Good morning Dominicans!

I am certain that you know why you are wearing red

today! For almost two days now you’ve been divided into your houses with
specific color but now you are all united in one color – red. And what is this for?
What does red signifies? In the Church liturgy color red signifies martyrdom. And
what is martyrdom? It is equated to the shedding of blood specifically in defending
the faith. Meaning, people died, killed, they are persecuted because of the faith.
Given that our country is predominantly Christian, where we can freely express our
faith without any threat, we find it difficult to grasp or imagine a reality where
Christians can be persecuted. (They are bitten, abducted, molested, beheaded and
even made an object of ridicule and amusement in an arena just like the early
Christian before being killed.) Many of us are not even aware of how difficult it is
to practice the Christian faith in some areas of Muslim Mindanao. Since
Christianity has been deeply ingrained in the fabric of Philippine society, we seem
to have developed a blind spot regarding the nature and scale of Christian
persecution in the world today.
For this reason, Red Wednesday campaign was launched to create awareness
among Filipino Christians about the severity of Christian persecution. As we make
our visible statement of solidarity through wearing red and lighting a candle for our
persecuted brothers and sisters in the faith, we also unite ourselves through
offering this prayers.