Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 2) — Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula reminded the Catholic faithful that Jesus’ sanctification of pain is their hope amid senseless violence, as the celebration of the Holy Week began on April 2, Sunday.
“Kung ang pag-inda ng sakit ay hindi tumungo sa malasakit, nawalang saysay at kahulugan ang sakripisyo,” Advincula said in his homily during Palm Sunday mass at the Manila Cathedral.
[Translation: If the pain suffered does not turn into compassion, the sacrifice becomes meaningless.]
“Jesus’ act of sanctifying the experience of suffering is our hope amid the experience of senseless violence, unjust condemnation, and absurd pain,” he added.
Advincula told the Catholic faithful to learn from Jesus — whom he said was their model of passion and compassion — in feeling, sharing, and offering their pain.
“In our human pride, we naturally want to keep the pain all to ourselves so that we would appear victorious…but this delusion would only end up in our hearts feeling sullen, rotten, and forsaken,” the Manila archbishop said. “Ibahagi nawa natin ang sakit. Ibukas natin ang sakit sa Diyos at sa kapwa.”
[Translation: Let us share our pain. Let us open up our pain to God and others.]
Advincula’s message comes during an ongoing discussion of impunity and attempts on the lives of some local government officials.
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The probe into the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs, which claimed thousands of lives, has yet to see prosecutions even in the current government.
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‘Renewed enthusiasm’
Devotees flocked to the Manila Cathedral who brought with them palm fronds to celebrate and remember the arrival of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem.
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Churchgoers wave their palms as the #HolyWeek begins. | @crissydimatulac pic.twitter.com/lacSjhSFir
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) April 2, 2023
