Rody’s Easter message: Help the needy, be humble
President Duterte yesterday urged Christians to help the needy and to be humble and forgiving as they celebrate Easter, which commemorates Jesus’ resurrection.
Duterte said Easter is the time “to glorify Jesus for His sacrifices so that we can live with renewed hope towards salvation.”
“Let us make this occasion more meaningful by offering aid to others, especially to those in need,” the President said in his message for Easter Sunday. “As we remember Christ’s
triumph over death, may we nurture humility and forgiveness in our hears as these will free us from the shackles of hatred and greed. For it is only by being selfless that we can truly say we are worthy of God’s love,” he added.
During his homily for Palm Sunday, the start of the Holy Week, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle assailed modernday “kings” who are “full of cockiness and devoid of humility.” The prelate said these leaders are resorting to violence and intimidation “without any understanding and oneness with the weak.”
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo has said Duterte did not feel alluded to by Tagle’s remarks because the President is “very humble and soft-hearted.”
Duterte also urged Christians to pray for the welfare and safety of their countrymen and for lasting peace “so that we can all work together in harmony towards real change.”
“Today, we are called to thank the Lord for giving us His only Son to save the world from sin,” he added.
Christians believe Jesus endured torture and humiliation and allowed Himself to be crucified to save humanity from sin. More than 80 percent of Filipinos are Christians, a huge majority of them Roman Catholics.
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