Tagle to faithful: Trust God’s plan

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle yesterday exhorted the faithful to trust God’s plan and avoid being stubborn in his Palm Sunday homily at the San Fernando de Dilao Parish Church in Paco, Manila.

“We want to control our life. We want our will to be followed,” Tagle said in Filipino.

But this Holy Week, Tagle said the faithful should follow the example of Jesus Christ and leave everything to God.

He also expressed concern over the spread of injustices in the world because many people abandoned their faith.

He called for the avoidance of a mentality of retaliation, which he said “will only breed evilness” and possibly start a vicious cycle.

“Evil will pervade us should we repay evil with evil,” he said, adding that one can defeat evil by “being innocent like Jesus” and not planning “anything that will hurt others.”

Tagle also said the one who is wronged should do good instead of evil, because good is a more potent weapon than evil.

“Your goodness will defeat evil. Let’s journey with (Christ) in our everyday life by being innocent, charitable, and (doing what is) righteous,” he said.

Tagle led other priests in blessing palm fronds and performed the Palm Sunday ritual before the packed Paco Church.

Palm Sunday is the start of the Holy Week for Catholics around the world. The ritual commemorates the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem before his passion and crucifixion, when townspeople waved palm branches and laid their coats on the ground before Christ.