2 days Ago By CBCP News
Two Catholic archbishops reflected on the presence of Christ in their lives and the meaning of priesthood during two separate Masses marking their 50th ordination anniversaries. Outgoing Archbishop Jose Lazo of Jaro and Archbishop Marlo Peralta of Nueva Segovia each celebrated their golden jubilee with gratitude, recalling their vocational journeys and God’s guiding presence throughout their ministries. At a Mass at Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral on Tuesday, April 1, Lazo said his life and ministry as priest has been a “journey” and “reaching out” to others “as well as God reaching to me or to us, with the cross in sight.
” “[Fifty years] in service is not yet a retirement age—far from it. I’m just in the middle of it, enjoying it and challenged by it,” he said in his homily. “I thank God for the gift of priesthood and celebrate life, both [of which] go hand in hand and [were] freely chosen.
” At one point of his homily, Lazo recalled joining a team that accompanied priests in need, eventually becoming part of the Assist Ministry, a one-year program of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines to support priests “who are in need.” “It was here that I grew—not sideways, but in interiority—as we accompanied priests in their journey of renewal,” he said. “It was here that God’s call for conversion through his mercy and compassion became tangible.
” Lazo described his priesthood as an ongoing experience of God’s presence in moments of inconvenience, loneliness, sickness, and sadness, as well as in joy and health. The prelate had served as a priest for 29 years in San Jose de Antique and as a bishop for 21 years across three ecclesiastical territories: Kalibo, Antique, and Jaro. “To my brother priests, experience the beauty and joy of the priesthood,” he urged.
“If you cannot find joy in your priesthood, you will not find joy in your retirement.” The 76-year-old will officially relinquish his position as Jaro archbishop on April 2, with the installation of Archbishop-designate Midyphill Billones as the new shepherd of the archdiocese. “It is a privilege to love and serve the people of God.
I am very grateful for that call—for being chosen, consecrated, and sent to love and serve,” he said. Meanwhile, several priests and bishops attended the Mass at St. Augustine Parish Church in Bantay, Ilocos Sur, for Peralta’s 50th priesthood anniversary on March 31.
“Reaching 50 years in the priesthood is not about me. This is about the Lord choosing us to serve his people in his Church,” Peralta, 74, said in his homily. He shared that his vocation began in his early school years when his Capuchin priest uncle asked if he wanted to become a priest.
Unsure of his answer, his uncle suggested he write to Padre Pio. “I wrote two sentences asking Padre Pio to pray for my vocation to the priesthood. My mother mailed it for me, and I forgot about it,” he said.
“But lo and behold, Padre Pio responded with his own letter, also very short, saying he will pray that I may become a priest. So here I am before you, a priest and a bishop.” Peralta described his vocation as a “quiet journey” with no dramatic moments, only a steady calling from the Lord to which he said yes.
“What has sustained me as a priest and bishop is keeping the memories of what God has done for me over the past 50 years. I have experienced his goodness and mercy, and I remember them,” he added. “When I was discouraged, he lifted me up.
When I was in doubt, he gave me understanding. When I failed as a person and a servant, he showed me his compassion and mercy,” he also said..
