Tsunami of faith

By far, the best piece of advice has come from Bishop Pedro Arigo, apostolic vicar of Puerto Princesa. His advice comes in the wake of Leyte’s preparations for Pope Francis’ visit next January. The Vatican has indicated that foremost in the Pope’s itinerary is a visit to the victims of Supertyphoon “Yolanda.” Tacloban is preparing to give him a welcome befitting his stature as the head of one of the oldest and biggest churches in the world, the Catholic Church. Indeed, befitting Leyte’s reputation as one of the most grandly hospitable people in the world, devastation notwithstanding, quite apart from being among the most faithful of the world’s faithful.

Arigo, however, has quite another view of what welcome befits the head of one of the most powerful institutions in the world, who has shown in but a year or so of rule a dedication to distancing himself from power. Who has shown instead a dedication to simplicity, humility and unparalleled empathy with the plight of the poor, unparalleled at least since its original inspiration died transfixed on a cross. Hence Arigo’s advice:

“The activities and programs to be prepared must be in keeping with the Pope’s personality. Let us avoid holding costly, wasteful and extravagant receptions. These, I think, will greatly displease him because they will not be consistent with his message of love and care for the poor.” Though he appreciated the Filipino’s hospitality, a trait known around the world, he said, a display of ostentation and insensitivity would be an insult to the victims of the tragedy.

The advice echoes Cardinal Chito Tagle’s own, which he shared with the faithful after announcing the Pope’s forthcoming visit. “Mercy and compassion: That has been the recurring theme of teaching, homilies, actions of the Holy Father. We could prepare best for his coming by having our own spiritual renewal. It is not logistics, security and infrastructure that best prepare us for the papal visit. Let us be like Pope Francis in his humility and his compassion.”

But it’s part of Pope Francis’ revolutionary ways—or evolutionary ways, he himself insisting that he is merely bringing Christianity back to its beginnings, to the teachings and example set by the carpenter after whom it is named—that he has chosen to make breaking bread with the victims of Yolanda the high point of his visit to this Catholic country in Asia. It’s inspired.

In that gesture resides a world of meaning, encapsulating as it does what his papacy is all about, what changes it has wrought and is continuing to work not just in his church but in this world. You can’t imagine any leader, religious or secular, making that his top priority in his visit to this country. It’s all of a piece with washing the feet of beggars, embracing horribly disfigured victims of afflictions, saying things when asked by detractors to comment on those his predecessors have condemned as abominations in the eyes of God like, “Who am I to judge?”

It’s inspired, it’s inspiring. Whether you are a faithful or not, whether you are a believer or not.

I was tempted to say, I have a piece of advice for the Leyteños too. That is to prevent Imelda Marcos from being there at all costs. That is because it is almost a contradiction in terms for her to be able to do things with simplicity, humility, or empathy for the plight of the poor. Which is how Arigo and Tagle bid us in general, and the Leyteños in particular, to welcome the Pope. Lest we forget, the word “Imeldific” derives from her, and the same way that the word Christianity derives from Christ. She goes there and things are abound to turn, well, Imeldific.

As it is, Tacloban’s officials are already talking about rushing infrastructure and other projects before the year ends to give the Pope the rousing welcome he deserves, ignoring the kind of welcome Arigo and Tagle say he deserves. Indeed, the kind of welcome the ravaged and bedraggled of Tacloban, who have been heroic in their efforts to triumph over their tragedy with the aid of their faith, deserve to give.

On the other hand, which made me resist the temptation to say it, maybe it’s just as well that Imelda goes there, if only to draw a stark contrast between herself and the Pope, between the symbol of profligacy and the symbol of simplicity, between the Imeldific and the beatific. Maybe the effect of it will be to teach Filipinos in general and not just Leyteños in particular the true meaning of the true, the good and the beautiful. And the false, the bad, and the ugly.

It’s happened before during the pit of martial law when posters on nutrition mushroomed on walls and electrical posts of Manila. The posters featured an emaciated child along with the face of a “bauble-d” Imelda in the background. They were meant to advertise the regime’s nutrition program and give Imelda credit for it. Alas, for her, the message it beamed was that she was the cause of the kid’s emaciation—some sort of, “’pag walang mandarambong, walang nagugutom.” The posters disappeared in a flash.

Who knows? Maybe lightning will strike twice. Maybe what Imelda or her kin cannot be stopped from doing, God or the Pope will punish in this way.

It’s still five months before the Pope visits, but it’s good to prepare for it, it’s good to anticipate it. I myself am willing to bet it will be the biggest thing to happen in this country in a long while. It’s not just that a pope will visit this most doggedly Catholic country in Asia, it is that the Pope will do so, the one who has been a true miracle in our life and time. Maybe after the storm surges of Yolanda will come to us a tsunami of faith. However you define faith.

Whether you are a faithful or not, whether you are a believer or not.