Twelve new priests were ordained yesterday at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. In his message to the clergy, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma said priests should not be afraid to stand by the teachings of the Church as the country faces several moral and social issues. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Bored and confused, Jonathan Rubin left the seminary in 2008 to try living in the outside world.
For three years, he was a call center agent, a radio announcer and a private school teacher all at the same time.
“I was receiving salaries left and right. By then, I found it nice because I could buy whatever I wanted,” he said.
But Rubin could not buy happiness.
“I realized that material things never satisfy. Real joy is found in God alone,” he told Cebu Daily News.
Days of intense prayer led him back to the archdiocesan seminary in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City to finish his priestly formation.
By yesterday morning, Rubin was among 12 deacons ordained as priests by Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.
“Cebu is blessed. We cannot but thank the Lord for His immense blessings. And because He loves his people, God has sent shepherds to guide and care for His flock,” said Palma in his homily.
With 414 diocesan priests and about 300 others from various religious congregations, Cebu still has the most number of clergy in the Philippines.
During the ordination, Palma challenged the 12 new priests to meditate on the word of God, to teach what is right and to put into practice what they preach.
Palma also asked them to be ready to provide answers and guide people, particularly on matters involving extrajudicial killings, the spread of illegal drugs, the possible revival of the death penalty and divorce as the country faces a variety of moral and social issues.
“Do not be afraid to preach what is right. Stand by what the Church and the Lord proclaims,” said the 66-year-old prelate.
Palma called on priests to emulate the late Cebuano Bishop Teofilo Camomot whose generosity and love for the poor were exceptional.
Camomot’s cause for sainthood is being processed by the archdiocese.
“Priesthood is not about ourselves but God’s call to serve His people,” Palma said.
Palma laid his hands upon the heads of the new priests to invoke the blesing of the Holy Spirit. The ordinands’ hands were blessed with sacred oil to strengthen their vocation. The faithful also sang the Litany of Saints as the newly-ordained priests laid their faces on the ground to manifest their total surrender to God.
As for Fr. Rubin, being ordained as priest isn’t the end of his spiritual and earthly journey but only the beginning of the life he dreamed of, he said.
Rubin, who will be assigned at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, was thankful for his parents’ continued support and for his benefactor whose help allowed him to continue his studies.
Rubin’s family in Medellin town, northern Cebu, was among those who suffered from the devastation left by Supertyphoon Yolanda in 2013.
During the 51st International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu City last January, Rubin served as media relations officer. He also anchors a religious program on DYAB.
Rubin was ordained along with Andrei Ventanilla, Teodoro Baruc, Dave Christopher Cantillas, Renato Destacamento, Severino Escobido III, Kent Dahrel Galo, Erik Orio, Arnel Ponce, Giuseppe Pongase, Florido Rosales and Junrey Siman.