01/09/2026
๐ฆ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ก ๐ข๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ
โWherever the river goes, every living creature shall live.โ
- Ezekiel 47:9
The Church enters the Season of Creation with the theme โLiving Waterโ inviting us to contemplate water as a gift from God and a source of life for all creation. In the vision of the prophet Ezekiel, the water flowing from the sanctuary brings life wherever it goes. It reminds us that creation is not merely something placed before us for use, but a gift entrusted to our care.
Water sustains our communities, nourishes our fields, fills our rivers, and gives life to countless creatures. Yet the very gift that sustains us is also vulnerable. Across the Philippines, communities continue to experience the effects of intense rainfall, flooding, landslides, and changing climate conditions. Recent episodes of heavy Habagat rains have caused widespread flooding, while the country also faces the growing challenges associated with El Niรฑo, including the possibility of dry spells and drought in vulnerable areas.
As Filipinos, we bring our homeland before the Lord in prayer. We pray for families affected by floods and disasters, for farmers and fisherfolk whose livelihoods depend upon the earth and its waters, and for communities facing environmental destruction and climate-related hardship. We pray for those who protect our forests, rivers, mountains, seas, and wildlife, and for those entrusted with decisions that affect the future of our common home.
But prayer must also lead us to responsibility. We cannot ask God to heal creation while continuing to neglect the gift He has placed in our hands. The care of the earth begins with the recognition that creation belongs to God and that humanity has been entrusted with its stewardship.
From the beginning, God commanded humanity to exercise dominion over creation, not as permission for careless exploitation, but as a responsibility to cultivate and care for the earth and its living creatures. To rule over creation rightly is to become its responsible caretaker: using its resources wisely, protecting life, preserving what is entrusted to us, and ensuring that future generations will also receive the gifts of creation.
May the rivers continue to flow and the earth breathe with life. May every living creature have a place to thrive under our responsible care.
๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ, ๐ด๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ, ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐ถ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ช๐ง๐ต ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ด. ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ.
๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ต๐ช ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ด๐ค๐ช ๐๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ด, ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ช๐ด!
