“Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life to many.” (Mt20:26-28)

The year 2017 for our diocese marks the halfway point of the Decade of New Evangelization.  Through the work of cultivating the parish into a communion of communities, we have realized the graces hoped for from the programs of action developed by the Diocesan BEC Animation group, achieved in three levels: (1) Establishment of a BEC Institute – [FORMATION]; (2) Institutionalization of BEC Day [CELEBRATION]; and, (3) Promotion & implementation of the BEC Outreach Program “Sugod sa Sambahayan” [MISSION].

For the year 2018, we shall turn our gaze towards the diocesan clergy together with the religious and the consecrated persons.  It will be a year of intensive reflection and formation on the role of the priests and consecrated persons in the life of the Church, especially in line with the contemporary challenges it faces. Called, blessed, and broken in order to be shared, we will look into the vocation of the diocesan & religious clergy (and consecrated persons) in their roles as servant-leaders.

There are many ways to appreciate the meaning of Christ-like Servant Leadership. This year, I would like to consider servant-leadership particularly in the spirit of ACCOMPANIMENT.  Under this key concept, the servant-leader is one who accompanies God’s people –  as KALAKBAY, KAAKBAY, and KAAGAPAY.

KALAKBAY: Servant Leadership is a Call to ALL Disciples of Jesus

As baptized children of God,  the clergy, consecrated persons and the laity are all called to a life of holiness & to be servant-leaders, where we received the threefold mission (triple munera): Prophetic, Priestly, Kingly roles. However, in the exercise of their missions, they each have their own charisms that are distinct but related gifts in the evangelization of God’s people and in the exercise of their servant leadership.  Despite their diversities, all of them are united in their journey as missionary disciples of Jesus in the building up of the Church.  For the year 2018, the clergy is being asked to discern how their own gifts in relation to that of the Laity and the Consecrated Persons can blend and contribute to the life of the community as co-pilgrims or co-sojourners (Kalakbay).

KAAKBAY: The Diocesan Priest & Religious Clergy Working Together in Parish Building

From the prism of Kaakbay , let us now contemplate on the relationship between the diocesan priest and the religious clergy involved in the work of the parish. As a diocesan priest, he works hand in hand with the religious clergy to evangelize the various parishes and communities in the diocese. Magkaakbay, the diocesan priest is like the “salt of the earth” because like the salt which is mixed with the food to give it a taste, he is summoned to be immersed in the life of his community –  being close to them and bringing out the Christian  flavor of love in their lives. On the other hand, the religious clergy (and consecrated persons) are like the “light of the world” who illuminate a way of life that is “not of this world” and live out in steadfast fidelity their evangelical vows.  In this Year of the Clergy and the Consecrated Persons, we are to reflect on how the diocesan priest and the religious clergy can concretely and meaningfully apply their respective charisms while also working together within the context of the diocese.

KAAGAPAY: The Parish Priest and the Parishioners Supporting Each Other

In this third perspective, we look at the relationship that exists between the parish priest and the parishioners. The priest is one who acts in persona Christi Capitis (in the person of Christ the Head) in his parish and community. Like Jesus, who “came not to be served but to serve” (Mk 10:45), his brand of leadership is characterized primarily by service.

While the priest and the faithful are supporting each other in the building up of the parish, the priest is afforded by his ordination the opportunity to serve God’s people in manners available only to him.  He is able to serve as a mediator between God and his people  through preaching the Word of God, leading the congregation in worship, presiding over the Sacraments and taking the lead in the Church’s hierarchy of service.

Thus, he is called to be a Teacher, Preacher, Presider, Builder, Architect, Bridge, Healer, Administrator, Conductor – all rolled into one!

At the same time, the parishioners are called to support and complement the leadership roles of the parish priest by prayer, by sharing their time, talents and treasure, by actively involving themselves in the various parish ministries and by harmoniously working together with their pastor in the planning and implementation of the parish plans and programs. In essence, it is a collaborative partnership (kaagapay) under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

I invite everyone therefore, first to keep our clergy and consecrated persons in your prayers – that they may be faithful to their desire to give their lives as an offering to God by serving His people. As a diocese, let us also work towards seeking out individuals, especially those among the youth, who are genuinely being called by God to be a priest, religious or a consecrated person.

Let us turn to our Blessed Mother and ask her to intercede for us, to commend to God the clergy of the Diocese of  Parañaque, and the consecrated persons working in and for the diocese,  “and to the gracious Word of His that can build [them] up and give [them] the inheritance among all who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32)

 

(sgd.) X Jesse E. Mercado, D.D.

Bishop of Parañaque

Tagalog 

“Ngunit hindi ganyan ang dapat umiral sa inyo. Sa halip, ang sinuman sa inyo na ibig maging dakila ay dapat maging lingkod.  At sinumang ibig maging pinuno ay dapat maging alipin ninyo.  Tulad ng Anak ng Tao na naparito, hindi upang panglingkuran kundi upang maglinkod at ialay ang kanyang buhay upang matubos ang marami.” (Mt. 20:26-28)

Ngayong tayo ay nasa kalagitnaan ng pagdiriwang ng “Decade of New Evangelization”, sa pamamagitan ng pagpapalakas ng parokya bilang nagkakaisang pamayanan, tayo ay binayayaan ng mga programang binuo ng COMBANE (Commission on BEC Animation and New Evangelization) sa tatlong antas:  1. Ang pagkakatatag ng BEC Institute – (paghubog); 2. Pagtatalaga ng BEC Day – (pagdiriwang), 3. Pagpapalaganap at pagpapatupad ng “Sugod sa Sambayanan”- (Misyon).

Sa darating na 2018 ibaling natin ang ating pansin sa mga pari ng Diyosesis, kasama ng mga Relihiyoso at mga “Consecrated Persons”.  Ating taimtim na pagnilayan ang tungkulin ng mga pari at “consecrated persons” sa buhay ng Simbahan, lalu-lalo na sa mga hamong hinaharap ng nito.  Tinawag, binasbas, at hinati upang maibahagi, ating sisilipin ang bokasyon ng mga pari ng Diyosesis at mga relihoyoso sa kanilang pagiging mga punong-lingkod.

Ngayong Taon ng mga Pari at “Consecrated Persons”, nais kong tignan ang pagiging punong-lingkod sa konteksto ng (ACCOMPANIMENT ) PAGIGING KASAMA. Ang pagiging punong-lingkod isang kasama ng pamayanan ng Diyos bilang KALAKBAY, KAAKBAY at KAAGAPAY.

KALAKBAY: Servant Leadership is a Call to ALL Disciples of Jesus

Bilang mga binyagang anak ng Diyos, ang mga pari at relihiyoso (consecrated persons) at ang layko ay tinatawag sa buhay pagpapakabanal at maging punong-tagapaglingkod.  Dahil dito, tinaggap natin ang mission ni Kristo sa kanyang pagkapari, pagkapropeta at pagkahari.  (triple munera), kung saan sa kabila ng pagkakaiba-iba sila ay nagkakaisa sa paglalakbay bilang mga disipolo ni Hesus sa pagtataguyod ng Simbahan. Ngayong 2018, ang pari ay inaanyayahang  pagnilayan ang kanilang mga talento kaugnay sa mga layko at mga relihiyoso upang makatulong sa buhay ng pamayanan bilang Kalakbay.

KAAKBAY: The Diocesan Priest & Religious Clergy Working Together in Parish Building

Kaakbay,- pagtutuan natin ng pansin ang kaugnayan ng mga pari ng Diyosesis at ng mga reliheyosong pari na parehong nakikilahok sa mga gawain sa parokya.  Bilang pari ng Diyosesis, siya, kasama ng mga relihiyosong pari ay magkatuwang sa ebanghelisasyon sa mga parokya and iba’t-ibang pamayanan sa Diyosesis. Magkaakbay, ang pari ay tulad ng “asin ng daigdig” na inihahalo sa pagkain upang magbigay lasa dito, ay inaatasang makipamuhay sa buhay ng kanyang pamayanan – pagiging malapit sa kanila upang palitawin ang maka-Kristianong pagmamahal sa kanilang buhay.  Sa kabilang banda, ang mga relihiyosong pari ay tulad ng “ilaw sa mundo” na syang nagbibigay liwanag sa isang buhay na hindi maka-mundo ngunit namumuhay ng tapat sa kanilang mga pinangakong paraan ng pamumuhay.  Ngayong taon ng mga pari at “consecrated persons” tayo ay inaanyayahang magnilay sa kung paano, sa isang kontreto at makahulugang paraan nila magagamit ang kanilang mga karisma habang sama-samang kumikolos sa Diyosesis.

KAAGAPAY: The Parish Priest and the Parishioners Supporting Each Other

Sa pangatlong bahagi, ating patuunan ng pansin ang kaugnayan sa pagitan ng mga kura paroko at kanyang mga ka-parokya.  Ang pari bilang kumakatawan kay Kristo na siyang pinuno ng parokya. Tulad ni Hesus na “naparito, hindi upang paglingkuran kundi upang maglingkod” (Mk 10:45),ang kanyang pamumuno ay may natatanging  paglilingkod.

Habang ang mga pari at ang layko ay kapwa nagtutulungan sa paghubog ng parokya, ang pari, dahil sa kanyang pagiging orden ay biniyayaang paglingkuran ang pamayanan ng Diyos sa paraan natatangi sa kanya. Siya ay maaring maging tagapamagitan ng layko at ng Diyos sa pamamagitan ng kanyang turo tungkol sa Salita ng Diyos, pamumuno sa mananampalataya sa pagsamba, sa pagtanggap ng mga Sakramento at iba pang natatanging paglilingkod ng Simbahan.

Siya ay tinatawag bilang guro, pinuno, taga-hubog, taga-pangasiwa, tagapag-tayo, tulay, tagapag-turo.

Ang mga layko sa parokya ay inaanyayahang sumuporta at  pagtibayin ang pamumuno ng kura paroko sa pamamagitan ng pananalangin, pagbabahagi ng kanilang oras, talento at yaman sa pamamagitan ng pagiging kasali sa iba’t ibang ministerio o samahan  na sama-samang maligayang naglilingkod kasama ang kanilang kura sa pagpapatupad ng iba’t ibang programa ng parokya sa paggabay ng Espiritu Santo.

Inaanyayan ko ang lahat, una na ipanalangin ang mga pari at relihiyoso “consecrated persons”, upang sila ay maging tapat sa kanilang piniling bokasyon na ialay ang kanilang buhay sa Diyos sa pamamagitan ng kanyang pamanayanan.  Bilang isang Diyosesis, hanapin natin ang mga tao, lalu na ang mga kabataang may natatanging paanyaya sa pagpapari o pagiging relihiyoso (consecrated person)

Hilingin natin ang pamamagitan ng ating Inang si Maria at idulog natin sa Diyos ang mga pari ng Diyosesis ng Parañaque, at mga relihiyoso “consecrated persons” ng kumikilos para sa at nasa Dioyesis. “ang ngayo’y itinatagubilin ko kayo sa Diyos at sa kanyang kagandahang-loob.  Siya ang makapagpapatibay sa inyo at makapagbibigay ng lahat ng pagpapalang inilaan niya sa lahat ng kanyang pinapaging-banal. (Gawa 20:32)

(sgd. ) X Jesse E. Mercado, D.D.

Bishop of Parañaque