(Vatican Radio) While Pope Francis continues his Apostolic visit to Cuba, last minute preparations are underway in the United States for the next stage of his journey, which will see the Holy Father address the US Congress in Washington, speak to the United Nations in New York, canonize a saint, and lead the culminating celebrations of the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia which opens on Tuesday (22nd September). Vatican Radio’s Chris Altieri is awaiting the Pope in the U.S and reports on expectations ahead of his arrival.
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Pope Francis is coming to the United States of America. The visit will be rife with historical firsts: the first time a Pope will address a joint meeting of the US Congress (not a joint session – a technical precision perhaps significant only to parliamentarians, but one that is there nonetheless); the first time a Pope will speak to the United Nations during the annual general session of the General Assembly; the first time a Pope will canonize a saint on US soil.
Everyone is on tenterhooks, waiting to hear just what the Pope will say: from climate change, to immigration, to religious liberty, to the right order of society with respect to marriage and the family – this last being the almost forgotten keystone and centrepiece of the Holy Father’s visit, which on September 26th and 27th will see him in the US city of Philadelphia to lead the culminating celebrations of the World Meeting of Families.
The issues are the same ones everyone – including the Pope – has been talking about for months and years and even decades: so, do we really expect him to say anything new?
This reporter has no crystal ball, nor – as of this filing – has he seen the advance copies of the prepared speeches. There is, however, something perhaps to be gained from paying attention to the register in which the Holy Father has been talking, and comparing it to the register in which pundits and commentators have been talking in their turns.
Pundits talk about policy: Pope Francis talks about people – real, flesh-and-blood human beings, whose lives and livelihoods are the object of and the reason for whatever policy political leaders may choose to advance. Whatever he shall say, it is to real people he shall address himself, even and especially when he addresses himself to political leaders on the US national stage and on the global level at the United Nations.
“A moral leader” and a “voice of great moral authority” are some of the turns-of-phrase by which the Holy Father has been described by several of the principal actors in world politics, including the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, in an exclusive interview with Vatican Radio ahead of the Holy Father’s arrival.
First, and finally, however, Pope Francis is a pastor: his concern as a shepherd of souls who happens also to be a global citizen is rather with making us sensible of and sensitive to the need to take better care of the created order over which we have been set as stewards. As the Vicar of Christ, the Good Shepherd, he has been, and we may fairly expect he will be at pains to remind us of the duty we have to welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, feed the hungry, care for the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead; the duty we have to teach the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, comfort the afflicted, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive offences willingly, to pray for the living and the dead – especially our enemies, and – yes – to admonish the sinner – for it is no slight to mercy to remind people they are in need of it; expect that in these regards he will remind us that from those to whom much has been given, much is required – and that there will be a heavy reckoning to make before the judgment seat of the just and living God.
So, whoever you are, and whatever your political leanings, your convictions in religion, your estimation of the content and contours of a just and rightly ordered society: pay attention, and be prepared to be uncomfortable.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The head of Vatican Radio’s English Programme, Sean Patrick Lovett, is travelling with Pope Francis in Cuba and describes the scene of Pope Francis’ arrival at National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre on Monday afternoon. Listen to Sean Patrick Lovett’s report:
The road up to the Sanctuary has been freshly tarred, the vegetation scrupulously trimmed on either side. All the way up the hill, every house and wall sports a conspicuously new coat of paint, only on the side that faces the road, of course. The Papal motorcade moves quickly. This is hurricane season in Cuba and it’s raining so heavily the Sierra Maestra mountains are a black silhouette in the background. People huddle in doorways and under leaky umbrellas and they wave timidly as they strain identify a man in white in every car that splashes past. And when he does drive past waving back to them encouragingly, there are none of the wild chants and cheers that usually accompany a Papal arrival. That’s because this is sacred soil. This is the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre. It’s here that one of the most revered Marian icons in the world is preserved: a tiny, wooden statue of Mary and the Christ child that’s over 400 years old. More than a statue, it’s a symbol of Cuba itself. It’s an image so sacred that even Earnest Hemingway felt its charisma and donated his gold Nobel Prize medal to the Shrine in 1953. Both John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI came here, both of them bearing gifts – a gold crown and a golden rose – in 1998 and in 2012, respectively. Because that’s what you do when you visit a Marian sanctuary. And it’s here, far from the cheering, chanting crowds that Pope Francis chose to meet and pray with the bishops of Cuba – a private, closed-door meeting with no official speeches, no cameras, and no microphones – a chance to speak freely and frankly with his brother bishops about what really concerns him and them. After they talked, they prayed. And after they prayed, Pope Francis left his own gift: a silver vase filled with a dozen yellow and white ceramic roses. Because that’s what you do when you visit a Marian Sanctuary, especially this one. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis Monday continued his visit to Cuba, by celebrating Mass in Holguìn’s Revolution Square which was attended by some 150,000 people, before continuing on to Santiago.
Listen to Ann Schneible’s report:
After celebrating Mass, and taking a break for lunch, the Pope paid a visit to the Loma de la Cruz, or the Hill of the Cross, which overlooks the city.
There has been a Cross at the site since the late 17 hundreds, and it has become a place of pilgrimage for the Cuban people .
At the hill, the Holy Father was serenaded by a children’s choir. He then prayed at the Cross, before bestowing his blessing on the city of Holguin.
Pope Francis then took a flight to the southern city of Santiago, Cuba’s second largest city. Shortly after arriving, he paid a visit to the country’s bishops at the Saint Basil major seminary.
Pope Francis concluded the day with a visit to the National Shrine of the Our Lady of Charity in the village of El Cobre. The shrine is home to a 17 th century statue believed to have been brought over from Spain.
This year marks the centenary since Benedict the 15 th declared Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre as patroness of Cuba.
On Tuesday, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass at the shrine of El Cobre, before heading off to the United States.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The head of Vatican Radio’s English Programme Sean Patrick Lovett is travelling with Pope Francis in Cuba. As he tells us:” Yesterday Havana. Today Holguin. Tomorrow Santiago de Cuba”. But let’s listen to his report:
Listen to Sean Patrick Lovett’s report from Cuba:
The Pope is on the move. ” Yesterday Havana. Today Holguin. Tomorrow Santiago de Cuba”.
And it was time. Time to change the narrative – from political to pastoral.
Inevitably the two days spent in the Cuban capital had strong political connotations, both in terms of who he met, who he didn’t meet, what he said, and what he didn’t.
But this visit is so much more than that. It goes beyond dissidents or peace talks in Colombia, beyond embargoes or even the Castro brothers. It is, first and foremost, a pilgrimage. And it truly got underway today in Holguin – on the Feast of the apostle and evangelist Saint Matthew.
There are no coincidences – certainly not where Pope Francis is concerned. If you really want to understand his pastor’s heart, then read his homily at the Mass in Plaza de la Revolución in Holguín. In it he recounts the story of the conversion of St Matthew. But, between the lines, he is telling the story of his own conversion – the “unlocking” of his own heart that took place in 1953, on the Feast of St Matthew, when Jorge Bergoglio was 17 years old. In the homily he speaks about mercy and mission, about joy and service, transformation, healing and hope (beginning to sound familiar?).
My favorite line is when he invites us to “…look beyond, not to be satisfied with appearances or with what is politically correct”…
By the way, you will also understand why, when he was consecrated Bishop, he chose the motto he did – the same motto he has kept as Pope: “Miserando atque eligendo”. Usually translated as “Lowly but Chosen”, the literal meaning in Latin reads: “By having mercy, by choosing him”. Not many people know that.
And the connections don’t end there. Why bother flying one and a half hours across the island from Havana to Holguín just to say Mass? Because no other Pope has, that’s why. Despite it being Cuba’s third largest city, it was not on the itinerary of either John Paul II when he visited in 1998, or Benedict XVI in 2012. And we all know how much Pope Francis loves the peripheries, the places (and the people) that are left out.
Tomorrow we’ll be in Santiago de Cuba for the culmination of this papal pilgrimage when Francis will celebrate another Mass and venerate Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, and where he will probably…
Oh, but don’t let me spoil the surprise. When you travel with Pope Francis you really do have to take it one day at a time, trust me.
With the Pope in Cuba – I’m Seán-Patrick Lovett
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Conversion of hearts and minds to Christ: this was the central theme of Pope Francis’s homily at Mass in the Cuban city of Holguin on Monday, the day the Church marks the feast of St Matthew.
Speaking to the crowds gathered in Holguin’s central Revolution Square, the Pope recalled the Gospel story of Matthew’s conversion from tax collector, despised by all around him, to disciple of Jesus, ready and willing to give his life in service to others.
Pope Francis spoke of the powerful and merciful gaze of Jesus, who looked directly at Matthew and said simply, ‘Follow me’. It was a gaze, the Pope said, which “unlocked Matthew’s heart; it set him free, it healed him, it gave him hope, a new life”.
Just as Jesus transformed Matthew’s life through this encounter, the Pope said, He can also “transform our way of seeing things”. He praised the efforts of the Church in Cuba to bring Christ’s word and presence to the remote areas of the Caribbean nation, in particular the so-called “mission houses” which, given the shortage of churches and priests, “provide for many people a place for prayer, for listening to the word of God, for catechesis and community life”.
Please find below the English translation of the Pope’s prepared homily
Homily of Pope Francis for the Mass at Holguín, (Plaza de la Revolución)
We are celebrating the feast of the apostle and evangelist Saint Matthew. We are celebrating the story of a conversion. Matthew himself, in his Gospel, tell us what it was like, this encounter which changed his life. He shows us an “exchange of glances” capable of changing history.
On a day like any other, as Matthew, the tax collector, was seated at his table, Jesus passed by, saw him, came up to him and said: “Follow me”. Matthew got up and followed him.
Jesus looked at him. How strong was the love in that look of Jesus, which moved Matthew to do what he did! What power must have been in his eyes to make Matthew get up from his table! We know that Matthew was a publican: he collected taxes from the Jews to give to the Romans. Publicans were looked down upon and considered sinners; as such, they lived apart and were despised by others. One could hardly eat, speak or pray with the likes of these. For the people, they were traitors: they extorted from their own to give to others. Publicans belonged to this social class.
Jesus, on the other hand, stopped; he did not quickly take his distance. He looked at Matthew calmly, peacefully. He looked at him with eyes of mercy; he looked at him as no one had ever looked at him before. And this look unlocked Matthew’s heart; it set him free, it healed him, it gave him hope, a new life, as it did to Zacchaeus, to Bartimaeus, to Mary Magdalen, to Peter, and to each of us. Even if we do not dare raise our eyes to the Lord, he looks at us first. This is our story, and it is like that of so many others. Each of us can say: “I, too, am a sinner, whom Jesus has looked upon”. I ask you, in your homes or in the Church, to be still for a moment and to recall with gratitude and happiness those situations, that moment, when the merciful gaze of God was felt in our lives.
Jesus’ love goes before us, his look anticipates our needs. He can see beyond appearances, beyond sin, beyond failures and unworthiness. He sees beyond our rank in society. He sees beyond this, to our dignity as sons and daughters, a dignity at times sullied by sin, but one which endures in the depth of our soul. He came precisely to seek out all those who feel unworthy of God, unworthy of others. Let us allow Jesus to look at us. Let us allow his gaze to run over our streets. Let us allow that look to become our joy, our hope.
After the Lord looked upon him with mercy, he said to Matthew: “Follow me.” Matthew got up and followed him. After the look, a word. After love, the mission. Matthew is no longer the same; he is changed inside. The encounter with Jesus and his loving mercy has transformed him. He leaves behind his table, his money, his exclusion. Before, he had sat waiting to collect his taxes, to take from others; now, with Jesus he must get up and give, give himself to others. Jesus looks at him and Matthew encounters the joy of service. For Matthew and for all who have felt the gaze of Jesus, other people are no longer to be “lived off”, used and abused. The gaze of Jesus gives rise to missionary activity, service, self-giving. Jesus’ love heals our short-sightedness and pushes us to look beyond, not to be satisfied with appearances or with what is politically correct.
Jesus goes before us, he precedes us; he opens the way and invites us to follow him. He invites us slowly to overcome our preconceptions and our reluctance to think that others, much less ourselves, can change. He challenges us daily with the question: “Do you believe? Do you believe it is possible that a tax collector can become a servant? Do you believe it is possible that a traitor can become a friend? Do you believe is possible that the son of a carpenter can be the Son of God?” His gaze transforms our way of seeing things, his heart transforms our hearts. God is a Father who seeks the salvation of each of his sons and daughters.
Let us gaze upon the Lord in prayer, in the Eucharist, in Confession, in our brothers and sisters, especially those who feel excluded or abandoned. May we learn to see them as Jesus sees us. Let us share his tenderness and mercy with the sick, prisoners, the elderly and families in difficulty. Again and again we are called to learn from Jesus, who always sees what is most authentic in every person, which is the image of his Father.
I know the efforts and the sacrifices being made by the Church in Cuba to bring Christ’s word and presence to all, even in the most remote areas. Here I would mention especially the “mission houses” which, given the shortage of churches and priests, provide for many people a place for prayer, for listening to the word of God, for catechesis and community life. They are small signs of God’s presence in our neighborhoods and a daily aid in our effort to respond to the plea of the apostle Paul: “I beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (cf. Eph 4:1-3).
I now turn my eyes to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, whom Cuba embraced and to whom it opened its doors forever. I ask Our Lady to look with maternal love on all her children in this noble country. May her “eyes of mercy” ever keep watch over each of you, your homes, your families, and all those who feel that they have no place. In her love, may she protect us all as she once cared for Jesus.
(from Vatican Radio)…