Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday, Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II Memorial of St. Jerome, Priest & Doctor of the Church, 30 September 2026
Photo by author, Cabo de Roca, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 15 May 2025.
Many times in life I see myself like Job, Lord: at a loss at how things are happening with me; I cannot complain but deep I know that in this life, good is rewarded, evil is punished; but, how does one explain when bad things happen to good people?
Like Job, I have no claims to holiness but deep inside I am convinced of my innocence in many occasions that I ask, I wonder, I "protest" of the difficulties and sufferings I am going through.
How must I approach, you, Lord?
You are all powerful, you can do anything; should you come near me, I see you not; should you pass by, I am now aware of your coming; should you seize me, what can I say nor do (Job (9:11-12).
Even though I were right, I could not answer him, but should rather beg for what was due to me. If I appealed to him and he answered my call, I could nhot believe that he would hearken to my words (Job 9:15-16).
Truth is, many times I really do not and would never understand for sure the things happening to me except that I just have to trust you more like Job.
Or St. Jerome who went through many ordeals in his life largely due to his own making with his kind of temperament. What matters is that unlike the three would-be disciples in the gospel today, Job, St. Jerome, and hopefully me, your lowly servant Lord, will simply follow you even if we never understand why and how things are turning out in my life.
Let me approach you, Lord, the way St. Jerome had shown and taught us: by praying your Words, the Sacred Scriptures where you speak directly to us in the most personal manner. Amen.
Photo by author, Cabo de Roca, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 14 May 2025.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, 27 September 2026 Ezsekiel 18:25-28 ><}}}}*> Philippians 2:1-11 ><}}}}*> Matthew 21:28-32
It was a week of prayers aided by music I grew up with as it happens most of the time which I believe is part of my being old while unconsciously feeling fearful of the inevitable, death.
But, it isn’t morbid at all. I regard it as simply being realistic.
Like our liturgical calendar that is about to end in nine weeks on November 22 with the Solemnity of Christ the King followed the next Sunday after that on November 29 with the Season of Advent or the four Sunday preparation for Christmas!
Hence, all gospel accounts beginning this Sunday will focus on the coming end of time and the need for us to change our ways to make it to heaven, our final destination in this life.
Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people: “What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ He said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards he changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the father’s will.” They answered, “The first”(Mt.21:28-31).
Photo by author, Jerusalem as seen from the altar of Dominus Flevit Church, May 2017.
Jesus and his disciples have finally reached Jerusalem and this scene today is the day after Palm Sunday when he angrily drove away the traders and money changers in the Temple area that have prompted his enemies led by the elders and priests to come and questioned his authority.
Before giving his answer, Jesus asked them the origin of John’s authority to baptize, God or the people? They declined to answer because they have refused to recognize John’s baptism and that is why Jesus gave them a chance to change their minds and their hearts with this parable of the two sons. It was like Jesus telling them and everyone else including us today to obey follow God.
See now its link with last Sunday’s parable of the workers in the vineyard: Jesus continues to call us to come and work in his vineyard no matter how late; our work in his vineyard never stops and we need to keep doing what is good even if sometimes we fail and falter. Remember too that Matthew presents Jesus as always insisting the need to harmonize and blend what we believe with what we say and most of all, with what we do because “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Mt.7:21).
Photo by author, Anvaya Cove, Bataan, 21 July 2026.
What counts most for Jesus in this parable is not just what or who is in our hearts but what flows from our hearts. Do we walk our talk? There has to be a unity in our faith wherein what we believe is what we say and what we do and live by.
Like the younger son in the parable, we are invited today to be humble and accept our mistakes to do what is right, what is good, what is moral than become like the elder son who said yes to their father but did not obey at all. Many times despite our absolute belief in God, we still think more of ourselves, insisting our own ways and agenda even to our loved ones, unmindful of the disunity we cause in our relationships aside from the pains and hurts we inflict on them whenever our words of love and peace do not match our actions.
There is a saying that goes “A single act of kindness is better than the best intention.” So true! – because our actions prove the veracity and sincerity of our every intention. That’s what God did for us by not merely promising a Savior but fulfilled it in sending us Jesus Christ who died obediently on the Cross which St. Paul eloquently explained today in our second reading we also hear during Christmas and Easter Seasons.
Photo by author, Anvaya Cove, Bataan, 20 July 2026.
We are so blessed this Sunday not only because God fulfills his promises of love and forgiveness but he always gives us endless chances to change our ways, to continuously work things out for the best.
Every Eucharist is a celebration of God’s patience and mercy for us sinners who must be converted again and again and again to make it to His kingdom in heaven. We must always be on guard not to fall into the mistake of the laborers last week who were so focused on their work than on the goodness of the landowner as if they deserved something extra than others which the Prophet Ezekiel echoed in the first reading:
“Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair? When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die. But if he turns from the wickedness he has committed, and does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life”(Ezekiel 18:25-27).
God is not a store nor a credit card who gives “rebates” for whatever good points we “earn” for past purchases for he will judge us with our actions and not intentions. We simply have to strive in doing what is good like that second child in the parable.
Let me end this reflection with this funny story about the talking centipede.
Photo by author, Anvaya Cove, Bataan, 21 July 2026.
A young man decided life would be more fun if he had a most unique pet. So he went to the pet store and told the owner about it. After some discussions, he finally bought a talking centipede, which came in a little white box to use for his house.
The guy took the box back home, found a good spot to place it with the centipede inside and decided he would start off by taking his new pet to church with him.
So he asked the centipede in the box, “Would you like to go to church with me today? We will have a good time.”
But there was no answer from his new pet.
This bothered him a bit, but he waited a few minutes and then asked again, “How about going to church with me and receive blessings?”
But again, there was no answer from his most unique pet. So he waited a few minutes more, thinking about the situation. The guy decided to invite the centipede one last time by putting his face up against the centipede’s house and shouted, “Hey, in there! Would you like to go to church with me and learn about God?”
Then suddenly, a little voice came out of the box, “I heard you the first time! I’m putting my shoes on.”
Smile everyone, God loves you so much! He knows that like the centipede, you have so many shoes to wear, so many shoestrings to tie but God is not in a hurry….just keep on putting on those shoes and keep walking on His path! Amen. Have a blessed end of September.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 25 September 2026 Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 9:18-22
I really wonder, Lord, if you have "made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without men's ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done" (Ecclesiastes 3:11), then what time is it now for me?
A time to weep or to laugh? A time to mourn or to dance? A time to scatter or to gather? A time to be silent or to speak? A time to love or to hate?
Despite our ingenuity and intelligence, we still could not figure out what time it is, Lord, because we can never know you God unless we let go of ourselves, unless we return to you.
And that is why Pete Seeger and the Byrds added those chorus lines before each stanza from today's first reading:
To everything – turn, turn, turn There is a season – turn, turn, turn And a time to every purpose under heaven
Photo by author, Dominus Flevit Church outside Jerusalem, May 2017.
Let me turn, turn, turn to you always to experience your time, dear Lord; let me turn, turn, turn to you so I may see you like Peter as you are in today's gospel - the Christ of God (Luke 9:20), the One who suffered and died but rose again for our salvation!
In your Passion and Resurrection Jesus, you have shown us time is a dimension for us to determine and measure the passing of moments, a reference point to go back in the past, to plan in the future, to experience the present that often escapes us; may we learn from Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull the parting words of the wise Chen after teaching him how to fly higher than most seagulls: "Friendships should depend on nothing like time and space; remove time, we have now, remove space, we have here; don't you think between now and here we could meet once or twice?"
Teach us, Lord Jesus to return to you, to turn away from sins and evil to experience fullness of time in your coming in every here and now. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday, Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 24 September 2026 Ecclesiastes 1:2-11 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 9:7-9
Photo by Ms. Jo Villafuerte, Atok, Benguet, 01 September 2019.
Your words today,
O Lord our God,
both in the first reading
from Ecclesiastes and
the gospel remind me of
Bob Dylan's 1963 song
"Blowin' in the Wind" -
that all these problems
we are facing like wars
and social inequalities
stem from our failure and
refusal to open our eyes
to see the most obvious
things that are just
blowin' in the wind.
How many roads must a man walk down Before you call him a man? How many seas must a white dove sail Before she sleeps in the sand? Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly Before they’re forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind The answer is blowin’ in the wind
Photo by Ms. Jo Villafuerte, Atok, Benguet, 01 September 2019.
Thousands of years
before Bob Dylan came,
there was Qoheleth
telling us,
"Vanity of vanities...
All things are vanity!"
Like the wind,
"Blowing now toward
the south, then toward
the north, the wind turns
again and again,
resuming its rounds"
(Ecclesiastes 1:2, 6).
We simply had to feel what everyone is feeling to be kind, a "kin" to everyone but we are so vain thinking only of our very selves that we can't feel the blowin' of the wind to see you in everyone.
Yes, and how many years must a mountain exist Before it is washed to the sea? Yes, and how many years can some people exist Before they’re allowed to be free? Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head And pretend that he just doesn’t see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind The answer is blowin’ in the wind
Photo by author, Mt. St. Paul Spiritual Center, La Trinidad, Benguet, 07 January 2025.
Two thousand years ago
your Son our Savior
Jesus came to reveal
you to us, Father,
suffering, dying and rising
from the dead but still,
many refused to recognize him,
preferring to be like Herod Antipas
who ordered John the Baptist killed
but when he heard about the Christ,
"And he kept trying to see him"
(Luke 9:9) when he eventually met
and spoke with briefly but never "saw"
at all.
And that is vanity,
O Lord:
when we keep on searching,
wanting to see someone,
something so obviously present
among; open our eyes,
our hearts,
let us not be vain
in order to see what is obvious
we are so oblivious
in finding you on the face
of everyone we meet
no matter what his/her color
and belief and background in life.
Open our very selves to find
you Lord on everyone's face,
to hear the cries and pleas
of those suffering and
disadvantaged, the weakest
like the sick and dying,
the youngest and oldest.
Amen.
Yes, and how many times must a man look up Before he can see the sky? Yes, and how many ears must one man have Before he can hear people cry? Yes, and how many deaths will it take ’til he knows That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind The answer is blowin’ in the wind
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday, Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 22 September 2026 Proverbs 21:1-6, 10-13 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 8:19-21
I pray for all those suffering today, Lord Jesus; for those hoping to see you, to talk to you even for a while like your mother and brothers in the gospel; why did you not go out to see them right away? I felt sad. And disappointed.
The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside annd they wish to see you.” He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of G0d and act on it” (Luke 8:19-21).
Luke never bothered to tell us what they wanted from you, Lord; but your reply got me praying more deeply and these I realized: you love us so much Jesus, your words always in us, in our hearts but many times we do not listen; Mary and your brothers know that so well and they never protested; in fact, they affirmed your words by remaining silent, trusting you as always; most of all, your reply teaches us your disciples to widen, to enlarge the bounds of our family: if we choose to listen and act on the Word of God, we must at the same time become a member of the family of Jesus.
Teach us to be like
that king in the first reading
willing to bow
his will and desires to
God despite his power
and authority;
give me a listening heart,
a will so pliant to your ways
so that I may welcome those
trying to get close to you
Jesus because they hurt;
many times our pains
are so pronounced because
we have no room
for those seeking you,
Jesus.
Amen.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 20 September 2026 Isaiah 55:6-9 ><}}}}*> Philippians 1:20-24, 27 ><}}}}*> Matthew 20:1-16
Photo by a friend at Seabrook, Washington, 06 September 2026
From fraternal correction to forgiving those who sin, Jesus continued teaching his disciples on their way to Jerusalem about some important aspects of living together as a community of disciples, his Church he had founded on Peter the Rock while in Caesarea Philippi five Sundays ago.
Today we hear Jesus teaching us about “work” – another issue in our time that has become so complicated as more employees and workers assert to the point of overextending their rights and privileges without any consideration to others.
We have a Tagalog word for that, pananaghili.
It may sound so beautiful but it is so negative in meaning. Pananaghili is an ill-feeling of envy and jealousy toward another person’s better lot like success, possession, or pleasures like when we complain of others more compensated in doing less or nothing when we did all the work. Exactly like the parable of Jesus this Sunday:
Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give what is just.’ So they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o’clock, the landowner found others standing around and said to them… ‘You too go into my vineyard.’ When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first… So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled agains the landowner… ” (Matthew 20:1-6, 7-8, 10).
Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima, Batanes, September 2018.
Let us return to that Tagalog word pananaghili which often starts at home when we feel being “cheated” by a sibling, when a brother or a sister getting more favors because we feel our parents play favorites. Well, sometimes our pananaghili may be valid with a lot of basis, and sometimes nothing at all except a feeling of entitlement on our part.
But, here is the point that work is lined up with fraternal correction and forgiving: our attitude toward work always result in our kind of relationships with one another and ultimately with God.
Jesus reminds us anew to level up ourselves in looking at all these things especially work. Notice that at the start of his parable, Jesus clarified that work is something to be seen in the realm of the kingdom of heaven, always in relation with God.
Actually, work is always a call and gift from God that is why we must always be grateful by being responsible in our work. This is best expressed by another Tagalog word, hanap-buhay for work not just trabajo. Hanap-buhay literally means to “search life” or life’s meaning. Work is not just trabajo from the Spanish trabajar tinged with that curse in the Old Testament after the fall of Adam and Eve when God said “by the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat” (Gen.3:19).
Photo by author, RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, August 2025.
In the New Testament, right here in this parable, Jesus shows us that work is a sharing, a participating in the work of God. The whole earth is God’s vineyard we are cultivating, we are harnessing. Here we find the interrelationships of man and creation, of environment we all have to care for. In our work, it is God whom we please and seek. We do not work simply to eat and survive; we work to reflect God in whom we are all created in his own image and likeness which is love.
That is why Isaiah invites us in the first reading to seek the Lord, to call upon God while he is near even in our work, in our ministry, in our duties and responsibilities wherever we may be. And when, where do we feel closest to God?
I find it very striking that most often, there is only a hairline difference when we are closest and farthest from God that happens in the realm of sin. What a paradox that we feel God closest when we are most contrite of our sins, and God farthest when we are deep in sin.
Sometimes sin is not that bad at all: when our conscience is bothered with an evil we have done, we become aware of God’s presence, whether near or far. The mere fact we are bothered by our conscience, that is God so near us. Like what the workers hired first felt – they could not outrightly complain to the landowner directly that they just grumbled. Sounds like us, is it not?
This is the purpose of Christ’s parable this Sunday: to bother our selves to examine our nearness and distance from God that is most clear in the area of our work where we are most challenged to be responsible and faithful. See how the landowner representing God confronted one of those workers grumbling against him:
‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one then same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish my own money?’ (Matthew 20:13-15)
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, June 2019.
Remember what we reflected last Sunday: when we sin we not only transgress against another person but firstly with God that it is useless to compare our sins with others that we simply have to forgive because we all sin against God.
In our work whether at home or in the office or wherever, we complain a lot of God being unfair, that we deserve more when in fact God is most just. We forget that truth and reality that God has been most generous with us always. Problems happen the moment we start thinking of being superior than others, of being entitled, assuming a lot of things in our own favor.
Although we cannot deny the fact of many unfair practices happening especially in our country, it all leads to each one’s fidelity to God: if we are truly the disciples of Christ called Christians, whether as an employer or employee, justice must prevail all the time among us. That is why the Church through Pope Leo XIII issued in 1891 Rerum Novarum for the protection of the rights of workers especially women following the excesses of the Industrial Revolution. Historians agree Rerum Novarum is one of the most important document ever produced in the past century with most impact that gave the world the principles of just and living wage, eight hour shifts, private ownership among others.
This Sunday, all our readings affirm God’s words through the Prophet Isaiah that “my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways”, calling us to rise above our very selves in the service of one another for the glory of God.
Retired Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban expressed this perfectly last week when he reminded the senators to not just see the impeachment proceedings in the eyes of laws but most of all to serve justice to the people. His words apply not only to the senators but to everyone especially those with direct impact to the lives of the majority of people so loaded with too much sufferings from the horrendous traffic to poor basic services. Like St. Paul, retired Chief Justice Panganiban seemed to be telling everyone to “conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ” especially those in government. Amen. Have a blessed week ahead.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday, Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Luke 7:36-50
Photo from Getty Images of painting by Frenchman James Tissot of sinful woman anointing and kissing the feet of Jesus in the house of Simon (Lk.7:36-50).
After praying over today's scriptures, I realized, Lord Jesus one gift I think I must ask from you especially now I am already old: the grace of self-composure, of being at home with my self, of being comfortable with my true self.
A certain Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. Now, there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, she stood behind him at his feet weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears. The she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and anointed them with the ointment. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner” (Luke 7:36-39).
Lord Jesus, "mahihiya po ako - sa aking sarili, sa inyo at sa iba pang naroon kung nasaksihan ko po ito ng personal."
It was not an embarrassing moment actually but why all the reactions of Simon and his guests who were his fellow Pharisees?
Because the woman was so truthful, sincere and honest; she did not mind at all the spectacle, the respected people around when she did a public contrition of her sins to Christ; it is not really about us imitating her but imitating you, Jesus who was never bothered by that sinful woman in coming to you, washing your feet with her tears, wiping them dry with her hair, and anointing with oiled perfume.
You were so free, Jesus, from what others may say being approached and touched by a sinner as Simon had thought; you were so free, Jesus, to focus solely with the woman and appreciate her kindness; you were so free, Jesus, to forgive her for all her sins after admitting her own sinfulness, so unlike the others present there, judging the woman, casting doubts on you, Jesus especially after you have forgiven her sins.
There are times, Lord, despite the presence of other people, I am so absorbed with my self that most often I am suspicious of what others are thinking of me that I cannot truly listen and understand their words because I am so insecure with myself; truly, the more I talk of others, the more I talk of myself!
Teach me, Jesus to be comfortable with my self, to be at home with my true self, to be at home with my self so that I may truly express myself to you, Lord; teach me to be like St. Paul who had no any insecurity at all in claiming himself to be "the least of the Apostles" being the persecutor of the early Christians; teach me to be comfortable with my true self so that I may focus more on your abounding grace bestowed on me despite everything so that like you I may focus more on those needing your loving presence and grace. Amen.
Photo by author, patio of St. Agnes Church in Jerusalem, May 2017.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday, Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time, 16 September 2026 Memorial of Sts. Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Luke 7:31-35
Photo by a friend in Seabrook, Washington, 06 September 2026.
Love never fails. In other translations, love never ends.
How lovely, Lord Jesus; and so challenging because many times I think of at least an end to "loving" like when Peter asked you last Sunday "how many times must I forgive my brother who sins to me... is it seven times?"
When you said it is "seventy times seven" - that is clearly what love that never fails.
As I pray to you, I realized every age, every generation in history always thinks itself as the worst, almost hopeless like during this time in our lives not only in the world but in our own country: everything is chaos and disordered, injustice and corruption are the norms followed ironically in this predominantly Christian nation where money not only talks but even shouts.
But, here we are still Jesus: alive and kicking, fighting and surviving, eagerly awaiting our new dawn of salvation in you, Jesus; grant me patience and perseverance to keep loving especially when it seems to be no longer feasible and even not doable; like Sts. Cornelius and Cyprian during their time, it was not persecution per se that was the problem but divisions among early Christians especially in the refusal of some in forgiving and readmitting apostates to to the faith; dear Jesus, teach us to be flexible, more loving than legalistic like your former Pope St. Cornelius and his friend St. Cyprian the bishop who both insisted those who denied their faith while facing persecution may be forgiven and be readmitted; it was clearly choosing to be more loving than to be legalistic.
Teach me, Jesus, to learn to read the signs of the times and most specially your divine will in dealing with the many complicated issues we now face in our being Christians. May in everything we let love prevail for wherever there is love, you are always there, Lord because that is when we have communion and oneness in you. Amen.
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 13 September 2026 Sirach 27:30-28:7 ><}}}}*> Romans 14:7-9 ><}}}}*> Matthew 18:21-35
Photo by a friend in Seabrook, Washington, 06 September 2026.
You must have heard that quote so often, “To err is human, to forgive is divine” from the English writer Alexander Pope’s 1711 poem An Essay on Criticism where he originally wrote “To err is human, to forgive, divine.”
For many it has become a cliche because it is so difficult to forgive. Especially if it has to be done repeatedly. It is among the hardest teachings of Jesus Christ along with the love of enemies, of doing good to those who hate us, and lending without expecting anything back.
In a sense, forgiving is the twin teaching of fraternal correction which Jesus taught us last Sunday; the more difficult it becomes when the wrong done is against us that we feel much like Peter in asking Jesus how many times must we forgive:
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not even seven times but seventy-seven times (Matthew 18:21-22).
NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: (SEPTEMBER 11 RETROSPECTIVE) Smoke pours from the twin towers of the World Trade Center after they were hit by two hijacked airliners in a terrorist attack September 11, 2001 in New York City. (Photo by Robert Giroux/Getty Images)
Like fraternal correction, forgiving is a major concern in this modern time when the means and forms of evil have become sophisticated like terrorism and online scams that unfortunately happen not only on the world stage but right into our personal lives and relationships too.
We have all experienced being pushed to the limits as our patience is exhausted when a beloved is the one sinning against us that is both unacceptable and most unkind of all especially if the sin is committed repeatedly, prompting us to ask God like Peter how many times must we forgive our brother or sister. The figure “seven times” given by Peter is not the literal number but refers to the very many times we have forgiven somebody to wear out our patience.
What Peter was asking was a freedom from calculation of repeatedly forgiving one who repeatedly sins because that kind of forgiveness does not come naturally to any of us humans. Repeatedly forgiving someone who repeatedly sins is most difficult because it abuses our very person, our being Christian.
And there lies the bigger problem and difficulty about repeatedly forgiving someone who repeatedly sins who most often is dearest to us like your husband or wife, our parents or one of your children or a sibling.
The truth is, inasmuch as we ask like Peter so often how many times we must forgive our loved ones, the crux of the problem in forgiving is actually deep inside our hearts we still love them that we just forgive and forgive them. That is the mystery, the most baffling of all: why do we keep on forgiving somebody who keeps on sinning. Recall St. Paul’s words last Sunday “to owe no one except the debt of love” so that the more we love, we realize we can love like Jesus after all because forgiving is actually the work of God in us, with us, and through us in Christ.
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount… Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount… Instead, he had him in prison until he paid back the debt. His master summoned him and said to him, “You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you? Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart” (Matthew 18:22-24, 27-28, 30, 32-35).
St. John Paul II meeting and forgiving his assassin Mehmet Agca in prison two years after the failed assassination attempt to his life at St. Peter’s Square, 13 May 1981.
Jesus explains in his parable that forgiving is actually a work of God, divine in nature as Alexander Pope tells us in his famous line “to err is human, to forgive, divine.”
We forgive because we are forgiven beloved. Jesus grounds this teaching not in willpower but in being like God the master in his parable, “Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?”
Jesus knows us so well as humans, sinful and weak who could not generate forgiveness and mercy out of nothing; it is very clear in his parable that we simply have to let flow towards others something of the forgiveness and mercy we have already received from the Father through him. Ben Sirach stressed this in our first reading, reminding us that our own capacity to receive forgiveness from God is bound up with our willingness to forgive those who have sinned against us.
Worthy of keeping in mind too that Jesus tells at the onset of his parable that forgiving is about the kingdom of heaven, not of this world wherein our debt to God is beyond measure like that servant. While we may argue that we are better than those criminals in jails or those corrupt officials now either sick to stand trial or have fled, it is pointless to compare and “measure” our sins because every sin is not only against another person but to God himself – the Perfect One who is love himself.
Photo from Pinterest.
When we forgive, that is when we level up our existence, when we live in Christ as St. Paul says in the second reading because our lives belong to God and to one another, not as the world tells us to control our lives and be masters of the universe. It is when we forgive that we are truly a church, a body of believers Jesus founded on Peter in Caesarea Philippi because that is when we live and die in Christ, becoming his vessels of mercy and forgiveness.
Most of all, it is in forgiving that we become truly free as a human, when we break free from the past hurts and grievances that pin us down, preventing us from moving forward in life. When we refuse to forgive those who have wronged us, we actually yield to their power and control. Hence, in all practicality, it is always best to forgive.
But there is something most deep and true about forgiving which clearly manifests our own mortality and rootedness in God who is our origin and end, “Remember your last days, set enmity aside; remember death and decay, and cease from sin!” (Sir. 28:6)
This Sunday, we are reminded to check and be aware of any resentments and anger we may still be carrying as we refuse to forgive lest we end like that unforgiving servant. Take this time to forgive for life is really too short to waste in keeping those grudges. Amen. Have a blessed week ahead!
Photo by a friend in Seabrook, Washington, 06 September 2026.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday, Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 10 September 2026 1 Corinthians 8:1-7, 11-13 ><]]]]’> + ><]]]]’> + ><]]]]’> Luke 6:27-38
Photo by author, San Juan, La Union, 08 January 2026.
It is again that most difficult part of your gospel, Lord Jesus, our least favorite of your teachings - “love your enemies.”
Forgive us, Lord because the mere thought of "enemies" turn us off right away; it is wrong but human as we are, there is always that feeling of revulsion, of getting even with those who have hurt us or wronged us; but, we realize too how in the long run it is pure foolishness of keeping that grudge against our enemies because as St. Paul tells us also today, "knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up."
Your teaching for us to love our enemies is not really about our strength and willpower, Jesus but in our likeness with God, "Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful."
Help us,
Jesus,
to pray more
intensely,
to surrender more wholly
to you so that we can
let flow towards others
the mercy you have
showered us.
Amen.
Photo by author, Anvvaya Cove, Morong, Bataan, 21 July 2026.
