Cardinal Tagle: Jesus sends us as a gift to others

INDIANAPOLIS – Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines has been prominently mentioned by Vatican watchers as a “papabile” – a Catholic Church prelate generally considered to be in the mix of candidates who might succeed Pope Francis in a future papal conclave. 

In his homily July 21 at the Mass concluding the energy-filled 10th National Eucharistic Congress, Cardinal Tagle began his homily by greeting 50,000 eucharistic pilgrims in nearly a dozen languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Swahili.

“Good morning,” he told the Lucas Oil Stadium crowd in English, offering the blessing of Pope Francis and transmitting the pope’s hope that the five-day congress would lead to “conversion to the Eucharist.”

“And, then he turned to me and said, ‘Behave well,’” Cardinal Tagle said with a laugh.

There is a strong connection, Cardinal Tagle said, between “eucharistic conversion and missionary conversion.”

Recalling the “Bread of Life” discourse in the Gospel of St. John, Cardinal Tagle said Jesus was sent into the world by his Father “to be a gift.”

“He is not sent just to wander around and enjoy himself,” he said. “He is sent to be given. The missionary is a gift. Mission is not just about work, but also about the gift of oneself. (He says), ‘This is my body for you; my blood for you.’ It is always for you, never for me.”

The lessening of missionary zeal may be tied to a diminished understanding that God has bestowed gifts on individuals that are not truly appreciated, he said.

“If our horizon is only that of achievement, success and profit, there is no room to see and receive gratuitous gifts,” Cardinal Tagle said. “There is no place for gratitude and self-giving. There will only be a relentless search for self-affirmation, that eventually becomes oppressive and tiring, leading to more self-absorption or individualism. And, when pessimism takes over, we see only darkness, failures, problems, things to complain about.”

He bemoaned a recent report that some people prefer chatting with an artificial intelligence “friend” because “they do not see gifts in real flesh-and-blood persons.”

Addressing married couples, he playfully asked: “What do you see in each other? A gift or a problem?”

Turning to the children in the audience, he asked: “What do you see in your parents? A gift or an ATM card?”

Then he asked the priest and deacons present, “What do you see in your bishops?” That drew laughter from the bishops on the altar.

“Let us give a gift of presence to each other,” Cardinal Tagle said. “Go to church. Go to Mass with the gift of your flesh, your singing voice, your sweat, your tears, your smiles. Jesus gives us his flesh. Why can we not give him and the community the gift of our fleshly presence?”

When Jesus declared that he was the bread of life, Cardinal Tagle said many walked away because the teaching was too “hard” and returned to their former way of life.

“They chose his absence rather than his presence in their lives,” he said. “Is it possible that we, his disciples, also contribute to some of the departures of others from Jesus.”

The way Catholics treat the poor, homeless, disabled and elderly may contribute to their feeling “they don’t belong” in the church.

“So, I ask you, dear brothers and sisters, will you stay with Jesus?” he asked. “Those who choose to stay with Jesus will be sent by Jesus. The gift of his presence and love for us will be our gift to people. We should not keep Jesus for ourselves. That is not discipleship. That is selfishness.

“We have received the gift of Jesus. Let us go out to proclaim Jesus zealously and joyfully for the life of the world.”

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