Only the Best

Finally, after his diaconal ordination last July 15 that can be revisited here, Rev. Reymond B. Mulingbayan is now a full-blown man of the cloth. Fr. Ymon was ordained yesterday, 12th day of October 2009, in Our Lady of the Pillar Parish in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro this Year for Priests.

His ordination reminds me of this story. An old priest said to a new batch of seminarians : “Prepare to sacrifice and be a true servant of God and the people.” If a seminarian do not adhere to this personal promise to God, they are just wasting their teachers’ time including their own. Also, the seminary is even wasting its resources on them. Even God will only be wasting His time on them!

Many of us consider that the biggest problem of our local Church is the so-called “priests’ shortage”. While the problem is admittedly true and in need of concrete solutions,-like strengthening our programs and campaigns geared towards producing more vocations, etc.., I am not personally too concerned with their numbers or such (vital?) statistics. What concerns me most is how to produce quality priests, even at this early stage of one’s formation because our Basic Ecclesial Communities or BECs, the people of God deserves nothing but the best! Indeed, a priest (or even a seminarian) must be literally and figuratively attached to our community. It is unlikely,- I suppose, for a priest to be detached,- physically and spiritually; to the community, specifically to the BEC or to what we call in Occidental Mindoro as Pamayanang Kristiyano or the PAKRIS. Definitely it’s a sin but I am not academically competent to discuss its nature.

All I know is that in his homily for the opening of Year for Priests, Pope Benedict XVI said that the faithful should “pray that the Lord inflame the heart of each and every priest … because the greatest suffering in the Church is the sin of its priests.”

Of course, I give a damn to the scandals being involved by priests in other dioceses inside and outside of the Philippines, but I firmly believe deep inside my heart and from my experience (or viewpoint), priests are generally men who are trying their very best to serve the Lord and the community entrusted to them. Doing everything they can for their vocation for this noble and divine purpose and asking forgiveness for their sins and for others. Just like the recently ordained Fr. Reymond Mulingbayan, who entrusted his vocation to the embrace of the Father. There will be no ordination to be held in our diocese until 2013.

True, a number of priests went out of their ministry due to various reasons and remained Christians, but we pin our high hopes on our seminarians inside and outside of the province. Let us all support them in any which way we can.

The sex scandals that zoomed out of the local and foreign media some years ago, - especially the pedophilia issue, were evil acts committed by only a tiny pack of sick, perverted, coward, and twisted "wolves" who just happened to be men of the cloth victimizing innocent children and youngsters. Priests that are disgrace to their ordination and to God. The Church hierarchy should be alarmed and make necessary action on this matter, pastorally and administratively.

Luckily, we do not have such reported case here in our Vicariate. All we have is someone who never learned his lessons and reportedly gunning again for a top political post in the province.

God, save us from snollygosters...

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(Photo : SSC File ; Our Lady of the Pillar Parish in Mamburao)