GPH Day 3: Cardinals Tagle and Ambo Invite Asia to “Remember the Future” and “Rediscover the Human Jesus”

As thousands continue to journey in the Great Pilgrimage of Hope (GPH) in Penang, two of Asia’s most influential Church leaders, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and Cardinal Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” David, offered a profound message for Asia ahead of the 2033 Great Jubilee, calling the faithful to deepen hope, reclaim the humanity of Jesus, and let their own stories reflect the mystery of faith.

The press conference, held on 29 November and coordinated by Daniel Roy, head of the Social Communications Office of the Diocese of Penang, gathered local and international media who sought to understand how this pilgrimage connects to the wider spiritual journey leading to the Jubilee commemorating 2,000 years of Christ’s Resurrection.

“Remember the Future”: Cardinal Tagle’s Call to Hope

Responding to the question, “In the context of the 2033 Great Jubilee, what is your message for everyone in Asia?”, Cardinal Tagle offered a reflection rooted in the heart of the Eucharist.

He pointed to the moment during Mass when the faithful proclaim the Mystery of Faith: “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.” These words, he said, must move beyond liturgical recitation and become the lived story of each believer.

“We hope that 2033 will put a lot of flesh, a lot of conviction to that proclamation,” he said. “We proclaim it during the Eucharist, but we hope it will be translated into the stories of our lives.”

For Cardinal Tagle, the Jubilee is not only a commemoration of the past but an active encounter with the present and future of God’s saving work.

“The past is real. But He is risen, and that gives us a future,” he emphasized. “The future is guaranteed. Eternal life in God’s kingdom is true. The kingdom of God is not uninhabited, it is a community. And that communion extends to us.”

Cardinal Tagle urged the faithful not to lose sight of the future, quoting: “We don’t only remember the past, but remember the future. If you forget the future, you don’t have a present.”

“That,” he said, “is hope. Jesus is not a fiction. His resurrection is not a fiction. It is our future. And if we forget that future, how do we conduct our journey now?”

Cardinal Ambo: “Asia Must Tell the Story of Jesus Through His Humanity”

Following Cardinal Tagle, Cardinal Ambo David, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines and a renowned Scripture scholar, offered a complementary insight, one grounded in narrative, imagination, and the Asian gift for storytelling.

He recalled how a two-volume Latin American work titled A Certain Jesus shaped him as a young seminarian. The book retold the life of Jesus from the everyday experiences of Latin Americans—making Jesus close, relatable, and profoundly human.

“This is what we should do. In making the confession of faith, Jesus the Lord, the Christ, we sometimes place Him on a pedestal and remove Him from ourselves, when actually, He became one of us.”

Cardinal Ambo stressed that Asia’s contribution to the universal Church may lie in its ability to narrate how people encounter Jesus in daily life, with tenderness, culture, and embodied spirituality.

“The human Jesus should be someone people can relate to, someone they can touch,” he said. “There is no other way to the divinity of Jesus except through His humanity.”

For Asia, a region rich in stories, symbols, and lived spirituality, this becomes a pastoral opportunity. By telling the stories of how Asian communities meet Jesus, through family life, suffering, solidarity, and joy, believers can help the world rediscover a Jesus who is both divine and deeply human.

Walking Toward 2033 With the Eyes of Faith

Together, the reflections of Cardinal Tagle and Cardinal Ambo form a unified invitation for Asia as it journeys toward the 2033 Jubilee:

• To remember the future with hope, knowing Christ’s Resurrection is not only a past event but a promised destiny.

• To rediscover Jesus in His humanity, telling stories that reveal how His divinity becomes visible through compassion, humility, and closeness to the people.

• To allow these truths to shape personal and communal life, forming a living witness of faith across Asia.

As the Great Pilgrimage of Hope continues in Penang, pilgrims and Church leaders alike are reminded that the Jubilee is not merely a date on the calendar. It is a spiritual journey, one that begins now and unfolds through the stories of believers who walk with Christ, remembering both the past and the future that define their hope.