I am still very excited after seeing the Holy Father on my beloved island. After witnessing the magnitude of the events in Madrid and Barcelona, Thursday's Mass at the Gran Canaria stadium felt almost familiar.
As volunteers, we were there from the morning and had the privilege of helping to prepare the chalice and the Pope's See. I met Monsignor Ravelli - master of ceremonies at the Vatican - and was able to explain to him our devotion to Our Lady of the Pine Tree.
In an event like this there are always many unforeseen events and a certain amount of tension. It so happened that I gave him the last booklet to follow the Mass for a lady and another lady who also needed it got annoyed with me. In her eyes there was a reproach (very canary-like, actually) towards the other lady and towards me. Minutes later, I returned with another copy that I had hidden. Looking at her, I said:
-Did you get a booklet yet?
-No," she said crestfallen.
-Alsa« the look,» I replied with a Canarian accent, while showing him the brochure.
She became happy and I was touched by the accomplice smile she shared with the other lady after the little «conflict of interest».
Helicopters arrived, snipers were posted on the balconies and the stadium was filled to capacity. When Leon XIV arrived, the roar was reminiscent of when UD Las Palmas goes up to the First Division (maybe next year). However, during the Mass, with the orchestra and the Canarian folklore, the silence was surprising -as in the Plaza de Lima, in Madrid- for a soccer stadium full to overflowing. For the people from Gran Canaria, being able to see next to St. Peter our beloved Virgen del Pino and the Santo Cristo de Telde was priceless.
In his homily, the Pope encouraged us to be more humble. He reminded us that the heart of Christ belongs to the simple and not to the know-it-alls, who, bewildered by an omnipresent «I», lack the silence necessary to listen to the heartbeat of love. The Holy Father insisted that true happiness does not consist in doing without others, but in «coming down from the arrogance that divides to find ourselves in the humility that makes us brothers and sisters». He concluded with a direct invitation to the heart:
«Where there is humility there is love, and where there is love there is peace. Only from humility can we love each other and find ourselves: to know who we are».
Surely we are not aware of all that the Pope has sown these days in Spain. Now it is time to reread his speeches and make them our own. And thus, as that lady did with an accomplice look, learn to make peace and let ourselves be surprised, as the Pope encouraged us from the port of Arguineguín:
«WHEN YOU ENCOUNTER DIFFICULTIES, LOOK UP».
