MARIAN DAY – OCTOBER 13, 2013

Last September 7, 2013, the first Saturday of September, we joined Pope Francis in the worldwide prayer, fasting and penance for world peace especially Syria. It was a powerful witness to the whole world, of the nature of the Church – a community in prayer and reparative penance.

At the same time, the Bishops Conference of the Philippines, in the midst of our own crises of integrity and justice in public office as a public trust, also appealed to offer the same day as a Day of Atonement for our collective sins, such as the Pork Barrel scam. We responded in faith and trust and hope in the maternal guidance and protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Soon after, violence erupted anew in Zamboanga. Ordinary peoples’ lives interrupted, commerce and trade disrupted, education suspended, peoples’ lives put at risk. Indeed, we are again in troubled times.

The 10th National Marian Pilgrimage to Lipa was just held last September 12, 2013, with the theme adopting the one of the National Consecration – Bayang Sumisinta kay Maria, for the special intention of the Sanctification of Priests and World Peace. Once again hundreds of thousands of pilgrims flocked to Lipa to listen to the conferences and participate in the devotions, and witness the Marian Regatta around the Taal Lake. Once again, the faithful consecrated the country our Mother, Mary Mediatrix of all Grace, as she is known and loved in Lipa.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines recently, through the Permanent Council, has viewed it to be another great sign of unity and love for the Pope, if all the Philippine Bishops with their priests join Pope Francis on Sunday, October 13, 2013, the GREAT EVENT OF THE MARIAN DAY, Feast of our Lady of Fatima, in his Solemn Entrustment of the whole World to Our Lady of Fatima.

Marian Day is one of the great pontifical events marked down on the calendar of celebrations of the Year of Faith which will bring to Rome hundreds of movements and institutions connected with Marian devotion.

Cardinal Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, wrote: “The Holy Father strongly desires that the Marian Day may have present, as a special sign, one of the most significant Marian icons for Christians throughout the world and, for that reason, we thought of the beloved original Statue of Our Lady of Fatima”.

I cannot help but view these turn of events, unfolding nationally and internationally, as connected with what we have started here in the Philippines with our National Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary led by our Bishops, on June 8, 2013. The Bishops of Lebanon did the same on June 16. The Catholic Church in Ireland did their national consecration last August 15, 2013. And we can expect and hope, the rest will follow. In Australia, there is a movement among the laity to precisely request the Bishops to make the consecration of their country.

Just as in his last appeal of September 7, 2013 Prayer for Peace in the World, I intend to personally join the Holy Father in the Entrustment of the World, and I enjoin all of you to unite with him as one ecclesial family, leading our Faithful in this united front against all the threats to world peace – Climate change, Terrorism, Financial crisis, aethism and secularism, culture of death.

Therefore, on Sunday, October 13, ,2013, in all the Sunday masses including the anticipated mass on Saturday, to be done after the Prayer after Communion, let the Bishops and Priests lead the faithful in the Entrustment of the whole world, with bended knees before any image or icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us. Guide our feet into the way of peace.