Through thick and thin

I attended the recently concluded “Panagtigom,” a four-day retreat for clergy. On the occasion of the Year of the Clergy and Consecrated Persons, it gathered priests from the dioceses of Cebu, Dumaguete, Maasin, Talibon and Tagbilaran. In the welcome message of Archbishop Jose S. Palma, DD those days were meant to be “moments of re-encountering Christ so that we will be rejuvenated from our ministry of smelling like our sheep that has been entrusted to us by Jesus, the Good Shepherd.”

The Clergy Assembly was also an opportune encounter with my brother priests to pray together, reflect together about our life and ministry, share experiences and learnings so that we can be better disciples of Christ. Its end result was to come up with a code of ethics for the different dioceses that can guide our personal and communal conduct in the pursuit of priestly integrity and trustworthiness.

We were reminded by our facilitator, Rev. Fr. Augusto Jesus B. Angeles III, of the fundamental demands of our calling through fresh insights and concrete life-stories that became point of departure for individual introspection and self-evaluation. For me, it became an on-going challenge to be more accountable, to be more genuine and most of all faithful to my identity as a man of the cloth.

This experience resonates with today’s gospel reading (Jn 6:60-69) when Jesus confronts the crowd who were complaining of the difficulties of becoming his disciples. Following Jesus can be hard. First of all, it requires a decision. To follow Jesus is a personal choice. Marriage, priesthood and baptism – these are voluntary choices. These vocations entail our free response. I remember writing to my parents abroad to ask for their parents’ consent to enter the seminary. It took some weeks for my mother to decide, but eventually she gave her consent. I live a fulfilled life because she gave me the freedom to make my own choice.

Second, it involves certain duties. Seminary life was fun-filled. But it was also characterized by monotony and duties. I had to study much, prayed a lot and worked hard. One difficulty I had was to clean the toilet. Eventually, I got used to it. Marriage too, has duties. Husbands are to love their wives and the wives as to submit to their husbands for the sake of Christ. In all these duties, it is important for whom we do them – for the Lord.

Finally, following Christ has a radical demand. It requires constancy and perseverance. This means seeing the meaning of what you do beyond the monotony and routine. Moreover, it entails consistency in the daily grind. Priesthood can be a lonely vocation. Yet it is a calling that has a high relational value. A priest is a member of each family and is welcomed in every home because of whom he stands for. Marriage, too demands consistency in not taking each other for granted. These are instances in our lives that demand that we follow Christ through thick and thin.