Today I celebrate my 30th anniversary of my ordination to the Priesthood. Frankly, I was of the opinion that I should forget about my 30th anniversary of my ordination because it just a reminder about getting older, but when the Filipino Ministry of the Diocese of San Bernardino made plans to "make it big", I couldn't ignore it.
On March 31st 1977, I was ordained a Catholic priest in the Philippines. My mother, my brothers and sisters, my nephews and nieces and various friends, attended the Mass. It was a magnificent service. That was 30 years ago -- and a lot has happened since then. Let me just give you a brief reflection on those years.
I will begin with a humorous story about a conversation between a newly ordained priest and his pastor. Actually, it was a heated argument about a pastoral issue. In exasperation, the pastor finally blurted out, "Don't argue with me, I've had 30 years experience as a priest."
The young priest looked at his pastor and calmly said, "No, you haven't. You haven't had 30 years experience. You had one year's experience and you repeated 30 times."
Well, I admit there has been much repetition in these past three decades: thousands of baptisms and confessions, hunderds of marriages and funerals -- but each one with its own uniqueness. In addition to the sacraments, there have been other thousands of meetings, parish events and conversations in which people have shared their joys, their sorrows, their struggles to be faithful to God.
Last week I took sometime to reflect on what seems like a cascade of experiences. I asked myself this question: "What is required to be a happy priest?"
I stared writing and I came up with quite a long list. I then boiled the list down to 35 things that I could do to be happier. I won't give you the whole list, but I like to mention just one as it applies not exclusively to priests but to all Christians. And that one thing is: THE GENEROSITY TO GIVE.
You see, miracles happen when we give. Sharing cannot be possible unless there is a giving. Without any giving at all, life is just a humdrum, boring existence.
In the past 30 years, what have I given to God? What have I surrendered to Him? Jesus knows what I have offered in my hands these 30 years. He knows the amount of time and service I have given to the Church. He knows if I had given out of obligation or out of convenience. He knows when I gave from the little I had or from the excess amount I no longer need.
Most of us lead a quiet, humble lives. There will be no monuments created in our honor when we die. But that should no lessen the difference we can do when we give from our hearts. It may be a comforting handshake to somebody unfriendly, a welcoming smile to somebody uncomfortable, a sincere compliment to somebody insecure, a kind word to somebody unaccepted.
Most of all, when the day ends, there will be one person who lived a better life because we had the patience and the generosity to give.
On March 31st 1977, I was ordained a Catholic priest in the Philippines. My mother, my brothers and sisters, my nephews and nieces and various friends, attended the Mass. It was a magnificent service. That was 30 years ago -- and a lot has happened since then. Let me just give you a brief reflection on those years.
I will begin with a humorous story about a conversation between a newly ordained priest and his pastor. Actually, it was a heated argument about a pastoral issue. In exasperation, the pastor finally blurted out, "Don't argue with me, I've had 30 years experience as a priest."
The young priest looked at his pastor and calmly said, "No, you haven't. You haven't had 30 years experience. You had one year's experience and you repeated 30 times."
Well, I admit there has been much repetition in these past three decades: thousands of baptisms and confessions, hunderds of marriages and funerals -- but each one with its own uniqueness. In addition to the sacraments, there have been other thousands of meetings, parish events and conversations in which people have shared their joys, their sorrows, their struggles to be faithful to God.
Last week I took sometime to reflect on what seems like a cascade of experiences. I asked myself this question: "What is required to be a happy priest?"
I stared writing and I came up with quite a long list. I then boiled the list down to 35 things that I could do to be happier. I won't give you the whole list, but I like to mention just one as it applies not exclusively to priests but to all Christians. And that one thing is: THE GENEROSITY TO GIVE.
You see, miracles happen when we give. Sharing cannot be possible unless there is a giving. Without any giving at all, life is just a humdrum, boring existence.
In the past 30 years, what have I given to God? What have I surrendered to Him? Jesus knows what I have offered in my hands these 30 years. He knows the amount of time and service I have given to the Church. He knows if I had given out of obligation or out of convenience. He knows when I gave from the little I had or from the excess amount I no longer need.
Most of us lead a quiet, humble lives. There will be no monuments created in our honor when we die. But that should no lessen the difference we can do when we give from our hearts. It may be a comforting handshake to somebody unfriendly, a welcoming smile to somebody uncomfortable, a sincere compliment to somebody insecure, a kind word to somebody unaccepted.
Most of all, when the day ends, there will be one person who lived a better life because we had the patience and the generosity to give.
Let me attempt to sum up: Today, on my 30th Anniversary, I am feeling enormous gratitude for the gift of the priesthood -- and I am asking myself how to be happier priest, so that I can serve you better.
No comments:
Post a Comment