As Catholic devotees around the world mark the start of Holy Week this Palm Sunday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. enjoined Filipinos to reflect and not to lose sight of the true essence of the occasion by spreading kindness and selflessness.

“In this solemn occasion, let us not only seek to unravel the mysteries of our faith but also to illuminate the path for others through acts of kindness and selflessness,” Marcos said in his Holy Week message.

“I pray that we may humbly accept our authentic selves as imperfect beings, for it is by becoming truly human that we can experience the divine. Let us always remember to seek the Lord in our desires and to desire Him in our seeking,” he said.

The Philippines, a predominantly Catholic nation with the third largest Catholic population in the world after Brazil and Mexico, observes Holy Week, or Semana Santa, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.

Marcos said the observance of Holy Week is a commemoration of the passion, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and an opportunity to reflect on the many transcendent encounters of the Catholic faithful.

“This hallowed time of contemplative silence behooves us to ponder on the mysteries that elude our grasp, seek revelation in the face of the inexplicable, and acknowledge the interplay of joy and sorrow in life so that we may understand the path laid before us by Almighty God,” he said.

“May our inward reflections manifest in our outward actions as we strive to give hope in a world that is threatened by darkness. Let us be the light that shines through the shadows, the love that triumphs over despair, and the hope that radiates upon all humankind,” he added.

The President expressed hope that the Catholic faithful will remember not for what they have reached, but for the light that they have kindled in the hearts of their fellow men. (PNA)