Sin is having more “I”, less God and others

40 Shades of Lent, Monday, Week 1, 11 March 2019
Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18///Matthew 25:31-46

Your readings today, O Lord, invite us to examine the choices we have made recently in our lives. It is always easy to say “I love you, Lord” but when we examine the decisions we have made, it seem to show we really do not love you at all because we have been selfish. Most of the time in making choices, we think first of our self. And that is when we sin.

Every time we have more of our selves – that big, personal, pronoun “I” – in every choice and decision we make, we s-I-n.

When we refuse to be like you who is holy, when we disregard you as our Lord and God whom we must see in everyone, we s-I-n because we see only our self.

When we disregard the hungry and the thirsty, the stranger and the naked, when we do not care at all to those ill or in prison, we s-I-n because we refuse to love.

Help us, Lord Jesus, to have less of our self and more of your Holy Spirit so that we may be attentive and docile to the Father speaking to us in our hearts and crying out to us among the suffering people around us. Amen.

Face of God, Face of Man

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Monday, 04 March 2019, Week VIII, Year I

Sirach 17:19-24///Mark 10:17-27

Good morning Lord Jesus Christ. It’s the Monday rush again, as well as the Monday blues. So often on Mondays, we feel like that young man in the gospel coming to you, praying and pleading to you with our life’s many concerns and baggages.

And you are always there present with us and for us, never failing to look at us full of love and compassion.

What a lovely scene we fail to recognize because our faces fell as we hurriedly went away sad from you. We never bothered to even look at you because we are so occupied with our very selves!

Allow us to pause a little, to glance at your loving face, especially those going through many difficulties like medical procedures of surgery, chemotheraphy, dialysis, or physical theraphy. We pray also for those burdened with so many problems with their very self or family members, with work and career, with finances and everything.

You know very well, O Lord whats eating us up inside, what’s bothering us as you could always see our sad faces so focused on the darkness within us and around us. Give us the grace to just turn a little and look at your face, see your glow, and feel the warmth of your presence. In that way, we can slowly return to you and completely trust in you again. Amen.

Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

Lead Us Back to You, O Lord, Like in EDSA 1986

edsaMary — *God was the true spirit of EDSA 1986; may we find our way back to Him again in our modern EDSA. Photo from Google.*

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Monday, 25 February 2019, Week VII, Year I

Sirach 1:1-8///Mark 9:14-29

O God our Father, today I praise and thank you for the 33^rd anniversary of the People Power Revolution that happened at EDSA.

I am proud O Lord of that historic moment in our history because I was there with my sister.

But I also feel so sad today, O Lord, because we have wasted your gift at EDSA. I feel betrayed by many of our leaders there who have left us. I feel betrayed by many of the other veterans of that bloodless coup who have left our cause.

EDSA 86 was our moment of Exodus from our own Egypt but due to our many idolatrous ways, here we are as a nation still wandering in the wilderness when EDSA has become the symbol of everything wrong in us.

Help us to return to you again as our Lord and only Master.

Let us turn back to you for more wisdom to finally set our course right on track as a nation, giving priority to the value of every person and of human life.

God our Father, sometimes I really can’t figure out anymore what went wrong with EDSA because I know I also have a part in its failure.

I still do believe in the ideals of EDSA and most especially in you, the God of history.

Yes, like that father of an epileptic, “I do believe, help me in my unbelief!” (Mk.9:24)

Amen. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

edsa1 — *EDSA today, the image of everything wrong with us. Photo from Inquirer.net via Google.*

Of Sighs, Signs, and Sin

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The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Monday, 18 February 2019, Week VI, Year I

Genesis 4:1-15, 25///Mark 8:11-13

Good morning Lord Jesus Christ! I hope you don’t mind my asking you on this first day of work and studies: why did you sigh in the gospel today?

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore (Mk.8:11-13).

Some people tell me it is not good to sigh; but, they have never explained to me why, and so, I sigh even more! Most often, I sigh when I feel helpless and even hopeless with people and situations; but, surely O Lord, you neither get helpless nor hopeless with us as we keep on asking you for more signs.

Did you sigh, O Lord, because you were so tempted to get down to their level?

Did you sigh, O Lord, so that you would not give in to sin and be like Cain who lost sight of himself and of his brother Abel and eventually of God?

What a beautiful sign of your humanity and divinity as well is your sighing, O Lord, reminding us of our need to always reconnect with the Holy Spirit in the depths of our being especially when temptations for us to sin are so strong that we forget we are our brother’s keeper.

Remind us always O Lord when we sigh that we may think of your many signs of wonder before us, of the many signs of your mercy and love so that we remain rooted in you. Amen. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

Our Joy In Mary As Mother

51705716_417611242320476_2911087373909491712_n — *Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto in France. Photo by my former student at ICSB-Malolos, Architect Philip Santiago during his pilgrimage there last September. Used with permission.*

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Monday, 11 February 2019, Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes

Isaiah 66:10-14///John 2:1-11

God our loving Father, when your Son Jesus Christ came to save us, He did not only give Himself for us but even gave us His Mother, Mary to be our Mother too. How wonderful that three years before His “hour” on the Cross, Jesus showed us a glimpse of His immense love for us through His mother at the wedding feast of Cana.

His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn.2:5).

Most of all, what is most beautiful on this memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes when she appeared there in 1858 to St. Bernadette Soubirous as the Immaculate Conception, we also celebrate today the World Day of the Sick to remind us “to see in our sick brothers and sisters the face of Christ who, by suffering, dying and rising, achieved the salvation of humankind” as per St. John Paul II in his later on May 13, 1992.

Help us O Lord to do whatever you tell us especially for the sick, giving them comfort “like a mother to her son so that their bodies shall fluorish like the grass” (Is.66:13-14). May we be a mother like Mary to everyone, always “concerned” with the good of each one like during that wedding at Cana.

O what a joy indeed for us to have Mary as our Mother too like a spring leading us to Jesus who refreshes us, heals us, and frees us. Amen. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

When Everything Seemed Lost

neptuneuranus plutosampaloc — Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto visible to the naked eye at dawn for those willing to go through the darkness of the night. Photo by GMA-7’s Mr. Raffy Tima at Sampaloc Cove in Subic, Zambales, 20 January 2019. Used with permission.

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Monday, 04 February 2019, Week IV, Year I

Hebrews 11:32-40///Mark 5:1-20

Thank you very much Lord God Almighty for this beautiful Monday. So often, we get the blues on Mondays and yet even if our days get bluer, even darker than ever, there is always that glimmer of hope that you give us, O Lord.

Like the author of the Letter to the Hebrews today, we recall not only the heroes of Old Testament but our very own trying moments too when we chose to bear all the pain and hurts and sufferings because we believe in you, we trust in you.

Thank you very much O Lord God Almighty in sending us your son Jesus Christ at the nick of time when everything is out of control, when everything seemed to be dead… as if there is no more way out because it is all over as it seemed to be. It is something very close with that scene at the Gerasenes where “a man had been dwelling among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain. In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones” (Mk.5:3- 5).

O Lord, you know how many times we have gone through such situations when we felt a no way out, imprisoned and possessed by sin and evil, sickness and disease, so many problems and difficult situations when all we can do is hide in tombs and cry at night!

Teach us today to always wait for that flicker of hope in Christ our light of salvation. Most of all, teach us to value life over sickness and death, persons over possessions, and above everything else, Jesus Christ our Lord and God. Amen. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

Refresh Us, O God

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Monday, 21 January 2019, Week II, Year I

Hebrews 5:1-9///Mark 2:18-22

Loving Father, lately I was again hurting deep inside, feeling alone and forgotten, even taken for granted but, after praying and remembering the immense love of your Son Jesus for me, for us all, I felt so consoled because I am no longer alone. I felt relieved and lighter at how your Son Jesus who is sinless bore all our sins by suffering and dying on the Cross to renew forever our relationship with you, opening for us a fount of constant joy and comfort within us.

“In the days when he was in the Flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Heb.5:7-8).

Remind us always to remember this great truth, of how you have made Christ your Son as our sole mediator, designating Him our eternal High Priest who offered for us the most perfect sacrifice for our salvation. Make us your new piece of cloth, your new wineskin so others may experience your refreshing presence in the world today where many of us have become technical rather than personal, hiding in traditions and rituals long renewed in Jesus Christ, always asking “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” (Mk.2:18).

Give us the courage O Lord like St. Agnes to be firm in our faith, vibrant in our hope in your presence among us in Christ. Refresh us in your abiding love so we may be renewed as a people, as disciples. Amen. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

Photo above by the author, Dominican Hill, Baguio City, 18 January 2019.

St. Agnes image from Google.

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Back to Normal is Back to You, Lord

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The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul

Monday after the Epiphany of the Lord, 07 January 2019

1 John 3:22-4:6///Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25

Almost everybody is feeling heavy today, Lord Jesus Christ: students, workers, employees are complaining Christmas break is over, it is back to normal. Many are so wary of today’s traffic and other woes when everything returns to normal.

And what is normal for us Lord? The daily grind of waking up early, working for a living, pursuing our goals, keeping up with our obligations and responsibilities in life. It is as if we have not met you this Christmas which is after all, just a break from our normal, ordinary routine.

Give us the grace of integration Lord. Give us the grace to “test the spirits to see whether they belong to God because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 Jn. 4:1). Fill us with your Holy Spirit Lord to always live with the spirit of truth, the spirit of life.

Make us realize Lord that going back to normal is our life being with you, leaving our comfort zone of Nazareth to retreat to “Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Napthali” (Mt. 4:13). Going back to normal is staying in Galilee, the province where you did most of your preaching and miracles, where you first proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom of heaven, where your first lesson is to repent.

There will always be trials and tribulations in our lives like in the arrest of John the Baptist (Mt.4:12) but let us remain in you, following you, believing in you, always cleansing ourselves of our impurities and imperfections so that you may dwell in us to make your kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven. AMEN. Fr.Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

*Photo of a painting by Bulakenyo artist Aris Bagtas of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the sufferings of the people in her mind, perhaps a normal slice in her daily life with Jesus. Used with permission.

Advent is God Leading Us to New Directions in Life

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The Lord Is My Chef Simbang Gabi Recipe-9

24 December 2018

2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16///Luke 1:67-79

Finally! It is the word of the day.

Finally we have completed the nine-day novena of Christmas but that is not the true joy of our annual Simbang Gabi tradition. What is most essential is in these nine days of rising early for the novena, we have rediscovered Jesus Christ in ourselves and among others while at the same time recommitted ourselves to Him again as our only fulfillment in life. I hope that in the past nine days we have rediscovered and even brought back somehow to our lives our sense of the sacred that is now fast fading out in our very consumerist society. Through the many religious symbolisms found in our liturgies and readings these Advent season, it is hoped that we have rediscovered God – as well as our sense of the sacred – who is the most meaningful and essential in life.

Finally today also, we find the only male character in St. Luke’s story of the coming of Christmas regaining his stature after being on the distaff side, Zechariah. After disbelieving the good news of (finally) having a son through the angel Gabriel’s annunciation at the Temple when he was forced into silence by becoming mute and deaf, Zechariah was finally able to speak again after declaring his son shall be named John. And his very first words after being silent for nine months were praises to God the Almighty like Mary during the Visitation. Called theBenedictus, Zechariah affirmed and confirmed in himself first the reality and truth of God being present in our lives amid the many twists and turns in life, narrating His reality and fidelity to His promises from the time of the Patriarchs and the Prophets of Israel down to the birth of John who would prepare the Christ. In effect, Zechariah had finally come into a full circle in singing the Benedictus: like his wife Elizabeth and son still in her womb John, St. Luke tells us how Zechariah was also filled with the Holy Spirit at that instance on the naming of John when he prophesied, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel” (Lk.1:68).

Zechariah shows today the fruits of his “forced silence” that had deepened his priesthood that is very evident in the opening line of Benedictus, giving glory to God for His fidelity and mighty acts to save Israel. It is very similar with some of the popular parts of the psalms that every Jew prays. There are three important reasons that Zechariah tells us why God is blessed: “for he has come to his people and set them free, he has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David” (Lk.1:68-69). What is amazing in the Benedictus is that the verbs are in the past tense, of the works of God being done in the past like visiting His people, setting them free or redeeming them by sending Jesus Christ. Like the Magnificat, it is a looking back and a looking forward to more great things God has in store for us. Zechariah is reminding how God has never stopped working wonders for us, speaking and acting through prophets so many years ago even before the coming of Christ who is the fulfillment of all His promises.

We have mentioned how we priests and other religious and consecrated persons sing the Magnificat every evening; the Benedictus, on the other hand, is sung every morning prayers called lauds. As we face a new day, like Zechariah at the birth of his son John, we look back and remember so that in the process we renew our faith and trust in God who never stops in working for our good. We praise God and put our trust and confidence in Him for every new day, hoping He would continue to visit us, redeem us, and raise us up from the many challenges we are going to face. But most of all, we are reminded too by Zechariah at this time, on the eve of Christmas, to ponder in our hearts where the Lord is leading us to? Zechariah had seen the hand of God in Israel’s history, in his own life, and could see it also present in the coming life of his son John. It is very clear that God is our leader in life, the invisible hand who directs us. When we come to think of it, Zechariah’s forced silence was a way for him to rediscover again his sense of God and his sense of the sacred. So many times for us, including us priests that although we keep our prayers and devotions, they are devoid of God. One of the things this generation is fast losing is that sense of the sacred when everything is not taken for granted and trivialized. How I hate before the Metro Film Festival during Christmas when we as the only Christian nation in this part of the world celebrates the merriest and longest Christmas are feasting on movies about evil and horror movies. At least these past few years, there have been marked improvements in our film industry with great movies coming out. Last year I was able to see the adaptation of Nick Joaquin’s “Portrait of the Filipino as Artist” that was magnificent in its interpretation of the play.

On these remaining hours of the day before Christmas, imitate Zechariah to get some silent moments with our self and with God to reflect on where is the Lord leading us to this Christmas? What direction in life is He asking us to follow? In the first reading we have heard God asking David to stop his plans of building a temple for Him. There was nothing wrong with building a temple but it was not the plan of God for David but for his son Solomon. The same thing with us: no matter how good our plans are for God and for others, it is the direction God has for us? We can never prepare the way of the Lord unless we first sub it to His plan and follow His directions. A blessed Christmas to you! AMEN. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

*Photo by author, altar linen of our Parish Church. May we follow God’s directions for our lives.

Advent Is Time to Wake Up, to Rise and Walk in Christ

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe-Prayer

Monday, 10 December 2018, Advent Week 2

Isaiah 35:1-10///Luke 5:17-26

As morning breaks on this first working day of the second week of Advent, I echo O Lord Jesus the joyful words of the people of your time,“We have seen incredible things today.” (Lk.5:26)

It is so incredible Lord that in this season of Advent as I try to befriend my inner self in the spirit of prayer and silence, as I try to accept all of me, my worth and unworthiness, the more you are amazingly loving and kind to me. I feel both like the paralyzed and those men in the gospel today who broke the roof of the house where you were staying so they could lower before you their sick friend. And the first words that came from you were not about healing but forgiveness! Most of all, you have forgiven the sick man after you have seen the faith of the friends who have taken apart the roof of your house. What a way of creating a room for you, Lord Jesus!

Teach me to be daring like them in creating a space for you by taking apart the many sins and pretensions I use to cover myself. Help me to take apart the various insecurities where I hide myself that prevent me from meeting you, from welcoming you into my life. So many times, Jesus, you know how I just sleepwalk in my being a Christian when I think I am radically living as your disciple when in fact I am just dreaming, just sleeping.

Teach me to abandon myself to you Lord, to relinquish all false securities that the world offers me. Most of all, let me abandon those thoughts I have about you that are not so you at all, those ideas I have about God like the scribes and Pharisees who have usurped upon themselves the standards of what is holy and not, of what is right or wrong. Let me start living in your pasch, unafraid of being vulnerable and weak so I can rise and walk again, freed from sins and infirmities. AMEN.Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II,Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria,Bulacan 3022.

*Photo by Jim Marpa, 2018. Used with permission.

LMC