Kyanni Raguro9 - 11

My Reaction About Pope Francis

What is a Pope? Pope means “Father”. We call the Pope “Father”, just as Catholics call their priest “Father”, because the Pope represents God as our Father, who loves us, who made us, and who sent his Son to die on the cross for us. The Pope is the bishop of Rome and the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. Fr. Jorge Mario Bergoglio or as we all call him, Pope Francis, visited the Philippines last January 15 to 19, 2015. This is not the first time that a Pope has visited our beloved country. Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II have also visited before. Pope Francis’ visit marked the first visit of a Pope to the Philippines in the 21st century. His goal was to bring the message of “Mercy and Compassion” to the Filipino people.

I believe that Pope Francis’ visit changed the hearts of many to become more merciful and compassionate to others. I, myself could say that my view on life has changed for the better ever since his visit. I may not have seen him personally but I felt his presence even if I could only see him through the television. I really had this strong urge to wait for him in places he would pass by or go to even if it would take hours. But unavoidable circumstances occurred which lead to my disappointment. But one thing’s for sure, I wanted to see him so bad because of his “unlimited” smile, as what they would say. I honestly admire his personality and how he never stops smiling, it’s really contagious. I remember seeing this short clip of him during a homily wherein he quoted Jesus and said, “Do you love me?”. The congregation of Priests replied “Yes!” and he said “Well, thank you very much!” and giggled after. I even had his photo as my lock screen during his visit. So that as soon as I woke up, my day would start right as I look at his genuine smile. His message of learning how to weep touched me. Pope Francis stated that other people weep but because they want something else. He said that if you don’t learn how to weep, you can’t be a good Christian. When he talked about making time each day for prayer, I realized that even if you have so much work ahead of you, if you don’t pray, you won’t accomplish a lot. So I try to pray sincerely, to ask for God’s guidance, and to thank him for everything as much as I can. I also admire Pope Francis’ simplicity. How he cooks for himself and how he rides public transportations to become closer and accessible to people as much as possible. What strikes me the most is when Pope Francis told us that “We forget to remain focused on the things that really matter.” It made me think about what I focus on, is it something that makes me a good child of God? Or does it hinder me from being one? I could say that Pope Francis’ visit will be memorable and everything he said will be forever in my heart and I can’t wait for his next visit.

With all that said, we should not forget the true meaning of his visit to our country. Everything that Pope Francis has said should retain in our hearts and mind. The love for the poor, to learn how to weep, and to pray should be done. I believe that we should have done those things even without Pope Francis saying it. I think God sent him to us to remind us of those things. We should also imitate Christ in whatever we do.