It’s officially 2023 for all of us after our Chinese brothers and sisters welcomed the Year of the Rabbit last Sunday. We believe that everytime the year resets; we should also reset or reassess our habits in life. But for Rev. Fr. Eguia, parish priest if Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Nuestra Senora de Aranzazu Parish (DSPNSDA), we should change something collectively.
As Christians, we are aware of our sins but during his homily for the new year, Fr. Ric said that our sins are not limited to sins to God and to our neighbors. We should also become aware of our sins against nature. God’s first command to Adam and Eve is to subdue the earth and this is where we failed at.
Fr. Ric added that we Filipinos have the least concern for our environment. We only care about a certain matter when we’re directly affected by its results. He skipped talking about the big things like deforestation and quarrying and focused on the basic thing instead, keeping our small wastes where it should be disposed. What he finds more saddening is that this can also be observed in our own parish where mass goers leave their plastic bottles and food packagings after the mass despite the presence of garbage bags at the patio.
He also reminded the parents that it is our part to teach the children on how to take care of the environment. This is an urgent concern that all Filipinos must be concerned about because this is a moral issue. Moral issue because it is God’s commandment to take good care of the resources and we should take it seriously.
He ended the homily by emphasizing the word malasakit (concern). We should be concerned for our environment. We cannot love without concern. Malasakit is the actualization or putting into action the love that is in you. This concern for the environment does not end in one homily. Fr. Ric hopes to implement environment-friendly programs in the parish as he tapped the Media and Public Information Ministry (MPIM), which is also celebrating it’s tenth anniversary, to work on this project.
Follow us on our social media channels to keep updated on this upcoming project.
