Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan on Thursday urged the Catholic Church in the Philippines to confront despair, disinformation, and social injustice head-on.
He warned against apathy and called for a renewed commitment to mission amid deepening national challenges.
Delivering his homily during the Chrism Mass, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said the Church must act decisively amid “a tide” of resentment and misinformation.
“This is especially urgent in our Philippine context today, where so many of our people—especially the poor—are tempted to fall into despair, apathy, or bitterness,” said Cardinal David.
“Instead of hope, what many of our leaders sow is resentment, the tendency to look for someone to blame for our misery. Instead of truth, we are flooded with disinformation and falsehood, especially through the social media,” he added.
He warned against allowing these forces to “sweep away our mission,” saying the Church has been “anointed for such a time as this.”
Cardinal David said the Church’s mission today includes offering hope to the brokenhearted, advocating for those trapped in addiction—including the growing number affected by legalized online gambling—bringing healing to victims of neglect and abuse, particularly families harmed by unlawful actions of authorities, and providing comfort to those who mourn.
The Chrism Mass, held annually on Holy Thursday, includes the blessing of sacramental oils and the renewal of priestly promises. But Cardinal David said the deeper meaning of the celebration lies in remembering the Church’s identity as “a people anointed for mission.”
“Anointing is never for status—it is always for mission,” he said, reflecting on the Gospel reading that recounts Jesus proclaiming good news to the poor. “The Spirit of the Lord is given, not just to elevate, but to send.”
He challenged priests to see themselves not as exclusive bearers of grace but as servants of a priestly people.
“We were not anointed in order to monopolize the anointing. We were anointed to serve the anointed,” said the cardinal. “That is the profound beauty of our priesthood: we exist so that the whole community may live fully its identity as a priestly people.”
Cardinal David reminded the faithful that the same Spirit that anointed Christ also empowers all baptized Christians to share in the Church’s mission.
“Through baptism and confirmation we all have received the same anointing to be part of the Lord’s mission. We all are called to fulfill this Scripture passage. It is what our anointing is for.”
He recalled the words of St. Paul to Timothy—“Fulfill your ministry”—and echoed the episcopal motto of Archbishop Emeritus Paciano Aniceto: Ministerium tuum imple.
“Not your own personal agenda, but God’s ministry—the mission of Christ entrusted to his Body, the Church,” he said.
The cardinal closed his homily with a message to the laity: “Please know that your baptismal anointing is not less than ours. You, too, are sent. You, too, are part of the fulfillment of God’s Word in our time. Together, let us be the Body of Christ—anointed and united for mission—to our society and to the world.”
