Nuncio addresses mammoth crowd at Araneta Coliseum today

St. Paul the Apostle

Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams has addressed a mammoth crowd of about twenty thousand including around 85 bishops, priests and religious at the Araneta Coliseum today in celebration of the 2,000th anniversary of St. Paul.

In his introduction, Papal nuncio archbishop Edward Joseph Adams stressed the importance of the celebration as the church commemorates the bimillennium of the Apostle’s birth.

The nuncio cited that it was the grace of conversion the Apostle received that led to his becoming a great missionary of the Church.

The Church has nothing to pass on to the Christian believers but that light that Paul experienced during his conversion, he said.

For his part, Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate (ECBA) Chair and Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes gave a spirited homily that was warmly applauded by the faithful.

Echoing the exhortation of Paul to the early Christian communities he founded, he likewise urged Filipinos to live a life in imitation of Christ.

He took a dig on the issue of corruption, a perennial problem in Philippine society.

“Corruption has become a way of life for us,” he said. “Dapat tayong mga Filipino mahiya dahil sa corruption” (We should be ashamed of corruption plaguing our society), Bastes added.

The ECBA chairman said that while the Apostle was not ashamed to preach the gospel, “we Filipinos should be ashamed with our way of life”, referring to the issue of corruption.

Bastes said the ecumenical gathering is an inspiration for all believers especially for Filipinos as it shows that it is possible to heal a wounded nation like the Philippines.

We have the compass to heal our wounded nation in its economic, social and spiritual aspects, he said.

He cited the “one bible” campaign as one way of healing the division that exists between Christians.

ECBA and Philippine Bible society (PBS) have jointly spearheaded a five-year bible campaign dubbed “May they be One” that aims to put a bible in every Filipino home in five years.

Bishop Honesto Ongtioco of Cubao led the faithful in praying the Jubilee prayer to St. Paul asking God “That we too may turn from sinful ways and be converted so that we may attain peace in our hearts in our families in our country, and in the world.”

A plenary indulgence was granted by the cardinal at the end of the Mass to all those who participated in the celebration.

The Pauline event was organized by the Pauline congregations in the Philippines in regard of the Holy Father’s counsel to make the Apostle Paul more known in this year’s celebration of the bimillennium of his birth.