Alleluia, Christ is risen!
In the bishop’s house, we have a practice of celebrating every Sunday as a “little easter” by having something extra or special at dinner, like pasta and ice-cream. This is our way of reminding ourselves of the Church’s greatest feast (though admittedly in a self-gratifying way via a hearty meal, hahaha…), and of the greatest event of our faith, the death and resurrection of Christ which won for us our salvation.
While we celebrate Easter liturgically once a year, life is in fact full of “little easters.” These are the times when God delivers us from the jaws of death and raises us from our tombs of misery, desperation and helplessness. These are moments of liberation, forgiveness and new beginnings, which God offers to us liberally and repeatedly throughout our life.
Last Thursday, during our Chrism Mass, I shared with our priests and people a “little easter” we are currently experiencing in the diocese. I refer to the renewal we are undergoing in our presbyterium.
After the National Convention on Synodality in July of last year, I exhorted our priests that we prepare ourselves for the forthcoming general reshuffling (scheduled on Chrism Mass of 2023) and take it as an opportunity, not only to re-organize the diocese, but more importantly to renew our presbyterium. I then proposed a road map towards that day, using the framework of the synodal path which consists of two moments: the journey “ad intra” and the journey “ad extra.”
The journey “ad intra” is an inner journey into ourselves personally as priests and communally as a presbyterium. It is essentially an invitation to conversion. We cannot lead our people on their journey to God if we ourselves do not know the way to him and are disconnected from him. The annual retreat we had last February helped us enter into this inner journey more deeply and effectively.
The retreat was followed by a 3-day Pastoral and Financial Assessment Conference which provided a forum for our journey “ad extra.” This second part of the journey is about renewing our pastoral life: our ministries, organization, structures, systems, policies and programs, all for the purpose of rendering our pastoral life and service more effective. In particular, we succeeded to put in place our financial system and to implement the digitalization program for the entire diocese.
The outcome of this synodal presbyterial journey is so overwhelming that to call it a “little easter” would be an understatement. I would call it a “not so little easter.” It is a conversion clearly manifested in our deeper commitment to the spirituality of stewardship and to our sacramental brotherhood. This conversion is particularly expressed in two concrete signs: the decision to implement the standard living allowance (SLA) and the welcoming attitude of our priests toward our Diocesan Safeguarding Guidelines for Minors and Vulnerable Adults.
The decision to adopt the SLA came to me as a total surprise since the SLA had long been mandated by Second Diocesan Synod in 2004 and was never implemented since then. The decision to implement the SLA is a concrete manifestation that the spirituality of stewardship and the sacramental brotherhood have finally taken root in our presbyterium. It marks a shift from the past culture of clericalism (ang pari ay hari), entitlement, individualism and turfism to a culture of stewardship, responsibility, accountability and transparency.
The second fruit of our communal conversion is the adoption of our Safeguarding Program as our way of caring for the Lord’s flock, particularly the weak and vulnerable. Our Protocol for the Protection of Minors is now well in place in the diocese down to the parochial level. It has certainly shaken us and radically affected the status of some of our brothers, but we see this as a painful and necessary step towards the purification and renewal of our presbyterium. The protocol is about creating a safe self, a safe ministry and a safe community in the Church. Thank God, this conversion has helped us move from a culture of silence, denial, cover-up and impunity to a culture of care, accountability, justice and compassion.
May we recognize the many little easters that God continually offers us on our journey towards him. The road is long and oftentimes rocky. We stumble now and then and fall. Jesus who accompanies us never fails to offer his hand to lift us up and his strength to sustain us. The message of Easter is one of hope and joy. We need not fear for Christ has conquered death. He is alive, and he wants us to live.
Happy Easter!