Eucharist, Rosary, and Confession

Final Message of by H.E., Most Rev. Socrates B. Villegas, D.D., Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan

40th Anniversary of EDSA People Power | National Shrine of Mary, Queen of Peace - EDSA Shrine 

For fifteen years, I was rector of this church. For 18 years, I lived with Cardinal Sin (†Jaime L. Cardinal Sin); and you might ask, “What drove him into social engagement?” I will tell you the secrets. The first secret, especially to you fathers, is daily Mass. To go to Mass, if you are lay people. To celebrate the Mass, if you are priests. Every day. On vacation, on foreign trips, please say the Mass every day. That is where it all begins.

The second is, he prayed the rosary every day, the rosaries we saw prayed at EDSA in 1986, they were just an expression of the rosaries prayed during the Marian Year of 1985. I don't know how it works, but it really works. That if we would pray the rosary and receive communion even daily, something will change in us, and something will change around us.

The last secret I saw at Villa San Miguel, again, was not politics. It was monthly confession. Sometimes, it became weekly. I saw how Cardinal Sin would long for confession, would make sure the Mass is celebrated, and would pray countless of rosaries in the car, in between appointments.

It was not politics, it was prayer. The starting point of social change is always prayer. In the same way that when we forget the Mass, in the same way that when we forget the rosary, in the same way that when we priest, forget our own monthly confession, no matter what we do for society, we will not even be able to make a dent, because the power comes only from God.

My dearly lay people, I think it should be the same with you. Please try going to Mass and receiving Communion, not only on Sundays, but during weekdays; and pray during communion for the healing of our land. Pray the rosary at home, and go to confession once a month. If the priest is absent in the confessional, you can tell us that you want to go to confession, and we will gladly sit down to absolve you from your sins.

That is where it all begins: Confession, Rosary, and the Eucharist. These instruments of change have already been tested by time for the past 2000 years. We don't have to reinvent the wheel. The Eucharist, the Rosary, and regular Confession. These are tools, weapons within our reach.