Manila Apostolic Administrator Broderick Pabillo on Palm Sunday said the cancellation of public Holy Week activities should not blur the essence of the celebration.
“[A]ng blessing hindi lamang binibigay ng tubig, binibigay yan ng panalangin at ng salita ng Diyos,” Pabillo said in his homily during Mass for Palm Sunday at the Manila Cathedral.
(Blessings do not only come from the water but from the prayers and the words of God.)
Bishop Pabillo also reminded the faithful to be one with the suffering of others, citing Christ’s suffering on the cross that brought salvation.
“Ang krus na kahoy lang ay kahirapan ngunit kapag nandiyan si Hesus ‘yan po ay kaligtasan. [W]hat gives meaning to His sufferings is not really the pains that He endured but the great love that He had that enabled Him to bear such pain,” Pabillo said.
(The wooden cross symbolizes suffering, but if Jesus is there, it becomes salvation. [W]hat gives meaning to His sufferings is not really the pains that He endured but the great love that He had that enabled Him to bear such pain.)
UST Parish Priest Fr. Paul Reagan Talavera, O.P. urged Catholics to find time for reflection and contrition at home in this time of pandemic.
“This Holy Week is a time of reflection, renewal, and contrition… lalo na ngayon na marami tayong oras sa bahay. [I]sipin natin ang ating mga pagkakasala, humingi ng tawad sa Panginoon, at samahan natin ang Panginoon in his journey of passion, death, and resurrection,” Talavera said in his homily during Mass at Santisimo Rosario Parish.
(This Holy Week is a time of reflection, renewal, and contrition… especially now that we have a lot of free time at home. Let us think of our wrongdoings, ask God for forgiveness, and join Him in his journey of passion, death, and resurrection.)
Talavera said the palm branches are symbol of Christ’s triumph and manifests how Christ saved people from our sins.
In the Eucharistic celebration at the Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City, Fr. Marcelino Saria, O.P. told the faithful not to let the limitations of quarantine period stop them from seeing goodness and providing for other people.
“Nagbibigay buhay ang Diyos sa gitna ng kamatayan. Nagbibigay ng lunas sa sakit sa gitna ng pandemic. Nagbibigay ng pag-asa sa gitna ng kawalan ng pag-asa,” he said.
(God gives life amid death. He provides relief amid a pandemic. He gives hope in times of despair.)
Christ’s self-offering for the salvation of mankind is the beautiful message of Gospel amid its painful presentation, he added.
“Dahan-dahan makikita natin, kahit masakit, kahit mahirap ‘pag tiningnan natin ang mabuti dito sa Ebanghelyo. We see a glimpse of how God loves us to the point of being one of us and even offering his life so that we can be saved,” Saria said.
(Even when it is difficult to look back on the goodness in the Gospel, we see a glimpse of how God loves us to the point of being one of us and even offering his life so that we can be saved.)
Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday, commemorates Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem and marks the beginning of Holy Week.
This year, drastic changes on the celebration of Holy Week were made following the directives of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Palm branches were blessed through online Masses. Some priests went around their communities and gave blessings without the use of Holy Water.
