A top official in the Catholic Church called on the faithful Friday to keep the spirit of the 1986 People Power revolution alive by not allowing the disinformation to reign in the annals of history.
Speaking during Mass to mark the 36th anniversary of the historic event at EDSA, Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila said “now is the time to uphold our national dignity” amid human rights abuses, violence, corruption, and destruction of creation.
“Let us not allow EDSA to be a mere page in our national history,” Advincula said in his homily at the EDSA Shrine.
The cardinal went on to say that people power was not just a political event but “a religious and spiritual experience that cuts through time”.
It was not so much about the triumph of one political party over the other, he furthered, but “about the victory of the faith and heroism of the Filipino people”.
“Indeed we show the world that we are actively engaged citizens who have the freedom and dignity to choose our nation’s destiny by coming together in prayer and solidarity. Let the spirit of EDSA live on,” he said.
According to him, the peaceful uprising also marks the Filipino distinction as “Pueblo Amante de Maria” (people in love with Mary).
Thirty six years ago today, an image of Our Lady of Fatima was at the forefront of the people power revolt that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
“Let us take steps so that the next generations of Filipinos will call Mary blessed,” Advincula said.
“All the more, we need to pray the holy rosary as families and communities and contemplate the holy mysteries in the life of Mary and Jesus so that they may transpire in our personal and social lives,” he added.
The church official then exhorted the faithful to express their faith in both private and public spheres and let God’s teachings influence their decisions.
“Let us transcend our selfish preferences and personal conveniences for the sake of the common good,” Advincula said.
“We cannot be truly Pueblo Amante de Maria if we are pious and devout in personal lives but we also disregard God’s precepts in our political life,” he said.| – CBCPnews
