OUTGOING Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Gabriele Caccia urged Catholics to say “yes” with an “open and joyful heart” to Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle’s appointment as prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
“We should say ‘yes’ because God [always] knows better. I would like that our yeses not just mean accepting something we cannot change, but saying ‘if this is the will of God, I’m happy to let you go,'” Caccia said during the Mass for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception last Dec. 9 at the Manila Cathedral.
Tagle delivered the homily, inviting Catholics to emulate the Blessed Mother’s adherence to her calling despite difficulties.
Tagle said Mary’s choice to engage in dialogue with the Lord and accept her role in God’s salvation should be imitated, unlike Adam and Eve who “insisted on their own narratives.”
“[W]e are called to be in accord with the will of the Father not for our glory, but for the glory and praise of God [and] it is the same calling to be adopted children of God through the Son, Jesus Christ.”
The Manila prelate also said Mary’s obedience to the Lord paved the way for the salvation of mankind through Jesus Christ.
“[W]hen she said ‘Be it unto to me according to your word,’ harmony was restored and dialogue [with God] was possible again because of [h]er,” he said.
Pope Francis appointed the Manila archbishop to the Vatican post last Dec. 8. Tagle will assume his new post at the beginning of 2020.
Caccia, who is also set to leave Manila to become the Vatican envoy to the United Nations in New York, and Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne in Germany, concelebrated the Eucharistic Celebration.
‘Trust Mary’s guidance, intervention’
During Mass at the Santisimo Rosario Parish, Marian devotees were called to depend on the Blessed Mother’s guidance and intercession.
“[B]ecause of her ‘yes,’ we now have a chance to salvation. That’s why as we celebrate the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, we pray to the Blessed Mother to always guide us,” Fr. Paul Talavera, O.P. said in his homily.
The Immaculate Conception is the principal patroness of the Philippines.
Her feast day coincides with the celebration of the founding of the Dominican Province of the Philippines in 1971.
