MANILA, May 16, 2013—Weeks before the National Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, two Church officials expressed the need for all people to be sanctified to Jesus through His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Msgr. Joselito Asis, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said the consecration, which shall be renewed every year will help in the personal conversion of every individual.
“We will do this annually which will be celebrated on the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on June 8. The consecration to the Blessed Virgin is one of the calls of the Church here in the Philippines in celebration with the Year of Faith that we want to be intensified,” Asis said in a press conference held at the CBCP building in Intramuros today.
Asis believes that renewing and intensifying the faith through Mary will bring back those who are un-churched and non-believers to the faith.
Meanwhile, Digos Bishop Guillermo Afable stressed that the National Consecration is not just for Catholics but is opened to other religions as well.
“There will be unification of all Filipino people no matter what religion they come from. The consecration to the Virgin Mary is not just for us Catholics because it is not only for us but for the whole Filipino nation,” Afable said.
The bishop, who heads the national consecration event, also explained that there are two kinds of consecration, the individual consecration and the consecration of other people through an individual.
“You can consecrate yourself and at the same time, you can also consecrate another person or other people who may not want to consecrate themselves like saying, ‘I am doing this for them’. Because we will also include them as they are also children of God,” the bishop added.
The simultaneous consecration will be attended by bishops, clergies, religious and the laity around the country that will start with a Marian procession, followed by a catechesis and praying of the rosary.
“Rosary will be broadcasted nationwide through our media partners and aired in different dialects like Bicolano, Tagalog and Cebuano. After the praying of the rosary, the mass will be celebrated. Then the consecration will follow and there will be ringing of Church bells all over the Philippines,” Afable furthered. (Jandel Posion)