This visit is really for me. I'm learning

During his just completed visit to the Philippines, Pope Francis gave this line to Cardinal Tagle of Manila when asked by the cardinal how he was doing after being to Tacloban, the site of devastation following Super Typhoon Yolanda, and experiencing for himself while there his first typhoon.  That one line hit me and stays with me.  This visit is for him and he is learning from it.  Such honesty, such transparency of a human being, such humility.  Wow! 

What also stays with me is how he naturally responded to the overwhelming suffering of the people.  He didn't preach at them or try to give answers or tell them what to do but just was with them in their suffering, sharing tears and showing compassion.  He then spoke of how important it is to be able to cry with a suffering people and of a God with them in the midst of their suffering.  He is naming how human suffering touches us in an authenically human way and how our response as pastors of each other is to make ourselves vulnerable for the sake of others. 

This is a truly great man, a man who naturally shares his humanity, a man of compassion.  I see him as our teacher, showing us the way to be decent human beings and to be pastors who spread the good news. 

He keeps making these incredible statements.  He said while in the Philippines that if you take away the poor you have no gospel. 

I feel the need to say little this week but just share so that I can savour the message of Pope Francis for us.  The key is not just what he does nor talking about how great a man he is.  Rather even more deeply, it is about how he shows us the way to be Christians of integrity and compassion.  We can't just leave it all to him.  He doesn't want that either.  We need to do our bit where we are.  This is not just about having a great pope but more importantly about having a pope who reminds us who we be to be church, to be authenically human in a suffering world.