I was there

I was there.

In a rally this afternoon in Liwasang Bonifacio I decided to come. Most of those present were students. Speaker after speaker was ranting against the current government and how it has betrayed and continues to deceive and steal from the people. The main issue is, as most Filipinos should know by now, is the brazen misuse of public funds, specifically the Priority Development Assistance Fund.

I was there and took in the sight of young people: those who spoke to the crowd, the packets who listened, and the many who seemed to be there "just because". As I wrote on my response to the invitation why I was going, I am going because my faith in Christ impels me to stand up against corruption. And I will continue to take part in succeeding efforts, no matter how little, no matter how seemingly insignificant, in facing the scourge of corruption in our country and ushering God's Reign in how society is ruled.

But that aside, I stayed and listened and took in the cries, the angry speeches, the restless rants, and thought of how Pope Francis called on the youth of his country, Argentina, last month, to make themselves heard in their dioceses... "I want the noise to go out, I want the Church to go out onto the streets, I want us to resist everything worldly, everything static, everything comfortable, everything to do with clericalism, everything that might make us closed in on ourselves. The parishes, the schools, the institutions are made for going out ... if they don’t, they become an NGO, and the Church cannot be an NGO." And might I say, not a fake one, at that.

Coming back to work, to my community of fellow youth ministers, for our every Friday 17.00 prayer to end the week, I was deeply touched by what I heard again. We prayed the rosary and included a reflective reading of the Pope's homily for the Final Mass of World Youth Day 2013. Pope Francis spoke to the youth gathered about what "Go and make disciples of all nations" means. "Where does Jesus send us? There are no borders, no limits: he sends us to everyone. The Gospel is for everyone, not just for some. It is not only for those who seem closer to us, more receptive, more welcoming. It is for everyone. Do not be afraid to go and to bring Christ into every area of life, to the fringes of society, even to those who seem farthest away, most indifferent." These words made me think of those young people speaking at that rally; those who were listening, or even those who appeared to be listening; those who were busy with small talk and those who were behind the organization of the rally. Among them too were jeepney drivers, laborers, vendors of cheese corn and cigarettes, little kids playing, oblivious to the gravity of the issue at hand. To them too, the Gospel is for.

And for them too, challenged and inspired by this successor of Peter, I hope to say, I was there.

Because about them, among them, in them, Jesus Master too would say, "I am there."