Catholic devotees wave their palm fronds during Palm Sunday celebrations at the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto shrine in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan province, Philippines, April 13, 2025. - Photo: Reuters
MANILA: As the Christian Holy Week starts, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged the nation to remain “resilient and optimistic in life despite the challenges” they face.
On Palm Sunday (April 13), Marcos also encouraged the nation to take a brief pause from their daily routines and “ponder on the Lord’s perfect example of compassion and self-giving.”
“Our Saviour knew that the path of Calvary was not an easy journey. Yet, in dutiful obedience to the Father’s will, He fulfilled His mission, enduring hardships, and suffering, all in the name of love. Through His sacrifice, the gift of salvation came into our midst,” the President said in a statement.
“Like Christ, may we remain resilient and optimistic in life, despite all the challenges that come our way. May all the adversities that we face shape us into better persons, capable of understanding and charity towards our brethren,” he added.
Marcos also mentioned the Lord’s death on the cross, symbolising that humans are bound for greater things despite “our limitations and frailties.”
“We are comforted by the triumph of Easter, which uncovered the success of the Lord’s ultimate sacrifice. May the realisation that a loving God embraced humanity to be with us inspire perseverance through tribulations and be an encouragement to our brothers and sisters,” he said.
“I hope that we will regain strength in the presence of our family and loved ones for us to be more dedicated to doing His will, most especially to those in the peripheries He entrusted under our care,” he added. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
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