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FATHER MODERATOR'S EASTER MESSAGE

Father Moderator’s Easter Message

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, a Happy and Holy Easter to all!

Catholic Christians celebrate Jesus’ resurrection to signify a passage from spiritual death with Him in Good Friday to a new life with Him on Easter Sunday. It is a symbolic celebration of the fulfillment of our faith and the embodiment of our hope as Christians. Through his death, He saved us from the bondage of sin, and destroyed the hold that death has on all of us because it is His Resurrection that gives us the promise of new life, both in this world and the world to come.

The Pope’s visit to the Philippines early this year is a concrete salvific experience for all of us most especially to the victims of natural calamities in the Visayas and the seemingly hopeless slaves of poverty in all parts of our country. His message of mercy and compassion in some way comforted the hungry stomachs and the wounded hearts of our brothers and sisters. But what satisfies the most is the Good News that the Pope brought us: “the message of God’s mercy and compassion.” In his homily to the Yolanda survivors in Tacloban, he enjoined them with deep affection to commend to God’s mercy all those who have died, and encouraged them to invoke God’s consolation and peace upon all who are still grieving.

Nevertheless, in January 25, 2015, five days after the Pope left the Philippine soil, the country was saddened to learn about the massacre of the 44 Philippine National Police – Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) which happened in Mamasapano, Maguindanao. It was a costly clash between the SAF and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). As stated in the reports, those SAF were there to serve the arrest warrants to high-profile international terrorists. They did kill one of the two targets, however, in the process, those brave men lost their lives as well.

Pope Francis’ message to the World Day of Peace 2014 underscored fraternity as the foundation and pathway to peace. He empathically reiterated humankind’s aspiration for a full life and irrepressible longing for brotherhood. For the Pontiff, fraternity is an essential human quality expected for relational beings. Without fraternity he said, it is impossible to build a just society and a solid and lasting peace.

The Pope said that the root of fraternity is the family. The family is the wellspring of all fraternity, and as such it is the foundation and the first pathway to peace, since, by its vocation, it is meant to spread its love to the world around it.

Benedict XVI pointed out globalization as a stumbling block to fraternity. It does not make us brothers and sisters. As a matter of fact, he said, that many situations of inequality, poverty and injustice, are signs not only of a profound lack of fraternity, but also of the absence of a culture of solidarity. New ideologies, characterized by rampant individualism, egocentrism and materialistic consumerism, weaken social bonds, fuelling that "throw away" mentality which leads to contempt for, and the abandonment of, the weakest and those considered "useless".

In our country especially in Mindanao, many of our brothers and sisters have continued to endure the destructive effects of war, which constitutes a grave and deep wound inflicted on fraternity. Conflicts are taking place because of indifference. Because of arms race, many were left to suffer deprivation of a decent and comfortable life.

Our Church declared 2015 as the Year of the Poor as part of the nine-year preparation that began in 2013 for the fifth centenary of the advent of Christianity in the Philippines. In relation to this, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) enjoins all sectors and institutions, to be mindful of their decisions and actions, and support the fight against poverty and destruction of the environment by building vibrant communities where resources are used wisely and the wealth generated is distributed equitably.

This calls for the building of an economy that responds to the “unconscionable poverty of the fishermen, the farmers, and the urban workers,” a global economy where the benefits are inclusive of the poor. The theme pushes for an education that promotes respect for all people as human beings, as God’s children, and is relevant to the fight against dehumanizing poverty, conflicts and war. The Philippine bishops encourage the building of a society of dialogue in diversity and of peace, and calls for an end to arms race  whose greatest victims are the poor, mostly women and children.

In the same fashion, the Archdiocese of Manila, through a series of poverty summits throughout 2015, is one with the vision of Pope Francis for the Catholic Church as “a poor church serving the poor with mercy and compassion”.

I enjoin all the priests and seminarians of the Mission Society of the Philippines (MSP)  all over the world, including our parents, relatives and friends, as well as benefactors and donors, lay partners, the staff in every mission, and our collaborators in the mission, to heed the call of the Catholic Church through Pope Francis, the Vicar of Christ, to love and behold the poor in our midst. This year of the Lord is an opportune time to give back to Jesus all the blessings we received throughout the Society’s 50^th year of existence. May the 50 years of profound gratitude and affection for the gift of faith joyfully shared  in the spirit of the risen Christ continue to inspire us to be willing to spend and be spent in sharing the Good News to the frontiers and the margins. May Mary accompany us through this year and the next 50 years to come. 

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