THE PRIESTHOOD AND GOD’S FIDELITY

Homily for Fr. Angelo Silerio’s Thanksgiving Mass
Christ the King University Church; Ateneo de Naga University
11 April 2006

If face value and good looks were to be basis for admission to the priesthood, you will all agree that Fr. Boboy qualifies unquestionably. Because as you can see, he has that angelo-ic innocent looks that have caused the hearts of ladies and (hrmm) gentlemen beat faster than usual, at the mere sight or smell of Fr. Boboy. Even that receding hairline, they say, makes him even more desirable and delectable.

Or if intelligence and were to be the basis of admission to the priesthood, again Fr. Boboy qualifies undeniably. Both in Naga Parochial School and Ateneo de Naga, Fr. Boboy was always in the honors class and graduated with honors in all of grade school, high school and college. And in Loyola School of Theology, like our two other new priests, he recently finished with the distinction Magna Cum Laude.

If capacity and endurance were to be the basis of admission to the priesthood, again Fr. Boboy qualifies undoubtedly. He has these qualities; otherwise how could have survived the long years of preparation for Jesuit priesthood which started way back in 1995 and, in one sense, ended three days ago on his ordination day? How could he have stood triumphant through the various tests and trials he had to face throughout those years of formation?

But if we reflect on the readings for today, we realize that there seem to be another set of criteria by which the Lord chooses His servants, other than good looks, intelligence and endurance. And while Fr. Boboy has been fortunately gifted with these, he has been chosen by the Lord to be His priest by way of another standard. And these are: God-centeredness, availability and fidelity.

First, God-centeredness. The prophet says, “Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, Yet my reward is with the LORD, my recompense is with my God.” In the responsorial psalm, the psalmist says, “For you are my hope, O Lord; my trust, O God, from my youth. On you, I depend from birth; from my mother’s womb, you are my strength.” The Servant of Yahweh, then, is one who centers his life on God. The famous song “In Him Alone” beautifully expresses the prophet’s view of his identity and mission: “In Him alone is our hope. In Him alone is our strength. In Him alone are we justified. In Him alone are we saved.”

Focusing on one’s good looks, intelligence and capacity puts the self at the center of one’s concern. The self becomes the capital, the motivation and the reward for one’s efforts and strivings. And if an endeavour does not boost the ego, one leaves that project for another more popular, more affirming, more rewarding work or task. This does not seem to be the tendency of Fr. Boboy. My experience of 10 years with him in the Society tells me that Fr. Boboy is a quiet yet hardworking fellow. He does not mind being at the background, doing supporting roles. Yet when called hold leadership posts, he stands to take up the challenge, like being the area and cluster head in our apostolate in Payatas.

Second, availability. In the first reading, Yahweh says: “You are my servant Israel through whom I will show my glory…to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations…” It is Yahweh who determines what the mission of his Servant will be. It is Yahweh sends Him wherever He wishes to. It is God who will dispose of His servant however, wherever, whenever He wants. The Servants needs only to be available, to be at the pleasure of His Master. St. Ignatius expresses this in his prayer, Take and Receive: “Do what thou wilt, command, and I obey.”

And this is probably what the Lord saw in Fr. Boboy: the spirit of availability, of willingness to be His servant, however, wherever, whenever the Lord wishes. If I am not mistaken, at one point in his journey, Fr. Boboy considered pursuing another way of life, or another way of being a priest, one that will allow Him to design His life the way he wants it, the way He likes it. But that was not to be the case. The Lord has prevailed. He wanted Fr. Boboy to be a Jesuit priest. Through Fr. Provincial, the Lord has expressed His will that Fr. Boboy goes to the far-flung barrio parish of Cabanglasan in Bukidnon to minister to the indigenous peoples of Bukidnon and Agusan. There it will be the culture and the needs of the people who will determine how Fr. Boboy will serve them. He needs only to be available to them.

Third, fidelity. In today’s Gospel, we see the two disciples whose discipleship are put to the test by the turn of events in Jesus’ life. Judas, as we know, have turned traitor. He has failed in returning the fidelity of Jesus to Him. Peter, similarly, was to fail in his fidelity to His Master. Hence, the remark of Jesus, “Where I am going, you can not follow me now, though later, you will.” And Peter proudly says to Jesus, “Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you!” And Jesus answered, “You will lay down your life for me, will you? Amen. Amen. I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.”

Fidelity, then, is the third, and perhaps the most important virtue the Lord looks for in His servant. Fr. Boboy’s fidelity, especially to people who have been part of his life in varying degrees of intimacy and intensity, is probably evidenced by the presence of many of his friends during the ordination, coming as far as Davao, Aklan, Bulacan and, of course, Camaligan. When Fr. Boboy becomes your friend, it is for keeps. It is forever, for life, but always relative to his primary commitment as a chaste celibate Jesuit priest.

God-centeredness, availability and fidelity. These, then, are the virtues that the Lord may have seen in you, Fr.Boboy, that made Him call you, choose you, to become His servant. Not that you possess them in their fullness and totality, but that the potential, the seed is there in your heart. And in the generosity and sincerity of your desire, you responded to the call by pronouncing the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience on May 30, 1997, and receiving the gift of the priesthood just last Saturday, April 8, 2006.

I wonder, Fr. Boboy, whether last Saturday, when you said “I do” to all the questions of the Bishop, you fully understood what you were talking about: what this awesome gift of the priesthood is all about, what it means, what it takes, what it costs. Looking back to my experience of being a priest for one year and two days has made me wonder whether I knew what I was saying on the day of my ordination. Maybe I was like Peter who did not fully understand what Jesus was saying to Him, much less what he himself was foolishly saying to Jesus. Only later on, when he had actually denied knowing Jesus, when he had cowardly fled to save His skin, when he would weep bitterly at his shameful predicament, would he understand how unfaithful He had been. And only later, later on, after the Resurrection, when Jesus gives Peter another chance, when He allows Peter to make up for his denials, by professing his love for Jesus three times, only then does Peter realize how faithful His Master, His Lord, His friend had been despite and amidst his infidelity.

To my utter shame and embarrassment, I realized that the priesthood is not about me and me alone. Your parents, Fred and Conching, and the married people here present would probably agree that this can be said, too, about marriage. It is not just about the husband and wife period. In the priesthood as well as in marriage, it is not about working at it with all your might to make the relationship or the celibacy work. It is not about having successful projects and six or eight-digit salaries or stipends. It is not about up to what age you have lived, or to how far a continent you have travelled to, or to how many fan texts you have received for a well-delivered lecture or homily.

Rather, it is primarily about God and His fidelity to His promises. Our priesthood is about how God has been faithful to us, even in our unfaithfulness. I think this is what “being a priest forever” means: that once God has given His word, He means it and He will do it. He will not take it back. You, Fr. Boboy, are a priest forever, because the God who has called from among His people, and for His people, is a faithful God, who invites you to center your life on Him, to be available to Him, to be faithful to Him. This is what we are giving thanks to the Lord for, today in this Eucharist, and in every Eucharist that you will offer all your life: the fidelity of God. This fidelity of God is what are celebrate this Holy Week: the God whose Word has became flesh, to live among us, to die for us, to rise again for us.

So when you travel along that long and winding, bumpy and shaky road to your parish in Cabanglasan, Bukidnon, imagine that road as the version for you today of that ancient road to Calvary, a road that will test your God-centeredness, availability and fidelity. But do not be afraid! Many of our Jesuit forebears have taken that road, following the Call of the Christ the King. Foremost of them are our first companions whose jubilee we celebrate this year: Loyola, Xavier and Favre. Our Jesuit giants here in Naga whose edifying lives of God-centeredness, availability and fidelity have inspired and nurtured our own vocation are certainly praying for you as they join us from above: Frs. Rooney, Phelan, Bonoan and Dolan. Living Jesuit giants, yes, there are: Frs. Sanz, Belardo, Carretero and Tabora, and the rest of the brethren. We wish you all the best. Please pray for us as we shall do for you.