Senate Prayer
Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan
15 March 2021
We begin our prayer with an excerpt from the Homily of Pope Francis in his Sunday Mass yesterday at the Saint Peter’s Basilica:
“Dear brothers and sisters, five hundred years have passed since the Christian message first arrived in the Philippines.
You received the joy of the Gospel: the good news that God so loved us that he gave his Son for us. And this joy is evident in your people.
We see it in your eyes, on your faces, in your songs and in your prayers — in the joy with which you bring your faith to other lands.
Sometimes we look for joy where it is not to be found: in illusions that vanish, in dreams of glory, in the apparent security of material possessions, in the cult of our image, and in so many other things.
But life teaches us that true joy comes from realizing that we are loved gratuitously, knowing that we are not alone, having someone who shares our dreams and who, when we experience shipwreck, is there to help us and lead us to a safe harbor.”
On the quincentennial of Christianity in our country, let us pray:
Father Almighty, we thank You for the gifts of faith and hope.
Throughout our most testing times as a people, Your Cross has been our source of strength.
Your love is the reason Filipinos can bear with smile and song the heaviest burdens.
Because of this gift, our people — we — have become witnesses not only to the joy of prayer, but to the certainty of miracles.
Today is also the first year of the pandemic lockdown — one year ago today.
Isang umaga, gumising tayo sa kakaibang katahimikan…
Dinig ang mga yapak habang papalayo sa isa’t isa,
Dinig ang mga pintig ng puso na ang tinitibok ay pangamba,
Dinig ang mga bulong na ang sinisigaw ay pagdamay,
Dinig ang paghikbi sa pagluha sa mga nawala,
Dinig ang mga panalangin na ang inilalambing ay pag-asa.
Isang umaga, gigising ulit tayo sa katahimikan,
Payapang namumuhay, nagmamahal, at nangangarap.
Isang umaga, sa awa ng Diyos, gigising ulit tayo sa magandang bukas.
Father, today and until the virus is vanquished, we pray for Your healing hand.
We also humbly ask for Your guidance for us who serve in the Senate and in government.
Protect our people, protect our nation.
This we ask in the mighty name of Jesus, our Savior.
Amen.