Pope Francis presides over Mass
for Rome's Filipino community
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| Pope Francis presides over Mass for Rome's Filipino community |
Pope Francis on Sunday celebrates Mass in St Peter’s
Basilica for Rome’s Filipino Community, telling them they have a special
mission to share their faith.
By Vatican News
During his homily for the Filipino community gathered in St
Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis began by drawing from Sunday’s liturgy. He said
that “from the words of the Responsorial Psalm we learn that there are those
"vulnerable people who also deserve a look of special love from God.”
The Pope was referring to “the oppressed, the hungry,
prisoners, foreigners, orphans and widows. “These are the inhabitants of the
existential peripheries of yesterday and of today”, he said.
Advent a time of preparation
The Pope noted that as the world prepares to celebrate the
mystery of the Incarnation, of Emmanuel, “we must ask the Lord to renew the
miracle of Christmas every year, offering ourselves as instruments of
his merciful love towards the least and the lowest.”
He explained that during the Season of Advent, we are called
to “awaken in our hearts a sense of expectation and to intensify our prayer.”
The Philippines and Simbang-Gabi
Pope Francis said that “in the Philippines, for centuries,
there has been a novena in preparation for a blessed Christmas called,
Simbang-Gabi (Mass of the night). During nine days, the Filipino faithful
gather in their parishes for a special Eucharistic celebration.”
He went on to say that, “in recent decades, thanks to Filipino
migrants, this devotion has crossed national borders and has arrived in many
other countries”, including Italy and the Vatican.
Through this celebration, the Pope continued, “we want to
commit ourselves to manifest God's love and tenderness towards everyone,
especially the least.”
A special mission
Pope Francis told those present that the people who had left
their land in search of a better future, “have a special mission.” Your faith,
he said, “is "leaven" in the parish communities to which you belong, today.
I encourage you to increase opportunities for meeting to share your cultural
and spiritual wealth, while at the same time allowing yourselves to be enriched
by the experiences of others.”
The Pope concluded his homily by saying that, “we are all
called to practice charity together with those who live in the existential
peripheries, using our different gifts to renew the signs of the presence of
the Kingdom. Together, we are all called to proclaim the Gospel, the Good News
of salvation, in all languages, so as to reach as many people as possible.”
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