MANILA, Philippines – In a mass on the eve of Easter Sunday, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle urged the Catholic faithful to be the "love of the resurrection" or the love that triumphs over sin and death.
In his homily during the Easter Vigil Mass at the Manila Cathedral on Black Saturday, April 20, Tagle said that God's story "is always about love."
Tagle recapped readings from the Bible during the Mass about the triumphs of love, as well as about mankind's many failures due to sin. However, Tagle said, "God's love is stronger, prevailing over human misery and infidelity."
"Pag-ibig. Iyan ang laging pinagwawagi ng Diyos, at nagwawagi ang pag-ibig dahil ang Diyos ay pag-ibig (Love. That's what God always wants to prevail, and love wins because God is love)," he added.
After recounting the events leading to Jesus Christ's resurrection, Tagle said, "True love empties tombs, true love eliminates death."
For people going through pain and hardship and asking where love is, Tagle in turn asked the laity if they are the "love of the resurrection."
"Could you be the love that will roll the boulders and rocks? Could you be the love that could bring back energy to those who feel dead? Could you be the love that could make people see the meaning of life again?"
Tagle said showing love to others need not always be in the form of heroic things, and could be through simple deeds.
"We have all been baptized, we have all died with Christ. The old self has died in baptism so that we could be bearers of Christ's love that gives life."
"Please be that love. And when people ask, 'Where is love?' I hope with humility, you could say, 'Here I am, here is love. Jesus is with me. I bear Jesus, I bear love,'" he continued. – Rappler.com
