CANLUBANG:
2 July 2013 -- June 29, 2013, in the Postnovitiate
Community at
Don Bosco Canlubang, the Salesians celebrated the Pope’s day
on the
feast of Sts. Peter and Paul as the tradition suggests.
Decorations were made. Flags of yellow and white – the papal
colors –
were hanging all around. In the morning during the solemn
Eucharistic
celebration, the coadjutor brothers carried Pope Francis’
portrait into
procession and enthroned it at the altar. Fr. Charles
Manlangit, the
rector, highlighted Don Bosco’s immeasurable love for the Pope
who is a
spiritual father of humanity and a sure guide to a life of
holiness, to
a life focused on God. After the homily, stampitas (holy pictures)
of the
Pope were distributed. A moment of silence was given for the
community
to pray for the Pontiff. At the end of the mass, another
brother hung
the portrait in front of the rector’s office signifying our
filial love
and devotion to Pope Francis.
Don Bosco urges us to love the pope not because of his own
merits but
because he is the Vicar of Jesus our Lord, the chosen one to
lead His
Church. For us Salesians, love for the Pope is a remarkable
and
indispensable element of our spirituality. Here in the
Postnovitiate,
as a community, we profess our love for the Pope, we pray for
him, for
his good health and intentions and that he may steer the
barque of
Peter towards the perfection of charity. Long live Pope
Francis!
--------
And from Yahoo to the Huffington Post, to the Philippine Star,
they all
seem to be using the same script - and the same photo, except
for the
terser Vatican Information Service! The Pope, who is still at
the
Vatican and does not plan to 'head fort he hills', but remain
in town
with a reduced schedule, is about to release his first
encyclical,
which will follow in the series begun by Pope Benedict on the
theological
virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. Lumen Fidei. The Vatican
Information Service.
offers the very briefest of paragraphs on the fact (not the
contents,
other than that the encyclical 'is not very extensive').
On Monday 8 July the Pope is heading for Lampedusa to pray for
and with
migrants who have arrived by boat from African shores. He is
profoundly
moved by the tragedies, including the most recent, of lives
lost at sea
as a result of this migration. It would be an issue that no
doubt a
number of other governments throughout the world, including
Asia and
Oceania should be watching, and learning from, though the
visit is
described by VIS as to be 'discreet'.