Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday, Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, 09 November 2026 Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 ><}}}}*> 1 Corinthians 3:9-16-17 ><}}}}*> John 2:13-22
Photo by author, Cathedral of the Our Lady of Pillar, Imus, Cavite, 27 October 2026.
Let your zeal for your house consume me, Lord Jesus!
On this feast of the dedication of the St. John Lateran Basilica which is the "mother and head of all churches of Rome and the world", I pray for a thorough cleansing of ourselves and of the Church from the inside; as I pray on that scene when you "made a whip out of cords and drove out all the money changers with their tables" along with the animals and doves being sold there, I see the present situation of your Church, Jesus; yes, we have made the Father's house a marketplace - everything has become a business because we are so afraid of having less, of being poor, of going hungry and thirsty that is why we have gravitated towards the rich and powerful, including corrupt politicians we love rubbing elbows with totally forgetting the poor and the hungry, the very people themselves we are meant to serve we have actually detached from.
Cleanse our very hearts, Jesus, for we your clergy are your vessels and instruments to make known your gospel but sadly we have become so busy with so many other works we have justified, leaving us without time with you in personal, daily prayers that have made our celebrations of the Mass empty, becoming selective in dispensing the sacraments especially Confession and Anointing while our lives drift apart from your ways, we becoming the influencer, the star.
Reignite our zeal for your Church, Jesus that we finally make a firm stand against sin and evils perpetrated by brothers hiding in cassocks and vestments; we pray for every bishop not to dilly dally in their being teachers of faith that they may defend always the teachings of the Church instead of being accommodating with the ways of the world; we pray for every bishop to use their staff in disciplining wayward priests while being fair and just with all their priests.
Let us overturn, Jesus, the systemic culture of silence among us your priests so that we may walk our talks, do away with clericalism and petty turf wars that bloated our ego to forget our calling to bring life and joy to those suffering and in pain especially those at the margins. Amen.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II First Friday, Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time, Year II, 06 Novvember 2026 Philippians 3:17-14:1 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Luke 16:1-8
Photo by author, sunset at Subic Bay, 02 November 2026.
Praise and glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ in reminding me today through St. Paul to find directions in my life to heaven, our true home.
Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters, and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in me. For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their “shame.” Their minds are occupied with earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior; the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:17-20).
Give me, O Jesus, the courage and clarity to truly examine my life and confront myself with the kind of direction I am truly taking my life seen in what occupies my heart and attention, in what I really hunger and thirst for that bring me closer or away from you, Lord.
Most of all, awaken in me, Jesus, your light that I may always be wise like that steward in thinking ahead to do what is good, what is right in dealing with others because the way we treat others show the kind of pathway and direction we are following - are we alone on a highway concerned with one's self or with others on a two way street of respect and justice, kindness and care, love and understanding? Amen.
Photo by author, Cathedral Parish of Our Lady of Pillar, Imus, Cavite, 27 October 2026.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 04 November 2026
Photo by author, Chapel of Our Lady of Ephesus, Bella Rose Gardens, Silang, Cavite, 07 October 2026.
One of the frequently asked question (FAQ) people ask us priests during Undas is why only the name of their departed is mentioned or written for the Mass intentions and prayers for souls?
It is very amusing observing how they wonder of not having the need to write the complete names of their departed loved ones, wary their Mass intentions and prayers might go to somebody else.
Photo by author, baptismal font, Cathedral of Our Lady of Pillar, Imus, Cavite, 27 October 2026.
First of all, God knows in his infinite knowledge and wisdom our intentions for our departed loved ones. Most of all, when we were baptized, the priest did not mention our family names because as baptized Christians, we are God’s beloved children. Therefore, we only have one family in God whom we call “Our Father.”
In the Old Testament, there is one short verse I have loved so much since high school seminary taught to us by our teacher now Msgr. Narsing Sampana that has guided me in life especially when feeling so low and lost,
But now, thus says the Lord… “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine… Because you are precious in my eyes and glorious, and because I love you…” (Isaiah 43:1, 4).
It is very sad how these days how parents think more of most unique names to give their children than check the calendar of saints or the Bible so that kids may have holy role models in growing up. For the Jews as we see in the Bible, names are not only for identification of the person; the name is also the mission of the person like Jesus that means “God saves” or John, “God is gracious”.
Names are most special because they express and deepen our relationships. We know very well that indeed, the most sweet thing to hear is our name being called because it is more than being recognized but most of all a sign of being valued and remembered.
But, names have deep spiritual meanings too as our invisible lines and connections with each other, whether in this life or eternal life. That’s because names have innate value. And power.
Photo by author, sunset at Subic, 02 November 2026.
We not only feel good being called in our own name but we feel our heart is changed, like mellowed and gladdened specially when we call the name of someone dear to us, or simply we are nice with. That is why is very important when we pray for others, we also mention their names, making us grow closer with them.
I only realized this now I am old with longer lists of names to pray for. It was my mother who taught me that whenever I pray, I always mention the names so God would know whom to bless! We were still two siblings then living in Project 7 when Mommy taught us with these exact words for prayer right after we have put on our kulambo:
Thank you very much God for today: Please bless my Daddy Will and Mommy Cory, my sister Meg and I, Nick. Amen.
Later on came my second sister Bing-Bing came and she was added to our list of names to mention in prayer every night. When Bing was learning to speak and it was her turn to learn to pray, Mommy added another prayer just for her, “God, give me patatas” because she loved potatoes in nilaga, pochero, afritada including those little cubes in menudo!
My list of names to pray for grew as our family grew: our bunso also my only brother Willy Boie came in 1973 and in 1995 Meg married Dino my bayaw. They have four children – Katrina Andrea, Fabiola, Dymphna, and Thomas. Will also had a daughter whom I baptized in my first and only parish, Catherine Darla. All of them had nannies whom I prayed for too, just like Mommy’s caregivers until she died in 2024.
Photo by author, Cathedral of Our Lady of Pillar, Imus, Cavite, 27 October 2026.
During our 30-day retreat in Cebu, our Jesuit guide Fr. Arthur Shea (+) told us that mentioning the names of those persons we pray for make our prayers truly personal, assuring us that something beautiful happens within us whenever we mention the names of people we pray for. That’s very true.
The most effective prayer is always those most personal when we specify the people with their names and the intentions we pray for. Even if they do not know us because prayers change and transform people, not situations; when people are transformed, relationships improve, peace and harmony happen among us. Mentioning the name of people we pray for is practical as it lessens the anger and negativities we have against any person. Most of all, it is difficult to pray for people we hate and thus, mentioning their names not only make our prayers effective but also affective.
The same is true with people we do not know at all but still pray for like the anonymous drivers who transport us, the vendors and bakers who provide us with all kinds of goods and others who provide us with the goods and services we need daily. When we pray for specific peoples like the the sick, the prisoners in jail especially the innocent ones, and yes, the corrupt government officials, we learn to think more of other people, to see more outside of ourselves and search for those in the margins and forgotten whom God loves so much.
When I was in first year theology in 1993, I was so overjoyed in the historic meeting in Oslo, Norway of Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin (later assassinated) and the late PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat because I have been praying for peace in Israel since I re-entered the seminary. It convinced me that God answers prayers no matter how simple or complicated it may be. Though peace remains elusive in that part of the world, I still pray for the people in Israel and the Middle East especially after I had visited the Holy Land thrice and now with the war still going on there.
Beloved: First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
When we pray for one another as St. Paul tells Timothy, that is when we begin to identify everyone and find our relationships with them as brothers and sisters whom we must love and respect to make this world a better place to live in. It all begins in our hearts because when we pray, we make a space in our hearts for other people. Then God comes as we find in Jesus Christ’s healing of the centurion’s servant (Lk.7:1-10). See how in this version by Luke the Jews “approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, ‘He deserves to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.’ And Jesus went with them” (Lk.7: 4-6). Jesus answered their prayers because he must have been so surprised with their attitude toward the pagan because finally, they saw not differences but similarities as persons believing in God.
When we mention names of people, that is when we recognize them as one of us too, making our prayers effective and affective as change and miracles begin to happen. Whether in this life or in eternity, for sure. Let us pray for one another. Amen.
Photo by author, Bella Rose Gardens, Silang, Cavite, 07 October 2026.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 03 November 2026
A week before Undas, we went to Imus, Cavite; it was my first time and in obedience to my late mother's instruction, we went to pray at the Cathedral Parish of Our Lady of the Pillar.
According to tradition, Saint James the Greater was discouraged at his preaching of the Gospel in Spain with very few converts; the Blessed Mother who was still then living in Jerusalem appeared to him via bilocation at the banks of Ebro River in Zaragoza, Spain while standing on a jasper column. Mary gave the pillar to Saint James with the instruction to build a chapel in her honor there that became the Cathedral-Basilica of Zaragoza, considered as the first Marian apparition in history that happened on the year 40, second day of January.
Saint James eventually won many converts and returned to Jerusalem where he was martyred in the year 44 to become the first among the Apostles to shed blood for the Gospel. His remains were later translated back to Spain, reaching its final destination in the now famous Santiago de Compostela.
I have always wanted to go on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain but it seems God has other plans for me; while praying there at Imus, it just dawned upon me that we can always do that pilgrimage to any holy site first in our hearts, in our own hallowed hiddenness.
Right inside this beautiful Cathedral in Imus after praying, I felt taking my iPhone to observe the steps, the internal camino of many other pilgrims coming there only with their hearts for Jesus with Mary.
Like this man silently, intensely praying.
I have realized that hiddenness is a sacred presence where each of us can be all by one’s self focused on God who is the root of our being and existence.
According to St. John Paul II, God created man first to be alone with Him. And that is how it will be to each of us in the end: we die alone. With God in Jesus.
We all have this gift of hiddenness within whenever we desire to be still, for some “me” time to rediscover and find one’s self anew.
“In our society we are inclined to avoid hiddenness. We want to be seen and acknowledged. We want to be useful to others and influence the course of events. But as we become visible and popular, we quickly grow dependent on people and their responses and easily lose touch with God, the true source of our being. Hiddenness is the place of purification. In hiddenness we find our true selves” (Fr. Henri Nouwen).
Hiddenness is the passageway to the great gifts of silence and stillness that lead us to the deeper truths and realities of life, of self, ultimately of God.
Silence is the language of God; silence precedes very communication by God something we have refused to learn about communication that is why we quarrel a lot, misunderstanding each other always.
We never dialogue nor communicate but simply talk, talk, and talk without silence in order to listen to others.
Hiddenness is God’s mode of presence that cannot be captured nor described in human terms. That is why He is hidden. It is not that God is hiding from us but He is inviting us to be intimately close with Him to exclusively and personally experience Him, be filled with Him.
It was the same thing Jesus did on Easter, remaining hidden before finally appearing to Mary Magdalene whom He stopped from touching Him to signal her and us today of the new level of relating with the Risen Lord in hiddenness.
In all Easter stories, we are told how the disciples fell silent whenever Jesus appeared to them. In Emmaus, after the breaking of bread, the two disciples finally recognized Jesus who immediately vanished because Jesus wanted them and us today to follow Him personally in His hiddenness to find Him and ourselves too.
Appearances, images and noise are fleeting.
The most significant moments and insights we have in life are those that come from our long periods of silence, of prayers and soul-searching.
This November as we continue to remember all those who have left us in this world, let us keep its sacred origins in the hiddenness of our hearts: All Saints Day for those souls already in heaven and All Souls’ Day for those who have departed but still being purified in the purgatory.
Both invite us to “hide” in prayers, in silent remembering to experience God and our departed loved ones in the most intimate and personal manner without the gadgets and things that numb us of their presence. Amen. Have a blessed and meanigful All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days!
Lord My Chef Sunday Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Solemnity of All Saints, 01 November 2026 Revelation7:2-4, 9-14 ><}}}}*> 1 John 3:1-3 ><}}}}*> Matthew 5:1-12
Thousands of people arrive to pray at the graves of their relatives at a cemetery during the annual observance of All Saint’s Day in Manila on November 1, 2019. Photo by Ted Aljibe, AFP.
The way we Filipinos say goodbyes illustrates vividly – with a dash of some humor – the theology of our celebrations of All Saints Day and All Souls Day we collectively call as Undas.
When we are in a party or any gathering, we never say we are leaving like alis na ako that sounds rude, or layas na ako that is tinged with anger while diyan na kayo could mean burning of one’s bridges, a sort of total separation.
Normally, we say goodbyes either by saying tutuloy na po ako or mauna na po ako. The po is optional but both are the most kind and accepted way of telling everuyone we are leaving. our hosts we are leaving. Tutuloy na ako literally in English is “I’m coming in”when you are actually going out to leave while mauna na po ako means I’m going first or will go ahead of everybody whereas no one is following you especially the host.
But here are the twists in these Filipino goodbyes: both indicate our being Christians, of our deeply ingrained religiosity no matter how hard some would deny. Whenever we say tutuloy na ako, mauna na ako, we unconsciously or subconsciously express our hunger and thirst for heaven, for eternal life.
To say tutuloy na ako is to express that basic truth we all die with one final destination which is heaven in eternal life.
To say mauuna na ako is an affirmation of our other famous maxim about death, una-una lang yan, that nobody knows who’s going to die among us next.
Every time we bid goodbye to anyone, we express this holy desires to be in heaven, to be with God, to be like all the Saints we celebrate on this first day of November.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied” (Matthew 5:1-2, 6).
Photo by author, Baguio City, July 2018.
In this time of faith in a mass-mediated culture that thrives in promoting pleasures and merry-making alongside with overflowing food and drinks while more others are starving and dying in hunger and still more are without potable water to drink, we find the fourth beatitude a rarity.
Notice how bacchanalian our generation has become with all the food apps and restaurants offering a plethora of food and drinks so glorified in social media called “food porn”, a prostitution of food and drinks. How sad so many people has become so insensitive in posting all their food in social media without any deference for the poor who could barely make ends meet for a decent meal thrice daily. See how so few among us Catholics really fast or go on abstinence every Ash Wednesday and Good Friday with all of our excuses and alibis.
Photo by author, side entrance to Church of Beatitudes, the Holy Land, May 2019.
Very sad.
Hence, Jesus called “blessed” those who hunger and thirst for righteousness because it is an affirmation of our faith in him who told the devil in the wilderness that “man does not live by bread alone but by every that comes forth from the mouth of God” (Mt.2:4). To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to value more the soul than the body. It is an appetite for the sacred and for things of deeper value and importance than those that are fleeting and superficial like food and drinks and other pleasures including those that bloat our egos.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness because it is a desire to be holy first of all, a desire for God himself, a desire for heaven. Righteousness for the Jews is holiness which is the observance of God’s Laws and Commandments. But, problem with this frame of mind as we have seen since the other Sunday is the tendency to be legalistic, to see more the Laws than the person that ultimately, fails to see God in one another.
Holiness is being filled with God like the souls already in heaven called Saints. They are holy because they have been purified of their sins and therefore filled with God as John tells us in his vision of heaven of great multitudes wearing white robes washed in the Blood of the Lamb.
But for us still on earth, still battling with sin and evil, holiness is being filled with God but not sinless. And because we are filled with God, we strive always to work alongside with Christ, bearing all the pains and sufferings he bore first for us for the sake of righteousness, of justice and peace. In this world when conformity to whatever “everyone is doing” is the rule of the game like corruption, dishonesty, and infidelity, being hungry and thirsty with the poor and suffering is our strongest signs of protest and resistance against the prevailing evils of our time. Being hungry and thirsty for righteousness is also being hungry and thirsty for the Kingdom of God because that is a sharing in Christ’s Passion and Death leading to his glorious Resurrection.
Photo from bloomberg.com of a homeless man in New York City during a fashion week in summer 2019.
The most difficult daily struggle we all contend with is our hunger and thirst, our most basic instincts for the most basic needs of food and water in order to live; without food and water, we grow weak and die. However, hunger and thirst tend us to overindulge with food and drinks because these readily give us pleasures, making us forget the more essential things in life.
That is why the need for some forms of sacrifices like abstinence and fasting not only with food and drinks but anything that gives us pleasure and comfort so that we learn to desire for higher things like God, holiness and virtues.
The fourth beatitude is most timely in a world that has become so consumerist where only matter matters with everything reduced to pera pera lang with God slowly being deleted from daily life scenes. See how our world has become like showbiz with all the glitz and glamor with everything for show or palabas that despite the abundance we now enjoy not only in food and drinks but almost everything, the more we have become empty and alienated within.
Blessed are you if you hunger and thirst for righteousness because it is a grace reminding you of that fact many forget that the world and everything here passes. Being hungry and thirsty for righteousness is having God in your heart, of experiencing his love, of working to love others so that they too may experience God because they have been so hungry and thirsty for love and kindness, care and concern from others.
What do you hunger and thirst for these days?
How sad that with all these technologies we now have meant to bring us closer with one another have actually brought us apart. Worst of all, the very technologies meant to work for us now enslave us, becoming not only the gods of many but masters too. Blessed are you in your hunger and thirst for God because he alone in Christ Jesus can truly satisfy us here and hereafter. Dwell in the love of God in Jesus Christ John tells us in the second reading like the saints who have gone ahead of us, resisting all evils and temptations to sin for only the Lord satisfies us. Amen. A blessed All Saints’ Day to you!
A panel of Fra Angelico’s painting (1423-24) “The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs” from wikipedia.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-30 ng Oktubre 2026
Larawan kuha ng may-akda, Anvaya Cove, Hulyo 2026.
Isang kaibigan nakita kong dumaing sa kanyang post sa Facebook sa sobrang mahal daw ng mga bulaklak isang linggo pa man bago mag-Undas. Sa mga panahong ito, pangalawa sa mga sementeryo, mga tindahan ng bulaklak gaya ng sa Dangwa ang puntahan ng maraming tao.
Buhay man o patay, bulaklak palagi ang ating handog sa ating mga mahal sa buhay. Wika nga sa Inggles, “say it with flowers” sapagkat ito na ang pinakamabisang pagpapahayag ng tunay na saloobin sa lahat ng pagkakataon. Wala ka na talagang sasabihin pa kapag ikaw ay nagbigay ng bulaklak kanino man. Ano man ang okasyon. Hatid ng mga ito ang tuwa at kagalakan sa sino man nagdiriwang ng buhay at tagumpay, maging ng kagalingan at lakas sa may tinitiis na sakit at hilahil. Sari-saring kulay, hugis at anyo, iisa ang pinangungusap ng bulaklak sa lahat ng pagkakataon, buhay at kagalakan at kaisahan ng magkakaibigan at magkasintahan, mag-asawa at mag-anak, magkaano-ano man.
Maliban sa tao, ang mga bulaklak at halaman na ang pinakamagagandang nilikha ng Diyos upang ipadama at ilarawan sa atin ang Kanyang kagandahan at kabutihan, katamisan at pagmamahal. Gayon din tanda ang mga ito ng Paraiso kaya bawat kasalan at lamayan, pinupuno ng mga bulaklak at halaman paalala ng langit na ating pinagmulan at hantungan.
Isang tagpo tuwing Biyernes Santo at Sabado Santo ang hindi nabibigyang halaga ng marami, ang paglilibing kay Jesus.
Sa pinagpakuan kay Jesus ay may isang halamanan, at dito’y may isang bagong libingang hindi pa napaglilibingan. Yamang noo’y araw ng Paghahanda ng mga Judio, at dahil sa malapit naman ang libingang ito, doon nila inilibing si Jesus (Juan 19:41-42).
Hindi nagkataon lamang na inilibing si Jesus sa may halamanan dahil pagsapit ng Pasko ng Pagkabuhay, kay sarap namnamin ang Kanyang Pagkabuhay doon sa halamanan ay isang uri ng “return to Paradise”, “return to Eden” wika nga.
Kaya nga nang lapitan ni Jesus si Magdalena habang umiiyak dahil wala ang Panginoon sa libingan, napagkamalan niya si Jesus bilang hardinero. Paalala ito na ang Paraiso ay di lamang ating patutunguhan kungdi doon din nagsimula ang lahat sa Paraiso bago nagkasala mga unang tao.
Pagtatagpo nina Magdalena at Jesus noong Pasko ng Pagkabuhay sa kanyang libingan mula sa commons.wikimedia.org
Noong Martes, sinabi ni Jesus sa ebanghelyo na ang paghahari ng Diyos ay “Katulad ng isang butil ng mustasa na itinamin ng isang tao sa kanyang halaman” (Lk.13:19).
Bawat isa sa atin ay halamanan ng Diyos, a garden of God. A paradise in ourselves.
Katulad ng ano mang halaman, kailangan natin ng mainam na lugar, taniman.
Noong ako ay naka-assign pa sa paaralan sa Malolos, palagi kong tinitiyak sa mga magulang kapag kami ay nagki-kick out ng estudyante na hangad pa rin namin kabutihan ng kanilang anak na ay isang halaman, minsan mainam na ilipat ng paso o taniman upang tumubo at lumago. May ilan naman sa mga na-kick out ko noon ang nagpapasalamat naman sa akin ngayon dahil daw nakabuti rin yung karanasan at sila ay nakapagtapos ng ibat ibang kurso.
Iyon din ang sinabi kamakailan sa Wimbledon ng ating tennis sensation na si Alex Eala, “kapag lumago, hindi na hihinto” at naging tanda niya ang bulaklak ng halamang Sampaguita.
Maraming pagkakataon pinababayaan natin ating mga sarili tulad ng halaman na hindi dinidilig ni nililinang. Kung minsan naman, hindi nating maintindihan sa kabila ng ating pangangalaga, tila walang nangyayari sa ating sarili, tulad ng halamanang walang tumubo o lumago, mamunga o mamulaklak sa kabila ng pagaasikaso.
Nguni’t maraming pagkakataon din naman na namumulaklak, nagbubunga tayo tulad ng halamanan dahil ang tunay na lumilinang sa atin ay ang Panginoong Diyos na mapagmahal. Ayon kay Sta. Teresa ng Avila, ang pananalangin ay ang tubig na ating dinidilig sa ating sarili na katulad ng halaman upang lumago at mamulaklak.
Kamakailan ay nagpalit ako ng tubig ng mga alaga kong water plants sa aking silid at ako’y natigilan nang maalala ko bigla aking yumaong Ina na napakahusay sa paghahalaman. Mayroon siyang “green thumb” na hindi ko namana sa kanya.
Kahit maliit lamang aming lupain noon sa lumang bahay namin haggang sa kanyang munting tindahan, sagana siya sa pananim tulad ng mga rosas at orchids, cactus, mayana, violets at mayana, sari-saring halaman sa paso at lupa gaya ng papaya, atis, langka, pati kamote at sili sa gilid ng bahay namin ay mayroon siya.
Ako naman, hindi makabuhay ng ano mang halaman. Katunayan noong first year high school kamuntik ako bumagsak sa gardening dahil wala akong nabuhay na pananim. Umani na ng pechay at talong mga kaklase ko, walang tumubo sa aking plot kaya sabi ng mommy ko, kamote ang aking itanim. Kapag daw yun hindi ko pa nabuhay, ako na raw ang kamote! (Nabuhay naman po at ako ay nakapasa.)
Nang magkaroon ako ng sariling parokya noong 2011, kapag dumadalaw sila sa akin isa sa mga inaalam ni Mommy ay ang aking mga alagang halaman na galing sa kanya. Madalas hindi ako makasagot kasi, palaging mayroong namamatay sa mga iyon tuwing darating siya. Pati water plants! Sabi niya sa akin noon, “ano ka ba naman anak, water plant na lang napapatay mo pa? Masyadong mainit iyong mga kamay,” aniya.
Isa sa aking mga waterplants na buhay pa mula 2021.
Isang bagay nakalimutan kong sabihin kay Mommy bago siya mamatay noong 2024 ay nakakabuhay na ako ng water plant sa kuwarto ko sa bago kong assignment sa Fatima Valenzuela.
Kaya noong Martes na ang ebanghelyo ay tugkol sa halaman ng mustasa, habang ako ay nagpapalit ng tubig ng aking mga water plants, naisip ko marahil masaya na sa kabilang buhay si Mommy kasi nakabuhay na ako ng halaman.
Sinabi din niya sa akin noong bata pa ako, dapat daw marunong akong mag-alaga ng halaman at hayop dahil tanda raw iyon na makakabuhay na rin ako ng tao.
Siguro nga. Kaya ko nang mabuhay maski wala na siya, paalala marahil nitong aking mga halaman.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 20 October 2026
Detail of the fingers of Adam and God “connecting” in Michaelangelo’s “Creation” painting at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican; from commons.wikimedia.org.
This piece is long overdue but recent events in my life, though so simple, convinced me to finally put into words my thoughts about connection and connecting.
We are all created to connect as Michaelangelo perfectly portrayed in his painting of the Creation at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican which is widely used in many ads, from Levi’s jeans to every major telephone companies around the world.
Because, with connections, we live, we prosper, we grow. Without it, we decay. Then die.
Michaelangelo’s “Creation” painting, the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican; from commons.wikimedia.org.
According to a recent TED talk episode I have seen, the top leading predictor for longevity in life is the kind of relationships or connections we keep in life. In a study of thousands of people from different backgrounds, it was found that people actively connected, actively interacting with others are the ones who live longest. The study ranked obesity and smoking way below as predictors of longevity; so, keep connecting, clicking wine glasses and beer pitchers with friends and relatives!
Any break in connections is an indication of separation and isolation. Of sin, most of all. That is why, any relationship on the rocks or had gone sour is always marked by cold silence among family and friends, even plain acquaintances. You see them suddenly not talking to each other, refusing to eat together, even avoiding to look at each other.
Photo by author, St. Michael Retreat House, Antipolo City, July 2026.
Many times our connections happen unconsciously. Or serendipitously where magic often happens, like love at first sight perhaps. It can happen with people we casually take as one of the guys, one of those ordinary folks we meet daily in work or in the neighborhood.
Last Sunday I was invited by one of our drivers in the University to attend his birthday party thrown by his elder sisters in a restaurant in Bulacan near our home. It turned out that weeks before his birthday, he had asked some people in the office to invite me because he was too shy to ask me personally; but, everyone told him malabo pumunta si Father, busy yun kasi Sunday.
But, he tried his luck when we bumped into each other at the lobby of our building one afternoon, blurting out in successive words his invitation with quick excuses that he would ot mind at all if I am so busy and tired. Because it would be his 60th birthday, I assured him I would come.
And glad that I came, even so late.
It was only then when I learned of his life story as he cried expressing his fervent wish to be reunited with his wife and children. One of his friends thanked me as I left the party, saying how Rollie was deeply happy and affirmed, kahit na isang driver lang siya,pinuntahan siya ng isang pari. The following Monday, we met again at the lobby, he shook my hands and warmly expressed his gratitude to my coming to his party that made his elder sisters so happy too.
That’s when I realized how it mattered a lot to him. I have experienced it so many times in my 28 years of priesthood, of how people look up to us priests that it was an honor for them to receive us as their guests. This is most true with those with less in life, saying the same lines over and over, mabuti naman po Father pinuntahan ninyo kami maski mahirap lang kami. People like it most when we priests connect with them no matter what is their situation in life, when we smell like them our sheep as Pope Francis would always say of us priests.
Many times, we take our connections for granted, taking them as so simple with no big deal at all but for some, it means the whole world for them because every connection leads to joy and freedom: the joy of acceptance, the joy of friendships that make us realize that we do not have to pretend to be somebody else, to be free and be our true selves because we are accepted and appreciated. Most of all, because of feeling connected, we feel not alone, always with somebody at our side, giving us the strength to forge on in life even when everything seems to be dark and bleak, difficult and fearsome. Or even when we feel ourselves in a mess, we feel we have connections that will pull us through.
Photo by author, 28 September 2026.
Last September 28, we were invited to join the birthday celebration of Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Dagupan-Lingayen Archdiocese.
For the longest time even before getting ordained, I have always looked up to him and admired him from afar. That is why I felt so glad and blessed when my brother priests in my first assignment were his contemporaries at San Carlos Seminary that we finally got to personally meet and know each other. From then on, we would always meet on many occasions in simple greetings and short conversations.
On his birthday celebration, I felt a different connection. A blessed one because it is something so priestly, so unique that I felt him as a father and a brother.
He invited our group, the Ephesus Cares Ministry to join him in celebrating his birthday Mass with their retired priests; kami lang daw ang iba niyang bisita maliban sa kanilang mga pari.
It was on that occasion of Bishop Soc’s birthday when I got this idea about connections, of being connected.
How I loved that scene at the chapel before the Mass and blessing of new duplex homes for their retired priests: there was Bishop Soc praying in silence in front, connecting with Jesus our Eternal Priest. This is something Bishop Soc has consistently taught in his talks and homilies especially to priests and lay people alike: our strongest connection in life is prayer to be in communion with God in Jesus always because when everything else fails in life, God remains connected with us.
Later, the retired priests came and all the more I appreciated the scene in their chapel: Bishop Soc connected with his elderly priests! How edifying to see and experience the bishop choosing to connect exclusively with his retired, sick, and elderly priests on his birthday. How wonderful that after all the other birthday celebrations tendered for him, Bishop Soc chose to close his birthday celebration with a Mass and dinner with his priests, retired and active. No outsiders nor laypeople except our Ephesus Cares volunteers.
During dinner, Bishop Soc asked me to sit beside him in the table with his other priests. We talked a lot of things but what I like most was when he told me I am always welcomed there or even in his residence in case I want to rest, to get connected with Jesus. And he is willing to guide me too.
A week after that, I received from the mail a letter from Bishop Soc thankin me for coming to his birthday and for the card I have given him that day. He asked only for one thing: that I pray for his priests and his seminarians preparing for the priesthood that they may have the strength to remain good priests. It was something I never expected considering his busy schedule but here is a Bishop we see and hear and read everywhere proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. He is so good at it because he is clearly so connected – with God, with himself and with others. Salamuch for connecting with me. Let’s keep connected. God bless!
Photo by author, Villa San Rafael Retirement Home for Priests, Bonuan, Dagupan City, 28 September 2026.
Lord My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 11 October 2026
Photo by author, The Manila House, BGC, June 2025.
There’s an old saying that goes “If you want to change the world, change yourself first and the world changes.”
So true. It is so easy to join the numerous advocacies today that range from care for environment and providing clean, drinking water for the poor, housing programs and feeding programs and almost anything you can think of but these are nothing if we do not first change our very self.
It is a call for us to make that important decision to always choose Jesus Chris and be clothed in his charity and service, justice and mercy, kindness and respect for life that all begins in us, in our heart and soul.
That is why we find Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror so appropriately related with this Sunday’s gospel. Though a part of his 1987 Bad album, it was only released as a single the following year that peaked at number 1 in the Billboard Hot 100, reaching the charts anew both in the US and the UK after Jackson’s death in 2009.
We were growing up in the 70’s when MJ first mesmerized us as that youngest among his brothers making up the Jackson 5; as we matured into teens and adulthood, MJ was always there as the soundtrack of our lives reaching his highest heights in hit albums Thriller and Bad.
Without any intention of downplaying his talents and genius, for me, MJ’s true artistry finally came out after his death; it was after 2009 as we have seen in the many features and recent movies about him that MJ was more than a superstar and cultural icon. He is an artist par excellence. I realized this most whenever I would listen to his music that has become a classic in the truest sense. And there are three songs I have come to love so much only after his death: Man in the Mirror, They Don’t Care About Us (1995), and Black or White (1991).
Photo by author, Our Lady of Ephesus Chapel, Bella Rosa Gardens, Silang, Cavite, 07 October 2026.
We loved listening to his songs when he was still alive because they were groovy, great to the senses, danceable and really hot. But after his death, I just felt surprised he sang these three songs. Unlike his other songs mostly about love and relationships, Michael ventured into social issues that touched souls and consciousness. From being a hit-maker, MJ had transformed into someone who hits our inmost being, awakening our consciousness of deeper truths and realities like equality of everyone regardless of color or race or creed.
Exactly like Man in the Mirror that was actually composed by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett who were asked by the late Quincy Jones to write another hit for MJ. But Garret had other things in her mind when she thought about the concept of a man looking in the mirror – into one’s self first to change the world. Jones loved the lyrics and music by Ballard and Garrett while MJ embraced it as his anthem – of the need for self-reflection to change the world. He even asked the two composers to expand and modify the lyrics that included gospel vocals by the Andrae Crouch Choir.
Moreover, its music video is the most unique of MJ’s other productions that always featured him: he never appeared in Man in the Mirror that is actually a montage of suffering people in sepia and black and white as well as the personalities behind the great events – for better or for worse – in history as well as other social realities that invite us to look into ourselves what have we done for the advancement of peace, justice, and equality among peoples.
The opening music is so haunting with keyboards sounding like chimes or winds blowing in the cold that right away stirs your soul, making you wonder in retrospect, did MJ sing this and why did we not realize right away its deeper meaning? Here is a Michael who had matured as a person. And an artist. Even activist. A music that moves you not only to sing and dance but reflect and meditate. Just like the parable of Jesus this Sunday.
I'm gonna make a change For once in my life It's gonna feel real good Gonna make a difference, gonna make it right
As I turn up the collar on my favorite winter coat This wind is blowin' my mind I see the kids in the street with not enough to eat Who am I to be blind, pretending not to see their needs?
A summer's disregard, a broken bottle top And a one man's soul They follow each other on the wind, ya know 'Cause they got nowhere to go That's why I want you to know
I'm starting with the man in the mirror I'm asking him to change his ways And no message could have been any clearer If you wanna make the world a better place Take a look at yourself and then make a change
Na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na-na-na Uh-huh
I've been a victim of a selfish kinda love It's time that I realize There are some with no home, not a nickel to loan Could it be really me pretending that they're not alone?
A willow deeply scarred, somebody's broken heart And a washed-out dream (a washed-out dream) They follow the pattern of the wind, ya see 'Cause they got no place to be That's why I'm starting with me
I'm starting with the man in the mirror (who?) I'm asking him to change his ways (who?) And no message could have been any clearer If you wanna make the world a better place Take a look at yourself and then make a change
I'm starting with the man in the mirror (who?) I'm asking him to change his ways (who?) And no message could have been any clearer If you wanna make the world a better place Take a look at yourself and then make that change
I'm starting with the man in the mirror (oh, yeah) I'm asking him to change his ways (oh, you better change) No message could have been any clearer If you wanna make the world a better place Take a look at yourself and then make the change
You gotta get it right while you got the time 'Cause when you close your heart (you can't) Then you close your (your) mind (that man, that man)
With the man in the mirror, oh, yeah (that man, that man) I'm asking him to change his ways (that man, that man, that man) Oh, you better change (you know, that man) And no message could have been any clearer If you wanna make the world a better place Take a look at yourself and then make that change
I'm gonna make a change It's gonna feel real good, shamone (change) Just lift yourself, you know You've got to start with yourself (yeah)
I gotta make that change today (Man in the mirror) you've got to You got to start with yourself, brother (Yeah) you know
I've got to be that man, that man (Man in the mirror) you've got to You got to move, shamone, shamone You got to stand up (yeah), stand up (make that change), stand up Stand up and lift yourself now (man in the mirror)
Go make that change, shamone (man in the mirror) You know it, you know it, you know it, you know (change) Make that change
The song is more than five minutes and if you went through the lyrics, it is truly like a gospel, a good news that disturb and move us to be dressed in Jesus Christ’s simplicity and humility to truly make a change in the world. The music speaks loudly and clearly the silence of that man not dressed in wedding attire in the parable. May it do the same to us!
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday, Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year II Memorial of Our Lady of Rosary, 07 October 2026 Acts 1:12-14 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Luke 11:1-4
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, Quezon City, March 2024.
After leaving the minor seminary in 1982, I felt my priestly vocation anew in 1990 while working as a reporter at GMA News. And one of the stumbling blocks that delayed me in finally deciding to give it another try had something to do with the Holy Rosary: I could not believe if God was really calling me to become a priest because I did not pray the Rosary. Fact is, I did not like the Rosary at all while in high school seminary because it was repetitive and too long to pray.
All the priests I consulted during that time clarified that the Rosary is a devotion that is distinct from the priesthood, that it is not a determinant whether one has a priestly vocation or none at all. Eventually, I resigned from GMA News, went back to the seminary in 1991, becoming a priest in 1998 along with my six classmates.
And I must confess, I still did not have that devotion with the Holy Rosary until I was assigned to a parish of my own in 2011. It was a devotion that did not happen instantly but slowly in 2016 as demands in the ministry grew, I felt the need for more prayers aside from our Liturgy of the Hours and daily meditations before the Blessed Sacrament. It was during the COVID pandemic when I found myself praying the Holy Rosary daily until I literally fell in love with it becoming an integral part of my prayer life. It was a coming into full circle for me, from being a big question mark before, now the Rosary has become an essential response to my priesthood.
The Rosary of the Virgin Mary… still remains, at the dawn of this third millennium, a prayer of great significance, destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness. It blends easily into the spiritual journey of the Christian life, which, after two thousand years, has lost none of the freshness of its beginnings and feels drawn by the Spirit of God to “set out into the deep” (duc in altum!) in order once more to proclaim, and even cry out, before the world that Jesus Christ is Lord and Saviour, “the way, and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6), “the goal of human history and the point on which the desires of history and civilization turn” (St. John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Introduction).
Photo from canningliturgicalarts.com, painting of the Battle of Lepanto Bay with our Lady of Victory or Rosary.
On this Memorial of the Our Lady of the Rosary that had its origins in after Pope St. Pius V attributed to it the victory of the Christians forces agains the Ottoman Turks at Lepanto Bay in 1571, countless devotees worldwide will pray the words that Jesus taught his disciples.
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come…” (Luke 11:1-2).
It is one of the most beautiful requests by the Apostles to our Jesus Christ, “Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples.” Who else can teach so well how to pray even us today but Jesus, the Son of God?
In calling God Our Father, Jesus taught us the basic truth of every prayer that it is never alone nor solitary but always implies a community, a family — that we are all called and gathered to be one in God. It is a prayer that is all about relationship with the Father, reliance on the Father, faith in the Father.
Again, we read St. John Paul reflecting on the nature of the Holy Rosary that at every mystery starts with the Our Father:
After listening to the word and focusing on the mystery, it is natural for the mind to be lifted up towards the Father. In each of his mysteries, Jesus always leads us to the Father, for as he rests in the Father’s bosom (cf. Jn 1:18) he is continually turned towards him. He wants us to share in his intimacy with the Father, so that we can say with him: “Abba, Father” (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6). By virtue of his relationship to the Father he makes us brothers and sisters of himself and of one another, communicating to us the Spirit which is both his and the Father’s. Acting as a kind of foundation for the Christological and Marian meditation which unfolds in the repetition of the Hail Mary, the Our Father makes meditation upon the mystery, even when carried out in solitude, an ecclesial experience (#32, Rosarium Virginis Mariae).
Painting by El Greco, “Pentecostes” (1597) from commons.wikimedia.org.
This communitarian aspect of the Our Father we see in the first reading during the Pentecost when the disciples gathered at the Cenacle room in Jerusalem praying with the Blessed Virgin Mary who is our constant reminder of the importance and need to pray always to God our Father.
Next to Jesus, his Mother taught us in her later apparitions to bring all our needs before the Father who loves us so much – especially those trials and sufferings and challenges we face each day because it is in prayer that we truly find our connections.
Notice how the disciples in asking Jesus to teach them how to pray that they mentioned “just as John taught his disciples” because they must have noticed a big difference in their ministry, of John’s connection with his disciples. The Twelve must have felt this connection with Jesus missing that they asked him to teach them how to pray too.
Here lies the gift and challenge of every prayer: it leads to our “connectedness” with God. Both the Rosary and the Our Father are learned by rote and spoken by heart but – do we pray with the heart? What is the our connection with prayer in general, with the Rosary and with the Our Father? Is it an expression, a witness, something that happens only with others as in a community or when we have time or, something deeper and personal?
The Blessed Cardinal Fulton Sheen who was beatified recently used to teach that it is in our prayer life that we become like Jesus Christ. It is most true with the Holy Rosary:
The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. In a unique way the face of the Son belongs to Mary. It was in her womb that Christ was formed, receiving from her a human resemblance which points to an even greater spiritual closeness. No one has ever devoted himself to the contemplation of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary. The eyes of her heart already turned to him at the Annunciation, when she conceived him by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the months that followed she began to sense his presence and to picture his features. When at last she gave birth to him in Bethlehem, her eyes were able to gaze tenderly on the face of her Son, as she “wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger” (Lk2:7) (#10, Rosarium Virginis Mariae).
By praying the Holy Rosary, may we learn through Mary to contemplate the face of Jesus Christ so we may be faithful to our call and mission especially in this 24/7 world of continuous action and noise that have left many of us empty and without meaning in life, no connections and so scattered in life. Amen. God bless you with Mary our Mother!
Photo by author, St. Paul Spiritual & Renewal Center, Bgy. Tanyawak, Alfonso, Cavite, 19 August 2026.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 06 October 2026
While preparing my homily yesterday for the second day of the novena in honor of the 109th apparition of the Blessed Virgin in Fatima, Portugal, I came across this interesting piece of information in my Facebook feeds about the two American space probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 having “left” our solar system and now the farthest man-made objects from planet Earth.
According to NASA, Voyager 1 had covered about 25.6 billion kilometers as of August 2026 since its launch September 5, 1977 – that’s 49 years and two months ago!
Its travel speed is expected to slow down due to some intergalactic forces which would take time for me to understand and explain; nonetheless, NASA engineers say it would continue sending data from deep space to planet Earth until 2036.
From NASA.gov.
Meanwhile, also found this report yesterday that scientists have detected for the first time a radio signal from an “exoplanet” – a planet outside our Solar System; however, it is not from an intelligent life or some alien but from “a colossal magnetic field”.
These are very interesting bits of information from space science that show us how far we have advanced technologically. You could just imagine where our latest technologies would bring us! Fact is, all these techs and gadgets we now enjoy were science fiction to us when we were growing up like phones capable of sending videos anywhere, anytime.
From Facebook, 05 October 2026.
What I like most in these developments is that great wonder of how vast is this universe indeed – so unimaginable. The more they prove to us the existence of an all-knowing, all-powerful God. Here we find science actually corroborating the truth that the Bible has been telling us of who made the heavens above us.
And the good news is, in this vast universe, our God is not only omniscient and omnipotent but most of all, all-loving God who chose to love and care for us earthlings in this tiny planet called Earth.
In an apparent conspiracy by the universe in my favor as I prepared my homily yesterday for the Fatima novena, my laptop suddenly alerted me after lunch of a new article on space travel but this time from a spiritual writer I follow at WordPress.com called The Devotional Guy by Rainer Bantau!
As I read Rainer’s thoughts on the relationships of faith and science fiction, what caught my attention was this part of his blog, of how would you explain Christianity to an alien?
What happens when someone encounters Christianity who has absolutely no Christian context?
Imagine trying to explain the Gospel to someone who looks at you and says:
“Wait. You believe the Creator of the universe became one of His creatures?”
Suddenly, Christianity sounds pretty astonishing again. We’ve heard the story so many times that we forget how completely outrageous and beautiful it actually is.
When humanity rebels against the God who created it, God doesn’t walk away. Instead, He enters our world.
Love takes on flesh as grace meets us in our mess. Just as death appears to win, Jesus walks out of the grave.
Photo by a friend at Seabrook, Washington, 06 September 2026.
Let us read anew these words by The Devotional Guy: “When humanity rebels against the God who created it, God doesn’t walk away. Instead, He enters our world. Love takes on flesh as grace meets us in our mess. Just as death appears to win, Jesus walks out of the grave. That’s not small. It’s cosmic.”
So lovely! But, sadly too, considering the great amounts of money and time and talents humans have spent sending people and objects into space to detect life forms outside our planet, we still ask the same question of the scribe to Jesus, “who is my neighbor?”
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho” (Luke 10:25-30).
How sad that while we are awed by the vastness of the universe that envelop us whether at night or at daytime, here we are separated by an equally great space often with those supposed to be closest to us like family and friends and colleagues at home or anywhere.
Photo by Mr. Chester Ocampo, 2019.
As a chaplain giving recollections and talks to our students, I have seen many young people today are over thinkers but not critical thinkers.
I remind them that critical thinking is about comprehension and analysis of data and information gathered.
Over thinking is different. It is a vice when we worry a lot – over think – because we lack trust with others and with ourselves. And ultimately with God!
The scholar of the law was overthinking when he asked “who is my neighbor?” because for them at that time, their neighbors were just their fellow Jews. Until now we think the same way, putting people into categories like ice cream with the old rich and famous as “all-time favorites”, the popular as “flavor of the month” and the ordinary folks as “dirty ice cream” cheaply sold in carts.
Over thinking happens when we forget to feel more the other person, when we feel different from them instead of being same kin from which the word kind came from. A kind person is one who treats you as one of his kin, and kind.
From forbes.com, 2019.
St. Therese of the Child Jesus whose feast we celebrated recently wrote in her journal more than a hundred years ago, “I have understood that true greatness is found not in the name but in the soul.”
If we look more into our heart, into our soul, we find Jesus, we find our true self, and we find everyone our neighbor to be loved and respected, cared and understood.
Twenty years ago there was a popular TV series called The X-Files of two good looking detectives handling cases of paranormal of paranormal nature like aliens and other out-of-this-world things. Its famous line says “The truth is out there.”
Nope. The truth is not out there. It is right here inside our heart, always longing for the ultimate truth that leads to eternal life, beyond this vast universe.
That truth is a person, our Savior Jesus Christ dwelling in our hearts, leading us back to heaven by first being a neighbor to everyone. After all, greater than the stars we marvel above us, we are a universe in ourselves, a vast network of interrelated galaxies of immense beauty so closely within our reach. Amen.
Photo by author, St. Michael Retreat House, Antipolo city, 21 July 2026.
