By Christina Hermoso Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle has called on the faithful to “be ready to respond to God’s call” just like the Blessed Mother who responded to God’s call without hesitation and without question. Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle
(JANSEN ROMERO / MANILA BULLETIN) “God has chosen us in Jesus. This choosing, this calling, comes with a spiritual blessing. Like Mary, let us always be ready to respond to God’s call in the performance of our mission,” His Eminence said at the holy mass at the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, Manila for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception last Monday. Traditionally observed on Dec. 8, the feast was moved to Dec. 9 this year in deference to the observance of the Second Sunday of Advent. “All of us have a calling to be in accord with the will of God. As we thank God for Mary, we also thank God for our calling. All of us have that blessing. You are blessed and you are called,” he said. “Harmony was restored. Dialogue is possible again because the Word was with her full of grace. She was graced. She was called and she was in full accord with the will of God. Through the Blessed Mother, and especially through her Son Jesus Christ, the dialogue with God will continue. It will never be broken again,” the cardinal said in his homily. During the mass, Tagle shed tears after he said, “We hear the words ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word,’” in reference to his new assignment as head of the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (Propaganda Fidei), one of nine important Vatican congregations based in Rome, Italy. The Vatican announced Tagle’s appointment by Pope Francis last Sunday, Dec. 8. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said the congregation oversees the missionary work of the church. Also known as “Propaganda Fidei,” its prefect is known as the “red pope” because of its considerable power in the Roman Curia and the appointment of bishops in mission territories. The Vatican News said Tagle will be installed in his new post early next year, which means the cardinal will have to leave the Manila archdiocese soon as he will be based in Rome. Papal Nuncio Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, who co-celebrated the mass, said “Tagle is a gift to the universal Church. The best gift we have to give to the universal Church. We give with open arms even if the heart is suffering,” he said. Caccia, who is also set to leave to take up his new post as the Vatican’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York in January 2020, requested the mass goers to raise their hands in prayer for the cardinal, who asked for prayers for his new mission.