Our Lady of the Rosary, National Prayer and Public Repentance

On the 6th and last Fatima apparition on October 13, 1917, Mama Mary told Lucy: “I am the Lady of the Rosary, I desire here a chapel in my honor to be built, that people continue to recite the Rosary every day.”

Catholics continue to believe what “Blessed Virgin Mary promised to Saint Dominic decades back that “whatever you ask in the Rosary will be granted.”

Yesterday, October 7, 2025, on the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, CBCP President Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David launched a National Day of Prayer and Public Repentance, “a prayer of national confession/contrition,” in light of corruption/calamities that “continue to afflict our land.”

“This act of national contrition is also a step in our journey of synodality—walking together as God’s people, listening to the Spirit and to one another, in humility/hope.

He enjoined all, from October 7, through succeeding Sundays leading to the November Feast of Christ the King, to “pray, through the intercession of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, this National Cry for Mercy and Renewal with contrite hearts/steadfast trust, that our nation may be healed/renewed/and filled with the light of Christ:”

“Lord God, our Shepherd, hear the cry of Your people in the Philippines as we walk in the valley of darkness. We come before You today, humbled/broken, like a stray sheep that has fallen from the cliff, clinging desperately to a brittle branch, crying out for rescue.

Save us, Lord, for we are sinking!

Like the psalmist, we feel ourselves sinking in the mire/overwhelmed by the floods of corruption, as Jeremiah once sank into the mud of the cistern.

We confess to You, O Lord, with contrite/humbled hearts, as Baruch once prayed: “We have sinned against the Lord, we have been disobedient/have not listened to His voice.”

How pitiful our situation has become: Thieves boast of their wealth/flaunt their luxury cars/jewelry worth millions/lavish banquets that cost as much as a laborer’s wages for years.

And we too, O God, through our small or great failures, have contributed to the spread of darkness: by giving bribes to fixers/traffic enforcers/accepting/spreading lies/fake news/ receiving donations from plunderers/oppressors/by remaining silent in the face of injustice for the sake of comfort.

Forgive us, Lord, for allowing evil to reign in our society.

Have mercy on us, O God, according to Your steadfast love!

We are submerged, Lord, in calamities—floods/earthquakes/fires/typhoons.

But worse are the wounds we inflict upon ourselves: scandalous budget insertions that deprived the poor of funds for health care/education/welfare/substandard infrastructure that robs us of genuine progress/political dynasties that act like new feudal lords, keeping our people poor/dependent on dole-outs— a rich nation drowning in taxes, yet kept poor by a politics of patronage.

If my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves, pray/seek my face/turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will heal their land.”

Heal our land, O Lord!

You have told us, O Lord, what is good and what You ask of us: “to act justly/love mercy/walk humbly with You.”

We have failed, but we will not lose hope. For You, Lord, have not created us for corruption but for goodness;

You have redeemed us/clothed us in a new humanity in Christ.

Come, Holy Spirit, renew the face of the earth/renew the heart of our nation!

Breathe into us courage to rise above greed/power, and awaken in us care/empathy/ compassion/unconditional love.

Let the survival of the weakest, not just the strongest, be the mark of our humanity.

Empower us to build a Philippines where truth/justice/mercy prevail.

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, save us. Spirit, renew us.

Through the intercession of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, we entrust our beloved country into Your hands. Amen.”