(Photo by Alvin Joseph Kasiban)
February 11, 2016, 12:04a.m. – THE UNIVERSITY rector urged Thomasians on Ash Wednesday to start Lent by returning to their humble beginnings as Christians.
UST Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. told the Thomasian community in his homily that the cross placed on one’s forehead on Ash Wednesday was a reminder of one’s human predicament and role in the community.
“We reveal our belongingness through the sign of the cross on our foreheads,” he said.
Dagohoy said Christians should remain vigilant with their faith, quoting the Holy Father who said “the fragility of today’s era is the loss of hope for redemption.”
Dagohoy also called on Thomasians to extend the mercy of God to others, as this year’s Lenten season coincides with the Extraordinary Year of Mercy.
“The Church calls us this Extraordinary Year of Mercy to extend to [others] the mercy of God by making them realize that as long as we have life, it is possible to start all over again,” Dagohoy said.
The Holy Mass was concelebrated with Vice Rector for Religious Affairs Fr. Filemon de la Cruz, O.P. and Fr. Louie Coronel, O.P., parish priest of Santisimo Rosario Parish.
Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting and abstinence, marks the beginning of the forty days of Lent during which Christians are called to prayer, fasting and almsgiving to become closer to God, as they prepare for Holy Week. Lea Mat P. Vicencio
