OUR PARISH PRIEST

MASS FOR THANKSGIVING AND HEALING

OF A SICK PRIEST

What a beautiful Mass we came here to celebrate. There are two occasions that brought us here to this Eucharist.

First, it is the Mass to remember the birthday of Fr. G, our classmate and ordination batchmate. Every life is an immense gift, but moreso when it is the unique life of a priest. We know that the life of a priest is a life given to service, to others, to his neighbors.

Though unworthy, the life of a single priest touches hundreds, even thousands of lives each day, especially if he lives within a parish community. I know that Fr. G is surrounded today by his family and close friends. I am here as a classmate and friend. But many are here not because we are related to Father’s past but because we are recipients of his present goodness. You are here as because he is your parish priest, maybe even your favorite parish priest, your beloved parish priest, your best parish priest!

We find ourselves together in thanksgiving for one who decided not to keep his life to himself but rather to pour out his life for the good of others.

We are also here for another reason: Fr. G has successfully survived an important hurdle in his life. Since the great Manila Archdiocese was subdivided into new dioceses, I have been slow on news about priests in the newly created dioceses. It was just lately that I heard about Fr. G, his entry into this period of physical illness.

Maybe you have known it all along. There are many rumor-mongers and gossipers in the Catholic Church. And when it’s about the priest, the news spreads even faster!

We all know how Father has had to slow down as he goes through this difficult process of illness.

But what makes us celebrate is the good news that, thanks to the Lord Jesus, his body is responding well to treatment. This is good news indeed! And we praise the Lord for his healing power. The reading today is a source of hope in this season of Advent. Isaiah (26) proclaims: Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord is the everlasting Rock.

Allow me to reflect on this new episode of Fr. G’s life, his sickness and ongoing treatment and medication.

Why does a priest get sick? Why does he grow weak? Or simply we observe: why does he lose his hair, lose his voice, develop various ailment, grow old and ugly each year? We have been priests for 16 years and I tell you, it is not easy to recover the cuteness of the past!

But I remember a counsel we received before we got ordained, from a speaker who is now an archbishop: if a priest remains handsome, cute, attractive, unwrinkled through the years, maybe he is always in the spa and dermatology clinic! No, he said: maybe he is not really serving his people.

When a priest suffers, his suffering is connected to his service. Last Tuesday, I received the personal song collection (in cd) of one of my classmates at the Loyola School of Theology, where I am now studying again. There is a song there: Ikaw ang Liwanag ng Mundo, (You are the Light of the World) where the composer paraphrases Sirach 2:1-11. Let me share the lyrics with you…

Anak kung nais mong paglingkuran ang DIyos

Humanda ka sa mga pagsubok

Tanggapin ang anumang ipagkaloob nya sa iyo

Tiisin mo ang kabiguan

Anuman ang mangyari

Ikaw na aking lingkod

Meron akong ipagagawa

Na mas mahalaga at kamangha-mangha

Gagawin kitang liwanag sa mundong ito

Anak, mailigtas ang kapwa mo.

Sinabi ko ito sa iyo

Upang ikaw ay lumigaya

Tibayan mo lang ang iyong loob

Napagtagumpayan ko na ang sanlibutang ito

Hind ka na nag iisa

Kasama mo ako

(Original biblical verse in English:

My child, when you come to serve the Lord,

prepare yourself for trials

Be sincere of heart and steadfast,

and do not be impetuous in time of adversity.

Cling to him, do not leave him,

that you may prosper in your last days.

Accept whatever happens to you;

in periods of humiliation be patient.

For in fire gold is tested,

and the chosen, in the crucible of humiliation.

Trust in God, and he will help you;

make your ways straight and hope in him.

You that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy,

do not stray lest you fall.

You that fear the Lord, trust in him,

and your reward will not be lost.

You that fear the LORD, hope for good things,

for lasting joy and mercy.

Consider the generations long past and see:

has anyone trusted in the Lord and been disappointed?

Has anyone persevered in his fear and been forsaken?

has anyone called upon him and been ignored?

For the Lord is compassionate and merciful;

forgives sins and saves in time of trouble. Sirach 2:1-11)

The priesthood is not meant to be a life of comfort and ease. Pain and suffering are mysteries connected to the mission of every priest. Sometimes people see it. Sometimes they don’t. But every priest definitely feels it in his body and his soul.

He feels it when he starts to follow the One who ascends the cross; the One whose arms are tied and crucified; the One whose body bleeds out of love. The priest must follow the path of Jesus, the path of love, the path of pain.

After 16 years, the 20 of us ordained together, I am sure did suffer a lot in many different ways.

As Christians, we do not hope for suffering, but for healing and resurrection. But when we do suffer, as the song says: Ikaw na aking lingkod, meron akong ipinagagawa (you are my servant and I am giving you a new task).

We do not become inactive or useless just because we get sick. At times when we think we are most inactive, it is then that God is most active in us and through us.

The way we carry our pain becomes an inspiration to others. When before you actively and strongly and tirelessly serve people as their pastor, now you serve them by accompanying them and by being one like them in their pain.

Now you hope like them, hope with them, hope through them.

When before you preach about Advent, now you show many people the real advent of expectation for the coming of the Lord’s promises.

Incredible but true, a suffering priest is not just an inspiration but is likewise an emblem of hope for the people.

He is a powerful instrument in God’s hands.

I hope i can sing this song to you. But since you know I am not concert material, I will just recite the song again to remain in your heart and mind. This is for you. This is our hope for you, our prayer for you, our faith expressed and offered for your healing and recovery. To us, you are a great priest, Fr. G.