DEAR BROTHERS and sisters in Christ,
In the spirit of the prophetic exhortation of Baruch (Bar 1:15–22), which is a prayer of national confession and contrition, and in the context of the calamities that continue to afflict our land, we call for a National Day of Prayer and Public Repentance to be launched on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.
We invite that the following prayer be prayed not only in all our parish churches, chapels, and homes starting on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, but also in the succeeding Sundays leading to the Feast of Christ the King, as a sustained supplication for mercy and renewal. We ask our Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs), families, schools, and church groups and organizations to pray this together regularly.
This act of national contrition is also a step in our journey of synodality—walking together as God’s people, listening to the Spirit and to one another, in humility and hope. As we mark this Pilgrimage Year of Hope, we cling to the promise of the Apostle Paul: “Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Rom 5:5).
Let us pray with contrite hearts and steadfast trust, through the intercession of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, that our nation may be healed, renewed, and filled with the light of Christ.
For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines:
+ PABLO VIRGILIO S. CARDINAL DAVID
Bishop of Kalookan
CBCP President
A NATIONAL CRY FOR MERCY AND RENEWAL
Leader: Lord God, our Shepherd, hear the cry of Your people in the Philippines as we walk in the valley of darkness.
We come before You today, humbled and broken, like a stray sheep that has fallen from the cliff, clinging desperately to a brittle branch, crying out for rescue.
All: Save us, Lord, for we are sinking!
Leader: Like the psalmist, we feel ourselves sinking in the mire (Ps 69:2), overwhelmed by the floods of corruption, as Jeremiah once sank into the mud of the cistern (Jer 38:6).
We confess to You, O Lord, with contrite and humbled hearts, as Baruch once prayed: “We have sinned against the Lord, we have been disobedient, and we have not listened to His voice.” (Bar 1:18–19)
How pitiful our situation has become:
Thieves boast of their wealth; they flaunt their luxury cars, their jewelry worth millions, and their lavish banquets that cost as much as a laborer’s wages for years.
And we too, O God, through our small or great failures, have contributed to the spread of darkness:
—by giving bribes to fixers or traffic enforcers,
—by accepting and spreading lies and fake news,
—by receiving donations from plunderers and oppressors,
—by remaining silent in the face of injustice for the sake of comfort.
Forgive us, Lord, for allowing evil to reign in our society.
All: Have mercy on us, O God, according to Your steadfast love! (Ps 51:1)
Leader: We are submerged, Lord, in calamities—floods, earthquakes, fires, typhoons.
But worse are the wounds we inflict upon ourselves:
scandalous budget insertions that deprived the poor of funds for health care, education, and welfare;
substandard infrastructure that robs us of genuine progress;
political dynasties that act like new feudal lords,
keeping our people poor and dependent on dole-outs—
a rich nation drowning in taxes, yet kept poor by a politics of patronage.
All: “If my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will heal their land” (2 Chr 7:14). Heal our land, O Lord!
Leader: You have told us, O Lord, what is good and what You ask of us: “to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with You” (Mic 6:8).
We have failed, but we will not lose hope. For You, Lord, have not created us for corruption but for goodness;
You have redeemed us and clothed us in a new humanity in Christ (Gal 2:20; Eph 4:24).
