Praying and journeying together towards our heavenly home

(An excerpt of the Most Reverend Romulo G. Valles D.D. in his Homily during the Misa Pasalamat held in San Pedro Cathedral Parish, August 7, 2025.)

I would like to sincerely thank you. You who are here this afternoon, and also you, the organizers for constantly asking us, requesting us to pray with you and for you at the beginning of this great festival of the city. Because remember, as I have been saying that you always include and tell the world that God’s presence is very important in this festival. So, at the outset we place ourselves at the foot of the Lord as it were, close to the Lord asking Him to bless what we are doing.

And today, here we are and I humbly realize that there are many faiths held by people in the city but I am humbled that the Catholic Church is asked to lead the prayer. I have said also that may this act of prayer that we do in the Catholic tradition will not be in opposition to other faith but hopefully I humbly appeal that may this act of prayer, Christian Catholic may inspire other people’s faith to do the same.

Together we pray that the Lord will bless our city and will bless our particular festival which we open today. And we do this in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, very common to us. I purposely use the word sacrifice because that is often used. But also at other times, it is a banquet, a meal. In fact, one recent song would say, the table of plenty. Mass is the table of plenty. So with that image in mind, banquet, table of plenty, indeed the Eucharist is a good beginning for the festival of plenty of the city. It is a signal of God’s graciousness, of God’s goodness, of God’s care for us all in the city of Davao.

But also we can picture it out that the Mass is a banquet, it is a meal, source of life for a journeying people. It is not static. But we picture ourselves as journeying day after day. And if I may add, parang short range or in the ambit of being still on earth our views would be, shall we say, good education, roof over our heads, medical care, peaceful city, security, all of these are excellent, very good. But also if I may add, we journey more than what we see on earth, we journey towards heaven, our heavenly home.