Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma celebrates the Easter Mass at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.
PALMA: HOW TO LESSEN KILLINGS
As Christians celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma called on the faithful to rise from their own tombs, believe in God, and to take to heart the message of Christ’s resurrection as a way to lessen the spate of killings happening in the country today.
Palma made this call during his homily at the Easter Sunday Mass held at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.
“Tawag ta sa Ginoo. Salig ta sa Diyos. Diyos nga nagpabanhaw ni Kristo ug nagpagawas ni Kristo. Naay Diyos nga napagawas nato sa atong kahimtang. Dili lang Siya (Kristo) mabanhaw kita na tanan, mabanhaw sa lain-laing lubnganan ug kahimtang,” said Palma.
(Let’s call on God. Trust God. The God who resurrected Christ and freed Him (from death). There is God who will free us from our situation. It is not only Christ who is resurrected but we also are resurrected from our different tombs and situations.)
Easter Sunday celebrates the resurrection of Jesus from death and signifies rebirth, renewed hope, and the triumph of God’s love over all adversities.
“Magpasalamat kita nga nag tuo kita (of His resurrection) because it gives meaning to our living and even to our dying,” Palma added.
Palma also relates the resurrection of Christ to the situation of the country today especially the spate of killings happening not just in Cebu but in the entire country.
He expressed his sadness knowing that the son of God died to save humanity but looking at the country today, many died in order to reform the country.
“As a Bishop moingon ko (I’ll say) that the death of one man who is the son of God is enough to free us from sin. It’s enough to make us better. It’s enough to make us reform. Kung dawaton nato iyang gihatag ba (If we only accept what He gave us). I feel sad when we (still) need deaths in order to reform,” Palma said.
Palma said that he does not have the solution to these deaths but he believed that Christians believing God could prevent this situation from worsening.
“Kun seryoso lang ta sa pagdawat sa iyang mensahe (sa pagkabanhaw) (If we are only serious in accepting his message of the resurrection),” Palma said.
Before Mass started, a procession of the statue of Mother Mary and Jesus Christ was held in the vicinity of the Cathedral.
The hundreds of faithful, who were at the Cathedral as early as 3 a.m. to join in the celebration of Jesus’s resurrection, also witnessed the “resurrection play” or “Sugat sa Pagkabanhaw ni Hesus” performed by the San Diego Dance Company, whose members played angels and Romans as they relived the story of Christ’s resurrection.
Fireworks lit up the dawn sky as images of Jesus and Mary met signifying that Jesus has resurrected.