Priests, faithful urged to do ‘act of charity’ on Maundy Thursday

MANILA – The Archdiocese of Manila has asked its priests and the faithful to do an “act of charity” on Maundy Thursday to help those in need during the pandemic.

Apostolic Administrator of Manila Bishop Broderick Pabillo said Wednesday the parishes have been urged to give to those who are suffering financially brought about by the current quarantine situation in the country.

“Here in the Archdiocese of Manila, we made a letter that all the collections we will receive, we can use it to help those in need. This is also timely since Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday since it is the day when the Lord gave his commandments to love and to love one another,” he said in an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas.

“This is the day of charity. I told the parishes in the Archdiocese of Manila to use the Alay Kapwa collection, which they have collected and if there are donations to provide assistance to the poor in their areas,” Pabillo added.

He believed that among those who were greatly affected by the implementation of enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces are workers who are getting paid on a daily basis.

“They are not allowed to go out, we have to help them. Here at the Sto Niño de Tondo, we identified the poor families and we will provide with assistance,” Pabillo said.

He also appealed to the faithful not to lose hope and continue to hold on to God.

“The Lord will no forsake us. We just continue to hold on to him. We see right now that we have many problems but let us look back at the past, there are times that same things have happened but we persevered and we will able to overcome the obstacles…Let us looked at ourselves as instruments of God’s love for the people,” he added.

On Monday, the Caritas Manila held the Alay Kapwa Telethon in Radyo Veritas where it was able to raise PHP4 million in just 11 hours.

The funds will be used in its outreach programs for the poor.