OPINION

Cardinal Tagle’s advice, take heed

‘We need the life-giving touch that can only come from Jesus. Let us beg Jesus to touch us, and to continue to touch us’

Art Besana

Don’t let the entire world be on fire and make humanity extinct.

Mankind must take heed of the advice of His Eminence, Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle, on the Life-Giving Touch of Jesus, if we want to stop the war between Russia and Ukraine and to have peace, instead, for the entire world.

“My dear brothers and sisters, let us beg Jesus to touch us, our families and our world. Let us have the courage to go to Jesus, to touch Him, and do not allow the envious devil to touch us and continue touching the world, destroying the world.

“We need the life-giving touch that can only come from Jesus. Let us beg Jesus to touch us, and to continue to touch us.”

Let us stop the Russians and the Ukrainians from killing each other by the thousands every day; and the sufferings of their young and aged, the women and children.

Let us stop them from destroying their beautiful cities, parks and monuments; blasting their valuable properties, arms and equipment worth billions of dollars, never to be recovered.

Let us stop their war from spreading to NATO countries: England, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Italy, where all the beautiful works of art are there to be visited and viewed by tourists from all parts of the world.

If this war continues and turns into a horrible one, all of the wonderful works of art and stupendously magnificent buildings crafted and built by the world’s greatest creative minds will just melt and disappear in seconds, with a single blast of the most destructive nuclear weapons, developed by stupid man for the destruction of his fellowman.

Worst, if the conflagration reaches France, there will be a bloody inferno, instead of the glorious Paris Olympics, the world’s most awaited sports event, for the friendliest and strongest of the human species, to play and compete with each other in various games long prepared for by all countries.

There is no other choice for mankind on what to do, but to move quickly for appeasement, instead of continuing the escalation with mutual anger until the globe explodes into total human annihilation.

“Let us not allow the envious devil to touch us and continue touching the world, destroying the world.”

Let us pray that the leader of Russia will not be envious of the leader of Ukraine, otherwise, that evil intent will bring destruction to each other, and their respective countries.

Jesus teaches that His disciples should be humble, broadminded, and accommodating. We do not become great by self-imposition, usurpation, and scrambling for position by suppressing others. It is God who exalts and bestows the grace to shine and stand out, particularly when others are doing the same thing you are doing. Yours is to play your part.

His Eminence, Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle, has been serving as the Pro-Prefect for the Section of Evangelization of Dicastery for Evangelization since 5 June 2022, and as President of the Interdicasterial Commission for Consecrated Religious since 8 December 2019.

He was Archbishop of Manila from 2011 to 2020. He is presently the Cardinal-Bishop of San Felice dd Cantalice a Centocelle and also serves as President of the Catholic Biblical Federation, and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Urbaniana University.

According to Joseph A. Komonchak of the Catholic University of America, Tagle was “one of the best students I had in over 40 years of teaching” and “could have become the best theologian in the Philippines, or even in all Asia” if he was not appointed Bishop.

Tagle completed his elementary and high school at Saint Andrews School in Parañaque in 1973; finished a Bachelor of Arts degree in pre-divinity from the Ateneo in 1977; obtained a Master of Arts in Theology, Loyola School of Theology; and Doctorate in Sacred Theology, Catholic University of America in 1991.