40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the BVM, 19 March 2024 2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16 ><}}}*> Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 ><}}}*> Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2023.
How lovely, O God our Father that after reflecting yesterday on connections and reconnecting,* we celebrate today the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the most chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary who gave the name Jesus to your Son in fulfillment of your promise to David; always regarded not only as chaste but most of all with gifted with the virtue of silence the world needs so badly these days, St. Joseph witnessed in his holy life that it is in silence when we make the strongest connections with one's self, with others, and with you, O God because silence is the domain of trust; The most trusting people like St. Joseph are also the most trusting.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream…
Matthew 1:19-20
In this world so filled with many voices including those spoken by machines and robots that compete for our attention, the more we have become fearful of silence because we are afraid of the truth!
To be silent is to be truthful like St. Joseph who embraced and welcomed the whole truth, Jesus Christ; grant us the same grace, Lord, you gave St. Joseph to silently in face and embrace the truth that can be discomforting especially when it it is contrary to our plans and desires; let us not hide in silence our festering anger that sooner or later may explode that could scatter all our plans and relationships. Amen.
St. Joseph, pray for us!
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2023.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 18 March 2024
A sweet Sunday reconnecting with my former students, Karen and Kweenie.
Had a very wonderful impromptu get together this Sunday with two former students from our girls’ high school in Malolos. But more than having a blast from 25 years we have known one another because Karen had been my student since her elementary school way back in 1998, it was for me a wonderful reconnection as Kweenie noted on our way home after our long lunch.
Reconnection.
The word remained in my mind last night until today as I began my annual personal retreat just before my 59th birthday on Friday. When Karen brought up the idea of having lunch just to see each other, I felt it was more than a coincidence but part of God’s plan for my retreat, which is essentially, a reconnection of the highest order.
And here are my random thoughts on reconnecting before my vacation with the Lord starts tonight.
Photo by author, Baguio City, 12 July 2023.
Connect. From the Latin words, "con" for "with" and "nectere" or "to bind", to connect is to bind together; to fuse, to make as one. To unite. Opposite of being connected is to be separated. To be alone. To be apart.
Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, in France, 2022.
God designed nature to be connected: animal species gather together as herds and schools and flocks everywhere while flowers bloom facing the sun and other plants as twigs and vines extend so that they cover everything while trees though standing apart reach out to other trees with their tops always bending towards another tree.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2023.
How unfortunate that we humans who were ironically the only ones created in God's "image and likeness" are the ones who tend to separate always from God and one another - beginning with one's self; many times in our many "connections" when we spread ourselves so much as being scattered, we get disconnected with self, others, and God.
Wherever there is disconnection, there is also sin when connections are severed, cut-off, and destroyed.
Photo from en.wikipedia.org, “Creation of Adam” by Michaelangelo at the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican.
God is the most vital of all of our connections; He is in fact THE connection because He is our life; to be separated from Him means sickness or death, even damnation as in hell; that is why Jesus came so that we may reconnect with God, with self, and with others.
Photo by author in Baras, Rizal, January 2021.
To be connected, to reconnect is to be whole again; getting connected happens when there is acceptance of being separated, when we are humble enough to say sorry with those connections we have abused or taken for granted, neglected and rejected; reconnection happens when we realize that everything - time, place, people, and God are interconnected as one big whole that no matter how small we may be in this vast universe, we matter. That's when we find meaning and purpose and direction; not far from that, we find and experience fullness amid the many brokenness.
Lord Jesus, keep me connected with you, with others, and with my very self. Amen.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 18 March 2024.
It is the final Sunday in Lent as we enter its final week with temperatures soaring into the 30’s as we get into the heat of summer in the country. To soothe us in our Sunday feature, we have chosen Lee Ritenour’s classic smooth jazz Is It You? from his 1981 album Rit.
An American jazz-guitarist, Ritenour is considered as one of the great movers in the jazz scene since the late 1960’s until now, being a part of so many groups and individual musicians in producing great music and tunes that unknown to many of us have were surely delighted and even uplifted.
Is It You? is one of those music by Ritenour with Eric Tagg doing the vocals as well as co-writing it along with Bill Champlin.
So characteristic of Ritenour’s jazz experiments fusing it with rock and pop, Is It You? speaks of a man’s feelings of doubts amid strong convictions of being ready to love a woman he is asking if she too is ready; hence, the question, Is It You?
Someone’s just outside, knocking at my door A stranger, somebody unknown Someone’s in my dreams, can’t get it off my mind, yeah I’m tired of being alone Someone’s trying to find an easy way inside Come on, I’m right here at home, right at home
Is it you? Is it you? Is it you? Is it you, you, you?
Who’s that deep inside me, sneaking around my heart? Are you somebody in love? Show me what you’re doing and tell me who you are Hey, I’m ready for love, for love
Is it you? Is it you? Is it you? Is it you, you, you?
If it’s you, come out in the open You don’t need to hide your love If it’s you, you know I’m hoping ‘Cause it’s way too late to run away Don’t run away from love, my love Is it you?
Photo of a convolvulus tricolor from BBC Gardeners World Magazine.
Many times we felt that way too that despite the uncertainties we feel, there is that strong thrust from within to dare step forward and make the move to find out like Ritenour if is it you?
In some ways, it must have been the feeling too of those Greek converts in Jerusalem that Palm Sunday who asked Philip if they could see Jesus. They too had that strong feeling towards Jesus after hearing the many good things about himself, his teachings and his miracles. When they said they wanted to see Jesus, it was more than seeing him literally because the Lord was never in hiding. The Greeks, like us and Ritenour in his song, were seeking something more, something deeper, something about faith (https://lordmychef.com/2024/03/16/lent-is-believing-in-order-to-see-jesus/).
There lies the beauty of life, of following Jesus: while the world tells us that to see is to believe, Jesus tells us that to believe so we would see; the world tells us to enjoy life without inhibitions one’s enjoyment, Jesus tells us that it is in dying that we truly live.
Both happens when we dare to ask, when we dare to step forward and take the plunge, of giving one’s self in love. To ask of seeing Jesus, of seeing somebody special, of asking if is it you is also believing in him or the other person.
Believe. And you shall see that indeed, it is you, Jesus!
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Fifth Sunday in Lent-B, 17 March 2024 Jeremiah 31:31-34 + Hebrews 5:7-9 + John 12:20-33
From Google.com.
We now come to the penultimate Sunday of Lent before entering the Holy Week on Palm Sunday as we listened to the final installment of John’s narration of Jesus Christ’s final six days in Jerusalem before his Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
Our gospel today is actually set on Palm Sunday when Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem.
Some Greeks who had come up to worship at the Passover Feast came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.
John 12:20-26
Praying at the wailing wall of Jerusalem, May 2019.
As we have been telling you, John’s gospel teems with many symbolisms and hidden meanings in the way he narrated events and scenes like when those Greeks asked Philip and Andrew to see Jesus.
If they simply wanted to catch a glimpse of Jesus, they could have easily satisfied themselves because Jesus never hid at that time. He had just entered Jerusalem, so warmly welcomed by the people, even by those Greeks perhaps. Most likely, they must have heard many things about Jesus that they wanted to go farther in requesting to see him. Hence, it was more than a request to have an audience with Jesus but something about their faith in him as they were pagans converted to Judaism.
We have to remember here that John used the verb “to see” to also mean “to believe” in his gospel account like when he narrated on Easter morning how Peter and the “other disciple” ran to the empty tomb “and he saw and believed” (Jn.20:8).
Keeping that detail on Easter morning at the empty tomb, we now understand why John never told us if Jesus met at all the Greeks requesting to see him because to see and believe Jesus is to accept and embrace wholly his Passion and Death on the Cross. This is why John jumped into Christ’s monologue upon being told by Philip and Andrew on the Greeks’ request.
Photo by author, 2018.
What a beauty we have here because we are those Greek converts too, constantly searching, seeking to go farther in our faith in Jesus despite our sins. As we get older and mature, we realize how our days are numbered, that we will definitely die someday and meet God.
Lately I have been thinking why do we really have to be happy on our birthday – much less why greet celebrators a happy birthday when in fact every birthday is a step closer to death, is it not? I am not being morbid but it is the truest matter of fact in life. Life is a lifelong process of preparation for death. What comes next when we age? Death.
However, our faith in Jesus tells us it is not simply death as an end but a blessed death that leads to fullness in life, literally and figuratively speaking.
That is where the beauty of Christ’s parable of the grain of wheat lies, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”
We do not simply die in the end or even in the in-betweens of life through those failures and losses, defeats and wrong moves. We get better in life as we forge on.
It is the undeniable truth written in our hearts as God told Jeremiah in the first reading, that we are God’s, we solely belong to him no matter how hard we try to flee from him and disobey him in our sins, he would always find us even if we get lost. St. Augustine said it so well, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
There is always that inner longing for God our Creator and End. That is why God sent us Jesus his Son as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews explained in the second reading so that through all our darkness and confusions, sufferings and trials, especially in those daily deaths that weaken us in our desire to search and follow him we may still find to have the strength and courage to forge on in wanting to see him by being with him where he is always – at the Cross.
Photo by author, 2018.
This is the grace of this fifth Sunday in Lent: we believe so we may see, we die in order to live. Both believing and dying in order to see and to live are grace from God freely given to us even if we are not worthy at all.
The world tells us always that to see is to believe but Christ tells us that first we must believe so that we would see; it is the same thing with living – die to one’s self in order to live fully because “whoever loves his life loses it.”
When we read or watch the news, many times we feel so exasperated and hopeless with the world. Imagine a resort right in a natural wonder there in the Chocolate Hills of Bohol? Or, land developers covering swamps without any considerations for others and the environment? Or, the mess and wastage happening in our offices, schools and homes? Do not forget us your priests living far from witnessing Christ in charity and service?
It’s a crazy world! And in all these abuses, the more we have become empty and lost that is why in the process, more and more of us never stop to believe and see, to hope and pray like those Greek converts seeking Jesus, for only in him we find rest and peace. Let us pray:
Lord Jesus Christ, many times I really do not know where I am going; I cannot see the road ahead of me while many times I wonder if I am really following you and doing your will; but at least, Jesus, I am sure it is still you whom I wish to see, it is you I always desire even if many times it does not show because this time I am sure you alone is my God, my life, my fulfillment. Therefore, like the psalmist, "Create a clean heart for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me" (Psalm 51:12-13). Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday in tbe Fourth Week of Lent, 15 March 2024 Wisdom 2:1, 12-22 ><}}}}*> + <*{{{{>< John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30
Photo by author, Theologate Chapel of the Immaculate Conception Major Seminary, Guiguinto, Bulacan, November 2020.
Loving Father, as we come closer to the final week of Lent, the Cross of Christ gets clearer; preparing for Easter is facing and approaching, embracing and owning the Cross of Christ; hence, grant us the courage and strength to continue this journey in Jesus with his Cross:
The wicked said among themselves, thinking not aright: “Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training… Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him… Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him.”
Wisdom 2:1, 12, 17, 20
Like Jesus, let us overcome our fears and continue to come to you, to speak your words, to do your works amid the many people "blinded by wickedness"; indeed, life is a daily Lent, a passing over from every trial because you are, O Lord, "close to the brokenhearted." Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the Fourth Week of Lent, 14 March 2024 Exodus 32:7-14 <'[[[[[>< + ><]]]]]'> John 5:31-47
So true, O God our Father, that we are like your people in the desert – “stiff-necked” – who easily turned away from you to worship the golden calf while you conversed with Moses up on Mt. Sinai.
We can be easily carried away and distracted by the many other “golden calves” around us that we worship especially if they give us delight and answers to our needs and questions.
Forgive us, Father, in doubting your love for us, in doubting your fidelity to your promises to us, in doubting your powers despite the many blessings you have showered upon us; forgive us for our foolishness for not being convinced that we are your chosen people when we would rather get trapped with our daily worries in life and forget all your love and concern for us.
What a tragedy when we prefer to be second or even third rate people when in fact we are all your children, your beloved and forgiven children!
In this Season of Lent, help us to "level up" to you, O Lord, of not simply stopping with the prophets who were all like a “burning and shining lamp” to us when they were all your precursors.
Help us, O Lord, to desire you and nothing less for we are all special in your eyes. Amen.
Photo by Ms. April Oliveros, Mt. Pulag, April 2023.
When we were growing up discovering the power of love, these nursery rhymes were so sublime we used to find every Valentine's without knowing why "Roses are red, Violets are blue, Sugar is sweet. So are you. And I love you!"
Red means love but what about blue that has become violet too? Late have I known as a chaplain to kids and grown ups too when I Googled that violets mean simplicity, humility and modesty that to give a violet close to blue is to say "I love you too!"
In this blessed season of Lent when everything is violet a shade akin to blue to keep things subdued as we try to imbue virtues and values of repentance and contrition for sins, of patience and perseverance, of sacrifice and alms-giving that lead to a sharing of self in love like Jesus Christ did a long time ago.
True, violets are blue, hue of God's mercy for me and you; as we go through this journey in Lent hear my plea to you, Jesus: "Roses are red, violets are blue; let your Lent come true because I love you too!" Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday in the Fourth Week of Lent, 12 March 2024 Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> John 5:1-16
Photo by author, 2017.
As we prepare for Easter in this season of Lent, you also remind us, dear Jesus of our Baptism, of our being cleansed to new life in you; it is in Baptism we have come into new life in you, Jesus, becoming children of the Father, sharing in God's life.
In this season of Lent amid the dry and sweltering summer we now have, remind us of our true identity as children of God through Baptism, that without Jesus our living water, we die, we lose life, we lose meaning; keep us one in you, one with you, Jesus, our abundant life giving river like what the Prophet Ezekiel saw in a vision:
Wherever the river flows, every sort ofn living creatures that can multiply shall live, and there shall be abundant fish, for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh. Along both banks of the river, the fruit trees of every kind shall grow; their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Ezekiel 47:9-12
Most of all, Lord Jesus, thank you for coming to us, for approaching us like what happened at the pool of Bethesda to cleanse and heal us of our so many infirmities especially in this highly competitive world that has become so impersonal; cleanse and heal, dear Jesus, our inner hurts due to our own sins or sins by others, knowingly or unknowingly; in your mercy, wash and cleanse us, of our many fears and anxieties, anger and bitterness, frustrations and failures to start anew in you this Season of Lent. Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday in the Fourth Week of Lent, 11 March 2024 Isaiah 65:17-21 ><)))))*> + <*(((((>< John 4:43-54
Photo by author, September 2020.
God our Father, you are so amazing! You never fail to surprise us, never runs out of mysteries that convey deep truths so difficult to dissect and understand but just enough to be experienced and savored to be delighted again and again when remembered and realized like when you said through the Prophet Isaiah:
Thus says the Lord: Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; for I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be delight.
Isaiah 65:17-18
Later, John the Beloved in his Book of Revelation linked this idea of new heaven and new earth with the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21:1-2) with both passages speaking of a world free of pain and sickness, no weeping nor wailing with no kids dying before their time and no one living below 100 years old. Wonderful!
Of course, your words are symbolic though we are sure it would literally happen some day; but what we are sure now is how your words have paved the way for the coming of Jesus Christ who bridged the gaps among us; in Jesus Christ, the reality of physics is experienced daily like in that remote healing of a royal official's son in Capernaum.
Our loving Father, we do not expect to live lives without pain, sickness, or tragedy even though we wish that so often; grant us the grace to remain committed to Jesus and his Way of the Cross to experience the peace only he can give for he is always NOW HERE, present in us and among us when so often we are NOWHERE by his side.
Let us remain in you, O Lord, let us stay with you, in you, even if nothing seems to happen because that is when our faith and trust in you are deepened like with that royal official. Amen.
Lord My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 10 March 2024
“Nicodemus and Jesus” painting by James Tissot (1836-1902) from SuperStock/GettyImages via learnreligions.com.
One of our favorite singer-songwriters James Taylor is coming next month for a one-night concert at the Mall of Asia Arena; hence, we are featuring two of his songs we find so related with the gospel message this fourth Sunday in Lent also known as Laetare or Rejoice Sunday.
But first, let us take a slight deviation from our usual manner of coming up with the music right away as we realized too the strong links between Nicodemus and James Taylor in their experiences.
Nicodemus belonged to the group of Pharisees, one of the enemies of Jesus at that time. But he admired and believed in Jesus that is why he chose to visit the Lord at night so that people would not notice. Eventually, Nicodemus became a disciple of Jesus after Good Friday after he and another Pharisee named Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Christ and buried him in a tomb (https://lordmychef.com/2024/03/09/lent-is-the-love-mercy-of-god-in-me/).
Nicodemus’ coming to see Jesus at night evoked his situation of being in the darkness of fears and confusions, trying to find directions in life which he found in Christ. It was similar with James Taylor’s plight he beautifully expressed in his 1970 hit Fire and Rain which is about the suicide of a childhood friend as well as his coping with his addiction and depression following his fame.
Just yesterday morning, they let me know you were gone. Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you. I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song, I just can’t remember who to send it to. I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain. I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end. I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, but I always thought that I’d see you again.
Won’t you look down upon me, Jesus, You’ve got to help me make a stand. You’ve just got to see me through another day. My body’s aching and my time is at hand and I won’t make it any other way. Oh, I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain. I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end. I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, but I always thought that I’d see you again.
Many times, we find ourselves in situations like Nicodemus when everything is all dark like the night, or James Taylor going through fire and rain.
Now look, Jesus is most present with us when we are in the darkest darkness of the night, right in the middle of a raging storm. Many times we could not see him because he hugs us, embraces us to shield us from more harms.
When Jesus told Nicodemus about his coming crucifixion – “when the Son of Man is raised up” – it was an assurance to us all too that Christ is with us in our worst situation because he suffered first for us on the Cross. I am so glad that JT mentioned Jesus in his song, pleading to the Lord to “look down upon me and help me make a stand.”
That is why we rejoice this Sunday: in the midst of our troubles and sufferings, there are bursts of joy and relief from Jesus within us dwelling in our hearts. And that is why, we find JT’s 1976 hit, Shower the People, so related too with our gospel this Sunday.
When Jesus told Nicodemus how “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (Jn.3:16), it was also a call for us all to be the love and mercy of Christ in the world.
Nicodemus eventually became a disciple of Jesus while JT is still very much around, having weathered so many fires and rains or storms in his life, both telling us how God finds ways to save us, even extricate us from our worst situation. Hence, the need for us to become the presence of Christ’s joy and mercy to people especially those closest to us so that they may realize and experience that God so loved the world because of the way we shower them with love through us.
You can play the game and you can act out the part, even though you know it wasn’t written for you. Tell me, how can you stand there with your broken heart ashamed of playing the fool? One thing can lead to another; it doesn’t take any sacrifice. Oh, father and mother, sister and brother, if it feels nice, don’t think twice, just shower the people you love with love, show them the way that you feel. Things are gonna work out fine if you only will do as I say, just shower the people you love with love, show them the way you feel. Things are gonna be much better if you only will.
Here is our doubleheader from the “Sweet Baby James”. Have a blessed, lovely week ahead!
*Both materials are not ours without any intentions at all of infringing its copyrights.
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