Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo hang his magistrate’s robe and talked about “faith in God” and “generosity to fellowmen” during the 46th Philippine National Prayer Breakfast (PNPB) in Greenhills, San Juan City on Wednesday, Nov. 24.
At the start of his speech, Gesmudo urged everyone present to “hold on to God’s promises” when life gets down in a world where there are “broken political promises, broken business promises, even broken promises to yourselves like new year resolutions.”
“I would just like to say simply this: When life lets you down, Hold on to God’s Promises. When God makes a promise, He keeps it. He has never broken a promise and never will – He follows through,” he said.
He also urged everyone to be “generous with your time, talent and treasure especially in times that we are experiencing now in this pandemic.”
He pointed out that when an individual is generous, one can “become more like Jesus” and “strengthen one’s faith.”
“Every time I give, my faith grows stronger. Every time I give, it’s like a muscle; it just gets stronger,” he stressed.
He said: “God is watching us every day of our lives to see what we do with what He’s given us. By giving to others, we are giving to God.”
The Chief Justice said that while some may question his authority to speak on faith ― he not being a priest, pastor, or a minister ―he stressed that he has faith “and faith is a matter of personal experience.”
“So, for one who has had his share of ups and downs for not just a few decades, I believe that I may have some conviction to speak on the matter,” he said.
Also, he said his presence in the gathering may be challenged as violative of the constitutional principle on separation of Church and State. He declared:
“While the Constitution, as a general idea, discourages entanglements between some established religion and government, it allows us the freedom to believe and of association, and the free exercise of our religion.
“Thus, I am certain that the Constitution does not preclude me, even as Chief Justice, from believing in a God and speaking before this gathering, for in fact, the Constitution itself, in its Preamble, recognizes the existence of, and even invokes a Supreme Being.”
He closed his message by saying a prayer to thank God for all the blessings He had given and asked that protection be always upon everyone.
The SC’s public information office said that PNPB was founded in 1975. The highlight of its activities is the annual Prayer Breakfast held towards the end of the year.
Previous guests have included local and international religious leaders such as Mother Teresa of Calcutta, as well as former Philippine Presidents and Chief Justices.
The PNPB envisions the gathering of a group of national and local elected and appointed leaders committed to join and participate in its Annual Celebration and affirmed its vision: “To come together in the Spirit of Christ; to shape their lives according to the will of God; and to work towards actualizing the reign of God in the Philippines.”