POPE Francis spoke as a revolutionary reformer in his homily when he celebrated his first Mass in the Philippines at the Manila Cathedral on Friday, Jan 16. Tender but challenging and truthful, he told bishops, priests, and religious men and women, and seminarians to live the radical call of the Gospel. He addressed these words to them:
“For us priests and consecrated persons, conversion to the newness of the Gospel entails a daily encounter with the Lord in prayers. The saints teach us that this is the source of all apostolic zeal. For religious, living the newness of the Gospel also means finding anew in community life and community apostolates the incentive for an ever closer union with the Lord in perfect charity. For all of us, it means living lives that reflect the poverty of Christ, whose entire life was focused on doing the will of the Father and serving others. The great danger to this, of course, is a certain materialism which can creep into our lives and compromise the witness we offer. Only in by becoming poor ourselves, by stripping away our complacency, will we be able to identify with the least of our brothers and sisters. We will see in a new light and thus respond with honesty and integrity to the challenge of proclaiming the radicalism of the Gospel in a society which has grown comfortable with social exclusion, polarization and scandalous inequality.”
As the Holy Father spoke these words, I thought of a few priests and sisters that I met while I was in the Philippines attending the Papal events. One of them is Fr. Ardy, who was my close friend in college seminary. Fr. Ardy recently celebrated his twenty-fifth anniversary as a priest. He has spent fourteen years of his priestly life ministering to the poorest of the urban poor inside the La Loma Cemetery in Manila. His parish, St. Pancratius, is physically situated inside this public cemetery.
Fr. Ardy not only ministers to the poor, he lives poor. In speaking to him, he exuded joy in his ministry. “I sometimes hear my former classmates tease me about ministering and living in the cemetery, and being among the dead,” he said, “but I’m happy where I am. I feel blessed in my ministry.”
Another priest is Fr. Ruel of Palawan. Fr. Ruel has been working for fourteen years as a chaplain at the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Princesa. He dresses poor, eats and lives simply, but he also projects joy in his ministry. He wishes to live his entire life ministering to the incarcerated.
Sister Marilena is another person that has impressed me by how she has spent her life among the poor of Paliparan in Cavite. While speaking to her on the phone, she expressed her tiredness. At the age of 72, she continues to raise money to provide livelihood for the poorin the of slums of Paliparan. She hopes that someone in her community will take her place, but it seems that no one is able to do this yet. Weary but fulfilled, she continues her ministry with the poor. She has helped thousands of destitute people through her vision, hard work, and the generosity of her community and friends.
Fr. Robert is another priest that inspires me. He leads a Franciscan college seminary as president. He shared with me the kind of priestly formation they have. The seminarians and their formators study in the seminary but they don’t live there. Instead, they choose to live with a community in a slum of Manila. When I told him how difficult it might be for seminarians to fulfill their studies while living in a squatters’ area, he said that this has worked out well for years now.
I’m certain that there are many priests and religious men and women that live their vocation radically and authentically. There are some that may not have done this fully, but we hope that the life and preaching of the Pope Francis will inspire all bishops, priests, religious women and men, and even lay people to proclaim the “center” of the Gospel as Pope Francis has said, which is ministry to the poor.
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From a Filipino immigrant family, Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas was ordained to the priesthood from St. John’s Seminary in 1991. He served as Associate Pastor at St. Augustine, Culver City (1991-1993); St. Martha, Valinda (1993-1999); and St. Joseph the Worker, Canoga Park (1999-2001). In 2001, he served as Administrator Pro Tem of St. John Neumann in Santa Maria, CA, until his appointment as pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Los Angeles, in 2002, which lasted 12 years. His term as Associate Director of Pastoral Field Education at St. John’s Seminary began in July 2014.
