Faithful urged: Take up your cross

April 14, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — In order to gain hope and deeper faith, Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula yesterday told the Catholic faithful that they should take up their crosses and offer them to the Lord.

In his Palm Sunday homily at the Manila Cathedral, Advincula said the Lord is teaching the faithful that just like Jesus Christ, who carried his cross and endured the pain, the people should also have the courage to face their problems and carry their own crosses.

“In our weaknesses as human beings, it is inherent that we would want to deny the pain. If we experience pain, we want to get away from it, especially if we can no longer bear its weight. But in the end, we must have the courage to face our problems, experience the suffering and take up our cross… if we hide or deny the wound, it will not heal,” the Manila prelate said.

“Pain is like the megaphone or loudspeaker of the Lord. In order for sickness to heal, we have to feel the pain and face the difficulties,” he added.

According to Advincula, difficulties could also be turned into blessings by offering these sacrifices for others.

“While pain seems to be beyond meaning and understanding, no pain is ever beyond love,” he said.

“But the Lord also assured His people that they would not go on this journey alone. He will be with them and will send them people to help them ease their burden,” Advincula noted.

Meanwhile, Archdiocese of Manila spokesman Fr. Jerome Secillano said that Holy Week is an opportunity for the Catholic faithful to become aware of the wrongdoings they have made in their life and turn them into a “moment of conversion.”

“As the words suggest, Holy Week is a sacred time for Catholics. This is a period of commemoration centered on the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. In these glorious days we are asked to be conscious of our sinfulness and of the need to return to the Lord in a moment of conversion,” Secillano said.

“It is, in a sense, an invitation for a personal Passover, the journey from sin to grace, from wicked ways to goodness, from death to life,” he added.

Similarly, Antipolo Bishop Ruperto Santos, in his Lenten message yesterday, said that Holy Week is the time when God demonstrates his profound love for his people – a love that transcends, transforms and triumphs.

“This is not a love we deserved or earned – God loved us first. The cross is not just an event; it is God’s proclamation that His love reaches into our brokenness, pulling us toward redemption. These are not mere stories or distant memories – they are the living proclamation of God’s eternal love,” he said.