The Lord visits his people through his vicar Pope Francis

Although the Lord has definitively come into the world through the incarnation of the Eternal Word, throughout our journey as a pilgrim people, we will continue to wait for the Lord to come again and again into our lives and the world.

The Lord visits us in various ways.  For instance, through the sacraments.  In the sacraments of reconciliation and the anointing of the sick, the Lord comes to us, comforting and healing us physically and spiritually.  In the sacrament of the Eucharist, the Lord gives himself to us in the consecrated bread and wine, incorporating us into his Mystical Body.

The Lord also visits us who wait in darkness and despair through people who listen to and comfort us, who help us carry our unbearable pain and strengthen us by their reassuring words and faithful friendship. 

In the granting of a work visa, the extension of a loan, the prayed-for remission from a terminal illness--the Lord visits us in innumerable ways.  Next month, the Lord will come to us in a special way, through the visitation of his vicar on earth, Pope Francis.

In the midst of inexplicable suffering, we rage against the heavens, crying out, “Lord, why allow those you love to suffer immensely?  Where are you amidst our pain and anguish?”

Pope Francis has made explicit that he is visiting the Philippines primarily because of his desire to express solidarity with the survivors of Typhoon Yolanda and the Bohol earthquake who have been dispossessed and dislocated, who have lost home, livelihood and loved ones.

Through the holy father, the Good Shepherd is reaching out to those who think they have been forsaken and forgotten.  Our First Reading proclaims: “Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom” (Is. 40:11).

Through the holy father, who has cancelled his luncheon with the bishops, the princes of the Church, and who has scolded the local officials of Tacloban for planning to relocate evacuees in order to beautify the ravaged city, the Lord makes his compassion and mercy palpable and undeniable real.

However, the assurance of God’s visitation also entails preparation, both internal and external, both individual and communal.  As John the Evangelist declares in our Gospel today, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths’ (Mk 1:3).

Are we preparing for Pope Francis’ visit by finding ways to come as close to him as possible for future bragging rights?  By buying souvenirs and memorabilia, in the end, commoditizing our holy father and trivializing his visit?

Moreover, the significance of his visit cannot end with spiritual euphoria, electrifying indeed, yet ephemeral.  The spiritual graces his visit will bestow will prove useless unless accompanied by a genuine conversion of heart on the individual and societal levels.

“Make straight his path” literally means levelling the rough roads through which the messiah will tread.  Spiritually, this means clearing our hearts and minds of all that prevents us from becoming more compassionate and merciful, being liberated from all that enslaves us — our materialism and self-absorption, our corrupt and violent ways, our apathy to the hunger and poverty of our brothers and sisters.

We cannot welcome the Lord who visits us in the person of the holy father unless we turn away from our sinful ways, unless we accompany our rituals with personal reformation and commit ourselves to societal transformation. “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord….  cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, rescue the oppressed” (Is. 1:11, 16).

We pray for the health and safety of our holy father.  We also pray that his visit will serve as a catalyst for individual and national renewal.