Pope Francis in the Philippines (12 page)

“
A
child
is
born
to
us
,
a
son
is
given
us
” (
Is
9:5).
It
is
a
special
joy
for
me
to
celebrate
Santo
Niño
Sunday
with
you
.
The
image
of
the
Holy
Child
Jesus
accompanied
the
spread
of
the
Gospel
in
this
country
from
the
beginning
.
Dressed
in
the
robes
of
a
king
,
crowned
and
holding
the
sceptre
,
the
globe
and
the
cross
,
he
continues
to
remind
us
of
the
link
between
God
’
s
Kingdom
and
the
mystery
of
spiritual
childhood
.
He
tells
us
this
in
today
’
s
Gospel
: “
Whoever
does
not
accept
the
Kingdom
of
God
like
a
child
will
not
enter
it
” (
Mk
10:15).
The
Santo
Niño
continues
to
proclaim
to
us
that
the
light
of
God
’
s
grace
has
shone
upon
a
world
dwelling
in
darkness
,
bringing
the
Good
News
of
our
freedom
from
slavery
,
and
guiding
us
in
the
paths
of
peace
,
right
and
justice
.
The
Santo
Niño
also
reminds
us
of
our
call
to
spread
the
reign
of
Christ
throughout
the
world
.

In
these
days
,
throughout
my
visit
,
I
have
listened
to
you
sing
the
song
: “
We
are
all
God
’
s
children
.”
That
is
what
the
Santo
Niño
tells
us
.
He
reminds
us
of
our
deepest
identity
.
All
of
us
are
God
’
s
children
,
members
of
God
’
s
family
.
Today
Saint
Paul
has
told
us
that
in
Christ
we
have
become
God
’
s
adopted
children
,
brothers
and
sisters
in
Christ
.
This
is
who
we
are
.
This
is
our
identity
.
We
saw
a
beautiful
expression
of
this
when
Filipinos
rallied
around
our
brothers
and
sisters
affected
by
the
typhoon
.

The
Apostle
tells
us
that
because
God
chose
us
,
we
have
been
richly
blessed
!
God
“
has
blessed
us
in
Christ
with
every
spiritual
blessing
in
the
heavens
” (
Eph
1:3).
These
words
have
a
special
resonance
in
the
Philippines
,
for
it
is
the
foremost
Catholic
country
in
Asia
;
this
is
itself
a
special
gift
of
God
,
a
special
blessing
.
But
it
is
also
a
vocation
.
Filipinos
are
called
to
be
outstanding
missionaries
of
the
faith
in
Asia
.

God
chose
and
blessed
us
for
a
purpose
:
to
be
holy
and
blameless
in
his
sight
(
Eph
1:4).
He
chose
us
,
each
of
us
to
be
witnesses
of
his
truth
and
his
justice
in
this
world
.
He
created
the
world
as
a
beautiful
garden
and
asked
us
to
care
for
it
.
But
through
sin
,
man
has
disfigured
that
natural
beauty
;
through
sin
,
man
has
also
destroyed
the
unity
and
beauty
of
our
human
family
,
creating
social
structures
which
perpetuate
poverty
,
ignorance
and
corruption
.

Sometimes
,
when
we
see
the
troubles
,
difficulties
and
wrongs
all
around
us
,
we
are
tempted
to
give
up
.
It
seems
that
the
promises
of
the
Gospel
do
not
apply
;
they
are
unreal
.
But
the
Bible
tells
us
that
the
great
threat
to
God
’
s
plan
for
us
is
,
and
always
has
been
,
the
lie
.
The
devil
is
the
father
of
lies
.
Often
he
hides
his
snares
behind
the
appearance
of
sophistication
,
the
allure
of
being
“
modern
”, “
like
everyone
else
.”
He
distracts
us
with
the
promise
of
ephemeral
pleasures
,
superficial
pastimes
.
And
so
we
squander
our
God
-
given
gifts
by
tinkering
with
gadgets
;
we
squander
our
money
on
gambling
and
drink
;
we
turn
in
on
ourselves
.
We
forget
to
remain
focused
on
the
things
that
really
matter
.
We
forget
to
remain
,
at
heart
,
children
of
God
.
That
is
sin
: [
to
]
forget
at
heart
that
we
are
children
of
God
.
For
children
,
as
the
Lord
tells
us
,
have
their
own
wisdom
,
which
is
not
the
wisdom
of
the
world
.
That
is
why
the
message
of
the
Santo
Niño
is
so
important
.
He
speaks
powerfully
to
all
of
us
.
He
reminds
us
of
our
deepest
identity
,
of
what
we
are
called
to
be
as
God
’
s
family
.