Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-02 ng Disyembre 2025
Larawan kuha ng may-akda sa San Fernando, Pampanga, Nobyembre 2021.
Napansin ko lang kakaiba itong kapaskuhang darating: tahimik si Jose Mari Chan at inagawan ng eksena ng mga mandarambong sa pamahalaan at kongreso na hanggang ngayon nagtuturuan, nagtatakipan habang pinagpipilitan ng isang ginang kakasya raw ang limang-daang piso upang makapag-diwang ng noche buena sa bisperas ng Pasko ang pamilyang Pilipino.
Kaya sumagi sa aking alaala pamaskong awiting aking kinalakhan:
Kay sigla ng gabi, ang lahat ay kay saya Nagluto ang ate ng manok na tinola Sa bahay ng kuya ay mayroong litsonan pa Ang bawat tahanan, may handang iba't-iba
Tayo na, giliw, magsalo na tayo Mayroon na tayong tinapay at keso 'Di ba Noche Buena sa gabing ito? At bukas ay araw ng Pasko
Mga ginigiliw, atin nang mapagtatanto sa awiting ito diwa ng Pasko: ating pagsasalu-salo ng mga kaloob na biyaya at pagpapala na sinasagisag ng noche buena ng pagkakatawang-tao ni Jesu-Kristo noong Pasko; ngunit, paano nga kung sa halip na tulungan lalo mga maliliit tugon ng pamahalaan ay bigyan ng presyo natatanging pagsasalo-salo ng Pilipino tuwing Pasko?
Narito naman makabagong awiting pamasko naghahayag na walang tatalo sa Pasko sa Pilipinas:
May tatalo pa ba sa Pasko ng 'Pinas? Ang kaligayahan nati'y walang kupas 'Di alintana kung walang pera Basta't tayo'y magkakasama Ibang-iba talaga ang Pasko sa 'Pinas
May simpleng regalo na si Ninong at si Ninang Para sa inaanak na nag-aabang Ang buong pamilya ay magkakasama sa paggawa ng Christmas tree Ayan na ang barkada, ikaw ay niyayaya para magsimbang gabi
Muli mga ginigiliw sa saliw ng awiting ito madarama natin diwa at tuwa ng Pasko: wala naman sa handang noche buena ito kungdi sa samahan at pagbubuklod ng pamilya at magkakaibigan katulad ng pagkakatawang-tao ni Jesu-Kristo na pumarito upang tubusin tayo sa ating mga kasalanan at mapunan ating kakulangan ng kanyang kaganapan sa pagmamahalan.
Subalit kay hirap maramdaman pagmamahal ni malasakit nino man tulad ng mga nasa kapangyarihan animo mga maligno at impakto ng mga ghost project kaya Biyernes Santo hindi Pasko pakiramdam ngayon ng maraming Pilipino: wala ang mga ginigiliw na ate at kuya may handang iba't-iba dahil sila ay mga nagsipag-OFW na habang ang mga buwitre at buwaya sa Kongreso nagpapasasa sa kaban ng bayan mula sa dugo at pawis ng mga mamamayan na pinagtitiis sa limang-daang pisong noche buena na kahuluga'y "mabuting gabi" nang pahalagahan ng Diyos ang tao sa pagsusugo niya ng Kristo na patuloy sumisilang sa puso ng bawat nilalang tuwing nagmamahalan at nagbabahaginan na pinapaging-ganap sa hapag ng pakikinabang ng Banal na Misa hanggang sa mesa ng bawat pamilya.
Ngunit papaano na kung pera hindi kakasya sa noche buena? Iyan ang masaklap at nakasusuklam ng limang-daang pisong noche buena: hindi ang halaga ng pera kungdi kawalan ng pagpapahalaga nitong nasa pamahalaan sa dangal ng bawat isa lalo ng mga maliliit at aba na sa halip tulungan maka-ahon o maibsan kanilang hirap at gutom sila pa nga ay ibinaon sa presyo na pang galunggong hindi hamon!
Kaya nakakamiss sa gitna ng nakakainis na mga balita si Jose Mari Chan sa kanyang awiting pamasko na maalala nating palagi Sanggol na sumilang sa Bethlehem sa tuwing masilayan mukha ng bawat kapwa nang walang pasubali hindi sa halaga ng salapi!
Whenever I see girls and boys Selling lanterns on the streets I remember the Child In the manger, as he sleeps Wherever there are people Giving gifts, exchanging cards I believe that Christmas Is truly in their hearts
Let's light our Christmas trees For a bright tomorrow Where nations are at peace And all are one in God
Let's sing Merry Christmas And a happy holiday This season may we never forget The love we have for Jesus Let Him be the one to guide us As another new year starts And may the spirit of Christmas Be always in our hearts
Ngayong Pasko marami ang wala maski limang daang piso at marahil itutulog na lang ang noche buena; tayo nawa maging dahilan ng "mabuting gabi" nila upang tunay nilang maranasan pagsilang ng Kristo sa kumakalam nilang tiyan at sikmura.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda sa Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga, Nobyembre 2022.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Cycle C, 12January 2025 Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 ><}}}*> Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7 ><}}}*> Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
Photo by author, San Fernando, Pampanga, November 2021.
Today is your last chance to greet “Merry Christmas” the people you have forgotten as well as claim your gifts from Santa because this Sunday’s “Feast of the Lord’s Baptism” closes the Christmas Season.
The Lord’s Baptism shows us that Jesus did not remain an infant on the manger in Bethlehem nor a child in Nazareth. It is sad to note both the religious and secular emphasis on this child imagery of Christ have reinforced the notion among people that Christmas is for children and a time for adults to return to the innocence and joy of their childhood.
Jesus grew up and matured into an adult on a mission from the Father to save us that led to His Passion, Death and Resurrection at Easter. Through our baptism in becoming the children of God, Jesus invites us to continue His Christmas story by maturing in our faith, hope and love in Him by embracing His Cross that His Baptism anticipated.
This Sunday Feast of the Lord’s Baptism is a coming to full circle of last week’s Epiphany into a theophany. Yes, they sound Greek because both are from the Greek words “epiphanes” and “theophanes”.
Epiphany is Jesus manifesting Himself to all nations through the Magi as the King of kings last Sunday; today, it is God the Father who recognizes Jesus as His Christ, His Anointed One with the voice declaring as a theophany, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Lk.3:22).
Every morning as we wake up is a theophany with God telling us “You are my beloved child; with you I am well pleased.” Three things I wish to share with you for us to hear God’s daily theophany and fulfill our mission as baptized children of the Father.
Photo by author, sunrise in Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.
First, let us recognize and affirm our being, identity, and existence. Many times, we are more of a “zombie” than a human person who can’t find life nor experience living at all, wasting precious time to be somebody else, living in the past or living in the future.
When Luke noted “The people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah”(Lk.3:15), he wished to inform us how the people at that time recognized and admitted they were sinners, that they were broken, that they were sick physically, emotionally and spiritually as they all affirmed their need for salvation. They accepted and owned the realities of their lives that they needed God, they needed the Christ whom they thought was John the Baptizer.
The Baptism of Christ by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Detail of dome mosaic in the Battistero Neoniano (Orthodox Baptistery) in Ravenna, dating from 451-75. On lower right is a personification of the Jordan River as an old man rising from the water, holding a reed in one hand and offering a garment to Christ in the other. The right arm and dish of John the Baptist, the dove, and Christ’s head are 18th- and 19th-century restorations; the rest is original.
Even John the Baptizer is presented by Luke as also so sure of who he was as the precursor of the Messiah. Among the expectant people and John, we realize that indeed, growth happens the moment we accept who we are.
Examine the testimonies of many devotees of the Nazareno at Quiapo, of how they support each other in their woes and sufferings in life that we find a sort of theophanies by God, something like what we have heard from the first reading today, “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God”(Is.40:1). That comfort, that salvation, happened right there and then, in the now and not in a distant future.
Despite my “dislike” for their attitudes during the Traslacion, devotees of the Nazareno have always amazed me for daring to be truthful and honest with themselves, admitting their own sinfulness and weaknesses as they recognized too their need for help and most especially of their desire for God. This desire for God and admission of one’s sinfulness are very crucial to experience and hear God’s daily theophanies to us.
Photo by Mr. Jay Javier, 09 January 2019.
Second, for us to hear God’s theophany, we need to imitate Jesus Christ in taking the downward movement in life. His baptism at Jordan clearly illustrates this with His coming down to the Jordan valley through the mountains that evoked His own coming down from heaven to be born here on earth, in Bethlehem.
What is so beautiful with Jesus Christ’s downward movement is essentially a being with the sinful, the sick, the rejected, the marginalized, the poor, and those considered dirty. From being purely clean and sinless, Jesus took all our dirt to be cleansed like Him. Such is the kindness of God that Paul speaks today to Titus “so that we might become heirs in hope of eternal life”(Titus 3:7).
Our world today teaches us the opposite direction Jesus Christ had taken by climbing up the pinnacle of success, of good life, of supremacy, of power, of everything! They call it “upward mobility” that has prompted everyone even those in the Church to join the rat race for being rich and famous, of being somebody, putting on masks and taking more of the goods the world offers until we get lost in misery finding no meaning at all with one’s self because we thought life is “up there.”
Jesus Christ is not up there but down here, in our very selves, in our very hearts filled and battered with our many agonies and failures, hurts and pains, weaknesses and sins. Look down more into our very selves to find Jesus in our dirt and miseries which is the message of Jesus Nazareno.
Observe all those interviewed in Quiapo have only one prayer – well-being of a loved one. They never asked to be rich or have money. Just heal a sick child or parent was the most requested prayer of devotees. Our favorite Pope Benedict XVI explained this downward movement so well:
To accept the invitation to be baptized now means to go to the place of Jesus’ Baptism. It is to go where he identifies himself with us and to receive there our identification with him. The point where he anticipates death has now become the point where we anticipate rising again with him (Jesus of Nazareth, page 18).
Photo by author, sunset in Liputan Island, Meycauayan City, Bulacan 31 December 2022.
Last but not least for our reflection is something very peculiar with Luke alone: the theophany of Jesus happened not right after His baptism but while He was praying, “After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove”(Lk.3:21-22).
In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke recorded the Pentecost happened while the Apostles with the Blessed Mother Mary were all praying when the Holy Spirit descended upon them like tongues of fires which is similar with what took place at Jesus’ Baptism. In all books of the whole Bible, divine revelation is always preceded with prayer. As we shall see this year when Luke guides us every Sunday with his gospel account, he is the one who portrayed Jesus most in prayer than any of the other evangelists.
Photo by author, Garden of Gethsemane, the Holy Land, May 2017.
If we want to hear God’s theophanies to us, let us handle life with prayer which is more of listening and being one with God. Begin and end each day with prayer. There is no other way to hear God’s voice, to hear Him affirming us, to know His plans for us until we are one with with Jesus in prayer.
In His baptism at Jordan, Jesus Christ as the Second Person in the Holy Trinity prayed not because He needed something from the Father but because He is one with Him in the Holy Spirit. That was when the Father affirmed Him as the Christ being sent on a mission.
Through the Sacrament of Baptism we have received, we are reminded today of God’s anointing of each of us as His beloved child. May we heed His voice and be one with Him for a more blessed 2025 ahead of us as we begin Ordinary Time tomorrow. Have a blessed week. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday After the Epiphany, 10 January 2025 1 John 5:5-13 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 5:12-16
Photo by author, Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2025.
(Hello my dear friends and relatives, especially followers: still, a blessed Merry Christmas to you all! I have gone to an extended vacation for much needed rest and recreation; haven’t been writing at all to truly enjoy the rare cold weather and new sites I have been to. See you soon and God bless you always!)
How fast time flies, Lord Jesus! It is again the new year and soon, January will be over; as I look back to 2024, You were always there with me, for me, as You never left me, Lord; like in our gospel today, many times You made ways to meet me head on, dear Jesus; how lovely to remember and to keep in mind and heart how You, dear Jesus, would echo my prayers, my silent wishes and desires.
It happened there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was; and when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded to him, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do will it. Be made clean.” And the leprosy left him immediately (Luke 5:12-13).
Many times, I meet You Jesus when I am most dirty, most embarrassing, most shameful, when I am like a leper - sick and lost, rejected by everyone, dejected in myself; still, You were there with your outstretched arms, touching me, embracing me.
Most of all, echoing my very words, my silent wishes, my cries.
When You echo my words, my thoughts and my feelings that many times I am afraid to speak out loudly, I feel so free and liberated from my own leprosy; when You echo my words, You assure me You always listen; when You echo my words, You answer my prayers, dear Jesus.
And so, I pray today Jesus that in my very self I may echo Your loving presence to those most in need, to those forgotten and taken for granted. Amen.
Photo by author, Northern Blossom Farm, Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, 01 January 2025 Numbers 6:22-27 + Galatians 4:4-7 + Luke 2:16-21
Photo by author, sunrise in Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.
Still a blessed Merry Christmas to everyone! Please, do not dilute the blessedness of this first day of 2025 with the very secular and empty greeting of Happy New Year. Our first reading says it all how God wants us to be blessed not just happy throughout 2025.
It is still the Christmas season until January 12 when we close it with the Baptism of the Lord. Continue greeting one another with a Merry Christmas because it is also a prayerful wish of blessedness to everyone. Forget that happy new year greeting as well as that inclusive greeting of happy holidays because we are celebrating the birth of the Son of God Jesus Christ who became human like us so that we can be divine like Him.
The Lord said to Moses: “Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: This is how you shall bless the Israelite. Say to them: ‘The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!'” (Numbers 6:22-26)
Photo from Tetra Images/Getty Images, mosaic of Virgin Mary and Jesus in the Haghia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey.
That is why on this eighth day since His birth (octave) that falls on January first, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God not the start of a new year as most people wrongly believe.
We honor Mary on this eighth day of Christmas because she is the image of true blessedness. Recall how Elizabeth was the first to call her “blessed among all women” during the Visitation because “she believed the words spoken to her would be fulfilled.” Mary showed us that true blessedness is not found in money and material things or those of the world like fame and popularity. From the Annunciation to the Nativity until finally there on the Cross on Good Friday and later in the beginnings of the Church, Mary affirmed that true blessedness is having God in our hearts by believing in Him, trusting Him, loving Him, serving Him through one another by cooperating in His plans for us.
Photo by author, Angel of Peace Chapel, RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, 25 December 2024.
Mary was truly blessed of all women because she was chosen by God to be the Mother of the Christ not because of any special characteristics but because of His own goodness and immense love. This we find clearly in the first reading when God freely gave his blessings to all people to all time, instructing Moses and Aaron of how they should bless the people. St. Paul wrote it so well in the second reading, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman” (Gal.4:4) to show that we need not do anything at all for we cannot earn – not even Mary the Mother of Jesus Christ – God’s blessings and favors.
As a gift freely given, God’s blessings of which Jesus is the greatest must always be received and appreciated by the recipients, us! In blessing us, we have become more like God as the “Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!” (Nm.6:25).
What a beautiful prayer of blessing that God’s face may shine on us. Imagine Mary as the Mother of Jesus truly the first human on whom God’s face literally first shone as she was the first along with Joseph and then the shepherds to have seen the Son of God who became human. However, that blessing of God’s face shining on us can only happen if like Mary we also cooperate with His grace.
To let God’s face to shine on us means fulfillment, that is, eternal life which is to experience God and His presence even in our finite world. Right in our modern time, we can feel God’s blessings still being poured out especially as we remember Pope Benedict XVI’s death on December 31, 2022. Here is indeed a great human, like Mary who kept reflecting in her heart the word of God.
Photo by author, Angel of Peace Chapel, RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, 25 December 2024.
As he approached death, Pope Benedict still wrote and spoke so much about God and His importance and relevance to our modern times. In fact, he said “the face of God” is eternal life “where God is always new” because “with God there is perpetual, unending encounter, with new discoveries and new joy” as he explained to Peter Seewald in 2016.
Truly a holy and blessed man, Pope Benedict said this may sound very theological but on the human level, it is something we always experience as we approach old age when we look forward to meeting our own family and friends who have gone ahead of us.
That is when we truly experience peace within us when we look with gratitude to the past and with joyful expectation to the future, not seeking anymore anything for ourselves because we are contented. All we have in our hearts are joy and wonder because of Jesus so alive within us like Mary His Mother.
At the start of this new year, let us discard those pagan practice of lighting fireworks and firecrackers to drive away evil spirits long ago driven away by Christ. Let us imitate Mary by being silent in prayers, keeping everything in her heart, reflecting where God is leading us this 2025. Stay blessed this new year with Mary by having only Jesus, always Jesus in your heart. Amen. God bless you always!
Photo by author, sunset in Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.
The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Our Christmas Homily, 25 December 2024 Isaiah 52:7-10 ><}}}}*> Hebrews 1:1-6 ><}}}}*> John 1:1-18
From LDS_Believer on X, 23 December 2016.
A blessed merry Christmas to you and your loved ones! On this most joyous season of the year that is also the most commercialized, let us reflect about gift-giving.
During Christmas, I hear a lot of people complaining of finding it difficult in giving gifts, in finding the most suitable gift to give to their family and friends. It is the other way around for me as I find it more difficult in receiving gifts than giving.
Don’t get me wrong. I have no claims to whatsoever except that I have always preferred to be a giver than a receiver. In fact, it is my favorite “love language”. Maybe it is part of my upbringing being the eldest in the family. My father taught me the value of hard work to be independent, never to rely on others unless necessary while my mother instilled in me the importance of sacrifice and contentment as she would say, “magtiis kung ano lang mayroon at hindi lahat ng kaya ay bibilhin.”
Friends know me so well of not opening gifts immediately that so often, food given to me end up expired. That is why I always ask people if their gift is food that needs to be consumed immediately like cakes, chocolates and ice cream!
Recently I gifted a religious priest with vestments for his silver anniversary of ordination three weeks ago. Just before the Simbang Gabi started as I shopped for my Christmas vestment, I messaged him for his chasuble size (the vestment we put on top of our alb). It turned out he goes too to the same shop and told me how he had always loved one of those Roman albs made there, a surplice alb with black lining. Since he had celebrated his silver anniversary as priest, I bought one of the alb too with the chasuble delivered to him via courier that day. That afternoon, Father almost shouted in joy in his messages, thanking me for the gifts of a chasuble and a Roman alb, asking, “akala ko yung alb lang bakit may chasuble pa, Father?” I simply told him “because you are a good priest; just pray for me and don’t mention it in your posts.”
During the Simbang Gabi last week while checking on my Facebook, I saw his posts wearing my gifts in his Misa de Gallo. It looked so good on him, the nice off-white chasuble with a V-shaped design on the chest with a classic cross underneath it the surplice alb with black lining he liked. He looked so holy. And I felt so good at myself having made a brother priest so happy.
At that moment, I felt the deep sense of joy of Christmas whatever it meant, as if Jesus were touching me, speaking to me in His most genteel voice an important lesson about gifts.
Through that priest, Jesus answered my prayer at the start of the Simbang Gabi, “how can I truly share you, Lord, this Christmas?”
Through that priest, I felt Jesus speaking into my heart that for me to be able to truly share Him this Christmas, I must first receive Him. We can only be a true giver when we are a sincere and humble receiver first.
I must confess that aside from my upbringing, it is largely pride that is the reason I prefer giving than receiving. As a giver, there is that sense of pride, of having the upper-hand with power and control especially when some gifts I have received are not of my size or I already have like books. It is easier to give especially when we have so much of things without really feeling deep inside the love and freedom why we give. Very often we give to show we don’t need others because we have.
Being a receiver requires humility in the first place, that we are incomplete and dependent on others. When we are able to receive, our giving becomes meaningful because when we receive gifts, we first receive the giver, the gift of every person we must always warmly receive with joy. As I relished my joy in seeing that priest appreciating my gifts – and me – I felt God patting my shoulder, as if telling me, that is how He feels when we receive and appreciate His Christmas gift, the child Jesus on the manger, asking us to receive Him, to love Him, to take care of Him.
He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him (John 1:11).
Photo by author, Christmas 2022.
This Christmas, let us first realize that we are first of all receivers of God’s gift in Jesus Christ. Let us receive Him so we can share and give Him as we pray:
A most blessed happy birthday to You, Lord Jesus Christ! You are our most precious, the most important gift we have received from the Father.
Forgive me when I refuse to receive and accept You among the people who love and care for me, for the people you send me to love and care too.
Forgive me when I refuse to receive and accept You among those who have hurt and offended me that until now I have not truly forgiven, having grudges against them.
Forgive me when I refuse to receive and accept You in my own giftedness, always doubting my goodness, my talents that I cannot be bold enough in sharing You because I might fail, I might err, I might not measure up to others' standards.
Grant me the grace this Christmas, Lord Jesus, to be small and fragile like You as an infant, so vulnerable, trustingly accepting even the unfavorable situations where I am so that I can share and give You truly to those who are willing to welcome You like me. Amen.
The Adoration of the Shepherds”, a painting of the Nativity scene by Italian artist Giorgione before his death at a very young age of 30 in 1510. From wikipediacommons.org.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, 08 January 2024 Isaiah 55:1-11 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Mark 1:7-11
How lovely, dear God our Father, that at the start of work and classes this 2024, we heard from Mark the start of his gospel where he told us the baptism of your Son Jesus, the fulfillment of your promises of old announced by his precursor, John the Baptist.
On coming out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Mark 1:10-11
Oh how I love that part of Mark's narration of "the heavens being torn open", so evocative of your power, almighty Father of intervening into our lives, of rending the sky to come down upon us to bring order, to bring peace, to bring salvation in Jesus! At the end of his gospel, Mark spoke anew of how Jesus at his last breath “rending” the curtain at the sanctuary of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Mk.15:38).
Everyday you open the heavens for us, dear Father in Christ Jesus, calling us your beloved children, pouring upon us all your blessings not only the material things we need but all good things we need to live fully as you have told Isaiah in the first reading:
Thus says the Lord: All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare. Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life. I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord… so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:1-3, 8, 11
Loving Father, let us not reject your call and invitation in Christ Jesus to be one with him in this world; forgive us when most often, we think of the difficulties in keeping your commandments without realizing they are "not burdensome" (1 John 5:3) because the more we sin, the more life gets harder and difficult for us.
Let us hold on your assurance of love on this feast of the Lord's baptism, of how your favor rests upon us in Christ Jesus; let us heed your calls so we may see you rending the heavens apart, coming to our rescue, coming to our aid in your loving presence. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, 07 January 2024 Isaiah 60:1-6 ><}}}}*> Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6 ><}}}}*> Matthew 2:1-12
I have been thinking these past days after Christmas at how ironic when we rejoiced on the Lord’s birthday, we also unconsciously left him behind our celebrations. It seemed that the more we celebrated Christmas, the more we think of our very selves, the more we forget Jesus found in other people, especially the little ones.
This is perhaps the problem with our prolonged Christmas season in the country that as we try so hard to be “in” beginning September, the more we actually push Jesus “out” of Christmas! We are so concerned with everything new and beautiful – from our clothes to our gifts and decorations, food and parties when Jesus actually came for what is old and worn out like the sinful, the outcasts, and the marginalized. Christmas is being “out” with Christ when we think less of ourselves within like the magi from the East who went out of their ways, of their comfort zones and even ivory towers to find Jesus in Bethlehem.
This is what Epiphany or Manifestation of the Lord to the Nations of the world is showing us today in this last major celebration in the Christmas season before we shift into Ordinary Time on Tuesday after the Feast of the Lord’s Baptism tomorrow.
Yes, Jesus is out there, manifesting himself daily in so many ways but we could not recognize him because we are locked inside our own beliefs of the Christ, held captive by our many fears like King Herod and the people of Jerusalem.
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
Matthew 2:1-4
Photo by author, Jerusalem, May 2017.
If somebody today would come inquiring where is the newborn king or lord and master of Christians, how would we feel? Would we feel “greatly troubled” like King Herod and the rest of Jerusalem?
Don’t you find it odd that when the magi asked about the newborn king of the Jews, Herod and the people were troubled instead of at least first asking for clarifications on who was the king they were looking for? The least they could have done was looked up to see the star that brought the magi there in the first place so that instead of being troubled, they could have felt perplexed or baffled, with the familiar reactions of “what?” or “duh…” or “huh” or as we would always say, “ha, ano daw iyon?”
This is what I meant of Christmas as a celebration of going out to check on others like the magi and their star: Herod and the people of Jerusalem went inside themselves and got locked in their beliefs and presuppositions as well as fears! They were troubled because they felt the status quo would be disturbed that could throw them off their comfort zones. And the biggest irony is that they who have the answers in the scriptures remained locked inside their own selfish worlds, refusing to get out and meet the newborn king!
But there is another side to this reality of our refusal to go out, to meet and recognize Christ in his manifestations. This is a more dangerous expression of being locked inside ourselves when our motivation in asking questions is dubious. Why do we ask and inquire on someone or anything? Is it because we want to learn and know better or is it because we want our beliefs validated and affirmed?
The magi were clearly searching for the truth, for an answer to their queries. They wanted to know because they knew very well that they knew nothing or so little about the newborn king of the Jews that is why they asked questions in Jerusalem. See their sincerity and humility in finding the truth that they they went out of themselves. And they were not disappointed for eventually, they were filled and fulfilled with Jesus.
King Herod on the other hand inquired about the birth of the Messiah because of his sinister plans against him. He was filled with pride and conceit, locked inside himself without any intentions of truly learning and knowing, of relating with Jesus nor with anybody else. He felt he knew everything so well without realizing he knew nothing at all. Herod and the rest of Jerusalem were troubled precisely because they were not interested with Jesus Christ.
It is said that a person is known by the questions he/she asks. Very often, our questions are a manifestation too of who we are.
Let us not be complacent that this happened only to King Herod and the people of Jerusalem more than 2000 years ago for it continues to happen to this day in many instances in our lives, in our families, and in our parishes and the Church when we no longer search for Christ Jesus as we are busy pursuing many other things for personal fame and glory.
How often does it happen with us in our parish, in our Church, in our families that we are so stuck into our old beliefs even traditions that we refuse to go out and meet Jesus Christ Who have come to set us free from all forms of slavery caused by sins?
Jesus fulfills the longings of the people since the Old Testament time as heralded by Isaiah’s prophecy in the first reading which St. Paul beautifully explains in the second reading as “the mystery made known by God to him.” Mystery in this sense is not something hidden but revealed so that in Christ Jesus, the mystery of God, His plan for us is revealed or made known for everyone not only the Jews but for all peoples of the world represented by the magi.
Are we willing to be like the magi who dared to leave everything behind, unmindful of the long and perilous journey to make in order to meet Jesus Christ? In meeting the Lord like the magi, are we willing to give up everything we have especially the most precious ones and offer these to Him? Most of all, upon finding God, are we willing to go back home by “another way” like the magi as instructed in a dream never to return to Herod? The Lord continues to manifest Himself to us in so many ways every day, often in the simplest occasions and things. May we have the courage to meet Jesus Christ so that we may see the light and beauty of this New Year He has for us. Have a blessed week ahead!
“Lord Jesus Christ, give us the courage to leave our baggages of 2023: the pains and hurts, the sins, the failures and disappointments so that we may meet You this New Year 2024. Teach us to give up our worldly treasures so that we could truly ask honest and sincere questions to know You, to love You, and to follow You in Your many epiphanies of truth and realities, of love and kindness, of mercy and forgiveness through the people we meet. Amen.”
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, 01 January 2024 Numbers 6:22-27 ><]]]]'> Galatians 4:4-7 ><]]]]'> Luke 2:16-21
Photo from Tetra Images/Getty Images, mosaic of Virgin Mary and Jesus in the Haghia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey.
Just like this Christmas, we start our new year reflection with another song, also controversial for some Catholics in the US, composed by two Protestant songwriters in 1994 that had become a hit this 2023 following a cover by Pentatonix.
The song is Mary Did You Know with these following lines that say:
Mary, did you know that your baby boy Would one day walk on water? Mary, did you know that your baby boy Would save our sons and daughters? Did you know that your baby boy Has come to make you new? This child that you delivered, will soon deliver you
Before Vatican II, January first being the octave of Christmas was the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus when he was circumcised and given with that name as instructed by the angel both to Mary and to Joseph.
Yes, Mary was not totally unaware, that she knew some things about Jesus, his identity as Son of God, as the Savior and Messiah. But, she knew nothing really in particular or details like what the song says in Mary Did You Know that is why we find it so appropriate in today’s celebration of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
Photo by author, St. Scholastica Retreat Center, Baguio City, August 2023.
The only thing Mary clearly knew about her child born on Christmas Day was the name to be given him, Jesus which means “God saves”. Aside from that, there was nothing else she knew.
She never knew how Jesus would die, that he would be betrayed by one of his own apostles. She never knew Jesus would perform all those miracles like feeding thousands of people from five loaves of bread or healing the sick, restoring sight of the blind, or bringing back to life the dead.
Mary did not know Jesus would walk on water nor change water into wine. All she knew was Jesus is the Messiah. And she believed with all her heart that she followed him all throughout his ministry until his death on the Cross, one of the only three followers of Jesus who remained with him when the rest fled.
After the Ascension, Mary remained with the Apostles in praying and serving, being present with them during the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost day.
Like the Blessed Mother Mary when Jesus was born, we know nothing at all of what will really happen to us this 2024. It is totally useless and insane – even sinful – to consult fortune tellers and go with all those superstitious practices every new year to make it a favorable and auspicious one for us.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, March 2023.
Hence, we celebrate every January first not the New Year but the Motherhood of Mary to commemorate the Blessed Virgin’s role in cooperating with God’s plan in putting into action the mystery of salvation in the Incarnation of his Son Jesus Christ.
Like Mary as modern disciples of Christ, we are called first to cultivate within us that intimacy with Christ, of immersing ourselves in his words in a prayer life reflected in our lives. Luke said it perfectly:
And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.
Luke 2:19
It was not the first time that Mary “kept” things and words in her heart. First was at the Annunciation when she simply yes said to the angel and then at the Presentation when Simeon spoke of the coming mission of Jesus and her own suffering too as a consequence.
Mary remained silent and kept all those words in her heart. And when Jesus was 12 years old after he was lost and later found in the temple, Mary did not understand his words but simply kept them in her heart, reflecting very well on their meanings, trying to find God’s will and her role to play in the mission of Jesus.
“The Finding of the Savior at the Temple” painting by William Holman Hunt (1860) from en.wikipedia.org.
I love that expression of Luke, of Mary reflecting in her heart. In this age of modern technology like cellphones, we have forgotten the fact that our hearts are the best and most reliable “memory bank” in the world.
Instead of keeping pictures and videos and voices in our phones and other gadgets including iclouds, let us keep things in our hearts by savoring our experiences, reflecting on their meanings that will surely enrich us as persons and most of all as disciples of Christ.
No matter how big are the storage capacities of our gadgets, they are all prone to corruption and lost. But those stored in our hearts are guaranteed to stay, even if our brain cells suffer short circuits due to Alzheimer’s and other disorders that impair our memory because what can never be erased nor deleted in us are the memories of being loved.
We will never know everything in life ahead but we can all be assured we are loved by God. The more we experience Jesus Christ like Mary, the more we find God indeed is our loving Father – Abba as St. Paul said in the second reading. Again, please forgive me, for mentioning the movie Firefly.
From GMA Films & GMA Public Affairs.
Yesterday in the Feast of the Holy Family, I reflected on how the child named Tonton became the Christ-figure in that movie who showed the light of life and love to his three co-journeyers to the fantasy island; today let us reflect on his mother Elay played by Ms. Alessandra de Rossi.
After seeing her performance in Firefly, I am now convinced Ms. Rossi is in indeed an actress. A very good one.
I first saw her in the comedy romance Kita Kita about ten years ago maybe. In Firefly, Ms. Rossi’s performance was truly impressive that one could feel her presence in the whole story even in those parts of her narrations. It is amazing how the movie remained faithful to the story line and graphics of the award-winning children’s story book that made it so appealing.
Like Mary, Elay did not know everything from the very start, especially after she had killed in self-defense her abusive husband in their former home in the island when Tonton was still a child (sorry). They went to Tondo to begin anew in her life with Tonton in a place I believe we used to call when I was still a reporter as Isla Puting Bato, a protruding land into Manila Bay and home to thousands of informal settlers – the poorest of the poor who could not even afford electricity.
The genius and artistry of the film is found in how in the dark realities of the life of Elay and Tonton – she stricken with breast cancer, so poor in the slum area while he a favorite of the bullies – still looked so light, so promising not only with the great cinematography and effects but most of all of that deeply ingrained love of mother to her child.
Parang anak talaga ni Elay si Tonton sa Firefly kaya nakakaiyak.
From GMA Films & GMA Public Affairs.
She warned Tonton that in life, it is inevitable that separation could happen like death. But, what would keep us all together even after death is love. At the end of the film, when Tonton already an adult about to receive an award for his short story, a butterfly appeared, presumably his mother Elay. He then discarded of his prepared speech and spoke instead from his heart of the great love for him by his mother.
It is the kind of motherhood of Mary to Jesus and to us today, she still appearing to remind us of going back and being converted to her Son our Lord, of being faithful, of being loving.
In celebrating this Solemnity of Mary Mother of God at the start of the New Year, we are reminded to be like Mary to faithfully and lovingly bring forth Christ into this world so badly needed these days. In this celebration, may we imitate Mary in lovingly serving others, of being the face of God (first reading) especially to those who have never known him because they have never felt being loved at all.
Like Mary, we do not know what will happen this 2024 but we all know, and we are so sure, that God loves us that he had given us his Son Jesus Christ so that not one among us shall perish but gain eternal life. Amen. A blessed new year and still, a merry Christmas to you!
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Feast of the Holy Family, Sunday in the Christmas Octave-B, 31 December 2023 Genesis 15:1-6, 21:1-3 ><]]]'> Hebrews 11:8, 11-12, 17-19 ><]]]'> Luke 2:22-40
Photo by author, 25 December 2023.
After the birth of the Christ in Bethlehem and the visit of the shepherds, Luke tells us how the Child was circumcised on the eighth day and given with the name Jesus. A short while after that, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to God in the temple.
And that was when more exciting and wonderful things continued to happen to Mary and Joseph when two elderly people filled with the Holy Spirit, Simeon and Anna, took the Child Jesus and spoke great things about him to his astonished parents.
The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them… There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple… And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
Luke 2:33-34, 36-38
Photo from crossroadinitiative.com.
See again the artistry of Luke in showing to us in this scene how Jesus Christ makes every family holy. In narrating to us the story of Christmas, Luke had earlier shown us that Jesus comes first in every family, in every husband and wife and their children.
Clearly we see Luke’s consistency in telling us that in this season and beyond, our focus must always be centered on the person and mission of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, our Savior who makes every family holy like his! How they unfolded through Mary and Joseph is worth reflecting this Sunday.
I have always been amazed since our 30-day retreat in 1995 with this gospel scene of the presentation of Jesus at the temple. The situation of the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus was simply an ordinary one with hundreds of other families making the same journey to the temple with nothing unusual happening.
Then all of a sudden, the unforeseen and unforeseeable take place amid all the crowds in the temple on that day. A great revelation by God not only for people at that time but also for us today is made known which allowed us too to perceive the hidden Jesus coming daily in our lives. See the obedience of Mary and Joseph to their Laws and customs. Most of all, their continuing openness to the many revelations still unfolding about their child Jesus.
Photo by author, Nazareth, Israel, May 2019.
It was not a case of exceptional grace to exceptional couple of Joseph and Mary nor to individuals like Simeon and Anna whom I always wondered how were they able to recognize Jesus as the Christ being offered on that day in the temple.
Again, we are invited to be attuned and opened always to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, of keeping that spark of faith within us like Abraham in the first reading who “put his faith in the Lord, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). Here we find how God guides us in our steps and those of others in our long and often circuitous journeys in life to have faith in him in finding Jesus the light of our salvation and fulfillment. But faith is more than simply putting ourselves blindly in the hands of God, just moving on with life with a bahala na attitude.
Faith is more than believing and trusting God and persons. It is entering into a communion, a bond with God as our Lord and Master or anyone we love so dearly like our family. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews stressed this aspect of faith as a communion and a bond in our second reading which we find not only in Abraham but also in Joseph and Mary as well as in Simeon and Anna, too.
Recall those moments when you felt like Abraham who was already too old, when you felt it was already “game over” for our plans in life, the end of your rope or when you felt everything is down the drain that you simply accepted it as the reality when suddenly, because of that firm faith and union in God, something happens like a twist or a turn when everything in your life just falls into its right places!
Remember those moments in the past when we dared to walk in the right direction of Jesus – full of humility amid the pains and sufferings of his Cross – when we find later on how his words jibed perfectly with our experiences, so intertwined with our dreams and aspirations along with other people especially with our family that eventually get fulfilled – if not in us, in those next to us. This is the gist of the beautiful movie Firefly.
From GMA Films and GMA Public Affairs.
Firefly is one exceptional film in every aspect. Everything is so good. Watching it convinced me of a renaissance in Filipino film industry. It is a fantasy movie everyone must see this Season because it is a Christmas story, a Christ-film in fact.
Its main character is a small child named Tonton who lost his mother at a young age and embarked on a long journey to bring his mother’s ashes to her birthplace in an island in Bicol said to be inhabited by fireflies.
All Tonton had was faith and love for his mother played by Alessandra de Rossi. His map was actually his scrapbook of his colorful illustrations of the story narrated to him by his mother. Along the way, he met three individuals living in the darkness of their past, uncertain of their future: an ex-convict heading home, doubtful if he would be accepted by his wife and son; a broken-hearted man cheated by his girlfriend at a loss what to do with her name tattooed on his bicep; and a lovely lady on a backpack trip with a camera and some envelops she used to scam money from people for her supposed outreach programs for kids.
From GMA Films and GMA Public Affairs
They all found the light of life through the life and words of Tonton whom they helped reached his mother’s home island where he too eventually came to terms with his own ghosts of the past.
I won’t tell you any details any more. Do watch the movie and be enthralled with its attention to details, the many symbolisms, most of all, of the good news about the beauty of this life made manifest by the Child who opened our eyes to see the light of love and life. Amen. Have a blessed family in Christ Jesus this new year of 2024!
A short poem I wrote after watching Mallari and Firefly:
Two fantasy movies, One so scary The other a thing of beauty!
The best in cinematography Indeed is Mallari: How they sew together seamlessly Fiction into a true story so eerie Of the evil reality But sadly sank deeply In vicious circle of sin And infamy.
But if you have to see A movie do not miss Firefly Everything is about beauty Despite the ugly reality Of life we all see; The slum by the sea The kid and his bullies The story of his mommy Led him into a journey Intertwined with a many Treading blankly from each one’s past Into their present afraid of what will be Only to see through this kid’s story That many times a fantasy Is in fact the reality We refuse to believe That is why we can’t see; How lovely is the movie Though not about history Or social malady But deep theology Of how a child brought Fire and light And made us see We are loved so immensely So that someday We too can rise and fly High to the sky.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Feast of St. Stephen, First Martyr of the Church, 26 December 2023 Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-59 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Matthew 10:17-22
Photo by author, December 2017.
Every year, dear Jesus, you remind us a day after your birthday to always remember the Cross looming behind your manger in Bethlehem with the feast of our first martyr, St. Stephen; you remind us how in your coming life will be more challenging for us as your disciples.
“You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”
Matthew 10:22
Every year also, dear Jesus, on this day we remember and reflect on the many times life has been so difficult for us, especially in witnessing your Gospel in words and in deeds; but so often, we forget how we ourselves your disciples cause so much pains and sufferings among other disciples when we ourselves are the ones who "hand over" or betray out loved ones with our infidelities, jealousies, and greed; so often we forget how we your disciples "hand over" or betray our own family members to so much agony when couples are unfaithful to each other, when parents disregard thier children for their various pursuits in the guise of loving them, when children quarrel with each other, when children disobey their parents, and so many other sins that make our loved ones not be merry at all especially this Christmas.
For all our sins, of running away from your Cross, dear Jesus, in making others Christmas not merry, forgive us and have mercy. Amen.
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