Tag: love

“Love Will Come Someday” by David Sanborn (1982)

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 07 April 2024
Photo by author at the refectory of Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 18 March 2024.

We turn to jazz this Second Sunday in Easter in order to express the meaning of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection that is simply too deep for words because of its intense nature. Unlike Christmas that lights up our minds with so many images, Easter is different in the sense that it is something we have to feel and dig deep down inside us to really appreciate. Like jazz music that stirs our souls with its unique sounds that enable us to touch our very being.

For this Sunday we have chosen David Sanborn’s Love Will Come Someday from his 1982 album As We Speak because it captures the spirit of this Easter Octave also known as Divine Mercy Sunday when Jesus appeared to His disciples inside a locked room for fears from the Jews on the very night of His Resurrection. We reflected in our previous blog that the Resurrection of Jesus opened a new dimension in human existence when we could no longer be held hostage or captive by even the most difficult plight in life with Jesus opening many possibilities for us even while in this life (https://lordmychef.com/2024/04/06/easter-is-new-existence-in-christ/).

Sanborn’s almost two minutes of sax introduction to his Love Will Come Someday gives us the feel of the prevailing setting of Easter and life wherein there is the constant presence of darkness and emptiness where we also find Christ’s light and fullness. Sanborn has been a session musician collaborating with almost every big name in the music scene across all genres. His sax is so soothing yet penetrating that brings out even those things we have been hiding deep inside us resulting in a sort of catharsis which is very Easter too!

Written by Michael Sembello and David Batteau with the latter doing the vocals, Love Will Come Someday is a poignant song of the ups and downs not only of love but of life itself. Very often, like the darkness and emptiness we find in the Easter stories since last week, we find our lives in the same setting too when we could not figure out exactly or right away at why or how certain things happen in our lives despite our best efforts.

Funny how the legends die
When heroes never come alive in the day time
Funny we can be sad
It doesn’t have be so bad in the night time

You want know where they
The songs all go in your life time
One of these we’ll go
And find out where they stay

Once upon a lovers song
There was a boy who sang along in the night time
Once upon a lovers dream
There was a tale of broken wings in the day time

But, there are times when suddenly, Jesus comes to us amid all locked doors, appearing to us, extricating us from difficult situations that amid great joy, we could not believe it happening at all that we doubt like Thomas simply because they are so surreal!

And there lies the mystery of life and love, of Easter: visions and images are not so important because it is the intensity within us which makes Jesus and those we love so present that we respond with more love and adoration.

Catch a piece falling star
Try to keep in a jar till the morning
Catch a summer firefly
Willing it’ll stay alive till the morning

You want to know where did the songs all go
In your life time
One of these days we’ll go and find out
Where they stay

Love will come someday
Love will find a way
Love will come someday
Love will find a way

The songs that I sing, the songs that I bring
The songs that I sing, the songs that I bring
The songs that I sing, the songs that I bring, yeah, yeah

As we mature and journey in this life, the more we find God and our very selves and those we know more real, more loved and lovable. In the end, love always finds a way someday. Like Thomas, we just have to believe in order to see. Here is David Sanborn and to those belonging to my generation, cheers to the music we grew up with, hoping the younger ones find these treasures too.

From YouTube.com

Easter is keeping the love “burning”

The Lord Is My Chef Easter Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II 
Wednesday in the Easter Octave, 03 April 2024
Acts 3:1-10     <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]'>     Luke 24:13-35
Photo by author, Della Strada Chapel, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 19 March 2024.
Continue to open my eyes,
my heart,
my total self
to Your coming,
to Your passing
Lord Jesus Christ;
Your tomb was empty
because You chose to walk
with me even when 
I was at the wrong path,
in the opposite direction
like those two disciples 
on the way back to Emmaus
from Jerusalem because You were 
nowhere that Easter Sunday;
what a beautiful gesture by You,
dear Jesus,
to walk with them,
to converse with them,
most of all,
to make their hearts burn within!

With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them…

Luke 24:31-33
Photo by author, Della Strada Chapel, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 19 March 2024.
My dear Jesus,
many times I felt giving up
of going back to Emmaus too,
leaving Jerusalem
at those times I felt
You were gone;
but when You helped me 
retrace my path
with Your words
and many signs,
my heart burned within
of love and faith in You
that before I knew it,
You have brought me back
to Your path again
with enough love
to move on;
keep me in Your path
to the Cross, Jesus;
let me immerse in 
the Scripture to discover
in Your words
Your presence,
Your calling,
Your life
in my life
and relationships
with You,
with nature,
and with others.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 19 March 2024.
Keep that fire of love
burning within me, Jesus
so that I may bring Your light
and your warmth
to those seeking You,
 those lost in life,
and worst,
those resigned in their situations
like that man crippled from birth
at the Beautiful Gate of the temple:

When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms. But Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, “look at us.” He paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them. Peter said, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.”

Acts 3:3-6
There are times,
Jesus,
I look more into negative self,
my distaff condition,
my wounds
even if I am looking at You
like that crippled man
expecting the trivial things
than the essential ones
like fulfillment in You;
enable me to look for You
in my heart,
to see You in my self
and on the face
of others I meet.

Dearest Jesus,
keep the fire of Your love
burning inside me
so I may see You
and follow You
more closely
daily.
Amen.
Photo by Ka Ruben, Easter Vigil 2024.

“Is It Over” by Ronnie Milsap (1983)

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music, 31 March 2024
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.

Blessed happy Easter everyone! We take a melancholic love song on this day of celebrating the triumph of love in Jesus Christ’s Resurrection because Easter is a continuing journey with Him, in Him and through Him amid darkness and emptiness in life (https://lordmychef.com/2024/03/30/easter-is-signs-scripture-together-always/).

Like the story of that first Easter morning while still dark when Mary Magdalene and later Simon Peter with the beloved disciple found the tomb of Jesus empty except for His burial cloths neatly folded to indicate the Lord’s rising from the dead, Ronnie Milsap’s 1983 hit Is It Over speaks a lot of the essence of Easter about faith in the love of Jesus Christ.

Milsap’s Is it Over invites his beloved to sincerely search her heart to get over her former relationship so that theirs would flourish and grow; in the same manner, we need to get over our Good Fridays in order to experience the glory of Easter Sundays in life.

Is it over, are you really over him
Is it over, or will you take him back again
If it’s over you can let his memory in
Come on over, we’ll let our love begin.

You say you can’t count the times that he’s hurt you
And he’s hurt you for the last time
Now you say I’m the one that you’re needing
But is the need in your heart or just in your mind.

Is it over, are you really over him
Is it over, or will you take him back again
If it’s over you can let his memory in
Come on over, we’ll let our love begin.

Like Jesus calling us every day in our lives to come over to Him by leaving behind our past hurts, Is it Over tells on the need to move on in life, to embrace the present by learning from the past. Most of all, of the need to confront one’s true self in the heart, not just in the mind in order to move on in life.

Milsap’s music and voice are uniquely refreshing that sound very Easter perhaps due to his personal experiences. Born partially blind and abandoned by his mother after birth, Milsap grew up in poverty with his grandparents in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. Despite his handicap and poverty, he was found exceptionally brilliant and talented even while in his early childhood when he was sent to a school for the blind at the age of five where he developed his musical talent at age seven. He was later sent to Governor Moorehead to formally begin studies in classical music. It was there in his early teens when Mislap learned to play several musical instruments and chose to master the piano.

At age 14, Milsap became totally blind after being slapped on his left eye by one of the houseparents but that never affected his pursuits in learning as well as music. He was able to finish college through scholarships and was already in law school as a full scholar when he decided to leave to concentrate in music in 1964.

He met his wife Joyce Reeves in one of their gigs the following year, got married and remained together until her death in 2021 due to cancer. They had a son, Ronald who died in 2019 aged 49 apparently due to a medical condition

Is It Over follows the style of Milsap’s earlier and biggest breakthrough in 1977, It Was almost Like a Song that topped the Billboard charts in many categories. Both songs are very popular among us Filipinos who are certified romantics.

Now aged 81, Milsap remains active in the music scene as a composer, collaborating with some of the biggest names in the industry. His life is a beautiful example of the Easter glory amid many darkness and emptiness. Although officially retired, it isn’t over yet for Mislap as he continues to record and busies himself with a podcast as well as an amateur radio enthusiast.

Here now is Milsap’s lovely song, Is It Over.

From YouTube.com

Walking with Jesus

The Lord Is My Chef Holy Thursday Recipe, 28 March 2024
Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 > + < 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 > + < John 13:1-15
Photo from wikipediacommons.org of Christ’s washing of feet of Apostles at Monreale Cathedral in Palermo, Italy.

Tonight we start the Easter Triduum – the three holy days of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper and Washing of the Feet. 

In our Mass tonight, there will be no dismissal after Holy Communion that is immediately followed by a short procession inside the church of the Blessed Sacrament to its repository that will be the focus of “Visita Iglesia” (not Stations of the Cross) when people “visit” at least seven churches to pray to the Divine Presence of Jesus. Tomorrow in most parishes is the “via Crucis” or Way of the Cross then in the afternoon after the Veneration of the Holy Cross is the Procession of the Burial of the Lord. 

See how on these most holy days of the year, much of our activities involve a lot of walking – and rightly so because Jesus Christ was always walking even to His Crucifixion and after Resurrection.

Hence, on the night He was betrayed after Supper, He washed the feet of His disciples including us today because He had also known how difficult and tiring it is to always walk in this life.

“…fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.  He took a towel and tied it around his waist.  Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.”

John 13:3-5
From IStock/GettyImages.

More than reenacting the washing of the feet, tonight we are reminded by Jesus of the journey ahead to his Crucifixion when – with apologies to Robert Frost – we still have to walk “miles to go before we sleep” by choosing the road less travelled “that made the difference.”

And here lies the problem of our time: with the advancement of technology, our modes of transportation like communication have greatly affected our relationships with others, for better and for worse.  From being peripatetic persons, we have become more accustomed to riding, of getting fast and effortless to our destination that we no longer walk that much unlike before that has affected even our relationships with one another.  How can we continue the work of Jesus when we no longer walk that much? 

Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News, 2020.

Observe how it has become so difficult to ask for directions these days because nobody is walking anymore.  Most of us are ensconced in our own vehicles that have become our own little world and tiny universe every time we travel even if it were just a “walking distance”.  Aside from breaking apart from the rest of humanity, we have also become very impersonal in the sense that we now rely more with Google maps and other travel apps than with the ordinary “man on the street.” Worst, we rarely touch the ground with our bare feet that if ever we would walk, it has been relegated to mere physical fitness often done alone with earphones as companions.  We have not only grown apart from others but have also lost touch with earth because we no longer walk that much like Jesus and His disciples.

Two weeks ago during my retreat, I walked around the vast grounds and mini-forests of the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches when I realized that priesthood is peripatetic in nature because it is a ministry that walks to reach out, search for the missing sheep as per instruction of the Lord.  Jesus even added that in fulfilling our mission, we must carry nothing when we walk except a staff and sandals. 

Walking with our parishioners in the Via Crucis, 01 March 2024.

Moreover, priesthood is a ministry of being companions as shepherds in the journey of the people. That is why Jesus is our Good Shepherd because He is the One who truly journeys with us in this life.  He is the One who continues to walk with us in our many ups and downs, in the many dusty trails and harsh realities of life that no gadget or wealth or media platform could bring comfort and security to any weary traveler. 

It is only in walking when we could truly journey with others in life to converse with them and listen to their doubts and frustrations like the two disciples walking back to Emmaus three days after Good Friday.  It is only in walking can we truly meet the sick, the orphaned and the widowed, the blind and the lame, the sinners and the misfits the world had left behind or pushed onto the margins of the society, far from our superhighways. 

Most of all, when we walk we touch ground, we feel the earth called “humus” in Latin, the origin of the words human and humility.  Could it be that we have become less humble today partly because of our refusal to walk more often?

Forgive us your priests when we have refused to walk with you especially when you are troubled and lost.  Forgive us your priests as we have ceased to be like Jesus who walked most of the time because we have been so obsessed riding and travelling most of the time in our cars and SUV’s as well as mountain bikes and big bikes that have insulated us from your cries and anguish.  We have not only lost the art of walking but have totally forgotten about walking the extra mile to pray and commune with our Lord and Master Jesus Christ found among the poor and the sick, the marginalized peoples forgotten in our upwardly, mobile society. 

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

We always hear the expression “life is a journey.”  Our first reading tonight attested to this reality when God reminded the chosen people preparing for exodus from Egypt “to eat and dress like those who are in flight”(Ex.12:11). 

The original concept of the restaurant is not just a place where people stop to eat during a long journey.  Restaurants were truly “rest stops” where travelers could rest their feet by soaking them in warm water so that they could travel again to reach their destination. 

The Holy Eucharist is a “sacred restaurant” where we eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ who nourishes us in our life journey.  Most of all, in the Eucharist and Sacrament of Reconciliation, Jesus continues to wash our feet to cleanse us from our sins and burdens to make this journey of life lighter and easier.  When we receive Him in the Holy Communion, we make Him our “companion” in life filled with darkness and pains, uncertainties and lack of direction.  The word companion literally means “someone you break bread with” – a beautiful picture of the Eucharist described to us by St. Paul in the second reading. 

From istock/GettyImages.

In washing the feet of His disciples, Jesus Christ showed us in His humble gesture that He is indeed our Savior who went down so low even unto death on the Cross to express His immense love and mercy for each of us.  Everything that transpired on the night He was betrayed prefigured the events of Good Friday which we make present every time we celebrate the Eucharist that is summed up in loving service for one another. 

Do we still walk?  And if we walk, who is our companion, the one we break bread with?  Likewise, do we walk our talk of our faith?

May we never leave behind Jesus among our family and friends as we walk through this life.  A blessed Holy Thursday to everyone. Amen.

Pag-ibig at kaganapan ng buhay

Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-26 ng Marso 2024
Ika-anim na Huling Wika ni Jesus
Larawan kuha ni G. Chester Ocampo, kapilya ng Immaculate Conception Seminary, Guiguinto, Bulacan, 30 November 2015.

May isang mangkok doon na puno ng maasim na alak. Itinubog nila rito ang isang espongha, ikinabit sa sanga ng isopo at idiniit sa Kanyang bibig. Nang masipsip ni Jesus ang alak ay Kanyang sinabi, “NAGANAP NA!” Iniyukayok Niya ang Kanyang ulo at nalagot ang Kanyang hininga.

Juan 19:29-30

Kung minsan ako ay nalulungkot tuwing Huwebes Santo kapag natutuon ang pansin ng mga tao sa rito ng paghuhugas ng pari sa mga paa ng ilang mananampalataya. Tunay na kakaibang eksena at karanasan iyon sa mga tao ngunit ang totoo, hindi naman talagang bahagi ng Misa ng Huwebes Santo ang naturang paghuhugas ng mga paa na puwede namang hindi ganapin.

Ang tunay na lundo ng Banal na Misa ng Huwebes Santo ay naroon sa bahagi ng Ebanghelyong nagsasaad ng diwa ng paghuhugas ni Jesus sa mga paa ng kanyang mga alagad:

Bisperas na ng Paskuwa. Alam ni Jesus na dumating na ang panahon ng kanyang paglisan sa sanlibutang ito upang bumalik sa Ama. Mahal niya ang kanyang mga tagasunod na nasa sanlibutan, at ngayo’y ipakikita niya kung hanggang saan ang kanyang pag-ibig sa kanila.

Juan 13:1

Hanggang saan nga ba ang pag-ibig sa atin ni Jesus?

Hanggang sa wakas. O, end sa Inggles. Ngunit kapag sinabi nating hanggang sa wakas, parang mayroong hangganan ang pag-ibig natin kaya ang pahayag na ginamit sa pagkakasalin ay “ipakikita niya kung hanggang saan ang kanyang pag-ibig sa kanila.”

Mas mainam ang pagkakasalin sa Inggles ng huling pangungusap na nagsabing “He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.” Mula sa salitang Griyego na telos ang katagang wakas o end sa Inggles. Nguni’t salungat sa madalas nating isipin ang “wakas” bilang hangganan dahil ang telos ay nagpapahiwatig ng direksiyon at hahantungan na kaganapan o perfection. Hindi lang pagtigil at paghinto ang wakas o end.

Kaya naman nang sabihin ni Jesus doon sa Krus na “naganap na”, ang pakahulugan Niya ay ang kaganapan ng Kanyang misyon na mahalin tayong lahat hanggang sa wakas na siyang tinutukoy ng pahayag sa simula ng kanilang Paskuwa, “at ngayo’y ipakikita niya kung hanggang saan ang kanyang pag-ibig sa kanila” sa paghuhugas ng kanilang mga paa na ang kaganapan ay sa Kanyang kamatayan sa Krus kinabukasan ng araw ng Biyernes.

Ipinamalas sa atin ni Jesus ng buong-buo at ganap sa Kanyang pagkamatay sa Krus ang pag-ibig ng Ama para sa atin batay sa Kanyang sinabi kay Nicodemus, “Gayon na lamang ang pag-ibig ng Diyos sa sanlibutan, kaya ibinigay niya ang kanyang bugtong na Anak” (Jn.3;16).

Kung tutuusin ay hindi naman kailangang mamatay si Jesus sa Krus upang tayo ay maligtas ngunit pinili pa rin Niya ito bilang tanda ng Kanyang pagmamahal sa ating lahat. Kaya naman dito rin nating makikita ang magandang kahulugan ng pagmamahal na hindi lamang basta pagtupad sa mga kautusan o pagiging mabuti sa kapwa. Sa kabuuan nito, ang pagmamahal ay pagiging-ganap ng ating buhay. Love is the perfection of life, ayon kay Thomas Merton, isang mongheng Amerikano noong araw.

Kapag tayo ay nagmamahal, tayo ay nagiging ganap tulad ng Diyos! Kaya, basta magmahal lang ng magmahal hanggang masaktan dahil hindi iyan mauubos tulad ng Diyos.

Mga minamahal, yamang gayon kadakila ang pag-ibig ng Diyos sa atin, dapat din tayong mag-ibigan. Walang taong nakakita sa Diyos kailanman, ngunit kung tayo’y nag-iibigan, nasa atin siya at nagiging ganap sa atin ang kanyang pag-ibig.

1 Juan 4:11-12

Mula sa unang sulat ding iyan ni San Juan, ating matutunghayan ang pahayag niya na ang Diyos ay pag-ibig na ayon sa dating Santo papa Benedicto XVI sa kanyang unang encyclical na Deus Caritas est, ito ang pinaka-malalim na pahayag tungkol sa Diyos na hindi matatagpuan sa ibang relihiyon maliban lamang sa Kristiyanidad.

Photo by Paco Montoya on Pexels.com

Mga ginigiliw ko, Diyos lang ang makapagmamahal sa atin ng ganap. Tanging si Jesus lang ang makapagmamahal sa atin ng ganap na Kanyang pinatunayan doon sa Krus.

Palagi kong sinasabi, “human love is always imperfect” kaya hayaan nating punan ni Jesus, gawin Niyang ganap at buo ang ating pagmamahal na palaging kapos at kulang. Maari itong mangyari kapag tayo nagsimulang magparaya at magpatawad, magbigay ng walang hinihintay na kapalit, manahimik kesa kumibo at humaba pa usapan. Tanggapin natin at angkinin mga sakit at sugat natamo natin sa imperfect love ng pamilya at kaibigan o sino pa man.

Tularan natin si Jesus na nagpakasakit at naghandog ng buhay sa Krus dahil sa pag-ibig.

Manalangin tayo para sa mga minamahal natin at sa nagmamahal sa atin sa kabila ng ating mga imperfection:

Panginoong Jesu-Kristo,
sana makapagmahal din ako
tulad Mo hanggang kamatayan;
sana masabi ko rin sa wakas tulad Mo
"naganap na";
patawarin po Ninyo ako
sa maraming pagkakataon
na hindi pa rin tapos
at patuloy pa rin sa pagnanana
ng mga sugat kong natamo
sa imperfect na pagmamahal ng kapwa
kaya hindi ako maka-move on
dahil nilalamon akong buhay ng mga sugat
at alaalang ito kaya hindi ako lumago
at maging ganap sa Iyo.
O Kristo Jesus,
patawarin po Ninyo ako
at turuang magpatawad
dahil sa pagpapatawad
kami tunay na nagmamahal
ng ganap tulad Mo.
Amen.

“Is It You?” by Lee Ritenour (1981)

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 17 March 2024
Photo by Paco Montoya on Pexels.com

It is the final Sunday in Lent as we enter its final week with temperatures soaring into the 30’s as we get into the heat of summer in the country. To soothe us in our Sunday feature, we have chosen Lee Ritenour’s classic smooth jazz Is It You? from his 1981 album Rit.

An American jazz-guitarist, Ritenour is considered as one of the great movers in the jazz scene since the late 1960’s until now, being a part of so many groups and individual musicians in producing great music and tunes that unknown to many of us have were surely delighted and even uplifted.

Is It You? is one of those music by Ritenour with Eric Tagg doing the vocals as well as co-writing it along with Bill Champlin.

So characteristic of Ritenour’s jazz experiments fusing it with rock and pop, Is It You? speaks of a man’s feelings of doubts amid strong convictions of being ready to love a woman he is asking if she too is ready; hence, the question, Is It You?

Someone’s just outside, knocking at my door
A stranger, somebody unknown
Someone’s in my dreams, can’t get it off my mind, yeah
I’m tired of being alone
Someone’s trying to find an easy way inside
Come on, I’m right here at home, right at home
Is it you?
Is it you?
Is it you?
Is it you, you, you?
Who’s that deep inside me, sneaking around my heart?
Are you somebody in love?
Show me what you’re doing and tell me who you are
Hey, I’m ready for love, for love
Is it you?
Is it you?
Is it you?
Is it you, you, you?
If it’s you, come out in the open
You don’t need to hide your love
If it’s you, you know I’m hoping
‘Cause it’s way too late to run away
Don’t run away from love, my love
Is it you?
Photo of a convolvulus tricolor from BBC Gardeners World Magazine.

Many times we felt that way too that despite the uncertainties we feel, there is that strong thrust from within to dare step forward and make the move to find out like Ritenour if is it you?

In some ways, it must have been the feeling too of those Greek converts in Jerusalem that Palm Sunday who asked Philip if they could see Jesus. They too had that strong feeling towards Jesus after hearing the many good things about himself, his teachings and his miracles. When they said they wanted to see Jesus, it was more than seeing him literally because the Lord was never in hiding. The Greeks, like us and Ritenour in his song, were seeking something more, something deeper, something about faith (https://lordmychef.com/2024/03/16/lent-is-believing-in-order-to-see-jesus/).

There lies the beauty of life, of following Jesus: while the world tells us that to see is to believe, Jesus tells us that to believe so we would see; the world tells us to enjoy life without inhibitions one’s enjoyment, Jesus tells us that it is in dying that we truly live.

Both happens when we dare to ask, when we dare to step forward and take the plunge, of giving one’s self in love. To ask of seeing Jesus, of seeing somebody special, of asking if is it you is also believing in him or the other person.

Believe. And you shall see that indeed, it is you, Jesus!

Here is Lee Ritenour with Eric Tagg.

From Youtube.com

Why are violets blue?

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 12 March 2024
Photo by Skyler Ewing on Pexels.com
When we were growing up
discovering the power of love,
these nursery rhymes
were so sublime
we used to find
every Valentine's
without knowing why
"Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Sugar is sweet.
So are you.
And I love you!"
Photo by Paco Montoya on Pexels.com
Red means love
but what about blue
that has become violet too?
Late have I known 
as a chaplain to kids 
and grown ups too
when I Googled that
violets mean simplicity,
humility and modesty
that to give a violet 
close to blue is to say
"I love you too!"
Photo by Natalie Bond on Pexels.com
In this blessed season of Lent
when everything is violet
a shade akin to blue
to keep things subdued
as we try to imbue
virtues and values
of repentance and
contrition for sins,
of patience and perseverance,
of sacrifice and alms-giving
that lead to a sharing of self in love
like Jesus Christ did a long time ago.
True,
violets are blue,
hue of God's mercy
for me and you;
as we go through
 this journey in Lent
hear my plea to you,
 Jesus:
"Roses are red,
violets are blue;
let your Lent come true
because I love you too!"
Amen.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Nicodemus and James Taylor

Lord My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 10 March 2024
“Nicodemus and Jesus” painting by James Tissot (1836-1902) from SuperStock/GettyImages via learnreligions.com.

One of our favorite singer-songwriters James Taylor is coming next month for a one-night concert at the Mall of Asia Arena; hence, we are featuring two of his songs we find so related with the gospel message this fourth Sunday in Lent also known as Laetare or Rejoice Sunday.

But first, let us take a slight deviation from our usual manner of coming up with the music right away as we realized too the strong links between Nicodemus and James Taylor in their experiences.

Nicodemus belonged to the group of Pharisees, one of the enemies of Jesus at that time. But he admired and believed in Jesus that is why he chose to visit the Lord at night so that people would not notice. Eventually, Nicodemus became a disciple of Jesus after Good Friday after he and another Pharisee named Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Christ and buried him in a tomb (https://lordmychef.com/2024/03/09/lent-is-the-love-mercy-of-god-in-me/).

Nicodemus’ coming to see Jesus at night evoked his situation of being in the darkness of fears and confusions, trying to find directions in life which he found in Christ. It was similar with James Taylor’s plight he beautifully expressed in his 1970 hit Fire and Rain which is about the suicide of a childhood friend as well as his coping with his addiction and depression following his fame.

Just yesterday morning, they let me know you were gone.
Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you.
I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song,
I just can’t remember who to send it to.
I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain. I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end.
I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, but I always thought that I’d see you again.

Won’t you look down upon me, Jesus, You’ve got to help me make a stand.
You’ve just got to see me through another day.
My body’s aching and my time is at hand and I won’t make it any other way.
Oh, I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain. I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end.
I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, but I always thought that I’d see you again.

From https://www.wildflowersprovence.fr/plant/convolvulus-lanuginosus/

Many times, we find ourselves in situations like Nicodemus when everything is all dark like the night, or James Taylor going through fire and rain.

Now look, Jesus is most present with us when we are in the darkest darkness of the night, right in the middle of a raging storm. Many times we could not see him because he hugs us, embraces us to shield us from more harms.

When Jesus told Nicodemus about his coming crucifixion – “when the Son of Man is raised up” – it was an assurance to us all too that Christ is with us in our worst situation because he suffered first for us on the Cross. I am so glad that JT mentioned Jesus in his song, pleading to the Lord to “look down upon me and help me make a stand.”

That is why we rejoice this Sunday: in the midst of our troubles and sufferings, there are bursts of joy and relief from Jesus within us dwelling in our hearts. And that is why, we find JT’s 1976 hit, Shower the People, so related too with our gospel this Sunday.

When Jesus told Nicodemus how “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (Jn.3:16), it was also a call for us all to be the love and mercy of Christ in the world.

Nicodemus eventually became a disciple of Jesus while JT is still very much around, having weathered so many fires and rains or storms in his life, both telling us how God finds ways to save us, even extricate us from our worst situation. Hence, the need for us to become the presence of Christ’s joy and mercy to people especially those closest to us so that they may realize and experience that God so loved the world because of the way we shower them with love through us.

You can play the game and you can act out the part,
even though you know it wasn’t written for you.
Tell me, how can you stand there with your broken heart ashamed of playing the fool?
One thing can lead to another; it doesn’t take any sacrifice.
Oh, father and mother, sister and brother, if it feels nice, don’t think twice,
just shower the people you love with love, show them the way that you feel.
Things are gonna work out fine if you only will do as I say, just
shower the people you love with love, show them the way you feel.
Things are gonna be much better if you only will.

Here is our doubleheader from the “Sweet Baby James”. Have a blessed, lovely week ahead!

*Both materials are not ours without any intentions at all of infringing its copyrights.

From YouTube.com
From YouTube.com.

Lent is acceptance

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of St. John of God, Religious, 08 March 2024
Hosea 14:2-10     ><]]]]]'> + ><]]]]]'> + ><]]]]]'>     Mark 12:28-34
Photo of convolvulus sabatius from frustratedgardener.com 
Your words today,
dear Father, 
led me back to the 
Monday reflection of another
blogger about the word
"acceptance":

“Acceptance” can be seen as a passive word suggesting that we just put up with something we cannot change.

On the other hand, it can be a positive condition in our spirituality by which we prepare ourselves to hospitably receive that which we had not expected. Such positive acceptance suggests a non-judgmental, wise, and discerning heart. 

Sr. Renee Yann, RSM, https://lavishmercy.com/2024/03/03/accepted/
Why are we so fond,
O God, of doing anything
except precisely what you want
us to do?
Why can't we just accept
your words,
your plans,
or your instructions
we always disregard, 
"hoping" there could be 
something better?

Forgive us, Father,
when even in the 
quagmire of sin and evil,
we keep resisting you,
refusing to accept
your suggestions;
let us learn 
beginning this Lent
when to just stop
and simply accept
you and your words.
Photo by author, Banaba Tree, 2020.

Thus says the Lord: Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt. Take with you words, and return to the Lord; say to him, “Forgive all iniquity, and receive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.”

Hosea 14:2-3
Draw us closer to you,
Lord Jesus Christ and your
kingdom by accepting
the basic truth of our faith
that the love of God is
always the love of others;
help us realize
life is more than searching
for what is the best
possible condition
or situation we can have
but to accept our whereabouts
where we can give our best selves
to you through others
to make this world a
better one.
'
Everything, O Lord,
begins in finding you
within each of us
so we may find you in others
especially the sick and
the weakest like St. John of God
who simply accepted
everything that came to his life
as coming from you;
it is in our acceptance
of you, O Lord,
that we begin to lovingly serve
you in others because that is
also when we are able to relate
our lives
with your Church,
with the world,
with our callings;
it is in accepting these
that we become
"not far
from the Kingdom
 of God."
Amen.
Photo of a convolvulus tricolor from BBC Gardeners World Magazine.

“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” by The Righteous Brothers (1964)

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 03 March 2024
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 2018.

Our 40-day Lenten journey gets more intense this Sunday with the gospel scene where Jesus cleansed the Temple in Jerusalem to signify the need for us to recover our zeal for God who is also our first love (https://lordmychef.com/2024/03/02/lent-is-the-zeal-of-jesus/).

In a similar manner, we picked the intensely passionate 1964 hit You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ by The Righteous Brothers matching today’s Sunday gospel as it tells us the similar teaching of Jesus Christ, of how we have lost our zeal for God and the need to bring it back for our own good.

Of course, You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ is a love song with its usual sprinklings of sensuality but its sublimity and accuracy in describing the common experiences of love going bad have made it as the most-played song in American radio and television – perhaps even the world – in the 20th century. It is also the most successfully covered song by artists, including by our favorite Hall & Oates who must literally heed the song’s message after their falling apart as musicdom’s dynamic duo of all time.

Written by music producer Phil Spector with some help from Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ as a ballad is soulfully penetrating with the contrasting vocal ranges of Bill Medley’s bass-baritone voice and Bobby Hatfield’s tenor that enabled them to create a distinctive sound as a duet.

This perfect blending of their voices is felt, not just heard in You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ that is a kind of music that can disturb and awaken one’s callous conscience to put it in order. Or have it cleansed as Jesus did in the Temple when he drove out the oxen and sheep, overturned the tables of money changers and drove the doves away being sold.

Notable also is the song’s slow opening – and video – with Medley’s deep voice so hauntingly cool but not scary at all but simply disarming, making it perhaps the most coveted style in singing.

You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips
And there’s no tenderness like before in your fingertips
You’re trying hard not to show it
But baby, baby I know it

You lost that lovin’ feelin’
Whoa, that lovin’ feelin’
You lost that lovin’ feelin’
Now it’s gone, gone, gone, whoa-oh

All in all, here is a most beautiful music, so universal as a language in its melody and lyrics that reminds us that love is not everything; love is more than a feeling but a decision we have to nurture and deepen in order to grow and mature. And bloom.

Most of all, to remain rooted in our first love of all, in God who gives us the zeal, the spark to keep it burning. Have lovin’ week ahead, everyone.

From YouTube.com