The archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Jose Advincula, reminded Filipinos to uphold “our national dignity” amid the violence, the corruption, and the “destruction of creation” in the country.
The prelate made the call on Friday, February 25, during the observance of the 36th anniversary of the 1986 People Power revolution that ousted former dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
“Let us not allow EDSA to be a mere page in our national history,” said Cardinal Advincula in his homily during Mass at the shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary at the site of the peaceful uprising.
He said the “people power” uprising was not just a political event but “a religious and spiritual experience that cuts through time.”
The cardinal said that it was not so much about the triumph of one political party over the other, but “about the victory of the faith and heroism of the Filipino people.”
“Indeed we show the world that we are actively engaged citizens who have the freedom and dignity to choose our nation’s destiny by coming together in prayer and solidarity,” said the archbishop.
He said the 1986 uprising also marked the Filipinos as “Pueblo Amante de Maria” or a “people in love with Mary.”
An image of the Our Lady of Fatima was at the forefront of the uprising. “Let us take steps so that the next generations of Filipinos will call Mary blessed,” said the cardinal.
“All the more, we need to pray the holy rosary as families and communities and contemplate the holy mysteries in the life of Mary and Jesus so that they may transpire in our personal and social lives,” he added.
He urged the faithful to express their faith in both private and public spheres and to let God’s teachings influence their decisions.
“Let us transcend our selfish preferences and personal conveniences for the sake of the common good,” said Cardinal Advincula.
“We cannot be truly ‘Pueblo Amante de Maria’ if we are pious and devout in personal lives but we also disregard God’s precepts in our political life,” he said. – from a CBCP News report