MANILA, April 22, 2013—“Easter celebration is about movement and growth which can be celebrated everyday for all Christians,” said Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle during an Easter recollection held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City, April 21.
The cardinal noted that Christians nowadays ignore the true essence of Easter and the celebration of Easter Sunday which is the most important day in the Church’s liturgical year.
“It is like pilgrimage nowadays, sometimes people treat it as an educational tour because they prioritized taking pictures instead of remembering God’s sacrifices for us. We need to remember Church celebrations as sacred,” Tagle explained.
Tagle also shared his own interpretations of “Galilee”, saying it is a completion of abandonment, a place to hide, and going back to old life.
“If we go back to our own Galilees, I’m sure that God will be always there waiting for us. But still, we must find our own Galilee because this time, the Church is in need of people that will be sent as witnesses of God and will become instruments in helping Him announce the good news,” Tagle stressed.
He then emphasized to thousands of attendees that “all people must go to Galilee and to the ends of the earth.”
“We are sent here on Earth as witnesses to God’s love, not just by words but by actions. We should not go like the other Christians who are always saying that they are true servants of God, but their actions show the other way around,” he furthered.
The cardinal also mentioned the importance of the coming May elections and stressed how a single vote can change people’s lives.
Tagle celebrated the mass with Cubao bishop Honesto Ongtioco and Fr. Nono Alfonso as con-celebrants.
He discussed in his homily about what and how people can achieve everlasting life by following God’s teachings.
Attended by thousands of people from various groups and sectors, the recollection themed “Easter,” was organized by Jesuit Communications (JesCom) Foundation headed by Fr. Emmanuel “Nono” Alfonso, SJ. (Jandel Posion with reports from Pio Antonio Bellen and Czarina Chavez)
