Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 26 May 2025
Photo by author, Northern Blossoms Farm, Atok, Benguet, 26 December 2024.
Human love is imperfect; only God can love us perfectly.
Many times we get disappointed with our loved ones for not loving us enough or not loving us at all when in fact, they do love us! They come in different forms like strict parents or teachers, an OFW who has to leave his/her loved ones behind for better earnings so the children can go to good schools or an eager-beaver colleague who sometimes gets to our nerves for the things he/she does for us not to irritate us but to help us actually. And yes, parents who give away their children in the belief they can have a better future if they grow up not with them.
We all want to love perfectly or be loved perfectly but that is not possible because we humans are not perfect. We err, miscalculate situations and misjudge persons. Many times, we do not understand nor comprehend situations for we cannot know everything right away nor at all.
The good news is, the more we realize the imperfections of our love, that is when we are perfected, when we become better persons, when we actually become more loving with others by being patient and understanding, kind and forgiving. Our efforts to love though imperfect shall perfect us.
Photo by author, Northern Blossoms Farm, Atok, Benguet, 26 December 2024.
It is in our imperfect love we also learn how to sacrifice and let go because we love. The beloved disciple of Jesus wrote that “No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us(1 John 4:12). Every time we are bothered, when we feel guilty of not loving much or not being loved, chill. Be patient. And wait for everything to clear up. There must have been a breakdown in communication or too much presumptions on anyone’s part. Be open. Most of all, even if you felt not loved or no one loves, keep loving. For as long as we love, we grow. We mature.
Love, love, love!
It is the most potent force in the universe. We came into being because of love. We live to love. For as long as there is love, we shall not perish.
Stop loving, then we die.
Photo by author, Sakura Farm, Atok, Benguet, 26 December 2024.
When we do not love, that is when we perish because we no longer hope and believe in anyone nor anything. That is the end.
St. Paul said it perfectly, “So faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13). After we have died, only love remains in heaven: we do not need faith nor hope because love is everything we believe and hope. Even those we leave behind will just keep on loving that life will continue until we all come together in eternity. Still loving.
Hence, love cannot be defined. Love is infinite and can only be described. And though it is imperfect in human terms, our expressions of love has no limits. That is why, “tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all” (Lord Alfred Tennyson in 1849). Bow. To love.
Photo by author, Angels’ Hills Retreat and Spirituality Center, Tagaytay City, 18 April 2025.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday in the Sixth Week of Easter, 26 May 2025 Acts 16:11-15 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> John 15:26-16:4
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2025.
Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:26-27).
Thank you, dear Jesus in sending us the Holy Spirit as our Advocate who empowers us to speak also of the truth he tells us; most of all, to abide with you and your gospel truth.
Remind us, Lord Jesus that being an advocate for you, witnessing your gospel need not be dramatic at all like that chance meeting of Paul with some women at a river in Philippi where he spoke about you and your good news of salvation; forgive us, Jesus when in this age of instant and widespread communications, we balk and even feel ashamed of speaking about you and your teachings, even ashamed of proudly making the sign of the Cross.
Forgive us, Jesus when we are inhibited for many reasons from speaking about our faith in you, when even the powers of the Advocate we doubt.
Give us a joyful heart like that of St. Philip Neri always opened to your loving presence most especially in prayerful moments in you. Amen.
Lord My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 25 May 2025
Photo by author, Angels’ Hills Retreat and Spirituality Center, Tagaytay City, 18 April 2025.
We shift this Sunday into jazz with Earl Klugh’s sophisticated Living Inside Your Love to slow cool down our simmering summer and to feel more the meaning of the Mass readings today as we enter the penultimate week of Easter.
We were already in our early teens when we discovered Earl Klugh along with other jazz greats with the opening of the country’s first and only jazz radio station 101.9 WK-FM in the late 70’s. Maybe it was part of growing up when we experimented on a lot of things for more adventures that I found myself venturing into jazz from rock and pop music, switching from RJ to RT and then WK.
For me, Earl Klugh was the jazz version of rock’s Eric Clapton or Carlos Santana. Klugh has that certain touch or pluck in his guitar that can make you be in love, not necessarily be in love with anyone. It is a nakaka-in love ma-in love na feeling! That is why we remembered his Living Inside Your Love piece from his second studio album released in 1976 by the legendary Blue Note Records and Liberty Records produced by another jazz great, Dave Grusin.
Actually, we just realized today Living Inside sounds like a prelude to the turn of the century’s new age music where Klugh’s masterful playing of the guitar taking the centerstage of a great symphony backed up with cool vocals repeating just a few lines and stanzas of simple verses over and over that is similar with the vision of John in this Sunday’s second reading from the Book of Revelation when he saw and experienced the “new heaven, new earth” in the great luminous light of God who is himself the temple in the city (https://lordmychef.com/2025/05/24/easter-is-god-dwelling-in-us/). See how Klugh inserted the vocals into his great guitar music enhanced by a symphony like John’s vision of heaven:
Can't get over the feeling Living inside your love I never want to lose the feeling Living inside your love
Baby, you made my life so free Living inside your love You're just where I want to be Living inside your love
Baby, you made my life so free Living inside your love You're just where I want to be Living inside your love
Very interesting with his wonderful guitar music, Klugh’s lyrics – though sparse and repetitive – were loaded in meaning. Consider the line “living inside your love” which is exactly what Jesus said at the Last Supper, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (John 14:23).
“Living inside one’s love” is what we call as “Divine indwelling”, that is, our home is in God – and with any one we love!
Moreover, consider also Klugh’s first line in his next stanza, “Baby, you made my life so free/ Living inside your love/ You’re where I want to be/ Living inside your love.”
When we love, we enter a relationship that becomes our dwelling, our home where we become free – free to love more, free to be faithful. When we truly love like Christ, the more we find ourselves more free to love, more free in everything because being free is choosing always what is good. We believe that more than a stroke of genius, it was also a kind of divine inspiration about true love that made Klugh at put at the end of this 1976 classic the longer stanza that actually repeated inn order to stress the truth of his first two stanzas.
Can't get over the feeling Living inside your love I never want to lose the feeling Living inside your love Can't get over the feeling Living inside your love I never want to lose the feeling Living inside your love I can't get over the feeling Living inside your love I never want to lose the feeling Living inside your love I can't get over the feeling Living inside your love
Here is Earl Klugh’s lovely Living Inside Your Love. Have a lovely Sunday and week ahead.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Sixth Sunday in Easter, Cycle C, 25 May 2025 Acts 15:1-2, 22-29 ><}}}}*> Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23 ><}}}}*> John 14:23-29
Photo by author, Chapel of the Angel of Peace, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 28 March 2025.
Let us start again our Sunday reflection from the Book of Revelation where we heard last week John mentioning the word “new” four times when he saw “new heaven, new earth, new Jerusalem” coming with a voice of the Lord declaring “I make all things new” (Revelation 21:1, 2, 5).
In continuing his narration this Sunday of his visions while imprisoned in Patmos, John tells us how he not merely “saw” but also “experienced” heaven when he wrote:
The Angel took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It gleamed with the splendor of God. Its radiance was like that of a precious stone, like jasper, clear as crystal… I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb (Revelation 21:10-11, 22).
I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.
Try imagining John’s experience of heaven, almost indescribable for its beauty and majesty as the very presence of God when he specified “there is no temple in the city for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.”
John reminds us again this Sunday that though these new heaven, new earth, new Jerusalem are the things to come at the end of time, these are already happening right now in our midst. His description of heaven like jasper and other precious stones indicate not only the incomparable beauty of heaven but the very truth that our home is in God. Thus, an invitation too for us today to live in the light of God for he dwells among us in Christ.
This “divine indwelling” has always been a part of our Catholic doctrine.
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 14 May 2025.
Recall how in the Old Testament during the chosen people’s wandering in the desert when God dwelled among them in a tent or booth called sukkoth where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. God’s presence was marked by a pillar of smoke over the tent at daytime and a pillar of fire at night. From this came their Feast of the Booths being the dwelling of God; hence, at the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor, Peter told the Lord how they would build booths for him, Moses and Elijah as he felt they were already in heaven!
Booth or tent or temple. Or church.
These indicate the presence of God now manifest in Jesus Christ, “the word who became flesh and dwelled among us.” That is why these past three Sundays of Easter we returned to his words spoken at the Last Supper to deepen our understanding and appreciation of Easter that teaches us about our relationship in God expressed with one another.
Two Sundays ago Jesus identified himself as the Good Shepherd who knows his sheep, us; then, last Sunday he gave us his “new commandment” of love that is rooted in God, a love that leads to our communion or oneness with God like Jesus and the Father. This Sunday, Jesus deepens that relationship we all have in him in the Father which perfectly matches the vision and experience of John found in the Book of Revelation.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (John 14:23).
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 15 May 2025.
This “dwelling” of Jesus and the Father among those who love him and keep his word is the Church, his Body which we his disciples make up.
In instructing his disciples at the Last Supper that included us today to keep his word and commandment to love, Jesus taught how this love is manifested in the Church, his Body, the indwelling of God in Jesus Christ with us his people.
Recall when the curtain in the temple was torn apart from top to bottom at his death on Good Friday that signaled the end of temple worship when people will worship in truth and in spirit as Jesus had spoken to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well.
When Pope Leo XIV was elected two weeks ago, one of the news that have struck me was about the presence of non-Catholics at St. Peter’s Square celebrating on that day. According to the news, the non-Catholics joined the crowds because they never felt such kind of unity where people were one in praising God, celebrating his loving presence in gifting the world – not just Catholics – with a Pope as the Vicar of Christ.
What a beautiful reality we now have of God’s dwelling among us as the Church!
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2025.
From the Hebrew concept of qahal or congregation, Jesus linked love and his dwelling with his disciples in forming a community as his Body, the new Temple he had told he would raise in three days we now call the church which in Greek is called ekklesia that literally means to lead out “ek” the people, “kaleo”. Loving and dwelling of God among us is the reality of the Church as a community of believers called to lead others out of darkness into light, out of emptiness into fullness, out of death into life in Jesus Christ – exactly what the early Church did in our first reading today when they agreed not to impose burdens on gentile converts like circumcision and other Jewish traditions.
The Church herself is a Sacrament, a visible sign of Jesus Christ’s saving presence along with the other seven sacraments we have. The challenge is how these sacraments become dynamic ways of living for us, truly a Divine indwelling and not just signs we go through.
Every Sunday in the Mass, we renew our baptismal vows as children of God, expressing our love for each other as a community, visibly the dwelling of God, making the new heaven, the new earth and the new Jerusalem not just a vision but a reality happening now. Let us pray:
Lord Jesus Christ, dwell in us, dwell among us by making us follow your light not the artificial lights of the world; let us keep your word by loving more like you for where there is love, there is God dwelling in us because he is love himself. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday in the Fifth Week of Easter, 23 May 2025 Acts 15:22-31 <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> John 15:12-17
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2025.
Thank you, dear Jesus in choosing me and making me your friend; let me be a friend to others too like you.
You said it so well, Lord, "You are my friends if you do what I command you" - which is to love! Furthermore, you told us, "I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing" (John 15:14) but, how sad that we do the opposite: we do not truly love one another like you, taking each one as a friend; worst, we make others like slaves especially if they are not like us in color and status, belief and gender.
Teach us, dear Jesus, to imitate Judas called Barsabbas and Silas along with Paul and Barnabas sent to the Christians in Antioch to deliver the letter of the Apostles and presbyters regarding the issues of circumcision and other Jewish practices some wanted the Gentile converts to undertake; how lovely that as the faith spread far and wide reaching many people, the Apostles and the presbyters decided not to burden the brothers with Jewish customs and practices; here we find love in action, friendship is in taking away the burdens of others than putting on heavier burdens on them; most of all, a true friend who loves like you Jesus is one who encourages others in your way. Amen.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2025.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the Fifth Week of Easter, 23 May 2025 Acts 15:7-21 <*((((>< + ><))))*> John 15:9-11
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2025.
Make my joy complete, Lord Jesus, let your joy be in me (John 15:11)!
True joy comes only in union with the Father like you, dear Jesus; in a world that had shrunk into one global village due to modern technology that has spawned so many forms and kinds of connections among peoples, we are not yet filled with joy, Lord; in fact, the more we have been separated than ever because our "connections" are fleeting, empty of any love at all; true connections in you, with you Jesus lead to joy as we have seen in the experience of the early Church:
After much debate had taken place, Peter got up and said to the Apostles and the presbyters… “Why, then, are you now putting God to the test by placing on the shoulders of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they” (Acts 15:7, 10-11).
When we keep your commandments, then we remain in your love, Jesus; that's the only basis and most essential in every connection and relationship because when there is love even if in the midst of pain and suffering, there is always joy which is more than a feeling but an assurance that no matter what, there is God always on our side, loving us, blessing us as Peter explained in the Council of Jerusalem; grant us the grace to remain in your love, Jesus, to examine in what areas of our life we remain and grow in your love. Amen.
Photo by author, Chapel of the Angel of Peace, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 28 March 2025.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II' Monday in the Fifth Week of Easter, 19 May 2025 Acts 14:5-18 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> John 14:21-26
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca Villas, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 15 May 2025.
Your words today, O Lord are very amusing: in the first reading we have the people at Lystra insisted on making Paul and Bernabas as "gods" after they have healed a crippled man from birth while in the gospel we felt you personally speaking to us too along with your disciples at the Last Supper of how in our love for you and with each other that we become divine like you.
Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, “Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (John 14:22-24).
How lovely, dear Jesus are your words: you never left us, you continue to speak to us in the Holy Spirit you sent to enlighten our minds and our hearts so we may continue to love you in one another; more than a feeling as most people believe these days, love is a response to a loving, meaningful relationship in you; love is our deeper connection with you and with each other; without love, we are mere humans, not persons, without relationships, most of all, without meaning and direction in life.
Let us love, love, and love more, Jesus so we may find and recognize you in ourselves and in others, especially the weakest and poorest among us. Amen.
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca Villas, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 15 May 2025.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Fifth Sunday in Easter, Cycle C, 18 May 2025 Acts 14:21-27 ><}}}}*> Revelation 21:1-5 ><}}}}*> John 13:31-33, 34-35
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca Villas, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 15 May 2025.
Easter is a reality, an event and experience always new and fresh. And relevant. I refuse to describe it as “ever new” because it is not changing nor evolving; it is “new” as it is “unfolding” like God or a loved one’s person revealed daily.
In his coming to us, Jesus brought God most real and closest to us humans more than ever, enabling us to experience in him a newness in life, so refreshing and relevant always. That is why we heard the word “new” five times in our readings today, four in the Book of Revelation and once in the Gospel.
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca Villas, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 14 May 2025.
Then I, John, saw a new heaven and new earth. I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. The one who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:1, 2, 5).
When Judas had left them, Jesus said, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:31, 34-35).
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca Villas, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 14 May 2025.
New heaven, new earth, new Jerusalem, new commandment. With Jesus making all things new.
“New” as a word connotes something fresh and recent, presupposing two conditions: either as something non-existent before that is introduced and made only now or, something already existing before but found and discovered only recently.
As such, anything “new” is actually a supernatural reality, a gift from God waiting to be discovered by anyone with faith, hope and love. It is in God through Jesus Christ’s Resurrection that we actually experience the true meaning of what is “new”.
First, as something not existing before like John’s vision of “new heaven, new earth, new Jerusalem” in the Book of Revelation. John had been clear at the onset of his writing of his final book which is to report to us the things that will happen in the future. And we all hope that indeed, someday there will be a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem in the future. How it would look like, we really don’t know but deep in our hearts we hope for that especially in this time of too much crying, pain and death everywhere.
Of course, it sounds too good to be true but for us disciples of Christ, it is something we have to work for and not just pray for. What a joy to hear the new Pope, Leo XIV mentioning in his first public address asking for the release of all hostages in Gaza as well as for peace in Ukraine. We really hope our new Pope will continue with his more direct and firm assertions of Jesus and his teachings than be like the previous Pope who tried accommodating non-Christian religions and beliefs because peace comes only in Christ.
Though John’s vision of new heaven, new earth, and new Jerusalem refers to the end of time where “there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain” (Rev. 21:4), it is something we can experience now if we let Jesus reign in us so he may wipe away the tears in our eyes caused by our continued hardness of the hearts.
A new heaven, a new earth, a new Jerusalem can only happen when we allow Jesus Christ to reign in our hearts more than ever so that the former heaven, former earth and sea pass away. That is why the Prophet Isaiah called the Christ as the Emmanuel, God-is-with-us, precisely the vision saw by John in Revelation, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God” (Rev. 21:3).
As we have seen two Sundays ago, no locked doors can prevent Jesus from breaking through to get to us, for us to experience his loving presence. Most of all like last Sunday, we must learn to entrust ourselves confidently to Jesus our Good Shepherd because only he knows us his sheep so well. That confidence in him in making all things new happens when we love like him.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 17 March 2025.
"I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35).
What is new in Jesus Christ’s commandment of loving? Answer: it is a love rooted in God the Father to whom Jesus is totally one with, totally entrusting himself even up to dying on the Cross.
It is a love that has long existed before since the very beginning but only discovered and found recently in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who became human like us in everything except sin. It is new because it ever refreshes anyone who loves like Christ. Most of all, it is new because it is most relevant at all times.
Any love not rooted in God will surely pass and fail. Though other religions and movements preach love, only Jesus tells us to love like him who is rooted in the Father who is love himself. See that Christ’s command to love like him is not only new but also radical at the same time as it brings us to the very root of love, God: “God is love… In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us (first)” (1 Jn.4: 8,10). According to Pope Benedict XVI, “God is love” is the most unique declaration on God not found in other religions except Christianity.
It is a love already existing before and discovered only by the Apostles in their experience of Jesus Christ. That is why in the first reading Paul and Barnabas told the disciples in Antioch to persevere in faith, saying, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). How sad it is a truth we have all known and proven all along but we continue to disregard even avoid, taking shortcuts in everything that often end in failures.
It is said that the more constricted the pupa (chrysalis) of a larva or caterpillar, the better are its chances of transforming into a more colorful butterfly.
The same is true with us humans. Life that is so easy and laid back when everything is provided for without any sweat at all always leads to emptiness and nothingness. Very often, the most fulfilled people – not necessarily successful which is very relative – are those who have gone through a lot of sufferings and hardships in life. They are mostly the men and women of passion for learning, willing to sacrifice a lot even their very selves for the sake of a truth and a love they are so convinced. Actually, what they have found and discovered have always been there hidden for ages even millions of years but due to their intense love, they found something so new that eventually revolutionized our lives and the world for better or for worse.
This Sunday, Jesus offers us to make our lives new and better, definitely more beautiful but not necessarily pain free. Are we willing to love like him to discover something new today or this week?
"Lord Jesus Christ, let us love like you so we may be transformed to someone new and eventually change the world to something new and better in you. Amen."
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca Villas, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 14 May 2025.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Fourth Sunday in Easter, Cycle C, 11 May 2025 Acts 13:14, 43-52 ><}}}}*> Revelation 7:9, 14-17 ><}}}}*> John 10:27-30
The new Pope, Leo XIV, appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, 09 May 2025; photo from vaticannews.va
What a lovely fourth Sunday in Easter also known as “Good Shepherd Sunday” when we are blessed with a new Pope – Leo XIV – who will shepherd us into this modern time. Truly, Jesus Christ our Good Shepherd knows us so well that he did not make us wait long in having a new Pope in this troubled time.
Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish” (John 10:27-28).
“I know them.” How lovely are these words of Jesus to us, his “sheep” especially for those going through a lot of trials and difficulties, for those feeling lost and empty, for those about to give up on life.
Let us dwell on his words “I know them”.
For the Jews and in the Bible, knowing is more of the heart than of the mind. Knowing a person is not just knowing one’s name but most of all of being in a personal relationship, an affinity with the person.
In declaring “I know them”, Jesus affirms how he personally regards each one as somebody dear to him, somebody close to him. We are all a somebody, a someone to Jesus whom he personally loves and cares for.
This we have seen among the people we have met in Lent like the apostles Peter, James and John during the transfiguration, the prodigal son, the woman caught in adultery. Or during the Holy Week like Judas who betrayed the Lord, Peter who denied Jesus thrice, Dimas the thief, the centurion who believed in him after his death on the Cross, John and the Blessed Mother at the foot of the Cross. They were all in their most difficult situations in life yet Jesus knew them so well that he assured them of his loving presence, lifting them up to move on with life.
Recall also the people we met this Easter Season like Mary Magdalene and companions early in the morning later followed by Peter and the beloved disciple who all found the tomb empty, the disciples at the upper room with locked doors that evening of Easter, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, Thomas Didymus, the disciples led by Peter at breakfast with Jesus at the shore of Lake Tiberias. In their most joyous moments in life amid the darkness and emptiness, the doubts and unbelief or blindness following Easter, they were accompanied and joined by the Risen Lord to ensure and assure them that indeed he is alive and will always be with them.
In the same manner, think also of those moments in your own life of darkness and emptiness, whether negatively or positively, for better or for worse… who remained standing by your side?
Jesus. Only Jesus. And always Jesus. Because he knows us so well.
Jesus is truly the Good Shepherd who knows us so well even in these modern times where there are more vehicles and traffic, more disruptions to life yet he continues to shepherd us like the many shepherds still in many countries in Europe and the Middle East.
And that makes this passage most touching and refreshing because though times may have changed, Jesus has remained personally committed with each one of us. He keeps on looking for us, searching us, following us. Loving us most of all. But, are we present in Jesus?
Notice the four verbs in this short gospel we have today: ascribed to Jesus are the verbs “know” and “give” while to us the sheep, “hear” and “follow” where problems always happen. Do we “follow” what we “hear”? “To hear” is to recognize the authority and importance of the speaker’s words; it is to enter into a communion with him, to put oneself in his guidance, to “follow” him as his disciple.
Jesus speaks to us daily but nobody cares because right after waking up, most of us today look for our cellphone than pray! We are more interested with the “likes” and “followers” we have garnered from our previous posts. We are more enthralled with the seductive voices and images of social media that feed on our ego and senses, giving us false feelings of security and acceptance. We would rather be consumers than disciples who are called to sacrifice like the shepherd.
Photo of a sheep’s fleece by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 2022.
Though life has become more affluent these days, it has ironically become more empty and lost without direction because we just keep on having and possessing, consuming and ingesting everything the world offers that leave us guilty and empty because we cannot experience any sense of fulfillment and meaning.
How ironic that amid this pandemic of “obesity”, we fill ourselves mostly with trash and poison, literally and figuratively speaking that we feel so lost more than ever with so much time wasted and sadly, life and relationships thrown away. Everything has become more of the mind than of the heart with persons being commodified as things, everything seen in monetary terms, so utilitarian in nature.
Only Jesus “knows” us so well that is why only he “gives eternal life” as Peter exclaimed in this Saturday gospel in the third week of Easter, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and we are convinced that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn.6:68-69).
Unlike anybody, Jesus is the Son of God sent to gather us, to save us and to bring us closer to the Father so that no one among us shall perish. That is the plan of God fulfilled by Christ which we must continue like the apostles as we have heard in the first reading when Paul and Barnabas preached the Gospel of Jesus to the gentiles.
This Sunday, Jesus our Good Shepherd assures us, wherever we may be – in darkness and emptiness, or under the dark clouds of a thunderstorm, under a thatched roof of misery – that he knows us so well. He loves us.
Feel the warmth of Christ’s loving heart this Sunday by being present with your loved ones, the people you know so well like Jesus. Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, you are our Good Shepherd and we are your sheep; only you know us so well, only you can give us eternal life, only you can keep us safe not to be snatched by anyone like the corrupt and shallow candidates running for office again this election; give us the wisdom, courage and faith to follow you and stand by you like those elders in white garments seen by John in his vision of heaven in the second reading; let us vote wisely, let us not waste that power you shared with us. Amen.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Third Sunday in Easter, Cycle C, 04 May 2025 Acts 5:27-32, 40-41 ><}}}}*> Revelation 5:11-14 ><}}}}*> John 21:1-14
Breakfast came from two words, break + fast when monks in the early days of Christianity used to “break” their “fast” the night before and that is why it is rightly considered as the most important meal of each day.
But the author of the fourth gospel found something deeper in the word “breakfast” that he mentioned it twice in our gospel today. It is another detail only him had noticed like in last Sunday’s “locked doors”. Everyday, Jesus invites us to “breakfast” with him to experience the joy of Easter.
Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs” (John 21:12-15).
Painting by Frenchman James Jacques Tissot (1836-1902), “Jesus Eats Breakfast with Disciples” from http://www.jofullheart.com.
Many times we take breakfast for granted and most often, like me later in life do we realize its importance with the onset of many sickness and diseases. Remember that saying, “eat like king at breakfast, like an ordinary man at lunch and like a pauper or beggar at supper”? That’s very true because breakfast is supposed to give us the boost needed to make headway through the brand new day.
What a beautiful gesture by Jesus when he appeared the third time to his disciples early morning just in time for breakfast. Every day Jesus invites us to breakfast with him, to be filled with him spiritually through prayers and meditations, most especially the Holy Eucharist. That is why it is always best to pray and celebrate Mass first thing in the morning when Jesus fills our soul with his Spirit and then our body with his gifts of food at breakfast. Christ invites us to breakfast everyday before he “breaks” to us some important matters on our selves and relationships with him and with others.
Photo by author, Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.
It is the same idea behind “breakfast meetings” or even “luncheon meetings” where the hosts feed us with good food and drinks before baring to us their plans that need our participation. Remember that after the second appearance of Jesus to his disciples, nothing was clear yet to them except that he had risen. The disciples must still be feeling guilty with their actions and attitudes after the arrest and death of Jesus. They must be “nagkakahiyaan” – there was a strong presence of shame within each one on how they have abandoned Jesus after his arrest except the beloved disciple who stood at the Cross until the burial.
How lovely is the Lord’s gesture in appearing this time early in the morning to invite them to a breakfast including us today! Like every host, Jesus wants us to be relaxed and at home, comfortable and at ease with him, assuring us of his love and friendship despite our sins and shortcomings in the past. This is particularly evident with Peter and maybe Thomas who doubted the Lord’s resurrection last week and now back with the others fishing.
Jesus is very much aware of breakfast as a great mood-setter. On that day at the shore of Tiberias until today, Jesus starts each day with us with all his warmth and love, telling us it is a new day with new opportunities because tomorrow is gone so let us start anew. Sadly, many of us forget Jesus present with us every morning when we wake up. Like the disciples, we rarely recognize him as we first look for our cellphone upon waking up, counting the likes and reactions to our previous posts. Others refuse to rise and face the day while others feel grouchy raising hell every morning.
Open your eyes like the beloved disciple. When we see and think of Jesus first thing in the morning, then we see the abundant blessings around us like that great catch of fish by the disciples despite the empty night or day before. Every time we wake up despite the presence of our many problems still unsolved or unresolved, it is already a game won over that we are still alive! Rejoice in the gift of life. That is Easter happening daily. Give in to Jesus Christ’s invitation to breakfast by first communing in him in prayer and praise.
Painting by Frenchman James Jacques Tissot (1836-1902), “Jesus Appears to His Disciples At the Shore of Tiberias” from http://www.dominicanajournal.org.
Now we go deeper into the meaning of “breakfast” which is from the prefix break + fast, the breaking of the fast the night before. What are the other fastings we need to break everyday like the disciples?
There is a beautiful commercial of local medicines that says “huwag mahihiyang magtanong” (don’t be shy to ask). Today Jesus is telling us not to be ashamed to get near him, to speak to him, to be with him. It is a new day. Break all your “fasting” of getting close to him because you are too shy of your sins and failures. It is a new day. Recall those countless times in the past when you have disappointed Jesus and your loved ones a lot but he gave you a chance to rise again. Notice how the beloved disciple recognized Jesus when he recalled too their first meeting with the same situation, a fruitless night before followed by bountiful catch after Jesus instructed them to cast their nets into the deep!
How many times had Jesus given us with all the chances in life to be better, to start anew despite our sins and failures? Many times we cannot recognize Jesus despite his nearness with us like the disciples that morning at Tiberias because we box him as somebody like us who keeps tabs of our wrongdoings, that he might not like us anymore. Unlike us, Jesus is full of mercy with a very poor memory of our past sins and wrongdoings.
Notice that after breakfast, Jesus called Peter by his original name “Simon, son of John”. This is remarkable because not only with Peter, Jesus sees each one of us in our true self as a beloved child of God, so loved, so precious. Like Peter, he invites us everyday to breakaway from our sins and biases against him for he truly loves us, always ready to forgive us and most of all, never changes his mind and heart in his plans for us.
It is only after we have expressed our love to him like Peter that Jesus invites us to more than a breakfast which is to come follow him!
Before we can follow Jesus, we must first love him by breaking away from sins and vices and everything evil. And that starts with having Jesus every morning for breakfast. That is what Luke is telling us in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, of how the disciples chose to follow Jesus than obey the Sanhedrin who wanted them to stop preaching about Jesus. Saying yes to Jesus Christ’s invitation to breakfast and to break away from sins and evil is the solid “Amen” of the elders saw by John in his vision of heaven in the second reading. Like them, let us pray:
Dearest Jesus, thank you for the invitation every morning, first thing of each day to be with you not only to breakfast but to break my series of sins and vices; let me love you more so I may follow you closely everyday. Amen.
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