Will there be a renewal of faith among the Catholics? Since there have been conflicts with the church like the Reproductive Health law (RH Law) , I see renewed hope in Pope Francis’ visit. This pope, my pope has liberal views. I am reminded of his words “As long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world’s problems or, for that matter, to any problems”.
Pope Francis reiterates that ” the center of my message will be the poor”. He might just be able to opens the hearts and minds of our Church officials since the RH Law is meant to help the poor make better choices. It is also good that he is close to Cardinal Tagle. Maybe his influence will be felt in the church hierarchy in the Philippines . A lot of our church officials are conservative and Filipinos are hopeful for a more progressive Catholic Church.
I was not at the motorcade but I feel just as blessed to watch him on live stream. Using the live stream link from the government TV station, I followed his every move from the time his papal cap flew away till his arrival at the Apostolic Nunciature. Pope Francis must be getting his energy from the cheering crowd. He smiled , leaned forward and looked like he was enjoying himself. His smile is pleasant and authentic . Smiling with his eyes, he looks into the person he is smiling to. It felt like Jesus Christ spoke to me through his smile, even if I am just watching from my laptop. He says “The Holy Spirit will have to work to touch all the hearts of these people that we see.” I believe the Holy Spirit must be working through his smile. It is not only me that noticed his pleasant smile. I read numerous tweets that gushed over his beautiful smile.
Gary Valenciano tweets, “Blessed by seeing smiling happy Filipinos showing so much love and gratitude to Pope Francis. I hope we’ve put a smile in his heart too”.
Ginger Conejero notes “Pope Francis’s smile is contagious.”
Mia Noreen added “Pope Francis’ smile is probably the best thing I’ve seen so far this year #goosebumps”.
Sharla Lacbayan ?can’t “explain how grateful I am for being a Catholic. Welcome to the Philippines, Pope Francis! I can see your smile on the tv!”
Julie Mae says “That genuine smile of pope francis is love”.
Jewel notes says “May kakaiba sa smile ni Pope Francis, na-mapapasmile ka nalang din”
Ella Drew calls it “the Divine Smile of Pope Francis”.
Even a non-Catholic like Zarlean Centino had this to tweet “I’m not Catholic pero I like the attitude of Pope Francis and his smile”.
That is why I think Pope Francis always asks the people to pray for him. He gets energy from the people around him. It works both ways. His smile is just contagious.
RJ Villaflor thinks so, too. “Yung smile ni Pope Francis nakakahawa, mapapangiti ka na rin pag nakita mo yung mga ngiti nya “.
That smile from Pope Francis gives us strength and renewed hope. His smile is just so heartwarming. I feel so happy and blessed with the presence of Pope Francis. May he continue to spread his message of mercy and compassion especially to our leaders so they will work for the poor of our country. I pray “renew our country, Lord. Rid us of selfish and corrupt leaders. Raise up only those who lead with pure hearts and wise minds. Amen.” May the cabinet secretaries , politicians and the President become blessed by the Pope’s simplicity . May he enlighten our conservative Church leaders.
I may not live by the rituals, the novenas and the rote praying but I feel that Pope Francis is an inspiration to a lot of cafeteria Catholics like myself to have faith. My daughter hopes “that Pope Francis’s visit inspires Filipinos to become more progressive, tolerant Catholics.” I am hopeful.
Photo via @rapplerdotcom . Other Photos by Robert Viñas/ Lauro Montellano Jr./Gil Nartea/ Malacañang Photo Bureau Some rights reserved.
Originally posted on “Charmed by the beautiful papal smile that brings the message of mercy & compassion“, Blogwatch, Philippine Online Chronicles.