The definitive question of all

Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 23 August 2026
Isaiah 22:19-23 ><}}}}*> Romans 11:33-36 ><}}}}*> Matthew 16:13-20

Last Saturday at the Solemnity of the Assumption, we reflected on the need to ask the right – and difficult – questions in our life like Mary. It does not really matter if we don’t get answers right away because along the way, God reveals and shows us himself and his plans for us if we keep asking him with our questions.

That is why this Sunday as Jesus continued to travel into pagan territory, he asks us like his disciples along the way his most definitive question of all, “who do you say that I am?”

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:13-15)

*Photo by author, St. Paul Spiritual & Renewal Center, Bgy. Tanyawak, Alfonso, Cavite, 18 August 2026.*

After healing the possessed daughter of a Canaanite woman last week in the district of Tyre and Sidon, Jesus and his disciples reached Caesarea Philippi that used to be the summer capital of the Roman officials in northern Israel. It had an abundant supply of water that is why the Romans built many buildings including a temple to one of their major goddesses.

Imagine such an affluent backdrop for Christ’s intensive “lecture series” about discipleship to the Twelve: first, he surveyed them what the people were saying “who the Son of Man is” before asking them directly, “but who do you say that I am?”.

In 2009, the British-American author and inspirational speaker on business leadership Simon Sinek published his book Start with Why because the question why helps us clear motivation in every undertaking we make. Starting with why is to get to the very core, the raison d’etre of our business or plan or project.

However, we are not only dealing with projects in life; life itself is our very project too which is addressed by the question who. Actually, Sinek’s model of starting with why is anchored on persons and relationships that are directly concerned with the who because every why is sustained by a who. No project nor plan nor business nor whatever endeavor by humans would continue without persons addressed by the question who!

A painting of “The Canaanite Woman asks for healing for her daughter” by Spanish painter Juan de Flandes ca. 1500 as part of the 47 small panels of paintings commissioned by Queen Isabella I of Castile; from commons.wikimedia.org.

More than a person, who is a relationship, a meaning for us to continue with our why like in fulfilling our mission in Jesus, in answering his call to follow him.

As a continuation of our reflection last Sunday about faith and intimacy in the Lord, clarifying who is Jesus Christ for us deepens that faith and intimacy we have in him.

It is only when we are clear and convinced with who is Jesus shall we become clearly convinced with our call and mission in him by finding him among everyone and whatever circumstances we may get into in life. Even in our human relationships.

Relationships and friendships, marriages and ties are shattered and broken these days not merely because of infidelity and betrayals which start to happen the moment we take our beloved for granted. We betray one another not when we speak against them or turn against them; it all starts the moment we no longer recognize them as a beloved, our loved one or friend.

Would you exchange a family member or a friend for any amount of money or thing or property? Or your wife or husband for another better looking woman or man?

Normally, we deal with every question first with our minds like when the apostles gave Jesus varied answers of leading religious figures like John the Baptist and the prophets as what the people thought of him. But, it took on a different dimension when Jesus asked “But who do you say that I am?” that is pointed into our hearts.

And here we find a remarkable quality – sometimes deficiency – of Peter. He was always baring his heart and soul; he easily opens us what’s in him and clearly here as Jesus later explained, Peter allowed the Spirit to speak from his heart, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Notice in Peter’s response we find traces of Sinek’s starting with why. Peter with his his brother Andrew and fishing partners James and John were the first disciples called by Jesus, following him longest than the rest of the Twelve. For Peter, more than finding in Jesus the answers to his starting question of why about life, he had remained with Christ primarily of the who he is to him. Despite that he would waver on this many times, he remained faithful to Jesus with his own martyrdom.

See that in Matthew’s account, Peter said the words “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” while Mark and Luke merely reported Peter as saying “You are the Messiah/Christ” (Mk.8:29 and Lk.9:20). Peter saying Jesus as “Son of the living God” reveals something deeper in who is Jesus for him as he speaks of a relationship. Not just details and facts.

Most likely, Peter must have experienced something so deep as in “living”, so alive like when he saw that miraculous catch of fish before being called to become fisher of men. It was an experience that Paul describes to us in the second reading, of having experienced personally the “depth of the riches and wisdom of God” (Rom.11:33).

That is how we are with those most dearest to us – there are things so deep for words, so profound realities we have experienced that we have come to be so convinced, so in love with someone we follow or regard. Someone like “a peg in a sure spot” as God described Eliakim to Shebna according to Isaiah (22:23).

More than the why of doing, the who leads us to our being. And the more we get to know Jesus, the more we also get to know who we are. Our identity as a person does not depend on what social media portray or what others say. The more we get to know Jesus, the more we get to know ourselves, the more we become at home with our weaknesses and failures, sins and shortcomings.

This may sound simplistic: all these problems we have about school violence, degradation of our moral values as a nation that perpetuate in office corrupt and inept officials while destroying our environment with our disregard for proper disposal of waste and garbage, may be due to our disregard for who is Jesus to us.

The question who connects us with God and everyone. And with our very self. How sad that in this age of too much digitization, we have been so focused on techniques of doing like what and how, forgetting being, the focus of who.

From Caesarea Philippi which is up north, Jesus and his disciples would take a U-turn down towards Jerusalem that is their true destination. After this scene comes the Transfiguration of Jesus and the triple predictions of Jesus of his coming passion, death and resurrection. Let us know who Jesus is so that we can follow him more closely as his disciples. Amen. A blessed, hopefully warmer and drier week ahead to everyone!

Jesus our abundance

Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 02 August 2026
Isaiah 55:1-3 ><}}}}*> Romans 8:35, 37-39 ><}}}}*> Matthew 14:13-21

*Photo by author, Anvaya Cove Resort, Morong, Bataan 21 July 2026.*

Salamuch July, hello August! Though this eighth month of the year is named after the Roman emperor Augustus, August actually came from the Latin word augustus meaning venerable; used as an adjective, it describes something as majestic and grand like when we say “august halls” or “august chambers” of power and justice.

So, please stop demonizing August as “ghost month” which is a pagan belief. For us Christians who affirmed last Sunday to Jesus that we have “understood” very well his parables, Matthew challenges us this August not only how well we have understood the parables on the kingdom of heaven but most especially how much do we know and love and trust Jesus the Christ.

*Photo by a friend living in Washington state, 28 July 2026.*

From the shores of Galilee, Matthew now brings us to the wilderness with Jesus where he fed more than five thousand people from a few loaves of bread and pieces of fish.

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over – twelve wicker baskets full (Matthew 14:15-20).

See again that distinctive detail Matthew shares with us when Jesus saw the crowds who have followed him and his disciples to the other side of the lake: his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. That is how great is the love of Jesus for each of us. He is always moved with pity which is more than a feeling but of actually doing something, even a miracle for us like in this scene in the wilderness.

Life is a wilderness. So vast and uncertain. But, lovely and beautiful. Not really august but grand and majestic, so difficult to explain, often ambiguous, largely mysterious. Even captivating. That is why it is always good to be alive even if life is difficult.

Last Thursday I officiated at the funeral Mass of another best friend from our minor (high school) seminary. In fact, Jonas was my classmate way back in second grade who partly inspired me to become a priest. He is my second best friend after Gil also from the seminary whom I have accompanied spiritually in life and at their deathbeds. Before going to his funeral at prayer in my room, I asked God if I would still have friends alive to attend my own funeral?

The mystery deepened after we have laid Jonas to his final resting place when a few hours later his mother-in-law – the mother of his widow – died too! Imagine the devastation to my friend’s wife who has not rested yet after taking care of him for a month in the hospital then her mother died too? And to their only child just starting her career as a medical doctor?

Many times Jesus teases us.

Or seduces us as the Prophet Jeremiah insisted on how God lured him to following him despite the many hurts and pains he had to go through but could not turn away from him because he had grown to loving him so much too.

Like the people who followed Jesus to the wilderness, we gather every Sunday to listen to his words and share in his Body and Blood because we have felt so empty in life that only him could fulfill us.

But, that is so easy to claim as we can readily profess our faith in God, in Jesus Christ but it is different when it is borne out of a wilderness experience like the disciples.

How many times have we felt like them thinking more of our selves than others when in a difficult situation, telling Jesus to send the people home because it was getting late and dark; most of all, so that they could get food for themselves?

It was easy for the crowd to just come to Jesus and think only of themselves but not with the disciples – like our parents, our kuya or ate, our superiors, or those people we look up to with responsibilities over us. That is why be kind with those in positions too. So easy to accuse them of their shortcomings and worst, to spread gossips when we do not realize the enormous weight they carry on their shoulders.

The equation becomes different and heaviest when Jesus tells us to “give them some food yourselves”. It is scary because at that moment Jesus asks us too of “what do you have” which we already knew beforehand as too little. Not enough. Just five loaves of bread and three pieces of fish.

Recall those moments you knew so well your limits, you capacity. And that’s when you start regretting why you have accepted the position or why have you volunteered at all or perhaps why become a priest or why got married?

Life is a wilderness that looks so lovely with its sunrise and sunsets but in between, it is so difficult. Because it is in the wilderness of this life when we truly come face to face with the harsh realities of our insecurities and inadequacies, scarcity and emptiness.

But Jesus shows us today that wilderness too becomes our grace-filled moment when he asks us to bring to him whatever little we have. It is the crucial point, turning point when we have to choose between turning to Jesus and trusting his instructions or retreating to our selves, to what we have or believing more to what the world offers.

Let us choose to radically believe in Jesus by surrendering to him whatever we have.

*Photo by Mr. Nicko Timbol, OLFU Campus Ministry, 25 October 2025.*

This is actually an extension of his question last Sunday, “Do you understand all these things?”

As we have reflected last week, to understand in Filipino is “maunawaan” from the root word “una” which is to be first. To understand the parables of the kingdom of heaven is to entrust ourselves to Jesus completely, to surrender even the little that we have, including our fears and insecurities.

That is why in the first reading God tells us through Isaiah to “come to him” to eat the true bread and drink true water fulfilled in Jesus Christ his Son. To understand all these things is to be convinced that in this life, only God suffices. He alone in Jesus Christ can fulfill our deepest desires and longings like peace and joy, love and hope, all the real reasons for living. Not things. Or even persons and relationships that do not last, often manipulative because not rooted in Christ.

This Sunday, let us not be ashamed of the little that we have, the worst that we have. For as long as we have Jesus, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish nor be fulfilled. St. Paul said so well in the second reading, nothing – not even death – can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:39). Amen. Have a blessed august month fulfilled in Christ!

Contemplating to attain love of God

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 31 July 2026
Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 20 March 2024.*

Glory and praise
to you, O God our loving
Father for the gift of 
St. Ignatius of Loyola
who taught us that
"Man is created 
to praise, reverence, 
and serve God our Lord,
and by this means 
to save his soul"
(First Principle and Foundation,
Spiritual Exercises #23).

How sad,
dear God, 
that the most painful
truth is that you are most 
often rejected by us 
who assume to know you most,
too familiar with you and
your ways like what
our two readings reveal today:
Jeremiah was rejected 
by your people 
led by their priests
after speaking your words
to them to change their evil
ways lest their Temple lie in ruins
like in Shiloh along with
other disasters God was planning
to punish them (Jeremiah 26:4, 7-9);
in the gospel,
Jesus went home to Nazareth
but "the people took offense
at him" for his mighty
words and deeds
(Matthew 13:57-58).

Two scenarios,
same message
of rejecting you,
O God because we 
believe more in our selves,
in our ideas and understanding
of who you are than believing
your very person in
Jesus Christ;
teach us, O Lord,
to be empty always
so that you may fill us 
with your love
like St. Ignatius
who taught us to 
pray and contemplate
to attain your love:
"Take, Lord,
and accept 
all my liberty,
my memory,
my understanding,
and my entire will,
all that I have and possess.
Thou hast given all to me.
To Thee, O Lord, I return it.
All is Thine,
dispose of it wholly
according to Thy will.
Give me Thy love
and Thy grace,
for this is sufficient 
for me" 
(#234, Spiritual Exercises).

All for your greater glory,
O Lord.
Amen.

Photo by author, the three core group of the Society of Jesus founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola at the middle, St. Francis Xavier at his right, and St. Peter Faber at his left; frame at the facade of Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 20 March 2024.

Finding Jesus among our siblings

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II
Memorial of Sts. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, 29 July 2026
1 John 4:7-16     <*{{{{><  +  ><}}}}*>     John 11:19-27

*“The Raising of Lazarus”, 1311 painting by Duccio de Buoninsegna. Photo from commons.wikimedia.org*

Glory and praise 
to you, God our Father
for sending us your Son
Jesus Christ who continues
to come to us in various ways:
in nature,
in the events that happen to us
in our lives, both good and bad,
most especially 
in persons like our siblings
that this Memorial of 
Saints Mary, 
Martha
and Lazarus reminds us;
how lovely to remember
how our Lord Jesus
was described as very close
with the blessed sisters and brother
he frequently visited in their
home at Bethany.

We pray for all brothers and
sisters now living apart from
each other due to work
and marriage, raising a 
family of their own;
may they never forget each other
as siblings, "magkakapatid"
with invisible bonds that transcend
their physical separations;
keep them mindful of one
another, checking on each others
needs and well-being,
becoming your very presence 
in each other especially when
there is sickness and death:
Martha said to Jesus, 
"Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died"
(John 11:21).

Like the blessed siblings
of Sts. Mary, Martha and Lazarus,
keep every brother and sister
open to your coming
and visits, Lord Jesus,
that are always in disguise;
make our hearts like theirs
filled with warmth and hospitality,
understanding and forgiveness
for each other so that you may stay
and reign in our hearts,
revealing the face of God
with one another;
most of all, Lord Jesus,
like the three holy sisters
and brother,
may we share 
your gift of kindness
of being a kin 
to everyone in you,
with you,
through you.
Amen.

*An icon of Jesus visiting his friends, the siblings Sts. Lazarus, Mary and Martha from crossroadsinitiative.com.*

Understanding the parables, getting close to Jesus

Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 26 July 2026
1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 ><}}}*> Romans 8:28-30 ><}}}*> Matthew 13:44-52

*Photo by author, Anvaya Cove, Morong, Bataan, 20 July 2026.*

We now come to the final installment of the last three parables by Jesus that began two Sundays ago that speak of the mystery of the kingdom of heaven, its unfolding and demands from us his disciples.

There are a total of seven parables in Matthew 13 known as discourse in parables which started with the parable of the sower until last Sunday where Jesus repeatedly told his listeners that included us today that “whoever has ears ought to hear”; now at its final installment, Jesus asks us after explaining everything, “Do you understand all these things?”

“Do you understand all these things?” They answered “Yes.” And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from the storeroom both the new and the old” (Matthew 13:51-52).

From the French word parabolein for “along the road/path”, parables are stories taken from daily life that offer us deep, profound lessons and realities especially about God and his loving presence among us, of the coming of his kingdom in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, most of us dismiss them because they are so plain and simple. Or ordinary, not realizing that the deepest truths in life actually come from the simplest aspects of daily living. That is why Jesus kept reminding everyone to always listen, not just hear.

Listening is more intentional, deliberate and conscious, leading to understanding which is an internalization of the lessons and message said. Our Filipino translation shows this so well: to listen is makinig while to hear is madinig or marinig.

Makinig demands attention while dinig is passive, indicating more of the surface level of sounds and words, not really minding the meaning and context. That is why, listening is more reliable, more certain than hearing that has no intention of understanding at all what is meant by being said.

*Photo by author, “St. Joseph Protector of the Child Jesus”, 20 March 2024.*

Listening leads to knowing and understanding the what, where, when, how and why of events and things of the story or lessons. When there is understanding, relationship happens because more than the facts and details we listen to, we encounter persons. Pope Leo XIV beautifully said this in his first Lenten Message in February that “listening is the first sign of our willingness to enter into a relationship.”

Now we see the intention of Jesus in teaching in parables which is to have a personal relationship with us his listeners and disciples. Moreover, the very act of listening leading to understanding is a process of formation and transformation which is the bigger picture of Jesus teaching in parables – that we may be transformed in him especially when he asked today, “Do you understand all these things?”

Again, its Filipino translation reveals its true meaning and inner dynamics, Nauunawaan ba ninyo ang mga ito? To understand is maunawaan, from the root word una or first in order.

More than knowing, to understand or maunawaan is to realize which is the first of all others because that is the most essential, the most important. “To understand all these things” is not a question of human intelligence that is often short and lacking, and unreliable. “To understand all these things” is a spiritual intelligence, of the humble and lowly, the child-like whom Jesus praised the other week in our weekday gospel (15th week, Wednesday, 15 July 2026, Mt.11:25-27).

Jesus asks us this Sunday “do you understand all these things” to stress that the kingdom of heaven which is actually the person of Christ himself is a treasure beyond price like that treasure found by a man in the field or that precious pearl a trader had found that we are willing to renounce everything to have and possess him!

Understanding the parables of Jesus is finding “God first” before anything or anybody else. In the first reading, we find why King Solomon is the wisest person of all because when asked by God for any gift, he asked for “an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong” (1Kings 3:9) which delighted God so much. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom indeed!

God is the first One we must always desire, think and search in life. Without God, we only come in vicious circles of addictions and emptiness and meaninglessness. It is no surprise at all that the most corrupt and vicious people are also the ones who disregard God, who live as if there is no eternity. Without God, we are reduced to mere creatures meant to just eat and survive. Nothing else. That is why some people do not mind at all looking stupid (mukhang tanga at tunay na tanga), without any self respect because only matter matters for them like money (mukhang pera) and things like power or popularity.

With God, we find meaning and direction in everything in life as St. Paul tells us in the second reading, “Brothers and sisters: We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).

*Photo by author, flower of a Balibago Tree, Anvaya Cove Resort, Bataan, 21 July 2026.*

“All things”… including trials and tribulations for they make us stronger and better persons. When we look back to our past, we see there are more things we have to be thankful to God than be sorry and have regrets. Many times, our past failures and sufferings and tears have become our gateway to our victory and comfort and joy.

Understanding the parables of Jesus and of life in general is actually a movement into getting closer to Christ, of being “every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from the storeroom both the new and the old” (Mt. 13:52).

Here we find the coming into full circle of Christ’s discourse in parables: from listening to understanding which is a process of communion and oneness with the Master, Jesus whose very Person is the kingdom of heaven.

Looking back to these past three Sundays of listening and understanding the various parables of Jesus, we find a remarkable stage in his teachings that bring us closest to him, leading us for the next route of his itinerary which is actually an inner journey into our hearts where he alone dwells. Amen. A blessed week ahead of listening and understanding Jesus among the people we meet and happenings we experience.

*Happy Feast Day to all Lolos and Lolas for today is the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of the the Blessed Virgin Mary, grandparents of Jesus Christ.

Two evils we continue

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 23 July 2026
Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 13:10-17

Scars on the foothills of Mt. Guiting-guiting Natural Park in Sibuyan Island, Romblon caused by an alleged mining without permit perpetrated by a company owned by a political dynasty; from Facebook post of Atty. Wilfredo Garrido, 22 July 2026.

God our loving Father,
we pray so hard for our country
the Philippines
that has become so much like
your country of Israel at the time
of the Prophet Jeremiah:
we have not only destroyed 
one another as brothers and sisters with
our rampant corruption in government
but at the same time desecrated 
our paradise in this part of earth
with environmental destruction.

Two evils have my people done: they have forsaken me, the souce of living waters; they have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water (Jeremiah 2:13).

*From Iskolar ng Bayan FB post, 22 July 2026.*

What is happening in our country
like in other parts of the world 
is our complete violation of your
first commandment, Father -
of having strange gods,
of worshipping the Baals of
money and power and influence
through technologies that
at the start were meant 
to bring us together 
but have actually torn and
set us farther apart;
hence, even your wonderful gift
of nature supposed to provide us
with our needs in life
is raped and molested
without any respect for life
at all by the greedy investors
backed by rapacious politicians.

Open our eyes,
open our hearts
and strengthen our souls
to fight these evils, Lord Jesus
that we may see in the simple
parables of ordinary and usual 
like our local folks and
the nature around us
as signs of your grace
and love for us
demanding us to care
for them too because 
they are all yours
not mine to have
nor abuse;
we pray for politicians
and investors alike to see
more life and persons
not just money and profits
in their endeavors.
Amen.

Praying to walk humbly with God

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 20 July 2026
Micah 6:1-4, 6-8 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Matthew 12:38-42

Another Monday, Lord:
thank you for another journey,
thank you for another chance
to walk with you.

It is your journey, actually;
therefore, teach us to walk humbly
 with you by doing 
what is right and just,
what is good and holy
like what your Prophet Micah
told the people of Israel.

You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do what is right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8).

Forgive us, dear Father,
after all our journey in life,
we have gone to be so proud
like the scribes and Pharisees,
demanding signs from your Son
Jesus that he is the Christ;
after all the walking in life
when you have saved us,
when you have picked us up
after so many falls,
when you have sought us to return
to the right directions when lost,
when so many times you waited
for us when we lag and left behind,
we still question your loving presence
among us,
in us.

Lead me, Lord,
to your direction
for you are
the Way
the Truth
and the Life.
Amen.

*Photo by author, St. Michael Retreat House, Antipolo City, 16 June 2026.*

“Knocking On Heaven’s Door”

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 17 July 2026
Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8; 38:10-12, 16 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 12:1-8

*Photo by author, sunrise at Camp John Hay, Baguio City, 19 November 2018.*

God our loving Father,
I thank you for this wonderful
Friday and most of all, 
for your moving words
from King Hezekiah,
the very same words
in our hearts especially 
for those like me who have
reached senior year,
or may be going through 
many difficulties in life
that make us all realize 
our mortality
and finiteness.

Father,
we are all afraid of death,
of dying,
of the pain of getting sick,
of the process so hurtful
in all aspects; but, like
King Hezekiah in the first reading,
what really makes us worry 
with death is the unfinished work
you have given us,
the sadness of what shall
happen to those we shall leave behind
not because we believe so much
in ourselves but more because
we know we have not finished
your work; forgive us for those
moments we have procrastinated 
your work, for those times we 
balked and dilly dallied to your
commands, or to those times
we refused to follow you; 
hear our pleas like your
faithful King Hezekiah
knocking at heaven’s door:

Once I said: “In the noontime of life I must depart! To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned for the rest of my years… Like a swallow I utter shrill cries; I moan like a dove. My eyes grow weak, gazing heavenward: O Lord, I am in straits; be my surety” (Isaiah 38:10, 14).

*Photo by Mr. Howie Severino, Taal Lake, Batangas, 13 November 2018.*

O Lord our God
most loving,
our life and meaning
who desires most mercy
than sacrifice for
you are the Lord of sabbath
(Matthew 12:7-8),
like King Hezekiah and 
Bob Dylan in this modern time
we "knock at heaven's 
door" for those in great need
at these very moment
like the disciples of Jesus
so hungry while crossing a field 
of grain on a sabbath 
and picked the heads of grain
and ate them; heal those so sick
 not only in body but also in mind,
heart and soul;
ease their pains and sorrows;
and should we reach the final end,
welcome us into your heavenly
kingdom; but still, as we
hope against hope,
heal us by turning back
the clock of time
for us to fulfill your 
assigned task and 
mission.
Amen.

*While praying last night, we remembered Bob Dylan’s iconic “Knocking At Heaven’s Door” that he wrote as soundtrack of the 1973 film “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid”. It became a worldwide hit after its release and had been covered by other artists like Eric Clapton, Randy Crawford and Guns N’ Roses.

“Knocking At Heaven’s Door” is praying hard to God when at the point of death. Like Hezekiah in the first reading, it is the baring of one’s soul to God, begging for his mercy that if possible be allowed to live a little longer. In this song, we find the lyrics and music elegantly and nobly simple, so characteristic of Dylan’s songs that earned him awards outside the music circle like journalism’s Pulitzer Prize special citation in 2008 and the recent Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016 “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American music tradition” (wikipedia).

In our prayer last night, we realized as we age that we fear death and its other daily manifestations like separation and other lifestyle shifts because of being sorry for not having done much in life that if given another chance, we might after all finish our mission like King Hezekiah in the first reading today. Knocking at heaven’s door is one of life’s most powerful prayer as it always “moves” God in the sense he grants our prayers not because he changes his mind but because we have finally surrendered to him and his Divine Will. Likewise, it reminds us to be faithful to our calling always so that when God calls us to death, we can let go easily.

Bob Dylan captured this so well citing the final scene of the movie for which he composed “Knocking At Heaven’s Door” when the frontier lawman was about to die, he gave or “surrendered” to his wife – Mama – his badge and gun because he had finished his job.

[Intro]
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh

[Verse 1]
Mama, take this badge off of me
I can’t use it anymore
It’s getting dark, too dark to see
I feel I’m knockin' on heaven’s door

[Chorus]
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

[Verse 2]
Mama, put my guns in the ground
I can’t shoot them anymore
That long black cloud is coming down
I feel I’m knockin' on heaven’s door

[Chorus]
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

A blessed weekend everyone. Handle life with prayer always.

From YouTube.com

Our interconnectedness in God’s abundance: the parable of life

Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 12 July 2026
Isaiah 55:10-11 ><}}}}*> Romans 8:18-23 ><}}}}*> Matthew 13:1-23

*Photo by author, Lake of Galilee, the Holy Land, May 2019.*

Matthew’s opening lines in today’s gospel present us a beautiful image of God’s abundance we often take for granted just like the parables of Jesus that remind us of our interconnectedness as brothers and sisters.

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parable, saying: “A sower went out to sow” (Matthew 13:1-3).

For the next three Sundays beginning today, all our gospel readings are taken from this 13th chapter of Matthew known as the “Discourse in Parables” that forms one whole unit of the Lord’s teachings in parables.

From the French word parabolein or “along the way”, a parable is a simple story often taken from ordinary things and events in life that offers valuable lessons about life; but, because it is a story taken from ordinary things and events, a parable is often taken for granted.

Many times we only realize later that the most profound realities in life are those found in most ordinary like God who comes to us daily in simplest ordinary things and people and events we take for granted or even refuse to recognize.

Our Filipino word for parable which is talinghaga captures this very well. From the phrase natataling hiwaga that means “tied mystery”: tali is a rope or a tie that binds things together like mystery or hiwaga. Hence, we have talinghaga for parable that indicate how a mystery is tied with the ordinary and simple things and persons and events.

That is the purpose of Jesus in teaching us in parables: that we may learn to find the hidden truths and mysteries of life in the most ordinary things. His teaching in parables is a continuation as well as a deepening of his call to us last Sunday to “come to him and learn from him” so that we may find rest and fulfillment in him.

What I find amazing in our gospel scene this Sunday is how Jesus was by the shore of the Lake of Galilee yet, his parable is about the sower.

Why not narrate something about the life of fishermen or fish vendors?

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

Again, let us situate ourselves in Matthew’s opening line, “On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.”

Imagine the scene, it was early morning, the sun had just risen, and people were starting to go about their usual lives when they heard Jesus teaching while seated on a boat perhaps owned by Peter. More than the parable of the sower itself, Matthew is showing us in this scene the very parable of our life that the whole world is God’s.

Every pilgrim to the Holy Land can attest to this unique beauty of the Lake of Galilee that is so lovely, so peaceful and yes, divine. It tells us of God’s superabundance in all of his creation, interconnecting us as brothers and sisters in him our Father.

This is the same parable and truth of life that God had spoken through the Prophet Isaiah in the first reading:

Thus says the Lord: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come own and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:10-11).

Nothing happens by accident in life; God knows everything. And the good news is, he gives everything that is good like the sower. Not just the seeds but the bread we eat, the water we drink, even the very breath we breathe.

Moreover, there is the connectedness of everything in God’s superabundance like that of the rain and snow making the earth fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the sower so that there would be bread for everyone, even clothes to wear.

*Painting by Van Gogh, “The Sower on Sunset” from wikipedia.org.*

God is the Sower always coming to us, tending us, sowing us with seeds that are absolutely good. It does not really matter what kind of soil receives the seed that even the pathway becomes a conduit in feeding the birds of the air!

The seed is definitely good because God is good. In all instances where the seed had fallen, we find God the Sower himself moving in each step of our life. Observe how in this image of the sower moving from his home to his field, it shows us also the journey of the word and the purpose of God in our life. There is no problem with the seed that is so fecund and definitely efficacious as God had told Isaiah that “my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.”

If ever the word is not fruitful, it is due to our poor disposition as listeners or recipients. That is why St. Paul reminds us in the second reading of how we must responsibly be true to our call and role as disciples of Christ. It is a process we have to be patient but must be consistent. What we are working for is not just for this time or for one’s self or society or country: we have to see the whole reality of life from here to eternity in Christ’s work of salvation is for all. We are all interconnected so that whatever good we do will always bear fruit, “some a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

This Sunday, in this beautiful scene by the Lake of Galilee, or right there on your comfortable seat or wherever you are, Jesus is asking, “where do I see myself in this wide picture and chain of events?” What have I done with the “word”, the “seed” Jesus had sown in me?

In this age of relativism worsened by social media that have blurred reality with algorithms manipulating the way we see and understand truth and reality, the more we have become empty and alienated from one’s self and one another despite the abundance of material things.

How sad that despite the worldwide connections we now have, the more we have been detached from each other, even from one’s self and ultimately from God so that indeed, many of us “look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand” (v.13) because we have taken life in the ordinary things for granted. We live in Facebook or social media where everything has to be spectacular, even “imeldific” or at least, enhanced if not AI-generated. This Sunday, let’s get real. Enough with fakes and AI’s. Amen. Have a blessed, fruitful week ahead everyone!

Father & son, Master & disciple

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 09 July 2026
Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 10:7-15

*Photo by Mr. Vigie Ongleo in Colorado, 03 June 2026.*

I have not really known you,
Lord my God;
grant me the grace of intimacy,
like that of a son and a Father
as my life and my mission;
You have nurtured me, O God
as your own son
but I did not recognize you
that later in life,
I followed my doubts,
my false securities
and negatives thoughts
than you.

Thus says the Lord: When Israel was a child I loved him, out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the farther they went from me, sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, who took them in my arms; I drew them with human cords, with bands of love; I fostered them like one who raises an infant to his cheeks, yet, though I stooped to feed my child, they did not know that I was their healer (Hosea 11:1-4).

Forgive me,
merciful Father;
though I pray always
while striving to be holy,
the more I stray from you
because my love for you is
superficial as seen too in my
skin-deep interpersonal relationships
because your love experiences
are forgotten as I give more 
emphasis on my shortcomings,
expectations,
and "returns".

Let me get closer to you,
Father in the love of your Son
Jesus Christ so that my
brokenness may be healed;
set me free from my many
imprisonment with sin
so that I can go
make the proclamation
that "the Kingdom 
of heaven is at hand"
by letting me 
"cure the sick,
raise the dead,
cleanse lepers,
and drive out demons"
(Matthew 10:7-8);
remind me always of your immense
love for me poured by 
Christ on the Cross 
so that I may "give 
without cost"
(Matthew 10:8)
except that I am doing
your most Holy Will;
and lastly, let me
trust you completely
so that I am not bothered
with so many things for
the journey
except Jesus,
only Jesus,
always Jesus.
Amen.