Pope Francis in the Philippines Read Online Free PDF Page B

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 .
    The Santo Niño also reminds us that this identity must be protected . The Christ Child is the protector of this great country . When he came into the world , his very life was threatened by a corrupt king . Jesus himself needed to be protected . He had an earthly protector : Saint Joseph . He had an earthly family , the Holy Family of Nazareth . So he reminds us of the importance of protecting our families , and those larger families which are the Church , God ’ s family , and the world , our human family . Sadly , in our day , the family all