The Philippines: 21 days of prayer for “national healing”

Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, the Philippines, called for 21 days of prayer, which were dedicated to the “national healing” of the country, overwhelmed by many challenges, including that of the coronavirus pandemic. It ran from July 16th, feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, to August 5th, the dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. 

In a letter to the priests of the archdiocese, Archbishop Villegas stressed the sense of “powerlessness and discouragement” that hovers over the country and highlighted how the health emergency and “socio-political unrest” make people feel “incapable of doing anything, of understanding how to be disciples of the Lord.”

Hence, the invocation to the Virgin Mary — because “if we cling to her,” underlined the archbishop, “we will never remain defenseless.

”Archbishop Villegas explained that the meaning of the number 21 refers to the twenty-one acts of rebellion of the Israelites after the liberation from Egypt. “We must repent if we want to be healed,” he urged.

Specifically, during the 21 days of the initiative, the Act of Consecration of the country to Our Lady and the “Prayer for national healing” were to be recited at each Mass. The recitation of the same prayers was also encouraged in families, at the end of the daily Rosary. On August 5, the last day of the initiative, a solemn Mass was celebrated in the Basilica of Our Lady of Manaoag, attended only by diocesan priests and religious because of the limits imposed by the pandemic. However, the Mass was streamed and the faithful encouraged to participate through the available social media platforms.

“Let us not give in to discouragement and sadness,” Archbishop Villegas concluded, “but let us go to Our Lady, our Mother, let us trust in her and seek comfort.”

Adapted from Aleteia