Filipino Cardinal urges to strive for truth, justice, and peace at Black Nazarene Feast
Cardinal Jose F. Advincula of Manila Archdiocese urged Catholics to strive for truth, justice, and peace in the world during the Black Nazarene Feast day Mass on January 9.
“Let us abandon a life of sin and live in the honour of God’s children. Let us strive to win truth, justice, and peace in the world,” the cardinal said in Filipino.
In his homily at the Quirino Grandstand, Manila, Philippines, the Manila Archbishop, Cardinal Advincula, exhorted the devotees to share Christ’s sufferings for the salvation of the world.
The cardinal encouraged the devotees, “Let’s empathize with our neighbors and care for each other. Let’s reach out to our brothers and sisters, especially those who are struggling right now.”
Church authorities estimated at least 92,000 people attended the feast day Mass, wearing face masks and many holding small replicas of the Black Nazarene.
CBCP News reported that about 88,000 devotees participated in the pre-dawn "Walk of Faith" from the Quirino Grandstand to Quiapo Church on January 8 to commemorate the Feast of the Black Nazarene.
The original image of the Black Nazarene Jesus is enshrined at the Quiapo Church, Manila, Philippines.
The six kilometers "Walk of Faith" began at 1 AM at the Quirino Grandstand and ended at 4 AM at the Quiapo Church on January 8.
Quiapo Church spokesperson Father Earl Valdez noted, "I think we were also able to process safely and orderly... and there were no major disruptions in the procession."
Due to the Covid-19 threat, Church authorities cancelled the traditional Traslacion (Spanish term referring to "passage" or "movement") for this year again and introduced the "Walk of Faith" procession in this year 2023 as an alternative to the yearly traditional Traslación.
The "Walk of faith" does not include the life-size statue of Jesus Christ carrying the cross in the procession, whereas the Traslacion does.
"I think we were able to draw devotees into a new, albeit temporary, way of having the procession without the image," Father Valdez commented. - With inputs from CBCP News
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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