WHAT is spirituality? What does it mean to people and how is it correctly practiced?

These questions occurred to me as I followed the coverage of Pope Francis five-day visit to the country in the past week. Seeing the throngs of people everywhere that Pope Francis went, and witnessing that historic mass in Tacloban even by television, has made me reconsider the dismissive even suspicious attitude I used to harbor about matters of faith.

Even the most jaded among us cannot deny the healing power of faith in the midst of so much despair that still lingers in the province of Leyte and Samar and the rest of the nation for that matter.

That the mass was celebrated amid the pouring rain and strong winds of a category 2 typhoon bringing back harrowing memories of Yolanda made it difficult to watch. But Pope Francis insistence to be there and soldiering on with the mass among our Waray brothers and sisters still reeling from the disasters effects were inspiring.

Equally admirable and uplifting were the voices of the choir and the multitude who battled it out with the howling wind with their songs. To see the conductor whip out his baton with so much passion and purpose and the choir responding with their song was a scene to behold. It was a touching testament to Filipino unity and resilience after the painful challenge of Yolanda and its after effects.

That Pope Francis is a good shepherd to his flock has been proven once again in this visit to the largest Catholic nation in Asia. But if we are to cull the most important truth that is revealed by the events of the past five days, it is that we are a nation that is broken and in dire need of healing.

These can be seen in the manner that we, as a people, have converged around Pope Francis message of mercy and compassion. The theme resonated within the hearts of many of us because we are thirsty for mercy and compassion given the callousness and insensitivity of our own leaders after the disasters that was Sendong and Yolanda. The Popes passionate consistency in appealing for social justice and standing with the poor also captured the imagination of many who yearn for transformative change in this sad republic.

It is as if we, the Filipino people, found a champion in the person of Pope Francis for our struggles as a people. The contrast could not have been clearer in the manner that we have adored the Popes every gesture, every smile, and how we hung on to his every word versus how we scoffed at our elites attempt to hog the limelight and insert their agenda into the events. When the Pope uttered those strong words against corruption right inside the lair of our self-interested national elite, one can almost hear the celebratory applauses of the multitude from the slums of Tondo to the NPA camps in Mindanao. It was a symbolic victory, won for us by the Pope, proving that the world knows of our elites rotten ways.

All these I believe make up the lessons on spirituality that the Pope wittingly or unwittingly left us with in his recent visit. Spirituality is not just about listening to the murmur of our inner souls as we deal with our existential struggles as individuals. More importantly, it is about sharing these struggles with others who also go through the same predicament.

This Christian regard for others, the thing that makes us Catholic or universal and the same, is the wellspring of authentic mercy and compassion, which we should share with each other. It is in our collective situation of despair that a new spirituality should emerge, one that sees us moving forward, hand in hand, in the struggle for social justice and the upliftment of the poor.

Follow this link:

Alamon: A new spirituality