If there is one thing that the faithful should never lose, Archdiocese of Manila Apostolic Administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo said it is the desire to participate physically in the Mass.
"Because of the pandemic, you just watch the Mass, but in our hearts, there should be that desire, that longing to participate physically in the Mass," he said during the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, April 1, at the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros.
"Pease do not lose the fire, the desire to be physically present when it is possible, and to really receive the body of Christ into our body," added Pabillo.
The prelate said the online mass is a poor substitute of the real physical participation in the Mass.
Metro Manila and nearby provinces are under enhanced community quarantine from March 29 to April 4. Under ECQ, religious gatherings are prohibited.
Pabillo said the Mass is important because "we make present among us the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ."
"We come in the presence of the sacrifice of Christ. It is the same sacrifice of Christ in Calvary and on our altars," he said.
During the Mass, Pabillo washed the feet of four individuals with background relevant with this year’s celebration of the 5th centenary of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines namely: Augustinian priest Father Geoffrey Eborda, Jr., catechist Ruzzel Ramos, Manila Cathedral social media staff Romain Garry Lazaro, and Sister Venus Marie Pegar of the Sisters of St. Francis Xavier, a religious congregation founded in Myanmar.
Pabillo washed the feet of Pegar as an expression of solidarity with the people of Myanmar, in their struggle for democracy and peace.