Ikatan Rohaniwan Rohaniwati Indonesia di Kota Abadi (IRRIKA) and Kumpulan Pimpinan Rohaniwan rohaniwati (REHAT) expressed their deep love by holding a special Eucharistic Celebration dedicated to Pope Francis at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Rome on Wednesday, February 26, 2025.

The Eucharistic celebration was presided by Fr. Yul Yasinto, SVD, a member of the SVD General Council in Rome, accompanied by two other priests. About 50 people participated in the Eucharistic celebration.

In his homily, Fr. Yul Yasinto emphasized the importance of wisdom. He said that there are many intelligent people, but few wise people.

“In Pope Francis, it is there. He became the personification of the great things that he said, and that he stood for. So, I think we fear and worry about losing him, that there are no more figures we can rely on, who can make choices that we accept, because he himself lives them wholeheartedly,” said Fr. Yul Yasinto.

Father Yul Yasinto said the faithful are very concerned and anxious about Pope Francis’ health and hope that he will soon recover.

“Hoping that Pope Francis will fully recover and continue all his duties is not realistic,” Father Yul said, urging the faithful to accept reality.

“It is also unfair to our beloved Holy Father. He deserves a quiet rest in his agedness,” he continued.

Father Yul went on to say that we are afraid of losing Pope Francis because there is no longer a model for these great things. Therefore, he advised all the faithful present that there is a legacy, there are tasks that Pope Francis will leave for us. The legacy is in the form of a personification of the values that we want to fight for.

To deepen his homily, Father Yul gave four messages based on the Book of Sirach:

1.     People who love wisdom love life

He said that there are many intelligent people, but few who are wise.

2. Facing wisdom early in the morning will fill us with joy

The first thing we face in the morning is wisdom, and the rest of the morning will fill us with joy. We often start the day stressed with a lot of anxiety. When we get up in the morning, we expect too much, which is in vain. What we think and do at night before we go to bed will greatly affect our condition when we wake up. He advises not to spend too much time on the cell phone before going to bed. We will sleep in anxiety.

“Sometimes we need to fast from playing with cell phones.

3. Those who believe in wisdom will inherit it.

What legacy will we strive to leave in our lives? We worry about Pope Francis leaving us one day because he leaves a legacy of his whole life and teaching. He teaches a deep life. Shallow life cannot inherit the full meaning of life.  

4. Wisdom takes the winding road

The winding road to wisdom may leave pain and anguish, but wisdom will return with a joyful kindness. If we look for the easy way, we will only lose or move further away from wisdom. True wisdom often comes from the difficulties we face. Wisdom comes after a long journey and will return with a joyful kindness.

At the end of his homily, Father Yul invited all the faithful present to pray for Pope Francis, but more importantly, to pray for ourselves so that we may be wiser and able to pass on the legacy of our lives.

Written by Sr. M. Angela Siallagan FCJM

Edited by: Sr. M. Emmanuela Sitorus FCJM