Holy Rosary Parish, Port Moresby: “Faith is what you believe and it comes from within you”, preached His Lordship Bishop Pedro Baquero SDB during the Eucharistic celebration of the third Sunday of Easter led by the very own Parish Youth choir of Holy Rosary Parish at 6-mile in Port Moresby.
(Bishop of Kerema His Lordship Bishop Pedro Baquero SDB)
Assisting His Lordship was Parish Priest Fr Edwin Magbago with the altar servers.
The Shepherd of the Diocese of Kerema, His Lordship Bishop Pedro Baquero, a revered figure in both the Salesian and the Christian community celebrated the mass for the first time leading a magnificent celebration that brought together believers from all walks of life in the Parish church of Holy Rosary on April 14, 2024 during the Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands Annual General Meeting.
“The liturgy celebration displayed an unwavering faith and spiritual connection. The congregation of Holy Rosary Parish were excited upon receiving Bishop Pedro Baquero SDB to celebrate mass with them”, said Communion Minister Hubert Smith Sipa.
He added: “This is our first time for Bishop Pedro Baquero SDB to celebrate mass in our parish, we feel special because we received someone who is hierarchically higher than a normal priest to celebrate mass with us today in the context of the hierarchical order of Catholic church”.
During the homily, the inspirational message delivered by the Bishop was about faith in which he related to the readings of the day about resurrection.
“Resurrection is faith because we believe it not because others tell us to believe it, it comes from within us” preached His Lordship Bishop Pedro Baquero.
“Jesus appeared to the three apostles on their way to Emmaus during the time when they were afraid, confused and frightened” he quoted.
“In the journey of faith, he appears to believers when they are in a state of confusion, fright and in a difficult situation. Faith can also be like the subject of mathematics. Of all the subjects learnt, learning mathematics is not about memorizing everything, it is what it can be done out of what has been known or believed, it comes out within a person. Then in the life context of faith, believing what comes within a person without the external forces around is a true faith”.
He also quoted that the appearance of Jesus to the apostles gives clue that he will appear and reach out to us just as he did to them.
“Are we able to recognize Jesus and able to approach him? Because resurrection is not something to memorize or know about it, resurrection is believed and is experienced”.
He also went ahead to preach that, in the life journey of faith, there will always be ups and downs of believers, there will be temptations, conflicts and also downfalls experienced, this is where the appearance of Jesus occurs.
“These are the moments where the experience of true faith is encountered from the believer. Well as faith is the experience of resurrection, it is important for us to encounter the inner positive deeds of resurrection because it is through the inner experiences, we have that matters the most”.
It was a memorable and wonderful liturgy with the impression of the parish members which was celebrated by the bishop through his powerful and inspiring words about the truth of faith, genuine compassion and reaffirmation of the importance of faith and the transformative power of spiritual life. It leaves an impression of excitement with the members of Holy Rosary parish including the ones who have the time to attend the celebration at the parish of Holy Rosary.