Christ in

On his flight back to Rome following a fruitful visit to Rio de Janeiro for the 28th World Youth Day, Pope Francis surprised his companion foreign journalists by letting them ask sundry questions that he answered generously.

Zenit news agency translated the multilingual dialogue which showed among other things that the Philippines is clearly in the heart of the Holy Father.

Journalist Salvatore Mezza of the Italian newspaper Avvenire had asked the Pope if he had, after his visit to Rio, a definite travel calendar.

Pope Francis in reply said nothing is definite but added that trips on Sept. 22 to Cagliari and Oct. 4 to Assisi are set. Meanwhile, there are standing invitations from the governments of Israel and the Palestinian Authority for him to go to Jerusalem. The Pope also said he wants to visit Patriarch Bartholomew I, leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Constantinople.

Then the Pope said, “I think we can go to Asia, but this is all in the air. I received an invitation to go to Sri Lanka and also to the Philippines. But we must go to Asia because Pope Benedict did not have time to go to Asia and it’s important.”

Catholics in the Philippines are of course praying that Pope Francis will attend the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in Cebu in January 2016. If he comes over, Francis’ papal visit will be the first in 21 years to these parts. The soon-to-be canonized Pope John Paul II came to Manila for the X World Youth Day in 1995. That was 14 years after he first visited in 1981, which in turn was 11 years since Pope Paul VI came over in 1970.

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As announced by the Pontifical Committee for IECs, the 51st such congress will be a time to ponder the theme, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (cf. Colossians 1:27). Having shared my meditations about “Christ” in this space (Glimmers from Patmos/June 30), let me start dwelling on “Christ in.”

My religious studies teacher at Saint Mary’s Catholic High School in Dubai, Sister Rosangela of the Congregation of Comboni Missionary Sisters taught us about the many ways Jesus Christ is present in this world. Meanwhile, my community, the Verbum Dei Catholic Missionary Family preached about these “presences” from Scripture.

Sister told us that Christ is present first of all in the Church. He himself said that He is present in any gathering of at least two or three people in his Name. He promised that He will always be with his people. This constant divine presence is the shield against the temptation to be indifferent to the Church or disdainful of her weaknesses. Saint Paul explained that faithfulness to the Church in spite of her imperfections leads us closer to Christ. “In my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,” he said.

Christ is present in his Word. One truth highlighted in the synod of bishops on the Word of God in 2008 is that Christians are not a “people of the book,” that is, followers of the Bible. Rather, we follow the God who reveals himself to us in the Bible, Christ who specially communicates to us in the Gospels. We need to pray with Scripture but the goal of prayer with Holy Writ is not mastery of the text but encounter and training for the mission with a person: Christ, the Word made flesh.

Christ is present in the suffering. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta was known for using the appendages of one hand as a mnemonic for the five-word phrase “You did it to me.” Her world-enlightening works of mercy were fueled by Christ’s words: Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me.