Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 22) — In an effort to maintain the prescribed social distancing measure against COVID-19, priests are encouraged to go around the streets to bless palms on Palm Sunday—and this time, without the use of holy water.
Traditionally, Catholics gather at the church to have their palms branches blessed.
However, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) urged Catholics to instead stay at home and celebrate the Palm Sunday mass on TV or online this year, in light of the growing threats of the coronavirus pandemic.
“For the blessing of palms, the faithful who will be following the celebration on TV can hold their palm branches (or any available branch of leaves) while the prayer of blessing of Palms is prayed by the Presider,” CBCP said. “In this case, those who follow the celebration on TV, there is no need for Holy Water to bless the Palm branches.”
After the mass, presiders are also asked to go around the streets of their parish to bless the palms—carried by the faithful while at their homes—without the use of holy water.
CBCP explained that “blessing with Holy Water might cause commotion.” Instead, priests are only asked to make the sign of the cross as they pass through the streets, with a lector reading the Passion Narrative along the way. CBCP also suggested that a loud speaker be used to make people aware that the priest is passing by.
It further instructed that these must be done with only two to three ministers accompanying the priest to avoid gathering of people.
The guidelines issued by CBCP are intended “to keep a balance of the centrality of the celebrations of the Paschal Triduum and the demands of the measures to stem the transmission of the Covid-19.”
“In this time of intense quarantine due to the spread of the COVID-19, almost everything and everyone is affected. Our social, economic and religious life are painfully hit by the ‘social distancing’ that is a necessity this time of pandemic to stem the transmission of the virus,” CBCP said.
It emphasized that these preventive measures “do not change the traditions of the Church but rather are temporary precautions during this time of crisis.”
Palm Sunday, which falls on April 5 this year, marks the start of the Holy Week for the Catholic Church. During this week, Catholics celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
As of March 22, health authorities have recorded a total of 380 COVID-19 cases in the country. Of these, 15 have already recovered, while 25 resulted in death. Authorities continue to urge the public to exercise preventive measures such as social distancing, frequent washing of hands, and covering the mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, to help contain the spread of the viral disease.
