40-day Lent starts: Do acts of kindness, says Church

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma. CBCP website

As millions of Roman Catholics troop to churches today (February 22) to mark Ash Wednesday, the Church is reminding its faithful of a primary message from Christ: Be caring of others, even small acts of kindness help.

At the start of the 40-day Lenten season, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) called on its flock to practice charity by supporting the Church’s Alay Kapwa program and other humanitarian  projects.

In the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, Catholics are expected Wednesday to start reciting the new English version of the Lord’s Prayer, one of the changes in the English translation of the Roman Missal of 2010.

Over Church-run Radio Veritas on Tuesday, CBCP president and Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma also exhorted the people to reflect on the love of God to help them renew their weakened spirits during  Lent.

“If there is one important thing during the Lenten season, it is to reflect on God’s love for us … Hopefully, we will be renewed, especially in our appreciation of our dignity as children of God,” Palma said.

Among Roman Catholics, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent—the season of preparation for Jesus Christ’s death, followed by His resurrection on Easter Sunday, which falls this year on April 8.

Chance for renewal

Millions of devotees in the Philippines, which is 80-percent Catholic, are expected to flock to churches today to have palm ashes traced on their foreheads in the form of a cross.

Ash Wednesday is also marked with repentance, fasting, abstinence—particularly from meat.

“We are all weak as human beings but we are always given a chance to be renewed so I hope this season of Lent will bring forth internal renewal among us,” Palma said.

Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, chair of the CBCP public affairs committee, reminded the faithful to be always ready to “offer oneself”—including their time, talent and resources—to their neighbors, especially around this time of the year.

Iñiguez said the faithful must be sensible to the message of Alay Kapwa, which he called an act perfected by Jesus when he died on the cross to save mankind from sin.

By Christ’s example

Alay Kapwa is the Lenten evangelization-action program of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. It was initiated by the CBCP in 1975 to address the “lack of social conscience in the country,” according to the CBCP.

“We must live by Jesus’ example by caring for the needs of our neighbors, especially those neglected by families and the society,” Iñiguez said, adding that adopting the Alay Kapwa program was timely since many victims of recent natural calamities continued to need help.

Tagle’s call

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle issued the same call for charity and alms-giving in a pastoral letter.

He particularly appealed to the faithful for “little act(s) of kindness” to help the archdiocese raise P40 million to feed 40,000 hungry and malnourished children in the archdiocese and other areas. The archdiocese is supporting Pondo ng Pinoy’s Hapag-Asa feeding program.

Tagle said: “We are called upon to support each other in solidarity by praying, fasting and giving alms to the poor as we undertake our conversion journey in preparation for Easter.”

Under the feeding program, children aged 6 months to 12 years old are fed with nutritious food once a day, five days a week for six months. Their parents are provided with basic skills to help them improve their ability to take care of their children and provide them access to livelihood.

New version

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said the new English version of the “Our Father” must also be used in prayers outside the Mass, such as when reciting the rosary or making invocations.

He instructed all priests under his jurisdiction to “guide our Catholic faithful in the proper understanding and implementation of these changes. Once we have settled down with this new version, we shall proceed with the other parts of the Missal.”

The archdiocese has decided to slowly implement the changes in the English translation of the Roman Missal to avoid overwhelming the faithful with “too many changes” in the liturgy of the Church.

According to the new version, the Lord’s Prayer should be recited as follows: “Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”