MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Palm Sunday urged Filipinos to be like Jesus Christ who is “resilient and optimistic in life, despite all the challenges that come our way.”

Filipinos should make use of the Lenten break to “take a brief pause from our daily routines” and be “resilient and optimistic in life, despite all the challenges that come our way,” the President said in his Holy Week message this year.

“Our Savior knew that the path of Calvary was not an easy journey yet in dutiful obedience to the Father's will, He fulfilled His mission, enduring hardships and suffering, all in the name of love,” said Marcos Jr., who is a Catholic.

“Like Christ, may we remain resilient and optimistic in life, despite all the challenges that come our way,” he said.

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“May all the adversities that we face shape us into better persons, capable of understanding and charity towards our brethren,” he added.

Jesus Christ’s death on the cross demonstrated “that our limitations and frailties as human beings do not hinder us from greater causes,” Marcos Jr. said.

“May the realization that a loving God embraced humanity to be with us inspire perseverance through tribulations and be an encouragement to our brothers and sisters,” he said.

“I hope that we will regain strength in the presence of our family and loved ones for us to be more dedicated in doing His will, most especially to those in the peripheries He entrusted under our care,” he said.

The Philippines — unique in Asia for having a majority that identifies as Catholic — has declared Maundy Thursday and Black Friday as public holidays in observance of the passion and death of Jesus Christ.