The Archdiocese of Zamboanga is inviting the faithful to join in prayer and fasting for an end to the pandemic starting October 13.
“I would like to renew my invitation for the people of God in the Archdiocese of Zamboanga to be united in these forty days of prayer, fasting, and penitence from October 13 to November 22, for an end to COVID-19 pandemic and in solidarity with those who suffer most,” said Bishop Moises Cuevas, administrator of the archdiocese, in an interview over Radio Veritas 846.
The activity is the archdiocese’s response to the call of Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, to pray for the needs of others, especially during the pandemic.
Bishop Cuevas called on communities to also pray the Holy Rosary every eight o’clock in the evening to ask for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“In these days of fervent prayers, I encourage the faithful of the archdiocese to pray the Holy Rosary at eight in the everning in the church, in the chapel, as a family at home, as a religious community, as a group or organization,” said the prelate.
“To better dispose us to be in communion with God in prayer I recommend fasting,” he said.
The bishop explained that fasting can take many forms, such as depriving oneself of technology, leisure, smoking, drinking, “but food must be given utmost consideration since food is the most fundamental like air or water.”
“It’s a form of deprivation of the good for a greater good,” said Bishop Cuevas.
The dioceses of Borongan, Catarman, and Maasin in the central Philippines have earlier announced that they will have “days of prayer, fasting and penitential walk” for an end to the health crisis.
The Philippines has been named one of the worst places to be during the pandemic, according to Bloomberg’s COVID Resilience Ranking released this week.
The Philippines placed No. 53 in the list, below Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
On Wednesday, the Philippines listed 12,805 new COVID-19 cases, according to the health department, pushing the total number to 2.536 million. The death toll was reported at 38,164, with 186 new fatalities.
