Faithful urged to join ‘Lord Heal our Land’ event Sunday

View of EDSA Shrine at E. Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) corner Ortigas Avenue, Quezon City, Metro Manila as of April 2015. (Photo By Patrick Roque – Taken using my camera with model DSC-HX5V, CC BY-SA 3.0)

MANILA — A laity organization urged the faithful to show their love for the country by joining the Church-led event in Quezon City on Sunday.

Incoming president of the Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas (Council of the Laity of the Philippines), Marita Wasan, called on the people to participate in the gathering, dubbed “Lord Heal our Land Sunday”, organized by the Catholic Bishops‘ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

The event will be highlighted by a mass to be held at 3 p.m. at the EDSA Shrine in Quezon City.

“Tulungan natin ang ating simbahan na maipakita ang ating lakas sa ating mga pagtutol sa mga nangyayari sa ating bansa at magkaroon ng healing. Kasi yan ang main point ng ating pagtitipon-tipon sa Nov. 5 sa EDSA for our country to heal in all those happenings na talagang sumisira sa pamilya, sumisira sa pagkatao, lalung-lalo na ang sumisira sa ating lipunan(Let us help the Church and show our might in opposing what is happening in our country so that we can have healing. That is the main point of our gathering at EDSA on Nov. 5 — for our country to heal in all those happenings that destroy the family, personality and most especially, the society),” Wasan said in an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas on Thursday.

After the mass, the image of Our Lady of Fatima that was brought by devotees to EDSA during the 1986 People Power revolt, will be brought in a candlelight procession to the People Power Monument (PPM), a kilometer away from the EDSA Shrine.

Wasan will succeed Zeny Capistrano as the new head of the organization starting January 2018.

The Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas consists of different groups and organizations of Catholic churches all over the country.

Earlier, the De La Salle Philippines (DLSP) has expressed support for the activity, encouraging their schools to participate in the event this weekend.

“In response to the invitation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and as part of our advocacy against EJK (extrajudicial killings), respect for human rights and democracy, I wish to enjoin our school communities to participate actively in the ‘Lord Heal Our Land Sunday’ on 5 November 2017,” said DLSP president Bro. Armin Luistro in a statement.

For Luzon-based schools, Luistro asked them to gather at the Chapel of the Divine Child, Central House Administration, La Salle Green Hills at 2 p.m. and after a short briefing/orientation, they will walk to the EDSA Shrine for the mass at 3 p.m. After the mass, they will join the procession going to the PPM.

“For our Visayas- and Mindanao-based schools, may I also encourage you to hold simultaneous similar activities — a mass at 3 p.m. and candle lighting after. I encourage you to coordinate and work with your local parishes. As one La Sallian community, we act in solidarity with other Filipinos in the fight for dignity of human life and democracy,” he said.

Last month, CBCP president Socrates Villegas announced that they would be holding the “Lord Heal our Land Sunday” as part of the period of prayer for national healing.

He asked priests all over the country to hold “Lord Heal our Land Sunday Masses” in their areas since they could not all go to Quezon City on that day.