To all of you, our priests, the deacons, the religious sisters, and all of you, my dear people of God, a Blessed Holy Week and Good Evening!
Reverend Fathers, today is our feast day. It is a happy day, and congratulations to all of us priests. It is a significant moment for us, as a local church, that we are gathered this evening as one people of God: priests, deacons, religious men and women, and laypeople as we celebrate the feast of the priesthood.
In the Chrism Mass, the unity of the bishops with their priests is manifested and renewed. This is crucial since the priesthood / our priesthood holds significant importance in the ministry for you, the faithful, providing you with access to God’s grace and guidance through the sacraments of the Church, through teaching and spiritual leadership.
To all of you, our dear priests, I recognize that you have served this Diocese for years or decades already. I also recognize that many of you have served the Church somewhere else for years or decades prior to serving this local Diocese.
That being the case, I would like to acknowledge and express my gratitude for your years of dedicated service to this Diocese and the Holy Mother Church in general. I know that our ministry involves many challenges, but it also involves joys and fulfillment.
In the Gospel, the Lord quoted Isaiah,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, He has anointed me”
Then Jesus pronounced: “Today, this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
At the very start, Jesus was aware, and he echoes, emphasizes and shows that at the beginning of His ministry, the Spirit of the Lord is with Him. The Spirit of the Lord has anointed him.
It is the Spirit that gives life. It is the spirit that sanctifies, and it is through the spirit that holiness is achieved. In our life and ministry as priests and as God’s people, it is the spirit that is the very origin and center.
It is through that spirit of the Lord that we get our vitality and sustenance in our lives as priests and in our ministry to God’s people.
It is through the spirit that we find wisdom, especially in moments of darkness, problems, difficulties, and confusion.
It is through the spirit that we find the strength to fulfill our own mission, even as we carry our own crosses as we follow him, walking in pilgrimage with God’s people towards the kingdom.
It is through the spirit that our ministry prospers and bears fruit. We cannot just rely on ourselves, as we cannot take credit for our successes alone.
Therefore, at all times, we must be united with the spirit of the Lord who has anointed us to achieve his purpose for his people.
Thus, our spiritual life as priests, as the Lord’s anointed, must not be taken for granted. Our prayer life and our own spirituality must be nourished.
We must make ourselves worthy channels to bring the grace of God to our people through the sacraments we celebrate.
As you renew your commitment, I would like to highlight the importance of the Ministry of shepherding; that we the ordained as “alter Christus,” that is “another Christ,” we may faithfully dispense our priestly duties, sanctifying the people of God through the Word, the Holy Eucharist, and the sacraments, and nourishing them with charity, with love, and with passion.
We priests all understand this very well, but allow me to reiterate that feeding the flock is the main task of a shepherd. Shepherds provide spiritual nourishment through the Word of God, Holy Masses, teaching, and the celebration of the sacraments.
As priests, in our Masses, we offer the sacrifice of the Lord and join it to our very own gift of self as we say with him, “This is my body, this is my blood for the many.” And in all of this, as priests, prophets, and kings, we are a living communion, the assembled and journeying with the people of God, pilgrims, with great hope moving homeward bound toward the father.
As prophets, we proclaim the glad tidings to the poor, a word of hope to a broken, sundered, wounded world in our midst.
As kings, we lead, guide, and direct our communities and the world on the paths of justice, peace, mercy, and compassion.
Let us also not forget that shepherding must foster a stronger sense of community and belonging within our parish community, where people, rich and poor, young and old, locals and migrants are truly cared for and supported. Let’s remember that stronger Christian communities are built when leaders care for their people, creating a sense of belonging and unity within the parish church.
Our shepherding should lead our faithful into deeper Spiritual Growth through a deeper understanding of God’s Word, leading into spiritual maturity. We should guide, lead, and direct the church toward fulfilling God’s will and following his purpose.
Protecting the sheep includes safeguarding the church from harm and dangers of erroneous teachings and worldly values. The truth of the Gospel and its values must be preached, even if sometimes it is not easy to hear them. The purity of faith must be safeguarded.
This can truly be done only through the spirit, in unity with Christ the head, the good shepherd, our source of wisdom and sustaining grace, as expressed through unity in the office of the bishop.
In this Chrism Mass, united with the Lord the Good Shepherd, our own unity and brotherhood as priests is expressed, renewed, and nourished.
To you, my dear people of God, the Faithful, as a Bishop, I express my gratitude for the love, support, understanding, and, in many cases, also patience and sometimes forgiveness for the imperfections that you extend to our priests, including our deacons and religious men and women.
Your support to your Pali is an expression of gratitude because it is through the ministry of the bishop and his priests that your oneness, your unity in Christ through Baptism and Holy Communion, is made possible.
As your bishop, I will consecrate the chrism to be the Sacred Chrism in this Chrism Mass and bless the Oil of Catechumens and the Oil of the Sick. These will be used in various sacraments and blessings throughout the diocese to sanctify God’s people in this jurisdiction.
Realize that we all belong to “a kingdom of priests.” And in that kingdom, some are specially ordained and ordered to serve the priesthood of all the baptized, so that sharing in the one priesthood of Jesus Christ who declared himself the anointed of God, the Christ, we might all be priests, prophets, and kings in this world.
From Isaiah, we heard: “You yourselves shall be named priests of the Lord, ministers of our God shall you be called.” And from the Book of Revelation: “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, who has made us into a kingdom of priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.”
While we, the ordained ministers, are key to the shepherding ministry in this Diocese, the call to care for others and lead them in faith is extended to all of you baptized Catholics, who are called to be “shepherds” in your families and your own spheres of influence. If we do not teach your children, and if we don’t connect them to the life-giving spirit of God through the church sacraments, they will look for it somewhere else.
May we never forget who we are, and may we never fear taking up the mission and responsibility entrusted to us.
Our confidence is in God, for “the Spirit of the Lord is upon us, because he has anointed us.” And our inspiration is that today, through us, the Christians, all that was ever promised and foretold of the Christ is being fulfilled in our hearing.
Again, to all our “Pali,” congratulations; and to you, my dear brothers and sisters, thank you for all your support and love for our priests.
Amen.
