It was a fleeting moment, but the memory is so vivid and captivating.
Last Sunday, Jan. 18 at about 9:00 am, my wife Patsy and I took a taxi from Charter House in Makati to a point nearest Luneta Park. The young driver, Bobby from La Carlota City, told us he had been plying the Metro Manila streets for some six years now and was so well- acquainted with the maze of streets in the metropolis. There was instant friendship with him. He said he wanted us to get as close as possible to Luneta (which would be somewhere along UN Ave.), from where we could just walk to Rizal Park.
But blocked roads and traffic reroutes forced us to turn south towards Buendia Ave. and Roxas Blvd. until the most accessible junction at Ocampo St. That’s where we had to disembark and had no choice but to walk north towards Luneta, more than two kilometers away, joining the exodus of people filling the eastern lanes of Roxas Blvd. The western lanes (southbound traffic) were closed to pedestrians and pilgrims, but were used by security and emergency vehicles, including ambulances that occasionally wailed up and down the road, making us wonder what was going on.
We had walked about 200 meters when we decided to hang around near a giant screen showing live the Pope’s meeting with the youth at the University of Santo Tomas. Our eldest granddaughter Ma. Chiera Patrice was part of the youth delegation from Dumaguete, and was at UST. Perhaps the TV coverage could give us a glimpse of her among the crowd? It was wishful thinking.
Then the thought came that Luneta could be jampacked by then, and since we did not have any ID showing that we belonged to a delegation that would give us entry to Luneta, we decided to just mill around the area near Bangko Sentral. Then a lady perched on the ‘island’ in the middle of Roxas Blvd., signaled to my wife to join her on the island. And so we did. I thought, “This is where we could practically be.”A man quipped that at least, the western lanes of Roxas Blvd will be the route for the Pope returning to The Nunciature after the Luneta mass, so there was a chance to see him in person. But he also said it could happen at about 5pm or 6 in the evening, so we must be prepared to dig in, and wait for the next eight hours right in that place. If we’re “lucky”, he said, we can see the Pope earlier at about 2pm coming from the Nunciature towards Luneta for the mass.
A little later, it started to shower, and so we pulled out our raincoats. Patsy commented that had it drizzled much earlier, we would probably have decided to just stay in the hotel, or just go elsewhere. Possibly.
Our granddaughter was a member of the youth delegation from the Mary Immaculate Parish so she had to split from us and be with her group upon our arrival at NAIA 3 the day before; they were to be with other youth groups at the UST activities that morning.
All the while, I was just thinking that if ever Patsy and I would be able to see the Pope in person, it would just be a bonus. We did not belong to any official delegation that could bring us closer, or at least within range, to see the Pope.
I consoled myself, and my wife, with the thought that it is enough for us to know that our granddaughter would really get to see the Pope. That blessing for our granddaughter to see the Pope was enough for me. But I prayed to the Lord to let His Spirit just guide our feet, Patsy’s and mine, to where He sees us fit to be. To see the Pope in person or not, did not matter anymore.
Under the pestering drizzles and occasional downpour, Patsy and I had to contend hunkered down in just about one square meter of ground for a number of hours. We prayed the Rosary, and meditated amidst the monotonous sight of legs, feet, shoes, jeans, raincoats, umbrellas.
But the sea of humanity around us was so well-behaved, helpful, gentle, kind and friendly. There was no boisterous laughter nor loud talks. We didn’t even see people texting or calling/answering cellphones. After all, it was part of the government’s security measures for all cell sites of SMS carriers to be temporarily shut down. Cellphones and other gadgets with cameras or video were used only to take photos; and everyone made these ready to capture the big moment.
At about 2pm, there was a frenzy of activity among the hundreds of security personnel. Police and medical vehicles were ramping up and down, so with the dozens of big motorbikes of security escorts. The people started to react joyfully with cheers, whistles, and waving of hands and kerchiefs to the increased movements of the security personnel, sending an unmistakable signal that something special was about to happen.
There were false alarms, too; people cheering wildly when a convoy of black SUVs with headlights on would come rushing towards Luneta.
The thrill was building up every second, everyone forgetting the chilling rain soaking us all up. It was cold in spite the raincoats. Then another good neighbor among the crowd lent us his umbrella, saying he and his family brought extra.
I asked myself if this was heaven. People were so good.
I shared the umbrella with a young campus reporter who did not even had a cap to protect his head from the rain.
The crowd among us swelled some more, filling up the roadside of the western lanes with more people. The cops, who didn’t wear ponchos nor raincoats, were drenched in rain; some civilians shared their umbrellas with the police. It was a lovely sight.
I was now rehearsing how to position myself, and how to take a video when the big event came. Also, I rehearsed my wife how to position her feet to avoid being knocked down, in case the crowd would press on us. I had to take a quick review of the judo stance I learned a long time ago. We were ready.
The activities on the western lane were now frenzied; more headlighted vehicles coming up, big motorbikes, sirens wailing — I concluded that must be the moment. Then at about a hundred meters down the road, the familiar canopied Pope mobile was a delightful sight. I glanced at my watch, it was 2:35 pm. I pulled out my cellphone, put it on video mode, and lightly pressed the screen to record the event.
But I just laid my eyes on the Pope mobile, not on my cellphone, while the crowd was cheering more gleefully, their hands waving more persistently, with umbrellas thoughtfully kept out of sight so that people at the back could also get a view of the one special passenger on the Pope mobile.
On video, I recorded the beautiful sight of the man for about eight seconds. With my bare eyes, I clearly saw him for about four precious seconds, as he turned his face towards our direction where Patsy and I were, and flashed that eternally-loving and re-assuring smile of a grandfather. Pope Francis was travelling at about 20 kph towards Luneta. Patsy and I were simply speechless, and in so much awe, the moment the Pope mobile was way out of our sight.
Some minutes later when we decided to return to Makati by walking towards Buendia Ave. to find a taxi, I pondered on the mysteries and events that God does create to make every man and woman realize how good it is to be kind, loving, and peaceful to each other.
Pope Francis showed us the way, and the Spirit of God was inflaming the hearts of the millions that witnessed the event. The world still has got a chance; everybody I met on the path that day was a blessing. Personally, it was a genuine journey to mercy and compassion for each other.
