Last autumn, my husband and I were some of the hundreds of Filipinos who journeyed from far and wide to attend the ecumenical celebration of the 500 years anniversary of the Reformation held in Malmö in southern Sweden. The main reason for our journey is to see Pope Francis in person and to listen as he delivered the most meaningful and unforgettable homily.
The mass was said in Portuguese but was translated into Swedish and English. The topic of the homily was the Beatitudes. I remember the Beatitudes in my elementary days and back then and until the time of his homily, the message of the Beatitudes had not really sank into my being. I felt it was always about others. Pope Francis gave a new light to them and proposed a new list of Beatitudes for the modern Christians these are, quoting from the Catholic Herald:
Blessed are those who remain faithful while enduring evils inflicted on them by others and forgive them from their heart.
Blessed are those who look into the eyes of the abandoned and marginalized and show them their closeness.
Blessed are those who see God in every person and strive to make others also discover Him.
Blessed are those who protect and care for our common home.
Blessed are those who renounce their own comfort in order to help others.
Blessed are those who pray and work for full communion between Christians.
Living the Beatitudes mark one as a Christian. Thank you, Pope Francis for this message and leading the way for uniting Christians throughout the world.