Pope
to Filipinos at Manila Mass: Be missionaries of faith in Asia
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday called on Filipinos
to be “outstanding missionaries of the faith in Asia” during a mass attended by
millions in Manila’s Rizal Park. In his homily, Pope Francis described
the Philippines as “the foremost Catholic country in Asia,” saying “this is
itself a special gift of God, a blessing,” and a “vocation.”
The Pope recalled that each of us has been chosen by God to be
"witnesses of his truth and his justice in this world" and to care
for creation. But man, he said, has "disfigured
that natural beauty; through sin, man has also destroyed the unity and beauty
of our human family, creating social structures which perpetuate poverty,
ignorance and corruption."
The Pope warned against the devil, “the father of lies” who
hides his snares behind the appearance of sophistication, the allure of being
‘modern’, ‘like everyone else.’ We are distracted, he said, by “ephemeral
pleasures and superficial pastimes” and “squander our God-given gifts by tinkering
with gadgets,” and “squander our money on gambling and drink.”
On the day the Filipino Church celebrates the "Santo
Niño," Pope Francis urged Filippinos to look to the Christ Child, the
protector of the Philippines, as their model, and reminded them of the importance
of protecting the family. He added, “we need to see each child as a gift to be
welcomed, cherished and protected” and recalled that young people need our care
so they will not be “robbed of hope and condemned to life on the streets.”
He urged Filipinos to work together to build “a world of
justice, integrity and peace.”
Below please find the text of Pope Francis’ Homily at Sunday’s
mass in Manila’s Rizal park:
“A child is born to us, a son is given us” (Is 9:5).
It is a special joy for me to celebrate Santo Niño Sunday with you. The
image of the Holy Child Jesus accompanied the spread of the Gospel in this
country from the beginning. Dressed in the robes of a king, crowned and
holding the sceptre, the globe and the cross, he continues to remind us of the
link between God’s Kingdom and the mystery of spiritual childhood. He
tells us this in today’s Gospel: “Whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God
like a child will not enter it” (Mk 10:15). The Santo Niño
continues to proclaim to us that the light of God’s grace has shone upon a
world dwelling in darkness, bringing the Good News of our freedom from slavery,
and guiding us in the paths of peace, right and justice. The Santo Niño
also reminds us of our call to spread the reign of Christ throughout the world.
In these days, throughout my visit, I have listened to you sing the song: “We
are all God’s children”. That is what the Santo Niño tells us. He
reminds us of our deepest identity. All of us are God’s children, members
of God’s family. Today Saint Paul has told us that in Christ we have
become God’s adopted children, brothers and sisters in Christ. This is
who we are. This is our identity. We saw a beautiful expression of
this when Filipinos rallied around our brothers and sisters affected by the
typhoon.
The Apostle tells us that because God chose us, we have been richly
blessed! God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in
the heavens” (Eph 1:3). These words have a special resonance
in the Philippines, for it is the foremost Catholic country in Asia; this is
itself a special gift of God, a special blessing. But it is also a
vocation. Filipinos are called to be outstanding missionaries of the
faith in Asia.
God chose and blessed us for a purpose: to be holy and blameless in his sight (Eph 1:4).
He chose us, each of us to be witnesses of his truth and his justice in this
world. He created the world as a beautiful garden and asked us to care
for it. But through sin, man has disfigured that natural beauty; through
sin, man has also destroyed the unity and beauty of our human family, creating
social structures which perpetuate poverty, ignorance and corruption.
Sometimes, when we see the troubles, difficulties and wrongs all around us, we
are tempted to give up. It seems that the promises of the Gospel do not
apply; they are unreal. But the Bible tells us that the great threat to
God’s plan for us is, and always has been, the lie. The devil is the father
of lies. Often he hides his snares behind the appearance of
sophistication, the allure of being “modern”, “like everyone else”. He
distracts us with the promise of ephemeral pleasures, superficial
pastimes. And so we squander our God-given gifts by tinkering with gadgets;
we squander our money on gambling and drink; we turn in on ourselves. We
forget to remain focused on the things that really matter. We forget to
remain, at heart, children of God. That is sin: [to] forget at heart
that we are children of God. For children, as the Lord tells us, have
their own wisdom, which is not the wisdom of the world. That is why the
message of the Santo Niño is so important. He speaks powerfully to all of
us. He reminds us of our deepest identity, of what we are called to be as
God’s family.
The Santo Niño also reminds us that this identity must be protected. The
Christ Child is the protector of this great country. When he came into
the world, his very life was threatened by a corrupt king. Jesus himself
needed to be protected. He had an earthly protector: Saint Joseph.
He had an earthly family, the Holy Family of Nazareth. So he reminds us
of the importance of protecting our families, and those larger families which
are the Church, God’s family, and the world, our human family. Sadly, in
our day, the family all too often needs to be protected against insidious
attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred, all that is
most beautiful and noble in our culture.
In the Gospel, Jesus welcomes children, he embraces them and blesses them (Mk 10:16).
We too need to protect, guide and encourage our young people, helping them to
build a society worthy of their great spiritual and cultural heritage.
Specifically, we need to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished and
protected. And we need to care for our young people, not allowing them to
be robbed of hope and condemned to life on the streets.
It was a frail child, in need of protection, who brought God’s goodness, mercy
and justice into the world. He resisted the dishonesty and corruption
which are the legacy of sin, and he triumphed over them by the power of his
cross. Now, at the end of my visit to the Philippines, I commend you to
him, to Jesus who came among us as a child. May he enable all the beloved
people of this country to work together, protecting one another, beginning with
your families and communities, in building a world of justice, integrity and
peace. May the Santo Niño continue to bless the Philippines and may he
sustain the Christians of this great nation in their vocation to be witnesses
and missionaries of the joy of the Gospel, in Asia and in the whole world.
Please don’t forget to pray for me! God bless you !
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