Pope in Manila: Prepare fresh paths for the Gospel in Asia at the dawn of a new age
Manila (AsiaNews) - " Prepare fresh paths for the Gospel in Asia at the dawn of a new age": This is the task that Pope Francis has entrusted to the Filippino Church and especially to bishops, priests, religious and young seminarians whom he met this morning in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
The pope arrived at 11.15 am, greeted by two rows of "almost Swiss Guards": children who wore the livery of the Swiss Guards in Rome, but with a blue beret instead of red (v. Photo). The cathedral was packed; but the square and the streets in front of it were also swamped: hundreds of thousands of young people and adults had huddled there for hours in order to catch a glimpse of the pontiff.
The task that the Pope has entrusted to this Church, the largest in Asia, needs consecrated persons who are "'ambassadors on behalf of Christ" (2 Cor 5:20) "; "sign of Christ's reconciliation," because " For the Gospel is the promise of God's grace, which alone can bring wholeness and healing to our broken world. It can inspire the building of a truly just and redeemed social order".
All this comes from
an "examination of conscience" and a personal and social "conversion":
"is called to acknowledge and combat the causes of the deeply
rooted inequality and injustice which mar the face of Filipino society, plainly
contradicting the teaching of Christ. The Gospel calls individual
Christians to live lives of honesty, integrity and concern for the common
good. But it also calls Christian communities to create "circles of
integrity", networks of solidarity which can expand to embrace and transform
society by their prophetic witness".
Bishops, priests, religious men and women must be the first to undergo an
examination of conscience, accepting the "grace of reconciliation [of
Christ] in our hearts".
The pope listed
some deviations that may "undermine the testimony that we offer", "complacency", "fear of change", "petty
compromises with the ways of this world", "spiritual worldliness", "a certain materialism".
The remedy to this is "a daily encounter with the Lord in prayer"; " reflect the poverty of Christ whose entire life was focused on
doing the will of the Father and serving others "; becoming
"ourselves poor, stripping
away our complacency."
Thus the Church can "respond
with honesty and integrity to the challenge of proclaiming the radicalism of
the Gospel in a society which has grown comfortable with social exclusion,
polarization and scandalous inequality".
Francis sees this
conversion of bishops, clergy and religious as the real way to prepare to celebrate
the fifth centenary of the evangelization of the Philippines, full of gratitude
"for the legacy left by so many bishops, priests and religious of
past generations. They labored not only to preach the Gospel and build up
the Church in this country, but also to forge a society inspired by the Gospel
message of charity, forgiveness and solidarity in the service of the common
good".
The task for the future is entrusted mainly "to young priests and
religious and seminarians present", for whom the Pope had a "special
thought": " I ask you to share the joy
and enthusiasm of your love for Christ and the Church with everyone, but
especially with your peers. Be present to young people who may be
confused and despondent, yet continue to see the Church as their friend on the
journey and a source of hope".
"Be
present to those who, living in the midst of a society burdened by poverty and
corruption, are broken in spirit, tempted to give up, to leave school and to
live on the streets. Proclaim the beauty and truth of the Christian
message to a society which is tempted by confusing presentations of sexuality,
marriage and the family. As you know, these realities are increasingly
under attack from powerful forces which threaten to disfigure God's plan for
creation and betray the very values which have inspired and shaped all that is best
in your culture".
Francis once again recalled the "Filipino culture, ... shaped by the creativity
of the faith" made of " their love of
God, their fervent piety and their warm devotion to Our Lady and her rosary". "This
great heritage -
he said - contains a powerful missionary potential contains a strong
potential missionary".
He concluded his homily with a prayer that "Mary, Mother of the Church",
"obtain for all of you an outpouring of zeal, so that you
may spend yourselves in selfless service to our brothers and sisters. In
this way, may the reconciling love of Christ penetrate ever more fully into the
fabric of Filipino society and, through you, to the farthest reaches of the
world".
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