The Pope Francis effect hits America hard
For our special presentation on our Talkshow on Straight from the Sky we help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Opus Dei in the Philippines. Opus Dei as you may know is a Personal Prelature founded by St. Jose Maria Escriva where he found the path to holiness in the most ordinary of circumstances. This is based scriptures on the Matt.5: 48, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
For St. Jose Maria Escriva, one can attain holiness in the most ordinary of circumstances. You can be working as a janitor, a taxi or jeepney driver, a teacher or a bank executive. All these types of work should not prevent you from living a life of holiness. This is the goal of Opus Dei and one way to attain holiness is to practice perfection. How do can we achieve this? It’s by way of having a constant examination of conscience, which I will explain someday.
So tonight we are blessed by the presence of one of the founders of Opus Dei in the Philippines, the eminent Prof. Jesus “Jess” Estanislao, a fellow Cebuano and the Guru of Good Governance. This is why I took the course by the Institute on Corporate Directors (ICD), which teaches good governance in the way people conduct their business be it with the government or private sector. This show is also my way of helping Opus Dei celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Opus Dei in the Philippines.
So watch this very interesting show with Prof. Jess Estanislao on SkyCable’s channel 61 at 8:00PM tonight with replays on Wednesday and Saturday. We also have replays on MyTV’s channel 30 at 9:00PM tonight and at 7:00AM and 9:00PM on Wednesday and Friday.
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In the last four days, I have been watching the historic first visit by Pope Francis to the United States of America and despite the anxiety that preceded his six-day visit to the USA, somehow the Spirit of God was with this Pope and he has literally taken America by storm. For instance I have been following this event on live satellite feed from the Cable Network News and the Eternal Word Television Network and you will notice that over CNN, when the Pope officiates the Holy Mass, it is always EWTN that shows everything about the Holy Mass.
But when Pope Francis held the Holy Mass at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, even CNN showed the entire Holy Mass and they also showed the Holy Mass in Philadelphia. I recall what people say when Mother Teresa addressed the United Nations General Assembly. All she did was say, “Let us pray” and she proceeded to pray the Lord’s Prayer and the whole General Assembly exploded in prayer. Such was the humility of Mother Teresa in front of the world leaders.
What we saw in the Pope’s US visit was the “Pope Francis effect” that struck Americans and yes, even CNN hard that they showed the entire Holy Mass on worldwide TV. We saw this Pope Francis effect happen to us in the Philippines when Pope Francis was here, especially in Tacloban City when he braved another typhoon to be with victims of Typhoon “Yolanda.” We are considered a 3rd world country with a deeply religious people, but never in my wildest dreams would I believe that Americans would fall in love with Pope Francis, after all, America because of its richness and power has already lost its religiosity, but with Pope Francis effect, it could change.
For his US visit, Pope Francis made US history as it is the first time that a Pope was invited to speak before a Joint Session in Congress. Pope Francis spoke not just before Senators and Congressmen, but the entire US Supreme Court who also attended that historic event and he so politely defended life before the leaders of the most powerful nation on earth. This is the gist of the Pope’s speech before the US joint session in the US Congress.
“I am happy that America continues to be, for many, a land of “dreams.” Dreams, which lead to action, to participation, to commitment. Dreams, which awaken what is deepest and truest in the life of a people. Yet I cannot hide my concern for the family, which is threatened, perhaps as never before, from within and without. Fundamental relationships are being called into question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family. I can only reiterate the importance and, above all, the richness and the beauty of family life.” This Pope Francis effect has now resulted in the sudden resignation of US House Speaker John Boehner who has achieved his life-long ambition to bring the Pope to speak before the US joint session in congress.
One thing that we did not get to see over CNN in the last six-days in America was their putting the major news literally on partial hold in order to cover the Pope’s visit. In short in the last six days, we didn’t see reports of IS terrorists in Syria’s civil war or the migrant crisis. This is the Pope Francis effect in the United States of America.
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For email responses to this article, write to [email protected] or [email protected]. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.
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