Cardinal Tagle: “Damaged covenant needs healing”

The heart that experiences love will love and when it loves … it enters into a covenant” said Card Tagle during a Mass to open a concert to “celebrate family through music” on Sunday in Manila. “You don’t need to mandate love… You don’t teach that, ‘step 1, step 2…’ he explained and added that because a person has a covenant with someone, he will fulfill all the commandments even if no one tells him to.

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle who also heads Caritas Internationalis, went on to explain the concept of the covenant relationship in the Old Testament. “The covenant relationship was formulated this way: ‘I will be your God and you will be My people. We belong to each other. You are mine and I am yours.’”

“’You are mine and I am yours…’ And when the covenant becomes life, because you are mine, you are no different from me. And because I am no different from you … and because in my heart you are always there and I am in your heart, I will not cheat you. I will not betray you. … I will not kill you. I will not be jealous of you. Why? Because I am in a covenant with you,” he said. According to him, it is when this covenant weakens that there is a need for laws.

 The laws emerge because people forget their covenant relationship. So in this sense, the laws are not just legal precepts; the laws are a reminder to return to the covenant. What needs to be healed is the covenant that was damaged. Sometimes, that’s what we lack,” noted the Cardinal.

“A Love to Last: Families are forever” concert/conference  was organized by Commission on Family and Life of the Archdiocese of Manila and was attended by the members of various Catholic communities and organizations like Familia, Couples for Christ, Light of Jesus, Marriage Encounter Foundation of the Philippines, Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals, and Ligaya ng Panginoon. (CBCP)