AMID the calamities and corruption issues, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has called for a National Day of Prayer and Public Repentance on Tuesday, Oct. 7, coinciding with the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.
In a pastoral letter issued on Oct. 3, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, president of the CBCP, instructed all parishes, churches and homes to recite a prayer for “a sustained supplication for mercy and renewal” not only on Oct. 7 but also on the succeeding Sundays before the Feast of Christ the King on Nov. 23.
The prayer is available in both English and Tagalog versions.
“This act of national contrition is also a step in our journey of synodality—walking together as God’s people, listening to the Spirit and to one another, in humility and hope,” the letter read.
The Kalookan bishop also urged families, schools, church groups, and basic ecclesial communities to recite the prayer regularly.
The prayer in English, titled “A National Cry for Mercy and Renewal,” mentions the issues of bribery involving fixers and traffic enforcers, tolerating lies in the media, accepting donations from plunderers, and facing injustice with silence.
“We are submerged, Lord, in calamities — floods, earthquakes, fires, typhoons. But worse are the wounds we inflict upon ourselves: scandalous budget insertions… substandard infrastructure… political dynasties… a rich nation drowning in taxes, yet kept poor by a politics of patronage,” it read.
The prayer asked for courage in rising above “greed and power,” and awakening of “care, empathy, compassion, and unconditional love.”
The national prayer campaign came in the aftermath of the death toll and damage caused by Typhoons “Mirasol,” “Nando,” and “Opong,” as well as the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck northern Cebu on Sept. 30.
It also followed the controversy over corruption in the Department of Public Works and Highways’ flood control projects.
