FINDING ANSWER
The celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the crown jewel of the Christian liturgical calendar. It is on Easter that the message of renewed hope, of life conquering death, reverberates more profoundly.
As Easter brings about redemption through the Risen Lord, the faithful are strengthened in the conviction that Christianity is anchored on the belief that good shall eventually triumph over evil, that light always extinguishes darkness.
For generations of Filipinos most of whom profess to be Christians, celebrating the triumph of the Risen Lord has been a time to reflect and recommit to values embodying the principles of compassion and solidarity that help uplift the lives of fellow human beings especially those undergoing severe economic hardships.
In the face of deeply rooted social and economic challenges, including the crisis of child malnutrition and the recent rate of involuntary hunger affecting 27.2 percent of Filipino families or 7.5 million households, the highest hunger rate recorded by SWS since the pandemic, the Easter message becomes a clarion call to action.
In his 2025 Easter Sunday Urbi et Orbi message to the city of Rome and to the world, Pope Francis spoke for the hungry and the needy. “I appeal to all those in positions of political responsibility in our world not to yield to the logic of fear which only leads to isolation from others, but rather to use the resources available to help the needy, to fight hunger and to encourage initiatives that promote development. These are the “weapons” of peace: weapons that build the future, instead of sowing seeds of death!”
That particular papal message is deeply relevant especially in our country where widespread malnutrition can stifle the future of very young Filipinos before it can even begin.
According to a UNICEF Philippines report, “95 Filipino children die each day from malnutrition, 27 out of every 1,000 children don’t get past their fifth birthday, one-third of Filipino children are stunted or short for their age, and stunting after age two can be permanent, irreversible and even fatal.”
Even unborn Filipino children are at risk. The first 1,000 days from conception to birth until age two is a period of immense vulnerability when the impact of poor nutrition especially on brain development can be profound, long-lasting, or even irreversible. Any nutritional deficit during this stage can lead to lifelong disadvantages, including poor school performance, increased vulnerability to disease, and lower earning potential.
The dire situation has prompted the creation of the Children’s First One Thousand Days Coalition (CFDC), to help, in tandem with national and local government efforts, our Filipino mothers and babies get nourished and cared for during pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and post-pregnancy stages.
A lot more needs to be done. As we celebrate Easter, a season to celebrate the triumph of life, we must ask ourselves: how can we meaningfully honor the Risen Christ if millions of Filipino children are languishing in the tomb of hunger and neglect?
Easter teaches that death does not have the final word—that even in the darkest tomb, life can emerge. But such demands not passive optimism but radical solidarity.
Around three in every 10 Filipino households “experience moderate to severe food insecurity,” a 2023 National Nutrition Survey of the DOST said. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said food insecurity “is when people are at risk of inadequate food consumption to meet the nutritional requirements of the body as a result of the physical absence of food, lack of social or economic access to adequate food, and poor food utilization.”
For pregnant mothers and infants, the food insecurity situation can be devastating. In this light, the Easter message on the triumph of life over death ought to compel the faithful to see the need for nutritious food not merely as sustenance but a basic right that every devout Christian is obliged to ensure for fellow human beings.
Easter imparts a reassuring message of eternal life for everyone, as clearly stated in John 3:16 in the Holy Bible: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believed in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
But how exactly can one have eternal life? Jesus himself gave the answer: “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37-39)
Thus, on the two greatest commandments lie the key to salvation and eternal life. As I’ve often said, to truly love God and our neighbor as ourselves, we need to utilize our time, talent, and treasure to serve others especially as we perform the corporal works of mercy. And feeding the hungry is among the works of mercy. Happy Easter to all! (finding.lina@yahoo.com)