One hundred and eleven years have gone by since the Philippines finally declared her independence from more than 300 years of Spanish colonization. And as one grateful nation enjoys the blessings of this freedom that was brought by her courageous forebears’ own sweat and blood, due tribute is given out to the heroes of the revolution while today’s generation faces up with the lessons on nationhood that they so patriotically left behind. It was the execution by then ruling Spaniards of the three Filipino priests, Father Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora on February 17, 1872 that ignited the passion of the subdued race to reclaim their long lost freedom.  It opened the eyes of the illustrado or the rich and learned Filipinos, such as Jose Rizal, Graciano Lopez Jaena, and Marcelo H. Del Pilar, to use their education and wisdom to enlarge the mind of the people that was dwarfed by their deeply-rooted culture of subservience. Their message was clear:  change in the ruling system that would grant equality among Filipinos and Spaniards and regard for the Filipino people’s human rights.

Not so many years ago, we celebrated the Lenten Season with utmost solemnity. We gather with our family to pray and we, children, behave because we were taught that our LORD JESUS is dead during this time.  We also spent time in retreats and personal spiritual reflections. But today, we seem to lose the solemnity of this celebration. Although we know that JESUS has already risen from the dead and does not have to die every Lenten Season, let us spend time remembering what HE did for us as we celebrate this season. It is because of OUR sins why He died on the cross. Romans 3:23 says that all of us have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.  There is no one here on earth who has not sinned.  That is why; we need a Savior to rescue us from the penalty of sin. Romans 6:23 tells us that the penalty of sin is death. It is us who sinned; therefore, we should be the ones who should be put to death for the things that we have done that are not pleasing to God. But because of God’s great love for us,