By Ferdinand Patinio/PNA
MANILA — As Catholics enter the Season of Advent this Sunday, which is the period of waiting for the birth of Jesus Christ, the Diocese of Borongan, Eastern Samar is also waiting for the return of Balangiga Bells.
Bishop Crispin Varquez said they are hoping for an early Christmas gift, the return of the three bells.
“After years of waiting and uncertainty, this season of Advent, the season of waiting, is yielding us an early Christmas gift—the return of the Bells of Balangiga. God has shown great favor to our local Church and, by extension, to our country,” he said in a pastoral letter issued on Friday.
The Catholic prelate noted that while the bells were taken during a time of war by the American soldiers in 1901, their impending return would be during the season of hope and peace.
“This is only right because the bells are instruments of prayer and worship, sources of true hope and peace,” he said.
Varquez explained that the bells are used for the highest form of praying and worship.
“We ring the bells to signal community acts and to alarm the same community of impending emergencies. In a word, the bells bridge us to God and to one another. The bells are an integral part and parcel of our life in Christ in the community,” he added.
The Philippine and United States (US) governments are coordinating for the return of the bells to the Parish of St. Lawrence, Deacon & Martyr, Balangiga in Eastern Samar.
