Lawiswis Ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-19 ng Abril 2020
Maraming aral sa atin
itong COVID-19
ngunit ito muna ibig kong sabihin
dahil kung mayroong mga ningning
sa gitna nitong dilim
na bumabalot sa atin
ay ang tila pagkagising sa kahalagahan
ng pag-ibig at pagtingin
sa bawat kapwa natin.
Bago pa man dumating
itong social distancing
matagal na tayong malamig
at manhid sa nasa paligid natin;
nagsasarili, kapwa di pansinin
nahuhumaling sa texting,
gaming, at social media networking.
Kaya ngayon nakita natin
bagsik at bangis ng COVID-19
hindi malaman gagawin
lahat ibig dalawin
maski makipag-lamayan gagawin
mapadama lang kalinga natin.
Nakakatawang isipin
na mga microorganism
nakapagpagising sa katauhan natin
mahalin at pahalagahan kapwa natin
buhay di natin matitiyak
kung ito'y magniningning
o magdidilim, papanaw sa lilim.
Panatilihin sa puso at kalooban natin
isang buhay hindi kayang himayin
biliangin man o tuuusin
dahil maski isang buhay lang
ito ay mahalaga at napakarami pa rin.
*lahat ng larawan ay kuha ni g. raffy tima ng gma-7 news maliban yaong una sa ibaba, kaliwa na kuha ni bb. lane blackwater nagpost sa kanyang facebook ng kabutihang loob ng mga nagpapanic buying sa isang supermarket nang mapansin ng isang babae ang kakaunting pinamili ni manong na mukhang hirap sa buhay; lahat ng namimili ay nag-ambag sa kanya ng iba’t ibang de lata at pangangailangan kaugnay ng banta ng covid-19.
The Lord Is My Chef Recipe in the Octave of Easter, also Divine Mercy Sunday, 19 April 2020
Acts 2:42-47 ><)))*> 0 <*(((>< 1 Peter 1:3-9 ><)))*> 0 <*(((>< John 20:19-31
Carrying around our parish the Blessed Sacrament every Sunday afternoon since lockdown began.
I have almost forgotten – and it is only now amid this extended lockdown – that I have realized the first Easter happened in darkness! We are in the same situation with the Apostles when Jesus rose from the dead.
What we need is to “quarantine” ourselves more, our heart and soul within to see and recognize our Risen Lord among us like during that first Easter.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
John 20:19-23
Stained glass at the back of our parish church depicting the appearance of the Risen Jesus with Thomas, aka, Didymus. Photo by author, 02 April 2020.
Jesus always comes in darkness to bring light of peace
In our reflection last Holy Wednesday, we have mentioned how Jesus was born during the darkest night of the year to bring us that light of hope and salvation. The same is true with Easter when he resurrected in the darkest part of the day just before dawn.
Jesus indeed is the light that bursts and pierces through the darkest darkness of the world and of our very lives, our sinfulness. This is the reason we also celebrate this Sunday the Feast of the Divine Mercy of God in Jesus Christ.
Through his Passion, Death and Resurrection, Jesus is the only one who can penetrate through whatever blockages and imprisonment we have or we are into like sin and evil, pains and hurts in the past that filled us with so much guilt.
In his Divine Mercy, Jesus had come to give us our life back complete with the gift of freedom that we have all lost to sin and evil.
And that is why on Easter, Jesus gave us his greatest gift of all which is peace or shalom in Hebrew that means wholeness or holiness. To be whole literally is to have a good relationship with one’s self, with others, and with God.
Vatican II asserts in its Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World:
Peace is more than the absence of war: it cannot be reduced to the maintenance of a balance of power between opposing force not does it arise out of despotic dominion, but it is appropriately called “the effect of righteousness” (Is.32:17). It is the fruit of that right ordering of things…
Gaudium et Spes, no. 78
Righteousness in the bible means justice that is also equivalent to holiness which is, to be filled with God, not necessarily to be sinless. That is why after greeting them with peace the second time, Jesus breathed on them the Holy Spirit, an imagery that reminds us of the story of creation when God breathed on the first humans to have life.
At Easter, we were breathed on again by the Risen Lord to renew our lives, to fill us again with God and be closest to him in our breath and thus enabling us to be free again from sin and evil, free for God and for others.
What a joy to read these days due to lockdowns worldwide that the Sierra Madres and Mt. Samat can be seen again from the metropolis or the Himalayas from India after 30 years due to clearer skies with less pollution. Or, the lions in Africa’s wildlife parks lazily sleeping without being disturbed by humans.
These are proofs that there is life indeed amid the darkness of this pandemic when Jesus restores life and balance, making everything new and alive again!
From Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News
From Esquire Philippines
From malaymail.com
From BBC news
Peace and mercy, unity and mission
At his Supper before his arrest, Jesus prayed to God our Father that we may all be one – ut unum sint – like him and Father (John 17:21) are one. This would be partly fulfilled on Easter and eventually at the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost when the Church is eventually launched.
It is in our faith that we enter into communion with the Father in Jesus Christ and with one another as a community, as a church.
That is why it was a beautiful imagery of Thomas eventually joining them the following Sunday not because he lacked faith; he had faith that is why he came to see and experience Jesus. And that faith bloomed upon encountering Jesus again that according to tradition, Thomas preached the good news to India where he died a martyr by being skinned alive.
We have always said in our previous reflections that whenever and wherever there is faith, there is always union and unity with God and others.
Eventually, from every unity and community, there is always mission.
In our first reading today we have heard how the early Christians were one in their faith, always praying, that is, celebrating the Eucharist from which flowed out their mission.
All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need.
Acts 2:44-45
Easter in our Parish amid COVID-19.
In his entire life, we have seen that Jesus had always been clear in his being sent, that the words he had spoken and things he had done were not all his but from and by the Father.
Watch closely John’s narration of after the Lord’s Resurrection:
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
John 20:19-21
After giving them the gift of peace and filling them with his breath of life to signify they have been forgiven for their sins and failures when they left him on Good Friday, Jesus is now drawing them into his great mission: As the Father has sent me, so I send you.
This is the defining and definitive characteristic of the Church, of any community of disciples in every age, most especially in this time of the corona virus pandemic.
Our mission continues in the darkness of COVID-19
Churches may be closed, public Masses are banned but the mission of proclaiming in words and in deeds the good news of the Risen Lord continues very loud and clear.
Detractors would always malign us, would spend for trolls just to ask “where is the Church in this time of crisis” but the people know best that we have never been remiss nor even flinched a single second whenever disasters strike anywhere in the world.
In the darkest moments of history in the past up to the present, the Church as a community of disciples of Jesus has always shine so brightly in Christ standing up for the poor and oppressed, the marginalized and forgotten, the sick and the hungry, those suffering in the most far-flung areas with its extensive networks of parishes and BEC’s.
This is also the reason why people always malign us in the Church about what we are doing amid the poverty and sufferings of the world: we work in silence because we are merely being sent by Jesus Christ. Like him our Lord and Master, whatever we say and do are not ours but the One who sent us, the Father in heaven.
We merely represent Jesus Christ who represents the Father and guided by the Holy Spirit, together we forge onto the darkness of this pandemic despite the many sufferings we go through, “tested by fire so that we may prove to be for the praise, glory, and honor of revealing Jesus Christ” (cf. 1 Peter 1:6-7).
This is who we are, disciples of Jesus sent to proclaim his love and mercy especially in the midst of all darkness.
This Sunday amid the darkness and threats of COVID-19, let us join the psalmist in his song, “Give thank to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting” (Responsorial Psalm , Ocatve of Easter).
A blessed week to everyone. Stay safe but keep working for the Lord! Amen.
Easter Vigil in our Parish, 12 April 2020.
Photos in the collage clockwise: Malolos Diocese Social Action Center, Inc. with Caritas Manila spearheading relief operations in Bulacan; Sisters from the Daughters of St. Anne walking through fields and mountains to reach out to our poorest of the poor; trays of thousands of eggs to be given away to fisherfolks in Binuangan, Obando by Fr. Ramon Garcia III; last two photos, beneficiaries of the 10-m Php worth of Gift Certificates given throughout Bulacan before Holy Week that included everyone even those from other faith and beliefs.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe, Saturday within the Octave of Easter, 18 April 2020
Acts 4:13-21 ><)))*> +++ <*(((>< Mark 16:9-15
Mass in my parish without a congregation, except for two birds.
Praise and glory to you, O Lord Jesus Christ, our Eternal High Priest for this most joyous day of our lives with my six other classmates, our 22nd Presbyteral anniversary that coincides with the birthday of or fifth Bishop, the Most Rev. Dennis Villarojo!
In a few minutes I will be celebrating your Holy Sacrifice of the Mass alone – no congregation, no families and friends except for the birds keeping me company since last month.
First, it was my birthday last month; today, our presbyteral anniversary still in lockdown and on my third “self-quarantine” after exposing myself to some possible carriers. At first, I felt tired like the Simon Peter and the rest in yesterday’s gospel when I felt like going back to my old ways. But, the day dragged on without catching any fish at all when in the afternoon, a sudden burst of your light made me realize to search you more in this time of darkness. You taught us through St. Ignatius of Loyola in our 30-day retreat to always be positively indifferent to you, that I may be poor than rich, sick than healthy…
I do not complain, sweet dear Jesus, that we are still in a lockdown or in self-quarantine again. These are all part of my life in you and with you. Besides, I have no plans of great celebrations as it has always been slightly like this in the past 22 years. And maybe, this is one way of you telling us to be alone with you longer, more intensely.
Praying at the Garden of Gethsemane in the Holy Land, 2019. Photo by Atty. Polaris Grace Rivas-Beron.
What do I have to pray for today, Lord?
Nothing really but the usual things I ask you day in, day out: when I die, I will be with you in Paradise like that thief on the Cross. I have no desire of going anywhere or having anything more than what I need because only you suffice.
Make me your faithful servant that everyday I may know you more, love you more, and follow you more closely. May I do your holy will in every here and now in the way you would want it to be done, not mine. And always, give me the gifts of hiddenness, of stillness for this is not really about me at all but more of YOU.
You have given me with so much, Jesus, but I have given so little. Teach me to give more of my talents, more of my love, more of my patience, more of myself, and most of all, more of YOU to others.
In my prayers yesterday and last night, I saw myself somehow with Peter and John in the first reading…
Observing the boldness of Peter and John and perceived them to be uneducated, ordinary men, the leaders, elders, and the scribes were amazed, and they recognized them as the companions of Jesus.
Acts 4:13
Let me be recognized more than ever as your companion, Lord Jesus. I have nothing special to be chosen as your priest. It is all your love and grace freely given to me.
May I have the courage like that of Peter and John to be bold and daring to proclaim you are risen, you are alive, that you are the Christ especially in this time of quarantine.
Keep me faithful to your mandate to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mk.16:15).
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Friday within the Octave of Easter, 17 April 2020
Acts of the Apostles 4:1-12 <*(((>< +++ ><)))*> John 21:1-14
Photo by Mr. Chester Ocampo in Catanduanes, 2019.
Dearest Jesus:
Today I am so tempted like your Apostles to go back to previous life, to do the usual old things amid the very trying times of this quarantine period.
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garments for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea.
John 21:3-7
Like your Apostles, I am supposed to be happy, joyous because you have risen, Lord.
But, what happened that you are suddenly nowhere to be found?
Why, dear Jesus, in our joy of sharing you with others amid this quarantine period, problems arise, when we have to go back into self-quarantine, to be in total isolation to prevent the spread of this dreaded corona virus?
Why do people still lie, careless in their ways, particularly our leaders, our co-workers?
Help us to find you in all these things, Lord.
Open our minds as Peter and John later explained to the chief priests that it is you whom we must always find and see in every event in our lives, to always try to find the good things happening amidst the many dismal situation we are into.
Most of all, give us the grace of the sight of faith like your beloved disciple who immediately recognized you upon seeing the bountiful catch of fish. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Thursday within the Octave of Easter, 16 April 2020
Acts of the Apostles 3:11-26 <*(((>< +++ ><)))*> Luke 24:35-48
Dearest Lord Jesus Christ:
Today I pray for just one simple thing for everyone: that we believe in you and the One who sent you.
How sad, O Lord, that in the midst of this pandemic, we still refuse to believe in you with some people continuing to rely more in themselves, in their sciences, in their technologies, in their peoples.
How sad, O Lord, when our religious beliefs border mostly between the two extremes of either blaming you for every tragedy and calamity we go through or, forgetting and even disregarding you from every triumph and victory we achieve in life.
Enlighten our minds and our hearts, Jesus.
“Now I know, brothers and sisters that yo acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did; but God has thus brought to fulfillment what he had announced beforehand through the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer. Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away, and the Lord may grant you times of refreshment and send you the Christ already appointed for you, Jesus…”
Acts of the Apostles 3:17-20
Indeed, O Lord, to believe in you is the starting point of everything.
Give us the grace to recognize you within us most especially when we break the bread even through the wonders of the modern internet.
One common thing that the evangelists tell us after you rose from the dead is how you would always join your disciples on the table and share meal with them.
In this time when churches are closed and all we can do is celebrate the Eucharist on TV or the Internet, pour out your grace upon us to continue to recognize and experience you in our table fellowship to remove our doubts of your presence and assure us of your salvation.
“Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts?” While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them. He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in then prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”
Luke 24:38, 41-48
Help us, Jesus in our unbelief, increase our little faith in you in these times of crisis.
Keep us strong in being your witnesses in this modern time when we have so many other gods being worshipped. Amen.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 15 April 2020
Photo by Mr. Chester Ocampo, Immaculate Conception Seminary chapel, 2014.
It was three in the morning
my day was earlier than usual calling
while kneeling I began praying
I could not believe the words coming
for they are meant before sleeping:
"Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit."
Since the beginning
of this quarantine
there is this feeling
seeping within, asking
what is happening
but scared when answering.
It is reality now biting
reminding me of one thing
that is so intimidating
haunting me ever since
not just of dying
but of being alone.
I know it is the Easter season
but there must be a reason
why this is going on:
I have never felt alone
until I have grown old
when there is nobody home.
When Jesus died on the cross
he was alone but never abandoned
for when he implored
the Psalm for his farewell song
he added the word "Father" that will lead us on.
Father, into your hands I commend my spirit!
Such was the loneliness of the Lord
but in one word expressed his oneness
and closeness amid the great darkness
a love so immense, so intense
where every life and spirit here on earth commenced.
What a unique invitation
from Jesus to follow him on the Cross
into his Resurrection
by being lonely and abandoned
so we may pray in his filial way
Father, into your hands I commend my spirit!
It is in calling God our Father
when we are far and lost
that we can truly have that intimacy
with our Maker who breathed into thee
the very spirit that keep us alive
here and in eternity.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul, Wednesday in the Octave of Easter, 15 April 2020
Acts of the Apostles 3:1-10 <*(((>< +++ ><)))*> Luke 24:13-35
Dearest Jesus Christ:
It is the Easter Season but the way things are happening in our country today calls us to express our lamentations to you, O Lord.
Come to us, Lord Jesus in this darkest hours of our lives when we feel like joining the two disciples returning to Emmaus to leave everything and go back to our previous life.
Nobody seems to care at all: children are in the streets, adults in massive gatherings, everybody complaining, and worst of all, our leaders cramming at how to address this crisis without any definite plans as they have been lying to us since the beginning.
The only glimmer of hope we find these days are from our frontliners who strive to serve everyone despite the fact they have been taken for granted for so long.
Send us more new leaders – not recycled liars – who can be like Peter and John willing to be your instruments to raise us up again and set us free to stand again for what is true.
Open also our eyes, Lord, to see more of the possibilities available in the midst of the confusions around and within us.
Give us the Spirit of wisdom and encouragement for others losing hope and directions.
Help us to persevere more along with others who have seen and experienced you especially in the breaking of bread. Amen.
Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News, March 2020. Used with permission.
Lawiswis Ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-14 ng Abril 2020
Nakapanlulumo kung iisipin
itong sinapit natin sa COVID-19
sa isang iglap, kaagad-agad
takbo ng ating buhay tila nasagad
tayo ay sumadsad sa kaabahan
na dati ni hindi sumagi sa ating isipan
na tayo ay walang puwedeng panghawakang
kapangyarihan na maaring ipagyabang.
Aanhin ang pera at kayamanan
wala ka namang mabili o mapuntahan
sarado ang lahat pati ang simbahan
lansangan walang laman
lahat natigilan, natauhan
sa katotohanan tayo ay tao lamang
sa mahabang panahon ay nahibang
sarili ay nalinlang sa maling katotohanan.
Kay gandang pagmasdan
nakakakilabot hanggang kaibuturan
pananabik ng mga tao masilayan
Panginoong Jesu-Kristo
sa Santisimo Sakramento at Santo Entierro
hanggang sa Señor Resuscitado
ng Pasko ng Pagkabuhay nang lahat kumaway
maging sundalo tinaas mga kamay sa pagpugay.
Suko kami sa inyo, Panginoon
tinalikuran ka namin noon:
ang pagkamakasarili sa amin ay lumamon
at sa nakakalasong ilusyon, kami naluom
kaya kami ay iyong hanguin sa pagkakabaon
ibangon upang muling makatugon
sa iyong tawag at hamon limutin ang sarili
pasanin ang Krus upang kasama mo kami makaahon.
What have you been praying for since the start of this Holy Week amid the threat of COVID-19? Aside from being spared by this dreaded corona virus, what have you been praying for?
For almost a month, I have always been praying to God for one special thing: that we may all go back to our “normal lives” soon.
Since the first Sunday of our lockdown last March 22 that happened to be my 55th birthday, until after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, I have been going around our parish with the Blessed Sacrament and Santo Entierro on Good Friday mounted on a truck to bless the people.
And every time I would go around – with strict orders on the people to observe social distancing – I have strongly felt how they were so hungry and thirsty for Jesus, kneeling along the highway, some with lighted candles while others have their little altar in front of their homes.
Photo by Mr. Randy Cajanding, 09 April 2020.
Except for some few people, almost everyone would make the sign of the Cross, take a bow or raise their hands, asking for blessings, praying silently in their hearts.
I really wonder what they were praying for.
Photo by Ms. Ria De Vera, 22 March 2020.
Photo by Ms. Anne Ramos, 10 April 2020.
Me?
Next to the request that we may all be spared of the corona virus in our parish, I always prayed silently to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and in his Santo Entierro, to please, “bring us back to our previous normal lives Lord… I am will to sacrifice everything, to bear all these pains and hardships… just bring us back to our previous normal lives… magbalik lang kami sa dating normal naming buhay, Lord, lahat titiisin ko po.”
Photo by Ms. Anne Ramos, 10 April 2020.
Easter is moving forward to new life, never a going back
But early this Holy Saturday morning as I prayed, I realized God is not going to answer that special prayer of mine.
God will never bring back our previous normal lives before this time of the corona virus when we take control of everything because Easter is leaving the past behind, the old misconceptions, the old sins, the old ways of life far from God.
Easter is moving forward to Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus.
Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.”
Matthew 28:5-7
After this time of the corona virus in the year 2020, we shall never go back to our previous normal lives because Easter is a call to renewal, to going back to God, to going back to love and kindness.
Easter is going back to God, centering our lives anew in him because he is our life!
Entrance to our church during our Easter Vigil, 11 April 2020. Photo by Ms. Ria de Vera.
Jesus is inviting us on this Easter 2020 in the time of COVID-19 to come to him in his new life, to leave the previous normal lives when we spend Sundays on our own, when we just pray and celebrate Mass on special occasions or when we have problems or when going through calamities and disasters.
Jesus is inviting us on this Easter 2020 in the time of corona virus to come to him in his new life to renew our ties with our family and friends, to forgive and bridge gaps among us because life is too short, so fragile.
Jesus is inviting us on this Easter 2020 in the time of COVI9D-19 to come to him in his mercy and justice, to leave our previous lives when we take people for granted, especially those in the health sector like nurses or ordinary folks we call like janitors and garbage collectors.
Easter is rediscovering anew the more essential in lives like the value of each person, the value of health and education, the value of wisdom and sound judgement and decisions.
Jesus is demanding us on this Easter 2020 in the time of the corona virus to never go back to our “normal lives” of before when it was normal to be corrupt, to use foul language, to lie and malign others, to kill and disregard human life, to use violence and force.
Never again must we be silent when people and nature are taken for granted.
Jesus is inviting us on this Easter 2020 in the midst of COVID-19 to never go back to our old politics of trapos and vote buying, to rediscover how blessed is our country with great, talented people equally blessed with a country rich in natural resources ravaged by greedy politicians.
Jesus is inviting us on this Easter 2020 in the time of the corona virus to come to him in his new life by working for justice and truth, speaking against violence and disregard for lives, fighting corruption, rejecting the normal things of life of deception and lies in government, in the church, in school, and in our own families.
Photo by author, 02 April 2020.
If you have listened to our readings, from the story of the creation to the time of Abraham and Moses and then Jesus, people were blessed materially and spiritually because they never went back to old ways of lives but always moved forward in God, in selfless giving of self in service to others.
Without any doubt, Holy Week 2020 is the most unforgettable – even unbelievable we have ever had in our lifetime or even in recent history. And with the extension of the ECQ until the end of April, that makes our Holy Week 2020 as the longest one too!
But, it is not that bad at all.
Holy Week is “Mahal na Araw” in Filipino: mahal means valuable that is why it is the same word we use for expensive. Most of all, mahal is the root of pagmamahal or love because to love is to value another person.
Extended lockdown, extended Holy Week means longer “Mahal na Araw” — that is, more time to love God, others, and self.
So, it is still a blessed Easter to everyone!
Photo by Ms. Ria De Vera, Easter Vigil in our parish, 11 April 2020.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Biyernes Santo, Ika-10 ng Abril 2020
Larawan kuha ng may akda, Parokya ni San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Bagbaguin, Santa Maria, Bulacan, ika-02 ng Abril 2020.
Katulad ng Huwebes Santo
ito na ang pinakamalungkot
at hindi malilimutang
Biyernes Santo dahil binago
ng corona virus ang kalbaryo ng krus
ni Kristo Hesus.
Dama sa buong kapaligiran
pighati at sakit na pinagdaanan
noon sa nakaraan: mapanglaw ang kalangitan
sarado pa rin mga simbahan
pagdiriwang mapapanood lamang
dahil sa umiiral na lockdown.
Kaya ang katanungang tiyak
na pag-uusapan sa kinabukasan
nasaan ka nang mangyari ang lockdown
nang manalasa itong COVID-19
na kumitil sa libu-libong buhay
nagpasakit sa buong sangkatauhan?
Larawan kuha ni G. Ryan Cajanding, 09 Abril 2020.
Nasaan ka nang ipako sa krus si Hesus
nitong corona virus nagpasakit sa mga maliliit?
Ikaw ba yaong nakipagsiksikan, nag-panic buying
lahat ng pagkain inangkin
hinakot mga alcohol at face masks
dahil takot magutom at madapuan ng sakit?
Nasaan ka nang ipako sa krus si Hesus
nitong corona virus na habang lahat ay aligaga
sa pag-iisip ng mga paraan maibsan kahirapan
ikaw naman ang siyang pinapasan
sa iyong walang katapusang pamumuna
at reklamo, ibig mo ikaw ang inaamo at inaalo?
Nasaan ka nang ipako sa krus si Hesus
nitong corona virus kaya naglockdown
upang maiwasan paglaganap ng sakit?
Nasa chismisan at daldalan
inuman at sugalan tulad ng mga kawal
damit ni Hesus pinagsapalaran?
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Kuwaresma sa Parokya noong 2019.
Kay ganda at butihing larawan
sa panahon nitong Covid-19
ang dalawang alagad na pinili manatili
sa paanan ng krus ni Kristo Hesus:
si Maria kanyang ina unang nanalig sa kanya
at si Juan Ebanghelista na tunay na nagmahal sa kanya.
Silang dalawa ang kailangan ng panahon ngayon
upang samahan si Hesus sa bagong kalbaryo
ng pandemiya ng corona virus
tulad ng mga duktor at nurse
lahat ng nasa larangan ng kalusugan
at medisina upang lunasan sakit at karamdaman.
Hindi naman kailangan gumawa malalaking hakbang
mga munting kabutihan na maaring magpagaan
sa labis na kahirapang pinagdaraanan
sapat na at makahulugan pamamaraan
upang samahan sa paanan ng krus si Hesus
na siyang nasa bawat isa nating pinaglilingkuran.
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