CBCP: Easter spirit ‘alive’ in Filipinos’ sacrifice, service amid pandemic

The many people’s “heroic service and sacrifice” are concrete signs of the Easter spirit in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, Catholic bishops said.

In his Easter message, Archbishop Romulo Valles, president of the bishops’ conference, particularly honored medical workers tending to patients while risking their lives.

“Together, seeing the countless acts of sacrifice and service, acts of kindness and compassion, we begin to see that the spirit of Easter is still very much alive in our hearts,” Valles said.

The CBCP head said that the “simple acts of appreciation and gratitude” to Covid-19 frontliners also manifest the hope that comes with the Easter season.

“I begin to believe that we, as Filipinos, together with all the peoples in the world, are bigger than the threat of the coronavirus pandemic,” Valles said.

“It is a spirit that springs forth from both convictions, the conviction that the Lord truly and deeply loves us and the conviction that we are a people truly capable of loving and caring for each other in the worst of times,” he added.

Bishop Broderick Pabillo, apostolic administrator of Manila, said this year’s Easter season was unexpected because there were no public Masses and the traditional “Salubong”.

But he urged the faithful to continue their trust in the Lord and be open to His “surprises”.

“We do not know what will be our life after the lockdown. Surely, many things will change. What will they be? Of this we are sure, though: we will rise up from this pandemic,” Pabillo added.

“We will rise up, hopefully not to go back to our former way of life. We will rise up stronger and more confident. We will rise up with greater care for our health and our families. We will rise up strengthened in our relationships. Most especially, we will rise up with greater trust in our God who never leaves us and who sustains us in difficult times,” he also said.