Pray and give thanks to God.
This was the call of Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma to the public as he expressed gratitude that the onslaught of typhoon Ruby was not as bad as expected.
“We should thank the Lord that our worst fear did not happen and that the typhoon wasn’t as bad as expected,” he told reporters after celebrating the pontifical Mass during the feast of the Immaculate Conception at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral last Monday.
“As it was approaching the country, it’s wind was quite strong. But eventually it died down little by little. Although it caused some damage, it was not as bad as we fear. In that sense, we should thank God,” he added.
Before the storm made landfall last Friday, Palma called on the faithful to recite the ‘Oratio Imperata’, an obligatory prayer asking for God’s protection in times of calamity.
Palma observed that people were better prepared this time as they fear a repeat of supertyphoon Yolanda, the most powerful storm to make landfall in the world, which claimed the lives of over 6,000 last year and left a trail of unprecedented destruction.
“We learned a lot from Yolanda. Early enough, people were preparing, and were obeying the instructions from the LGUs and the media,” he said.