Coinciding with the second anniversary of Pope Francis’s visit to the Philippines, the Fourth World Apostolic Congress on Mercy (Wacom4) opened with a message to the faithful to be “disciples of mercy”.
“[W]e are the disciples who Jesus wants to be with His mercy…. We are the disciples of Mercy,” said Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle, who gave the Homily during the opening Mass of the international event earlier on January 16 at the Manila Cathedral.
“Let us continue to show the face of the world through mercy. Like Mary, let us be attentive to those in need. We are made whole because God is merciful,” the prelate said.
Not about us
Speaking to thousands of official delegates of the worldwide congress on mercy, he, likewise, encouraged the faithful to live mercy with humility.
“When we do our acts of mercy, it is not about us, it is not your work, it is the work of Jesus. So that no one may boast,” Tagle said.
According to him, an individual’s belief in God’s personal signs of mercy to him is crucial to his own witnessing of mercy.
“Please reflect on how God has been merciful to us; how God has revealed the faces of mercy…. So those who have been victimized, abandoned…would know that they have a family. A family born at the hour of Jesus, at the foot of His cross, the mercy of Jesus,” Tagle said.
“The Spirit who enables us to understand the work of the blessings that we’ve received shows God, with Jesus, is rich in mercy.”
According to Tagle, there is no crisis, issue or reality beyond God’s power.
Faith as a response
“Even in death, Jesus comes with the mercy of God…. There is no human need or crisis or difficulty that Jesus cannot [touch]. Jesus is the face, the voice, the hands of the mercy of Father,” he said.
In the face of God’s far-reaching mercy, Tagle said, man’s response should be faith.
“The invitation to us is, ‘Would you put your faith in Him?’” he asked.
“Let us not be afraid to lift up to Jesus the situations we hide. Invite Jesus, He will reveal to us the face of the merciful Father,” he added.
Among the clergy and bishops present during the Mass were Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto; Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines President Archbiship Socrates Villegas; Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles; Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos, Wacom-Asia episcopal coordinator; Malolos Bishop Jose Oliveros, Wacom national episcopal coordinator; Wacom Secretary-General Fr. Patrice Chocholski; and Fr. Prospero Tenorio, Wacom-Asia secretary-general.
Jubilee Year’s ‘call to mercy’ continues
Meanwhile, the Holy Year of Mercy may have ended but the mission to live out mercy extends beyond it.
This was the message of Msgr. Eugene Sylva, English-language official serving on the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, on the second day of Wacom4 at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Quadricentennial Pavilion.
“In his apostolic letter Misericordia et Misera to mark the conclusion of the Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis expressed his great desire that what we have celebrated during the Holy Year of Mercy, a time rich in mercy, must continue to be celebrated and lived out,” said the priest, who is part of the dicastery of the Roman Curia tasked to organize the Jubilee Year celebration.
4,000 volunteers
Sharing stories of 4,000 Jubilee volunteers from 37 countries, Sylva shared how they communicated the love and mercy of God to some 22 million people who undertook the pilgrimage of mercy.
Ranging from 18 to 87 years old, the volunteers comprised of men and women, young and old, military personnel, persons with disabilities, senior citizens, college students, housewives and an elderly couple, who celebrated their 65th anniversary by volunteering for a week.
“These jubilee volunteers were not seeking to be recognized or to have their names remembered on a plaque, but they did want to give more than just access to a holy door. By their presence, by their attentiveness, by their bright smiles, they demonstrated to each pilgrim that his or her life has value and meaning,” Sylva said, lauding the volunteers who would become a familiar sight in Saint Peter’s Square because of their bright yellow vests and hats.
Exhorting some 5,000 Wacom4 delegates to imitate the Jubilee volunteers’ example, he explained the close connection between love and the spiritual life.
Love and faith
“It is love that generates love and faith that sustains love…. Someone believes if he or she knows that they are loved… Love and mercy provided the pilgrims with the reasons to believe.”
“Friends, what a continuation! May our time together this week encourage and strengthen each one of us to dress in yellow, to be a dazzling light of the mystery of our Christian faith, so that we can become ever more powerful and effective instruments and evangelizers of God’s goodness,” he said
He also expressed “the personal greetings and the prayerful best wishes” from President Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, who heads the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, which is tasked to “deepen the theological and pastoral sense of the New Evangelization.”
The Philippines hosted Wacom4 from January 16 to 20.
Nirva’ana Ella Delacruz/CBCPNews
Image credits: Michael Dalogdog
2 comments
Have mercy on the victims of drugs and their families!
TAGLE DAMASO, bting out the hidden Billions of the Church to help the Poor.
You have P34,000,000,000.00 alone in BPI and SanMig shares.
LOL!!!!!