KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 8 February) – With Ramadan and the Lenten Season expected to begin on the same day, February 18, a senior member of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) urged the faithful “not only to pray for peace, but to live it and work for it.”
In his message for the Shared Observance of Ramadan and Lenten Season 2026 issued Saturday, Kidapawan Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo said the shared beginning of the two holy observances by Muslims and Christians is a grace.
“It invites us to slow down, to return to God, and to walk together in faith,” Bagaforo, chair of CBCP’s Commission on Inter-Religious Dialogue, said.
In these sacred seasons, Muslims and Christians enter a time of prayer, fasting, repentance and generosity, the prelate said.
“Our sacred texts call us to peace: ’Blessed are the peacemakers’ (Matthew 5:9), and God ‘invites all to the Home of Peace’ (Qu’ran 10:25). In a world marked by violence and division, this moment calls us not only to pray for peace, but to live it and work for it,” he stressed.
The bishop noted that peace is more than just the absence of war.
Peace, he pointed out, “is the right relationship with God, with one another, and with creation.”
Both the faith traditions of Muslims and Christians teach that the earth is a sacred trust, he said.
Pope Francis’ ‘Laudato Si’ reminds us that the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor are one, while the Qu’ran teaches that humanity is entrusted as khalifa, or stewards of God’s creation, he said.
“When forests are destroyed, waters poisoned, and land abused, peace is broken. Caring for our common home is therefore an essential work of peace,” the bishop said.
Bagaforo, also co-president of PAX Christi International, appealed to Christian and Muslim communities, interreligious dialogue desks, and civil society organizations to pray and work together.
“Let us care for the poor. Let us protect creation. Let us educate for peace. Let us respond together to the wounds of our world. These are sacred tasks. These are works of peace,” he said.
Mufti Abdullah Cantong, head of the Darul Ifta Region 12, said the moonsighting to determine the beginning of Ramadan in the country is scheduled on February 17.
Ramadan lasts for 30 days with Muslims abstaining from food, drinks and other physical needs from dawn to dusk. The fasting month is also observed with communal prayer.
On the other hand, the 40-day Lenten Season is a preparation for Easter, or the resurrection of Christ, beginning with Ash Wednesday. For Christians, Lent is a time for personal spiritual reflection, repentance, and renewal. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
