IN his pastoral letter for Alay Kapwa 2018, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said that Lent is a season wherein “we are especially called upon to exercise charity in our dealings with our neighbor—that is to say, to have genuine concern for those who are needy and who suffer, and to perform concrete good works.”
It is indeed that the pair of generosity and kindness is the best way to prepare ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ during Holy Week because “charity, after all, is the very heart of Christian life.” It is a time for us again to repent from our sins and be united as children of God.
“For several years now, during Lent, we have been conducting our Alay Kapwa Lenten evangelization and fund-raising program.” This program aims to strengthen our social services to the poor, “especially those who suffer during natural and human-caused calamities.”
Last year funds raised were used to extend our assistance to the “victims of Siargao earthquake, of typhoons Urduja and Vinta, and various fire disasters in Metro Manila. We also contributed to the Marawi rehabilitation.”
Caritas Manila, the leading social- development arm of the Archdiocese of Manila, also provided relief and rehabilitation assistance to 14,732 families nationwide.
“With the increasing number and magnitude of disasters and calamities being responded to by Caritas Damayan, our Alay Kapwa funds get immediately depleted. It is, therefore, our hope that we will be more generous in our almsgiving this season of Lent.”
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are appealing to you once again to support the Alay Kapwa 2018. “We are called to love God, and our love for God is best expressed by the love we have for our brothers and sisters.”
“Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works” (Hebrews 10, 24).
Let us take the season of Lent as an opportunity to offer our mercy and compassion to others so that God will prosper us and return our favor. May the value of generosity and kindness be our way to be united with our Savior, Jesus Christ.
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To know more about Caritas Manila, visit or follow us on Facebook: CaritasManilaInc. For your donations, please call our DonorCare lines 563-9311, 564-0205, 0999-7943455, 0905-4285001 and 0929-8343857. Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 846 in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph, and follow its Twitter and Instragram accounts @veritasph and YouTube at veritas846.ph. For comments,
e-mail veritas846pr@gmail.com.
