THE PRINCIPAL of the Angelicum School in Iloilo, Fr. Paul Lovell Javier, O.P., was named parish priest of Santo Domingo Church during the 54th Parish Fiesta Mass on Sunday, Aug. 2, in Quezon City.
Javier marked the beginning of his first parish assignment with a formal installation.
In an interview with the Varsitarian, Javier said his discernment for the priesthood began in UST High School. However, his vocation was postponed at his mother’s wishes, due to a tragedy their family experienced.
“So, I heeded the request of my mom…I pursued my bachelor’s degree at UST,” he said, eventually taking up a degree in economics from the College of Commerce and Business Administration.
Javier’s calling to the priesthood remained strong amid his desire to forge a career in politics and business.
“But, you know, God has his own way of reminding us of his call. So, when I was about to graduate, the desire returned to me,” he added.
After graduating in 2002, Javier entered the Dominican Formation House in Calamba that same year and was ordained to the priesthood in 2012.
Transitioning to parish ministry
Javier found a stark contrast between running an educational institution and fulfilling parish duties.
After years of serving in the school setting, he said that parish ministry now requires him to engage directly with people.
“In the school, especially in the institution, [it is] more structured…You’re hitting metrics. You’re hitting [the key result areas],” he said
“But [in the parish], we are not hitting so much with the digits, but we’re hitting [in terms of encountering] people,” Javier noted.
As parish priest of Santo Domingo, the home of the centuries-old La Naval image and its millions of Marian devotees, Javier said his primary responsibility is the spiritual nourishment of the people entrusted to him.
He added that pastoral care is not just about spiritual needs but also about addressing parishioners’ physical needs.
“I’m not just administering to spiritual creatures. Because they also have a material component. They have physical bodies. And that physical body also requires physical things. So, the total care of the parishioners,” he said.
Entering this new phase of his vocation, Javier encouraged young Thomasians discerning religious life to embrace and nurture that feeling within themselves.
“The fact that you entertain the thought of becoming one, it means God put that in you,” he said.
Javier urged those who considered heeding the religious vocation not to dismiss the possibility entirely, but to experience it first.
“Unless you try it, you will never know if you are really called for that life … how can we nurture it if we will not experience it?” he said. Enzo Miguel D. Mejia
