Ricky Poca
Happy Easter everyone and may the Good Lord cover you with His precious blood. I hope all of you had a meaningful Holy Week last week.
I was asked one time why there are so many people excited for the Holy Week when they should be solemn and attend church activities instead of planning on a vacation in the beach resorts or a trip abroad.
I heard some people justify their planned beach vacation by saying they need to get away from the hot city summer environment. Some say they are planning to go abroad for vacation because the week is boring with nothing much to do.
Still, others say that while they may head to the beach, they also spent some time praying. Some are quite honest and say they just want to relax and enjoy the holidays and that it is no one’s business but their own.
Personally, I respect and understand their explanations, but is it too much to ask our people to sacrifice a little and reflect on the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ?
During the Holy Week, I made it a point to watch “The Passion of Jesus Christ” by Mel Gibson because it graphically portrayed the suffering of Jesus Christ during the crucifixion and His death.
One winces on seeing the pain and suffering that the Lord went through. There are portions of the movie that made me cry and empathize with the Lord.
There were some scenes that can make the faithful angry at the Romans like Pilate for washing his hands off the crucifixion of Christ and the sanctimonious high priests and religious leaders who shamelessly goaded the crowd to demand for the crucifixion of Jesus.
Last Holy Tuesday at the 888 News Forum, we had as our guest Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, Sister Buscato, Fr. Mhar Balili and Tatay Dodong Limchua of the Oasis of Love, and part of our discussion was the resounding love of Bishop Teofilo Camomot for the poor as explained by Palma and Balili.
I can attest to that because I personally met Bishop Camomot. I recalled the time when my family operated a modest pharmacy named Botica Catalina while still living in Magallanes Street and Bishop Camomot dropped by in his jeep to ask for medicine for the poor back home in Carcar City.
Today, just like many Christians, I also pray that he be granted the privilege to become a saint. Fr. Mhar Baliliis is now gathering and documenting personal accounts of Bishop Camomot granting favors to those who prayed for him.
And Sister Buscato also informed us that there are more devotees who dropped by the tomb of Bishop Camomot in Villadolid Carcar to pray.
I wish that the prayers of Cebuanos for Bishop Camomot to be elevated to sainthood by the church in Rome be granted.
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Last week, a peaceful and a modest town in Inabanga, Bohol, in particular Barangay Napo, was rocked by the dawn firefight between the military and some Abu Sayyaf bandits.
It was reported that the Abu Sayyaf arrived in Bohol the night before or Monday evening quietly, but their presence was noticed by the residents who reported it to the authorities.
Luckily the vigilance of the residents of Barangay Napo, Inabanga, Bohol paid off because the following day the military and the
police immediately responded.
The Abu Sayyaf was out there to kidnap some personalities in Bohol, and they picked Inabanga because they know someone who
lives there.
I hope the authorities arrest this contact and present facts about the whole incident to the public who deserves to know the truth so they can be more vigilant in guarding against the Abu Sayyaf bandits.