Pope hunting

For someone as cynical as I am, it means a lot when I admire a person, more so when that person is a church leader. But I really look up to Pope Francis not just as a religious, but as wonderful human being who shows our modern world the way to humility, simplicity, love and compassion.

And so I will travel to Manila later this month to see him, to step on the same ground he stands on, to inhale the very air he breathes, to be with him in one place under the sun even just for a fleeting moment. Truth is, I might be able to see the pope only from miles away, if at all. If I'm lucky, I might catch him pass by aboard his Popemobile only from afar and through huge crowds... and oh, I don't exactly like huge crowds. But I will surely feel immensely blessed for it is not the physical distance, but the fire in the heart that truly matters. Indeed, there are people, politicians we know included, who have kissed the papal ring but who remained as wicked and corrupt as before they flew to the Vatican on business class.

Pope Francis, 78, will visit the Philippines to comfort our brothers and sisters caused immense pain and suffering by Yolanda. But many million others like me, whose storms in life come in many cruel forms, shall also benefit from his presence.

And hopefully his greatness of spirit would rub in. And hopefully I'd come home to my world of everyday life with more goodness to share.

Viva Papa Francesco!

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—“A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.”

— “Although the life of a person is in a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God.”

—“The Lord never tires of forgiving. It is we who tire of asking for forgiveness." (First Angelus as pope, March 17, 2013)

—“This is precisely the reason for the dissatisfaction of some, who end up sad—sad priests—in some sense becoming collectors of antiques or novelties, instead of being shepherds living with 'the odor of the sheep.' This I ask you: Be shepherds, with the 'odor of the sheep,' make it real, as shepherds among your flock, fishers of men." (Chrism Mass, March 28, 2013).

—“Ask yourselves this question: How often is Jesus inside and knocking at the door to be let out, to come out? And we do not let him out because of our own need for security, because so often we are locked into ephemeral structures that serve solely to make us slaves and not free children of God." (Pentecost vigil, May 18, 2013).

—“Men and women are sacrificed to the idols of profit and consumption: it is the 'culture of waste.' If a computer breaks it is a tragedy, but poverty, the needs and dramas of so many people end up being considered normal. ... When the stock market drops 10 points in some cities, it constitutes a tragedy. Someone who dies is not news, but lowering income by 10 points is a tragedy! In this way people are thrown aside as if they were trash." (General audience, June 5, 2013).

—“Faith is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey. To those who suffer, God does not provide arguments which explain everything; rather, his response is that of an accompanying presence, a history of goodness which touches every story of suffering and opens up a ray of light." ("Lumen Fidei," June 29, 2013).

—“If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him? ... The problem is not having this tendency, no, we must be brothers and sisters to one another. The problem is in making a lobby of this tendency: a lobby of misers, a lobby of politicians, a lobby of masons, so many lobbies." (News conference during flight from Brazil to Rome, July 28, 2013).

—“An evangelizer must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral." ("Evangelii Gaudium," Nov. 24, 2013).

—“Gossip can also kill, because it kills the reputation of the person! It is so terrible to gossip! At first it may seem like a nice thing, even amusing, like enjoying a candy. But in the end, it fills the heart with bitterness, and even poisons us." (Angelus, Feb. 16, 2014).

—“The perfect family doesn't exist, nor is there a perfect husband or a perfect wife, and let's not talk about the perfect mother-in-law! It's just us sinners." A healthy family life requires frequent use of three phrases: "May I? Thank you, and I'm sorry" and "never, never, never end the day without making peace." (Meeting with engaged couples, Feb. 14, 2014).

—“Since many of you do not belong to the Catholic Church and others are non-believers, from the bottom of my heart I give this silent blessing to each and every one of you, respecting the conscience of each one of you but knowing that each one of you is a child of God.”

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