Easter is also a time to help the hungry and needy

The celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the crown jewel of the Christian liturgical calendar. It is on Easter that the message of renewed hope, of life conquering death, reverberates more profoundly.

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As Easter brings about redemption through the Risen Lord, the faithful are strengthened in the conviction that Christianity is anchored on the belief that good shall eventually triumph over evil, that light always extinguishes darkness.

For generations of Filipinos most of whom profess to be Christians, celebrating the triumph of the Risen Lord has been a time to reflect and recommit to values embodying the principles of compassion and solidarity that help uplift the lives of fellow human beings especially those undergoing severe economic hardships.

In the face of deeply rooted social and economic challenges, including the crisis of child malnutrition and the recent rate of involuntary hunger affecting 27.2 percent of Filipino families or 7.5 million households, the highest hunger rate recorded by SWS since the pandemic, the Easter message becomes a clarion call to action.

In his 2025 Easter Sunday Urbi et Orbi message to the city of Rome and to the world, Pope Francis spoke for the hungry and the needy. “I appeal to all those in positions of political responsibility in our world not to yield to the logic of fear which only leads to isolation from others, but rather to use the resources available to help the needy, to fight hunger and to encourage initiatives that promote development. These are the “weapons” of peace: weapons that build the future, instead of sowing seeds of death!”