UST RECTOR Rev. Fr. Tamerlane Lana, O.P. celebrated the silver jubilee of his ordination to the priesthood last May 24 at the UST Chapel with family, friends, and the UST community. He urged everyone to support the priesthood.
“Father Tamer (Lana) has been a dedicated priest to God’s people for the past twenty-five years,” said the lector to acknowledge the Rector’s achievements before the celebrant marched in together with his family and the Dominican clergy of UST.
“The gift of priesthood must give meaning and strength to our lives as Dominicans,” said Fr. Lana to express his gratitude for becoming a priest.
The Rector also described the main reason for the celebration as “what the priesthood has done to my life and what I have done to priesthood.”
Fr. Lana said there are three factors that helped propel him to the prestigious position he is in now: First, being a Dominican; second, being a priest; and third, being a doctor of philosophy. He said it was the priesthood that gave him the opportunity to become Rector of UST—which is for some, “an indicator of worldly success.”
“The distinctive factor that really makes us priests and give meaning to our ministry is that of being configured to Christ,” Fr. Lana said. “There is nothing extraordinary about me as a person. Many people would even wonder when they come to know that I’m the Rector of UST—a very ordinary-looking guy.”
Fr. Lana said priests are instruments of God’s presence in the world and the goal of a priest is to become more like Christ. He said this was the challenge of the priestly life.
“This is the only way for us priests to show our appreciation to the gift of life,” he said. “In fact, those 25 years of my life was not a smooth journey. There were many personal failures—many moral lapses.”
Finally, he asked for the community to love and support the priesthood because the priesthood is also a gift from God to the community.
“I just want to thank the whole Thomasian community for really being my source of inspiration because it has been responsive to my plans for the university,” said the Rector after the Mass. “(They have been) very supportive to attain those plans. I hope you can continue the work we have done and that the lord will bless always the community.”
Fr. Lana was ordained on May 24, 1979, which is also the celebration of the translation of St. Dominic’s remains. He became rector of the Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Calamba in 1986, rector of Angelicum School in 1988, dean of the Institute of Religion and Faculty of Sacred Theology, and finally, rector of the University of Santo Tomas in 1998.
“Twenty-five years as a priest is something that is a cause of joy,” said Dr. Armando de Jesus, vice-rector for academic affairs. “We all join him in celebrating this great gift from God. We just pray and hope that the next twenty-five years will be as fruitful as the last 25 years.”
