The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday in the Twenty-third Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 10 September 2024 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]*> Luke 6:12-19
By Kay Bratt, Facebook, 13 December 2023.
Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ for continuing to call us to be your disciples and apostles, inviting us to get closer with You like the Twelve to share your light first of all to our fellow disciples and apostles who have lost their will to burn.
Now indeed then it is, in any case, a failure on your part that you have lawsuits against one another. Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather let yourselves be cheated? Instead, you inflict injustice and cheat, and this to brothers. Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the Kingdom of God? That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed , you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:7-9, 11).
Forgive us, Lord Jesus, when many times we live and act like the Corinthian Christians forgetting our new person in You received in Baptism, when we turn to the courts to get justice that often terribly end in bitterness and recriminations; instead of bearing your light of justice and mercy, love and equality, kindness and tenderness, we resort to the ways of the world, endlessly debating on technicalities that we forget the person and the wrongs and evil done; let us return to you, Jesus, the true Light of the world to dispel the darkness of sin and evil around us by being your witnesses of the good news of salvation as your new chosen people. Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-01 ng Agosto 2024
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, bukang liwayway sa Lawa ng Galilea, Israel, Mayo 2019.
Unang araw sa buwan ng Agosto, buwan ng wika ako ay nakatunganga sa pagkamangha sa isang salita: PALIWANAG sa wikang Inggles, "explanation" at kung gagamiting pandiwa "to explain" ito ay magPALIWANAG.
Kay sarap namnamin
at damhin mga kataga
nitong ating wika
tulad ng PALIWANAG
nagsasaad ng pagbibigay
liwanag dahil mayroong
kadiliman minsa'y panlalabo
kaya nililinaw upang
matanaw, makita kahit man lang
maaninag upang matukoy, makilala.
Mahirap kasi mag-apuhap sa gitna ng kadiliman na kawalan ng katiyakan: ika'y nangangapa at nangangamba kung ano iyong mahawakan, makuha kaya nakakatakot sa dilim na wala kang nakikita dahil pati ikaw baka tuluyang mawala pa!
Inyong pagmasdan malaking kadiliman na sa ati'y bumabalot kamakailan kaya kay raming nagpapaliwanag naglilinaw dahil sa mga ginawa at ipinahayag na puro kaguluhan:
Waiter sa Cebu pinagpaliwanagan ng halos dalawang oras habang nakatindig sa harapan ng customer na tinawag niyang "Sir" na ibig ituring siya na "Mam"; kay daming paliwanag ni "Mam" pero malabo pa rin dahil malinaw pa sa araw maski sa mga larawan na siya ay Sir!
Hanggang ngayon nagpapaliwanag pa rin mga pasimuno ng paglapastangan sa Huling Hapunan ng Panginoon na lalong nababaon dahil maliwanag kanilang kasinungalingan na ang kadiliman ng kapalaluan at kasamaan kanilang pagpugayan taliwas sa layuning magkaroon ng pagbubuklod at kaisahan.
Hindi lang minsan ating narinig masabihang "ang labo mo naman" kaya kinakailangang magpaliwanag upang maunawaan at maintindihan na siyang daan sa magandang pagsasamahan.
Heto ngayon ating pagnilayan pagbulayan aking katanungan: nagPALIWANAG ba ang Panginoong Jesus sa Kanyang mga pangangaral? Maliban sa pagpapaliwanag ng mga talinghaga ng sarilinan sa mga alagad, walang ipinaliwanag si Jesus dahil maliwanag Siyang palagi at higit sa lahat Siya ang Liwanag ng Sanlibutan.
Madalas hindi Siya maunawaan, maintindihan at matanggap ng mga tao noon hanggang ngayon ngunit kailanman walang binawi na salita ang Panginoong Jesus dahil maliwanag ang lahat: "Ako ang daan at katotohanan" (Jn.14:6), "Ako ang muling pagkabuhay at ang buhay" (Jn. 11:25) "Ako ang pagkaing bumaba mula sa langit; ang kumakain ng aking laman at umiinom ng aking dugo ay may buhay na walang hanggan, at muli ko siyang bubuhayin sa huling araw" (Jn. 6:54).
Nang linisin ni Jesus ang templo sinabi sa mga tao na gibain iyon at kanyang itatayo sa loob ng tatlong araw; Siya ay pinagtawanan ng mga kalaban ngunit malinaw na sinasaad sa kasulatan nang muli Siyang mabuhay ay naunawaan ng mga alagad ang tinutukoy Niyang templo ay ang Kanyang Banal na Katawan (Jn. 2:18-22); maliwanag si Jesus ay palaging malinaw kaya kahit sa gitna ng kadiliman Siya ay maliwanag.
Lumapit tayo kay Jesus at hayaang liwanagan Niya kadiliman sa ating puso at kalooban katulad nina Nicodemo at Dimas na umamin sa kanilang kamangmangan at kasalanan kaya natamo ang liwanag at kaligtasan; hindi mahirap tuntunin katotohanan at liwanag ng Panginoon natin kung ating aaminin at aalisin mga piring sa ating paningin upang mabuksan puso at kalooban sa kagandahan at dangal ng kabutihan ng bawat nilalang hindi ang ipangalandakan sariling husay at kaalaman maging antas ng kalinangan!
Tandaan at panghawakan, tiyak na kaliwanagan ng mga salitang binitiwan ng Panginoon sa atin sana ay magpaalaala: "Ang nagpapakataas ay ibababa, at ang nagpapakababa ay itataas" (Mt.23:12)
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 II, 18 July 2024 Isaiah 26: 7-9, 12, 16-19 <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Matthew 11:28-30
Your words today, O God, are so refreshing that I wish to pray like your Prophet Isaiah: "The way of the just is smooth; the path of the just you make level. My soul yearns for you in the night, yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you; For your dew is a dew of light, and the land of shades gives birth" (Isaiah 26:7, 9, 19).
Freshen us, O Lord, from our dirt and exhaustion from sin!
Refresh our thoughts and our feelings, make them crystal clear like the dew in the morning to see your kindness and mercy!
Gladden our hearts, uplift our souls with your presence in Christ Jesus who calls us daily to come to Him and have rest, because His yoke is easy, His burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).
Let us surrender to You in Jesus Christ for there is no salvation outside from You except in Him; so true are the words of Isaiah: "As a woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in pains, so were we in your presence, O Lord. We conceived and writhed in pain, giving birth to wind; salvation we have not achieved for the earth, the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth. But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise; awake and sing, you who lie in the dust" (Isaiah 11: 17-19).
Teach us to appreciate and value the little things in life we take for granted like the droplets of dew in the morning enough to set our face aglow again of new beginnings; in coming to us, Jesus taught us the value of being small, being little, being silent, being humble when life begins and regenerates always. Let us arise anew in Jesus from our deep sleep in sin through His dew of light, a glimmer of better days ahead. Amen.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 22 March 2024
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 19 March 2024.
Salamuch to all your birthday greetings and prayers. You were all prayed for during my five day silent retreat here at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches, my “Bethel” and “Peniel” in the last ten years.
It was in Bethel where Jacob dreamt of a stairway to heaven that upon waking up realized “the Lord is in this spot, although I did not know it” (Gen.28:16, 19) while it was in Peniel where he wrestled with an angel that he was given the other name “Israel… because you have contended with divine and human beings and have prevailed” (Gen.32:29, 31).
The newly reblocked tree-lined road of Sacred Heart Novitiate.
God has been so kind to me to let me reach 59 – isang taon na lang may Senior Citizen Card na ako!
Last Sunday I had a long lunch with two of my former students in our girls’ high school in Malolos. It was a great feeling of being “reconnected” not only with Karen and Kweenie but also with myself.
God is our most important “connection” in life. To be connected, to reconnect with him is to be one, to be whole again with one’s self, with others and the rest of creation. And that is what a retreat is, a vacation with the Lord which is to reconnect with Him, to be healed and be whole again to find our other vital connections in life (https://lordmychef.com/2024/03/18/re-con-nect/). Here are some of my reflections; hope to help or guide you too to God.
After sunset at the Sacred Heart Novitiate, 21 March 2024.
If I say, “Surely darkness shall hide me, and night shall be my light” — Darkness is not dark for you, and night shines as the day. Darkness and light are but one.
Psalm 139:11-12
Very often, we feel disconnected from God and everyone, even from one’s self when there is darkness in life due to sins and failures or disappointments as well as when we are tired and feeling sad, even depressed, for varied reasons.
But, the grace of God is actually most bountiful when we are in darkness. And the irony of it all, it is in our darkness is also our light! It is the other side of that another irony I realized a few years ago that it is in emptiness when we are actually full. Kung kailan wala, at saka mayroon!
From the refectory of Sacred Heart Novitiate, 18 March 2024.
In His great silence, God never stops doing something in us and with us while we are groping in the dark. Many times, the very things we complain and cry about that brought us darkness are in fact the most beautiful things we can have and must have done in this imperfect world. Feel God tapping our shoulders, even thanking us that despite the darkness we are into, we remain faithful and committed, still caring and loving those entrusted to us, especially the children and the sick as well as those who hurt us or a burden to us.
Life is always difficult but many times we ignore this reality.
Have you sometimes wondered why life has become so complicated and competitive these days that even if you are not in the “rat race” itself especially when friends and family come to unburden themselves to us, we also get affected. That is when we overextend ourselves helping them, connecting them without realizing we are the ones getting disconnected too with our very selves and the realities of life.
When things are getting dark, stop and accept the fact we are tired or sad. That it is already night time and too dark to go out, that we need to stay inside or remain where we are. Let the darkness pass to avert disasters like breakdowns, feeling exhausted and depleted that we get sick physically and emotionally. When darkness comes, rest in the Lord and enjoy the stars and the moon above.
The Novitiate abounds with calachuchi trees that one can smell the sweet scent of its flowers especially in the evening.
I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew; How precious to me are your designs, O God; how vast the sum of them!
Psalm 139:14, 17
Why can’t I accept that I am good, so wonderfully created by God? What a shame at how I always tell people, especially students and youth, to always believe in themselves, that our main problem in life is self-rejection which I am also guilty of.
Lately I have been questioning myself if I am really good at all: “talaga ba akong magaling at mahusay o ma-papel lang?”
Tranquil afternoon at the Sacred Heart Novitiate, 19 March 2024.
It is funny that as I cross into the threshold of senior years, I still have many insecurities in life, still doubting my abilities, of who I am.
One thing God has revealed me this week of prayers is how self-rejection is a result of lack of gratitude to Him. It is only when we are truly grateful to God can we accept, then own our giftedness as a person.
Many times we thank God for his “material” gifts to us that include our family and friends, jobs and career, house and cars and gadgets. Not to forget money and wealth, including fame for some. We thank God for everything except our very gift of selves. We are the most precious gift of God we always forget to thank Him for – our giftedness as a person with all of our talents and abilities.
Bethel and Peniel in one.
Being grateful to God means seeing myself as God sees me His beloved child. Not the way we see ourselves before God that would always be in extremes, either we are too good like the Pharisee in Christ’s parable (Lk. 18:9-14) or too bad almost like the devil.
The more I am grateful to God, the more I cherish my personhood that despite my many flaws and sins, I am still loved by God our Father.
Gratitude is more than being thankful; it is entering into a deeper relationship with God and with anyone good to us. Ungrateful people who could not say “thank you” are the ones who do not care at all to others and their kindness. Whenever we say “thank you,” it means we not only appreciate and acknowledge their gift but most of all, their personhood inasmuch as they have recognized us in the first place.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
This morning in our Mass, I felt so touched by God that tears swelled in my eyes twice. First when we sang in the entrance hymn “Buksan ang aming plad, sarili’y maialay; turuan Mong ihanap kami ng bagong malay.”
I think that is one thing I need this year, a new consciousness about God, of myself, and my vocation. Lately, I have been “romancing” death. It is not being morbid but simply accepting that reality becoming more real as we age. But, sometimes, I must confess, any fascination with death is defeatist in nature like when we start thinking of retiring early. I have always believed the priesthood is always seeking new directions in the ministry, in serving God and others but lately with all the darkness in me and around me, I just feel like retiring early, of just waiting for the end, whatever that may mean.
Lord Jesus Christ, bring back that fire and enthusiasm in me; give me a new consciousness of You, of me, and of my ministry.
The beauty and majesty of God at the Sacred Heart Novitiate.
Tears swelled in my eyes the second time during the Offertory in our Mass as we sang Take and Receive which is actually the surrender prayer by St. Ignatius. It was the last prayer I recited before the Blessed Sacrament last night as I closed my retreat with a Holy Hour. It is my most favorite prayer but also the one I rarely pray after realizing and feeling its “existential” meaning during our 30-day retreat in 1995.
Try contemplating its meaning and you feel scared praying it, as if telling God, “not yet, Lord, not yet”: “Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Thou has 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 nlove and thy grace, for this is sufficient for me.”
As I closed my retreat last night, I felt praying it again with the same conviction in 1995 after our 30-day retreat, in 1997 for our diaconal ordination and in 1998 for our presbyteral ordination. Once in a while I pray it too in high moments with the Lord. Like last night and this morning.
Thank you, dearest Father for the gift of life, for the gift of personhood; Lord Jesus Christ, You have given me with so much and I have given You so little; teach me to give more of myself, more of of Your love and mercy; take whatever I still have so that I can give more of You in the Holy Spirit. With Mary, teach me to be poor in You. Amen.
Thank you everyone for your love, for your gift of self, for your friendship.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, 02 February 2024 Malachi 3:1-4 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Luke 2:22-40
Presentation in the Temple painting by Fra Angelico from fineartamerica.com.
On this most joyous feast of the Lord's Presentation in the Temple, we pray, dear Father for the same grace you gave your servant Simeon to see each day the coming of your Son Jesus Christ, the true light of the world, the only light to guide our lives.
Grant us the grace, O God, to persevere in our prayer life like Simeon and Anna who spent much of their days at the temple, praying and fasting that they became attuned with your Holy Spirit.
How amazing that despite the many couples coming to the temple on that day, Simeon and Anna recognized Jesus in the arms of Mary with Joseph; many times in life, we are so distracted with so many other people we look up to, we believe in so much thinking them to be the light who will guide us in this life; there are times we look at new ideas and novel thoughts and ways so bright that we easily follow them as light to dispel the many darkness in our life; and there are times, O God, we simply lose hope looking for your light, waiting for your Son Jesus that we leave your side to make our own light because of many distractions like failures and disappointments within us.
Let us be focused in Jesus only like Simeon and Anna for he surely comes each day amid the hustle and bustle of life's daily grinds; do not let us be discouraged by the many difficulties and trials that come our way daily for Jesus comes when we least expect him, in instances we never expect like Mary and Joseph despite having the Savior with them still complied with the dictates of the Law; most of all, Jesus came at the old age of Simeon and Anna when it was more easier to just give up from waiting.
May we be able to pray every night despite the darkness around us, Simeon's Canticle:
“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”
Luke 2:29-32
Lord Jesus, let us see you so that we can make others see you too in us and through us. Amen.
Photo by author, surise at Anvaya Cove, Morong, Bataan, 2023.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Feast of the Holy Family, Sunday in the Christmas Octave-B, 31 December 2023 Genesis 15:1-6, 21:1-3 ><]]]'> Hebrews 11:8, 11-12, 17-19 ><]]]'> Luke 2:22-40
Photo by author, 25 December 2023.
After the birth of the Christ in Bethlehem and the visit of the shepherds, Luke tells us how the Child was circumcised on the eighth day and given with the name Jesus. A short while after that, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to God in the temple.
And that was when more exciting and wonderful things continued to happen to Mary and Joseph when two elderly people filled with the Holy Spirit, Simeon and Anna, took the Child Jesus and spoke great things about him to his astonished parents.
The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them… There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple… And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
Luke 2:33-34, 36-38
Photo from crossroadinitiative.com.
See again the artistry of Luke in showing to us in this scene how Jesus Christ makes every family holy. In narrating to us the story of Christmas, Luke had earlier shown us that Jesus comes first in every family, in every husband and wife and their children.
Clearly we see Luke’s consistency in telling us that in this season and beyond, our focus must always be centered on the person and mission of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, our Savior who makes every family holy like his! How they unfolded through Mary and Joseph is worth reflecting this Sunday.
I have always been amazed since our 30-day retreat in 1995 with this gospel scene of the presentation of Jesus at the temple. The situation of the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus was simply an ordinary one with hundreds of other families making the same journey to the temple with nothing unusual happening.
Then all of a sudden, the unforeseen and unforeseeable take place amid all the crowds in the temple on that day. A great revelation by God not only for people at that time but also for us today is made known which allowed us too to perceive the hidden Jesus coming daily in our lives. See the obedience of Mary and Joseph to their Laws and customs. Most of all, their continuing openness to the many revelations still unfolding about their child Jesus.
Photo by author, Nazareth, Israel, May 2019.
It was not a case of exceptional grace to exceptional couple of Joseph and Mary nor to individuals like Simeon and Anna whom I always wondered how were they able to recognize Jesus as the Christ being offered on that day in the temple.
Again, we are invited to be attuned and opened always to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, of keeping that spark of faith within us like Abraham in the first reading who “put his faith in the Lord, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). Here we find how God guides us in our steps and those of others in our long and often circuitous journeys in life to have faith in him in finding Jesus the light of our salvation and fulfillment. But faith is more than simply putting ourselves blindly in the hands of God, just moving on with life with a bahala na attitude.
Faith is more than believing and trusting God and persons. It is entering into a communion, a bond with God as our Lord and Master or anyone we love so dearly like our family. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews stressed this aspect of faith as a communion and a bond in our second reading which we find not only in Abraham but also in Joseph and Mary as well as in Simeon and Anna, too.
Recall those moments when you felt like Abraham who was already too old, when you felt it was already “game over” for our plans in life, the end of your rope or when you felt everything is down the drain that you simply accepted it as the reality when suddenly, because of that firm faith and union in God, something happens like a twist or a turn when everything in your life just falls into its right places!
Remember those moments in the past when we dared to walk in the right direction of Jesus – full of humility amid the pains and sufferings of his Cross – when we find later on how his words jibed perfectly with our experiences, so intertwined with our dreams and aspirations along with other people especially with our family that eventually get fulfilled – if not in us, in those next to us. This is the gist of the beautiful movie Firefly.
From GMA Films and GMA Public Affairs.
Firefly is one exceptional film in every aspect. Everything is so good. Watching it convinced me of a renaissance in Filipino film industry. It is a fantasy movie everyone must see this Season because it is a Christmas story, a Christ-film in fact.
Its main character is a small child named Tonton who lost his mother at a young age and embarked on a long journey to bring his mother’s ashes to her birthplace in an island in Bicol said to be inhabited by fireflies.
All Tonton had was faith and love for his mother played by Alessandra de Rossi. His map was actually his scrapbook of his colorful illustrations of the story narrated to him by his mother. Along the way, he met three individuals living in the darkness of their past, uncertain of their future: an ex-convict heading home, doubtful if he would be accepted by his wife and son; a broken-hearted man cheated by his girlfriend at a loss what to do with her name tattooed on his bicep; and a lovely lady on a backpack trip with a camera and some envelops she used to scam money from people for her supposed outreach programs for kids.
From GMA Films and GMA Public Affairs
They all found the light of life through the life and words of Tonton whom they helped reached his mother’s home island where he too eventually came to terms with his own ghosts of the past.
I won’t tell you any details any more. Do watch the movie and be enthralled with its attention to details, the many symbolisms, most of all, of the good news about the beauty of this life made manifest by the Child who opened our eyes to see the light of love and life. Amen. Have a blessed family in Christ Jesus this new year of 2024!
A short poem I wrote after watching Mallari and Firefly:
Two fantasy movies, One so scary The other a thing of beauty!
The best in cinematography Indeed is Mallari: How they sew together seamlessly Fiction into a true story so eerie Of the evil reality But sadly sank deeply In vicious circle of sin And infamy.
But if you have to see A movie do not miss Firefly Everything is about beauty Despite the ugly reality Of life we all see; The slum by the sea The kid and his bullies The story of his mommy Led him into a journey Intertwined with a many Treading blankly from each one’s past Into their present afraid of what will be Only to see through this kid’s story That many times a fantasy Is in fact the reality We refuse to believe That is why we can’t see; How lovely is the movie Though not about history Or social malady But deep theology Of how a child brought Fire and light And made us see We are loved so immensely So that someday We too can rise and fly High to the sky.
The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Saturday, Misa de Galo 1, 16 December 2023 Isaiah 56:1-3, 6-8 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< John 5:33-36
Photo by author, Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City, 12 December 2023.
All roads lead today to churches for the start of Christmas novena more known with its many names that actually refer to the time of the Mass celebration.
Its generic name is Simbang Gabi that specifically refers to the night Masses that begin December 15 while Misa de Gallo and Aguinaldo Mass are the ones celebrated at dawn starting December 16. It is a tradition we got from the Spaniards via Mexico where it is a novena in honor of the the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Expectant Mother or Nuestra Señora dela Virgen Expectacion. It is also the reason why we use the Spanish terms Misa de Gallo for rooster or “gallo” that crows at dawn and Misa de Aguinaldo for present or gift as our “aguinaldo” or offering to Jesus by waking up very early for nine days until his birthday.
In our university and medical center where I serve as chaplain, we have Simbang Tanghali at 12 noon to enable our students and faculty members, doctors and nurses, and employees to make the traditional novena because most of them are too sleepy for Simbang Gabi and too tired to rise very early for Misa de Gallo.
Keep in mind, though, that the time when you go to celebrate the Mass is not important. What really matters is how sincere we pray and prepare ourselves spiritually during these nine days of Masses to meet and receive Jesus Christ into our hearts and lives. It is highly recommended we go to confessions this Advent Season so we may be cleansed of our sins, the true darkness within that needs illumination in Christ.
It is in this setting of darkness in celebrating the Christmas novena that we got the name Simbang Gabi. Both night and dawn evoke darkness not only in the world but most especially inside us due to sin when Jesus Christ our Savior comes. In fact, the darkest nights of the year occur between December 23-25, a beautiful reminder that Jesus comes to us in our darkest moments too for he is the only and true Light of the world.
Hence, Advent Season is illumination, a time when we are led to Jesus our light by other lights too who share his very light. Whatever light we must share is only Jesus, always Jesus. If it is not Jesus, then it is a dangerous kind of light that does not illuminate but actually darkens us and our lives, even the world. Any other light, no matter how bright it may be, if not from Jesus Christ is false and misleading from what is true and good.
How sad in our age that Christmas may be the most loved season but not for the right reason and person, Jesus Christ. Cities here and abroad are lit up at night during this time of the year with spectacular display of lights that delight our sights and other senses but, only on a superficial level. We just feel amazed but the sight never permeates our person because it is always mediated by the camera phone everyone is so busy using to take video and pictures without us experiencing the meaning of the wonderful interplay of light and darkness.
I am not against these light shows. I am just worried at how we could be missing the whole point of Christmas because these lights do not show Christ at all, misleading us like the Jews during the time of Jesus from the realities of God’s presence in our midst.
Photo by author, Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City, 12 December 2023.
In our gospel today, Jesus was questioned by the Jews for healing a man sick for 38 years on a sabbath day at Bethesda. They wanted to kill Jesus in equating himself with God whom he called as Father as he elaborated to them his mission of healing and salvation.
In this scene, Jesus insisted his being the Son of God, doing all the works of the Father as testified by his very acts and by John the Baptist whom they revered.
He (John the Baptist) was burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.
John 5:35-36
As the Precursor of the Lord, John the Baptist was very clear from the very beginning of his ministry that he was not the Messiah. All four gospel accounts are clear that John the Baptist shone brightly to illuminate others in order to see the true light, Jesus Christ.
The first disciple of Jesus as far as the fourth gospel is concerned was Andrew the brother of Peter who was a disciple of John the Baptist. After the baptism of Jesus by John at Jordan, Andrew and another companion left John to “come and see” Jesus. They eventually invited others to join Jesus whom they have identified as the Christ or the Messiah.
See how John as a “burning and shining lamp” showed the light of Christ to his disciples Andrew and companion who then led others to follow Jesus. In the same manner like John the Baptist, we are called especially tonight on this first Simbang Gabi to share the light of Christ, not to outshine Jesus.
Photo by author, Fatima Ave., Valenzuela City, 12 December 2023.
Light is meant to illuminate others and the streets so we would not fall or get lost; it is never meant to make us washed in lights to be seen. Unfortunately, it is the trend happening these days in social media and on our streets where everyone take pride in having the brightest lights on their vehicles that blind other motorists.
What a clear sign of everything gone wrong these days when we bathe ourselves in so much lights as everyone wants to shine and sparkle on one’s own, feeling so entitled that many have literally thrown their weight around in those road rage videos we see daily.
The worst of these blinding lights we find so glaring these days are the so-called “social influencers” who feel like superstars with some priests among them unfortunately who relish the title. And glamor – if there is really any – because, the fact remains that these so-called “social influencers” have not given any light at all to the world that may be considered as significant contributions for the betterment of lives except entertaining people. Or, titillate the many benighted souls among us.
When we obey God’s commandments and live according to his holy will as mentioned in the first reading from Isaiah today, we become lights leading to Jesus the true light. When we strive to lead holy lives, we illuminate others not for our own selves but towards Jesus.
Let me end this reflection with this beautiful story I got from a blog I follow of a grandchild having a conversation with his grandfather:
"Lolo, how did you live in the past without technology... without computers without Internet connection without mobile phones without cars without air conditioners without blue tooth without ATM's?"
And the grandfather replied: "Just as your generation lives today... no prayers, no compassion, no respect, no good manners and right conduct, no real education, poor personality, no kindness, no shame, no modesty, no honesty."
Sorry for the sarcasm but I love it. Besides, the sarcasm invites us to ponder the kind of lights we share with others. Very often, we complain of the young generation’s lack of depth or questionable value systems and attitudes but these are all due to the lights we have shown them.
On this first Simbang Gabi of the post pandemic period, let us pray to have the light of Christ anew to conquer the darkness of sin and evil in the world. Let us illuminate others and the world towards life and fulfillment by sharing the true light of the world, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II First Sunday in the Season of Advent, Cycle B, 03 December 2023 Isaiah 63:16-17, 19; 64:2-7 ><}}}*> 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 ><}}}*> Mark 13:33-37
Photo by author, National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, 08 December 2022.
I was literally waiting the “advent” or coming of my doctors last Thursday as I wrote this homily for this first Sunday of Advent, the new year in our Church calendar. It was a hazy morning with some drizzle when I arrived for my doctors’ appointments.
But, it was a graceful moment too as I rediscovered the virtue of patience by being a patient myself again.
Sick people are called patients precisely because healing requires a lot of patience. Tons of patience in fact, especially if we are incapacitated or too weak to move. And the most difficult part of patience is waiting, from the simple waiting for doctors and nurses, waiting for the end of the day to waiting for our complete healing until we are well again.
Photo by author, First Sunday of Advent 2021, Basic Education Department, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City.
The difficult part of waiting is that we are so conscious of time which we find to be flowing so slowly, making us irritable even doubtful if ever the one we are awaiting would ever come or materialize at all. That is why patience has become a virtue so rare these days.
Many people reject, even abhor patience in this age of instants when everybody wants to bear fruit but resent how it takes time to ripen. We want to have everything now na! We do not want to wait because we are no longer contented with whatever comes to us so that we advance our salaries and buy things in credit cards. Worst is this notorious practice of advancing public holidays to other dates closest to weekends to have “long weekend” celebrations. Even Christmas is not spared from our impatience! See how malls and local government buildings, homes and radio stations could not wait after the Halloween with all the lighting of Christmas trees and decors everywhere.
Unknown to us, we are robbing ourselves of very essence of the event of Christ’s coming to us when we manipulate time and its natural flow. When we lose patience, we stop waiting, then we miss the essence of life, of persons, of everything because we think waiting is being empty.
That is not true! Waiting is never empty. On the contrary, waiting is actually fullness because the very fact that we wait means we have.
Photo by author, lanterns for sale in San Fernando, Pampanga, November 2020.
When we were growing up, we loved waiting for dad’s coming home from work. We were filled with joy the moment we heard jeepneys stopping, hoping it was dad. Even if he would come home later in the evening when it was dark, we always felt so sure and excited of his arrival with pasalubong because he was always in our hearts.
That is the greatest joy of patient waiting – it is fullness of love due to our relationships. People who can’t wait, who are impatient are often loners, even complainers because they always feel empty within without any regard at all for relationships. Most likely, they have no relationships at all!
Photo by author, lanterns for sale in San Fernando, Pampanga, November 2020.
The first reading reminds us of this great beauty of patient waiting, of already having God himself within us with Isaiah calling God “our father, our redeemer” that both indicate kinship and relationships with him.
You, Lord, are our father, our redeemer you are named forever.
Isaiah 63:16
Very notable is the word “redeemer” that is go’el in the Hebrew language – the family relative who pays off debts or redeems a foreclosed property so that their family or tribe could keep it.
That is exactly what Jesus came for – to redeem us, to ransom us from our debt we could not repay God which is love. By dying on the Cross, Jesus saved us, redeemed us from the clutches of death and evil to be filled with life again. And that is why he is coming again to ultimately vanish all evil and sin to bring us to new heaven and new earth.
Physically we do not see Jesus but realistically, spiritually, we are certain he is with us, within us. Therefore, our waiting for him is never empty but always full of Jesus precisely due to the relationship we have in him and with him.
Photo by author, Advent 2019 in our former parish.
Waiting for Jesus is an expression of our faith. And we wait with him, just like the apostles in the agony of the garden. Notice how Mark narrated to us this calls for being watchful by Jesus; unlike Matthew, Mark mentions the time of Christ’s coming – at night.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come… whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!'”
Mark 13:33, 35-37
This may be a minute detail for us but not for Mark who was the first to write the gospel of Jesus which happens to be the shortest and most concise. Night time in the Bible evokes darkness when evil seems to dominate the time which we continue to think of in the present.
But, we are children of light as St. Paul reminds us in one of his letters. And this Sunday he assures us in the second reading that “God is faithful” who “called us to fellowship” in him through Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:9). Let us not be afraid of the dark and long waiting for Jesus because he had conquered it when he walked on water, when he stilled the storm in the sea, when he rose again on Easter. Do not forget too that Jesus was born during the darkest night of the year, a reminder and assurance to us that no matter how dark our lives may be, Jesus is near, Jesus is here. So, have no fear in him, our brother and kin who had saved us!
Photo by author, Advent 2019 in our former parish.
Watch and be on guard on Christ’s coming and presence in darkness because too often, we are the ones who miss the Lord. Keep in mind that it is at night, it is in darkness when it is best to believe in the light. Here, we again find that waiting even in darkness in never empty because that is when we are so sure there would be great light bursting forth soon as Isaiah had prophesied that was eventually fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Sometimes, we get bored even impatient or sleepy waiting for Jesus like the five wise virgins who brought extra oil waiting for the groom to arrive. The key is to remain in Jesus, only Jesus, always Jesus as we pray like John the Beloved, Maranatha, “Come, Lord Jesus!” Amen.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Sunday in the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 05 February 2023
Isaiah 58:7-10 ><}}}}*> 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ><}}}}*> Matthew 5:13-16
Photo by author, Bolinao, Pangasinan, 2022.
We are still at the sermon on the mount by Jesus Christ that opened last Sunday with his teachings on the beatitudes. We have reflected that the beatitudes are actually Jesus Christ himself that are supposed to be the very disposition of his disciples by being like him who is “poor in spirit”, “meek”, “afflicted”, “hungry and thirsty for righteousness”, “merciful”, “clean of heart”, “peacemaker”, and “persecuted”.
Every disciple is already blessed in Christ because blessedness is primarily a being like status in Facebook, not a mere doing. What a dignity we all have in Jesus in being called blessed! That is why this Sunday Jesus is teaching us the practical side of our blessedness, of being “the salt of the earth” and “light of the world” that call on the characteristics and demands of being like Christ, of conforming to his gospel of salvation.
See that being a salt and a light perfectly match the beatitudes when we say, “Blessed are you who are the salt of the earth and the light of the world”! For this Sunday, let us focus on the call of being the light of the world.
After praying over today’s gospel, I saw on a friend’s FB this post from Meralco inviting anyone interested in becoming a lineman. The tag-line was very catchy, “Handa na ba kayo maghatid ng liwanag?” (Are you ready to bring light?) with a hashtag, #BuildingABrilliantFuture.
From Meralco/fb
I felt the Meralco advertisement so brilliant, extolling the great honor of being a lineman who brings light to homes and schools, offices and factories, and everywhere. Requirements are actually minimal except for that most important thing of not having fear of heights. Of course!
But, Jesus Christ’s call to us all is more pressing, more important. More than the linemen building the facilities that will bring light to towns and cities, Jesus invites us to be the light ourselves.
Jesus alone is the light of the world. The light we carry is his. We are all Christ-light who reflect the very light of Jesus Christ in our good works and loving service to others, in our witnessing to our faith.
Words are not enough to bring his light to the world. The light of Christ shines brightly in us when we are witnessing truth and justice, kindness and mercy among our brothers and sisters, when we bear all pains and sufferings in continually working for peace and uplifting of the lowly despite so many accusations by those in power. Here we find that being the light of the world is to put into practice the beatitudes of having a clean heart, of being peacemakers, and being persecuted. It is when we work on them that our light shine before others that upon seeing our good deeds, it is God whom they glorify and not us:
Jesus said to his disciples: “Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”
Matthew 5;16
See the following verses when Jesus described in details his teachings of being good, of witnessing his gospel values, he also warned us his disciples to never do good deeds for the sake of being known and popular. It is very clear that in being the light of the world, it is God who must be seen in us not our selves. Living the beatitudes is not having the most “likes” and “reactions” in Facebook nor of being viral nor trending. Moreover, it is definitely not being an “influencer” whatever that word means.
At the same time, Jesus Christ’s call for us to be his light ourselves is also a call for us to work as a community, not just as individuals. It is perfectly good if every disciple will shine brightly as a light of Christ but it is better when all disciples as a community of believers shine in gospel values!
You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house.
Matthew 5:14-15
Photo by author, La Mesa Dam Eco Park seen from OLFU-Quezon City, 01 February 2023.
How sad that lately, the world has grown darker not only because of fewer men and women sharing the light of Christ with their witnessing of the gospel but because nations and regions have abandoned the faith. Many are getting de-Christianized on a wholesale basis these days.
Nobody seems to care at all anymore of not going to Mass face-to-face while everyone is so glued on their cellphone and computer screens without a whimper of opposition or rejection even disdain with all the trash coming out in social media like TikTok so saturated with sexual content ranging from same sex relationships to display of too much skin and use of indecent language.
Making matters worst are the many priests and religious lacking understanding in communication who do all the stupid things on camera that instead of evangelizing are demoralizing the faithful. And the tragedy is how most of these media practitioners in the Church are simply playing on novelties than creating innovations in employing the modern means of communications that result in just creating cults around themselves and miserably fail in evangelizing the people. This is the message of St. Paul in the second reading, reminding us that faith rests on the power of God than in the personality and eloquence of the priests and bishops.
Christ’s call for us to be the light of the world is a resounding call we must all respond to in this present age through deep prayer to be immersed in the person of Christ, the light of the world. It is only Jesus and always Jesus whom we must share and give to the people by realizing and affirming our prophetic functions in denouncing the ways of the world of injustice against the poor and the hungry like what Isaiah described in the first reading.
The world badly needs prophets these days, men and women like Christ who are “light rising in the darkness who would turn gloom into midday” (Is.58:10) for indeed as the psalmist declares, “The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.” Amen.
Have a blessed and illuminating week ahead in Jesus Christ!
The Lord Is My Chef Simbang Gabi Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Saturday in the Fourth Week of Advent, Ninth Day of the Christmas Novena, 24 December 2022
2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 1:67-79
Thank you Lord Jesus Christ
for this Season of Advent,
for your words and presence
these past nine days of
Simbang Gabi.
Like King David in the first reading
and Zechariah in the gospel,
now I have seen clearly your light -
"In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
and shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace"
(Luke 1:78-79).
Help me see your light, Jesus;
let me distinguish the true light
that shines on the face of every person
I meet and serve, especially the weak
and lowly and forgotten;
let me be wary of lights I see only on my face
like King David that no matter how noble are
my plans, it is your light, O Lord, that I must follow
for your light leads to love and kindness,
mercy and compassion, acceptance and forgiveness;
let me search and follow only your light
that makes me accept and embrace and own my past,
especially if it is painful and hurtful
so I may see also the brighter future
you are leading me to.
Most of all, dear Jesus,
like John, fill me with your light
to lead people to you
not to me;
I do not ask your light to make me see
the distance scene but just enough to make
me step closer to you each day
especially when darkness of sin and evil abound.
Amen.
lordmychef.com 