‘Heartfelt gestures, weeping killed me’

MANILA, Philippines - It rained on the parade – “pasada per agua” –  Pope Francis said of his visit to the Philippines, but the heartfelt gestures and weeping of the Filipino faithful “annihilated” him.

On “Shepherd One,” the special Philippine Airlines direct flight from Manila to Rome, Pope Francis revealed that his most moving experience in his five days here was his visit to typhoon-ravaged Tacloban in Leyte last Saturday.

The pope said he was pleased to see “gestures of the heart” – which had elements of faith, love, and family – particularly by parents who brought their children so they may be blessed and kissed by him.

“It was challenging,” he said. “It was beautiful.”

He noted that the weeping was a sign that despite the people’s grave experiences, they still have the capacity to care.

“For me the mass in Tacloban was very moving, very moving. To see all of God’s people standing still, praying, (even) after this catastrophe, (made me think) of my sins and those people. In a moment during the mass there, I felt as though I was annihilated. I almost couldn’t speak. I felt very little, I didn’t know what happened to me; maybe it was the emotion, I don’t know,” Pope Francis said.

Tacloban City was among the most devastated areas after the onslaught of Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) in the Visayas region in 2013.

“These were God’s people, and God was present, and the joy of the presence of God tells us – think on it well – that you are servants of these people, they are the protagonists,” the pope added.

In the interview, Pope Francis mentioned that his visit to Tacloban had to be cut short because of the bad weather brought by Tropical Storm Amang, which had winds of 70 miles (about 110 kilometers) per hour.

“But I wasn’t afraid,” he said, noting that he drew strength from the sight of the Yolanda survivors.

“One of the things that is lost when there is too much wealth, or when values are misunderstood, or when we have become accustomed to injustice, to this culture of waste, is the capacity to cry. This is a grace we must ask for,” the pope said.

He also shared a “beautiful prayer in the ancient missal (about) crying. It went more or less like this: ‘Lord, you who have made it so that Moses with his cane could make water flow from a stone, make it so that from the rock that is my heart, the water of tears may flow.’”

“We, Christians, must ask for the grace to cry. (We should learn to) cry about injustice and about sins because crying opens you to understand new realities, or new dimensions to realities,” the 78-year-old pontiff added.

He also reminded the public that they, too, need the poor. “If we take the poor away from the Gospel, we cannot understand Jesus’ message. The poor evangelizes us. I go to evangelize the poor, yes, but let (yourselves) be evangelized by them because they have values that you do not,” he said.

The pope lauded the fathers who brought their children along just to be able to see him.

“Here were fathers, there were many who thought of their children when we passed by on the road, a gesture which in other places one does not see. (It was) as if they (said), ‘This is my treasure, this is my future, this is my love. For this one it’s worth working, for this one it’s worth suffering.’ A gesture that is original but borne from the heart,” the pope said.

There were also mothers who brought their ailing children before him so they may be blessed, he recalled.

“‘This is my child, he/she is mine.’ All mothers know this, they do this, but it’s the way they did this that struck me: the gesture of motherhood, of fatherhood, of enthusiasm, of joy. There’s a word that’s difficult for us to understand because it has been vulgarized too much, used too badly, too badly understood, but it’s a word that has substance: resignation. (Here are) a people who know how to suffer, and are capable of rising up,” he noted.

The pontiff said he was moved by those whom he blessed and who thanked him in return, noting that they did not make any demand because “for them, a blessing was enough.”

He also said he was amazed by the happiness and the Filipinos’ “capacity of celebrate,” to never lose their genuine smile even under the rain.

“It was a smile that (naturally) came, and behind that smile is a normal life; there are pains, problems,” he said.

Resolution of thanks

Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo yesterday filed a resolution thanking Pope Francis for his five-day visit

He said the papal visit has unified the country as various sectors moved as one to reaffirm and renew their Christian faith.

He said the pope brought comforting words and a message of hope to Yolanda survivors in Tacloban City.

Castelo said the pope had originally scheduled his visit in 2016 but moved it last week because of the massive devastation and death caused by Yolanda in Eastern Visayas.

“The papal visit to Tacloban had enabled the victims to find succor and refuge, which were important for their recovery from despair caused by the typhoon,” he added.

He acknowledged the unity fostered by the pope’s visit, as he noted the “mass mobilization” of the church, government, various groups and the Filipino people in general “to make his visit meaningful and successful.”

He said the pontiff’s initiative to meet with leaders of various faiths in an interfaith dialogue had promoted “interfaith harmony, peaceful coexistence and even unity.” – With Jess Diaz