Jesus Christ has been crucified. The veneration of the cross symbolized the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and marks the start of the mourning period until the Easter Vigil on the evening of Black Saturday. Archbishop Jose Palma led the Mass for the Lord’s Passion at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral this Good Friday.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Amid the sufferings that the Filipino people are facing for over a year, the faithful are reminded that Jesus Christ is in their midst.
This was the homily of Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma on Good Friday during the Mass for the Lord’s Passion at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral on April 2, 2021.
In his homily, Palma said that the deaths and the sufferings of the people may be “unfair and painful”, yet this is the “Mystery of the Cross” of which the sins of the world were corrected.
“Kita nga nagtuo sa Diyos, taliwala sa mga butang nga dili masabtan, sayod kita nga ang Dios uban kanato. God is present in the midst of many problems, crises, situations, events nga lisod masabtan,” said the prelate.
The Archbishop said it may be difficult to comprehend why people are dying. This would naturally cause people to seek God and ponder why the sufferings continue.
Just like Jesus Christ, the faithful are encouraged to keep holding to their faith as more and more troubles arise because God’s will always prevail.
“Mao kini si Jesus diha sa Crus, karong hapona buksan nato atong kasingkasing aron masayran nato ang kamatuoran nga ang rason niining tanan mao ang pagsunod ni Jesus sa pagbuot sa Diyos. The reason he was born…because he was born to die, but Jesus fulfilled that because of love,” said the archbishop.
While another Holy Week has come and gone with people still stuck in their homes and the country battling the coronavirus, the prelate told the faithful to look forward to better days the way they look forward to Easter.
In the commemoration of Christ’s Passion, the archbishop hopes that people will share in the sacrifice of the Lord, lift up their sufferings, and have faith that the country and the world will rise from this turmoil.
For the Good Friday Mass, the entry to the Cathedral was kept at 50 percent capacity. Only a limited number of people were able to attend the mass.
No physical veneration of the Cross was made, contrary to the tradition of kissing and touching the Cross, to avoid the spread of the coronavirus disease. /rcg