Feb. 24, 8:42 p.m. – PROPOSALS seeking to change society are “bound to fail” as such plans ignore Christ and are not guided by the Holy Spirit, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle said on the last day of a three-day University retreat.
Tagle at the same time called on UST to pursue its mission “to mirror to the wider society the picture of renewed humanity.”
“From the perspective of faith, true renewal of the history of structures, of creation and of humanity, will happen only through the action of God,” he said in a one-hour talk this morning during the “Neo-Centennial Retreat” at the Quadricentennial Pavilion.
Renewal and mission is a wonderful way to continue reaping the fruits and graces of the University’s 400th year celebration, the prelate said before some 2,000 administrators, faculty members and support staff.
Tagle warned that proposed programs of renewing society that eliminate God “will make things worse,” and that these are “bound to fail.” “Personal and structural renewal” in Christ and the Holy Spirit is needed, he said.
Tagle was also a speaker in last year’s Quadricentennial Retreat at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay.
Meanwhile, Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P., Rector of UST, said in his homily in this afternoon’s Mass of the Holy Spirit that everyone’s mission in life is “to change for the better, to be renewed, to be transformed, and to become a better person.”
“Habang tayo ay buhay, ang misyon natin ay magbago,” said De la Rosa. The University is full of life, he noted, because it is made up of living persons who have the right to change.
In a chance interview, the Rector said the administration decided to start the retreat last Feb. 22, Ash Wednesday, because it is a day of renewal.
“We wanted it [to happen] before [the] school year [ends so that] we’ll have a sort of a renewal period, and at the same time, a period to thank God for the Quadricentennial celebration that we have had,” De la Rosa said.
Participants were called to be “agents of renewal” and were each given “mission crosses,” before marching through the Arch of the Centuries later in the afternoon to welcome UST’s new century.
Fr. Enrico Gonzales, O.P. and inspirational speaker Bro. Michael Angelo Lobrin discussed “remembering and gratitude” and “conversion and healing” in the first and second days of the retreat, respectively. Last Thursday, Fr. Joey Faller held a “Healing Mass. Bernadette D. Nicolas
