MANILA — The head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has expressed hope that the faithful were able to contemplate on the deeper things of God during the Holy Week.
CBCP president and Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles also continued to urge the faithful — as Easter approaches — to make the most of the week a chance to be closer to God.
“The real challenge and opportunity in these days of Lent is to return to the Lord and trust Him to renew us,” Valles said in his Lenten and Easter message posted at the CBCP news website on March 28.
He also said he is hopeful that the spiritual practices of prayer, almsgiving and fasting were able to help the people return to the Lord.
“Lent makes us realize how certainly we would return to dust, as we were reminded on Ash Wednesday, if we do not return to the Lord,” Valles said. “Lent is about to end, but there is still ample time to bring ourselves closer to the Lord.”
He further said that Easter is the Church’s “most wonderful feast”.
“In this feast, we are again at the heart of God’s loving presence. Easter is the Lord’s promise of eternal life and happiness,” Valles said, wishing everyone a happy Easter.
The Holy Week began on March 25 with Palm Sunday and culminates on April 1, Easter Sunday.