Fetalvero: Beyond comfort

THE Roman Catholic faithful welcomes the new pope as the cleric community hopes for a renewal of the church.

His Holiness Pope Francis, the first Jesuit to be given the highest position as follower of St. Peter, is viewed by many as an avid fan of St. Francis of Assisi, a man who loved the poor and the destitute.

The plight of the poor is often times overshadowed by materialism and consumerism. I just had a garage sale of stuff that I brought from the United States. I had stored it for years and finally decided to get rid of them. This was after I realized that when one is in a country deemed as the proverbial land of milk and honey, one can easily be drawn into mundane things. The irony of having so much is that you cannot bring it with you to the grave. It is so disheartening to know that you can have so much while others have virtually nothing.

Pope Francis reportedly commutes while other clergymen drive their own private vehicles. I understand his choice. As one chooses to take the public transportation, one sees things differently and appreciates the cost of commodities like when one sees a farmer tackling a heavy load of fruits and vegetables in an earnest effort to earn a living.

One sees the concern of students who carefully count the coins in their pockets, making sure they have enough money for the ride to school and beck home. One is able to understand why a mother would try hard to accommodate her little children on her lap so that only she has to pay for one seat.

How are we to endure our discomfort when a jeepney driver tries to squeeze in more passengers? How are we to handle if we witness a pickpocket doing his dastardly act while the owner of a handbag slumbers during the trip? On a lighter note, we can sometimes witness the kindness of a lad who offers his seat to a senior citizen.

For Pope Francis there is more to life than riding in the comfort of a Mercedes Benz.

As we approach the Holy Week, we are asked by the church to do some abstinence and that means not only abstaining from the food we love to eat but also from things we love to do for our own comfort.