The Love of the Filipinos

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Jubilant crowd cheers His Holiness Pope Francis as the Papal convoy arrives for the welcome ceremony at the Kalayaan Grounds of the Malacañan Palace for the State Visit and Apostolic Journey to the Republic of the Philippines on Friday, 16 January 2015.
Robert Viñas, Malacañang Photo Bureau, PD, Wikipedia Commons

Papa Francisco! MAHAL NG PILIPINO!
Papa Francisco! MAHAL NG PILIPINO!
Papa Francisco! MAHAL NG PILIPINO!

The rhythm of this energetic chant is stuck in my head. It's my own fault, really, since I keep playing videos of the Pope's visit to the Philippines last week. YouTube has hours and hours of "Pope in Philippines" footage, including a nearly three-hour video of Sunday Mass and a surplus of videos of joyous chanting.

My friend Rena says the best translation of the chant's second part is "Love of the Filipinos." Pope Francis, the love of the Filipinos. How beautiful, to be beloved by a country, an entire people. "I wish I could've been in the Philippines to see Papa Francisco," Rena told me. "Based on friends' Facebook posts and testimonies, he has renewed the faith of so many Filipinos, including mine." Another friend of mine invited me to peek at her news feed, "full of posts from all my relatives about the Pope's visit."

Please join me for more about the Filipino "Pope Crush" at Praying with Grace.

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