Homily: 5th Anniversary
5 years as a priest! By some standards, that is still a young age. For others, that is a long time. I guess, tt depends on who is looking. When I became a priest at the age of 27, many were saying, especially those who have grown old serving in the church, that I am very young, “ang bata bata ng pari natin, kasing edad ng apo ko! Of course, all these makes me feel young, if not, full of pride. Ang sarap ng pakiramdam. Until I have a wake-up call. I have a meeting with some young people. Some almost my age, others a lot younger. And someone I first met kept looking at me, and couldn’t help herself and said – “ay, ikaw pala ang sinasabi nila na si Father Didoy. Ang bata mo pa father! Ilang taon ka na? Let me guess, 40?”
I feel young as a priest. Ang dami daming pwedeng gawin. When in a parish community, there are countless, exciting possibilities for the church and community to be really agents of transformation and renewal. I still believe that for those who clamor for change in the church and in society, the parish offers a very concrete way of going about – by starting with ourselves, with our communities, through simple, humble service.
I feel old as a priest. Parang pakiramdam ko, sa dami ng gawain ng pari, nakakapagod, ang sarap sana magpahinga pero ang hirap magpahinga! Walang tigil ang batang bibinyagan, ang taong pakukumpisalin, ang namamatay na babasbasan.
To tell the truth, I had difficulty adjusting to life as a priest. When I was a seminarian, no one minded me. I can go watch a movie, eat out, go to the mall, practically do my own thing without anyone paying attention. Ng maging pari, lahat nagmamano, kahit mas matanda pa sa lola ko. Lahat humihingi ng advice, kahit mas matanda pa sa magulang ko. Ingat sa pagkilos sapagkat laging may nakamasid – Padre, pwede ka bang gumamit ng ganyang salita? Fadz, bakit ganyan ang suot mo?
To be honest with you, it was not difficult at all to adjust to the priesthood,what with all the perks, as we call it, the traps, as I call it, that come with it. Like getting food – Father, wag ka ng tumayo – wag ka ng kumuha ng pagkain! Dapat ang pagkain ang lumalapit sayo! Like having things my way – “Eto ang gawin natin. Ayoko nyan gusto nyo. Bakit po Father? Kasi ako ang pari dito!” Power, used in the wrong way, is really intoxicating. And can really corrupt. Buti na lang may mga kaibigan ako na walang pakundangan kung awayin ako at pagsabihan kung ano at sino dapat ang pari – nakikinig, nakikilakbay, naglilingkod. Minsan nga, mas nanliit pa daw ibang tao pag inaaway ako ng mga kaibigan ko. Dapat lang pagsabihan ako. As my friends, it is not only their right but their responsibility to remind and challenge me.
As I look back into my priesthood and look forward to more challenging and fruitful years, I keep asking myself, what does it mean to be a priest? How do we define the priesthood in these troubled times of recession, reproductive bills and political struggles?
I believe that viewed in these complicated and stark realities, there really is no straight answer. And I do go for that. The priesthood is so rich that it can only be appreciated in that way – in its complexity. There is this wonderful priest-author, Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI, who shared in one of his articles, “Guideline to Service”, that in many ways captured the complexity of the ministry, and in some ways, provides a glimpse to the complex challenges of defining the priesthood. He says –
"To try to serve others is to be caught up in many tensions, some that beset from without and others that beset from within. How can we remain energized, effective, and true?
Be beyond ideology, be both post-liberal and post-conservative. Like Jesus, transcend boundaries, constantly surprise, refuse to be classified.
Be for the marginalized, without being marginalized yourself.
Be known for your radical stance for the poor even as you are recognized for the wide scope of your embrace. Lead without being elitist.
Be iconoclastic and pious at the same time. Don’t be afraid to smash idols and don’t be afraid to bow in reverence!
Carry the tension between having a hopeless love for the world and a hopeless love for things beyond it. Love the world as you would a lover with some quirks of character and weaknesses that cause you pain. Pray a lot. Cry occasionally.
Go into dark places, but don’t sin!
Like Jesus, who went into the singles-bars of his time (except he didn’t sin), walk in great freedom, go into dark places, but go there not to assert human autonomy but to take God’s light there.
Make love to the song! Forget about yourself and how others react to you! A bad singer on stage makes love to himself; a more mature singer makes love to his audience; a really mature singer makes love to the song. Service is the same. Forget about yourself, your image, your need to prove yourself, and eventually forget about your audience too so that you and your song are not about yourself or about your people, but about God."
There, for all the complexities of the ministry, of service, of the priesthood, it simply is about God. It is about the timely message of God becoming a helpless baby born in the manger, empty of all power and recognition. It is about the relevant challenge of God allowing himself to be touched by a woman bleeding not just from a long time physical ailment but from being ostracized by the community. It is about the hopeful God touching the blind and the leper, healing them I believe not just with the power of the Spirit but more so with the inclusive embrace of the Father. It is about the loving truth of Jesus hanging on the cross, faithful to the very end, no matter if one’s life is considered a shameful failure.
Priesthood is all about Him. About God. It is not about me, and what I can do but about Jesus and the wonderful, surprising things he can do to me and with me. It is not about me and any talent I can possibly offer but about God and the often astonishing ways He gets things done. It is not about me and any direction and plans I may offer but about God and his amazing ways of leading us to horizons we never imagined.
To everyone, this is the priesthood that we all share – by virtue of baptism. The priesthood that is Christ’s, that is God’s. Defining it is a great challenge, but living it out is a more urgent and greater challenge.
To all of you, to my families and friends, thank you for introducing me to God, for inviting me to fall in love with Him over and over again. To my parishioners, thank you for allowing me into your homes and your hearts to see and feel the presence of God in you. To the various communities I have been blessed to serve, and to my brother priests and my beloved Bishop, thank you for reminding me, that yes, all our service, all that we do, is about God.
