Advent is the Comfort of God

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Tuesday, 11 December 2018, Advent Week 2

Isaiah 40:1-11///Matthew 18:12-14

I can strongly feel your words today, God our loving Father: “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; indeed, she has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.” (Is.40:1-2)

If there is one thing I long for today, Lord, one thing I strongly desire from you is comfort. I am so tired and exhausted. Nobody seem to care at all for your ways or for what is good except for what is self-serving. Deafening and maddening are the cacophony of so many voices shouting for what should be, insisting on everyone’s own idea of what is good that at the moment it is better to be silent in your presence.

Strengthen me, Almighty God, for that is what comfort is, “cum fortis” – with strength. Give me comfort to carry on, to strive, to be patient, to bear all pains in silence so that in due time as you shall will, I may rise to strike in your perfect time my enemies who try to divide your flock.

Like your Son our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, give me determination to seek the lost and the tenderness to carry them back on my shoulders to your fold. 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.

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

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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.

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Presence of God, Absence of Man

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Saturday, 08 December 2018

Solemnity of Immaculate Conception

Genesis 3:9-15, 20//Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12//Luke 1:26-38

God our Father, on this most joyous Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I join St. Paul in praying, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.” (Eph. 1:3)

Praise and thanksgiving to you our Father in heaven who has always been present among us, never leaving our side and in fact went out to seek us since the fall of Adam: After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree, the Lord God called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?” (Gen.3:9)

Since that day, we have always been hiding from you, running away from you that the gap had widen so much that you have to send us your Son Jesus Christ to be born like us, become like us except in sin so we may be one with you again.

Yes, O God, we have always been absent from you when you are always present with us and in us though we always refuse to recognize you. In your infinite wisdom and in all eternity, you chose Mary to be immaculately conceived so she may be the worthy vessel of your Son Jesus Christ.

Give us the same grace of Mary to be always present in you, present for you and your will. Give us the courage to say “be it done unto me according to your word” (Lk.1:38) so that we may become your presence too. Give us that emptiness of Mary, of always having a room in our hearts for the Holy Spirit to come upon us and overshadow us with your power to become your presence in this world now so empty of values and meaning, so full of pride and sin and hatred.

Dwell upon us O Lord and fill us with your grace. AMEN.Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II,Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria,Bulacan 3022.

Advent Is Seeing God Among Others

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Wednesday, 05 December 2018, Advent Week 1

Isaiah 25:6-10///Matthew 15:29-37

Like during the season of Lent, Lord, I have always been amazed with the antiphons and prayers of Advent. Since Monday, we have been praying after Communion for the grace to focus more about things of heaven than of earth. And the most amazing thing about it is we really do not have to look up high to see what is heavenly; we simply have to look at one another just like what you did on the mountain today in the gospel.

After receiving the heavenly food last Monday, we prayed “to love the things of heaven and to hold fast to what endures”; then at Tuesday we implored “to judge wisely of the things of earth and to hold firm to the things of heaven” while today we asked “to be cleansed of our faults and prepare us for the coming feasts” in heaven. These are all calls from you, Lord Jesus, for us to see you among our suffering brothers and sisters.

Stir our hearts, O Christ, and move them into pity like when you worried at the great crowd of people that included “the lame, the blind, the mute, and many others” (Mt.15:30) who have followed you for three days on the mountain with nothing to eat. Make us worry like you for all the sufferings of those forgotten by the society and even by their families. Use our hands to “wipe away the tears from all faces” (Is. 25:28) and let us be the heavenly food and drinks to be partaken by everyone after receiving your words and your Body and Blood in the Eucharist.

Come, Lord Jesus, this holy season of Advent, “illumine what is hidden in darkness” (Entrance antiphon) and let your light penetrate my inner self so I may truly see how far I have been from you and from others, and most especially that I may see you as you are so that in the process I may also see my real self. Renew me this season, Jesus, and let me enter your fullness of life. 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, a former colleague at the Varsitarian of UST (circa 1986). Used with permission.

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Advent Is Conversion of the Heart

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Tuesday, 04 December 2018, Advent Week 1

Isaiah 11:1-10///Luke 10:21-24

“Behold, the Lord will come, and all his holy ones with him; and on that day there will be great light” (from the entrance antiphon of today’s Mass).

Has this day come, Lord? It is supposed to have been fulfilled a long time ago in your birth, Lord Jesus, after Isaiah had prophesied of how a “shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” (Is.11:1) But it has not happened yet, remaining only a dream and a sight to behold in our imaginations when there would be peace and harmony at your coming, “when the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the young lion shall browse together with a little child as their guide, the cow and the bear with their young resting as neighbors, the lion eating hay like ox, and the baby playing by the cobra’s den as he lay his hand on the adder’s lair.” (Is.11:6-8)

It is a beautiful sight, a reality we are all wishing for but has never happened despite your coming to us, Lord Jesus Christ. And we know why: because we have not truly welcomed you in our hearts like children.

Give us the grace to be filled with your Holy Spirit, that we may be childlike so that this blessed season of Advent may dispose us to conversion and single-mindedness in you alone. Fill us with your Holy Spirit so we may attend to our deepest needs and hopes like peace and justice by being more compassionate with those who are suffering like the poor and the weak. Let us bring your light in this world darkened with sin and individualism, marred by senseless wars and petty competitions and rivalries among us. Hear our prayer, Lord, that we learn “to judge wisely the things of earth and hold firm to the things of heaven” (from today’s prayer after Communion). AMEN. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan 3022.

*Photo by the author, altar inside our parish sacristy, 03 December 2018.

Advent Is For Discerning The Most Essential

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Monday, 03 December 2018, Advent Week 1

Isaiah 2:1-5///Matthew 8:5-11

Dearest Lord Jesus: Forgive me on this first Monday of December of the first week of the Season of Advent when I joined everyone in the Christmas rush that has nothing to do with your coming at all. Forgive me in feeling it is a time of no room, a time of the end that I have to finish everything, fulfill so many tasks without finding you. Forgive me for being so obsessed with lack of time, lack of space, of having no room even for myself this Christmas.

How sad, and what a shame when I myself forget that Advent in its truest sense as a time of joyful expectation and preparation for your Second Coming is when we must dare to open up for you, when we must create and find more time, more space, and yes – a room in our hearts for you Jesus who is definitely coming again.

Like that centurion in the gospel, grant me that grace to learn and to discern what is most relevant, what is most essential for us individually and communally because with you, there is always plenty of room, plenty of space, and plenty of time for everyone who is welcomed to “climb the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob” (Is.2:3).

May the centurion’s words be my prayer today and always, sweet Jesus: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” (Mt. 8:8). AMEN. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan 3022.

*Photo by the author of the eagle, the symbol of our Patron St. John Evangelist, known for it sharp sense of sight in seeing the details in the life of Jesus Christ. Taken yesterday first Sunday of Advent 2018.

Disturb Me Within, Lord

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Friday, 30 November 2018, Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle

Romans 10:9-18///Matthew 4:18-22

Thank you very much Lord Jesus for the gift of your Apostle Andrew whose feast we celebrate today. I have always loved his attitude of always being disturbed deep within his heart and bringing it out in the open with you.

The moment he first saw you when John the Baptist proclaimed you as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,” Andrew was there, moved in his heart and asked you, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” You asked him and his companion to “come and see,” and he believed you are the Messiah! (Jn.1:35-41)

When you tested Philip in the wilderness and asked him where you could buy food to feed more than 5000 people, Andrew again felt his heart stirred within, presenting to you a boy with a boy with five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish. But, Andrew could not also contain himself in knowing their situation then that he asked you, “what good are these for so many?” And the great miracle happened when everyone was fed and satisfied with so many leftovers! (Jn.6:1-15)

“For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.” (Rom. 10:10)

Indeed, Lord Jesus Christ! St. Andrew the Apostle always believed in his heart, always allowed his heart to be stirred with your words, with your presence, with your feelings. And he dared to open his mouth, to express to you these stirrings in his heart, always asking you and voicing out his feelings and thoughts no matter how crazy or even stupid they may be. But because of his inquiries that you were made known as the Christ!

Give me that grace Lord Jesus, to always recognize the stirrings in my heart, no matter how crazy they may be and to always tell these to you. Give me that same courage Lord to ask you, to express whatever disturbs me deep within so that like Andrew, you may reveal more of your ways, more of your heart, and more of your very Self to me and others. AMEN. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan 3022.

*Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News, Batanes before typhoon Ompong, 14 September 2018. Used with permission. Photo below from Google. St. Andrew, like his brother St. Peter, felt unworthy of being crucified like Jesus Christ; he asked to be crucified on an X-shaped cross.

st.andrew

Prayer to Avoid Destruction

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Thursday, 29 November 2018, Week XXXIV, Year II

Revelation 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3,9///Luke 21:20-28

Lord Jesus Christ, let me put all my trust and hope in you to avoid destruction.

In the world today, all I hear and see are destruction. In your words too are all about destruction. Destruction is inevitable, especially if we remain in our sinful, evil ways. Your words have always been fulfilled and we have always seen how cities and nations have risen and fallen. Most especially, people who have refused to recognize you, those who have dared challenged you, those who have blasphemed you have all vanished, now totally forgotten.

One thing I ask you Jesus Christ is to keep my eyes and my heart open to you, to always heed your voice and your lessons, to always stand erect and raise my head (Lk.21:28) to submit to you, to follow you, to abide in you for that is the only way to avoid destruction and gain redemption.

Let me be among those blessed to have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rev.19:9) by remaining faithful to you, doing what is right and just despite all the destruction going on. AMEN. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan 3022.

*Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News at Natonin, Mountain Province 04 November 2018 after a destructive landslide hit the town. Used with permission.

Prayer to Persevere

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Wednesday, 28 November 2018, Week XXXIV, Year II

Revelation 15:1-4///Luke 21:12-19

Everything you have said in today’s gospel, Lord, is now happening: so many of us are facing so many forms of persecutions, being maligned and hated by so many people filled with evil thoughts and deeds. The other day you told us how false prophets would come claiming to be you as savior and they, too, are now in our midst with mouths full of blasphemies and deceits, sowing confusion and division among us as a people.

I am not complaining, Lord Jesus. I am even thanking you for warning us about these trials and tribulations, assuring us that we need not worry how to defend ourselves from their attacks for not even a hair on our head will be destroyed (Lk.21:14,18).

All I ask you, Lord Jesus Christ is to bless me with the grace of perseverance (Lk.21:19), that amidst this plague that have come upon us as a nation and as a Church, I may sing with the victors of heaven the song of the Lamb John heard in his vision of heaven (Rev.15:2-4).

Let me persevere in loving you Jesus even if I am a sinner.

Let me persevere in following you Jesus even if I often stumble and fall.

Let me persevere in serving you Jesus even if I am self-centered, seeking recognition. AMEN. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan 3022.

*Photo above by my former student, Arch, Philip Santiago, Basilica della Santissima Trinita at Fatima, Portugal during his pilgrimage October 2018. I have always loved this photo shared by Arch. Philip: at the back of the modern metal cross is a mosaic of the Lamb seen by John in Book of Revelation; at the left side is the mosaic of the BVM with Saints Francisco and Jacinta, visionary children of Fatima and to the right is the mosaic of St. John the Baptist. Very modern rendition of old concept in Eastern churches of images above the door of Jesus also at the middle flanked by BVM as the start of the New Testament and John the Baptist who closed the Old Testament. Beautiful images of perseverance in Christ!

Prayer to Look Inside than Outside

adult backpack blur business — Photo by Fabrizio Verrecchia on Pexels.com

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Tuesday, 27 November 2018, Week XXXIV, Year II

Revelation 14:14-19///Luke 21:5-11

Here I go again, O Lord, looking outside, looking at things like buildings and structures, events and other happenings for clues for your coming. Like the people of your time, I ask for signs outside when in fact you always come inside, deep within me.

“See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name… Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.” (Lk. 21:8, 9, 10-11)

Give me the grace of your beloved disciple John to see you coming in my heart. Like the psalmist let me sing “The Lord is king. He has made the world firm, not to be moved; he governs the peoples with equity. He shall rule the world with justice and the peoples with his constancy.” (Ps.96:10, 13)

Let me be faithful to you, be just and most of all be loving and kind to others for you are coming not to destroy us but to renew us in you, Jesus. AMEN. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan 3022.

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