Thread: Philippine bishops instruct flock to pray for rain, heat relief

Manila, Philippines – Catholic bishops in the Philippines are pitching in to seek divine relief from the extreme heatwave scorching the country, instructing their flock to recite special prayers for rain and lower temperatures.


Rising temperatures have forced the government to shut down tens of thousands of schools over the past week, while increased demand has stressed the country’s already strained power supply.


A widespread El Nino drought that began early this year is compounding the problem, ruining 5.9 billion pesos ($103 million) worth of farm produce so far according to the Department of Agriculture.


The Catholic Bishops of the Philippines issued an “Oratio Imperata”, instructing parishes in the mainly Catholic nation to recite a prayer for deliverance from calamities during masses, according to the text seen by AFP on Saturday.


“We humbly ask you to grant us relief from the extreme heat that besets your people at this time, disrupting their activities and threatening their lives and livelihood,” the prayer read.


“Send us rain to replenish our depleting water sources, to irrigate our fields, to stave off water and power shortages and to provide water for our daily needs.”


A record-high 38.8 degrees Celsius (101.8 degrees Fahrenheit) was recorded in the capital Manila on April 27, forcing the closure of more than 47,000 schools for two days.


Nearly 8,000 schools remained shuttered as of Friday, the education department said, while the highest temperature in the country was recorded at 38.2C on the island of Mindoro south of the capital.

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Not good times in Southeast Asia. It'd be hell if you didn't have access to air-conditioning.

The power here went off for about an hour yesterday afternoon. I was thinking of finding a hotel room when the a/c came back on.

Originally Posted by 39TG

Not good times in Southeast Asia. It'd be hell if you didn't have access to air-conditioning.

That's what my Swiss tenant said. When the aircon packed it in. After about 40 days of relentless 40 degree days in vientiane. aircon was only a couple of years old but I'm guessing the power fluctuation from an overly stretched grid caused the aircon to quit. This is the info I get from my Mil who is his Mae bahn I transferred the $ and told Mil. MAKE IT HAPPEN and she did meanwhile ole mate was forced to choose the other 2 aircon bedrooms while it took 3 days to get a new one. Pretty good effort by the Mil I must say

Good ole girl the Mil. Probably shouldve ( spelling for helge ) should of )married her? Not much age difference compared to her daughter.shes aged quite well to.

Originally Posted by misskit

“Send us rain to replenish our depleting water sources, to irrigate our fields, to stave off water and power shortages and to provide water for our daily needs.”

Ah, the differences between Filipino bishops and Irish ones...