Love your enemies

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 10 September 2026
1 Corinthians 8:1-7, 11-13 ><]]]]’> + ><]]]]’> + ><]]]]’> Luke 6:27-38
Photo by author, San Juan, La Union, 08 January 2026.
It is again that most difficult part 
of your gospel,
Lord Jesus,
our least favorite
of your teachings -
“love your enemies.”
Forgive us, Lord
because the mere thought of
"enemies" turn us off right away;
it is wrong but human as we are,
there is always that
feeling of revulsion,
of getting even with those
who have hurt us
or wronged us;
but, we realize too
how in the long run
it is pure foolishness
of keeping that grudge against
our enemies because
as St. Paul tells us also today,
"knowledge inflates with pride,
but love builds up."
Your teaching
for us to love
our enemies
is not really
about our strength
and willpower,
Jesus but in our likeness
with God,
"Be merciful,
just as also your
Father is merciful."
Help us, 
Jesus, 
to pray more
intensely,
to surrender more wholly
to you so that we can
let flow towards others
the mercy you have
showered us.
Amen.
Photo by author, Anvvaya Cove, Morong, Bataan, 21 July 2026.

Debt of Love

Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II 
Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 06 September 2026
Ezekiel 33:7-9 ><}}}}*> Romans 13:8-10 ><}}}}*> Matthew 18:15-20
From Facebook post by Marvin Germo, 04 September 2026.

Thanks be to God for Alex Eala – not only an excellent tennis player, a bright and intelligent lady but most of all, most kind and humble of all.

Her recent landing on the front page of New York Times that prides itself with the motto “All the News Fit to Print” in its 175 years of existence cemented Eala’s stardom. That’s real influence no blog stats nor Hollywood walk of fame could match.

Side by side with the major events and newsmakers in the world, the editors of New York Times featured Eala on their front page not entirely because of her prowess and grit in tennis but of her expressions of love, community and unity of Filipinos – a far, far cry from news coming from our forsaken country of calamities and crooks in government. Eala – along with other athletes like EJ Obienna – are the only good news we now have, with her practically a walking gospel like St. Paul in today’s second reading.

Brothers and sisters: Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law (Romans 13:8).

Photo by author, St. Paul Spiritual & Renewal Center, Bgy. Tanyawak, Alfonso, Cavite, 19 August 2026.

What kind of love is Paul exhorting the Romans then and us today? For St. Paul, love is the self-sacrificing love that Jesus showed us when he offered himself for us on the cross.

Recall last Sunday St. Paul reminded us “to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1) like Jesus. In that same chapter, he spoke of not retaliating or seeking vengeance while in the following chapter we now have, he expounded the themes of obedience to authority and a sort of social responsibilities like justice (Rom. 13:1-7).

And while justice demands we pay off our debts and other dues to one another, to the state and public officials, it is a totally different scenario when it comes to love. For St. Paul, love is the imitation of Jesus Christ, a love that can never be measured at all and even be demanded and decreed.

Love is not a possession that anyone can receive nor give in an exactly measured quantity like a pound or a kilogram of love. St. Mother Teresa said the measure of love is when you love without measure. It is either you love or do not love! And when we do not love, then we sin which is a refusal to love.

That sin can only be repaired and corrected by love.

Therefore, to overcome sin, you have to love more!

That is why we hear Jesus teaching us today the importance of fraternal correction based on love not anything else.

Jesus said to his disciples: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two other along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector” (Matthew 18:15-17).

Photo by a friend in Swan Island Dahlia Farm, Canby, Oregon, 29 August 2026.

Jesus is now heading to Jerusalem to fulfill his mission. Along the way, he taught his disciples important lessons about the Church he had just established upon Peter, the Rock, while at Caesarea Philippi the other Sunday.

For three Sundays beginning today, Jesus will touch on three moral issues we face with seeming complexity in our modern time like fraternal correction, forgiving, and work. These are crucial because they are expressions of mutual love for one another. Most of all, it is in these realms we fall into “sin of omission” particularly with fraternal correction as we tend to detach ourselves from others when they are committing sin. By distancing from them or refusing to make a clear stand against evil, we unconsciously allow sin to persist.

The dark side of the sin of omission lies in that tendency within us to not care at all with those into serious sins when we separate and distance from them, even telling them “bahala ka na sa buhay mo…pinili mo iyan, pagdusahan mo.”

Fraternal correction is the antidote to sins of omission because it is about keeping our relationships intact as family, friends, brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ who becomes truly present in the world among us when we live in harmony because “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt. 18:20).

This is the good news of Eala, whether she wins or loses a match, she speaks of love and kindness. And she has been consistent with it!

From Facebook, 04 September 2026.

Since the Old Testament, God had already insisted on this moral precept as his children that we look after one another like a sentinel – a watchman or a guard – as he told the Prophet Ezekiel in the first reading.

At that time, the enemies of Judah were closely approaching their borders that they designated watchmen as their first line of defense. Failure by these watchmen to warn the people – as it turned out later – could spell disaster for the kingdom.

The same thing is true with us. We are all interrelated with each other. One rotten tomato can spoil the whole batch like allowing corruption in every form to continue as well as electing corrupt officials into office. How sad we have not learned our lessons; maybe not until we have sank deep into flood…

We cannot be indifferent and be mere bystanders amid the evil and sins happening around us perpetrated especially by those closest to us. It is not enough either that we do no wrong on others yet allow those into corruption to continue with their evil doings. Fraternal correction is an expression of our love – for God and for others. We correct those into sin because of love, not because we are better or holier.

St. Paul beautifully declared in 2 Corinthians 5:14, “Caritas Christi urget nos” – the love of Christ urges, impels us – to love more especially in these times of calamities and disunity in the country.

Photo by a friend, Swan Island Dahlia Farm, Canby, Oregon, 29 August 2026.

This love of Jesus Christ the Lord himself described as “new commandment” at his last supper (Jn.13:34) is a love rooted in God himself, a love that “levels up” every disciple into the mystical plane of existence.

Recall those moments you have truly loved without strings attached, unselfish and selfless: that is when we realize that love is a debt we can never pay off because love is a gift from God, something that is never exhausted nor depleted. In fact, we realize that we too can love like Jesus Christ!

God does not “order” nor “command” us in the strict sense to love him. He asks for our love because he loves us, because he is love. When we love, we fulfill the commandments of God, we live in peace and harmony with one another like in heaven. That is why it is only love that will remain in heaven where there will be no more fraternal corrections. Most of all, love can never be paid off as a debt because love is all that shall remain to become our very person in Christ. Amen. Have a blessed, loving week!

Only Jesus, always Jesus

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 31 August 2026
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 4:16-30
Photo by author, St. Paul Spiritual & Renewal Center, Bgy. Tanyawak, Alfonso, Cavite, 19 August 2026.
Teach me Lord
to "know nothing except
Jesus Christ crucified" like St. Paul,
not just "looked intently at you"
like your folks in Nazareth
when you preached in your synagogue;
it is not enough to just look
intently at you,
imitating you and your manners
and style but not your life,
your self-sacrifice on the Cross;
what a shame in this age of social media
we speak and preach about you
merely to chase clout for ourselves
using sublimity of words
or persuasive words of wisdom
used by demagogues and
influencers for followers
and shameful profits.
Help us realize,
Jesus, that our faith
rests on the power of God
best shown in your Crucifixion,
not in our personality
nor eloquence in speech
nor being savvy with new
technologies that blind us from
the realities of life
like love and sacrifice,
kindness and patience,
justice and truth.
Amen.
Photo by author, St. Michael Retreat House, Antipolo City, 16 June 2026.

Stay with us, Lord… it’s getting dark

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 20 August 2026
How amazing,
O Lord Jesus
that when it is already
evening, when darkness is
all around us,
that is when you are
actually inside us,
if we could just open
our hearts and eyes of faith
then we shall see you
truly our Light
glowing within,
bringing warmth and
joy.
Many times in our darkness
we lose sight
not only of you,
Lord Jesus but also
of our self
that away from you
we lose our identity
and let our job
and tasks define us
or worst,
our possessions and achievements
as well as pains and hurts;
we cave into our darkness
within not seeing
your wounded handed
touching me
holding me
unmindful of your
holding me,
loving me.
When things get dark
and we can’t see anything
teach me Jesus
to listen to your
silence
to feel your presence
sense your movements
follow your steps
waiting
trusting
self-emptying.
Most of all,
Jesus,
help me emulate your Mother
our Mother too,
Mary most holy,
to remain focused on you
cusping you in my palms
when all is dark
holding on to your words
believing they shall be
fulfilled when I remain
and stay with you
there on the Cross.
Amen.

Coming home

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 20 August 2026
Photo by author, Anvaya Resort, Bataan, 21 July 2026.
Let me come home to you, Lord God:
to gaze in your loving eyes anew,
be wrapped around with your tight embrace
without being judged nor blamed.
Let me come home to you, Lord God:
with nothing at all,
to be poor of material wealth and
rich in Spirit and virtues,
empty of pride,
filled with your humility and
simplicity
so scarce of everything
abundant in you and your love.
Let me come home to you, Lord God:
no longer afraid of the dark and
everything not yet known and seen,
nor terrified of great waves of tasks
and duties,
of strong winds like what people think
and say about me because in you alone
is my certainty as well as safety and security.
Photo by author, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 15 May 2025.
Let me come home to you, Lord God:
to be nourished by your words
that give life and meaning,
to be quenched of my thirst with your
living water that restores my being,
cleanses me of my sins and shame.
Let me come home to you, Lord God:
to rest in you,
be at home in you
because you are my origin,
my root
my home
my peace
my destination in this long journey
in life for you are
my Lord
and my God.
Amen.
Photo by author, San Juan, La Union, 09 January 2026.

Contemplating to attain love of God

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 31 July 2026
Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 20 March 2024.
Glory and praise
to you, O God our loving
Father for the gift of
St. Ignatius of Loyola
who taught us that
"Man is created
to praise, reverence,
and serve God our Lord,
and by this means
to save his soul"
(First Principle and Foundation,
Spiritual Exercises #23).
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 20 March 2024.
How sad,
dear God,
that the most painful
truth is that you are most
often rejected by us
who assume to know you most,
too familiar with you and
your ways like what
our two readings reveal today:
Jeremiah was rejected
by your people
led by their priests
after speaking your words
to them to change their evil
ways lest their Temple lie in ruins
like in Shiloh along with
other disasters God was planning
to punish them (Jeremiah 26:4, 7-9);
in the gospel,
Jesus went home to Nazareth
but "the people took offense
at him" for his mighty
words and deeds
(Matthew 13:57-58).
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, 20 March 2024.
Two scenarios,
same message
of rejecting you,
O God because we
believe more in our selves,
in our ideas and understanding
of who you are than believing
your very person in
Jesus Christ;
teach us, O Lord,
to be empty always
so that you may fill us
with your love
like St. Ignatius
who taught us to
pray and contemplate
to attain your love:
"Take, Lord,
and accept
all my liberty,
my memory,
my understanding,
and my entire will,
all that I have and possess.
Thou hast given all to me.
To Thee, O Lord, I return it.
All is Thine,
dispose of it wholly
according to Thy will.
Give me Thy love
and Thy grace,
for this is sufficient
for me"
(#234, Spiritual Exercises).

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

Praying to “see” Jesus like Mary Magdalene

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II
Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, 22 July 2026
2 Corinthians 5:14-17 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> John 20:1-2, 11-18
“Christ’s Appearance to Mary Magdalene”, painting in 1835 by Russian painter Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov now hanging at the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg; from en.wikipedia.org.
"I have seen the Lord!"
(John 20:18)
What a joy must have been
for St. Mary Magdalene to
proclaim to the Apostles your rising,
your appearance to her,
Lord Jesus.

Most joyous of all,
Lord is how you have called her
by name, "Mary!"

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken by Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus (John 20:1, 11-14).

Many times Lord Jesus
I feel like St. Mary Magdalene
on that very early morning
of Easter:
feeling lost or
distant from you
who seem to be missing
or taken away from me;
but so often,
like St. Mary Magdalene,
we fail to recognize you
with our eyes because
we picture you so differently
to who you really are.
Many times our
sight fails
that is why most often,
you call us
by name;
unfortunately in this age
of social media and so many
other distractions in life,
we fail to hear nor even
listen to your voice
because we are afraid of silence
as we are so afraid
of the truth -
that you love us so much
that is why you have forgiven our sins.

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary of Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and then reported what he told her (John 20:16-18).

“Noli me tangere” (touch me not) fresco in the Lower Basilica of St. Francis Assisi Church in Italy painted by Giotto de Bondone in the 13th century from commons.wikimedia.org.
Everyday you
come to us,
Jesus,
calling us by name
like Mary Magdalene -
someone you personally know,
with all of our sins
and most kept secrets
in our hearts,
in our past.
If we could just be patient
like St. Mary Magdalene
in picking the pieces of our lives,
of converting daily,
of transcending the scars
of sins of our past,
then we shall hear
and joyously listen
to your voice
spoken in a whisper,
so sweet,
so reassuring
of your real presence,
most of all
filled with tenderness
because you love us
immensely,
Jesus.
If we could just listen
to your voice, Jesus,
then like St. Mary Magdalene,
we can proclaim too
with joyful enthusiasm
to other disciples
"I have seen the Lord!"
spreading you love
and good news of salvation.
Amen.
From Facebook, April 2021: “There is an urgency to announce the Joy, the joy of the Risen Lord!”

Human gestures made divine

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 06 July 2026
Hosea 2:16,17-18, 21-22 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 9:18-26
Photo by Mr. Vigie Ongleo somewhere in Colorado, 03 June 2026.
So many things are happening
in your gospel passage today,
Lord Jesus, involving three key
persons you have healed with
crowds at the background;
what I like most,
dear Jesus
are the gestures involved:
the official came forward
and knelt before you
and you rose
and followed him;

the sick woman
came up behind you
and touched your cloak
you turned around
to declare her
her faith had saved her;

in the official's home,
you drove away the crowd
making a commotion,
then you came to take
his daughter's hand
laying dead on her bed
and she was brought back to life.
How amazing
Lord Jesus
that you never fail
to respond positively
to our human gestures
of coming forward to you,
of coming behind you,
and being still before you;
in you, Jesus,
our human gestures
have become so divine,
the ordinary
so sublime
like the sharing of meal
in your name.

While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward, knelt down before him, and said, “My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. A woman suffering hemorrhages for twleve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured. When Jesus arrived at the official’s house house and … When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by hand, and the little girl arose (Matthew 9:18-21, 25).

Bless us, 
Lord Jesus,
to follow you in
the desert of emptiness
to be able to listen to you
and most especially respond
to you "in right and justice,
in love and mercy,
in fidelity" (Hosea 2:16, 21)
that we may remain
in your loving
relationship
always.
Amen.
Photo by author, St. Michael Retreat House, Antipolo City, 16 June 2026.

“He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” (1969) by The Hollies

Lord My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 05 July 2026
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
Photo by Ms. Marivic Tribiana on Facebook, 17 April 2020 following fire in Tondo,Manila.

Our gospel this Sunday is short but one of the most loved words by our Lord Jesus Christ often quoted even in some popular songs and music: “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 your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Everyday Jesus calls us to come to him, to learn from him, to experience lightness in life not heaviness of compulsion and duty as most people would think of his demands. However, it is not a kind of R&R we all aspire every weekend at the beach or a mountain resort. Christ calls us today to come to him and learn from him on how to have a steady, realistic, day-to-day approach to life lived in his company, lived in love for one another as brother and sister (https://lordmychef.com/2026/07/04/learning-from-jesus-2/).

And that is why we remembered and chose this beautiful song from 1969 by The Hollies, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.”

...The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where, who knows where
But I'm strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

… So on we go
His welfare is of my concern
No burden is he to bear
We'll get there

… For I know
He would not encumber me
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

Most captivating with this song is its opening music of a harmonica that stirs ones soul superbly balanced with a bass guitar that perfectly filled the rhythm and melody until Allan Clarke burst with the opening lines that give you a picture right away of the song meaning – love for one another as brothers and sisters.

Composed by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell who was then dying of lymphoma cancer, the song was recorder earlier by another American artist; The Hollies’ guitarist Tony Hicks heard it while searching for songs to record for their group. Hicks found the demo tape of Scott and Russell too slow, asked permission to make it a little upbeat by adding an orchestra with the young Elton John playing the piano. It became an instant hit both in Britain and the US, spawning other versions until now.

More than its beautiful music and lyrics, the ballad is so appealing because of its message of love. It is interesting to know that the phrase “he ain’t heavy, he is my brother” is the motto of the Boys Town children’s home founded in 1917 by Fr. Edward Flanagan in Omaha, Nebraska. The following year, Fr. Flanagan saw a boy carrying up a set of stairs another resident stricken with polio, wearing braces; Fr. Flanagan asked the boy if it was heavy and was told, “he ain’t heavy, Father; he is my brother.” The phrase got stuck and became the motto of Boys Town that inspired this beautiful song. (Pope Leo XIV recently declared Fr. Flanagan “Venerable” as his cause for beatification moves closer to realization.)

In today’s gospel, this is precisely the yoke Jesus is telling us that is his, light and easy: love. Everything becomes light when seen and done in love, with love. Without love, everything becomes heavy due to sadness; hence, the need for more love as the last three stanzas tell us with the long road ahead filled with more pains and sufferings.

… If I'm laden at all
I'm laden with sadness
That everyone's heart
Isn't filled with the gladness
Of love for one another
… It's a long, long road
From which there is no return
While we're on the way to there
Why not share?

… And the load
Doesn't weigh me down at all
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

… He's my brother
He ain't heavy, he's my brother
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

Amen. May you have a lighter week in Christ this week with this music.

From YouTube.com.

Heaven knows I’m miserable now

Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 12 June 2026
Deuteronomy 7:6-11 ><}}}*> 1 John 4:7-16 ><}}}*> Matthew 11:25-30
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, March 2026.

You read it right. The title of our reflection on this Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the same title of The Smiths’ 1984 classic Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.

It is one of my all-time favorite songs, my theme song after graduating in 1986, landing on my first and only job as it captured my exact situation of the period:

I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour
But Heaven knows, I'm miserable now
I was looking for a job, and then I found a job
And Heaven knows I'm miserable now

Since then, the song has remained relevant with me especially after learning how the young generation appreciate a lot The Smiths that I have used their other music in my spiritual conferences and recollections as a university chaplain. That’s why during our Sacred Heart Novena in our university chapel, the same song kept playing at the back of my mind especially while meditating on the second reading on this feast of the Sacred Heart.

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins (1 John 4:7-8, 10).

How lovely and simple is our second reading from the letter of the beloved disciple, John who gives us the deepest theological grounding of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: “God is love.”

Pope Benedict XVI used to say Christianity is the only religion is the world with that kind of declaration about God; it is not merely that God loves but that love is God’s very nature!

And what does it mean to us? The older I get, the more I realize and experience that I live because of God’s love: it is the reason I wake up and sleep; why I strive to be my best in everything despite my weaknesses and limitations; why I still love even if I am not loved or misunderstood and even maligned; why I still go in living even if I am sure one day I shall die. 

We live because we are loved by God.

Simply loved because he is love himself.

Not because we are good or does something important or fulfills his divine will.

God loves because it is his very essence as Moses reminds us in the first reading, “It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. It was because the Lord loved you” (Dt.7:7-8).

Hence, John insists that in this is love – not that we loved God but that God loved us first. Our love for God and for one another is a response to his very love.

Would there be any difference at all to begin with God’s initiative rather than our own love?

Surely a lot. Even unthinkable to just rely on our own love and initiative because it is never enough for we humans are imperfect.

Human love is imperfect; only God can love us perfectly. That is why love is always initiated by God. We can’t love on our own. No matter how good and holy we may be. Mayroon palaging maisusumbat ating minamahal sa ating pagmamahal. Sa Diyos wala.

That is why I love the song Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.

We humans are so miserable in loving but because of our loving God who is love himself, we are able to love, to keep on loving despite and in spite of everything because to live is to love. Jesus came so that we can continue to love, to keep loving even if the world tells us it is foolish. Even if people don’t care at all for us and do not love us as Morrissey sang it so well in the chorus of Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now:

In my life, why do I give valuable time
To people who don't care if I live or die?

Very true – fascinatingly – is Morrissey’s third chorus line because he openly brings out the usual thoughts we hide in dealing with people we hate or do not like:

In my life, why do I smile
At people who I'd much rather kick in the eye?

Funny is it not? But very true! And that’s because of God’s love in us, of his grace that despite the many people who hurt us and do not love us, we still choose to be loving and kind, at least smile at them than stoop down to their low levels.

Photo by author, Sacred Heart of Jesus Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.

The feast of the Sacred Heart is an invitation to look at the heart of God – at what God most desires for us and for our world. It is not a sentimental image but a radical one: a love that goes all the way to the Cross.

God knows how miserable we are these days when things like positions and power, fame and wealth have become more important than persons to be loved and cared for. Despite the many technological advances we have achieved that promised to make life easier, the opposite proved to be more true. Life has been reduced to mere lifestyle, persons have become objects to be possessed by companies and brands, even by schools!

Today’s celebration of the Sacred Heart feast invites us to go back to Jesus who knows fully well our miseries; songs like Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now can identify and express them to offer respite for a while but only Jesus can uplift and change us for he alone truly loves us because he is love himself.

“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 your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Amid the many miseries we are all going through these days, let us take time today to respond to the love of Jesus Christ in the most honest and true ways that will make others experience his love. Many times, it is the simplest gesture of just being gentle with others in words and in deeds, of not adding to their many burdens in life. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like yours! Amen.

From Youtube.com.