Bishop’s
homily during the mass for the deceased clergy of Pasig held last November 12,
2012
Magandang Tanghali po sa inyo!
Siguro kayo po’y
nagtataka bakit maraming pari ngayon. It’s a concelebrated mass while it’s also our
regular 12:15 noon mass in the Cathedral.
Well,
when we calendared our 2012 activities, we have designated that this day and
also this mass to have a concelebrated mass for the repose of the souls of our
departed priests and that’s why it is the day off of our priests, but we are
here to offer this Eucharist for all the departed priests of the Diocese of
Pasig and also the priests we know who have passed away.
I
have been informed because I was just the bishop of Pasig last year that there
are four priests who have served here who have passed away: Msgr. Pastor, Fr. Fil,
Fr. Ross, and of course, Fr. Buddy. I do not know if I forgot any others, yet
it is fortunate also that in this Eucharistic Celebration as we remember them
in our prayers we also remember all the priests we know and I think if there is
one thing that I’d like to share in this Eucharistic celebration, strikingly,
to offer mass for our deceased priests gives us what we call the disposition of
gratitude, “pasasalamat”.
Maganda nga ho pag-isipan
pag meron pong namatay na isang layko, isang madre - parte ng pamilya po natin
yan, tatawag po tayo ng pari at itong paring ito ang magmimisa sa mga burol at
sa libing, because we know it is only the priest who can do
that function and that service. But you see when a priest dies, true enough,
the bishop may be there and also the brother priests may be there. But it is
also striking that a priest when he serves the church ages, retires, and later
on dies. Dumarating po yung panahon nakakalimutan
na po yung pari, totoo po yan.
Two
months ago we laid to rest one of a retired and aged priests in the Archdiocese
of Manila. His name is Msgr. Marcelino
Montemayor. He died at age of 87.
When
I was ordained priest in 1990, he was around 65 years old, but he was still
functioning because the retirement of a priest is 75 not unless you become
sickly or for a special reason. So
naabutan ko pa siya nung bata pa po akong pari, bagong ordained na pari. Masigasig pa po kahit medyo may edad na,
senior citizen s’ya noon, naglilingkod, light hearted, well-loved, and
still serving the way he should and the way he could.
Msgr.
Montemayor has been noted to be one who is close also to the catechists. Iyan
po’y tagakalampag ng mga parish priest para tumulong sa mga pangangailangan ng
katekista. Hindi ko po makakalimutan yung sermon ni Cardinal designate Luis
Antonio “Chito” Tagle during that mass noting that even though he also came to
Manila only last year, Msgr. Montemayor was noted for that gift that’s why he
was also close not only to the catechists but also to the priests. Kahit yung mga paring kuripot at ayaw
magbigay, basta kinalampag na po ni Msgr. Montemayor, magbibigay at tutulong
para sa pangangailangan ng mga katekista.
Well
I shared this because since he was already 87 years old when he was laid to
rest, a certain expectation, given the fact that he served as a priest for so
many years, I’m sure he also reached golden years. Syempre marami mga nakikilala dyan, maraming nabinyagan nya, maraming
kinumpilan yan, tapos nandun din yung mga nag-officiate siya sa kasal and in
all the sacraments. Siguro nung kabataan pa nya mas popular sya.
Pero alam nyo nung misa
ginawa po naming iyun dun sa Loreto Church medyo kahit papaano malaki-laki din
po yung simbahan. Nung libing, medyo hapon po yun, di po napuno ang simbahan.
At alam nyo paano napuno kasi marami pong paring nakilibing at nakimisa, one
third ng simbahan puro pari. Yung mga
lay people at mga madre, nandun din. Maaring ang iba hindi alam na namatay siya
o yung iba nauna na rin sa kanya namatay ay baka nakalimutan na rin sya.
That’s why I think it’s also a good exercise to go through this whole
experience yearly to offer mass for our departed priests. Because it’s our way
of thanking the Lord for them despite their own sinfulness and their weaknesses
that they have been a blessing to us – a blessing to the Church.
Nakikita niyo po
nandyan po yung mga pari natin ngayon for the Diocese of Pasig. Almost all of them are here, both incardinated,
guest priests and religious. Tignan niyo po kaming mga naglilingkod sa
inyo. Dadating po ang araw na mawawala
din kami sa mundong ito katulad ninyo. But
I hope as we are still living and able to celebrate the Eucharist, let us make
it a practice to pray for our priests. Because we know God use them for the
special vocation - to celebrate mass daily and to dispense of the sacraments so
that we will feel the loving presence of God.
Pray
for them to even now those who are living that as we go to the road – the road
to eternal life we will also thread the path of holiness. Kailangan po namin ang inyong mga panalangin. Your bishop - Bishop
Mylo, and your priests present, we are all weak and sinful. Humbly we tell you,
we need sanctification, we need conversion, and we need your prayers so that
when our time comes we will see each other in eternal life. /DPOC20121208
log: bishop's homily, headline news
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