What we can do in the work of God

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Eighteenth Sunday in the Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 04 August 2024
Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15 ><}}}}*> Ephesians 4:17, 20-24 ><}}}}*> John 6:24-35

*Photo by author, Lake of Galilee, the Holy Land, May 2017.*

We are now back in Capernaum where Jesus used to frequently teach in its synagogue during His ministry.

Remember last Sunday how Jesus fled from the crowd when He felt them wanting to take and make Him a king upon seeing His miraculous feeding of over five thousand people from five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish with a lot of leftovers. The people looked for Him and found Him in Capernaum, the setting of all of our gospel scenes these four Sundays of August.

There at Capernaum was a beautiful exchange in the conversation between Jesus and the people that eventually led to the Bread of Life discourse of the Lord in this sixth chapter of John’s gospel. Remember too that for John, the miracles Jesus performed were signs that pointed to Him as the Christ. Hence, this important reminder to the crowd who have sought Him that day as well as to us living in these interesting times today:

“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternalnlife, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent” (John 6:27-29).

*Photo by author, tourists and pilgrims alike at the ruins of the Capernaum synagogue, May 2017.*

“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”

Jesus knows very well the importance of work for us humans, of how hard we have to work to earn our daily bread, to buy and pay for things so needed in life. But, these earthly food we are all busy working for can sustain us only for a life timeas we very well know that we surely die one day.

There is another food that is more essential that “endures for eternal life” we can only receive from Jesus Himself – His words and His Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist which is the “summit of Christian life.”

Of course, we have to work for this food because it does not come on its own. We must receive and welcome this food as a gift of Jesus Christ whom the Father has sent. We have to work and exert efforts to pray and listen to God’s words, to wake up early and prepare ourselves for the Sunday Mass and other devotions we have. Hence, the second question of the crowd to Jesus:

“What can we do to accomplish to the works of God?”

*Photo by Mr. Boy Cabrido, Quiapo Fiesta 2024.*

Very striking here is their eagerness to know what they can do to have that food that “endures for eternal life.”

Are we not the same with our desire to really know things about religion and spirituality or just anything we heard to be so good?

It sounded so much like that same zeal displayed by a young man who approached Jesus and asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mk.10:17). Nothing is wrong with this attitude of openness to God but, the problem is when we expect the work to be given to us is something like a shortcut or easy access in having that “food that endures for eternal life” like that young man. Sometimes, we ask self-serving questions about faith and religion not only for the benefits we can have but also for fame like that young man who proudly declared to Jesus he had followed all commandments since childhood; but, when the Lord told him to go and sell his properties to give it to the poor and come follow him, his face fell and left sad. This eventually would become the scene in Capernaum as we shall see in the coming Sundays.

For now, let us reflect on Christ’s answer to the crowd’s question.

“This is the work of God of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”

*Photo by author, Mass in Capernaum, May 2017.*

This will be the start of the revelation of the true motives of the crowd who have come looking for Jesus. Last Sunday, we reflected how they have followed Jesus because of the many signs they have seen from Him like healing of the sick and raising to life the dead daughter of Jairus.

Slowly we see this Sunday the conceit and pride in their hearts, and perhaps within us too! Jesus is neither proposing new works to accomplish and fulfill in God’s name nor alter or change the commandments given through Moses. As the Christ or Anointed of God, Jesus is demanding complete faith in Him!

It was a most unique and unprecedented demand by Christ from the people then and now, asking us all to have total commitment in Him whom we believe. Whatever we want to do or do not want to do depends entirely in our imitation of Jesus Christ.

Like last Sunday, it is the very person of Jesus Christ that is being stressed here that unfortunately, even the closest disciples Philip and Andrew failed to “see” when they saw more of the problem with the crowd and the scarcity of bread and fish they have. They did not see Jesus despite their having witnessed and experienced His many miracles like us today.

Instead of being humble, the crowd asked Jesus for signs He can do so they would believe Him, even challenged Him with the works by Moses in the desert in feeding their ancestors with manna in their wandering. Like in resisting the temptations of the devil in the wilderness, Jesus declared the basic truth people often forget: the manna fed to the people was not the work by Moses alone but entirely and truly by God the Father in heaven!

This is something we must always remember: the work we have in this life is not ours but God’s so that in everything we do and say, it is God who is proclaimed and made known for He alone can fulfill us in Jesus who said today in closing our gospel scene, “I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst” (Jn.6:34).

Jesus is the bread from heaven sent down to us by God, prefigured by the manna in the first reading we have heard, the food who brings us to fulfillment in God expressed during the Last Supper that was confirmed the following Good Friday at His Crucifixion.

Life is a call from God for us to do our part in His work through Jesus Christ. We need to collaborate with Him, in Him and through Him as He had declared at the Last Supper to “do this in memory of me.” That is why it is so sad and deplorable how the people behind the opening show of the Paris Olympics made a mockery of the Lord’s Supper. (Even if we shall accept their explanations it wasn’t about the Last Supper, it was still a show so ugly and tasteless, an affront to any person.)

What is most undeniable is the pride of the people behind the Paris Olympics including their defenders who insist until now how everything is clearly about “what can we do” like the proud crowd with Jesus in Capernaum.

What was supposed to show the wonderful contributions and achievements of France to the world in terms of culture and intellectual advancements have all crumbled into a disgraceful display of what is now wrong in France and even the Western world. They have exaggerated the relative truths they hold on to exaggerate themselves. In their claims of being inclusive, they have become exclusive and divisive, so far from the “sign” of the Olympics. Very sad but still, may you all have a blessed week ahead. It is a Sunday, go celebrate Mass with your family and loved ones. Let us pray:

God our loving Father,
thank you in giving us Jesus Christ
your Son as our bread from heaven;
remind us always not about 
what we can do or must do
for we just do your work
here on earth but to simply
remember and keep in mind
we are your children in Christ,
to "stop living in the futility of our minds
by putting away our old self 
of corrupted and deceitful desires
renewed in the spirit of our minds,
to put on our new self in Christ",
created male and female
"in your way in righteousness
and holiness of truth"
(Ephesians 4:17, 22-24)
Amen.

When things turn bad in our lives

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop & Doctor of Church, 01 August 2024
Jeremiah 18:1-6 ><))))*> + <*((((>< Matthew 13:47-53

*Photo by Narasimhan AVPL on Pexels.com*

God our Father,
I love your words today,
of You being like a potter that
"Whenever the object of clay
which he was making turned out
badly in his hand, 
he tried again, 
making of the clay
another object of whatever sort
he pleased.
Then the word of the Lord came to me:
Can I not do to you,
house of Israel,
as this potter has done?
says the Lord.
Indeed, like clay in the hand
of the potter,
so are you in my hands,
house of Israel"
(Jeremiah 18:4-6).

Teach me, Lord
to be docile
and to have faith in You
when things turn out badly
in my life;
let me be like the clay,
pliant and flexible,
permeable and absorbent
easy to be formed;
like St. Alphonsus Liguori
who was at first a very able lawyer
but after losing a case due to a
simple neglect,
he was depressed
that he left his legal profession
to become a priest
who later became a bishop.

How lovely to remember
accomplished people
like St. Alphonsus
committing costly mistakes in life
still given a chance
to become even greater
in your new calling;
remind us, dear Lord,
especially in moments of failures,
in times things turn out so badly
in our lives
how all the beautiful potteries we see
came from the same process of
failures and destruction
in order to be formed into
something even more beautiful
than before.
Amen.

To love is to be small to be a part of the other person

A wedding homily for Sir Vicente R. Santos III & Ms. Jillian Bianca Carpio
St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, 12 July 2024
Tobit 8:4b-8 >><}}}}*> + <*{{{{><< John 15:9-12

*Photo by author in La Trinidad, Benguet, 12 July 2023.*

Congratulations, Sir Teng and Mam Jill on your wedding day. Your decision to get married in the Church is an expression of love itself because love is a decision, not just a feeling. Making a decision to get married is a choice to be small, to be broken into pieces to be united, to be one with the other person, your beloved.

Every time we make that decision to love, we renounce our very selves, our selfishness. The truest sign that we love is when we are able to love somebody more than our self; and to grow in love is to always choose the other person by a daily renunciation of one’s self which Ben&Ben sang so well, “Mahiwaga… pipiliin ka sa araw-araw…”

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

This we saw in our first reading in the beautiful prayer by Tobiah with Sarah on their honeymoon when he mentioned God’s original plan in Genesis in creating woman as a suitable partner of man.

The root word of “partner” is part. A part is always small that makes up the whole. Every whole is made up of small parts.

A part-ner means you are both a part of each other and you both have to be small in order to be whole as married couple.

In that beautiful story of Tobiah and Sarah, we find them choosing to become small in order to become part of the bigger whole, of each other, and of God.

Tobiah is the son of Tobit who lived in exile in Nineveh, the capital of Assyria that had conquered Israel in the Old Testament. Tobit used to be wealthy but had a reversal of fortunes later in life made worse with his going blind. He sent his son Tobiah to Media to collect a debt from a fellow Jew with hopes he could also find there a bride for himself among their kindred.

God then sent Archangel Raphael who disguised as a traveler to Tobiah who was so kind to welcome him as companion. On their way to Media, Tobiah was attacked by a large, strange fish while taking a bath at the Tigris River. Tobiah was able to subdue the creature while Raphael instructed him to take out its heart, liver and gall due to its medicinal properties. Tobiah obeyed Raphael and they proceeded to Media to collect the debt owed to his father. There he met and fell for a Jewish woman named Sarah.

But, there was a major problem with Sarah: she had been widowed seven times because the devil Asmodeus would always come and kill her husband just before their honeymoon!

*Engraving of Raphael instructing Tobiah to gut the fish by Georg Pencz (1543) from en.wikipedia.org.*

Raphael pushed Tobiah to still marry Sarah, teaching how to drive away the devil Asmodeus on their honeymoon by burning the heart and liver of the strange fish he had killed. Tobiah followed Raphael’s instructions and Asmodeus was finally driven away that is why we have this scene of them praying in thanksgiving for their marriage. (This is the reason St. Raphael is portrayed with a fish and why arbularyos burn fish intestines to drive away evil spirits.)

Tobiah returned home to present his wife Sarah to his parents in Nineveh; Raphael again instructed Tobiah to apply the dried gall of the fish onto the eyes of his father Tobit to regain his sight. Amid their celebrations for Tobit’s healing and Tobiah’s marriage, Raphael revealed himself as God’s archangel sent to them to bring their healing which is the meaning of the name Raphael, “God has healed”.

See how Tobiah and Sarah, as well as Tobit even Archangel Raphael chose to be small and humble before God and everyone, to play mere parts in the grand plan of God in their lives. They were all willing to be humble and small.

*Photo by author, St. Michael Archangel Parish, BGC, Taguig City, 12 July 2024.*

Sir Teng and Mam Jill, you were sent for each other by God like St. Raphael to Tobiah and Sarah and Tobit. Handle your life with prayer. Always invite Jesus into your life as a married couple just like today you when you invited Him to bless your wedding. Do not forget to celebrate Mass every Sunday, to pray daily, as much as possible together as husband and wife.

True greatness is in becoming small like a little child as Jesus Christ repeatedly told His disciples. In this world where we compete on being the biggest and most powerful, God tells us the key to fulfillment is in being small, being humble, to become a part of the whole. The greatness of every person depends on the measure of his or her ability to share because it is only in participating in the whole does one becomes truly great.

Marriage is becoming small to become one. Husband and wife cannot be one unless they let go of themselves first. Marriage is not a competition of who has more love to give and share but simply of loving and loving, giving and giving.

When you reflected Sir Teng on what to do with your life and realized you will never be complete without Mam Jill, that is being small, that is truly loving because you are willing to let go of yourself to be a part of Jill.

Remember, there’s no perfect husband nor perfect wife but you can be the ideal husband, the ideal wife by forgetting yourself through daily conversion in Jesus Christ who gave His total self out of love for us. And you do not have to die on the cross literally, Sir Teng and Mam Jill.

Sir Teng, the ideal husband is someone who is deaf. Bingi. You know how women are. They talk a lot as they remember everything in detail even from long, long time ago. The moment Mam Jill starts talking, play deaf. So you don’t quarrel or debate.

Mam Jill, the idal wife is someone who is blind. Bulag. Problem with women is you see everything, kahit wala naman, may nakikita pa rin mga babae. When you see something with Sir Teng, play blind. Wala yun. Mabait siya talaga.

You two were brought together by your love for the French language. Every language is made up of small parts called letters used to form words put together in a sentence to express a thought or a feeling so we can communicate.

But, “communication is more than the expression of one’s thoughts and feelings; at its most profound level, it is the giving of self in love like Jesus Christ on the Cross” (Communio et Progressio #11)… just like every husband and wife too.

So, be small, Sir Teng and Mam Jill for you to remain in love, to grow in love, and be great in love. Amen.

Praying in time of storm

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Prayers in the storm and after the storm, 24-25 July 2024

*Photo by author, Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City, 24 July 2024.*

We did not sleep well Tuesday night, worried with the serious impact of heavy rains to our brothers and sisters living in shanties and low-lying areas. Electricity was cut off early yesterday as we received reports of widespread flooding in the Parish. Immediately, the Parish Priest with the Parish Pastoral Council gathered dry clothings, jackets, and blankets for the evacuees in a nearby school, sending some breakfast too. This was our prayer on that rainy Wednesday:

God our loving Father,
we thank you for the rains
we have long been waiting for
to fill our dams,
to water our fields and plants,
to cool our climate;
but because of our continued
disregard for your creation
and for one another,
these blessed rains have brought
many problems too
especially floods that
are getting worse every year;
forgive us for we never learn
to respect not only nature
but especially one another;
rich and poor alike failed
to take care of each other
thinking only of one's self.
May these rains wash away
our selfishness,
cleanse our conscience
to think more of others
and enable us to finally
take concrete steps
in changing our lifestyle
as Pope Francis had long
called for in Laudato Si
so that we may finally see
our interconnectedness in this
one home and planet we call
Earth.
Amen.

*Photo by author, the Fatima image we use for procession after Sunday Masses at the Shrine taking cover from the strong rains and winds yesterday.*

Rains heavily poured with a lot of thunders before noon yesterday; more parishioners sent help in kind and food for the 60 evacuees near the Shrine. This we composed for our noontime prayer during that thunderstorms:

God our Father,
thank you for the midday rest
on this stormy Wednesday;
many of us are bearing with
the discomfort of no electricity,
of not being able to move around,
of idly staying at home;
forgive us for the complaints
especially when we forget there are
more who are going through severe
tests and sufferings at this time:
dilapidated and leaky homes with
still more moving to evacuation
centers; many people have nothing
at all in their pockets for these rainy days;
help us reach out to our poor brothers
and sisters especially the children 
who haven’t have breakfast nor have rested
at all since last night!
Father, we pray for the daily wage earners
who could not work today 
due to bad weather; 
we pray also for those living alone
as well as those who could not come home.
Bless every home,
fill us with more love and kindness
to keep warm everyone in this time
of calamity.
We ask this in Jesus Christ’s name
with the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O blessed Mother Mary,
our Lady of Fatima,
Pray for us!

There was still no electricity and rains continued to pour in the afternoon with a handful people celebrating the 6PM Mass at the Shrine. Up in our rectory, our staff and PPC officers were busy preparing packed meals for the families evacuated in a nearby school. This was our prayer that afternoon:

God our loving
and merciful Father,
thank you for bringing us to the
end of this day;
thank you for the gift of life,
for the selfless people who served
in all rescue and relief efforts
for those affected by the heavy
rains that still continue;
thank you and bless those who remained
faithful to their call of duty especially
those in the police and military,
the journalists who risked their lives
to keep us informed of the situations,
our weathermen who tracked Carina
and the habagat;
most of all, we thank you
for the doctors and nurses
who came to hospitals as
extensions of your healing hands in this
time of calamity.
Keep them all safe.
Bring us all home safely tonight
guided by your light of love and care
in Jesus Christ
in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Mary our Mother,
Our Lady of Fatima,
Pray for us.

*Photo by author, Blessed Sacrament in the Chapel of Angel of Peace, RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 26 June 2024.*

Darkness enveloped the whole city of Valenzuela by nightfall as we remained without electricity but the good news of rains finally stopping with the ebbing of the floods were most welcomed news to bring joy to many among us. We continued with our prayers and this is what we shared:

Most loving Father,
many of us will not sleep tonight:
some are working overnight
to ensure tomorrow we’ll have
food and power while others are
keeping watch for everyone’s
safety and wellbeing;
bless them,
give them the strength to do their
tasks and duties,
and keep them safe.
It has been a very long,
cold, and wet day, Father;
help us set aside our worries,
to trust and hope in You
that it is always after the rains
and the storms leaves are greenest;
it is after the floods when rich top soil
are deposited, conducive for farming;
it is during calamities when love
and charity surprise us most.
Amen.

Jesus, King of Mercy,
we trust in You!

Our Lady of Fatima,
Pray for us!

*Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Valenzuela City after the storm this morning, 25 July 2024 with Our Blessed Virgin’s old statue reminding us of her motherly care.*

Finally, we saw the sun at the start of this new day still with some rains and the heavy tasks of cleaning and clearing the debris left by the floods. Will we ever learn to respect nature which is actually an expression of our respect for each other too?

Our prayer after the storm:

Praise and glory to you,
God our loving Father!
Thank you for this new day,
thank you for the gift of life,
thank you for guiding us
during these stormy days.
Bless our doctors and nurses,
the selfless volunteers and staffmembers
of rescue and emergency units
along with our police and military
personnel as well as the weathermen
who continue to work and serve us
today after the storm.
Help us to do better
in responding to emergencies
next time while we finally learn
to change our lifestyles in caring
for the environment and ultimately,
for one another.
Let us appreciate
each one’s giftedness
in Christ Jesus our Lord
as we celebrate life
in the Holy Spirit
today.
Amen.

Our Lady of Fatima,
Pray for us!
St. James the Great,
Pray for us!

*Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Marulas, Valenzuela City, 25 July 2024.*

Exaggerating the truth, exaggerating self, part 2

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 23 July 2024

*Photo from sunstar.com.ph of that viral incident between a Cebu personality addressed as a “Sir” by a waiter in a mall last Sunday.*

It is a classic case of “brouhaha” in the real sense, especially if we consider our Tagalog word buruha or bruha: a waiter was told to stand for more than an hour to be “lectured” on gender sensitivity by a Cebu personality belonging to the LGBTQ community after being addressed as a “Sir”.

Well, at least, the issue had been settled amicably with an apology by the celebrity after a deluge of negative reactions from netizens. Likewise, we can now sigh with some relief that there are no plans among the LGBTQ community to imitate their sistah from the Queen City of Cebu, proof that there are more sane and kind LGBTQ who have better things to do than make a big fuss about themselves or the rainbow. Imagine if every LGBTQ will lecture everyone of us just on how to address them in Metro Manila alone, life would be disrupted and paralyzed, worst than what we went through during the lockdowns during COVID-19!

But kidding aside, what makes that incident disturbingly sad is how it had shown again the sad plight of the poor in our country. Bawal maging mahirap, maging dukha sa Pilipinas. So sad. Even in the church it is very true. We do not have to look far to see how this is so true among us. Kawawa palagi ang mga maliliit.

How do we treat our house helpers and drivers, delivery personnel, janitors and janitresses, even professionals doing not so glamorous tasks like nurses. And security guards, of course. (Kudos to our alma mater, the Faculty of Arts and Letters of UST who had their security personnel joined the march of their recent graduates!)

The very sight of a waiter standing in front of a customer immediately caught my attention while scrolling my Facebook, asking myself, “what happened?” Gut feelings told me something was very wrong and surely, the guy must have been so disadvantaged.

For addressing that celebrity customer as “sir”, the waiter had to endure the humiliation of standing before him like in a trial. Even if it was just between the two of them. Even if he did not scream or yell at the waiter. What’s the big deal? Iyon lang?

His ego, his femininity more valuable than the very person of the waiter? It is the new pandemic among us spreading these last 20 years. The malady of entitlement, of never making the mortal sin to address some people as Doctor or Attorney or even Father. We have lost touched with our humanity, our being a human being, a person, a tao first of all.

Good thing there was a good soul around that mall who came to the waiter’s rescue.

What we have here is a classic case of “exaggeration of truth, exaggeration of self” – a phrase I have found years ago in one of the many writings of Pope Benedict XVI. It was my parting shot to our graduates of Senior High School last July 05, 2024 during our Baccalaureate Mass.

Many times in this age of so many platforms of communications, we tend to exaggerate the truths, of clamoring for so many things like inclusiveness everywhere when in the process, they have actually become so exclusive! Many times, people exaggerate the truth presenting themselves as disadvantaged and victimized when in fact it is far from reality. Many people are advancing so many things these days when in fact they are actually promoting themselves. Many are exaggerating the truths when they are actually exaggerating themselves (https://lordmychef.com/2024/07/10/exaggerating-truth-exaggerating-self/)

The tragedy of our time characterized by affluence and upward mobility so splattered across social media daily, is how so many among us who have lost touch with our humanity. Everything has become a show – a palabas we say in Filipino. We forget that inside – the loob – as more essential.

And what is inside each one of us?

Our dignity as image and likeness of God or pagkatao that is best seen and expressed in our being small, being little like the children, the very core of Jesus Christ’s teaching.

Look outside even in the countryside now invaded by those giant tarpaulins – why have we become like those tarpaulins, thinking and feeling we are larger than others?

Truth in Greek is aletheia that literally means an opening, of not being concealed like the blooming of a flower.

Simply be yourself. And don’t forget everyone as they are.

God bless everyone!

*Photo by Dra. Mai B. Dela Pena, MD at Deir Al-Mukhraqa Carmelite Monastery in Isarel, 2014.*

We are Mary Magdalene

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, 22 July 2024
Song of Songs 3:1-4 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> John 20:1-2, 11-18

*“The Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene” painting by Alexander Ivanov (1834-1836) at the Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia from commons.wikimedia.org.*

We rejoice today, Lord Jesus,
for this most wondrous Feast of
your friend St. Mary Magdalene:
in her we find hope and joy
that like her, we who are sinners
are assured of a grace-filled future,
of a trustworthy friend in You,
and abounding love and mercy
also in You.

We are, dear Jesus,
the modern Mary Magdalene:
sinful and worldly,
perhaps so vain with our
outside appearance and bearing
in public, sometimes on the brink
of giving up in life because nobody seem
to care at all for us;
many times like Mary Magdalene,
we walk alone in darkness 
searching for You, Lord Jesus;
many times we wonder too
how we could move the huge 
and heavy stone of past sins,
weaknesses and failures, 
addictions and vices 
that cover us and prevent us
from moving forward, finding You;
many times, O Lord,
we mistake You for somebody else
like Mary Magdalene when she mistook
You to be the gardener at the tomb
because we are so preoccupied
of many things in life. 

But, You assure us today
on this Feast of St. Mary Magdalene
our fears and assumptions are not 
true at all; help us to stop clinging 
to our many past for You are not there,
Jesus; You are always in the here and now,
in the present moment, personally calling us
in our name like Mary!

The Bride says: On my bed at night I sought him whom my heart loves – I sought him but I did not find him. I will rise then and go about the city; in the streets and crossings I will seek him whom my heart loves. I sought him but I did not find him. The watchmen came upon me as they made their rounds of the city. Have you seen him whom my heart loves? I have hardly left them when I found him whom my heart loves (Song of Songs 3:1-4).

Like that lover,
the Bride in the first reading,
we are Mary Magdalene
in search of love and meaning
in this world;
in search of You, Jesus,
our Lord and Savior;
so often, we seek You
in this world, in its loud noise
of too much self bragging
as well as in the midst of the
world's riches and powers;
the more we seek You,
the more elusive You have become
until You came when like Mary Magdalene
we have believed in You,
we have listened to You.
we have become silent
and attentive
to You, Lord Jesus;
thank You for coming,
thank You for finding me,
thank You for calling me
like Mary
to proclaim You are risen
to others who believe in You,
searching You,
waiting for You.
Amen.

Rest is to be close with Jesus, close with others

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 21 July 2024
Jeremiah 23:1-6 ><}}}}*> Ephesians 2:13-18 ><}}}}*> Mark 6:30-34

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

After being sent “two by two” last Sunday, the Apostles now return to Jesus, reporting “all they had done and taught.” What a beautiful gospel scene this Sunday, supposed to be our day of rest that begins in God and must be rooted in God.

The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place (Mark 6:30-32).

Last Sunday we were reminded to rediscover the family and friends sent with us “two by two” in this life while today the Lord wants us to be aware of our need to rest in order to rediscover Him first of all, then one’s self and others.

Unfortunately, many people today have entirely forgotten the meaning and importance of rest that we succumb to all kinds of sickness related with stress and fatigue. In fact, Filipino workers were recently ranked as the second worst in terms of work-life balance in a worldwide survey. One factor it cited is the lesser paid vacation leaves our workers have compared with their counterparts in other countries.

*Photo by author, Sonnenberg Resort, Davao City, 2017.*

Rest is not only stopping from work to be recharged like cellphone batteries; we are not things like robots and drones sent out simply for a task that once achieved, no more. We are inter-related persons meant to form bonds and unity, a family and a community. That is the result of our being sent on a mission to share God’s creative works leading to our union in Him with others.

God rested and made Sabbath holy after creation because He had completed all His works that were all good; we, on the other hand, merely participate in His creative works. That is why no matter how hard we push ourselves with our work, we can’t completely finish them as more things to do come along the way, making us bored or stressed out because we could no longer find life but simply routine. We have been so focused on accomplishing many things as if we are the savior of the world (messianic complex) that we feel so important, bloating our ego. That is when we start literally throwing our weight to those around us like in those reels of road rage. The sad part of this is how we eventually hurt the people we love and supposed to serve like the shepherds of the Old Testament that God through Jeremiah had accused to have “misled and scattered” the people of Israel (Jer.23:1).

*Photo by author, border between Jordan and Israel, May 2019.*

Today, Jesus is inviting us to “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while (Mk.6:31)” to remind us that in everything we do in this life, what matters most is not the task but us, the persons we love and care for, and Christ who is our only fulfillment in life.

Like the apostles, we have to return to Jesus precisely because our mission, our work is not ours but Christ’s. We need to return to Jesus every Sunday in the Eucharist when we are nourished by His words and strengthened by His Body and Blood to sustain us in our mission.

Rest is neither doing nothing like sleeping all day or doing anything we like that we forget God and in the process, our very self and others. Rest is a time of conversion when we lay aside our plans and agenda by returning to God so that we could have focus again in this life. Rest is actually to be filled with God, to be holy.

This we find expressed perfectly in our Filipino word for rest which is pahinga from the root hinga or breath that is spiritus in Latin. To rest in Filipino is mag-pa-hinga that literally means hingahan, to be breathed on. Genesis tells us how God breathed on man to be alive after creating him while in John’s Gospel we find Jesus breathed on His apostles after greeting them with peace twice on the night of Easter when He appeared to them at the Upper Room. From here we get that beautiful imagery of rest as being breathed on by God – mag-pa-hinga sa Diyos – which is to be closer with God!

Here now is the challenge and best part of the good news this Sunday: the more closer we get to God in Jesus and through Jesus especially on Sunday our day of rest, the more we must get closer with others. The more we pray, the more we rest in the Lord, the more we serve, the more we love.

Mark told us how Jesus invited the Twelve to “come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” but the people saw them and even got earlier to the other side of the lake!

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd and he began to teach them many things (Mark 6:34).

*Photo by author in the Holy Land, 2019.*

Rest is more than the amount of time spent “resting” but the disposition to be with the Lord, to be one with Him that we become holy like Him. That moment when Jesus led the Twelve to rest was already a “rest” for Him that resulted in serving more the people who have followed them.

Jesus being moved with pity for the people indicated His rest and communion with the Father expressed in His oneness with the suffering people who were like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus has always been one with the Father right from the very start until His death on the Cross where He declared “It is finished” and commended His total self to the Father.

The truest sense of us having a real rest, of getting closer with God is when we get closer with others especially those entrusted to our love and care like our loved ones and those who are poor and sick.

Problem these days among us priests including laypeople is our wrong idea about rest; we do not really rest at all but simply indulge in pleasures that are many times scandalous for being godless and unmindful of other people. True rest makes our hearts natural to be aware of the sufferings of others, to be one with them or at least take their plight into consideration in our rest.

We can only say “mission accomplished” to rest when we are one with God through others that St. Paul explains in the second reading at how Jesus Christ reconciled us all through the Cross, “putting an enmity to death by it” (Eph. 2:16). Next Sunday, this we shall see when after teaching and healing the people in that deserted place, Jesus would feed the crowd of over 5000 people from just a few loaves of bread and pieces of fish.

Let us rest in the Lord to prepare our hearts and souls as well as our tired body to be filled with God so we can fill others too with Him. Let us pray:

Lord Jesus Christ,
we live in a highly competitive world
of 24/7 wherein everyone is so busy
that we forget You and the persons 
You have entrusted to us;
remind us we are not the Messiah
nor a superhero to save the world;
we can only do as much in this life
as God had accomplished all for us
 in You, the Christ;
let us take two or three 
even five steps backwards 
to let You, Jesus,
do your work in us.
Amen.

Blessedness of desert

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 08 July 2024
Hosea 2:16,17-18, 21-22 <*((((><< + >><))))*> Matthew 9:18-26

Thus says the Lord: I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart… I will espouse you to me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy; I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the Lord (Hosea 2:16, 21-22).

Praise and glory to You,
God our loving Father!
Lead us back to You,
lead us back to the desert -
to that state of dryness,
of emptiness,
of nothingness
for us to find and 
experience You again;
lead us to the desert,
Father, for us to feel 
our heart again
that You are our first love
after all!

Forgive us, Father,
when life is in abundance
we are filled of our selves
we forget You and others;
when life is affluent,
we disregard what is right
and just, we become so greedy
with nothing enough;
when life is going on smoothly
without problems, we disregard
love and mercy as we see more
of things than persons as we veer
away from You,
sinking into infidelity,
not knowing You.

I do not ask for too much
pain and suffering;
just something enough to
knock our heads
like that father in the gospel
and woman suffering hemorrhages
for 12 years who both felt so 
isolated from the rest
like in a desert
to realize there is only You
in Jesus Christ to restore us
back to life,
back to community,
back to our real selves
and back to You.
Amen.

Our blessed failures

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 07 July 2024
Ezekiel 2:2-5 ><}}}}*> 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 ><}}}}*> Mark 6:1-6

*Photo by Mr. Gelo Carpio, Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan, January 2020.*

Last week’s readings clarified with us the disturbing mystery of death and sickness are not from God but from the evil enemy. Nothing bad could come from God who is love Himself that is why He sent us Jesus Christ to heal and save us. Should something bad happen to us, God works silently to ensure everything would turn out good for us. Hence, the need for faith.

Today our readings clarify another mystery in life that happens so often that we encounter daily despite our efforts and sacrifices, demanding us for more faith too. It may be lighter than death or tragedies but still a kind of suffering that is most persistent, even troublesome we refer to as failures like rejections and other weakness we have as humans.

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished… And they took offense at him (Mark 6:1-2,3c).

Mark tells us today how our Lord Jesus Christ embraced failure and rejection. Though perfect and powerful, Jesus chose to be weak and powerless, experiencing rejections so that we may become like Him, holy and divine.

If we go by the world’s standard, Jesus and His mission were actually a “failure” after He was rejected by the crowds, shamed and crucified along with two other criminals. But, it was in that failure that Jesus rose again on Easter!

See that small detail Mark noted so well in his story this Sunday, “they took offense at him (Mk.6:3c).” It is that classic case among us humans we say so well in Filipino, “walang personalan, trabaho lang”. Everything is personal because we are all relating beings. Every rejection is personal. However, Jesus is teaching us too that rejection and failures become a problem when we are not able to accept them as a part of our weaknesses as humans.

Of course, it is painful. And that’s the good news this Sunday – Jesus is with us in every failure and rejection we go through as He joins us in crossing this life right in our own home and among our own people with all the negative things they throw on us. Jesus must have felt sad too when His own folks “took offense at him.” Rejection is humiliating as we feel to have failed in life. Or worst, as if we are a failure. Even that simple act of being “unfriended” in Facebook is painful, is it not?

However, when we examine failures and rejections, these are not really about us but more on those around us, on those “who took offense at us” that like Jesus, we really can’t perform anything at all because those around us lack faith and not that we are powerless or could not do anything at all.

This Sunday, Jesus is telling us not to take every failure and rejection personally though it is really very personal. See the other sides of failures in life as these are not really that bad at all! Oftentimes, we are not the problem but those who reject us. Have a heart. Stop those self-pity. Next Sunday after this rejection in Nazareth seen by the Twelve, Jesus would even send them to preach and heal;surely, part of their mission was to face rejection first hand too.

Once again, Mark is revealing to us who is Jesus Christ really – truly Divine, the Son of God who spoke with authority, who could heal the sick and raise the dead but at the same time, truly human who embraced rejections and failures, even becoming “powerless” that would reach its highest point on Good Friday.

And to know Jesus more is to have that deep faith in Him which is most essential like a hinge connecting us to Him and other virtues. Even God cannot do anything at all if we do not have faith in Him, if we do not believe Him. Jesus had said this a few weeks ago when He mentioned the sin agains the Holy Spirit. We can’t even talk of any relationships unless we have faith from which springs love and understanding.

Most of our failures and pains in life came from this lack of faith in our family like mistrust among husband and wife or among children and parents. Failures begin when we refuse to believe or have faith in our very selves, with others, and with God. When people lack faith, we have no relationships, no common ground to start anything like simple conversations and dialogue that is more of being with others than a way of thinking through issues and problems.

Lately I have been going through some serious reflections in life as friends and colleagues in my former work and past ministries are retiring and getting sick with some of them dying. One thing I have realized is that no one is really so good, so brilliant because each one of us has imperfections and limitations.

The best managers and pastors I have met and known are those who knew so well how to gather and inspire the best people to work together.

Most of all, when I look back to these great men and women who have taught and formed me in school and work, their most outstanding trait is their courage to be imperfect. They do not hide their fears and failures, insecurities and mistakes that they were able to see more of what is possible than impossible because they believed in God, in themselves and in others.

Faith is infectious like disbelief or unbelief. Better choose faith which leads us to life. See how the men and women in the Church who have become saints like St. Paul along with the many statesmen, thinkers, writers, and scientists who were able to shape and change the world by being courageous enough to be imperfect due to their faith.

*Photo by author, Malagos Garden Resort, Davao City, 2018.*

God knows our limitations and weaknesses; most of all, our sinfulness yet, He never loses hope in us that He continues to call us to be converted, even sending us prophets who at the start are already aware of the failures and rejections they would face in such difficult mission.

This is one important aspect we priests have forgotten or disregarded – the courage to be imperfect as we always play God. Nobody’s perfect except God; the challenge in this life is to overcome every failure and defeat we encounter for that is how we are perfected. Remember that term “blessings in disguise” that are our many imperfections in life.

When facing a failure in life, the best thing to do is to be silent and to pray, be the presence of God like the prophets, “And whether they resist— for they are a rebellious house — they shall know that a prophet has been among them” (Ez.2:5). After all, God’s “grace is always sufficient” for us because “power is made perfect in our weaknesses so that when we are weak, then we are strong in Christ Jesus” (1Cor.12:9,10).

During His lifetime here on earth, Jesus was “amazed” only twice. First was when a Roman centurion asked Him to cure his slave from afar, saying “I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the words and my servant will be healed.” Jesus was “amazed” that He cured the servant from afar, declaring that He had not seen such great faith in Israel (Mt.8:5-13). The other time Jesus was amazed was when He returned home narrated in our Gospel this Sunday when people “took offense at him” that “He was amazed at their lack of faith” (Mk.6:3,6).

When Jesus comes, would He be amazed with our great faith, or with our lack of faith?

Be amazed. Choose Jesus, choose faith in Him, the Christ! Let us pray:

Lord Jesus Christ,
thank You for always
believing in me despite
my sins and many flaws;
remind me always I am not You,
and therefore,
imperfect and weak;
keep me faithful and 
persevering in You,
crossing the turbulent sea of life,
helping others cross 
to make it through to the side of life;
let me your voice of hope
and your presence in this world
fascinated with anything 
that glitters and sparkles,
afraid of the dark,
of emptiness,
of failures,
of faith.
Amen.

That crossing again…

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 04 July 2024
Amos 7:10-17 <*((((><< + >><))))*> Matthew 9:1-8

*Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima, GMA-7 News in Batanes, 2018.*

Oh how I love the gospel
this week, Lord Jesus Christ,
showing how often 
You have crossed the vast lake
of Galilee to reach everyone;
You continue to do so these days,
helping us cross the turbulent seas
and chaotic streets of life that are
so stressful, 
so heavy with burdens,
always with various forms of sufferings;
without You, we could have not 
made it this far.
Thank You, Lord Jesus!

*Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News in Batanes, 2018.*

Help us, Jesus,
do the same as You send us daily
to help others cross this life to
safety and security in You,
to fullness and light in You;
like the Prophet Amos,
let us dare to cross and leave
our comfort zone to speak your words
across other territories,
especially those hostile to You
and your values of love and justice,
kindness and mercy;
give us the courage to speak up
for those silenced and weak due to
poverty and sickness;
let us be your mouthpiece
and presence especially when 
everyone feels contented with
mediocrity and sin.

Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores. The Lord took me from following the flock, and said to me, ‘Go prophecy to my people Israel'” (Amos 7:14-15).

Let your words, O Lord,
refresh my soul for they are perfect
while your decrees are trustworthy,
giving wisdom to those who simply
obey You; let me not be distracted
by what others say as I dare to cross
to your side of life and truth,
justice and mercy for others.
Amen.