Very late last night after our parish mission was completed, I sat down
to watch a replay of the Papal Mass in Santiago de Cuba. I watched with great emotion as His Holiness
was received with great joy and faith by the Cuban people.
I heard the young people of Cuba tell the Holy
Father: “Brother Benedict, the Cuban
young people belong to Christ.”
I heard the Archbishop of Santiago get emotional as he
implored the Pope as his predecessor did 14 years ago to Blessed John Paul II
that the Supreme Pontiff pray for a people divided that needed to get beyond
the violence and the discord that still haunts this beautiful island.
I heard the Successor of St. Peter tell the Cuban
people that “before
the gaze of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, I appeal to you to reinvigorate
your faith, that you may live in Christ and for Christ, and armed with peace,
forgiveness and understanding, that you may strive to build a renewed and open
society, a better society, one more worthy of humanity, and which better
reflects the goodness of God.”
I saw a people yearning for Christ,
yearning for his love, and yes, yearning for freedom.
May these days in which the Vicar
of Christ becomes a pilgrim himself in the homeland of my parents and
grandparents, be days of peace and reconciliation. May Christ reign in the hearts of all Cubans
and may all Cuban hearts turn to Christ because only in the presence of the Son
of God and the Son of Mary will we truly be free. Our Lady of Charity, pray for us.
