Penang – “Under all circumstances, we will continue to tell the story of Jesus in Asia and the world. We will never tire of telling His story,” said Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle in his address to the more than one thousand delegates from across Asia, including 10 cardinals and 104 bishops, who are currently participating in the “Great Pilgrimage of Hope” under way in Penang, Malaysia.
The “Great Pilgrimage,” which began on November 27, has been described by Radio Veritas as the “largest synodal gathering” of the Catholic Churches in Asia in the last twenty years.
A key moment of the first day was the address by the Cardinal Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization , in which he addressed the theme “Walking a Different Path as Renewed Pilgrims of Hope.” He highlighted the contrast between the “pilgrimage of hope” of the Three Wise Men—the Wise Men from the East who, in the Gospel of Matthew, follow the star and come to Bethlehem to worship the Baby Jesus—and the “pilgrimage of despair” of Herod, the King of the Jews, who is obsessed with the mysterious other “king,” the child born in Bethlehem, and wants to eliminate him. Cardinal Tagle took up this “complex interweaving”—that between the story of the Three Wise Men and that of Herod within the story of Jesus—to point to the origin and nature of Christian hope.
Theological Virtue
Christian hope, the Cardinal explained, is not optimism or “the belief that everything will be alright.” It is neither a pious wish nor a denial of difficulties nor an escape from life’s trials. Rather, Christian hope is “a theological virtue inspired in us by the grace of God, and whose object is God. Its object is not something, but someone, namely God, who became man in Jesus Christ.”
The Pro-Prefect of the Missionary Dicastery also quoted the Catechism of the Catholic Church to remind us that the theological virtue of hope instills in hearts the desire for happiness, sustains people in trials, and purifies devotion to charity from selfish intentions.
“In order to be true pilgrims of hope,” the Cardinal added, “we should be messengers of the story of Jesus. Through our Christian language, our actions, our relationships, and our very being, we become living stories of hope in Jesus.”
The “different paths” of the Three Wise Men and Herod
After the Three Wise Men had worshipped the Child Jesus, they returned home by a different route to avoid encountering Herod again. But from the very beginning of their journey, they had followed the “path of hope,” far removed from Herod’s “path of despair.”
To reach the new king, born in Palestine, whom they wished to worship, they looked “at the stars, beyond themselves, listening to the echo, the whispers of unknown prophets,” the Cardinal explained.
Herod, on the other hand, “had the power.” But power “gave him weight” and therefore burdened him, “making it difficult for him to move. He didn’t have need to move, but rather made others move.” He lived and exercised power in a state of “stagnation, of slow corruption leading to death. Because he looked only at himself, he became blind to creation and deaf to Holy Scripture.”
The pilgrimage of the Magi involved acknowledging their ignorance and limitations. It required “humility” and a willingness “to learn from others and to be taught by others,” because “true wisdom does not reside in those who claim to already know everything.” Herod, on the other hand, was surrounded by experts who “certainly knew the Law and the Prophets,” but “what they knew about Holy Scripture did not move them.”
Even today, Cardinal Tagle emphasized, we should therefore consider ourselves fortunate “to have continuing formation programs in pastoral management that promote transparency and accountability in the administration of goods and property.” But often – he added – “I wonder if they also teach how to be good stewards of the manifold gifts of the Holy Spirit in our communities. Gifts are wasted when they are ignored and not developed. But they are also wasted when they are not used for the purpose for which they were given by the Holy Spirit.”
The Three Wise Men affirmed through their adoration that Jesus is God’s gift to all nations, thus testifying to the open arms of Jesus, the “new King,” who “welcomes all.”
Herod’s fear and anxiety, on the other hand, “created a community of conspirators.” “The scourge of the infants,” who planned the “death of babies and young children in Bethlehem and the surrounding villages.” Even today, “in our world today,” the Pro-Prefect of the Missionary Dicastery emphasized, “despair leads to the murder of innocent people, children, mothers, and entire villages.” And people without hope are not joyful. “They do not spread joy and do not tolerate joy in others,” Cardinal Tagle affirmed.
“More Wise Men and less Herod”
At the end of his address, Cardinal Tagle shared a personal anecdote, recalling a recent trip abroad during which he got lost in the corridors of a hotel on his way to an important meeting with the Head of State. This unfortunate incident led him to encounter two migrant women from the Philippines who recognized him and asked for his prayers and blessing. “I realized,” Cardinal Tagle added, “that I hadn’t lost my way, but that Jesus had led me on this path.”
Even at the time of his birth, the Cardinal continued, it was Jesus who “guided the Three Wise Men to take a different path.” He himself, the Son of God, “took a different path than Herod; he emptied himself to embrace human weakness. He was born a king like a poor child in a manger.” At the end of his earthly life, “he was crucified under the accusation of being a false king. He continues to live in the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the prisoners, the strangers.”
“We need,” concluded the Pro-Prefect of the Missionary Dicastery, addressing the delegates of the churches of Asia, “more wise people, pilgrims who seek, listen, learn, and worship. We need less Herod, trapped in fear, power, and despair. Come and join Jesus on his pilgrimage.”
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