AS THE Catholic community celebrate Easter Sunday, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, in his Easter message, prompted the faithful to intensify their trust and faith in God, just as how the risen Lord remained faithful to His Father.
“Taliwala sa tanang problema, taliwala sa kangitngit, ug bisan pa sa lain-laing mga hitabo, ang atong pagsalig sa Diyos, mao'y magdala nato sa kausaban, bag-ong paglaum, bag-ong kinabuhi!” the prelate said.
(Even through all the problems, the darkness, and challenges we face, our trust in the Lord will bring us to change, a new hope and a new life!)
Easter Sunday or “Adlaw sa Pagkabanhaw” in Cebuano, is the celebration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead, three days after his crucifixion.
It is the last day of the Easter Triduum composed of the Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday, and marks the end of the Holy Week celebration.
Palma established the importance of Easter celebration as it denotes the culmination of all the Lenten practices observed by the devotees during Holy Week such as the Last Supper, Visita Iglesia, Stations of the Cross and the Seven Last Words to name a few.
“Kini tanan kulang kon dili nato saulugon ang pagkabanhaw ni Kristo. Kay kining pagkabanhaw ni Kristo mao'y pagpamatuod sa Diyos nga ang tanan nga gitudlo ni Hesus, ang tanan niyang gibuhat mao'y good news, dili fake news, ug mao'y pangandoy natong’ tanan,” he added.
(All of this will be incomplete if we do not celebrate the ressurection of Christ. The ressurection of Christ is the testimony of the Lord that all of Jesus' teachings, all his actions are good news, not fake news, and is what we are yearning for.)
Easter Sunday, as most of the Catholics were taught, signifies the victory of the Catholic faith as it serves as a confirmation of what Christ has taught his disciples before he died, Palma said.
“With Christ’s resurrection, we honor the victory of our faith. The triumph of light over darkness, the success of goodness over evil, the victory of forgiveness over condemnation, and the conquest of love over hate and of life over death,” the 69-year-old prelate said in Cebuano. (WBS)