Youths and missionaries: ” “the message of Bergoglio ” “

On TV, whenever I see Pope Francis carrying children and hugging young people, the image that comes into my mind is that of Jesus saying: “let the children come to me”. On TV, whenever I hear Pope Francis talk about the poor, the wounded, the unloved, the hopeless, it is Jesus that comes into my mind saying again: “whatever you do to the least of your brothers and sisters, you do unto me”. On TV, when Pope visited the Typhoon victims of Tacloban, I saw Jesus, the wounded Jesus in the persons of the people of Tacloban, and the image of Jesus bringing mercy and compassion to the people. And now, our turn: Papal Encounter with the Youth Alas, the day we have all been waiting for has finally arrived – the Papal Encounter with the Youth. The only possible word I can think of to sum up yesterday’s event is SURREAL. You could sense the excitement in the air as we all walk en route to the University of Santo Tomas. As the day progressed, it began to hit me that we would finally be seeing Papa Francisco. The Pope. In person. A few meters away. How blessed we are to have been given this opportunity to take part in such an event? The sky grew darker, the air became colder and more and more young people crowded behind the barricades, all anticipating the arrival of the Pope. Thousands of pilgrims filled the football stadium, happily and passionately chanting, “Papa Francisco!” Once he arrived at the venue, I was left speechless. It was so much better than how I pictured it to be. I was in awe just observing and taking it all in. Despite the freezing rainy weather, the youth proudly waved their hands high up in the air. Before I knew it, the famous Pope-mobile dashed before my own two eyes. I was in awe. Teary eyed and full of excitement, I was too caught up to even take a decent photo of such a spectacular moment. That is, until I realized that the image of God that I saw in Papa Francis for those few seconds was far more important than an actual photo. Inspired by Glyzelle Palomar, a girl who became emotional after sharing to the Holy Father about her tough life on the streets, Pope Francis used her courageous testimony to tell us why crying is a good thing. These words had a great impact on me. He was right. To the many sufferings we had encounter as a nation, to the many poor people living in our streets, to the many families separated to have a new life abroad, amidst many, many sufferings we have as a nation, we learn to adapt to it. Because of these things being natural for us, we learn to just be strong and move on. Sometimes, involvement may somehow seem abstract and distant. But how can, as one nation, get through all of these? It is only when the faithful learn to cry with those who are suffering that they can begin to understand them and to love them. The Holy Father also noted how learning to love is the “most important lesson in life”. The encounter with the youth was not just about the many young Filipinos gathered together, not just about seeing the Pope. Pope Francis told us to focus on Jesus. It is true, all of these was about Jesus Christ and His bride, the Church. It is in Jesus Christ that we can find rest and peace. It is in Christ that we can find full and eternal love. It is in Him, that we find life. This is just like Jesus answering the question of the apostles: Come and you will see! Thank you Pope Francis! You have affirmed the great capability of this Catholic nation to proclaim Christ anew by living concretely the call to mercy and compassion. And indeed, this is a great challenge for us all from your apostolic visit; to actualize the mission to become the light of Christ in our world today. I do not think I can ever stress enough how tremendously grateful I am to witness his presence amidst the throngs of young people. We all share one common thing — we are all children of God. I still feel the sense of walking with Jesus and the sense of unity with everyone. God bless and enflesh Jesus! Together, we can all cheer, “Viva Papa Francisco!” “Viva Jesucristo!” (*) Cbcp-Ecy-Nsya Staff