I will compose a prayer for the very first time in my life today.
The Latin oratio imperata means “obligatory prayer” and on several occasions, especially during impending natural disasters or calamities, the Catholic church comes up with this prayer to be recited in every religious gathering. On January 2020, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) sought divine protection “against the COVID-19 virus that has disturbed and claimed many lives.”
The prayer was recited in English and many Filipino languages and it became part of the Eucharistic Celebration (online and on-site) and was nearly memorized, if not learned, by most of us, Catholics. In February 2023, the prayer was lifted since the height of the pandemic is gradually declining.
Here is a little catechesis on the subject: oratio imperata are short prayers that church authorities may ask the faithful to recite publicly, especially in times of grave danger and calamities, in the hope that God would stoop to listen and prevent potential harm to the community. I am of opinion that the massive power outage that we are experiencing brings harm to the people of Occidental Mindoro. Pardon me but I consider this a corporate-driven superstorm caused by the inutility of the power utilities involved, from top to bottom, that equally deserves an oratio imperata.
The power crisis issue had already been muddled. It became an interplay of theatrics coming from all ends,- the political fences, the corporate hocus-pocus, the arrogance of those who are well-versed in the issue, the indifference and the unwillingness of the consumers to objectively study the issue, et cetera. But very glaring is the silence of our local church.
Are man-made calamities not qualified for an oratio imperata? Why? Reverends, please educate me on this.
With the absence of an oratio imperata on brownouts, I will be writing and reciting my prayer for deliverance in these darkest hours of our province and I will call this oratio voluntarium, as against oratio imperata. It is voluntary rather than obligatory. Who I am to obligate someone to recite a prayer in the first place? Only church officials can do that. I will write my oratio voluntarium below hoping that somebody would voluntarily recite it also for the intention.
If this situation of incessant power outages in our province is considered a tempest or a superstorm, we can always turn to Jesus who calmed the storm at sea while His disciples were screaming to death in dismay, fear, and anxiety. Just like us today.
The brownout that we are experiencing is considered a perfect storm. It devastates our lives and livelihood. It has socio-psychological evil effects on our people especially those who are members of the vulnerable sectors including children and seniors. It became a threat to both our physical and mental health as it greatly impedes development and progress and it’s a great shame to us as human beings with dignity, and having God’s image. It broke us as a people of God and as citizens. It divides us to no end like the doomed flock of Zechariah. We are living in the darkest era in our local history where people are captive by either inutility or corruption of all those in the power industry sector, both local and national.
I already wrote volumes and wasted gallons of my saliva opposing and exposing this power crisis in my late 20s since the early 90s as a young lay worker and social advocate, and social communicator of our local church. Now that I am old, I will just resort mainly to prayers. I cannot be an instigator of protest actions anymore unlike before. I will just work on the sideline. There are things that I cannot understand anymore. I surrender this problem to the Lord as I plan to buy a power generator set in the next few days, finally. It has already become an eternal legal and technical roaming around the bush. The resource speakers in legislative hearings and fora become like dogs chasing in circles their own tails!
This coming April 15, there will be a protest action in San Jose initiated by the Oksi Walang Power Movement, I pray and morally support its young organizers from a distance in this struggle.
This hellish situation is bigger than me and all of us. All I can do actively now is recite my oratio voluntarium which reads as follows:
“Almighty Father, we adore You in gratitude for the gift of electricity, for its discovery and creation. We thank You for Your providence in filling us with our needs, and for Your wisdom that guides the course of the universe.
We turn to You, our Loving Father and beg for forgiveness for our sins, especially our greed, indifference, arrogance, and pride. May all those from the energy sector prioritize service over profit and may they experience a metanoia.
We pray to You for protection from the ill effects of brownouts and the reformation of those in power utilities and agencies to think first of the people’s welfare rather than laws and policies that are trampling the electric consumers’ lives and livelihood, personhood, and dignity. May we enjoy all the energy coming from You that You entrusted to them by their agencies and sectors.
Give us light and keep us all safe and far from harm these risky and darkest days and always. Please give us the light of the spirit and our physical lives. May the forces of darkness vanish from the face of the earth.
We ask this through Your Son Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Amen.”
When we pray as a community, obligatory or voluntary, we become children of Light. That is the pastoral and prophetic challenge to the church. That is what Jesus taught us. The same Jesus who cleansed the temple and angrily drove the greedy and unscrupulous business people away!
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(Photo: Pamibi.com)
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