Pope Francis’ third day in Cuba, September 21, opened with an airplane ride of 400 miles from Havana east to Holguín, Cuba’s fourth-largest city. There he was welcomed by singing children and a small crowd waving Cuban and Vatican flags and some crying out, “Francis! Holguín is with you!” He then celebrated an open-air mass in the city’s Plaza de Revolución, before an estimated crowd of 150,000. Afterwards he made a brief visit to Loma de la Cruz (The Hill of the Cross) before flying 86 miles southeast to Santiago de Cuba, the country’s second largest city, where he participated in a short prayer service at the Shrine of the Virgin of Charity in the nearby village of El Cobre.[1]
Celebration of Mass in Holguín
Above are photographs of the Pope at the mass in Holguín, and the following are the words of his homily that day.
“We are celebrating the feast of the apostle and evangelist Saint Matthew. We are celebrating the story of a conversion. Matthew himself, in his Gospel, tell us what it was like, this encounter which changed his life. He shows us an ‘exchange of glances’ capable of changing history.”
“On a day like any other, as Matthew, the tax collector, was seated at his table, Jesus passed by, saw him, came up to him and said: ‘Follow me.’ Matthew got up and followed him.
“Jesus looked at him. How strong was the love in that look of Jesus, which moved Matthew to do what he did! What power must have been in his eyes to make Matthew get up from his table! We know that Matthew was a publican: he collected taxes from the Jews to give to the Romans. Publicans were looked down upon and considered sinners; as such, they lived apart and were despised by others. One could hardly eat, speak or pray with the likes of these. For the people, they were traitors: they extorted from their own to give to others. Publicans belonged to this social class.”
“Jesus, on the other hand, stopped; he did not quickly take his distance. He looked at Matthew calmly, peacefully. He looked at him with eyes of mercy; he looked at him as no one had ever looked at him before. And this look unlocked Matthew’s heart; it set him free, it healed him, it gave him hope, a new life, as it did to Zacchaeus, to Bartimaeus, to Mary Magdalen, to Peter, and to each of us. Even if we do not dare raise our eyes to the Lord, he looks at us first. This is our story, and it is like that of so many others. Each of us can say: ‘I, too, am a sinner, whom Jesus has looked upon.’ I ask you, in your homes or in the Church, to be still for a moment and to recall with gratitude and happiness those situations, that moment, when the merciful gaze of God was felt in our lives.”
“Jesus’ love goes before us, his look anticipates our needs. He can see beyond appearances, beyond sin, beyond failures and unworthiness. He sees beyond our rank in society. He sees beyond this, to our dignity as sons and daughters, a dignity at times sullied by sin, but one that endures in the depth of our soul. He came precisely to seek out all those who feel unworthy of God, unworthy of others. Let us allow Jesus to look at us. Let us allow his gaze to run over our streets. Let us allow that look to become our joy, our hope.”
“After the Lord looked upon him with mercy, he said to Matthew: ‘Follow me.’ Matthew got up and followed him. After the look, a word. After love, the mission. Matthew is no longer the same; he is changed inside. The encounter with Jesus and his loving mercy has transformed him. He leaves behind his table, his money, his exclusion. Before, he had sat waiting to collect his taxes, to take from others; now, with Jesus he must get up and give, give himself to others. Jesus looks at him and Matthew encounters the joy of service. For Matthew and for all who have felt the gaze of Jesus, other people are no longer to be ‘lived off,’ used and abused. The gaze of Jesus gives rise to missionary activity, service, self-giving. Jesus’ love heals our short-sightedness and pushes us to look beyond, not to be satisfied with appearances or with what is politically correct.”
“Jesus goes before us, he precedes us; he opens the way and invites us to follow him. He invites us slowly to overcome our preconceptions and our reluctance to think that others, much less ourselves, can change. He challenges us daily with the question: ‘Do you believe? Do you believe it is possible that a tax collector can become a servant? Do you believe it is possible that a traitor can become a friend? Do you believe is possible that the son of a carpenter can be the Son of God?” His gaze transforms our way of seeing things, his heart transforms our hearts. God is a Father who seeks the salvation of each of his sons and daughters.”
“Let us gaze upon the Lord in prayer, in the Eucharist, in Confession, in our brothers and sisters, especially those who feel excluded or abandoned. May we learn to see them as Jesus sees us. Let us share his tenderness and mercy with the sick, prisoners, the elderly and families in difficulty. Again and again we are called to learn from Jesus, who always sees what is most authentic in every person, which is the image of his Father.”
“I know the efforts and the sacrifices being made by the Church in Cuba to bring Christ’s word and presence to all, even in the most remote areas. Here I would mention especially the ‘mission houses’ which, given the shortage of churches and priests, provide for many people a place for prayer, for listening to the word of God, for catechesis and community life. They are small signs of God’s presence in our neighborhoods and a daily aid in our effort to respond to the plea of the apostle Paul: ‘I beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’ (cf. Eph 4:1-3).”
“I now turn my eyes to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, whom Cuba embraced and to whom it opened its doors forever. I ask Our Lady to look with maternal love on all her children in this noble country. May her ‘eyes of mercy’ ever keep watch over each of you, your homes, your families, and all those who feel that they have no place. In her love, may she protect us all as she once cared for Jesus.”
The Feast of St. Matthew is especially important to Francis as this year it is the 62nd anniversary of his going to confession at his parish church in Buenos Aires as 17-year-old Jorge Mario Bergoglio. During the confession, he later wrote, he “realized God was waiting for me” and knew he was going to become a priest. Although he did not enter seminary for several more years, the feast of St. Matthew has remained a crucial reference point for the Pope. His episcopal motto — Miserando atque eligendo (Having had mercy, he called him) — is inspired by the feast day and the story of Matthew, a sinner who was looked upon with mercy by Jesus and was changed forever.
Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said, “This Gospel of St. Matthew, this experience of Jesus who looks him in the eye and calls him to conversion to follow him, is something that is absolutely fundamental to the spirituality and life of the pope. It is something that is at the root of Bergoglio’s religious vocation.”
Loma de la Cruz
During a brief ceremony at the chapel with a large wooden cross at the top of a mountain overlooking the city of Holguin, Pope Francis blessed the people who inhabit the populous settlement of the Cuban northeast, whose emergence dates back to 1545 when Captain Garcia Holguin came to these shores with the Christian faith as his standard. Francis also congratulated the members of the children’s choir at the ceremony for their performance. Below are photographs of that event.
Prayer Service at the Shrine of the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre
The Pope ended his last full day in Cuba at its holiest sanctuary, the Shrine of the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre. There he placed a bouquet of flowers before the foot-tall wooden statue of the Virgin and offered a short prayer: “Mother of Reconciliation, reunite your people dispersed around the world. Make the Cuban nation a home of brothers and sisters so that this people open wide their minds, their hearts and their lives to Christ.” Above is a photograph of the Pope at the Shrine.
Francis then was serenaded by a Cuban girls choir. Francis seemed deeply pleased with the performance and thanked them heartily afterward.
The sanctuary where the pope spoke holds the small wooden effigy of the Madonna and Child. According to tradition, the statue was found at sea – miraculously dry – in the early 1600s by three salt-gatherers and holds deep significance for Cubans.
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[1] Beckwith, Read the Sermon Pope Francis Gave in Holguín, Cuba, Time (Sept. 23, 2015); Assoc. Press, Pope Presses Message to Cuba: Be Willing to Change, N.Y. Times (Sept. 21, 2015); Reuters, Pope Francis Celebrates Mass in [Holguin] Cuba, N.Y. Times (Sept. 21, 2105) (video); Reuters, Pope Prays for Cuban Reconciliation on Eve of U.S. Visit, N.Y. Times (Sept. 21, 2015); Pentin, Full Text of Pope’s Homily at Mass in Holguín, Nat’l Cath. Reg. (Sept. 21, 2015); Placencia, Blessed by Pope Holguín, Granma (Sept. 21, 2015).
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