THE coronavirus disease (Covid-19) should not be a reason for Catholics to be discouraged in their faith.
Most Reverend John Du, archbishop of Palo, said this, as Catholic faithful attended the 131st fiesta mass celebration at the Santo Niño Church in Tacloban City on Tuesday, June 30.
“Despite the condition we are facing right now with this Covid-19 pandemic, we are gathered here. Why? Because our faith is better than our fears,” said Du.
In his homily, Du urged the public to obey the authorities, saying there is more to wearing a face mask and social distancing.
“I know it is hard. But the face mask is a good reminder. It says, ‘I love you, I care for you, and I don’t want you to be contaminated by the virus,’” said Du.
The prelate said that God’s wisdom can never be surpassed despite the health crisis.
“There is a meaningful signal to us that we do social distancing. We are very solemn in our celebration. I see you now, not like before when we are congested, we bumped each other, and we pushed each other. We never see and appreciate the dignity of a person,” said Du.
“The virus gives us fear, it makes our life inconvenient. But God gives us more, and even allows us to see meaning in what we are doing. Distancing is respect, to appreciate you as an individual. In other words, face mask and social distancing is an act of charity,” added the prelate.
According to Du, the Catholic faithful “must see each other as brothers and sisters.”
“You have your face mask. You are not alone. Whatever you do, it will affect your brothers and sisters,” he said.
But Du appealed to the churchgoers to translate the wearing of the face mask and maintaining physical distancing into living a “dignified Christian life when we care, love, and share each other.”
Citing the latest tally of coronavirus cases in the country, Du said the pandemic has a “much worse” direct effect on the socio-economic status of the Filipinos, particularly to the poor.
In a report from Catholic news site Licas.news, Du also expressed hope that the people in Tacloban can overcome the pandemic like how they did during the cholera epidemic in the city in the 1900s and the devastation from Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013.
“We know that God’s power can heal us, that is why our theme is 'Steadfast Faith in Señor Santo Niño: Our Source of Hope and Protection Amid Pandemic.' We must continue with our faith and remain thankful amid the threat of this disease,” he said.
“Our steadfastness is the source of our healing. It is our faith in Señor Santo Niño that gives us hope and joy. We believe in His mercy, in His goodwill to protect us and heal us. Our faith to Jesus and the Gospel will surely spare us from these challenges,” added Du.
The prelate maintained that while the people of Tacloban celebrated this year’s fiesta differently, they remained the same in terms of the strength in their faith.
“We are gathered in faith, we journeyed in faith. Because in Him and with Him, we are all conquerors. And absolutely, we can overcome the world and nothing can separate us from God,” Du said.
Earlier, Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez ordered the cancellation of fiesta-related events such as the Sangyaw Parade of Lights, nightly concerts, and other socio-cultural activities due to the pandemic.
In a separate statement, Tacloban City Vice Mayor Jerry Yaokasin said “there is still a reason to celebrate this year’s fiesta despite the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“Let us use this occasion to offer a prayer of thanksgiving to our Almighty God for keeping us safe and for providing our daily needs at this time. Let us offer a prayer of healing for those who are sick due to the coronavirus,” Yaokasin said.
Yaokasin also urged the public to offer “prayer of protection” for all health care frontliners.
During the mass celebration, the Santo Niño Parish also played a tribute video to all frontliners.
As of June 30, at least 80 health workers were already infected by the virus, mostly from the government-run Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) located in Tacloban City. (SunStar Philippines)