SAYING a smile can change one’s outlook in life, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, the archbishop of Yangon in Myanmar, encouraged the elderly residents of a home for the aged in Cebu City to lighten up and smile more.
“I have received gifts, especially your gifts of smile. I encourage you to smile more often,” Cardinal Bo said during his visit to the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation founded by soon-to-be canonized Teresa of Calcutta.
In an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines web site, the papal legate to the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) was greeted with handshakes, smiles and flowers when he entered the facility.
“We have many gifts we can share with each other—our smile. This is the gift that we receive and give to each other,” he said.
The facility, along Cardinal Rosales Street, houses 66 wheelchair-bound elderly men and women.
In his short message, Cardinal Bo also spoke about the importance of missionary work and by being charitable toward the needy.
“We can take the example of the Missionary of Sisters of Charity. What is their gift? Their whole life,” he said. “It’s a great example what these sisters are doing.”