The Archdiocese of Manila on Feb. 17 commemorated the 150th anniversary of the martyrdom of Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora, collectively known as Gomburza, with a penitential walk (alay lakad) and a Mass celebrated by Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula.
The penitential walk started from the Manila Cathedral and proceeded to the Gomburza memorial marker in Rizal Park and the Archdiocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora De Guia.
In his homily, Advincula said the penitential walk was “for the sake of our nation and in solidarity with our suffering people.”
Advincula also called on Filipino Catholics to elect government officials who will serve for the common good.
“[This coming election], we ask our fellow Filipinos to be ‘maka-Diyos kaya makabayan’ to discern their choice well and prefer leaders who embody and promote the values of the kingdom of God,” Advincula said in his homily at the Manila Cathedral.
“We say ‘maka-Diyos kaya makabayan’ because true heroism is born of holiness and true holiness issues into service for justice,” he added.
Echoing Pope Francis, Advincula urged the faithful to engage in “social charity” or the willingness to serve for the “common good” to attain “genuine and integral development” of the country.
The clergy was also called to be “open to continuous conversions” to obtain social transformation.
“As priests and religious, let us be more faithful to the gospel and our vocation. Let us transcend our selfish preferences. Let us sacrifice our personal conveniences,” Advincula said.
The Gomburza were publicly executed by use of the garotte at Bagumbayan in Intramuros on Feb. 17, 1872. Bagumbayan is now Rizal Park.
In his book, the late Fr. Fidel Villarroel, O.P., historian and longtime archivist of the University, said the execution of the Gomburza was the “rallying cry of the Propaganda Movement and the Philippine Revolution.”
UST Secretary General Fr. Louie Coronel, O.P. said Gomburza’s push for the secularization of parishes “ignited the notions of equality, meritocracy and human dignity among Filipinos” and shaped the course of the country’s history.
“As we commemorate the martyrdom of the Gomburza, may our love for country be an
authentic expression of our discipleship in Christ,” Coronel said in a circular.
Burgos was a Thomasian. He obtained his doctorate degrees in sacred theology, philosophy, and canon law in UST. M. A. O. Castillo and A. M. C. Cruz
