CUBAO Bishop Honesto Ongtioco called on devotees to end materialism and strengthen family ties through the rosary, in a Mass for the feast of Our Lady of La Naval de Manila at Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City.
“Kung minsan kasi, [a]ng yaman ng tao ay binabase natin sa materyal na bagay pero inuulit ng ating Mahal na Ina, ang tunay na yaman ng tao ay matatagpuan, makikita [at] matutuklasan sa paglapit niya sa Diyos. [D]ahil ang nagpapayaman sa tao ay ang kaniyang relasyon [at] pakikipag-ugnayan sa Diyos,” Ongtioco said in his homily.
Ongtioco called for the preservation of the tradition of praying the rosary as a family.
“Marami tayong krisis sa ating bansa, sa ating pamilya, sa mundo, heto ang paraan — panalangin, pagrorosaryo para sa pamilya at pagrorosaryo sa pamilya. [H]indi nakukuha sa pagbilis ng pagdarasal. Pray the rosary with great devotion, slowly meditate on the mystery,” he said.
Ongtioco said people should draw inspiration from the Blessed Mother’s obedience and humility amid challenges against faith.
“Tularan ang kababaang loob, ang disposisyon ni Maria sa kaniyang pag-angking sa anumang plano ng Diyos, [k]apag marunong tayong magtiwala, [at] nagbibigay tayo ng daan para sa kaniyang plano, tiyak na bibiyayaan tayo,” he said.
A grand, two-hour procession of the centuries-old image of Our Lady of La Naval, along with Dominican saints, followed the Mass.
The oldest ivory carving in the Philippines, the image of Our Lady of La Naval was a gift to the Dominicans from a Chinese artisan in 1593.
The procession, which gathered around 50,000 devotees this year, honors the Marian intercession for the victory of Filipino and Spanish troops over Protestant Dutch invaders in 1646.
