Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, 09 November 2026 Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 ><}}}}*> 1 Corinthians 3:9-16-17 ><}}}}*> John 2:13-22
Photo by author, Cathedral of the Our Lady of Pillar, Imus, Cavite, 27 October 2026.
Let your zeal for your house consume me, Lord Jesus!
On this feast of the dedication of the St. John Lateran Basilica which is the "mother and head of all churches of Rome and the world", I pray for a thorough cleansing of ourselves and of the Church from the inside; as I pray on that scene when you "made a whip out of cords and drove out all the money changers with their tables" along with the animals and doves being sold there, I see the present situation of your Church, Jesus; yes, we have made the Father's house a marketplace - everything has become a business because we are so afraid of having less, of being poor, of going hungry and thirsty that is why we have gravitated towards the rich and powerful, including corrupt politicians we love rubbing elbows with totally forgetting the poor and the hungry, the very people themselves we are meant to serve we have actually detached from.
Cleanse our very hearts, Jesus, for we your clergy are your vessels and instruments to make known your gospel but sadly we have become so busy with so many other works we have justified, leaving us without time with you in personal, daily prayers that have made our celebrations of the Mass empty, becoming selective in dispensing the sacraments especially Confession and Anointing while our lives drift apart from your ways, we becoming the influencer, the star.
Reignite our zeal for your Church, Jesus that we finally make a firm stand against sin and evils perpetrated by brothers hiding in cassocks and vestments; we pray for every bishop not to dilly dally in their being teachers of faith that they may defend always the teachings of the Church instead of being accommodating with the ways of the world; we pray for every bishop to use their staff in disciplining wayward priests while being fair and just with all their priests.
Let us overturn, Jesus, the systemic culture of silence among us your priests so that we may walk our talks, do away with clericalism and petty turf wars that bloated our ego to forget our calling to bring life and joy to those suffering and in pain especially those at the margins. Amen.
Lord My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 08 November 2026
Photo by author, Bucharest, Romania, November 2025.
We go funky this Sunday with the Doobie Brothers’ 1978 hit What A Fool Believes so related with the gospel on Jesus Christ’s parable of the ten virgins waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom: five were foolish, five were wise.
While praying over the parable with the Doobies’ music playing inside our head, we wondered why Jesus mentioned first the foolish, then the wise.
Answer: because most people in the time of Jesus even now are foolish! (See at how most of elected officials anywhere in the world are corrupt and inept put into office by fools like them! https://lordmychef.com/2026/11/07/being-wise-not-foolish/)
Being foolish like those five virgins who did not bring extra oil for their lamps is to live as if there is no God, that there is no final reckoning with God at the end of time, acting impiously with what the psalmist says, The fool says in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1).
The fools are always the most self-centered, selfish people who think only of themselves, believing the world revolves around them, so foolishly convinced they are indispensable in life not realizing we would be better off without them actually. They may have lamps lighted for a while but are soon dimmed because inside they are empty and shallow, with nothing substantial really to keep their lamps. Exactly like that fool described in What A Fool Believes:
But what a fool believes he sees No wise man has the power to reason away What seems to be Is always better than nothing And nothing at all keeps sending him...
Composed by Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald in 1978, What A Fool Believes is the usual story unrequited love of some men who develop illusions of being romantically involved in a relationship with a woman they have foolishly fallen in love with. It was first recorded by Loggins but it was McDonald’s version with The Doobie Brothers he had joined in 1975 who made it into the charts, giving them two Grammy awards in 1980 as Song of the Year and Record of the Year. In 2024, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame becoming a certified classic.
Like the parable narrated by Jesus more than 2000 years ago with a dash of humor, What A Fool Believes teems with a lot of humor too set in the superb musicianship by The Doobie Brothers with McDonald on vocals with his most distinctive voice honed in his many recordings as one of the very talented session musicians of the famed Steely Dan composed of the late Walter Becker and Donald Fagen.
What A Fool Believes is very catchy and danceable driven by its syncopated rhythm of percussion and drum track with McDonald’s bouncy keyboard stabs and riffs, blending so perfectly into a smooth groove of soft-rock, jazz and blue-eyed soul music now labelled as yacht rock which we personally strongly dislike. Anyway, we are so glad that even the GenZ’s and Millennials love What A Fool Believes which is actually very intelligent music, from the lyrics to the instrumentations.
He came from somewhere back in her long ago The sentimental fool don't see Tryin' hard to recreate What had yet to be created once in her life She musters a smile For his nostalgic tale Never coming near what he wanted to say Only to realize It never really was
She had a place in his life He never made her think twice As he rises to her apology Anybody else would surely know He's watching her go
But what a fool believes he sees No wise man has the power to reason away What seems to be Is always better than nothing And nothing at all keeps sending him...
Somewhere back in her long ago Where he can still believe there's a place in her life Someday, somewhere, she will return
She had a place in his life He never made her think twice As he rises to her apology Anybody else would surely know He's watching her go
But what a fool believes he sees No wise man has the power to reason away What seems to be Is always better than nothing There's nothing at all But what a fool believes he sees...
It seems the man here is someone we describe as hindi nakayanan his rejection by his beloved kaya bumigay at tuluyang nabaliw, living in that grand illusion of being once the boyfriend of the love of his life.
Like the ten virgins who fell asleep while awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom, we too fail and falter many times in life. But what distinguishes the wise from the foolish ones is that faith in Jesus Christ who sustains us and enables us to weather every storm in this life.
Let me end this with another round of praise and thanks to the great Alex Eala – not only for her athletic prowess but for her simplicity and humility, beauty and maturity when she said in her press conference yesterday after that cardiac game with Tereza Valentova that being tired is a blessing.
Very true!
We all get tired and Jesus assures us in his parable that’s fine like those ten virgins who fell asleep. What matters is we keep that fire burning within us by always having that extra oil in Jesus, always believing, always hoping and always loving as we strive to become better like Alex.
With some great music of course like What A Fool Believes by The Doobie Brothers.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday, Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 05 November 2026 Philippians 3:3-8 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 15:1-10
Photo by author, a man lost in prayer inside Our Lady of Pillar Cathedral, Imus, Cavite, 27 October 2026.
"Win some, lose some" is how gamblers view life, not just gambling; but, unlike gambling, Jesus assures us that to bet everything in him, to lose everything in him is always a sure win.
But whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (Philippians 3:7-8).
So Jesus addressed this parable to them, “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert to go after the lost one until he finds it?” … “Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it?” (Luke 15:3-4, 8)
Lord Jesus, teach me to learn to let go, to lose some or even a lot, to let go of what I have in order to have you in those persons and things the world regards as the least for indeed, it is in losing when we truly gain, in letting go that we truly have, and in dying that we live in you. Amen.
Photo by author, same man leaving fulfilled, gaining God after getting lost in prayer, Our Lady of Pillar Cathedral, Imus, Cavite, 30 October 2026.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 03 November 2026
A week before Undas, we went to Imus, Cavite; it was my first time and in obedience to my late mother's instruction, we went to pray at the Cathedral Parish of Our Lady of the Pillar.
According to tradition, Saint James the Greater was discouraged at his preaching of the Gospel in Spain with very few converts; the Blessed Mother who was still then living in Jerusalem appeared to him via bilocation at the banks of Ebro River in Zaragoza, Spain while standing on a jasper column. Mary gave the pillar to Saint James with the instruction to build a chapel in her honor there that became the Cathedral-Basilica of Zaragoza, considered as the first Marian apparition in history that happened on the year 40, second day of January.
Saint James eventually won many converts and returned to Jerusalem where he was martyred in the year 44 to become the first among the Apostles to shed blood for the Gospel. His remains were later translated back to Spain, reaching its final destination in the now famous Santiago de Compostela.
I have always wanted to go on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain but it seems God has other plans for me; while praying there at Imus, it just dawned upon me that we can always do that pilgrimage to any holy site first in our hearts, in our own hallowed hiddenness.
Right inside this beautiful Cathedral in Imus after praying, I felt taking my iPhone to observe the steps, the internal camino of many other pilgrims coming there only with their hearts for Jesus with Mary.
Like this man silently, intensely praying.
I have realized that hiddenness is a sacred presence where each of us can be all by one’s self focused on God who is the root of our being and existence.
According to St. John Paul II, God created man first to be alone with Him. And that is how it will be to each of us in the end: we die alone. With God in Jesus.
We all have this gift of hiddenness within whenever we desire to be still, for some “me” time to rediscover and find one’s self anew.
“In our society we are inclined to avoid hiddenness. We want to be seen and acknowledged. We want to be useful to others and influence the course of events. But as we become visible and popular, we quickly grow dependent on people and their responses and easily lose touch with God, the true source of our being. Hiddenness is the place of purification. In hiddenness we find our true selves” (Fr. Henri Nouwen).
Hiddenness is the passageway to the great gifts of silence and stillness that lead us to the deeper truths and realities of life, of self, ultimately of God.
Silence is the language of God; silence precedes very communication by God something we have refused to learn about communication that is why we quarrel a lot, misunderstanding each other always.
We never dialogue nor communicate but simply talk, talk, and talk without silence in order to listen to others.
Hiddenness is God’s mode of presence that cannot be captured nor described in human terms. That is why He is hidden. It is not that God is hiding from us but He is inviting us to be intimately close with Him to exclusively and personally experience Him, be filled with Him.
It was the same thing Jesus did on Easter, remaining hidden before finally appearing to Mary Magdalene whom He stopped from touching Him to signal her and us today of the new level of relating with the Risen Lord in hiddenness.
In all Easter stories, we are told how the disciples fell silent whenever Jesus appeared to them. In Emmaus, after the breaking of bread, the two disciples finally recognized Jesus who immediately vanished because Jesus wanted them and us today to follow Him personally in His hiddenness to find Him and ourselves too.
Appearances, images and noise are fleeting.
The most significant moments and insights we have in life are those that come from our long periods of silence, of prayers and soul-searching.
This November as we continue to remember all those who have left us in this world, let us keep its sacred origins in the hiddenness of our hearts: All Saints Day for those souls already in heaven and All Souls’ Day for those who have departed but still being purified in the purgatory.
Both invite us to “hide” in prayers, in silent remembering to experience God and our departed loved ones in the most intimate and personal manner without the gadgets and things that numb us of their presence. Amen. Have a blessed and meanigful All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days!
Salamuch po sa mga bumisita at nagbasa ng ating blog ukol sa wastong pangangalaga ng mga sinaabong labi o cremated remains. Mayroong ilan ang tumuligsa sa ating isinulat na batay sa pinakahuling Instruction ng Vatican, ang Ad resurgendum cum Christo na nagbabawal sa pag-iingat sa bahay ng urn ng na-cremate na labi ng mahal sa buhay maging ang pagpaparte-parte kahit katiting ng mga sinaabong labi na kadalasan nilalagay sa mga kuwintas at alahas bilang remembrance.
Ipagpaumanhin po ninyo kung sakaling nasaktan inyong mga damdamin sa aking nalathala na pitak ngunit wala pong kinalaman sa usaping pananalapi ang mga alituntunin ng Simbahan na noon pa mang 1963 umiiral; kailan lamang nagkaroon ng mga kolumbaryo sa mga parokya. Karamihan sa mga kolumbaryo ay pinangangasiwaan ng mga pribadong kumpanya gaya ng mga funeral homes at memorial parks.
Sabi naman ng iba walang sinasabi sa Bibliya na bawal ilagak sa tahanan ang urn naglalaman ng sinaabong labi ng yumao. Ang ating pong tugon: e wala din naman po sinasabi ang Bibliya ukol sa cremation ng mga namatay bagaman mayroong isang pagkakataon mga labi ng namatay ay sinunog. Ito ay matapos na lapastanginin ng mga Filisteo mga labi ni Haring Saul at mga anak kaya binawi ng mga Israelita kanilang mga bangkay at sinunog upang ilibing mga abo bilang tanda ng kanilang pag-galang (1 Samuel 31:7-13).
Makikita natin sa buong bibliya na mula kina Abraham hanggang kay Jesu-Kristo, pawang silang lahat ay mga inilibing kaya naman ito pa rin ang higit na paraan pinipili ng Simbahan mula sinauna sa pangangalaga ng mga labi ng namatay bilang paghahanda sa Second Coming na kung saan ang mga labi ng mga namatay ay hahanguin muli upang isama sa kaluluwa at makamit ang glorified body tulad ni Jesus nang muling nabuhay. Ito pa rin ang dahilan kaya nang payagan ng Simbahan ang cremation pagkaraan ng Vatican II, tiniyak pa rin na mapangalagaan at nasa ligtas at naaayong lunan mga labi ng mga yumao.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda isa sa mga pinakamatandang sementeryo sa labas ng Jerusalem; masdan mga nitso nakaturo ang mga paanan nito sa silangang bahagi ng lungsod kung saan nila inaasahan magdaraan ang Mesiyas kapag dumating kaya kapag iyon ay nangyari, lahat ng mga namatay ay babangon nakaharap doon upang salubungin siya.
Ngunit higit na dahilan sa pagtitiyak na nasa maayos, marangal at nararapat na libingan ang labi ng ating mga yumao ay bahagi ng katuruan ng Simbahan na batay pa rin sa Banal na Kasulatan – ang pagpapahalaga sa dangal ng bawat tao kahit namatay na bilang larawan at wangis ng Diyos.
Hindi ba ninyo alam na ang inyong katawan ay templo ng Espiritu Santo na nasa inyo at tinanggap ninyo mula sa Diyos? Ang inyong katawan ay hindi talagang inyo kundi sa Diyos (1 Corinto 6:19).
Maliwanag ang Banal na Kasulatan, mga ginigiliw ko: sa buhay na ito hanggang kamatayan, wala tayong masasabing atin sapagkat ang lahat ay sa Diyos. Mainam basahin din natin nauunang talata ng ating sitas kung saan ipinanangaral ni San Pablo kabanalan ng ating katawan kaya dapat panatilihin itong malinis mula sa kasamaan at kasalanan. At ito ay kahit namatay na.
At dito ating makikita ang malungkot na umiiral sa makabagong panahon na marami sa atin sa ngayon pakiwari sa sarili ay buo niyang pag-aari, na tila walang pakialam sino man sa ibig niyang gawin sa kanyang sariling katawan.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Chapel of Our Lady of Ephesus, Bella Gardens, Tagaytay City, 07 Oktubre 2026.
Katawan ko pag-aari ko ang tila slogan ng karamihan ngayon kaya kung ayaw magbuntis, ipapalaglag sanggol sa sinapupunan. Ito rin dahilan sa sobrang pagbatak – stretching – ng ating mga karapatan kung kayat pati na rin sa pag-iiba ng ari at kasarian (sex change), ang nauusong test tube baby o in-vitro fertilization na pawang hindi pinahihintulutan ng Simbahan sapagkat labag mga ito sa dangal ng buhay. Ang malungkot kasi sa panahon ngayon, puro tayo karapatan na tila pag-aari natin ang lahat – hindi lamang ating sariling buhay kungdi maging buhay ng iba gaya ng sanggol sa sinapupunan ng isang ina o mga pumanaw na. Sa bawat karapatan ay mayroon ding katapat na tungkulin at pananagutan sa iba.
Sinasabi ng mga dalubhasa na mayroong dalawang palatandaan ng mataas na antas ng kalinangan ano mang lipi ng mga tao na kanilang napag-aralan: una anila ay kapag ang mga buto ng mga yumao ay mayroong tanda ng panggagamot at ikalawa ay kapag inililibing ang mga yumao.
Ayon sa kanila, nagpapahayag ang dalawang palatandaang ito ng pangangalaga sa kapwa tulad ng panggagamot sa nagkakasakit o naaksidente at higit sa lahat, kahit namatay na, iniingatan pa rin kanilang mga labi. Palatandaan anila ang mga ito ng tunay na pagmamalasakit sa kapwa na nagpapatunay ang tao ay social being, hindi nag-iisa at palaging mayroong kapwa. No man is an island wika nga dahil tayong lahat ay magkakarugtong sa buhay maging sa kamatayan na ang kaganapan ating inaasam ay magaganap sa buhay na walang hanggan kapiling ang Diyos.
Kaya kung paano natin pinahahalagahan ating mga yumao ay nagsasalamin ng ating patuloy na pagpapahalaga sa kanila, sa pagkilala sa kanilang sariling katauhan na maging mapayapa at malaya sa buhay na walang hanggan. Sadyang masakit ang mamatayan ng mahal sa buhay ngunit alalahanin nating ang usapin ay hindin lamang may kinalaman sa ating nagdadalamhati at nasaktan kungdi higit sa lahat doon mismo sa namatay. Ibigay natin nauukol sa paggalang sa kanilang naiwang labi na sinaad ng mga titik na “R.I.P.” mula sa mga katagang Latin na Requiescat In Pace o Rest in Peace sa Inggles habang sa Filipino ay mas malalim ang salin na isang panalangin din, Sumalangit nawa (SLN) kanilang kaluluwa. Amen. Isang mapayapang Araw ng mga Yumao.
*Salamuch kay Ginoong Paterno Esmaquel II ng The Religion Reporter na nag-interview sa atin noong Sabado upang maipaliwanag ilang mga bagay-bagay sa cremation. Narito po ating panayam mula sa YouTube.com.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Solemnity of All Saints, 01 November 2026 Revelation7:2-4, 9-14 ><}}}}*> 1 John 3:1-3 ><}}}}*> Matthew 5:1-12
Thousands of people arrive to pray at the graves of their relatives at a cemetery during the annual observance of All Saint’s Day in Manila on November 1, 2019. Photo by Ted Aljibe, AFP.
The way we Filipinos say goodbyes illustrates vividly – with a dash of some humor – the theology of our celebrations of All Saints Day and All Souls Day we collectively call as Undas.
When we are in a party or any gathering, we never say we are leaving like alis na ako that sounds rude, or layas na ako that is tinged with anger while diyan na kayo could mean burning of one’s bridges, a sort of total separation.
Normally, we say goodbyes either by saying tutuloy na po ako or mauna na po ako. The po is optional but both are the most kind and accepted way of telling everuyone we are leaving. our hosts we are leaving. Tutuloy na ako literally in English is “I’m coming in”when you are actually going out to leave while mauna na po ako means I’m going first or will go ahead of everybody whereas no one is following you especially the host.
But here are the twists in these Filipino goodbyes: both indicate our being Christians, of our deeply ingrained religiosity no matter how hard some would deny. Whenever we say tutuloy na ako, mauna na ako, we unconsciously or subconsciously express our hunger and thirst for heaven, for eternal life.
To say tutuloy na ako is to express that basic truth we all die with one final destination which is heaven in eternal life.
To say mauuna na ako is an affirmation of our other famous maxim about death, una-una lang yan, that nobody knows who’s going to die among us next.
Every time we bid goodbye to anyone, we express this holy desires to be in heaven, to be with God, to be like all the Saints we celebrate on this first day of November.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied” (Matthew 5:1-2, 6).
Photo by author, Baguio City, July 2018.
In this time of faith in a mass-mediated culture that thrives in promoting pleasures and merry-making alongside with overflowing food and drinks while more others are starving and dying in hunger and still more are without potable water to drink, we find the fourth beatitude a rarity.
Notice how bacchanalian our generation has become with all the food apps and restaurants offering a plethora of food and drinks so glorified in social media called “food porn”, a prostitution of food and drinks. How sad so many people has become so insensitive in posting all their food in social media without any deference for the poor who could barely make ends meet for a decent meal thrice daily. See how so few among us Catholics really fast or go on abstinence every Ash Wednesday and Good Friday with all of our excuses and alibis.
Photo by author, side entrance to Church of Beatitudes, the Holy Land, May 2019.
Very sad.
Hence, Jesus called “blessed” those who hunger and thirst for righteousness because it is an affirmation of our faith in him who told the devil in the wilderness that “man does not live by bread alone but by every that comes forth from the mouth of God” (Mt.2:4). To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to value more the soul than the body. It is an appetite for the sacred and for things of deeper value and importance than those that are fleeting and superficial like food and drinks and other pleasures including those that bloat our egos.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness because it is a desire to be holy first of all, a desire for God himself, a desire for heaven. Righteousness for the Jews is holiness which is the observance of God’s Laws and Commandments. But, problem with this frame of mind as we have seen since the other Sunday is the tendency to be legalistic, to see more the Laws than the person that ultimately, fails to see God in one another.
Holiness is being filled with God like the souls already in heaven called Saints. They are holy because they have been purified of their sins and therefore filled with God as John tells us in his vision of heaven of great multitudes wearing white robes washed in the Blood of the Lamb.
But for us still on earth, still battling with sin and evil, holiness is being filled with God but not sinless. And because we are filled with God, we strive always to work alongside with Christ, bearing all the pains and sufferings he bore first for us for the sake of righteousness, of justice and peace. In this world when conformity to whatever “everyone is doing” is the rule of the game like corruption, dishonesty, and infidelity, being hungry and thirsty with the poor and suffering is our strongest signs of protest and resistance against the prevailing evils of our time. Being hungry and thirsty for righteousness is also being hungry and thirsty for the Kingdom of God because that is a sharing in Christ’s Passion and Death leading to his glorious Resurrection.
Photo from bloomberg.com of a homeless man in New York City during a fashion week in summer 2019.
The most difficult daily struggle we all contend with is our hunger and thirst, our most basic instincts for the most basic needs of food and water in order to live; without food and water, we grow weak and die. However, hunger and thirst tend us to overindulge with food and drinks because these readily give us pleasures, making us forget the more essential things in life.
That is why the need for some forms of sacrifices like abstinence and fasting not only with food and drinks but anything that gives us pleasure and comfort so that we learn to desire for higher things like God, holiness and virtues.
The fourth beatitude is most timely in a world that has become so consumerist where only matter matters with everything reduced to pera pera lang with God slowly being deleted from daily life scenes. See how our world has become like showbiz with all the glitz and glamor with everything for show or palabas that despite the abundance we now enjoy not only in food and drinks but almost everything, the more we have become empty and alienated within.
Blessed are you if you hunger and thirst for righteousness because it is a grace reminding you of that fact many forget that the world and everything here passes. Being hungry and thirsty for righteousness is having God in your heart, of experiencing his love, of working to love others so that they too may experience God because they have been so hungry and thirsty for love and kindness, care and concern from others.
What do you hunger and thirst for these days?
How sad that with all these technologies we now have meant to bring us closer with one another have actually brought us apart. Worst of all, the very technologies meant to work for us now enslave us, becoming not only the gods of many but masters too. Blessed are you in your hunger and thirst for God because he alone in Christ Jesus can truly satisfy us here and hereafter. Dwell in the love of God in Jesus Christ John tells us in the second reading like the saints who have gone ahead of us, resisting all evils and temptations to sin for only the Lord satisfies us. Amen. A blessed All Saints’ Day to you!
A panel of Fra Angelico’s painting (1423-24) “The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs” from wikipedia.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-28 ng Oktubre 2026
Larawan mula sa inquirer.net file photo, 2022.
Undas na naman at wika nga sa Inggles, all roads lead to the cemetery sa panahong ito upang alalahanin sa pananalangin habang nagtutulos ng kandila, naglalagay ng bulaklak mga pamilya at angkan sa puntod ng kanilang mga yumaong mahal sa buhay.
Siyempre, mayroon din salu-salo doon sa sementeryo habang ang iba naman ay nagtitipon sa kolumbaryo upang gayon din, ipanalangin kanilang mga yumaong mahal sa buhay na isinaabo ang mga labi o pina-cremate.
Mula sa wikang Latin, langit o “sky” ang columbarium habang ang ossuary na halos katulad nito ay libingan naman ng mga buto ng yumao na mula din sa Latin, os o buto kaya yaong sakit sa buto ay osteoporosis kung tawagin. Ang ating kataga na sementeryo o cemetery sa Inggles ay nagmula din sa wikang Latin na hiniram sa Griyego, cemeterion na kahulugan ay “dormitoryo”. Malinaw sa mga katagang gamit sa libingan noon pa man ay nagpapahiwatig ng buhay na walang hanggan na siyang ating tunay na hantungan sa pagwawakas ng buhay sa lupang ibabaw.
Larawang kuha ng may-akda, Anvaya Cove, Bataan, Abril 2026.
Ito ang dahilan mula simula pa lamang ay pinahahalagahan na ang labi ng mga yumaong mahal natin sa buhay dahil mismong ating Panginoong Jesu-Kristo na nagpakasakit at namatay ngunit muling nabuhay ay nalibing din. At dahil doon, pinabanal ni Jesus ating libingan habang inaabangan ang kanyang muling pagbabalik sa wakas ng panahon na kung saan ang lahat ng namatay ay ibabangon niya upang ang kanilang mga labi ay makaisa kanilang mga kaluluwa sa buhay na walang hanggan na siya nating ipinahahayag tuwing magsisimba ng araw ng Linggo, “Sumasampalatay ako sa Espiritu Santo, sa Simbahang Katolika, sa kasamahan ng mga Banal, sa pagkabuhay mag-uli ng mga namatay na tao hanggang sa buhay na walang hanggan.”
Kaya naman itinuturo ng Simbahan batay sa Ebanghelyo at Banal na Kasulatan na pakaingatan at pangalagaan palagi ang mga labi ng mga yumao.
Subalit nakababahala, nakakabagabag itong nauuso na pag-uuwi sa bahay at pagkuha ng kahit kaunting sinaabong labi ng yumao na nilalagay sa kuwintas at ibang alahas bilang remembrance at alaala. Kasama na rito pag-iingat sa tahanan ng tinaguriang “green bones” dahil ito man ay bahagi, labi ng yumao.
Pinahihintulutan naman ng Simbahan ang cremation noon pa man ngunit ito ay alinsunod sa mga tagubilin at alituntunin dapat tuparin upang matiyak na mapananatili ang dangal at pangangalaga sa labi ng mga yumao.
At pangangahasan ko nang sabihin na malaking kahangalan at paglapastangan sa mga yumao ang nauusong pagkuha ng sinaabong labi upang itago sa tahanan at higit sa lahat, pagparte-partehan ng pamilya mga ito – kahit kaunti – upang ilagay sa alahas tulad ng kuwintas bilang remembrance ng kanilang mahal na yumao.
Juice colored! Anong kalokohan iyan?
Sa halip na maparangalan kanilang mga yumaong mahal sa buhay, kabaligtaran ang nangyayari. Nagiging katulad na lamang ng ordinaryong gamit gaya ng balat ng kendi o talulot ng bulaklak na paalala ng inyong first date ang sinaabong labi ng mahal na yumao. Matay ko mang isipin na nakasabit sa leeg ang kuwintas na mayroong abo ng yumaong mahal sa buhay na dapat ay namayapa na e hanggang ngayon ay kayag-kayag pa rin sa mga pinagkakaabalahan sa buhay pati na sa hirap at tiisin.
Paano kung mahablot, ma-snatch kuwintas na mayroong abo ng inyong yumao? Sana ay maisip ng mga gumagawa nito ang kalapastanganang iyan sa kanilang yumao.
Kung tunay nating minamahal mga yumao natin sa buhay, ilagak sila sa mga takdang libingan tulad ng sementeryo at kolumbaryo upang doon kanilang labi ay mapangalagaan at higit sa lahat, maipagdasal at maalala palagi di lamang ng pamilya at kamag-anak kungdi ng bayan ng Diyos, ang Simbahan sa tuwina ay nananalangin para sa mga yumao.
Noong 2016 niliwanag at muling ipinaalala sa isang Instruction ng Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sa Vatican ang paglalagom ng mga katuruan at alituntunin ng Simbahan ukol sa paglilibing lalo ng mga sinaabong labi ng namatay. Unang-una na dito ang paglagak ng mga ito sa natatanging libingan gaya ng sementeryo at kolumbaryo. Narito ang buong sitas upang kayo mismo ang bumasa sa mga bahagi ng naturang Instruction na pinamagatang Ad Resurgendum cum Christo na ibig sabihi’y “bumangon muli kay Kristo”:
When, for legitimate motives, cremation of the body has been chosen, the ashes of the faithful must be laid to rest in a sacred place, that is, in a cemetery or, in certain cases, in a church or an area, which has been set aside for this purpose, and so dedicated by the competent ecclesial authority.
From the earliest times, Christians have desired that the faithful departed become the objects of the Christian community’s prayers and remembrance. Their tombs have become places of prayer, remembrance and reflection. The faithful departed remain part of the Church who believes “in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church”.
The reservation of the ashes of the departed in a sacred place ensures that they are not excluded from the prayers and remembrance of their family or the Christian community. It prevents the faithful departed from being forgotten, or their remains from being shown a lack of respect, which eventuality is possible, most especially once the immediately subsequent generation has too passed away. Also it prevents any unfitting or superstitious practices (#5, Instruction Ad Resurgendum cum Christo).
For the reasons given above, the conservation of the ashes of the departed in a domestic residence is not permitted. Only in grave and exceptional cases dependent on cultural conditions of a localized nature, may the Ordinary, in agreement with the Episcopal Conference or the Synod of Bishops of the Oriental Churches, concede permission for the conservation of the ashes of the departed in a domestic residence. Nonetheless, the ashes may not be divided among various family members and due respect must be maintained regarding the circumstances of such a conservation (#6, Instruction Ad Resurgendum cum Christo).
Larawan kuha ni Santi San Juan ng Manila Bulletin, Angono, Rizal, 31 Agosto 2024.
Malinaw ang paalala ng Simbahan: hindi pinapayagan itago sa tahanan ang na-cremate na labi ng mahal sa buhay. At hindi rin tama na pagparte-partehan ng mga naulila kahit katiting ng sinaabong labi ng kanilang yumao.
Nakakalungkot na mayroong mga pari na sa halip ituro ang tama at nararapat, sila pa nagkukunsinti ng kamalian at kalapastanganang ito sa pagbabasbas ng mga kuwintas na mayroong sinaabong labi ng mga yumao.
Nararapat at napapanahon nang pagbawalan ng Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) ang mga punenarya sa pag-aalok sa mga namatayan ng mga sinaabong labi na nilalagay nila mismo sa mga kuwintas na kanila ring binebenta na isa pang dagdag na kalapastanganan sa mga yumao na pinagkakitaan pa!
Mahigpit ding ipinagbabawal ng Simbahan ang pagsasaboy ng mga sinaabong labi sa himpapawirin at karagatan katulad ng mga eksena sa pelikula; walang puwang sa pananampalatayang Katoliko ang mga gawaing ito sapagkat turo nga ni San Pablo, templo at tahanan ng Espiritu Santo ang bawat tao (1Cor.6:19) kaya kahit namatay na ay sagrado pa rin kanilang mga labi kaya mga ito ay binabasbasan pa rin.
In order that every appearance of pantheism, naturalism or nihilism be avoided, it is not permitted to scatter the ashes of the faithful departed in the air, on land, at sea or in some other way, nor may they be preserved in mementos, pieces of jewelry or other objects. These courses of action cannot be legitimized by an appeal to the sanitary, social, or economic motives that may have occasioned the choice of cremation (#7, Instruction Ad Resurgendum cum Christo).
Ngayong Undas, kung mayroon kayong mga sinaabong labi ng inyong mahal sa buhay na nasa bahay pa rin o kahit kaunti sa kuwintas at ibang alahas, alang-alang sa kapayapaan ng inyong mahal na yumao, ilagak na mga ito sa sementeryo o kolumbaryo. Kumausap ng pari para sa inurment of remains upang maging makabuluhan at banal inyong pagdiriwang ng Undas simula ngayong taon hanggang sa magkasama-sama tayo balang araw sa buhay na walang hanggan kapiling ang Diyos at kanyang mga Banal. Amen.
Larawan kuha ni Santi San Juan ng Manila Bulletin sa Angono, Rizal, 31 Oktubre 2024.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 20 October 2026
Detail of the fingers of Adam and God “connecting” in Michaelangelo’s “Creation” painting at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican; from commons.wikimedia.org.
This piece is long overdue but recent events in my life, though so simple, convinced me to finally put into words my thoughts about connection and connecting.
We are all created to connect as Michaelangelo perfectly portrayed in his painting of the Creation at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican which is widely used in many ads, from Levi’s jeans to every major telephone companies around the world.
Because, with connections, we live, we prosper, we grow. Without it, we decay. Then die.
Michaelangelo’s “Creation” painting, the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican; from commons.wikimedia.org.
According to a recent TED talk episode I have seen, the top leading predictor for longevity in life is the kind of relationships or connections we keep in life. In a study of thousands of people from different backgrounds, it was found that people actively connected, actively interacting with others are the ones who live longest. The study ranked obesity and smoking way below as predictors of longevity; so, keep connecting, clicking wine glasses and beer pitchers with friends and relatives!
Any break in connections is an indication of separation and isolation. Of sin, most of all. That is why, any relationship on the rocks or had gone sour is always marked by cold silence among family and friends, even plain acquaintances. You see them suddenly not talking to each other, refusing to eat together, even avoiding to look at each other.
Photo by author, St. Michael Retreat House, Antipolo City, July 2026.
Many times our connections happen unconsciously. Or serendipitously where magic often happens, like love at first sight perhaps. It can happen with people we casually take as one of the guys, one of those ordinary folks we meet daily in work or in the neighborhood.
Last Sunday I was invited by one of our drivers in the University to attend his birthday party thrown by his elder sisters in a restaurant in Bulacan near our home. It turned out that weeks before his birthday, he had asked some people in the office to invite me because he was too shy to ask me personally; but, everyone told him malabo pumunta si Father, busy yun kasi Sunday.
But, he tried his luck when we bumped into each other at the lobby of our building one afternoon, blurting out in successive words his invitation with quick excuses that he would ot mind at all if I am so busy and tired. Because it would be his 60th birthday, I assured him I would come.
And glad that I came, even so late.
It was only then when I learned of his life story as he cried expressing his fervent wish to be reunited with his wife and children. One of his friends thanked me as I left the party, saying how Rollie was deeply happy and affirmed, kahit na isang driver lang siya,pinuntahan siya ng isang pari. The following Monday, we met again at the lobby, he shook my hands and warmly expressed his gratitude to my coming to his party that made his elder sisters so happy too.
That’s when I realized how it mattered a lot to him. I have experienced it so many times in my 28 years of priesthood, of how people look up to us priests that it was an honor for them to receive us as their guests. This is most true with those with less in life, saying the same lines over and over, mabuti naman po Father pinuntahan ninyo kami maski mahirap lang kami. People like it most when we priests connect with them no matter what is their situation in life, when we smell like them our sheep as Pope Francis would always say of us priests.
Many times, we take our connections for granted, taking them as so simple with no big deal at all but for some, it means the whole world for them because every connection leads to joy and freedom: the joy of acceptance, the joy of friendships that make us realize that we do not have to pretend to be somebody else, to be free and be our true selves because we are accepted and appreciated. Most of all, because of feeling connected, we feel not alone, always with somebody at our side, giving us the strength to forge on in life even when everything seems to be dark and bleak, difficult and fearsome. Or even when we feel ourselves in a mess, we feel we have connections that will pull us through.
Photo by author, 28 September 2026.
Last September 28, we were invited to join the birthday celebration of Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Dagupan-Lingayen Archdiocese.
For the longest time even before getting ordained, I have always looked up to him and admired him from afar. That is why I felt so glad and blessed when my brother priests in my first assignment were his contemporaries at San Carlos Seminary that we finally got to personally meet and know each other. From then on, we would always meet on many occasions in simple greetings and short conversations.
On his birthday celebration, I felt a different connection. A blessed one because it is something so priestly, so unique that I felt him as a father and a brother.
He invited our group, the Ephesus Cares Ministry to join him in celebrating his birthday Mass with their retired priests; kami lang daw ang iba niyang bisita maliban sa kanilang mga pari.
It was on that occasion of Bishop Soc’s birthday when I got this idea about connections, of being connected.
How I loved that scene at the chapel before the Mass and blessing of new duplex homes for their retired priests: there was Bishop Soc praying in silence in front, connecting with Jesus our Eternal Priest. This is something Bishop Soc has consistently taught in his talks and homilies especially to priests and lay people alike: our strongest connection in life is prayer to be in communion with God in Jesus always because when everything else fails in life, God remains connected with us.
Later, the retired priests came and all the more I appreciated the scene in their chapel: Bishop Soc connected with his elderly priests! How edifying to see and experience the bishop choosing to connect exclusively with his retired, sick, and elderly priests on his birthday. How wonderful that after all the other birthday celebrations tendered for him, Bishop Soc chose to close his birthday celebration with a Mass and dinner with his priests, retired and active. No outsiders nor laypeople except our Ephesus Cares volunteers.
During dinner, Bishop Soc asked me to sit beside him in the table with his other priests. We talked a lot of things but what I like most was when he told me I am always welcomed there or even in his residence in case I want to rest, to get connected with Jesus. And he is willing to guide me too.
A week after that, I received from the mail a letter from Bishop Soc thankin me for coming to his birthday and for the card I have given him that day. He asked only for one thing: that I pray for his priests and his seminarians preparing for the priesthood that they may have the strength to remain good priests. It was something I never expected considering his busy schedule but here is a Bishop we see and hear and read everywhere proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. He is so good at it because he is clearly so connected – with God, with himself and with others. Salamuch for connecting with me. Let’s keep connected. God bless!
Photo by author, Villa San Rafael Retirement Home for Priests, Bonuan, Dagupan City, 28 September 2026.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 18 October 2026 Isaiah 45:1, 4-6 ><}}}}*> 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5 ><}}}}*> Matthew 22:15-21
Ever since, I have never been fascinated with court scenes except with those television series like LA Law, the Lincoln Lawyer and Law & Order that was actually more of police stories. Hence, I have never followed up the Impeachment trial of the Vice President except read reports or watch reels of what transpired in each day because I simply don’t have the patience. Imagine the comedies happening daily courtesy of the defense team.
However, while praying over our gospel this Sunday, it looked like a sort of trial scene in court for me where Jesus seems to be on trial by his enemies. Beginning this Sunday until next, Christ’s enemies would take turns in entrapping Jesus with questions hoping to find grounds for his arrest.
The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech. They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s status. Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” Knowing their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that pays the census tax.” Then they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?” They replied, “Caesar’s .” At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (Matthew 22:15-21).
“Ecce Homo” by Swiss-Italian painter Antonio Ciseri (ca.1860-1880), from wikimediacommons.org
The scene is actually a prelude to Jesus Christ’s trial before Pontius Pilate after his enemies eventually made up charges against him.
Reflecting on the trial of Jesus by Pontius Pilate, St. John Paul II wrote that until now we put God on trial, accusing him of so many crimes and negligence in the world. And the most ironic part of it is that the more we accuse God of “crimes”, the more we incriminate ourselves actually into the very crimes we accuse him. Every trial, every testing of God is a self-indictment of our very selves.
Self-incrimination is the act of making a statement, providing testimony, or sharing information that exposes one’s self to criminal liability or possible criminal prosecution. Self-indictment is a slight variation of self-incrimination or to describe an action, statement, or work that acts as a severe, self-generated criticism or condemnation of oneself (from wikipedia).
See how the bitter enemies, Pharisees and Herodians joined forces against Jesus: the Pharisees were against the Roman occupiers while the Herodians were pro-Romans. They are a perfect example of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Though they hated each other, they hated Jesus even more, foolishly deciding to set aside their differences momentarily to settle a score against Jesus.
But Jesus smelled their rancid odor right away, asking them of their motive, calling them hypocrites!
But their hypocrisy lies not only in their joining forces against Jesus but most of all in knowing how Jesus is so fair and just, “teaching the way of God in accordance with the truth”, then, why did they not finally accept him as the Christ and followed him? After all their praises, they have the gall to test him?
It was a hypocrisy to the highest degree actually. That is why we always have to beware of people who lavish us with praises with their lips smooth as butter but sharp as dagger.
The Pharisees and all enemies of Jesus have seen how he loved the poor and the sick, the marginalized, the women especially the widows, the children, the sinners and even them despite their being self-righteous. Jesus never drove them away nor rejected their invitations to dinner. Yet, they still refused to believe in Jesus and they wanted to test him.
It is the same tactic we have against one another, against Jesus. We go into secret alliances with our “enemies” against a common enemy without realizing it is in itself a self-indictment of our own sinfulness. It is one reason why I have strongly opposed priests and church organizations aligning with some groups like the so-called progressives, leftists or left-leaning who are mostly wokes: many times we may share a common stand against certain issues like capital punishment but what about their hard-core stance on divorce, contraceptives and abortion, gender-redefinition and same-sex marriage?
How much do we really believe in God? Then why do we have to “sleep with the enemies” like the rich and powerful politicians for donations and favors?
Flemish painter Peter Paul Ruben’s “The Tribute Money” (ca. 1612) from commonswikimedia.org.
Inasmuch as we view this as a sort of a court trial scene with the Pharisees and Herodians on the offensive, Jesus is not on the defensive mode here because he has nothing to defend in the first place. In fact, his enemies have conceded earlier on the good character of Jesus which we have just mentioned earlier.
Reminiscent of the tempting by the devil in the wilderness and later his trials with the Sanhedrin then with Pilate, here we find Jesus always with the “upper hand”, never swayed for he is sure and certain of himself. Plaudits and flatteries can never deviate Jesus from the truth that he is the Christ, the Son of God. And this is what he is telling us here: believe in yourself. Stand with your conviction in Christ always. Do not be bothered or affected by what others say.
This we shall see at how Jesus addressed his enemies with their entrapment by asking for a Roman coin. It was the strongest case of his enemies’ self-incrimination, of hypocrisy: they really have no plans of knowing whether it was lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not because in giving Jesus the Roman coin, they have betrayed themselves as in fact paying the tax to Rome after all, even the Pharisees who were anti-Rome.
Most of all, they were not supposed to bring into the temple area idolatrous objects, images of other gods, exactly what a Roman coin was with the image and inscription of the Roman emperor who believed in himself as a god. It was the height of their stupidity to bring out that Roman coin, their clear self-indictment. Though they professed faith in God as Jews, they still followed the false gods of Rome like its emperor.
“Ecce Homo” painting by Spanish painter Juan de Juanes (ca.1570), from commons.wikimedia.org
Every day, this happens among us, always complaining, always ranting to God, even sometimes testing him like the Pharisees and the Herodians; but, if we search our hearts, if check on what we have, who we follow, we too are guilty like the enemies of Jesus having aligned with the new gods of today like cellphone and other gadgets, wealth and fame.
How unfortunate many these days live in social media where what is most accepted even glorified and followed is whatever that is shallow and superficial, rude and obscene, stupid and idiotic.
Jesus tells us this Sunday to look beyond what we see on things to find God who is the source of our very life, of every blessings we enjoy. Let us hold on to that assurance by St. Paul in the second reading that we were chosen by God in Christ Jesus to receive all his abundant blessings in life. Hold on to Jesus. Look beyond and find the face of Jesus in everything and everyone like the Persian emperor Cyrus in the first reading used by God as instrument in setting free the Jewish exiles in Babylon. Amen. Have a blessed week ahead!
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 16 October 2026 Ephesians 1:11-14 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 12:1-7
Photo by author, Bella Rosa Gardens, Silang, Cavite, 07 October 2026.
What's happening in the world, Lord where everyone seems to thrive in chaos? Trash talks like cussings, making fun of other people's disabilities, smart shaming and body shaming are so glorified and imitated especially in social media; many have no more sense of shame at all, stretching their rights without any regard for their responsibilities nor rights of others that we are like in that gospel scene today:
At that time, so many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot. Jesus began to speak, first to his disciples, “Beware of the leaven – that is, hypocrisy – of the Pharisees (Luke 12:1).
Photo by author, Bella Rosa Gardens, Silang, Cavite, 07 October 2026.
Are we not like those people crowding together, already trampling just to hear you speak, Jesus?
Give us the wisdom, awaken us from our glorification of everything that is crass and low, giving only emphasis on the body forgetting about the soul, its dignity and value along with virtues: "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more" (Luke 12:4).
Photo by author, Bella Rosa Gardens, Silang, Cavite, 07 October 2026.
Let us see St. Paul's alternative vision for the world in which God's plan is to restore all things in you, Christ; let us see more the love and mercy you have lavished upon us when you suffered and died on the Cross to save us, rising from the dead on the third day to reconcile us to the Father and with everyone; how consoling that we are not our own, that despite the chaos and darkness all over us these days, "In Christ we were also chosen, destined in accord with purpose of the one who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will... were sealed with the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 1:11, 13).
How lovely are these words, Lord! May we be like St. Paul in proclaiming to this sick and dark world that there is an alternative, better vision of the world from the Father in Christ Jesus. Give us the courage to work on this, to cooperate with your grace in showing the world life is so beautiful! Amen.
