Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-05 ng Hunyo 2023
Hindi mabuti
ang mabait.
Malaki kaibahan
ng mabait sa mabuti;
akala ng marami
sila ay magkatulad
ngunit kung susuriin
sila na rin ang nagsasabi
kabaitan ay kaluwagan,
lahat pinapayagan
pati na rin kasamaan;
madalas tinuturing
ng karamihan kabaligtaran
ng mabait ay mahigpit
na nagpapatupad ng tama
at wasto ayon sa prinsipyo,
naaayon sa patakaran at kaayusan
na inaayawan ng mga
nasa kadiliman
upang maitago kanilang
kabuktutan
at kasamaan.
Inyong tingnan
kaisipan ng karamihan:
sasabihin nila mas
mainam ang mabait
kesa mahigpit,
lahat maipipilit
kahit katuwiran ay pilipit;
at ang mapait
kung sakaling iyong
igigiit kabutihan
at kaayusan,
ikaw ay pag-iinitan
upang kampihan
tinuturing nilang mabait
sa kanila ay sunud-sunuran
walang paninindigan
lahat pinagbibigyan
at pinapayagan
manatili lang sila
sa kapangyarihan!
Wala sa pagkakampi-
kampihan ang kabutihan
di tulad ng kabaitan
naroon sa maling pakisamahan
ng mga bata-bata at alaga;
minsa'y nagsumbong si Juan
kay Jesus upang pigilan
nagpapalayas ng demonyo sa
kanyang pangalan na hindi nila
kasamahan; sila ay sinabihan
ng Panginoon na iyon ay hayaan
sa ginagawang kabutihan sapagkat
aniya, "ang di laban sa atin
ay panig sa atin" habang mariin
niya silang pinagbilinan
mabuti pang talian sa leeg
ng gilingan bato ang sino mang
sanhi ng katitisuran sa kasalanan
(Mk.10:38-42) na mas malamang,
siyang napakabait!
Hindi kalaunan
mahahayag kabulukan
at karumihan
ng mababait
na tawag sa mga bubwit
at daga huwag lang
makapambuwisit,
aamuin, uutuin
ngunit ang katotohanan
sila ay pinagdududahan
at pinaglalaruan lang din
ng akala nilang mga
kaibigan;
kitang-kita naman
kawalan nila ng paninindigan
kaya lahat pinapayagan
huwag lang masaling
hungkag nilang katauhan
sa palakpakan lamang
nasisiyahan.
Kaya nga,
paano nga ba ilalarawan
itong katotohanang
hindi natin matutunan
na magkaibang-magkaiba
ang mabait at mabuti;
pagmasdan kahit saan -
sa paaralan o tanggapan,
sa tahanan maging sa simbahan
palaging kinakampihan
at pinipili, nagugustuhan
ang mabait
kaya ganito ating larawan
bilang sambayanan:
asong kalye
sa lansangan
inaabangan halalan
hanap ay hindi
husay at kagalingan
kungdi kapakinabangan!
Larawan kuha ni Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images sa Laoag City, 08 Mayo 2022.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop & Martyr, 05 June 2023
Tobit 1:3, 2:1-8 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Mark 12:1-12
Photo by author, Anvaya Cove, 05 January 2023.
Glory and praise to you,
God our loving Father
for enabling us to cover
this first half of 2023!
Grant us the grace
of perseverance like Tobit
in the first reading who
kept on doing what is good
despite the many beatings,
literally and figuratively speaking,
he had had in helping his countrymen
in a foreign land.
I, Tobit, have walked all the days of my life on the paths of truth and righteousness. I performed many charitable works for my kinsmen and my people who had been deported with me to Nineveh, in Assyria… Once the neighbors mocked me, saying to one another: “He is still not afraid! Once before he was hunted down for execution because of this very thing; yet now that he has escaped, here he is again burying the dead!”
Tobit 1:3, 2:8
Teach us to persevere,
Lord, to have the endurance
and stamina in surviving the
toughest conditions to
emerge better persons,
better disciples
who help those in need
and neglected like Tobit
and his son Tobias.
Or like St. Boniface who,
despite his so many successes
in Germany insisted in returning to
Frisia in the Netherlands where
he had first failed as a missionary
only to be massacred later with
his disciples.
Many times,
death awaits perseverance
like your Son Jesus Christ,
the heir of the vineyard owner
in today's parable.
But still, O God,
perseverance in you pays
so well if not for the ones
persevering but most
especially for those their
efforts are directed.
Most of all,
perseverance teaches
us to never give up,
to never quit,
for every effort
in your glory
matters so much.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of Sts. Marcellinus and Peter, Martyrs, 02 June 2023
Sirach 44:1.9-13 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Mark 11:11-26
Photo by author, January 2023.
Praise and glory to you,
God our loving Father,
for this first Friday of June;
your words are very interesting
with Ben Sirach calling us to
recall and remember the faithful
men and women who have lived'
and gone ahead of us while Mark
combined two stories in our
gospel scene today.
Now I will praise those godly men, our ancestors, each in his own time. But of others there is no memory, for when they ceased, they ceased. And they are as though they had not lived, they and their children after them. Yet these also were godly men whose virtues have not been forgotten.
Sirach 44:1, 9-10
So true indeed are his words
until now! There are many great
people we remember their names
for their great faith and but there
are still far more than them whom we
know remain unnamed having served
God so well among his people;
may we try to remember today
our simple folks whose faith
have inspired us to be more
faithful and charitable like
Ben-sirach.
On the other hand,
Mark combines two stories
in the life of our Lord Jesus
to instill in us the importance
of faith not just as a belief
nor a system of theology
we must learn but a relationship
we must keep with God through
our brothers and sisters.
Forgive us, Jesus,
for those times our faith
bore no fruit and withered
so dried like the fruitless fig tree;
forgive us, Jesus,
when we make religion
an economic enterprise
like what happened to the
temple of Jerusalem during
your time; cleanse us of our
selfish motives that faith
has become more of a means
for social mobility than for
spiritual growth through
meaningful relationships
with God and with others.
Grant us, Jesus,
the courage and fidelity
of Sts. Marcellinus and Peter
to be firm in our faith in you.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday after Pentecost,
Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Eternal High Priest, 01 June 2023
Genesis 22:9-18 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< Matthew 26:36-42
Photo by Mr. Mon Macatangga, 12 May 2023.
God our loving Father,
thank you for allowing us
to reach the first half of the year
and what a tremendous blessing
on this first day of June we are
also celebrating the Feast of
your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Eternal High Priest.
In Jesus Christ
you have given us
the perfect mediator
to you, our Father
and to one another
as brothers and sisters.
In Baptism,
you have made us share
in your priesthood, Lord Jesus;
you have weakened the
COVID virus and how sad
that now we are free to
travel, many of us have refused
to come back to Sunday
Eucharist when we exercise
Christ's priestly ministry.
May our lives be a life of
worship to you, O God,
like Abraham, trustingly
obeying you even in
giving up those most
precious to us.
Again then Lord’s messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said: “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son, I will bless you abundantly…
Genesis 22:15-17
Also on this Feast of Jesus Christ
our Eternal High Priest,
we pray most fervently for our
priests that each of them may be
a man of the Word,
a man of prayer
in intimate
relationship with you, dear Jesus
so that they may give us only you, Jesus,
always you, Jesus.
We pray for priests
most especially bishops too
who have no more time to pray
to be one with you, Jesus,
as they spend more time with
people, sad to say, with the rich
and powerful forgetting your little ones
like the poor and the sick;
transform our priests and bishops,
Jesus, to be more like you
in thinking,
in speaking,
in doing,
in living,
and in loving.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Eighth Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 30 May 2023
Sirach 35:1-12 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Mark 10:28-31
Photo by Mr. John Ryan Jacob, December 2022, Paco, Obando, Bulacan.
Why give at all, Lord?
Today you answer this
"frequently asked question"
of so many people especially
Christians: why should I give?
Appear not before the Lord empty-handed, for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the precepts. The just one’s offering enriches the altar and rises as a sweet odor before the Most High. The just one’s sacrifice is most pleasing nor will it ever be forgotten.
Sirach 35:4-6
There are so many reasons
why we should give but in the
wise words by Ben Sirach today,
one clear reason why we should
give is because everything is yours,
O God; we own nothing at all!
Whatever we have is yours
and the more we give,
the more we share,
the more you bless us!
Teach us, O God,
not to be selfish,
to be open,
to be generous
for we are mere channels
of your blessings and
grace; forgive us, Jesus,
when we are like the rich man
who asked you about gaining
eternal life but unwilling to give
up his possession to share with others
or like Simon Peter counting
whatever we have given
and shared, most especially
what we have given up for you
as if everything we have is
totally ours, that we owe no one
except ourselves in having them
without realizing we are your mere
stewards of whatever we have;
so often, we fail to realize
the simple truth
that when everyone
gives, everyone receives.
That is why we must give.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, 29 May 2023
Genesis 3:9-15, 20 ><)))*> + ><)))*> + ><)))*> John 2:1-11
From google.com.
God our loving Father,
as we resume the Ordinary Time
this Monday, grant us the grace
your Son Jesus Christ had given
his Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary,
to "face" you again,
to be sincere and true before your
holiness and perfection,
power and might.
How sad that despite
the graces of his Cross
and Resurrection, we remain
too far from you, O God, because
we are still ashamed like Adam and Eve
to "face" you as we constantly turn away from
you in sins.
Remind us how on that
first miracle of Jesus at the
wedding in Cana when Mary
interceded for the newly-wed couple
that they have ran out of wine,
our worthless selves marred with
sins and imperfections like water
have been transformed into beloved
children of the Father,
so beautiful,
so lovely,
so noble
like an excellent wine.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Solemnity of the Pentecost Sunday, 28 May 2023
Acts 2:1-11 ><}}}}*> 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13 ><}}}}*> John 20:19-23
Photo from manilatimes.net, 9PM, 27 May 2023.
Super typhoon “Betty” (aka, “Mawar”) provides us with some interesting insights on today’s celebration of the Solemnity of the Pentecost Sunday which closes the Easter Season after the last Mass tonight when the paschal candle is extinguished and brought back to the baptistry as we resume Ordinary Time this Monday.
St. Luke described in our first reading how the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary at the upper room in Jerusalem was like the coming of a powerful storm.
And indeed, it was a storm so powerful that have swept the whole world since then, still happening these days calling on us all Christians to be filled anew by the Holy Spirit to continue Christ’s saving work especially in these troubled times when the world is so fragmented and divided.
When the time for the Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
Acts of the Apostles 2:1-4
On the other hand, we have heard in the gospel today how on the evening of the third day – that is, on Easter – Jesus came to his apostles amid locked doors and breathed on them the Holy Spirit after greeting them with peace twice. It does not really matter how the Holy Spirit came into the world, whether 50 days after Easter as narrated by St. Luke in the first reading or right on the evening of Easter as claimed by St. John in his gospel account. What really matters is the fact the Holy Spirit was given to the early Christian community who has continued to stay in the Church and in each one of us, renewing us constantly ever since. It is the same Holy Spirit alive and present in our congregations and parishes today
Photo from shutterstock.com
Pentecost is a different kind of storm we badly need these days in the Church. Unlike weather disturbances, Pentecost does not destroy but in fact builds people, specifically the Church as the Body of Christ and People of God. But, it is also very much like a typhoon in the sense that it batters us to destroy our pride and selfishness that in the process we forget our selves and start thinking of others.
The Holy Spirit is like the power of any typhoon that can shake the very foundations of our long held beliefs and traditions to give way to new ways of living and believing, opening ourselves to the movements of the Spirit that makes Jesus Christ more present in our time.
Let us allow the Holy Spirit to sweep us and the Church like a storm to enable us to see life and world in new perspectives, to find new ways of reaching out to others especially those in the margins we have always forgotten, even taken for granted.
I used to tell people that it is always after the storms when the leaves are greenest and rich soil are deposited that become seedbeds for bountiful harvests in the future. If we can allow the Holy Spirit to sweep us like a storm, then we also learn to hope and trust more in God than in ourselves, as well as in our traditions and even technologies that have prevented us from maturing as Christians and disciples of the Lord.
Every year, more than a dozen typhoons hit and devastate our country; worst, as we have seen in the last ten years, typhoons are getting stronger every year. If we apply that reality to the Holy Spirit, Pentecost is a constant call for conversion among us. And it is in this aspect that I wish to recall another news item we have had last week to appreciate the Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Photo from gmanetwork.com, 24 May 2023.
While we were busy tracking the movements of super typhoon “Betty” last week, a huge fire razed the historic Central Post Office building early Tuesday in Manila. I personally felt so sad seeing the images on TV news of the Post Office building engulfed in fire having been there at least thrice to drop mail and visit the iconic edifice as part of our humanities class in college.
Watching it burned made me asking myself, “is there a war again?” because the last time the Post Office building was burned was at the liberation of Manila in 1945.
And indeed, there is another great war still raging, the war between good and evil, the war between life and death.
That is why, like the storm, the Holy Spirit is like fire in the positive sense. It purifies us, makes us stronger and more committed as disciples of Jesus Christ. Just what we needed in this time in history.
St. Luke tells us in the first reading how after hearing the sound of strong winds in the Upper Room on that Pentecost day in Jerusalem, “there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim” (Acts 2:3-4).
In the gospel, the Risen Lord’s breathing on the disciples was reminiscent of the Genesis account of the first man coming to life when God blew into his nostrils.
The Holy Spirit is life because of the fire and warmth it brings to every faithful and to the Church. It purifies our personhood into better persons to enable us to be converted into Jesus Christ.
It is this transforming fire of the Holy Spirit that we need to bring more warmth and life among us Christians who have become so cold in our faith, becoming more passive than ever with all the decadence going on in the world, even in the Church.
Indeed, as St. Paul said in the second reading, No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3) because to believe in Jesus Christ is to always accept everyone as brother and sister by standing for what is true and good, protecting life especially at its weakest moments of infancy and old age.
Let the fire of the Holy Spirit dissolve the walls that separate us from each other. Let the fire of the Holy Spirit bring out her gifts for us to be more understanding and wise, being able to forge on with life with fortitude and knowledge, able to counsel those lost and weak, as well as pious and fearful of the Lord,
If fire has the power to destroy great buildings like the Central Post Office in Manila, fire also has the great power to build up not only edifices and other things but most especially people when they are open to its great potentials of conversion and transformations.
May this Solemnity of the Pentecost make us more attuned with the Holy Spirit so we may constantly be converted into better persons and Christians to sweep the world like a storm with great changes in uniting people to work for peace and like fire in having the enthusiasm to work for true development and progress of mankind. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Seventh Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest, 26 May 2023
Acts 25:13-21 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> John 21:15-19
Photo by author, sunrise at Anvaya Cove, Morong, Bataan, 19 May 2023.
On this final week of the
Easter Season while praying
the Scriptures, I am reminded
O Lord Jesus by your expression
"the finger of God" in Luke 11:20
when people were doubting your
healing powers.
Very clear in the lives of St. Paul
in the first reading, then in your
commissioning of St. Peter in the
Gospel as well as the wondrous works
by St. Philip Neri in Rome during his
time were clear manifestations of the
finger of God working.
In the life of St. Paul, there was
the finger of God working at his trial
that brought him to Rome to testify
for you; the same thing is true with
St. Peter who denied you thrice and yet,
it was the finger of God that brought
him back to you and to his fellow disciples;
in the life of St. Philip Neri, it was also
the finger of God that worked wonders
that he was able to gather followers
to continue his works of bringing
people closer to God through the
Eucharist and prayers.
As the Easter Season comes
to a close this Pentecost Sunday,
help us dear Jesus to recollect
and reflect our lives to see God's
finger in our life stories too;
open our eyes and our hearts
to find God's finger pulling things
together to make our lives a great
coherence so many times with
amusing and funny incidents,
comedies that make not only our lips
but also our hearts to smile
and experience deep joy
in you.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Seventh Week of Easter, 25 May 2023
Acts 22:30, 23:6-11 ><))))*> + <*((((>< John 17:20-26
Photo by author, Anvaya Cove, 27 February 2023.
How wonderful and
so touching, Lord Jesus,
for you to call us
a gift from the Father.
“Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”
John 17:24
Help me keep, dear Jesus,
that being of a gift to you
from the Father by being
a witness of your glory
which is standing by your
side at the Cross like St. Paul
whom you have called "to bear
witness to you in Jerusalem and
in Rome" (Acts 23:11).
May we always remember
this truth, our being a gift to
you dear Jesus, so that in moments
we feel so overburdened,
when we are losing hope,
when we feel like giving up,
we may forge on
and persevere
in bearing witness
to your Cross of suffering
so that eventually be one
in your glorious Resurrection.
Amen.
Lawiswis Ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-24 ng Mayo 2023
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Jesuit Cemetery sa Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 21 Marso 2023.
Bago pa man ako naging pari ay madalas ko nang naririnig ang tanong ng karamihan na bakit nga ba tayo nagkikita-kita lamang kung mayroong namamatay? Bakit nga ba hindi tayo magkita-kita ng madalas habang buhay pa upang ipahayag ating pagmamahal sa kaibigan o kamag-anak kesa yung sila ay patay na?
Bakas sa mga katanungang ito ang malungkot na katotohanan ng buhay lalo na sa mga nagkaka-edad tulad ko. Minsan naroon din ang panghihinayang at pagiging-guilty na kung bakit nga ba hindi tayo nagsasama-sama habang malakas at buhay pa mga yumaong mahal natin sa buhay?
Pero ang nakakatawa sa ganitong mga usapan ay ang katotohanan na pagkaraan ng ilang buwan o taon, magkikita-kita muli tayo pa ring magkakamag-anak at magkakaibigan sa susunod na lamayan nang hindi pa rin nagkasama-sama habang mga buhay pa!
Ano nangyari? Hindi na nga ba tayo natuto sa aral ng mga naunang yumao, na magsama-sama habang buhay at malakas?
Sa aking palagay ay hindi naman sa hindi na tayo natuto kungdi ang totoo, higit pa ring mainam ang magkita-kita sa lamayan kesa saan pa mang pagtitipon dahil sa ilang mas malalim na kadahilanan.
“Kaunting panahon na lamang at hindi na ako makikita ng sanlibutan. Ngunit ako’y makikita ninyo; sapagkat mabubuhay ako, at mabubuhay rin kayo. Malalaman ninyo sa araw na yaon na ako’y sumasa-Ama, kayo’y sumasaakin, at ako’y sumasainyo.”
Juan 14:19-20
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Jesuit Cemetery sa Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 21 Marso 2023.
Una, sa ating pakikiramay buhay ang pinararangalan at hindi ang kamatayan. Nakikiramay tayo upang ipagdiwang mabuting pamumuhay at magandang pakikisama ng yumao. Wika nga sa amin sa Bulacan, ang lamay lang ang hindi ipinag-iimbita. Ito ang sukatan ng kabutihan ng isang tao na siya ay parangalan hanggang magkapuyatan. Ito ang dahilan kung bakit paulit-ulit sinabi ni Jesus sa kanyang mga alagad na maging handa palagi dahil hindi natin alam ang oras ng ating pagpanaw. Alalaong-baga, mamuhay tayo sa kabutihan.
Isa sa mga paborito kong pelikula ay ang The Last Samurai ni Tom Cruise. Sa huling bahagi ng pelikula bago siya bumalik ng Amerika, namaalam siya sa batang emperador ng Hapon na nagsabi sa kanya, “Tell me how did my samurai die.” Sumagot si Tom Cruise, “I will not tell you how he died but I will tell you how he lived.”
Kaya nga sa lamayan hindi naman pinag-uusapan kung ano at paanong namatay kungdi paanong namuhay ang mahal nating pumanaw. Narito ang malaking kaibahan ng mga pagtitipon ng buhay gaya ng mga handaan at party na nauuwi lamang sa kainan, inuman, at tawanan o kantahan hanggang magkalasingan at di matunawan sa kabusugan. Minsan nauuwi pa sa away mga ito.
Ang ibig ko lang sabihin ay ito: sa patay mayroon ding kainan at inuman kung minsan pero iba ang lalim ng usapan at kuwentuhan. Lalong higit ng pagsasalo-salo – walang nagbabalot! – kasi iba ang level ng pagtitipon sa lamayan. Mayroong rubdob. Nahirapan lang ako sa isang bagay na sadyang makabago at hirap pa rin akong tanggapin. Ang pagpapakuha ng litrato sa mga lamayan. Mula pagkabata kasi aking nagisnan ay seryoso ang lamayan at dahil noon ay wala pang mga camera phone kaya asiwa ako na pumorma o mag-pose sabay ngiti kasama mga naulila sa tabi ng mga labi ng giliw na pumanaw. Maliban doon, ito ang unang kagandahan at biyaya ng pakikiramay at paglalamay – ito ay pagdiriwang ng buhay hindi ng kamatayan.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Jesuit Cemetery sa Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 21 Marso 2023.
Ikalawang biyaya ng pakikiramay at paglalamay sa patay ay ang pagpapahayag ng patuloy nating pagmamahal at pagpapahalaga sa ating ugnayan hindi lamang sa pumanaw kungdi pati sa kanyang mga naulila. Hindi lamang tayo nakikibahagi sa kanilang dalamhati na siyang kahulugan ng pakikiramay o pagdamay, kungdi higit sa lahat ay ang ating pagtitiyak sa kanila na kahit wala na ang giliw nating pumanaw, nananatili pa rin tayong kamag-anak at kaibigan.
Pinakamasakit na bahagi ng pagmamahal ang paghihiwalay, pansamantala man o pang-magpakailanman tulad ng kamatayan. Isa itong katotohanang ating naranasang lahat dahil walang permanente sa buhay na ito. Darating at darating ang sandali na tayo ay mahihiwalay sa ating minamahal kapag ang mga anak ay nagsipag-kolehiyo o kapag sila ay nagsipag-asawa upang bumuo ng sariling pamilya. At ang pinaka-masakit sa lahat ng paghihiwalay, ang pagpanaw ng mahal sa buhay.
Gayon pa man, naroon sa kamatayan ang pinakamatinding hamon ng pagmamahal na ating ipinahahayag at ipinadarama sa pakikiramay. Alalaong-baga kapag tayo pumupunta sa lamayan, ating pinagtitibay sa kanilang naulila ang ating ugnayan, na tayo ay magkakamag-anak pa rin, magkakaibigan pa rin. Kahit mawala ang isang kamag-anak o pamilya at kaibigan, hindi mawawala ating ugnayan. Sama-sama pa rin tayo hanggang sa kabilang buhay kung saan magiging ganap at lubos ating mga ugnayan sa Diyos kay Kristo Jesus.
Kitang-kita ang ugnayang ito na hindi kayang putulin ng kamatayan sa paraan ng ating pagpapaalam. Walang nagsasabing “aalis na ako” o “lalayas na ako” maliban kung siya ay galit. Kapag tayo nagpapaalam saan man, ating sinasabi palagi ay “mauuna na po ako” gayong wala namang susunod sa ating pag-alis. Atin ding sinasabi bilang pamamaalam ang “tutuloy na po ako” e lumalabas nga ang isang nagpapaalam paanong tutuloy?!
Ang mga ito ay tanda ng pagtimo sa ating katauhan ng katotohanan ng kamatayan at buhay na walang hanggan. Sinasabi nating mauuna na ako dahil batid natin lahat ang katotohanan na una-una lang sa kamatayan. Gayon din ang pagsasabi ng tutuloy na ako tuwing nagpapaalam kasi isa lang ating hahantungang lahat, ang buhay na walang hanggan sa piling ng Diyos sa kalangitan.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Bolinao, Pangasinan, 19 Abril 2022.
Kaya hindi rin kataka-taka minsan kung kailan pumanaw at nawala na ang isang mahal sa buhay saka lumalalim ating ugnayan. Iyan ang ikatlong biyaya ng pakikiramay at paglalamay, ang pananatili ng pag-ibig. Higit nating nadarama lalim ng ating pagmamahal kanino man kapag siya ay pumanaw na. Ito yung hiwaga ng aral ni Jesus sa bundok, “Mapapalad ang mga nahahapis, sapagkat aaliwin sila ng Diyos” (Mt.5:4).
Mapapalad ang nahahapis dahil una, sila ay nagmamahal. Sabi ni San Agustin, kaya tayo umiiyak kapag namatay ang isang mahal sa buhay kasi tayo ay nagmamahal. Masakit ang mawalan at hindi na makita ang isang minamahal.
Higit sa lahat, mapapalad ang nahahapis dahil silay ay minahal. Iyon ang pinaka-masakit sa pagmamahal. Matapos maranasan ikaw ay mahalin, saka naman siya mawawala sa piling. Ngunit iyon din ang pagpapala. Kaya masakit mamamatayn kasi nga tayo ay minahal. Sabi ng isang makata, “kung ikaw ay mayroong pagmamahal, ikaw ay pinagpala; kung ikaw ay minahal, ikaw ay hinipo ng Diyos.” Tuwing tayo ay nakikiramay, naglalamay, ating ipinahahayag ating pagmamahal gayun din ang biyaya na tayo ay minahal ng pumanaw.
Tama si San Pablo na sa kahuli-hulihan, lahat ay maglalaho at tanging pag-ibig lang ang mananatili (1Cor. 13:13). Gayon din ang inawit ni Bb. Cookie Chua sa Paglisan.
Kung ang lahat ay may katapusan
Itong paglalakbay ay makakarating din sa paroroonan
At sa iyong paglisan, ang tanging pabaon ko
Ay pag-ibig
Ay pag-ibig
Ay pag-ibig
Manatili sa pag-ibig ni Kristo! Amen. Salamuch po.
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Bolinao, Pangasinan, 19 Abril 2022.
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