Paalala ng Kuwaresma

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-06 ng Marso 2024

Sa lahat ng panahon sa ating liturhiya ng Simbahan, bukod tangi ang Kuwaresma dahil ito lamang ang nagsisimula ng ordinaryong araw, ang Miyerkules ng Abo o Ash Wedensday at hindi araw ng Linggo.

Kapuna-puna ang nakaraang Ash Wednesday na pumatak ng Pebrero 14, Valentine’s Day na nangyari din noong 2018. Pinag-usapan ng marami sa social media kung alin ang pipiliing ipagdiwang, Valentine’s Day o Ash Wednesday?

Nakatutuwang isipin na marami pa rin ang sumagot sa survey na pipiliin nila ang mangilin sa araw ng pagpapahid ng abo kesa ang makipag-date sa Pebrero 14; iba ang ipinakita ng mga balita at ng social media kung saan panalo ang mga nagdiwang ng Araw ng mga Puso! At tila gayon nga ang nangyari o marahil, pinagsabay nating mga Pinoy ang dalawang pagdiriwang, di alintana mga panawagan ng Kuwaresma at Miyerkules ng Abo na manalangin, magtika ng mga sala, maglimos, at mag-ayuno.

Kaya nga taun-taon, ito ang laging tanong natin, ano nga ba ang kahalagahan ng Kuwaresma sa makabagong panahong ito na kung saan mga tao ay tila hindi na nag-aayuno, wala nang sakripisyo? Higit sa lahat, paunti nang paunti na mga nagsisimba.

Ang problema natin sa Pilipinas ay hindi pa naman katulad sa kanlurang Europa at hilagang Amerika na marami nang tao ang ayaw maniwala sa Diyos. Halos lahat pa rin ng mga tao sa ating bansa ay naniniwala sa Diyos ngunit naguguluhan marahil at hindi makita Kanyang kahalagahan at kaugnayan (relevance) sa buhay sa gitna ng makabagong panahon na wala nang hindi naiimbento at naso-solusyunan. Bagama’t sasabihan ng marami naniniwala sila sa Diyos, mas tiwala kadalasan ang mga tao sa panahong ito sa agham at teknolohiya.

Narito tatlong bagay na binibigyang-diin sa panahon ng Kuwaresma na makatutulong sa ating matagpuan muli at maranasan katotohanan, kahalagahan at kaugnayan ng Diyos sa ating buhay sa gitna nitong makabagong panahon.

*larawan kuha ni Walid Ahmad sa Pexels.com*

Hindi lahat ay nakikita. Sa panahon ng Kuwaresma, pinag-aayuno din kung baga ang ating mga mata upang ituon ating pananaw at pansin sa ating kalooban at sa mga bagay na hindi nakikita, unang una na ang Diyos.

Kaya walang dekorasyon ang mga altar sa panahong ito, walang mga bulaklak at hangga’t maari wala ring mga halaman. “Bare” wika nga sa Inggles ang altar. Pagdating ng Biyernes Dolores bago mag-Linggo ng Palaspas, tinatakpan o binabalutan ng telang lila ang mga imahen at larawan sa simbahan sa gayon ding kadahilanan – upang tingnan natin mga mas malalim na katotohan ng ating buhay.

Sa panahong ito ng social media, lahat na lang ay ibig ipakita at ipangalandakan maski kasamaan, kabastusan, at kasalanan. Bakit nga ba nang magkasala sina Eba at Adan, sila ay nagtago dahil sa kahihiyan samantalang ngayon ipinagmamalaki pa ng ilan kanilang ginawang kasamaan?

Hindi lahat ng bagay sa buhay na ito ay nakikita at lalo din namang hindi lahat dapat ay ipakita. Wika nga ng Munting Prinsipe o Little Prince ni Antoine de St. Exupery, “What is essential is invisible to the eye; it is only with the heart that one can truly see.”

Lahat na lamang sa mundo ngayon ay palabas, showbiz na showbiz ang dating upang ipagyabang mga kayang kainin at bilhin, puntahan at gawin. Ngunit, sadya bang nagbibigay ng kaganapan at katuwaan mga iyon? Hindi ba mas masarap pa ring namnamin mga sandali nating kapiling ang mahal sa buhay? Kung tutuusin nga, kadalasan o palagi, yaong mga bagay na natatago at hindi nakikita ang siyang pinakamakahulugan, pinakamainam sa buhay.

Katulad ng Diyos: “Walang taong nakakita sa Diyos kailanman, ngunit kung tayo’y nag-iibigan, nasa atin siya at nagiging ganap sa atin ang kanyang pag-ibig” (1 Jn. 4:12).

Sa buhay, mas mainam pa rin yung simple at nakukubli, mayroong pa ring misteryo o hiwaga na natatago kaya ang lahat ay nagtataka. At minsan-minsan ay namamangha.

*Larawan kuha ni Skyler Ewing sa Pexels.com*

Hindi lahat ay minamadali. Kaya tinatawag na Kuwaresma ang panahong ito ng paghahanda sa Panahon ng Pasko ng Pagkabuhay ay dahil sa bilang na kuwarenta o apatnapung araw mula Miyerkules ng Abo haggang Sabado bisperas ng Palaspas (bagama’t di naman eksakto palagi) na kung tutuusin ay limang Linggo bago ang mga Mahal na Araw. Samakatwid, mayroong paghihintay dahil kailangang makabuo muna ng apatnapung araw o limang linggo.

Ito ang isang bagay na nawawala na sa mundo ngayon, ang paghihintay. Lahat mainipin kaya siguro maiinit ang ulo ng lahat na ultimo mga bata ay stressed out. Minamadali ang lahat na hindi malaman ano at sino nga ba ang hinahabol natin. Lahat ay instant – hindi lang kape at noodles pati pagkakaibigan, pag-aasawa at pagkakaroon ng baby!

Dahil sa teknolohiya, pilit na minamanipula ng tao ngayon ang panahon na madalas ay minamadali kaya marami ang hindi na maranasan ang Diyos pati sariling pagkatao at mga kapwa-tao sa pagmamadali. Hindi kataka-taka, nawawala na rin mga mabubuting ugali ng paghihintay, pagtitiyaga, pagtitimpi at pagpipigil.

Ang lahat na pangyayari sa daigdig ay nagaganap sa panahong itinakda ng Diyos. Ang panahon ng pagsilang at panahon ng pagkamatay; Ang panahon ng pagtatanim at panahon ng pagbunot ng tanim… Ano ang mapapala ng tao sa kanyang ginagawa? Alam ko na ang itinakda ng Diyos sa tao. Iniangkop niya ang lahat ng bagay sa kapanahunan. Ang tao’y binigyan niya ng pagnanasang alamin ang bukas ngunit hindi binigyan ng pakaunawa sa ginawa ng Diyos mula sa pasimula hanggang sa wakas.
Ang Mangangaral (Qoheleth) 3:1-2, 9-11

Minsan-minsa’y matutunan nating maghintay, magrelax o mag-chill wika nga ng mga kabataan. Masyado na tayong abala sa mga bagay-bagay kaya hindi natin napapansin, namamalayan ang Diyos na nagmamahal sa atin ay kapiling natin. Ang Diyos kabaligtaran natin: maski buong buhay natin hinihintay niya tayong lumapit sa kanyang muli sakaling magpasya tayong iwanan ating mga kasalanan at maling pamumuhay upang sa kanya maranasan ang kapanatagan at kapaypaan. Tinuturuan tayo ng panahon ng Kuwaresma na tumigil at manatili sandali sa buhay, maghintay sa Diyos at kanyang biyayang nakalaan para sa atin.

*Larawan kuha ni Natalie Bond sa Pexels.com*

Katahimikan. Sa lahat ng mahahalagang aspekto ng Kuwaresma, ito ang pinakamahalaga sapagkat hindi tayo makapagdarasal, makapagninilay, o magsisi sa ating mga kasalanan ng walang katahimikan. Bahagi ng paghihintay ang pananahimik.

Naalala ko noong bata kami tuwing bakasyon sa halamanan ng aming Lola. Maraming tutubi noon at lahat kaming magpipinsan ang unahan sa paghuli habang nag-aasaran sa kantang “tutubi tutubi huwag magpahuli sa batang mapanghi!”

Wala ka talagang mahuhuling tutubi kapag ika’y malikot at maingay ngunit sa sandaling ikaw ay pumirmi at manahimik, kusa pang lalapit ang mailap na tutubi.

Iyon ang buhay, iyon ang Kuwaresma. Manahimik tayo upang higit nating mapakinggan ating sariling kalooban na madalas hindi natin pinakikinggan dahil bantad na bantad tayo sa iba’t ibang tinig at ingay sa atin nagdidikta ng nararapat. Kaya madalas tayong lito kasi sarili natin di natin pinapansin. Gayon din naman, sa sobrang pakikinig sa mga sabi-sabi, nag-aaway away tayo kasi hindi nating pinakikinggan kapwa natin. Ang pananahimik ay hindi pagiging bingi kungdi pakikinig na mabuti; ang katahimikan ay hindi kawalan kungdi kapunuan na kahit pinakamahinang tinig ay sinisikap nating pakinggan.

Tanging mga tao na kayang manahimik ang tunay na nagtitiwala sapagkat ang katahimikan ang tahanan at lunan ng pagtitiwala. Kaya ito rin ang tinig at wika ng Diyos. Sa ating pananahimik, tayo ay nagtitiwala, naghihintay maski wala tayong nakikita dahil batid natin kumikilos ang Diyos ng tahimik.

Kapag magulung-magulo ang ating buhay, tumigil tayo at manahimik. Pakinggan at higit sa lahat damhin ang sarili at buong kapaligiran upang maranasan kaganapan at katotohanan ng buhay mula sa Diyos na kadalasan ay tahimik na nangungusap sa atin. Madalas sa buhay natin, ang Diyos iyong pinakamahinang tinig na pilit bumubulong-bulong mula sa ating puso. Sikaping tumigil at manahimik, iyon ang pakinggan at sundin at tiyak, ikaw ay pagpapalain.

Sana ay huwag palampasin pagkakataon ng Kuwaresma upang Diyos ay maranasang muli at masimulan natin ugnayang kanyang matagal nang ibig para sa atin. Salamat po.

Lent, a pilgrimage to God

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sunday Recipe for the Soul, Lent I-B, 18 February 2024
Genesis 9:8-15 + + 1 Peter 3:18-22 + + Mark 1:12-15

Pope Benedict XVI eloquently described Lent in his first papal Lenten message in 2006 when he wrote, “Lent is a privileged time of interior pilgrimage towards Him Who is the fount of mercy. It is a pilgrimage in which He Himself accompanies us through the desert of our poverty, sustaining us on our way towards the intense joy of Easter.”

What a beautiful picture too of the short gospel from Mark we heard this first Sunday in Lent that briefly describes the temptation of Jesus so unlike the detailed versions by Matthew and Luke. Nonetheless, Mark’s terse account is loaded heavily in rich symbols and meanings.

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him. After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of god is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:12-15

This scene comes right after the baptism of Jesus by John at the Jordan. It is sad that our liturgical texts have not yet adopted the new revised editions of major Catholic bibles wherein Mark noted how “immediately” or “at once” after his baptism, Jesus was tempted in the desert.

(At once) The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert tempted by Satan.

*“Temptation in the Wilderness” painting by Briton Riviere (1840-1920) from commons.wikimedia.org.*

Do we not experience the same thing daily in life when even right in the moment we are trying to pray, trying to become better when temptations come our way like when we decided to pray or go celebrate the Mass, something else would distract or prevent us from fulfilling it?

See how difficult it is to go on diet when suddenly mother cooks your favorite meal or somebody comes for a visit with burgers and sodas and cakes! Just when you have decided to quit a vice, at once the temptation comes to pick it up again, as we plea to make it our “last” cigarette or joint, last shot of alcohol, last look at pornography, last gamble and so many other lasts that never really ended! Recall those times we decided to finally embark on any religious or spiritual endeavor when at once we are intensely challenged by carnal and material desires.

It is a reality of life that Jesus faced too like us, being tempted immediately by Satan after his baptism when God identified him as his beloved Son with whom he is well pleased. Mark warns us today how Satan is bent on tempting us to abandon God, be lost and just be ordinary without meaning and fulfillment in life and existence. The five Sundays in Lent depict to us our internal pilgrimage and journey into God’s inner room to be with him in Christ Jesus. It is a pilgrimage as we return to our very root and grounding who is God. Let us not waste the grace of this blessed season to become like God again, truly his image and likeness marred by sin and evil.

Oh what a joy to be one with God again, to regain our true selves – contented and fulfilled in our very selves minus all the trappings of this world’s artificialities of fake selves with fake faces and skin, of fake lives glamorized in social media. It is a pilgrimage in the desert where we are invited to leave everything behind, to be bare and nothing for we solely need only God to truly see again our selves as true, good, and beautiful. Not with cosmetics nor food nor even modern thoughts and ideas pretending to be just and fair that deceive us and leave us more empty and lost.

He was among the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.

*“Jesus Ministered to by Angels” painting by James Tissot (1836-1902) from commons.wikipedia.org.*

Lent is an interior pilgrimage to God lived in the wilderness too, an invitation for us to go back to Paradise even in the midst of the chaos around us. This we do every Sunday in the Mass when we go back to God, to his Church and the sacraments.

This is why Lent is the time for more prayers, fasting and alms-giving as they all strengthen our spiritual resolve to become better persons, to become who we really are – beloved children of God with dignity, meaning and purpose found in him.

Despite the fall of Adam and Eve, God never abandoned us because he loves us so much that he sent us Jesus Christ his Son to accompany and show us how among the wild beasts around us, there are angels attending to our needs at all times. Everyone has a struggle, a problem dealing with. Nobody is without any crisis nor lives perfectly. That’s the imagery of the desert, a wilderness with the wildest beasts that are most ferocious and most poisonous.

Yet, God has assured us even right after the Fall that we are his most precious creation that he takes the initiative always to save us from every danger of sickness and death. Most of all, of sin like when Cain was so jealous of his brother Abel, the Lord said to him, “Why are you angry? Why are you dejected? If you act rightly, you will be accepted; but if not, sin lies in wait at the door; its urge is for you, yet you can rule over it” (Gen. 4:6-7).

In the first reading we heard how God acted like human, so fed up with our sinfulness that he sent a great flood to wipe the earth clean again. However, do not forget that before sending the great flood, God sent first Noah and his family. Again, that is exactly how our life is!

Unknown to us, long before any problem and sufferings come to us, there is always God preparing already a remedy, a solution, an exit plan for us in the first place like when he sent Noah and his family to ensure there would still be good people left after the flood. This reached its highest point in Jesus whom the Father sent to become the new rainbow of the sky when Christ stretched out his arms on the Cross to save us. Peter beautifully explained this truth in our second reading today, reminding us how the great flood at Noah’s time was a prefiguring of our baptism in Jesus Christ when we become the Father’s beloved and forgiven children.

Never lose hope when things seem to be so bad and miserable in life. Remember how the silver linings appear always after the heavy rains or how the leaves are greenest after the storm. Yes, life is like a desert, a wilderness with so many wild beasts that may times we could not escape temptations and fall into sins. But God is greater than our hearts, sending us more than enough angels even his only begotten Son so we may overcome temptations and sins, downfalls and defeats in life. Go back to God, go back to paradise in prayers and the Mass. Handle life with prayer, always PUSH, that is, Pray Until Something Happens.

After John had been arrested, 
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: 
"This is the time of fulfillment. 
The kingdom of God is at hand. 
Repent, and believe in the gospel."

This is the most unique feature in Mark’s brief account of the temptation of Jesus by Satan. Mark began his gospel just like the three other evangelists linking the life and mission of Jesus with John the Baptist; however, he abruptly removed John from this scene by simply saying “after John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God.”

“Ganun lang yon?” we might ask in Filipino. It would take five more chapters before Mark explains to us the fate of John the Baptist.

And yes, that’s the way it is with us too! We never stop with our mission like Jesus amid all the storms and darkness hovering above us. There will always be sufferings and trials coming and these in itself are the reasons for us to continue with our mission like Jesus.

Inasmuch as the lives and fate of Jesus and John are intertwined, so are our lives and fate as disciples of Christ with him! It is during trials and difficulties when our proclamation of God’s kingdom are loudest and most credible. Most of all, it is in our sufferings when we go back to our internal desert when we truly experience the time of fulfillment if we remain faithful to God like Jesus Christ.

Let us pray:

Dearest Jesus:
accompany us 
on this first week of Lent
into the Father's house; 
make us stop all whining
and complaining on the many
desert experiences we are going 
through for that is how life is -
like a wilderness with many wild beasts!
Let us never lose sight of your
loving presence among us, Lord,
of your angels ministering to us,
assuring us of the colorful rainbow
of life in the horizon if we remain
faithful and true.
Amen.

*Photo by Ms. Annalyn Dela Torre, Bgy. Caypombo, Santa Maria, Bulacan, 14 February 2024.*

God does everything so well

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 09 February 2024
1 Kings 11:29-32, 12:19 ><)))*> + ><)))*> + ><)))*> Mark 7:31-37

*Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, an orange-bellied flowerpecker (Dicaeum trigonostigma) somewhere in the Visayas, December 2023.*

Today, dear God,
I share in the joy
of the people at the time 
of your Son Jesus
when he healed a deaf in the
district of Decapolis:

They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Mark 7:37

Yes, loving Father,
you have done all things well,
so very well in fact,
in Jesus Christ our Lord
that I am also exceedingly astonished
with your love and mercy.

When I look back to my life
even amid all the storms and
failures I have had,
you still have done
 all things well in my favor;
when I remember those sufferings
I almost gave up and quit,
you have done all things
in my favor, making me stronger
and better, even wiser today;
when I look back to the many
losses and defeats I have had,
you still have done all things well
in my favor, teaching me the
values of perseverance, patience,
and fulfillment, as well as
the differences between
 happiness and joy,
success and fruitfulness.

Dear Father,
keep us open to your grace
and wisdom and plans for us;
most of all,
keep us open to Jesus Christ
who comes to us always even
in paths we least expect to find him,
in backward routes no one takes,
and in foreign territories
we refuse to venture into.
Let our daily prayer include
his command,
"Ephphatha"!
Amen.

God listens to our prayers. Always.

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 10 October 2023

Yes! I have proven this most truest when we pray for the sick, especially for babies and children. And when we are also sick or, very sick.

The late Fr. Henri Nouwen said in one of his writings that “life is precious because it is fragile.” I have gradually grasped and experienced this most wonderful truth of life only these past two years when I was assigned as chaplain at the Fatima University Medical Center in Valenzuela City.

Every Sunday after Mass at the University chapel, I visit our patients to bring them communion (viaticum), hear their confessions and anoint them with oil. One of our patients last Sunday was a young mother named Rachel who delivered a sickly baby boy Saturday with difficulties in breathing.

Rachel was crying when we entered her room. After receiving the Communion, she asked me to visit and pray over her baby at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). I readily said yes to her request then asked her if I can baptize her baby and what name would she like to give him. “Daniel Steven, Father,” she said softly as she wiped her tears.

After putting on my hairnet and gown and slippers, the nurse led me inside the NICU where I saw two doctors and three nurses gathered around Rachel’s baby. Soon enough, both doctors came to me to explain the delicate – “toxic” – situation of the infant as we walked closer to him.

It was “solemnly silent” inside the NICU that morning with the warm light above the baby giving that holy feel like being before a Belen or a creche; the scene was so “disarming” that I just felt praying to God deeply from my heart, begging him to please bless and heal this baby who is much like Jesus Christ who was right away subjected to dangers upon birth in Bethlehem. I prayed too to God to remember Christ’s special love and concern for children, warning anyone who would harm them that angels look after them (Mt. 18:10) to keep them safe always.

At that moment, the baby opened his eyes – and sparkled as I saw his face lit up despite the little tubes connected to him. At that instance, I just felt something like a giant wave gushing within me like a tsunami and, boom! I burst into tears as if that giant wave inside washed me.

It was a very good cry, like a catharsis, so pure that seemed to have cleansed me resulting in joy within with the baby seemed to be looking at me, making sounds from his little mouth.

“My God, did he hear me praying?” I asked myself while standing there, praying with my arms still outstretched as tears rolled profusely to my face mask. After a few minutes, I wiped my tears and came forward to pour Holy Water on his head, saying, “I baptize you, Daniel Steven, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

I have visited many sick children in our hospital with the most unique even bizarre sickness and diseases and accidents. They have all moved me in pity but it was only Daniel Steven who had made me cry.

That moment when he opened his eyes and “looked” at me even though I knew infants could not recognize nor actually see, I felt God was ultimately the one really looking at me, listening to my prayers. At the same time, it was then when God fully opened my eyes and my heart to see him in baby Daniel as the One always listening to our prayers especially when we are facing dangers like death – the greatest and ultimate danger we all face in life. It is in such moments of great dangers when God is most closest to us in Jesus Christ who became human like us to be one with us in everything including death (but except sin).

Less than 80 days from now it would be Christmas but, have we realized this reality of how Jesus Christ have seriously faced death right after his birth being born in an “unsanitary” manger to being transported in harsh conditions to Egypt when Herod tried to kill him?

It is in sufferings and death when we truly experience the preciousness of life, the value of every person, no matter how small like a child or how old like any senior citizen. It is in the face of death when we are most human, truly and naturally weak and fragile that we also realize deeply, existentially the meaning of being alive when we are close to its end. That is when we feel life is precious because that is also when we feel it slipping away from us, slowly losing it.

That fragility of life is most evident when we struggle for breath, gasp for air, and reach out to someone’s hands to hold and clasp in order to rise again, to cling to another human and simply to be alive. From that we experience life’s meaning and value when it is shared and lived in God who is life himself through others. That is why we also feel closest to him at those moments when we see those sick and suffering and dying when we are close to God who comes most nearest to us in those grave moments.

Back in 2007 when I was in my first assignment as one of the teacher-administrators of a school in Malolos while we concurrently ran a parish, I felt burned out being there since 1998. One Friday afternoon during a Holy Hour, I begged God to give me one good reason why I should stay in that assignment when I was asked to answer a sick call in a nearby hospital. When I got in the hospital, the doctors and nurses were resuscitating the patient I was supposed to anoint.

Quickly upon seeing me, they let me come to the patient to pray over him and anoint him with oil. After that, I stayed in the room to watch the doctors and nurses struggled to revive the patient. Then another doctor arrived who turned out to be the son-in-law of the dying patient (also an ex-seminarian ahead of me in the minor seminary). After conversing with them, that doctor told them to stop the procedures as he would explain everything to his wife, the daughter of the patient.

Soon enough, the patient flatlined and died. His son-in-law called me and told me the patient had died and if I could bless him again. I did bless him again with Holy Water. As the doctor thanked me for being there at that crucial moment, I also thanked God for listening and answering my prayer in giving me a sign why I should remain in my assignment. What a precious sign he had given me, the first patient I have seen dying in front of me.

Now as a hospital chaplain, I have lost tracked of how many patients have died before me after praying and anointing them. But in each one of them, I have felt God present among us, saving their souls in eternity. But most of them, God had kept alive and healthy until now because he always listens to our prayers. Amen.

*Photo by Mr. Red Santiago of his son Cayden praying in our former parish in January 2020.*

*Daniel Steven is still in the NICU, fighting for his life that is so fragile, so delicate. And most precious. Doctors said these first 72 hours are very crucial. Please help us pray for him so he would get better and live life into maturity like most of us. Thank you.

For those burdened with complaints…

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 07 August 2023
Numbers 11:4-15 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Matthew 14:13-21

*Photo by author, San Juan, La Union, 24 July 2023.*

God our loving Father,
today I feel so much your
servant Moses in the first
reading, of how your people
endlessly complained and whined
to him, even blamed him, for all
their hardships and difficulties
in the wilderness; of how 
people could be so inconsiderate
many times that after helping
them from their miseries
and freeing them from 
their bondage, they still have
the guts to speak harshly.

How ungrateful and frustrating
indeed, Lord!

“Why do you treat your servant so badly?” Moses asked the Lord. “Why are you so displeased with me that you burden me with all these people? I cannot carry all this people by myself, for they are too heavy for me. If this is the way you will deal with me, then please do me the favor of killing me at once, so that I need no longer face this distress.”
Numbers 11:11, 14-15

Our Father in heaven,
this prayer is for those at
the receiving end with so much
complaints despite all their efforts
at serving them like Moses;
let them complain to you,
let them air their gripes,
let them pour out their anger
to you;
most of all, hear them and
comfort them;
bless them with courage and
assurance they are not alone,
that Jesus is with them
who simply took every pain
especially the news 
of John the Baptist's death; 
most of all, 
keep their hearts open to
the people suffering,
and yes, always complaining
because if ever we feel
like Moses, may we realize
too the great honor and
privilege of doing your work
here on earth.
Amen.

When setbacks hit us

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year I, 14 July 2023
Genesis 46:1-7. 28-30 ><))))*> + <*((((>< Matthew 10:16-23

*Photo by author, Camp John Hay, 12 July 2023.*

Today we pray, 
O God our loving Father
for all those experiencing
setbacks in life and in their plans,
whether temporary or permanent
like students who cannot pursue their
desired courses or could not continue 
with their studies this coming academic year;
sweethearts who have to postpone 
or cancel their weddings due to breakups;
those who have to alter their plans or goals in life
due to sickness and disabilities;
people who have to migrate to other
places of residence due to work
and other reasons.

Then he said (to Jacob or Israel): “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there, I will make you a great nation. Not only will I go down to Egypt with you; I will also bring you back here, after Joseph has closed your eyes.”
Genesis 46:3-4

Cast away our fears,
O Lord to forge on when
setbacks and delays even detours
in our lives happen for whatever reason;
assure us always with your same
presence and protection,
most of all of your assured
deliverance so that someday,
we may still realize our dreams
and aspirations in life
according to your plans.

In Jesus Christ's name,
teach us to be "shrewd as the snakes
and simple as doves",
"enduring to the end" (Mt.10:16, 22)
with all the sufferings and trials
that come our way as you, O God,
writes our life story straight
in crooked lines.
Amen.

In the eye of the storm

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year I, 04 July 2023
Genesis 19:15-29 <*(((>< <*(((>< + ><)))*> ><)))*> Matthew 8:23-27

Your words today, O God
our Father, are all about
chaos and destruction,
storms and calamities
in the sea and the land;
just like so many of us these days
who are in the "eye of the storm",
in the midst of great trials
and sufferings in life
due to their own making
or somebody else's sins and
wrongdoing, or simply
being in the wrong place
at the wrong time.

The whole world is yours,
O Lord; you have the whole world
in your hands and you know
everything that is happening.

Grant us the trust and confidence
in you of Jesus your Son 
and the deep faith of Abraham
as you kept your promise to save
his nephew Lot and family
from the catastrophe that fell on
Sodom and Gomorrah.

As Jesus got into a boat, is disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves but he was asleep.
Matthew 8:23-24

When he (Lot) hesitated, the men, by the Lord’s mercy, seized his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughter and led them to safety outside the city.
Genesis 19:16

Keep us strong, O God,
in the face of trials and tribulations of life;
calamities inevitably happen,
it is how we face and deal with these
that truly matter;
cleanse us of our impurities,
of our stubbornness,
of our sins,
never to needlessly look back 
like Lot's wife but instead move
forward in life learning your important
lessons of being morally upright and holy.
Amen.

*Photo by author, Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.*

Believing is the beginning

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Irenaeus, Bishop & Martyr, 28 June 2023
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Matthew 7:15-20

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 20 March 2023.*

Thank you very much, 
God our loving Father
for the grace of believing,
the beginning of everything
like what Abram experienced
in the first reading today,
"Abram put his faith in the Lord,
who credited it to him as an act
of righteousness" (Gen.15:6).

Only you, O Lord, 
would know 
what was going inside 
the mind and heart 
of Abram at that time
when he instantly believed and
trusted in your promise despite
his many questions and clarifications;
later on, St. Paul and St. James
including the author of the Letter
to the Hebrews would cite this
beautiful account of Abram's 
humble submission to you,
O God, as a model of faith
and believing in you.

Perhaps, Lord, the problem
with us is that we believe in
everything,
in everyone:
we profess to believe in
you, O God, 
the Father almighty
and yet we also believe
in luck,
in occults,
and in so many other things
and persons and yes,
powers and spirits;
we believe in you 
but do not
trust you completely;
many times we believe
in what or who would
accommodates us,
pleases us,
and go for us.

Teach us, dear Jesus,
like Abram and St. Irenaeus
who offered his life by standing
on what he truly believed in you;
keep us simple, Jesus,
in looking at the fruits
as the unmistakable proof
of believing in you.
Amen.

“Switching on” the grace of God

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Homily on Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist, 23 June 2023
Isaiah 49:1-6 ><}}}}*> Acts 13:22-26 ><}}}}*> Luke 1:57-66.80

*Painting of Zechariah giving name to his son John by Italian painter Riccardo Cessi (1892) from commons.wikimedia.org.*

You must have heard a lot of “Dad jokes” from Instagram. Let me now share with you a “Father joke” or priest joke. The world’s first techie was the Jewish priest Zechariah, father of St. John the Baptist because he “asked for a tablet and wrote, ‘John is his name'”.

Ok. It is corny and dry but may I invite you, friends, on something wonderful about this gospel scene in celebration today of the Solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptist, the precursor of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember how Zechariah was punished by Archangel Gabriel by becoming deaf and mute after he had doubted the good news that he and his wife Elizabeth would soon have a son to be named John. Actually, Zechariah not only doubted but even questioned “how” his barren wife could still bear a child at an old age. As a result, he was forced into silence by the Lord’s angel until everything he had announced was fulfilled.

*Photo by author, May 2019, Church of St. John the Baptist, Ein Karem, Israel.*

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John,” But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God.
Luke 1:57-64

Imagine the sight narrated to us by St. Luke: everybody so happy, trying to take a piece of action while Zechariah, father of the new-born child, old and deaf and mute was so silent like a nobody in a corner. In the Jewish society, it is the father who gives name to the children, especially to the son; but, due to Zechariah’s condition, nobody bothered to ask him so that their neighbors, like the typical epal or pakialamera we call in Filipino, assumed the role.

But Elizabeth the mother who had gone into a self-imposed silence upon bearing her child, declared their son would be called “John” or Jehohanan that means “God is gracious” or “graciousness of God” in Hebrew.

Finally amid all the noise and talk, Zechariah made the bold move by writing on a tablet “John is his name” to confirm and reaffirm the name given by his wife Elizabeth. It was a crucial moment when Zechariah boldly made a stand about his faith in God, obeying the angel’s instruction to name his son “John”.

*Photo by author of the site believed to be the birthplace of St. John the Baptist at the side of the Church of St. John the Baptist in Ein Karem, Israel, May 2019.*

What really happened was the assertion of the plan of God when Zechariah faithfully wrote “John is his name”. That’s what amazed the people so that “fear came upon the neighbors for surely the hand of the Lord was with him” (Lk.1:65, 66).

With a single stroke of hand, everyone felt God present among them as they realized something very special with the child. So amazing too as experienced by the people was when Zechariah asserted God’s plan by naming his son “John”, he was finally able to speak and hear again!

Whenever we assert the plan of God in our lives, in our community, in our family and country, new possibilities open as we break free from all obstacles and hindrances that prevent us from growing and maturing, from being joyful and fulfilled.

Whenever we assert the plan of God in our lives, in our community, in our family and country, that is when we “switch on” the grace of God, when we make God’s blessings operable among us and thus we become like John, a precursor of the Lord whose name means “God is gracious”.

Whenever we obey and assert the plan of God in our lives, in our community, in our family and country, that is when we take that leap of faith, believe again and experience God again.

Many times we could not see nor experience nor realize God’s blessings around us and within us because we do not actually believe and trust him. God’s grace is like a “switch” we have to turn on to operate like the electric light or any appliance and gadget. And the good news is, that grace and “switch” is in us already! We just have to switch it on.

Here we find anew the importance of silent, deep prayer.

*Photo by author, Anvaya Cove, 19 May 2023.*

The imposed silence on Zechariah made him realize how he had been held prisoner by his disappointments and frustrations over a long period of time when God did not hear his prayers for a child. Imagine their shame being childless despite their being good persons and as husband and wife. At that time, childlessness was seen as a punishment from God, a curse. It must have been a strong blow too to Zechariah’s ego as a priest consulted by everyone for advise and prayers yet could not sire his wife with a child!

All those negative feelings of humiliation and dejection could have caused Zechariah’s trust and faith in God to wane that even his priestly duties have become perfunctory that he never saw the tremendous grace and blessing of incensing the Holy of Holies of the temple. Such duty was a pure grace in itself because it happens only once a year during the holiest celebration of the Jewish of Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement. Priests went through a long process of drawing lots on who among them would incense the Holy of Holies because they were so many in number.

Many times we have been like Zechariah, numb and even indifferent to the movements and works of God in our lives following our many failures in life. Though we may be praying with many devotions doing so many religious activities, we have actually become “spiritual dwarfs” who never grew and matured in faith. Our prayers and devotions have become mere “habits hard to break” that are empty and meaningless.

*Photo by author taken in May 2022, Parish of St. John the Baptist in Calumpit, the oldest church in Bulacan province.*

Today God is calling us to do a Zechariah, to take that bold step of asserting and insisting God’s plan like when Zechariah boldly declared in writing “John is his name”. The first reading beautifully reminds us of one reality we all go through by wrongly thinking God does not care at all for us when nothing seems to happen with our prayers and efforts in life, in our ministry and mission.

Hear me, O coastlands; listen, O distant peoples. The Lord called me from birth; from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, yet my reward is with the Lord, my recompense is with my God.
Isaiah 49:1, 4

We cannot be another John – a graciousness of God within us and for others unless we rediscover the courage and clarity to do a Zechariah by asserting God’s command and plans entrusted specifically to us.

See also that upon regaining his sense of hearing and ability to speak, Zechariah “spoke blessing God” by singing the Benedictus in the following verses. The Benedictus is the morning hymn of praise to God we priest sing or recite daily in praying the Liturgy of the Hours. It mentions the blessedness of God and his many blessings to Israel while towards its end, we find Zechariah sending forth his son John to fulfill his mission from God in preparing the way of Jesus Christ. It is prayed in the morning to make us aware of our mission to prepare the way of the Lord Jesus.

Let us be patient, never lose hope and enthusiasm in doing the works of God even if nothing seems to happen at all. Everything we do matters a lot with God and with those around us as St. Paul explained in the second reading on the role of St. John the Baptist in salvation history.

Let us keep in mind that God remembers and keeps his promise always because he is gracious all the time. The name Zechariah in Hebrew means “God remembers” while Elizabeth is “God has promised”. John, as we have earlier said, means “God is gracious.” Let us do our part to bring Jesus into this world so fragmented and tired. Have a grace-filled weekend! Amen.

*Photo by author taken in May 2022, altar of the Parish of St. John the Baptist in Calumpit, the oldest church in Bulacan province.*

Our God is alive, not dead

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 07 June 2023
Tobit 3:1-11, 16-17 ><))))*> + <*((((>< Mark 12:18-27

God our loving Father,
today I pray for those losing
hope in you; for those in so
difficult and painful situations
in life, doubting your existence,
doubting your presence,
doubting your love.
You are "not the God of dead
but of the living" (Mark 12:27),
dear Father as declared by 
your Son Jesus Christ to us
in the gospel today.

With you, O God,
everything is possible
for as long as we believe,
for as long as we are alive
because our very life is your gift,
your proof of your presence,
your assurance of caring for us;
even if we feel so shortchanged in life
with all the bad things happening,
you love us; in fact, when we are
so down, so hard pressed in life,
that is when you love as most,
when you are most closest to us.

May we draw inspiration in faith,
in forging on with this life from 
the examples of Tobit and Sarah
who both prayed for death to you
because they felt so nothing before
others;  sometimes, it is what we all
need to experience your life, 
your loving presence
that we have nothing else but you!

At that very time, the prayer of these two suppliants was heard in the glorious presence of Almighty God. So Raphael was sent to heal them both: to remove the cataracts from Tobit’s eyes, so that he might again see God’s sunlight; and to marry Raguel’s daughter Sarah to Tobit’s son Tobiah, and then drive the wicked demon Asmodeus from her.
Tobit 3:17

May we rejoice always
in your gift of life to us
each day, Lord.
Amen.