Pray for rain to come, Catholics told

CEBU CITY – Roman Catholics in Cebu will begin reciting the “Oratio Imperata” for rain and the Christian faithful here were quick to share the text of the obligatory prayer. Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma approved the release of the prayer because of the drought caused by El Niño.

Cebu and other areas in the country are now under the state of calamity due to the dry spell.

Oratio Imperata, Latin word for Obligatory Prayer, is a set of Roman Catholic invocative prayers consisting of a liturgical action and a short, general prayer which the local ordinary or prelate of the church may publicly pray when a grave need or calamity occurs. Monsignor Ruben Labajo, parish priest of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, said he was amazed on how fast Catholic faithful shared the prayer on social media.

The Oratio Imperata reads: “Most Gracious and Most Merciful God, Creator, Source and Giver of all things, Most powerful in heaven and on earth, we give You honor and glory. We thank You for our home – the earth; for our light – the sun, moon and stars; for our solace – our family and friends, our community, our neighbors. United as Your children, we come to You, pleading, shower us with rain, provide us with water that we need. Father, Your children are begging to survive, hear us, we desire to live. Prolonged drought is depriving us of the fruits of our toil; low water supply means hunger and thirst for most of us; El Niño continues to threaten our relationship with one another. O’ Lord, this is a very hostile phenomenon that we beg for You to end. At this time of looming catastrophe, dear Lord, dwell in our hearts. Teach us to be more generous; bring out the best in us; turn our eyes and ears toward the needs of others, especially the poor. Move us to share more, care more, serve more and love more. Holy God, You sanctify this earth to be our sacred abode. Grant us courage to take in hand the sufferings of the environment, grant us might to save and protect the beauty of nature. Grant us wisdom to restore whatever we have destroyed. O’ Loving God, behold on us, Your beloved children, feel us, feel for us; let heaven cry and its tears be our blessed rain. Have mercy on us Lord, have mercy. We beg you, most Gracious and Merciful God, please, let it rain. Amen.”

El Niño is the periodic warming of water in the Pacific Ocean every few years. When it occurs, it means more energy is available for storms to form there. El Niño also affects wind shear, which is when air currents at a lower altitude blow in a different direction from winds higher in the atmosphere. (John Rey Saavedra. With a report from Cebu Examiner)

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