PRIESTS should strive to become agents of “rest, renewal, and rejoicing” during the 2025 Jubilee Year, Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula told the clergy of Manila Archdiocese during Chrism Mass at Manila Cathedral on Maundy Thursday, April 17.
In his homily, Advincula reminded the clergy that the three values are part of their jubilee ministry to the “weary, worn-out, and worried world.”
“To be a priest is to be a man of Jubilee, a man of rejoicing, rest, renewal, and rejoicing. These are the graces of the Jubilee year. These are the graces we ask for the whole Church,” Advincula said.
Resting, Advincula said, is an act of trust in the Lord
“Misyon ng mga pari ang pagiging pahinga ng mga bayan ng Diyos,” the prelate said.
“Nagpapahinga ang pari dahil nagtitiwala siya sa presensiya at kilos ng Diyos na laging higit sa kaniyang pagsisikap at pagmamahal. Sa panahon na nabibigo, hihinga siya nang malalim, magpapahinga at magtitiwala sa Diyos.”
The renewing power of the gospel must also be embodied by priests and felt by the faithful, the prelate said.
“We rest not really to escape from mission and ministry, but to recuperate [for] our competence and commitment for mission and ministry…Ang pagmamahal ni Kristo ay laging mabuting balita, dahil laging itong bago at sariwa,” he said.
The cardinal reminded the clergy that the Jubilee year is a time of joy.
“We can rejoice because although we are hard-pressed and distressed, we are also immensely blessed, lavishly loved by a faithful God,” Advincula said.
But he warned that material and personal rewards should not be the source of a priest’s joy.
“The joy of a priest is not in what flows in, but in what flows over. Mas sumasaya ang pari, hindi kapag kumikita siya o nakikita siya, kundi kapag dumadaloy ang biyaya sa pamamagitan niya patungo sa kapwa.”
The Chrism Mass, held every Maundy Thursday or an earlier date near Easter, is a liturgical celebration in which the bishop blesses the oils to be used for the sacraments for the year, and where priests renew their vows.
