priest-lay cooperation
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Commission on the Laity for organizing the tribute to clergy last August 2 to end the Year For Priests in our Archdiocese. I think it would not be against the intentions of the organizers if I call it “A Tribute to Clergy-Lay Partnership in the Mission of the Archdiocese,” for indeed that was the content of the speeches and the personal feelings that was aroused in me that evening. If it was done primarily by the laity “in honor” of the clergy I would not have come to the occasion, for it would have been mere “clanging cymbal” and “lip service” to “honor” us with a tribute we don’t exactly deserve. But since I feel that what was emphasized in that occasion was partnership with the laity, I came out happy and in some instances moved by the occasion.
I am blessed with three experiences of working in the parish (3 years in Jaro, 8 months in Pototan, and now I’m on my second year in Jaro . . . again) and in these parishes as priest I never felt wanting of lay cooperators in my mission. If there is anything that inspired me in my priesthood it is the enthusiasm of our lay people to help us in our ministry and apostolate in the parish . . . never wanting, I say, and always in abundance.
Some people say that the Lord is slow in answering our prayers for more workers in the vineyard taking the dearth in priestly vocations as a measure. But the Lord is not slow. God simply knows that the greater need in the vineyard at this time is not more priest but a more involved laity - lay workers in the vineyard. And as I said, we are never lacking. I hope my fellow priests will begin recognizing the gifts God is giving us daily, for in discovering such treasure and grace we can stop complaining about the lack of priests and begin working enthusiastically with our lay cooperators.
Imagine for example the person who serenaded the more than a thousand people who gathered that evening was a “catholic lay preacher” - unheard of in the past but gaining acceptance more and more. Listening to these “catholic lay preachers” on television or in person can even be more enriching than listening to some of us priests! Probably in our time conservative Jaro may still show some resistance. People in the barangays are still so beholden to priests they would rather attend a boring lecture of one of us than hear a lively, solid, well-presented and creative presentation of lay preachers. But a time will come when even the most conservative among us here in Jaro will be won over. I hope the wait will not be too long.
Let me make it clear that there is a difference between charism and office. To give homilies in the mass is an official duty of priests, something connected to their ministry, to their office or function as priests which they received in ordination. This they do even if a particular priest may not have the charism or the gift of preaching. The charism for preaching is a gift - a gift given to both lay and clergy. Outside the official worship (liturgy like the mass or baptism or marriage) a lay person may preach and we have heard so many of them, and without saying it for fear of embarrassing the clergy, we know that many of them are better preachers than us.
Again, I would like to thank the laity for that wonderful experience I felt last August 2. I came out refreshed, inspired and energized in my work as a priest. Now I can better appreciate my priesthood in who I am for you as a priest, and who you are for me as lay persons. May God ever nourish this partnership between us for the sake of the Gospel.
____________
Last Thursday August 4 we celebrated the anniversary of the episcopal ordination of our parish priest, Bishop Gerry. It was the feast of St. John Marie Vianney, the patron of parish priests and it was also the birthday, the 51st, of Bishop Gerry. In the morning the three councils of the parish and the barangay coordinators gathered for a mass at St. John Marie Vianney Center for Renewal which is also the home of our retired priests. The mass was presided over by our dear parish priest himself and concelebrated by several priests, mostly residents of the center. After that we gathered for breakfast at the Isabelita - prepared and tendered by the Parish Pastoral Council. Nothing was discussed over breakfast. It was simply a gathering with our “close partners” in the parish - people who are in the forefront in the implementation of our pastoral programs. They are familiar faces in our parish and it was a joy to be with them that day other than working (we ate), and it was a joy seeing them in good spirits. Again I would like to thank the Pastoral Council for organizing our kapihan with our parish priest.
I would like to express too in this column the wishes and prayers of our parishioners: greeting him ad multos annos et multas coronas on his 51st birthday; praying for him on his third anniversary as bishop so that he will continue to serve with enthusiasm our Archdiocese as Auxiliary Bishop, sicut Christus vivit; entreating God to bless him as our parish priest on the feast of the Patron of Priest so that his priesthood may truly express “the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
I am blessed with three experiences of working in the parish (3 years in Jaro, 8 months in Pototan, and now I’m on my second year in Jaro . . . again) and in these parishes as priest I never felt wanting of lay cooperators in my mission. If there is anything that inspired me in my priesthood it is the enthusiasm of our lay people to help us in our ministry and apostolate in the parish . . . never wanting, I say, and always in abundance.
Some people say that the Lord is slow in answering our prayers for more workers in the vineyard taking the dearth in priestly vocations as a measure. But the Lord is not slow. God simply knows that the greater need in the vineyard at this time is not more priest but a more involved laity - lay workers in the vineyard. And as I said, we are never lacking. I hope my fellow priests will begin recognizing the gifts God is giving us daily, for in discovering such treasure and grace we can stop complaining about the lack of priests and begin working enthusiastically with our lay cooperators.
Imagine for example the person who serenaded the more than a thousand people who gathered that evening was a “catholic lay preacher” - unheard of in the past but gaining acceptance more and more. Listening to these “catholic lay preachers” on television or in person can even be more enriching than listening to some of us priests! Probably in our time conservative Jaro may still show some resistance. People in the barangays are still so beholden to priests they would rather attend a boring lecture of one of us than hear a lively, solid, well-presented and creative presentation of lay preachers. But a time will come when even the most conservative among us here in Jaro will be won over. I hope the wait will not be too long.
Let me make it clear that there is a difference between charism and office. To give homilies in the mass is an official duty of priests, something connected to their ministry, to their office or function as priests which they received in ordination. This they do even if a particular priest may not have the charism or the gift of preaching. The charism for preaching is a gift - a gift given to both lay and clergy. Outside the official worship (liturgy like the mass or baptism or marriage) a lay person may preach and we have heard so many of them, and without saying it for fear of embarrassing the clergy, we know that many of them are better preachers than us.
Again, I would like to thank the laity for that wonderful experience I felt last August 2. I came out refreshed, inspired and energized in my work as a priest. Now I can better appreciate my priesthood in who I am for you as a priest, and who you are for me as lay persons. May God ever nourish this partnership between us for the sake of the Gospel.
____________
Last Thursday August 4 we celebrated the anniversary of the episcopal ordination of our parish priest, Bishop Gerry. It was the feast of St. John Marie Vianney, the patron of parish priests and it was also the birthday, the 51st, of Bishop Gerry. In the morning the three councils of the parish and the barangay coordinators gathered for a mass at St. John Marie Vianney Center for Renewal which is also the home of our retired priests. The mass was presided over by our dear parish priest himself and concelebrated by several priests, mostly residents of the center. After that we gathered for breakfast at the Isabelita - prepared and tendered by the Parish Pastoral Council. Nothing was discussed over breakfast. It was simply a gathering with our “close partners” in the parish - people who are in the forefront in the implementation of our pastoral programs. They are familiar faces in our parish and it was a joy to be with them that day other than working (we ate), and it was a joy seeing them in good spirits. Again I would like to thank the Pastoral Council for organizing our kapihan with our parish priest.
I would like to express too in this column the wishes and prayers of our parishioners: greeting him ad multos annos et multas coronas on his 51st birthday; praying for him on his third anniversary as bishop so that he will continue to serve with enthusiasm our Archdiocese as Auxiliary Bishop, sicut Christus vivit; entreating God to bless him as our parish priest on the feast of the Patron of Priest so that his priesthood may truly express “the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
Comments