In 1st Mass, Rosales thanks his 2 fathers
Apr 05, 2006
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales yesterday thanked two “fathers” during the first Mass he celebrated in the country as a new “Prince of the Church.”
(Inquirer, April 02, 2006) In a speech he gave at the end of the Mass, Rosales expressed gratitude to his biological father, Godofredo, for allowing him to follow his priestly vocation—albeit after much persuasion—in 1947.
Rosales also thanked his spiritual father, Pope Benedict XVI, for reiterating the Philippines’ “special role” in the evangelization of Asia.
As cardinal, the archbishop said he could now “listen and take part in the discussion on the Church’s needs and issues worldwide, and offer advice.”
Standing room only
Rosales was greeted with applause when he entered the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, Manila, at 10 a.m. and donned his purple liturgical vestments in one of the side chapels. It was also the first time for his countrymen to see him wearing the distinctive red cap of a cardinal.
VIPs, clergymen, Catholic school students, members of lay groups and residents of the archdiocese filled the cathedral’s 2,500 seats. Hundreds of others heard Mass standing outside the cathedral.
Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and about 50 bishops, including those coming from the Manila Metropolitan See’s suffragan dioceses: Imus, Antipolo, Malolos, Novaliches, Cubao, Caloocan, Pasig and Parañaque, concelebrated the Mass.
Vidal, who delivered the homily, underscored the role of a cardinal as a representative not only of his diocese but of his country within the Roman Catholic Church.
Dying seed
Vidal also lectured against selfishness, discussing the metaphor used by Jesus Christ on the rewards of self-negation: “Unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest,” he said, quoting John 12:24 from the Bible.
“Dying like the seed means letting go of our personal interests—yes, even the valid and legitimate aspirations—so that something greater might emerge from our act of self-sacrifice,” Vidal said. “It means letting go of what we want for ourselves, so that the broken pieces of our dreams may form the scaffolds of a grander vision.”
The Cardinal’s listeners included President Macapagal-Arroyo and her allies, as well as opposition politicians, both groups sitting in separate pews during the Mass.
Although Vidal did not make any direct allusions, he said the metaphor of the dying seed could be used “for our discernment as a nation.”
Pope’s message
Rosales was applauded after sharing the Pope’s personal message to the country.
“[Pope Benedict] said ‘the Philippines has a special role in the evangelization of the Orient.’ He mentioned this twice in our four encounters during the consistory,” said Rosales, who was at the Vatican last week.
The cardinal said Pope Benedict was the third Pope, after John Paul II and Paul VI, to remind the predominantly Roman Catholic Filipinos “of our calling and responsibility to give the noble cultures of Asia a witness of our faith, even from where we are now, with the quality of our social, economic, political and religious life.”
Underneath the challenge to the Filipinos’ Christian vocation, Rosales said, is “a call to unity in the manner of our witnessing, and a challenge to collaborative sacrificial effort to make our society true communities of believers, eliminating injustice and inequalities that deny anyone a dignified life.”
“This is ... our mission. And Asia is looking to us for light which already we have received in Christ,” he added.
The Mass was also attended by Vice President Noli de Castro, Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban, Speaker Jose de Venecia, Senate President Franklin Drilon, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, other lawmakers and Cabinet members.
Other prelates present included Apostolic Nunciature charge d’affaires Jain Mendez, Cotabato Archbishop and Federation of Asian Bishops Conference president Orlando Quevedo, Bishop Tomas Camacho of Saipan in the Northern Marianas and Manila Auxiliary Bishop Bernardino Cortez.
In 1st Mass, Rosales thanks his 2 fathers