40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday after Ash Wednesday, 19 February 2026 Deuteronomy30:15-20 +++ Luke 9:22-25
Can my life, or life itself be separated from you, my God?
Then he said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it" (Luke 9:23-24).
As I immerse myself to your words today, Jesus, I remember so many occasions when I was younger always trying to save my life, simply clinging to my life, or asserting my life, that's when I lost in every count: it seems to me now that when we are young - and strong - we choose ourselves more, insist on ourselves, even shouting deep within "It's my life"...!
Sad truth is, we lost always as we felt most empty, no direction, no meaning in life. When life is too cushy, without any problems and challenges, that is when life is deep in serious trouble. It is not even life at all but felt like death!
But, Lord, I remember too that since I took that dive, when I thought less of my self, when I started following you, of losing my life for your sake, that was when I found meaning and fullness in life, when I truly save my life; it was a bumpy road, Lord - you know it very well how many times I stopped along the way to choose my own path, even dared leaving you but you were always there waiting for me, walking with me even in the opposite direction just to bring me back to you to gain my life in you.
Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus! Your words are not just a rhetoric, nor a poetic overstatement of a guru or a teacher but actualizing words of the Son of God, our Savior and Messiah; you have given me with so much and I have given you so little; teach me to give more of myself to you so that I can give myself to others by giving more of you in loving service.
Let me choose you always, Jesus, for life itself cannot be separated from you who is life yourself. Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-11 ng Pebrero 2026
Larawan kuha ni Arkitek Philip Santiago, Lourdes, France, Oktubre 2025.
Isa sa mga turo sa amin ni Bp. Almario (+) noong kami ay mga seminarista pa ay huwag na huwag daw kaming maglalagay sa pintuan ng aming silid kapag naging pari na ng “Do not disturb” sign.
Paliwanag niya sa amin ay buhay ng mga pari ang palaging maistorbo at magambala lalo na kung mayroong may-sakit at naghihingalo ano mang oras gaya ng hating-gabi at madaling-araw.
Naalala ko ang turo niyang iyon noong Lunes sa aking homilya tungkol sa ebanghelyo na si Hesus ay “inistorbo” ng mga tao nang tumawid ng lawa at dumaong sila sa Capernaum.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Lawa ng Galilea, Israel, Mayo 2017.
Noong panahong iyon, sina Hesus at ang kanyang mga alagad ay tumawid ng lawa, at pagdating sa Genesaret ay isinadsad nila ang bangka. Paglunsad nila, nakilala siya agad ng mga tao kaya’t nagmamadaling nilibot ng mga ito ang mga pook sa paligid; at ang mga maysakit, na nakaratay na sa higaan ay dinala nila kay Hesus, saanman nila mabalitaang naroon siya. At saanman siya dumating, maging sa nayon, lungsod, o kabukiran, ay dinadala sa liwasan ang mga maysakit, at isinasamo sa kanya na pahipuin sila kahit man lang sa palawit ng kanyang kasuutan. At lahat ng makahipo nito ay gumagaling (Marcos 6:53-56).
Imagine natin ang eksenang ito: ni hindi na nakapagpahinga man lang si Hesus pagdating sa Capernaum. Ni hindi niya nakuhang bumuwelo. Agad-agad Siya na sumama sa mga tao. Kung ano man mga plano Niya marahil noong mga araw na iyon ay Kanyang ipinagpaliban para sa mga tao, lalo na sa mga may-sakit.
At iyon naman ang totoo kay Hesus – palagi Siyang may panahon sa bawat isa sa atin. Kaya nga hindi naman Siya pumapalag sa mga humihipo sa Kanyang damit upang gumaling sa kanilang mga sakit. Kailanman ay hindi pinigilan ni Hesus mga tao na siya ay istorbohin upang magpagaling, mangaral at magpaliwanag. Minsan nga ay inaya niya Kanyang mga alagad tumungo sa ilang na pook upang mamahinga ngunit wala Siyang nagawa kungdi ang maawa nang makita Niya na nauna pang dumating sa kanila ang mga tao na parang mga “tupang walang pastol” kaya tinuruan Niya at pinagaling mga may-sakit. At pagkaraan ay pinakain pa!
Napaka-gandang katangian ni Hesus ang kanyang pagtugon sa mga pang-aabala lalo ng mga may-sakit at naghihingalo. Ito marahil ang kaganapan ng ating panalanging “disturb me Lord” sapagkat tunay tayo nagagambala ng Panginoon tuwing kinakilanga at pinaglilingkuran natin ang mga may-sakit at maging iba pang mga nahihirapan sa buhay.
Larawan kuha ni Arkitek Philip Santiago, Lourdes, France, Oktubre 2025.
Kaya naman tuwing ginugunita ang Birhen ng Lourdes sa ika-11 ng Pebrero, atin ring ipinagdiriwang ang Pandaigdigang Araw ng mga May-Sakit. Bantog ang maraming himala ng kagalingan sa pamamagitan ng pamimintuho sa Birhen ng Lourdes. Itinuturing din na mapaghimala ang bukal ng tubig doon sa Lourdes, France na ipinahukay ng Mahal na Birhen sa pinagpakitaan niyang bata noon na ngayon ay Santa na, si St. Bernadette Soubirous.
Itinakda ni San Juan Pablo II noong Mayo 13, 1992 at isinabay sa kapistahan ng Lourdes ang World Day of the Sick upang aniya ay “ating makita sa mga may-sakit ang mukha ni Kristo na sa Kanyang pagpapakasakit, pagkamatay at muling pagkabuhay ay natamo ang kaligtasan ng sangkatauhan.”
Bakit nga ba gayon na lamang ang pagpapahalaga ng Diyos sa mga may-sakit? Dahil lang ba sa sila’y mahihina at walang halos magagawa kaya kailangan nating tulungan at kalingain?
Maraming dahilan ang ating maiisip na pawang mga patungkol sa mga may-sakit dahil nga sa sila ay mahihina, maraming tinitiis at iniindang hirap sa kanilang karamdaman.
Ngunit, marahil hindi sumagi sa ating isipan ang malaking pagpapala na hatid sa atin ng mga may-sakit dahil sa pamamagitan nila ay ating nakikita, nararanasan pagliligtas ni Kristo. Gaya ng sinabi ni San Juan Pablo II, sa kanila ating nakikita ang mukha ni Kristo na nagligtas sa atin sa pamamagitan ng Kanyang pagpapasakit, pagkamatay at muling pagkabuhay.
Tatlong katotohanan aking napagtanto na biyayang binabahagi sa atin ng mga may-sakit at naghihingalo.
Mula sa inquirer.net.
Personal nating nararanasan si Hesus sa mga may-sakit.
Tunay lamang nating masasabing “Katawan ni Kristo” ang Banal na Ostiya kung nahawakan natin ang maruming sugat at balat ng isang may-sakit, o naglinis at nagpaligo sa may-sakit. Higit itong totoo kapag pamilya natin ang may sakit na inaalagaan at kinakalinga.
May mga pagkakataong tuwing konsekrasyon habang binibigkas ko yung mga sinabi at ginawa ni Hesus sa Huling Hapunan (institution narrative) saka dumarating sa aking gunita mga pasyente na aking hinawakan, hinipo… o nilinisan. Namamangha ako sa biyaya na nagawa ko lahat yun gayong mahina aking sikmura (sabi po ng aking Ina noong nabubuhay pa siya, sa lahat daw ng matakaw ako mahina ang sikmura!).
Mahirap ipaliwanag ni ilarawan aking nadarama sa mga pagkakataon na iyon madalas ako ay naluluha, parang may daluyong sa aking dibdib na biglang gagaan at ang tanging nasasabi ko ay basta ganun yun! Totoo nga sabi ni San Juan Pablo II na ating nakikita mukha ni Kristo sa may-sakit. Ito marahil ay sapagkat sila man nakikita na si Kristo.
Ang mga may-sakit pinaka-malapit kay Kristo.
Sa Ebanghelyo ayon kay San Lukas, tiniyak ni Hesus kay Dimas na “ngayon din isasama kita sa paraiso” (23:43). Hindi sinabi ni Hesus na mamyang alas-tres pagkamatay ko o sa Linggo sa aking pagkabuhay. Ang sinabi ni Hesus ay ngayon din habang sila ay nakabayubay sa krus.
Alalaong-baga, sa pangungusap na iyon ni Hesus, inilalahad niya sa atin ang katotohanan na ang pintuan ng langit ay narito mismo sa lupang ibabaw. Higit sa lahat, pumapasok tayo sa langit kapag tayo naroon sa krus ng pagtitiis at paghihirap. Kaya hindi kataka-taka na natatanaw na ng mga may-sakit at mga naghihingalo ang langit na kanilang pupuntahan maging si Kristo na kanilang hahantungan.
Aking napansin sa marami kong pasyente na naihanda sa pagpanaw, mayroon tila “cycle” na sila at ang mga bantay na pinagdaraanan. Una, yung pasyente ang palaging umiiyak dahil takot o galit sa kanilang sinapit. Sino nga ba hindi matatakot at maiiyak kung malaman mo na mamatay ka na dahil sa iyong sakit.
Ngunit unti-unti habang kanilang natatanggap ang kanilang kalagayan at karamdaman, naiiba ang sitwasyon: ang mga may-sakit ang puno ng tuwa at sigla at lakas ng loob habang ang mga mahal sa buhay ang bagabag at naiiyak. Ito marahil ay sapagkat natatanaw na nga ng mga may-sakit kanilang tutunguhan lalo na kung sila ay naihanda o nakapaghandang mabuti spiritually. Hindi na sila umiiyak dahil batid nilang mas mabuti ang kanilang pupuntahan. Ang mga naiiwan ang kinakabahan at umiiyak dahil walang katiyakan silang nakikita sa buhay. Paano na kapag pumanaw na si itay o si inay o sino mang mahal natin sa buhay? Paano tayo? Hindi natin alam ano susunod sa buhay natin di tulad ng papanaw na sigurado na ang langit!
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Basilika ng Manaoag, Pangasinan, 09 Enero 2026.
Napaka-buti ng Diyos.
Kumbinsido ako lalo ngayon mula nang maging chaplain ako sa ospital na napaka-buti ng Diyos, na mahal na mahal niya tayong lahat. Nakatitiyak ako na mas marami pa rin ang nasa langit kesa nasa impiyerno.
Hanggang sa kahuli-hulihan, ibig ng Diyos tayo ay masagip kaya nga naparito Kanyang Anak na si Jesu-Kristo. Ang tanging napupunta lang sa impiyerno ay yaong sadyang ayaw sa Diyos.
Madalas sinasabi sa akin ng mga duktor at nurse dito sa ospital ay “Father hinitay lang po kayo ng pasyente bago pumanaw.” Kasi nga bihirang-bihira mga pumapanaw na pasyente na hindi ko napupuntahan. Ako mismo ay nagtataka: kapag wala ako, walang naghihingalo? At kung mayroon man, palaging inaabutan ko pa kahit na anong layo pa aking panggalingan! Gayun din kung hatinggabi o madaling-araw: nagigising ako maski sa text ng mga nurse kung mayroong mag-request ng pagpapahid ng langis.
Sadyang mabuti ang Diyos at mahal Niya tayong lahat na hindi Siya tatawag ng sino man kung hindi naman sa Kanya uuwi at hihimlay.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Chapel of angel of Peace, Our Lady of Fatima University, Marso 2025.
Sa loob ng limang taong pagiging kapelyan ko sa Fatima University Medical Center sa Valenzuela, naranasan ko maraming pagpapala mula sa mga dinadalaw na pasyente na nagpalalim at nagpayabong sa aking katauhan hindi lamang sa aking pagkapari.
Dahil sa kanila, lalong naging makahulugan at makatotohanan sa akin ang bawat pagdiriwang ng Banal na Eukaristiya kung saan tunay na tunay ngang dumarating si Hesus sa Kanyang Katawan at Dugo.
Totoong nakakapagod ang dumalaw lalo na ang mag-alaga ng may-sakit ngunit mayroong ibang kagaanan ng kalooban itong hatid sa ating katauhan na sagad hanggang ating budhi. Kaya nga, sakali mang pakiramdam natin tayo ay nagagambala o naiistorbo ng mga may-sakit sa kanilang pangangailangan, nawa ating ituring ang mga pagkakataong iyon ay mismong ang Panginoong Hesus nag-aanyaya sa atin ng Kanyang pagpapala na Siya ay maranasan at maka-ugnayan. Amen.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 03 February 2026
Photo by author, 31 January 2026.
One of the Christmas gifts I have received last year was a scented candle personally made by one of our nurses who accompanies me in visiting our patients on Sundays.
Though I had already thanked her when she handed me her gift last Christmas, I had to thank her again last Sunday because I had it unboxed only recently. Most of all, because I loved it so much as I light candles on my altar when praying.
Yesterday was the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus to the Temple (February 2) also known as the Feast of the Candlemass wherein candles were blessed outside the church after which the people led by the priest enters to begin the Mass in a procession with lighted candles.
Candlemass is a beautiful celebration, especially when done properly by priests. Its origin dates back to more than 1500 years ago in France where it started when people incorporated the blessing of candles into the Feast of the Presentation then known with its Eastern title as “the Encounter” to refer to how Simeon with the Prophetess Anna met the child Jesus being offered by his parents Joseph and Mary to the temple 40 days after Christmas.
According to St. Luke, Simeon sang the following upon meeting the child Jesus Christ.
“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32).
In proclaiming Jesus Christ as the “light” of salvation for the nations, the early French Christians thought of having the blessing of candles and procession of lighted candles to signify Jesus as the only and true light of the world. Hence, it came to be known also as “Candlemass” or Candelaria in the Spanish-speaking countries.
Although candles are no longer used as a major source of lighting in homes and other places, it is still used in almost all churches, monasteries and other houses of worship around the world, gaining a renewed popularity lately among the younger generation. It is a most welcomed development in our modern time as more and more people are rediscovering the need for spiritual growth of whatever label. And right in the midst of this is the candle as a tool for better prayer periods.
Unfortunately, this beautiful tradition of the candles is dying in our country. How ironic that we who belong to the Third World have switched to electric vigil lamps and candles while those in the First World still use the traditional candles in their homes and churches.
Photo by author, Jerusalem, April 2017.
How I envy churches in North America and Europe with their plethora of all kinds of candles used and sold even in the simplest churches and stores! During a Holy Land pilgrimage in the 2017 Easter Season, one of the things I appreciated and admired next to the pilgrim sites were the lovely and regal designs of paschal candles in the churches we visited that made me wonder why nobody makes them here in our predominantly Catholic country.
Candles have always have a special place in the life of our faith and the Church since its early beginnings. From the Latin words candere and candela that mean “to shine”, it evolved into the Middle and Old English words candele and candel.
Aside from lighting the gatherings of the early Christians especially in the catacombs to evade arrests during the persecution, candles have always been used to signify Christ as the light of the world guiding our paths as Christians in every celebration, from Baptism to Weddings and Funerals.
Candles do not only make rooms shine but most especially the souls and the hearts of those who cultivate a prayer life. It has that unique warmth that can soothe and calm those who are agitated or worried with life’s many trials and challenges.
Every time we light a candle during prayer periods, our inner selves are made brighter as they evoke in us so much feelings of the Divine presence. Their little lights that flicker remind us of our feeble selves whose life could be easily snuffed out with a single blow.
The scent of burning candle permeates our senses, calming us within, inviting us to leave all our worries in life as we lay our cards out in the open to God. A candles warmth can dissolve every hardness within us, purifying us within and becoming empty and open for God’s grace to work in us.
Photo by author, Mt. St. Paul Retreat House, La Trinidad, Benguet, January 2025.
In a sense, candles may be considered as a sacrament too which is defined as a visible sign with invisible power.
The very act of lighting a candle is already the start of prayer, something like the making of the sign of the Cross. I strongly recommend for those who wish to aid their prayer periods with candles to use matches not lighters that are artificial.
Lighting a candle for prayer especially in the morning can rouse our senses. The striking of the match with its sudden burst of light to kindle the candle is like an angel had suddenly come down to assure us that our prayer is heard by God, that God is with us at the very moment or at least reminds us we have turned into the mode of praying.
The strong scent of the burning matchstick also adds flavor and aroma to the prayer period especially in the early morning when the whole world is still dark and everyone still asleep with you as the only one awake with God.
Lighting a candle first thing first upon waking up can help us avoid from getting our cellphones or turning on the radio or the TV. A lighted candle can prevent us from being distracted by these modern gadgets that keep us away from God and from one another.
Lighting a candle during a prayer period in our room or home works like the candlelight dinner that sets us to a lovely communion with God our beloved. The slow burning of a candle reminds us even in our busiest morning that we are at prayer in the presence of God, that we need to slow down too in our lives, to be conscious of our selves, surroundings and time so we can set our sights to God alone like a beloved in a candlelight dinner date.
At night time, the sight of the candle burning in one’s room is most dramatic as we close the day. Actually, it is during night time that the Church prays the Canticle of Simeon.
A painting of Simeon with the Child Jesus from the dailyprayerblog.blogspot.com
Imagine that scene at the temple when Simeon sang as he held the Child Jesus in his arms – of his readiness to die, to go in peace, after seeing Christ the light of salvation. In the darkness of the night punctuated only by a burning candle, we are able to examine our hearts of the many things we have done and failed to do the whole day. These become clearer in the light of the candle that penetrates our hearts and conscience, piercing and rending our souls to remove the darkness within us, exposing the festering anger or bitterness and sadness hiding inside, melting them away with its warmth so we may go to sleep clean and ready to continue with life – here or hereafter like Simeon.
One last note about candles as we end this reflection.
Monks use a candle snuffer in extinguishing candles in their chapels and monasteries. These are long metal instruments with tips like a bell that monks hover above a candle, slowly covering it until its light is snuffed out, hence, the name candle snuffer.
My candle snuffer at the foreground of my altar.
If you want to be serious in praying better with lighted candles, you may buy those small candle snuffers for home use available at some candle shops in the malls. If there is no candle snuffer, one may use the cover of the candle to snuff out the light. What is important is that as we close our prayers with the lighted candle as companion, we don’t simply blow its light to abruptly end its glow.
When blowing the candle used in prayer, do it slowly as if you are whispering. Do it with solemnity.
Every candle used at prayer becomes blessed, demanding some sort of reverence as companions in our prayer life and journey. Of course, it would be good if you can have your candles blessed by the priest for use at home to ward off negative vibes but more important than that is we grow in our prayer life, we become like lighted candles who give light to others in Christ. Like our candles, we also become a prayer to God in our very selves. Amen.Have a blessed week.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus, 26 January 2026 2 Timothy 1:1-8 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Mark 3:22-30
Photo by author, Carmel of the Holy Family Monastery, Guiguinto, Bulacan, 23 January 2026.
Let me not be ashamed of witnessing, of testifying for you, Lord Jesus Christ; let me not be ashamed of you, Jesus in this time when things of God and of virtues and holiness are looked down upon as old fashioned, so conservative, fill me with your "grace, mercy, and peace", Lord like what St. Paul prayed for his disciple Timothy.
For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord…(2 Timothy 1:6-8).
As I prayed St. Paul's letter to Timothy, I felt as if those very words were spoken too to me by you, Jesus - thank you so much, Lord! I feel shy but so encouraged too because indeed everything we have is a pure grace from you, Jesus; even our calling is a gift you have freely given us, Jesus; that is why, grant me the courage not to be ashamed to proclaim your truth always; grant me the courage not to be ashamed to witness your love and mercy and justice with others especially those with less in life. Amen.
Photo by author, Carmel of the Holy Family Monastery, Guiguinto, Bulacan, 23 January 2026.
Lord My Chef Wedding Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Homily, Wedding of Ellah and John Victor Santuario de San Jose Parish, Greenhills, Mandaluyong 27 December 2025
A former student in our girls’ high school invited me to officiate her wedding last December 27, 2025; we were supposed to meet December 20 before my Simbang Gabi in our university chapel for my formal invitation when her father died suddenly that same afternoon while on a trip down south with his fellow big-bikers.
Ellah was so devastated with the news, wanting to reset her wedding. She has been working overseas for the past three years and had saved enough for her wedding day. Her only request from her parents who have separated when she was in elementary was for them to be together when she gets married. And they willingly obliged for their unica hija. And then tragedy struck exactly a week before her wedding day that happened to be the feast day of St. John Evangelist, the beloved disciple of the Lord. Sharing with you my homily on that bittersweet day of wedding of a beloved student and funeral of her father.
Congratulations, Ellah and JV on this most joyous day of your lives.
I know, it must be so difficult for you, Ellah but I am so glad that you still pushed through with your wedding today as planned. Your dad would not be happy if you had this postponed.
Showbiz ka rin talaga, Ellah!Parang cine – a wedding and a funeral.
But, let it be clear with you both, Ellah and JV that God willed it for you get married today on the feast of Jesus Christ’s beloved disciple St. John the Apostle and Evangelist. God wanted you to be married this day – not next year nor next month, nor last year. This is the day that the Lord has made for you to seal your love at His altar in this beautiful church because God has great plans for you, Ellah and JV.
Our gospel is so beautiful – the story of Easter when Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the the other disciple went out and came to the tomb (John 20:1,2-3).
“The Three Marys” (1910), painting by American Henry Osawa Tanner from biblicalarchaeology.org.
Here we find a most beautiful image of human relationships, of how a woman needs a man, and a man’s readiness to be at her side, to comfort and accompany the woman.
Just like you today, Ellah and JV.
Of course, Mary Magdalene and Simon Peter were both disciples of Jesus. They have no romantic relationships. But, the mere fact that Mary thought of reporting the missing body of Jesus to Peter being the leader of the Apostles speaks a lot to us these days when gender equality is overextended.
A woman needs a man for leadership that is why he is the man of the house. This we find in the rite of putting on veil on the newly-weds: only the head of the woman is covered because in every family, in every couple there is only one head, one leader – the man. Wherever there are two heads, it means there is a monster. There can be no order in any relationship when everyone is the leader or the head. This is most especially true in every couple.
However, let it be clear too that these mutual need of woman for man and man for woman is always governed by love which is more than a feeling but a decision, a meeting of one’s mind and heart. If your read the letters of St. John like what we have in our first reading today, you will realize three important lessons by the beloved disciple about LOVE:
Ellah and JV, remain rooted in God for “God is love.” If there is one thing you have found so clear in your lives since college, Ellah and JV, God has always been there with you. His abiding love never forsake you both, especially in your most trying times. Keep serving Him in your parish, in your lives, in your married life. Handle life with prayer.
Second, St. John tells us that love is not merely said in words but proven in deeds and works.
Walk your talk of “I love you.” One of the things I ask couples preparing for marriage is, who should be the first to greet, to speak when you have an LQ? Sino dapat maunang kumibo kapag nag-away ang mag-asawa o magkasintahan?
Many say it should be the man but I ask them whatever happened to the principle of ladies first? On the other hand, some say whoever caused the quarrel must be the one to apologize but the problem is, would anyone admit fault? The answer is simple but difficult to practice: whoever has more love to give must be the first to blink, must be the first to make the move. Love in any relationship is not a competition. Just keep on loving and loving. Show and make your love felt in actions. Not just words.
Third, very clear with St. John that love is always self-giving.
The true measure that you have loved is when you are able to love somebody else more than yourself. Love is always the giving of self.
In another part of his letter, St. John beautifully wrote that “No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us” (1Jn.4:12).
Remember, Ellah and JV, Jesus is always between the two of you, not in front nor at your back. Whatever you do to each other, you do it first to Jesus. When you work hard JV and become patient with the tantrums of Ellah, you first become loving to Jesus and then to Ellah. The same with you Ellah: when you take care of JV, when you cook his favorite meal, you are first loving Jesus then JV. But, the moment you become mean to each other, when you become unfaithful to each other, Ellah and JV, you become unloving first to Jesus and then to each other.
Wedding is not everything, Ellah and JV. There will be dark days and difficult times ahead of you, just like now as you grieve at the death of your dad, Ellah.
But, remember Ellah and JV your gospel today: Easter happened when it was dark; the tomb was empty because Jesus had risen from the dead. Like in life, whenever it is dark and empty, hold on to each other Ellah and JV, have faith in God for there in your midst is Jesus Christ.
Never lose hope in life; as I used to teach you Ellah in high school, hopelessness is the opposite of love, not hatred. The moment you find no hope in everyone and in everything, then you stop loving and that is when you start destroying everything and everyone. Never lose that hope and you will always find love, Ellah and JV. God bless you more and blessed Merry Christmas!
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 15 January 2026
Photo by Ar. Philip Santiago, Basilica of the Annunciation, Israel, October 2025.
Two priests and a former nun personally known to me died in our diocese last Sunday. It was also the birthdate of the late Bishop Cirilo Almario, Jr. whom I had remembered in my two early morning Masses on that Sunday, January 11, 2026.
In those two Masses too I mentioned in my homily the retreat I facilitated first week of January with my friends about “ageing gracefully” – my own realizations since joining their ranks as senior citizens last March.
Let me elaborate those two points I have shared with them and in my homily last Sunday.
From forbes.com.
First, let us embrace our being old. Stop saying “when we get old”, pagtanda natin because we are already old. Period. Matanda na tayo.
We cannot reverse our ageing process and it is useless to have all these cosmetic manipulations like dyeing our hair black or stretching our sagging skin and removing those wrinkles.
Embrace old age. It is beautiful and wonderful because it is so good. Our Filipino word for “old” says it all – matanda – which ironically so many women hate to hear as they stress that kalabaw lang ang tumatanda. That is not true.
Our word matanda is from the root word tanda which means “sign” that is why an old person is rightly called matanda because he/she is a sign of God’s goodness, a sign of God’s mercy and love, a sign of God’s beauty and majesty.
Moreover, a matanda is a sign of wisdom and grace that is why when we were young boys, we wanted to be old by putting our dad’s eyeglasses or taste his cigarettes and beer while girls put on their mom’s make up and high heeled shoes. How funny that when we are already old, we resist to accept the fact that we strive to look young again, sometimes ending up as nagmumurang kamatis.
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, 2019.
Technically speaking, “old” is actually harsh. Old is something about a past phase that has ran its course like being outdated. Luma in Filipino that connotes stale, passe, lacking relevance and sadly, useless. Just for display purposes. As a person, that is the one we refer to as walang pinagkatandaan. Or huklubang matanda.
To be more specific, the better English term referring to ageing gracefully is ancient that exudes with a sense of timeliness, of being perpetually relevant like the ancient ruins in Rome, Athens, and Jerusalem. Actually, some biblical experts have wanted to rename the “Old Testament” as “Ancient Testament” following this line of thinking.
Photo by author, Ephesus, Turkiye, November 2025.
Things and even persons can rightly be referred to as ancient because of their beauty still intact that inspires us and makes us wonder about life itself. They are not just old sites nor old persons that remind us of the past long gone but ancient because still lovely, “still full of sap and green” as the psalmist extolled the seniors of his time.
Persons who age gracefully like ancient sites stir our inner selves with deeper beauty and realities of life that eyes cannot see. That is perhaps the reason these days many senior men and women are so “in” and considered as attractive.
It is the same wisdom realized by St. Augustine when he wrote about God, “Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you. You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you.”
Being ancient -whether as a person or a thing – is something of the inside we must turn to not outside like our skin and physical body. From that inside realization and acceptance of being senior or elderly we experience the grace of ageing because we experience God still present in us, in fact loving us more as he makes as a sign or tanda of his loving presence.
Ageing gracefully is a modern virtue we need to cultivate in this age of instants that glorify youthfulness equated with usefulness. That is why when Pope Benedict XVI resigned from the Papacy in 2013, the more I have come to love and admire him. In his resignation, he taught us the importance of embracing and lovingly accepting our old age when we can no longer adequately perform our many tasks in office even in life itself. It was not a failure nor a surrender in the negative sense but more of a deep courage and trust in God that we accept our being weak and ready to come to him soon.
Photo by author, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, May 2025.
This brings me to my second realization since turning sigisty years old last year: corollary to embracing old age is accepting death. That is why, as seniors, let us stop saying and thinking of our coming death because we are already dying. Huwag na nating isipin yung “kapag namatay ako” dahil namamatay na nga tayo.
Being senior is doing away with those bucket lists, of thinking about things to do, places to visit before we die. We are already dying and hence, whatever you can do, do it now. There could be no more tomorrow. All we have is the present moment. Anything could happen to us, for better and for worse.
Ageing gracefully is coming to terms with life which leads us to coming to terms with death. Yes, this is easier said than done, but slowly, I am learning and loving it!
Photo by author, Bucharest, Romania, November 2025.
One of the reasons that made me decide to become a priest in the early 1990’s was the conviction that I have felt so deeply God’s love for me as a person in the many experiences I have gone through in life. I felt at that time that by becoming a priest, I could convince more people about the truth and existence of this loving God we have.
I still hold on to that but a year after turning sigisty, becoming sigisty-one in March 22, another fascinating realization I have had is how wonderful this life is. Now that I am old, the more I can boldly claim with conviction that it is good to be alive. Masarap pa rin ang mabuhay! Maganda ang buhay maski mahirap!
Accepting and embracing our ageing, our getting weak, our failing memory are all kinds of dying. And in that midst that we actually live fullest and meaningfully. I don’t know if I can write any further because I ain’t dead yet but… just in case, it was worth the trip. Amen. May you have a fruitful and fulfilling weekend ahead.
Lord My Chef Christmas Eve Recipe, 24 December 2025
Photo by Ar. Philip Santiago, a mural of angels announcing the birth of Jesus Christ to shepherds in the field, Angels’ Field Chapel in Bethlehem, October 2025.
A blessed Merry Christmas, friends ad relatives, especially our followers. In our Monday’s Simbang Gabi when Mary sang her Magnificat during her Visitation of Elizabeth, we reflected how songs not only express our innermost thoughts and feelings but reveal our very person, too.
Allow me this Christmas to share with you a song I have recently heard to reflect on the meaning of Jesus Christ’s birth. The song is called “My Lord Has Come” written in 2010 by Will Todd, a renowned contemporary British composer and pianist who blends melodic classical compositions with jazz elements. Check YouTube to feel its moving music but for now, experience the sense of wonder in its inspiring lyrics.
Shepherds, called by angels,
called by love and angels:
No place for them but a stable.
My Lord has come.
Sages, searching for stars,
searching for love in heaven;
No place for them but a stable.
My Lord has come.
His love will hold me,
his love will cherish me,
love will cradle me.
Lead me, lead me to see him,
sages and shepherds and angels;
No place for me but a stable.
My Lord has come.
Photo by Ar. Philip Santiago, a mural of shepherds as first visitors to the newborn King of kings, Angels’ Field Chapel in Bethlehem, October 2025.
I learned and heard this song last week while researching for materials this Christmas. And the word “stable” struck me.
See its varied meanings. First, “stable” means firm and sturdy, unshakeable like a stable table, stable ground, and stable truth or opinion. But during this period, we know a “stable” also refers to the Nativity scene or creche which we Filipinos call as a Belen that is actually a translation of the Lord’s birthplace of Bethlehem.
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn(Luke 2:1-7).
How lovely that God manifested to us in the most humble way, being born on a manger, at a stable for animals!
And see now why Christmas is the greatest exchange gift of all time when God became human like us born in a stable so that we too may become divine like Him.
But, it is no easy exchange gift we often do in our Christmas parties when we just have to buy gifts that fall within the range of prices we have agreed upon. Jesus Christ the Son of God came not for any price that can be bought and paid by humans for He came with His whole life and being.
Picture the Christmas stable, of how the eternal entered the temporal, the infinite and perfect became flesh and bones and blood among us, so intimate with life and all the mess and chaos of living including death itself. He was born because He loves each one of us immensely.
And listen now to Will Todd telling us, “The Lord has come in a stable… anyone searching for Him – whether angels or shepherds or sages like the Magis, there’s no place except the stable.
Even for me and for us searching for stability in life, meaning in life, direction in life that can be found only in the stable where the Lord has come. How lovely!
In the silence of the darkest night of the year, amid the loud claims of everyone being the greatest and most powerful, the best and brightest, unknown to them the only true great and mighty one is in the stable.
In the gospel we heard too how the shepherds went in haste to visit the newborn Messiah in the stable, rejoicing afterwards at the great sight and good news they have found.
But, how about us today? How sad nobody cares at all to go to the Holy Mass which is actually the modern Christmas stable of Bethlehem which means “house of bread”. Jesus is the Bread of life as He preached later in life in the Gospel of John. On the eve of His death at the Last Supper, Jesus gave Himself as the Bread broken and shared for all lifetime to lead us to eternity.
How sad that we search for life’s meaning and sense in the most unstable of all instances like science and technology, new thoughts and ideas that overextend our rights without any regard for responsibilities and true freedom. If there is anything that merits haste these days, it is the things of God like the Mass and prayers and Sacred Scriptures. Not social media and all those viral and trending reels of our follies and stupidities we love to follow.
Photo by author, Christmas 2021 at Basic Education Department Chapel, OLFU-Valenzuela City.
See also the animals in the Christmas stable especially the ox and donkey who all symbolize our blindness to God who humbly came to us in the stable. Isaiah and the other prophets in the Old Testament lamented how animals particularly the ox and donkey “know” so well where to go when hungry and thirsty which is the stable while we humans wander far because we are so blinded by many things.
Christmas tells us humans to stop looking so far as Will Todd insists in his great composition My Lord Has Come inspired by our readings last night and today: it is only in Bethlehem that we find the true stable reality of life where the Son of God was born so that we now reckon time according to His birth with BC and AD because humans and civilizations do not last. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebews 13:8).
Our only stability in life is found in the Christmas stable especially when the nights are dark and long. Amen. A blessed and stable Merry Christmas to you!
Lord My Chef Simbang Gabi Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday, Simbang Gabi-II, 17 December 2025 Genesis 49:2, 8-10 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]*> Matthew 1:1-17
Photo by author, December 2023.
Next to the Belen and the Parol, the Christmas Tree stands out as the third leading sign of Christmas especially in our country. Though it was first introduced by the German Lutherans in the 16th century, we Catholics have adopted it too with the Vatican having a giant Christmas Tree every year lighted at St. Peter’s Square in Rome.
The Christmas Tree invites us to remember Jesus who was born in Bethlehem is the true Tree of Life, as it “depicted the tree of paradise and the Christmas light or candle which symbolized Christ, the Light of the world” (Book of Blessings, page 443). Remember also that since ancient time especially among the Anglo-Saxons, trees symbolize our relationships as family and kin that is why we have “family trees” that trace our roots.
And that is what a genealogy is all about.
Photo by author, December 2022.
Matthew along with John opened his gospel account with the origin of Jesus; both felt the need to present right away to their specific audience where the Christ came from. John traced it to eternity as the Word (Logos) while Matthew whose followers were mostly Jewish converts to Christianity presented Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promise in the Old Testament through their two main personalities, Abraham and David.
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar (Matthew 1:1-3).
Every year we hear this gospel proclaimed on December 17 which is also the start of the second and final phase of Advent when all our readings and prayers direct our attention to the first Christmas that happened more than 2000 years ago.
For Matthew, it all started with God’s promises to Abraham, the father of all nations and to David, the greatest King of Israel whose royal lineage made the Christ a King, in fact the King of Kings. What is most interesting in Matthew’s genealogy is the fact that with each of those names that sound so funny for many of us today was a true person just like us – so human and so imperfect, even sinful except the Blessed Virgin Mary. Matthew did not sanitize nor photoshop the personalities in the Lord’s genealogy because that is the Good News: it is good to be human that is why the Son of God became one of us in everything as a human being except sin.
This year, I wish to reflect on just one person, Judah.
Jacob called his sons and said to them: “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob, listen to Israel, your father. You, Judah, shall your brothers praise – your hand on the neck of your enemies; the sons of your father shall bow down to you. Judah, like a lion’s whelp, you have grown up on prey, my son… The scepter shall never depart from Judah, or the maqce from between his legs, while tribute is brought to him, and he receives the people’s homage” (Genesis 49:2, 8-9, 10).
This is the second Christmas me and my siblings are celebrating without both our parents. Our mother died May 2024. Though it was so heavy and difficult for us, everything moved so fast that year. So unlike this 2025.
Photo by author, December 2020.
We never get used to deaths in the family; the pain becomes most painful as we move through the years especially during Christmas as if our Belen would never be complete without a St. Joseph and a Mama Mary. Of course, Christmas and life itself is all about Jesus Christ but it is a different reality and story celebrating this most joyful season without parents. Especially for a priest like me. (No drama intended.)
That is why I felt so drawn in my prayers to Judah in Matthew’s genealogy as one of the great, great, great grandfather of Jesus Christ.
In the first reading, we have Jacob nearing death while they were all in Egypt courtesy of his eleventh son Joseph who rose to power after being sold there by his brothers. Though my mother never gave such speeches when she was nearing death, all her life she used to tell us similar things when we were growing up, of how after she and dad would be gone that I must look after my two sisters and only brother, that we would not quarrel and be loving one another always. I think such habilin as we say in Filipino is common among us Pinoys along with the usual passing on or entrusting of family and properties to the eldet, either the kuya or ate.
But that’s not the case in our first reading because Judah was not the eldest of Jacob’s children with her first wife Leah. Judah was their fourth son with three elder brothers – Reuben, Simeon and Levi with a sister named Dinah. Judah also had six half-brothers from their father’s concubines or later wives: Dan, Napthali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin.
Rembrandt’s 1660 painting of “Judah and Tamar” via en.wikimedia.org
Why was Judah the one anointed by Jacob to lead his family and not the elder sons as it is the norm among Jewish and even Filipino families?
This is where the story gets most interesting: Judah’s Kuya Reuben fell from grace because he had sex with their father’s concubine Bilha whose sons were Dan and Napthali while his Diko Simeon and Sangko Levi were disqualified from leading the family after their bloody revenge for the rape of their sister Dinah.
However, that does not mean Judah was clean and honorable at all!
Matthew told us in his genealogy of Jesus that Judah’s sons Perez and Zerah (twins) were born through Tamar who was actually the wife of Judah’s eldest son Er who died without having any son. As per Jewish tradition, Judah’s second son Onan married Tamar but refused to have a son with her that he “spilled his seed” to the ground – that is, he masturbated! It angered God that he took Onan (that is why masturbation is sinful and also known as “onanism” from Onan).
After losing his two sons because of Tamar, Judah refused to give his third and youngest son Shelah to marry her. So, Tamar devised the plan of pretending a prostitute, luring Judah into bed and have her pregnant with the twins Perez and Zerah. Read Genesis 38 for the full story!
Of Jacob’s sons, Joseph was the most eligible to lead and continue Jacob’s family lineage and not Judah had no credentials at all to speak of as a great man leading his brothers, eventually becoming the father of the Jewish nation from whose name came the word “Judaism”.
“Patriarch Judah”, a Russian Orthodox painting in 1654 from en.wikipedia.org.
Remember too that Judah was totally silent and timid unlike Reuben when his elder brothers planned of killing Joseph because of jealousy; it was him, however, who thought of selling Joseph into slavery to Egypt to make some money.
Judah’s only saving grace came after more than twenty years when Joseph was already a powerful man in Egypt demanded to have Jacob’s youngest son Benjamin as his slave in exchange for them to purchase foodstuff during the famine (Gen. 42). Judah pleaded for Benjamin’s life that Joseph finally revealed himself as their lost brother after he could no longer contain his tears and joy in being reunited with his brothers anew.
Despite all these shady past of Judah, God chose him to continue the family lineage of his father Jacob from whom the Messiah, Jesus came.
Like Judah, we are not the perfect son or daughter, brother or sister in the family.
Like Judah, we are not most qualified for being the favored one or anointed one in the family or in the organization. There is always somebody better than us.
But God’s works in mysterious ways, in ways so different from our own ways. As the saying goes, God does not call the qualified but qualifies his calls. Likewise, God writes straight in crooked lines.
The Simbang Gabi invites us not only to look forward to the birth of the Messiah; in these nine days of prayers and reflections, we also look back to our past to face and embrace, admit and own those shades of darkness in our lives.
Matthew’s genealogy reminds us today that this family tree of faith in Jesus extends down the generations and includes us today. Feel and experience, most of all, celebrate that joy of belonging to God’s living family tree where every branch, every member is loved and cared for. God believes in us that he entrusted to us his Son Jesus Christ. That’s Christmas – God becoming human, infant and weak like us, entrusting himself to our care and love and protection.
This Simbang Gabi, let us remember our family members and other persons who made us feel belonging in this living family tree of Jesus. Let us also pray for those lost family members and friends that Jesus wants us to draw near to his living family tree with our friendship and warmth, forgiveness and acceptance. As you light your Christmas tree tonight, do not forget to share the light and warmth of Jesus Christ, our Tree of Life. Amen. Have a blessed Wednesday!
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-02 ng Disyembre 2025
Larawan kuha ng may-akda sa San Fernando, Pampanga, Nobyembre 2021.
Napansin ko lang kakaiba itong kapaskuhang darating: tahimik si Jose Mari Chan at inagawan ng eksena ng mga mandarambong sa pamahalaan at kongreso na hanggang ngayon nagtuturuan, nagtatakipan habang pinagpipilitan ng isang ginang kakasya raw ang limang-daang piso upang makapag-diwang ng noche buena sa bisperas ng Pasko ang pamilyang Pilipino.
Kaya sumagi sa aking alaala pamaskong awiting aking kinalakhan:
Kay sigla ng gabi, ang lahat ay kay saya Nagluto ang ate ng manok na tinola Sa bahay ng kuya ay mayroong litsonan pa Ang bawat tahanan, may handang iba't-iba
Tayo na, giliw, magsalo na tayo Mayroon na tayong tinapay at keso 'Di ba Noche Buena sa gabing ito? At bukas ay araw ng Pasko
Mga ginigiliw, atin nang mapagtatanto sa awiting ito diwa ng Pasko: ating pagsasalu-salo ng mga kaloob na biyaya at pagpapala na sinasagisag ng noche buena ng pagkakatawang-tao ni Jesu-Kristo noong Pasko; ngunit, paano nga kung sa halip na tulungan lalo mga maliliit tugon ng pamahalaan ay bigyan ng presyo natatanging pagsasalo-salo ng Pilipino tuwing Pasko?
Narito naman makabagong awiting pamasko naghahayag na walang tatalo sa Pasko sa Pilipinas:
May tatalo pa ba sa Pasko ng 'Pinas? Ang kaligayahan nati'y walang kupas 'Di alintana kung walang pera Basta't tayo'y magkakasama Ibang-iba talaga ang Pasko sa 'Pinas
May simpleng regalo na si Ninong at si Ninang Para sa inaanak na nag-aabang Ang buong pamilya ay magkakasama sa paggawa ng Christmas tree Ayan na ang barkada, ikaw ay niyayaya para magsimbang gabi
Muli mga ginigiliw sa saliw ng awiting ito madarama natin diwa at tuwa ng Pasko: wala naman sa handang noche buena ito kungdi sa samahan at pagbubuklod ng pamilya at magkakaibigan katulad ng pagkakatawang-tao ni Jesu-Kristo na pumarito upang tubusin tayo sa ating mga kasalanan at mapunan ating kakulangan ng kanyang kaganapan sa pagmamahalan.
Subalit kay hirap maramdaman pagmamahal ni malasakit nino man tulad ng mga nasa kapangyarihan animo mga maligno at impakto ng mga ghost project kaya Biyernes Santo hindi Pasko pakiramdam ngayon ng maraming Pilipino: wala ang mga ginigiliw na ate at kuya may handang iba't-iba dahil sila ay mga nagsipag-OFW na habang ang mga buwitre at buwaya sa Kongreso nagpapasasa sa kaban ng bayan mula sa dugo at pawis ng mga mamamayan na pinagtitiis sa limang-daang pisong noche buena na kahuluga'y "mabuting gabi" nang pahalagahan ng Diyos ang tao sa pagsusugo niya ng Kristo na patuloy sumisilang sa puso ng bawat nilalang tuwing nagmamahalan at nagbabahaginan na pinapaging-ganap sa hapag ng pakikinabang ng Banal na Misa hanggang sa mesa ng bawat pamilya.
Ngunit papaano na kung pera hindi kakasya sa noche buena? Iyan ang masaklap at nakasusuklam ng limang-daang pisong noche buena: hindi ang halaga ng pera kungdi kawalan ng pagpapahalaga nitong nasa pamahalaan sa dangal ng bawat isa lalo ng mga maliliit at aba na sa halip tulungan maka-ahon o maibsan kanilang hirap at gutom sila pa nga ay ibinaon sa presyo na pang galunggong hindi hamon!
Kaya nakakamiss sa gitna ng nakakainis na mga balita si Jose Mari Chan sa kanyang awiting pamasko na maalala nating palagi Sanggol na sumilang sa Bethlehem sa tuwing masilayan mukha ng bawat kapwa nang walang pasubali hindi sa halaga ng salapi!
Whenever I see girls and boys Selling lanterns on the streets I remember the Child In the manger, as he sleeps Wherever there are people Giving gifts, exchanging cards I believe that Christmas Is truly in their hearts
Let's light our Christmas trees For a bright tomorrow Where nations are at peace And all are one in God
Let's sing Merry Christmas And a happy holiday This season may we never forget The love we have for Jesus Let Him be the one to guide us As another new year starts And may the spirit of Christmas Be always in our hearts
Ngayong Pasko marami ang wala maski limang daang piso at marahil itutulog na lang ang noche buena; tayo nawa maging dahilan ng "mabuting gabi" nila upang tunay nilang maranasan pagsilang ng Kristo sa kumakalam nilang tiyan at sikmura.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda sa Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga, Nobyembre 2022.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul, 19 November 2025 Wednesday in the Thirty-Third Week of Ordinary Time, Year I 2 Maccabees 7:1, 20-31 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 19:11-28
Lady of Sorrows from a triptych by the Master of the Stauffenberg Altarpiece, Alsace c. 1455; photo from fraangelicoinstitute.com.
What a lovely phrase, dear Jesus for today for us all especially mothers and all women: "womanly heart, manly courage."
At this time when a wayward daughter and sister viciously attacks her own brother in total disregard of our family values and tradition, not to mention the need for decency and respect as well as a little sanity too, here comes out in the open the nobility of many women and mothers as well as men still intact; in this time like during the Maccabean Revolt when many sold their souls to evil for the price of comfort and ease, there are still more like that mother who dare to go against the tide of insanity and folly, indecency and disrespect, most of all, of idolatrous worship through religious leaders of the many sects and cults who use God's name in vain and shameful profit too.
Keep us strong inside, Jesus, to be not afraid in venturing into finding ways of serving you most than being idle in keeping your gifts and talents; teach us anew the virtue of obedience, of docility to authority whether at home and family or in the society in general and in other civil institutions.
Lastly, we pray dear Jesus for all mothers crying in silence these days for the many pains they bear inside their hearts especially those who have lost a child, those betrayed by their own husband or children, those separated from their families due to work and employment, those nursing a sick loved one, those forgotten even by families and societies; grant them a "womanly heart" filled with faith in God and a "manly courage" trusting in you alone. Amen.
Now more than ever, we are proven right: the past administration is the most decadent in our history with its utter lack of respect for life and for women; that its war on drugs was totally a lie. May they “who have contrived every kind of affliction not escape the hands of God” (2 Maccabees 7:31).
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