“I Don’t Know How to Love Him” (1971) by Yvonne Elliman

Lord My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 06 April 2025

This is the second time we have featured Ms. Yvonne Elliman’s I Don’t Know How to Love Him in our Sunday Music at this time of the year when the Sunday gospel is about the woman caught committing adultery.

Every time that story comes up, my mind automatically links it with this song sang by Ms. Elliman in both the Broadway and movie versions of the rock-opera Jesus Christ, Superstar where she played the role as Mary Magdalene who was believed for a long time as the woman caught committing adultery. Modern biblical scholarships have long debunked that belief but that song by Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice plus Elliman’s amazing interpretation has given us with so many perspectives about the gospel itself.

One thing we realized this year is how we – like the woman caught committing adultery meet Jesus Christ face-to-face to experience his immense love and mercy and forgiveness.

We encounter Jesus when we disarm ourselves of our false securities and pretenses, masks and camouflages that all cover our sins. It is when we come face-to-face with our sinful self when we eventually meet Jesus face-to-face too because that is when we surrender in silence like the woman caught in adultery and the mob to some degree because all the charges against us are true.

See also that it is only the fourth gospel that Jesus is portrayed “bending” low – first here before the woman caught committing adultery and secondly at the washing of the feet of his Apostles at their Last Supper. How lovely is that sight to behold, dear friends! Imagine God bending before us, giving us like the sinful woman and the mob that space for us to confront our true self, to realize and accept the whole realities we are all interconnected in love.

Only the woman remained – like the eleven Apostles at the Last Supper – because she was the only one willing to change, probably sorrowful and contrite for her sins. Contrary to our fears, Jesus has only love and mercy, kindness and forgiveness to anyone contrite and sorrowful of one’s sin that so unlike with the people’s wrath and anger, judgment and condemnation. St. Augustine perfectly described that moment in today’s gospel, Relicti sunt duo; misera et miserecordia (Two were left; misery and mercy). https://lordmychef.com/2025/04/05/lent-is-encountering-jesus/

Now, look at the first two stanzas of I Don’t Know How to Love Him:

I don't know how to love him
What to do, how to move him
I've been changed, yes really changed
In these past few days
When I've seen myself
I seem like someone else

I don't know how to take this
I don't see why he moves me
He's a man
He's just a man
And I've had so many
Men before
In very many ways
He's just one more

See the conversion and transformation of the woman caught in adultery expressed by Ms. Elliman in the song: I’ve been changed, yes really changed/ In these past few days/ When I’ve seen myself/ I seem like someone else. It is one of the great ironies in life: when we are most vulnerable and weakest, that is when we are also most truest to our self, that is when we truly grow and mature in life!

And this was all possible because of the gift of love and mercy of Jesus Christ, of encountering the Lord and Savior Himself in our own brokenness which the song and the singer captured so perfectly, He’s just a man/ And I’ve had so many men before/ In very many ways/ He’s just one more.

How amazing that the lyrics and the rendition blended perfectly, making us realize how Jesus is just like any other man but not just another additional man; Jesus is MORE than any one because He is the only who truly loves us most, offering us forgiveness once we strip ourselves naked before Him of all our sins and pride and pretensions. God’s love in Jesus Christ is beyond imagining. This we have seen in the parable of the prodigal son and now in the story of the woman caught committing adultery. Do not let your past sins prevent you from meeting Jesus face-to-face to finally experience that inner peace and joy you have been missing and searching for so long.

We are now in the final Sunday in Lent, next week is Palm Sunday, the start of the Holy Week. We can never experience the joy of Easter unless we join Christ’s Passion of emptying ourselves of sins and pride to be filled with His humility, justice and love.

Here is the lovely Ms. Elliman with her superb singing of I Don’t Know How to Love Him, hoping this helps you prepare in this final week of Lent.

From YouTube.com.

Lent is encountering Jesus

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Fifth Sunday in Lent, Cycle C, 06 April 2025
Isaiah 43:16-21 + Philippians 3:8-14 + John 8:1-11

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate Main Chapel, 17 March 2025.*

Our gospel on this last Sunday in Lent is so similar in its beauty and simplicity -and drama – with last week’s parable of the prodigal son. In fact, some believe the style of the woman caught in adultery is very much like Luke but, let’s leave that to the experts.

On this beautiful Sunday, it is John’s turn to invite us to enter into the scene of his story set at the temple area shortly before the arrest of Jesus Christ.

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle (John 8:1-3).

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, 17 March 2025.*

Try entering the scene. See the woman who most likely almost naked draped only in a piece of cloth as proof of her committing adultery. The Pharisees and the scribes were ganging up on her to Jesus whom they wanted to test, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”

Imagine being there, standing close to Jesus and the woman. How would you feel? Would you be able to look at the woman straight on her face? Nah… seems not good. Perhaps, glance only as you feel also her pain and shame. But, can you look straight at the angry mob? Probably for a while with much fears and trepidation along with a deep anger within you cannot express.

Most likely, it is only at Jesus you can look intently and longer because he is not looking at you. Tensions were rising and Jesus simply bent down, writing something on the ground with his finger while the Pharisees and scribes raised up their attacks against him and the lowly woman standing listlessly, so embarrassed, so ashamed. Even in tears.

Recall those moments when we too were caught in the midst of an undeniable transgression like her or, simply being a witness, someone caught in between of another person without any way out of his/her predicament. It must be so dark. So scary. And shameful.

Then, the unexpected happened: But when they continued asking him, he (Jesus) straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. and in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him (John 8:7-9).

Many times, we encounter Jesus in our most vulnerable situation when we let go of our guards so to speak.

It is one of the great ironies in life: when we are most vulnerable and weakest, that is when we are also most truest to our self. And that is when we truly grow and mature in life.

That is when we feel peace and joy and freedom within when we are left alone with Jesus still looking down, writing with his finger on the ground to give us more space literally and figuratively speaking. It is not that Jesus wants to shame us or whatever but simply wants us to be true as he has always been true to us, full of love and mercy. Most of all, with all of Christ’s humility in bending, that is when we finally admit the need for a Savior, the need to be converted in him.

We encounter Jesus when we disarm ourselves of our false securities and pretenses, masks and camouflages that all cover our sins. It is when we come face-to-face with our sinful self when we eventually meet Jesus face-to-face too because that is when we surrender in silence like the woman caught in adultery and the mob to some degree because all the charges against us are true.

See also that it is only the fourth gospel that Jesus is portrayed “bending” low – first here before the woman caught committing adultery and secondly at the washing of the feet of his Apostles at their Last Supper. How lovely is that sight to behold, dear friends! Imagine God bending before us, giving us like the sinful woman and the mob that space for us to confront our true self, to realize and accept the whole realities we are all interconnected in love.

Only the woman remained – like the eleven Apostles at the Last Supper – because she was the only one willing to change, probably sorrowful and contrite for her sins. Contrary to our fears, Jesus has only love and mercy, kindness and forgiveness to anyone contrite and sorrowful of one’s sin that so unlike with the people’s wrath and anger, judgment and condemnation. St. Augustine perfectly described that moment in today’s gospel, Relicti sunt duo; misera et miserecordia (Two were left; misery and mercy).

Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore” (John 8:10-11).

*Stations of the Cross, Fatima University & Medical Center, Valenzuela City, 28 March 2025.*

We are now on the final Sunday of Lent. Next week will be the Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion that ushers in the Holy Week leading to the Sacred Triduum of Holy Thursday Evening, Good Friday and Easter Vigil and on to the Mother of all Feasts, Easter.

As we get closer to the holiest week of the year, our liturgy invites us to intensify our Lenten practices to be “conformed to Christ’s death” as St. Paul urged us in the second reading which opened with these beautiful confession:

“Brothers and sisters: I consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus as my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8).

The pillars of Lent – prayer, fasting and alms-giving – aim to empty us of our very selves, of our pride and sins that all prevent us from encountering Jesus Christ always coming to us full of love and mercy. On this final stretch of Lent, are we ready to let go of ourselves and to let God?

Today, Jesus assures us of his love and forgiveness for our sins. The first reading tells us of God asking us to forget the events of the past. Just come home to him. And never leave him like the woman caught committing adultery. Amen. Have blessed week ahead.

*Stations of the Cross, College of Maritime Engineering, Our Lady of FatIma University, 28 March 2025.*

Lent is entering darkness of our hearts in the light of Christ

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Second Sunday in Lent, Cycle C, 16 March 2025
Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18 + Philippians 3:17-4:1 + Luke 9:28-36

*Photo by author, the metropolis at night from Timberland Highlands Resort, San Mateo, Rizal, 08 March 2025.*

Both our first reading and gospel this Second Sunday in Lent are set in the darkness of the night. Despite being the favorite setting to portray evil and horror not only in movies but even in the Bible, the darkness of the night has a unique charm of its own.

It is in this darkness of the night when the moon and the stars shine brightest. It is in this darkness of the night when we are delighted with the most wonderful ensemble of sights and sound no stage could duplicate when a sparkle of fireflies outline a treetop while crickets and geckos – tuko – with all the other insects and animals sound like a live symphony orchestra.

So many things in this world and in this life are best seen and experienced in the darkness of the night to be truly appreciated. And that is the call to us this second Sunday in Lent – that we enter the darkness in our hearts with the light of Jesus Christ for us to be transformed and transfigured in his image as his disciples.

Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem (Luke 9:28-31).

*Mosaic inside the Basilica of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor, Israel from commons.wikimedia.org.*

We have been saying since Ash Wednesday that life is a daily Lent, a daily exodus from darkness into light, from sin into forgiveness, from slavery into freedom.

Every day we “pass over” to many darkness in life like sickness, loss of a loved one, failures and other trials and sufferings that come our way. Sometimes so dark, sometimes not so dark. But most dark of all darkness we go through are those darkness of sin and evil along with its many scars left right in our hearts following the constant temptations by the devil for us to turn away from God, for us to refuse to love others and even our very selves.

*Photo by author, St. Paul Spirituality Center, Mt. Pico, La Trinidad, Benguet, 06 January 2025.*

Our readings this Sunday assure us that in that it is in those darkness we find God who had come nearest to us in Jesus Christ. It is during those darkness like an exodus that we pass from passion and death to resurrection where Christ is calling us; hence, the need for us to listen to him and follow him. It is from this passing over the darkness of sins and trials when we are purified and transformed, transfigured into better persons and disciples of Jesus because that is where his light is most visible too.

To enter into these dark places in our hearts is the beginning of our conversion, of our daily Lent when we return to God, to his covenant we keep on breaking in sin.

*Photo by Ms. Analyn Dela Torre, 12 February 2024 in Bgy. Caypombo, Santa Maria, Bulacan.*

Lent as a preparation to Easter is also a renewal this covenant we have in our baptism which we renew every year at the Masses of Easter. That is why we have the story of the covenant of God with Abraham in the first reading that was set at night with the darkness signifying the trials we go through in life.

As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram, and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him. When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking brazier and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces. It was on that occasion that the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates” (Genesis 15:17-18).

Feel the terrifying character of the event as narrated by the author of Genesis; but, remember also how God remained with Abraham that night. It was after this episode that God first promised Abraham to become the father of all nations with children as many as the stars above.

But it was not all light with Abraham after this episode as he went through a lot of darkness in life like when he wondered when God would finally give him his own son as he grew older. When Isaac was finally born and had grown, God tested Abraham, asking him to sacrifice to him Isaac. Abraham willingly obeyed God that as he was about to kill Isaac, an angel stopped him and told him how God was so pleased with him that he was doubly blessed anew! Abraham passed over that very dark night in his life by completely trusting God who never abandoned him in life! Most of all, because Abraham never backed out from darkness.

That is the charm of darkness: it can bring us fears and anxieties but as one poet said, only the brave who dare to walk the darkness of the night shall see the beauty of the moon and stars above. In a little while after all the uncertainties and difficulties of the night, we arrive at a new day. Darkness is the prelude to light and day.

Entering into those dark places in our hearts can be terrifying but it is the only path towards true freedom with Jesus as our companion in our exodus. Refusal to go into those dark places in our hearts will keep us only deeper in darkness – anxious and afraid, always wondering when we shall see light which will never come unless we come out and pass over the night.

Recent turn of events in our country are so Lenten in nature, our own passover and exodus – hopefully – from darkness into light.

After those long six years of darkness in the deadly war on drugs of the past administration, we finally saw the light of God’s mercy and justice coming with the arrest of the former president.

It must have been so tortuously painful to the families left behind by the thousands of victims of tokhang.

Though I feel so glad with the turn of events, I still refuse to celebrate nor even join the heated discussions. I feel more the need for us to pray and reflect, to find God and where he is leading us — maybe into those dark places in our hearts to see how we too have contributed to that dark period in our history.

A reporter-friend who volunteered in the care for orphans of the tokhang victims recently shared her reflections in these turn of events where she claimed “we are Duterte”.

Huh? It is chockful. And shocking.

As I prayed and reflected on it, I agreed with her. Prior to Duterte’s coming to power, we as a nation have allowed the forces of darkness to come upon us with the RH bill later followed by bills and proposals for divorce, same sex marriage, and return of capital punishment. There was already this great darkness hovering above us even before Duterte came to power.

Sad to say, that darkness started in our hearts which St. John Paul II referred in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae as “culture of death”.

Let us heed the calls by St. Paul in today’s second reading to “stand firm” in Jesus (Phil. 4:1) because to conduct ourselves as “enemies of the cross” of Christ will surely lead only to “destruction” (Phil. 3:18-19). Let us avert our total destruction as a nation by finally confronting the many darkness within us in Jesus Christ. Amen. Have a blessed week ahead.

*Photos in the collage are not mine but from various sources like TIME magazine and Mr. Howie Severino of GMA7 News.

Holiness of work

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop & Doctor of the Church, 28 August 2024
2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Matthew 23:27-32

*Commuters hang from the back of a jeepney as it travels along a road in Manila, the Philippines, on Sunday, April 9, 2017. Photographer: Veejay Villafranca/Bloomberg via Getty Images*.

Glory and praise to you,
God our loving Father
for the gift of this great Saint,
Augustine, son of St. Monica,
Bishop and Teacher of the Church;
in him, O God,
you showed us every saint
has a sinful past 
and that no sinner 
can be denied of a saintly future.

It was St. Augustine who taught us
among his so many teachings that
"grace builds on nature"
which he must have learned from
his own experiences,
from his conversion to Christianity
to becoming a priest then a bishop
that did not happen like a magic trick
by God but with hard work wrapped in
intense prayers by him and St. Monica;
what a tremendous blessing that 
as we honor him today, 
our first is from a letter by his inspiration,
St. Paul:

For you know how one must imitate us. For we did not act in a disorderly way among you, nor did we eat food received free from anyone. On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day we worked, so as not to burden any of you. Not that we do not have the right. Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you, so that you might imitate us. In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat (2 Thessalonians 3:7-10).

Remind us, O God
in Jesus Christ like St. Augustine,
what is essential is the inside
not the outside;
let us not be like the Pharisees
and scribes, hypocrites,
looking like "whitewashed tombs
that appear beautiful on then outside
but inside are full of dead men's bones
and every kind of filth"
(Matthew 23:27).

Grant us the zeal and
enthusiasm like St. Augustine
to strive in becoming a better person,
most of all a better Christian
by working hard in cultivating
the prayer life,
love for the Sacred Scriptures
so that Jesus may dwell always
in our hearts.
Amen.

Transfiguration is more of ears than lips to lead to our hearts

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, 06 August 2024
Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 ><}}}}*> 2 Peter 1:16-19 ><}}}}*> Mark 9:2-10

*Photo from commons.wikimedia.org of mosaic inside the Basilica of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor, Israel.*

Thank you very much, Lord Jesus,
 "in taking us always with You,
apart from others by ourselves
like Peter, James, and his brother John 
to a high mountain” (cf. Mark 9:2);
many times You set us apart from others
amid many darkness like that night
on Mount Tabor
just to be with You,
to experience You;
how ironic in this age of
so much light everywhere
with a world running 24/7,
the more we are plunged
in darkness
that we feel lost and empty.
Continue to invite us
to detach from so much
worldly attachments
that are so irresistible
due to social media
and the glamor that come with them.

And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them… Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him” (Mark 9:2-3, 7).

Like Peter, James, and John
we also wonder at the meaning 
of your Passion and Death when You 
are the Christ?
Why all the sufferings happening
in us and among us with all
the confusions and divisions going on?

Like Peter during the Transfiguration,
we do not know what we are saying to you, Lord;
whether we are filled with joy or burdened
with sorrow, we speak without thinking much
even if you know what is in our hearts.
Open our hearts, dear Jesus,
to always listen to You by remaining with You
on the path to Your Cross;
let us listen more than talk
or click more without much reflections;
two ears form the image of heart,
never the mouth nor the lips.
Let us heed Peter in his words today:

Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable. You will do well to be attentive to it, as to lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts (2 Peter 1:19).

Bring us back to your path of faith, Jesus;
amidst all these noise and divisions
of relativism and wokism,
open our hearts by listening intently
to your voice when all is dark
and even dead or as it happens these days,
blindingly so bright with artificial lights
because for as long as we return to You, 
sin and failures become means for us 
to be changed and transformed -
or transfigured 
when we rise in your Resurrection.
Amen.

*A 1311 painting of the Transfiguration by Italian artist Duccio di Buoninsegna from commons.wikimedia.org.*

Bad news is good news

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of Dedication of St. Mary Major in Rome, 05 August 2024
Jeremiah 28:1-17 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 14:13-21

God our loving Father,
teach us to appreciate bad news
that comes our way because
most often from it comes too
the good news;
like in the life of your prophet Jeremiah
who spoke always of bad news,
of gloom and doom to the people of Judah
so that they would repent and be converted;
but they chose to listen to the good news
of Hananiah you have not authorized
to speak on your behalf,
greatly misleading them
with false hopes of liberation
from the Babylonians that
actually worsened as Jeremiah
had told them.

Truth hurts
but we must always hear
and accept it so that we may
grow and mature like the Apostles
when Jesus told them,
"There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves"
(Matthew 14:16);
from that bad news,
the Apostles were able to surrender
themselves and their loaves of bread
to Jesus who multiplied them to
satisfy the great crowds with
so many leftovers!

The construction and 
dedication of St. Mary Major in Rome
happened during those problematic
years of the fourth century Church
with many bad news like 
Nestorianism that denied Christ's divinity;
in accepting all the bad news at that time,
the church of St. Mary Major
was miraculously built
and finally named in honor
of Mary, Mother of God
after resolving the heresy of Nestorianism.

In this time of so many bad news
especially when immorality and decadence
seem to prevail and govern lives these days,
help us dear Jesus to hold on more to you,
to implore the Holy Spirit to
enlighten our minds and our hearts
in seeking, following and standing 
by your truth
to finally win over people
back to sanity
and deceny.
Amen.

Praying in time of storm

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Prayers in the storm and after the storm, 24-25 July 2024

*Photo by author, Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City, 24 July 2024.*

We did not sleep well Tuesday night, worried with the serious impact of heavy rains to our brothers and sisters living in shanties and low-lying areas. Electricity was cut off early yesterday as we received reports of widespread flooding in the Parish. Immediately, the Parish Priest with the Parish Pastoral Council gathered dry clothings, jackets, and blankets for the evacuees in a nearby school, sending some breakfast too. This was our prayer on that rainy Wednesday:

God our loving Father,
we thank you for the rains
we have long been waiting for
to fill our dams,
to water our fields and plants,
to cool our climate;
but because of our continued
disregard for your creation
and for one another,
these blessed rains have brought
many problems too
especially floods that
are getting worse every year;
forgive us for we never learn
to respect not only nature
but especially one another;
rich and poor alike failed
to take care of each other
thinking only of one's self.
May these rains wash away
our selfishness,
cleanse our conscience
to think more of others
and enable us to finally
take concrete steps
in changing our lifestyle
as Pope Francis had long
called for in Laudato Si
so that we may finally see
our interconnectedness in this
one home and planet we call
Earth.
Amen.

*Photo by author, the Fatima image we use for procession after Sunday Masses at the Shrine taking cover from the strong rains and winds yesterday.*

Rains heavily poured with a lot of thunders before noon yesterday; more parishioners sent help in kind and food for the 60 evacuees near the Shrine. This we composed for our noontime prayer during that thunderstorms:

God our Father,
thank you for the midday rest
on this stormy Wednesday;
many of us are bearing with
the discomfort of no electricity,
of not being able to move around,
of idly staying at home;
forgive us for the complaints
especially when we forget there are
more who are going through severe
tests and sufferings at this time:
dilapidated and leaky homes with
still more moving to evacuation
centers; many people have nothing
at all in their pockets for these rainy days;
help us reach out to our poor brothers
and sisters especially the children 
who haven’t have breakfast nor have rested
at all since last night!
Father, we pray for the daily wage earners
who could not work today 
due to bad weather; 
we pray also for those living alone
as well as those who could not come home.
Bless every home,
fill us with more love and kindness
to keep warm everyone in this time
of calamity.
We ask this in Jesus Christ’s name
with the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O blessed Mother Mary,
our Lady of Fatima,
Pray for us!

There was still no electricity and rains continued to pour in the afternoon with a handful people celebrating the 6PM Mass at the Shrine. Up in our rectory, our staff and PPC officers were busy preparing packed meals for the families evacuated in a nearby school. This was our prayer that afternoon:

God our loving
and merciful Father,
thank you for bringing us to the
end of this day;
thank you for the gift of life,
for the selfless people who served
in all rescue and relief efforts
for those affected by the heavy
rains that still continue;
thank you and bless those who remained
faithful to their call of duty especially
those in the police and military,
the journalists who risked their lives
to keep us informed of the situations,
our weathermen who tracked Carina
and the habagat;
most of all, we thank you
for the doctors and nurses
who came to hospitals as
extensions of your healing hands in this
time of calamity.
Keep them all safe.
Bring us all home safely tonight
guided by your light of love and care
in Jesus Christ
in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Mary our Mother,
Our Lady of Fatima,
Pray for us.

*Photo by author, Blessed Sacrament in the Chapel of Angel of Peace, RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 26 June 2024.*

Darkness enveloped the whole city of Valenzuela by nightfall as we remained without electricity but the good news of rains finally stopping with the ebbing of the floods were most welcomed news to bring joy to many among us. We continued with our prayers and this is what we shared:

Most loving Father,
many of us will not sleep tonight:
some are working overnight
to ensure tomorrow we’ll have
food and power while others are
keeping watch for everyone’s
safety and wellbeing;
bless them,
give them the strength to do their
tasks and duties,
and keep them safe.
It has been a very long,
cold, and wet day, Father;
help us set aside our worries,
to trust and hope in You
that it is always after the rains
and the storms leaves are greenest;
it is after the floods when rich top soil
are deposited, conducive for farming;
it is during calamities when love
and charity surprise us most.
Amen.

Jesus, King of Mercy,
we trust in You!

Our Lady of Fatima,
Pray for us!

*Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Valenzuela City after the storm this morning, 25 July 2024 with Our Blessed Virgin’s old statue reminding us of her motherly care.*

Finally, we saw the sun at the start of this new day still with some rains and the heavy tasks of cleaning and clearing the debris left by the floods. Will we ever learn to respect nature which is actually an expression of our respect for each other too?

Our prayer after the storm:

Praise and glory to you,
God our loving Father!
Thank you for this new day,
thank you for the gift of life,
thank you for guiding us
during these stormy days.
Bless our doctors and nurses,
the selfless volunteers and staffmembers
of rescue and emergency units
along with our police and military
personnel as well as the weathermen
who continue to work and serve us
today after the storm.
Help us to do better
in responding to emergencies
next time while we finally learn
to change our lifestyles in caring
for the environment and ultimately,
for one another.
Let us appreciate
each one’s giftedness
in Christ Jesus our Lord
as we celebrate life
in the Holy Spirit
today.
Amen.

Our Lady of Fatima,
Pray for us!
St. James the Great,
Pray for us!

*Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Marulas, Valenzuela City, 25 July 2024.*

We are Mary Magdalene

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, 22 July 2024
Song of Songs 3:1-4 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> John 20:1-2, 11-18

*“The Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene” painting by Alexander Ivanov (1834-1836) at the Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia from commons.wikimedia.org.*

We rejoice today, Lord Jesus,
for this most wondrous Feast of
your friend St. Mary Magdalene:
in her we find hope and joy
that like her, we who are sinners
are assured of a grace-filled future,
of a trustworthy friend in You,
and abounding love and mercy
also in You.

We are, dear Jesus,
the modern Mary Magdalene:
sinful and worldly,
perhaps so vain with our
outside appearance and bearing
in public, sometimes on the brink
of giving up in life because nobody seem
to care at all for us;
many times like Mary Magdalene,
we walk alone in darkness 
searching for You, Lord Jesus;
many times we wonder too
how we could move the huge 
and heavy stone of past sins,
weaknesses and failures, 
addictions and vices 
that cover us and prevent us
from moving forward, finding You;
many times, O Lord,
we mistake You for somebody else
like Mary Magdalene when she mistook
You to be the gardener at the tomb
because we are so preoccupied
of many things in life. 

But, You assure us today
on this Feast of St. Mary Magdalene
our fears and assumptions are not 
true at all; help us to stop clinging 
to our many past for You are not there,
Jesus; You are always in the here and now,
in the present moment, personally calling us
in our name like Mary!

The Bride says: On my bed at night I sought him whom my heart loves – I sought him but I did not find him. I will rise then and go about the city; in the streets and crossings I will seek him whom my heart loves. I sought him but I did not find him. The watchmen came upon me as they made their rounds of the city. Have you seen him whom my heart loves? I have hardly left them when I found him whom my heart loves (Song of Songs 3:1-4).

Like that lover,
the Bride in the first reading,
we are Mary Magdalene
in search of love and meaning
in this world;
in search of You, Jesus,
our Lord and Savior;
so often, we seek You
in this world, in its loud noise
of too much self bragging
as well as in the midst of the
world's riches and powers;
the more we seek You,
the more elusive You have become
until You came when like Mary Magdalene
we have believed in You,
we have listened to You.
we have become silent
and attentive
to You, Lord Jesus;
thank You for coming,
thank You for finding me,
thank You for calling me
like Mary
to proclaim You are risen
to others who believe in You,
searching You,
waiting for You.
Amen.

Words, words, words…

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 12 July 2024
Hosea 14:2-10 <*[[[[><< + >><]]]]*> Matthew 10:16-23

Thus says the Lord: Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt. Take with you words, and return to then Lord; Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity, and receive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls” (Hosea 24:2-3).

Loving Father,
let us "take words" with us
this Friday,
words of contrition for our sins,
words of true repentance,
words begging your mercy,
words that are sincere
not empty words;
many times in this world
of social media,
we multiply words,
we shout words,
we alter words
to give new meanings
that suit us;
many times our words
are mere words,
never bearing fruit,
could not even stand
because they are not true;
like Jesus your Son,
teach us to "enflesh"
our words,
let our words to You be
translated into realities of
conversion and loving service 
for one another.

When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:20).

Let us heed your words,
Lord Jesus Christ,
for us to be "shrewd as serpents
and simple as doves"
by learning to be silent
to let the Holy Spirit speak
through us;
in this noisy world
with so many competing 
words and sounds,
it has become indeed 
a persecution to be silent;
it is more difficult to be silent
to await your words, Lord;
it is always easier to speak
and add to the cacophony of
deafening and hurtful words
against each other
than to just listen to
our hearts,
to listen to your words
of love and mercy;
like the psalmist,
let my mouth
declare your praise
by awaiting your words
first, not mine.
Amen.

Understanding sin

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 18 June 2024
1 Kings 21:17-29 <'[[[[><< + ><]]]]'> Matthew 5:43-48

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.*

God our merciful Father,
grant me the grace today
to understand my sins more
clearly so that I may come to
sorrow for them,
sorrow that leads to love
of your Son Jesus Christ
and not despair;
let me keep in mind
that sin is not just a breaking
of your laws and rules but
simply a refusal to love
You and others around me;
and the worst part of sin
we are not aware of is how
it seriously affects our personality,
our personhood
because whenever we sin
we become a less-loving
person.

So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:48

Being perfect,
being holy like You,
dear Father,
means being filled
by You
which is a process
of daily conversion
when we ask
your forgiveness Father,
to gain a better self-knowledge
of ourselves
to identify our weaknesses
and sinfulness
so that in your grace,
we become a better person
than before.

Let us have within us
that sense of sinfulness
and sense of sin,
Father
so that we
we may grow in your love.
Amen.