Church to continuously pray for rain

After praying for rain at mass Sunday, Catholic bishops appealed to the faithful to continue “storming heaven" with prayers, until the rains actually come. Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop Oscar Cruz said Sunday that the Catholic Bishops of the Philippines (CBCP) has given bishops blanket authority to decide when to stop the prayers for rain. “Ito magtatagal hanggang makita namin na medyo may ulan. Umuulan nang unti-unti, magmamasid kami. Kung nakita na namin, ititigil natin (The prayers will go on until we see rain. In some areas, there has been little rain, but we will continue observing. The only time we will stop praying for rain is when we actually see rain)," Cruz said in an interview on dzXL radio. Besides, he pointed out that the present rains in some parts of Luzon are mostly due to cloud-seeding operations by the government to induce rain. Cruz said the CBCP gave its bishops “autonomy" to decide when to stop the prayers, noting that the situation varies in each province. He noted that there would be no prayer for rain in areas like Mindanao, which had been experiencing heavy rains in past weeks. “Pinaubaya ng CBCP sa ibang obispo, hindi alam ng CBCP saan ang walang ulan at saan masyadong marami (The CBCP has left it to the individual bishops because it does not know which particular area is parched and which is suffering from too much rain)," he said. Last Saturday, Catholic bishops sought anew prayers from the faithful at Sunday Mass for the much-awaited rains to finally come. Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales called on his flock anew Saturday to join him in reciting the Oratio Imperata (Obligatory Prayer) to avert the ill effects of prolonged absence of rain. In a statement on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website, www.cbcpnews.com, Rosales called on priests to include special intentions into the daily and Sunday Prayers of the Faithful. The intentions should mention appeals “to send the rain we badly need especially in Luzon so that the damage to crops and other livelihood and an impending power shortage may be averted." CBCP president and Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said we are “surely praying for rain because our farmers have not planted yet." Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz prayed to “let the clouds yield their waters to make our rivers full again, to make our plants grow again, to make our lives well again." Batanes Bishop Camilo Gregorio said they have been praying for rain as crops have been severely affected. Boac Bishop Rey Evangelista said they have been praying for rain even during their community’s Holy Hour. Irregular rainfall has also been noticed in Marinduque, he said. In Bacolod, Bishop Vicente Navarra said rains have been pouring in Negros Occidental for the past few days, while in Bulacan, Malolos Bishop Jose Oliveros said Bulakeño farmers have not felt the signs of drought or long absence of rains yet. Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles said they have not felt the effects of drought in Batangas. - GMANews.TV