here to stay. Oh, I believe in yesterday.
Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be. There's a shadow hanging over me. Oh, yesterday came suddenly.
Written by Paul McCartney and recorded by the Beatles in 1965, Yesterday is a sad love song about break up that greatly changed the lost lover who was “Suddenly, I’m not half the man I used to be.”
Beautiful music, beautiful lyrics on this beautiful Sunday with another beautiful gospel as Mark leads us from the wilderness last week to Mount Tabor with Jesus Christ and his three disciples whose experiences were like the Beatles in Yesterday.
Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Mark 9:2-3
Basilica of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor, Israel from custodia.org.
See how the three apostles were overjoyed with the sight of Jesus transfigured, conversing with Moses and Elijah with Peter feeling so “high” that he offered to make three tents for them to remain there. It was the same experience of joy in the Beatles’ Yesterday when McCartney had that great feeling of being loved he thought would last forever.
But,both moments of joy were so brief with the transfiguration cut off immediately after Peter had spoken while McCartney felt his troubles came “suddenly”.
Like his account of Christ’s temptation last Sunday, Mark’s version of the transfiguration is so short unlike those by Matthew and Luke; however, Mark never lost attention to important details that showed the solemnity of the scene from start to finish despite a sudden shift in the mood as they went down the mountain.
As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant.
Mark 9:9-10
For Mark, the transfiguration of Jesus led the disciples to deepen their faith in Jesus amid his growing mystery especially in the light of his oft-repeated Passion, Death and Resurrection, as if telling us of the many troubles ahead on the road to Easter.
Hence, it is no coincidence that like the transfiguration, Mark ended abruptly his gospel account when Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome saw an angel who spoke to them inside the empty tomb of Jesus very early on Easter: Then they went out and fled from the tomb, seized with trembling and bewilderment. They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid (Mk. 16:8). Both in the transfiguration and in the Resurrection, the disciples were dared to reflect deeply on those events that later enabled them to make a firm response in their faith in Christ.
Mosaic inside the Basilica of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor, Israel from commons.wikimedia.org..
The same thing applies to us today. Many troubles lie ahead our lives, inviting us to follow Jesus more closely in prayers and reflections to find the meanings and lessons of life’s light and darkness, joy and sadness, triumph and defeat, even of death that keep on hovering above us, even enveloping us at times. We need to deepen our faith in God who had sent us his Son Jesus never stops doing to be our companion in this journey of life especially when we are passing through mountains and valleys, rivers and seas. In the song Yesterday, McCartney sang of our most common experience of having loved and lost yet taught us so much lessons in life. And music.
One thing was clear with the Apostles – and McCartney too – that even though troubles and problems were always with them along the way, they just lived through it and made the most out of them like the Church, including a classic love song!
How about us today, what is our faith response to the many darkness and light we have gone through in life’s journey?
Photo by Roger Buendia/Presidential Museum and Library via esquiremag.ph.
It is always easy to blame others for our many woes in life as we fail to see our own moments of transfiguration. Jesus gifts us with a personal transfiguration event to make us better to be like him but, do we welcome or, run away from them?
Today is the 38th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution when we must ask ourselves how we have personally responded to that great moment of grace from God, a transfiguration in itself, a pasch like the Lord’s. Have we truly valued EDSA 1986, until now?
How unfortunate that EDSA now stands for everything that is wrong with us, especially our wrong choices and wrong decisions in the past 38 years. EDSA invites us to examine our very selves as a Filipino and as a Christian, a disciple of Christ.
Photo from iStockphoto.com of Mount Tabor in Israel where Jesus is believed to have transfigured.
At his transfiguration, Jesus showed the inseparability of the mystery of the Cross and of his glory on Easter, the closeness of Mount Tabor with Golgotha. The mountain in the bible is always a coming to God, a communion in him.
Every nature lover knows very well the mountain is life itself, difficult to climb, easy to descend. Here now is the beautiful part of the gospel. And song Yesterday. Mountains surely change us but the choice is ours if we want to become better or bitter.
Set on what is believed to be Mount Tabor, the transfiguration was a passage, a foretaste of Christ’s pasch that not only brought him to his glory but transformed too the whole human race and the world itself. In the same manner, McCartney expressed poetically in Yesterday his transformation when “Suddenly, I’m not half the man I used to be.”
From en.wikipedia.org.
This is the good news of this Sunday: every mountain in life is a grace of transfiguration, of being better persons than before. We never come out – or down – the same persons every time we enter through whatever passages or climb any mountain in life. We are always changed, we always emerge different than who we were before after each passages we came through in life.
God gives us the grace and power to choose to be better and stronger, wiser and holier than bitter or resentful with every trials we hurdle in life. This was the experience of Abraham in the first reading when he completely trusted God who asked him to offer his son Isaac on a mountain. It was a very tough test for Abraham who waited in his old age to have a son only to be sacrificed later? But Abraham never doubted God that he still went up the mountain, and as he was about to sacrifice Isaac, an angel stopped him, telling him how God was so delighted with his faith and obedience that he was eventually blessed abundantly after.
Each of us is passing through different trials at this very moment. Many times we feel we suffer more than others, that our tests are tougher than the rest. It is useless and a waste of time to compare ourselves with others. One thing is clear: God does not stop doing something good for us in Jesus, ensuring we get better each day than yesterday. Let the words of St. Paul today assure us that “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not give us everything else along with him? (Rom. 8:31-32)” Have a blessed week ahead, fellow traveler in Christ! Let us pray:
God our loving Father, thank you for the gift of this Season of Lent so we may experience more your Son Jesus Christ's coming to us in this journey of life, our companion amid the darkness and light and many troubles including the little deaths we experience in life; give us the faith and trust of Abraham to offer you those dearest to us because if ever you ask something from us, it is to make more room in ourselves for your abounding grace and gifts of transformation in Christ Jesus with Mary, our Lady of Fatima. Amen.
This Sunday, 25 February 2024, is also the Canonical Coronation of the National Pilgrim Image of Fatima here in Valenzuela City, the very image raised at EDSA in 1986. Photo from cbcp.net.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday in the First Week of Lent, 23 February 2024 Ezekiel 18:21-28 <*[[[[>< + + + ><]]]]*> Matthew 5:20-26
“Water Lilies” (1916-1919) painting by Frenchman Claude Monet from lopificio.it
As we come to close the first week of Lent today, your words in our Responsorial Psalm are so true, O God because nothing can be hidden from you, “If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?”
Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
Matthew 5:23-24
When does a "brother has anything against us", Lord Jesus?
The Filipino translation “kung may sama ng loob sa iyo ang iyong kapatid” implies the problem lies with the brother, not us; but, here you are telling us we are the offender, who are obliged, even ought to be “reconciled with him first then offer your gift” as we are the guilty one!
Forgive us for acting immaturely clean and innocent when our feuds and animosities with others are due to our pretending to be the offended ones when in fact, we are the offender.
Let us get real with ourselves beginning this Lent for we can never fool you, God our Father.
“When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die. But if the wicked, turning from wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life; since he has turned away from all the sins that he committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.”
Ezekiel 18:26-28
Thank you dear Father for being true with us always that we may also get real with you and everybody else. Amen.
Lawiswis Ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-22 ng Pebrero 2024
Larawan kuha ni Stefano Rellandini ng Reuters sa Manila Cathedral, Enero 15, 2015. Binatikos at binash (dapat lang) ng mga netizens mga pari noong Misa ni Papa Francisco sa Manila Cathedral nang mapansing walang tigil nilang pagkuha ng mga video at larawan, di alintana kasagraduhan ng Banal na Misa.
Ang demonyong cellphone palaging nasa loob ng simbahan hindi upang magsimba o manalangin kungdi upang tayo ay linlangin mawala tuon at pansin sa Diyos na lingid sa atin, unti-unti na nating ipinagpapalit sa demonyong cellphone na halos sambahin natin!
At iyan ang pinakamalupit na panunukso sa atin ngayon ng demonyong cellphone na ating pahalagahan mismo sa loob ng simbahan habang nagdiriwang ng Banal na Misa at iba pang mga Sakramento gaya ng pag-iisang dibdib ng mga magsing-ibig!
Isang kalapastanganan hindi namamalayan ng karamihan sa kanya-kanyang katuwiran gaya ng emergency, importanteng text o tawag na inaabangan, higit sa lahat, remembrance ng pagdiriwang: nakalimutan dahilan ng paqsisimba pagpapahayag ng pananampalataya sa Diyos na hindi tayo pababayaan kailanman; kung gayon, bakit hindi maiwanan sa tahanan o patayin man lamang o i-silent sa bag at bulsa ang demonyong cellphone?
Hindi man natin aminin ang demonyong cellphone ang pinapanginoon, pinagkakatiwalaan ng karamihan kaysa Diyos at kapwa-tao natin kaya pilit pa ring dadalhin, gagamitin sa pagsisimba at pananalangin!
Kung tunay ngang Diyos ang pinanaligan habang ating pamilya at mga kaibigan ang pinahahalagahan, bakit hinahayaang mahalinhan ating buong pansin ng pag-atupag sa demonyong cellphone tangan natin?
Pagmasdan sa mga kasalan sa halip ating maranasan kahulugan ng pagdiriwang, kagandahan at busilak ng lahat, asahan aagaw ng eksena demonyong cellphone kahit mayroong mga retratista naatasang kunan at ingatan makasaysayang pagtataling-puso kung saan tayo inanyayahan upang ipanalangin na pagtibayin pagmamahalan haggang kamatayan na ating tuluyang nakalimutan matapos tayo ay nalibang at nalinlang ng demonyong cellphone.
Sa bingit ng kamatayan naroon ating "last temptation" ng demonyo sa anyo pa rin ay cellphone upang sa halip na ipanalangin naghihingalong mahal natin, demonyong cellphone pa rin sa kahuli-hulihan ang hawak habang kinukunan huling sandali ng pagpanaw Diyos na ating kaligtasan, tinalikuran!
lordmychef.com 