Alotau: With October being the month of the S y n o d o f Synodality to be held in Rome from October 4th to the 9th. The Bishop of Alotau, Bp. Rolando C. Santos, CM is now appealing to his people to help pray for the success of this event so everyone can grow through the spirit of Synodality, and be a veritable of Light and Salt.
Bishop Rolando has said that in order to do so, everyone must now learn to ‘Mourn’. Which he has stated the importance of doing so upon the following scriptures: “blessed are they who mourn” (Mt 5:5); the story on “priest or Levite in the Gospel who was moved with pity but did nothing to help the wounded man by the side of the road” (Lk 10:31-32). For he further explained that “Those who mourn will not only be comforted but, will also learn how to comfort others as well”
He also went on to give more examples of saints and other apostolates of Jesus Christ who have mourned to the Father for help. With which he has used St. Vincent De Paul (d. 1660), whose feast was recently celebrated on the 27th of September as a Saint who also knows how to mourn. And adding on to his examples was the example of Mother Mary. When his son Jesus Christ was killed, at the foot of the hill was Mother Mary who stood and wept and cried for the sins of the world.
With that, it can now be seen that Satan is making havoc around the world and spreading false ideologies of materialism, liberalism, and relativism. Bishop Ronaldo said that the people are now doing so many immoral and unreligious deeds like; drugs, alcohol, and sex abuse continue to rise and rascals and sea pirates continue to loot and spread fear among the innocent.
The bishop gave in figures that, five years ago, they had a total of 1,870 people baptized in the diocese, while last year it had gone down to only had 657. 233 marriages were blessed, while last year only had 102, and only 78 in 2020.
According to the Bishop, the Catholic Church has now become a Church that has lost its missionary vitality and not reaching out to the masses. We indulge in spiritual sloth and self-preservation with no substantial and sustainable pastoral plan for our people. We need to learn how to mourn, acknowledge humbly our faults, and rise from our sins. Without a humble and contrite heart, we cannot please the Lord.
תגובות