This Sunday, the Feast of the Sto. Niño, we wish to reflect on the apostolic visit of Pope Francis.
I have been writing about these reflections with reservation, as I cannot claim to have an extensive knowledge of the Pope’s teachings, pronouncements and activities. But I write from a very personal perspective.
The motto of Pope Francis, “miserando atque eligendo—by having mercy and by choosing,” was inspired by a homily of St. Bede on the call of Matthew.
Matthew was first a tax collector and, second, one who favored the conquering Roman power. This double whammy earned him the resentment and hatred of the Jewish authorities. (cf. Matthew 9: 9-13)
When Christ calls him, Matthew rises from his table, leaves behind everything and follows Christ.
St. Bede, in his homily, notes that “Jesus, therefore, saw the publican, and because He saw by having mercy and by choosing, He said to him, ‘Follow me.’ ‘Follow’ means to imitate.”
This invitation raised eyebrows among “religious authorities” so shocked at seeing how Christ deals with sinners.
To this he comments, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
In the context of Pope Francis’ motto, note that Jesus called Matthew not in spite of his being a sinner, but because he is.
This same insight is echoed in a document of the Jesuits from their 32nd General Congregation after Vatican II.
To understand their identity and mission after Vatican II, the Jesuits wrote the decree titled “The Jesuits Today.”
The “masterpiece” written by the late Fr. Horacio dela Costa S.J. opens with a question, “What does it mean to be a Jesuit today?”
The answer: “It is to know that one is a sinner, yet called to be a companion of Christ in his mission to save the world.”
The story goes of how an experience of forgiveness following confession inspired Pope Francis to enter the seminary.
His personal encounter with grace made him choose to follow Christ.
It now also becomes our own vocation to know that one is a sinner, yet called to follow Christ in mission.
Fr. Herbert Alphonso S.J. writes that the core of our mission is to live out the quality of our relationship with God.
For Christ, it was through his being a beloved son to God that he experienced Him as Father.
For Pope Francis, it is Christ who, “by having mercy and by choosing, miserando atque eligendo,” realizing that one is a sinner called to be a companion, made him decide to follow Christ in mission.
Christ as he started his ministry in the Gospel of Luke reads from the Prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor… to let the oppressed go free and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”
After he reads he rolls up the scroll and proclaims, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” We feel and experience that indeed he brings glad tidings to the poor and freedom to the oppressed—we live in an age acceptable to the Lord under the leadership and care of Pope Francis, who is truly the Vicar of Christ.
