As the Catholic faithful observe the Fourth Sunday of Lent today, March 22, a Catholic Church leader urged the faithful “to put aside their gadgets to be able to reflect in silence.”
“The Lenten message of Pope Francis is clear – put aside our gadgets this Lent to be able to reflect in silence. Our gadgets usually distract us from the peace and quiet that we need for self-examination and reflection,” said Boac Bishop Marcelino Maralit, Jr. over Church-run Radio Veritas.
“We have to go back to the basics of reflection and prayer which is silence. If we have cellphones or anything that distracts us, we will never get the silence that is necessary for us to be able to listen to God,” said Maralit, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines – Episcopal Commission on Social Communication.
The Church leader urged the faithful to open and reacquaint himself with the Holy Bible this Lent.
“The Good News is in the Bible and not in our gadgets which sometimes harbor fake news,” Maralit said. “The Holy Father is urging us to limit the use of cellphones and television viewing this Lent and to devote more time to reading the Bible,” he added.
“I urge everybody especially this Lenten season to make it a part of your sacrifice to put aside your phones for at least two hours a day. Pray, read the bible, read spiritual books, pray the rosary, do something different this Lenten season and I assure you it will change you for the better,” Maralit said.
‘HOPE, HELP AND HEAL’
For his part, Balanga Bishop Ruperto C. Santos called on the faithful “to continue to hope, help, and heal.”
“In today’s Gospel on the miracle of restoring the sight of the blind, Jesus reminds us that He is the light of the world. He will lighten our burdens, and that, there is always hope. Don’t give up. Don’t be discouraged. Our hope is God. And God in His mercy will respond to our needs. With Him by our side, we will surpass this pandemic. Just hold on to God. Let us place our trust in God,” Santos said.
“Let us be God’s helpers to one another. Let us always believe that there will be healing. All these sufferings and sickness will come to pass. There is always cure and remedy will be available. God will restore us to our health. He will renew our spirit and refresh us. God heals us in body and spirit,” the bishop said. (Christina I. Hermoso)
