The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Week XII, Year II in Ordinary Time, 25 June 2020
2 Kings 24:8-17 <*(((>< ><)))*> <*(((>< ><)))*> Matthew 7:21-29
Photo by author, the Walls of Jerusalem, May 2019.
Your words today, O Lord, are so graphic and chilling about the nature of sin that unfortunately, we continue to take for granted.
Jesus said to his disciples: “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.”
Matthew 7:21
Forgive us Jesus when we are so complacent with our prayers and words to you that remain only in our mouths and lips, but never coming from our hearts and most of all far from our actions.
Forgive us Lord for the great divide within us, between our words and our actions, of what we believe and what we live.
Give us the grace to be rooted in you always, to have you as our foundation.
Your words are so true, Lord, that so often our lives collapse like Jerusalem in the Old Testament, like the house built on sand in your parable because we live far from you.
Help us to take these lessons into our hearts, that whatever bad befalls us is never your punishment but the result of our sins, when everything collapses in us and starts to breakdown.
May we hold on fast to your words and examples in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Photo by author, Church of the Holy Family, Taipei, Taiwan, 2019.
The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Week XIX in Ordinary Time, Year II, 04 June 2020
2 Timothy 2:8-15 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Mark 12:28-34
Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News, 02 June 2020
Remind people of these things and charge them before God to stop disputing about words. This serves no useful purpose since it harms those who listen.
2 Timothy 2:14
Dear God:
For today I just wanted to be silent before you in prayer.
But, you spoke a lot in that silence. Or, did I?
You know very well, Lord, how we have been silent since the start of this quarantine period due to COVID-19 pandemic. We bore everything in silence as much as possible, giving our government officials and lawmakers a chance to redeem themselves.
After all, we are in this mess because of their refusal to listen what others have been saying for the safety of the country, speaking of diplomacy and friendships among the originators of COVID-19, not knowing two of them have been infected with corona while here visiting. One eventually became the first fatality of COVID-19 outside China.
Photo by author, our altar decor with a snake on first week of Lent, 2020.
Those in government have always been doing all the talking that has always been non-sense and rubbish. They thought that the more words they used, the more things get clearer.
That is the problem, Lord: those in government like many of us your people are not aware that your silence always precedes your speaking; that your words are full of power, full of life, the fullness of meaning because every word comes from silence.
We humans, especially our elected officials, are all speaking out of noise and void, not from silence which is fullness.
We keep on talking in the hope and belief that the more we talk, the more our words become meaningful.
Lately, it is the opposite that is happening: the more our government officials speak, the more their words become empty while their tongues get sharper like swords, inflicting more pain and causing more shame.
They speak of lies after lies after lies hoping they become true if repeatedly said but the more they are lost.
They speak so tough, complete with warning against violators of quarantine rules but they are the ones who fall into their own pit, becoming like dogs eating what they have spit.
They speak of opening shops and offices, but they are closed to the plight of the commuters.
Worst and most unkind of all, they speak shamelessly of blaming the people for all their woes in this time of pandemic quarantine while they were busy silencing us the people, closing ABS-CBN and just this week, surreptitiously passing the anti-terror bill that silences all critics of this administration mired in profanities, lies, and insincerity.
They make so many laws, using so many words, and yet not a single word proved to be good like the scribe who asked Jesus:
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”
Mark 12:28
Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News, commuters at start of lockdown, March 2020.
Lord God of power and might, you are the only we have always count on for our protection and salvation.
You know what is in our hearts and you know very well what we are willing to do if you just say so.
For the sake of peace in our country, let our leaders eat their words or at least, keep their mouths shut to stop all their shows and start to listen, accept and love.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul, Week IV-A, 26 January 2020
Isaiah 8:23-9:3 ><)))*> 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17 ><)))*> Matthew 4:12-23
Photo by author, July 2019, Tagaytay City.
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters.
Genesis 1:1-2
The Bible clearly tells us everything in the beginning was dark. And since then, almost everything has always begun in darkness, like human life itself, or every new day, even new year!
Some relatives and friends have been complaining to me how 2020 started off with a lot of darkness.
And I totally agree with them!
Since the Christmas Season until last Friday, I have been officiating funeral Masses for parishioners and friends as well as praying for some relatives and friends who have passed away this January abroad. Also included in this vast swathe of darkness are some relatives and friends diagnosed with serious illnesses like Alzheimer’s and cancer.
In the news we find so many darkness at the start of 2020 like fears of World War III when an Iranian military officer was killed in an American drone attack in Baghdad on January 03; the January 12 phreatic eruption of Taal Volcano now threatening a catastrophic eruption anytime; and, this fast-spreading new corona virus from China that is reportedly so deadly.
Everything is so dark at the start of 2020 and January is not even over yet!
Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima, GMA-7 News, 15 January 2020.
Darkness leads us into light
Even our readings today speak about darkness, especially the beginning of the public ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ after John the Baptizer was arrested.
When Jesus heard John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Napthali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled.
Matthew 4:12-14
However, these same readings assure us that not all darkness are gloomy after all. In fact, it is in darkness where we see the light of the gospel shining brightly.
Sunrise at Lake Tiberias (aka, Galilee), May 2017. Photo by author.
Despite that dark note on the arrest of John the Baptizer, we actually have here the beginning of the good news of salvation with the start of the preaching and public ministry of Jesus Christ.
Darkness is always a prelude to light, like chaos is to order.
Sometimes, we need to experience some darkness for us to realize the need to be enlightened, to see more the beauty of light, to seek light – most especially of the love and mercy of God in Jesus Christ who had come to us on the darkest day of the year, December 25.
See how in our lives when bad things have to happen first before we can learn our lessons so well or find particular values we now treasure in life.
Sometimes, God allows us to be plunged into darkness to find him, to see him, to desire him and eventually have him.
First the Lord degraded the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the end he has glorified the seaward road, the land west of the Jordan, the District of the Gentiles. Anguish has taken wing, dispelled is darkness: for there is no gloom where but now there was distress. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.
Isaiah 8:23-9:1
Jesus comes to us in darkness
Photo by Mr. Jim Marpa, Bohol Island, 2019.
Darkness in the bible signifies sin and evil, failures and disappointments, struggles and sufferings, and finally, sickness and death. No one is immuned from darkness.
But with the coming of Jesus Christ who conquered evil and sin, darkness has become a blessing, an invitation for us to find him, to listen to him, and to follow him.
Fram that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make yo fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.
Matthew 4:17-22
Jesus opted to start his public ministry and preaching in the “darkest region” of Israel at that time, among the peoples living in darkness of sins and lack of meaning and directions in life. He comes to us most of the time during our moments of darkness to enlighten us and give us direction.
That makes every darkness a blessing in itself for that is when Jesus – the Gospel himself – shines brightly.
Lake Tiberias at the back of the ruins of the Capernaum synagogue where Jesus preached. Photo by author, May 2019.
Let everything begin in the words of Jesus
Right away at the start of his preaching and ministry, people began following to listen to Jesus in Galilee, particularly at Capernaum where he used to preach in their synagogue near the shores of the Lake of Galilee (a.ka., Tiberias).
Everything began with the words of Jesus Christ: the sick were healed, those possessed by evil spirits were cleansed, sinners were forgiven, and those troubled found comfort in him.
Most of all, people found meaning in life as experienced by the first four disciples of Jesus, Simon and his brother Andrew, and the sons of Zebedee, James and John.
They were all rich and money was not a problem because they owned fishing boats that was very expensive at that time. Simon Peter is believed to be a very successful fisherman with many hired workers while the brothers James and John were beginning to learn the trade from their rich dad.
All four grew up together, worked together, most of all shared the same darkness in life, searching for meaning and direction in life that they have finally found in Jesus Christ while listening to his preaching. And that is why they immediately left everything and everyone behind after being called by Christ!
Very surprising was the attitude of Zebedee also who did not even bother to call or drag his sons back to their boat to help him because he must have felt and seen the bright sparks within his sons who have finally found meaning and direction in life through the preaching of Jesus Christ – “the Word who became flesh” – according to John who later wrote the fourth gospel account.
The Gospel Book (Evangelare) enthroned at our altar for the Bible Sunday celebration, 26 Jan. 2020. Photo by Angelo Nicolas Carpio.
Such is the power of the word of God who cleanses us of our sins, empties us of our pride and foolish self to be filled with the wisdom and light of Jesus Christ.
In a decree issued last week, Pope Francis has declared every third Sunday of Ordinary Time as “Bible Sunday” to emphasize the importance of praying the Sacred Scriptures, listening to God himself present in his words found in the Bible.
Even today, everything begins with the words of Jesus Christ: that is why it is the very first part of the Mass, equally important with the Eucharist.
We can never experience Jesus Christ in his Body and Blood at the Holy Eucharist or even among our brothers and sisters gathered in the celebration of the Holy Mass unless we first meet and experience him in his words.
Most of all, we can never experience him in person without praying the Sacred Scriptures because according to St. Jerome, “Ignorance of the scriptures is ignorance of Jesus Christ.”
Is there ay darkness in your life these days?
Try dusting off that bible you have kept in a little corner of your shelf — read it, study it, and pray it.
Be surprised in its powers for,
“Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart”
1 Samuel 1:9-20 ><)))*> ><)))*> ><)))*> Mark 1:21-28
Inside our church from the altar table. Photo by author, November 2019.
Hanna replied to Eli, “Think kindly of your maidservant,” and she left..
1 Samuel 1:18
While praying over your words, O Lord, of that scene at the temple when Eli mistook Hannah to being drunk while praying intensely to you for a child, it reminded me of Taal Volcano’s restive behavior, of her spewing ashes and causing tremors.
But despite all these, Taal remains lovely and magnificent.
Sometimes, Lord, that is what exactly we need in life: to think kindly of others always.
The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”
Mark 1:22, 27
Purify our thoughts, Lord, to always think kindly of others.
To always have that disposition for silence and being non-judgmental with others to always listen to them and be open to their thoughts and feelings as well.
Like you, Lord Jesus Christ, enable us to share in the power of your words, to speak with authority by entering into that daily union with you in silence and prayers.
May we learn also from the gentle Taal: to be still and silent, to speak only when necessary so that everyone listens intently to her inner rumblings when she finally “speaks”.
We continue to pray for those severely affected by Taal’s eruptions, most especially that they may remain kind with people and nature alike in this trying moments of a major calamity.
We pray for businessmen to have a heart, to think kindly of those affected by Taal’s eruptions and stop jacking up prices of much needed goods. Amen.
Thank you for our jobs, thank you for our schools, thank you for the food and clothes we have.
Thank you very much for the gift of self and most especially for the gift of others.
Unfortunately, O Lord, they are the ones we always hurt with our painful words, and yes, with all sorts of profanities.
If our words were like swords or clubs, or even at least like thorns of the cactus, everyone of us would be beaten black and blue or worst, mangled.
For wisdom is a kindly spirit, yet she acquits not the blasphemer of his guilty lips; because God is the witness of his inmost self and the sure observer of his heart and the listener to his tongue. For the spirit of the Lord fill the world, is all embracing, and knows what man says.
Wisdom 1:6-7
Bless us today, Lord, to be like St. Martin of Tours who always spoke with humility and gentility, full of wisdom and kindness to everyone. Most of all, bless us to be like him to see you Lord among everyone and treat them with respect and dignity always.
Fill us with your wisdom, Lord, especially our public figures that they may never let speak evil of anyone and be an occasion of sin as you warned in the gospel today.
Help us to bring back decency and kindness especially in our language for indeed, “from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Mt. 12:34).
The Sphinx with the Great Pyramids that express more than words the great love of ancient Egyptians to their gods and rulers. Photo by author, 09 May 2019.
Today is “throwback Thursday”, Lord. We call it tbt. And I cannot resist humming that song by the Extreme, “More than Words” as I prayed over your words for today.
How amazing is the power of a word, especially your words, Lord. Whatever you said came into existence for you words and your being are one. In your goodness, you shared this great power of the words with us that we are your only creatures able to communicate using words.
Before you went back to the Father, you told us to keep your words, to remain in your love so that our joy may be complete.
How sad that we have taken this for granted as we desecrate words of their sanctity and true meaning.
How sad that so often we never meant what we said. We have to multiply our words in order to be meaningful, for others to believe us and trust us.
Help us to regain the sanctity of words, of “palabra de honor” that has long been gone in a world of words that lie, mislead, and deceive.
Help us rediscover anew your words of life, Lord, like the Apostles who relied heavily on your words when they met at the Council of Jerusalem to resolve their first issues as a Church.
May your words guide us anew so we may discover the true meaning of life that in the process, like the ancient peoples, we may express in more than words our great love for you through our wonderful works of art and charity with others. Amen.
The Treasury of the lost city of Petra in Jordan built in 1 BC that express in more than words the beliefs and values of the ancient Nabataeans. Photo by author, 01 May 2019.
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40 Shades of Lent, Wednesday of Week 1, 13 March 2019 Jonah 3:1-10///Luke 11:29-32
Open “the ears of our hearts”, O Lord, to always heed your words especially in this holy season of Lent when your readings are so rich and meaningful. So many times we are like your contemporaries, “an evil generation always seeking signs.” (Lk. 11:29)
Or, like your reluctant prophet Jonah: we cannot believe your words, always trying to escape responsibilities and mission from you to proclaim your word.
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you.” So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord’s bidding.
Jonah 3:1-3
How funny and even insane, Lord, for us to run away from you, hide from you like Jonah because we find your words so simple, doubting its powers to move and change people.
But when like Jonah we proclaim your words, we are amazed and surprised at its efficacy not only with the people they are directed to but most of all with us. Your words indeed are alive and so powerful especially if our whole heart is humbled and contrite from our sins.
Help us to always recognize your presence in your words for you are the Word who became flesh. Take away our stony hearts and give us a natural heart that beats with firm faith, fervent hope and unceasing charity and love. Amen.
Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 08 November 2018
Events and news reports during the recent long weekend reminded me of the story in the Old Testament of a pagan prophet named Balaam who was commissioned to curse the Israelites while encamped at the plains of Moab, ready to enter the Promised Land 40 years after their Exodus from Egypt. It is a story filled with humorous twists and turns that instead of cursing the Israelites, Balaam blessed them and even prophesied the coming to them of the Savior Jesus Christ. It is a funny story like the movie “Shrek” with a talking donkey.
When Balaam was riding his ass (pun intended) on his way to Moab to curse the Israelites, an angel of the Lord with a sword drawn stationed himself on the road to hinder him from proceeding. He did not see the angel but his ass saw the angel that she turned into the field. Balaam beat his ass to bring her back on the road. As they passed through a narrow lane between vineyards with a stone wall on each side, the ass saw the angel of the Lord again blocking their way that she shrank against the wall and squeezed Balaam’s leg onto it. Again, Balaam did not see the angel that he beat his ass for backing out. Upon reaching a passage so narrow without any space to move either to the right or the left, the ass again saw the angel of the Lord blocking their road. The ass cowered under Balaam and in his anger, beat her again with his stick. God opened the mouth of the ass to speak, asking Balaam why he would always beat her despite her services to him?! It was during his conversation with his ass that God opened the eyes of Balaam to see His angel and get His message to bless the Israelites (cf. Num. 22:20-35).
Is Baguio City a modern Moab with its new law prohibiting “cursing, cussing, expressing insults or the use of foul language to express anger or any other extreme emotion in establishments frequented by students, from pre-school to college level”?
I have always loved and admired Baguio City in its efforts to keep its morals intact despite the growing lamentable practice of many Filipinos these days of spending Holy Week vacationing there instead of praying in their homes and parishes. It is perhaps the only city with a law calling on all people to pause during the Angelus. And now, it is the only city too that prohibits the use of foul language. Members of its city council have noted in their Anti-Profanity Ordinance how the habit of cursing has “already penetrated schools and educational system, business establishments and society as a whole, that even the very fabric of morals and human decency has deteriorated to such a degree that we have to prevent it before the damage would become irreparable.” It defined profanity as “blasphemous or obscene language vulgar or irreverent speech or action; expletive oath, swearing, cursing, or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger.”
Baguio City is deteriorating fast and though this Anti-Profanity Ordinance does not address anything at all in improving environmental conditions there, it shows us that unless we first cleanse whatever is within us, these are reflected with the problems around us. “Ex abudantia cordis” is the Lord’s reminder to us all, “from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34). Though the ordinance is not really clear in its scope and purpose expressed only in three pages of paper, it is a good reminder that whatever is evil and bad would always be evil and bad, with or without any written law. To curse or speak ill of anybody, wishing evil or harm to someone is always bad. And despite the claims by the defenders of the President that saying bad words does not make anyone entirely bad, recent events have shown exactly the opposite of their claims, that anyone speaking of good things does not make him or her good at all.
On Halloween day which the benighted souls have insisted on celebrating the pagan way by dressing as ghosts, actor and former tourism official Cesar Montano’s selfie with a naked woman at the background went viral and spawned many spoofs. How I wish I have the vocabulary of Nabokov but I could not find the proper English words to describe those videos that are salaula, baboy, and kadiri! And of course not to forget during the long weekend is the President’s usual dose of follies of the highest level when he spewed his usual profanities against the Church and the All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day celebrations, a day after calling on the nation to “emulate our saints, pray for the eternal repose of souls and deepen our engagement with our communities as we work for real and lasting change.” Not contented with the foul language, the President even declared himself a saint.
Blessing is from the Latin term benedicere that literally means “to speak or say good things.” To wish somebody “God bless you” in the midst of a malicious situation, in a life far from being a blessed one or simply just because as in “wala lang” is not only a profanity but also a blasphemy. Of course, priests who are supposed to be channels of God’s blessings commit the highest level of profanity and blasphemy if they lead lives of sin and corruption, abusing not only children and women but the entire people of God, including God Himself. This is what the anti-profanity law of Baguio is missing, skipping that portion on who should not use obscene language. The evil of foul language is similar with pornography: it is always immoral regardless of age because it is a lack of respect to the dignity of persons.
The story of Balaam and of his ass reminds us that we are all a blessing to everyone. Listen to what the donkey told Balaam: “What have I done to you that you should beat me these three times? Am I not you’re your own beast, and have you not ridden upon me until now? Have I been in the habit of treating you this way before?” (Num.22: 28, 30) How ironic that the dumbest creature in the universe was the one to remind Balaam and us that we should never treat badly and speak ill of anyone because we are all a blessing to everyone. Most of all, the talking donkey of Balaam reminds us how blessings can turn into a curse someday and curses could eventually be a blessing too. It has happened so many times in history, not only to nations and corporations but even in the Church that is still rocked by sexual scandals committed long time ago. The early Christians have depicted the story of Balaam and his ass in their early arts like in the Roman catacombs (photo above) and in some churches in Europe to show how God works in mysterious ways, especially with the power of our words to bless, or to curse. Be a blessing!
“The word of the Eucharist makes us part of the great story of our salvation. Our little stories are lifted up into God’s great story and there given their unique place. The word lifts us up and makes us see that our daily, ordinary lives, are in fact, sacred lives that play a necessary role in the fulfillment of God’s promise.” (Henri Nouwen, “With Burning Hearts”, page 59.)
*Photo by Dra. Mai B. Dela Pena, Mount Carmel Monastery, Haifa, Israel, 2016. Used with permission.
“God’s word is full of God’s presence. But the full power of the word lies, not in how we apply it to our lives after we have heard it, but in its transforming power that does its divine work as we listen… it is a word to heal us through, and in, our listening here and now.” (Fr. Henri Nouwen, “With Burning Hearts”, pp. 55, 57)
Photo by Dra. Mai B. Dela Pena, sunset in Athens, Greece 2016. Used with permission.
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