The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 20 July 2023
Exodus 3:13-20 >><)))*> + >><)))*> + >><)))*> Matthew 11:28-30
Photo by author, Mt. St. Paul Spirituality Center, La Trinidad, Benguet, 2017.
Let me come to you,
God our loving Father;
let me come to you
in Jesus Christ
to take his yoke and learn from him,
so I may be meek and humble of heart
(Matthew 11:28-30).
Let me come to you,
God our loving Father
like Moses, openly and humbly
wondering at your majesty
in the burning bush, in the many events
happening in my life I take for granted
and missed you.
How funny, O God,
you always desire we become free,
we become lighter from our burdens
as you called Moses to liberate your people
and sent Jesus to save us;
and yet, we always suspect you
of keeping us prisoners,
of not wanting us to be free,
of hindering us from pursuing
and doing whatever we wanted.
Let us learn and realize,
O God how you value freedom
so much that you gave it to us
as your most wondrous gift
that we have unfortunately abused;
let us learn and realize
how your Son Jesus Christ
had to suffer and die on the Cross
so that we may experience true freedom;
let us learn and realize, Lord,
that freedom is being free and faithful
to you always through our loved ones
and mission in life.
Amen.
Photo by author, Mt. St. Paul Spirituality Center, La Trinidad, Benguet, 2017.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 19 July 2023
Exodus 3:1-6, 9-12 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Matthew 11:25-27
Photo by author, sunrise at Camp John Hay, 12 July 2023.
Praise and glory to you,
God our loving Father!
You are so "kind and merciful
for you pardon all our sins,
heals all our ills;
you redeem us
from destruction,
and crowns us with
kindness and compassion"
(Psalms 103:3-4).
Therefore, I pray, O God
for each day that I may
always receive and cherish
your gifts, recognize your love
for me despite and in spite
of my sinfulness and weaknesses
like Moses whom you have called
after he had fled Egypt for a crime;
let me have that same sense of wonder
and curiosity in finding you,
in hearing you, in following you;
the whole earth indeed is sacred,
belonging to you, O Lord;
let me take off my shoes,
walk barefooted to feel your presence
and answer your call to send me
to those crying for your help,
for those numb in experiencing
your presence and coming.
Let me be like children
open and trusting to your
revelations found in the simplest
and most ordinary things in life
unlike the learned who overthink,
holding on to their
beliefs and convictions,
without any room for surprises,
seeking certainties, solving
the unsolvable mysteries
in life long revealed
in Jesus Christ your Son
and our Lord.
Amen.
Photo by author, sunrise at Camp John Hay, Baguio City, 12 July 2023.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 17 July 2023
Photo by author, sunrise at Camp John Hay, 12 July 2023.
If there is one thing I have truly learned and finally got convinced more than ever, never trust “media”: what you see and hear especially in social media are not true at all. I have known it all along having worked there. Have been teaching it too for so long. But sometimes, just because I was with the bagets and younger siblings who all relied with WAZE and Tiktok while listening endlessly to Spotify, sigue na nga, maniwala na nga ako sa media.
Photo by author, Camp John Hay, 12 July 2023.
And so, we got lost again on our final day in Baguio City.
But, still thankful for the experience, the fun and new discoveries not only outside but inside ourselves as siblings, as a family.
Went to bed earlier the night before hoping I could sleep longer in the city of pines. Unfortunately, I was already up before 5am, as usual, the following morning.
Sad to say, too, the weather is no longer that cold anymore in Baguio as before. Though the temperature readings indicated 19 degrees, I could hardly feel it except at about 2am.
Walked a kilometer with my only nephew Tommy and his mother, my sister Meg who enjoyed identifying the various plants and flowers with her phone app. She’s the only one among us four who had inherited our mother’s green thumb, a certified plantita as she would prove later in our misadventure.
Admiring the “naturally” thriving flowers on a street near the Good Shepherd Convent in Baguio, 12 July 2023.
After a sumptuous breakfast at the Manor House and endless pictorials, we packed our things to check out half an hour before 12 noon for the second most important itinerary of any Baguio vacation: Good Shepherd and Mines View Park shopping for pasalubong!
Traffic was not heavy when we went there, a Tuesday and Wednesday. And Baguio’s new traffic scheme with many “one ways” seem to be working well, even better than before the pandemic period.
Photo by author, 12 July 2023.
We were supposed to visit the Living Gifts Nursery also in La Trinidad town but, WAZE and Google Maps seem to be at a loss where that is located that we ended up at the Bahong Sunflower Garden.
I was already getting impatient after several misses and turns, refreshing Google map over and over when on our third try, we saw signs to a tourism office and the Bahong Sunflower Garden.
That was when we decided to forget the Living Gifts Nursery as we convinced ourselves it had changed its name to Bahong Sunflower Garden after the TikTok reel was uploaded.
Maybe next time, TikTok should also incorporate a GPS app for its featured destination spots for directions. Or, I better stop acting as navigator at all.
Photo by our youngest niece, Catherine Darla Lalog.
There’s an entrance fee so minimal, not less than 100-pesos but again, the sights are worth all the efforts. And patience.
Photo by our birthday celebrator, Bing-Bing.
Of course, first thing we looked for upon arrival was the “CR” that was “comfortable” enough to make us smile and laugh in enjoying each other with nature made better by its cool, sometimes chilly, breeze.
Photo by author, still at Bahong Sunflower Garden, 12 July 2023.
We left Bahong Sunflower Garden after an hour with a lot of fond memories as a family. Shortly before boarding our car, Meg could not contain herself not buying a plant from there. And the more she became insistent after finding out what she wanted cost only 300 pesos which according to her could easily fetch a price of over 3000-pesos in Bulacan.
Despite protests from her kids that there was no more space for her second plant, like my mom, Meg found a way of arranging everything at the back of her Innova with still some space – just in case – like additional pasalubong along the way.
Photo by author, still at Bahong Sunflower Garden, La Trinidad, Benguet, 12 July 2023.
How true indeed that once in a while, it is good to get lost in our trips. After all, it is the journey that matters most and not the destination. Most especially, the company you keep. Primary of them is our own family.
Photo by author, 12 July 2023.
Being the eldest in the family, there were times I wished I have an Ate, an elder sister, someone I could turn to in times of difficulties. Someone to look up to. Hindi yung ako lang palagi tinitingala nila especially after Dad had passed away in 2020.
But, up there in La Trinidad, I have realized that in life, it is not really about looking up and looking down. The only time we ought to look up is to God who is above all else and everything. Our semper major. The rest, in my view, is not about looking up nor looking down but of seeing more each one as a person, a beloved. Life is about seeing – not looking – to find the giftedness of everyone that has always been ever present.
Truly, “persons are gifts of God to me, that come all wrapped so differently” as we used to sing in our daily Masses in the high school seminary. This was most true as we left the garden when we have to ascend.
Photo by author, 12 July 2023.
It was our only nephew Tommy who was most gracious and kind, and strong enough, to pull us up from the steep and sometimes slippery pathways.
Along the way, he found these plants which he called as nature’s “chocolate batirol”.
Despite his denials, he seemed disappointed when Camp John Hay’s Chocolate de Baterol was still closed when we walked there earlier.
We shall definitely go back to Baguio City to relax and unwind. And get lost again.
Thank you for joining us in our trip. God bless everyone! May you also have a great vacation soon! Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 17 July 2023
Exodus 1:8-14, 22 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 10:34-11:1
Photo by author, Camp John Hay, 12 July 2023.
Monday, middle of July,
first day of work,
I thank and praise you O God
like the psalmist with similar words,
"Had not the Lord been with us
when men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive,
when their fury was inflamed against us.
Blessed be the Lord,
who did not leave us
a prey to their teeth.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth"
(Ps. 124:2-3, 6, 8).
So many times these past weeks
many of us felt like giving up,
some have actually quit
but many are willing to go back today
to follow you.
Grant us your grace and blessings
to forge on in your mission.
Photo by author, La Trinidad, Benguet, 11 July 2023.
As I looked back to the past weeks,
I recall dear God how like your people
in ancient Egypt when "the more they were
oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread"
(Exodus 1:12), the same thing happened with us:
more the challenges we have faced,
the more we have become stronger
in your grace and mercy;
the more we assert your word and teachings
so unpopular these days,
the more we experience peace within;
the more our goings get tough and difficult,
the more we are fulfilled,
the more we feel blessed.
Photo by author, La Trinidad, Benguet, 12 July 2023.
Keep us faithful in Jesus Christ,
learning to let go of ourselves to you,
completely trusting in taking up our crosses
to follow him, cognizant of our fellow
disciples going through the same
trials and tribulations.
Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year I, 14 July 2023
Genesis 46:1-7. 28-30 ><))))*> + <*((((>< Matthew 10:16-23
Photo by author, Camp John Hay, 12 July 2023.
Today we pray,
O God our loving Father
for all those experiencing
setbacks in life and in their plans,
whether temporary or permanent
like students who cannot pursue their
desired courses or could not continue
with their studies this coming academic year;
sweethearts who have to postpone
or cancel their weddings due to breakups;
those who have to alter their plans or goals in life
due to sickness and disabilities;
people who have to migrate to other
places of residence due to work
and other reasons.
Then he said (to Jacob or Israel): “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there, I will make you a great nation. Not only will I go down to Egypt with you; I will also bring you back here, after Joseph has closed your eyes.”
Genesis 46:3-4
Cast away our fears,
O Lord to forge on when
setbacks and delays even detours
in our lives happen for whatever reason;
assure us always with your same
presence and protection,
most of all of your assured
deliverance so that someday,
we may still realize our dreams
and aspirations in life
according to your plans.
In Jesus Christ's name,
teach us to be "shrewd as the snakes
and simple as doves",
"enduring to the end" (Mt.10:16, 22)
with all the sufferings and trials
that come our way as you, O God,
writes our life story straight
in crooked lines.
Amen.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 13 July 2023
Photo by author, Lemon and Olives Greek Taverna, Outlook Drive, Baguio City, 11 July 2023.
We heard today the lovely story of the reunion of Joseph, a.k.a. the Dreamer, with his brothers who have sold him as a child because of jealousy to traders to Egypt only to find out he had become a minister of the Pharaoh years later in charge of granaries during a great period of drought and famine in the region.
Imagine the shame of the ten sons of Jacob or Israel in the unforgettable scene:
“Come closer to me,” he told his brothers. When they had done so, he said: “I am your brother Joseph, who you once sold into Egypt. But now do not be distressed, and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here. It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you.”
Genesis 45:4-5
Photo by author, Bgy. Alno, La Trinidad, Benguet, 11 July 2023.
Sometimes, it is good to get lost. Literally and figuratively speaking. It is when we are lost that our faith is put to test and strengthened, when we pray hardest to God, becoming honest with our true selves that we summon all the goodness within and among us to finally find our way back on course in our journey and life.
And along the way, God shows us the other sides of life, of every destination filled with wonder and awe. Assuring us of his love and protection, beauty and majesty.
Exactly what we experienced in our recent vacation in Baguio City to celebrate my sister Bing-Bing’s birthday. It was our first time to be back in Baguio since 2020, except for Bing-Bing who still wanted to explore the charming city of pines again.
Photo by author, Bgy. Alno, La Trinidad, Benguet, 11 July 2023.
After a hearty lunch at Lemon and Olives Greek Taverna in the city, we proceeded to the Forest Lodge and left our youngest brother Will while we went to look for Rocky Mountain Adventure Resort.
Everyone in the car – my sister Meg who was at the wheel, Bing-Bing, my two nieces Dymphna and Darla, and only nephew Tommy have their total trust with Waze. I prefer Google Maps but as much as possible, I hate using these apps for the simple reason I hate talking and worst, obeying machines. I would rather “communicate” with persons for directions than rely on the voice in the apps no matter how lovely it may be.
Photo by author, Bgy. Alno, La Trinidad, Benguet, 11 July 2023.
Most of all, these apps lack dynamism. Totally passive without any room for mistakes especially from dinosaurs like me who know nothing at all with apps and gadgets. As I was typing our destination Rocky Mountain Adventure Resort, Google Map “suggested” Rocky Mountain Resort which I pressed!
It turned out to be a swimming pool atop the mountains of Bgy. Alapang in La Trinidad, Benguet! Who would swim late afternoon at 19 degrees?
After we have left the wrong resort in silence as it was getting dark, we asked around for the way out and ended up in rows and rows of rose fields in Bgy. Alno to the delight of everyone.
Though not everyone was able to get down from the car due to narrow streets, all fears and apprehensions disappeared as we imagined the hand of God still guiding us, comforting us with the beautiful sights.
Photo by author, Bgy. Alno, La Trinidad, Benguet, 11 July 2023.Photo by author, Bgy. Alno, La Trinidad, Benguet, 11 July 2023.
After much prayers and laughters, we headed home, dropping by the famous strawberry fields that was already closed by the time we arrived. Fortunately, there were still some sorbetero left selling the famous strawberry ice cream advertised as “pampatibay ng relasyon”.
Dymphna and Tommy, and cousin Darla.
We all had ice cream to cap Bing-Bing’s birthday, praying for stronger ties as family as we found ourselves together laughing, and praying when lost briefly.
A Wedding Homily for a Nephew, Raymond Immanuel Alonzo & Charlene Patricia Moya
The Manila Cathedral of the Basilica Minore of Immaculate Conception, 07 July 2023
Ephesians 5:25-31 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< John 15:12-17
All praise and thanksgiving to God our loving Father for this day, Immi and Pat! This is the day God had set to be your wedding day. Not last year, not next month nor any other day except this seventh day of July 2023.
Jesus Christ said in our gospel today, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you” (John 15:16).
Surprised? Yes, Immi and Pat, you have both felt God surprising you many times since you met each other, mysteriously weaving your lives seamlessly together that today you are before him at his altar to pledge your love for each other.
Photo by Ms. Jo Villafuerte, Atok, Benguet, 01 September 2019.
That is what I wish to share with you this afternoon: keep that element of surprise in your lives together, Immi and Pat. Never lose that sense of wonder because it is when we are surprised that we start to believe; when we believe, we get closer and then we love. The more we love, the more we are surprised and the more we believe until that love matures into more than feelings but a decision and commitment to love until death.
Hindi ba, Immi and Pat, that is why you are here today because you have finally decided to grow together in this love because you believe in each other and most of all in God?
There were many occasions you were both surprised at the twists and turns in your lives as individuals, beginning at how you got to know each other in the office.
Hindi naman love at first sight iyon. Hindi nga kayo magka-type pareho kaya nag-aasaran kayo palagi.
You were opposites but the more you were surprised in discovering new things about each other, the more you gravitated to each other, the more you believe in each other, surprisingly realizing that actually, you are not opposites but share a lot in common.
That’s when you became good friends caring for each other, conversing more often with topics getting deeper like plans and views in life until one day, Pat had so much of these surprises as she juggled many things in her life and asked to speak with you, Immi, to avoid confusion and complicate things further in your friendship.
Wala pa siyang sinasabi maliban sa “mag-usap tayo” and you just told her, “Let’s go out on a date”.Iyon na yun! Kayo na! Dehins na hangout, date na. Wow, tamis!
The problem in our time is that everything, everyone is exposed. Even overexposed!
With social media all around us, everything is shown and displayed for all to see, leaving no room at all for surprises.
Many people these days want everything to be certain. Lahat segurista na ngayon.
No more surprises, no more faith because many of us have stopped believing. Remember, “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). That is why, when we are surprised, then we believe. Then as we believe more and get surprised more, we love.
Immi and Pat, always have faith, believe and be surprised with each other and with God.
The world tells us, “to see is to believe” but our faith teaches us, “believe so that we would see.” Remember when Jesus told Thomas a week after Easter, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed “(John 21:29b).
Keep that childlike attitude in you of being surprised always, of having that sense of awe and wonder. That is why kids believe and trust always.
Photo by Ms. Jo Villafuerte in Atok, Benguet, 01 September 2019.
Being surprised is being open with the simple realities of life, of the joys of being alive and sharing this life with a special someone in love. Being surprised is being open to getting hurt because we believe there is that special someone who would always take care of us, with whom we can be our true selves no matter what. Being surprised is being open to the realities and ecstasy of loving and of being loved in return. Being surprised is believing in God who is a God of surprises because he loves us so much.
In the Book of Genesis, we find Jacob falling asleep at Bethel with a stone as his pillow, dreaming of a stairway to heaven. It was so good because he saw God and his angels ascending and descending the stairway to heaven that upon waking up, Jacob had that sense of wonder and awe, “Truly the Lord is in this spot, although I did not know it!” (Gen.28:16). Jacob was surprised. Then he believed. And loved and served God. In 1971, we heard Jimmy Page and Robert Plant singing, “makes me wonder” over and over in their hit Stairway to Heaven.
But, Edith Piaf said it best in 1946, of how she was surprised in finding love with her classic song La vie en rose. No, I will not sing it but will just read it to remind you God’s many surprises for you, Immi and Pat.
I thought that love was just a word
They sang about in songs I heard
It took your kisses to reveal
That I was wrong, and love is real
Hold me close and hold me fast
The magic spell you cast
This is la vie en rose
When you kiss me heaven sighs
And though I close my eyes
I see la vie en rose
When you press me to your heart
I'm in a world apart
A world where roses bloom
And when you speak, angels sing from above
Everyday words seem to turn into love songs
Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be
La vie en rose.
Immi and Pat, God has a lot of surprises for you. Remain faithful with each other, remain faithful to Jesus Christ who have called and chosen you. Have Christ always between you in your relationship. Pray, believe and have trust in him so you both would see more surprises, more life, more love in your married life. God bless you, Immi and Pat! Amen.
For those wishing to listen and perhaps use this classic piece, here is its English version.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sunday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 09 July 2023
Zechariah 9:9-10 ><}}}*> Romans 8:9, 11-13 ><}}}*> Matthew 11:25-30
Photo by Ms. Nikki Vergara, 2020.
Today we hear the final installment of Jesus Christ’s instructions to the Twelve as he sent them to their first mission which started two Sundays ago. Discipleship is essentially becoming like Jesus Christ, our Lord and Master who is meek and humble of heart.
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
For the third straight Sunday, Jesus has been teaching the Twelve including us today some important lessons in discipleship: first is to fear no one except God, then to be never influenced by others except God, and now, to learn from him who is “meek and humble” of heart.
Photo by author at the sacristy of the Manila Cathedral, 07 July 2023.
In the whole Bible, we find that “meekness” is the most remarkable quality of any one sent by God to his people, especially with Moses and King David.
Despite some instances of them getting angry and even being harsh sometimes, both were described as being meek especially Moses described as “the meekest man on the face of the earth” (Num.12:3).
When Jesus came and brought salvation to mankind by obediently dying on the Cross, he became the embodiment of meekness.
To be meek means being gentle and obedient, exactly who Jesus Christ is. All throughout his life, Jesus had repeatedly expressed everything he said and did were in total obedience to the Father who sent him to save us. That is why that we too find Christ’s words and actions as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies of God coming to save his people, of sending someone so different from the other kings and servants before him. This is very evident in the gospel of Matthew who emphasized on the meekness of Jesus Christ that in narrating to us his version of the Palm Sunday entry of Jesus to Jerusalem, he actually cited (Mt. 21:4-5) our first reading today from Zechariah:
Thus says the Lord: Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass.
Zechariah 9:9
Unlike the kings and other powerful men of the world who rode on prancing horses symbolic of their power and strength, here is Jesus Christ riding a placid donkey, symbolic of his meekness and humility, most especially of his message of peace.
Meekness in Tagalog is maamo, from the root word amo referring to “master”, connoting one’s recognition of master by being submissive in the positive sense. Maamo also means being tame as opposite with being wild. Hence, the English word of being gentle, or gentility.
The good news of Jesus being “meek and humble” is that we need not be afraid of becoming his disciples, of becoming truly Christians in this age relativism when anything goes, no more absolutes like God and morality. Now more than ever, St. Paul’s admonitions in the second reading are so real when we are challenged to live in solidarity with Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit, or to live in solidarity with the old humanity enslaved to sin.
Yes, the Gospel of Jesus is demanding. And so is true love which is most demanding.
Photo by author, La Mesa Forest Reserve seen from Our Lady of Fatima University-Quezon City with the Sierra Madre as background, January 2023.
There will always be pains and hurts but these occasions make our discipleship, our love for Christ and for others most meaningful and fulfilling. The Lord’s “yoke is easy and his burden is light” because it is naturally human and divine like him made possible with his paschal mystery. Being loving and kind, forgiving and merciful, caring and helpful are never painful nor tiring because they liberate us, setting us free from the imprisonment and shackles of sin due to our pride and self-centeredness, leading us to true freedom and fulfillment.
Why is it now life has become so complicated? It is not because of Jesus nor of his Church who simply echoes his teachings as he had commanded. Life has become complicated ever since we have allowed and accepted all these modern thoughts of freedom that actually “unfreed” us like these trends from the “sex revolution” that have spawned all the evils plaguing us, from divorce to contraceptions and abortions that not only destroy human life but most especially the family, society’s basic unit. There are some insisting on altering the most basic and natural of God’s creation like gender as either male or female, nothing in between; and, marriage solely between man and woman.
See how life has been reduced to lifestyle characterized by commercialization of everything including persons with sex casually portrayed as an act or activity and a mere part of the body. Everything has become relative, to each his own. That is why life has become so tiring, even empty despite all the comforts and modern amenities we now enjoy.
We have been removing God from everything, from all his creation. That is why Jesus comes to us today, calling us all to come to him, all who are burdened to find rest in him.
Find Christ in yourself, you find Christ in others. When we find Christ, we find God, we find truth, we find life, we find rest.
Our gospel this Sunday comes as a fitting closing to the Lord’s lessons on discipleship. It is never easy in becoming a Christian, of standing for what is right and true, just and fair, in being kind and forgiving, in lovingly serving others without expecting anything in return.
Let’s not make it more difficult on our part. Examine the demands of Christ are actually simple, love him by obeying him. What are the demands of those trying to lord over us these days like those so-called wokes and liberals who are so harsh in insisting their views that are self-serving and unnatural.
Remember, our series of these instructions came when “At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt.9:36, June 18, 11th Sunday). Jesus added that we pray for more laborers to work in the bountiful harvest, for more persons who are loving and warm, not demanding nor insistent on themselves and their beliefs. Have a restful week ahead! Amen.
In this season of graduations when we also celebrate today the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, we are reminded that growth and maturity in Christian faith goes through a process too of “graduation”.
St. Thomas went through different stages in life as a disciple of Christ before finally graduating with honors as a martyr. Most of all, he is a good model for every graduating student to emulate because he is the one so famous for having “doubts” and being known as the “doubting Thomas”.
To doubt is not necessarily bad. In fact, it is a grace from God because every doubt is a step closer to wisdom and knowledge. Without doubts, we can never learn because we will never be able to verify and validate what we know if we do not doubt at all. We shall discuss this further as we reflect on the three graduation events in the life of St. Thomas the Apostle.
His first graduation happened when the Lord’s best friend, Lazarus, died.
“The Raising of Lazarus”, 1311 painting by Duccio de Buoninsegna. Photo by commons.wikimedia.org
Recall how Jesus and his Apostles were prevented from visiting Lazarus when he was seriously ill because he lived with his sisters Marth and Mary in the town of Bethany that was near Jerusalem where the Lord’s enemies were plotting to arrest and put him to death. It was too risky for Jesus to go to Bethany but, because of his love for Lazarus and his sisters, Jesus decided to take the risk to visit him.
It was St. Thomas who rallied his fellow apostles to come with the Lord to share in his death.
So then Jesus said to them clearly, “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him.” So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go to die with him.”
John 11:14-16
A good student is always a risk-taker. All graduating students since 2021 to present deserve a great commendation, a great congratulations for taking all the risks and difficulties in pursuing your studies in these four years of the pandemic. Despite the poor internet connections, the threats of viral infections and many other risks, you forged on and now you are a step closer in fulfilling your dreams.
The key here is to never be away from Jesus like St. Thomas who at that early stage had identified himself with the destiny of Christ in offering himself on the Cross. St. Thomas knew it then that nothing is easy in this life but if we are with the Lord, there is nothing we cannot overcome.
Graduation as a process or a passing through stages is also a passover, a pasch like the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Recall the gospel the other Sunday when Jesus told his Apostles to fear no one, to be not afraid. The same thing is what St. Thomas is reminding us today: do not be afraid to learn, to commit mistakes, to doubt, to fail, to get hurt. These little deaths are all part of our process of growing and maturing, of getting better, of being achievers.
The second graduation moment of St. Thomas happened during their Last Supper when the Lord was telling them of his coming death that would lead to his Resurrection and return to the Father’s house where he would prepare a room for them.
“Where I am going you know the way.” Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:4-6
Imagine the somber and serious mood of the Last Supper, of Jesus telling everyone of his coming pasch. Then suddenly, there was St. Thomas interjecting with a statement “we do not know where you are going” with a question, “how can we know the way?”
Notice the comedy twist? Funny indeed and truly, we could see St. Thomas in a low level of understanding but if he never dared to ask that question, we would never have that most quotable quote of the Lord of him being “the way and the truth and the life.”
Here, St. Thomas is teaching us to always ask for explanations, even from the Lord himself! As RiteMed would say in its commercials, “Huwag mahihiyang magtanong”!
Photo by Mr. Paulo Sillonar, 07 June 2023.
In telling St. Thomas – and us – that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life, the Lord is reminding us how it is forever valid that true learning is gained from our dealing and relating with persons, with people, not with things like gadgets. Or even pet animals nor plants.
As you go on your school break after your graduation, spend more time with people, with your parents, with your brothers and sisters and cousins. Or playmates. Leave your gadgets and pets behind. Go out and play, bond with people. Get real and stop those virtual realities.
Very often, the teachers we truly love or like and appreciate impact are those who have gone out of their ways to reach out to us, to relate with us. They were the teachers really deserving to be called mentors who not only taught us with so many knowledge and information and techniques but most of all, the ones who have made us experience life, the ones who have opened our minds and hearts to realities of life, showing us the relationships between the classroom and actual life.
Jesus is more than a teaching or a doctrine or a lesson. Jesus is a person we relate with, we experience life with, we live with through people he sends us in the family and in the school. And we learn most in life with them.
Do not be afraid to approach and ask them for explanations, directions, and clarifications. Google nor ChatGPT can never teach you life. St. Thomas must have learned so much from that simple table incident in their Last Supper that even if at first he doubted Christ had risen, he eventually made the boldest expression of faith in Jesus when they finally met on the eighth day of Easter, his final graduation.
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
John 20:27-29
Caravaggio’s painting “The Incredulity of St. Thomas” (1602) from en.wikipedia.org.
Many times, our doubts lead us to more brighter outcome than any uncertainty we may have before like St. Thomas. If St. Thomas did not believe at all that Jesus had risen, he would have not come to the Upper Room to be with the other Apostles to meet Jesus the following Sunday. He believed, though, there were some doubts that were natural. After all, the Resurrection of Jesus was beyond normal, beyond logic. It was truly astounding.
After a long series of stages, here we find St. Thomas making the boldest and strongest expression of faith ever which we silently pray every consecration period in the Mass, “my Lord and my God.”
Dear students, be a man of prayer, be a woman of prayer.
Persevere in deepening your faith despite the many difficulties and challenges being posed today by modern culture characterized by relativism and individualism, materialism and consumerism. St. Mother Teresa said it well, “We are called to be faithful, not successful”. The recent dark days of the pandemic have shown that science will never be enough in this world, in this life. There is God. And the good news is he is not that far from us. He is the one calling us to believe even if we have not seen him. If the world says to see is to believe, that if there are no pictures it did not happen at all, Jesus is telling us today in the experience of St. Thomas that when you believe, then you shall see!
Let us imitate St. Thomas, a student who studied hard, worked harder, and prayed hardest to Jesus who never abandoned him especially in his doubts and weaknesses. May the example of St. Thomas strengthen our faith in Jesus who is our Lord and God. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of the First Martyrs of Rome, 30 June 2023
Genesis 17:1, 9-10, 15-22 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< Matthew 8:1-4
Photo by author, sunrise at Bolinao, Pangasinan 18 April 2022.
Today we close the month of June,
the first half of 2023.
Praise and glory to you,
God our loving Father
for past six months,
grateful for the next
six months coming
to finally close the year.
And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately.
Matthew 8:2-3
Dear Father, you will only good things for us like to that leper that is why you sent us your Son Jesus Christ; both Jesus and the leper knew his cleansing was very possible; Jesus made no fanfare except in asking the leper to fulfill the requirements of the Law as the leper simply believed him.
Lord, we are a "walking good news", ourselves a blessing, a grace from you; there is no need for us in trying so hard in touching another person, in making a difference in this world so sick and so stressed; many times we just have to smile and be extra nice to someone, be kind and forgiving.
Let us share your good news in the way we live, at least not like the first martyrs of Rome who were burned as living torches at evening banquets; let us share your good news like Abraham who walked in your presence blamelessly by trusting you, obeying you, loving you. Amen.
