Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-11 ng Nobyembre 2019
Larawan mula sa Google.
Madalas ilarawan itong dakilang kawal ng Diyos si San Martin ng Tours sa France hinahati kanyang kapa upang bihisan dukhang matanda nakasalubong sa daan.
Kinagabihan kanyang napanaginipan Panginoong Hesus sa kanyang paanan tangan-tangan kapang ipinahiram sa matandang tinulungan.
Ito ang katuparan ng Ebanghelyong sa atin ibinalita mismo ni Hesus na ano man ang ating gawin sa kapwa natin siyang ginagawa din natin sa kanyang Panginoon natin.
Kapilya ng Santisimo Sakramento sa UP-Diliman. Kuha ni Bb. JJ Jimeno ng GMA7 News, 2019.
Kay gandang pagnilayan isa pang aral nitong kapa ni Martin na Banal: lingid sa kaalaman ng karamihan, dito rin nagmula kataga ng pook na munting dasalan.
Sinasabi sa kasaysayan, noong bagong Kristiyano si Martin kanyang iniiwan mga tauhan para manalangin sa kagubatan; hinuhubad kanyang kapa upang makapanalangin ng taimtiman.
Kaya tuwing siya ay hahanapin, tanging tutuntunin saan nakasampay o nakalagay hinubad niyang kapa, na kanilang tinuring sa wikang Frances na "chapelle" na naging chapel, o kapilya sa wika natin.
Ang “Ecce Homo” ni Murillo. Larawan mula sa Google.
Hindi ba natin pansin itong Panginoong Hesus natin nang siya ay dumating sa atin hinubad kanyang pagkadiyos upang makatulad natin, matubos sa mga pagkakasala natin?
Hari ng mga hari, tunay na makapangyarihan ngunit nang nilibak sinuutan ng purpurang kapa, pinutungan ng koronang tinik at hindi umimik hanggang makamit kaligtasan natin.
Kay sarap pagbulaybulayan halimbawang iniwan sa atin nitong si San Martin: ating kapa ng kapangyarihan at pangalan ating hubarin upang ang Diyos ay ating makamit at siya ay makatulad natin.
Friday, Solemnity of All the Saints, 01 November 2019
Revelation 7:2-4. 9-14 ><}}}*> 1 John 3:1-3 ><}}}*> Matthew 5:1-12
“Mary with the Child and the Angels and the Saints” by Duccio Di Buoninsegna (d. 1319).
Glory and praise to you, O Lord our almighty and loving Father in heaven!
Thank you very much for this celebration of the Solemnity of All Saints — of those all ahead of us and have died now enjoying your company in heaven.
Whenever we think of holiness, we always think of men and women not committing sins, of moral exemplars.
Remind us always that holiness is being filled with you, O God, and that saints are givers of life.
“Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.”
Matthew 5:8
Fill us with your Holy Spirit, Lord, cleanse us of our sins and evil desires and inclinations as we strive to bear all pains and sufferings to lead holy lives.
It is in purifying our hearts, our very selves, when we are able to truly offer our lives for the loving service of the poor and needy so that while still here on earth, we may already see your face, Lord, among the people we meet until that day we are one in you in eternity. Amen.
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Ika-22 ng Oktubre 2019
San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Patron ng Bayan ng Diyos sa Bagbaguin, Santa Maria, Bulacan. Larawan ay kuha ni Bb. Jo Villafuerte, Pistang Pasasalamat 22 Setyembre 2019.
Minamahal naming Patron na Banal, Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista po ang inyong ngalan ngayo'y aming ipinagdiriwang sa buong Simbahan dalawang bagong Banal, kapwa pastol ng kawan, nang manungkula'y pangalan mo ang hiniram.
Nauna'y si San Juan Beinte-tres nang sa kanyang katandaan tulad mo, sinikap maging makabuluhan at buhay na palatandaan ng Diyos ang Inang Simbahan sa gitna ng makabagong panahon nang kanyang simulan ang Ikalawang Konsilyo sa Vatican.
Kasabay niyang tinanghal bilang Banal ang tinaguriang Dakilang San Juan-Pablo Ikalawa labis na pagtitiis ang kinamit sa kanyang sakit, krus ay sinapit, katulad mo’y naging malapit sa Ina ni Hesus kaya’t “Totus Tuus” ang kanyang awit.
Itulot mo aming Mahal na San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, kaming iyong mga anak sana’y matularan pinagsikapan ng dalawang bagong San Juan: pamilya’t sambayanan mabuklod sa kaisahan katulad ng dalangin ni Hesus sa Huling Hapunan. AMEN.
San Juan Ebanghelista, ipanalangin mo kami. San Juan Beinte-tres, ipanalangin mo kami. San Juan-Pablo Ikalawa, ipanalangin mo kami.
Tuesday, Memorial of St. Pope John Paul II, 22 October 2019
Romans 5:12. 15. 17-19. 20-21 ><)))*> Luke 12:35-38
From Google.
Praise and glory to you, O God our loving Father!
Thank you very much in giving us the great St. John Paul II.
When I think and remember him, the more I feel the reality of St. Paul’s words today:
Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 5:20-21
Yes, you made us experience your loving presence among us O God in Jesus Christ during the pontificate of St. John Paul II. He lived in our own time when there was so much sin and evil in the world that he courageously battled head on with his life and preaching.
How true were the words of St. Paul today: there is that part of our sinful humanity in Adam still thriving in the world with its “culture of death” as St. John Paul II would always say.
On the other hand, St. John Paul II showed us in his life, words and examples our redeemed humanity in Christ, especially when he would always insist we can only find fulfillment in you, O dear Jesus.
Reawaken within us O Lord today on this memorial of St. John Paul II his favorite quote from you when he was elected St. Peter’s successor on October 16, 1978 – “Be not afraid!”
Let us “gird our loins” to continue to proclaim you, Lord Jesus Christ into this new millennium the way St. John Paul II envisioned when we crossed into the great jubilee of 2000. Amen.
“If Christ Jesus dwells in a man as his friend and noble leader, that man can endure all things, for Christ helps and strengthens us and never abandon us. He is a true friend.
Many, many times I have perceived this through experience. The Lord has told it to me. I have definitely seen that we must enter by this gate if we wish his Sovereign Majesty to reveal to us great and hidden mysteries. A person should desire no other path, even if he is at the summit of contemplation… All blessings come to us through our Lord. He will teach us, for in beholding his life we find that he is the best example.
St. Teresa of Avila, from the Breviary
Many times in our lives we have always believed that holiness is just for a few people you have chosen, O God. We feel excluded from holiness, from being a saint.
Because we refuse to try to get near you, doubting you despite our belief in you as God!
“For what can be known about God is evident to them, because God made it evident to them.
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshipped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”
Romans 1:19, 25
Sometimes we have tried befriending you through Jesus Christ your Son.
And like the saints, we have indeed experienced your presence, your reality, your blessedness but unfortunately we stopped striving further as St. Teresa tells us.
O dear Jesus, you always come to me, you always make me experience you but I always try explaining everything, letting my mind work more than my heart and soul that I fail to feel and experience you inside me like those Pharisees bent on finding faults in you.
Give me the grace to be silent and still in you, to wait for you as a friend full of love and trust like St. Teresa of Avila. Amen.
Friday, Memorial of St. Pope John XXIII, 11 October 2019
Joel 1:13-15; 2:1-2 ><}}}*> <*{{{>< Luke 11:15-26
Photo by author, Holy Family Chapel, Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches, 2016.
Dearest Lord Jesus Christ:
Today I thank you for consoling those persecuted when in the gospel episode after you have driven out a demon, some of the crowd said:
“By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.”
Luke 11:15
Very consoling, Lord, because despite your exercise of divine power, some people still maligned you, accusing you of working with the devil?!
How could we not feel consoled when we have done nothing that can be compared close to your exorcism and yet we are also falsely accused of so many things?
I really wonder, Lord Jesus, what evil had possessed so many among us that they can fabricate so many lies, insist on their myopic views of things and events, and totally disregard the truth without any qualms at all?
From cbcpnews.net
From the ordinary verbal rumours spread by backstabbers daily everywhere to cyberbullying by trolls to spurious whistleblowers and state officials silencing those standing for what is true and just, more and more people are persecuted like you.
It is very disheartening, Lord, and we have no one to turn to except you whom the psalmist describes as the one who “would judge the world with justice”.
“Gird our loins, Lord, as we weep” (Joel 1:13), trying to bear these persecutions in your name. Help us to persevere for we know “the day of the Lord is coming” (Joel 2:1).
Through the intercession of St. John XXIII who helped so many Jews persecuted during World War II and called for world peace (Pacem in Terris) when he became the Pope in 1958, we pray in the most special way for those persecuted in our country especially our Bishops and priests, as well as professionals like doctors and teachers silently serving your flock.
Keep them close to your heart, Jesus, because you told us
“Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.”
Lawiswis ng Salita ni P. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 04 Oktubre 2019
Mula sa Be Like Francis Page sa Facebook.
Minsan daw ay nagimbal kaibigang Kardinal ni San Francicso na banal nang kanyang malaman dukha nilang pamumuhay na sa kanyang palagay labis na kahirapan hindi naman dapat nilang pagdaanan.
Katuwirang ipinaliwanag ni San Francisco kay Kardinal Hugolino kay gandang pagnilayan sa malalim nitong kahulugan: "kung tayo'y maraming kayamanan," aniya ng ating banal "kakailangan din natin mga sandata upang mga ito'y ipaglaban at pangalagaan."
Sa kanyang isipan at banal na kalooban, ang pag-ibig ay namamatay kapag tao'y nagkamal maraming ari-arian; hanapin kanyang paliwanag kung masasagot kanyang mga katanungan na tila bugtong di lamang sa isipan kungdi pati na rin sa puso at kalooban:
"Mapagnanakawan mo ba na tao na walang ano man? Maari mo bang gutumin ang nag-aayuno? Mayroon ka bang sisirain sa taong namumuhi sa parangal at pagkilala? Ano nga ba magagawa sa taong aba at dukha?"
Para kay San Francisco ang mga dukha ang tunay na malaya kayang ipaubaya lahat pati sarili sa Bathala upang makagawa ng kabutihan sa kapwa na siyang simula ng ating kapatiran at ugnayan pati sa kalikasan.
Mula sa Reuters.
Sa ating panahon ngayon karukhaan ay pinag-uusapan batay sa kawalan ng ari-arian na kabaligtaran ng kung ano mayroon ang mayayaman na kadalasan mga bagay nabibilang at nabibili gaya ng kapangyarihan.
Ngunit kung ating pagninilayan ano mang mayroon ang mayaman ay wala pa rin o "NOTHING" kung Inglesin natin dahil ang higit na mahahalaga ay hindi nakikita ni nabibili o nabibilang gaya ng pera at iba pang kayamanan.
Gayun din naman hindi masasabi ng sino man na siya ay dukha at "walang wala" ika nga dahil kung tutuusin natin ang lahat ay palaging mayroon pa rin o "SOMETHING" kung Inglesin din natin.
Harinawa'y mapagtanto natin sa pagdiriwang ng kapistahan ni San Francisco na butihin ito mismong buhay natin ay dakilang kayamanan na dapat ipagpasalamat natin sa karukhaan ng loobing maialay gaya ng Panginoon Hesus natin.
Ang Krus ng kapilya ng San Damiano na isinaayos ni San Francisco batay sa tinig na kanyang narinig habang nananalangin doon.
Friday, Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, 04 October 2019
Baruch 1:15-22 ><)))*> 0 <*(((>< Luke 10:13-16
One of the scenes from Benozzo Gozzoli’s series of frescoes from the life of St. Francis (1450) that captures the saint’s “Sermon to the Birds” and the dedication of his basilica at Assisi. Photo from Google.
Praise and glory to you, Lord God our loving Father for this week about to close with the celebration of another great saint, Francis of Assisi.
Two things I wish to thank you in giving us St. Francis of Assisi.
First is his total dedication in listening to you alone.
St. Francis accomplished so much for you and had so much impact not only to the Church but for the whole world until now because he intently listened to your voice, to your calls, and to your instructions.
It does not really matter if he got your words literally or figuratively speaking like when he was praying inside San Damiano chapel and heard your voice saying, “Go, Francis, and repair my house, which you see, is falling into ruins.”
Or, when St. Francis finally found his vocation in life after listening to Matthew 10:9 in the Mass and felt you Jesus speaking directly to him to go preach the kingdom of God without extra clothes and money that right after that, he threw everything away to preach penance, brotherly love, and peace.
How ironic that in this world of modern means of communications, the more we have become fragmented than ever because we have lost the values of silence, prayer and listening to self, others, and you, O Lord.
Jesus said to them, “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
Luke 10:16
Teach us, dear Jesus to be poor and empty like St. Francis so we may always open our ears and our hearts to seek your voice, to listen to your words, and most of all, to follow your will.
From Be Like Francis at Facebook.
Second thing I am so grateful with you Lord in giving us St. Francis is his deep sense of gratitude to you that he was able to see our universal brotherhood in you God our Father.
Did he really preach to hundreds of birds and told them to be thankful to you dear God for their freedom and for your care to them? I believe it must be true because where there is gratitude, there comes peace and serenity that attract than dispel people and animals alike.
Teach us to be grateful with whatever we have, Lord because the moment we learn to thank you and anyone here on earth, then we we realize our being one. In his gratitude for your wonderful gifts to him, St. Francis not only embraced you Jesus on the Cross but also saw everyone as family with brother Sun and sister Moon, brother Wind and sister Water. And even cousin Death.
Again, O Lord, in this age of affluence, the more we feel empty and lacking as we tend to acquire more of material things. Teach us to repent for our sins like St. Francis and Baruch in the first reading, to acknowledge everything we have including our sins.
It is only in being thankful that we are able to realize who truly reigns in us like St. Francis. Amen.
Tuesday, Memorial of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, 01 October 2019
Zechariah 8:20-23 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Luke 9:51-56
White roses for you, dearly beloved devotee of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. Christ heard your prayers and had asked St. Therese to send you these white roses as the sign you have been asking regarding what you have been praying for through our daily prayer blog, The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul. God bless you more today, my friend! (Photo by Ms. Jo Villafuerte at the Atok Blooms, Benguet, 01 September 2019.)
On behalf, O Lord, of the many people praying for a “little miracle” today through St. Therese of the Child Jesus, thank you very much for these beautiful white roses. And most especially for answering our prayers!
Thank you again for the gift of another saint today close to our modern time, a woman so young, and most of all, so simple in her faith and in her ways. Just like you, God, when she proclaimed…
“O Jesus, my love, at last I have found my calling: my call is love. Certainly I have found my proper place in the Church, and you gave me that very place, my God. In the heart of the Church, my mother, I will be love, and thus I will be all things, as my desire finds its direction.”
St. Therese of the Child Jesus, from the Liturgy of the Hours
It is this simple yet profound truth of being love, of doing everything in love that we always forget or take for granted that elevated St. Therese to be the youngest and one of the only five women Doctors of the Church.
In her life you have showed us the need to find the points of convergence of doctrine and experience, of teaching and practice in order to truly be holy and filled with God that fulfilled the Lord’s own words spoken among the crowds more than 2000 years ago:
“I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to babes.”
Matthew 11:25
Born Marie-Francoise-Therese Martin at Alencon, France in 1873, St. Therese entered the Carmelite monastery of Lisieux at the age of 15 following a special permission from Church officials. She claimed no visions or extraordinary moments except that she followed a simple path to faith, especially after contracting TB that caused her death in 1897 at the young age of 24. Photo from Google.
Open our minds and our hearts, our very selves, Lord, like St. Therese to humbly embrace this simple truth of love by intensely and passionately living in love, doing ordinary things in the most extraordinary way of love. May we follow your Son Jesus as “he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem”(Lk.9:51) to face his passion, death, and resurrection out of love for you and for us. Amen.
Friday, Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, 27 September 2019
Haggai 2:1-9 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Luke 9:18-22
“Hapag ng Pag-Asa” painting by the late Joey Velasco. From Google.
Dearest Lord Jesus Christ:
Thank you for coming to us poor, for giving us the poor. But, tragically many times we have refused to see you among the poor.
On this feast of St. Vincent de Paul who faithfully and lovingly served you among the poor, we pray for the same gift of seeing you and loving you among the poor.
“It is our duty to prefer the service of the poor to everything else and to offer such service as quickly as possible… this very service is performed for God. Charity is certainly greater than any rule. Moreover, all rules must lead to charity.”
St. Vincent de Paul, from the Breviary
In the first reading from Haggai today, your people the Israelites were so poor with literally nothing left to rebuild your temple in Jerusalem. What a gift for them to still see you among the ruins, in their poverty feeling your “spirit in their midst” assuring them with your “peace in the temple to be rebuilt” (Hag. 2:5, 9).
Empty us of our pride, let us appreciate and embrace the poverty within us like Simon Peter and all the saints like St. Vincent de Paul that we may boldly proclaim you are the “Christ of God” (Lk. 9:20) not only in words but also in deeds. Amen.
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