MANILA: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged Filipinos to keep alive the memory and legacy of their departed loved ones and the saints by living out their virtues and carrying their good deeds forward.
In his message for All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day on Saturday, November 1, Marcos said the twin feasts are a time to “pray, reflect, and recall the many people whose deeds and presence continue to be felt long after their passing.”
“Every act of remembrance carries a greater meaning: to pray is to enter communion with our saints and deceased loved ones, to light a candle is to bind our conscience with their legacy, and to lay flowers is to pledge to uphold their mission,” the president said.
He said that even in the fleetingness of life, Filipinos have “the capacity to make a lasting impact” in their families and communities.
Remembering those who came before us, he added, is a reminder that they do not “vanish into nothingness” but continue to live on in people’s hearts and minds.
Marcos also reflected on the hope of eternal life, describing the observance as a reminder of “paradise that awaits in the hereafter – where poverty, pain, and suffering no longer hold purchase, and where the Lord Almighty resides in splendour among His people.”
The president urged the nation to become “a lamp upon a hill,” guided by the strength of faith and the example of the saints, as Filipinos carry the memory of their loved ones as inspiration to do good.
“Let the Philippines strive to be that lamp upon a hill where people carry the memory of the dead as strength, the witness of the saints as guide, and the hope of a permanent dwelling as purpose until time itself bows before eternity,” Marcos said.
“I wish everyone a solemn and meaningful observance,” he added.
All Saints’ Day, observed on November 1, is recognized as a special non-working day in the Philippines, allowing Filipinos to honour and remember the saints and their departed loved ones.
