MANILA, March 24, 2013— As Holy Week starts, the leader of Manila’s Catholic Church called on the faithful to avoid retaliation “for it will only breed evilness.”
Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said taking revenge becomes a vicious cycle from which nobody can move on and will further cause contempt and resentment.
“Evil will pervade us should we repay evil with evil,” Tagle said in his homily during a Palm Sunday service at the San Fernando de Dilao Parish Church in Manila’s Paco district.
“How can we defeat it? By being innocent like Jesus… which means that you don’t plan anything that will hurt others,” he said.
The cardinal expressed concern over the spread of injustices in the world because many people abandoned their faith.
He stressed that doing good instead of evil in return for wrongdoings is a more powerful weapon than evil could ever be.
“Your goodness will defeat evil,” said Tagle. “Let’s journey with Him (Christ) in our everyday life by being innocent, charitable, and doers righteous.”
“As we start this Holy Week, let’s emulate Jesus, worship Him and follow His examples,” he added.
Cardinal Tagle and other priests kicked off Holy Week for the archdiocese’s Catholics, blessing palms as they make their way into the church in a procession.
Clad in red and also carrying a bishop’s staff made of woven palms, Tagle performed the Palm Sunday ritual before a packed Paco Church.
The liturgical event commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when people welcomed him with palm fronds. (Roy Lagarde)
