Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 09 May 2024
Our mother had always loved flowers and shades of pink, especially pink carnation her favorite.
It has been said death is the greatest equalizer. But with my mom’s recent passing, I realized too that death is the best explainer of life. Death is life’s final joke on us that answers, clarifies the many questions we have been asking in our lifetime.
Consider these:
Dad died on June 17, 2000, my mom’s 61st birthday; we celebrated his 40th day of death on his birthday, July 26, 2000. He died on a Saturday, the eve of Father’s Day.
Mommy died May 07, 2024 with her 40th day coming on June 15, two days before her 85th birthday and dad’s 24th death anniversary. This Sunday after her burial is Mother’s Day.
Ever since my father died, I have realized that death weaves a certain pattern in our lives, telling us a lot of things about us and our loved ones. And about life itself if we would have faith in God by setting aside our fears and superstitions.
Photo by author, somewhere in Bgy. Kaysuyo, Alfonso, Cavite, 27 April 2024.
See how Jesus spoke to His disciples about His coming death during their Last Supper:
“Now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you… But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.”
John 16:5-7, 13
It is always after someone had died when things and life itself become clearer for us. In every death comes an unfolding of truth in time, in persons. It is after a beloved had died when we realize how much we do not know of their goodness or kindness that often we are surprised at the outpouring of love by those who come to their wake. Many times, strangers know more of the brighter side of a person when he/she dies. Along this line of mystery of the person we find too how death happens on days that at first seem to mean nothing at all but at closer look, or later as we moved on in life after the demise of a loved one, we see how every death points to something about us and our family and friends!
Hence, we say death is not the end but the beginning of eternity. Actually, with the deaths of my father and now of my mom, I have found death is life. No wonder St. Francis referred to death as a person, calling him “cousin Death.”
This became more clear to me when I became a chaplain at the Fatima University Medical Center (FUMC) in Valenzuela City.
Last year I took care of an elderly priest, Msgr. Teng Manlapig when he was confined in our hospital for almost a month. Two days before he died on February 26, 2023, he asked me to hear his confession. It was a Friday and February 26 last year was the first Sunday in Lent when the gospel was the temptation of Christ in the wilderness.
It was on that Sunday evening after seeing Msgr. Teng for the last time before he was taken to the funeral parlor when I remembered another priest I had cared during his dying days, Msgr. Macario Manahan who died in front of me in his retirement home on March 16, 2014 – the second Sunday in Lent when the gospel was the Transfiguration.
What a tremendous gift from God for me to care until their deaths of two monsignori in the Season of Lent. From them I have realized that our final altar as priests are our deathbeds where even to the end, we celebrate Mass and the Sacraments. From that day on too, I have prayed to God to allow me to go home to Him not during Lent but on Easter. Or, preferably on Ascension Sunday when my time comes.
Have a blessed day celebrating life, finding its meaning and beauty in the prism of cousin Death in Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Good Friday Recipe, 29 March 2024 Isaiah 52:13-53:12 > + < Hebrews 4:14-16;5:7-9 > + < John 18:1-19:42
Photo by author, Chapel of the Holy Family, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, June 2016.
The evangelists tell us that Jesus died on the Cross on a Friday at about 3PM. And they tell us too that our Lord died praying, exactly what most of the Seven Last Words expressed.
But from the gospel we have heard this afternoon written by the beloved disciple, we discover something very beautiful about the death of Jesus, that He was very calm and peaceful in His prayer unto death.
After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
John 19:28-30
Photo by author, Chapel of the Holy Family, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, June 2016.
When we are deep in suffering, in severe pain like Jesus on the cross, what do we usually pray? Most often, we pray that the terrible ordeal we are going through would finally end, would be finished.
And sometimes, due to desperation, we even pray for death, of how we wish God would finally end our life to be free from all the problems we are going to.
One of the things I keep telling to sick people I visit came from Meryl Streep who acted as mother of Winona Ryder in the 1990’s movie “House of Spirits” when she said, “Do not pray for death because death surely comes.” Sometimes in our desperation, we feel death is the solution to our problems and sufferings. But when Jesus died on the Cross, He made death an offering, a gift of self in love.
Photo by author, Chapel of the Holy Family, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, June 2016.
In the original Greek text, the word used to express Jesus Christ’s final prayer “It is finished” is tetelestai from the root word telos meaning the final end and direction. It is not just an ending but a direction too.
From the very start, Jesus was clear with His mission and how it would be accomplished. He has always been sure of Himself, of who He is. Notice how the beloved disciple repeated many times in his account of the Last Supper how Jesus was “fully aware” of everything that was going to happen to Him that He was actually in control and never left to the whims and powers of His enemies when He went through His Passion and Death.
Last night we heard how Jesus knew everything was coming to end that He washed the feet of His disciples after their supper. Most of all, Jesus was so composed and serene that He even gave bread to His betrayer Judas Iscariot during their meal. In fact in the washing of the feet of His disciples to His agony in the garden, Jesus calmly and courageously faced death that in the end, on the Cross, He had the upper hand that He was able to pray “It is finished” because He was never made under the power of death completely as He would rise again on Easter.
In praying “It is finished,” Jesus consecrated not only Himself but also all humanity to the Father so that we are able to bear and face death squarely like Him. Very notable in this part is how we find only in the fourth gospel how Jesus died by “handing over his spirit to the Father.”
Remember the verb to hand over is the literal meaning of the Greek word used paradidomi or betrayal. But here at the death of Jesus, handing over has no negative connotation but purely positive; Jesus never betrayed or handed anyone over to sufferings. He bore all sufferings and handed these over to the Father. That is true passion in the active sense when we let things happen not because we are helpless and resigned to the situation but we passively take everything in the positive sense because we have that firm faith and deep conviction that being silent, being patient, being persevering will eventually bear fruit for us like the death of Jesus that led to Easter.
Suffering and death thus are not resignation nor mere surrender but submission to the higher power of God to convert darkness into light, sadness into joy, and death into life. There on the Cross Jesus showed that true power is in weakness.
Photo by author, Chapel of the Holy Family, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, June 2016.
After the consecration of the bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood in the Mass, we proclaim “Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.” We call it as “the mystery of our faith” because when we say “Christ has died,” we admit that truly, the Son of God went through all kinds of sufferings in life we all go through like betrayal, rejection, loneliness, sickness, hunger, thirst, and yes, even death. And His sufferings continue as we suffer more in this world marred by evil and sins, making us cry, asking when would these end and be finished.
There lies the mystery of our faith on the Cross that led to Easter: when we look at Jesus Christ on His Cross, we see our own pains and agony as God’s pains and agony too. Jesus joined us in our anguish and death so that we could experience all the more His immense love for us. Without Jesus and His Cross, we would never be able to bear or even face the many deaths we go through daily. May we recognize God’s immense love for us again this afternoon when we venerate the Cross and see it as the merging point of human and Divine suffering. Keep praying with Jesus who has the final say with death in Easter. Amen.
Photo by Ka Ruben, National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valezuela City, August 2022.
The Lord Is My Chef Holy Thursday Recipe, 28 March 2024 Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 > + < 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 > + < John 13:1-15
Photo from wikipediacommons.org of Christ’s washing of feet of Apostles at Monreale Cathedral in Palermo, Italy.
Tonight we start the Easter Triduum – the three holy days of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper and Washing of the Feet.
In our Mass tonight, there will be no dismissal after Holy Communion that is immediately followed by a short procession inside the church of the Blessed Sacrament to its repository that will be the focus of “Visita Iglesia” (not Stations of the Cross) when people “visit” at least seven churches to pray to the Divine Presence of Jesus. Tomorrow in most parishes is the “via Crucis” or Way of the Cross then in the afternoon after the Veneration of the Holy Cross is the Procession of the Burial of the Lord.
See how on these most holy days of the year, much of our activities involve a lot of walking – and rightly so because Jesus Christ was always walking even to His Crucifixion and after Resurrection.
Hence, on the night He was betrayed after Supper, He washed the feet of His disciples including us today because He had also known how difficult and tiring it is to always walk in this life.
“…fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.”
John 13:3-5
From IStock/GettyImages.
More than reenacting the washing of the feet, tonight we are reminded by Jesus of the journey ahead to his Crucifixion when – with apologies to Robert Frost – we still have to walk “miles to go before we sleep” by choosing the road less travelled “that made the difference.”
And here lies the problem of our time: with the advancement of technology, our modes of transportation like communication have greatly affected our relationships with others, for better and for worse. From being peripatetic persons, we have become more accustomed to riding, of getting fast and effortless to our destination that we no longer walk that much unlike before that has affected even our relationships with one another. How can we continue the work of Jesus when we no longer walk that much?
Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News, 2020.
Observe how it has become so difficult to ask for directions these days because nobody is walking anymore. Most of us are ensconced in our own vehicles that have become our own little world and tiny universe every time we travel even if it were just a “walking distance”. Aside from breaking apart from the rest of humanity, we have also become very impersonal in the sense that we now rely more with Google maps and other travel apps than with the ordinary “man on the street.” Worst, we rarely touch the ground with our bare feet that if ever we would walk, it has been relegated to mere physical fitness often done alone with earphones as companions. We have not only grown apart from others but have also lost touch with earth because we no longer walk that much like Jesus and His disciples.
Two weeks ago during my retreat, I walked around the vast grounds and mini-forests of the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches when I realized that priesthood is peripatetic in nature because it is a ministry that walks to reach out, search for the missing sheep as per instruction of the Lord. Jesus even added that in fulfilling our mission, we must carry nothing when we walk except a staff and sandals.
Walking with our parishioners in the Via Crucis, 01 March 2024.
Moreover, priesthood is a ministry of being companions as shepherds in the journey of the people. That is why Jesus is our Good Shepherd because He is the One who truly journeys with us in this life. He is the One who continues to walk with us in our many ups and downs, in the many dusty trails and harsh realities of life that no gadget or wealth or media platform could bring comfort and security to any weary traveler.
It is only in walking when we could truly journey with others in life to converse with them and listen to their doubts and frustrations like the two disciples walking back to Emmaus three days after Good Friday. It is only in walking can we truly meet the sick, the orphaned and the widowed, the blind and the lame, the sinners and the misfits the world had left behind or pushed onto the margins of the society, far from our superhighways.
Most of all, when we walk we touch ground, we feel the earth called “humus” in Latin, the origin of the words human and humility. Could it be that we have become less humble today partly because of our refusal to walk more often?
Forgive us your priests when we have refused to walk with you especially when you are troubled and lost. Forgive us your priests as we have ceased to be like Jesus who walked most of the time because we have been so obsessed riding and travelling most of the time in our cars and SUV’s as well as mountain bikes and big bikes that have insulated us from your cries and anguish. We have not only lost the art of walking but have totally forgotten about walking the extra mile to pray and commune with our Lord and Master Jesus Christ found among the poor and the sick, the marginalized peoples forgotten in our upwardly, mobile society.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches 20 March 2024.
We always hear the expression “life is a journey.” Our first reading tonight attested to this reality when God reminded the chosen people preparing for exodus from Egypt “to eat and dress like those who are in flight”(Ex.12:11).
The original concept of the restaurant is not just a place where people stop to eat during a long journey. Restaurants were truly “rest stops” where travelers could rest their feet by soaking them in warm water so that they could travel again to reach their destination.
The Holy Eucharist is a “sacred restaurant” where we eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ who nourishes us in our life journey. Most of all, in the Eucharist and Sacrament of Reconciliation, Jesus continues to wash our feet to cleanse us from our sins and burdens to make this journey of life lighter and easier. When we receive Him in the Holy Communion, we make Him our “companion” in life filled with darkness and pains, uncertainties and lack of direction. The word companion literally means “someone you break bread with” – a beautiful picture of the Eucharist described to us by St. Paul in the second reading.
From istock/GettyImages.
In washing the feet of His disciples, Jesus Christ showed us in His humble gesture that He is indeed our Savior who went down so low even unto death on the Cross to express His immense love and mercy for each of us. Everything that transpired on the night He was betrayed prefigured the events of Good Friday which we make present every time we celebrate the Eucharist that is summed up in loving service for one another.
Do we still walk? And if we walk, who is our companion, the one we break bread with? Likewise, do we walk our talk of our faith?
May we never leave behind Jesus among our family and friends as we walk through this life. A blessed Holy Thursday to everyone. Amen.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 28 March 2024
Photo by author, sunrise at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
As we now enter the holiest parts of the Holy Week called the Sacred Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil beginning tonight with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, please find time to have some silent moments of prayer and reflections.
Do not let this Holy Week pass as one of those days so unique because of the great sights and sounds that have filled our cameras with so much photos and videos but have ironically left us empty inside. Don’t you notice the more we fill ourselves with photos and videos on the pretext and excuse of keeping memories and remembrances, the more we are left empty, lost and alienated because we have missed experiencing the moment itself?
From forbesmagazine.com
The reason images are covered and no flowers adorn our church altars during Lent until Holy Saturday is for us to focus more inside ourselves than outside.
Lent and the Holy Week remind us that basic truth in life that what is most essential is the inside not the outside we aptly call in Filipino as palabas.
How ironic that despite all the technologies and comforts they have brought humans, we are more lost and empty these days than before with more suicides, more depressions, and more social problems and issues.
Lent invites us to return to our very first love of all, God who patiently awaits us always, right in our hearts. Pray as much as possible today to experience God and your very self this Holy Thursday. Just pray. Very often, the most difficult prayer is also the most meritorious.
And when you pray, I strongly recommend Jesuit Father Eduardo Hontiveros’ classic Buksan Ang Aming Puso, the most beautiful and touching church music that is a prayer in itself during this season of Lent and the Holy Week.
Buksan ang aming puso Turuan mong mag-alab Sa bawat pagkukuro Lahat ay makayakap
Buksan ang aming isip Sikatan ng liwanag Nang kusang matangkilik Tungkuling mabanaag
Buksan ang aming palad Sarili'y maialay Tulungan mong ihanap Kami ng bagong malay
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 18 March 2024.
I love its progression from opening of heart, then of mind, then of the hand which signifies our whole person.
Our hands is a microcosm of our very selves that is why we shake hands, with give high fives to signify the giving of our total selves in friendship. Fortune tellers read our palms because they signify our whole person. We Filipinos have a beautiful expression during pamanhikan when parents of the groom meet their future balae to ask for the hand of their daughter in marriage, “hihingin namin ang kamay ng inyong anak.”
What is in our hands?
Remember the word betrayal that literally means to hand over from the Greek word paradidomi? Again, our Tagalog translation renders its deepest meaning especially when we recall how Jesus was handed over by Judas to the soldiers who handed Him over to the Sanhedrin who then handed Him over to Pilate who finally handed Him over to the people to be crucified. That repeated handing over of Jesus – or betrayal – is perfectly said in our own expression of “pinagpasa-pasahan si Jesus.”
That is how dirty our hands are with sin and evil when we repeatedly hand over Jesus through our own family and friends whom we take as things to be passed on for something or someone else more useful.
Opening to God becomes complete, from the mind and the heart, when we are able to open our hands to Him, the only One we can really hold on in this life. When we die, we cannot hold and bring anything from this life. Like Jesus, we die with hands opened to God, praying, “Into your hands, I commend my spirit.”
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
You will notice this afternoon when you come for the Mass, the tabernacle is opened and empty. The Sacred Hosts we shall receive later in the Holy Communion are the ones to be consecrated during the Mass.
Are we also empty to receive Jesus? That is the beauty of Communion by hands when we hold nothing else, we open our hands positioned across our heart supposed to be clean to receive Jesus wholly and responsibly.
As you receive Jesus in the Holy Communion tonight, pray Buksan Ang Aming Puso and ask God to give you a new consciousness (bagong malay) that you are loved and forgiven so you can love and forgive others too.
Ask Jesus to empty your heart of pride so He would reign there to fill you with more of His humility, justice, and love.
Most of all, ask Jesus to dwell in your heart so that every decision you make may come from your heart not from the hatred and bitterness that have covered it all these years.
Be the new person tonight in Jesus as He wash you clean of sins. Amen.
*Usiginanga… you may open your phone to listen and pray Buksan Ang Aming Puso.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II Ika-pitong Huling Wika ni Jesus, 27 Marso 2024
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, 2019.
Nang mag-iikalabindalawa ng tanghali, nagdilim sa buong lupain hanggang sa ikatlo ng hapon. Nawalan ng liwanag ang araw; at ang tabing ng templo’y napunit sa gitna. Sumigaw ng malakas si Jesus, “AMA, SA MGA KAMAY MO’Y IPINAGTATAGUBILIN KO ANG AKING ESPIRITU!” At pagkasabi nito, nalagot ang Kanyang hininga.
Lukas 23:44-46
Mayroon ba kayong bucket list ng mga bagay na dapat gawain o mga lugar na puntahan o kaya ay pagkaing kainin bago mamatay? Usung-uso mga bucket list na iyan ng mga dapat magawa, marating, matikman o masubukan ng isang tao bago raw mamatay.
Ipagpaumanhin ninyo na hindi ako naniniwala sa mga bucket bucket list na iyan na pawang kaartehan. “Father, goal setting po iyon” madalas paliwanag sa akin ng mga nakakausap kong kabataan. Para daw yung mga dream car o dream house na pinapangarap mo balang araw.
Hindi ko sinasabing huwag tayong magkaroon ng mga pangarap at mithiin sa buhay. Kailangan at mahalagang mayroon tayong plano sa buhay para sa kinabukasan pero iba ang pakahulugan ng bucket list: ito ay mga dapat magawa bago mamatay. E, bakit hindi mo pa gawain na ngayon, puntahan na ngayon o tikman mo na ngayon habang may oras pa sapagkat malalaman ba natin kung kailan tayo mamamatay?
Iyon ang ayoko sa mga bucket list – isang pag-aaksaya ng oras at panahon na pinag-iisipan mga gagawin, pupuntahan o kakanin bago mamatay e kung pwede namang gawain mo na ngayon dahil baka ngayon ka na rin mamatay! Hindi po ba?
Lahat naman tayo ay tiyak na mamamatay. Ang tanong sa wari ko ay hindi ano pa ba ang dapat kong gawin bago mamatay kungdi ano ang magagawa ko sa ngayon para sa aking pagpanaw ay patuloy na magbunga ng mabuti aking naging buhay.
Siguradong mamamatay tayo nguni’t magiging maayos ba ating kamatayan? Will we die well?
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, libingan ng mga Heswita sa Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Marso 2023.
Ewan ko ba pero napansin ko lang habang tumatanda at nagiging totoong-totoo realidad ng kamatayan di lamang sa aking sarili kungdi sa mga malalapit sa akin na ang iba ay mga nangamatay na nga na kung tutuusin, ang ating kamatayan ang pinakamaganda at pangmatagalang regalo na maihahandog natin sa ating mga mahal sa buhay kung maiiwanan nating sila ng isang ganap at mabungang buhay.
Sa halip na pag-isipan natin kung ano pa yung magagawa natin sa nalalabing taon ng buhay natin na di nga nating alam kung hanggang kailan pa, ang dapat nating itanong sa sarili ay paano ako mamumuhay ng maayos at ganap upang sa gayon sa aking pagkamatay ay magbunga pa rin aking naging buhay sa aking mga maiiwan.
Huwag nating sayangin ang panahon sa pag-iisip sa hindi pa dumarating kungdi sa ano mayroon tayo ngayon sa sandaling ito. Sabi nga ng commercial ng Sprite, “magpakatotoo ka!” Get real by living fully in the present. Coming to terms with death is coming to terms with life. The moment we realize we shall die one day, that is when we start living authentically. And joyfully. Mamuhay tayo ng totoo at ganap gaya ng ating napagnilayan sa ika-anim na wika, ang mamuhay sa pagmamahal.
Namatay nang maayos si Jesus noong Biyernes Santo dahil naisuko o naitagubilin Niya ang lahat lahat ng sa Kanyang sarili sa Ama at para sa ating lahat sapagkat namuhay nga Siya ng ganap. Wala Siyang pinanghinayangang dapat ay nagawa o nasabi dahil nagawa at nasabi Niya mga mabubuting nararapat nang Siya ay buhay pa.
Tayo kaya? Linggu-linggo kitang kita ko sa mga pasyente at kanilang pamilya ang hapis at kalungkutan sa panghihinayang na sana ay naging mapagmahal sila, mapagpatawad, lahat na. Kay raming mga pasyente nakikiusap dugtungan pa kanilang buhay para magbago at iaayos kanilang sarili.
Iyon ang malungkot. Hindi nga natin alam kailan tayo magkakasakit o mamamatay kaya ang paghahanda sa kamatayan ay pamumuhay ng ganap. Mabuhay sa pagmamahal at kagalakan, habag at kapatawaran. Ipagdiwang palagi ang buhay, kumain ng masasarap kung kaya, mamasyal habang malakas, gawin kung ano man gustong gawin basta ba makabubuti. Totoo sinasabi ng marami, maigsi lang ang buhay para sayangin ito sa mga drama at pag-iisip.
Sa oras ng ating pagpanaw sa lupang ibabaw tulad ni Jesus noong Biyernes Santo, maibibigay kaya natin sa Diyos at mga mahal natin sa buhay ating sarili kalakip ng lahat ng pagmamahal, tuwa at kabutihan? Masasabi ba natin sa Diyos at kanino man na “itinatagubilin ko aking espiritu?”
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Kapilya ni San Francisco Javier, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, 20 Marso 2024.
Manalangin tayo:
Panginoong Jesu-Kristo, pagkalooban Ninyo ako ng biyaya na maisabuhay ko itong buhay kong ito sa Iyo at sa pamamagitan Mo upang sakaling ako ay pumanaw ano mang oras mula ngayon, katulad Mo ay aking maitagubilin sa Ama ang aking espiritu ng walang sakit panbghihinayang maging kasalanan bagkus puno ng tuwa at pasasalamat na pagyayamanin ng mga mauulila ko hanggang sa magkasama-sama kaming muli kaisa Ka sa Iyong Paraiso. Amen.
Salamuch po sa inyong pagsubaybay sa ating pagninilay sa Pitong Huling Wika ni Jesus. Maari ninyong balikan ang iba pang wika sa pagclick dito sa https://wordpress.com/view/lordmychef.com.
Nawa ay pagpalain kayong lagi ng Diyos sa ngalan ng Ama at ng Anak at ng Espiritu Santo tungo sa mabiyayang Pasko ng Pagkabuhay. Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Holy Wednesday, "Spy Wednesday", 27 March 2024 Isaiah 50:4-9 + + + Matthew 26:14-25
Photo by author, dusk falls at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches, 20 March 2024.
Today is "spy Wednesday" for it was on this night when Judas Iscariot struck a deal with your enemies, Lord Jesus to betray you; tonight is said to be the night of traitors, of betrayers.
One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
Matthew 26:14-16
Photo by author, dusk falls at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches, 20 March 2024.
Oh how we hate, O Lord Jesus to be called a traitor, a betrayer, a Judas Iscariot! And yet, too often, it is so true of us whenever we sin, not only when we turn away from you but most of all, when we "hand you over" - the literal meaning of betrayal - when we pass you over for somebody better, for something useful and convenient.
Forgive us, Lord Jesus, for having the same Judas Iscariot within us, in collaborating with the Judas Iscariot among us when we repeatedly hand you over like a thing or a tool for our own selfish ends as we say in Filipino, "pinagpapasa-pasahan" repeatedly passed on like a thing in exchange of what or whom we find better, convenient and useful; most sad part in betrayal dear Jesus, is how we disregard the trust we have with each other and from each other.
Same photo with preceding one this time with filters.
Help me imitate you, Lord Jesus Christ like the Suffering Servant according to Isaiah in the first reading by being the person who breaks the cycle of violence and betrayal; like the psalmist today, let "zeal for your house consume me" Lord, that is, be filled with your Holy Spirit so that I may act and respond to others from my heart where you dwell not from my pains and hurts, nor from the many betrayals inflicted on me by others. Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-26 ng Marso 2024 Ika-anim na Huling Wika ni Jesus
Larawan kuha ni G. Chester Ocampo, kapilya ng Immaculate Conception Seminary, Guiguinto, Bulacan, 30 November 2015.
May isang mangkok doon na puno ng maasim na alak. Itinubog nila rito ang isang espongha, ikinabit sa sanga ng isopo at idiniit sa Kanyang bibig. Nang masipsip ni Jesus ang alak ay Kanyang sinabi, “NAGANAP NA!” Iniyukayok Niya ang Kanyang ulo at nalagot ang Kanyang hininga.
Juan 19:29-30
Kung minsan ako ay nalulungkot tuwing Huwebes Santo kapag natutuon ang pansin ng mga tao sa rito ng paghuhugas ng pari sa mga paa ng ilang mananampalataya. Tunay na kakaibang eksena at karanasan iyon sa mga tao ngunit ang totoo, hindi naman talagang bahagi ng Misa ng Huwebes Santo ang naturang paghuhugas ng mga paa na puwede namang hindi ganapin.
Ang tunay na lundo ng Banal na Misa ng Huwebes Santo ay naroon sa bahagi ng Ebanghelyong nagsasaad ng diwa ng paghuhugas ni Jesus sa mga paa ng kanyang mga alagad:
Bisperas na ng Paskuwa. Alam ni Jesus na dumating na ang panahon ng kanyang paglisan sa sanlibutang ito upang bumalik sa Ama. Mahal niya ang kanyang mga tagasunod na nasa sanlibutan, at ngayo’y ipakikita niya kung hanggang saan ang kanyang pag-ibig sa kanila.
Juan 13:1
Hanggang saan nga ba ang pag-ibig sa atin ni Jesus?
Hanggang sa wakas. O, end sa Inggles. Ngunit kapag sinabi nating hanggang sa wakas, parang mayroong hangganan ang pag-ibig natin kaya ang pahayag na ginamit sa pagkakasalin ay “ipakikita niya kung hanggang saan ang kanyang pag-ibig sa kanila.”
Mas mainam ang pagkakasalin sa Inggles ng huling pangungusap na nagsabing “He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.” Mula sa salitang Griyego na telos ang katagang wakas o end sa Inggles. Nguni’t salungat sa madalas nating isipin ang “wakas” bilang hangganan dahil ang telos ay nagpapahiwatig ng direksiyon at hahantungan na kaganapan o perfection. Hindi lang pagtigil at paghinto ang wakas o end.
Kaya naman nang sabihin ni Jesus doon sa Krus na “naganap na”, ang pakahulugan Niya ay ang kaganapan ng Kanyang misyon na mahalin tayong lahat hanggang sa wakas na siyang tinutukoy ng pahayag sa simula ng kanilang Paskuwa, “at ngayo’y ipakikita niya kung hanggang saan ang kanyang pag-ibig sa kanila” sa paghuhugas ng kanilang mga paa na ang kaganapan ay sa Kanyang kamatayan sa Krus kinabukasan ng araw ng Biyernes.
Ipinamalas sa atin ni Jesus ng buong-buo at ganap sa Kanyang pagkamatay sa Krus ang pag-ibig ng Ama para sa atin batay sa Kanyang sinabi kay Nicodemus, “Gayon na lamang ang pag-ibig ng Diyos sa sanlibutan, kaya ibinigay niya ang kanyang bugtong na Anak” (Jn.3;16).
Kung tutuusin ay hindi naman kailangang mamatay si Jesus sa Krus upang tayo ay maligtas ngunit pinili pa rin Niya ito bilang tanda ng Kanyang pagmamahal sa ating lahat. Kaya naman dito rin nating makikita ang magandang kahulugan ng pagmamahal na hindi lamang basta pagtupad sa mga kautusan o pagiging mabuti sa kapwa. Sa kabuuan nito, ang pagmamahal ay pagiging-ganap ng ating buhay. Love is the perfection of life, ayon kay Thomas Merton, isang mongheng Amerikano noong araw.
Kapag tayo ay nagmamahal, tayo ay nagiging ganap tulad ng Diyos! Kaya, basta magmahal lang ng magmahal hanggang masaktan dahil hindi iyan mauubos tulad ng Diyos.
Mga minamahal, yamang gayon kadakila ang pag-ibig ng Diyos sa atin, dapat din tayong mag-ibigan. 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 Juan 4:11-12
Mula sa unang sulat ding iyan ni San Juan, ating matutunghayan ang pahayag niya na ang Diyos ay pag-ibig na ayon sa dating Santo papa Benedicto XVI sa kanyang unang encyclical na Deus Caritas est, ito ang pinaka-malalim na pahayag tungkol sa Diyos na hindi matatagpuan sa ibang relihiyon maliban lamang sa Kristiyanidad.
Mga ginigiliw ko, Diyos lang ang makapagmamahal sa atin ng ganap. Tanging si Jesus lang ang makapagmamahal sa atin ng ganap na Kanyang pinatunayan doon sa Krus.
Palagi kong sinasabi, “human love is always imperfect” kaya hayaan nating punan ni Jesus, gawin Niyang ganap at buo ang ating pagmamahal na palaging kapos at kulang. Maari itong mangyari kapag tayo nagsimulang magparaya at magpatawad, magbigay ng walang hinihintay na kapalit, manahimik kesa kumibo at humaba pa usapan. Tanggapin natin at angkinin mga sakit at sugat natamo natin sa imperfect love ng pamilya at kaibigan o sino pa man.
Tularan natin si Jesus na nagpakasakit at naghandog ng buhay sa Krus dahil sa pag-ibig.
Manalangin tayo para sa mga minamahal natin at sa nagmamahal sa atin sa kabila ng ating mga imperfection:
Panginoong Jesu-Kristo, sana makapagmahal din ako tulad Mo hanggang kamatayan; sana masabi ko rin sa wakas tulad Mo "naganap na"; patawarin po Ninyo ako sa maraming pagkakataon na hindi pa rin tapos at patuloy pa rin sa pagnanana ng mga sugat kong natamo sa imperfect na pagmamahal ng kapwa kaya hindi ako maka-move on dahil nilalamon akong buhay ng mga sugat at alaalang ito kaya hindi ako lumago at maging ganap sa Iyo. O Kristo Jesus, patawarin po Ninyo ako at turuang magpatawad dahil sa pagpapatawad kami tunay na nagmamahal ng ganap tulad Mo. Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 25 Marso 2024 Ikalimang Huling Wika ni Jesus
Larawan kuha ni Dean Mon Macatangga ng Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela, 2023.
Pagkatapos nito, alam ni Jesus na naganap na ang lahat ng bagay; at bilang katuparan ng Kasulatan ay sinabi niya, “NAUUHAW AKO!” May isang mangkok doon na puno ng maasim na alak. Itinubog nila rito ang isang espongha, ikinabit sa sanga ng isopo at idiniit sa kanyang bibig.
Juan 19:28-29
Ito ang ikalawang pagkakataon na si Jesus ay nauhaw na bukod tanging makikita lamang natin sa ikaapat na ebanghelyo. Unang nauhaw si Jesus nang Siya ay makiinom sa babaeng Samaritana sa balon ni Jacob sa bayan ng Sychar sa Samaria (Jn.4:7). Sa tagpong iyon naganap ang napaka-gandang usapan sa pagitan ng nauuhaw nating Panginoon at ng babaeng Samaritana nauuhaw sa Diyos, sa pag-ibig at habag.
Mahirap ang mauhaw. Hindi tulad ng gutom na maaring idaan sa tulog. Tiyan lang ang kumakalam kapag tayo ay gutom ngunit kapag tayo nauhaw, dama ng buong katawan ang panghihina. Ramdam na ramdam at nanunuot sa laman at buto ating pagkauhaw. Kaya naman, malalim ang kahulugan ng pagiging uhaw na maaring hindi lamang sa tubig kungdi sa iba pang mahahalagang bagay kailangan ng ating kalooban.
Pagmasdan at damang-dama pagkatao tulad natin ni Jesus nang sabihin Niyang “Ako’y nauuhaw” higit pa sa tubig kungdi ang Kanyang pagkauhaw sa ating pagmamahal at pansin.
Alalahaning sa Ebanghelyo ayon kay San Juan, ang tubig ang isa sa mga pangunahing tanda ni Jesus bilang Kristo. Doon sa kasalan sa Cana nang gawin alak ni Jesus ang mga sinalok na tubig sa banga una Siyang nakilala bilang Kristo. Pagkatapos nito ang sumunod na eksena ang pagbisita sa gabi ng Pariseong si Nicodemo kay Jesus na noon unang binanggit ang tungkol sa pagbinyag o pagsilang muli sa tubig at espiritu (Jn.3:5). Sumunod na eksena doon ang paghingi ni Jesus ng tubig sa babaeng Samaritan kung saan Siya ay nagpakilala bilang “buhay na tubig” (Jn.4:10).
Sa pagsasabi ni Jesus doon sa Krus na Siya ay nauuhaw, Kanyang ipinahahayag di lamang ang pagkauhaw sa tubig kungdi higit pa! Kay laking kahangalan nang bigyan Siya ng ordinaryong alak ng isang sundalong Romano upang mainom. At madalas ay ganoon din tayo kay Jesus na nangakong “ang uminom ng tubig na ibibigay ko ay hindi na muling mauuhaw. Ito ay magiging isang bukal sa loob niya, babalong, at magbibigay sa kanya ng buhay na walang hanggan” (Jn.4:14).
Maliwanag higit pa sa tubig kungdi pag-ibig at malasakit ang kinauuhaw ni Jesus doon sa Krus. Noon at hanggang ngayon.
Si Jesus ang nauuhaw na misis at ina sa pagmamahal at kalinga ng kanyang taksil na kabiyak at mga lapastangang anak na walang iniisip kungdi kanilang mga sarili.
Si Jesus ang nauuhaw na mister at ama na OFW nasa ibang bahagi ng mundo na walang inaasam-asam kungdi ang mga simpleng tawag at texts ng pamilya na papawi ng kanyang pagod at lungkot.
Si Jesus ang nauuhaw na lolo at lola na pakiramdam ay nag-iisa at nawawala dahil sa Alzheimer’s o sa stroke na walang pumpansin sa loob mismo ng kanilang tahanan.
Si Jesus ang nauuhaw na kabataan naghahanap ng panahon at malasakit ng magulang at mga kapatid upang magkaroon ng direksiyon ang buhay, higit pa sa mga binibigay sa kanilang mga gadgets, damit at mga salapi.
Si Jesus ang nauuhaw na maaring katabi mo ngayon naghahanap ng papansin sa kanya, na ngingiti sa kanya at magpaparamdam na siya ay welcomed at, masarap mabuhay!
Huwag nating tularan ang mga sundalong Romano o ang babaeng Samaritana na naghagilap ng mineral water para kay Jesus na naroroon sa bawat taong nakakasalamuha natin.
Ang pinakamainam at masarap na tubig nating maiaalok sa sino mang nauuhaw ay nanggagaling sa kaibuturan ng ating puso at kaluluwa kung saan nanahan si Jesus sa atin na puno ng habag at pag-ibig. Mauhaw tayo kay Jesus dahil tanging Siya lamang makapapawi at makatitighaw sa ating pagka-uhaw.
Manaling tayo.
Minamahal kong Panginoong Jesus, patawarin po Ninyo ako kapag pinapawi ko aking pagka-uhaw sa kung ano-anong alok ng mundo na kadalasan lalo lamang ako nauuhaw, tuyot, at hungkag; punuin mo ako ng IYONG SARILI upang higit KITA na maibahagi sa kapwa ko nauuhaw dahil IKAW lamang ang makakapawi sa aming pagkauhaw sa kahulugan at kaganapan ng buhay. Amen.
40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Solemnity of the Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion-B, 24 March 2024 Isaiah 50:4-7 ]]+[[ Philippians 2:6-11 ]]+[[ Mark 15:1-39
From influencemagazine.com
As you all know by now, I turned 59 years old last Friday, March 22. For the second consecutive year, I have moved my personal annual retreat to my birthday so I can pray more, thank God more for his gift of life to me. This is one of my realizations in turning 59 years old:
"The more we enter the heart of Jesus where we find peace and fulfillment, joy and security, the more we also discover the dark and ugly sides of life. Darkness, pains, sickness, failures, and other forms of sufferings come to the fore when we are in God’s loving presence, and vice versa."
The more we see and experience God’s beauty, we also see and experience Christ’s agony and passion within our very selves and among our brothers and sisters. These two faces of life ever present in our earthly journey are perfectly shown to us by today’s celebration called “the Solemnity of the Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion.”
What we have this Sunday is actually a twin-celebration.
Palm Sunday came from the liturgy of the early Christians living in Jerusalem in the fourth century who started the Holy Week tradition with a procession of palm branches that later spread to France and Germany where the blessing of palms was introduced. Later in Rome in the 12th century, the Pope began the tradition of commemorating the Lord’s Passion on this Sunday with a proclamation of that long gospel narrating Christ’s entry into Jerusalem leading to His Last Supper until His Crucifixion and Death. It was only in 1965 during Vatican II when these two celebrations were combined into what we now have as the Solemnity of the Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion.
The merging of these two celebrations sums up the mystery we celebrate during Holy Week as well as the mystery of our everyday life wherein we have the glory of Palm Sunday in one hand and at the other hand, the darkness of our own passion as a sharing in the Pasch of the Lord.
Photo by author, Chapel of St. Francis Xavier, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, 20 March 2024.
I have intended a play in the word “hand” there as I prayed over our gospel this Sunday during my recent retreat. As directed by my Jesuit guide, I reflected on the four gospel accounts of the Lord’s Passion where I found the word “hand over” used so many times.
“To hand over” is the more literal translation of the Greek word paradidomi used by the evangelists in the “betrayal”of Jesus by Judas Iscariot. In Filipino, it is ipasa and ibigay that are more picturesque than ipagkanulo which is our equivalent of “to betray”.
Now, look at how our Filipino word ipasa takes on a deeper meaning when we reflect on how Jesus was “handed over” first by Judas Iscariot to the chief priests who then “handed him over” to Pilate who eventually “handed him over” into death by crucifixion. Pinagpasa-pasahan nila si Jesus! And that is how evil we are humans with God and with one another, using our very own hands, handing them over by manipulating them for our own selfish ends.
Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went off to the chief priests to hand him over to them. When they heard him they were pleased and promised to pay him money. Then he looked for an opportunity to hand him over… He (Judas Iscariot) came and immediately went over to him and said, “Rabbi.” And he kissed him. At this they laid hands on him and arrested him.
Mark 14:10-11, 45-46
As soon as morning came, the chief priests with the elders and the scribes, that is, the whole Sanhedrin, held a council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate… So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them, and after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to be crucified.
Mark 15:1, 15
Photo by author, Chapel of St. Francis Xavier, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, 20 March 2024.
This handing over of Jesus – pinagpasa-pasahan si Jesus in Filipino took its lowest point in Matthew’s account when Pilate “took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd” (Mt. 27:24) to claim innocence in the Lord’s death. That’s how dirty our hands as humans have become! How ironic and tragic that the more we wash our hands in repeatedly handing over our family and friends, colleagues and even country, the more our hands have become dirty.
This Sunday, Jesus is inviting us to examine our hands, to clean our hands so that they become His hands of loving service, mercy and forgiveness, kindness and understanding and care for each other and nature. Let us remember the lessons of COVID-19 four years ago today when we constantly washed and disinfected our hands to be more responsible with each other, with nature and with life. Our problems are often the results of things getting off hand, out of control or too much control as we manipulate everything even God, persons and nations through elections as well as habits and patterns for economic and social reasons
“Ecce Homo” painting by Vicente Juan Masip (1507-1579) from masterapollon.com
It is so different with the hands of God expressed so beautifully in our first reading from the Prophet Isaiah’s Song of the Suffering Servant who was fulfilled in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
The Lord God has given me a well trained-tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them… and I have not rebelled, have not turned back.
Isaiah 50:4, 5
Here is a beautiful picture of God in Jesus Christ whose hands we have tied so many times as we insisted on our own ways, in seeking instant gratifications, in manifesting power through sheer strength. Here lies the beauty of God’s hands in Jesus Christ so opposite with our manipulating and controlling hands because His is of submission. Or passion.
The word “passion” is from the Latin patior that means to suffer or to undergo. It is related with the words passivity and patience – exactly like patients who just lie and wait on their beds, waiting for the doctors and nurses, for them to be healed and get better.
Passion here connotes passivity in the positive sense when we strip ourselves naked before God in order to be open to new possibilities like Jesus Christ eloquently expressed by St. Paul in the second reading when He “emptied and humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil.2:7, 8).
Photo by author, Chapel of the Holy Family, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, June 2016.
In his Passion, Jesus taught us that true power is in weakness like him dying on the Cross. Now here we find something so interesting with the synoptics account of Christ’s death when “he breathed his last” (Mk. 15:37) leading to the faith of a Roman soldier, a pagan.
When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he breathed his last he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
Mark 15:39
What was in Christ’s final breath that convinced the Roman centurion that Jesus was indeed the Son of God? The fourth gospel gives us the answer: When Jesus has taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit (Jn. 19:30).
Here again we find the words “handing over” but this time in the positive sense. Jesus never betrayed the Father nor anyone; he instead handed over Himself to God and to us. That is passion when we suffer passively in the positive sense because we love, we care, we understand.
For us to enter into the heart of Jesus this Holy Week, we have to enter into His passion too. That is to submit, to surrender all our powers to God through our parents and superiors by emptying ourselves of our pride to be filled with Christ’s humility, justice and love. Amen. A blessed Holy Week to everyone!
Photo by author, Chapel of the Holy Family, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, June 2016.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-22 ng Marso 2024 Ikatlong Huling Wika ni Jesus sa Krus
Larawan kuha ng may akda, 2019.
Ang ikatlong wika ni Jesus sa Krus:
Nakatayo sa tabi ng krus ni Jesus ang kanyang ina at ang kapatid na babae nitong si Maria, na asawa ni Cleopas. Naroon din si Maria Magdalena. Nang makita ni Jesus ang kanyang ina, at ang minamahal niyang alagad sa tabi nito, kanyang sinabi, “Ginang, narito ang iyong anak!” At sinabi sa alagad, “Narito ang iyong ina!” Mula noon, siya’y pinatira ng alagad na ito sa kanyang bahay.
Juan 19:25-27
Napakagandang eksena ang ating natunghayan sa ikatlong wika ni Jesus doon sa krus, sa gitna ng kanyang paghihirap at pagtitiis ilang oras bago siya mamatay. Naroon kapiling niya si Maria na kanyang Ina, ang “ulirang alagad” at si Juan, ang “minamahal na alagad.”
Kapwa tumatayo noon sa paanan ng krus ang dalawang naturang alagad para sa ating lahat ngayon: si Maria na sumasagisig sa Inang Simbahan, ang Katawan ni Kristo na ating kinabibilangan bilang kanyang mga anak, bawat isa ay minamahal na alagad ni Jesus.
Ngunit, nababatid kaya natin ang karangalang ito sa ngayon na wala nang halos nagsisimba ni nagdarasal at walang pakialam sa paghihirap ng kapwa lalo ng mga magulang?
Hindi ko po napanood (at walang balak panoorin) yaong viral na namang video diumano ng isang guro na kinunan ng kanyang mga mag-aaral habang nagbibitiw ng masasakit na salita dahil sa matinding galit. Maraming guro ang dumamay sa kanya at hiniling sa mga tao na huwag siya husgahan.
Sang ayon po ako doon. Nakakalungkot, nakakadismaya at nakakahiya maraming tao ngayon lalo mga nakababata tulad ng mga mag-aaral na wala nang kahihiyahan at pakundangan sa hirap at malasakit ng kapwa. Masyadong entitled na nga yata mga tao ngayon na tila baga umiikot at umiinog ang mundo sa kanila.
Ngayon ko lang nadama ng husto bilang chaplain ng Fatima University Medical Center ang pagkatakot at balisa, pagluha at pagtangis ng isang ina para sa kanyang iniluwal na sanggol na kailangang ipasok sa ICU dahil sa sakit at suliraning pangkalusugan. Hindi biro ang makakita ng bagong silang na sanggol na maraming nakasaksak na mga munting tubo para lang mabuhay. Pagkatapos paglaki ay lalapastanganin mga maglang at matatanda? Kung nalalaman lang sana nila pagmamal at malasakit sa kanila noong sila’y mga sanggol na may sakit!
Larawan ng “Lady of Sorrows” sa triptych ng Master of the Stauffenberg Altarpiece, Alsace c. 1455; mula sa fraangelicoinstitute.com.
Ang mga salitang binigkas ni Jesus doon sa krus para sa kanyang Inang si Maria at sa minamahal niyang alagad na si San Juan ay patuloy niyang sinasabi sa atin ngayon upang tularan ang dalawang naturang alagad niya. Araw-araw ay hinihimok tayo ni Jesus na sariwain kanyang ikatlong huling wika doon sa krus sa pagmamalasakit at pagmamahal natin sa bawat kapwa lalo na yaong mga nahihirapan at nabibigatan sa buhay.
Si Maria ang unang alagad at ulirang alagad ng Panginoong Jesus dahil siya ang unang tumanggap sa kanya at nagsabuhay ng Ebanghelyo. Si Maria ang unang nanampalataya kay Jesus kaya naganap ang una niyang himala sa kasalan sa Cana, Galilea nang mamagitan si Maria na tulungan ang mga bagong kasal na naubusan ng alak. Nanalig si Maria kay Jesus kaya inutusan niya ang mga tagapag-silbi noon na gawin ano mang sabihin ni Jesus. Higit sa lahat, si Maria ang unang nanampalataya na muling mabubuhay si Jesus kaya sa kanya rin unang nagpakita ang Panginoon noong Pasko ng Pagkabuhay.
Sa lahat ng ito, itinuturo sa atin ng Mahal na Birheng Maria ang kahalagahan ng kaisahan o union kay Jesus sa pamamagitan ng matalik na ugnayan o intimacy sa Panginoon bilang kanyang kasama o companion sa misyon. Kaya kung tutuusin, si San Juan ay katulad din ni Maria sa pagiging ulirang alagad ni Jesus kaya naman tinagurian din siyang minamahal na alagad. At iyon din tayo sa paningin ng Panginoon!
Damahin natin ang tagpo doon sa krus. Pagmasdan ang marangal pa ring itsura ng Mahal na Birheng Maria sa gitna ng matinding hapis. Nakatindig siya (nakatayo) at hindi naglulupasay o nagwawala sa lapag. Buong-buo kanyang sarili tulad ni Jesus sa kabila ng matinding hapis.
Ang “Blue Madonna” na Mater Dolorosa (1616)ni Carlo Dolci. Mula sa Wikimedia Commons.
Ito ang pinakamagandang katotohanan sa tagpong ito: mahigit pa sa mga luha at hapis sa mukha ni Maria, hindi maikakaila ang kanyang pagiging ulirang alagad ni Jesus sa kanyang taimtim na pananalangin. Pagmasdan na walang ibang ginagawa marahil doon ang Mahal na Ina maliban sa pagdarasal. Tingnan kung paanong magkaisa silang mag-ina sa hirap at dusa maging sa pag-asa at pananalangin kaya naman sila rin unang nagkita sa luwalhati ng muling pagkabuhay!
Sikapin natin ngayong panahon ng Kuwaresma at Semana Santa na muling malinang ating buhay panalangin upang katulad ng Mahal na Birheng Maria, magkaroon tayo ng kaisahan o komunyon kay Jesus na kung saan hindi lamang tayo nag-uusal ng dasal sa bibig kungdi namumuhay at nananahan kay Kristo. Tantuin nating mabuti na ang Dapat pagtayo ni Maria doon sa paanan ng krus ni Jesus ay hindi basta-basta lamang nangyari; ito ay bunga ng matalik niyang pakikipag-ugnayan at pagsunod kay Jesus na dinalisay ng buhay panalangin. Madalas tayo mga tao ngayon naisipan lang magdasal at magsimba kung mayroong problema.
Buong buhay ng Birheng Maria ay ginugol niya sa pagdarasal kaya noong bumaba ang Espiritu Santo noong Pentekostes, naroon din siyang nagdarasal kasama ng mga alagad ni Jesus. Si Maria ang pinakamagandang paalala pangalawa kay Jesus na ang pagiging alagad ay nagsisimula at nakabatay sa buhay ng panalangin, ng kaisahan sa Diyos kung kayat bawat pasya, bawat kilos natin ay bunga ng pagdarasal at kaisahan kay Kristo Jesus!
Manalangin tayo:
Panginoong Jesus, tulungan mo kaming maging katulad ng iyong Ina, ang Mahal na Birheng Maria sa pagiging iyong ulirang alagad; O Birheng Maria, ipanalangin mo kaming iyong mga anak lalo na kaming mga pari na dapat sana ay katulad ng minamahal na alagad na nakababad, nakalublob sa buhay panalangin; nawa katulad mo at ni San Juan, manindigan kami kasama ng maraming nahaharap sa mga pagsubok at pagdurusa; nawa masamahan namin ang marami pang iba nagtitiis ng mag-isa, walang kasama. Amen.
lordmychef.com 