Tag: discipleship

Discipleship is prayer, a relationship

Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul, 27 July 2025
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Genesis 18:20-32 ><}}}*> Colossians 2:12-14 ><}}}*> Luke 11:1-13
Photo by author, the “Our Father” Church outside Jerusalem where he is believed to have taught his disciples how to pray.

From the home of Martha and Mary, Jesus and his disciples proceeded on their journey to Jerusalem when the disciples saw him at prayer.

Of the four evangelists, Luke is the one who presents Jesus most at prayer, always making time to pray. The disciples noticed this importance of prayer for Jesus that they asked him to teach them how to pray.

More than teaching them the “Our Father”, Jesus again took the occasion to give the Twelve another lesson of things “to do” as a disciple we have seen in the past four weeks like greeting peace every home they visit as they proclaim the Kingdom of God is at hand (July 6, 14th Sunday); being a neighbor to everyone especially those in need in order to gain eternal life (July 13, 15th Sunday); and last week of choosing always the “only one thing needed” by every disciple which is to listen to him and his words.

This Sunday, Jesus deepens that by teaching us his disciples to always pray.

Photo by author, Jerusalem Temple, May 2017.

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Luke 11:9-13)

More than the mere recitation of a prayer like the “Our Father”, Jesus shows us this Sunday that prayer is the essence of discipleship that is also a relationship with God. That is why he began his lesson in prayer by telling the Twelve, “when you pray, say: Father” that clearly indicates a relationship.

During his time, God was regarded as Someone totally powerful, far from humans whose name could not even be mentioned for its holiness or “otherness”. When Jesus taught to call God “Abba” which is the equivalent to our “dad” or “daddy”, people were scandalized for God is above all to be accorded with the highest respect, never taken on a personal level with such terms of endearment like in human relationships.

Jesus clarified in many instances not only here that though our God is all-powerful and all-knowing, he is a person like us who relates with others, who is so loving and merciful to us he considers his beloved children because he is our Father. Here we find Jesus already bringing God closest to us not only as “God-with-us” but also “God-in-us” so close with each of us as our breath in the Holy Spirit! Jesus proved all these teachings on Good Friday when he died on the Cross.

Photo by author, a bass relief of Jesus Christ’s “agony in the garden” at Gethsemane, May 2019.

Prayer as a relationship is more than telling God what we need which he already knows even before we pray; prayer is more of listening to God for what he wants from us which is to become one in him in Jesus Christ.

I have realized even before my ordination to the priesthood that Jesus calls us not really for tasks he wants us to do but primarily that we may be one in him in an intimate relationship. That is why since my theological studies, I have stopped praying anything for me because God knows what I need most; I pray more for my family and friends while praying only one thing for me – that in every here and now, I am in him until my death.

This intimacy with God in prayer calls for openness that after teaching them the Our Father, Jesus encouraged the disciples to persevere in prayer with a parable of a friend asking for bread, “I tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence” (Lk.11:8).

Perseverance in prayer is not a kind of “holy nagging” of God in order to change his mind so that he gives our requests. Perseverance in prayer opens us to God’s gifts and plans we acquiesce to with joy. Many complain of God not granting their prayers when in fact, the problem is many hardly pray at all, wearing God with their words without listening to him who has better plans for us by giving us something better than what we are asking for!

Photo by author, a bass relief of Jesus Christ’s “agony in the garden” at Gethsemane, May 2019.

And the best we can have is always him – God himself.

See how Jesus used the transitive verbs “to ask” and “to seek” that both require a direct object when he simply declared “ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find.” What shall we ask for or seek at all? He did not indicate its direct objects because the answer is only God, as in ask only for God, seek only God.

When we are open to God and into a relationship in him, we are fulfilled, needing nothing at all except him who is everything.

Prayer changes us, not things and situations. There will always be sickness and death, calamities and trials in our lives which prayer cannot prevent from happening. What prayer does is make us stronger in dealing with the storms in our lives, making us better persons and disciples.

No saint had become holy without prayer which is the gateway and foundation of discipleship. This is the whole point of Abraham “bargaining” with God in the first reading: Sodom and Gomorrah were eventually destroyed because no one was left praying and therefore, no one was doing good in the forsaken cities. In their lack of any prayer at all, they have become insensitive of others and of nature that led to their destruction. These are the same dangers our present generation is falling into – a complete disregard of God and others including nature. We have become insensitive of our selves, of others and of the world that we find it so bad, so filled with evil, and so sick. How sad that fewer and fewer people are left praying with so many others not having any qualms at all in missing the Sunday Mass these days.

I have always loved this photo by our friend Ms. JJ Jimeno of GMA-7 News of a man who seemed to have lost his head in deep prayer inside the Prayer Room of the Holy Sacrifice Parish in UP Diliman last June 2019.

Prayer makes us sensitive of God, of our self and of others where we discern what is good and evil, learning what God has in store for us. The more we pray, the more we become sensitive of ourselves and of others and of the world. Yes, we lose ourselves in prayer so that it is Christ who lives in us as St. Paul asserted (Gal.2:20). Contrary to claims by some, prayer is not a flight from reality but actually a dive into the true realities of life as St. Paul tells us in today’s second reading: when we are “raised to life in Christ” (Col. 2:13) in prayers, we are abled to follow Jesus with our own crosses sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit in making our society more humane and just.

When we pray, we lose ourselves and we are filled with God so that his kingdom comes when his will is done here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen. Have a blessed week ahead, everyone!

Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Our Lady of Fatima University
Valenzuela City
(lordmychef@gmail.com)

Full presence in Christ

Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul, 20 July 2025
Sunday in the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Genesis 18:1-10 ><}}}*> Colossians 1:24-28 ><}}}*> Luke 10:38-42
Photo by author, Tagaytay City, February 2023.

After telling us what we must do to inherit eternal life through his parable of the Good Samaritan last Sunday, Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem with his disciples with a stop over today in the home of the sisters Martha and Mary.

The visit became an occasion for Jesus – the Good Samaritan – to expound on the more important things we his disciples must “do” as exemplified in the contrasting attitudes of the two sisters.

“Jesus in the House of Martha and Mary”, painting by Johannes Vermeer (1654) from en.wikipedia.org.

Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary had chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her” (Luke 10:38-42).

This is the third consecutive Sunday Jesus gives us the top things we his disciples must always “do”: two Sundays ago he instructed us to represent him well by greeting everyone with peace while proclaiming that the kingdom of God is at hand (14th Sunday); last week, Jesus asked us to consider everyone especially those in need as a “neighbor” with whom we must show mercy at all times.

Today’s teaching of Jesus is of capital importance in this series on discipleship before the Lord caps it next Sunday with the very foundation of discipleship which is prayer.

An icon of Jesus visiting his friends, the siblings Sts. Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Photo from crossroadsinitiative.com.
"Martha, 
burdened with much serving, 
came to him and said..."

Only Luke has this unique story in the home of Martha and Mary.

Far from the simplistic views of a distinction between “contemplative” and “active” approaches in discipleship, Luke invites us not only to enter the home of Martha and Mary but most of all our Lord and Master Jesus Christ to experience and realize the deeper realities of being his disciple.

There is more at issue here than a conflict of duties of listening to the Word like Mary and doing the work like Martha. Jesus is not telling us to be like Mary listening more to the word – and forget all about the work to be done and accomplished? Not at all.

Jesus reproached Martha for being anxious and upset about many things in life that she had forgotten the more essential which is to listen to Christ himself.

Luke’s gospel teems with instances where we find Jesus warning his disciples against being overwhelmed with cares of the world like in the parable of the sower where he mentioned those seeds that fell among thorns were choked by the anxieties and pleasures of the world that they failed to be fruitful (Lk.8:14). In chapter 12 we find Jesus twice repeating in asking his disciples “not to worry” on how to answer their persecutors for the Holy Spirit will teach them (Lk.12:11-12) and immediately after that, “not to worry” again about what to eat or wear for life is more than food and body is more than clothing (Lk.12:22-23). There are many other instances in all gospel accounts we find Jesus denouncing too much focus on things of the world that are passing and worst, detract us his disciples in confessing faith in him as the Christ who had come and will come again at the end of time.

“Jesus in the House of Martha and Mary”, painting by Erasmus Quellinus II and Jan Fyt (1650) from en.wikipedia.org. See the folly of Martha’s worries and distractions with the enormous amount of food being prepared.

Jesus clarifies in the example of Mary that the first priority of every disciple is to listen to the Word who is himself. More than the division of time allotted for “contemplation” and “action” by every disciple, Jesus reminds us that the more we listen to him, the more we do his work; and the more we do his work, the more we desire to return to him and listen again and again to him.

Contemplation and action always go together. We cannot overdo the other and neglect the other. The moment we make a distinction between the two, problems arise like what we find in the church.

When priests and bishops concentrate only in contemplation, oblivious to the social conditions of the people, their proclamation of the Gospel is diluted as they fail to represent well Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. When they are so immersed into social action and advocacies, business endeavors including entertainment in the Mass without contemplation, Christ is detached from the whole picture that people could no longer see nor feel the spiritual nature of the Church with everything becoming a show, empty of any sense of the divine and sacred. In both instances of abuses, either of contemplation or action in the Church, it is her credibility that is eroded as the Body of Christ with a growing number of the faithful disillusioned with priests and bishops more identified with the rich and powerful.

"There is need of only one thing."

Abraham in today’s first reading showed us the most beautiful example of discipleship. Like Martha, Abraham was also gracious in receiving his visitors at Mamre believed to be the Blessed Trinity in the form of angels; but, unlike Martha who was so concerned with her chores that she had forgotten Jesus, Abraham was intently focused on his visitors as “he waited on them under the tree while they ate” (Gen.18:8).

Like Mary listening at the feet of Jesus, Abraham was fully present in God while in Mamre. That is discipleship – to have that full presence in the Lord which is the “only one thing needed” of us which is to receive God’s gift of himself to us, of his Word who became flesh Jesus Christ who enables us to do his works by first recognizing him in ourselves and in one another as our neighbor.

This is the reason why even inside prison, St. Paul felt Jesus Christ’s coming and presence that he rejoiced in his sufferings as part of his ministry in proclaiming Christ as the hope for glory (Col.1:24, 27).

Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2025.

Last week I read in one of the blogs I follow by an American nun, of how she attended many years ago to a delivery man who died of a heart attack in the ER of a Philadelphia hospital. Part of her ministry was to gather the things found in the chest pocket of the man’s shirt so she could inform the relatives of his death: there was a well-used prayer book, a thin wallet with a few dollars inside, a lottery ticket and a picture of his grandchildren. It was so touching how she narrated these simple things found in the man’s chest pocket as those closest to his heart (https://lavishmercy.com/2025/07/12/the-amoroso-man/).

That hit me so hard because even in this age of smartphones, I still carry a little notebook and pen in my chest pocket where I write my schedules as well as occasional notes on everything I notice and read. Deep inside me after reading that blog, I wondered where is Jesus Christ in all those notes and activities in my pocket notebook closest to my heart.

Dearest Lord Jesus,
make me fully present before
you always, even in my activities
and distractions for it is only in you
I am fulfilled. Amen.

Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Our Lady of Fatima University
Valenzuela City

Representing Jesus well

Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe, 06 July 2025
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Isaiah 66:10-14 ><}}}*> Galatians 6:14-18 ><}}}*> Luke 10:1-12
Photo by author, Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.

Finally, we hit the fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time with Luke as our guide after a month of Solemnities.

We are at the turning point in the gospel of Luke – chapter 9 and first half of chapter 10 – where Jesus was identified by Peter as the Messiah (9:20) while Jesus for the first time made known his coming pasch (9:22). From this point on, Luke tells us of how Jesus “resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem” (9:51) to fulfill his mission as they took a detour from a Samaritan town that had refused them passage (9:53). After this scene comes our gospel this Sunday.

At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household’… Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you and enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'” (Luke 10:1-5, 7-9)

First thing we notice about discipleship according to Jesus is that it is never easy, “behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.” Disciples need to be “resolutely determined” in the mission like Jesus, focused only on Jesus.

Early in his teachings during the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus enunciated in his Beatitudes the contradictions of his life and teachings to the ways of the world his followers have to imitate. Hence, his list of “do’s” and “don’ts” of discipleship in today’s gospel.

Do’s: greet peace every household they entered; stay in same house; eat and drink whatever is offered; cure the sick; and proclaim “the kingdom of God is at hand.”

Don’ts: no money, no sack, no sandals, no greetings along the way, and do not move about from one house to another.

Notice there are five do’s and five don’ts. And there are only two “do’s” that require speaking: to greet every household with peace and then the other is to proclaim to everyone the kingdom of God is at hand (10:5, 9) which is the sum of discipleship in Christ.

Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2025.

“Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household'”…

The only valuable we as disciples of Christ must have is peace that we have to offer generously to everyone.

Peace is the work of the Holy Spirit, a sign of the coming of the Kingdom of God as the angels proclaimed on Christmas, “on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Lk. 2:14). Most of all, peace is the fruit of Easter that the Risen Lord offered his disciples upon seeing them on that evening, “Peace be with you” (Jn.20:19).

Vatican II defined peace “is not merely the absence of war… but the fruit of love which goes beyond what justice can provide” (Gaudium et Spes 78). Peace is something we all have to work and strive for, entailing wounds and sacrifices for us to achieve it by cooperating with the grace of Jesus Christ in overcoming sin and evil. It is a process that never stops, calling for perseverance and daily conversion on our part.

Peace comes when we disciples are open for Christ, for others, and for change and transformation. That is why Jesus insisted us his disciples not to bring anything material that may influence our dealings with others, especially with those who are poor.

The great irony of our time is that the more we have grown affluent with wealth and material things, the more we have become empty in meaning and directions in life. So many are disturbed, longing for peace but could not have it because we the disciples are also lost in the things and the ways of the world.

Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2025.

“…cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'”

In the Luminous Mysteries of the Holy Rosary introduced by St. John Paul in 2002 is its third mystery, the proclamation of the Kingdom of God.

It is truly a mystery of light because Jesus is the Kingdom of God! To proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God is to proclaim the coming of Jesus Christ in our midst. When John the Baptist’s disciples asked Jesus if he was the One they were waiting for or had to wait for another, Jesus said in reply, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them” (Lk.7:22).

Where there is healing, there is new life, there is proclamation of the good news, there is Jesus Christ! Proclaiming the Kingdom of God is representing Jesus in our lives, in our mission.

From vaticannews.va

In the previous chapter and scenes before our gospel this Sunday, Jesus asked his disciples what people said about him, the very same gospel we have last Sunday during the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.

Recall how Jesus was mistaken for John the Baptist, Elijah and Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

That’s the problem we still have today: many followers of Jesus do not represent him well that people are lost at who he really is! And it first happens right in the Sunday Eucharist as noted by a Facebook group called Catholic Fortress in its series this past week.

Many reacted positively for the series that was really good and timely for us priests and ministers at the altar who have unconsciously abused the Mass, unknowingly deviating from Christ himself who could no longer be found and experienced by the people. Truly the Mass is about Jesus; but, when it becomes like a showbiz with so many ek-ek and palabas by the priest, the servers and ministers and the choir, then it leads us away from Jesus who is paloob or inside our hearts.

In 400 AD, St. Augustine wrote the first manual for catechism called De Catechizandis De Rudibus (On Instructing Beginners) detailing, step by step the many things to consider and lessons to teach people being prepared for Baptism. From a simple request by his deacon named Deogratias, St. Augustine came up with an entire book on how to catechize with a final lesson that is the heart of his book when he wrote, “Remember, the catechist is the lesson himself.”

The same thing is very true with us priests and altar ministers and every disciple of Jesus Christ! Do we have Jesus Christ or not especially in the celebration of the Holy Mass where we proclaim the Kingdom of God is at hand and share peace with everyone?

How can there be peace of Christ among us when priests fail to love first of all Jesus in prayers as reflected in his love for the people by preparing for the Mass so that the sick and the burdened may experience Jesus – not an actor or actress of a telenovela no matter how popular it may be?

Where is the Kingdom of God when people have to bear the tantrums and antics and hangups of their priest as they already have so much burdens in life? Or, when people have a hard time tightening their belts and the priest keeps on asking for collections without any reports?

Where is the Kingdom of God when priests play favorites among the parishioners and servers, when some support Pride Movement and corrupt officials?

How can there be peace when all we have in the Mass is clapping of hands that we never have time to listen to God speaking to us in silence?

Photo by author, St. Joseph’s Chapel of the Order of Friars, Tagaytay City, 17 January 2025.

This Sunday, Jesus invites us to examine our faith journey in him if we are still following him or somebody else.

Let us pray for that grace to represent Jesus well always in our lives as priests and laity alike that we truly become the Body of Christ, his presence on earth.

It is the relationships that we have with God that matters in discipleship which Isaiah likened to that of a mother and child in the first reading. This finds it fulfillment when like St. Paul in the second reading, it is Christ’s Cross that we carry in ourselves – not bags nor money nor self and fame. Amen. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City.

Life of a disciple, a follower

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul
Monday, Memorial of the First Martyrs of Rome, 30 June 2025
Genesis 18:16-33     <*((((><  +  ><))))*>     Matthew 8:18-22
Photo by author, Cabo Da Roca, Pundaqit, San Antonio, Zambales, 15 May 2025.
*Apostle, from "apostolein", 
to be sent forth;
Disciple, from "discipulous",
to follow.
A day after celebrating the
Solemnity of your Apostles
Saints Peter and Paul,
you gave us today Jesus the
memorial of the first martyrs
of the Holy Roman Church
who were killed during the reign
of Nero in 64 A.D.; many of them
were literally used as torches and
lamps when their mutilated bodies
were burned to light the city of Rome.
How inspiring, 
dear Jesus to hear their
story of witnessing their faith
in you at that time;
grant us the same courage today
to always follow you, Jesus,
to follow your footsteps by doing
your work and most specially,
in carrying your Cross;
let us seek sanctity regardless
of our social status, age or
skills.
Let us imitate Abraham in
the first reading who walked
with God, his visitors at Mamre;
like Abraham walking with you,
following you, Lord,
let us work more for the conversion
of others not their judgment;
in following you, Jesus,
let us think more of how to save
followers lost in their directions
in life; instead of leaving them behind
on their own in their evil ways,
may we appeal to God for their
conversion.
May we not be like
the two hesitant disciples
in today's gospel: though
willing to follow you, Jesus,
one was impulsive 
and the other was cautious;
give us courage to do a
sincere reality check today of our
discipleship in you:
help us bring back the joy
and zeal of following you,
Jesus when we started to heed
your call of discipleship;
let us dare again to leave the sides
to walk at the middle of the road 
following you Jesus even to the Cross;
help us bring back that desire
to go near you, Jesus,
to always seek you and follow you
by forgetting our selves;
and like Abraham,
let us be gracious always
to one another as your followers.
Amen.
Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Our Lady of Fatima University
Valenzuela City
First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church photo from ucatholic.com.

Loving Jesus, following Jesus

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Seventh Week of Easter, 06 June 2025
Acts 25:13-21     <*((((><  +  ><))))*>     John 21:15-19
Photo by author, Cabo Da Roca, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 15 May 2025.
I love you, Lord
And I lift my voice
To worship you
Oh, my soul rejoice
Take joy my King
In what you hear
May it be a sweet, sweet sound
in your ear...
I just felt singing that lovely
song, Jesus as I prayed
on your words today;
felt so good,
so comforting,
especially if sang
at times like when everything
is flowing smoothly in life,
when obstacles are overcome,
when there is more joy than sadness,
more triumphs and success,
more healthy than sickly;
how easy it is to say
"I love you, Lord"
unless you Jesus asks us
"do you love me" thrice.

It is different when you
are the one asking the question,
Jesus because you know everything,
you know very well how imperfect
our love while at the same time you
know so well how we try hard
in loving you by forgetting
ourselves, following you and
carrying our Cross.
Give us the courage and
strength to say "I love you, Lord"
dear Jesus for it is only in first loving you
that we are able to follow you.
Amen.

Easter is Jesus personally knowing each of us

Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Fourth Sunday in Easter, Cycle C, 11 May 2025
Acts 13:14, 43-52 ><}}}}*> Revelation 7:9, 14-17 ><}}}}*> John 10:27-30
The new Pope, Leo XIV, appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, 09 May 2025; photo from vaticannews.va

What a lovely fourth Sunday in Easter also known as “Good Shepherd Sunday” when we are blessed with a new Pope – Leo XIV – who will shepherd us into this modern time. Truly, Jesus Christ our Good Shepherd knows us so well that he did not make us wait long in having a new Pope in this troubled time.

Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish” (John 10:27-28).

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

“I know them.” How lovely are these words of Jesus to us, his “sheep” especially for those going through a lot of trials and difficulties, for those feeling lost and empty, for those about to give up on life.

Let us dwell on his words “I know them”.

For the Jews and in the Bible, knowing is more of the heart than of the mind. Knowing a person is not just knowing one’s name but most of all of being in a personal relationship, an affinity with the person.

In declaring “I know them”, Jesus affirms how he personally regards each one as somebody dear to him, somebody close to him. We are all a somebody, a someone to Jesus whom he personally loves and cares for.

This we have seen among the people we have met in Lent like the apostles Peter, James and John during the transfiguration, the prodigal son, the woman caught in adultery. Or during the Holy Week like Judas who betrayed the Lord, Peter who denied Jesus thrice, Dimas the thief, the centurion who believed in him after his death on the Cross, John and the Blessed Mother at the foot of the Cross. They were all in their most difficult situations in life yet Jesus knew them so well that he assured them of his loving presence, lifting them up to move on with life.

Recall also the people we met this Easter Season like Mary Magdalene and companions early in the morning later followed by Peter and the beloved disciple who all found the tomb empty, the disciples at the upper room with locked doors that evening of Easter, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, Thomas Didymus, the disciples led by Peter at breakfast with Jesus at the shore of Lake Tiberias. In their most joyous moments in life amid the darkness and emptiness, the doubts and unbelief or blindness following Easter, they were accompanied and joined by the Risen Lord to ensure and assure them that indeed he is alive and will always be with them.

In the same manner, think also of those moments in your own life of darkness and emptiness, whether negatively or positively, for better or for worse… who remained standing by your side?

Jesus. Only Jesus. And always Jesus. Because he knows us so well.

Jesus is truly the Good Shepherd who knows us so well even in these modern times where there are more vehicles and traffic, more disruptions to life yet he continues to shepherd us like the many shepherds still in many countries in Europe and the Middle East.

And that makes this passage most touching and refreshing because though times may have changed, Jesus has remained personally committed with each one of us. He keeps on looking for us, searching us, following us. Loving us most of all. But, are we present in Jesus?

Notice the four verbs in this short gospel we have today: ascribed to Jesus are the verbs “know” and “give” while to us the sheep, “hear” and “follow” where problems always happen. Do we “follow” what we “hear”? “To hear” is to recognize the authority and importance of the speaker’s words; it is to enter into a communion with him, to put oneself in his guidance, to “follow” him as his disciple.

Jesus speaks to us daily but nobody cares because right after waking up, most of us today look for our cellphone than pray! We are more interested with the “likes” and “followers” we have garnered from our previous posts. We are more enthralled with the seductive voices and images of social media that feed on our ego and senses, giving us false feelings of security and acceptance. We would rather be consumers than disciples who are called to sacrifice like the shepherd.

Photo of a sheep’s fleece by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 2022.

Though life has become more affluent these days, it has ironically become more empty and lost without direction because we just keep on having and possessing, consuming and ingesting everything the world offers that leave us guilty and empty because we cannot experience any sense of fulfillment and meaning.

How ironic that amid this pandemic of “obesity”, we fill ourselves mostly with trash and poison, literally and figuratively speaking that we feel so lost more than ever with so much time wasted and sadly, life and relationships thrown away. Everything has become more of the mind than of the heart with persons being commodified as things, everything seen in monetary terms, so utilitarian in nature.

Only Jesus “knows” us so well that is why only he “gives eternal life” as Peter exclaimed in this Saturday gospel in the third week of Easter, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and we are convinced that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn.6:68-69).

Unlike anybody, Jesus is the Son of God sent to gather us, to save us and to bring us closer to the Father so that no one among us shall perish. That is the plan of God fulfilled by Christ which we must continue like the apostles as we have heard in the first reading when Paul and Barnabas preached the Gospel of Jesus to the gentiles.

This Sunday, Jesus our Good Shepherd assures us, wherever we may be – in darkness and emptiness, or under the dark clouds of a thunderstorm, under a thatched roof of misery – that he knows us so well. He loves us.

Feel the warmth of Christ’s loving heart this Sunday by being present with your loved ones, the people you know so well like Jesus. Let us pray:

Lord Jesus,
you are our Good Shepherd
and we are your sheep;
only you know us so well,
only you can give us eternal life,
only you can keep us safe 
not to be snatched by anyone
like the corrupt and shallow candidates
running for office again this election;
give us the wisdom, courage and faith
to follow you and stand by you
like those elders in white garments
seen by John in his vision of heaven
in the second reading;
let us vote wisely,
let us not waste that power
you shared with us.
Amen.
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 2022.

Praying for discipline (and for those with breast cancer)

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin & Martyr, 05 February 2025
Hebrews 12:4-7, 11-15     ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*>     Mark 6:1-6
Photo by author, Sakura Farm, Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.
Today dear Lord,
I pray for more discipline
which is a frightening 
and misunderstood word
and concept for many
these days.
There are some who think
discipline is suppression of freedom,
a kind of constriction not realizing
it is in discipline we truly become
free; for some, discipline is optional,
even seasonal when in reality,
we need discipline in our entire life;
lastly, people have difficulty with
discipline because they see it only
as a human activity, a human effort
forgetting that God has a large part
in our discipline.

Brothers and sisters: You have also forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children: My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges. Endure your trials as “discipline”… At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it (Hebrews 12:5-7, 11).

“Jesus Unrolls Book In the Synagogue” painting by James Tissot (1886-1894), brooklynmuseum.org
How I admire your own
discipline, Lord Jesus:
your coming home to
Nazareth and most especially
your practice of sabbath
are clear indications of your
great discipline!
How lovely that the word
discipline is also from disciple,
a follower;
as your follower,
help me continue with my
self-discipline
to inspire and teach
others too of the importance
of discipline in life
and in discipleship.
Amen.
*We also pray today
for all with breast cancer
being the memorial of
their patroness, St. Agatha
whose breasts were cut off
as one of the tortures she
endured; but after having a 
vision of St. Peter,
her breasts were restored
and completely healed
while in prison.

Following Jesus, touching Jesus

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time, Year I, 04 February 2025
Hebrews 12:1-4     ><]]]]'>  +  ><]]]]'>  +  ><]]]]'>     Mark 5:21-43
Photo by author, sunrise at the Sea (Lake) of Galilee, the Holy Land, 18 May 2019.

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea (Mark 5:21).

Lord Jesus Christ:

How lovely to hear 
this story of your frequent crossing
of the sea to the other side
to reach out to more people
hungry and thirsty
for your words that comfort
and forgive, ease one's burdens
and most especially 
for your healing touch.

You always come to us,
Jesus, reaching out to us
when all we have to do is follow
you and as much as possible,
be near you to touch you
like that sick woman 
who touched your
clothe after Jairus
had begged you to come
to touch his sick and dying
daughter. 
That's all we have to do:
follow you,
be near you,
and touch you;
but, of the large
crowd there like today,
only one dared to touch you;
only one father 
had the courage to ask you
to come and lay your hands
on his daughter.
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD in France, 2023.
Give me Jesus
the courage to come to you,
to get near you
and touch you
with faith
and desire to meet you,
to speak to you,
to be with you;
take away my fears
of leaving the safety
of the sidewalks,
of walking the main street
that leads to your Cross
when in fact,
it was you who have
paid the price for me
by dying on the Cross.
Let the words
of the author of the Letter
to the Hebrews sink in me,
"In your struggle against sin
you have not yet resisted
to the point of shedding
 blood" (12:4)
because I am
 always afraid,
always hesitant
in following you,
in touching you.
Touch me, Jesus
so I may cross the sea
with you despite the storm
and giant waves;
touch me, Jesus
so I may cross the street
and walk beside you
in your arduous journey;
touch me, Jesus
so I may stand with you
at your Cross.
Amen.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.

Keeping our light shining

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Thirty-first Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 06 November 2024
Philippians 2:12-18     ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'>     Luke 14:25-33
Photo by author, Fatima Ave., Valenzuela City, 25 July 2024.
Grant me,
dear Jesus
the serenity and composure
of St. Paul:
so peaceful,
so dignified,
so free 
in the face of death.

Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life… But, even if I am poured out as a libation upon the sacrificial service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with all of you. In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me (Philippians 2:14-16, 17-18).

Many times O Lord
the burdens are too heavy
and unbearable,
with pains and suffering
so overwhelming
that I really wonder
if I would make any difference at all;
but, you are always here
present
in the "nick of time"
sending people reminding me
of jokes I have long forgotten but
still tickle them;
or simple lessons I could not recall
but they have kept
and guided them through life;
or music I made them listened to
that have lingered in their heads;
or books and poems
 that have opened their horizons.
Teach me, Jesus
to renounce everything I have,
empty me of my pride,
of my self to be filled with you only
so that I may truly shine like
light in this world so at home
and fascinated with neons
 and klieg lights
that mislead them to darkness.
Amen.
Photo by author, 2018.