SPRINGTIME IN THE CHURCHMarch 30,2013 Saturday

This is the season of springtime, when the trees show forth leaves and flowers of all hues burst into full bloom. The earth becomes radiant with the symphony of colors; the cold and gloom of winter is replaced by verdant evidence of life that spring brings.Temperate countries that have four seasons celebrate spring as a signal to new life and new growth. The tropical climate of our country limits the experience of seasonal change to summer and rainy season, with not so gentle variations in between. And yet , the notion of springtime is known and has found common usage in reference to a fresh beginning,preferably of something wonderful and beautiful. However and wherever Springtime is enjoyed, it is always a welcome event. The Philippines has no Spring to speak of but many Filipinos working or living in temperate climates exhilirate in the season and have therefore much familiarity with it.

One of the most popular and well known celebration of Spring happens in Japan and even casual mention of haru ( spring season) leads a listener to images of flowering Sakura (cherry blossoms) and cool refreshing weather. Anticipation and enjoyment of the sight of the Sakura blossoms is not only traditional heritage and national pasttime but is ingrained in the life and culture of the people. They have Hanami, the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of the flowers, especially Sakura. The observance of Hanami is more than a thousand years old, and remains very popular even today. Even as the blossoms last only for a week or two, usually from March to April, still the excitement and anticipation of what has become part of the peoples' lives are sufficient for them to celebrate and continue to hope and look forward to such occurrence,year after year.

Another way of appreciating spring is to remember the religious festivals that happen during the season.Spring is the time for the observance of the Passover even by modern day Jews around the world but especially in Israel.For the whole Christendom and particularly in Rome, the seat of Catholicism, there is the traditional Holy Week observance and ceremonies. Spring time this year is extra special because the unexected resignation of Pope Benedict XVI led to the election of Pope Francis to the seat of St. Peter in March. Unprecented is the presence two living popes- Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Pope Francis I; this newness presents unique realities that the church must cope up with while attending to the needs of the Catholic faithful. The Church is expected to face the pernicious problems that have buffeted it for several decades if not centuries, foremost of these are the scandals brought about by the failings of the priest pedophiles, the alleged disunity in the Curia and others. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church led by Pope Francis must galvanize and inspire the faithful to muster the energy and focus for the big task required of the New Evangelization. The fresh approach and the amiable personality of the new pope comes as a new spingtime to the Vatican and to the rest of the Catholic faithfuls around the world.

The election of Pope Francis I as the new Shepherd of the Catholic Church is very much an existential Springtime. In many ways,the Church is experiencing a fresh beginning, a new pope during the spring season of the year !The new Pope is an unexpected break in the usual mold as he is from the New World ( the Americas, specifically Argentina), is non - European even as he has Italian blood in his veins , very much uncomfortable with the traditional trappings of the Papacy and prefers the touch of ordinary life. Pope Francis continues the governance and spiritual leadership of 1.2 billion Catholics around the globe even as then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was not even in the list of the most possible papabiles prior to the Conclave. He takes over the awesome responsibility from the much

beloved Pope Benedict XVI. The Catholic Church bequeathed by his predecessor to Pope Francis is in the midst of changes needed to meet the call for the New Evangelization while addressing much awaited reforms.True , there are problems that the contemporary Catholic church must contend with such as,the troubled Vatican finances and allegations of disunity in the Curia. On top of it is the continuing loss of Catholics to other denominations, as well as the tension of the liberal drift of the West against the traditional Catholic stand of those coming from Asia ; yet optimism abounds that the new pontiff will lead the faithful out of the metaphorical woods. Despite the difficulties,the Catholic faithful draw strength from the promise of Jesus Christ that the ' gates of hell will not prevail against it'.

Hours before the Conclave that elected the new pope, then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio stated that he would want to see the Church ' not to be eschewed with self-absorption' and focus its energies outwards.The future pope also warned against the dangers of stagnation- " when the Church does not emerge from itself to evangelize, it becomes self-referential and therefore becomes sick...the evils that over time, occur in ecclesiastical institutions have their roots in self- referentiality, a kind of theological narcissism." Pope Francis, not knowing that he would be elected, said he expected the top pastor of the Church of Rome to be “a man who, from the contemplation of Jesus Christ … helps the Church to emerge from itself to arrive at the existential limits " ( from Catholic Conclave blog, based on document given to Cardinal Jaime Ortega of Havana by then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio).

The full text of that document allows us to take a look into the heart and mind of Pope Francis I:

"Reference was made to the evangelization. It is the reason for the Church.

- “The sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing” (Paul VI). – It is the same Jesus Christ who, from within, drives us.

1. Evangelizing supposes apostolic zeal. Evangelize implies that the Church should speak candidly, coming out of herself. The Church is called to come out of herself and to go to the peripheries, not only in the geographical sense but also to go to the existential peripheries: those of the mysteries of sin, of pain, of injustice, of ignorance and of religious indifference, of thought, of all misery.

2. When the Church does not come out of itself to evangelize, it becomes self-referential and then gets sick (cf. the woman hunched over the Gospel). The evils that, over time, occur in ecclesiastical institutions have roots in referentiality, a sort of theological narcissism. In Revelation Jesus says he is at the door and knocks. Obviously the text refers to hitting from outside the door to enter … But think of the times when Jesus knocks from within to let himself out. The self-referential Church seeks Jesus Christ within and does not let him out.

3. – When the Church is self-referential, unwittingly believed to have its own light, it is no longer the mysterium lunae and leads to the evil that is so serious: spiritual worldliness (According to de Lubac, the worst evil that can befall the Church). That lives to give glory to one another rather than God. The Church, when it is self-referential, without realizing it, believes it has a light of its own; it ceases to be the mysterium lunae (for an explanation of this phrase) and gives rise to this evil that is so serious that of spiritual wordliness (according to De Lubac, the worst evil that can occur to the Church). It lives for the glory to be given to each other Put simply, there are two images of Church: the evangelizing Church taking leave of itself which religiuously hears the Word of God and faithfully proclaims it (Dei Verbum religiose audiens et fidenter proclamans)or the worldly Church living in itself, of itself, for itself. This should shed light on the possible changes and reforms that must be done for the salvation of souls.

4. – Thinking about the next pope: a man who, from the contemplation of Jesus Christ and from worshiping Jesus Christ helps the Church out of itself to the outskirts of the existential, that helps Her to be a fruitful Mother, living “the delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing. “

Pope Francis introduced new and personal ways of performing the responsibilities of the papacy, such as asking the faithful whom he faced from the Vatican balcony for the first time to pray for him instead of simply praying for them.That observation was not lost on the faithful who saw and heard him that first day The new pope brings so much refreshing simplicity and humility into the seat of Peter.It is exhilirating as the cool fresh wind of Springtime to read about the simple lifestyle of Pope Francis ,prefering to live in austere community conditions with his fellow cardinals in the Vatican Residence. He insisted on riding with them in the cardinals' bus after the conclave that elected him pope, seeking out and mingling with the faithful after his first papal mass and even dressing up with his brother- cardinals in the same dressing room as the others. There is a picture of the well-worn black shoes the new Pontiff wore during his first audiences rather than the customized red shoes of his predecessors. These are simple yet evocative images and impressions of the pope who found his commitment for the poor at the heart of his papacy. The choice of the name Francis connects him to St. Francis of Assissi, his role model for holiness, poverty in spirit, simplicity, humility and obedience. The impressions formed to date will in all likelihood provide a pattern for the ponficate of Pope Francis.

The relationality that Pope Francis brings into his pontificate bodes well for the Catholic church. We are looking forward to a church that will be more open and sensitive to the needs of the faithful, especially the poor. There is a building up of optimism that the task of evangelization and bringing the gospel to the limits of ' existential outskirts' will be the welcome fresh wind of Springtime in the Church. To the over one billion Catholics around the world, the message of Evangelii Nuntiandi, the encyclical written by Pope Paul VI, will find depth, meaning and relevance regarding the need of the Church for more ' witnesses'. Pope Francis I will lead the way.