After 10 years of seminary formation, the time has come for me to be sown back to the field. It is now the time to put into practice what I have studied and to live the theories of my learning.
Indeed, I realize that priesthood as a ministry of God is and was never been a profession to be enjoyed but a mystical response to the call of the Divine; thus it is a vocation to be lived. Ang pagpapari ay hindi hanap-buhay, kundi pag-bibigay buhay. It is never been a work to fulfilled but a service to be delivered. It is never been a social status to be pleasured with but a social sacrifice to be persevered.
As I commit to this life that God called me to be, I have to forget a lot of who am I. The life that I am going to live is a life of total self-giving and because I need to give, at times, it is hurting.
The life that I am going to live is a life of constant purification of my human desires and instincts, and because I need to be purified for God, at times, it is relenting.
The life that I am going to live is a life of constant understanding and forgiving and because I need to forgive to bring people closer to God, at times, it is disturbing.
The life that I am a going to live is a life of love and because I need to love the way the Good Shepherd loves, at times, it is sacrificing.
More importantly, the life that I am going to live is a life of prayer and sanctification and because I need to pray to sanctify the lives of my flock, at times, it is uninteresting.
Notwithstanding, even if how uninteresting that life will be, as a priest I should pray for my flock. Only a holy priest can make a holy flock. And in order for the priest to be holy, he needs the prayer of his flock. Please pray for priests and seminarians; please do continue to pray for us. If we could have holy priests in our midst, we will have a holy world to live.
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