Monday, May 12, 2008
Church calls on followers to proclaim truth, be strong
IN his homily in yesterday’s Pentecost mass, the Archdiocese of Cebu Presbyteral Council secretary called for empowerment of the Christian community.
Msgr. Roberto Alesna of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral said that confronted with the present challenges, empowered people are able “to take charge of the situation.”
“We and we alone have to do something,” he said, adding that action is needed to take on the hurdles, and to “live responsibly.”
In an interview with Sun.Star Cebu, he said that in matters like the search for truth, Christians need to be empowered.
“Nowadays, we know what is true; but then, human as we are, we are afraid to come out into the open and proclaim what is true,” Alesna said.
The Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit unto the Apostles, which led to the formation of the Catholic Church.
Alesna said that before it, the Apostles were “very weak and afraid to come out” in fear of the consequences if discovered.
However, after the Holy Spirit came upon them, their courage grew and they set forth to perform the task of preaching the Gospel without worrying about what might happen to them.
This, Alesna said, is what the Christian community should follow.
“That’s what is also needed, even up to today. Human as we are, we have human limitations, (which is) all the more reason to call on, invoke on the Holy Spirit and his gifts,” he added.
In the editorial of the weekly publication Bago-ong Lungsu-ranon, the archdiocese calls on the Filipinos to take an active part in nation-building.
With the proposal of shifting to a federal system of government, the Archdiocese believes change will be evident in the system only if it starts with the people themselves, specifically those in the public sector. (EPB)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (May 12, 2008 issue)
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