January 01, 1993

For there is a Child born for us,

a Son is given to us,

and dominion is laid on His shoulders;

and this is the name they shall give Him:

Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God,

Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace

(Isaiah 9:5)

The light of Christmas still shines on us, in our hearts, and around us. And now the New Year comes, a time of hope, hope for a year of the finding of peace. As 1993 begins, our thoughts turn to that great longing of us all: peace, peace in our hearts and our homes, peace in our land: yes, peace throughout our land.

In the spirit of this blessed season, dear pastors of the Archdiocese, dear brothers and sisters, I address each of you with this message of peace. We, all of us and each of us, are faced with the continuing imperative of making peace and winning the peace as, for our future as a nation, a “matter of life and death.”

May we not take all these facts as signs that the desire to achieve peace, — authentic and just peace, truly comprehensive in scope, enduring peace, a peace for our time, — is in the hearts of all men and women of good will in our country? And does this not make it mandatory for us as disciples and witnesses of the Prince of Peace to commit ourselves anew to effective efforts toward making peace as the New Year gets underway? Does not the charter of the Beatitudes proclaim a blessing upon peacemakers, who shall be called children, sons and daughters of our Father in heaven?

New Year’s Day is dedicated as World Peace Day. Pope John Paul II reminds us again this year that peacemaking is a fundamental Christian task rooted firmly and deeply in the person and gospel of Jesus, Saviour of all of humankind, Prince of Peace.

You may ask, what can we, as ordinary citizens, do towards “winning the peace” in our country?” We can, precisely as ordinary but concerned citizens, play our part, no matter how small. We echo Pope Paul VI’s words, “Against each other, today’s wars can never again be won. With each other, we can win the peace! Or, as the popular slogan has it, “Kayang-kaya, kung sama-sama!” We can, acting together,

— through active participation in civic initiatives,

— through the use of channels of public opinion, and of formal and non-formal education,

— through personal and joint prayer and other religiously inspired action,

support those efforts of the NUC and other governmental and non-governmental organizations, — those efforts which we believe may be truly conducive to peace. The NUC is consulting diverse sectors of society on how, concretely, peace can be won for all. Let those of us who have the competence, foster and take part in these consultations.

Counting on your prayers and your support, as Archbishop of Manila, I urge once more the rebel and the government sides to the total mutual cessation of armed offensives, or at least their speedy and effective de-escalation. I appeal to all sides, that they come together to the negotiating table, with all deliberate haste, with sincerity and honesty, with mutual respect. There, praying and reasoning together, let them seek the common good in true justice; let them set aside attitudes and positions and even those ideological stances which may block the way of a principled and productive dialogue for peace.

Beyond all these, we must find ways of involving everyone in the peace processes, at least by prayer and penance. Thus I am asking all of you, our pastors and faithful people, to make the Prayer for Peace and Justice (as found in the sacramentary) a daily prayer throughout our archdiocese. To this brief petition could be added the attached Prayer for Peace. These prayers may be said at the end of each Mass in our churches and oratories. They can be added to the recitation of the Angelus three times daily.

Further, let us not forget that the daily family rosary has long been urged on us as an especially privileged weapon for peace. Also, some parishes, schools and other groups might find it helpful to organize vigils and pilgrimages, as well as penitential (fasting) days for peace. These practices will be especially in tune with the spirit of the Lenten season which begins on 24 February this year.

I ask those in charge of our parishes and other institutions of the archdiocese, of our seminaries, schools and religious communities to work out appropriate programs which will keep the consciousness of this joint prayer-and-action-for-peace constantly present in the minds and hearts of all.

Recitation of the Prayer for Peace should begin in the Archdiocese of Manila on New Year’s Day and continue till the Feast of the Lord’s Annunciation (25 March). The NUC consultation for peace will go on till 16 March, but we can fittingly bring our collective campaign for peace to its completion with vigils before the Blessed Sacrament from the evening of 24 March to the concluding Mass of 25 March. Let the feast of the Annunciation be celebrated with fitting rites, marking a memorable ending to this archdiocesan campaign for peace in our land.

Beloved pastors, dear brothers and sisters, beloved children in our Archdiocese: New Year’s Day, in the Church’s liturgical calendar, is the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, she who is Mother of the Prince of Peace, and Queen of Peace. With all of you in our archdiocese, I turn to her with all the heart’s devotion today, begging her to be ever with us in our supplication and penance, in our deeds and struggles for peace. We are told that in messages she has given in recent apparitions, she has said, “Prayer for peace is urgent and necessary, but it must be accompanied with persevering action for justice and peace.”We believe this, and on this first day of the new year, we commit ourselves to this. We believe that as the Father and the Spirit gave us the Son, the Prince of Peace, through her, so the gift of that peace which can come only from above (Jn 14:27) will also come to us through the “omnipotent supplication” of her Immaculate Heart. Together we approach her today, and ask her, all through the days of this year, to “show unto us the blessed fruit of her womb,” that

. . . Child who is born for us,

the Son given to us,

with dominion laid upon His shoulders,

... the Wonder-Counsellor; Mighty-God

Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace.

Beloved pastors, dear brothers and sisters, beloved children of our Archdiocese, today I embrace you with all affection, and as I ask you to sustain my humble work with your prayers, so I bless you with all my heart and beg that peace may abide in your hearts, in your families and homes, in every corner of our archdiocese, and throughout our troubled and afflicted, but also dearly beloved land!

(SGD.) + JAIME L. CARDINAL SIN, D.D.

Archbishop of Manila

January 01, 1993

Feast of Mary, Mother of God