CAGAYAN DE ORO -- The leadership of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has proposed that “Oratio Imperata for Peace” be said in churches throughout the country to help “calm the anxieties” of the people and arrest the continued stirring for war after the tragic January 25 incident in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
“The situation of the country and the world right now calls on all of us to turn to the Lord in humble supplication and gather our people to pray,” Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop and CBCP president Socrates B. Villegas wrote in a February 23 letter to the country’s bishops.
“As the nation continues to grieve over the tragedy in Mamasapano and the family of nations is threatened by war and terror from extremist groups, our best contribution to the nation and to the world is to encourage people to pray,” Villegas added.
In Catholic Church tradition, an Oratio Imperata is an obligatory prayer said in times of natural calamity, war or any grave danger to the community. This prayer is recited kneeling. This can also be prayed individually.
In the Middle Ages, various saints (e.g. Saint Isidore the Farmer) were invoked for the assistance of granting rain, while Saint Roch was invoked for dire calamities and the Black Plague.
The bishops in every ecclesiastical territory have the authority to declare that such prayer be made obligatory.
Oro priests
In a text message to Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro Tuesday, Monsigñor Elmer Abacahin, the pastoral head of the Holy Cross parish in Alubijid, Misamis Oriental, said that given the present circumstances and atmosphere following the Mamasapano tragedy, the Oratio Imperata must be said in churches.
“It is imperative especially today in our country to pray for peace when our country is in need in connection with the Fallen 44 and the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL),” Abacahin said, referring to the 44 police Special Action Force (SAF) commandos who were killed last January 25 when they engaged in a firefight with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
Also killed were at least 18 MILF combatants, five BIFF guerrillas, several civilians and international terrorist figure Zulkifli Abdhir, also known as Marwan, the target of the SAF operation that went amiss.
The Mamasapano fighting is slowly ripping the country apart, as some lawmakers have expressed their withdrawal of support to BBL, which many believe may be the key to a lasting peace in Mindanao.
The BBL, once passed into a law, will pave the way for the Bangsamoro to achieve autonomy much like the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) but with some added elements.
Abacahin said: “Our God is God of peace and order, let’s ask God to grant us lasting peace. It is imperative to really seek the God of Peace.”
For his part, Fr. Raul Ricacho, who heads the Holy Rosary parish in Barangay Agusan, said the Oratio Imperata for Peace should be recited in churches for the Almighty to hear the prayer of the faithful.
“Prayer is the best weapon that a person can use to express his intentions to God. Although God is the only one who decides everything, a person can only hope that his intentions will be heard by God through his prayers,” Ricacho told this paper by phone Tuesday.
Awareness of the massive forces of violence
Villegas’ letter to his colleagues included a draft eight-paragraph text of the obligatory prayer. He proposed that this be said before the post-communion prayer in every Holy Mass from March 1 to 28.
The prayer written by Villegas implored that the people develop an “awareness of the massive forces of violence and terrorism that threaten our world today.”
“Grant us a sense of urgency to activate the forces of goodness, of justice, of love and of peace in our communities,” the prayer partly reads.
“... I humbly request that you issue a circular to the clergy and Catholic faithful in your jurisdiction to make this prayer for peace mandatory,” Villegas asked the country’s bishops.
“Hopefully, this prayer can calm the anxieties of our long suffering people and touch the hearts of the enemies of peace,” Villegas added. (Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro/Sunnex)